 |
| I never shared this Monkshood that bloomed from late fall into November! It was a charmer! |
Honestly, for months on end I have been taking photos of garden 'happenings', but I haven't bothered to share them. Well, a couple of photos did get uploaded to FB but there were no posts written and a huge backlog has developed in my digital photo files! I don't like to make 'New Year's Resolutions' but this is one promise I am going to try to keep: to blog at least twice a month. If I do more, that will be a bonus! I also blog for the Virginia Gardener Magazine, and that has suffered my neglect, as well. 2012 is going to see me getting back to garden blogging.
 |
| I haven't yet blogged about the Snowdrops that began blooming in my garden in November! |
I was looking through my files today and noticing that I probably have enough material to write a blog post every day, if I wanted to. I've been thinking about the 'purpose' of my blog, and why I even have one at all.
 |
| I haven't shared my trip to NYC with my hubby in early November. We had fun, just the two of us. |
It is for many reasons...a journal of what's growing in my gardens~for myself~to keep a record and be able to look back and compare each year. It's also a place to write about anything I choose~not just gardening. I have two kids, two pets, and I could be sharing more of the fun times we all have! Additionally, the online friendships that have developed keep me feeling just a little guilty for having not visited the blogs of many of my garden friends for many months...namely, yours! I plan to rectify that in this new year, as well!
 |
| We have some fun times with the pets~especially when we have our annual lobster dinner on New Year's Eve! |
So, more blog reading and less Facebook reading...?
Well...maybe not (!) because I've really gotten attached to my FB friends and like to keep up there, too. Many of my garden blogging friends are also my friends on FB, so it is fun to be connected there. What has happened, though, is a severe imbalance has occurred and I need to 'fix' it. Clearly, a change needs to happen! And it will. Of course if you use Facebook yourself and we are already blogging friends, I'd love to be your friend there, too. You can find me through this link: https://www.facebook.com/thanksfor2day (This is my personal profile and I try to keep my friend list manageable but if we already know each other through blogging, I'd be happy to be your FB friend! I've noticed some people have FB friends in the thousands...but I don't think I can function too well if mine goes up above just a couple hundred. I get overwhelmed and have actually had to delete people, not out of meanness, but just to be able to maintain my sanity!).
 |
| This is my current Facebook profile picture~ it's my family on Christmas Eve this year...oops, I mean last year, 2011! |
I also have a Facebook page and whenever I write a blog post, it automatically uploads to the page at this link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thanks-For-Today/207517115988503 (I don't do a lot of interacting on my FB page but I would certainly appreciate you 'liking' it if you visit!). If you have a FB page and I haven't already 'liked' it, please let me know the link!
 |
| This is the photo I use on my Facebook 'Thanks For Today' page |
Oh, did I mention that for the past four months I was busy taking Master Gardener classes through my local Extension office? I suppose that got me a little distracted from blogging too. The classes were intense, and there was a lot of reading! I finally graduated in mid-December and am now, officially, a Master Gardener Intern. I will start my Internship next week, and expect that there will be lots of things happening that will provide blogging material, as well. So with winter underway--and less time doing actual gardening--I can 'revisit' my photos from the past several months and catch up on what I never blogged about; share some experiences about my Master Gardening classes and upcoming Internship; and, with spring on the way (hopefully sooner rather than later), we'll all be getting out in the garden again and there will be even more to blog about. So there should be no shortage of thoughts that can be put into words and photos, right?!
 |
| Evidence that I'm now an MG Intern! It will still be another YEAR until I'm an official Master Gardener;-) It's a lot of work! |
Finally...
Please send me gentle reminders if you notice that I have taken more than two weeks off in the future, ok?!
Thanks! And Happy 2012 to you and yours;-) I hope it's one of the best blogging years yet.
Words and photos ©Thanks for today.™, by Jan Huston Doble @ http://www.thanksfor2day.blogspot.com/
Not to be reproduced or re-blogged without express permission of the author.
I hope we do see you return to more active blogging, I'd like to see more of your garden. I do enjoy being FB friends with you.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Thanks, Alison! I showed a little more of my garden on the 'next' blog post. I like being FB friends w/you, as well;-)
DeleteLovely Christmas eve pic! Nice to see you back to your blog and all the best for a wonderful new year. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Ms. S! I hope I can stay motivated to post regularly. There are always distractions. But our blogging friends never leave my mind, even on the busiest of days!
DeleteI have wondered where you've been, it is good to see you back and hope to be reading more about your gardens and your life.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on becoming a MG intern. Enjoy your year of internship and next year you'll graduate to a full MG.
That is a great picture of your family.
I don't do FB, blogging already takes up enough time. :-)
Have a wonderful 2012.
FlowerLady
Thank you, FlowerLady! FB is fun, but blogging does take up enough time! If I wasn't already connected to FB I probably would just avoid it altogether. But since I'm already there, it is too hard to leave;-)
DeleteHappy New Year Jan and although I too am neglectful of my garden blog I still like to see other friends blogs pop up on my dashboard and also Facebook. Like you I find there is so much to do and so little time to do it all.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your Gardening course and what a lovely family you have. Here's hoping for a Happy and Healthy 2012 for all my friends
Happy New Year to you, as well, Joanne! It has been TOO LONG since we have 'connected'. I think we are FB friends, but not sure what's up with that. I have missed your gardening posts...you used to have such lovely ones. But, I do understand that life takes us in so many directions and we can't do everything!!
DeleteHappy New Year Jan! There are so many delightful distraction these days! Now that the holidays have settled down I also hope to be a better garden blogging reader and commenter. Congrats on the MG! xgail
ReplyDeleteThanks Gail, and Happy New Year to you, too;-) Goodness, distractions abound--everywhere we look (whether we 'look' for them or not)! I hope to 'see' more of you through our blog in this New Year, although I do enjoy seeing you regularly on Facebook;-) I start my MG internship next week...first few hours will be logged in at the 'Help Desk'!
DeleteHappy New Year, Jan, and congratulations on completing the Master Gardener program! I took the course the winter of 2010, and although it was a lot of work, it was well-worth it, don't you agree? Putting in the required volunteer hours has also given me the opportunity to learn even more. I'm glad to hear you're planning to blog more--I like Facebook and it has its purposes, but it's just not the same as reading a blog.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely family you have!
Happy New Year to you, too, Rose! I guess I am just a year 'behind' you!! Yes,I agree, it was worth the effort;-) I will start my internship next week, at the 'Help Desk'. There is NO END to the questions that will come in!! Yes, I will be attempting to put up more blog posts. I met you, and most others, through our blogs...so I want to spend more time there and less time on FB. I have a lot of connections and old friends on FB though, so I can't totally give that up!
DeleteYou're not alone in your neglect! I've done the same. The New Year is a great time to begin again and reaffirm our goals isn't it? Like a fresh start.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave, thanks for stopping by! It's been 'forever' since I've visited your Blog. I have seen a lot of blog posts from you on FB, though...so I don't think you've neglected your blog as much as I have mine. But I will try to stop by more often this year. I do enjoy your blog.
DeleteHi Jan. I am looking forward to more blogging from you. I have to admit my time on Facebook is seldom. I just cannot get into it so maybe that is a good thing.LOL! I have seen the decline in blogging since Twitter and Facebook has grabbed the gardeners attention and I miss them.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lona;-) I know you are not as active a FB'r as I am! I m still glad to be friends w/you there. Yes, it's probably a good thing. I am, however, attempting to get back to the blog...that is where it all started and that is where we can be who we are, and be creative and expressive without all the 'social media' attachments;-)
DeleteI avoided Twitter, my FB is for immediate family, but ... Google Plus has eaten a chunk of my life. Need to wean myself back a little there.
ReplyDeleteHi Diana;-) I do have a twitter acct but don't use it. My blog posts just automatically get uploaded ther. FB, well...I've gotten addicted to it...my h.s friend, family & relatives, neighbors, college & hs. friends, etc., are all there! But it is so distracting from what I really want to focus on! I do have G+ and am connected to you there...but I am not active there for the most part. I will just try to blog more, and visit Blotanical on occasion, and hope we cross paths now and then;-)
DeleteHi Jan, Congratulations on achieving the MG Intern status. It was a lot of work, but you will be fine from now on!! :-) I'm finally a MG! lol
ReplyDeleteWe can both look forward to 2012 - Happy New Year!
Thank you SG!!! Congrat's to you on your MG achievement! I hope to see more of you through our blogs, and occasionally through FB:-)
DeleteJan how wonderful that you have graduated. I wish I could have found time this year to attend classes but I hope to once I retire. No wonder you couldn't blog...FB can get overwhelming and I check in once or twice a day for a set period of time...you have been busy with family, traveling etc so cut yourself some slack. Twice a month will be lovely...Happy New Year!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Donna...I think waiting until you retire (to become an MG) is perfect. You will appreciate it even more because you won't feel stressed about getting the reading, assignments and volunteering done!
DeleteCongrats on the MG! I have always wanted to do that and classes are always durning the day and I have to work. I love your big poodle puppy too. I have much smaller ones and the big ones always look funny to me! Happy New Year! Carol
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carol! Maybe after you retire you will be able to take the MG classes. There is a broad age-range in the people who do it. Make it something you do because you have time for, not something you have to 'fit in':-) We used to have a miniature poodle so we are used to the small and the big sizes...but if you've only been seeing a small one, the larger, standard size does look quite different!
DeleteI've been spending more time on FB and less on blogging too. I feel like since I see you on FB I've kept up with some of what you've been doing :) But, I do love seeing your pictures of flowers and all the birds that visit your garden. I'm really trying to be a better blogger this year too. I miss those connections.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year and congrats on the MG graduation!!
Catherine, I'm glad we're connected on FB...it does seem that I've kept up with you in that way during the past year. I do want to visit your blog more, though...so am going to try to do that this year;-) I, too, love seeing your yard and gardens and miss your pictures! Thank you;-)
DeleteHi Jan: I was just thinking about you the other day and how I missed visits to your blog. Happy 2012! Looking forward to keeping in touch this year through blogging, FB, and Blotanical! Lovely photos of your family!
ReplyDeleteHi Beth, thank you so much;-) There are so many choices of where we can connect! Glad to be connected with you on all 3 places;-)
DeleteOh how I've missed your glorious photos. I have also spent too much time in the Facebook vortex. I will try to stop by more often, whether I comment or not because I love love love your view of the world!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda! You are sweet to say those nice things!! I know you are busy with your art so any visit...or just one...is special;-)
DeleteFirst of all, congratulations! I know I did add my congrats on your FB page, but I'll say it again. You must be so proud to have achieved the internship and I just know you'll love every minute of the work.
ReplyDeleteI'll be looking forward to seeing more photos of your garden and hearing more about what's going on when I pop by your blog.
Loved the family Christmas photo!
Hi Bernie, thank you so much;-) I know I'm going to enjoy being a master gardener and am looking forward to starting the internship...next week! Yes, I'm glad we are connected on FB but I really want to visit your blog more often too. I see your posts on FB but don't always get over to read them. I have missed so much that's happened in your garden this year.
DeleteJan, I agree, there are simply not enough hours in every day to keep up with everything! If only there were! Congratulations on your MG Intern status, a great way to kick off a New Year! Looking forward to seeing a few more posts from you, but as always I think it's more important to be IN the garden, than writing about it ;) Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Claire! I look forward to sharing and having you visit;-) And I will look forward to visiting you more often, as well!
DeleteDon't feel too bad, Jan. I took a year off of blogging all together because I was feeling overwhelmed. It was a good hiatus, but I missed it. So I'm back.
ReplyDeleteFacebook can be addictive. I'm trying to build up my FB blogging friends and have "liked" your blog. I've always enjoyed reading what you have to say. So please keep them coming.
Welcome back, Heather...and thank you;-) I appreciate your thoughts and look forward to seeing more of you this year!
DeleteI finally put up a Facebook page for Carolyn's Shade Gardens yesterday, and it's very lonely. I hope it will turn into something.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, I want to see more of your lovely garden and am so glad you now have a FB page. Being able to see photos there, now and then, will be a great 'in between' stop for when I don't manage to get to your blog;-) My FB page is somewhat lonely, because I don't interact there; I just have my blog posts published there. I do all my interacting on my personal FB page. Probably way too much interacting...LOL;-)
DeleteWelcome back! I just wish I hadn't been reminded that I owe Va. Gardener a couple of blog posts. Maybe I can justify my absence there with being busy over the holidays.
ReplyDeleteThank you Les...congrat's on writing a 'paid' article for VA Gardener/State By State. That probably makes up for your lack of blog posts for them;-) I hope to stop by and visit you more often but am glad we're connected on FB!
DeleteCongratulations, Master Gardener! With your love of gardening, you will love being a Master Gardener. Happy new year!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michelle! I'm not 'quite' an MG, yet...there is still a full year of internship before I can legitimately call myself that;-) But it's going to be fun. I am glad to be doing something legitimate in the garden arena other than just 'online' and at home (!)...not that those don't count, but, with the MG involvement I'll be able to interact IN PERSON with so many others with shared interests! I look forward to 'seeing' you through our blogs this year;-)
DeleteGlad you are back Jan and congrats on the MG internship, you should be proud after all the work. We never had an internship, so I am not sure what that really means. Do you work with another MG before going out on your own?
ReplyDeleteYour family is very beautiful in the 2011 photos. Thank you for stopping in at GWGT too!
Thanks so much, Donna! It's interesting how different states operate their MG programs. The way it works here is, you take 4 months of classes, 2 nights a week for 3 hrs at a time. Plus about 4 or 5 Saturday mornings. Then, after lots of reading and tests, you 'graduate' to an MG Intern. You then have 1 year to put in the 50+ hours of required volunteer work in specifically assigned and required 'areas'. Some is in actual gardening out at the Teaching Gardens, some is in Education through plant clinics, the Ext. Help Desk, etc. Some is in the Best Lawns program, through soil sampling, lawn measuring and consulting with the public. There are many other 'assigned' areas you have to work in. When all that is completed, you are then 'free' to choose to volunteer in any areas you want for your annual commitment.
DeleteI'm planning on starting my Master Gardening courses once my daughter leaves for college in 18 mos. I'd still love to get together since we live so close. It will be great to hear from you, even if it's just twice a month. :o)
ReplyDeleteHi Casa Mariposa...YES, we WILL get together. I'm glad we're electronic friends, that way we won't forget...there is always a record of it somewhere! I haven't forgotten about you. Let's keep it in mind and connect when we have the time. It will be fun;-)
DeletePS...if you go through the PWC MG classes we will probably see more of each other;-) That will be great!! It is a great bunch of people!!
DeleteThink our habits are similar. I have been off the blogging kick for a little while, and now am back. I hope to be a bit more regular than I have been for the last six months.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo of the dogs and the lobsters. Bet that was a riot.
Janet, I'm glad we see each other (and chat!) on FB:-) I'm also glad you are doing more blogging, because I do enjoy seeing what's going on in your 'new' garden! My dogs weren't too sure what to make of those lobsters;-)
DeleteDear Jan, So happy to see you blogging again. Striving for balance in one's life is a worthy, but difficult, pursuit. I really don't care for FB and don't often check my page. I love Blotanical though, but have to restrict my postings to one per week, or I wouldn't get anything else done. Congrats on completing your MG classes! P. x
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, I'm so happy you came by! I miss visiting your blog and will try to come over more often this year!! I recently spent a little time on Blotanical after a long time away. It is a nice to interact there. I seem to have the 'opposite' view that you do, though!! I am hooked on FB and not sure I can disconnect from there, and the time it takes to 'do' Blotanical could be difficult to manage! I am going to give it a shot, though;-) Thank you for your wishes about the MG graduation...I'm so happy to have the classes over with! Looking forward to starting the Internship next week:-)
DeleteYou've got really beautiful plants and photo's, is there any chance you might add your garden to Folia the online gardening website (it's free).
ReplyDeleteIt's a great resource for gardeners and has helped me keep on top of my 800+ plantings with photo's, notes, journals, milestones etc. They have an extensive plant wiki and a seed stash section where people can also list seeds for swapping. Here's the link to my Folia page so you can see how it works: www.myfolia.com/gardener/CDfolia/invite.
It's be great to see you, your plants and your fabulous insects over on Folia.
Cally, thank you;-) I am kind of overwhelmed, as it is, with all of the online connections that I am a part of, but I will take a look at it! Blogging itself, being on FB, and connecting with other gardeners that way and also through Blotanical, is pretty much all I can handle, I'm pretty sure. Thanks for the invite though, I'll check it out;-)
DeletePersonally I think that blogging ebbs, and flows...we all have different currents in our lives, and reasons for not or for posting. Do what works for you, and your family.
ReplyDeleteWe love seeing your post, and reading your comments, when you have the time. And most of us will be here to welcome you with open arms.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Thanks, Jen! You are so right...we gotta do what works for us at any given time;-) I feel exactly the same about you and am glad you're on FB. I hope you are settling in to your new environment and will be able to move into a new home soon! I will try to be over to your lovely blog more often this year;-)
DeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
If you don't have time to write a detailed blog post, just upload a photo with a short comment. We enjoy reading, of course, but we all love photos, too!
Lea
Thanks so much, Lea! I love photos the most and often do 'wordless wednesday' posts, which can be refreshing and there's no pressure to write anything! I probably should do more photo uploading, I know I'd probably manage a post a day if I chose to make them wordless! Thank you for visiting;-)
DeleteHello Jan,
ReplyDeleteI am looking around on your blog and I wanted to tell you that it's very beautiful. You have lovely photos. I'm also a gardener but in zone 4a, so I don't have as much variety as you, but we have a nice variety to choose from. I tried a buddleia (maybe the spelling is not right) to attract butterflies but it didn't survive our cold winter, here in Quebec, Canada. Looking forward to your posts in 2012 !
Thanks for the compliments, Jocelyne! I will check out your blog! I know many Canadian bloggers/gardeners and they are able to grow a huge variety of gorgeous plants and blooms! Your summers are just awesome up there and you don't have the extreme heat and humidity that we do. I'm sure your garden is beautiful;-)
DeleteWOW, replying to your comments is time-consuming and requires brain power!! Thank you all for your comments! If I don't answer you here, please look out for a visit from me on your blog. I just discovered the new 'Embed' feature by blogger, that finnally allows us to respond to each comment individually. However, I just do not have the energy or time to respond to each one! I thank you for coming by though. I'll stop by and say hi to you separately;-)
ReplyDeleteI was enjoying replying, particularly to this post, because I haven't talked to most of you in so long I wanted to reconnect! Also, because Blogger just added this newest tech-ability to reply individually to comments! It is now more like the WordPress blogs. I like it!
DeleteJan, Happy New Year, and congratulations on completing your Master Gardener course. (That something I am planning to do after I retire in a few years.) You don't have to feel guilty about not getting to my blog much this fall; I was too busy to keep up with blogging myself (and I don't even have a Facebook page as an excuse!). Hope to see you for some garden visits in the spring. -Jean
ReplyDeleteThank you Jean! You will love it when you retire, that way you won't feel like it's a burden that you 'have' to complete. Yes, I look forward to hopefully seeing you and visiting some gardens with you this spring. I hope we'll be able to work out some plans;-)
Delete