Esther’s challenge: New beginnings

A new world?

Esther Chiltons blog has writing challenges every week, I’ve started trying to do some. New beginnings was an interesting one.

This is what I wrote :

New beginning?
I hope so.
My life has changed in so many ways. I’m having to reassess what I can do, can afford, can maintain.
New beginnings means the garden is starting to flower, I hope to get outside and maybe paint if I feel up to it. I need help to keep the garden tidy.
My main wish is that my health improves and I can have some real new beginnings….

Esther does other challenges, like on Mondays we try and write a limerick with a certain word in it, or on Thursdays a set of words and a limited number of words to use. It’s fun. Why not look her blog up?

Letter to myself

Dear Me

It’s been a horrible few days. I’m worried and scared, but I must try and cope. Remember to breathe, don’t hide away. Memories of other situations make me want to do this.

I remember my mom when my dad died, she sat on the settee in the darkness for three days, in the end I wrote her a letter and asked her to look after us, her children. I think that finally got through to her. She seemed to respond.

Writing this is just a way of talking to myself, but to share with others, maybe it is something to think about for other people?

Deleting photos

My plan on Jetpack /WordPress only gives me a smallish memory for photos and I keep bumping it up to 100%. I want this blog to have either my art and images but sometimes I also use the free photo library on here.

Unfortunately I cannot add new images unless I delete some ols photos, so I’m trying to remove my most boring pictures. That’s not too bad, but the more new ones I add the more slightly better photos I have to delete. It also means I have to optimise decent photos to take up less space.

So if you come across a post without a picture it will probably mean I have deleted the picture to free up space (sorry).

To keep my mind working

Why do you blog?

I like blogging because I enjoy thinking about things. I like to write small pieces of fiction, short poems, share my art, and answer prompts like this one.

If I can share my ideas and make a difference to someone elses life that’s a bonus. I’m not looking for fame, or saying that I want to be a famous blogger or influencer. I just enjoy doing this.

I hope I’m not boring, and I also try and produce a blog that is honest and factual as much as I can be. I would hate to share information that turns out to be incorrect, and I try and communicate clearly.

If you read my blog don’t expect me to stick to one subject. I guess I could call myself a jack of all trades and master of none.

Please don’t click

I had a strange message yesterday that worried me. Someone keeps getting notifications about my posts in their email and it’s irritating them. I don’t know them and am not sending them emails so it must be notifications from WordPress about my posts?

I know I sometimes write quite a few posts a day. My mind jumps about and I like putting my thoughts down, but I guess that might get on peoples nerves. If it does I apologise.

The only thing I could do was check if I was following the person (I’m not, and don’t think I’ve seen their blog). Then I thought, they don’t have to follow me. I’m not after lots of followers, it’s too much responsibility. So I suggested they unfollow me.

Finally you can click on some blogs to receive email notifications everytime someone posts. I used to do that when I started here. I’ve now limited it and unclicked notifications because my email inbox was getting too full. I was literally getting hundreds of emails on some days.

So, I think just follow who you like, but don’t expect them to follow back. Some people will instantly become friends, others acquaintances, and some you will be irritated by or they will be irritated by you. Its all depends on your personalities. Just enjoy x

I am not a writer

What do you enjoy most about writing?

I write this blog, and I’ve written college work recently. I tried writing a children’s book for my final major project and took it to a small publishers a few weeks ago but haven’t heard back from them yet. The story is a little adventure, but described in limerick form (I do a regular limerick challenge on WordPress that gave me the idea.)

Apart from that I can describe myself as anything other than a bit of a blogger. And I don’t write anything of any length.

So what do I get? I like the creativity it allows me, this is a bit like a diary and people have kindly read what I write. I guess I’m quite middle of the road, but a bit eccentric? What I write is often what I’m hearing in my head as I write. Is that normal? Anyway it’s almost another week. Take care.

Blogging!

How do you waste the most time every day?

I curse myself sometimes, because I can spend far too much time blogging and posting to social media.

I do have a purpose, as a part time artist and illustrator I like to keep people informed of what I’ve been doing during the day. So I posted pictures of the life drawing session I went to earlier on today.

I also post little poems, I don’t pretend to be a poet though, if it rhymes that’s a bonus.

Truly though, I ought to give it a break, but is it dopamine hits you get from picking up your phone and seeing you’ve got a like? If social media removed the buttons perhaps they would get less traffic. And that’s what it’s about isn’t it? Keeping people occupied and interested in the next new thing, be it politics or advertising. So then you get the “I’ll just watch one more video” feeling, and by the time you realise its 3.30am in the morning….

So yes, blogging is probably time wasting, it’s also shouting into an echo chamber, you hear yourself, but does anyone else care. As the saying goes “why don’t you just go and do something less boring instead?”….

Hang on, just got a notification, must check my phone…

Imagination

What gives you direction in life?

Imagining a direction to take

Decisions made when I wake,

Thoughts my mind makes….

It’s a hard question when you get older and most of your life is behind you. I’m not very religious, so mainly I want to stay safe and keep going. No one wants bad things to happen.

I guess what direction I take could include going round in circles, always turning right, heading north. But mainly it’s just survival. Not in a preppy, survivalist sort of way, but just managing with what we’ve got, helping others when we can. Not expecting too much. Just trying to support each other. It’s not always easy, and questions have to be asked about whether the direction we are heading in now is still the right one.

The world should be fair for everyone. I know that’s a hard thing to expect, and people can be selfish and jealous of what they have. But I hope people will consider others as well as themselves. I think John Lennons song ‘Imagine’ is a good thing to follow…..

Not really

Are you superstitious?

I have to say I usually walk under ladders, but I always say ‘hello Mr magpie how’s your wife’ if I see a lone magpie. I wonder why black cats are lucky in the UK and unlucky in the USA? I used to avoid cracks in pavements but not any more.

So no, I’m not superstitious. Thirteen is an interesting prime number to me, a bakers dozen, not something to fear. I’m not interested in Halloween really. I don’t bother with trick or treaters and sometimes even shout ‘boo!’ at them and say ‘here’s your trick!’ Does it matter?it depends on the person. I can’t disabuse you of your own beliefs so let’s agree to disagree if you are superstitious.