We’re going with random things again this week . . .
Every time Dale and I watch something on PBS (currently season 2 of All Creatures Great and Small and it’s simply delightful) and I see the list of all those sponsors and benefactors at the beginning, I think to myself, if I ever found myself very rich, I would create a foundation that supports public television. I day dream about a show being brought to you, in part, by a grant from the Dale and Carole Julius Foundation.
This coming Saturday marks 17 years since the day I sat down and started this blog. Things have changed a lot since then! I used to sit in our little den and write from a desktop computer, now I post from a laptop or smartphone. I didn’t always post a photo with a post and when I did post a photo I took it with a crappy digital camera. I advanced from that to a very very nice digital camera and now I almost exclusively use photos I took with my iPhone. I used to talk mostly about knitting, now I rarely talk about knitting. The one constant is that I can’t imagine my life without this blog and without you reading it.
Since we’re talking about the longevity of the blog, I want to bring up something that has changed significantly in the last little while. I used to respond by email to every.single.comment. Sometimes I just wrote thanks, sometimes I wrote something longer, but I always wrote something. And I took a lot of pride in doing so. Lately, though, it sometimes feels redundant and not fun. To counteract that feeling, I no longer always respond to comments, particularly if it’s just to say thanks or simply acknowledge that I have read your post. Believe me when I say, it’s not you . . . it’s me. Please just know, I read all the comments and I appreciate every single one of them, even if I don’t always write back.
And those are my 3 random thoughts this Thursday. If you wrote a post for today, please include your link below.
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I have certainly noticed that you reply – but that is is not necessary to my enjoyment of your daily blog. Besides the content, you are so reliable!
I echo Mary’s comment. Happy Blog Anniversary! So glad that you take the time to share with us. It’s like getting a postcard everyday from a friend!
Happy Upcoming Anniversary! Seventeen years is quite a long time and I’m glad you’re still here. My PBS Foundation is going to just be my name; John claims he doesn’t watch TV (but he does).
Me, too, Carole! I am totally envious of Darlene Shiley’s ability to sponsor Masterpiece! I don’t daydream about being a billionaire, but I occasionally think about how great it would be to bring Masterpiece to life. Congratulations on the longevity of your blog. It’s a HUGE ongoing accomplishment, and I enjoy all your posts. I’m glad that you have discovered you don’t have to respond to every comment. After all, we are just giving you feedback about your posting, and I know my comments don’t usually require a response. I’m sure you have other activities which are more important that require your time.
I really love reading your blog and am so happy for this momentous Anniversary!
And I am nodding to Bonny’s comment… it would just be the Kat Foundation… because Steve is like John (who also watches TV but says he does not lol)
Happy Blog Anniversary, Carole! I appreciate your replying to comments, but certainly understand the challenge in replying to every.single.once. I, for one, don’t mind a non-reply. 🙂
And I know that you know that you can support PBS with smaller donations . . . and just be included in that “viewers like you” category. As a (former) career non-profit person, I know that EVERY donation is celebrated . . . even when not in the “significant enough to be named individually” category!
HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY! As you know, it’s my first blog every morning. I thank the stars that I stumbled onto Norma with the Sophie bag, and through her ‘met’ so many bloggers. I’m glad you’ve stayed around. I miss the old gang.
In this day and age I really enjoy those blogs that I read, that have never been monetized. Thank you for sharing your family and your life with us.
Always a fan,
~~Mary~~
I’m another who 1) enjoys your blog and don’t mind no response to my comment and 2) would love to also have my name (or Fletch & Vera) up on the screen for Masterpiece Theatre. We, too, are loving this new season of All Creatures. Happy Blogaversary – 17 years is a LONG time!!!
I think there is consensus- we are here for the content not the replies and congratulations on your blog anniversary! Very impressive.
Happy Blogiversary, Carole!! Like you, I can’t imagine my life without blogging (even if I’m not doing it quite as much as usual right now), and especially without the friends I’ve made and places I’ve gone (near & far, IRL & virtual) because of it. It used to be that the blog and real life were quite separate, and I’m glad that’s changed.
17 years, wow! Congratulations! I enjoy reading your blog, and this post made me wonder how long I’ve had mine. You’re so right, things have changed a lot over the years. I wonder what the next changes will be…
Happy Blogiversary – it is a true pleasure to come here every day. And I think Juliann put the comment subject perfectly!!
Happy blogiversary, Carole! One of these days I have to go back and read some of the earlier posts to see what I missed.
Just like everyone else, I don’t mind if I don’t always get a reply to my comments! I try to reply to all of mine via email, too, but sometimes there’s just a lot going and sometimes I don’t have an email address for the person who left a comment. I sometimes wish blog comments had buttons like social media so we could signal that we’d read and appreciated the comment even if we don’t have time to reply.
Happy Blogiversary! As someone else said, your posts are like a note from a friend. You’re the first blog I read in the morning, although the pandemic has kinda messed with my long-standing morning routine. The mere idea of replying to every comment exhausts me mentally. Replies are like the cherry on the sundae of your blog, nice, but it’s still darn tasty even when that doesn’t happen. Although my commenting has been a bit more sporadic of late, that’s me, not the content or a lack of reply. I’m pretty spontaneous in my replies and if nothing comes to me, maybe it’s a sign I don’t always need to say something. (sigh) If only I could remember that IRL.
Happy Blogiversary and for getting me hooked on WORDLE!
Happy Blogiversary! I enjoy reading it after my work day. I think the first time I got an email I was surprised as I had never expected one. I always considered them a nice surprise and understand that they do take a lot of time. I just enjoy reading the blog.
Yay Blogging Class of 2005! I started mine just a week or two after yours–isn’t that funny? And I think I’ve been reading yours for almost that whole time ? I recall I added my name to a blog circle (or something?) that made me linked to a wider group and I found you and many others that way. Life would have been very different this last decade without it. Hmmm maybe I should blog about this ….;-)
I’m a little stunned about your Blogi-versary! Seriously, I can’t imagine life without reading your blog. Back then, I couldn’t imagine not blogging. Thank you for putting in the time to stay in touch with us.
As a relative newcomer to the world of personal blogging, your 17 year anniversary is an amazing accomplishment. Thanks for the inspiration.