Two years of writing letters

The calendar year offers many built in times for a "new beginning." For me, they are January 1, spring, and September. Since I started my blog two years ago, November 22 has become another new beginning - a time for me to assess where I've been and where I want to go in terms of my online journal. I mentioned several goals on the one year anniversary; some were accomplished and others were not.

I am grateful to Aisling for providing me the opportunity to achieve one of the goals I wrote about - "I think I want to do a weekly garden tour of the flowers and vegetables." Thanks to her Sunday Stroll, I now have a record of how the garden looks throughout the months.

Last November I noted: "I want to do more book reports." And I did; so far almost double the amount. In the coming year, I want to write something about each book I read, not necessarily an in-depth report with lots of links about every book. Sometimes I'll just write a few sentences so I'll have a record of what I thought. Maybe I'll call them something witty like brief book reports. :<) In 2007, I loved writing about the movies we saw at our little local theatre, and this year I didn't write one review. Why? Well, some movies were darker, but still I could have written something. In 2009, I hope to write about each movie I see in the theatre, and also about some of the dvds we rent from Netflix. I enjoy sharing recipes and will continue doing so since I've gotten such great responses to them. I'm thrilled when you leave a comment saying that you tried one and it turned out great! My entries are indeed "letters" sent to anyone who wants to stop by, and at the same time, they are journal entries which keep track of family occasions, gardens, the house and the farm. I'll occasionally email or text my kids to say, "you might want to check out the blog today," when there is something I think might interest them. I'm blessed to have found all the people on my bloglists. I seem to add more every week. I learn something from each one. My heart is warmed, my mind is stimulated, and my soul is satisfied whenever I visit one of you. I thank you for your writings, and for your comments. They mean more to me than I can say. And now on to a little giveaway to say thank you for reading my letters. Last year I gave a calendar of local pictures, and today I offer another calendar; this time with paintings of women reading. If you would like it, please leave a comment on any posting from today through November 28. A week from today, on November 29, I'll draw a winning name.