"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Anniversary and A Cure

It's my blog's anniverary month! We're four years old. I started this blog back in November, 2008, back when it was deemed essential for an emerging writer to have one, but I was afraid that nobody would want to read about my bulky manuscripts and fledgling attempts at publication, so I wrote my first post about beets.

Pretty funny, eh?  Let me explain. When I'm not writing, I'm gardening, and I know that everyone loves good food. (As George Bernard Shaw said,  "There is no love sincerer than the love of food.") So I thought I would begin by writing about something we can all agree on. My first post was about the tremendous beet harvest of 2008 with a recipe for Rosy Beet Risoto from my sister, Bett. And then I shared my mother's homemade spaghetti sauce recipe, memories of the season triggered by a November gale and gunshots on opening day as I carried a bowl of sauce down the road to her place.

Back when pheasants were plentiful, opening day of hunting season was a main event. We always made friedcakes, using my grandma's deep ol' fryer and an ancient recipe. It was an all-day process, at the end of which the counter would be full of warm friedcakes dripping glaze or coated in sugar and cinnamon. The hunters would report in at the back door, eat friedcakes, and discuss the hunt.

But back to blogging. I moved beyond food, and suddenly one day I had a follower and more than one comment. Who would've guessed? I didn't know there would be such a thing as followers and feedback. Did I say I knew anything about blogging? I knew nothing, but I got braver and posted an excerpt of my writing and a poem or two.  I met other writers and artists, editors and interns. I started to get more than a couple of comments on a post, I dared to offer advice, wrote about writer do's and don'ts, and posted a book review. I shared experience and fessed up to rejections. I received a few blog awards (remember when those things were all the rage?) and passed them on. I had fun. 

Of late, many have questioned bogging and wonder if the pheonomon has run it's course. But I think that as long as people hunger to share ideas, receive advice and get feedback, there will be a reason to blog and interesting people who will do it. Blogging opens lines of communication between people who would never have otherwise met. I love getting a comment from Australia or Europe or Asia, or from someone in the next county. Some months I may only get up 2-3 posts but that's OK.

I began by singing beet praises, so let me end this post with a story about beets. When my grandmother was a young woman (my father just a boy), she because very ill with what was then called Quincy. We now know it as acute tonsillitis. She became so sick, she could barely breathe. Grandfather sent for her sisters to come and help. The distance was great with nothing but a team of horses to ease their journey, but they made the trip and arrived on a blustery winter night and started chopping up beets. They made a beet poultice and wrapped it around her neck in a cheesecloth. They didn't cook the beets; they simply chopped them in a food grinder and wrapped them in cheesecloth. They changed the poultice several times during the night. In the morning she was better.

In closing, I'd like to thank all of you for reading what I write and thank you especially for all your encouraging words. Even if you only drop in ocassionally, that's all any writer could ask. I remember each and every one of you. I thank you for making blogging fun.

Happy Thanksgiving!

22 comments:

Frances Garrood said...

Happy birthday and happy Thanksgiving, Yvonne!

Anonymous said...

Glad I found you. Congrats!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Frances,
Thank you so much. You are one of my wittiest blogging friends and your posts are always well worth reading. I especially admire your writing on behalf of inmates on death row.

ReBelle,
Thanks! I'm glad you did too. I've met many through The G-Man, and I'm glad I met you.

Al said...

Happy anniversary!

Blogging is less popular but that just means the readers and posters that are still around are the committed ones!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Hi Al,
Good point. Thank you so much!

Steven J. Wangsness said...

Wow, that long! Congrats and havea great Thanskgiving.

Anthony Duce said...

Happy anniversary.. Have so enjoyed your words. Am looking forward to more for a long, long time..

Yvonne Osborne said...

Steven,
Thanks! How nice to see you. Hope all is well and that you're still writing.

Anthony,
Thank you. I plan to continue as long as I have something to say. I have likewise enjoyed every painting you've shared.

Jan Morrison said...

Hi Yvonne - thanks for dropping by my blog - I've been lazy lately (well and moving way too often this late summer and fall!) but plan on getting back on my horse soon! I've been blogging for about seven years I think. I still like it but lately it has been tough. See you around - your blog looks interesting.

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Talli Roland said...

Happy fourth anniversary! :)

And I hope you're having a lovely Thanksgiving.

Pet said...

Congratulation. As you already know I like very much your writing, particularly your writing with a conscience as it has many time been a source of inspiration to me too.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Jan,
Wow. Seven years? That's impressive. I guess that makes you an old-timer! :) Thanks!

Talli,
Thanks. Thanksgiving was nice. Now it's time to tighten the belt and prepare for the food extravaganza of Christmastime.

Pet,
Thank you so much. That means a lot to me.

Jemi Fraser said...

Wow - never heard that about beets! Cool. My dad used to grow tons of them and my mom pickled them. We had beets with every dinner for years!! :)

Yvonne Osborne said...

Jemi,
Pickled beets are my favorite! This was just one of those stories my dad came up with out of the blue, and none of us had heard it before. I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for commenting!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I think you and I met early in both our blogging lives and exchanged those awards. It's been fun and informative. I still like blogging as a place to put up images and thoughts, like a live journal.
I'm so incredibly happy to have met you and consider you a friend I've just never met in person.
Happy Anniversary!

Liza said...

I'm late reading this. Congratulations on your anniversary! I started blogging three months after you! Blogging does have its purposes and I'm glad it has worked for you.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Tricia,
Right you are. You were one of my first "friends" and I feel very fortunate to have met you. I feel I know you well, even though we've never met in person. Thank you so much.

Liza,
Thank you so much for all your support over the years. I always enjoy your posts and love it when you visit mine. Here's to many more years of blogging!

Nessa said...

Happy belated Blogiversary.

Beets are supposed to be very good for you but I just can't bring myself to like them.

Flash 55 - Wanted: Dead or Alive?

Yvonne Osborne said...

Nessa,
Thanks for stopping by! Have you ever tried them pickled? Or in a salad with feta and citrus? Yummy.

Deborah said...

I always enjoy reading your posts, Yvonne, whether about writing or beets. Quite right, what you say about connecting across continents - an expected delight.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Deborah,
Thank you so much! What a treat to look back on this post and see your comment. I count you as one of my valued long-distance friends from whom I've learned much. Thank you.