As you’ll see from one of the captions on this week’s photos, I have been thinking about the heyday of little slice-of-life crafty mama kind of blogs like this one. This blog never reached the level of fame that many others from that time did, but it provided me with a nice little community with whom I could share my thoughts and my projects. It was a good time.
And while there are still a few of you around from those days in some capacity (a fact that makes me happy), it’s not the same. I miss the old days where every post had a handful of comments on it, and I miss coming here every day to post about my crafty pursuits. But the truth is, even if I had the time and the desire to write every day: I have fewer crafty pursuits now than I did in 2008, so less to talk about; and so much of the blog-reading audience has moved on to Instagram or other social media platforms.
I’m as guilty as anyone in terms of blog reading goes. And that was what I have started thinking about now: it’s not just about me and my blog. (I know that’s not exactly a news flash, but I can be a bit self-absorbed sometimes 😜)
So the thing is, if I am not out there reading my old favorite blogs, why would I expect anyone else to be doing it? I used to zip through Feedly every morning and read my favorite slice-of-life blogs before starting my day. Now, I read the New York Times. Or whatever articles Google thinks I need to see. And while that might make me better informed than I used to be, I don’t know if it exactly makes me happier.
So I fired up Feedly yesterday for the first time in at least, I don’t know, five or six years? And I pruned my reading list waaaaay back, getting rid of anyone that I know for a fact has retired from blogging, and a bunch of sites that just don’t interest me anymore. I essentially only kept those favorite blogs from the old days and added a couple of new ones I sometimes see linked to on Instagram. It may be days or weeks before there’s anything to read in my Feedly at this point, but that just makes it way more manageable than it used to be, right? (Bright side thinking, there 😁)
So, what is This Week in Pictures?
It’s a roundup of the little (and big!) moments I have captured all week. Some of these images are posted on Instagram, but many aren’t posted anywhere but here. Some days there may be no photos, and other days there may be multiples. It’s more laid back than the Project 365s of previous years. You can learn more here 🙂
Photos taken with 📷 (Canon EOS 80D) or 📱 (Samsung Galaxy S9).
TWiP Clips
Here’s a very short video, featuring 1.5-second moments from the week – Eamonn’s graduation party, Father’s Day, and the usual 🙂 :
Saturday
Sunday
Tuesday
I’ve just been sitting here in my messy room, with my messy hair and no makeup, sipping coffee that long ago got cold, and reading old blog posts. *Sigh* I really miss the blog days of yore when I had a lot to say, time to say it, and people to actually read it and engage in conversation about it. I sometimes wish I could go back to 2008 or 2009 for a little while and relive the Polka Dot Cottage heyday – I didn’t know how good my little blog had it back then 😜. I’m still blogging weeklyish, but it’s not the same. Maybe I should quit my job and start blogging all the time again 😁 (That is not going to happen, but the blog link is in my bio, if you want to come by and say hi once in a while 💗)
Thursday
Friday
Thanks for helping me celebrate the week! If you want to see this stuff as it happens, please feel free to follow me on Instagram ♥
Same Week Previous Years (2014-2020)
It’s interesting after all these years to realize that a picture is worth more than a thousand words to me rather than reading. You think I would have picked up on that being a visual artist. I’ve never read blogs, and the only reason I’m reading yours is because we grew up together.
Both my Kindle and Audible book lists have quite a number of titles in them, but it’s Audible’s list that gets the most check marks of completed. There’s nothing like getting lost in a book while hiking in the woods with my dog, or having an audible distraction while cleaning the kitchen. But sitting still to read a book whether hard copy or on a Kindle just never seems to happen for me.
I am blessed at the moment to be able to put more time towards art and crafts but this is my current dilemma:
Wanting to share on social media the joy of creating my art. However there’s a difference between getting lost in the creating of my art and being in the act of capturing myself while being lost in the creating. Suddenly my attention is split between what I love doing and being the George Lucas of capturing content. The crazy thing is, is that I find joy in video editing too. But finding a balance of time for both is something I’ve always admired in your content. Seems you can get lost in your art and share that process so easily. Keep it up because you’re an inspiration for me to keep at it! And while I’m also nostalgic for times gone by, I like the way the past has evolved into this leading edge of technology. Again you seem to have adapted seamlessly. Thank you for sharing of yourself and your skills.
It’s funny, I never really got into audio books. I don’t know if you remember what a voracious reader I was in grade school, but I used to ride my bike to the library every couple of days to load up on new books to read, mostly mysteries. These days, I “read” knitting or crochet pattern collections more than anything else, and those are generally all about the pictures for me. Every spring, I seem to go through a memoir or self help phase (usually prompted in May by a need for beach reading for our annual getaway). That lasts a few months, and then I’m back to just scanning the pretty pictures of things I will never have time to make 😀
As for sharing, it is definitely hard when you are in the flow of making to just stop and take pictures. You pretty much have to decide before you sit down that this is going to be a slow session where you capture everything. One thing that has helped me in the past, is to keep my camera (or, these days, I use my phone) on a tripod or something, and if I’m doing video, I just video the whole thing and cut it apart later. If it’s photos, then as long as the phone is in a static position pointed at my work surface, I can just turn it on quickly and take a picture with a voice command, or tapping the screen without having to stop and fiddle with focus and composition.
Ideally, I’d love to keep the ease of sharing that we have now, but still maintain an appreciation for the long-form blog. I think it’s reached a point for many of us where posting 3-4 meaty posts per week is completely unsustainable. But a few quickie Instagram photos, followed by a more in-depth blog post every couple of weeks might not be out of the question. I feel like I’m still finding a balance on that. And of course, it doesn’t help that some weeks (like this one) I am motivated to write and write and write. While other weeks, I don’t even want to look at the computer once my work day is over 🙂
I have never been a frequent commenter on any blog but I still love the long format and check Feedly every morning. It’s always a treat to find a new post from one my favorites which includes you, of course!
Well, I appreciate your comments and other support throughout the years 🙂
I actually think of you every time I go into my WordPress Admin because it lists recent product reviews, and the ones you left are right on top! Leaving reviews is pretty uncommon around here, so I really appreciate it when someone actually does it 😍