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A Blogging Survey If You Please

Join in here: https://fromcavewalls.wordpress.com/2023/01/12/a-blogging-survey-if-you-please/

1. How many times per week do you post? Do you post multiple times a day? If so, how many? typically I post between 5 to 7 times a week. Once in a while I will go onto my blog first in the morning and then after dinner. If I do that then I might post multiple times a day but usually I finish it all up in the morning.

2. How many blogs do you follow? It says I follow 252 blogs. When I first started blogging I just hit follow on whatever blog I went to but then had to restart my entire account because I apparently followed over 12,000 people. That was ridiculous because I couldn’t even find the blogs in that mess that I wanted to follow. I would say there are about 25 blogs that I am the most interactive with on a regular basis. Maybe 35…

3. Do you read all the blogs you follow every day? If not, how often do you read other blogs? I do not read all of the posts in all of the blogs that I hit every day. I will typically find the post that got me to their site then look through if there is something interesting. I just don’t have enough time to look and read everything. There are a handful that I do read everything,

4. Do you seek out new blogs to follow?  If so, how do you find them? The only time I seek out new blogs is if I am looking for a specific piece of information or if I see something interesting

5. Do you comment on the blogs you read? If not, why? Do you respond to all the comments left on your blog?I try to comment on all the blogs I read, even if it is just an emoji. I think it helps the writer to know that I took the time read through it. I do respond with at least a “like” to every comment that is left for me. That way they know I saw their comment.

6. Do you ever close comments on a blog you post? If so, why? nope

7. Do you ever unfollow someone? If so, why? I have a few times. The first time was when this guy said something really rude and I commented and he came back with a threat like “you better hope I don’t find out where you live”. Otherwise I have unfollowed people who seem to be inflating the truth to an immeasurable size.

8. What content inspires you to follow a blogger? True to life, similar to my life, not overly dramatic, not tons of swearing.

9. What content turns you off from following someone? People swearing in their written work is a real turn off for me. It is bad enough that we hear swears on tv and movies all the time.

10. How important is it to you that you add a photo to every post? Not very.

11. Leave me a link for one blogger (other than yourself) that you think I should check out.
https://jezbraithwaite.blog/ – He has some fantastic photography!

#stinewriting Answer the questions Blog Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #39 – Reading Culture and Books

Join in here

  1. Who were the readers in your family? My mom used to read quite a bit if I remember correctly but then again she was so involved in crafts and her other projects. My dad read the newspaper every day. I loved to read too. I don’t think my sister liked to read at all.
  2. Were there some people who did not like to read or could not read? Like I said, I don’t think my sister ever picked up a book unless she absolutely had to.
  3. Did your family subscribe to the newspaper? Yes, 7 days a week. I remember that from when I was little. Last year when I was taking care of my dad he stopped showing interest. I think it was all too confusing to him since none of it had any relevance for him. With the Alzheimer’s and Dementia stuff like the news and politics mean nothing to him.
  4. If you did get the paper, was your Sunday newspaper considered special? What part did you enjoy? The Sunday newspaper was a pretty big deal. First, it had all the coupons. Second, it had the comics. I don’t think anyone ever did the crossword but we always had certain places we liked to check out.
  5. Did your home have books strewn around? Hardbacks or paperbacks? No books strewn about. There were always a few in the bathroom, my dad supposedly sat there and read. We mostly went to the library for books so they would be returned. When it wasn’t the public library then it was the library at school. I recall buying a few books at tag sales and stuff like that but not really at the book store. Those were mostly books that were for gifting!
  6. Did you frequent the library at school? Whenever it was library day! I remember in elementary school the library was down this big hallway that was almost like a ramp. I can still picture it. When I was a teacher the first school I taught at didn’t have any books. We were a small clinical day school and we used to bring the kids to the public library on the bus once a week, if their behavior allowed them to be out of the building. A few times I completed a Donors Choose campaign to get a library in our school and I did receive a few thousand dollars in books! That was great but unless the student at that school loved to read, it wasn’t happening. A lot of the kids that came to us didn’t even know how to read or read at such a low level. Psychiatric issues and behavior impeded their abilities. When I finally taught in a public middle school I was shocked to see that they didn’t have a library! Seriously! That is the only school that took out their library. To me that is just horrible.
  7. How about the local community library? Did you have a library card? Always! I even remember on half days at school we would walk to the library with friends and have our parents pick us up there.
  8. What was the first book you remember reading? Maybe One Fish, Two Fish by Dr. Seuss. I also remember the Secret Garden. I read a lot of Shel Silverstein.
  9. Did you have a collection of books (Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Happy Hollisters, etc?) Yes, I loved Sweet Valley High and Flowers in the Attic. I also read all the Judy Blume books and Beverly Cleary.
  10. Did you read comic books? If so, what titles? no, not really. I never had an interest in them. Even graphic novels. They don’t appeal to me.
  11. Did you end up a bookworm, a casual reader, or someone who read only when required? I think I am a mix between a bookworm and a casual reader. I wish I had more time to just sit and read but I keep myself so busy. I do listen all the time to audiobooks. Funny, I was just telling someone that one of the books I read a little while back was so engrossing that I felt like the characters were really people I knew.
  12. Is there a book from your childhood you would like to read again? If so, what book? I might like to read the Secret Garden since it has been so long. I don’t really like to reread books because the ending is what I look forward to. One book I have read over and over is the Alchemist. For some reason that book just resonated with me. I still have a copy handy. I have read it to all of my students.
  13. What book or books have been extremely meaningful or influential in your life? Like I just mentioned, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
  14. BONUS QUESTION: What book(s) do you frequently gift to others? Why? Dr. Seuss or Eric Carle mostly. I don’t really gift books to people because physical books are not as popular anymore, so many people just read digitally.
#stinewriting Blog Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #26 – Career Dreams

Maggie is the host of Throwback Thursday

This week we are here to talk about those childhood dreams that may or may not have come to fruition.

I don’t really recall what I “wanted to be” when I was little. I think I always thought I would be a teacher. When I was in college I guess I missed the information that was out there because I didn’t think about what I wanted to do…I know that sounds strange…Let me explain, as I figured this out only recently now later in life.

When I was in high school and going into college my mother had cancer. I was the caretaker of my little brother when she couldn’t do it. We talked about going to college but never about careers. When I was in college I just figured I liked “psychiatric stuff” so I majored in Psychology. I can’t remember or understand why it never came up with anyone but I had no idea what I wanted to do and I don’t mean because I was confused. I mean because I never recall ever thinking about it.
Anyhow, towards the end of my undergraduate degree I remember thinking I would love to be a psychiatrist. My father had said he would help me financially but at the time I was in the mind set that 1. I didn’t want to be in college forever and 2. I didn’t want to have to dissect a human body, something I thought was definitely a requirement. I wish I had done it. My dream job for so long would have been working with the really insane.
Years later as I had kids and all that I went into teaching. I worked for a psychiatric hospital teaching at their clinical day program. That was purely by chance because when I applied for the job I had no idea what kind of school it was.
I might sound like my head was always in the clouds but I don’t remember feeling like that.
At one point I told my husband that I wanted to try and join the FBI. I wanted to be like Clarice in Silence of the Lambs and work with the insane. He told me we would have to move every 7 years and he wasn’t really willing to do something like that so I never looked into it.

I guess I have regrets. I have three advanced degrees so I am super educated but there are so many other things I would have loved to have known about. Forensics, research, clinical trials, taxes, being an attorney….

Now, I don’t work outside of my home anymore. I “retired” early from teaching, even though I loved it, after I lost my son. I couldn’t think about being around other peoples’ kids when one of mine was gone. I miss it still. Now I take care of my father who has Alzheimers. He is like a toddler. I guess my whole life did revolve around the psychiatric-type stuff but there are so many other things that could have been done.