Twenty

 On Monday 14th March 2005, I hit the publish button on my first ever post on this blog.  Twenty years have passed and I'm still writing posts although not as frequently as I did back then.  Also today there are far more photos than words as digital photography has made it so much easier to add them to a post.

My first post was called 'Dab Chicks Galore' and was about our seeing them during a walk along the Cromford Canal.  Recently we walked along the canal looking for Dab Chicks or Little Grebes but we didn't find any.  Is this a sign of the times?  

The canal was covered in places by a blueish green algae, although we saw a few Mallards and Canada Geese and the occasional Moorhen and Coot.

It was quite cold as we walked along with a slight mizzle in the air.  Above is the area near the Wharf shed where the Dab Chicks used to congregate.

Above High Peak Junction

Leawood Pump House

Aqueduct Cottage

I am so grateful for all those people who visit here and read my ramblings, especially to all those who leave comments.  Some of you have been visiting for a long time, some more recently.  Thank you. Lots of bloggers have now stopped writing for one reason or another.  I'm still in touch with two or three bloggers via face book and other media even though they no longer have blogs anymore.  I've been lucky to meet up with a few of them over the years. Others have just disappeared or moved on.  Some are no longer with us.

I had toyed with the idea of not writing here anymore once I'd reached the anniversary but amazingly I still enjoy blogging so I will continue for a little while longer.   

All for now.  Take care.

Update and Recent Reading

 Blogging has taken a back seat so far this year as I've not been well again.  I have another blood clot in my lungs so I'm back on anti-coagulants this time indefinitely. Thankfully  not the injections I had for six months last year but a new oral drug.  I have a medical emergency card to carry and a bracelet for my wrist which I make sure to wear if we leave the house.  

I've been reading quite a bit especially in the afternoons.

Above and below two books from the e-library.  The Pricilla Masters book has been read.  I love her Joanna Piercy books set in nearby Leek and also her Martha Gunn books which are set in Shrewsbury. This is a one off novel set in another nearby town - Stone.  I've still to read the Janice Hallet book.  I enjoyed her first two novels  The Appeal andThe Twyford Code so I'm looking forward to this one.

Below two books and an audio book from the library.  I've read the two books and have got to disc five of the nine discs that make up the book.  I tend to listen later in the day near bedtime.

Below a is lovely present from dear friends who wanted to cheer me up.

 

What a thoughtful gift and what a lovely book this is.  To read through, to dip into and to just sit and look at the illustrations.  You know who you are - I've already said thank you but I'll say it again.

All for now.

Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago on this day I wrote my first blog post.  I'd been reading one or two blogs on line for a while and wondering - Should I?  Dare I? Can I?  Like the 'little engine that could' I came to the conclusion 'I think I can'  'I know I can' so after a few weeks of pondering and plucking up courage I started this blog.

Corners of My Mind came from the song The Way We Were  and the line 'Memories light the corners of my mind, misty, watercolour memories of the way we were'.  I though at first that this blog would follow those lines and be about things remembered, things learnt along the way of life but as it turned out it has been more about what was happening right then and right now.

So on 14th March 2005 I pressed the publish button for the first time.  Ten days and seven posts later I was excited to receive my first comment.  I think it was from someone who was in the same on-line Creative Writing group as me and I was thrilled to see it.  I've put a link to my first ever post at the end of this one and also a link to my first ever post that received a comment.

In those days I didn't use photos, I didn't have a digital camera then and pre-Picasa I had no idea how to add a photo or photos to my post.  I've learnt so much over the last ten years about what interests readers and what is less likely to.  I've learnt that often brevity and spontaneity inspires more responses than a longer, researched and thought out piece of writing.  Over the last few years it has become more about the photographs sometimes than the words - all made possible by the use of instantaneous, digital photography and the influences and immediacy of other social media.

So today ten years on I want to say an absolutely huge thank you to everyone who visits here.  Those who have visited in the past and those who still visit now.  Thank you to followers old and new, still present and long gone and for all and every one of your wonderful and lovely comments and e-mails.  It means so much to me - the ten years are as much down to you and your loyal encouragement as to my limited abilities in keeping this blog an interesting place to visit.  

Once again - Thank You!

My First Ever Post

My First Post to receive a comment

The Kindness of Bloggers

A few weeks ago I left a comment on Elizabeth's blog 'Blissful Quilts' about how her newly made tea cosy and her lovely Portmeirion tea pot reminded me of home.  The reason was that it all looked so familiar as we have the same colour spotty tablecloth and most of our plates and dishes are Portmeirion seconds from the nearby factory shop.

Elizabeth kindly responded with an e-mail asking if I would like to have a tea cosy to match my tablecloth as she had some extra fabric.  Well, of course, the answer was yes I would.   The beautifully made tea cosy arrived in the post not long after and I'm thrilled with it and it has been much admired.  The blogging world can be such a kind and caring place.  Thank you Elizabeth!

Cameras and Kindness

For a  while now I've been struggling with my formerly trusty Kodak Easyshare C330 digital camera which I must have had for about five years now.  For some reason known only to itself it defaults to flash, sometimes even in what I would consider to be be light enough conditions and it certainly can't be trusted not to flash in places where flash isn't allowed.  So over the last few weeks I have been looking at new digital cameras - just small compact ones that I can slip in a bag or pocket - but could I find one at a reasonable price that had a view finder?  No!  

My Old Kodak Camera

I've been  reading several on-line reports and forums where people are bemoaning the fact that manufacturers no longer include a view finder in their smaller compact cameras and all of them, like me, find it difficult to see the LCD screen image in bright sunlight. There were a few cameras with viewfinders over £300 but I didn't want to spend that much.  Over the weekend I saw a little camera with a view finder in Jessops but wasn't sure about it, however  on Tuesday,  I decided that as they were selling it for half price that I really ought to buy it as it might be the last chance to get one with a view finder.  I'm now the proud owner of  - this - Cannon Powershot camera and I gave it a test run yesterday.  I'll show you the results in my next post; so far I'm  thrilled with it

I'm  always humbled and amazed by the kindness of fellow bloggers and this week I received a lovely parcel from Liz at Love those Cupcakes who, concerned about my fall in the garden, sent me a super book to read and some chocolate to indulge in whilst reading it.  Thanks Liz! Aren't people so kind and isn't blogland wonderful?

Talking of the wonders of blogland I'm off this weekend to meet with two super bloggers whose blogs I have read and followed for quite a long time.  I'm really looking forward to the meeting and I expect you will read more of this in a later post.

Welcome 2010

I've never been a great lover of New Year or New Year Celebrations. I'd rather just curl up with a good book and a glass of wine and let the witching hour pass me by. As I enter 2010 I'm very conscious that it will be a landmark year for me on a personal level but I'm trying not to think too hard about what that means and the changes it will entail.

As far as this blog is concerned I will have two things to celebrate in 2010 - my 500th post and believe it or not my 5th year of blogging - I wrote my first post and pressed the publish button with great trepidation on 14th March 2005. I wonder if I could manage to get to my 500th post on 14th March this year - I'm going to try and I'm going to do something special on that day too - so I'm going to make that one of my New Year's resolutions along with the usual lose weight and get more exercise ones; unlike the others I hope it will be one that I am able to keep.

I want to thank everyone who visits here; those of you who just stop by to read occasionally, those who kindly follow my blog and those who take the time to leave such wonderful comments - it means a great deal to me and I appreciate it so much. I hope you all have a Happy and Healthy New Year and good fortune throughout 2010.

Three Years Ago

Three years ago on March 14th 2005 I started this blog. I knew very little about what I was doing and what I wanted to achieve but I knew I wanted to get started. I can't even remember where I came across the idea of blogging or what particular blog had influenced me to have a go myself. It was with great trepidation that I pressed the publish button wondering what would happen, well the answer is nothing much for the first few weeks; I may have been talking to myself but I was enjoying it.

The thing I notice most about my first posts and those I write now are the technological accessories I now have access to to enhance each post and also the layout of the blog. Mostly photos, of course. When I started I didn't have a digital camera so the early posts are mostly just my words. I learned how to do links. I had no additional photos to decorate the blog with and the stat counter and visitor map were only added in the last year but all wonderful additions - I enjoy seeing where l visitors come from.

Last but not least was that I began to get a few comments from people and some of those people are now regular visitors and I'm thrilled that you all return and leave encouraging comments it means so much - thank you, I love to see you here and I love to visit your blogs.

My very first post was about a walk on the Cromford Canal ( not much change there then) and seeing the little dab chicks. I notice too that in my first few posts I always had a highlight of the day and a gripe of the day - that soon disappeared though.

So to commemorate the start of this blog it's back to where I started, dab chicks or little grebes on the Cromford Canal - I took this photo a short while ago when we visited Cromford on a very sunny day in late February.

Below is a photo of Wheatcroft's wharf on the canal, this is now one of the two cafes at the site.

Of course, now we have even more technology I can show you a little film too; here are the dab chicks in action.

I've just noticed that I've been tagged by Rosie so I'll be back over the weekend to do that; later today I have training with Royal Mail ready for next week's work. Have a great weekend.