Starting a New Year...Diaries

Charleston Falls, January 6, 2012

Since the people whose blogs I follow have been writing year end summaries, I began thinking along the same lines. I've been blogging for a little over two years and have learned a lot about a lot of things, one of the reasons I decided to begin blogging. I have met some interesting people, too.

Tom worked with computers most of his working career so he has been a good help when I have bogged down because my brain is not in tune with those who design computers and software. I keep telling myself I know a lot more than when I started.  Jeanne has been a big help helping me navigate the blogspot options. 

I know more about the natural history of this area because blogging encouraged me to explore and do a bit of research. I have probably painted more because I had an incentive to produce something to show you. I still have trouble getting in the mood to pick up that paint brush. It is much easier to read another mystery. (One of my New Year's resolution is to read fewer mysteries. They are easy to escape into and they always come to a resolution. Life doesn't come so neatly packaged.)

Since 1997, I have been keeping a daily diary. Each morning, I sit down with a cup of green tea and think back to the day before. Just what happened? Sometimes I remember easily and sometimes I ask Tom, "What did we do yesterday?"

This year I am rereading a page each day from 1997, 2003, 2008, and 2012 as well as writing about 250 words for each day in 2013. I enjoy reliving experiences that I would forget if I didn't have my diaries as reminders,...vacations, special family occasions, get-togethers with friends, wonderful days when I've seen something special in the natural world, books I've read and enjoyed, things I have learned about painting.  I write 250 words because that is the number of words I can squeeze onto a page.

Sometimes, 250 words are not enough.  In the beginning, I would continue on a page from a notebook, tear that page out and insert it into the diary.  But then I really grew gabby.  Too many inserted pages were threatening to break the diary bindings.  That's when I began using Red n' Black journals as auxillary books.  Last year I managed to write all the extra words in one Red n' Black journal.  In 2011 and 2010, I used 2 such books.