Sunday, June 24, 2007

Blogiversary

In the fifth grade, Sister Mary Ethelburga came to class one day with a list of other 10-year-olds from around the country who wanted like-minded penpals. A penpal! What a thrill. We could find out how other kids lived in faraway, exotic-sounding places like Indianapolis, Yuma, or Baton Rouge. I’ve heard stories of people who remain penpals for life but I think my penpal lasted about 6 months. I’m sure that writing a letter was low on my list of priorities (after bike riding, reading Nancy Drew, and playing dolls) but Sister thought it was important to learn how other people lived and letters were a good way to share experiences with others. If only Sister Mary Ethelburga could see the blogging world today!

A year has gone by since I discovered garden blogs and began my own. I can’t remember how I found out all you people were out there talking about gardening (without me), but my best guess is that I probably Googled something that brought up one of your sites. Tentatively, I put up my first post the last week in June, and was thrilled when a few people started leaving comments. At first it was mainly Carol at Boxwood Cottage who kept me going, then Salix Tree joined in followed by Annie in Austin and then suddenly there was a whole community of gardeners I could visit with and view their photos of triumphs and tragedies. Gosh, this is fun, and no postage required!

When I joined AOL in the late ‘90s, I quickly found a gardening chatroom and learned I needed something called a screen name. I’d just read Thomas Christopher’s ‘In Search of Lost Roses’, and that seemed a natural for a “garden name.” Others in the chat room thought it meant my roses had died and that was okay since it was true some of the time. My participation in the chatroom was even shorter-lived than my penpal correspondence. While the topics were occasionally on gardening, most of the people who dropped in had the same question, “Uhhh, how do you grow pot?” While it might be a valid question, my interests were a bit more varied. And that’s where you all come in. Now, in the evenings after work, I can drop in on my blogging friends from around the country and around the world and take a peek into what they did today. You never fail to amuse, enchant, and inform me. Thank you all for being in the blogisphere!
Lost Roses in Mexico in February 2007.

34 comments:

Carol Michel said...

Congratulations on your blogiversary. To think you thought Indianapolis was an exotic-sounding place! Oh, it is, it is quite exotic around here, let me tell you.

Blogging is fun and you are the one of the ones who makes it so!

Carol from May Dreams Gardens in exotic Indianapolis!

Diana LaMarre said...

Happy Blogiversary, Lostroses. I wondered how you picked that name. I would have never guessed from a book.
It's so nice to see what you look like. Is this the first picture of yourself you have posted? Didn't you say you were a grandmother? You look way too young!
I hope you stick with blogging for a long time so I can keep visiting!

Rusty in Miami said...

I agree the gardening blog sphere is a lot of fun. I never been too interested in the chat rooms but posting and reading other gardening blogs is what gardening is all about. I feel like I am talking to my neighbors.

Mary C said...

Congratulations, Lost Roses! And I thought you've been blogging for years! I always enjoy your posts. What you shared about the difference between chat rooms and blogs I feel the same way. Besides the best thing about blogging is that it is like a journal you are sharing with whomever - and "whomever" is usually those who have similar interests. The blogger gets to write about anything that is on her/his mind. Here's to many more years of blogging!

LostRoses said...

Well, Carol, you have fairies in your garden and I think that is quite exotic! As I remember, we had mostly chiggers and palmetto bugs when I lived in Florida as a kid!

Zoey, you are very kind. Somehow or other I turned 60 this year and can't understand how. Yes, it's the first picture of myself I've posted. I figured I know what everyone else looks like, so I thought it would be fun for my "blogiversary".

Rusty, it is like talking to our neighbors, isn't it? But neighbors that can't peek over the fence and see our weedy beds we've chosen not to show on our blogs!

Mary C, thanks! Until I discovered garden blogs I thought blogging was just for teenagers. Who knew? I've actually tried to figure out how long garden blogging has been going on, and I've seen some that go back four or five years, but those seem to be the exception. Well, somebody had to think of it, and I'm glad they did!

Anita said...

Happy blogiversary, Lost Roses! So we have something in commun, me too, I started my blog in June last year! The initial idea was just to keep my family & friends from far away updated. Later on, I was thrilled when I found the first English comments and started writing in English, too. Well, of course I still appreciate each and every comment no matter what the language is (German, English, French or Dutch).

Oh yes please!!!! Steal my pot pyramid idea! I would be thrilled to find more pot pyramids on other blogs, too. Nature Girl from Canada will make one, too! It's sooo easy!

Happy gardening and have a great start into a new week!

Best wishes from Germany,
Anita

Naturegirl said...

Happy Blogaversary! Interesting how we all get started with our blogging!
I also am in awe at the number of fellow gardeners nature lovers within the blgging community that I relate to!It is awesome how we can travel throughout the globe just by a click of the keys!A wonderful photo of YoU!
hugs NG

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Happy Blogiversary LostRoses!! It's been fun getting to know you and the things that make you happy.

Nice picture!!

Andrea's Garden said...

Hello Lost Roses, congratulations on your blogiversary - funny word combination. I enjoy reading your blog and hope you will be around for a loooong time. Andrea

Ellen said...

Happy Blogiversary to you
Happy Blogiversary to you
I hope you find your Lost Roses
and relax in your garden too.....

(should be sung out loud with a certain amount of creativity to get all the words to fit)

I started my blog almost a year and a half ago, and it wasn't a garden blog. Oh no, I'm a knitter. What does a 40-something active gal want to do with her spare time? Most people think me odd when I tell them I knit. Obsessively, to boot. I picked it up right before I started the blog, and have since then met an incredible group of people with the same interests. The blogs have really brought us together, and we meet at least once a week now. And it ain't your grandma's knitting circle! ;-)
This spring I finally got my raised flower beds and started my first vegetable garden. A few weeks ago I got the crazy idea to search for garden blogs, and a whole new universe opened up to me. I now read about 50 garden blogs a day, again, with the same obsession as I read knitting blogs, and yours and Bev's blogs are always the first I check for new entries. My poor husband gets somewhat overwhelmed when I show him pictures and tell him: "look honey, can we make something like this work in my garden?" :-)
Maybe we should meet up, the 3 of us, and go visit the Denver Botanical Gardens one day?

~ Ellen (who is dealing with some very unhappy goats today. It is weaning day here at Goat Central, and I'm surprised my neighbors haven't called yet to ask why we are torturing little babies. Ever heard young goats cry? It sounds like we're doing very nasty things to them, but such is life. It's almost as hard on me as it is on them)

kate said...

Happy Anniversary! It is wonderful to find gardening friends through their blogs. I love your picture!

Bev said...

Congratulations Lost Roses! I so enjoy reading your blog and am so glad to have "found" you. I am quite a newbie to blogging and enjoying it very much. It was fun learning about your name. Great photo of you! If I looked like that I'd put one up too!

Annie in Austin said...

No fair, LostRoses - we knew you were smart and witty and funny - now we have to live with beautiful, too?

Sister Mary Ethelburga really would be proud of you.

Congratulations from Annie

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your first year of blogging!

KGMom said...

Happy blogiversary--I love your take on the blog as a surrogate pen-pal. Yes, a most apt description. And I agree--what appealed to us in having pen-pals is much of what appeals to us in having blog pals.

LostRoses said...

Anita, I can't tell you how impressed I am that you can answer comments in four languages! I've often marveled at your ability and the extra time it takes for you to make your blog entries twice. You do all that and still have a gorgeous garden! And happy blogiversary to you, too!

Naturegirl, thanks so much for your kind comments. We really do have it made when it comes to a click of the keys and we're off "traveling", aren't we?

Lynne, I'm always awed by the birding expertise I find on your blog, and that's another thing that makes me happy! (And I want that pond!)

Andrea, that is an odd word and I had to google it to make sure I wasn't making it up, but very apropos, don't you think? Thanks for stopping by and I'm off to visit your garden!

Ellen, thanks for the rousing rendition! As for the knitting, I read your last entry and I know it "ain't your grandma's knitting circle!" I think it's quite nice for us to obsessed by our favorite things, be it gardening or knitting. Or goats! My neighbor raises them as pack goats for hiking the Continental Divide Trail and she has so many funny stories about them. Good luck with the weaning (and I hope the neighbors understand)!

Kate, I agree that it's wonderful to find blogging friends. I've never had this many friends in real life! I've always said I'm not "good friend" material because I don't have the time or the inclination to nurture a lot of friendships but blogging pals suit me to a T! Thanks for the compliment.

Bev, you're too kind. I'm glad I "discovered" you too, we Colorado gardeners have to stick together!

Oh, Annie, you make me blush. I long for a picture like you have, but no one ever put me in a garden hat and waited for an adorable pose way back when!

And poor Sr. Mary Ethelburga - I'm afraid we called her Sr. Mary Hamburger behind her back. Rotten kids!

Karen, thanks for visiting. One year went by very quickly!

kgmom, we're just updated penpals, aren't we? We never dreamed of this when we were kids! Well, we thought we'd be in flying cars, but thoughts flying through cyberspace? Gotta love it.

Anonymous said...

Happy one year Blogiversary to you also! I two was an AOL person and at that time lived in the birding chatroom! And we thought technology was big then?? Congrats and glad that we have crossed paths through this blog!

LostRoses said...

mon@rch, I remember the birding chat room too! It stayed on topic anyway, but often there was no one there. We've come a long way, haven't we?

Mary said...

Lost Roses, we love you here. I had penpals (that the Sisters issued) at the same age and, like you, they lasted only a short time. We exchanged photos a few times. I remember having one who lived a luxurious lifestyle in California and I was not a good match for her...

But now you and I have grown and accept people as they are. We are all different and offer what we have. That's all we can give. And we love giving.

Congratulations, Lost Roses! I hope I make my year. And it's nice seeing you even though you didn't zoom on those lovely manicured toes.

LostRoses said...

Mary, at least you remember where your penpal lived, I'm afraid that's lost in the mists of time for me!

Thanks for your nice comments, and speaking of giving, how you come up with all your interesting posts which give us all a chuckle or a sigh, I'll never know! Oh, I'm sure you'll make your year, we won't let you quit!

I've read a few memes where people say they hate feet. Who knew? Good thing I didn't zoom.

La Gringa said...

A belated happy blogiversary to you! Apparently we started at almost the same time.

60? No way! Look at that picture!

LostRoses said...

LaGringa, thanks for your nice compliment! I remember that yours was one of the first blogs I discovered. Funny how we all think the "other guy" has been writing for years. I'm in awe of your blog, though I don't always comment I always read!

Silvia Hoefnagels . Salix Tree said...

I had to laugh.. "uhh.. how do you grow pot?" tee hee..
I too started garden blogging last June, actually, my anniversary was a few days ago. I had completely forgotten!
I love how we have all gotten to know each other through our posts of our gardens and flowers. So easy, and I love looking at pictures!
Happy Annivesary!

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

I left a really long comment last night or at least I thought I did, I was half asleep so I either did not get it sent or I left it on someone else's blog and they are now wondering what I was talking about.

I noticed that you are a Catholic School survivor also. We had a Sister Mary Norberta that we called Sister Mary No Beata Me behind her back. I had two pen-pals, one lived in PA, they got my name from the catholic kids magazine HI, do you remember it?

The Potting Shed chat room on AOL was fun for me for years, I hosted there as Host Home Lily, we talked about lots of things but I don't think we covered pot growing, not often anyway....lol...there were lots of knowledgeable regulars that stopped by.

Happy Bolgiversary! Your blog is a fun read.

CountryGirl said...

Happy blogiversay Lost Roses! It's hard to believe you have only been blogging a year. I enjoy your posts so much, I'm glad you took took to it! February was the perfect time for a trip to Mexico!

LostRoses said...

salix, my standard reply to the "pot question" was 'go hang out at the mall and buy it like everyone else does'!
And happy blogiversary to you too. Funny how many of us got the urge at about the same time!

Iowa gardening woman, I've done the same thing! Who knows where in cyberspace those comments end up? Poor Sr. Mary Norberta, but then some of their names just invited nicknames, didn't they?

I don't remember the kids' magazine, but I do remember the one for the adults that came to our house, I think it was called "Your Catholic Messenger" or something like that. It always listed the "condemned" movies, too. LOL! I guess we'd call those R-rated nowadays.

It's been so long since I used The Potting Shed I no longer remember any of the screen names, but I knew there were a number I saw over and over again. Maybe you were one of them? It sounds like it morphed into a decent chatroom!

Countrygirl, I remember when you started your blog, and I've enjoyed it very much! Thanks for your nice comment, and yes, February is the only time to go to Mexico as far as I'm concerned. Too much heat and humidity at other times of the year!

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

I do remember the "condemned" movies, made most of us want to see the movie all the more.

The Shed was a good chat room, I hosted there for probably 6 or 7 years.

LostRoses said...

iowa gardening woman, of course we wanted to see "condemned" movies, but my mother was strict about the list. Now we can see those old movies on late night tv and laugh about their "condemned" status. If they only knew what's out there today! Too funny.

lisa said...

Happy blogaversary! I used to have pen-pals, too...but this is MUCH more fun!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

No postage required is always a plus of course and not having to walk to the mailbox is another. ;-)

Congrats on a whole year of blogging!!!! It is fun isn't it?

Sister Mary Hamburger, well it has a nice ring to it. :-D

I'm a Catholic School survivor too and am allergic to most nuns since then. Happily they are a dying breed as they are not allowed to procreate. ;-)

Lovely pic of you in Mexico and 60, well that's just a number isn't it? ;-)

LostRoses said...

Lisa, I agree! No postage, no writing, just power up!

Yolanda, another Catholic school girl, eh? Well it seems the nuns turned us all into gardeners somehow!

Susan Gets Native said...

Happy Blogiversary!
I had a pen pal back in the day...her name was Sofia and she lived in Athens, Greece! I wasn't very good at answering, and I think she is scarred to this day.
Do kids still do the "pen pal" thing? I guess it's all with email now. Which can't be very fun.

Anonymous said...

Happy blogiversary, Lost Roses! So many of us are celebrating our first anniversaries this year. 2006 was obviously a banner year for starting a garden blog. Here's to many more.

LostRoses said...

Susan, I think I have some guilty feelings about some of my penpals too! Well, kids today have no such worries, do they?

Pam, thanks! It does seem like 2006 was the year we all got on the bandwagon. Some kind of lemming instinct? Whatever, it's great!