The Sunshine Blogger Award

Thank you, Annika Perry (https://annikaperry.com/), for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. This  is a peer appreciation award given to bloggers who are creative, positive, and inspiring, while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.  What a lovely honor!  I am humbled.

The questions sent me to answer are the same to those I have nominated. Good luck to all.

What was the driving force behind the creation of your blog?

My blog was created after the publication of my book, a poetic memoir, A Past Worth Telling. My weekly blog covers similar topics as in my book about my life and places I have lived in and visited.

What was your vision for your future in blogging/writing when you first started this blog? How has that vision evolved?

 A storyteller at heart, I have always loved poetry and topics of peoples, places and life. As my life changed after retirement, I had more time to devote to my art forms and love to talk about family, ideas, music, languages and travel.

What age were you when you realized you loved writing?

 My recollection of the exact moment can’t be pinpointed but as a high school and college student, I delved into more writing and found great satisfaction and enjoyment from this form of communication.

How has your life changed as a result of the electronic age? Is it better/worse/the same?

YES. It is better/worse/the same. With new eras such as the electronic age, certain activities became easier and more enjoyable.  I recall typing my Ph.D. dissertation on a typewriter as well as editing the manuscript.  Everything had to be so precise and on 100% cotton rag content paper.  Imagine my dismay at the local copy shop when they refused to clean the glass top to the printer.  My manuscript was rife with stray black marks.  Refused by my university professors, I resorted going directly to the source at IBM and, after explaining my dilemma, the understanding employee said the local copy shop employee had been too lazy.  He had several large copiers at his disposal and after approving a sample page, he then copied my entire manuscript plus required copies at no charge.  At that point I decided that while technology can sometimes make our lives easier, it can also be the bane of existence.  When computers work, they are wonderful companions.  When systems are down, they are sore spots of contention.  I prefer never to rely solely on technology.  I still  love the good old-fashioned cursive writing or typing a manuscript and manually editing.  Great source of eye hand coordination and connecting with the brain.  I also have been known to write my poetry in cursive in various journals to later type into the computer.

What was the very last website you visited today?

 My niece Sally Rose Dolak lives in Costa Rica and blogs mainly her beautiful photography so I normally am eager to see what surprises she has in store. http://www.puriscalproperty.com/

If you could change one thing about your past, what would it be?

 Probably I would have liked to travel more and perhaps get those degrees in Music and in Art. My childhood was a very happy one.

How would your life be different today if that one thing from your past were to change?

 Good question. I would have more food for thought and more stories to tell with photos to accompany them.

If you have children, tell me…how did your parenting change from the time you had your first child until the time you had your last?

 As an older mother and both children born 3.5 years apart, I would say my parenting changed with the second child. I personally didn’t care what experts or books said about the sleeping child.  We tried a crib with our son until he kept getting out by himself.  With our daughter, we had a family bed so I don’t recall that she ever slept in a crib.  I/we were more patient parents because we were older when they were born.

Tell me about the funniest experience you’ve had in the past month.

 Funny tasting coffee when I accidently added salt. Now I drink it black. ( Don’t ask how that happened.)

 What do you have planned for the upcoming holiday season?

 Travel to Florida to visit our son and his wife. And travel to Prague, Vienna and Helsinki this August with my talented husband and tenor.  We will be singing with the Berkshire Choral International at the castle in Prague (Dvorak’s Stabat Mater) which has been on our bucket list for some time.  (Happy Anniversary to Annika and husband!)

My nominees include the following who share inspiration in their blogs:

Sally at http://www.puriscalproperty.com/

Clare at https://asuffolklane.wordpress.com/

Andrea at https://harvestinghecate.wordpress.com/

Bette A. Stevens at https://4writersandreaders.com/

Edward Roads at https://mytwosentences.com/

Anne Mehrling at https://amehrling.com/

Peter Klopp at https://klopp-family.com/

Mabel Kwong at https://mabelkwong.com/

Walt Page at https://waltswritingsonlife.wordpress.com/

Mary Clark at https://literaryeyes.wordpress.com/

Libby at https://libbysommer.wordpress.com/

Note: Some of you may have award-free sites which is just fine.  Receive a smile and compliment from me.  Thank you to the blogging community in general!  What wonderful and interesting writers you are!

Note: Beach scene photo is courtesy of stellar photographer Emily Nemecek.