What happened to Blogging

I have been a blogger for just over 3 years. It's been quite fun keeping 4 different blogs going; Unlikely Conversation: a lectionary blog; Unlikely Banter: a blog about whatever; Unlikely Sermons: old sermons; and Unlikely Banter on Newsvine: a blog about news and views.
While some folks are still blogging I've begun to think that blogging is loosing popularity. Many blogs have been abandoned. Updating the links on my blog meant removing some expired links that once lead to very good blogs that have simply disappeared.
One of the best parts of blogging 3 years ago were the variety of blogs and blog-rings. A post could lead to comments from anyone in the world with a shared interest. In short there was at least the appearance that a person in one place could possibly have conversations with someone on the other side of the world, with someone they don't agree with, or with someone who isn't in your circle of friends on Facebook. I'm sure there are new bloggers; but I am not sure how many.
As Facebook reaches 400 million users it's clear that people are still sharing some on line. The difference is that many one time bloggers have chosen to leave the semi-anonymous world of Blogger and WordPress for the world of Facebook, "friends." In a time when it's becoming increasingly clear that Facebook is viewing their users more as a product to sell to advertisers than as their customers blogging looks more intriguing again.
Maybe its time to return to the vague anonymity of blogging rather than the vague privacy of Facebook. Maybe its time to see once again that blogs offers writers and readers very different opportunities to look at the world in a variety of different ways.
Just a thought.

Almost Summer Adventures: a Writing Goal Renewed

The last few days our computer has been covered with drop-cloths. I know it's a laptop connected to a wireless router; but still I didn't want to disturb the work going on around the roll-top desk in our dining room / computer room.
My beloved decided that if she was on call this Memorial Day Weekend that she was going to get some work done on the house to make it look more like she lives in it. This weekend's project was painting the dining room green-briar.
This painting project is an example of the power of one woman. My only offerings to this project were bringing a ladder in from the garage, explaining where some supplies could be found, and taking the girls out for 3 days of adventures so that they'd be out of the way.
Saturday's adventures included a trip to a nearby town with an open pool. It was near 90 and we just wanted to get a chance to cool off. The pool in town won't open for the season until after the school year ends.
Sunday's adventure featured another trip in the minivan. We headed out after church and lunch. We added a neighbor and her booster seat to the van and head off. We stopped along the way, maybe 15 minutes from home to play. It was a welcome break for everyone.
We were back in the van fast headed to the Minnesota River Valley. The heat broke and it looked like rain all afternoon. The drive got a little long on the way there but a few choruses of 99 bottles of milk on the way seemed to improve everybody's mood.
We were on an adventure heading back in time and that was enough reason to keep everybody focused. We were going to Harkin's Store. Going through the door is a trip back in time to a store and post office located on rise above the Minnesota River. The store / post office lost there place as railroads and rural mail carriers replaced river-landings and country post offices. In short the store was forgotten in a River Valley with much of it's inventory let intact.
For our girls Harkin's Store is a welcome destination. They can ask questions of the staff, look at the inventory, play checkers next to the potbelly stove and if they are well behaved they can visit the gift shop.
On Monday we watched the Memorial Day Parade and headed to a town picnic complete with a petting zoo, kiddie train rides, pinata's, and face painting. It's little to stand in respect for those who've gone before us. I thought we'd go on another out of town adventure, maybe to the Petroglyphs; but the chance to play with the neighbors was too good to pass up. As the sun set on the end of the day we had our garden planted and our girls were tired after a good weekend much of it spent on the go.

Spring

One prayer request. For my wife's Grandma Gerry. She's hospitalized and would sure be grateful for all prayers for her and her family.
There two springs to celebrate today.
The first spring to celebrate today is the beautiful early summer weather that's arrived after a few days of high dew-points and high temperatures. The air-conditioner was on for a couple days but hasn't been on at all today. My beloved said it so well tonight. "It's wonderful weather." It's just wonderful here tonight and the forecast over the next week looks great.
The second spring is the spring in the step of our almost 7 year old first graders. We all walked to school today and at a certain point they pulled away from their old parents and there little sister in the stroller too. We watched as they raced up hill on the last block of there walk up a maple lined street to school. We stopped to say hi to the crossing guard. He said one of them said she was a little winded. It's good to see that spring in their steps after 2 years at school.

Baby loves phones

Our little girl loves our cool new Palm Pre's.
She likes the music and videos and she's already figured out how to unlock them. Not bad for 15 months.
But that could end up being dangerous.
Today my wife gave her one to keep her at peace. Now one function isn't quite right and the screen has two small cracks at the bottom.
The good news is the Pre has some built in redundancies that will help keep this one running, maybe not perfectly but still very functionally. Maybe we should have gotten the way extended warranty. Oh well; only 22.75 months left under contract. Maybe we'll upgrade earlier. Sprint says we can upgrade at 12 months on the main phone, the one that was dropped

sleepless and sleepy writing goal day 8

The phone rang at home about 2 this afternoon.
One of our girls was sound asleep in class. Her teacher called the office. She just wouldn't wake up. I hustled over and was sent to the classroom. This same girl slept poorly last night. Up before 4 am playing in the toy kitchen, reading, drawing and cutting out picture and making story boards.
I walked in the class room and found her just as the school secretary described, sound asleep at her desk. The pencil was still upright in her left hand. Her head was resting on her right arm. After lots of prompting she just wouldn't get up. Her skin was cold. I tapped her arm. She barely stirred. I picked her up. She fell into my shoulders. I didn't pay much attention to her backpack or anything else. I carried her out of the classroom and stopped at the office. She barely said hi to the principal.
One the way home she perked up a little. Once we got home she walked inside. We got some some orange juice and a nutty bar in her tummy she rejuvenated. After some time with a good baby sister and a good baby sitter she rejuvenated enough to go on a play date. She's sound asleep now. Hopefully 10 hours tonight will help her catch up.

Air Conditioning--Cabin Fever in Reverse Writing Goal day 7

There's some surprises that come with the year's first heatwave.

• Air Conditioning works like Cabin Fever in Reverse. People huddled up together all winter rush to get outside as the temperature hits 70, then they all rush back in as the humidity rises and the temperature reaches 90.
• Sunburns happen fast. I met a lady at the grocery store tonight who had bright red shoulders. She said it doesn't hurt. The clerk and I both said, "Yet" simultaneously in reply.
• Our old house is way more comfortable with our big window unit cutting the heat on our main level. There's a little window unit at work upstairs.
• The lake looks a whole lot more inviting at the end of the night. Our minute older girl said we should have wandered out in the canoe.
• It was really more enjoyable than usual to wander around the dairy case tonight looking for milk and juice.
  

It's hot writing goal day 6

It's hot.
There's no way to hide it. The weather forecasters were right. A heat wave has arrived full force.
The old house we bought a year ago in March hasn't got central air. Two window units help a little; but there's no way to get around the fact that it's just hot here in the summer and our three bedroom rambler was cooler than our 4 bedroom 96 year old two story.
Funny thing, I don't really want to install AC, and it's not just because I'm cheap. The one thing that I'd like to add to our house is a big shade tree in the front yard. For some reason a prior owner said it was okay to cut down a beautiful maple tree in the boulevard while the street and sewer were being rebuilt a few years ago. If I could go back in time I would ask him not to take away shade from the west side of the house. Oh well. Maybe it's time to research what the fastest growing shade tree is in the upper mid-west.