Finding Your Writing Voice and Blog Love

Hand stitched by Marie @ Ancient Cloth

I am always touched by the kind words and generosity in the blogging world.  

I ventured into it to fill a place in my heart. Prior to blogging, I was involved 

in a full time commitment in New Zealand which I loved.  When it came time for us 

to pack our bags and move on I had to let go and it was harder than I thought it would be.  

I needed to talk about it and blogging seemed as good a place as any.

There were times when I wondered if I was talking to myself...if anybody 

could relate to what I was saying. Why would anyone want to listen to a woman 

talking about her life? I considered stopping, but then that first follower came along 

and then a comment and I then I knew I had found my voice. Someone had thought 

enough of what I said to lend encouragement, they understood. I was just as delighted 

to receive that comment then as I am today. 

Can I say, that if you are new to blogging and wondering if it is worth the effort 

( as I did many a time) I encourage you to stay with it. I am sure many readers 

who have been at it for a while would say the same. It takes time to connect. 

Our writing voices are unique to us and I believe we should stay true to it. I once thought 

of changing to be more like another and felt like I stepped into another skin...it wasn't me. 

That is when I decided that numbers don't really matter..I just had to write and photograph 

what I felt and hope that others would connect.  I soon realised that like minds 

have a way of finding each other. 

Why am I writing about this today? It all came home to me these past few weeks, literally. 

On my door step, I have found the most wonderful messages and packages from readers.

Each unique to the sender, each greatly appreciated by the receiver (me). 

With this post I am sending my sincerest thanks to Lisa in Vermont who sent me a wonderful 

collection of her favourite things..which interestingly are mine too. Lisa and I connected several 

months ago. We have been writing back and forth and discovered that we have much in common. 

I have written about Lisa with A Dream House in Vermont, here and the Dance of the Virgins here. Today, after a good dig in the garden, I went off to read one of the books she sent me, 

Two Gardeners.. A Friendship in Letters, more here. 

I know someday, Lisa and I will meet, it is just meant to be :)

I am sending thanks also to Ilse of Insha'llah in Bahrain, another expat, who is currently 

in transit to a destination unknown. She is a kindred spirit in that she

 loves photography and travel. It has been a pleasure getting to know her and I hope

she comes back to the blogging world when she finally settles down again.

I send thanks to the very talented Marie of Ancient Cloth who responded

 to my postcard request. I sent her one and she sent me three including

this beautiful hand made postcard that she made from vintage cloth. 

She is a sweetheart! Please stop in and tell her I said so :)

I have Lisa to thank for introducing me to Joe at Notes from Juniper Hill Farm. If you are a keen gardener or even if you just like to play in the garden, like me, you should stop in 

and say hello to Joe. I promise you will be glad you did. Joe has a fantastic blog which 

he recently created over a long and cold winter.  Joe sent me an issue of New Hampshire Home magazine with a feature article on his wonderful farm. I was delighted to receive it and have since

scrutinized properties around New Hampshire to see if a gem like it exists elsewhere. 

Mr. H has been hearing about nothing else since :)

Beate @ Sunday in Bed is another talented craftswoman and a cherished blogging friend. 

I have admired her knitted creations for sometime and purchased a blanket from her 

DaWanda shop which I adore. We are now talking about creating a 'summer wrap' and 

I have no doubt that I will be selecting another of her items in the future.

 My pick.... in the center 'A'. I can't wait!

I would be remiss in not mentioning those times, when you least expect it,

 you receive a message asking if you would like to meet. It has happened twice to me 

and in both cases there was not the least amount of hesitation. I had the great pleasure 

in the past months to meet Pamela @ From The House of Edward who I wrote about here. 

I feel very fortunate to count her amongst my blogging friends. Not only is she a fabulously 

talented woman, she is also sweet and kind and generous and she has Edward, 

the greatest friend one could have.

Lastly, my blogging story came full circle when I recently met Vicki @ French Essence. For those of you who know Vicki's books and blog, can I just say that she is an absolute delight in person. Smart, gorgeous, stylish, friendly and warm hearted are just a few of the words to describe her. She is a treasure!

If it were not for Vicki, I would not be blogging today. I happened upon her book, My French Life, 

in our local library in Auckland, New Zealand around the time we were ready to move in 2009. 

I read the first page, first sentence and was delighted to see that someone else felt the way that I did. 

I was not alone. I looked up her blog on the internet, followed along for a while and when the time 

was right, I created Collage of Life. I wrote about her here. Vicky wrote to lend encouragement 

and that made all the difference to me. I have been following her blog ever since.... to have met 

her was truly the icing on the cake ;)

More on Vicki and her books, here.

If you are new to blogging, take heart, stay with it,

go around and find others whose writing voice calls out to you. 

Talk to them, leave a comment and persevere.

When you do, it will come back to you :)

xxx

and one last time

Thank you to one and all !!

Images as mentioned above