Thank you!

Posted byRebecca BuddPosted inClanmother, Ernest Hemingway, Thank You, WritersTags:,

Thank You!

A gigantic thank you to all those who followed Clanmother in 2012!  Your comments, visits, ideas, support and suggestions were invaluable.   Thank you for creating amazing blogs that share the breadth and depth of our global world over what I have come to define as blogger miles. You have made me laugh, cry, think and do.   Technology may have brought us together, yet is it our desire to forge valued connections that keeps the conversation alive and moving forward. We are writing the story of our generation.

When I first started to blog, I thought it was all about writing and commenting.  Over the months, I have come understand that it is more about listening to the voices in the community.  Listening is dynamic, not static.  It is a powerful activity that can influence outcomes and institute radical change. Speaking and writing can only take us part of the way.  Listening is the dimension where next steps are formulated.

I am listening.  Each voice is extraordinary, but when combined in a choir, there is a symphony of elegant and beautiful possibilities.

“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.  Most people never listen.”

Ernest Hemingway

Published by Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

197 thoughts on “Thank you!”

  2. Wow! I think it would be thank you. What a beautifully thought out, expressed, and accurately perceptive post.
    In other words, Rebecca’s most recent summation.

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    1. Thank you, Cindy! My ideas about blogging have gone through an amazing transformation over the past months. I am truly awed by the amount of effort and thought that goes into every post and comment. I am humbled by the stories that encourage and nurture. My learning curve has been been exponential. I am grateful for our connection.

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      2. Ah, my captain, you are very kind. Thank you! Every time I come to your blog, I think of William Shakespeare when he said, “To unpathed waters, undreamed shores.”

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      4. And then, I know that you like this one:

        O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
        The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
        The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
        While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

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      5. Yes, yes, yes! That is one of my favorite poems. It is a poem regarding Abraham Lincoln, is it not?

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  3. I’ve got my cookies back, and can now comment and like again!!!!
    I found your thoughts so true, the reading and the listening are what is so addictive about blogging! And reading the comments both on one’s own blog, and on the blogs I’m following is another level of communication and dialogue.. they illuminate and expand so much that is in the blogs…blogging had so many levels and such depths.. it’s a unique phenomenon, and a beacon of hope in a sometimes puzzling world!

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    1. I am so glad that you have your cookies back!!! You and I started blogging the same month last year. We have made great strides. Remember when we decided to refuse packaging at stores as a statement about the environment and recycling? Well – still doing that. Our community has a strong desire to make a difference, much the same way we did back in the 1960’s. Today, is Rosa Parks’ birthday. She said, “Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.” I think that is what I have learned most about blogging this past year. The struggle for what is good, noble and just will continue. And that gives me great hope.

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      1. Rosa Parks – what a heroine – and what a wonderful quote from her.
        Great that you’re doing your recycling bit still… I get into some interesting discussions over it at the supermarket, and it’s interesting how often synchronicity beings one into the presence of others who feel the same….don’t feel I’m making a dent yet!
        Every time I refuse a bag anywhere and say ” save a twig”, they say that customers expect it…que sera sera…

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    1. I am so very glad that I am following your blog! I love your idea about Skype and making pie – taking social media to the next level. And I enjoyed the tugboat song today!! Your humour is contagious…

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    1. You are far too kind!!! You have given me so much over the past year, especially the historical and artistic perspective of your country. Even when I travel, I do not grasp the whole story of a place. It is impossible because I am merely observing a short period of time and see only a small amount of history. I look forward to everyone of your posts.

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  6. Beautiful – I think blogging is a journey for each and every one of us but I personally wanted to thank you for all your supportive posts, quotes and comments. My blogging world would certainly be a little sadder without you in it

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    1. And my world has been illuminated by your humour and stories. I think that you have embraced the thoughts of Henry David Thoreau: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”

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  8. A big thank you to you for the beautiful flowers and the thank you post. I love receiving beautifully illustrated thank you notes in the mail (snail mail), so I don’t know why I should be surprised by how delighted I was to receive/read this thank you on your blog. But I was, surprised and delighted. I know the thanks are for everyone but you write as though you are writing personally to each of us. Made my day. Thank YOU.

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    1. You always make my day pure sunshine! With ever comment and every post we are generating positive and life affirming outcomes. I am delighted that we are heading down the same path.

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    1. Thank you for your heartwarming comments. We have created a community that embraces diversity and respects the works and effort of other bloggers! What a privilege!!!

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  10. You definitely are an amazing listener and a supportive blogging friend…thank you to you too 🙂

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  11. WOW!… What a nicest day for me today. I must keep this so delicate quote deeply in my heart and in return with the equal “thank you”. nice to have wonderful Bloggers around me that made my world so colorful. Thank you also for the beautiful tulips you have given.

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    1. Oh yes, my dear friend, the world is so much more colourful because of our community. We are never alone…thank you for your presence and comments. I look forward to your visits.

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    1. Thank you so much for you kindness and friendship. “So now, whenever I despair, I no longer expect my end, but some bit of luck, some commonplace little miracle which, like a glittering link, will mend again the necklace of my days.”
      ― Colette, The Vagabond

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  18. Listening … to do that, we need to slow down and pay attention, something which is a real challenge in this technological age and culture of busyness. You’ve made a good point: I put a lot of effort into putting my thoughts, ideas and recipes “out there” but don’t spend enough time reading others’ blogs. I’m made a concerted effort to change my life and pay attention to what’s truly important … countdown to a major life change = 23 days!

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    1. You gave me goosebumps! What is happening in 23 days?!!!! Listening has never been my strength as I found out after going through some interesting times. There is a lot of “noise” that distracts me. I especially like you when you said “pay attention.” I continue to learn….

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      1. I find it a challenge to listen well. In today’s work environment of increasing volumes and concomitant stress levels, distractions are pervasive and I find it difficult to slow down and really listen. The culture of multitasking often leads to ineffectiveness, therefore “more” is really “less.”

        I’ve taken a deep breath and made one of life’s milestone decisions: in 23 days, i.e., the end of the month, I will be following my heart and taking early retirement from my job. I’m grateful that I’m able to do this, so I can focus on things that are truly important to me: my health, the relationships that are dear to me and my creativity. I plan to contribute to my community through volunteer work, and perhaps I’ll find other employment along the way as well. I’m excited about the possibilities that will come my way, and the opportunities I’ll be able to create for myself. And maybe I’ll be able to slow down and really listen. I’m sure my family will appreciate that. 😊

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      2. Ah, you are taking a leap of faith! You are embarking on an amazing transition, one that I have been on for the past year. I call it repurposement. If you consider a timeline, we are heading towards our last and best crescendo. And I intend to live it gloriously. To move forward, you must leave a past life and embrace a new understanding of who you are. You will be amazed what will happen! I can hardly wait to hear how your adventure unfolds. Albert Schweitzer once said, “In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.” I have a feeling you are going to see many flowers….

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      3. A leap of faith indeed! I’m really looking forward to the adventures ahead. Thank you, Rebecca, for your wise words and sharing your experience with me. I look forward to comparing notes in the months to come!

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      4. Me too!! When I leaped, I held fast to the words of T.S. Eliot: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

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  20. Thank YOU for your wonderful blogs and thoughtful ideas! I always look forward to hearing from you whether by post or by comment. You’re right, blogging creates an unexpected and delightful community 🙂

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    1. You captured my thoughts in one word – unexpected! I am continually surprised and astonished by the blogging community. I am sitting in Starbucks with my iPad, coffee beside me. And yet, I travel the world, listen to music, cry reading poetry, marvel over photography, and “speak” to blogger friends located hundreds of miles from my location. Life has never been so “unexpected.”

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  21. I always know you will read and listen to what I say. You show respect for your readers and their opinions. You find value in even the smallest comment. You are interested just as much in reading your followers as in having them read you.
    Respectfully submitted.
    ladysighs

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  22. I always know you will read and listen to what I say. You show respect for your readers and their opinions. You find value in even the smallest comment. You are interested just as much in reading your followers as in having them read you.
    Respectfully submitted.
    meme 🙂

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    1. You have a lot to say and you say it so well and gently. The more I read your thoughts, the more I know that we have many things in common…I am looking forward to our ongoing dialogue. The game is afoot…

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  23. Thank you too! I consider it a true honor
    to follow you
    to listen to you
    to communicate with you
    to share with you
    !!!!
    Peace & Love & Happiness, Katharina 🙂

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    1. Peace and happiness to you, my dear friend…

      As Virgil once said, “Let us follow our destiny, ebb and flow. Whatever may happen, we master fortune by accepting it.”

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    1. Thank you so much! We gingers must stick together!! BTW, I thought that I lost you – I’m still trying to figure our the WordPress reader and WordPress in general. The like button is close to the unfollow button – I think I accidentally pressed the wrong one. But now, we are re-united. Wasn’t’ that a ginger song?

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      2. Can you believe it was “Peaches and Herb.” I checked out Wikipedia and found out that “Herb has remained a constant in “Peaches & Herb” since its creation in 1966, while six different women have filled the role of “Peaches.” I like the Coffee and Creme idea, though! I looked it up and found out that there is a coffee shop in Vancouver with that name. I will be checking it out….

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      3. Coffee and Creme were on a talent show in the UK – the one Simon Cowell ripped of recently – “Peaches and Herb” of course – although it sounds like a cheap shampoo.

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  29. I’ve just finished “A Paris Wife,” voiced by Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson. His life would have been all the richer if he had just stayed with her… a steadying influence. But maybe he wouldn’t have had as many good stories to tell!

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    1. That must have been an excellent book. This year, I want to read “A Movable Feast.” I think his Paris wife would have been a steadying influence; Hemingway’s life would probably have been less chaotic. But you are quite right – the stories would have been very different different…

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    1. I have learned a great deal from your blog and have benefited from your reviews. So many products, so little time to research them all – you have a great way of bringing the information to me….

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  33. Thank you my dear friend. You are such an incredible person. Your kind words to everyone are straight from the heart. We feel them deep inside and see them throughout your blog. What a beautiful post and perfect quote. You are a listener and an inspiration 🙂

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    1. You have helped me to understand how our food gives joy to our homes. I have never been comfortable in my kitchen, except when someone else was in charge of the cooking. This year, I am going to be just a little braver. So I will be visiting your place quite often! You always make me feel welcome.

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    1. Thank you so much for all of your encouragement You reminded of a thought from our favourite writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson on moving forward: “Every artist was first an amateur.” I am finding it fun to take a leap of faith.

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  35. It’s nice to be appreciated Rebecca, so thank you for the thank you. I’m sure I speak for all your fans when I say THANK YOU for all your thought provoking, carefully considered, and intelligent writings.

    I can relate: when Rey and I started blogging, it was all for photography, our shared passion and source of our commitment. But over time, we realized that we were in the midst of a small but growing community of friends. We never expected that but now we enjoy the conversations and friendships the most. Thanks for being one of them.

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    1. I am honoured to included in your community. Seeing life through your lens has been an extraordinary – whether following a Hobbit’s trail or in the heady lights of Las Vegas. And then there are times that I only look at the photo and remember the words of Ansel Adams: “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”

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  40. I like the person who said they got their cookies back – there is something deeply profound here! We often share views around the subject of the importance of community breaking of bread don’t we – you always seem to be at the heart of providing us with thought provoking pieces, encouraging words on our own work, beautiful and insipiring people/things to learn from. What an amazing person you are – it is an honour and a joy to have become your friend.

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    1. My favourite friendship quote is from A.A. Milne & Winnie-the-Pooh: “If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” I am so very glad that we connected over blogger miles. We are on an amazing, even historical, adventure. We stand on the shoulders of giants and have the power to leap (I love your blog name) off into new possibilities. We live in a perilously divided world and yet there are so many that have chosen to become a positive influence for good. As J.R.R. Tolkien wrote many years ago, “In this hour, I do not believe that any darkness will endure.”

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  41. Dear Clanmother,
    I thank YOU! For all your inspiring articles and always very well reflected comments. Happy blogging – have a great time.
    Love
    Dina

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  43. What treat to come over here and see the flowers and read your post. I loved your comments about listening, and the Hemingway quote. You’re a gem. Thanks for the encouragement, Rebecca.

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    1. Thank you – your comments and presence are always welcome. BTW, I thought I had lost you! I am still learning WordPress! I think that when I pressed the “like” button, I pressed the “unfollow” button by accident. I have signed up to follow again – so we are connected again!!!

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      1. Thank you for this kindness but really once a heart like yours reaches mine, we’re connected, buttons or not. That said, I’m a tech and blogging dummy, just found “Reader” which is probably how I found you again. Your words and site are a lovely inspiration. So many lovely people in this cyber community. Paulette 🙂

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  47. Fabulous post, Clanmother! You captured my sentiments exactly. Who can despair with so many interesting, generous and thoughtful people online?

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  50. Good Morning, Clanmother–I opened my email this morning and found 29 likes and one follow from you. Thank you so much for your interest in my photography. I began following you on Clanmother just a minute ago.
    I looked through all your blogs and am interested in looking at all of them.
    Quoting Lada Gaga?? I think she’s fabulous, both for her singing and her social positions.
    I look forward to getting to know you through your blogs.David
    Don’t know what happened with my first effort to comment–must have hit the wrong key.
    David

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    1. Hello, David!!! I was pleased when you stopped by so that I could take a look at your extraordinary photography! I am glad that we connected over the blogger miles and looking forward to the adventures ahead!

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  53. I am so happy that we have met even if you are on the other side of the world….but we are on the same path…you have a beautiful soul and it shows, Thank you!

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  54. Hi Rebecca! You are always so encouraging and uplifting! Your quote is so true! We can learn so much by listening to others. We each have something to share with the world! Most people don’t want to listen and they are missing out on so much!

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  55. I am so pleased to have found you and will be listening carefully to you and my other blogging friends.

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    1. Thank you so much for connecting!! I found your blog on “Blogger” and will be following your adventures with great interest. We are on a wonderful journey of discovery – it is good to find kindred spirits along the way.

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  57. And thank you Clanmother for Liking the post about being published. It means a lot to me when people read me (hence the name of my blog) and I’m very touched when people take the time and effort to Like or Comment.
    So thanks again

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  59. Wunderbare Gedanken äusserst Du über uns Menschen, die mit schreiben und gestalten von Berichten andere Menschen erfreuen und ihnen Impulse verschiedenster Art geben, liebe Rebecca. Zuhören oder zulesen ist eine neue Dimension, mit der wir uns alle besser kennen und verstehen lernen. Sehr schön gesagt.
    Ernest Hemingway sagte einmal : “Die Jugend ist meist so allwissend, dass sie alles weiss, bis auf eines; dass auch einmal die Alten allwissend waren, bis sie wirklich etwas wussten”.
    Ich hoffe, dass auch unsere jungen Leute via bloggen die vielen guten Menschen in der globalen Welt finden.
    Herzliche Grüsse. Ernst

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    1. Vielen Dank für Ihre herzliche Grüße. Ich teile Ihre Hoffnung, dass unsere jungen Leute in der Lage, mit anderen, die einen positiven Beitrag in unserem Blog-Community machen wollen kommunizieren. Das Leben ist so viel glücklicher, wenn wir über einander kümmern. Wir leben in schwierigen Zeiten. Unsere Welt ist gefährlich eingeteilt. Doch ich weiß, dass es viele gute Leute, die machen unsere Welt ein Ort, wo wir alle in Frieden leben können und wollen. Ich bin so froh, dass wir in Verbindung! Ich genieße nach Ihrem Blog und freuen uns auf die laufenden Diskussionen.

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      1. I always wanted to visit the blogs i follow, and its just recently that i figured out where to find the list of the blogs i follow 🙂
        I used to click the icons on likes but it always bring me to gravatar 🙂
        now, i find it easier!
        Have a great day!

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  61. The wordpress thing is a wonderful thing, thank you for being part of there with all the quotes, ideas and examples of radical thinkers. It very invigoration you know 🙂

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    1. I am so very glad that we connected! And I am glad that we have the past to measure our personal progress. Sometimes we forget how much knowledge and wisdom we have gained by those radical thinkers. I hope that the future will consider us just as radical….we stand on the shoulders!

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      1. You’re right we do stand on their shoulders, if only the old rascal Plato knew!!
        As for the future seeing us as radical, I just dont know. I worry a lot that we are heading down the cyber-net highway so fast, we humans, and our innate need to communicate, might get lost in technology’s sword. But for now I am, here in the land of blighty, very glad we are connected.

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      2. Me too!!! As for technology – as long as we have books and brain matter, there are always possibilities. 🙂

        “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.”
        ― Pablo Picasso

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  63. Pink tulips are my absolute favorite. They are perfect against my beige walls… Somehow I feel they fit your personality perfectly… 😉

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    1. Oh, my dear friend! We are kindred spirits indeed. Tulips are my absolute favourite too. Spring is here and the world is alive with so many possibilities.

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  64. Actually, thank you for being such a loyal reader of my blog. It is great to know that I have at least a few very loyal readers. It is the reason I continue to post my photos and thoughts. Again, many thanks.

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    1. How wonderful to hear from you!! I am very happy that we connected, even though we live on opposite sides of the continent. (Blogger miles are very small) Would love to join your for dinner….you never know!!!

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  67. I’m so happy I found your blog. I was determined to comment on this post of gratitude and listening and had to go a long way down, because you really do listen to all of those who comment here and also listen to those who spoke wisely in the past. I like this comment you posted (below). I hadn’t seen that before. I had wondered whether it was the Shedd of the Shedd Aquarium, but found that it wasn’t, but I did learn more (through googling) about both Shedds! Thanks!

    “A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”
    ― William G.T. Shedd

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    1. I am absolutely delighted that you stopped by for a visit! We are on a remarkable journey – I look forward to heading out into open ocean together. The adventure is waiting for us….

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  70. Dear Rebecca, I am such an unhandy blogger! Someone has mentioned a post of yours in a comment to me, and I realised that i hadn’t read your blog.
    I ‘v tried to find things on your blogs, but never get very far. have you got another blog besides ChaSing Art, and can you direct me to it? Apologies for being so incompetent

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    1. Dearest Valerie! You are an extraordinary blogger. I have several blogs – check out my side panel – there are links to each one. When I first started to blog, I became rather excited about all the possibilities. ChasingART is focused on artistic endeavour. Clanmother is about the aging process and moving between generations. OnTheRoad Bookclub is about the books and poetry I read. LadyBudd is photography and my daily thoughts. And lastly, TakingTheKitchen is about me going back into the kitchen since my transition out of my main career. I confess that I am rather intimidated by a kitchen and I have not been as active in this regard as I thought I would be. I thought that life would slow down, but now I’m on to a couple of new projects. Life has interesting twists and turns….

      It is wonderful to connect with you….

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