I Heart These Bloggers!

Some people cringe when they hear the words, “social media” but I love the online world. I have made so many interesting, entertaining, and knowledgeable friends online. Many of them write great blogs and I follow each of their posts avidly.

This week we recognized National Online Learning Day.

As soon as a new one post pops up in my Reader feed, I click on the link and see what my friends are excited about. I shared some of my favorite bloggers with you  earlier this summer- here are some more of my must reads!

My first group of bloggers that I want you to meet write what I call “general looks at life” posts.

Beth Ann Chiles has a gorgeous blog

at itsjustlife.me  I want to have a website like hers when I grow up. You will enjoy the variety of topics and lovely photographs. She is an encourager and supporter, and has been so gracious with me! She plays well with her friends on Twitter and Facebook. Here is Beth’s friendly greeting:

Thanks for clicking! I am so glad you are here and I hope that you stay awhile. My blog is an extension of my life and while you are here you may read about my travels, my family, see pictures of my teapot collection, a devotional or just simply get a glimpse into my life. I love to meet new people and have found that some of my best friends have been a direct result of blogging
One of the best things I have started on my blog is my Comments for a Cause . Every month I choose a different charity to donate to. For each legitimate comment that month my husband, Chris, and I will donate 50 cents to that cause. It has been a really great thing to do and I am happy to honor a lot of different “causes” so please comment away. I highlight the new cause on the 1st of the month so make sure you catch that post to find the current one.

 

Cara Sue Achterberg writes

at Carawrites.com and I love looking at her photos of foster dogs and the other animals in her family. She writes five different blogs and you can read them all on her website: Another Good Dog, My Life in Paragraphs, Kid Friendly Organic Life, The Mama Load and Live Intentionally. You can also learn more about her novels- which are great reads!! Here’s what Cara wants us to know:

I am an irrepressible writer, a tired mom, a lazy gardener, a resentful chauffeur, a loyal friend, a daily dreamer, a terrible dog trainer, and an occasional cowgirl. I’m also a compulsive blogger, an almost famous novelist, and a huge fan of teenagers writing. I will talk your ear off about processed food, growing tomatoes, training horses, Virginia wine, or the dog I’m currently fostering.

 

Andre Begin delivers with his blog.

How about some interesting stories spiced with gentle and genuine humor?  It’s the Journey. Andre is from Ottawa, Canada, and here’s his raison d’être. ( He may have also put raisins in his fruitcake- enjoy his Christmas Fruitcake Edition.)

In 2013, I launched the blog with the intent to use it as a sort of rehearsal space for my creative writing, on my journey toward retirement.

As someone who has been writing steadily since childhood (as my parents often referred to my bedroom as a “fire trap” given all the paper swirling around) the idea of a blog seemed like a no-brainer but was daunting at the same time.

The blog gave me the opportunity to prove to myself that I was able to take everything I learned about writing over the years (in and out of the corporate realm) and to produce some creative works that were truly mine, from my voice and my point of view.

While I try to keep my posts focused to a few themes like observational humour, writing, running, travel, pop culture and Ivy the cat, I still like to colour outside the lines from time to time to grow as a writer.

 

Adela Crandall Durkee shares wisdom, 

gratitude and her observations at TheBlackTortoise.com, a A Noun Blog: Writing about People, Places, & Things. Adela tells us more about the lore of the black tortoise.

Why the Black Tortoise? The Black Tortoise, or the Warrior of the North is the symbol of longevity and wisdom. With any luck, as we get older, and more contemplative, we get wiser.

Why a “Noun Blogger?” I write about People, Places, and Things. I love writing. Putting pen to paper, or fingertips to keyboard helps solidify my thoughts and my feelings. Besides that, my interests are eclectic. I’m a pigeon-holes resister. Nouns pretty much include everything I like to write about.  My soul is infused with health, science and quality principles, so you will see that side of me peaking through in all that I write.

I was fortunate to be interviewed by Adela! I guess that makes me a noun.

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As a writer, I am eager to read and learn from other writers. Here’s who is inspiring me.

Dr. Larry Day to the rescue,

and he make house calls with his  With his blog, Award-winning author Larry Day takes us to the fictitious towns of La Mancha and Letongaloosa, and you will chuckle at the residents’ antics. His book is Day Dreaming: Tales from the Fourth Dementia, where you can meet more of the towns’ fascinating characters in a collection of short stories.

Dr. Larry describes himself as an Ol’ Humor Writer, Former Potato Picker, Reporter, Foreign Correspondent, Fulbright Lecturer and a  Journalizm School Professor.

 

A new friend and poet is Tracy Diane Miller

Poetry is a writing and art form that I admire. . She posts her lovely and thoughtful poems at Life is a Walking Shadow . She is also a book reviewer and contributing writer for The Nerdy Girl Express.

 

I met author Amanda Uhl at an arts center

at Lakeside Chautauqua a year ago. She dazzled me with her well done “elevator pitch”. Turns out she is an award-winning “pitcher”. We have kept in touch, sharing writing encouragement as well as the problems and praises that we have either skipped or stumbled over on our writing journeys. Amanda’s website and blog   are just like her- lovely, friendly, encouraging, informative. Let’s meet Amanda.

In high school, I wrote a running column for the school newspaper and began to dabble in writing my first novel, largely based on the angst of a teenage crush. I never finished. For many years, I forgot my desire to write and went on to pursue other dreams.  also married my wonderful husband, had three beautiful children, and received an MBA in Marketing. I’ve spent the past twenty years writing corporate speak, blogs, newsletters, articles, brochures–you name it, before penning my first novel in 2015.

 

Stella Hervey Birrell is on Twitter

and then I discovered her website and blog a tiny life 140. She posts delightful commentary about her life in 140 words, no more and no less. She accompanies her insights with “wee drawings.” She is Scottish and I consulted her about Scotch, which is one of my favorite beverages for bonding and enjoying life. She isn’t as keen as I am about her homeland’s whisky, but she does love some kind of chocolate “biscuit”. Here’s Stella.

I live in beautiful East Lothian, Scotland. I’m a Writer, (she has written a delightful debut novel, How Many Wrongs Make a Mr. Right  She also reports that she is a mean mommy, which is probably not the case) I post about parenting, nature and her tinylife.

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Please enjoy and follow these wonderful bloggers. Next time I will be sharing some of my favorite blogs that focus on travel and cultures, such asA Moveable Marriage  , French Yummy Mummy and my friends The Loopers