Saturday, January 14, 2017

Good Night, Moon!!!

Friday, the 13th.  Are you superstitious?  I'm not - but, it always makes me do a little double take to see a Friday, the 13th roll around on the calendar.

All in all, though, it was a pretty normal day....and a Friday, to boot.  There is no other feeling quite like finishing up a week at work and settling in at home on Friday evening - wallowing in the pleasure of knowing I don't have to get up for work in the morning.  It makes me want to snuggle on the sofa and stay up late.  Only problem is - I am generally too worn out from work to stay up late!  

There was the most fabulous full moon this week!  Did you see it?  Thank goodness it was a clear evening when it began its ascent in the eastern sky - a huge ball of molten silver.  The light it shed during the night was fiercely gentle, filtering through the woven blinds when we retired to bed and turned out the lamps.  When I awoke the next morning and took Pepper outside, it was still hanging out in the west.  Although it was beginning to settle down into the branches of the bare mesquite tree out front, and a haze had settled around it, it was magical.  Such beauty. 

It nearly took my breath away.


Just that few moments gazing at the setting moon helped to kickstart my day in a joyful way.  Such beauty is so often right under our noses - or maybe just above our heads.  We need only to stop and look, take it in, soak it up, revel in it. 

Breathe deeply....and keep it simple. 

Jane

Friday, January 13, 2017

WELCOME BACK - I've Got Something To Say...

Welcome, 2017!!!

And welcome back to all my Family & Friends at Janie's Porch!!!

I hope all of you had a peaceful and blessed Christmas.  Ours was lovely, even though I don't have a lot of photos to show for it.  You see, my main goal this year was to focus on just living it, get so caught up in the moments that I didn't even think of grabbing a camera and trying to document much of it.  And I was pretty successful at that, too....as is evidenced by my lack of Christmas posts and photos here on the blog.  I did, however, manage to get a few shots of décor and such shared on Instagram and Facebook.  (It is so much easier to share little everyday snippets on those "faster" platforms.  Hint, hint....)  For example, here is a shot of our Christmas tree this year - one of my all time favorites! 


With the start of a new year, I have been stealing away bits of time, here and there, to reflect on what is important.  As always, the question comes to mind, "Do I want to continue to blog?" 

Since I started this blog back in 2009, "blogging" has truly evolved and become something so different.  With the development of other social platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, it has become a lot easier to share thoughts in a brief, immediate fashion.  Let's face it - it is sometimes challenging to find the time to sit down and write a full length blog post.  From what I see, it is much the same for many others. 

Some bloggers have gone to monetized or commercialized platforms.  What was once a labor of love for amateurs is now a burgeoning business and successful blogs are often filled with pop-up ads and links that make it difficult to actually read or navigate through posts.  Honestly, everything has gotten so slick, glossy and perfect.  It is getting more and more rare to come across a good old grassroots, homegrown kind of blog.  And that frustrates me.

There is nothing wrong with an attractive, well laid out and visually pleasing blog.  But, when the same ideas and styles are shared over and over, it gets hard to distinguish one blog from the next.  (And I know you know exactly what I am talking about.....so, don't sit there and shake your head.)

Mostly, I am making the point that I have not the time or the inclination to duplicate so much of what I see out in "blogland".  I am just a working gal who likes to write and take a few photos.  I am not particularly gifted at either, but I feel like I do have my moments. 

I also like to share my thoughts on this or that from time to time.  I love our little cottage and like showing you our home, sharing a tried and true recipe, or even reminiscing about childhood memories or a meaningful family tradition. 

In recent months, I have come to embrace the idea of SIMPLICITY more and more.  Whether it is in our home and furnishings, wardrobe, or day to day lifestyle, "simplicity" is becoming the key word by which much is measured. 

With that in mind, I have begun the shift in both this blog and my other social media outlets towards finding simplicity.  I love sitting here at the keyboard and organizing my thoughts, seeking and finding the right words to get those thoughts down in a way that will mean something not only to me, but to the one who might stumble across and read them. 

I don't expect to get a lot of readers - mostly my husband, my dad, maybe the kids and a few friends who like to keep up.  That is fine.  It's mostly for me anyway - a creative outlet and something I can look back on and feel a sense of accomplishment. 

As I have said many times before, I would love to keep up with everyone on Facebook and Instagram.  I find it so much easier to snap a photo or pop a quick post over there on a regular basis.  It is also a lot easier to interact on those platforms, so I can get to know everyone better.  Here are the links to follow along -



In the meantime, I hope you will still visit the original blog here.  I will still be posting because, like most things in life, Janie's Porch is still evolving.  I can promise you this, though - you will never get a pop up ad over here!

See you soon!




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