Skip to main content

Happy blog-iversary to me~


Happy blog-iversary to me!

Forgive me if I pat myself on the back.

One year ago to day, I sat in front of my laptop wrapped in Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, and pushed "publish." No one-- well, only one-- knew I had "gone public."

And it was quite a tentative start, like dipping a toe in ice water, and yanking it out immediately. The name I chose-- Upstream and Down-- an acknowledgement of my Pisces nature, felt safe. I could wander, twist and turn through topics, and not need to follow a linear path.

In fact, I had no path in mind at all, no reason to write a blog, but I wanted one. It was that simple.

What emerged from 115 posts to date is a series of "snapshots," snippets of life-- more questions than answers-- filtered through my eyes.

That those of you who started with me have stayed in my stream pleases me. That others have come along for the journey is even better. You've encouraged me with your comments, your understanding, and your sharing of different perspectives.

I will always have more questions than answers, and I prefer it that way. You won't find answers here. Nothing definitive, no advice. Just a moment in time that mattered to me, and my attempt to find meaning in the moment.

Life is in the details.

Thank you for sharing mine.
~~~~~
For the very inauspicious beginning, go here: Only the beginning~
And then I "outed" my blog in this publication.
For those who have too much time on their hands, my earlier posts can be found in the archives at the bottom of the left margin.
~~~~~
"It always struck me as hopelessly exibitionist." ~Ruth Douillette

Comments

sarah corbett morgan said…
Congratulations on your anniversary, Ruth. It has been pure pleasure to check in here once a week (or more) and see what is currently on your mind. It is a good one, your mind: curious, questioning and thoughtful. Keep up the good work and thank YOU for being here.
Wanda said…
Oh Ruth...First may I say thank you to Janice for introducing your blog to me...Your blog is like a magnet that pulls me in, I love what your write, and how you write it.

I just read your "Only the beginning ~ and "in this publication. I can't tell you how I relate to your experience.

Blogging is FUN. I do it because, I love to tell stories, I love that there is a place to express my feeling every day, or whenever I want too. If you live life with your eyes open, you never run out of material.

Ruth, I love your blog so a MIGHTY BIG CONGRATULATIONS, and I would sure love a piece of that celebration cake!!
LOL:)
Jo said…
Ruth, congratulations! You are a wonderful writer. I love your blog.

I am looking forward to many more posts.

Cheers,
Josie
Unknown said…
Happy Blogerversary, Ruth! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful self with us here in the blogosphere. I look forward to your next year of posts!
Tere said…
Congratulations! I enjoy reading your thoughts and you always make me think. And I can't tell you how much it means to me that you take the time to read my thoughts and to comment.

Here's to many more anniversaries. Best wishes.
Barbara said…
Happy Blog-birthday! I love coming here to your beautiful words and photos. I look forward to the next year! Who knows, some day our paths may cross...
daisies said…
happy blog birthday : ) can't wait to see the next year!!
Anonymous said…
Happy Bloggabirthday! You've got quite the following here, too!

I love reading this....

Talk soon.
Alice Folkart said…
Ruth, Ruth
there's truth
in your blog,
there's no dog,
but, it's good,
it's a 'hood.
Should you have writ?
Yes. Don't ever quit.
You can see,
that others than me
find solace and grace
in your special place.

Happiest Blog-Birthday.
You give me courage!

Alice
Yolanda said…
Happy Blogiversary Ruth. I am new here but I am sure I will return.
daringtowrite said…
Congratulations from another blogger who likes questions better than answers.

I enjoyed your piece in the Writer's E-Zine, too!
mouse (aka kimy) said…
congrats....coincidentally we seemed to have entered the blogosphere just days apart! oh my I hear twilight zone music.

Popular posts from this blog

For Alice~ She's home!!!!!!!

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Sometimes it's all about knowing that loved ones and friends stand behind you, knowing that support is there on the down days, the worry days, the days when you feel off-center, out of sync, bedraggled emotionally, and in pain, but knowing all the while that you're not alone. You're not alone... Alice is an online friend--she lives in Hawaii-- who belongs to the writer's workshop that I do. We've only "met" online, but those who have online friendships know that they can be just as strong as those in-person relationships. Alice was hit by a car while walking, and is in the rehab phase of things. She's working to regain mobility after a broken pelvis, a broken arm, and a broken nose. It's scary to realize how, in the blink of an eye, life can lurch and our plans for a time are displaced by survival and healing. We...

Killing time~

I'd woken feeling stuffy headed, slightly allergy-ish, puffy-eyed, and a tad grumpy. Lots to do, little time in which to do it, school issues keeping me in a state of angst, I considered not going to David's game. But it was Saturday, the game fairly close to home-- Salem State College-- an hour or so north through Boston to the town of Salem, famous for the 1692 witch trials that saw 19 suspected witches, many of them social outcasts, hang on Gallows Hill. A change of pace was what I needed whether I wanted it or not, so I went. I squeezed in a walk around the block that enclosed Salem State's O'Keefe Center while waiting for the game to begin. Just to kill time. I get so few chances to do that. Others walking, too, passed with no eye contact, no greetings, just sharing the same planet. Two were coming toward me. Still unfocused in the distance . . . one was tall, the other short . . . two men . . . loose clothing . . . like army clothes, camouflage . . . beard and lon...

Missing Becky~

Becky~ August 19, 1991 to April 26, 2010 She was so loved, this gentle pet of mine.  And how she loved us back. I've been alone in my house before, of course. Those days when my husband took the kids out for the day, being able to vacuum without a baby in one arm and a toddler, riding the vacuum cleaner like it was a bronco, was solitary pleasure. Later there were quiet days as the kids were at camp and my husband at work. And then came the bittersweet aloneness when kids left home for college and a life apart. Still, I'd always liked being alone, knowing it was short lived. This morning, after my husband pulled out of the driveway with a day full of plans,  I stood in the living room feeling alone in a way I never had before.  An unfamiliar emptiness and silence surrounded me. Yesterday we put our 18-year-old cat, Becky, to sleep. The decision to do so was surprisingly easy. The vet had told us Becky would let us know when it was time, and somehow she did. But ...