Oh my goodness!!! Just realised ...

Today is my first blogversary!!!

I'd nearly gone to bed when it struck me - it's exactly a year since I started musing online!

When I began, I was terrifically sceptical about blogs, bloggers and blogging. It all seemed horribly 'me, me, me' - self-absorbed, self-obsessed and very, very un-English and (perhaps therefore) un-me.

My first steps were extremely tentative. Furtive, almost!

Originally, I'd intended to use the blog merely as a vehicle to drive more 'traffic' towards my website and, hopefully, thereby to diversify my work a little.

But . . . after about a week (or less) I realised that in fact blogging was the perfect escape from work! And speaking as a self-employed, work-at-home person, I have to say that escaping from work is a rare treat and something of a necessity, though one which is surprisingly difficult to achieve. Work is always here. Piles and piles of it. On the PC from which I blog. On the desk on which my PC sits.

But blogging has opened up new worlds.

The past twelve months have been the most amazing journey.

Blogging has rescued me from dwelling on a series of downturns in my offline life, and offered a hugely positive way to reconnect with the outside world - and all from the comfort of my ergonomic, swivelling desk chair!

I have 'met', online, dozens of absolutely wonderful, lovely, generous, gifted, supportive, friendly, inspiring, entertaining people - from all over the world. Writers, artists, craftspeople, photographers, readers, philosophers, musicians, politicians, clergymen-and-women, and many quite extraordinary 'ordinary' people who blog.

My reading has become more focused, more critical, more rewarding.

I never go anywhere now without my trusty little camera. Musing about Mersea and about life in general has made me look at everything more closely, more creatively and with more appreciation.

My vague, random interest in sea glass - which I hesitated to mention at first - has led to correspondence with other collectors, with jewellers and painters, and has in turn (so I'm repeatedly told) inspired others to trudge along their local - or holiday - beaches with one eye ever on the lookout for these elusive and diminishing treasures.

I have a longish list of people, now, whom I think of as very dear friends but whom I've yet to meet in 'real life'. I plan to start with those in the UK (a large number of them seem to be in Devon for some reason!!) and then move on to those in Canada and the US and, who knows, maybe one day even Australia!

So watch out!

Oh, and I've even scooped up some work, after all! I have new clients who found me via Musings, visited my website and offered me work. But I regard this now as an incidental bonus. It's not at all what Musings is for.

I'm still not sure what 'Musings' is for.

But I'm going to carry on Musing, anyway . . .

Thanks for visiting. I hope you continue to find things of interest here. Do keep on posting comments - which, as every blogger knows, make it all seem worthwhile (and here I'd like to say a special 'hi' to my many 'silent' readers, and here's hoping that you'll be brave and say 'hi' back someday!)

Right, well, I've got that out of my system now, so I'm off to bed with a very good book.

Goodnight,

Juliet xxxx