Welcome to "Between the Lines"!
This is a blog series of bloggers age 50 and up that is created and celebrated by Katie at Katherine's Corner.
Yes; that's 50+ years of age! Even 100! Ok, we don't have a 100 year old in our group. But, hey, you never know!
Rock on!!!
Right now, thousands of bloggers are born every day on the internet. Every... single... day! The majority of them are younger than my two older sons. When I read what a lovely blogger wrote, "I'm turning 30 this year! I feel so old!", I just smiled and thought, "Oh, my dear. You have not yet lived until 50". She will see. Give her time and she will be writing about the many surprises ahead of her.
I actually wonder if I will feel old when I'm 80 or 90? If I make it that long, will I be blogging? Maybe. Maybe not. There were times that I almost didn't make it to 50. Age is a number. You are as old as you feel and I don't feel any less excitement now than I did as a child over... banana splits and jumping waves at the ocean!
I recall reading an obituary of a man who lived to be 105 years old and that was before I turned 50. I looked over at my husband and told him, "Honey, you're not old. Stop saying so. Look at this obituary. We are just mere babies compared to this gentleman." Everytime he complains of age, I just gently remind him of the 105 year old.
All I know is, I'm not dead yet!
Yes we have things that are a bit out of shape and a bunch of laugh lines. But those things only defines our lives of experience. Years of joy and accomplishments. I try not to think about years. I prefer to wonder how to fill them up. Start new bucket lists.
What do you think about your passing decades?
Finally. Here's Katie. Someone who wants to embrace the wisdom and creativity of bloggers over 50. Of course I was happy to jump on the wagon and ride along the trail of knowledge.
This series will run for 10 weeks featuring a different group of bloggers every Tuesday. I hope you all will check out the bloggers of prime time and follow their stories too!
For this feature series Katie asked us to share our feelings about blogging in the second half of life and answer a couple of randomly assigned questions.
Well,
I never dreamed of blogging until after I was 50. It all started with buying a fixer upper home and I was redoing as much of it as possible and thrifty as possible. Ha! I needed the strength of a 20 year old and all of my 50+ years of knowledge!
So, while hand mixing concrete in a wheelbarrow and repurposing household items to make things "home", I was coming up with a lot of successful ideas.
Even if it was backing up a Mack to dump a couple ton of topsoil. (Driving trucks is another passion I have.)
Shopping from Craigslist, flea markets, thrift shops, and yard sales while making everything over in a short period time was a bit of a surprise to everyone... even myself! They told me I should have a "shop" and sell my work. Or go into a side business. Well, that's easier said than done. Then I was told, "Blog about it! Teach people who want to know about these things!"
A blog. What is a blog? How do I do it? Where do I begin? I researched them for a month. (Ha! What little did I know back then!) I put together some DIY projects and published them. Here I am, 2 and a half years later, still tweaking and posting about my DIY ideas and projects.
I don't just live for blog posts. I acutally have life beyond what I post. When I shop at the hardware store with fingernails haphazardly painted, in latex, it's usually the color of the day. And it's the paint from the room or project I'm working on. And, of course, the manager gets to know me. "Ah, livingroom today, Robin?" I smile, "No, a dresser and I'm blogging about it. But, when you see pink, I'll shock ya... that could be my tractor being painted!", I'd wink and he'd chuckle.
Having done things for the sake of creating usually means I need to sell them. So, I had a booth once, and it was quite successful!
Not only do I restore furniture locally, and fix up homes indoors and out when asked, I just redo things for constant improvement. Keeping busy is an understatement. Sometimes I simply enjoy joining other DIY blogging friends and we'll share together. It's just never ending. And I truly love it. It's another spice of life.
Contributing to the world and gaining a wealth of knowledge from others while obtaining a huge circle of friends has been therapeutic. Blogging has been another creative outlet.
When you are passionate about what you do, you are staying true to yourself.
Sometimes I allow blogging to take over my life and that can be difficult no matter what your age is. You must make family first on your list of priorities. So, I rarely blog on weekends.
I don't post much about my family because I protect their privacy. But I'll tell you that we try to have family fun on the weekends.
Like fighting pirates.
Capturing alligators.
Going to an ocean.
And holding tarantulas.
If I ever put the hammer and drill gun to rest, maybe the blog will change towards the way my lifestyle transforms. One never knows.
I'll vouch that blogging is a busy and rewarding hobby...
... and I'm enjoying the very best of it! As long as I love the life I live, I'll live the life I love.
Now for those two questions Katie asked me...
Katie:
1. Do you have an ad bar, hello bar or pop out on your blog?
Me:
No.
I refuse to have any of those. I find them very annoying. I truly understand the marketing, but I won't have them on my blog.
Katie:
2. If we looked in your purse right now, what would we see?
Me:
Other than ID, checkbook, and credit cards: You would definitely find my cell phone, "to do and buy list" with dimensions written, a list of the model numbers of my tools for materials needed, my second pair of prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, tissues, taser, a mini flashlight, 12' measuring tape, post it pad, pens, Swiss Knife, screwdriver set, super glue, and grocery coupons for the week. The measuring tape along with the pad of "post its" and pens are always used. I measure items at yard sales, Lowe's, and thrift shops and check my to do list with measurements before buying things.
I basically carry a horse saddle bag as a purse. It's a good thing it's sectioned off by categories. Otherwise, I would get lost in it. (ha!)
So now, we are at the end of my post for "Between the Lines". And, I hope you were able to learn a little bit about this maturing blogger.
All of my fellow bloggers over 50
would also appreciate your support of their efforts as well.
Please take the time to visit each of their sites below.
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