I sometimes get comments from readers who are more than happy to jump in and try to shoot holes in the way I try things. Don't get me wrong. I'm not against constructive criticism. I'm more than happy to hear from folks who have suggestions as to how I could do things better. I'm not perfect and neither are some of the methods I use from time to time.
I follow a ton of blogs and truly enjoy reading about folks adventures through this life. I feel kind of blessed that all these folks are sharing their lives with me, a virtual stranger. I also try to respect their "place". If I were in their homes I would do the same. And really, isn't blogging sort of like visiting an extension of someones home? I see comments around the blogosphere sometimes that make me just shake my head. Would those same people use the same bad manners in a person's home? These days probably so. Would I invite them back again? Probably not.
I for one, enjoy your blog & especially the monkey butter recipe. We are all here to learn from each other. And yes, I agree, by blogging we do in fact invite others into our homes & expect everyone to act in our homes as we would in theirs. I like this virtual world we live in.
ReplyDeleteDFW,
DeleteI'll agree. In this virtual world we find ourselves in there are some pretty neat things. You don't really have to clean or cook or pick up after them either! lol
I agree with you 100%, kind of why I stopped blogging, got kicked in the stomach to often. I was, like you sharing and learning but there are some who have to do the oneupsmanship junk and ruin it for many. In my 48yrs. I found that people who truly KNOW something don't go around bragging and putting others down, those are the ones who know the very LEAST and it's because they somehow think they are above everyone else. Sad that people miss out on all the old ways, simply because they don't have time to listen to those who truly KNOW and have lived it! Keep going, I love your page and feel like your are a secret friend :)
ReplyDeleteKelle I really hated it when you decided to stop. Selfish of me I know, but I do miss your voice. I'm a secret friend? Why does that make me giggle? You ashamed of being my "not so secret" friend? ;-)
Deletemost folks these days are really scared or really worried, or maybe both...the economy sucks and most people never thought that they might have to live or do some things that their granpa or granny did not think twice about. these are the people-the scared and the worried and maybe even the ones who still have no clue who i find the most irritating because when they ask for advise or help they turn up their nose thinking they are just too good and too hoy palloy to do what might be necessary. i love your blog cause you are just like most of us out here who are noticing that things are not right with the world and trying to do what we can for ourselves and others...and you are not afraid to ask questions either...my mama always said that there were only stupid answers.
ReplyDeleteAnony I know it's a scary world we are living in. There are so many things going on both privately and in the world around us. The thing is ( my opinion of course) that we will find that everyone is going to have to work together or we will never be able to make a positive change in this mess we call life.
DeleteI have always liked your blog. I need to try the monkey butter recipe though. and I am still trying to perfect your Italian bread recipe.
ReplyDeleteIs that your cat?
Coffee one of these days I swear....lol
JUGM I have a feeling that if you try the monkey butter it won't be the last time you make it! The Italian bread is sooo good but if you will try the Amish white bread everyone will love it. It's easy to put together and unlike some breads it has a wonderful texture that doesn't "crumble" when you slice it. Besides... it goes REALLY well with the monkey butter! Mmmm and coffee .....one day for sure!
DeleteI told the cat "Stick with me boy, I'll make you a internet star" lol
If people behave inappropriately just delete them. You are under no obligation to provide a forum for someone who is rude. There is a world of difference between a constructive exchange of ideas and hatefulness.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!!!!
DeleteI didn't know until recently that I can actually block folks here. I've never had the misfortune to consider it before either though. One thing I have done is to make my comment settings to kick in to monitor mode once a post is a few days old. For some reason it seems to be able to catch the rude before it ever gets published.
Deleteok Gurlie - this post p*ssed me off on a variety of levels. i will explain...and, yes you are welcome.
ReplyDeleteWHAT THE BLOODY EFF?!!?!? you have been receiving comments from people who expect you to be perfect or something?>!?!?!/ there is much reading between the lines to be done when reading this post but what the heck? who is causing you grief? just tell me and i will show up at their house (or houses) with my *ss-kicking boots on!
oh SciGurl - if there is one thing that you have always been it's 100% honest about all of your mistakes and failures...ans some of those have been epic - bahahahahha! sorry. couldn't help myself. but one of the reasons that i became friends with you way back in 1026 is because you are sooo real. yer not afraid to get yer hands dirty, yer not afraid to fail, yer not afraid to make mistakes... and you will share those epic fails and mistakes honestly...but most importantly to me....when you succeed...and i mean really freakin succeed - yer not afraid to share that knowledge with other people. i have learned so much from you, and with you. and so have so many others - what a blessing that has been.
give me a name, an email, an address...i will go out there with the *ss-kiciking boots and defend my friend. NOBODY says anything bad to, or about, my SciGurl.
sorry if this comes off as too aggressive but i read between the lines of your post and i know that you feel hurt by this.
oh and btw - go check out mmpaints new post about her gorgeous crocheted blanket which she is raffling off on her blog - you'll love it.
much love to you and Mars. always buddy! your friend,
kymber
SCI,
DeleteI agree with Kymber, you're very real, tell it like it is, don't put up with the B.S., you have a big heart, and you're not afraid to help out others. And this is why I call you my friend. Plus your blog is amazing, and a great source.
Right on Harry!!! Yes, I totally back his this statement.
Sending hugs and love to you and Mars.
Your Friend,
Sandy
P.S. We must get together again when it gets a little warmer though okay :-)
It's to cold for my liking outside right now.
I agree with Kymber as well.
DeleteMy dear friend, do not let the naysayers get you down, it is just their opinion and what's the saying...Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one...
You, Kymber, a couple of others and I go back a long way now and in all those years, you have always been real and honest about everything. You own up to your mistakes and you celebrate your victories, there is nothing wrong with that.
If there are people that feel they are better than you...well, I'd like to see them go through half the crap you have gone through and then let them come and try to bestow their holier than thou attitude upon you.
There is one thing I've finally come to realize in the last couple of years, the only person we have to please is our self, if we are happy with our life and how we live, then nobody has the right to tell us otherwise, it is our life to live, not theirs.
So I will join Kymber with my ass kickin boots on and I will firmly plant that boot where the good Lord chose to split 'em if they are talking down to you or talking bad about you.
Love and Hugs to you and Mars
~Felinae~
kymber, if there is one thing I have no doubt about it is that I know you have my back. You are fiercely loyal and it's just one of the things I love about you. You can wear your a**kicking boots if you want though. I'm ok. I just sometimes can't believe how folks will act all crazy and think they can be a jerk in someone elses "home". I see it all the time in comments on folks blogs too. It's just that folks like you would never ever disrespect anyone in their own home, much less yours.
Deletexxxooo Sci
Sandy we definitely need to get together once the weather warms back up. I smell a cookout in our future! Thanks for your kind words.
Hugs to you n yours,
Sci
Fel.... my dear sweet friend. You are a formidable enemy to those who will "do harm" to your friends. Heaven knows I don't EVER want to get on your bad side! LOL!!!!!! No need for those boots yet but I know if I need ya to put them on they are at the ready!
Hugs to you n Catman and my buddy B's.
I love your blog and have learned a lot from it. I think you and your husband have done a great job on your homestead. You should feel very satisfied that you two were able to make such a comfortable and mostly self sufficient homestead. You done good!!!
ReplyDeleteDizzy I just grinned ear to ear to hear you say " You done good" It means a lot coming from you!
DeleteGolly I hope any of my comments weren't taken wrong. I like you and your blog. If I am outtah line you delete my comment and tell me I was outtah line. Ok?
ReplyDeleteNancy, no worries. You've never even been close to being out of line around here! Thanks for the kind words. I really didn't mean to get all riled up or even post this. I'm just one of those people who sometimes have to say things out loud to be able to move on. Grab a cookie and some coffee and make yourself at home.
DeleteWell I like your blog, that's why I follow it!
ReplyDeleteYour cat is pretty cool too, I'm thinking it's a "Russian Blue"?
Paul, I have no idea what sort of cat he is. He's huge though and I just love his color. He's lucky I didn't call him Wally since that's where I picked him up. Some kid was giving away kittens and he just melted my heart. Now you have me wanting to go look up Russian Blue cats. Never heard of that one before!
DeleteYa could have used a cat that was a slightly different shade of gray that didn't so closely match the railing it blends in too much. Maybe a picture of a hot chick since we are talking about perfect and all. Oh and what's up with trying to sneak in a picture from an entire different season? Your a fraud and I am sending you my physical address in an email cause I want to see some damned A$$-kickin boots in action rather than just a lot of talk :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the help in my endeavors and as always I am here to help you prove your point whenever needed.
I am only thinking of you.
Leave it to you to call me out on the summer picture! And here I thought I would be able to sneak it by you. As for hot chicks, would a picture of baby chicks under the heat light work? *snork* And if there comes a time when a**kicking commences around here I'll sell you a front row seat.
DeleteThanks for looking after me. :-)~
Dunno, I read this blog every few days, and think it's pretty good. Please keep going.
ReplyDeleteBill in VA.
Bill, although I contemplate shutting this sucker down at least once a month I can't really see it happening. I'm really not much of a quitter. Besides, I get a perverse thrill out of antagonizing rude people. hahahaha
DeleteOh, I wasn't suggesting quitting, just saying keep on going.
DeleteIn any case, I dig the blog, will be dropping by as usual every few days.
Thanks!
Love your down to earth blog! I like to read other blogs who try things and write their mistakes as well as what works. If I wanted rainbows and butterflies I would not be reading the blogs that I do! Homesteading is not the romantically notion some people make it out to be.
ReplyDeleteMama Bear, I can say the same thing about your blog. We have a lot of the same blogs on our Rolls and I know what ya mean. We had rainbows and butterflies( or something like that) the last time BB the dog ate my bag of skittles. *wink*
DeleteYou make a good point though. Some folks do think that living the "homesteading" dream is all tasting the rainbow but we both know that sure isn't any thing close to the way it is. Until we got here I had some sort of romantic notion that it would be prettier and ever so much more easy than it actually is. That being said, I still wouldn't trade it for anything.
Instead of allowing this to chew you up on the insides, you could leave one of the comments up and let the rest of us "take care of it".
ReplyDeleteI second that! Seriously, I LOVE reading about the things you try, and never expected you to be an expert, just a friend with ideas of how to approach things. We're all in this together. Please don't let crabby and critical people discourage you from blogging. The rest of us would love to whack them upside the head!
DeleteNow that's a scary thought lottajoy. I think you would just like to kick some a** because .... well... because. I've tried to learn over the past few years not to let things "get to me" It doesn't always work but I've found if I just get it out in the open it's better than letting it fester and grow into something that might turn ugly. Life's too short for us to dwell on it for long. Besides do we really want to live with the ugliness we have worked so hard all our lives to banish?
DeleteChipmunk do you remember that old whack a mole game? Might be fun, yes? We ARE all in this together. I don't back down from a challenge often. I'm far from being perfect. But I figure that if I can help keep someone from making the same mistakes that I've made then I've done ok. I just don't ever want to be one of those "crabby and critical people". If I do I expect you to play whack a mole upside my head and bring me back to my senses! lol
That is my favorite cat and always has been. It's a British Blue, and hard to come by.
DeleteI don't profess to know a whole lot about all of this but I do have a few chickens and a garden and make jam and such...all I do know is that when I see Bacon and Eggs in my inbox It makes me happy...I've learned many things from you and enjoy the pics, its like visiting and I would never disrespect you or the things that make you who you are.
ReplyDeleteAggiesgirl, your comment humbles me. One question though? Aren't bacon and eggs kind of hard to scrap out of your inbox? O.o *snork*
DeleteYour blog is so educational and you share so much. I have learned about what life is like in parts of the country that I have never been to. And your recipes are always fun and tasty, too. Just keep doing what you are doing. The number of followers you have means that you are doing something right!
ReplyDeleteYou flatter me. I've never really thought of this blog being educational as much as watching a train ready to de-rail at any moment. I'm glad you like the recipes. I've got so many more I'd like to share but I don't want to burn people out all of them. Besides, once I start cooking I always end up forgetting to take pictures while I'm doing it. I can't tell you how many times that by the time I think of taking pictures there are only empty plates to photograph! hehehehe
DeletePlease take the idiots with a grain of salt. My personal opinion is that when they try to poke holes in the way you do something is because they are either too afraid to try it themselves or have messed up so royally that they need to bring others down to their low level. No one reasonable expects you to be perfect.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah. I'm going to have to keep that in mind next time (and we know there will be a next time) I wanna play whack a mole!
DeleteAin't it funny how much these people love you till you say something that rubs them wrong and then all of a sudden, boy howdy look out! The only standards you got to live up to are your own! I don't comment much but I am a big fan of your blog!
ReplyDeleteRat, you know this thing better than many folks. You have me beat hands down on having to deal with ticked off people. You are right though. At the end of the day all that really matters is what we take away from the experience, not what others think.
DeleteScifi, I love that you are real about about the things that work and the things that don't work. I know I tend to learn a lot more from my failures than my successes. Who the heck want's to be perfect? I seem to remember a quaint little story about some guy that was perfect who was whipped and beaten bloody and then hung on a cross. No Thank you! I prefer imperfection with perhaps a few flashes of brilliance. I all ready have enough stress in my life with out adding to it.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad people are rude. I always (try) to be positive in my posting comments, or ask questions. I try to keep my blog pretty positive. There's enough crap out there, and I always enjoy your posts, and usually learn something. And I love your big dogs :)
ReplyDeleteSorry, I might have been thinking about someone else's big dogs...
ReplyDeleteHey, it's ok. I DO have a medium/large dog. Thanks for your kind words. Stay warm this next week!
DeleteI stopped blogging for two years due to some folks around here's opinion of myself and my opinions. I feel like if someone has that much of a problem, don't read it. I have decided the naysayers aren't going to stop me from something I like, and if they want to start the Henry Co. phone tree over a post I write, so be it. Stay strong, my friend!
ReplyDeleteI stopped by your place tonight and found myself reading back through some of your posts. I love your honestly. I've toyed with the idea of quitting but never very seriously. I do get frustrated sometimes but like you I'm not going to be bullied. I like blogging. I sometimes wonder why I keep at it but I'll be dayumed if I'm going to let folks have the satisfaction of seeing me quit. I just get ticked off at folks sometimes. I can't "do" rude and I'm not scared to let folks know. What can I say?
DeleteWhat I find funny is "READING" someone's blog is a "CHOICE". If you don't like it move on!!!! It's not that you are stuck inside someone's doorway and can't get out it is much easier than that click the "x" and your out! Some peoples kids!!
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, I enjoy reading your blogs and do hope you continue......this world is full of cowards and cheapskates it will only get worse....I say if you enjoy writing keep it up and if ugly comments are there ignore/delete/respond but don't ever let it ruin what you enjoy doing!!! Choices go both ways!
It is amazing isn't it? If I don't like a blog I'm sure not going to keep going back to it. I think the X button is a wonderful thing. Poof!!! I'm out. Pretty simple. I just don't have time these days for it. I'm not going to stop blogging anytime soon if I can help it. Besides, with my memory I need a place to be able to look back and see what I was doing at any time. Thanks for reminding me. I don't know why but when you wrote "this world is full of cowards and cheapskates it will only get worse...." It reminded me of that saying from John Wayne that goes "LIfe's tough, it's even tougher if your stupid"
DeleteLOL