I hit the mother lode

I’ve learnt a lot from my blog neighbours. When I left work I thought I might find myself in a cultural and intellectual vacuum. I was excited about reskilling myself in many of the life skills I’d forgotten and needed to relearn, but I expected that it would be a lonely job where the tumbleweed of a thousand yesterdays would roll through my days like a lazy Sunday. I expected my physical spaces to be filled with a million discoveries, but I thought my mind would stagnate and I would seek, and not find, kindred spirits.

It’s funny what happens when you least expect it. I discovered the mother-lode of intelligent, friendly, caring and talented women all tapping away on keyboards in their own homes and connected via millions of cables and links across the www.

This blog community is a wonderful thing. It’s enriched my life to know some of the women I’ve met online. I’ve learnt more than I thought possible, I’ve seen the most beautifully hand made clothing, dolls, knitting, soft furnishings, bags, quilts, curtains, embroidery and crafts of all shapes. I’ve been amazed by gardens producing healthy organic food that have inspired me to be a better gardener. I’ve read recipes that make my mouth water and have made my family and friends smile when I presented them on our own kitchen table.

But the thing that really surprises me and gives me a lot of joy, even now all these years later, are the intelligent, well thought out and defined ideas I discover most days when I’m reading the blogs of other women. Some posts deserve a larger audience as they open minds and expand thoughts but even though we have to be content with what we do and who we reach within our neighbourhood, I’m sure, that in the future, some of the blogs around now will be seen as a meaningful and significant part of our time. Here are just some of the posts from the past week or so that have made me read a second time:

Natalie's post on the history of work and women in the home.
Jenn'y post on enriching family life.
This post by Kate made me celebrate our changing seasons, something we don't do much of in Australia.
Jewels writes about the family like no other. This post celebrates children, generosity and being a brother and a sister.

This post by Stephanie clearly illustrates the world wide embrace of the blog community. It shows us how bloggers around the world reach out to others with friendship and generosity.

And although it's a month old now, I have to include this profound and wonderful post by the duck herder about living in tutti fruiti time.

Thank you for some wonderful reading.