Rules and restrictions

          I’m not one for imposing rules and restrictions on myself, I know too well that if I do I will fail to keep them so instead of being disappointed in myself for missing my target, I prefer to just go with the flow and feel pleased when I manage to turn up something good.

          Thanks Aj for giving me a mention in your weekly post – “Friendship Friday“.  I think it’s a great idea so I’ll probably join in, not every Friday though so the only restriction I’ll keep here is that it will be on a Friday.

         When I first started blogging, well over two and a half years ago now, a lot of other blogs signed up to do “post a day”.  I know a couple of bloggers who got very despondent at falling behind, despondent enough to fall by the wayside altogether, which was a great shame.  I’m glad I didn’t sign up for that one, instead I tried to keep the number of my posts  matching the number of days in the month, ending up doing three or four posts in one day near the end of the month and filling them with pretty much nothingness as I really didn’t have anything to say.  Once I relaxed the rules I’d given myself I settled into blogging when I felt like it and not blogging when I didn’t and I’ve been enjoying it ever since.

         I’ve lost count of how many blogs I follow, I used to get an e-mail every time someone posted but there were so many good blogs to look at that I couldn’t keep up, I’ve poked around in the settings here on WP and again found a happy medium.  I still get mail from my “Blogging Buddies“, a few of my original friends in the blogging world and a few new ones too, but mainly I use the reader to catch up on what’s going on.  The reader, however, is a tool which can be mis-used, as I’ve found out in the past.  You can scroll down the reader just clicking like on every post as you go without even reading the post you’re clicking on, I was a bit miffed to find out that one of my regular readers wasn’t actually a reader at all (just a clicker) when I published an empty post by mistake and instantly received a like from them.

          I’ve taken up a few challenges in the past, especially when I’ve been a little short on inspiration and very often found new blogging friends via the interaction these bring.  I’ve also been honoured with a couple of awards, I keep my identity to myself but have quite enjoyed how the awards allow me to tell you a bit about myself without actually telling you who I am, although as usual I’ve not always stuck to the rules and restrictions which come with them.

          I love to get comments on my posts, who doesn’t, but likes always raise a smile too.  Just a note to anyone who adds a like here though, I’d love to drop back to your blog in return to have a nose around, but sometime it’s not possible.  Clicking on the Gravatar which appears when you like my post sends me to your Gravatar which, unfortunately doesn’t automatically add a link to your blog, you have to add that yourself so sometimes I’m left with no return route.  I don’t remember how it’s done but it’s worth poking around in the Gravatar settings to add a link to your blog for yourself.

          If a post I read makes me smile, I like to leave a comment, I love the friendship that the interaction with other bloggers online has given me and look forward to hearing what other people have to say in reply.  One rule and restriction I’m always happy to place on myself is that I always reply to a comment.

          As for today’s picture … well, what can I say … I like coffee and I like hats, both make me smile.