11/16/11

Blogging Benefits Post

It's amazing all the things that get buried in assorted files, CDs, etc.! This is from '04!
Blogging has a number of benefits other than just being able to rattle on about the mundane in one's life and meet wonderful people you might never have met. Remember when my Macbook croaked back in July? Well, all the recipes I'd collected and perfected (IMHO) were lost. All my favorite recipe links, gone in a flash.

So today I was planning meals for the week, which is something I really need to do as I've mentioned before (see more on this below). I realized that I'd lost the final versions of both my Chicken Pot Pie and Smoked Ham Shanks. Then I remembered that I'd posted them to my blog. Hallelujah! Saved :) So from now on, I'm going to share more recipes on the blog.

Luckily, I'd collected all my other recipes from the last 30+ years into a cook book that I made for holiday gifting back in 1992. Over the years, I added recipes to the computer version which is now gone. Of course I do have the printed one but it's missing those extra recipes. Sigh.

In 2004 we (doltoid and I) were going to reissue it with the added recipes. He typed them all up and I then put them on the computer to design the book.

Then divorce interrupted and it never got published. By the way, a really nice, attractive, readable font is Informal Roman. I used it as the font for the cook book, really liked the way it looked. It came with my last PC but it's not on my new Mac. It's available here as a free download. Anyhow, as I think I might have mentioned in an earlier post, I contacted the person I was formerly married to for one of the recipes and he sent the whole book.

The only problem was the toll it took on me. The following is what I wrote after he emailed the book. Even though it's only by email, any contact with him has one drawback. It disturbs something deep within me. Maybe it's the pain, the wound re-opening, the depth of my loss...the fragile peace I've created being shredded so easily. I don't know. But here's what I felt:

"Couldn't understand why on Sunday I was having irrational fits of anger at everything (I kept assuring Blue he was "Okay") and on Monday, it dawned on me that it was all related to emailing dirtbag for the recipe and his earlier email on Social Security. It's amazing how poisonous he still is!! Jeesh, just writing this paragraph has me all tense and wound up suddenly. My breathing is all erratic, as in "holding my breath" without realizing it. I think I need a knitting or crochet project ASAP."


Don't know if this makes any sense to you. I do know that just recounting how I felt has left me feeling drained and needing to crawl into bed for a bit.


So, back to recipes...don't know if I'll have pictures to go with all the recipes I'm planning to post, since some of them make a great deal of food. In lieu of a photo from my own camera, I'll try to find a copyright-free pic of the dish to include. As always, my simple ideas always seem to become quite involved. I just get carried away...like now, deciding to recreate the book on a CD as I post recipes to my blog!


I really do love my little blog. The balance it provides by forcing me not to go off into an entirely negative realm is priceless. Yes, I admit, I do slip up, but try to limit those lapses and at least create a balance with the positive I find each day.


It gives me a great deal of joy to share my thoughts and feelings with the world (literally!). I think if we all knew a little bit about each other, the world would be a happier and more peaceful place for all of us.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Joanne said...

Being able to go back and see what you were doing, eating, etc. in years past is definitely a huge part of why I blog!

11/17/11, 4:08 AM  
Blogger Christine said...

It is fun to look back. As time flies, the ability to see the past clearly is a treat...a bit of time standing still for a moment, rather like a photograph. So much can be forgotten so easily. It gives me perspective. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment Joanne!

11/17/11, 1:04 PM  

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