It’s been a minute. A lot of minutes. Life keeps getting away from me. Days go by and I don’t post on this site, then I get anxious because I haven’t posted for a while. And then the anxiety prevents me from thinking of anything to write.
“Tomorrow,” I promise myself.
Riiiight.
Another dilemma: What to write? Sometimes I think I should post only about personal finance in general and frugality in particular. This is true even though my personal writing topics tend to get more reaction and feedback. Then again, sometimes money and frugality are extremely personal topics.
I’ve been doing this since May 2010, and while I don’t want to give it up, I do want to feel less pressured to write. Interesting how the only person putting pressure on me is me.
I do feel that I have advice and experiences that can help others. Readers do, too; one thing I’ve always liked about blogging is that it doesn’t just give me a platform – it also lets readers share their own best practices in the comments section. I learn, and other readers learn, too.
Yet I’m also starting to prioritize my time differently: A little less work, and a lot more time to hang out with DF, family and friends. On my deathbed some day* I will not be wishing I’d spent more time posting digests of current personal finance developments. However, I might wish I’d taken more walks, pruned more tomato plants and made more pies.
A platform for all of us
Consistency is what makes blogs profitable. People who post regularly get more regular readers. But I’m not in this for profit. To do that, I’d need to put in more affiliate links, recommend more products and hit social media much harder.
This site isn’t a cash cow. It’s a way to reach potential clients, and a chance to get readers talking to one another. The site is always a place to put things I can’t publish anywhere else, and a place to enjoy myself. At the start I called it my “playground for words.“ Still true.
So I’ll keep lurching along – lots of posts some months, relatively few during others – and hope that you folks will keep pace. Here’s a little catch-up with what’s been going on here.
Mother’s Day
I got a nice experiences-not-stuff present from my daughter: a Cinemark gift card. It came with a lovely sentiment, too: “As always, thanks for pushing me out.”
Mother’s Day is no longer a holiday I can celebrate, since my mom died back in 2003. But I will make a donation in her name either to the Food Bank of Alaska or the Red Cross.
As I get ready to post this, I can smell the ribeye steak DF is cooking in the kitchen. He thinks I deserve a good meal on Mother’s Day, so who am I to disabuse him of that notion?
Daylight
Lots and lots of it. I sat up last night, reading, and realized that at almost 11 p.m. it was still bright enough to be reading outside. Wouldn’t do it, because it was chilly and the breeze was blowing grit** around. But I could have.
Late spring
We had a lot of snow, which lingered in big heaps on our street as well as in our garden. (It snowed pretty heavily on May 3, which I think was just cruel.) Here’s a view of the cul-de-sac’s snow pile as of April 23:
Still looks like a lot, right? It’s the result of city snowplows, which grade the snow on our (fairly short) street into a huge, dense heap beloved by the neighborhood kids. Here’s a photo of that same heap on Dec. 20, 2022:
That’s DF walking past it, to give you some perspective of its height. The huge white heap in the foreground is one of DF’s three*** Subarus, covered with snow. (It’s visible in the April photo.)
Now the pile is about a foot high. Some wag planted an American flag on it. Some summit, huh?
Late gardening, too
We’ve got lots of plant starts but it’s waaaay too cold to put them in the ground. DF was using the Weasel tool on one raised bed last week and about four inches down, the tool hit ice. Yikes.
However, we did put some of our starts in the (unheated) greenhouse yesterday:
(I should probably update this photo in a month so you can see how fast things grow once they get going. The near-nonstop daylight just eggs them on.)
This morning it was 38 degrees, but the greenhouse was 44 degrees thanks to the gallon jugs of water we store there (they absorb heat all day and release it at night).
FinCon23
The Financial Blogger Conference**** is in New Orleans this year, from Oct. 18 to 21. Didn’t apply to be a speaker (some of the folks I wanted to be on my panel weren’t available), but I will be attending. (Anyone who was thinking of going can save $10 on this year’s ticket by visiting the FinCon website and using the discount code DONNA10.)
If any of you live in or near N’Awlins, perhaps we could arrange a meet-up. Beignets, anyone?
*That day will be 150 years hence, according to the agreement minted by my daughter. If I die sooner than that, I may be sued.
**The gravel the city puts on the streets during the winter hasn’t yet been cleaned off those streets. These things take time.
***He recently donated it to Make-A-Wish. With it went a piece of history: Two famous playwrights (Arthur Miller, Edward Albee) and one famous actress (Patricia Neal) have all sat in the passenger seat.
****It’s now just called “FinCon,” because it’s now about podcasting, YouTube, Instagram, course creation and I don’t know what all. Really need to get into the habit of saying that.
i always enjoy your posts and actually don’t mind that they’re not constantly added every day or week. I think it’s better bc that way I’m excited when I see a new one like today. happy mother’s day. I’m a sister, aunt, but not a human mom, I’m a cat mom. thank you for your interesting Alaska tales and pics and always making me think and smile.
Thanks! I appreciate it.
I love Patricia Neal. So very talented. One of my favorite movies is the first that started the Walton’s and she was the Mother. No matter how much or how little you write to us, I will always be reading it.
I got to meet Ms. Neal at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference. At one point she asked me to retrieve her purse from a nearby table. When I did she drawled, “Thank you, you’re a DIVINE woman.” I’d have fetched anything she wanted if only she would keep talking.
And thanks for being a consistent reader. It means a lot.
I’m as impressed by Ms. Neal’s life as by her work: She survived the serious injury of one child and the death of another; those cerebral aneurysms of her own; *and* being married to Roald Dahl. That was one tough lady.
And please do continue the blog on whatever schedule (or lack thereof) suits you. I look forward to new posts, whenever they occur.
This made me laugh: That day will be 150 years hence, according to the agreement minted by my daughter. If I die sooner than that, I may be sued.
My deal with my husband is that he can’t die without two years WRITTEN notice. And if he gives me the notice and DOESN’T die, I need another written notice, still two years in advance. 😂
Seems fair.
I have to start by saying I too really look forward to seeing a link pop up in my email. I would rather read an interesting piece rather than 10 little meaningless “blurbs” . I have read your articles since your MSN days (I often re-read older links for inspiration) I know I have enjoyed and been inspired by your experiences. You picked yourself up and accomplished so much with so little where others might have given up. You have achieved your goals and have a wonderful life with DF and a daughter who obviously loves you and has learned much from you. I thank you for your interesting and humorous insights. By keeping your thoughts real, it helps to know we are not alone in our thoughts, feelings and struggles. Just a small request, always put up your first Christmas tree and perhaps write a reminder to yourself and others of the joy and beauty of your little tree. Don’t put more stress in your life and thanks for sharing with us!
Awww, thanks.
Hi Donna- I am here for anything you write about, in whatever increments you want to feed it to me 🙂
Hope you had a lovely Mother’s Day!
Many thanks to DF for donating to Make-a-Wish. My granddaughter battled cancer as a 12 and 13 year old and that wonderful organization sent her and her family all to Hawaii because her greatest wish was to swim there with dolphins. Update: she is over ten years cancer free and attending college with big plans for her future!
Donna, if you blogged every day I would read it. On the other hand, if you blogged every six months I would read it. In other words, I will follow your blog no matter how often you write. You always post interesting, helpful and often LOL blogs. I think most if not all of us would agree you should do whatever best works for you. We’re not going anywhere
Wow. I am touched.
Good news about your granddaughter. Long may she reign!
I truly enjoy your blog and have learned much from it, going back to the MSN days.
Please keep writing.
I have a day of sadness on Mother’s Day. I do have two cats, both with chronic illnesses. So I’ve set up a separate bank account to keep those funded.
Please don’t stress about the blog
Donna, I have followed you for a long time, from the MSN days. I always appreciate when you have time to write. I just retired a few months ago, and the freedom is nice, So, write when you can, and we will be here. Thanks for all you have done for myself and others.
This.
Glad to see you back and here whenever you want to be!
Donna,
I’m with everyone else. I love all your posts and I often reread ones from the past. I truly would hate for you to get anxious or stressed about it. Write what you can when you can. It will be enjoyed whenever! It’s all good!
Blog when you want, how you want, about whatever you want, Donna. I, and many others, will still read it.
I love the pic of the inside of the greenhouse. I’ve been wanting to know what it looks like ever since you first mentioned it.
If I remember, I’ll put up another photo after a month of Alaska sun. It will be…bushier.
And thanks to you, and everyone else, for your kind words.
Another long-time reader here. I’ve followed you since the MSN days. Please don’t stress about your blog. Write when you want, about what you want.
I’m still reading, though it’s been a long time since I’ve commented. I really enjoy your posts. Post whenever it works for you, and I’ll read when it works for me!
I prefer the posts on frugality and finance. Those are helpful to most people.
I am not excited to see snow, I have seen it before, lots. If you don’t feel energized about your blog, you have a choice to stop doing it. It is interesting that you say this is not “a cash cow” for you. Back at your MSN days, you wrote
about frugality, how you survived on little income while studying. It was relatable and some blogs were inspiring. It is understanable you are in a different place and time now. I do like to check in and read your column now and again. But we all need to know when to step off. This is my opinion.
Duly noted.
Donna, I vote with everyone else. I enjoy your posts so much and am always learning from you. I still bow every time you explain how you made the seemingly impossible possible through your frugal hacks. I love the wide range of topics. That said, please don’t put pressure on yourself because of us. We’re here when you’re ready.
You blog anytime you want as long as you keep blogging, please 🙂 And it’s always far more interesting to read about life than the latest financial tips, even as a mostly-money blogger myself.
My mom’s been gone a little more than half the time yours has been and for a most years I couldn’t celebrate it either. But with the kids as young as they are, I’ve had to come around on it. Nothing fancy of course, they fetched me a nice bag of donuts and I was happy. We even ventured outside for a quick drive and that was more than enough!
* She *will* sue. So don’t even think of stepping off earlier than 150 years from now! Your friends want to keep you forever too.
I wouldn’t dare risk her ire. Or her lawyer’s ire. (Say “lawyer’s ire” five times fast.)
Thanks for your support.
I’m another long time reader who seldom comments but always checks for new posts. I very much enjoy your outlook on life. Thanks for many years of sharing with us.
I miss you Donna! Hope all is well and you are taking a little break.
Would you consider a guest post, to help piece our your posts?
Ask them the same questions you’ve commented on — and see how they differ from your approach.
(Yes, I’m volunteering.)
I decided early on that I would do all my own writing. Thanks for the suggestion, though.