Learning to Blog--a new 'marathon' challenge

Or just go to Blogspot and do it.

jo5 I can just picture you walking along, just walking, albeit enjoyingly, and ruminating on this. Naughty!!

I feel a lot younger at 72 than I did in my 50's when I was taking no exercise and eating/boozing too much. However, I used to look quite glamorous and now I am a white-haired old lady (but my posture is better!)
I suppose age is partly a number, which we can't do anything about, and partly an attitude of mind. Looking forward to new experiences is a great way of staying alert and cheerful. I don't care about my appearance - it served its purpose when I wanted to attract partners but that side of my life ended about 14 years ago! (I don't know why, I just lost interest - I guess I kissed too many frogs.)

No bungee jumping or parachute drops for me, I can get all the 'highs' I need when I reach the summit of a mountain! I watched two of my grandchildren doing a bungee jump in NZ last Christmas, and then one of them did a parachute jump. They loved it, but my heart was thumping until they landed safely. I like exciting activities but I also like to be in control of them. I won't even be getting lost in forests any more, as I am treating myself to a GPS compass for Christmas!

I would need some guidance if I started to write a blog, just for the technical aspects. Sue doesn't need any help with writing - we have all seen how vividly she can paint a picture for us.

Well--lots of interesting and useful comments have appeared while I was out trying to 'learn to begin a blog' today. Thanks

First, to address the various ageing comments.(Sorry, comments re ageing; no offence intended, absentgrana's definitions were helpful). I think it's proved one thing to me--the subject might be worth a Blog! So I don't think I'll answer those questions about when it kicked in for me here, just give a blog-taster. [Sorry, that sounds horrid, like bloater-paste sandwiches. If anyone's old enough to remember this wartime treat.)

Actually, ageing didn't kick, it just strolled around me, getting a bit closer as i needed to put my glasses on to see it--then had to get stronger glasses, which was a bit of a nuisance--I put some comments about this on the Walking a marathon site, if anyone is interested.

But jO5's comments have set me thinking, so thanks for that. I agree that being put in a negatively stereotyped group is not an option.

I guess it's more about realising that this life isn't forever, and as I've got so many things I want to do, and things to think about and reflect on, I realise I've jolly well got to get on and do them! When I reached my allotted three score years and ten I felt that anything more is a bonus. I'm lucky, I'm reasonably fit and healthy, but by this age my father had already died, suddenly and unexpectedly, from a heart attack. [He was fit, healthy and a non-smoker]

Obviously all the family were distressed by this, but I have always regretted not asking him about some things (like his time at Cambridge in the 1930s and his time in the RAF in WWII) that only he could tell me. There were always everyday things to talk about--'those things' could wait til he 'was older'. My grandfather had died at 90, so we all assumed my father would do the same. Foolish, I know, but it has obviously affected me a bit, even though he died nearly 30 years ago.

So, I don't want to take this stage of my life for granted--it is precious, and if I want to be a resource for my children and grandchildren I need to tell them now.

Of course, they probably won't be interested now, but if I wrote some stories down (or in a Blog?!) then if, in the future, they want to know 'What G'ma did in the war', or 'What was it like in China when G'ma led a health study group there in 1992?' or 'Did G'ma really travel around Viet Nam on her own when she was nearly 60? What was it like? did she really get locked in a compartment overnight on a train, with 3 VN men, and were the window's really barred?'
Now is the time for g'ma to tell these stories.

OK. I know i could just write them down, but why miss an opportunity to learn a new skill and make use of the technology available? If nobody else reads my [eventual] blog and it disappears into the ether without trace, who cares?!

I no longer take 'life' as a given. I fully intend to keep alive and well and (possibly) walk a marathon when I'm 100. Although I do quite fancy the idea of eventually letting myself grow my hair into a little grey bun, sit in a rocking chair and knit whilst listening to Radio 4. But that might just have to wait until I'm 110

A quick nod to the first day of the Begin to Blog course. Greatnan is right, I need to know the technicalities. Some of you are much more socially-networked than I am. So thanks jO5 for your reference to Blogspot. Before the course, I had no idea about Managed v Self-Managed sites, Blogger, Tumblr, Wordpress etc etc. I just googled stuff and it led me to websites. Being so far behind y'all, I've had to learn from scratch, hence the Course.

So, if anyone's still reading this, and you have any views as to which blogging host sites are most user-friendly and easily accessible to surfers, please let me know.

One thing I did learn at school today is that the word blog comes from web log. So initially I guess it was a kind of diary, but now it can cover any communications.

More ideas later. I need my bed!
Sleep well all you night owls. Mmh, that's a very good idea

My father was a lot older than my mother, so I always assumed she would outlive him and I would then find the time to sit and chat to her about her life. Sadly she died aged only 69, and he outlived her; I couldn't ask him the questions because he had Alzheimers. So I agree how important it is to tell our stories. My main concern about modern technology is that I don't think it will, in future, be proper source material if it's stored on computers etc. I worry about digital photographs for the same reason.

I like what I have read so far, GM [creeping] emoticon, I admit I had been dreading a sort of Oldie "ou sont les neiges d'antan"-type meandering, but I can empathise with a lot of what you are saying, and you write well. My father took part in a type of Listening Project in the Scottish Borders a couple of years before he died and as well as treasuring a couple of his stories (he was a writer and had met some fascinating characters) I love the fact that I can still hear his voice on the 1 CD I have. How I wish he had written down more of his anecdotes as a young local reporter though. I can remember him telling us, but of course the magic is in the telling and that has died with him.

Have you ever read Melvyn Bragg's 'Speak for England' gracesmum? I tried to get a verbal record of local peoples memories going after I'd read it, but it never got off the ground.

The comments from both gracesmum and crimson are so relevant.

About 15 years ago I did an MSc in Medical Anthropology (there's a story behind that as well!).

Ethnographic research was part of the degree, so for a practice assignment I interviewed my mother. I asked her What it feels like to be 80 in 1997. We sat with the tape recorder on the table and I just let her talk. It was fascinating. She talked about her childhood, her life during the war, her memories of my father and the changes she had lived through. One of her irritations was being treated as unintelligent by the 'young whipper-snappers' of the current NHS telling her how she should live her life, what constituted a 'healthy diet' etc. She felt that surviving to 80 with her health still good, her brain intact and leading a very very active, independent life proved she knew what was good for her!
This tape became a vital part of our family history and a few months later I interviewed my aunt. She had been a nurse in the RAF nursing service during WWII. She was a quietly spoken, self-effacing woman, and when I heard her stories of what she did during the war, in her early twenties, I was so impressed at her dedication and courage. it makes me cringe when I see how some nurses and carers treat 'old' people today. People like my aunt had so much more guts, courage and skill than many of today's nurses and carers and deserve their respect. (Gross generalisation, apologies, but you know what I mean).
Hearing these voices tell their wonderful stories is precious to us today, but the tapes are wearing thin, and they did not transfer successfully to CD.

So crimson's point about the use of modern technology on which to write, record and store our own stories is extremely pertinent. Thank you.

Any suggestions for the best way to do it would be very welcome.

Right, well I've now got to do my homework after the first blog-course day where we learnt about setting up an RSS feed, among other things.
I'm now supposed to be trying to set up a blogging site (maybe via Wordpress) before going to class tomorrow.

I think my Loving Ageing theme is going to have to wait a few months. I realise I have a number of projects I need to finish before devoting a lot of my time to a new one. So many unfinished things. So I may need to set up a JFDIS.com blog first. ( Just Flipping Do It Susan, in case you're wondering...).

I realise (belatedly and ashamedly) that I'm a great procrastinator, and would rather set up a new project than sew together the strips of a lovely Afghan blanket. I started knitting this many years ago, finished the two last strips a year ago, and still have not sewn it up.

Then there are the eternal travel journals I'm always 'going to do'--and still haven't. A sampler that needs framing; newspapers covering the London Olympics that i intend to put into a scrap book for the grandchildren
Do I need to go on? You must have got the measure of me by now!

Maybe I'm not alone--does this sound familiar to anyone?
[If anyone's still reading this page???]

The other thing I'm a bit concerned about is exposing my thoughts to anyone on the internet who happens to log on to my site (if I start one).
Any thought, dear reader?
Have a good week.

I think you are right to be cautious about what you put online. If you use your real name, anybody with a computer will be able to read what you write, just by googling your name.
IF I had a major job to do, I think I would set myself a target, like so many hundred words or so many hours a day.
I did start a blog about retiring to France, using blogspot, but I got bored!

Be careful what you write Grandma , as it is amazing what people can pick up .

There are some funny old sorts out there .

Thanks for those comments greatnan and Nonu. Really helpful

I think I'll use a user name when I do a 'trial blog' using Wordpress.

Also I'll begin with some fairly general things, and not bare my soul, as I've been tempted to do on Gransnet!

Grandmaminey , like [moon ]

This damn laptop of mine , when i said moon , I didn"t mean moon , I meant

goodnight ! Oh lordy , I"m going to hush now.

Well, I finished the 2-day blog course yesterday and after a bit of blood, sweat and a couple of tears of frustration (!) I've set up a blog!

Whether or not anyone can access it is another matter

I decided I had things to do before I can start something along the lines of the Best is Yet to Be project blog, so I've started a Deadline Decade blog.

J05 et al, please note I've heeded your comments and tried to be a bit more upbeat in my embryo ideas

Please don't think oh here she goes again, all doom and gloom. It's just that I have several currently unfinished projects (some from years ago) and if I try to be 'Ms Sensible' and not get carried away by a new passion, I have to finish at least some of these projects first.

So the Deadline Decade--getting things done blog is to encourage me to do just that. It's also blog-practice for my intended project.

If anyone's interested in what I've managed so far, or which projects I'm trying to finish, try checking out www.autumnglint.wordpress.com
I couldn't get it on google, but if you have Safari, you might be able to
it might need a /-Deadline Decade added.

That would make it www.autumnglint.wordpress.com/-Deadline Decade

I took on board the warning comments from Greatnan and Nonu, and I have used a user name, not my own. (Very difficult to choose, all my first choices had gone!) so Autumn Glint seemed appropriate for someone fruitfully older, but with a glint in their eye. aka GrandmaMiney.

Fingers crossed that the link works, or it's back to the drawingMacboard for me, with my tail between my legs. The course has finished now, so I'm on my ownio.

PS, I tried the first link and it worked for me!

The second link I gave worked, but when it said the page couldn't be opened, I just clicked on -Deadline Decade on the top bar of the screen, and it took me to the page. Incidentally, because of the design of the page there needs to be a hyphen mark before Deadline. i.e. -Deadline

It would be great to know if it lets anyone else get on.

Have a good day!

"Deadline Decade"!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you 90?!

I found it easily and read it with interest. I would like to know a lot more about your travels but less about the blanket -but that just reflects my own interests.
I have signed up to follow you, so keep it up!

Found it easily , It was good !

Liked the picture of the leaf looking like a pair of lips .

Keep up the good work .

Thanks for your comments, it really helps with this challenge.

Don't worry Greatnan you can skip Project 1 and just follow Project 2 (VN).
I'm hoping that by categorising the posts it should be possible to choose which category to follow. But it's all part of this huge learning curve. I appreciate having some GranGuinea-pigs to try it out with me. If you have the time to give feedback it really helps.

When anyone actually reads the blog they will know how I am using the term Deadline Decade --not always wise to trust assumptions!

In Gail Sheehy's groundbreaking book Passages she refers to the Deadline Decade as the time when people in their 30s and 40s are approaching midlife!

Her quote at the introduction to this section of her book is my all time favourite quote and has been written at the front of all my diaries for the last 25 years:

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

A quote attributed to Goethe, and i guess it still applies at whatever age I choose to learn to blog!

I do like your quote by Goethe

Very apt.

Do you know when it was written ?

It may not have been written by Goethe...
German Myth 12

Ana , checked it out , interesting !

Although this 'quote' appears in many places as a Goethe quote, I know there has been some discussion about its provenance.

However I find it such an inspirational quote that until someone tells me who said it, I will continue to use it!
As I cannot claim to be the first I feel I have to attribute it to someone, so it may as well be Goethe--maybe he threw the original bit of paper on the fire because he wasn't in the mood to take his own advice. Who knows?

Any clues Ana?

The inspiration is what really matters...and it certainly inspired me when my daughter put it on my justgiving page when I decided to try to walk a marathon to raise money for a charity.

Her other mantra is "It's always impossible--until it's done" which helped me keep going through the final 5 miles of the marathon walk!

I shall continue to apply them both to any new project I undertake.
Sorry if all that sounds a bit serious, it's an interesting discussion, so thanks for raising it.
Now--back to my sewing/travelogue/Olympic scrapbook before the blog inspiration dries up. Maybe a first!