However, I had a house guest for four days and did not want to be so impolite as to retreat to my computer, leaving my guest to his own devices. Thankfully, Vicki has allowed me to still participate, and here it is, my contribution to "Grow Your Blog":
Still relatively new in Blogland (I started in March 2009), I soon realized that I had found THE literary genre for myself.
Lacking the stamina for a novel (a draft has been in my head for at least 20 years) and the necessary time and funding for a non-fiction work, but feeling an essential need for writing, there is nothing that fits the bill (for me) as well as blogging. Here, I can go on about whatever I have in mind, for as long or as short as I want to. I can show my readers pictures, share recipes, voice my opinion about any subject under the sun, write book reviews and publish my own short stories, all of which I have done in the past and hopefully will keep doing.
My readers are very important to me, and I appreciate each and every comment. At currently 94 followers (one of which is myself - something I don't think should be technically possible, but there you go!), I know that there are huge numbers of other bloggers out there with a really impressive list of followers, but what matters for me is that I am able to keep in touch with those select few who seem to like returning to my blog, and have something interesting, funny or encouraging to say.
Where does it all happen?
Here:
My personal computer is in my bedroom, and it is mostly here where I read other blogs and write my own, and also where I play my favourite computer games, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3.
Originally, I was trained as a library assistant many moons ago. My love of books is not quite as evident in my flat as it could be; I have downsized considerably when I moved here in October 2003, and nowadays mainly get my reading on my kindle, lacking both the money and the space for buying as many books as I'd like to.
Here is a closer look at my book shelf:
On the lowest level are old childhood friends such as the Narnia books, and several photo albums.
The 2nd level from the bottom contains my collection of space and space-travel related books, as well as some works about and by Wernher von Braun.
Then comes a shelf filled with the "Insel" (German for island) series, which I used to collect when I was younger. A lot of those are ex-library books that were about to be thrown away.
Above those, another level full of childhood friends, namely by Edith Nesbit and Astrid Lindgren, two authors whose influence on children's literature in general and my childhood in particular was and still is tangible.
Next is my M.C. Beaton shelf. Yes, I know - this is not for the high-brow literature lover, but these are books I enjoy, and I keep getting more and more from my mum, and also from my mother-in-law in the birthday and Christmas parcels she sends from England.
Most of you will instantly recognize the colourful backs of the Harry Potter books on the top shelf, and above that, all the large-format books which you sometimes find classified as coffee table books.
A lot of my reading happens here:
This old armchair was part of my grandparents'
living room furniture, and it is so comfortable that I spend many of my
lunch breaks there, when I am not going out for lunch.The armchair even has its own blog entry!
The recipes you will occasionally find on my blog have been tried, tested and photographed here:
And one of the very first blog entries I ever published was about this little old lady:
Pukky died last year in March; she was frail and had a heart condition, but for 10 years, she had a good and happy life with me. If you go through my blog and pick the occasional recipe or an entry under "Daily Life", you will see more of her.
And if you want to see the Librarian Herself, all you have to do is check out "Fashion For The Shallow-Minded".
Once again, thank you, Vicki, for giving me and so many other bloggers the possibility to tell others about our blogs, and gain new readers, while at the same time find more blogs to follow in return!
Hello Meike:
ReplyDeleteAnd now we feel that we have been formally introduced!
For us, as you write here, it is the connection and ongoing dialogue that one enjoys with one's readers that is the very best part of the blogging process. It is fascinating how in the labyrinth of the Blogosphere one can find so many people with whom one shares interests or enthusiasms and yet others who fascinate because of their completely different ideas and lifestyles.
We wish you every success in consolidating and finding ever new avenues for your literary talent!
Hello Jane and Lance,
Deletethank you! Indeed, were it not for my own blogging, I would have never "met" you through your blog, and your posts - just like many others I delight in - always broaden my horizon.
What a lovely post-- it's really just wonderful to peek into your life this way. I think I could sit and read-- or knit-- all day in that comfy chair by the window!! Your kitty was beautiful--- we love kitties too at our house and truly understand the pain of your loss.
ReplyDeleteI hope you make lots of new friends-- your blog is so lovely-
Xo
Vicki
Thank you, Vicki!
DeleteParticipating in your blog party already has resulted in me gaining some new readers - which in time I am sure I will come to regard as friends!
What a great post! Those coffee table books are hard to store, aren't they? Such a heavy lifting job when you want to browse through the one at the bottom of the pile. :-) Thank you for sharing your life with us in this way.
ReplyDeleteChristine, you are so kind! Yes, the coffee table books are wonderful to browse but difficult to find a good place for them. I must confess I do not take them down as often as they deserve :-)
DeleteNice to see a bit more of your flat, and books :) I do recognize the Harry Potter books, and of course the Narnia books and Astrid Lindgren can be found in my shelves as well.
ReplyDeleteYou've shown us quite a bit of your flat, Monica, and I am glad I was able to return the favour :-)
DeleteDon't you love getting a glimpse of other people's book shelves? I think it always reveals a bit more about them.
Yes Meike, for me too it adds to the picture of a person to get to see a bit of their home, and their bookshelves.
DeleteI'm so blasted nosy that this post was right up my alley...just love seeing other people's homes! I wonder if the feeling of gratitude and awe every goes away when you get a new follower? I keep waiting to not care as much, but then just the opposite happens. And whenever I start to think how few I have compared to how many some have, I'm like "Noel, 100 people somewhat care enough to read what you have to write" and then I'm super happy and grateful again!
ReplyDeleteI've also got a novel brewing inside of me, have for years, and I'm thinking this is my year!
Noel, you've had an incredible quick gathering of readers on your blog - from 0 to 100 in only a few months! I wonder when I will be able to celebrate that milestone :-)
DeleteLike you, I love seeing other people's homes!
Hi there Meike! I loved your post, I wish my desk was so neat! You know I'm a librarian, also, but what I like about my Kindle is that I don't fill up my house with too many books. But I will always love to read! Thanks for sharing,
ReplyDeleteYour friends,
Dorothy and Ms. Wilma
Yes, Dorothy, that is one big PLUS for the Kindle, isn't it! I love it also for being so lightweight when I travel. Gone are the days when I was dragging heavy bags filled with books around every time I went on holiday :-)
DeleteHi Meike,
ReplyDeleteAnother great post.Thank you for sharing those thoughts and the wonderful photos! I have said this before but I just love your style. Your home is just beautiful. I wish I could get my home to be so uncluttered! The thing about your home is it has alot of clean lines and smooth surfaces but still seems to have such a bright homey feel not at all cold like some ultra modern style homes seem. I also love your writing style. It feels like you really are giving us a glimpse into your life. I also appreciate when you share stories or photos of your German traditions and town. I would love to visit your area sometime.
Take care!
Denise (? right?), that is so kind of you to say!
DeleteYou are right in that I really like my neat surfaces and clean lines, but I still want it to feel homey and cosy and not "sterile".
Let me know when you plan a trip to Germany - I'd happily be your guide for my hometown!
It's not Denise it is Jan. I would love, love, love to travel to Germany. Someday I make take you up on that tour guide offer.
DeleteTake care,
Jan
Hello Jan, sorry for having mistaken you for Denise - her avatar is (or at least used to be) the same.
DeleteOh Goodness, That is not a problem at all. My avatar is different at times. If I sign in under wordpress through my blog it is this one and if I sign in through my google account it is a teapot and teacup. It always says softie or softiesplace though either way.
DeleteThank you for explaining! Since your first comment, someone else with the same avatar has left a comment further down; now I know this is just a standard one and not your personal one :-)
DeleteI only have this one avatar, it is a picture of a gameplay figure for the computer game "The Sims 2". I created that Sim to look like me :-)
My daughters (they are 26 & 21) love to play the Sims. The oldest has Sims 2 and the youngest has Sims 3. I have never played myself but I have seen them creating their characters and having a lot of fun on the game.I think you did a very good job creating a character that looks similar to you!
DeleteThank you, Softie! Do you know - our little exchange here about your avatar has given me an idea for a blog post :-)
DeleteUntil a year ago, I used to work for EA/Maxis as a moderator on the official Sims2 and Sims3 website. I still work for them once a year at the computer games fair to promote the game; just type "sims" in the search bar of my blog and you'll find the pictures, maybe your daughters want to have a look.
I am glad our chat has inspired you. :) I should see my daughters this weekend and I will have them check out the photos. I know they will be interested to have a look! In my profession I am a counselor. For 8 years I have been working with adolescents. many of them report to me that when they get older they want to work as video game designers. I often wonder how many of these jobs are actually available. I can tell you they would all be impressed with you. If you ever work with this population you will be a very popular lady! I will let you know after my girls check out your posts. Thanks for sharing that info. :)
DeleteThere's a lot of work to do in the video game industry! Not only the actual game designers are wanted, but there's also plenty of room for producers, marketing people and many more.
DeleteAs a recent follower, it's nice to have this bit of background!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it :-)
DeleteI've been a follower for some time now and I feel right at home in your flat. I am pleased to see you have some whimsy on your bedroom shelves. I never see knick-knacks in your living room or kitchen, and I love that. I'm not a k-k person either even though I've lived a long time and collected a lot of "things" along the way. Every now and then I go through my rooms and put away stuff and am always please with the clearing out. I really do like your flat and would be quite comfortable there.
ReplyDeletePS...I'm the "one" who shook WV-B's hand years ago when he came to visit the Space Shuttle assembly plant in California.
Jill, I remember you mentioned that about WV-B before; we must have "talked" about him at some stage already.
DeleteYou saying that you'd be quite comfortable in my flat is a huge compliment, thank you!
I feel privileged to be part of your Blogworld.
ReplyDelete...and vice-versa, Graham!
DeleteDear Meike, I love feeling invited into your home as a guest! I am sure I would spend time looking through your books, except I would rather spend more time talking with you! I am sorry about your sweet kitty, but happy to hear that she had a good life with you. My whole home is full of bookshelves and I must move on with giving more of them away, but in my bedroom are the favorites that I have read many many times and there are some M.C. Beatons on them. The Skeleton in the Closet is one of my favorites though it is completely stand alone which is unusual for her.
ReplyDeleteThe Skeleton in the Closet is good, isn't it! I have it, too; not sure now whether it is visible in the pictures.
DeleteYou bet we would not run out of topics for talking if you really were my guest here, Kristi! You could still browse through my books, of course, provided you'd put them all back in the right order ;-)
Oh Meike, we share another very important trait, that of putting books (and everything else!) back in the right order. I even alphabetize my spices! Probably shouldn't have admitted that in print.
DeleteJill, you are a woman after my own heart!! I even wrote a list of the order in which my colour pencils were to be put back into their metal box when I was about 10 years old.
DeleteGreat to "meet" you - and thanks for the tour!
ReplyDeleteI love your bookshelves, I try to only keep books I will read again and again, so my shelves are mostly filled with children's books - why is it that they are the ones we go back to again and again??
;) Look forward to getting to know you a little better through your blog! xxx
Hello Rachel, nice to "meet" you, too!
DeleteYes, there is something about children's book that makes us go back. A bit like your first love, you never forget that, either :-)
If I were going to conduct a blog tour of our house, I'd have to spend a week tidying it up first. I'm full of admiration.
ReplyDeleteNow, write that novel, Meike!
Frances, my writing would need too much editing - unlike you, I can not hold a plot together for more than a few pages, I'm afraid, and I can hardly imagine anyone wanting to read it.
DeleteAs for the tidying up, that hardly ever needs doing here, at least not when I am on my own, which is why I can take pictures any time and it almost always looks the same (= boring to some, I guess).
I've enjoyed this glimpse of your home and your writing space, Meike, and as an former librarian I'm glad to know you also worked in libraries in the past. I'm a more recent blogger than you (2011) but the reasons you give for so enjoying blogging strike a big chord with me. Long may your blog flourish!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Perpetua!
DeleteI do not plan to stop blogging anytime soon, and I don't think I'll run out of topics, either.
Love your blogs -- both regular and fashion -- love your kitchen -- a big sunny window is a must -- love your reading corner! :)
ReplyDeletexoxox Carol
Thank you, Carol! The nice thing about those kitchen windows (there are two, although I mostly only show the one with the good view) is that you can so easily get the kitchen odours out, and that one of them faces east, so that it is full of light first thing in the morning.
DeleteYou write so fluidly~ I enjoyed your tour.
ReplyDeleteIt is great to meet you through Vicki's GYB party.
If you have a chance, please drop by nonniescedarchest.wordpress.com
Thank you for popping over from Vicki's party :-)
DeleteI have just had a look at your blog and hope you will let us know what you served for the Italian dinner!
I thought I was fairly tidy, but you are superwoman. I've never had a place of my own, having always lived with family or husband, so I think this makes a difference. I would love to have a de-clutter, but I wonder if I would really be able to throw things away when it came to the crunch. Mmmm.
ReplyDeleteNot exactly superwoman, Maggie, just a bit nerdy bordering on the obsessive when it comes to wanting my surroundings to be neat and tidy! My sister has a favourite game when she comes to my place: she upsets my order of remotes on the coffee table (there are three, and they always lay at a right angle to the table, in the order of their size) and observes my reaction...
DeleteMeike - I couldn't sleep with my pc in the bedroom. I'd be checking e-mail and blogs all night!
ReplyDeleteOh, Macy, that's dealt with in the simplest way: I get tired, I switch the pc off and go to bed.
DeleteI had fun perusing your site and will visit again, having just signed to follow you. Glad that you signed up to participate in Vicki's Party. Hugs from Alaska. Karen
ReplyDeletewww.alaskabluemoose.blogspot.com
Hello Karen, how nice of you to stop by, and welcome as my newest reader! Of course now I am going to have a look at your blog :-)
DeleteIt's been lovely reading about you. How wonderful to have a chair once owned by your grandparents. Lovely Pukky, she certainly looks like she was a special pet. I have had a few elderly pets...it's still hard when they pass away.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maria! We still talk of Pukky often, and miss her. And I still spend my lunch break in this armchair when I am working from home and not going out for lunch :-)
Delete