Two Years of Blogging

Sometime last week - was it the 17th August - Lady Mondegreen's Secret Garden turned two. It must be time for a celebratory give-away, but first a bit of a review of the past couple of years.

It's heartening to read my first post and see that I did indeed replant those daffodil bulbs; they are budding now by my back step. A little plan for the future, long considered, and carried out successfully.  So many other plans for the future wiped out or placed in limbo by Death and Destruction. 

I originally began this blog with the intention of recording the making of a new garden and the restoration of the Skudder House. I had an idea that I might begin studying for a qualification in Museum and Heritage studies, and one requirement at the time was the documentation of a restoration project.  It is ironical that it is Mowbray - the house I live in - that has become an active refurbishment project (rather than restoration) thanks to the opportunities that have arisen from the Earthquakes. Since February 2011, The Skudder House has sat uncertainly at the edge of being. A fortnight ago the assessors arrived unexpectedly, told me that the Earthquake Commission would pay for chimney removal, and that the house passed muster. Wonderful news, but I'm running out of money for restoring it now.

So, who knows what this blog will report over the next year. I can see looking back over the last year, that there has not been much garden lore, that Lady Mondegreen no longer whispers encouragement from the dappled shadows, that I have not had time to blog regularly...

In spite of that, my readership has increased; the search engines find me for people I appreciate being found by. My Stats page reveals that  I show up in home decorating searches, named plant searches, garden design searches, Canterbury history and event searches, china, fabric, and vintage car searches - oh, and Morris dancing searches. This is all very gratifying because I do aim to add something to the universal knowledge base.  I am often frustrated when searching myself, that links lead to shallow observation. or simplistic references. I guess I'm a geek really, I want to know everything about everything without selling my soul... I really like to think that some of my blog posts add new information to the pool and are actually useful to people who find them through search engines. It's interesting to note that information seekers don't usually comment, partly I suspect because of the signing-in process: those who leave comments are more part of a complementary social network. Thanks by the way, to all of my readers whether you are regular Followers or chance passers-by. 

I might be a geek, but I also thrive on human interaction. I do enjoy
my blog pals' company, which offers surprisingly tangible experience. I have bought art in Paris from photographer Owen of The Magic Lantern Show, I have won a sweet little love spoon and entered a Welsh flower show both courtesy of John Going Gently Gray. I smile when I see Cro Magnon of Magnon's Meanderings brushing shoulders with his sister on my comment forum. Cro lives in France while Susan Heather from Kamo Lady lives in New Zealand.  Much closer to home, Craig at Craig's Principal Page writes thought provoking posts that reach beyond the classroom and mark him as a great mentor. 

That's quite a lot of writing from me and if you have got this far, then you deserve a go at my anniversary competition. Last year,  Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy, The Sagittarian from More Canterbury Tales won with her favourite Mondegreen. But you don't have to live in NZ to enter. This year, in the interest of self-promotion I want entrants to tell me in 25 words (or more) what you have enjoyed about Lady Mondegreen's Secret Garden over the last year. Easy. You could win a copy of the August edition of Canterbury showcase magazine Latitude. And yes, I am prepared to post it anywhere in the World. Email me your entry by Tuesday 4 September, using the instructions at the top of the page, and may the best Blogger win.