Holey Moley! I just realized my two year blogging anniversary slipped by on Monday, without my realizing it. My, my, my - time truly does fly, when you're having fun!
It is a happy coincidence then, in light of the occasion, that I have finally figured out what kind of blog I have. For two years now I have struggled to identify our niche. I just couldn't decide which pigeonhole we belonged in. Mine isn't a foodie blog, a mommy blog, a craft blog or a gardening blog. Nor is it strictly about organics, simplicity, frugality, locavorism, sustainability or any of the other catch phrases the media has latched onto in the last several decades. As I've said before, living the good life embraces all of these things, and if you narrow your focus to only one aspect, you risk narrowing your life as well.
There is, however, one abiding theme that runs throughout everything I do, everything I write about, and everything I believe. So, if I had to choose a label for my blog it would be this one, which harkens back to Thomas Paine and Ben Franklin: Common Sense. I didn't become an organic gardener because it was cool. I did it because chemicals scared the poop out of me, and it just didn't make sense to kill all the butterflies and bees, all the beneficial insects that keep the harmful ones in check, and all the good stuff in the soil, just to get rid of a few aphids! I didn't simplify because it was all the rage. I did it because the ever increasing mountain of stuff that was cluttering up our home was sucking all the life and creativity out of me. I had never heard the word locavore when I first began shopping at farmers' markets. I did it because it added so much joy to my life, and it just made more sense to get my food close to home, rather than having it shipped from across the globe. It was bound to be fresher, taste better, and be more nutritious. Besides, how could we continue to use so much fuel to ship all this stuff, when everyone knows we have reached peak oil? That just wouldn't make sense at all! Right?
That brings us to sustainability. What does that mean, anyway? Isn't that just a fancy way of saying "Use your noodle!"? Doesn't it just mean to open your eyes and realize that it doesn't make sense to use up all of your resources? 'Cause once they are gone, they are GONE! And where would that leave us, or our kids, or our grandkids, other than adrift in a sea of "stuff", without the proverbial paddle? To quote Ben Franklin, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."
So, there you have it. I've finally found our niche. This is SEASONALITY: The Common Sense Guide to Living The Good Life.
P.S. Many thanks to synthstuff.com for the above image.
Posts
2 comments:
Your niche is perfect. I think it is your interest in so many subjects that keeps your readers coming back daily. Happy Anniversary Becky, I hope you're writing for years to come!
Reading your blog has reminded me of so many things, events and happenings in my life also. For instance, long before the labels of locavore or slow eating, my mom banded with a bunch of other neighborhood moms in the late 60's to make bi-weekly trips to the big Farmers Market on Airline in North Houston. This was primarily done to save money on groceries for each growing family of 3-4 kids. I can appreciate now that we ate better and more nutritiously than many. I can remember with a grin when my Dad put his foot down and announced "NO MORE BROCCOLI!" as part of our divided goods. Unlike Bush he liked broccoli but swore Mom was putting it in everything except the breakfast cereal! ;-)
When we lived in Houston the first time, early 80's, some of my neighbors and I did the exact same thing as your mom! A real education, since I grew up on canned and frozen veggies, and had no idea how to cook most of the stuff that showed up in my basket.
Post a Comment