Most days I try to write in our family journal. A habit that has come and gone through the years but with enough consistency that if my great grandchildren came across it, they’d have a good sense of our life here. The weather, the harvests, the types of trees planted in a given year, and the number of skunks that met their unfortunate fate over a particular summer. The stories are simple but I suppose fitting as is our life. Plain is maybe a better word. I know people can feel funny about the overuse or glorification of the word “simple.” Let’s go with plain. Most people do not feel plain is worth aspiring to. But to me, it’s in the plainest days that I feel most comfortable, most like myself. A nourishing pot of tea, a freshly baked loaf of bread, the perfect apple, or even the removal of another skunk from beneath our barn.
I am rusty in the sharing of everyday stories. Things have changed in the world and in our home and I never quite know what is considered palatable to discuss anymore. You’re either saying too much and risk being canceled, or saying too little and risk being canceled. And you’re not really allowed to see the world as you see it. I think of Henry Miller’s time, was it Paris in the 30s? When cafe lined streets were filled with writers producing pages for profit with the support of their patrons, day in and day out. This was their work. I imagine it must have been grueling at times, but how wild for something like that to be possible! I wonder if they were afraid to overstep or offend or be politically incorrect? I do know they wrote regardless, so the consequences couldn’t have been that severe. You can find some provocative pieces from that time. Maybe they understood it was the cathartic task of putting words to paper that helped make sense of the very things they risked being criticized for. This tangled web of stories and observations, once cast onto a page and in the reader’s hands, the writer was free from. Absolved. Ready to receive the next story, the next observation.
My return to blogging will be simple daybook style. At least that is how I envision it. A gentle recording of the day’s highlights, with a pretty picture or two. Just a little something to mark my days here on this earth. Tell me, how do you like this beautiful website that Dee of The Porter Homestead built for me? She designed it with you in mind! It was time to have a proper website for better navigation to all that we have going on here, but it needed to feel calm and peaceful for those who visit. Nothing will pop up at you here: no ads, no noise. An uneventful place on the internet to check in on occasion. Hopefully you will find a few words to inspire or encourage along the way. We still have a few things to tweak in terms of organization so you can find things with ease (I have nearly 17 years of blogging to organize). I’m just not sure how I want to set that up yet. I suppose the beauty of daybook style is very here and now. This moment is all we have. Maybe vast methods of categorizing is the opposite of that.
I probably shouldn’t say this out loud because surely I will jinx myself, but I’d like to kickoff this resurrection by writing here each weekday for the next month. An exercise in habit-building. I remember years ago my friend Jamie, from Simple Homeschool, gave herself 30 minutes a day to write and publish a blog post. At the time, it was mostly about fitting it into busy mom life. If she couldn’t make it happen in 30 minutes, it likely would not happen. Sometimes her posts were a simple offering, other times she conveyed more heartfelt messages. However the muse showed up for her on a given day, it needed to happen in 30 minutes. For me, I’m not in a particularly busy season of life these days, but the idea of 30 minute posts is about developing that muscle again.
Formal teachings, tutorials, recipes, videos, and podcasts will remain in my membership community, Hearth & Home. I’ll never be able to adequately express my gratitude to those who support my work over there. Here, I look forward to writing low-key snippets from everyday life. No pressure. I am sure these posts won’t be terribly special, but they will mark my place in time, and that feels good enough to me.
I’m glad you have found your way back to this nearly forgotten blog. Welcome! Please stay awhile.
44 Responses
I love the new site 🙂 Really looking forward to daily posts – whoop
Thanks Sue!
Been here for ages (almost all those 17 years). Plan to be here for ages more.
Same!! Funny how much Heather, whom I’ve never “met”, has influenced my life, all the way over here in Vancouver BC.
That is so kind of you, Bonnie. So glad you are here.
Gosh it’s been ages!
Please don’t edit yourself for fear of being canceled. We all need to get past that. Let’s start here!
I love the plain and the simple. It’s nice to find it again in your paid site and here. Having blogged many years ago, I fully feel it’s power and I miss it. Fancy and curated is frustrating to me. It will be wonderful to read your calm and plain words each day. Welcome back to blogging!
Thank you, Heather!
Although I absolutely love being a part of Hearth and Home, I have always enjoyed your blog and am excited to see you back!!
I feel like you’ve always been here, Gail! ❤️
Good for you, Heather! It’s a beautiful thing to mark our days in time. And even more beautiful to share those small windows. Thank you
It does feel valuable in many ways. Thank you for visiting!
What a pleasant surprise to find today. It is a beautiful website, and I look forward to reading your future posts. Very intrigued by the farm store section….
Thank you Patti! I hope we can get that up and running before Dee is off to have her third baby. But if not, BABY! 💕
So exciting to see the new layout. Love it! Can’t wait for more.
Thank you, Sonia. I am so pleased with all the Dee has done here.
The website is beautiful!! I’ve followed you since your girl was a wee one. I have grown weary of social media and have longed for the return of blogging and the community it offers. I’m thrilled to know that you will be writing on your blog again! Welcome back!
Thank you! I do believe many of us are craving the simplicity of yesteryear. 🕯
Ahhh! I miss blogs and am so looking forward to reading what you share regularly again. I was first introduced to your writing through Ben Hewitt many years ago, and now you have a small fan club within our family. I am so grateful for your friendship too. 😉
Maybe we should give Ben a nudge to write on his blog again, it’s been awhile. Though Adam and I enjoy his column in Yankee, and always look forward to it.
Ditto to what Renee said. So glad you are posting again. I love your “plain” blog posts.
Thank you, Donna!
I love that some of my favorite bloggers are finding their way back to the form. I’ve been here for about 12 years and have learned so much from you. Looking forward to what the future brings!
Your new site is absolutely lovely, and very you. I’ve loved reading your writings for as long as I have, you’ve always felt like a like minded, far away friend. So happy that you’re going to be sharing your day-to-day with us again!
I love the new website. Congratulations!!!
I haven’t posted much in the H&H, which I love. Currently, DH & I are living with our daughter in Edmonton, AB helping. Her son has bone cancer & she has 4 teens. We’re here for the school year to help and not on our mini-farm. Our oldest daughter is taking care of it for us while we’re gone. So H&H is a haven for my simple life, which never was simple, while were away from home and blessed to be serving our family.
Thanks & Blessings,
Kristine
I first found you on this blog and later became a member of the community. I so appreciate the time and effort you put into both. I plan to be here a good long while!
I think I have followed for most of those years, as well. Has always been sort of a refuge of calm for me:) Very excited to have you blogging again.
I’m new and enjoying all that I am learning. I look forward to having more insight into autumn in Vermont with a further peek into your life.
So glad you’re back blogging!
This makes me so happy😃 . Rhonda H is also back blogging ! All is right with the world again and ahhhhhhh the serenity ❤️
She is! I was so glad to see that.
I like the concept of plain, it’s definitely something I’m aiming for more in my own life. And I love the website! Is it just me, or does blogging feel like a big sigh of relief for the eyes? Looking forward to learning so much.
It sure does, Tonia. Slow and steady. ❤️
I don’t think I’ve been here for seventeen years, but at least nine that I can solidly remember. Heather has been the wise big sister I never had. Every time I read her words or listen to her, I always have something of value to take away with me. There is just so much noise and clutter on the internet these days and her voice is always able to cut right through that and help me find a bit of inner peace.
This is so kind of you, Nicole. Thank you!
I started reading your blog waaay back…oh gosh, at least 16 years ago?! How did that happen? I’m happy to read what you offer here. I love catching your ig stories, and I’m sure I’ll love these posts as well. Cheers!
So glad to be back reading a BLOG!! I have loved your IG posts, but I have really missed your blog. Thank you.
Oh Heather, this is so lovely to see you back to writing on your Blog. Such beautiful photos, helpful information and encouraging words. Thank you for sharing with us for all of these years!
Love the new website, Heather. Your old blog was one of my favorites and I’m excited that you will be blogging again. I like the 30-min blogging idea and will use too. Thanks!
Welcome back to blogging! It makes me so happy. I will look forward to your little gems and glimpses into your “plain” life. They are inspirational and also just very lovely, a little bit of beauty in this mad world.
“it needed to feel calm and peaceful for those who visit. Nothing will pop up at you here: no ads, no noise”. This! This is what drew me to you many years ago, Heather … calm and peaceful. 🙂
I so love the simplicity of blogs. Especially when there are no ads, no pop-ups… Just thoughts. I’ve missed your blog. I’ve missed the slowness of blogs. And, I’m so happy your blog is back. Thank you 🙂
I am pleased to have found you again and will love daybook-style posts
I am so pleased you are restarting! I love the new design that Dee put together! I am so excited for your daily challenge to build the habit with blogging daily for a month. I have been a reader for a long time and a member of Hearth & Home. I always appreciate the kind and direct approach you take to sharing information and teaching on a topic. Thank you for your generous spirit and the knowledge you share. Can’t wait to follow along!