The End of Blog every Day in November

At the end of Blogging from A to Z in April we were invited to write a Reflections post, looking back over our experiences from the month-long challenge.

Elizabeth of Rosalilium a lifestyle blog has asked us to

go out with a bang.

I have learned a great deal this month – new facts, new skills, new blogs.  I created two new pages Blog Every Day in November and Navigation.

Some facts:

There were a number of Days in November I had never heard of and one I had known since childhood.

On 6 November we wrote about National Stress Awareness Day.

Armistice Day has become Remembrance Day and is 11 November.

World Kindness Day was celebrated on 13 November.

On 18 November Anti-Bullying Week was the topic.

Another Blog Every day in November participant alerted me to World Toilet Day on 19 November.

http://worldtoiletday.org/

The same initials started World Television Day on 21 November.

I joined Twitter in October.  It took me until the third week in November to discover what @ connect was for!

I am finding Twitter to be a useful source of information.  For anyone else who is baffled by or drowning in information from Twitter, here are two useful links I have found.  The first is a helpful guide to Twitter

http://blog.red-website-design.co.uk/2013/11/19/do-you-know-your-twitter-to-z-complete-list-of-terms-and-definitions/

and the second is a Twitter diary of chats you might wish to follow or tweet into.

http://www.thechatdiary.com/

During the month some interesting quizzes have come up too.  I have done a Bible knowledge quiz, a how many books have you read out of 100 quiz and a vocabulary test.  I am sharing the last of these as the researchers are looking for more youngsters to take part.  Perhaps you could pass it on to any teenagers  who might be interested.

http://testyourvocab.com/about

New blogs I have particularly enjoyed are listed on my Blog Every Day in November page.

I have followed Elizabeth’s travels with interest.  A friend of mine who visited London during the same week also went to the National Gallery and Harrods!

In real life I have been busy too..  The Concert for Peace I mentioned in my Remembrance Day post was well-received.  I had some of the tunes as ear-worms for the rest of the week!  Our Advent carol service was on 24 November due to a clash of dates.  Now we are preparing Christmas services and a concert.

I have been for walks with friends and hubby.  I drove almost forty miles to a popular town, having taken my procrastination post seriously and had some refresher lessons.  I still need more practice!  Hubby drove back as it was busy and getting dark.

The wonderful summer and mild autumn mean that November has not been as described in Thomas Hood’s poem “No!”  From his list of things which are not seen in November, I have seen leaves, flowers, bees and birds.  The autumn colours went on and on.  Beautiful!

I have gained about 15 new followers for this blog and 21 for Sue’s considered trifles during the month.  Thank you all for your interest.  I hope you’ll return to be entertained and surprised.

I hope you have enjoyed November as much as I have.  If you enjoy my blogs they are entered for the UK blog awards.  The public vote begins on Monday 16th December.

All I want for Christmas

Blog Every Day in November is a challenge hosted by Elizabeth of Rosalilium a lifestyle blog.  Today’s topic is All I want for Christmas.

I’m not looking for much in the way of Christmas presents.  There is a book I’d like, but that’s about it.

After all, Christmas is for children, isn’t it?

I don’t think a year goes by without hearing someone express this point of view.

I do not agree with it.  Christmas is for everyone.  Yes, it should be a special time for children, but it should be special for everyone – from the tiniest baby to the oldest person in the world and everyone in between.  Jesus himself said, “Unless you become like a child, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Everyone is invited to Jesus’ birthday party.

How are you going to celebrate his birth?  Does it make a difference to your life today that a baby was born about two thousand years ago in Bethlehem of Judea?  Have you read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?  Do you know what Jesus said about himself?

What I want for Christmas is that people will take the time to consider again the message of the angels, “Peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

I hope that more people than ever will attend a church service at Christmas.  I pray that the Good News about Jesus will be told all over the world and that many will respond by listening, receiving this news and believing it.

I hope all my readers will remember why we celebrate Christmas.  It may be politically correct to call it the winter holiday.  Jesus was not and is not politically correct.

The great outdoors

Blog Every Day in November is a challenge hosted by Elizabeth of Rosalilium a lifestyle blog.  Today’s topic is the great outdoors.

I am very fortunate to be able to look out of the window and see a vista including sea, hills and a valley, sheep grazing and sometimes sheep dogs at work with them moving them from field to field or into a trailer.  Sometimes I can see sports of various kinds being played – golfers in the distance, footballers nearly as far away, rugby or cricket matches in progress, cross-country runners, long distance walkers, hang-gliders, horse-riders and cyclists.  I can see two schools, a nursery, roofs of some houses and of the church where the craft group meets, the church where I sing in the choir and its associated halls and vicarage.  And sometimes the visibility is so poor the view almost completely disappears!

Elizabeth has asked for pictures.

View of Scotland

I have chosen one photograph taken on an outing in the summer. It is the view across the Solway to Scotland from a favourite place of ours. It was a particularly clear day. We took Mum as she had been there a long time before and suggested going again. We had been looking out for the Post Office as I had something to send abroad and needed a stamp. We did not see one anywhere. A passer-by asked us whether we were enjoying exploring the nooks and crannies of the place and someone had the presence of mind to ask her where the Post Office was. It was round a corner quite nearby, but we’d have missed it. Mum said the lady was “sent”. She was certainly friendly and helpful.