This is what I miss. This is why I blog. How about you? Zombie yet?
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My first blogging buddy Snow Melts Somewhere, for whom I wrote a post which is the last in my today’s blogging history below, wrote a poignant post yesterday. Read that first if you haven’t yet.
I felt her finish: “It made me feel guilty for trying to capture people’s attention and steal moments of their life, both at work and at home. But it’s become a habit of mine. A hobby, even.”
I thought it over. Certainly not feeling guilty, certainly not trying to steal anything from anybody. In my comment I wrote: “I offer. I cater. I don’t sell, luckily we don’t have to. I’m not trying to do anything. I just do it. Why? To communicate.”
Snow’s reply made me think some more. She wrote: “In all honesty, even we non-monetary bloggers seek an audience. Otherwise, why not write a private blog – or journal? If we receive fewer likes or views, we wonder what happened. We are only human and it’s okay.”
Then it crystallised. I wrote: “I seek friends, not an audience.”
I used to have all sorts of friends in Slovenia but not so here in Italy. I had a friend for a year, we met through our blogs. Her name is Flavia and we had plenty of fun. She posted this invitation to the blogging meet-up that wasn’t to be just before the pandemic was proclaimed. This year we are still to meet. Maybe it will happen when another blogging friend comes from her Oregon if all goes well.
Blogging takes you places. Let’s just do it for whatever reasons we do it. I’m more than willing to gift my attention to my various blogging friends. For me, what you offer is the most worthwhile and satisfying content that I can get online. Imagine that.
These photos are from a hot day last September when my uncle, Flavia and I went to Tarquinia and Santa Severa. There we visited a museum inside a castle which also houses a hostel and offers magnificent sunsets.
It’s been really hot so I don’t think I would survive such a trip now, but I miss major photo fun with Flavia, and her laugh.
Spotted in Tarquinia. This is how I’d like to be when I’m old. 
The museum in the Santa Severa Castle by the sea. 
The castle courtyard. Anarchy all over Etruria. 
The cat is under double photo attack but couldn’t care less. 
Flavia liked these pigeons. Sadly she lost all her photos from that day due to card malfunction. 
Santa Severa sunset. We live 50 min away behind this promontory.
This day in my blogging history
2018: 12 photos and quotations for Snow Melts Somewhere
Be secretly incredible.
—Bob Goff
Manja Mexi Mexcessive (closed) 
good one
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Thank you, Maulana Baba! 🙂
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I hope soon we can all get back to connecting with our blogging friends in person. If I am lucky to come to Italy, I definitely would love to meet in person. 🥰
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Thank you, Monika. You can count on it!
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Thanks for the introduction to The Snow Melts Somewhere – very thought-provoking post.
Great photos, especially of the cat. The juxtaposition is great!
I miss Flavia’s posts. It’s really too bad that the wretched covid interfered in your friendship plans.
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Thank you, Lynette. I miss her too. 😦 Covid interfered with so many things. Friendships will remain. Hope you’re well yourself. And I’m really glad that you read Snow’s post. She is great.
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I enjoy glimpsing the world through your eyes and sharing your Tuscan sunshine on rainy days!
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Oh, do you have rain? Here it’s getting really hot. Bestia is not amused. I’m always happy to share. Thank you for your visits and words, Judith.
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Oh yes, that quote Be secretly incredible still resonates. I’m happy we are in this group of the most worthwhile content, and I do agree about that. Thanka for posting your thoughtful response, maybe I’m seeking friends too? Connections, certainly. Cross-regional weather gossip, for sure. Distraction, inspiration, those too.
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But really, imagine that. We could be doing EVERYTHING else, and instead we are posting and chatting and visiting each other in this way, learning from each other, living a worthwhile existence. It’s good. Thanks for this post, SMSW, you made people think, including me. 🙂 So you see – a story after all.
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I love the sculpture and the Cathedral door
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Thank you, Alice. That Cathedral door was a surprise in my own (ex) home town.
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You seek friends, not an audience. Well said, Manja and I think that describes the divide between the intentions of bloggers. Some are out to make money and need that audience to do that. Others – mostly those who have an urge to write or tell stories, through photos or words, do that. I think the time-wasters are the ones that describe their week in a post and what happened without crafting that into an interesting article, which can be done. But those posts are there for those who are interested in reading that. We are all different and we all seek different sorts of posts. Friendship arising from blogging is a lovely bonus and the result of two people connecting. Communication through connection is what we are about, perhaps? Is Flavia still blogging some?
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Thank you, Amanda. Sounds right what you say. She posted twice in June after nothing since January. Let’s hope she does it some more.
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Yes, indeed.
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Surrounded by family and friends…and blogging.
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Blogging family, for now… My family is still far. Be well, Bojana.
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Likewise, Manja.
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Nina and I started memadtwo for each other. I remember how surprised I was when she told me we had followers. I had no idea.
I still have no idea really, but like you I think I have made friends who I can share my work with. Who open worlds to me. Not an audience–those are strangers.
I love that museum window. I would like to live with that window and that view. (K)
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Thank you, K. I posted doors from the castle which houses this museum today and will post more in the future. It gets the best light.
It’s lovely that you started the blog to post for each other. 🙂 What a nice idea.
Sooner or later the right people are drawn to what we do. “Who open worlds to me. Not an audience–those are strangers.” I love it how you said this. We are lucky that we can do this. Thank you for each visit and word.
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We are very lucky. And the same thanks back to you.
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I just wanted to express myself when I started blogging. I never thought of it as a way to make money and I have no interest or need in doing that. Like you I just wanted to find a few like-minded souls. I feel grateful for the blog because in my daily life I would never meet so many of those like-minded souls, maybe a couple here or there? In the blog world I marvel that I have done so and that we are a web of our own all over the world. Love your thoughtful post. I appreciate seeing your part of the world and your commentary on it. I know that I will never travel much in the rest of my life, just closer to home, and yet through you and others I can have so much enjoyment. And I hope that I can do the same for you and others. Thank you.
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Thank you so much, Claudia. This is exactly it, we travel like this in the best of company. “We are a web of our own” deserves to go on a t-shirt or something. 🙂 Always really grateful and glad to have you near.
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