And so it begins….Day 1/30

On By dinahIn #NanoPoblano2024, coffee chat, friends, Weekend Coffee Share, writing craft
Photo by Dinah (c)

Hello and welcome to my blog. You’ve stopped by at the right time. I seem to neglect this space for most of the year. But then rediscover it every year for the Nanopoblano writing challenge.

I just passed my 4th year “blog-aversary” which, like any anniversary, is causing me to think about how this all began.

Even though the blog itself is four years old, itso origin story goes back nine years. I was part of a Facebook group that focused on creativity. Many of the members had blogs. I really enjoyed reading them. But I wasn’t tech savvy enough to even know where to begin to start my own blog. I thought about it though… A lot! 

One woman spoke very highly of a blog that she loved. The Blogger she raved about was Ra Avis and her blog (which is currently paused for renovation) was otherworldly! It was a mixture of prose and poetry done in a very ethereal fashion. She writes about grief & prison & micro moments of life. All the other blogs that I had read paled in comparison. Her blog was light years ahead of the others. It was engaging and intriguing. (You can find her new blog on Substack Here) She’s a talented and gifted writer… Consider subscribing to her blog. You won’t regret it!

I realized that we had some things in common. We both were dealing with some physical challenges.

So one day, after reading her blog about a specific challenge that she was dealing with, I reached out to her and offered to send her a copy of my book. I had self published a book designed to be a survival guide for the newly disabled.

She was kind and gracious. And a budding friendship started… That was probably around 2018.

Then in the summer of 2020, when Covid was in full bloom, I fell and broke my left arm and my left kneecap. I had surgery to put an 8 inch rod in my left arm. And, because I walk with crutches, I was not allowed to walk for three months. I wasn’t allowed to use my arm! Thank goodness I’m right hand dominant!

A perfect blogging storm was created for me that year. Life had slowed way down, which provides considerable material for writing. I was further slowed down by my healing restrictions. And, I was two years into my DNA discovery… it was confirmed that the man who raised me was not my biological father. This too provided significant fodder for thought and discussion and writing.

But how and where remained the big question. 

So, I took a chance and reached out to Ra. I asked her if she would be willing to help me start a blog. She was, of course, her kind and gracious self. She helped me with the technical things that were miles and miles over my head. So, thanks to her, WithAngelsAndElephants was born in October 2020.

And then she went a step further. She invited me to join the blogging challenge that she and her late husband had created. Apparently, November is a big writing challenge month. There’s a book writing challenge, poetry challenge, and other blogging challenges. I believe that they have some fairly strict rules about daily productivity, etc. But Ra assured me that this challenge, that she created, was kind, gentle, and supportive. So I said yes!

And I can tell you that, now that I am beginning my fourth year participating in the Nanopoblano blogging challenge, she was absolutely right. This lovely group… We call ourselves the cheer peppers (as a nod to poblano peppers)… Is absolutely kind and gentle and supportive… We applaud each other‘s accomplishments, whether great or small… And we cheer each other on throughout the month… Because trying to create a blog post every day can be difficult. But we do it together and we celebrate each other‘s wins.

Thank you Ra Avis💜

So… If you’re a blogger, depending upon when you read this, there might be time for you to still join us. But if the roster has already been closed… Then please consider coming to our blogs. Take some time to read and comment… That kind of support means so much! You can find us llHere

This post is part of the weekend CoffeeChat hosted by Natalie the Explorer and you can find more CoffeeChats Here

I’m glad you’re here💜

21 thoughts on “And so it begins….Day 1/30”

  1. Renee Pierce's avatar Renee Pierce

    I love your story. I’ve enjoyed seeing you here and there on Facebook over the past year. Thank you for sharing. I went to Ra’s Substack and followed her too. And you’re right, her words are beautiful. ♥️

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    1. Thanks so much for reading. I’m always a bit apprehensive at the beginning of Nanopoblano….worried about doing 30 posts. But I’m also always glad that I did it!! Looking forward to peppering with you💜

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  4. Thanks for sharing and happy NanoPoblano😊 It’s always fascinating to learn about each others’ journeys, and the serendipity that brings the same people into our orbit.

    Ra is also the reason I started blogging and, while I haven’t written for a long time, I’m always inspired and nourished by their writing and the community during NanoPoblano.

    Have a lovely November❤️

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  5. Happy four years of blogging, Dinah! And yay for starting this wonderful November writing challenge, and for linking me to it and reminding me of it because November sure did creep up on me again this year and I totally forgot. Your origin story is wonderful, Ra is a lovely lady to have helped you out and helped you to make your blog! This challenge is kind and gentle and supportive – just what busy writers need, to ensure they’re writing and not have so much pressure on them. Happy Writing, friend! I look forward to the next thirty days 🙂

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    1. Thank you! I’m so glad you’re peppering with us! I have always loved your writing!!! I’m thinking about developing an idea that I have for a novel. And when I think about it, you’re my example and teacher. You set the stage so beautifully and relate-ably in your writing….Thanks for sharing your gifts with us 💜

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    1. Thanks Natalie! As someone who has lifelong issues with consistency, I very much appreciate your commitment to the weekend coffee chat. I hope you have a great week.💜

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  8. Hi Congrats on your 4th blogging Birthday.

    I ‘ve heard of and taken part in NaNoWriMo and NaPoWriMo but not

    Nanopoblano – I must have missed what it means. Haha it’s nearly midnight here.

    Good luck and hope you manage to complete the challenge.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hello!!
      This challenge was started by Ra Avis… And the reason it has the name Nanopoblano is because she couldn’t remember the name for the regular one for national blog posting month… I don’t even remember what the shortened version is. Anyway… The name is just sort of made up because that’s what she always called the regular one. We are open to anyone each year. So feel free to sign up with us next year! we also have a Facebook Group where we support each other throughout the month. You would be free to join that as well.
      Thanks so much for visiting… 🌺🌺

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