A Foray Into the Blogosphere | MUSING BY MOONLIGHT.

POET, WRITER, DARN GOOD HOME COOK

In my life before chronic, potentially life-threatening illness, I was – among other things – a freelance feature writer, grant writer, publicist and, for six years, On the Job Front columnist. My topic specialties were employment, vocational education, and business. The unexpected gift of medical retirement is the time to indulge in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and memoir, largely to leave a record behind for my son.

I started blogging in November 2008. Blogging is a creative indulgence that is also forgiving of inconsistent performance. Blog posts can be pre-scheduled, a convenience that accommodates unpredictable down days, medical appointments, or medical procedures. The convenience of a laptop to work on is that I can take it to bed with me. Blogging, social networking, and email also serve to mitigate the isolation that naturally occurs when illness strikes. I recommend both blogging and social networking as a part of anyone’s quality-of-life strategy for dealing with illness. I’m grateful to my gentle, tech-savvy son, who is also my tech advisor. Among his uncountable kindnesses to me, he has kept me in computers for the past twenty-five years.

All of my blogs are on WordPress.com. I’ve not found any other service to be as friendly; and, yes they add advertising to my posts. I see it this way: throughout time artists have had patrons. In a very real sense, WordPress is our patron.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING HERE!

In October 2011 I started a new blog, Poem Alone, for those folks who are most interested in poetry and prefer to forgo the extras included at my primary playground ~

My primary playground is here at Musing by Moonlight:

a potpourri of poetry, memoir, feature articles, music, and book and movie reviews. Generally posts daily. This site includes: Sunday Writers’ Roundup (except during vacation and on weekends off), Musical Monday, and Tuesday on the Light Side. 

You can visit me also at Brooklyn, Memories Most Green:

poetry, people, places, food, memoir, and folk history from the Center of the Universe. Posting to this site is inconsistent usually – but not always – once a week.

Courtesy of Paper.li, I publish a weekly news aggregate: Brooklyn: Center of the Universe. This is another miracle of the Internet. You can set something like this up. Once done, it maintains itself. I take great pleasure in reading this paper, which allows me to keep up on my home town. It is also out there as a gift for those who share my love of Brooklyn.

… and, in collaboration with grandkitty, The Cat’s Meow:

a collection of sweet, savory, and funny animal posts mostly done with a light touch to brighten your work week. Posts Monday through Friday. One of the restrictions of my illness is that I am no longer allowed furry companions. This blog gives me and everyone who visits it a little critter comfort.

And then there’s Jamie’s Table:

a space to share plant-based recipes, which are serene (cruelty free), sustainable (plant-based diets are kind to the environment as well as to your body), gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, and budget-wise. This blog also shares health, nutrition, and animal-welfare news.

Additionally, I founded, edit, and am the administrator for Into the Bardo, a collaborative that is both spiritual and creative. There are three key writers of which I am one. Many other fine writers and some spiritual teachers generously contribute with their own beauty, talent, and insights. You can link to my contributions to Into the Bardo HERE.