Day 21: publish a post inspired by your post from Day 19, and publicize it on one or more of your social networks.
…Since I have already tweeted my Day 19 post to twitter, @changingpalette, and in keeping with the spirit of today’s assignment, I thought I would post a painting that was inspired by my visit to the Asklepion and the Temple of Apollo on the Island of Kos and which I gave as a gift to the medical Class of 2002 at their graduation ceremony…
Day 20: Today’s assignment: add a new page to your blog.
Another “small step for man,” although definitely not a “giant leap for mankind”. There are now menu items in addition to my about page as you can see. The benefit of having a Test blog, which is private fortunately, has allowed me to troubleshoot this whole process over the past three hours! The Zero to Hero posts can now be visited sequentially; the Weekly Photo Challenge and Travel are highlighted; and there is a link to my other site, thechangingpalette. I would call this a successful day.
A final accolade was receiving a warm and wonderful comment from “big brother’ who is always caringly watching over us. It notes that the stats on my “Test Blog” are “booming” with over 40 hourly views. I think this notification is deserving of a special quotation,
Your stats are booming! Looks like “My Test Blog” is getting lots of traffic.
The question is whether or not to admit to the traffic being all me!
The photograph of Buzz Aldrin descending from the lunar module is courtesy of NASA
This gallery contains 7 photos.
Day 19: publish a post using a format you’ve never used before. …from a graduation address to the medical class of 2002… A Way of Life A ferry carries us across The sea of time to ancient Kos Where high upon … Continue reading
Siena revisited
Having commented and activated a link to my twitter account I thought I would post something that came out of a happy meeting from my blog travels and comments yesterday. Siena is a city we love and have visited on two separate occasions. Its history, beauty, art and people make it a very special place indeed. How happy I was to come across Magdalena’s wonderful blog Just Visit Siena ! Everything you could ever want to know about this beautiful city is here. Explore Magdalena’s blog and you will be on the next plane, train or automobile!
Here is my comment to Magdalena:
So happy to have found your blog of one of my favourite cities; so many wonderful memories. I will never forget the remarkable frescoes by Domenico di Bartoli in the Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala. Looking forward to following you and to returning to your beautiful city again one day.
And here are a few of our photo memories to encourage you to go:
Day 16: Today’s assignment: publish a post based on your own, personalized take on today’s Daily Prompt, which is about “Reputation”.
…Sir Astley Cooper was one of the greatest English surgeons of the nineteenth century who taught surgery to students at Guy’s Hospital in London. This quotation is taken from his “Lecture notes on surgery for students” which he wrote in 1796.”
“Let us for a moment consider what are the diseases, which in the commencement of your medical career, you will be more particularly required to treat. Inflammations are common. Cases of wounds of different parts. Compound fractures. Diseases of Joints. Tumours, and the various forms of the venereal diseases. These are the diseases, which at first setting out on life you will be called to, and an ignorance of which will expose you to the hazard of losing that which is of infinitely more value than gold; the loss of reputation.“
The steel engraving is after the portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence…
Day 15: Today’s assignment: open the Customizer and try out some new fonts and colors (and backgrounds and/or headers, if you’re still undecided).
Been there, done that today. Ended up where I started, which is fine, particularly as I like the look of theotherpalette so far. I tried different colours, fonts, backgrounds and columns, which was a valuable exercise to see all the possible options. It’s like a Sunday buffet where there is always so much choice but you end up with your usual: granola, toast, eggs, bacon, and maybe some fruit and yoghurt. At least I now know what else there is to eat on my WordPress theme’s smorgasbord!
Here’s one more window post for the Weekly Photo Challenge:
These beautiful and meaningful stained glass windows I know will touch a chord with all the dedicated nurses amongst you to whom we owe our thanks each and every day.
Day 14: Bloggers Choice
…Almost half way to becoming a blogging “hero”. A shoutout to all you other demi-heroes!
Yesterday I added a blogroll finally, and today I posted a comment on one of my favorites, Hills + Bridges in which Kristy submitted another wonderful post, this time to the Weekly Photo Challenge and entitled “she’ll kiss away your gypsy fears and turn some restless nights to restless years.” I love her combination of photography, writing and music. The photograph is gorgeous and I couldn’t resist commenting that, “I think I’m in love with your window”. Take a look and you’ll see why.
Since this is Bloggers Choice today, here is a submission that I was going to make to The Weekly Photo Challenge: Window
The small water colour of houses with red roofs and black windows was inspired by an altar in the Cathedral of Finale Ligure in Italy. The simple abstract quality of the houses in the centre of the marble plinth looks so contemporary and yet the altar itself is many hundreds of years old…
Day 13: Create, edit, or expand your blogroll.
…today’s assignment was a treat visiting blogs I have been following over the past week or so and many for much longer. Having not published a blogroll before this was a very valuable exercise. Linking and widgetting was seamless…
Days 11 & 12: Inspired by the community
….Yesterday was a day of priorities for me, which is why I missed catching the Zero to Hero post. However, I assure you I was following, reading and commenting whenever I could. For me this is the rewarding part of blogging, connecting with others and being inspired by them. For todays assignment I would like to tell you about two really positive online interactions I had with two of our fellow bloggers over the weekend.
The first is with Michelle who posted a wonderful comment on my Window submission to the Weekly Photo Challenge this week. This led to my reflecting on the word “reflection” and to my coming up with an interesting new definition for myself. She described the image as giving her “…the sense of an opening to an inner landscape,” and as someone for whom the landscape is such an important subject, whether in photography or in painting, this really resonated with me.
Here is my reply:
Thanks Michele. I love your comment as the landscape is always one of my favourite subjects to photograph. You have provided a wonderful definition of the word reflection, which could sometimes mean “looking at the landscape of the mind”. The outside landscape is the macrocosm and the inner the microcosm. Thank you. I hope I have your permission to use it.
Michelle gave me her permission today so thank you again Michelle and here’s a shout out for everyone to visit your wonderful site ilovemyplot.
The second blogger I visited this weekend was clearly having a period of self-doubt and was questioning whether or not to continue. I was impressed with their honesty and felt some words of encouragement might help, particularly as the blog was so well written and so interesting, and expressed what I think we all must feel from time to time.
This was my comment:
I hope you do finish and continue to blog in your own time and whenever the moment takes you. You’re right, it is time consuming, but I think you will find it gets easier the more you post. Just one photo, one line, or one thought are just as creative as a two page thesis on the meaning of life. Bravo on todays post and I look forward to reading more. Best wishes.
And here is the reply:
Thank you for reading and for your wishes. And I am honored and blushing from your “bravo”. Thank you for your thoughtful advice. I think the answer really is to do this “whenever the moment takes you” as I have found that, yes, a few of the posts were SO exciting to write. I might also try to stick to my pushy idea of every-day-of-this-month and see what happens… Best wishes to you too!
The next morning there was a follow up posted on my blog which truly made my day and demonstrates to all of us in the blogosphere what a few words of encouragement at the right moment can do.
I just found you after you saw my blog and wanted to tell you that scrolling down your page, the colors of your images have just filled me with beauty and given me the most wonderful outlook. It’s like you brought the sun to me. And I love travel and landscapes and really appreciate those greens and that colorful palette, especially in this current cold and grey winter I’m in. So I’m going out for a walk (with the sun inside me)! Thank you!
Perhaps the best comment one could ever hope to receive, and here is my reply:
That’s wonderful to read. I hope the sun shines on you every day.
As you can see I have chosen not to reveal the identity of the blogger or his or her site as I feel that this was a very personal conversation. If they are reading this however I will leave it to them to write a follow-up should they wish to do so but it certainly isn’t necessary.
Two very different conversations that show how worthwhile and rewarding it can be to travel in the blogosphere. To quote from today’s Zero to Hero home page:
…Letting yourself be inspired by other bloggers and comments is an ideal way to explore your own thinking, nurture the conversation and community …
How very true…
Day 10: Today’s assignment: add and customize two widgets.
…Today is a red letter day! Since I already have customized some widgets I decided to work on my about page. It’s a work in progress but at least it is finally out there after all these months. As you can see it bears no resemblance to About Page 101. I just couldn’t connect all those lines in any meaningful way so I decided to do “something completely different” in the words of Monty Python. Happy to receive comments positive and negative. I can take it!…
theotherpalette 