Freshly Seen

Freshly Seen at Jill’s Scene in January

By on • ( 12 Comments )

By Andr.V.S. [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Woman Reading, Andrew Stevovich

Here on Freshly Seen, once  a month I share the best of the best of my reading from the blogosphere.  They’re the posts I read aloud to John and tell my children about. They’re the posts that make me laugh or cry or think – sometimes all three at once.

And I’ve found myself thinking about my Mum. She’s been gone a long time, now. But I can still hear her voice. And I know what she’d have to say about life and injustice and adventure.

Mum loved to read. One of my earliest memories is of Mum, collecting her magazines from the bookshop after work. At home, cup of tea to hand (white, no sugar) she used to sink into the couch, (seventies style, cacky mustard colour with cream vinyl trim) lift her feet on to the footstool and with a contented sigh open her magazine.

Reading blogs is like that for me. Sitting down with a cuppa and my laptop, sometimes my phone, visiting all my old favourites and discovering new ones. In fact, during January I indulged in the great reading catch-up, books (check out my new page, Books I’ve read in 2016) and blogs.

Here’s the best of the best from my reading in the blogoshphere for the month: two tried and trusted blogs that never fail to inform and entertain, and a new one that has already made me think and made me laugh!

In no particular order, Freshly Seen at Jill’s Scene for January were:

Thirdeyemom

Whenever I come across a blogger from Minnesota I take the time for an extra close look. It’s a way of staying connected to a part of the world that is very important to me. When I discovered Nicole’s blog, Thirdeyemom, it proved to be a taonga (a great treasure). She blogs about the sorts of things I love to read and think about:  travel, life, social issues, books …

Make sure you have a cup of your favourite something to hand when you visit her blog, because it’s likely you’ll be there a while. If you want a laugh and a vicarious thrill check out what she has to say about hang gliding in the Remarkables, here in New Zealand!

There are two posts on her blog that I am particularly fond of: The Great American Road Trip: Mount Rushmore and Pride and Hope at the Crazy Horse Memorial

Reading them reminded me of a special time, many years ago, with my parents. And, they helped me formulate a little more some of my own thinking about the matter of colonisation.

BlogWoman!!

Robyn blogs about life, about indigenous peoples, and she writes fiction and Haiku. Yup, she’s my Wonder Woman super model.

Lately, Robyn has been writing about grief. When I set fire to the pain is  beautifully written and although deeply personal it touches the universal. Not an easy read but well-worth the risk.

And, if you’re interested in a conversation about how social media may be influencing our relationships, in Posting fireworks that burn Robyn tackles the issue with her usual unflinching eye.

It’s the same staunch gaze she brings to the concerns of  indigenous peoples.

In short, Robyn can make me laugh and she can make me cry. And she makes me think. Her blog is a window into a world different from mine, one I treasure being able to share through her writing.

Miss Fina

Last but not least let me introduce Miss Fina, sh*ts & giggles with a side of taro. When Miss Fina arrived in the comments section of my post The coolest little bookshop I knew I was going to enjoy what she has to say. Her blog is new and already I find myself looking forward to the emails telling me she has put up a post.

Read what she has to say about racism. She’s talking about encounters she experienced in Australia but reading it made me squirm with recognition.

And then there’s her post: A Voodoo Doll gave me Keratoconus. I laughed and I laughed at this post. It was a nice sort of laugh, though, the commiserating sort. Because her reaction to the diagnosis is so what I would do, what my whole family would do. Yes I’m looking at you “D” and “A” and “L”!

So there you have it, my favourite reads from the blogosphere for January. Check them out and come back and tell me what you think.

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Freshly Seen

Tagged as: , , , , , , ,

12 replies »

  2. It’s actually very complex in this full of activity life to listen news on TV, therefore I
    only use world wide web for that purpose, and take the latest news.

    Like

    Reply
  3. Pingback: Featuring You: Jill’s Scene | MISS.FINA

  4. What a great idea for Jill’s seen / Jill’s scene ! 💕
    You write a great review and I enjoyed their posts through this post! Lol – hope to check them out someday – even though I think I used to follow thirdeyemom with me former blog – and you know – I think my favorite thing about my new blog has to do with following less blogs and so I end up reading – and enjoying more! And like you – l love the ones we share – but u know – even ones that I never share with the hubs or boys can still linger in such a nice way- for example – I can still feel the tension with you in those moments when your hubs went with the passports – the whole setting with guns and bags is so vivid! Whew –

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi Yvette, Thanks for your comment. I’m with you, ike to take the time to read posts properly —I’m not a skimmer. I like shinnning a light on the ones that stand-out, though. i still your post on your old blog about Georgia O’Keefe. And your advice when I got my camera … do you remember? To leave the cmaera on auto and just get out and take lots of photos and to look at the photos of others. It was very good advice!!

      Like

      Reply

      • Thanks for saying that – and actually you know you have come up in our convo too – especially when we first ate at the New Zealand burger Bach! Mmmm and of course the “pink” post – and then some of your travel details – but you know I actually do skim sometimes – it just depends on the mode I am in – and I actually do not follow a lot of “long” writers – and the ones I do follow that write meaty posts – well I actually go out of my way to visit them when I can actually enjoy their post. For me – I feel like I am in a third or even fourth phase as a blogger – evolving in the ebb and flow that changes as bloggers Come and go and as I change and grow!
        And thanks for saying that nice reply – 💜💜💜

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  6. I have to agree with Blog Woman, I’m completely floored to even be acknowledged but thank you so much for your wonderful words Jill! You’ve given me a spring to my step today and have added inspiration to continue with this blog. Appreciate it! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • My great pleasure, Robyn. You know there’s a lot of noise out there in the web, and some of it … Well, when someone takes the risk to speak their truth the way you do, I reckon it’s worth shining a light on it!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Nau mai, Haere mai. Come on in and join the korero (conversation)