NO NEW BLOG AFTER ALL

"HYLAS AND THE WATER NYMPHS" by J. W. Waterhouse

Remember me calling Spring capricious a couple of weeks ago? Now I'm thinking that I am going to have to call myself capricious as well, in the sense that I haven't been able to make up my mind.

At the April full moon, I started a new blog called "A Hopeless Romantic". I did this because Celtic Lady had gotten too .... well, too CELTIC. I started to feel that in researching my Celtic roots and publishing the results online, I had lost "me"; the self, the personality that was originally a part of Celtic Lady.

As a result, I alienated a lot of readers and lost touch with many good blogging friends. I wrote that since I am hoping to retire within a few months, I would have time to re-connect with those dear friends and re-establish the joyful camaraderie I had with them - and to once again exchange comments, e-mails, snail mail, small gifts, etc.

I titled that new blog A Hopeless Romantic, which I have been all of my life and remain so in face of all of life's realities. When a girlfriend from a journalism class stopped by my dorm room, she saw a 4 x 4 hot pink felt "bulletin board" I had hung right above my top bunk. I had cut out beautiful images from magazines and artfully arranged them. There were no sloppy notes, lists, random jottings, etc. No, everything on that board had its own place and was "just for pretty", as the Amish say. (All these many years later, I am still doing that in collage form.)

"Wow, you are really A HOPELESS ROMANTIC," she exclaimed in all caps. I could not demur. "Another born romantic, that's me", as John Mellencamp would say.

I intended the new blog to cover the many, many things I love: music and architecture and history; great classical and traditional art, Art Nouveau, the Arts and Crafts movement and the Pre-Raphaelite painters; reading and libraries and poetry; birds and animals, especially dogs; the prairie of my home, but also woods, lakes and rivers; flowers, especially prairie roses, irises and lilacs; the seasons and the sun, the moon and the sky; so many people, both the near and dear and the faraway but kindred spirits; road trips and fireplaces and warm bread; freshly-mown grass and freshly-powdered babies; newly-cut lumber and pine trees; my heritage and where I'm from; food and cooking; fine old things; order, cleanliness, serenity, grace, peace and beauty.

A long time ago a good blogging friend told me that new projects are best started at the dark of the moon rather at the full moon. I think I finally understand that I should not have started the new blog - at the full moon or ever. I ultimately decided I could combine the best of both blogs - no way was I going to give up the the gorgeous J. W. Waterhouse background created by Itkupilli, a Finnish artist who lives in L.A! (Just click on the link on the upper left of this blog to find her free backgrounds.)

I realized I can write about all the aforementioned topics, plus add to all the myriad and various subjects I've ever written about in the four-plus years since I started "Celtic Lady". As for those who follow me just for the Celtic posts, they will just have to be patient with me. I will continue to post about all the Celtic holidays and "All Things Celtic" in March. I did not start this blog to be wholly a Celtic blog. The title Celtic Lady was meant to be an expression of who and what I feel myself to be at the very deepest level of my soul. Therefore, I will not be guilted into being a Celtic-only blog, even though I have been (very happily and thankfully) named to a couple of Best Celtic Blogs lists.

I feel like saying sorry about this capriciousness, although I don't quite know why, except in the case of my dear old blogging friend Annie who was so excited to be the first one to comment on the new blog! Annie, you'll always be first in my book!!

Manga tak (many thanks), as we Norwegians say, to those other old blogging friends who came by the new blog added their comments on the first post. Your URLs hold a place of pride on my Friends and Kindred Spirits list on THIS blog.