'What's in a name?' Violet-White

Hello my dears, thought I would introduce you to another blogger with a tale to her blog's name. This particular person has been incredibly generous with helping us make granny squares for the Kyōyū kyōyū - share project I am running. She was incredibly quick off the mark and was one of the first contributors - She soon sent another parcel filled with yummy squares which 
were, equally as quickly, added to blankets and posted off to Japan.

But, I won't fill up my guest slot with my chat, 

so without further ado - 

I would like to present to you 

Penny from Violet-White

·  Please introduce yourself.

My name is Penny,  I'm a widow and I live in France

·  Your blog's name - why and how did you choose your blog title?

When I bought this house, after my husband died, there was nothing in the garden except some violets. So I called my blog violet-white, which was a direct translation from the French 'White Violet'.

·   Did you ever blog about your choice of title? 

No, I don't think so - it didn't seem relevant. It amuses me that some people think my real name is Violet!

·  Have you ever changed your blog's title name? And, if so, how often and why? And fancy revealing any of it's previous names ?

I've never changed the blog's name.

· How long have you been blogging?

Seems like forever, but I guess it's about 4 years...

·  Can you remember how you felt when you received your first comment or how you felt when you noticed your first follower? 

Not exactly, but I do love getting comments and I always look to see if the commentator (or follower) has a blog and I look at it if they have. The comments make me feel that someone cares, which is very important to me.

·  Did you initially keep your blog to yourself before sharing with friends and family?

No, it was always public, and I published the web address at the bottom of all my emails.

·  What was the original intention for starting your blog? Has it remained true to its primary reason or has it blossomed, altered or taken a completely different direction?

 I started blogging after Richard's death and my move to France - partly to give me a focal point in my day, and partly to let friends and family know what I was doing. I don't think that has changed.

·  What or who inspires you? 

I really enjoy reading other blogs and seeing that other people have the same pleasures, problems and interests as I do.  I live in an isolated area and this replaces that quick 'pop to the shops and have a coffee'.  I am frequently amazed and inspired by the sheer amount and quality of the creativity I see.


Thank you Penny for sharing with us all about your blog's name. I agree with you about all that incredible creativity out there in the blog-a-sphere! 

**********

Well my dears, another lovely interview. I hope you will pop over to Penny's blog and see what she gets up to. 


Welcome too to my newest followers :) Have yourselves a lovely rest of your week and remember that tomorrow is tipping day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! weeeeeeee!


Oh? tipping day - sorry - for those who have no idea what I am talking about, tipping day refers to the fact that, with Wednesday being in the middle of the week, it is tipping you towards the weekend and that can't be bad :)


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx




Previous interviews :
Slightly Smaller Footprints
Apples and Pears

What's in a name? - Slightly Smaller Footprints

I started this series originally to satisfy my own curiosity and have been pleasantly surprised how many of you out there responded so positively! Thank you for some lovely comments so I thought I'd share a little more with you before I go on to my next 'guest'.  


 Jacquie  said ..

Great idea ...love this strand :0)
Did you manage to fit the woodburner yourselves ?
Jacquie x

We did thanks Jacquie, but like all our escapades it was like a comedy of errors! At one point I was so worried about Himself being on our roof manhandling 10 meters (approx 30 foot) of extremely heavy fire proof flue lining that I begged our neighbour to watch over him. I must admit to noticing but ignoring an extreme look of alarm on said neighbour's face but he agreed and carefully climbed up our ladder. Bless him, he stayed and watched over and helped Himself all that day and the next as they fought and wrestled to lower the flue lining down the chimney. The men then fixed it to the top of the chimney and again to the woodburning stove in our lounge.

It was only afterwards that I discovered that our neighbour has a terror of heights and being asked to climb up onto a slippery 30 foot high slate roof was almost a step too far! 

Anyway enough of us, 

I'm delighted to 

present to you 

my next 'guest'...................

Julia from Slightly Smaller Footprints

·  Please introduce yourself.

Hello!  I’m Julia (ju24).  I live on Teesside with my husband, daughter, son, dog and tortoise.  After recently downsizing on the job front, I’m now a part-time teaching assistant.

·  Your blog's name - why and how did you choose your blog title?

My blog is called Slightly Smaller Footprints.  Normally, I would agonise for days over choosing a name for something like this, but this time it just came to me in a flash.   I’d been toying with the idea of starting a blog, and knew I wanted it to be a record of our family’s efforts to live a greener lifestyle.  One day, I was tentatively exploring the Blogger website when I found myself impulsively setting up an account.  Of course, I needed a name there and then, and SSF popped into my head, with the smaller footprint part obviously referring to our ecological/carbon footprint.

My favourite bit, though, is that the name is a bit of private joke (or maybe not so private now, I guess!)  We are a family of tall people – I’m the only one under 6’ – with correspondingly large feet.  Small footprints?  I don’t think so!

·   Did you ever blog about your choice of title? 

No, I didn’t.  It didn’t occur to me to do so as I thought people would realise where the title had come from once they read my profile.  I hoped close family might enjoy the irony.

·  Have you ever changed your blog's title name? And, if so, how often and why? And fancy revealing any of it's previous names ?

It’s always been SSF, and I’ll probably keep it as long as it’s appropriate to what I blog about.

· How long have you been blogging?

I started writing in December 2010, so about 5 months.  At that point, I’d been reading blogs for a couple of years, ever since I tripped over Colour it Green’s during some Internet research (can’t remember what on – wool, or sheep most likely.) 

·  Can you remember how you felt when you received your first comment or how you felt when you noticed your first follower?

I can remember my first comment – you wrote it, and it was very supportive!!  I was thrilled and scared in equal measure.  Thrilled because someone was interested in what I had written, but scared in case other posts didn’t come up to scratch.  My reaction was probably due to the way I was feeling about a lot of things at the time.

·  Did you initially keep your blog to yourself before sharing with friends and family?

Actually, it’s still only been shared with limited people, and most of them only know about it because my OH sent them a link!  Funnily enough, I was reading back over some of my posts the other night and came to the conclusion I was ready to share it with more people.

·  What was the original intention for starting your blog? Has it remained true to its primary reason or has it blossomed, altered or taken a completely different direction?

I gave up my previous job last December, which meant we had the time to do our little bit towards living more sustainably.  It seemed the perfect time to share what we do, plus it was an opportunity for me to pick up some new computer skills.

I think the blog is still true to my primary intent, although the sustainability angle is often less explicit than I originally thought it would be, and tends to be wrapped up in our day to day comings and goings.  Oh, and crochet gets mentioned far more than I ever expected, but probably not as much as I would like!

·  What or who inspires you?

Oh, well, I think of inspiration and creativity as being linked, and I’m not creative in the true sense of the word.  I’m a copier – I take other people’s ideas and then make or do the same thing.  So, I reckon I am influenced rather than inspired……….. but by whom?

Ben Law springs to mind, as my interest in being green all started when I watched him build his house on Grand Designs.  Then there’s Geoff Hamilton, who was a bit before his time when it came to sustainable gardening, and because of his Cottage Garden series, which I adored.  Fellow bloggers are always influential, of course, each for different reasons.  Oh, and Trevor Hawes, an education expert who delivered a seminar many years ago, and whose ideas on effective learning really resonated with me – I still apply them on a day to day basis.   Finally, I must acknowledge my mum and dad, who taught me the basics of all the making and doing I love to do every day.

************************

Thank you so much  Julia, that was lovely - it's funny that we both hold Colouritgreen 'responsible' for our fall into blogging, for me it was she and Thursday's Child  who have a lot to answer for! 

And as for my all time hero - Geoff Hamilton - sigh, so glad to see he gets a mention here!

That, my dears is this week's 'What's in a name?' slot, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I will be posting holiday waffle some time soon, but the next two weeks I will be at work far more than usual so - don't think I am neglecting you!

What's in a name?

A while ago - BB, (before blogging) Himself and I had decided to put in a wood burning stove as part of our drive to be greener and to reduce the cost of heating our home. We initially had planned to engage a company to do the work but soon changed our minds once we had got fed up with tutting and teeth sucking workmen as they quoted us exorbitant prices. Himself very bravely threw himself into the abyss took on the challenge and decided that we could do it.


I started to trawl the websites of reputable dealers but once again, was met by a barrage of  'this is the realm of the professional and not of the householder'. Then, by wonderful accident or design, I chanced upon - Blogs.. I read normal folk trying to do what we were attempting and logging their successes and failures - this was a revelation!  I fell into the blog groupie crowd with delight - the search for 'how-to-put-your-wood-burning-stove-in-with-out-killing-your-husband' sort of became second to actually reading and getting to know all these wonderful folk with everyday wonderful, funny, sad, delightful, educational, silly and entertaining stories. I, like a voyeur, followed on and loved it. It was then I began to wonder if I could become part of this wonderful blog community. It was only my own self doubting that stopped me doing it.


Then when my eldest son, who was then 11, started senior school where he initially was incredibly stressed by the newness of it all. This made me very worried about him. I felt as stressed as he.


I needed to release some of that tension so started this blog - choosing to call it 11am - partly because of his age and partly because due to my working hours, most days of the week I am home during the morning and have elevenses in front of the computer. Mind you, I do have elevenses at any time of the day......... However I digress. My first post was about how and why I named my blog 11am which got me wondering what made you other bloggy folk choose your particular title name.


I have wondered for nearly two years now! SO, with out any further ado and waffling and meandering, I now present to you my first (of many I hope) interviews with YOU, the blogger out there, to get you to reveal your reasons for your blog title.   And my first guest is................................

Andrea from Apples and Pears

Apples and Pears

Village life in West Yorkshire

Please introduce yourself.

Hello! I am Andrea, a working mum of one from County Durham originally but now living in West Yorkshire, UK

Your blog's name - why and how did you choose your blog title?

Mmm this is an interesting question! My blog is called Apples and Pears and I chose it for several reasons; anyone who has read by blog will know that I love Scandinavian design and apples and pears are both popular motifs. I live in a rural village and Apples and Pears sounded very fresh and natural and country-ish. Lastly apples and pears is cockney rhyming slang for stairs. I love making blankets (and more and more blankets!) and, although I am not a cockney, I like the association of blankets = stairs = cosy in bed....well it kind of make sense to me!

Did you ever blog about your choice of title? 

No I've never though to blog about it and no one has asked about it before.

Have you ever changed your blog's title name? And, if so, how often and why? And fancy revealing any of it's previous names ?
My blog has always been Apples and Pears.

How long have you been blogging?
I started blogging in October 2010

Can you remember how you felt when you received your first comment or how you felt when you noticed your first follower?
I can remember checking the stats constantly waiting for a visitor, never mind a comment! I was really excited when my followers reached 10! I started blogging just before I got very ill with depression. I can honestly say the the comments and visits from the 'ladies of the canyon' have helped me hugely....and the act of blogging itself has been very therapeutic. I still get very excited receiving comments and having new followers.

Did you initially keep your blog to yourself before sharing with friends and family?
I came out as blogger straight away and my family have not disowned me yet!! I also share my blog on my facebook page and so friends can see it if they want to.

What was the original intention for starting your blog? Has it remained true to its primary reason or has it blossomed, altered or taken a completely different direction?
I think I wanted to blog after visiting other blogs and thinking I might like to try that. I liked the idea of being part of a virtual community and also sharing crafts with like minded people. I didn't really have a strong idea about what the blog would include. The sub title is 'life in a West Yorkshire village' so I guess that is vague enough to accommodate anything!

What or who inspires you? 

I am so inspired and humbled by the huge variety of talent and generosity that exists in blogland. Every day I come across someone doing something beautiful or original or kind - often all of these. My first source of inspiration was my mum, a really talented knitter who taught me the joy of yarn when I was very young. I can still remember my first knitted item... a pale blue scarf full of holes and made of nasty, squeaky yarn! Over forty years later I still get excited about a new stash of yarn!

**************************************

Thank you Andrea for giving us such a lovely insight to your blog - I thought the idea of the nasty squeaky yarn very funny, I suspect we have all has similar encounters with the stuff! Keep on blogging as we also find you a source of inspiration :)


I also want to apologise for the different fonts - I am having terrible problems with drafting postings as Blogger keeps changing into Greek lettering!


Well, that was my first interview for 'What's in a name' hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and in case you hadn't noticed it is FRIDAY :) Have yourselves a lovely lovely long weekend coz we certainly intend to xxxxxxxx