January ~ a new chapter

It's a new year!  

How did we get to 2024 so quickly? 

Let me share a few pic's from January...

before I lay out my plans for the blog going forward.

We headed to the hills mid-month for a little snow getaway...

since there was none at home.

It's never far to the mountains...

and what could be nicer than a day spent in the hot pools surrounded by fresh snow?

We had our fix of snow...

and we never had to shovel any of it!

Then we  came home to a record-breaking snowfall.

The kind we had to shovel!

The drifts piled up and we stayed home for a few days while the winds howled.

By now it has mostly washed away!

January also marked the completion of one more year around the sun for me. It seems like a good time to take stock and make a few changes.

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Is it time to quit blogging after all these years? It's something I have considered for awhile. I have decided not to do monthly updates on My Front Porch anymore, though I may still post on occasion, documenting travels or major events.  I'm planning to sift through hundreds of posts from the past seventeen years and make some sort of book...a collection of memorable posts. Last year I helped Elmer write and publish a book of his life stories.  Now it's my turn, though I have a head-start since many of my stories have been shared on my blog over the years. 

I am thankful for all the memories and moments that I documented here over the years, because time hurries on and the past is soon forgotten. I will never regret the time I spent blogging and the friends that I met along the way. Some blogging friends became real life friends, and I treasure all those friendships. 

These ladies were among my first blogging friends, and who knew that we would still be good friends so many years later?  We were the Mennonite Girls Can Cook team, who started a recipe blog first and then published three cookbooks together.  Though we no longer blog or publish new recipes, the website is still there as a great resource. Getting all ten of us together is no simple feat (with two in Manitoba and one in and Washington), but we meet up when we can and rarely a day goes by that we don't connect on our group chat.

One of my first blogging friends was Vee, who lived in Maine.  Some ten years ago, we met Vee while traveling on the east coast. She passed away last year, but she is not forgotten.  Always a word of wisdom, some encouragement, a little sarcasm or something that made me smile. Another blogging friend that I met in person on that east coast trip, was Judy in Pennsylvania.  We had a delightful time around the table on her porch, and some years later Judy and John came to visit us in our home.  We enjoyed touring them around the valley and visiting Whistler and beyond. Honora lived near Victoria, and often came to the valley on business.  We met up in person in 2008 and many times since. Then there was Jill, who we met on a USA road trip in Salt Lake City. We met Christine in Phillipsburg, Montana...Kathy in Charlottetown, PEI...and Pam at King's Landing in New Brunswick.  I met Rosella from Ontario and Deb from San Diego when they visited BC.  Most of these women have long since given up blogging, but we are still in touch through Instagram.

Those are just some of the blogging friends that I have met, but there are so many more that I have corresponded with over the years. Sue in Texas. Lorrie on Vancouver Island. Pat in Denver. Most visitors to my blog over the years are anonymous, but some have encouraged me through their comments or e-mails. Thanks to all who has visited through the years. 

All that to say...it's not a final farewell, but things will be much quieter here on My Front Porch this year. 

Until next time,