Another Blogiversary: A Little Spring Cleaning

Anyone who has read this blog through its three years of existence will know
that there is no need to feel sad about ice cream at anytime
(image from one of my childhood favorites: ABC TV's Schoolhouse Rock)

Last year when I wrote up my second "Blogiversary" post, I received a nice comment from one of the deans of local blogger-types in the CMH Gourmand, noting that on average a "sustained" blog generally lasts on average about 33 months and that I was just about there.

Well, I guess its time to celebrate a little bit then with this third "Blogiversary" post. After putting up a initial statement post back in late May of 2014, three has proven to be a magic number indeed. While this venture was meant as more of a fun lark and a way to keep mentally sharp when I started, I have noticed the traffic to this blog grow surely but steadily over time. For those of you who poke their heads here on a regular (or even semi-regular) basis, I thank you for your time and I hope you have been entertained by the ventures of my spouse and I over this span.

Post number wise, things have remained pretty steady: after a blazing (and unsustainable) three posts a week during my first year of blogging, I have striven for and pretty much have reached the two posts per week mark these last couple years. As Goldilocks might say, that number seems to be just right, and no changes will be made on that front for the time being.

Back of the Blog: 21 from 2016

Something that I have come in my nearly three years of blogging now is that you just don't get to blog about everything you encounter. Sometimes the event doesn't quite rise to sustain an entire blog post, sometimes the subject of the potential blog post vanishes from the scene before you can make a fair judgment, and sometimes life gets in the way and takes away from a potential post's timeliness.

Despite all that, I've tried to reflect the travels and encounters of my spouse and I as best I could through my social media channels. But as I've looked back at the collective photos from the year, I thought this would be a good time to reflect back on a few photos that didn't make the feed (and a couple that did.)

Nosh Columbus was just a touch farther than I wanted to go for lunch generally, but the time I did go was a bit of a rewarding one, as enjoyed a fairly satisfying rendition of jerk chicken, and at a good price to boot.  In fact, it was enough food for me and a more down-on-their-luck person I found nearby, who was more than happy to finish off this lunch. Nosh closed before I could venture in a second time, due to be replaced by Poke Doki.

Perhaps the funkiest breather you could ever hope to encounter: the Isaac Hayes/Tina Turner/Booker T. & The MG's Rest Area in Jackson, TN.

Toddling Toward Three: A Second Year Blogiversary Post

Surprise, surprise - two years and this blog is still alive and kicking. I can't rightfully say whether I expected this or not, but I am quite happy to still be pounding on the keyboard on a regular basis cranking out these blog posts

My posting pace that first year was rather surprising and highly unsustainable (over 150 posts that first year) - for someone whose bills get paid by other time-consuming sources, that just wasn't going to workout in the long run. This year, I aimed for a more sustainable two posts per week and hit that mark pretty much on the mark; as Goldilocks might say, that number was "just right."

I could get into really specific detail about the breakdown of these posts, but that would be highly boring so I won't. Suffice it to say, the posts are nicely broken up mainly among Columbus-based eateries, beer and brewery related posts and travels from both within and outside of Ohio. Mix in some music events, local attractions and festivals, and my continuing ice cream journeys, and it made for a pretty nice cornucopia of topics covered this year.

Four Ohio Winters, Three Residences, Two Trips to Asheville...

My automobile, still two years from its unexpected retirement, didn't
appreciate its first taste of the Ohio-styled winter weather four years ago.

...and a Hatchback in a Junkyard.

The end of the year and the Christmas season in general always seems to be a topic for every style of blog, and this one is no exception.

It's been almost four years since I made the 2,000 mile trek over to the Buckeye State, packed to the gills with my most important belongings in a somewhat smallish hatchback car along with my then girlfriend-now-spouse. In a weird way, I've come back full circle - despite the picture above, the winter by Ohio standards was a pretty mild one. This year's winter has seen temperatures here that I might expect in the Bay Area around this time; in fact, the number of 60+ degree temperature days have been more or less equal between the two cities, based on a quick check on Accuweather.

While my spouse and I are not adverse to snow, we are definitely thankful for the relatively mild temperatures so far this winter. But in reality, the mild weather is much more of a cherry on top of the proverbial sundae of a pretty good year for both of us.

Of course, the thing we're incredibly thankful for is our new house. While we are learning the subtle details about what a money pit a house really can be (thankfully, more in the way of upgrades versus unexpected repair needs), we couldn't be more happy with our purchase, the surrounding neighbors and the neighborhood. Perhaps most importantly, the house has given us a certain sense of permanence that has given us more incentive than ever to engage with and in the local community.

Another thing we are thankful for are the love and camaraderie of the people in our lives, from our family members to our friends, both long-time or newly met, and even one-time chance meetings at the places to which we have traveled. Our wide circle for the most part has had a fairly healthful year like we have, and we certainly hope things trend that way in the year to come.

From this blog's standpoint, we both have been thrilled to see the continued vitality, creativity and growth shown by many aspects of the Columbus metro area. While I do still pay attention to Bay Area matters and visit the area, it is Columbus that has become the preeminent focus of my life. What has really struck me personally during my experiences and encounters with the people behind the arts, music, culinary, social media and other community-oriented efforts in this metro is not the fact that these folks are hard working; in reality, that kind of goes without saying.

Rather, what has struck me is that how truly nice and gracious the people within and behind the scenes are, from my fellow bloggers to restaurant chefs, musicians and craftspeople, business owners and organization heads, and so forth.

And the support these folks show to each other and the wider creative community as a whole is a pretty wonderful and special thing to witness. Granted, this is something of a general gut feeling, but it is reflected and confirmed in folks like Angela Perley, the lead singer for her band The Howlin' Moons who were just voted as the "Best Local Band in Columbus" for 2015 by the web-based media site Columbus Underground.  Perley, who I have had the pleasure of meeting, stated in the previously referred to Columbus Underground article, “I’m not sure what it’s like in other cities, but in Columbus there’s a strong community where creative people bounce ideas off each other and people are really supportive of each other,”

To all of you, I wish you all a truly wonderful Christmas and holiday season, and may the new year bring you success and prosperity.