April 2025 Highlights #WBOYC
What's Been On Your Calendar
We didn’t get out and about much during April. After having time away in both February and March, April was mostly about staying at home and catching up on a few jobs especially in the garden.
Fortunately, the weather has now cooled down and is a bit more like we would expect in autumn. The leaves are now starting to change colour. It’s a joy to see the colour changes each day on our walks. Autumn is definitely my favourite time of year. On most days, I’ve been outside either walking or cycling or doing those jobs in the garden. At this time of year, with this lovely weather that we’ve been having, it’s not a chore, it’s a pleasure.
Blogging
Part of the reason for being so busy was the A to Z Blogging Challenge. I chose to do this challenge on my family history blog this year, which meant there was a large amount of research and reading involved in writing each post. I had been working on them since about mid 2024 and had them all ready to be published and scheduled, when April arrived. I have guessed that my challenge posts this year took me over 150 hours to research and write.
I’m hopeless when it comes to scheduling. I can’t seem to leave it alone. The night before a scheduled post is due to be published, I can’t resist opening it up for just one more read. That usually means there are changes I’d like to make, and off I go reading, rereading and rewriting posts at the last minute. This happens every year. Also there is quite a bit of time taken with reading the blogs of other participants each day. This is the part of the challenge that I really enjoy but it is time consuming.
There was even one Wednesday that I was so caught up with the AtoZ Challenge, that I forgot to link my post to Min's Wednesday Whimsy linkup. This is a highlight in my blogging week, so I was stunned when three days later, I realised that I had missed it.
I’ve also been busy getting my blogging more organised and less haphazard. My goal is to have posts ready to go for when I need them, but that has been a goal of mine forever. It rarely happens, but I’m on track now, for a more organised blogging life. Below I have added the links to blog posts during April, but I haven’t included the daily A to Z Challenge links on Tracking Down The Family. Due to the challenge there have been less posts than usual this month on this blog and Best Bookish Blog.
Easter
Easter was very quiet here. Our city is overtaken by tourists for the Easter Festival, and I don’t like being on the roads at Easter, so we just stayed close to home, eating too many easter eggs and hot cross buns. Other than eating I spent most of the time either reading, exercising or in the garden. We had perfect weather so it was a lovely time.
On The Bike
I had a few rides during April, but the highlight was Oscar joining us on our rides. My partner fitted a little basket to his bike so Oscar could join in the fun. We have only been for one short ride that was just a test to see if he liked it. He loved it and now that we know he’s happy we are planning a longer ride for him shortly.
Just for Fun
I don’t do puzzles at all, except for Wordle and I play Scrabble with my sister online. I’m not a very good Scrabble partner as I only make one move every day. I’m sure she gets very frustrated with me.
However, recently I’ve seen these little 3D bookstore puzzles that you put together. They look very cute and they light up, like a bookstore at night. For some reason, probably because I love book stores, they really took my eye. In a weak moment I ordered a small one, I just to see how it goes. Thinking about it later, I would probably have been more sensible to get a larger one for a first try. When I opened the box, I found pieces that are so small that it will take tweezers to handle them. When it’s finished it will be either a lovely replica of a bookstore or a mess. We will see.
Smiles
As the mum of Oscar the Toy Poodle, this made me smile.
Links to April Blog Posts
The Retirement Phase
Taking Stock of the 1st Quarter
Best Bookish Blog
Book Review: The Family Next Door
This post is linked to the monthly #whatsbeenonyourcalendar #WBOYC linkup hosted by bloggers Deb, Sue, Donna, and Jo. A big thankyou to the hosts for making this linkup possible. It’s one of my highlights of each month.
I also try to schedule posts then panic that I've not done things right and have to check too! You've had a good month Jen and I can just imagine the glorious colours down your way as they're lovely here at the moment.
"The night before a scheduled post is due to be published, I can’t resist opening it up for just one more read. That usually means there are changes I’d like to make, and off I go reading, rereading and rewriting posts." HI, Jenn 0 This could be a page from my own diary --- word for word! <3 If you ever find a cure for this, please let me know.