I have to clean my blogroll.  It hasn't been updated in forever.  It's one of those tasks that I think is important but I put it off because so many bloggers I loved have stopped blogging.  It's hard for me to let go of those folks.  I think a good third of my blogroll hasn't updated in months. And months.  But I keep hoping they'll come back.

I know that's the nature of blogging. Lots of people view it as a fleeting hobbie, lots of bloggers get frustrated or bored with one blog and just move on to start another one, with maybe a new personality or focus.  At least that used to be common (especially when a lot more of us were anonymous).  Actually, I'm not sure what the current ettiquette is about keeping a blog nowadays.  Can someone enlighten me?  I started five years ago and it really has changed.  We were kind of those weirdos with blogs, you know.  I feel a bit like an old fogey.  I have a hard time letting go because I really felt like I had a community back then.  (Back in the good old days.  grrr! *throws walnut*)  I still feel like I have a community, but it's moved and morphed, some of it shrinking, some of it expanding, and I don't necessarily know if it's the same as when I started.  It felt very personal back then.

Part of it is my fault and I think part of it is the way the Internet has changed.  Somewhere along the way I stopped visiting blogs as often, which I'm actually trying to change.  And part of it, there became just too many platforms to keep up on; one group at Facebook, one on Twitter, another on blogs, then the groups started merging and people migrated and I lost track.    

I admit it, I lost track of people and their blogs, and I feel bad about it.  Like old friends you've driften away from, then when you finally get around to visiting you find out they moved.  But some of them just left while I was still checking in, and I miss those people. I wonder how they're doing.

However, it is high time for me to update my blog roll.  (There's something about overcast Fall days that makes me feel the need to organize and be maudlin all at once.)  I've got a list in my bookmarks that is completely different. I've got lists on Facebook and Twitter and I'm itching with the need to get it all straightened out. (Stop laughing. I can do it.)

So here's the deal… if you're one of those bloggers who is still around but under a new name, new place, whatever, or if you just want to keep in touch even if you've left the blog world, or if you're a lurker (because I get a lot of hits and few comments)… drop me a line.

My email is always open.

                       – the weirdgirl