Monday 21 June 2021

1,000

I am delighted to say that this post is my 1,000th post on this blog! Who knew that I had so much to say?
I started writing this blog in May 2008 as a way of sharing my latest card designs. Who would have thought that I would still be blogging on a regular basis 13 years later? Since that very first post, my business has expanded beyond handmade cards. I now post about the Bar and Bat Mitzvah albums I have created, about the family portraits I have put together and about the intricate papercuts I have carefully cut out, along of course with the many, many cards I have made over these last 13 years! In addition, very early on I was asked to share more about my life here in Israel on my blog. I began to post photos of places we have visited and events that we have celebrated. Researching and writing about some of the beautiful places we have been to in Israel has become somewhat of a passion of mine.
To mark this personal milestone, I thought it would be fun to share some stats about my blog. Interestingly, even though I live in Israel and am originally from the United Kingdom, by far the top location of visitors to my blog is the United States, with a whopping 487K visits, 60% of my readership. The United States is followed by Israel, then Sweden, Russia and then the United Kingdom.
From 999 blog posts I have received 7961 comments and counting and I am pleased to report that I have several hundred people following my blog through various apps.
I have checked out the stats and thought it would be fun to share my Top 5 creative posts and Top 5 travel posts from over the years with you.
1. Amy's Album, October 2018
This is my most popular post by far. Really far! I have no idea where it was shared but the number of readers who saw this post is far greater than any other post! Either Amy's family liked her Bat Mitzvah album a LOT or my post was shared on a very popular blog. I'd love to know! Anyway, it is nice to see once again the Bat Mitzvah book I made for the young lady who plays the clarinet and piano, likes reading, skiing, kayaking and playing football, baking, listening to music, spending time with family, going on holidays and getting together with friends!

2. Meital, February 2019
Next come two cards I made for Meital's 12th birthday. One card showed her dancing - at the time she did hip hop and jazz - whilst the second card showed her holding her phone which she apparently was, and probably still is, rather attached to!

       3. Happy (Blog) Birthday, May 2009
This was one of my early posts and marked my first year of blogging! There may have been a little giveaway mentioned in the post, which explains the high number of visitors in those early days.

4. Lily, October 2020
Last year I shared a papercut picture I had created for my cousin's daughter as a Bat Mitzvah gift. It may have taken an excruciating 53 days to arrive at its final destination, but the post detailing this papercut was my fourth most popular creative post on my blog. I'm pleased to say that Lily loved it too!

       5. Happy Birthday Saba and Safta, October 2020
This card for a special Safta (the Hebrew word for grandmother), along with another one for Saba (the Hebrew word for grandfather), was a recreation in paper of a favourite photo of the grandparents with their grandchildren. They both loved their cards and enjoyed the memories of a nice occasion once again.

Turning to my Top 5 travel posts, this post about my 50th birthday last year had the most visits by a long way. I had wanted to visit Prague for my 50th but obviously Covid-19 put a stop to that. I'm now 51 and it's still not happening! My second choice was to spend the day at Ein Gedi, an oasis and a nature reserve located west of the Dead Sea. It was an extremely hot May and the weather put a stop to that idea too. In the end we went out in the horrible heat to Castel National Park to see flowers and explore and I had a lovely time! The Castel fortress is now a spectacular lookout point and memorial site and is definitely worth a visit.

       2. Rejuvenation, March 2019
My next most popular post is also about me, though not such a jolly one. In March 2019 I told you that I had just finished treatment for breast cancer but also showed you lots of lovely photos of the seasonal flowers I had seen in Israel over that time. Though the post was a bit of a depressing one, I appreciated all your caring comments and hope you enjoyed my photos of the anemones, or kalaniot, the flowering almond tree flower with its delicate pinkish petals, the shkedia, and my favourite flower, the cyclamen or rakefet in Hebrew.

       3. Back in the Golan Again, November 2018
The Golan is my favourite part of the country and so I was pleased to find that one of my posts about the area came in the Top 5 at number 3. In November 2018 my dad had been back for a visit and we took a trip to the Golan with him. We toured a winery on Kibbutz Ortal and stopped off at the Banias Nature Reserve to see the biggest waterfall in Israel. It was a lovely trip.

       4. The Jewish Community of Tapolca, October 2019
Tapolca was somewhat of an off the beaten track choice for the second half of our holiday in Hungary back in 2019 but when we arrived there we discovered that it had once been a Yiddish-speaking hub and home to a small Jewish community. By May 1944, during the German occupation of the town, the Jews were confined to a ghetto and many were ultimately transported to Auschwitz. The Jewish community all but disappeared, with a very few returning after the war. We were interested to find not one but two synagogues in this small town and were intrigued to be shown around one of them by a local historian.

       5. Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir and Agamon Hefer, December 2018
Finally, at number 5, our to visit the Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir in the Hefer Valley was a great success and we have already been back there for a second time. Pelicans come to spend time at the reservoir between October and December and either continue their migration to Africa or to stay on to winter in Israel. Hundreds of pelicans, as well as cormorants, egrets and herons, were gathered around the reservoir when we visited. It was truly a sight to behold.

Don't forget that you can subscribe to my blog, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Oh, and please pop by my shop now and then to see what is new there.


JENerally Informed

22 comments:

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Congruationa on your 1000th post! Marvelous countdown of posts' popularity too! I'm wishing you many more healthy, happy years of creativity and sharing. Your blog is one of my favorites. I always enjoy visiting and not only seeing your beautiful art, but also learning history with you.

Kim Carberry said...

Ohh! Congratulations on the 1000 posts. That is a great achievement.
It's always interesting to see the top posts on our blogs. x

Julie said...

Congrats on your 1000 post.

Tamar SB said...

Mazal tov!! What a milestone. To many, many more!

Michele Morin said...

Fun! Fun! Fun!
Wow, 1,000 posts!
Incredible milestone!

Miss Val's Creations said...

Congratulations on reaching such a great milestone! What a great idea to go over the stats over the years. Blogging is so perfect for showing memories.

Claire Justine said...

Congratulations on your 1000th post, Lisa. This is a great milestone :)

Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Mondays too #CreativeMondays

NCSue said...

A great accomplishment! Mazel tov! Your posts are always full of interest. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/06/mmmm-magnolia.html

Louise (Little Hearts, Big Love) said...

Congratulations on your 1000th post - 13 years blogging is very impressive too! I love your list of top posts and all the little details on your albums and cards make them really special. Love the photo of the pelican from your travel posts too. #MMBC

Joanne said...

Congrats on your 1,000 post!! What a huge accomplishment.

Anne said...

congratulations on your 1000th post, I've been following your blog for quite a while now and I love all of your creations. I also love when you take us on tours of your Country. Here's to the next 1000 posts!

VeggieMummy said...

Congratulations! Here's to the next 1000! xx

Shiju Sugunan said...

Congratulations on reaching this milestone with your inspiring, creative blog posts. Most visitors on my blog are from United States too.

Mami Made It said...

This is great! Congrats!
Have a nice day! Petra

Shami Immanuel said...

Congrats on reaching 1000 posts. All the cards are beautiful. First time visiting your blog. Will follow you.

Jennifer said...

Congratulations - and what a fun journey! Just this morning, I looked back to see when I began blogging and it was in 2008! But I have no idea how posts I have done. Fun to look and see what was "a hit" with your posts! Hope you are enjoying life in your 50s!!:)

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Congratulations Lisa! I really enjoy your blog -- admire your creativity, and love learning history from you.

restlessjo said...

Congratulations to you! Fabulous 50th birthday cake and lots of accomplishments. Happy 51st year, Lisa!

Wolfgang Nießen said...

1000 posts, that really a lot. Congratulations. I wonder, if I will be able to write so many posts myself.
Wishing you a happy weekend.

Many greetings
Wolfgang

betty-NZ said...

Congrats on you great milestone! It's always fun to enjoy your talent along with your photos around your area.

It's nice to see your link this week at 'My Corner of the World'!

Thea said...

Congratulations, and best wishes for many posts more!
Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party this week!

Jayne said...

Aw, a huge congratulations on 1000 posts! I love popping by your blog and look forward to many more tours and lovely creations.
Have a fab weekend Lisa. x

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