After 16 years of old-school writing and mailing our Northwest Update newsletter to our family and friends; and after reaching our milestone 50th issue in hard copy, we decided to go online.
In 2010, The NW Update issues were to go out in March, June and December, but it never happened. Why? Trying to get the kids to write their own columns threw off the timing. Or was it just the every day chores, school, work, activities or updating my Facebook status too much?
I caught grief throughout the year from friends near and far, “Where’s the Update?” When our 2011 New Year’s cards came out, the complaints poured in! “Nice picture, but where’s the Update?” Well, here it is online!
As for the hardcopy: it’s a production to write, edit, print, copy, fold, stuff, address, stamp and mail a 4- (sometimes 6-) page document; close to 200 copies. We have always wanted to put it online, for about the last 10 years, but in 2000 the Internet wasn’t ready for the wild writings of this editor.
- December 2010: The month I plug in
I dabbled in Frontpage, as I was previously a Website Developer, but it didn’t give us the power that WordPress came out with in 2002. However, that year we were knee-deep in diapers with two little ones, and blogging was put on hold.
The cost of stamps in 1995 was 32 cents, and in 2010 they were .44 cents, close to $90 just for stamps, not including envelopes, and don’t get me started on the cost of copying! The mass majority of readers received b&w copies of the Update, while a select few received color copies. Now, all will be able to enjoy the Update, at your leisure and we hope many more of our friends will too!
In 2009, I was recognized by Family Fun magazine as Mom of the Month and was in a feature article in their magazine. They were extremely interested in my newsletter writings (and my record collection).
You can find all of the Keyser happenings written by other sources under “In the News”, but start by selecting “Seasonal Activities” under the Latest Posts menu on the right-hand side.
We hope this newsletter-blog finds you well from our house to yours!
—Judy
“The Original Blogger”
