About

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“Your problem is you think too much.”

A friend made this diagnosis years ago and it’s true enough. But I don’t think of it as a problem; it’s how I’m hard-wired, and I’ve discovered that writing my blog is a great outlet for all that is swirling about in my head.

OK, so what am I “about?” How does one even answer a question like that? My blog is my happy place – the place I can escape, at least temporarily, the pressures of having an adult daughter disabled with brain injury at age 29 – the place where I feel normal again. “Normal”, of course, being a relative term.

When you’re dealt a blow like my family has sustained, you have to find the “silver” in the everyday which, while cliche, certainly abounds. And that’s what this blog is about, I guess. Gardening, books, travel, and a little humor thrown in to boot. Not to mention the adventures of my two Westie boys, Max and Berkley.

And in the few months I’ve been blogging I’ve made a discovery: YOU, fellow blogger. I had no idea the blogosphere abounds with so many truly interesting and interested people and I think of it as a unexpected “silver” in my day.

Oh, and the name of my blog:

Silver: Metaphorically speaking, all the good things around me. And I do collect vintage silver.

The Barn: Our 1915 farmhouse in Central Virginia.

And isn’t my little Max the cutest thing ever?

 

 

69 Responses to About

  1. Su Leslie says:
    March 2, 2014 at 11:34 pm

    Thanks for following my blog. Am enjoying reading yours; I loved your review of Wolf Hall!

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    • Barbara says:
      March 3, 2014 at 12:05 am

      Thanks so much Su. Have you read Wolf Hall? I am brand new at this blogging biz but am enjoying it more than I imagined. And I love getting to “meet” so many interesting people….such as you. Thanks for reading.

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      • Su Leslie says:
        March 3, 2014 at 1:17 am

        Hi Barbara, great to “meet” you too. I haven’t read Wolf Hall, or Bringing up the Bodies, but after reading your review, I think I will. I’ve listened to Hilary Mantel talking about both books on various BBC radio programmes (I download the podcasts), and I keep thinking, “yep, I’ll read the books” but I dont’ get around to it. Actually, since I started blogging (about a year ago), I think I read fewer books – but a lot more online content!!! Glad you are enjoying blogging; there are some wonderful people here forming very supportive communities.

        Like

  2. Dianna says:
    March 14, 2014 at 1:07 pm

    I love blogging, and one of the reasons is meeting other bloggers! This is a great picture. I’m glad you stopped by my blog and left a comment!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Shane Francescut says:
    March 28, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    A lovely About Page Barbara. I’m glad you left me a comment so I could discover your little corner of the blog world. I grew up in the country myself, and after living in the city for so many years, I dearly miss the quiet peacefulness that the countryside grants us.

    I really look forward to following your blog… especially the gardening posts. I love gardening myself, but it’s mostly veggies. I have very little knowledge of flowers at the moment.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Beauty Along the Road says:
    April 3, 2014 at 11:34 pm

    Hello, Silver in the Barn, glad to meet another Virginia blogger. Where in the state are you? I’m on the outer Western edge of Virginia…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Silver in the Barn says:
      April 4, 2014 at 12:37 am

      Hello Beauty Along the Road! I am in Central Virginia in Amelia County. We are about 45 minutes west of Richmond. Annette, I so enjoyed your Scotland photographs. My husband and I were just there, for the first time, in September and hiked through the Highlands. It was wonderful in so many ways and your post revived many memories. And the sweet little WESTIE!! Also, I must tell you that I, too, was born in Germany near Stuttgart. My mother is German and my Dad, American GI. And travel is a great love of mine, too. What a small world. Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. I look forward to reading much more of yours. I could tell immediately it was just my cup of tea.

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      • Beauty Along the Road says:
        April 4, 2014 at 1:42 am

        The world is truly a small place, isn’t it!? Ich komme aus Baden-Baden und habe auch meinen ersten Mann durch die Armee getroffen…..hmm….ich war im August letzten Jahres in Schottland, da haben wir uns gerade verpasst 🙂

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  5. Silver in the Barn says:
    April 4, 2014 at 1:54 am

    Annette, I understand your entire message. Aber mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut. Ich habe das alles verstanden aber ich bin nicht fliessend. Es tut mir leid ich kann nicht Deutsch sprechen mit ihnen.

    When we moved as a family to the States, my mother never spoke German with us and everything I had learned as a small child sort of faded away. We were in Germany two Septembers ago visiting my cousin in Hamburg and it was absolutely marvelous for me to be surrounded by the language again and to feel things stirring in my brain. By the time we left, I could make myself understood on a very rudimentary level. It was ausgezeichnet! Tschuss!!

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  7. earthriderjudyberman says:
    May 26, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    Barbara … Thank you for the tip on The Wall Street Journal story, “Shawshank Redemption.” It’s online. A great read. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Catherine Hamrick says:
    May 28, 2014 at 9:56 pm

    Thank you for stopping by my blog. It is a pleasure to see yours. I love all your interests! Best, Catherine. P.S. I live in Virginia, too!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Stephanie says:
    June 2, 2014 at 2:20 am

    Oh, my goodness, Max is the cutest (Shhhhh……don’t tell my adorable beagles).

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  10. themofman says:
    June 5, 2014 at 12:59 am

    Thanks for taking a look at Modes of Flight.

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  11. mybeautfulthings says:
    June 30, 2014 at 9:45 pm

    The aims of our Blogs seem much the same – to find the silver/ the beautiful everyday. You have a new follower! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Silver in the Barn says:
      June 30, 2014 at 10:24 pm

      Well, thank you very much. I look forward to reading and following your blog as well and getting to know you (we do have so much in common, it seems) and your area of the world better. Cornwall is an area we have long wanted to visit – perhaps to hike through someday. Very happy to meet you.

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  13. myobt says:
    July 28, 2014 at 2:29 pm

    Hi, Barbara! I wanted to let you know that I’ve nominated you for a Very Inspiring Blog Award. Your blog is a great source of inspiration and entertainment for me, and I wanted to thank you. However, these awards are a bit time consuming, so if you’re too busy to play along, I won’t take it personally. Honestly, it took me the better part of yesterday to get the acceptance post together. Either way, consider this a fan letter!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. joannesisco says:
    September 4, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    You had me captured at the line “I think too much”. I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve been told that … I over think, I over analyze. I suspect it keeps me out of trouble more than it gets me into trouble 😉

    Your post about your daughter’s most recent trip to the ER really touched me. The frustration and worry and guilt that comes from the feeling of not being able to protect your child is a strong one – regardless of how old they are.
    Without today’s medical care, I would have lost my oldest son – something I still can’t write about. My second son would be in a wheelchair from a snowboarding accident.
    Your trials are so much worse and I can only send you my warmest wishes and a virtual hug.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Silver in the Barn says:
      September 4, 2014 at 12:32 pm

      Thank you for such a lovely comment. I rarely write about Jen, wanting my blog to be a sort of refuge from it all and a place I can sort of be myself. I can tell you’ve been there – frustration, worry, guilt, and for me now, anger, at how little can be done to protect her from what is beginning to feel like the inevitable. And thinking too much is not something we can change, is it? Kind of like eye color, I think.

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  15. Jennifer's Journal says:
    September 6, 2014 at 8:33 pm

    Barbara, my dad used to call me a little question mark and when he watched me mulling over something he would say “think about it!” Nowadays I find myself saying the same thing to my granddaughter. 🙂
    I see from your page we are following some of the same blogs as well.
    Another thing in common is the silver lining thing: I try to keep a positive attitude most of the time and see the good in the world, blogging about the people and things I love in my life. Rarely do I rant or express negative thoughts. The post about Rhonda is tragic, I know, but she was one of the people I cared about and got to know in the blogosphere.
    I shall return! 🙂

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    • Silver in the Barn says:
      September 7, 2014 at 2:30 am

      “A Little Question Mark.” Sounds like a great name for a blog. I think some of are hard-wired for thinking and questioning; it is as much a part of our DNA as our eye color. Your dad’s nickname I find completely charming.

      I, too, do not want my blog to be a misery dispenser. We all have difficulties to overcome, that’s a given. I want my blog to be about the “silver” moments in this life of which there are plenty…if we just pay attention. I thank you so much for such a generous and thoughtful comment. I know I am going to enjoy you and your blog so much, Jennifer. It is my favorite thing about blogging, getting to know so many special, intelligent, gifted, and generous people.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  16. Don Royster says:
    September 25, 2014 at 2:27 am

    Well, you went and done it. You went and followed Uncle Bardie’s Stories & Such. You are now one of Uncle Bardie’s Band of Merry Followers. Just so you know, Uncle Bardie’s a hoot, and he’s got quite a few whoppers in his bag of stories. Some funny, some not so funny. But all told for your entertainment. Thank you for following his blog.

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  18. Kim in Fiji says:
    October 28, 2014 at 4:10 am

    You “liked” my grumpy comment on Simone’s site about how I don’t like to be “liked” if we don’t have anything in common – so naturally gravity pulled me to your site (ha ha ha ha). The first post I looked at was “Two Words” – thinking it would be something light. Oops, wrong call there – you won my heart. I poked around in my bit of free time – you call that a “barn”?! Oh Honey, go a little further south! You can find REAL barns! And where are the rest of those personal principles you promised? It’s been since January!

    This is a beautiful blog. I’ll be dropping by again. With lots of love from Fiji, Kim

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Silver in the Barn says:
      October 28, 2014 at 5:18 am

      Hi Kim. Funny you should mention the personal principles; I was just thinking about that the other day. Funny how topics you think you’ll want to blog about keep getting pushed aside by those that you end up actually doing. I did like your “grumpy” comment. I’ve been around long enough now to develop a few of my own pet peeves. Thanks for reading and commenting, Kim, I appreciate it.

      Liked by 1 person

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  19. Equipping The Saints says:
    December 30, 2014 at 3:35 pm

    Thanks for sharing. I am very sorry for all of the pain that you have had to deal with. I care.

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  20. Catherine Hamrick says:
    January 5, 2015 at 7:31 am

    I see you you celebrate your one-year WordPress anniversary. Congratulations. You truly deserve the Lovely Blog award. I have been out of pocket, thus not engaged. But I have enjoyed everything. Did the VA bloggers ever hold a summit? Missing VA.

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  21. bluestempond says:
    January 9, 2015 at 3:04 pm

    I stumbled across your blog and love it. You have so many interesting thoughts and photos. I am now following so I don’t miss a thing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. julieallyn says:
    January 10, 2015 at 7:15 pm

    I like the way you think!

    I’m sorry to hear about your daughter and admire the tenacity and humor in your About piece to introduce yourself to us, your Readers. Consider yourself Followed!

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  24. RMW says:
    January 13, 2015 at 5:42 pm

    Spending most of my time finding the “silver” too!

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  25. emeraldwake says:
    January 22, 2015 at 11:54 am

    Superb Blog,i like very much ,i invite You to my lonely place, Regards from Poland,EM

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  26. thesilverofhisfining says:
    February 7, 2015 at 12:58 am

    I landed here via All Downhill From Here, and I’m so glad I did. What a delight your blog is! I love the name and premise of your blog, and yes, Max is quite the handsome fellow 🙂 So nice to meet you both. ~Joyce

    Liked by 1 person

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  27. Melissa @ Ever Growing Farm says:
    February 15, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    So happy to have found you and a kindred spirit in finding the “silver” in everything around 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  28. Hakan Guzhan says:
    February 21, 2015 at 6:03 am

    Hi,

    I landed on your web page while I was surfing on the internet.
    Thanks for the outstanding posts.
    I liked reading them.

    I am running the I.A.C – Inscribink Authors’ Circle. We are a developing website with 10K+ followers on Facebook.

    Would you be interested in sharing one of your articles on our website ?

    Or, would you be interested in being one of the writers on our ever developing website project?

    Thanks for considering. Let me know if you have any questions.

    Regards,

    Hawk G.
    Editor, Inscribink

    http://www.inscribink.com
    info@inscribink.com

    Liked by 1 person

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  29. markbialczak says:
    February 26, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    Hi Barbara, I nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award because you are very inspiring to me. Thank you. Keep going. A compliment and instructions are on my post.

    I feel inspired at my second blogging anniversary, so I pass it along

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  30. Blue Aventurine says:
    March 10, 2015 at 12:48 am

    Yes, like many of us here on WordPress, we too find it a place to be an outlet. Keep on writing and looking on the bright side of life.

    (Hope you whistled the Monty Python part too!)

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  31. joeyfullystated says:
    March 12, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    I nominated you for an award today 🙂
    I hope even if you don’t choose to accept the award, it helps to show how much I enjoy your writing.

    Creative Blog Award

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  32. Catherine Hamrick says:
    March 19, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    How do I repost your 3/5 post? I cannot find the button to post on my blog. Thx!

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    • Silver in the Barn says:
      March 19, 2015 at 2:29 pm

      Hello Catherine. That’s very generous of you to want to reblog the post. The only way I know how to do this is through the WordPress Reader. As you scroll through the reader, each post has in blue at the bottom three options: reblog, comment, or like. If that doesn’t work, then I will say thanks for the thought. Very kind of you!

      Liked by 1 person

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      • Catherine Hamrick says:
        March 20, 2015 at 4:56 am

        i think you can put a button near the post so people can hit it. check that out. i will go through the reader. I posted you work on FB–nice reaction! You should look into Country Living magazine.

        Like

  33. ritaroberts says:
    March 17, 2016 at 9:47 am

    Hi Barbara, How are you. ? Just thought to ask if you know that the gorgeous Westie called “Geordie Girl ” has won the CRUFTS TORPHY . I’m not surprised ! Like you Barbara I adore Westies

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  34. Carolyn says:
    June 18, 2016 at 11:41 am

    Barbara, I am just discovering your lovely blog and appreciate your stories and musings on life, literature, gardening, etc. Are you still writing? I hope so! Best wishes.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  35. Allison says:
    September 14, 2017 at 8:26 pm

    Hi! I found you through Facebook. I am the editor of a site called thefinelinemag.com and we’d love to republish your “blame it on Jamie” essay. Will you reach out to me?

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