In 2011, I took a gamble and participated in my first AtoZChallenge with a Hawaiian theme. Because I missed the 2020 challenge, my plunge into 2021 was the 10th challenge for me. I signed up on the last day of the Theme Reveal deadline, having made my decision that morning to participate. Instead of moving forward with plans to post blog interviews of other authors' research projects, I decided to first post 26 articles about "novel" topics I had researched over the years for various reasons. Writing the first drafts was an enjoyable task. Reliving these research events by way of the AtoZChallenge made the month of April a fun way for me to reconnect with society after strict lockdown.
Even though my best laid plans included visiting every blog site listed on the official sign-up sheet, I only made it through #155 plus other blog sites I found through comments left on sites I visited. I will sign up for the "Road Trip".
Participating in The Scavenger Hunt was sort of hit and miss for me. I always forgot to look for the words while reading posts and often had to retrace my steps to find a word on the list. I did find 20 of the 26 letters, missing only cobweb, hat, leaves, scissors, velvet, and yellow. Why I couldn't find "hat" is beyond me! My list is included below.
One of my blog posts was entitled "Etymology and Envy" with photos of a worn dictionary and thesaurus. I mention this in reply to the question of whether I consulted a dictionary for my word choices. Although I did use Google to find my X-word "xylocarp".
Thank you to the AtoZ team members for the tremendous amount of work that goes into planning and executing such a wide spread and popular project. The sign-up sheet was easily accessible and simple to use. I consulted it daily to visit additional participants. Unfortunately, I was not able to visit everyone but plan to participate in the Road Trip.
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AtoZChallenge2021 Scavenger Hunt
I chose to join the Scavenger Hunt challenge and was pleased to see that one of my blog posts fit right in – Whale Migration! The best part of the rules was that the word didn’t have to be in the title. I located 20 of the 26 letters. Here are the blog sites I found with the chosen letters:
A is for — Apple 🍏 A - Z 2021: The Apple doesn't fall far from the Tree (thethreegerbers.blogspot.com)
B is for — Bear 🧸J-Dubs Grin and Bear It – As Always,
More to Come (wordpress.com)
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C is for — Cobweb 🕸
D is for — Dragon 🐲 The
Other Side blog: #AtoZChallenge2021: D is for Dragon, Purple (timsbrannan.com)
E is for — Evil 👿 Black
and White: E is for Eden (nydamprintsblackandwhite.blogspot.com) (In Eden grows every kind of tree that is pleasant to sight
and good for food, as well as the infamous Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.)
F is for — Flowers 💐 A
Joyful Chaos: D ~ Daffodil Selfie (As I lowered my phone into the flowers .
. .)
G is for — Game 🎲 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge
(a-to-zchallenge.com) (some of
my favorite online games that revolve around travel:)
H
is for — Hat 👒
I is for — Island 🏝 I is for Island – Anne
Higa
J is for — Jewelry 💍 Chapters From My Life (X is for) It can be a book, a jewelry,
K is for — Key 🔑 Blogging
from A to Z April Challenge (2021) Alphabet "k"- and the word is
"kEYWORD" | Slogans, Catch lines and Tag lines
(slogansmith.blogspot.com) Today’s letter is “K” and the word is “Key Word”
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L is for — Leaves 🍂
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M is for — Men 👬 George Dixon |
Tarmangani (wordpress.com) (with
the 135 pound black powder spar torpedo mounted to the sub, Lt. George Dixon
ordered his men to load up.)
N is for — Nuts 🥜 #A
to Z Challenge 04-09-21 Indigenous Foods | Words On A Page (inkonapage.com)
The nuts are the size of a cantaloupe
O is for — Orange 🍊 Kairn of
Glen Feirnaugh. “Grandpapa tell us a story.” The… | by John G Swift | Apr, 2021
| A Writer Darkly (Blazing bright orange hair shone in the
sun like her head was afire.)
P is for — Pen 🖊 Doesn't
Speak Klingon: Mabel #AtoZChallenge M Mabel smirked at that and picked up a pen.
Q is for — Questions ❓ 1.) MOLLY'S CANOPY | Growing family trees one leaf
at a time Q is for
Questioning everything; 2.) Questions
to ask your Characters #AtoZChallenge2021 ~ Jemima Pett
when it rains it pours! Q is for Questions…. – Just
another Christian woman… (auntyamo.com) 3. Question |
Beth Lapin's A to Z Blog 2021 (wordpress.com) Ask questions of others.
R is for — Rainbow 1.) Rainbow (imagery77.blogspot.com) The
blog’s name says it all!
2.) Blog
of Author J Lenni Dorner: #atozchallenge R is for Ronel, Rainbow Colors, Rook,
Room 42 “Rainbow Colors” is from Usborne’s ‘Hello, Baby!’ series.
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S is for — Scissors ✂
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T is for — Tiger 🐯 1.) Jingle Jangle
Jungle: Totally Awesome 80's - E #AtoZChallenge 1982 - Eye Of The Tiger – Survivor; 2.) My
Ordinary Moments: Q is for Quaffing beer at a Quaint bar #AtoZChallenge
(artismoments.blogspot.com)
“. . . we had decided to go to Tiger Hill
U is for — Uniform 💂 Blog
of Author J Lenni Dorner: #atozchallenge U is for Uniquely, Unicorns, Ugly,
Understanding, Unspeakable “Unicorns in Uniform” is part of a Phonics Readers series!
·
V is for — Velvet 🧶
W is for — Whale 🐳 Gail
M Baugniet - Author : Whale Migration Between Alaska and Hawaii
#AtoZChallenge2021 (gail-baugniet.blogspot.com)
·
X is for — X-ray 🦴1.) Fondlers
Anonymous: X is not for Xpectations But It'll Have to Do (fondles.blogspot.com)
no clever X word here. I could
have done something about X-rated... or X-rays..(maybe a stretch, but I’ll take
what I can find!); 2.) X is for X-rays – Anne
Higa
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Y is for — Yellow 💛
Z is for — Zipper 🤐 1.)
Chapters From My Life Find
your X-factor, be Xtraordinar - XYZ is also a code for zipper down 2.) Z
= Zipper / Fermeture éclair 🤐 #AtoZchallenge 2021[Quilt]
(quiltingpatch.blogspot.com)
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Mahalo and Aloha,
Gail
You did so well on the scavenger hunt. It started out good for me but I wasn't able to keep up with it. Like you, I often ended up reading all the blogs before remembering to check the scavenger hunt word. Weekends In Maine
ReplyDeleteMulti-tasking got a bit out of hand with posting, reading and commenting on comments, and visiting other participants each day. Main thing - we finished!
DeleteI enjoyed your posts. I didn't do the scavenger hunt or any of the other games, but I'm glad to see you had fun with the scavenger hunt. I was too preoccupied with doing my posts and trying to read and comment on others' posts.
ReplyDeleteMost important was visiting other participating blog sites. Thanks for your visits, Jamie.
DeleteThat's brilliant - you did so well on the hunt! Congratulations on finishing the challenge!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nilanjana. It feels so good to say, "We made it!" This challenge is definitely one of those "one day at a time" events.
Delete10th challenge! 🤩 Well done! I enjoyed your posts, and congratulations on the hunt 😉
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for visiting during the month, Frédérique. I am already looking forward to next year!
DeleteThank you, Frederique. I enjoyed seeing your colorful crafts throughout April. Now we can begin preparing for next year!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations - on the finish, on your 10th year, and on doing so well on the scavenger hunt. I enjoyed your posts, and can imagine how fun it was to remember those research projects as you wrote about them.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deborah. Revisiting the research projects made the month enjoyable for me. Now we can start planning for 2022!
DeleteThe scavenger hunt looks like fun now that someone else has done it:) Ha! Ha!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the posts I visited. And the fact that you live in Hawaii always puts me in a holiday mood when I click on your blog link.
Here's my cheers to you Gail: https://artismoments.blogspot.com/2021/05/reflection-post-for-atozchallenge-2021.html
Thanks so much, Arti. They are talking about doing the scavenger hunt again next year so maybe you can give it a try then. Glad to hear your visits here put you in a festive mood.
ReplyDeleteWell done, not just for entertaining me with you Challenge posts, but also for taking on the Hunt. Given that you repeatedly visited my blog and many others I don't know how you found the time!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed my visits to you and I thank you most sincerely for the encouraging comments you left beneath my posts.
Thank you, Keith. The hunt didn't get as much attention as needed to find all the letters. But any repeat visits to blogs were my pleasure. Your daily short stories, laced with subtle humor and nuanced phrases, kept me coming back for more.
DeleteJumping here from your comment on my A to Z poisons reflection post. I'm going to have to bookmark and come back to read your A to Z challenge! Your topic is fascinating :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you found me in the hectic pace of April. I'm still catching up, too, while moving forward with other projects.
DeleteI am glad to know that you are warrior who has fought bravely through your surgeries and radiation. Respect!
ReplyDeleteMy fight with cancer ended long ago but then there were so many other things I had to fight for to finally be where I am today. Cancer was simple I feel. Look forward to reading more of your posts, especially the poetry.
Thank you, Farila. Although your fight with cancer ended, successfully, long ago I know you have encountered other hurdles as difficult or even more so. Interesting how we want to rewrite history when we look back on our lives. I'm glad you chose to accept yourself in all your glory, childhood naughtiness and all. Will get back to reading more of your autobiography soon.
ReplyDelete