WOTY 2023 banner
Posted on by Debbie

Exploring my World #WBOYC

My Word of the Year for 2023 is EXPLORE

As I’ve mentioned a few times already, it’s all about exploring my world this year, so what better way to recap my month than in this monthly linkup with friends – Jo, Donna and Sue – where we look at what we’ve been doing, how our word of the year (WOTY) is going and what’s new.

If you write a similar type of post each month think about joining in by using the link button at the bottom of my post and leaving your post’s URL. We visit everyone who links up and you never know who you might meet, as I mentioned in my How did you find your blogging community? post recently.

Explore can relate to creativity, food, ideas, travel, books, music, exercise, relationships, fun, fashion – it’s a word that exudes adventure and curiosity – and how I love these words! I’ll definitely be exploring my options during the year.

What does EXPLORE mean?

To me, it means to dig into something, to learn from it, to experience it, and to grow from it. It means to get out of my comfort zone and explore the world around me.

And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing this month!

Exploring February

I’ve made a list of my main explorations this month and they fall into several categories – Technology, Artworks, Connections, Books, Photography, Exercise

Technology

As part of an initiative to help older community members, via my Rotary Club, I’ve started training to become a volunteer Digital Mentor through through an organisation called Stay in Touch which is funded by Be Connected to run the training. Be Connected is an Australian government initiative committed to building the confidence, digital skills and online safety of older Australians. 

The overall aim is to help learners feel more confident when using digital technology so they can be happier, healthier and empowered.

I’m not sure how it will go but I’m learning a lot along the way. I’m required to do 2×2.5 hour online training sessions and encouraged to join other online events, such as Tech Tip Tuesday a half hour session looking at various issues – this week we continued with phone settings.

I’ve also been reading about AI, with Donna and Hugh writing about the use of AI in blogging, did you know WordPress has experimental AI paragraph* and image blocks available to use now?

I really am exploring the digital world!

Blogging
Debbie and Digital Devices

Books

As I wrote in my latest What’s On Your Bookshelf post, variety is the spice of life. I’ve explored different genres so far this year, reading and listening to memoirs, fiction, classics and even a motivational self help book (which I won’t be finishing – it’s not that I’m unmotivated but it’s too repetitive and I’ve got the gist of it now).

Books up to mid Feb 23
Books up to mid Feb 23

Photography

I’m currently doing an 8 week photography course with a local photographer, Mick Egan, learning about camera settings, lenses, composition, the exposure triangle, and much much more. It’s every Tuesday night for 2 hours over 8 weeks, with a group of 6 others and we’re all happy to learn new skills and explore our camera’s capabilities.

my camera
my camera

I was given an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera for my 60th birthday from my generous sister and brother-in-law, both of whom are talented photographers. I’ve never known how to use it properly though and have become reliant on my iPhone with its handy inbuilt camera, which does a great job, but I decided I’d take up the opportunity to explore my camera and try to learn how to use it.

The first few weeks were hard as I had no idea what Mick was talking about but I’m now finding that things are clicking (no pun intended). He didn’t know my camera either but found some great YouTube videos which have helped me understand where the settings are and how to change things around. I’m now trying to put these new found skills into practice and it’s quite fun, and not quite so overwhelming – thank goodness!

Here are a few of my latest efforts.

celebrating
Sunlight through leaves
Succulent
Walwa Hotel

Connections

Debbie with Tiny and mum
Debbie with Tiny and mum

Only the biggest reunion of the year! You may have missed my exciting news earlier in the month where I was finally reunited with Tiny and Lea after 62 years!! It still makes me break out in goosebumps when I think back on the whole story. Tiny turns 95 in July so Lea reckoned it was a case of sooner rather than later – and it was a very special reunion!! You can read the true story here:

An amazing reunion after 62 years
Truth is often stranger than fiction

Artworks

In our area the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail has been a huge success. It’s a permanent public collection of over 30 sculptures in seven locations across the Snowy Valleys by artists from across Australia and the world. It is a new cultural tourism project in response to the bushfires of 2019/20 and aided by Sculptures by the Sea team who curate the wonderful annual collection at Bondi in NSW and Cottesloe in WA.

I’ve written before about some of these sculptures The Emerging Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail and recently I attended the unveiling of some new sculptures. I’m being honest when I say I had to expand my thinking with some of them.

The experience expanded my knowledge and opened my eyes to much more. I was surprised at how much I could take away from each sculpture.

Heads it Is
plaque
Debbie and Hanne
Rainbow and sculpture
Colossus standing tall in Tumbarumba
Blue Sculpture going in
together we are strong

Exercise and Cycling

I’ve been exercising regularly with my online buddies for some time now and it helps a lot. We’ve explored various forms of training during our time together – functional strength, stretching, core, balance, cardio, yoga and relaxation.

Up until recently I’ve done our sessions in my spare room but lately I’ve moved out into my sunroom, just to change things up a bit. I must admit I need a cap as the sun is quite bright first thing in the morning but it’s a lovely place to start the day. I had a massive clean up out there a few weeks ago and I’m much happier without all the red-back spiders!

I’ve been riding my ebike Eddie a lot, I pop into town, do some jobs then ride up the hill home again and it’s a delightful way of getting about. I’ve also been enjoying walks in the nearby forest.

Sometimes exploring new options is enough to lift our motivation and enjoyment.

Eddie (short for Edwina)
Deb and her bike Eddie
sunroom exercise studio
sunroom studio
sunroom studio outlook

What’s Been on Your Calendar plus Word of the Year

Our new monthly linkup for the year, will focus on What’s Been on Your Calendar #WBOYC and allows for #WOTY (Word of the Year) updates as well as anything else you’ve been up to during the month. The linkup goes live today (Friday 24 February 2023 Aus time) and is open for seven days, so we do hope you will join us. Hosted by Donna from Retirement Reflections, Jo from And Anyways… and Sue from Women Living Well After 50 and me Deb from Deb’s World.

You can find my lovely co-hosts posts here: Sue, Donna and Jo

Deb-orah the Explorer
Deb-orah the Explorer

So there you have it, another month down and a lot of exploring going on already!!

Have a great week and try to do some exploring of your own and let me know what you find 🙂

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js…

Deb xx

  • One of the paragraphs in this post was written using the AI block – can you guess which one it was?

Latest Posts:

You can also find Deb’s World in lots of other places – stay in touch by clicking any of the buttons below.

Everyone has a story to tell!

Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

Copyright © 2022 debs-world.com – All rights reserved

54 Replies to “Exploring my World #WBOYC”

  1. Pingback: March is over?? What the actual !@#$% - Janet Alcorn

  2. You’re such a busy blogger. So much going on in your world, Debbie. But that’s good.

    I like your photography and photos. Keep at it. I’m sure that course will benefit you even more.

    I’ve been thinking about getting an electric bike for a year. But I’ve still not made a decision. Reading about your experience of having an eBike pushes me towards that purchase, but I’m still not convinced that if I buy one, I’ll use it twice, and then it’ll sit in the garage unused.

    Thanks for the link to my AI post. I have to say that I find it hard to detect which paragraphs have been written using AI. You asked which paragraph AI wrote on this post, and I’d say the Exploring paragraph in the blue box. Please tell me I’m wrong. I don’t ever want to be right on that question.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I feel I have slowed down in recent times Hugh but still enjoy blogging when I get the urge to create. I can’t recommend an electric bike enough and now use mine almost daily, even to pop to the shops for the mail and a few groceries. It’s great exercise for me! The AI paragrah was this one – To me, it means to dig into something, to learn from it, to experience it, and to grow from it. It means to get out of my comfort zone and explore the world around me.
      I’m so glad it wasn’t glaringly obvious which one was AI and I can see it has its uses. Thanks again for stopping by!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Pingback: What’s Been Happening | February 2023 – Natalie the Explorer
  4. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #324 – Thistles and Kiwis

  6. Hi Deb, I always think your photos look amazing so I will be interested to see how they look at the end of your course. Your first attempts look very professional. You always seem to be so busy – I don’t know how you find the energy!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Janine, I think the only difference will be that I’m taking photos on my camera not my phone and hopefully I’ll be able to use settings a bit more. But I’ll still be out and about with my phone as it’s so much more portable. Thanks for your kind words. I’m on the go most of the time but also have times when I just stop and read, I’m not an energiser bunny that’s for sure!!!

      Like

      Reply

  7. Your post and exploratory life are an inspiration. And digital mentorship is such a great idea. I have friends with aging parents who struggle to keep them safe online with all the scams out there.

    I hope March is is at least as wonderful as February for you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Janet, I enjoy learning (once a teacher always a teacher) and helping others so it’s a good use of my time and skills. I’m looking forward to a new month and seeing what I can find!

      Like

      Reply

  8. Debbie, explore is a great guide word and you seem to have embraced it thoroughly. Kudos for exploring your camera and AI technology. Your photos are evidence of classes well learned. I’d be interested to know what you think of AI.

    I read your reunion post and loved that you made the effort to reunite after so many years. That was a heartwarming story.

    Your reading list is astounding and you have certainly ‘explored’ a variety of genres. Also, thanks for sharing the sculpture garden. Interesting, but I totally do not get the horse standing on his head thing. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I do tend to embrace my words of the year Suzanne, some would say I become a bit compulsive 🙂 The whole AI thing is interesting and fun but I can see issues arising, I’m enjoying seeing what you and others like Donna are writing about using it. You’re not the only one who doesn’t get the horse on its head sculpture believe me!! Thanks for reading and commenting on my post, always good to hear from you.

      Like

      Reply

  9. Last month, I started a monthly wrap up so I hope that qualifies! I don’t do a word of the year because I would forget it, not use it, or feel pressure to make it work! But, I may reconsider for next year as I read the way so many bloggers incorporate it into their lives. I feel like my life has stagnated over the course of the last few years. I need to break out of that! Thanks for the link up! I hope you’ll visit for one that started on Friday and an upcoming one Monday!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It was a fun month Cathy. That sculpture is called ‘Together We are Strong’ and is one of my favourites from the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, it says so much about helping others and is cute as well, made by a very clever Danish artist.

      Like

      Reply

  11. Your photos look fabulous! My son and I are studying photography and it’s funny that we will find what “button”/setting that the book is talking about often by accident and then we can’t always remember where to find it again.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Joanne, the course is all about learning to use the camera and the various settings and has been interesting so far. There’s so much to remember though!

      Like

      Reply

  13. Hi Debbie, What a fun-filled February you’ve had! Your reunion with Tiny and Lea is amazing. I host the weekly Photographing Public Art Challenge (PPAC) as part of Weekend Coffee Share so you’re welcome to share your photos of public art while you exploring photography with your camera. I’ve played with the AI paragraph and AI image blocks in WordPress. They’re cool, especially the AI paragraphs. Thank you for the WBOYC linkup. Have a wonderful March!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the comment and ideas about joining PPAC challenges Natalie, I’ve joined in before I think. The AI blocks are very interesting and I’m enjoying reading more about the whole concept. Have a great month x

      Like

      Reply

  14. Well done on volunteering for the digital mentoring project. In my profession life I was responsible for assessing some projects on those lines and saw first-hand the difference getting online and building digital confidence can make to old people’s lives.

    I’m very curious about the AI paragraph and have no idea which it was, although I would have thought it would be more obvious. You’ll have to tell us!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Sarah, the AI paragraph was this one: To me, it means to dig into something, to learn from it, to experience it, and to grow from it. It means to get out of my comfort zone and explore the world around me.
      I’m interested that you didn’t get it and wonder wehat that says about my writing skills!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I think the AI did a decent job, unlike some other examples I’ve seen. But on reflection I can see that this is quite impersonal, it could have been written about almost anyone, not necessarily you!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  15. You certainly know how to fill your days (and evenings!) – what a great idea to learn how to teach digital mentoring. In a world where we are increasingly dependent on technology it is so important to pass knowledge on.
    You already take great photos on your phone so I am sure that we will be seeing amazing pictures from your new camera!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Deb, the digital mentoring course is certainly interesting and so many older people have no idea what to do so if I can help a little that’s a good thing! Thanks 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  16. That is a whole lot of exploring! I feel like a slug! Your photos are incredible. Hmmmm, me? Writing, reading (usually 3 books at a time), walking 10,000 steps a day plus Zumba and yoga, flying cross country with my guy to visit family and friends,and keeping up with the grandkids. 💓

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. Hi Deb. Things seemed to conspire against me this week, and I haven’t been able to get a post up yet. Hopefully tomorrow, but I couldn’t resist popping in to see what you’ve been up to. Your photography course sounds fantastic. I have to admit that I bought a new expensive camera about three years ago and used it once. I had every intention of learning to use it properly and it never happened. It’s getting close to be out of date now. Really, I should have known better

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Jen, no drama at all. Learning to use the camera has made me lose some of the fear involved but it’s not all that easy to remember all the things to do! Thanks for popping in 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  18. I love how you’re always up for new challenges like the photography course, and keen to take on projects to help others, such as the tech training.
    Finding some buddies for exercising makes it a lot more fun….though I’d be very wary of those spiders! As for the AI paragraph, hmm…..difficult, possibly the par where you wrote about it, starting “I’ve been reading about AI a lot”….?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m up for new challenges mainly to keep my brain working Gail but sometimes I just have to stop, take a deep breath and recalibrate! The Ai paragraph is this one: To me, it means to dig into something, to learn from it, to experience it, and to grow from it. It means to get out of my comfort zone and explore the world around me.
      Funny how no-one picked it up!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  23. Hi Deb – great to see you out and about exploring new interests. Fancy cameras like yours scare me to death, so good on you for finding out how to use it properly and enjoying the challenge. Great about the course on teaching seniors more about IT – hopefully they also get told to watch out for all the sneaky scammers rather than falling prey to them!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Leanne, it’s been good to try and learn new things but it definitely can be overwhelming too. Yes the digital mentor course covers lots of topics but will be user driven, what they want to learn, need to do etc, I’m looking forward to helping out and giving back!

      Like

      Reply

  25. A great February full of exploration Deb. You constantly inspire me with all you do and I think I’ll need some help with AI. How wonderful to give back with Online Mentoring – it will help you stay ahead of technology as well. Your photos are great, although I always thought you took fabulous photos. Thanks for being such an energetic co-host of #WBOYC and can’t wait to read what you explore during March. xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Sue, it’s been so busy since I posted I haven’t managed to get back and reply to comments until now! March is underway and looks to be just as busy as Feb 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  26. Hi, Debbie – What a fabulous, and very full, February you have had! I absolutely love a challenge. My guess is that the AI Block generated this: “Sometimes exploring new options is enough to lift our motivation and enjoyment” Or this: “So there you have it, another month down and a lot of exploring going on already!! Or this: “Have a great week and try to do some exploring of your own and let me know what you find 🙂” My reasoning is that they were the more general lines. Was I close?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It certainly was a full-on month Donna but rewarding and interesting at the same time. My AI paragraph was this one: To me, it means to dig into something, to learn from it, to experience it, and to grow from it. It means to get out of my comfort zone and explore the world around me.
      It’s a fun addition to look at so thanks for the heads up!

      Like

      Reply

Leave a reply to mireilleftm Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog at WordPress.com.