Liberty or Death's 2015 Survey & Giveaway!

Saturday, November 14, 2015

It's time for the 2015 Liberty or Death reader survey.  I enjoyed receiving your feedback last year, and I appreciate the time you have taken throughout the years to visit my blog and leave comments.  
I love to learn more about you and what you like.  My five-question survey is below.  Your answers will be anonymous. 

Create your own user feedback survey

I'm also hosting a giveaway, which you can enter below. There are no prerequisites to entering--no strings attached.  Winner #1 will receive these 10 beautiful blank greeting cards featuring the artwork of my grandmother, Colleen Carson.  Visit her online gallery here.  Which is your favorite of her paintings?

Winner #2 will receive a mini dinner triangle (each side is about 6 inches) hand-crafted by my father, Tim Carson, of Carson Welding and Concrete.  See these two videos for more of my father's and brother's handiwork: a seed-box flipper (demonstrated by a customer) and a welding table.
The survey and giveaway will close at 0:00 CST, Sunday, November 22, 2015.  Results will be posted Monday. 

What have you learned over your time as a blogger?  What helpful advice would you give a fellow blogger?
What do you most enjoy about blogging?

43 comments:

  1. Bethany my favourite cards is subject country - the card with 3 horses great because it reminds me of my great grandfather who had that horses.

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    1. Neat that your great-grandfather had horses! Thanks for stopping by, Gosia.

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  2. As a blogger I have learned a lot of other countries, traditions and customs.And I have made a lot of friends. And nowadays I am much bettrer at geography which wasn't my favourite subject at secondary school.

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    1. I love "meeting" bloggers from around the world. I do believe meeting people from many countries online helps with geography. When we think of a country now, we can think, "Oh, yes! So-and-so lives there."

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  3. What a great giveaway! Your grandmother does beautiful artwork. I looked at her website and I like "Along the Beaver", "Boyhood Memories" and the "French Doors" series. And how neat that your Dad made the dinner triangle!
    As a blogger, I've learned that I would advise a fellow blogger to take the time to read other blogs and make friends. I would also say to be aware that people want to read about their lives and/or see them, rather than just a collection of Pinterest photos or information gathered from the internet (though those can be appropriate in their time.) :)
    Making friends is one of my favorite things about blogging! It's a fun way to connect with others.
    Thus, what I've learned as a blogger is to be okay with making internet friends - they're not as scary as I might have thought. ;)

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    1. Yes! It is such a blessing to have blogging friends like you! Blogging has been a great way to connect with people with similar interests around the world whom I would never have "met" otherwise. It is great advice for bloggers to be friendly! I more or less boycott most blogs of "unfriendly" bloggers who never return visits or comments.

      Also good advice to share more than just information gathered on the internet. I would *much* rather see posts directly relevant to the individual posting them! I can browse Pinterest myself if I want to.

      Thanks for sharing your blogging tips & checking out the art gallery. I love the French Doors series too!

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  4. I really like your grandmother's painting of the water lilies. So pretty! <3 It was fun answering the survey questions. Have a great day Bethany! ~Lisa

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    1. Thank you for participating, Lisa! The water lilies are among my favorites as well!

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  5. Your family is very talented! Your grandmother's art is charming. I think I like the sheep (cow? hard to see) and barn and also the waterlilies the best.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, those are sheep. The title of that painting, if I recall correctly, is "The Shepherd is Coming."

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  6. I am especially fond of your grandma's paintings of chickens, sheep, and the lighthouse. While I have been drawn into following the blogs of those who use their blogs to promote their businesses, I especially enjoy getting to know bloggers who share common interests with me, and are blooming where God has planted them. I love blogging as an artistic expression of and exploration of life: growing to know The Lord and enjoy Him forever. xx

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    1. Beautiful explanation of what you love most about blogging!

      As for the chicken painting, one day we were out in the strawberry patch (where some stray cornstalks were growing), and decided to take a picture of our chickens. Grandma saw that picture, and drew our chickens from it. The rooster's name is Prize. All the hens had names too. We had sort of a chicken retirement community when they got old, because we couldn't eat our "friends."

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  7. Your last question made me laugh. Good luck with the survey. I'm new here so I'll pass on the answers but tell you that I came over from Martha's blog because you sounded like a good person and fun blogger.

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    1. Thanks Happy Whisk! I love Martha's blogs--so many fun topics! Glad to have met you through her!

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  8. Your survey was fun Bethany! And I think it's very neat that your giveaways were all made by your family. You're grandmother has a lot of talent! It would be hard for me to choose a favorite of those paintings. Perhaps the one with sheep though I like the one (stairs and flower pots) to it's left as well.

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    1. Thanks for participating, Lydia! The stairs and flower pots ("Light Source") is an all-time favorite of mine!

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  9. I'm curious about the results of the survey. I have learnt that blogging is a gateway to meeting new people and learning new things. I would advise new bloggers to join a blogging network and read other blogs. I also suggest that they write quality blog posts which are proof read before being posted.

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    1. Oh Carlyn! I think spellcheck must be one of the most wonderful inventions in modern history! It has rescued me from so many errors! Still there's always one or two that get by after spell check and proof-reading. Perfection is hard to attain, but it is important to try, as you mentioned. Thanks for your blogging tips. I look forward to posting the survey results!

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  10. I enjoyed the survey!
    Your family is very talented. I really like your grandmothers art, I think my favorite is the yellow train. The dinner triangle is something you don't see often anymore.

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  11. What a fabulous giveaway, Bethany! Thanks for hosting it. Those note cards are really pretty, but that triangle is really neat! The thing I enjoy most about blogging is writing, taking pictures, and getting comments. :)

    Love,
    Ashley
    creatingpreciousmoments.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, Ashley! Blogging is a lot of fun!

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  12. I remember playing the triangle in elem school music class. The only instrument I could master lol

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  13. Wow, Bethany, what a fun and generous post! And is it possible to choose a favourite greeting card? Each one is beautiful in its own way. But if you were to twist my arm, I might pick the water lilies. Or the one with the stairway. My gosh that is pretty. Or the sheep. Or the one with the lantern (is it a lantern?). Another gorgeous piece. You see, it's just too hard to choose. And the dinner triangle is very neat. That would be a wonderful conversation piece. You are quite a talented family.

    As for blogging, my favourite part about it is meeting interesting people from all around the world; good people that I never could have met otherwise. We all come together and share thoughts, ideas, bits and pieces of our lives, our hobbies, favourite things, our passions and sometimes even our fears. And on and on. It's an incredible 'virtual' world. My only advice to new bloggers is to have fun!

    Thanks for this generous giveaway. Good luck to all!

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    1. You have good tastes, Martha! The stairway is one of my absolute favorites of all my grandmother's paintings, and I love the lilies too.

      Great advice for new bloggers! What good is blogging if we don't have fun/enjoy it! Thanks Martha!

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  14. Beautiful fountain and your grandmother is very talented, Bethany!

    I looked at the channel you sent me and although I find them comical, they are too long. My videos are always less than four minutes in length and the Just for Laughs Gags are 1-2 minutes long. The Just for Laughs Gags are very popular all over the world because there is no speaking involved, and I like the fact that they get out in public and meet and greet people to do the gags. As well, they are done right here in Montreal, too! Here is a video that you may not have seen, just to show you how people from all over the world recognize some of the actors from Just for Laughs. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLqdRvR-zbo

    Denis Levasseur is hilarious and I have pretty much seen all the gags and they still continue to do new ones. They have also traveled the world to do them in other places, but they are stationed here in Montreal and the majority of them are done right here. :)

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    1. I do enjoy many of the gags you post! Thanks for sharing more info on them, Linda! :)

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  15. I love that first picture of the train and I also love the one of the barn with the open holds underneath it-very common in PA, too.
    That was a good little survey and it will be interesting to see the results. xo Diana

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    1. Thanks for participating! I do like the barn with the sheep. When I was a little girl we had that painting hanging near our front door if I recall correctly.

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  16. Sure do enjoy following your blog though I don't necessarily comment on everything...

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  17. Wow. You sure come from an artistic family! It is almost impossible to choose just one favorite from your grandmother's paintings. Seriously, they are all AWESOME!!! I especially love the trains (all of them!) and Ribbons of Glory (because I have an Airman).

    I'm saving the political posts to read all at one time, otherwise I forget details about them. Makes it easier for me to compare them. :)

    As for blogging, I enjoy it but have slacked off the last few years, and that is a death knell for a blogger! As I have personally seen on my blog, that means followers drop you and move on. Which I totally understand. Plus I have a slightly fickle nature (ah-hem) and have changed my URL which caused a lot of followers to stop following. Oh well. I shall press on from where I am. But you do well because you seem to have found your stride early on and it's working for you. Keep up the good work, Bethany!

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    1. Neat to hear which are your favorites. I do like the intricate details Grandma puts to work in her train pictures. You have a lovely blog, Anne! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a thoughtful comment!

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  18. Hello Bethany, I took your survey, it was fun. Wonderful photos. Enjoy your week!

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    1. Thanks for taking the survey, Eileen! Have a great week as well!

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  19. Hi Bethany,
    The videos are very good and show the interesting work your family do. As for the paintings of your grandmother I like her trains and country paints, especially the horses.

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  20. Hi Bethany!

    I love the water lilies so much. Remind me of my bay. ;) So pretty!

    I think as a blogger I've learned how amazing it is that I could build such beautiful friendships with folks I don't even really "know" and have never seen before. It make this whole world feel like a smaller and cozier place. We're all so alike more than we know...and I think that's so cool! It's also one of my favorite things about blogging - as well as just being a creative outlet.

    I would tell future bloggers to do blogging only if you love it. It seem there are the group of bloggers who do it for monetary gains, but I don't know if as many of them love it. I think it's just so fun reading the blogs, and connecting with those folks, that truly love blogging. And yours is definitely one of them dear Bethany!! ;)
    xoxo

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    1. Good advice for future bloggers, Carrie! I think there's such a small percentage of bloggers who actually make a somewhat significant amount of money, that it makes no sense to blog unless you love it!

      Meeting wonderful and inspiring bloggers like you, Carrie, has definitely made blogging more enjoyable and worthwhile.

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  21. Hi Bethany, I’m too late to get in on the fun here, but I’ll go ahead and answer one of your questions: What do you most enjoy about blogging. I don’t know if many would agree with me but one of the things I like best about blogging (as compared to other social media) is the low pressure to get something posted. You can pretty much post at your own pace without worrying about it. Twitter and Facebook, for example, seem to require much closer attention.

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    1. Hi John, Thanks for sharing your thoughts here! I do like how blogging provides such a friendly environment. I've never had a Twitter account, but I do have the impression posts there would be expected to be much more frequent. I do take it easy on my Facebook posting. Sometimes I go almost a month without posting, then I go to an event and have lots of pictures...I guess my posting is erratic! I must have a good circle of friends, as no one seems to mind.

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