Join us as we 'hold forth'..

Hello my friends. Today's post is an announcement so close to my heart and involves a lot of deep breathing.. It's about Marija Stephens, who as you know passed away a couple of months ago. Though some time has passed since the dreadful day we all read Cory's heartbreaking and beautiful tribute to his wife, it still feels like only yesterday I received a cheery 'hello' from my dear friend. As always when Marija wrote to me she brought a big smile on to my face and not a day goes by without me thinking of her and missing her terribly.

You will remember that Marija was not alone in the car at the time of the accident.. Debra Phillips who blogs over at '5th and State' was with her, and she miraculously survived the accident with only minor bodily injuries. Needless to say Debra suffered brutal shock and turmoil, and in compassion I reached out to her hoping that me doing so would help ease the pain a little. We connected and since then we have been in regular contact over email - something I think is helping both of us  heal. I regard Debra a dear friend and it is easy to see why Marija thought so highly of her! xx

Debra and I both know how much Marija loved her blog and the friends she made through it. To honour this we decided to launch a 'memory blog' in her name. A place where friends and family can celebrate the memory of Marija. The blog has been named 'Holding Forth'. The name needless to say is a play on words to resonate with Marija's beloved blog 'Holding Court', however the name also rests on the true meaning of the expression 'to hold forth', namely to 'talk at length', 'to put forward' and 'to speak in public', which is exactly what we are asking all of you to do in this space.

The blog will rely predominantly on 'guest posts' and will run for approximately one year with the aim to collate as many memories, stories, pictures and tributes as possible. After that we will have the blog printed in hard-copy and hand it over to Cory & the children. A gift from us, her friends in the 'blog world' to her family and friends in the 'real world', as a respectful 'thank you' for allowing us to spend time with Marija. If only for a brief moment..

I like to think of the blog as a 'compendium of love' and something that will tell tales of the good times we shared with this remarkable woman. Of course there will be grieving too, however I hope that in respect of Marija's family you will also hare your happy and heart warming memories with us be that the story of how you first 'met' her, a favourite or her wonderful blog posts or story, a sweet memory, or a simply your thoughts on our beautiful friend. Perhaps you have pictures to share too?  
Please email us if you wish to contribute. To avoid doubling up and/or cause any confusion we ask that you copy Debra on all emails sent to me and vice versa. Our email addresses are detailed over at Holding Forth.

Debra and I have also been kept busy collating some of the numerous tributes that you guys wrote in loving memory of Marija. You will find these in a separate section of the blog called Index of Tributes. NB! If you have written a tribute that is not listed there please email me or Debra your blog banner (jpg or png file please) and link to the post so that we can add it to the index.

With that I would like to now announce Holding Forth officially open and hope that you embrace and endorse this initiative to openly celebrate Marija. I know I feel so much closer to her when I write and/or talk about her, and I look forward to sharing that with you all.

xx Charlotta

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P.S.

Tomorrow you will find the brilliant Lana Kenney 

featuring me in her weekly 'Blogger Wishlist'.

 

To find out what my heart is yearning for visit Lanalou!


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Also, don't forget to hop across to my dear friend Monika's to enter into her fabulous give-away.

In her usual generous style she is offering a choice of two gorgeous items of Swedish nature.

Hurry hurry the entries close on the 14th...!

xx