Hello readers! I hope you are all having a wonderful time, especially with the holiday season going full swing.

The past few weeks have been tough. There were a lot I had to do at work, with year-end closing and financial audit looming over the horizon. As a result, I’ve been posting very sparsely. I still find the time to post and update everyone whenever I can. Whilst monitoring my blog’s growth, especially over the past 12 months, always paints a smile on my harried face.

2019, blog-wise, has been truly an incredible year. My blog’s growth was exponential and it begun accomplishing feats I never though I would ever achieve even after more than four years of blogging. Earlier this year, The Pine-Scented Chronicles has finally reached 1,000 cumulative likes. Moreover, it also reached 20,000 (and eventually, 30,000) cumulative views.

My blog’s most recent achievement is reaching 500 followers! Yes, a new achievement yet again, one that really brought a big smile on my face despite the lingering exhaustion of trying to balance my work and my other interests.

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I started the year with just a meager 200 followers and before the year draws to a close, it more than doubled. It is just simply amazing, making me feel great and ecstatic beyond words! Wow.

Let me than takes this opportunity to extend my gratitude to every single one of these more than 500 followers. You’ve all been amazing. Thank you for making this mundane writer who just wanted to find a way to express himself feel like he’s the luckiest.

Beyond gratitude, these small achievements reminded of why I started this blog – to inspire others. I am given 500 more reasons to keep on striving to accomplish this. I have become inspired 500-folds. I hope I live up to everyone’s expectations. There is still a lot more to accomplish and with all of you behind me, I know that nothing is impossible.

Here’s to more years of book and travel blogging! Happy holidays everyone, and again, thank you for this early Christmas gift. I highly appreciate it!

Thank you!

~ CLB