Welcome back @natubat, first of all, I'm so sorry to hear about your mum, and for her to pass away on Christmas eve. Christmas will never be the same again, but perhaps, it will become an even more special time for you to remember her.
Yes, a lot has happened in less than 2 months since Sun bought Steem. Tldr, on 20 March there was a fork which created Hive. Everything on Steem as of the fork was copied over to Hive, and from then onwards it became two separate platforms. There are various exchanges where you can sell you Steem for Hive, such as Blocktrades, Bittrex and a few others.... BUT half a day ago Steemit did another fork which froze the assets of some major stakeholders who did not agree with Sun. They included Blocktrades so I understand BT have stopped trading Hive/Steem for the time being.
Pretty much all the ex top Steem witnesses are now on Hive as are those who support decentralisation. Likewise, many dapps have moved over. Basically, you won't find that much difference between Hive and Steem. Nearly everyone who is here wholeheartedly supports the community and decentralisation, and that what matters on Hive.
Hope this helps. And good to have you back, you have been missed!
I started powering down today, before I managed to get onto Hive. I was really upset to see that Blocktrades had gone, and Bittrex was the only way to trade. I tried to open an account with Bittrex, but I couldn't get the verification to work on my computer or tablet - maybe just as well! I didn't realise that Blocktrades had their assets frozen. That is just awful.
It's great to be back, and in touch with old friends! 😊Thanks for your kind thoughts @livinguktaiwan. Christmas was a very difficult time, although I did do a lovely hillwalk! I didn't feel like being at home on Christmas Day.
Hopefully blocktrades will be back soon, imagine having all your stake suddenly frozen by a spoilt brat.
Good to hear you're still doing walks, I missed reading them. Btw, the map is now rebranded as @pinmapple, hopefully you'll like Mr Pinmapple 🍍
https://pinmapple.com