Sights, Scenes and Travel of an everyday person

Category Archives: Blog

Woke Up on the Blue Side of the Bed

Posted on by | No Comments

“Me performing onstage with my red electric guitar, singing into the microphone. I’m wearing a black outfit with white lace sleeves and a pearl necklace, completely lost in the music. I loved that guitar — still can’t believe I ever let it go.”

I’m Not Singing the Blues Today

Hi Folks,

I woke up on the blue side of the bed this morning. For one thing, Banner and Balboa actually let me sleep — that alone should be cause for celebration. Maybe I got too much sleep. I can’t tell because my Fitbit isn’t syncing, but I do know I woke up at 6:45 instead of my usual 5:30. I was looking forward to a pat on the head instead of the usual “You had a restless night…” message. No such luck.

To cheer myself up, I took a little trip back in time through my blog stats. On July 13 last year, I had 1 view and 1 visitor for the entire day. Yesterday? 366 views and 353 visitors. WOW. And they came from all over the world — the U.S., Hong Kong, Belgium, Singapore, China, Spain… even Nepal. I guess I should be dancing in the streets.

It occurred to me that happiness is a choice. So I’m making that choice today and shaking off this blue mood. Nothing annoys me more than people who complain on a loop, like a broken record. I refuse to be one of those.

Neil Diamond sings in Song Sung Blue that you can sing it with a cry in your voice, and before you know it, you get to feeling good — you simply got no choice. That’s what I’m going to do.

So back to writing. Banner and Balboa will interrupt me and demand treats. My routine will go on, and before you know it, I’ll be feeling good. I’ve simply got no choice.

Have a great day, everyone.

 

A Heartfelt Thank You to My Readers and Supporters

Posted on by | 4 Comments

 

“A black cat and an orange cat perched side‑by‑side on their cat tree, looking like unlikely but perfect partners in crime.”

Getting closer

Why Your Support Matters More Than You Know

I wanted to take a moment to thank you — my readers, followers, friends, and family — for your continued support. Without you, this blog would be little more than a personal diary. With you, I get to travel the world from my desktop and share the journey.

When I was on the reader side of things, I never realized how much creators, podcasters, and bloggers rely on their followers. Your interactions help with rankings, visibility, and growth. For many creators, that growth is their livelihood.

I only dabble in monetizing at this point, so I’m not dependent on it — but I’d be lying if I said I don’t check my performance stats first thing every morning. I set goals for views and visitors, and every “Like” is a little celebration. Comments? Those absolutely make my day. When I hear from you, I know I’ve hit the mark.

I wanted to give you a peek into the world we bloggers and creators live in, and to tell you how much it means to have you here with me.

Thank you for stopping by.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blather.
Thank you for sharing my posts with your friends and family.

Banner, Balboa, and I appreciate it more than you know.

Awards & Achievements

Posted on by | No Comments

A Stroll Down Memory Lane… With a Sash

Back when I was a beginning blogger, there weren’t many awards to win — and the ones that did exist usually required a nomination from another blogger. It was like the early days of WordPress Hunger Games, but friendlier.

I was honored to collect three of those classic, old‑school awards “back in the day,” and you can still see them in the footer of my homepage.

The Blogger Award

This was my very first badge — the “starter award,” if you will. To this day, I’m not entirely sure what it was for, but I have the badge, so clearly I did something right. Early blogging was like that: you’d wake up one morning and someone had nominated you for something, and you just rolled with it.

The Versatile Blogger Award

 

This one was given to bloggers who:
• write across multiple topics
• post consistently
• have a strong personal voice
• engage with their community

Basically: “You do a little bit of everything and somehow make it work.”

The Liebster Award

This one went to bloggers who:
• are friendly and approachable
• tell great stories
• make readers feel welcome
• have a loyal following

In other words: “People actually like you — keep going.”

These awards may not have had the staying power of an Oscar or an Emmy, but I was proud of them then, and I’m still proud of them now. They were the early‑blogger equivalent of gold stars on a homework paper.

WordPress Steps In

Achievement Badges: The Girl Scout Era

Fast‑forward to today, and WordPress has created Achievement Badges. I think of them like Girl Scout badges — the kind you used to sew onto a sash when you earned them.

Some of these new badges are… well… a little silly. Half the time I don’t know what they mean, and I’m the one earning them. So I’m sticking with the badges that actually make sense to humans.

I’m adding the meaningful ones to the Badges & Achievements gallery on my homepage, but first, here are the ones I earned this year.

My 2026 Achievement Badges

🌍 Globe Trotter

Globe Trotter

This means Around Dusty Roads received views from 50+ countries.
My little blog went international — who knew?

🌎 World Domination

World Domination

This is the next level up from Globe Trotter: 150+ countries.
Yes, apparently I have conquered the world… one blog post at a time.

🏃‍♀️ Marathon Blogger

I earned this by posting every day for 30 days.
(Technically it’s been 331 days, but who’s counting.)

Back in 2013 I actually had a farther reach for a while — one of those early blogging hot streaks. If you want to see what my stats looked like back then, here’s the post from that year.

My Favorite Stats

The “I Can’t Believe This Is Real” Section

The badges I love the most are the Globe Trotter and World Domination. I’m still amazed that my little corner of the internet has traveled so far and reached so many people.

Here’s a map from the week of June 11–17 — a little time‑capsule snapshot of where my readers were popping in from that week.

And here’s the country list for that same week:

Country — Views
• USA — 1025
• China — 415
• Hong Kong SAR China — 240
• Serbia — 73
• Belgium — 72
• India — 5
• Iraq — 4
• Singapore — 2
• Romania — 2
• Mexico — 2
• UK — 2

And then we have South Africa, Syria, Senegal, New Zealand, Morocco, Lithuania, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Algeria, Germany, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Angola all coming in with 1 view each.

It always changes — sometimes Australia pops in, sometimes Canada. It’s such fun to check and see who’s reading me now.

That’s My Update — and My Moment of Bragging

I’d love to hear from you — thoughts, comments, or just a quick hello.
After all, what’s a blog without the people who read it?

 

🐾 A Trip Down Kitty Chaos Memory Lane

Posted on by | No Comments

Every now and then my blog stats take a little stroll through the archives, and today they dug up this gem from 2013. I had completely forgotten about it — back when the household was ruled by Buddy, Smoky, and Rocky.

If you think Banner and Balboa invented chaos, mischief, and dramatic flair… oh no. They’re simply carrying on a proud family tradition with great enthusiasm.

Enjoy this blast from the past — proof that my life has always been run by cats.

What are these cats thinking? Part 1

Posted on  by 

Morning Rituals and Demanding Cats

It’s just another day in the life here at the old homestead. 3 cats, 1 human.

Stepping out of the shower I’m greeted by my “Bud”. Buddy has figured out that after the shower comes the hair dryer and he loves to have a blow dry to start the day.  A handsome fellow like Buddy has to look his best.

Senior Cat Smokey, aka Mr. Cranky Pants continues his demanding ways. I’m working, Buddy and Rocky are sleeping but what’s that sound? A soft pitiful meow! Looking around I see a small bundle of gray fur curled at my feet, big eyes staring intently, “meow”.

Only the tiniest of sounds. I ask what’s wrong and a paw reaches out to tap my leg. I stand and he uncurls, heading for the feeding station. Oh my, his bowl is only half full. Surely he will starve to death before it’s time for dinner.

Chaos on the Staircase

The laundry is on the first level. My condo, on the 2nd. As I open my door, arms full of clean clothes fresh from the dryer, a black and white streak nearly bowls me over and scoots down the stairs.

Dry laundry gets tossed onto the couch as the chase begins. A black tail with a white tip darts around the bottom of the stairs and disappears around the corner. Hitting the last step, the turn is sharp — just in time to see that tail vanish again at the far end of the hall.

I race down there. I don’t want Buddy running into one of the dogs that live here or being let outside. As I round the last corner I see …nothing!

My heart starts to pound. Slowly I begin climbing the stairs on that end of the hall. First flight, nothing, 2nd flight and there he is, sitting there on the landing, waiting for me.

I pick up his Majesty and cradle him in my arms. Back down the 2 flights of stairs, back down the long hall and back up the last flight to my unit.

I open the door, set the errant one on the floor and close the door very fast.

Laundry Folding: A Full‑Contact Sport

I return to the couch to start folding the nice , warm, clean clothes only to find Rocky has made a nest and is curled up on top of the pile. Now every time I try to pull out a towel or shirt or sock I have to unhook his possessive claw. I try to shoo him away but he only digs in harder. He doesn’t give up until the last item is folded. Then he stalks away, annoyed that his warm bed was “stolen” from him.

The Basket Bandit Strikes Again

Holiday2013 021 copy

I turn to put the folded clothes in my basket to carry them all to be put away and come face to face with his Majesty again. This time he’s taken up residence in the clothes basket.

Holiday2013 023 copy

I give up leaving him to play jail bird in the basket while I carry the  stacks of folded clothes to the bedroom. Finally, everything is put away but they aren’t done with me yet.

Some things change… but cats being cats? That’s forever.

Confessions of a Hunt‑and‑Peck Typist

Posted on by

 

Owl on a computer keyboard humorously admitting to hunt‑and‑peck typing, perfect visual for a post about typing mishaps.

A love story between me, my keyboard, and the typos that betray me

I Type Like I’m Defusing a Bomb

Let’s get this out of the way:
I am a hunt‑and‑peck typist.
Not a casual one.
Not an occasional one.
A lifelong, committed, two‑fingered warrior of the keyboard.

My typing style is 10% accuracy, 90% determination, and 100% “please don’t look at me while I’m doing this.”

If I keep my eyes glued to the keyboard, I can produce something that resembles English.
But the moment — the moment — I glance at the screen?

My sentence transforms into a ransom note assembled by squirrels.

My Typos Have Typos

I don’t just mistype words.
No, no.
My typos are so bold, so creative, so aggressively wrong that autocorrect just throws its hands up and walks away.

I try to type “affiliate program.”
My fingers: affilaue progeam
Which sounds less like a business opportunity and more like a medieval plague.

I try to type “invited.”
My fingers: incited
Suddenly the email isn’t welcoming me — it’s starting a riot.

I try to type “wrong answer.”
My fingers: wring answer
Which is… ironically correct.

Honestly, my keyboard should qualify for hazard pay.

The Keyboard Is My Frenemy

We have a complicated relationship.

I rely on it.
>I fear it.
>I suspect it judges me.

Every time I sit down to type, the keyboard sighs like, “Oh great, here she comes. The woman who types like she’s playing Whac‑A‑Mole.”

And yet… we continue.
Together.
In chaos.

Looking Away Is a Crime

Touch typists can look at the screen while typing.
They can even carry on a conversation.
Some of them can type without looking at all.

Meanwhile, if I look away for one second — ONE — my sentence becomes:

“Thsi si a greta idae adn I’m suer it wlil mkae snese.”

I don’t type words.
I type word scrambles.

But Here’s the Thing…

Despite all this, I still write blog posts, emails, stories, and entire volcanic rants.
>I still show up.
>I still type.
>I still create.

I’m not a bad typist.
I’m an adventure typist.

And adventure typists have the BEST stories — because half the time, we have no idea what we just typed until we scroll back and gasp.

So if you’re a fellow hunt‑and‑peck typist out there, squinting at your keyboard like it’s a treasure map…
Welcome.
You’re among friends.