How Y’all Doing?

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How are  Y’all

I know Its been awhile. This Covid thing is taking its toll. How are all my Dusty Roads Friends? I hope everyone is staying well and safe. 

What Have you Been Doing?

I guess the next question is What Have Y’all been doing cooped up inside, sheltering in place? I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing …working and dreaming about the time I’ll be able to travel again.

How Y'all Doing?Work

As most of you know I don’t post much about work. It’s not PC and can easily come back to bite you but I will share that early on in the pandemic my company laid off or furloughed a ton of people. I don’t know how they missed me but I was one of the ones they kept. They expected business to take a steep drop and had to worry about paying a large staff with nothing to do. That was short lived. After a brief dip business came back strong but those of us that were still on board were overwhelmed. On my team they did some scrambling and almost everyone is back on board now. At least we still get to work from home and we’re still busy but its more manageable for now. Needless to say I didn’t have much time for my beloved Aroundustyroads.  

Being CreativeHow Y'all Doing?

When I had downtime I was doing a lot of reading but it was getting hard to find books by my favorite authors that I hadn’t read. I even made a list of upcoming new releases. I was getting desperate. There is nothing on TV these days. My one favorite show is all re-runs because they can’t go out and how many different ghost stories can a person watch? Tired from work my brain needed to just let go, not try to think up things to write about so I as I stretched out in my recliner I let my mind wander and I remembered that I used to love to put together Jigsaw puzzles. I wondered if they even existed any more.

Jigsaw Puzzles

I gave up these table top puzzles when I got cats. They love to bat away the pieces, chew on them and I even had one cat that would take a run and a flying leap. He’d slide across the table pushing all the pieces ahead of him to the floor. Not Funny Rocky! But now I’m  catless although it probably won’t be forever. I figured I’d try the jigsaw puzzle thing again but here’s the twist. I found a web site that would make puzzles from your own photos. I’m always looking for ways to use my pictures besides hanging them on the wall so I gave it a shot. I ordered 4 (they were on sale) and they just got here. I haven’t opened the boxes yet but the outside looks really good, even professional! I’ll let you know how the assembly stage goes. 

How Y'all Doing?

Why aren’t we helping animals?

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Let’s Feed & Care for Shelter Animals Every Day!

Together we’ve donated more than $60 million to causes you care about!
Your clicks have funded the value of 776,693,063 bowls of food. Learn more

When you click, our sponsors fund food and supplies for shelter pets.

Sounds pretty good, right? But what I wonder is why before the pandemic the site showed 80,000-850000 clicks each day. Now when we are all handing on the internet looking for things to do click count is way down. It got as low as 49000. At least it seems to be heading back up. We funded the value of 66,085 bowls of food yesterday. 

Not into pets and animals? This site also counts clicks for hunger, breast cancer, veterans, diabetes, save the rainforest and more.  So when you’re surfing around the web, take a second to swing by and click. https://theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/clicktogive/ars/home

Will you Travel after the Pandemic?Red fox baby on Monday

I’ve been reading a lot about the state of the travel industry and projections after Covid 19. Predictions are more road trips and less flying.  Amazing incentives are expected to encourage the public to get back out there. I like the sound of the road trips. Long weekends exploring local attractions and maybe a longer road trip. A cross country drive maybe? Travel at my own pace. Stop and take pictures along the way? Its amazing what you can see from the road when you take your time.  I’ll have to turn in my leased car and buy a car. Otherwise that pesky mileage issue will come up.

Spring Baking Championship

Ok so being cooped up has had me searching for things to watch on TV. Most of my favorite shows are reruns because they can’t get out to film with the virus. They are shut down too but I happened to come across the Spring Baking Championship on Food Network. Its amazing what these bakers can do but that wasn’t why this episode stuck in my mind. One of the bakers was from Jackson Hole Wyoming. As soon as I heard that I was immediately transported back to my vacation in Jackson Hole. It was a very strange feeling. I remembered the feeling of being there, the smell of the air, the amazing mountains. The essence that I absorbed while visiting all came sweeping back to me. Maybe its time for a return trip once the pandemic is over. 

Moulton Barn with Tetons in the background

A Hawaiian Slideshow

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A Hawaiian Slideshow

Hawaii is a state of the United States of America located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the only U.S. state located outside North America and the only island state.  Distant and exotic it is on everyone’s bucket list.  While travel is at a standstill, I thought I’d share a slide show from my trips to Hawaii. The photos are from Oahu, Maui and The Big Island. They include landscapes, water sports, flora and fauna. There is so much in Hawaii to see. 

 

 

 

 

A Day in The Life in Quarantine

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Life in Quarantine

Another day in Quarantine. The pandemic continues and they say the worst is yet to come. We are all trapped in a bad version of Groundhog Day (the movie) I do the same thing every day over and over. I always thought I would make a good Hermit. But looks like I was wrong. Humans are social animals. That’s why solitary confinement is such a strong punishment in prison.

Pacing 800 Sq Ft

I pace my condo at odd hours. I’m not sleeping well. Probably because I don’t do anything. It just keeps raining so I haven’t been able to walk around the block. Its midnight and I’m up again to wander to the living room. I stay out of the kitchen. I’m not hungry but what else is there to do besides eat. Then I wander back to the bedroom. I tell myself I’m not getting my 8 hours of sleep but my body isn’t tired. I want to go jogging or mountain climbing or anything to just get out. Is this what prisoners feel behind bars? Maybe I’ll finally learn to meditate?

The Phone Never Stops

The worst part of this is that all the other folks I know are feeling the same thing. There is this underlying anxiety. For some of my friends its becoming overwhelming. Where I escape by  reading books or writing blog posts my friends don’t seem to have these outlets. They relieve their stress by calling and texting me. They want me to reassure them and they want me to entertain them. Sorry folks I’m in the same boat you are and you are interrupting my book! On the other hand I get to yell at telemarketers for my stress relief.

Do you Have a Mask?

The CDC says we all should wear a mask if we have to go out. I don’t have any masks. I didn’t stock up when the pandemic started. Its not mandatory yet but it sounds like its headed that way. I bet robbers will be sorry when this pandemic ends. Right now they have a perfect disguise that is blessed by society. Oh, that’s right, the stores are closed! Not much left to rob.

So how is your day in Quarantine?

So how is this quarantine thing working for you? Do you have family or pets to keep you company? I’m going to spend the rest of my day trying to find a mask or two so if the sun ever comes out I can go outside again.

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy. This too shall pass.

 

 

Working From Home

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So You Want a Work From Home Job?

I bet you thought a work from home job would be great. I bet you’ve even searched job sites to see what might be out there. No more long commute. No more getting dressed up.  In most cases it was customer service phone work or stuffing envelopes but now a pandemic has hit and whether you want to work from home or not, here you are. Is working from home as great as you thought it would be?

 

 

Not What You Expected

So your office is closed and you’re at home. You still have your tasks and skills but you also have your dog and cat and your 2.5 kids underfoot. Yes your children are home from school and not just in the afternoon. Schools are closed so they are home with you all day, everyday. Maybe you have a spouse that is willing to help out. But maybe your spouse is “essential personnel” so he/she is still getting out of the house for work and that leaves you all alone with your dog and cat and 2.5 kids. How’s that working for you?

What is your Coping Strategy?

In my state the liquor stores are still open. They are considered essential services. I guess someone in power knew the realities of working from home with children would push sane adults to the limit. It’s hard enough to entertain energetic young ones without trying to juggle your own work. Are you a one or two fisted drinker? 

I Used to Work from Home

 I didn’t have kids but I had a cat.  Every time we started a video meeting my cat had to climb onto my desk top and peer into my computer camera. Now instead of seeing cats and occasionally dogs interrupt meetings it’s children. Somehow children just don’t interrupt quite so quietly. 

I Feel Your Pain

So my parenting co-workers I don’t envy you at all. You finally have the chance to work from home but not in a peaceful, quiet, atmosphere. Your kids are the ones living the dream. No school! But just think of all the wonderful stories you’ll be able to tell your grandchildren! You may not have had to walk to school in a blizzard, up hill, both ways but you survived working from home with children and pets.