musings Archives

🌟 Because life doesn’t follow a theme — and neither does this blog

If you’ve been reading Around Dusty Roads lately, you’ve probably noticed that there isn’t exactly a theme happening. One day it’s cats, the next it’s a local adventure, then a recipe, then some random daily trivia. That’s retirement for you — footloose, fancy free, and no longer tied to a work schedule or those precious two weeks of vacation.

These days, I just enjoy jotting down whatever crosses my mind and sharing the little slices of life that make me smile (or roll my eyes). And for you youngsters out there, consider this a preview of what might be waiting for you when you finally escape the daily grind. Whether that’s a good thing… well, jury’s still out.

🌱 Projects, Experiments, and the Things That Didn’t Quite Pan Out

I’ll admit it — I’m still a little disappointed that Welcoming Haven didn’t take off the way I hoped. It was a solid idea; I just didn’t have the budget to push it where it needed to go. Same with my brief Etsy printable experiment. Let’s just say I’m much better at buying cute printables than designing them.

DoorDash had its moment too. It was fun… until it wasn’t. Once I factored in gas, maintenance, and the joy of climbing to third‑floor walkups with arthritis, the math stopped mathing. When I took a spill on a delivery run, that was my sign to wrap up that chapter.

So for now, no side gigs. Just me, my home projects, and the cats supervising everything I do.

📸 The Great Photo Tagging Marathon

One of my big undertakings is the massive photo‑tagging project. I’m working backward from Now and have made it to May 2021. Considering my media library goes back to January 2011, this should keep me entertained for a while. Maybe longer.

🧹 Decluttering: The Adventure Continues

Then there’s the decluttering saga. I’ve got boxes to donate, boxes to sell, and boxes that are destined for the trash — all currently cluttering my living space. But the cupboards are looking pretty good, and AARP swears I’ll be done in a few weeks. I’m choosing to believe them.

Part of my motivation comes from watching my sister deal with the mountain of stuff my mom left behind. I still have boxes from that era that I haven’t opened. Someday I’ll tackle them… probably when I reach the dining room. Until then, yes, the place looks a little like I’m auditioning for Hoarders: The Prequel.

🚶‍♀️ Health, Mobility, and a Dash of Pride

Now for the big topic: mobility. My arthritis has been getting worse, and while the hip replacement went well, I’m not eager to repeat the experience with my knee. I lost 25 pounds hoping it would help — and while I look better, my walking hasn’t improved much.

I’m seriously considering a walker. I still have the one from my surgery, but it’s not great for strolling around parks. A new one would let me load my camera on the seat and get back to exploring. The cane works, but juggling that and a camera is a circus act.

My pride is the real obstacle. I don’t want to admit I’ve reached the “walker stage.” But as the saying goes, pride goeth before a fall — and in my case, that might be more literal than I’d like.

Future Me?

🐾 And Through It All…

My days are full — projects, decluttering, mobility puzzles, and of course, the cats “helping” every step of the way. But one thing remains constant: I’ll keep sharing my rambling thoughts here on Around Dusty Roads.

Thanks for sticking with me through all the twists, turns, and experiments. And if you’ve got advice, stories, or your own retirement adventures to share, feel free to jump in. Even if I pretend I don’t want advice, I usually enjoy hearing it.

2013…a clean slate. But how did 2012 measure up?

Blogging: If the amount of spam is a measure of success then I’ve made it into the bigtime. My blog has been a victim of an amazing amount of spam. I just seemed to get it under control and then WordPress changed something in their format. Not only is creating an entry much harder and more time-consuming now but the spam has started all over again. It’s very discouraging.

The other way I measure the success of the blog is with stats. 2011 was the first year I used WordPress and in that year I was “Freshly Pressed ” twice. In 2012 not at all.

In 2011 15,802 folks visited my blog but in 2012 it dropped to 14,019. That may have been because I reduced my blogging schedule but I don’t know. I hope I haven’t become “boring”.

Photo/ Card business: This was the first year of Dusty Roads Photos actually being in business. It’s been slow, slow , slow. I’m not sure if it’s because of marketing (or lack of), the sluggish economy or my skill level. In today’s world everybody has a digital camera and everybody (it seems) wants to be a professional photographer. I’m still trying to find my way.

My accomplishments were that I have expanded the number of cards available, tried the imprinted cards, picked up some portrait work and had some photos accepted as “stock”.The Cape Cod Crafters Kiosk has been a disappointment so far but I am committed to trying it for a year. It is advertising if nothing else.
www.dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com
www.dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com

Travel: 2012 was a busy year for travel. I went to Orlando in January, Maine twice, and New York for the Adirondack Balloon Festival in the Fall.

It felt like I spent a lot of time on the road.
2013 looks like it will also be a busy travel year with 2 cruises and possibly one additional trip. More on that in later posts.

Health and Fitness: Well I didn’t do so well in this area. That weight just loves to sneak back on when you aren’t looking. Especially when you love to cook and like to eat what you cook!

With the holidays behind me (again) I’ll give it another try. Never give up.

Friends and Family: Some family members and some friends had some health scares and issues in 2011 but so far it looks like everyone came through ok. Here I need to include my furry family. Smokey is doing well. Followers will remember that he was diagnosed with early renal dysfunction but he seems to be in remission. Rocky, our furry editor in chief , is on a break from the blog due to stress. I’m not sure what set him off but he began over grooming, usually a cats’ attempt to comfort themselves. This started last summer. After ruling out fleas and other pests I added soothing pheromones in other words “kitty aromotherapy”. Although he seems calmer it will take 2 – 3 more months to see if he lets his hair grow back. Fingers crossed.

Well I’d say that about sums up 2012. Life is an adventure so let the adventure continue in 2013 with places to go and people to see and things to do.