Winner!

Are you the winner, viewer number 14,000? This week surpassed 14,000 views on www.carriebonello.com.  I could offer number 14,000 a fabulous prize but I don’t know who you are. I enjoy the administrative background information that comes to me about the website.  For instance, I know when folks click in to see what’s happening, or browse, I know which post is selected and which one  has been read most often.  But you remain anonymous unless you comment on the website. Speaking of comments, there have been over 800 comments.  Some are included on the blog when folks comment on the website but many others prefer to send me an email.  I appreciate all of them. 

I started the blog in the summer of 2019 with a copy of our travel book.  Transferring the book into the blog format was quite an undertaking. Monty and I had to sit side by side at the computer to complete the complicated process .  My only disappointment with the travel section is the posts are not in chronological order.  I guess we started posting the easiest ones first. We solved that problem by including a Table of Contents. It starts with Home Away From Home to get a feel for the book. The travel section was almost complete when I  started adding the Musings.  By the way, the title, Amusing Musings, – Life Explained – sort of, was Monty’s brainstorm.  There is no Table Of Contents for the Musings, you are encouraged to just let your fingers do the walking and scroll through to find something to perk up your day.  

Over the years I’ve written a few stories explaining life-sort of, but only shared them with friends.  The blog gives me a chance to ‘explain life’ to a wider audience. I love telling a story and there are so many funny things that happen it is easy to find the inspiration to start writing.  What makes me laugh may not even make you smile but keep scrolling, there is bound to be something to tickle your funny bone .  I have to admit though, I never dreamed I’d look back at the last few years and find one hundred and thirty Musings posted on the blog. The first couple of years I posted weekly but now I take a break every now and then.         

Monty is such a good sport, he is an unfailing fan of my nonsense, always full of encouragement.  He is my first (OK, only reader), I watch his expressions as he reads a musing in progress and wait for some reaction.  When I get a smile or a real chuckle I know it’s something worth working on.  Occasionally I don’t get the reaction I hope for, his facial expression doesn’t change and sometimes he even says, “I don’t get it”.  Then I know it’s back to the drawing board.  Every once in a while I just say, “Oh well, I like it” and click the Publish button.   

I’ve been asked if i have a favorite post.  Hmmm, I love all the travel posts because Monty and I can relive the adventure when we read about it again.  For us, it is just like being there.  I can’t really pick just one musing, they have all been fun to write.  I loved reminiscing about This Old House, Happy Birthday Mom and Cowboy Up.  I enjoy the ones that we can all relate to, My Friend Rachel, about telemarketers, End of an Era, the demise of printed newspapers, some topics that are outlandish and some just amusing.  

People have asked me how much time I spend writing instead of doing something productive like dusting, I guess. OK, I admit it takes a lot of time and yes, I have about worn out my keyboard and the desk chair is beginning to look a lot like my backside.   When there is a topic I find amusing, I take a stab at a first draft then take a walk on the treadmill and think about it.  Maybe I leave it for a day or two and let it sort of ferment before I go back to the writing. I re-arrange paragraphs, find better wording and in general just play with it. A quickie can be 500 words, or if I’m feeling particularly wordy it might be 1,000 words. I might spend six to eight hours on an article before I click the Publish button.  Occasionally I just scrap the whole thing after putting in several hours. It really doesn’t matter, I enjoy the exercise. Reading and writing are two of my favorite activities.  The luster wore off housekeeping long ago. 

There is a cost involved in keeping the website up and when I finally run out of topics I’m not sure what to do with all of this.  Maybe we can do the reverse of the travel  project,  create a book of Amusing Musings  from the website. I can’t just throw them all away.  

Thanks for reading me!