New Year musings

As I did my noon-day meal preparation and then the cleanup afterward, I kept thinking about how connected we all are, here on the Internet; and about the benefits we receive from knowing one another.

I had merely to mention in my AOL journal one time what a slob I am when it comes to housework; a reader on the east side of this great country told me about Flylady. I certainly don't stick with Flylady's advice very well, but when I do it's a wonderful thing. Every little bit helps!

On Tractor Tales message board, some of the fellows kept mentioning Craigslist. Lo and behold, once I inquired of them what it was and how to find it, I discovered the best way in the world of buying and selling, and at no charge!

In my kitchen hangs Pioneer Woman's calendar, and I have a couple of recipes I found at her cooking blog.

If I'm wondering about any given subject and want to hear others' opinions, all I need to do is ask, and people will leave comments telling how they feel about whatever topic it might be; as they did HERE.

Certain readers of this blog are quite knowledgeable about horses, and I'm not shy about asking them questions at times. I also go to Homesteading Today with questions about any of my farm animals: They have separate boards for cows, horses, sheep, chickens... you name it.

It's almost as though we bloggers live next door to one another, and chat over the back fence daily. I watch your children grow. I even see your bellies grow when you're pregnant. I laugh with you and pray with you and sometimes cry with you. We trade recipes and give one another product reviews.

I wanted opinions on the Dyson vacuum before I bought one. So I emailed a couple of bloggers who had them.

I've seen far too many deaths documented while reading these blogs, most of them from one form or another of cancer.

Ah, but the jokes that lift my spirits on days when the news on TV is all bad! We have some natural comedians out here in cyberspace, and I don't have to pay to enjoy their humor.

Anyone who has never made a connection in this way can't understand what a boon the Internet really is. They consider it impersonal and even dangerous.

I feel sorry for them. They don't know what they're missing.

Now to all my readers, commenters, and fellow-bloggers: I wish you the happiest of New Years. Please stay safe while you're celebrating, and keep on blogging! Thanks for sharing your lives with me.