Thank You!

The first post for this blog was January 2008 (click here to read it). At the time I felt the real need to get simple; it's something I've been doing for the past decade or so. I've kept a journal on-and-off for the past 25 years and felt that this would be a sort of extension of that. And during those first few months it was just that...a personal journal, because I really do not think I received a single visitor for a few months. Then to my surprise I received one...then another, and another. 

A little over a year ago I added a counter widget. This was not to see where you're from or when you visit because I don't like these facts displayed about myself when I visit a blog, but more so...just to count; to see how many people visit. I don't look at it every day, every other day, or even every third day...just every so often; it's not that important to me. So you can imagine my surprise when I glanced at it today and saw that it had surpassed 30,000 hits.

Now this may not be a lot of hits for some sites--indeed some probably get that in a day--but for a single guy tapping away on his keyboard in the evenings while he sips wine, pets his dogs, warms himself next to the wood stove, and looks at the stars while he contemplates life, this is a lot. At least I think it is. At one point, in those first few months, I almost shut it down...but I was encouraged to keep it going because more people started visiting.

Currently this blog has become a regular part of my day...however big or small. Sometimes it's almost like therapy for me...especially when I jump on my little soapbox and rant a bit. But mostly I try to keep it good and positive because there are so many things in our world today that bombard us with negativity and discouragement...basically I want to highlight the good in life (and remind myself, mostly). I try to stay on target with the blog's subtitle, Random Thoughts On Cooking, Bike Riding, and The Sacred Journey of Everyday Life, but sometimes I go on a tangent and get off topic and that's just what I'm doing now...getting off topic of what I want this current post to be about. And I could sum it up in these two words: Thank You! Because I just wanted to take a moment and say thanks to all those who visit, comment, or just pass through...Danke, Merci, Grazie, Dank u, Gracias.