Tag Archives: web 2.0

Martha I am not!

Posted on by
Reply
Orris root iris
The most important thing that happened this week is that I am going to be a granny again! Cody and Mel’s second will be here around Ryan’s birthday in November. We don’t know whether Oliver will have a brother or sister yet but it’s very exciting :)
Well, this pr and marketing push that wicked-pr is doing is very exciting and interesting! 
The funniest, to me anyway, but so far the most exciting, is interest by Martha Stewart Living Magazine! I mean really! If Martha could see where the wonderful mixes are coming from, she’d want to redecorate! And I am so not a fan of hers! But if we get a mention there, it’s worth a huge amount. The only thing better I think would be to get on Oprah!
What’s even more interesting is that they are pitching my story to other magazines and tv and radio stations! You know, the old gray mare may not be what she used to be, but she’s still got a lot of get up and go sort of thing. What a laugh! So who knows where this will lead. They are calling it a second career! I look at it as a clutching at straws endeavor in the beginning, but now I feel so much more confident about what I can do. It’s like I have, in the last seven months, been in a crash course in start up business, yet sometimes I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. 
But I think if more women and men who are retiring know what we really are capable of, when are feet are to the flames, maybe you’d see more of us gray hairs out doing something that is so far from our comfort zone that we might as well be on the moon. And loving it!
It’s long days of everything from vetting the web site and hounding the developers to mixing and packing nuts to bookkeeping – and whatever else pops up. But the days are never boring, that’s for sure.
But I am keeping perspective and not letting the work suck me in to where that is all I do. Yoga is becoming more and more important to me. It’s quite amazing, really. It’s about the only activity I know of where my mind doesn’t wander from the physical; it is a totally whole body/mind experience. And even though I am just a beginner, I know it is making a huge difference in the way I feel. Now I just have to be more disciplined to practice at home. 
I am so enjoying my orris irises. They are corms I got from a house Susan had listed about three years ago and I planted them out in the bed against the bulkhead. This is the first year they have bloomed and I had no idea what color they would be – and they are gray! Apparently, the root is used in perfume and gin! But you have to have acres and acres and dry the roots for five years before they are ground and then distilled. My tulips are finally over, sad but they lasted almost a month and were a very welcome splash of color and spring rolls in. Next are the other irises, then lilies. We are going to put pots on top of the pilings with hanging plants which should look really pretty – probably petunias, geraniums and lobelia. Possibly nasturtiums too. The poppies are all about to pop too, which really is a surprise as it is about a month earlier than last year. But I love it, they take over the side of the sunroom so I don’t have to weed.
It’s hard to believe it is almost May and that in seven weeks, it will be the longest day of the year! Even now, the evenings are stretching out, but it really isn’t warm enough yet to fire up the weber, but soooooon…. And the early sunrise is messing up the kitty schedule! Buddy thinks that because it is getting light – now at around 4:30 am it’s time to go outside! I might have to get him a sleep mask!
Saturday is a Kangen Water Super Saturday in Seattle – well worth the trek over there. Lots of information from doctors and naturopaths, and lots other testimonials about the magic the water is bringing to so many people’s lives, both health-wise and financially. So am looking forward to that, and looking forward to being more knowledgeable about it too so I can spread the word.

Boasting

Posted on by
Reply
After reading Betsy’s latest blog about her recent adventures, I realize I should be tooting my own horn a bit about my life, rather than just chronicling it. It’s a realization I came to a while ago, that I am not selfish enough, and take too much time worrying about, and taking care of, other people and their projects, instead of taking care of me and going for the things I want in my life.
When I look back on my 61 years, though I must say this last year has been a bit dreary, adventure-wise, I have done amazing things. And even though in the past year, I have pretty much stayed put here in the PNW (although I did go to South Africa last year right around this time) I have put my time to good use.
Mostly, I have transferred what I know and have done for the past almost twenty years of editorship and photojournalism into becoming a multimedia communicator. Back in 1996 in the early quokka days, my interest was piqued by the technology we were using to create the first multimedia web site – that was WAY before anyone knew what multimedia web sites were! My first real taste of it, besides writing and photographing the sailboat races etc and waiting for them to be processed and “pushed” onto the site (usually crashing it) was working with the IT geniuses to create the very first race viewer. I just had a sense then that they could do it, and with no technological training on my part, asked for things I wanted it to do that had never been done – and they figured out how, and it worked!
So I was hooked!
I have watched technology blossom into what the internet has become, and at times felt so overwhelmed by it all, had to leave it alone, not having the time (and often the inclination) to keep up with it.
But it never got too far away from me and so when www.mymixednuts.com came along, I figured, hell, I can do this. And did it! And although I am probably old enough to be most of the young IT guys who work on the site in India’s grandmother – or at the least, mother – I have kept up with it. And now working with wicked-pr, I am learning the subtleties of Search Engine Optimization.
Many times I wish I wasn’t chained to the computer and was out adventuring like Betsy is. And then I think, “I know I will be out there again soon,” but next time it will be with a video camera and laptop doing podcasts and other cool stuff. I am looking at what I am doing as my own personal university (seeing as I never went to one as a youngster) and plan to get as much out of this time as possible. Although often it is frustrating and taxing, other times it is exhilarating, like when the site got relaunched on Friday and it looked great, until I found that all the pages I had worked on for two weeks were missing! Frustration! Actually, I was totally pissed off and in tears about it after going to bed really late the night before, getting stuff done and then getting up at 4 to catch the guys in India before they left for the weekend. So of course, nothing could be done and I have had to cool my heels over the weekend and wait for them to come back to work tonight.
And I also know I must write my “memoir,” not necessarily for general publication, but for my family and my grandchildren, because there is so much that I have done, and so many places I have been that very few people see or do. And I don’t want those memories to disappear when I head off into another dimension.
So in the meantime, I am enjoying the wonderful spring weather, and working on my Kangen water business. And I am congratulating myself that I have my first team member join me! Thanks Pam, we are going to grow a great team and make lots of money that will fund my travels and adventures!

Easter Monday

Posted on by
Reply

I think most countries get today off – or at the least the christian ones! So I’m going to pretend it’s a long weekend today and chill out – and yes it is very chilly here still! 

But Easter Sunday turned out really pretty, with the typical spring weather. Sunny, rainy, windy, calm – all within the space of five minutes!
My brunch turned out really well although the hot cross buns didn’t fluff up as much as I thought they would, but they were yummy! The quiche were good though I almost had a calamity with liquid quantity but the overall results were great and everyone enjoyed them, along with the mimosas and enough chocolate to fulfill that craving for the next year.
Pam, Susan and Dan and Bill showed up around 11:30 and as it was still and clear, we decided to go out on the boat while it was that way, so we all bundled up and went out around Squamish harbor. About 15 minutes into the ride, we noticed big, ominous clouds heading our way and although we are supposedly Pacific northwesterners, (well, Dan is) we decided we’d beat it home! So short of a few drops, we tied up at the dock in time, and warmed up with more coffee before quiche!

And on another note, I canceled my tv subscription and now just have netflix! But I bought a Roku so can stream movies to the television and also play Pandora through it! How cool is that? Sure beats having all the junk on tv and if I want to see what is happening in the world, I can look online. But now I can really control what I see :)   Most of the show I like I can order through netflix anyway so it saves me a lot of money each month.

Still waiting for new pages from the developers, so feel like I am in a holding pattern at the moment so am spending time on Kangen and I am going to have a meeting here at the house on 16th, which Jim will do. So it’s not like I have nothing to do. 

My health is really good, and I plan on having the tests I have been putting off, next week and I know they will be all good. And I start yoga again tomorrow – Yay! I am really looking forward to that.

Spring has sprung

Posted on by
Reply
I shouldn’t say “finally,” but Spring is here for sure now. The first tulips are open, the fruit trees are in full bloom, and the grass needs mowing! 
So now there is color popping up all over the place, and that is what turns this place into one of the most beautiful places to be – in the spring and summer! The weather is warming up, the heater doesn’t come on nearly as much, and I can be outside without being totally bundled up! Definitely not barefoot weather yet, but doable. Today I will do some weeding, which for me is quite therapeutic. The weeds are growing faster than the flowers and am thinking that some of them are quite pretty, so maybe should cultivate them, instead of the ornamentals! It would make my life simpler, for sure.
My trip south for my birthday week was absolutely one of the best! I felt so good, and I think part of that is that I am feeling so healthy! I did miss my water, though and the water in LA is SO bad that I had to resort to drinking bottled water, which just about kills me to do, knowing what I know about it. But it is a step up from the tap water. 
Just spending time with family and friends is so important to me. And now I must fill out paperwork for a loan modification on this house and I have decided that if I can get the loan down to a reasonable amount, I will put a renter in here to cover it and then move down south somehow. Don’t know how, yet, but it will figure itself out as I go ahead.
And when I do move, I will simply rent a truck, load the nuts and what I want to take in the back and kitties in the cab, hook the car up behind it and head south. It will mean finding a place to pack nuts, but I don’t think that will be too difficult – if it comes down to it, we can use Ryan’s garage. 
MyMixedNuts relauch will happen in the next couple of weeks. It has been a long slog, getting the stuff redone, with the developers and designers getting flu in the middle of it and slowing things down. And also, for some reason, they were not “getting” what it is we are trying to do, but finally I think we are there. So the new pages should be live next week for testing, the wicked-pr will start the media blitz, which means for me, I will be packing a lot of nuts! They are planning to send out sample bags to at least 50 media outlets so I have to be prepared for that, and will have more details on Monday. 
But it has been interesting as I learn more about SEO (search engine optimization) and all the internal linking within a site that makes it more searchable by google and other search engines. And once I have the new pages, it means a lot of content production, so I am going to be very busy. 
But I am going to have to find more work, as my income is just not enough – at the moment it barely covers my expenses and this is not how I want to be living. I would love to be able to do the writing and photography sort of thing I was doing for Country Life, writing about the social upliftment programs and stuff like that in South Africa. It would be optimum to be working for a NGO that needed stories and pictures like that who would send me to do them. It always felt so good to be able to help – mainly the women – the way the articles helped, by bringing new business to them, and showcasing what they are accomplishing. Although I wasn’t volunteering or contributing to them financially, I knew I was helping in other ways.
So I have my work cut out for me, but I love being busy and having a goal. Now, Hinckley, off my lap, time for me to get dressed, and out in the garden to soothe my soul.

Family, Sun, Warm

Posted on by
Reply

OK, I have been a slacker about this blog. Lot’s of excuses but none of them hold water.


So I am here in sunny Southern California, soaking up the warmth and the sun. I sat out in the sun for about 10 minutes and could tell I was getting burned – I am SO pasty – ick! Tomorrow I head down to Oceanside to see Cody, Mel and Oliver and will spend the night with the Straitiffs, then head back up here on Thursday for a birthday dinner that Les is cooking for me! What  a treat. I am amazed at how far he has come with his cooking. It was just about a year and a half ago that he could barely boil water and now he is in culinary school, whipping up gourmet meals like it’s old hat! Tonight he is doing halibut and other wonderful stuff and for my birthday dinner, lamb chops. How spoiled I am – and loving it.


It felt really good to get away from Washington and the cold – and the negativity that has invaded my house. I do have empathy for him, but his thinking is so skewed and I watch him spiral himself in with the negative talk and it is just too much to deal with sometimes. And frustrating! Because I will not fall back into the helping mode and do everything and yet he won’t pick up what needs to be done. It’s as if the world owes him. So it’s good to be away and get some perspective.


Being down here also reminds me of how much I need the sun – and people. I know I will have to work for the rest of my life so I might as well find something that I really enjoy doing, in a place that I like, around people that I want to be around. So the old idea of the B&B in Costa Rica resurfaced and I think of how much fun that could be, near or on the beach, people around, and I can get back into doing the type of writing and photography I love to do, which has been shoved on the back burner. I also realize that I can do the nut biz from just about anywhere – as long as there is someone who can physically pack and ship the orders. Wouldn’t that be cool? A warehouse in California or somewhere, and me in the tropics, taking care of the “stuff” while somebody else does the grunt work! 


The site is coming along with the revisions but as usual it is always slower than anticipated. Especially when the designer is off sick and then the Project Manager is sick. And of course there are the constant glitches – I had no idea what really went on with web sites in the background. So often, on a site, there’ll be something that doesn’t work quite right, and I gloss over it, but when it is your own site! Oh dear, what a difference that makes. 


We are gearing up for a media blitz as soon as the site is revamped and that will be a lot of fun. The PR guys are getting stuff organized and have been a big help so far. I get to meet them on Friday. Now that is going to be a treat as I am meeting them at a Farmers Market in Hermosa Beach and apparently they have the best tacos! Real Mexican tacos, not the wimpy Washington ones. And the Farmers Market is year round, what a treat – not just the months it’s ok (sort of) to be outside. I’ll post pix.


And then I am getting my hair cut by Tate, a friend of Ryan’s who has wanted to cut it for ages! The last cut I had in Port Townsend was terrible and I have let it grow out so he will have a lot to work with.


So it’s all good! I just keep a vision of the B&B in the tropics and know that I have a direction to go. 

techie geekie stuff

Posted on by
Reply
Well, the last few days have been all about tech stuff that is tweaking my brain! 
Who would have thought this could get so complicated and stressful!
We’re into Phase 2 of revisions on the site and one of the things that had to be done is to move the site from one type of hosting service to another. The original business hosting was basic on a shared server. This means that there are other sites also hosted on the same one and it apparently couldn’t handle the video stuff we want to be able to use. So I checked into VPS, which are virtual private servers so you basically get your own home server that would be able to handle what we wanted. More money of course! 
But then when we started the revisions which are not going to use as much video, I asked Charles of wicked_pr about the VPS and whether we should still migrate the site. He explained that being on a shared server is not a good idea because if you share with some nasty site (you don’t know who your room mates are!) who gets blocked, that means we would get blocked too as we have the same address. And I thought, well, when you google nuts you get a lot of porn sites, so decided to move to the more robust servers.
I was told that it would take from 24-72 hours to move and that the original site would remain live during the migration.
So guess what? The site disappeared! I was on hostgators live chat for what seemed like hours. Initially I was told everything was ok – it was just taking time. I had done everything right, changed nameservers and IP addresses to point correctly. So I waited. And waited.
Last night late and still no site! YIKES!
So back on chat for what seemed like forever! First thing they said, you’re not supposed to cancel your original account! Well, of course I hadn’t. Oh! So then they dug deeper, and found there was a problem on their end with the nameservers they had assigned to us. Several emails later and back and forth between godaddy (where the domain was purchased)  and hostgator, name changes and IP changes and the site popped up! 
What a relief! “Wow, what a beautiful site,” from the hostgator tech guy! That was cool :)
So this morning, more emails, changing stuff again, back to different nameservers and IP addresses and now I am waiting for the updated usernames and passwords so I, and the programmers, can access the back end, or behind the scenes part of the site so we can continue on.
Man. talk about stressful! Good thing I go to yoga today!
But now I can move on to the rest of the stuff that needs to be done.
It’s OJT for me, very cool.

This is all wicked stuff :)

Posted on by
Reply
Well! They say keeping your mind active keeps you young! I think I am 20 again :) Maybe my mind, the rest? Well, we won’t talk about that. 
Working with the wicked_pr guys is really interesting. It is SO good to get a different take on the site, getting more eyes on it. I’ve mentioned before that I have felt like I am working in a vacuum, with very little feedback, and I know from writing and editing, after you have looked at something, whether it’s text, images or a web site, after a while, you become so familiar with it, that you don’t see what is actually there and glaring mistakes or missed opportunities get by you. So all the suggestions and input is wonderful.
Now I am working through the doc Charles did and distilling it down to make sure I understand what it is that we are going to do and have both Charles and Brian go over it. Then I will work with the group in India who will make the changes. 
It’s all good stuff!
I love yoga! But I had no idea how stiff I am! I’ve never been a limber person. I think that all my swimming in those early years lengthened my muscles but did nothing for flexibility, so I am really having to work at some of the poses! Or should I say, contortions! But pretty soon I will know the basic poses and be able to do them correctly so will feel more comfortable doing them at home without hurting myself. 
It’s also really good to get the hell out of here those two days. As beautiful as it is here, it is so far off the beaten track, I might as well be living on an island. So yesterday was fun, as Mardelle from Chicago was in town and Susan and I met her at Undertown, a very cool cafe in Port Townsend. It literally is under the town, under one of the old streets of Port Townsend and it also serves as an art gallery, with frequently changing exhibits. The seating is wild too, everything is different, as if they got the furniture from the thrift store! But it fits with the old brick walls, exposed electrical and utility fittings. Oh, and they have great coffee too.
Dr. Jadin got back to me about the meds and I have to have more tests to find out if I need to continue with the treatment. I hope I don’t! But will set up with the local clinic where I can order the tests myself and then email the results to her in South Africa. It will be very cool if I can just handle this all through diet and exercise. Just means I have to be even more diligent about it, forcing myself out every day to walk my 3.5 miles, but I draw the line at walking in the rain! That’s another reason I must get good at the yoga poses, then on rainy days I can still get the exercise I need.
Philosophers Notes are awesome! I am really enjoying them and getting so much out of them. Especially reading as many as I am to catch up, it really immerses me in a positive mind set, there’s no room to get depressed or anxious about anything. Very cool. This Einstein quote really sums up what the notes are all about: 
“The problems we face today cannot be solved from the same level of thinking that created them.”  Albert Einstein
Your thoughts become things, so choose the good ones.

Frustration

Posted on by
Reply
Just when you think things are moving along well, something falls apart!
The site was going along nicely, with tweaks and adding APIs. Then there were no orders and I thought, ok people are just not buying right now. But after a couple of days, I thought this is weird and asked the IT guys to check it. No, they said, it appears to be working fine. Well, I didn’t think so, so went in and placed an order, and what do you know, the shopping cart wasn’t working!
Damn!
So contact IT again, no, it should be working. No it’s NOT! So two days of checking and finally they got part of it working again. But wouldn’t you know, a different part is not working properly now.
Sheesh, it seems like every time I get things stable, something breaks, and then it’s like a cascading effect, one thing leads to another. Oh well, I just have to keep on it, every day, checking, checking, emailing. skypeing. But I think I might need to consider putting them on retainer!
And another frustration – I had a phone appointment set up with Dr. Jadin in South Africa for 7 am – so I called, right on time and got the answering machine. They supposedly don’t close til 5:30 their time, and it was 5. So I waited a few minutes and called again and the doc picked up. Now, she has a very strong French accent so is difficult to understand anyway, but then the confusion of her not knowing I had scheduled a consult, and her not having my file with her… so now I have to wait for an email from her. Third world country receptionist obviously didn’t tell her about it. Lucky for me I have a calling card for cheap minutes. But at least I have checked in and can get the next round of antibiotics, I hope.
Yoga was wonderful this morning, again a beautiful morning with sun streaming in through the high windows of the gym. This time we were facing away from the direct sun but it filled the room with such a warmth. Amy, our instructor, keeps adding new poses and boy, the last one of the day was a lulu! I don’t know what it is called, but I could barely get close to what it was supposed to be! And what a workout. Sweet, as they say.
Today I got my Philosopher’s Notes which are short takes – 6 pages and a 20 minute video – of 100 of the best books from the last 100 years or so. So now, instead of reading the whole book, there is a synopsis of all the main points! Very cool – the first one I read was The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, which I read a long time ago – and thought I still had but don’t. So now will be able to gather all the wisdom from them in my lifetime :)
THE BIG IDEAS
The Domestication
Of humans.

1st Agreement:
Be impeccable with your word.

2nd Agreement:
Don’t take anything personally.

3rd Agreement:
Don’t make assumptions.

4th Agreement:
Always do your best.

The First Step
Toward freedom.

We Stop Ourselves
Let’s not blame others.

Breaking Domestication
Step-by-step.

Repetition
Makes the master.

Saturday morning and it’s dark outside

Posted on by
Reply
It’s Saturday morning, still dark out, but not freezing. This has been the warmest January on record so far and there is no sign that that is going to change. If this was a normal winter, I could live here year round. But we all know it’s just El Nino doing her thing and we will most likely be slammed next year. The opposite is true for California where they are experiencing more cold than we are.
It’s been a quiet week, with time for contemplation and yoga, both a real treat for me. And still plenty of time to complete work that needs to be done on the site, and to prepare for work on the dockside project. The wicked-pr guys are starting on the nut project next week in earnest. I made some changes to the site that they recommended and after talking to Annie briefly, have created more signage for the shipping boxes and bags. Still tweaking things on the programmer side and they will be onboard to make changes when Brian and Charles (wicked guys) make their recommendations. Both Brian and Charles are about Ryan’s age, which for me is so much fun, as I so enjoy working with young people. Their ideas and energy are wonderful energizers for me. Sometimes I actually wish I worked in an office environment with youngsters like them – then think, hmmm maybe not. I would lose my sense of freedom – maybe part-time? Something to ponder.
Because, getting up way early for me seems to work, that way I can get lots of computer work taken care of, take time in the middle of the day for things like yoga and then pick up again in the later afternoon. It takes some planning out, but works. On yoga days, I plan my errands around the class, seeing as it’s not just a matter of popping round the corner for my class. It’s a 40 minute drive to get there so it’s a big chunk out of the day, so I make it worth while by going to the bank, the grocery store etc. You get the picture. So I figure I will be gone for four hours, but then I don’t have to deal with icy roads and darkness if I were to run errands after a traditional working day.
I love working for myself!
All the stuff for taxes for last year is almost completely gathered together – this will be a first to get them filed by April 15! And I can’t see why I will have to pay anything at all – in fact, I think the government might even owe me. That would certainly be a bonus.
It’s time to think about starting my veges and building the raised boxes. I watched and helped Chris last time, so I know how to do it. They are not going to be so big this time, as it is only me here. And I hope I can find some recycled lumber to use. Freecycle might work – a wanted post usually gets me what I need. I will most likely make two 4×4 18″ high beds. And get the organic soil from Roger Short’s farm, as I know how he makes the soil and that it really is organic. Then when the time is right, plant out the starts from the sun room and pretty soon will be eating fresh mesclun and then all the other wonderful stuff.

The M.S seems to be under control, haven’t had any bouts of headaches or tiredness. The only weird thing is I get hives (urticaria)!  I don’t seem to be allergic to anything, they just happen out of the blue so have taken to carrying antihistamine pills around with me, and pop one when I feel and itch coming on! They disappear as fast as the show up. Very weird. Debbie is making an appointment for me with Dr. Jadin so hopefully I will be able to understand her with her strong French accent. It’s difficult enough in person, long distance phone might be a challenge, but I need to do it so I can continue the treatment.

What a Day!

Posted on by
Reply
This morning is phenomenally beautiful! Sun just came up and casts that wonderful golden light on everything. The trees are lit up, glowing and casting reflection onto the still water. It is super high tide, with the dock ramp above parallel which doesn’t happen very often. I might even go kayaking later when the temperature gets to about 50F.
This winter, so far, has been so mild except for the one freeze at the end of November. And I was reminded on the news this morning, that exactly two months from today, spring will officially be here! But I am afraid that this weather has fooled mother nature and our trees which are budding, and bulbs that are shooting up, will get blasted by another cold snap. But we’ll hold warm thoughts. Pretty soon I can start my spring vege seeds and build some planter boxes.
I never thought, really, that I would become an “almost” webmaster. Not that I am making huge changes or anything to the site, but I sure am learning a lot! Sitemaps, google webmaster tools, xml files, .tpl and .php files, where they live on the site and root folders and how to get to pages, and how to fix minor things without screwing up the entire site! I think that, although I prefer to think of myself as a creative soul, my logical brain must be quite good as I actually can see how this all comes together! Maybe my right and left brains are balanced! And of course, taking brain pills helps.
Scott is working on getting the site stuff ready and funded so we can move on that. I have been checking out flip page magazine software and systems and tried one yesterday which is way cool! Much better than the original one, but of course, a lot more money but I believe the ROI will be better as it has so many features to allow dockside to charge for features, like adding video and audio and forms etc. Plus this company provides training, which the other didn’t. So I just have to wait and see what he decides – or more, what the investors want.
Yoga yesterday! I love it and wish it was more than twice a week. But I think that once I am comfortable with the poses and know that I am doing them correctly so I don’t hurt myself, I will do more at home. It does cut into the day though, but I don’t feel too bad about it as I am up so early to work with the fellows in India, and then in the evening so I always put in more than an eight hour day.
OK, off I go for a walk in the sun! What  a treat.