I updated my website...

Please take a look -- I just updated my website~~ I Am Your Artist

Design - what makes a brand recognizable?

Global Packaging --
This site has brands that we see every day - this gives example of "schema" these are mostly in Arabic but we know exactly what is there -- why? Because the whole 'package' is there. Take a look
http://www.graphicology.com/blog/2009/1/8/226-arabic-versions-of-global-packaging-logos.html

7 Tips for Assuring Your Success

This is not a “how-to” manual for business success, these tips some of the most valuable that I have learned my years running various businesses. Only one part of this has direct tie to the Identity Branding that I usually write about – but the context of identity branding may be more understandable if addressed in with these concepts. I had to learn to love working at my business more than owning my business before I would be willing or able to face the realities, and stresses, of successful business ownership.
Look inside yourself and see if you can find the allure for making something work well, and for the determination to see the task through, whatever it takes. Business success is one-part planning, one-part willingness to revise, and one-part refusal to give up. In the early years of business ownership, I could think of more reasons to burn the place down than I could to continue. I am relieved and thankful today that I stuck with it!

Along the way here are 7 things I learned….
1. Start with a well thought-out plan.
As someone who has been in business all my adult life, and grown up in a family owned business. I have witnessed first hand the hazards of diving into a new venture without only an empty building and high hopes. It is like wanting to own an automobile, and buying some wheels, scrap metal and a can of gas and figuring that hard work and the desire to end up with a viable mode of transportation is enough.
To start a business you should decide what your business would look like when it is finished. How much time and money do you have? How much risk are you willing to take? What will your life look like when you reach your goal? When will you know if you are successful? Are your spouse and other family members ready to commit to these changes, successes, failures, sacrifices, frustrations and interruptions? Without this basic exercise, you are going to run into some trouble and disappointment. Take time and make the effort to try to plan for everything!
2. Success may only be an illusion.
Have you based your business hopes on the “success” stories of other well-known or highly visible businesses? We have all of the hype, read the stories and articles about the new businesses cropping up – some are such instant successes. You want this! What is it that you don’t see from the outside - under the glamorous veneer can be information that is extremely important to you. Is that business profitable? Are these owners heavily in debt? You don’t know what is not working for them. If they could plan their business over again I bet there are many things they would change. It would be nearly impossible to get at this kind of information but getting at least some of it is critical in planning your business. Do not rely on accountants to create your financial projections— Do a lot of research find, find everything you can that is written by an industry expert who’s seen a more than a few profit and loss statements. Investigate deeply and be patient with the process. This is real-world knowledge – and you need this before you dive in on your own!
3. Serve your customer…
For long-term customer relationships, remember - customers evaluate the quality of a business more on how they feel about the business, or about business owner, than on the individual goods or services themselves. When asked to recount a business experience the average customer will describe it in relationship terms rather than giving technical details. A business that delivers a higher quality customer interaction while performing merely competent service or acceptable product will receive higher praise than the business whose focus is on ideal services, while leaving responsiveness and graciousness to fend for itself. Ask a friend to recall a visit that they might have made to a business like a restaurant, and listen carefully to the reply. Do you hear more about the experience or more about the technical details of the story? How would you describe such a visit to someone else, someone you wanted to entice into trying a restaurant? I tell people – all business is really the entertainment business! Invest heavily in customer service that above all else will guarantee that your business will be the one that will be recommended by customers. Yours will be the one that is written up in the papers, and yours will be remembered from the first time your client walks in the door.
4. Bigger is not always better.
If you accept the wisdom is point #3 then you will have some solid guidance in deciding the size of your business. The smaller it is the lower the initial startup cost will be, the fewer employees you will need, and the less management demand you will have. By now you will have considered, (if you have done some of the above homework), if you are suited for the task of business management. Do you enjoy directing and teaching people, or correcting poor performers? Can you delegate management responsibilities to others? Do not waste lots of money on impressive-looking but non-revenue earning amenities. Besides, it is what you do that counts more than what you have. Little attention is paid to the absence of features that will not serve as a substitute for the experience of truly competent work and great customer relationships.
5. Plan products and services that generates profits, not just sales.
If you try to be all things to all people, you will come out a big loser in business! Just because there is a high demand for something doesn’t mean that you have to or should offer it. Most customers do not spend long hours in a business even if you have designed it that way for them. Plan your products and services around proven sales that generate strong service and retail revenue in order to maximize your per customer sale potential. Avoid too much emphasis on products that sell well but end up producing poor results while gobbling up the valuable hours and inventory dollars. You want to avoid giving up high-demand service hours or inventory to things that do not produce — your regular (and most valuable) customers will start to look elsewhere for their products and services! Do not invest heavily (if at all…) into specialty products and equipment that may not have a well-established demand. Unless these things will start to make income almost immediately, the money invested is not working for you. When the demand for this product or service builds up, there was still probably a better use of your investment dollars. Use your funds where the demand is strongest - then just do the work better that your competitors.
6. And on the subject of retail…
The real beauty of retailing is in your power to influence it. If you select products with the thought in mind, that for your business – your are the expert, and the products you sell are a reflection of what you endorse. Forget about the marketing campaigns of manufacturers. I am a huge believer in branding – and private labeling of retail products allow brand exclusivity, pricing freedom, and serve to build another block in your business equity.
In other words, the products and services that you sell under your own brand give you the freedom to price these things under your own name – and have these reflect the operating costs and profit expectations – your bottom line should never be determined by a manufacturer’s suggested retail price.
If you ask most business owners to name the best selling products you will discover that the volume in sales was created by the knowledge and preference of the person selling the product, and not by the product’s reputation at large.
If you leave sales to chance and you’ll be very disappointed with the result. Nagging your employees will not correct sale problems, and even a slightly higher sales commission will do little to stimulate a sales-phobic team. An employee with an aptitude for sales and a regular investment in training will mean larger sales every year.
7. Hire employee problem solvers.
No challenge in management is greater than in finding, motivating, and retaining stable and productive employees. Regardless of the industry you work in employee turnover with its impact on customers, quality, and consistency is predictable and we must live with this and thrive in spite of it. The trick is to find the best possible job candidates, train and inspire them to give their best while still with us – and make sure that we have more candidates waiting in the wings when the inevitable vacancy occurs. You want job candidates who are friendly, flexible, and who have a healthy sense of self. Empathy and generosity toward others are desirable characteristics that are very precious - they often indicate a willingness to place the needs of others before one’s own—of particular importance in most businesses as they create a place where team work can flourish.
Your employees have a hierarchy of needs that you must understand and satisfy if you desire to retain them and benefit from them staying with you. The top five in order of importance to employees, are:
1. Training/Education: Employees have a strong need to be stimulated, improved, and valued through a continuous investment in knowledge.
2. Recognition/validation: the feeling that one is appreciated for their personal and technical contribution to the company’s success.
3. Growth/opportunity: the sense that one is not stagnating in a place without a future.
4. Security: the belief that they have chosen a safe, supportive, and healthy company to work for.
5. Personal income: We all need to make a living.
The less you foster values #1-4 the more #5, money, rises to the top of the list. In other words without the sense of satisfaction one wants to feel from their primary values the more this value increases in importance. This is especially dangerous to employers in clientele dependent industries since we know that time is required to create a customer following. If you meet the first four needs, the employee will be more patient and motivated to wait out normal business building stages. Be generous with training and praise, and you will receive a handsome payback from your investment!

Found someone to recommend to my clients...

I met with Dotty Scott of Premium Websites to share ideas about our businesses the other day. Some of you know that I have been looking for someone to refer my clients that needed a website to. I needed someone who understood that I needed to know that when I send a small business, with a limited budget, that I can trust that they will get a quality product at a price that they can afford.

Dotty and I belong to a networking group called "I Take The Lead" , the members of this group attend networking meetings weekly and share qualified leads. I have been a member of I Take The Lead for about 5 years now -- Dotty and I did not cross paths until a few months ago though.

After Dotty and I met I thought "Well, finally -- someone who understands!" - Dotty and I hit it right off - I was already familiar with her products (they are very good!) and knew that she had a great reputation in our area. She can provide a start up a website starting at about $700. Or she can help a small business (or individual) get started with blogging. She can help with other internet marketing tools also.

She and I can collaborate because I design artwork that is ready to use on the site; I do logos and I can provide banners, headers, custom maps, technical diagrams or other artwork for use on the internet. When I do this kind of artwork for websites - I also provide Hexadecimal colors for the web designer to use so that pages all match perfectly.

Take a look at Dotty's site and her blog -- One quote on her website says it all for me " I run my business with common sense in mind and I treat others like I want to be treated."

Time To Brand Yourself

Now's the time to launch your brand -- protect your client base and make “brand you” really work for you

Reading the headlines today isn't exactly a heartwarming experience is it? We are in some uncertain times; the good news is, there are things you can do to help your business survive and thrive.

If you've been contemplating branding yourself, there is no better time to do so. Creating a high quality product (you) that your customers can only get from one source – will help make you worth the price and ensure return business. Don’t let your clients drift off to some other provider – or worse, some generic site on the internet. Make yourself so unique that there is only one source for what you sell – you and your business.

Another benefit of being uniquely branded is the freedom to create your own price points – this will allow you to get a far better than average profit margin. There are ways to place products and services that you can demand with a 500% markup in this marketplace! Imagine the difference these enhanced margins can make for your bottom line.

It's easier than you may think to get started. I can help you identify and communicate what makes you unique, how to use that to position yourself, your products and services in a way that will get you noticed.


My best wishes for your success!

Now is the time to brand!

Now's the time to launch your brand and protect your client base and make “brand you” really work for you!


Reading the headlines today isn't exactly a heartwarming experience is it? We are in some uncertain times; the good news is, there are things you can do to help your business survive and thrive.

If you've been contemplating branding yourself, there is no better time to do so. Creating a high quality product that your customers can only get from one source – you – will help make yourself worth the price and ensure return business. Don’t let your clients drift off to some other provider – or worse, some generic site on the internet. Make yourself so unique that there is only one source for what you sell – you and your business.



Another benefit of being uniquely branded is the freedom to create your own price points – this will allow you to get a far better than average profit margin. There are ways to place products and services that you can demand with a 500% markup in this marketplace! Imagine the difference these enhanced margins can make for your bottom line.

It's easier than you may think to get started. I can help you identify and communicate what makes you unique, how to use that to position yourself,your products and services in a way that will get you noticed.


My best wishes for your success!

save

Coming up with packages for new businesses

Lately I have been designing packages with the brand new business in mind. Logos, business cards, identity branding, flyers, banner ads and getting good feed back.

I think I will ad another package for a brochure; a spa menu; a stationary pack.

What I need now is someone who wants to provide SIMPLE websites for businesses that can be easily done over and over - but with the addition of custom graphics, descriptions, and colors - are unique. A 3 or 4 page site for a client that does not want to learn even how to use a template - but needs a web presense.

I used to do simple HTML sites - but I don't want to mess with that myself anymore.

Worth 1000 words

click on this image to see this full sized

I have a peeve

This week I got a call from a potential client who needed help with a project. This project was a revision of a job done by another contractor. In this case it was a Word document that was done for him and converted to an Adobe .PDF file. - A “read only” file.

The client had already paid for the clerical work to prepare the document, and was happy with it. But a year had past and there were a few changes that had to be made to make this document current and compliant for their industry.

These changes were changes that they felt they could make themselves. But the contractor had not provided them with the original Word document, but only the “read only” file. So, the client called the contractor – who told them that if they wanted an update, they would have to pay him for it. He would not release the original word document to them.

Now I know that clients buy “product” – but I think that if we charge them for our time … They own the whole process. Whether I am doing small flat files for use on a website or books - I usually provide them with a CD with everything in their file on it. (I also make a copy of that directory for myself and place that duplicate in their file – that way I can remove their work from my computer and save that precious space).

I just did a business card for a client – I ordered their cards for them. When I deliver the cards, I will deliver CD with all of the business card elements on it. They already paid for it. Sure I am ‘taking a chance’ that they will take my work to another artist – if they are happy with me, why should I worry? How will forcing them to come back to me create a client that I want to work with? Or how will ‘shaking them down’ to pay for work they are sure they have already paid for make them happy with you or your work.

Providing the client with the separate elements of the multilayered artwork allows the client to use some of the elements for other uses. I don’t care if they use their background on their web page (I will even answer questions about re-sizing the image if they ask) – They own it – they paid for it. No, do I care if they use any part of the thing for something else.

If they are a happy client – they will come back.

I work mostly with small businesses and independents – these people know what they have to spend and spend their promotional money carefully. They usually have no knowledge of how artwork, .PDF or advertising are produced. We can not take advantage of the fact that they don’t know how we get from A to Z.

Just my very humble opinion.
Louise

(Oh, the client that called this week – I ended up telling them how to cut and paste the information out of the .PDF but I had to break it to them that they lost their formatting in the process. They lost the one part of the document that they actually paid for – they already had their own words.

So, clients – if you ever think you will want to edit the product, or update the product. Ask for your final product to include something in an editable format. Be it produced in Word, or InDesign -- .JPG or PSD --- It is my opinion that you paid for the whole raw document. Tell the contractor you bought it, you paid for it, you want it!).

What I do!

I Am Your Artist is a marketing communications and design firm. My mission is to serve you by helping you get your message in front of the eyes of the people who need your products or services through effective marketing strategies.


At I Am Your Artist I can offer you a turn-key solutions. From branding to production, I can provide the highest-level service at every step of the process. Some of the things I can provide are:


 Web page graphics
 Logo design
 Graphic design
 Content/copy writing
 Illustration
 Maintenance services
 Photo manipulation
 Business Card, Letterhead, Brochure design
 Printing services, outsourced – providing competitive pricing.


I offer unique, powerful solutions by integrating good - classical design, with effective marketing strategies. I believe that creativity and strategic thinking do work together. I believe that strategy that no one sees can't produce results... and that creativity without strategy is simply beauty without brains.
Every product or service has a story and I creatively package every story using the correct medium so that it is compelling and unique, and makes people STOP, take notice and TAKE ACTION. I approach each project with these principles in mind, and feel they are the basis for what makes good design, and this is why my clients keep coming back.


As a full-service agency, I offer a full range of services including branding & brand development, corporate identity and logos, sales and marketing materials, advertising, direct mail and sales promotion, publications and annual reports, signage & digital media.


My vision is to do what I love: assist clients in creating media that, finds their voice, enables them to realize their dreams, and do this regardless of their type of business. I do this by listening to the way my clients want to communicate their uniqueness and create a media campaign of pure imagination that does the trick. To put it simply, I create outstanding design, illustration, print and web graphics for very reasonable prices.


I will utilize the latest technologies to more effectively communicate your unique value through your core marketing plan. If you are looking to take your media campaign to the next level, please call me so we can discuss some ways in which I can help you reach your goals.

Quote to share....

"Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act." --Truman Capote

Ouch!

I am not going to write much today -- I am embarrassed to say.... I chopped into my finger yesterday with a butcher knife. Pure klutz on my part, but I cut into the tendon, so I have stitches and a giant (okay big) splint on my finger, so I can't type very well. I will take the splint off by tomorrow night - and write more this weekend.

My Free Marketing Analysis

I manage a lot of projects for my clients. One way I can support your business is through the development of identity products that demonstrate your expertise.

If you educate me about your business or undertaking and I will provide suggestions to you about products that we can conceive together that will reach your target audience. Let me learn more about your business and my experience and creativity will usually allow me to come up with ways to earn more from things you are already be doing. And I have found that an objective outsider can frequently point out passive income possibilities that we all sometimes overlook.

Take a look at my Free Marketing Analysis and see how I can review and we can discuss ways you may present your business to your exsising and potential clients. We may even come up with some new products you may maarket, possible directions to explore, and to use an overused phrase, do some “thinking outside the box”.

What could you learn from a Square Watermelon?

I bought a 'cut watermelon' today at Albertson's for 69¢ per lb. This seem excessive to me, but since I am the only one in the house that eats watermelon, it is silly for me to buy a whole watermelon.

This made me think of the Simpson's episode where Homer bought a square watermelon in Japan for (I think it was) $85. And I remembered that I had seen that some Japanese farmers actually were growing these things and selling them for huge prices. The claim was that they don't roll around, and they take up less space. But face it -- no one buys and $85 watermelon to save space or anything else practical -- they buy it because it is "cool".

If you think about it, it is not hard to grow square watermelons, you just grow it in a glass or Plexiglas cube. Growing them hydroponically in a greenhouse would probably work best and yes, they would be a bit more labor intensive, but at that price, it would not be that much more work.

But these things market themselves! The 'weirdness factor' makes them pretty irresistible. So, what I see to learn from a square watermelon - make your product unique enough, the demand will go up... and the product will practically sell itself.

So, THINK OUTSIDE THE CUBE

Hilton Hotel - Embassy Suites' response

.
As you know I wrote to Hilton, AAA, Expedia - etc about the "quality" of service at the Embassy Hilton North(Embarassing Suites Hotel), 2577 W Greenway Road, Phoenix, AZ 85023.
I heard back from AAA -- they were investigating. But the hotel did not even have the courtesy of a response to a letter, (with supporting photos and copies of our bills.) Not one word.






I developed by pictures though and we were wrong -- Paris Hilton and her friends do stay at the Embassy Suites in Phoenix!



I thought I would include something from the letter from AAA "We want you to know that a copy of your comments will be emailed immediately or faxed directly to both the property involved and the appropriate Tourism Editor." So, Hilton Hotels got the letter from me, AND it got it from AAA -the responded almost immediately (letter to me was dated April 14, 2008. They also said, "It is our expectation that the property will take immediate corrective actions to prevent any recurrence and we have asked that they respond directly with you and copy AAA" --- and yet I have not heard a thing!


Just think for about a half hour more we could have stayed here! Larger Version

See Holbrook's WigWam Hotel - Route 66

Make a wish and send these flying for me.....

Spread these around like a Dandelion in the wind....



I have added new video portfolios to my blog and website, IAmYourArtist.com.

Take a look at the new portfolios I have uploaded today. New portfolios include samples of brochures and other projects done by I Am Your Artist.

I would love to hear some feedback on these portfolios and this method of sharing samples of many different kinds of work in this way.

Logo, graphics and more

Happy Mother's Day

I am officially taking today off for Mother's Day (that means, I will go work in the garden, then cook a big dinner for my husband, kids and grandkids).

But here is a quick wish to all the Mom's -- have a wonderful day. And remember to treasure your babies -- Here's a quote to think about when your kids are little --

"Motherhood, the longest days and the shortest years of your life" (don't know who said it)

Some Real World Graphics

Take a look at the graphics I designed for Vancouver Symphony (note, I was not the web page maker - That was Tribe2 Studios). I worked with the Vancouver Symphony last year to come up with colors, fonts, Logo (updating) and design. One of the things I am most proud of is what I called "the lilt" -- those waves that symbolize music wafting through the air.

What I have learned from being partners with friends and family

Sometimes siblings, spouses, life-long friends, neighbors, and buddies all start their businesses with good intentions. They want to pursue their most ambitious goals with the people they trust.
So why do I often see businesses fall apart – and friendships ruined? I think British author William Blake got it right when he said, "It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."

Every and family member and friendship has expectations of a high level of loyalty and understanding – higher than that of everyday work colleagues.

• Family/Friends count on their business partners to be supportive when family obligations interfere with business deadlines.
• Family/Friends also expect their business partners to defend their actions to co-workers, customers, investors, and vendors, even if all reason says otherwise.
• When our friends let us down, resentments simmer in a profound and potentially debilitating way.

Sensitive areas to pay attention to

If you are determined to go into business with a family member or friend, you’re in good company. About half of all startups today are organized among friends or family members. I encourage them to take extra steps to minimize misunderstandings.

Here are four ways to successfully make the transition to becoming business partners as well as friends.

1. Agree on your time and financial commitments. The typical startup business will take a lot more time and money to become profitable than you ever expects. This is not a sign of poor planning- just a reality.
   Nagging problems, however, arise when one partner commits more time or rescue cash than the other partners. It is the imbalances that lead to resentment.
   Before you go register your name with the state – you must get and idea of each partner’s part in this startup success.
   Also, discuss how long each of you can go without a salary before having to look for outside employment. If one partner can commit more time and money than the other, simply agree to add to the lead partner’s ownership stake and decision-making authority.
   Come up with an “exit strategy” – Figure out how to get out of this business without interruption or guilt.
2. Discuss "what-if" scenarios. The best functioning partnerships always start out fully aligned about their strategies and priorities. With a plan in place you can move in a productive way. Without it, the business will remain at a standstill or actually go backwards. Partners are best served when they talk through a number of different scenarios.
   Try this question as a good discussion icebreaker: "What if we run out of money?"
3. Decide who is in charge. As they used to say – “You can’t serve two kings”
   It’s easy for two people to get along when not too much is at stake. But in an operating business, you have time, hard cash, and egos on the line. It's completely unrealistic to assume everyone will always be agreeable and supportive.
   My recommendation to you family/friend entrepreneurs is to develop a board of experts with at least one independent member, or go ask an experienced businessperson to help the partners work through the tricky issues and decision making.
4. Talk about it now! The best time to negotiate these complex issues is before any money goes into the business checking account. Hire a lawyer to help you craft the must-have documents: an agreement how to get in and another for how to get out.

Don’t start a business without them!

Crappy Hotel

Embarrassing Suites Hotels - Phoenix AZ

We were really tired after going to the Grand Canyon and our next stop was Phoenix Arizona.

We used our AAA tour book to look ahead and book a room. The book listed that the Embassy Suites had three two bedroom suites and since a couple of us were feeling a little sick, we thought that we could use the rest that came from a little more space.

When my son called we checked on rates, and the clerk told him that they had one of these two bedroom suites. He checked on rates based on him being in the Army and based my husband and I being members of AAA Road Service. We were pleased that they had the unit, and we secured the reservation with our credit card.

My son commented on how "snotty" the clerk seemed. We joked about Paris Hilton calling and if they would be so snotty if she called.

An hour or so later we showed up -- exhausted and two of us were really feeling pretty ill by now. I went it to pay for the room. It was early evening and while seeming to wait a long time at the desk, I found out that the housekeeping was telling her that the room was not ready. I told the clerk that we would just have the bell hop bring our things to our room and we would go sit outside until the room was ready.

Apparently there was no bell hop or other room person to help with the luggage. As the clerk proceeds to come around the desk and tell us she will lead us to the room. So, three of us take off across the lobby, and over to a building on the far left side of the property, we go up ramps, and over pedestrian bridges. Then she just kind of points us off in a direction and says we are on the second level facing the pool or something.

---- A few minutes later the clerk came running after us.... apologizing and saying that she had sent us in a wrong direction! She grabbed the luggage trolley from me and turned around and lead us all the way back to the lobby building, and then off to the right of the pool - and up an elevator and over a bridge......

Our adult son started calling from somewhere on the property - he had gone off to park the care and try to follow the directions that the same clerk had drawn out for him on the back of our receipt. We finally found each other by my husband telling our son to just wave and we would see if we could spot him. He did - we did and we met up near the elevator by our room.

We got into our room and discovered that the room was not a two bedroom suite. It was a one bedroom with two beds. We called and my husband had to walk all the way back and rent another room.

So, now it is late, two of us are ill.... and we start realizing how crappy this dump is. For an Embassy Suite -- it should have been called an Embarrassing Suite. And when checking you could say the same about the other room too!

For more than $150 (plus taxes and fees) per room here are some of the things that I have complaints about. The bathtub was DISGUSTING -- it was poorly refinished, and because the surface was ruined it could not be cleaned. The closet door was hanging by one 'thingy' at the top - and was completely off the track so it could not be closed. There were dirty dishes in the refrigerator, and the sink and table were sticky. I was going to make myself some tea, and discovered there was no tea (I had some of my own) and no sugar or other supplies.

My son's room, that he shared with his daughter, had a towel rack that was pieced together with duct tape! there was some kind of unmentionable yellowish fluid in the bathtub. That bathtub was also peeling and could not be cleaned very well.

Neither room had easy Internet connections. You have to bring your cord, the connection is behind an end table - the table you have to work on is in the middle of the room...... most modern rooms have a desk and a hook up that is convenient.

This was not a mom and pop flop motel -- this was supposed to be a top hotel. It was dirty, needed maintenance and primitive amenities.

I know - I know -- I could have called, I could have even required a new room. But in the end, I was exhausted, I needed sleep - our granddaughter was already asleep before we had even opened our suitcases ... and we would be gone in the morning.

The guys ordered room service - after a mix up where ours was given to another room - the guys got their food. We slept and got moving in the morning.

The check out clerk stared at me with a blank look when I mentioned my concerns in the morning and we left.

As we travelled, I got more and more frustrated about spending about $400 for two completely unsatisfactory rooms! I am now home and have just sent off letters to the corporate headquarters for Hilton - to AAA, and to the Phoenix Embassy Suites where we stayed. I also wrote an online review of the hotel at AAAs - I will probably write one on Expedia too. I will keep you posted if anything happens.

As Willie said "On the road again"

Well my husband, son and grand-daughter have been on the road for five days now. Two days ago we were at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon -- what can I say? It was GRAND.

My husband and I have been married for 40 years in 2009 - yet we have never had an opportunity to go on a real vacation together. Ron's work never afforded a lot of time as most of his work was based on commission -- you snooze, and someone else gets the job and the commission. That and he travelled so much that he really did not look forward to going away for his time off.

We always had multiple Great Danes -- so one of us usually had to stay home all the time. But right now we only have one Dane and it was time to go.

Our eldest son lives in San Antonio TX -- His wife is active ARMY and is stationed at Fort Sam. His daughter lives in San Francisco, CA. And he stored his car in Washington with us when they moved. Our plan was to drive to SF, pick up our Granddaughter - Our son flew in to SF-- we all met up there and we have been driving across the country.

I am seeing some very good art and advertising/marketing work in the South West. There are some very creative people here who are doing some great work. I will share some of the things I have seen when I get back home and can scan some images into my own computer.

The cold I have is apparently turning into bronchitis.

TA TA for now

Louise

Tornado in Atlanta

So, Friday night I was watching the news when they started showing the tornato that hit downtown Atlanta. It was pretty disturbing to see a big storm like this hit a big city.

Having never been to Atlanta though - my brain registered the only image I have in my head about Atlanta. Something like the image here.

I have only one question. Freight trains have only been around for a little more than two hundred years. Yet the common description for the sound a tornato makes is "Sounded just like a freight train". Before freight trains - how did they describe tornatos? And the first time that someone heard a freight train, did they say "Sounds just like a tornato".

Ta Ta

Yep - It's just a sponge

I know that I usually I don't use my page to share household hints. And maybe everyone else is already doing this! But if you notice the sponge in the picture, it has a little missing in the corner. I learned this trick from my friend Mary Ann. Now I can easily see which sponge is for food products (the new pristine sponge that still has its corners) and which can be used for "other cleaning".

As my food product sponge gets worn out, or too soiled (do you wash your sponges in the dishwasher? I do - almost daily) -- cut off one corner, and put it in with your cleaning supplies!

Ta Ta
Louise

One On One With Louise Feddema - Columbian News Paper

One on One with Louise Feddema - Virtual assistant
COURTNEY SHERWOOD Columbian staff writer
January 29, 2007; Page E1

Most people have never heard of a virtual assistant. What does it mean? It's a highly trained office support person who doesn't normally work face-to-face with people, although I do work with people face-to-face locally.

What are some of the things you do virtually?

I've cared for the business affairs of a few local deployed soldiers. I have worked with up to three soldiers at once, right now I have only one. These are not 18-year-old kids with no responsibilities in the world, but adults with ex-wives and bills coming in. I took care of the leasing of a house for one soldier, plus all of his property bill paying and such. Others, I usually get their snail mail, scan it and attach it to an e-mail, so that things can be dealt with in a timely anner. This work has been done at a much reduced rate, when I have charged at all.
I have a couple of attorney clients who send me (audio) files from California, I transcribe their depositions. They save a lot of money by not paying people in-house, and I can do it at any time I want. I'm preparing an employee handbook for a networking company. I'm doing a directory for an archdiocese. I have an artist from California that I just did business cards for.
The thing I would prefer doing more than anything on earth is my art, of course, but I've never been able to support myself on those products.

Tell us about your art.

I've done everything from stone sculpting to ancient forms of painting. I used to do mostly stuff in acrylic, but in the last few years I've been doing computer-aided art.

What's the path that led you to start your virtual business?

A few years ago, I was involved in a business with a couple of partners. It was fun, but it grew to the point where we had employees; it got complicated. I like the start of a business, but when you grow and start hiring people, it gets less fun.

I got out of the business I had started with my partners, and I sat around for a while trying to decide what to do next.

At one point in the past, I did some project work for SEH America as a part-time temp, and I enjoyed it. I decided to find a way that I could do projects for people, a way I could use all this wealth of knowledge I've obtained through my life. I took some coursework on consulting, and one of the people I met through the coursework had hired a virtual assistant. I got really excited about the idea.

What was your first job?
I worked for Equifax. At the time, it was called Retail Credit Co. We investigated insurance claims. I was 19 years old. We did things like count the number of people in a theater to see if a claim about lost business was accurate.

What did you learn there?

Everything I learned at Equifax, I can say I use today. From filing and record-keeping to understanding privacy and discretion. I cannot think of one thing I learned there that I haven't used. I don't have an actual IBM typewriter anymore, but I sure have the keyboarding skills.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field today?

Just be confident in your skills. Brush up your skills so you have a right to be confident.

What career choice have you made that makes you the most proud?

In my first career path, I worked with money and eventually became chief financial officer for Interstate Commerce Corp. Then I decided to quit and go back to college to study art. I had always wanted to be an artist. It was a scary decision to make, but it was a good one. Now I always make sure there are creative aspects to my work.

What business decision do you regret most?

Getting involved with friends as partners. It put a huge strain on us. The choice had to be made to end my involvement with the business to hold on to the friendship.


What do you do when you're not working?

My husband and I never vacation - we're both workaholics. I play with my dogs. I have Harlequin Great Danes. I used to show them locally. I also have three grandchildren now, and I enjoy them.

What does your husband do?

He owns his own business, Fast Specialities. It's a brick-and-mortar store - and dirt and oil and grease. He specializes in auto racing technology here in Vancouver.

What is getting the most play right now on your CD player or iPod?

I'm very boring and classical. I like Rachmaninoff primarily, Chopin, and I like some jazz.

What's the most money you've ever spent on a pair of shoes?


My biggest challenge is to find the same thing my friends buy, and try to find it for $50 less. I'm better at the Internet than they are, so I usually do.

Do you have a spending vice?

Art software, art supplies. I can spend a lot of time in the stationery store, and I buy too much.

By Courtney Sherwood

Columbian staff writer

Check out this great old animal film...

Film from 1931 -- not much of a plot - but as I always say "Can't be bad if it has dogs in it" -- I don't know the name of the film - but please enjoy.

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

I found an old Autograph Book

I was at Goodwill and as I was looking through a bin filled with miscellaneous books being sold by the pound,I spotted someones treasure. There was a book entitled My School - Day Autobiography.

This book was formerly owned by Miss Marguerite Wyatt, the year was 1945. It looks like she was in 7th or 8th grade,and it looks like she really treasured this book at one time.
The first page says:

"School day Memories bring back pleasant thoughts of happy hours spent in work and play"

An entry from Donna Powell is so sweet in it's old fashioned way:
Dear Marguerite; When you get married and have twins -
Don't come to my house to borrow safety pins!

A variation on that one is this one:
Dear Marguerite; When you get married and live across the lake - Send me a piece of your wedding cake -- Your classmate- Anna

Georgia says:
Life is like a deck of cards -
When in love - its all hearts
When engaged - its all diamonds
When married - its all clubs
When you die - its all spades

She also says:
Down by the shop, carved on a rock,
are tow little words --
"Forget me not"

"Red" says -
Sailing down The Stream of LIfe
In your little bark canoe
May you have a pleasant trip
With just room enough for two.
Your faithful friend, Red.

Also
When you see a monkey climb up a tree,
Pull his tail and think of me.

Lucille Says -

If A husband you should get
And this book he should see
Tell him of your youthfull days
And kiss him Once for me!

Edgar Said, who sounds like a 'beaux' said:

My dear Margurite,
When distant hills divide us
And you no more I see
Remember there is one
Who will always think of thee
Your devoted room mate

On Valentines Day - 1945 Sally Heinrich wrote -
It tickles me and makes me laugh -
To think you want my autograph!

Mary said -
This is a friend you do not know -
I just stopped by to say "hello".

"Shorty" said --
When you get married and your old man gets cross -
pick up a rolling pin and show him whose boss!
Yours 'til Germany gets eggs in her face- Shorty

And this one is "mushy"
Dear Marguerite
Our eyes have met -
Our lips not yet -
But, Oh you kid -
I'll get you yet!
Yours 'til Niagara Falls - and breaks its neck - Don.

- and -

Some friends may wish thee free from care; others joy and wealth.
Some may wish you blessings rare; long life and perfect health.

My wish for thee is better far than all others have given.
That when you from this world depart you soul may rest in heaven.
Lovingly, Don

And Donna Powell wrote again;
It was moonlight on the back porch
Two lips were tightly pressed -
The old man gave the signal -
Their bull dog did the rest!

2 good
2 be
4 gotten

I hope you enjoy these as I have.

ta ta for now..........

Mind The Gap

"Mind the gap" is the warning to passengers of the London Underground to warn them about a big gap between the train door and the platform. It was started in 1969. It is part of an automated system and was selected because it is a short phrase that could be digitally recorded and played over and over.

Since I first saw this term in 1985 it has made a big impression on me. This succinct little term says so little and yet lingers with you to promote profound thoughts.

MIND THE GAP

Between what? Between almost everything. Generations. Co-workers, friends, parents, children, countries, cultures, art, religions, neighbors, states, life, death, and on and on.

A little phrase – but it makes me think.

IRONY, QUOTATIONS, INTERESTING THINGS AND SILLINESS

I need some silliness today -- maybe you do too.

• Knock-Knock Who's there? Armageddon Armageddon who? Armageddon tired of all these knock-knock jokes! --Robert A. Heinlein




• Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. --Robert A. Heinlein




• Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss. --Robert A. Heinlein




• Does history record any case in which the majority was right? --Robert A. Heinlein




• Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat. --Robert A. Heinlein


• Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done. - Robert A. Heinlein




• You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. --Robert A. Heinlein




• They didn't want it good, they wanted it Wednesday. --Robert A. Heinlein




• A committee is a life form with six or more legs and no brain. --Robert A. Heinlein




• Never try and teach a pig to sing: it's a waste of time, and it annoys the pig. --Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love




• Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not make messes in the house. --Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love", (Robert A. Heinlein)




• It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. - Robert A. Heinlein




• I've developed a new philosophy...only dread one day at a time. - Charlie Brown




• If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be until the looting started. - Anon




• Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur (anything said in Latin sounds profound).




• If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again; it was probably worth it.




• If you ever look up the word dictionary in a dictionary? A little hand comes out and smacks you one.




• If you are completely buried in an avalanche, dig a small hole around you and spit in it. The saliva will fall dowj, giving you an idea of which direction is up. Dig up. - A survival tip from the "Worst Case Scenario" calendar




• A Sobering Thought: What if, at this very moment, I am living up to my full potential?

Belief

What makes a good story? Does believability makes it memorable? What makes good marketing material – is it believability? or is it making a real story that "rings a bell" stick in the mind? How do we transfer the tale telling to our marketing? Here are my lore…

Can you remember your first Urban Tales? – I can mine, although they were Rural Tales, I grew up in Niles, California. This was a small rural village in the Bay Area, I went to grammar school and high school there in the early 1950’s though early 1970's and we had many tales that must have helped us make sense of the world and many that were just fun for kids with a lot of time on our hands.

We had Dorothy, the Dog Lady a mentally damaged lady whose father discovered no one bothered his daughter if she had this pack of dogs with her – so she traveled the creeks and fields with her mess of dogs. There was Hunchback Mary, a really nice lady that lived on Third Street – and gave out popcorn balls on Halloween – but everyone knew she was actually a witch, a good witch, but a witch all the same. There was Odd John, I can remember being terrified of him, and I still don’t know why.

We also had magical places, the Secret Sidewalk is one. In a town where the sidewalks were not paved in front of my house, we had a place that had a level paved walk that went on for miles through the hills. If you cross the Black Bridge (the Western Pacific RR Trestle over the Alameda Creek, and take a left at the Union Pacific track – follow the canyon -- the Secret Sidewalk starts as the hills enter the Canyon.. This level walkway is actually the Hetch Hetchy water aqueduct that brings water to San Francisco all the way from the Sierra Nevadas. But provides a wide concrete walk up the canyon for kids, it is always far from adults and filled the smell of the oaks and with adventure.

But the tale that outlives them all is The Ghost of Niles Canyon. Here we go…I am sure that kids still tell this tale.

An unsuspecting driver. driving east through Niles Canyon, slows as he approaches the trestle near Palomares Creek – a sharp left turn, then a quick hook to the right. He sees a beautiful young woman off on the side, near the trestle. She is dressed in a white prom type dress, she is crying. The driver of course stops; he opens the door for the young lady. She gets in, says little and gives him a slip of paper with an address in San Francisco. She falls asleep in the back seat. The driver proceeds to San Francisco, by way of the Dumbarton Bridge. As he pays his toll at the booth, he looks back and sees that the young lady has disappeared. With curiosity he proceeds to the address on the slip of paper.

There he hears the rest of the story. A very old woman answers the door, and explains that this happens every February 26th. It seems her daughter was killed in an accident traveling from the Hearst's home (now the Country Club) in Sunol in the 1920’s, late at night, on the 26th of February – and to this day she is still trying to get home.

But as we all know, ghosts can not travel over water - so she always disappears at the Dumbarton Bridge.

Here are some others who remembers the story:
"AROUND SUNOL" by VICTORIA CHRISTIAN
Niles Canyon's haunted bride


Now, again, I ask. How do we bring story telling to our marketing repertoire ? Why do fourth graders tell this story so well. but we can not tell our story so memorably?

I would love to hear your input on these ideas. (Or hear from any one else from Niles in the 1950's -- I was Louise Riggs then, and lived on Second Street - my Dad had the Meat Market).

Thank you ...

An anonymous visitor answered my question about "might have been" -- He or she said ..."Maud Muller" by John Greenleaf Whittier contains a reference to the "saddest words" theme."


Upon re-reading this old rhyme, I am surprised how 'sappy' it sounds - but all in all, I did remember the part that struck home... and I got the point when I too was as young as this maid.

Apparently Maud Miller has been parodied by Orwell himself, as well as Bret Harte - the challenge too great "what if it HAD been?". If you find a link with the full parodies I would love to see them.

A quick 'Google' came up with:

Maud Muller
by John Greenleaf Whitter
---------------------------------
Maud Muller, on a summer's day,
Raked the meadow sweet with hay.

Beneath her torn hat glowed the wealth
Of simple beauty and rustic health.

Singing, she wrought, and her merry glee
The mock-bird echoed from his tree.

But, when she glanced to the far-off town,
White from its hill-slope looking down,

The sweet song died, and a vague unrest
And a nameless longing filled her breast, --

A wish, that she hardly dared to own,
For something better than she had known.

The Judge rode slowly down the lane,
Smoothing his horse's chestnut mane.

He drew his bridle in the shade
Of the apple-trees, to greet the maid,

And ask a draught from the spring that flowed
Through the meadow, across the road.

She stooped where the cool spring bubbled up,
And filled for him her small tin cup,

And blushed as she gave it, looking down
On her feet so bare, and her tattered gown.

"Thanks!" said the Judge, "a sweeter draught
From a fairer hand was never quaffed."

He spoke of the grass and flowers and trees,
Of the singing birds and the humming bees;

Then talked of the haying, and wondered whether
The cloud in the west would bring foul weather.

And Maud forgot her brier-torn gown,
And her graceful ankles, bare and brown,

And listened, while a pleased surprise
Looked from her long-lashed hazel eyes.

At last, like one who for delay
Seeks a vain excuse, he rode away.

Maud Muller looked and sighed: "Ah me!
That I the Judge's bride might be!"

"He would dress me up in silks so fine,
And praise and toast me at his wine.

"My father should wear a broadcloth coat,
My brother should sail a painted boat.

"I'd dress my mother so grand and gay,
And the baby should have a new toy each day.

"And I'd feed the hungry and clothe the poor,
And all should bless me who left our door."

The Judge looked back as he climbed the hill,
And saw Maud Muller standing still:

"A form more fair, a face more sweet,
Ne'er hath it been my lot to meet.

"And her modest answer and graceful air
Show her wise and good as she is fair.

"Would she were mine, and I to-day,
Like her, a harvester of hay.

"No doubtful balance of rights and wrongs,
Nor weary lawyers with endless tongues,

"But low of cattle, and song of birds,
And health, and quiet, and loving words."

But he thought of his sister, proud and cold,
And his mother, vain of her rank and gold.

So, closing his heart, the Judge rode on,
And Maud was left in the field alone.

But the lawyers smiled that afternoon,
When he hummed in court an old love tune;

And the young girl mused beside the well,
Till the rain on the unraked clover fell.

He wedded a wife of richest dower,
Who lived for fashion, as he for power.

Yet oft, in his marble hearth's bright glow,
He watched a picture come and go;

And sweet Maud Muller's hazel eyes
Looked out in their innocent surprise.

Oft, when the wine in his glass was red,
He longed for the wayside well instead,

And closed his eyes on his garnished rooms,
To dream of meadows and clover blooms;

And the proud man sighed with a secret pain,
"Ah, that I were free again!

"Free as when I rode that day
Where the barefoot maiden raked the hay."

She wedded a man unlearned and poor,
And many children played round her door.

But care and sorrow, and child-birth pain,
Left their traces on heart and brain.

And oft, when the summer shone hot
On the new mown hay in the meadow lot,

And she heard the little spring brook fall
Over the roadside, through the wall,

In the shade of the apple-tree again
She saw a rider draw his rein,

And, gazing down with a timid grace,
She felt his pleased eyes read her face.

Sometimes her narrow kitchen walls
Stretched away into stately halls;

The weary wheel to a spinnet turned,
The tallow candle an astral burned;

And for him who sat by the chimney lug,
Dozing and grumbling o'er pipe and mug,

A manly form at her side she saw,
And joy was duty and love was law.

Then she took up her burden of life again,
Saying only, "It might have been."

Alas for maiden, alas for judge,
For rich repiner and household drudge!

God pity them both ! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall;

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"

Ah, well ! for us all some sweet hope lies
Deeply buried from human eyes;

And, in the hereafter, angels may
Roll the stone from its grave away!

Random Quotations -

I have no idea why I included this image - other than I like it!


I have been meaning to write these down for a long time.

"Thee lift me, and I'll lift thee - we shall asend together"

(probably my Grandma - Vara Elizabeth Merrell Riggs)

"No man can have the last word in an argument with their wife - the next word after the last word is the first word of the next fight"

Unknown

Who said, something like

"The saddest words ever spoken are 'It could have been"?

(let me know if you have the right words and who said them).

Plumpy'Nut

Who would have thought a little package like this could do so much good?

I saw another one of those shows about little starving brown babies in some other part or the world – and was ready to feel helpless and hopeless again. I have seem little real help in my life for the kind of pitiful starvation that affects children – usually as a result of adults war, sometimes because of weather. But then I saw this show and these workers having REAL success with a product called Plumpy’nut.

They could give this pasty stuff to the children and they would not just survive – they would start to thrive. The majority of the children could be treated by their parents, away from the feeding station. It looked like all of those treated early enough and without secondary problems were surviving.

“With this one product, we can treat three-quarters of [the] children on an outpatient basis. Before, we had to hospitalize them all and give them fortified milk.”
—Dr. Milton Tectonidis, nutrition specialist for Médecins Sans Frontières
(Doctor’s Without Borders)

The Ironic Peanut --

Every year, malnutrition kills five million children -- that's one child every six seconds. But now, the Nobel Prize-winning relief group "Doctors Without Borders" says it finally has something that can save millions of these children.

It's cheap, easy to make and even easier to use. What is this miraculous cure? It's a ready-to-eat, vitamin-enriched concoction called "Plumpynut," an unusual name for a food that may just be the most important advance ever to cure and prevent malnutrition.

Plumpy’nut is a remarkably simple concoction it is made of peanut butter, powdered milk, powdered sugar, and enriched with vitamins and minerals. It tastes like a peanut butter paste. It is very sweet, and kids love it.

The formula was developed by a nutritionist. It doesn't need refrigeration, water, or cooking; mothers simply squeeze out the paste. Many children can even feed themselves.

Niger has become Plumpy’nut’s proving ground. A daily dose costs about $1; small factories mix it here and in three other African countries.

If Plumpynut is the answer, how come kids are still dying? We have to get the nutrition to the children quicker. If kids get sick and have secondary conditions, then there if not much that could save a child.

The main ingredient in Plumpy is the peanut. The peanut we know came from Africa. (A common name for peanuts in some parts of the United States is "goober," or "goober-pea," which comes straight from the African word "nguba."). I got here from Brazil, where South American Coffee grower or slaves brought the seeds and started growing them – probably as early as 1630. Other histories say the nut went from South America, from the Inca because they had other ‘below ground’ plants like potatoes. We do know that they first entered European books in the 15th century when they were carried aboard Portuguese slave ships as a food. Either way peoples of Africa and South America have had the peanut for 500 years.

What happened that changed the peanut’s acceptance and use? I found a couple of things. The new food and diet sciences, new health spa rage and nutrition passion of the mid-1800’s led to people want these new sources of protein.

Another thing that led to making the peanut understood and popular was the Cotton Boll Weevil. George Washington Carver, born 1864 – educated from an early age – and researching botany and peanuts from the mid 1880’s. He moved in earnest to make this a replacement crop for farmers that were ruined by the boll weevil – please read about this remarkable man. George Washington Carver discovered three hundred uses for peanuts - he came up with everything from peanut butter to early plastics, and linoleum – most from peanuts.

Dr. Harvey Kellogg, of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, developed and patented the method the Process of Preparing Nut Meal and started offering a hand-operated peanut butter grinder in 1896. All of the processes we use today for peanut processing – really still use these same systems.

So Africa and South America have historically needed this nutrition – and they were also the original source for peanuts. The science as figured out a way to get good food to children in time to save their lives. Food that can eventually be provided
locally and in abundance.

Other problems may not be so easy. Some food Taboos are really detrimental. For instance there is a fish taboo in most of Eastern Africa. Some of the places that Europe and Asia harvest tuna is just off the horn of Africa. This great source of protein and oil is taken and eaten by others. Maybe by education the population can be taught to eat Tuna. Or at least harvest these themselves and use the by-products and sell the rest for things that they do eat.

Just some ideas.


Growing Peanuts –

From what I can tell, Peanuts are pretty easy to grow, need a warm climate, loose sandy, loamy soil – warm days and nights for a about 3 months in a year. Peanuts, are actually legumes rather than nuts, are sometimes called groundnuts because of how they grow. When the flowers are fertilized, they dry up and plant and stem falls to the ground, there the plant buries itself; the peanuts then grow under the soil. They “pick” the peanuts by pulling up the whole plant and shaking the dirt off and letting it dry – then the nuts fall off or are easily removed. They can be boiled green (soft –an acquired flavor), salted and roasted – and almost anything you can think up. They are pressed for oil and the fiber is even used.

Peanut Allergies

In the United States about 2% of the population have an allergy to peanuts. These can be really severe, life threatening events. Many schools are so concerned they do not allow children to bring food from home at all.
The interesting thing here is that the allergic reactions to Plumpy’Nut seems to by much lower than the recorded population in the U.S. They do give the first taste of Plumpy’ to the children before they leave the feeding station to be cautious about this – but some stations have never seen a reaction, most others have rarely seen a reaction.

Old cook book

Don’t you think that old cook books are interesting? I think so; I spent more than an hour this afternoon looking through book a cookbook that was printed in 1883. My friend Mary Ann and I have a case at and Old Town Antique Market on Main Street in uptown Vancouver Washington. We got the case because each of us had a number of things that we thought were too nice to garage sale – we didn’t want to bother with eBay, and we thought this was a good idea to try. So, far so good.

A couple of weeks ago Mary Ann had brought a very old cook book to put in our case. I did, and a couple of days after that Mary Ann called to ask me to pull the book out again if I got over to the store. When she had mentioned the book to her son, he decided he wanted it himself. I picked it up and it sat around here until today when I sat down and took a good look at it.

This book is called “Still Another” A Book of Choice Recipes by the Ladies Aid Society of the First Congregational Church was printed in 1883, in Oakland California.

As a native Californian (and daughter of pioneers), I enjoy old materials about California. This one is very interesting as a homemaker, a Californian, someone who likes history – cookbooks really do reflect a lot about life and the times people live in.

The title page has a this unusual poem on it (without attribution).
We may live without poetry, music and art;
We may live without conscience and live without heart;
We may live without friends; we may live without books;
But civilized man cannot live without cooks.
He may live without books – what is knowledge by grieving?
He may live without hope – what is hope but deceiving?
He may live without love – what is passion but pining?
But where is the man that can live without dining?


But it includes much more than bad poetry and recipes. There are wonderful ads for corsets, sliding fly screens, coal and nurseries. All interesting. As for recipes – how about one entitled “Refreshing Drink For The Sick”; ‘Cover berries with vinegar and soak overnight. Drain off or squeeze out juice, to every pint of liquid add one pound of sugar. Let this simmer for about fifteen minutes, when cool – bottle and when used as a drink add as much of to a glass of water as is palatable to the invalid.

Before the world settled on our now familiar tomato catsup there were a lot of other varieties. How about a nice Grape, Plum, Chile and Fig Catsup? Or if that is not right for you – want to try an Apple Meringue Pie?

In a list of ideas for breakfast are choices Baked Cauliflower, Tongue with Jelly along with the normal fair we are used to today.

There are special California things there; like how to serve Alligator Pears (Avocados) and “Spanish” dishes like Tacos and Chile.

There are practical directions for things like; freezing without a patent freezer (it requires very cold temperatures outside). it has how to make sandwiches, clean silver, a dumb joke about breakfast at home (the husband complains about his wife serving the same food every morning – getting angry, going to a restaurant and ordering the same meal).

The lady who originally owned the book entered additions to the book too. Her “Company Cake” recipe -Instructions for cleaning a piano, a page marked “Excellent for a cold” – this one is a doozie:

1 Oz Glycerin; ¼ Oz Paregoric (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paregoric )– give 5 drops every ten minutes until better, then every half hour until cured.
Considering it is morphine – this probably did make the cold sufferer feel a bit better. It was used for fretful children too (my own mother was quite upset that she could not get it for me, as she had for her first bunch of kids).

You can get great old books of every kind at Powell’s books. If you can get there and read the spines, great – if not, then Powell’s does have a website. It is not quite as easy as Amazon or B & N, but then they don’t have old books and new. With Powell’s you can put in a request for a book and they will inform you when then get it in. Sometimes it takes a few years and you have forgotten why you wanted that book at all.

Next time I will tell you about this new old book I found at a garage sale. It is called Cheiro’s World Predictions – printed in 1931. So far it looks like his predictions are better than Nostradamus. Take a look at this guy. Cheiro aka: William John Warner - November 1, 1866 - October 8, 1936. He was a palmist, clairvoyant, astrologist, numerologist -- probably a complete fraud - but he was a heck of a showman!

He predicted that the king (Ed VIII) would give up his throne for a woman in 1931 --years before it happened - and he did it by name. (He died before the abdication actually happened in December, 1936). No reading between the lines and interpretation.

Writing for the web

These are just my observations and I am not a person with any special reason for you to listen to my opinions about internet writing.

As a graphic designer and sometime copy writer, I see a lot of things that others have written. Some of the things I see are very good – some are very bad ---- and a lot of the time the difference between good and bad is not very much.

1. Use plain language – and keep everything pretty simple. Even when your audience requires technical or medical or some such thing – Keep the language “chatty”. You can include more tech – speak with the use of hyperlinks to more info and required technical data.

2. Try to think like the casual researcher who ‘Googled’ a term and ended up at your site. What words did they ‘Google’ and how does your page respond to that query? Remember. you are also writing for search engines so make your content count. A good start is a page with a little more than two hundred words – that are focused on a particular subject.

3. If you think your page is too long, you can always break it up into several linked pages. Though, this is purely a personal preference and isn't necessarily preferred. I use 200 words as my guideline.

4. Font sizes smaller than 11 points are hard to read. Use a font size of 11 point or larger for the body of your page. Search engines are acutely aware of the H1 tags for headings and p for text in the body of your paragraph. So use them wisely, i.e. break up your text-rich pages with HI, H2, H3 tags to maintain interest in your topic.

5. Use a spell checker and carefully read what you wrote. Let others read it over and check for mistakes and readability. I don’t know how good you are at writing – we are each our own worst editors.

Why you should not help a butterfly be a butterfly

One day a little girl named Cassie Chaterham found a small white thing. It was about the size of her thumb and was sort of fuzzy looking…. and after a little ‘Googling’ the little girl figured out that it was cocoon. She saw that butterflies and moths come from these great little things.

Each day Cassie sat and studied the cocoon. One day a small opening appeared and she sat and watched the butterfly for several hours. The little thing in the cocoon struggled and tried to force its body through the little hole. She felt very sorry for the little thing – Then it was not making any progress – and it looked like the butterfly was just stuck.

Cassie decided to help the butterfly, so she got a small pair of scissors and slowly, carefully, she opened the cocoon. Out came the butterfly!


Something was wrong.


The butterfly had a swollen body and funny little shriveled up wings. Cassie watched the butterfly expecting it to stretch out and look better.


No change happened. The butterfly stayed the same. It was never able to fly.
Cassie was kind, but her kindness interfered with the struggle that the butterfly needed to make its wings open and be strong. The compression on the little bug passing through the little hole in the cocoon would have forced blood into the wings, which would have only had to open and close a couple of times to transform them into the magnificent wings we expect to see.

Moral: We all need some struggle to make us strong, useful and beautiful.

17 Things To Help You Communicate With Your Advertising.

Do you ever feel like there is a wall in the way when you have to put your ideas to print?

Everyone has to self-publish some of the time. Here are some ideas to help to do that.

GRAPHICS

Secret #1: Make sure your ad has one large, dark element.

Secret #2: Make sure your headline is large and bold.

Secret #3: Use a simple layout and avoid clutter.

Secret #4: Never let your art work overwhelm the wording.

Secret #5: Don't print words across a photograph or illustration. (THERE ARE SKILLED EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE – amateurs use caution)


HEADLINES

Secret #6: Get the main point of your message into your headline.

Secret #7: Make sure the headline tells your reader how he benefits from hiring your services.

Secret #8: Your headline should point out how you're different from your competitors.


COPY

Secret #9: Don't skimp on facts.

Secret #10: If you make a claim, prove it.

Secret #11: Get to the point — FAST!

Secret #12: Write the way you talk.

Secret #13: Tell people what they'll lose if they don't buy.

Secret #14: Don't waste words.

Secret #15: Tell your prospect exactly what you want him to do.


OFFERS

Secret #16: Invite telephone calls.

Secret #17: Make sure your telephone number is easy to find and easy to read.
For more information about any of these points - please contact me.

Just Married

We have a wedding coming up in the family and I was thinking of advice I could give newly married people.


Ron and I have been married for 38 years and I can say that we never put our relationship on the line because of some argument. Neither of us is perfect, but with a committed relationship we have prevailed. And now that we have been together so long, that I can not imagine a different life.


I think that what is important to a marriage is the commitment you make to each other - this is something you work on every day for the rest of your life. Some days are easy – and some are hard as hell. Ron and I both agreed sometime in our first year of marriage that nothing will ever make us leave. This is forever.

Divorce is never going to be an option. And this has made a huge difference in our marriage.


When arguing always ask yourself this question: Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?


During the first year Ron and I agreed as to what the only “deal breakers” were what we came to call the A–words:

● Alcoholism
● Addiction
● Abuse
● Adultery
● Abandonment

I hope that all newlyweds come up with their own bottom line - And know the exact boundaries – and that you will be safe if you respect each other and your own rules.

So to all the newlyweds – enjoy your life together, love and respect one another – and try to make “death do you part” your only exit strategy.

Just some ideas...

So you want to be the lady that works for herself?
(The means, sometimes you have an idiot for a boss).


Are you thinking about working for yourself? If so, I hope you realize having yourself as a boss can mean working for an idiot sometimes! You will make mistakes that you will look back on and think “what a dummy!” – But with enough perseverance and cash to get you through the mistakes, you will get to that place of self evaluation.

I have had the education of being involved in my parent’s businesses while I was growing up. There was a slaughter house and meat packing plant; a large specialty meat market and a regular meat market; rental properties and property “flips” (before there was a name for it~!); An established auto wrecking yard and a start up wrecking yard; and many endeavors that my mother started (she was not a finisher).

My whole family and all of my family's friends were entrepreneurs.

I have worked for many large and small concerns, and studied every one of them. My husband started an electronics coompany in “our garage” in Silicon Valley that got so busy that I and a 19 year old friend moved it to a real building and hired employees and got it going enough that my husband could quit a very lucrative job and work with us full time. (This then moved into an even bigger facility, with more than 100 employees – at the $10 M level~!). We sold our shares of the stock to a venture company, with a payout over years – they ran it into the ground and we had to start over again~!

We learned more from that adventure than anything else we have done.

I took years off to run a household, came back and designed my own job at a large multicultural company while a “temp”, then was hired for that job (who else would be more qualified?).

In the background I have been buying and remodeling rental properties, and making these properties so nice – my only competition was my tenants moving into their own homes.

Since the turn of the new century I was involved in a start up with two partners, in the medical spa industry. This industry is very heavy on service and employee issues – two things that are always hard to do. I sold my interest in the business to my partners and went home to figure out what I want to do now.

With a little self inspection, I decided that wanted my own business; I wanted a business that did not need employees at all. I wanted to use all of my skills, and I did not want to do the same things every day. I have three themes that have gone through every thing I have enjoyed doing in my life. (A) I am an artist first, and this allows me to look at things both with my right brain (first) and my analytical left brain. (B) I love to solve problems (C) I am good at making others successful. And one theme that I dreamed of doing, but neglected all my life – ART.

With this knowledge I decided to be a spa consultant - why not? I now knew and enjoyed the spa industry, and I have had every conceivable business experience to bring to the table. So, I signed up for some wonderful spa consulting classes with Douglas Preston. These were great! But I was intrigued by his ‘helper’, someone called his “Virtual Assistant” -- She seemed to run the whole shebang in the background and free him up to do his work.

So, I came home – did some research and crowned myself a VA, (I also took a couple of classes to strengthen a few things that needed brushing up on)… and started selling myself.

There were a few ‘kinks’ I had to work out, with regard to price structure for my services. I worked with a coach to design my limitations and pricing.

Now I am enjoying the heck out of my business. I am in my third year, my calendar is full months in advance (of course reserving some time for my existing clients last minute emergencies – so that they do not wander off).

Here are some things I learned along the way:

1. Understand yourself. Who are you and what makes you happy? Really study YOU. Draw a picture or diagram or keep a journal to study who you are seeking to become, and what kind of YOU will make you happy.

2. Why do you want to do things? What is your motivation? Do you like to do things for the adventure of exploration? Or do you like the appreciation of others. Do you like to work in groups or alone? Think of a time when you were most satisfied – and without thinking of the specific job – think about the motivator in that situation.

3. Make a realistic plan. Something you can actually do. Write a plan to get there.

4. What are you willing to do? What is your “bottom line”? What are you willing to do, or unwilling to do, to make this happen? What are your expectations? (Are you willing to work 16 hour days? If you are not – then write it down).

5. Do love it? You have to love it, want to do it and believe it before you ever sell yourself to anyone else. If you don't love what you are doing – why should anyone else?

6. Do you have enough capital to get you through the first year? Second? If you don’t have this money behind you, you will take jobs you don’t love – and do things you don’t believe in at all. Don't run out of money.

7. Enjoy what you are doing – or do something else.

Being in business for myself is not new to me, nor is it confusing, nor am I afraid of it. My tolerance for hard work and long hours is high.

And maybe we will all be singing along with KT Tunstall… “Suddenly I see.”

Suddenly I see
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see
Why the hell it means so much to me

Artist: Kt Tunstall
Album: Eye To The Telescope

Don't you just love Mark Twain?

"To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep on saying, 'Our Country, right or wrong,' and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that that phrase is an insult to the nation?" -- Mark Twain

Quotation

Dr Simpson's first patient, a doctor's wife in 1847, had been so carried away with enthusiasm that she christened her child, a girl, "Anesthesia".Quote: Elizabeth Longford, August 30, 1906 – October 23, 2002

IDENTITY BRANDING -

Why you can't afford to miss this opportunity

If you are the owner of a business you've no doubt by now discovered one undeniable reality: that hard work and huge sales do not always pay off in a good income for you. You may have also realized that no matter how much your sales in-crease you can't seem to find any extra money to take home. Some common problems include the inefficient use of business resources such as schedules, inventory and tools and equipment. Many businesses have no operating budget to guide company expenses - which I think this is like having a checkbook without a check register. How do you know much money you have when you can't track it easily.

But many businesses have no identity plan to guide company's advertising expenses either.

If you want to make money, that is, to have more than you need to cover your operating expenses, then you'll have to find a way to keep your costs low. As they say in stock trading: buy low and sell high. You have to find opportunities in your company to bring costs under control, and the two of the biggest expenses are also the most challenging for most business owners to approach: labor and products. These can also be the answer as to whether you should brand yourself.

DEVELOP BRAND RECOGNITION
Sell quality and the perception of quality through Relation-ships. The reason to brand yourself is to set yourself and your businesses apart, tell the world that your business is the right place to get the best of your service or product. Working to build a brand name that you own can provide larger-than-average profit margins.

The nasty little truth is that most goods and services are universally available. The other guy 'down the block' can probably get the same thing for you - or provide the same service you can. They probably can do it for the same price, maybe cheaper. The actual quality of the product itself is not an issue, to make the sale - most are pretty much the same.

So, set yourself apart through making the experience personal and special. People love a good experience, people tell their friends and neighbors about an experience (good or bad).How can you be the ONLY place they can get this good experience. Through branding - backed by providing the goods or service bargained for - plus the great experience.

Both Wal-Mart and Trader Joe's sell cola - You will pay more for cola at Trader Joe's. Remarkably, the only real difference between the two is the "brand" - and Trader Joe's' does pretty well against the cola giants, for the share of the market they want. Customers are willing to go for the brand at Trader Joe's'. Trader Joe's cannot compete with Wal-Mart's ability to negotiate for the so-called brand name colas. But, even though the recipes are probably very similar, Trader Joe's can provide a quality product, with better margins, because of branding perceptions; trust, quality and uniqueness.

This process is actually pretty simple - in the customers' view of quality and expertise, the professional (inventory buyer, business owner, retailer, entrepreneur), especially in a one-on-one setting, the element of relationship and authenticity are compelling.

Preferences change over time, but, the relationship factor between product and consumer remains relatively intact. As far as customers are concerned they just wanted to buy the best; and we, the professionals, have to make sure that what we have to offer is the best - product, service, experience.

Most of your offerings do not need to be advertised. Most of your products don't need brochures and expensive advertising. However, all your products and services need to have your brand attached to them. And you have to trust yourself and start to realize that you can count on one tried and true selling method: the relationship between your customer and you, the professional.

Identity Branding has been written about a lot. To help you make an informed decision whether such product or professional branding right for you - please consider the following insight

CAN IDENTITY BRANDING MAKE YOU MORE SELLABLE?

While there are occasions where a customers ask for a specific brand or service other than what you provide; this should not amount to providing a reason to give up the better margins to satisfy these requests. The preference of customers is easily influenced by the endorsement of a credible, knowledgeable professional. A potential customer asking you to sell them something that they can get down the block or a service that every other provider can produce should be seen by the business owner has an opportunity to educate about the alternative you provide. You must then produce a better product or service for the money or you will lose that client - but this does not mean you have to spend more money providing this end result. Much of every professional relation-ship is the "expert's recommendations" - the way to close the sale is to ask for the sale.

CUSTOMER LOYALTY IS THE PAY OFF FOR BRANIDING

Business loyalty is a pretty fragile, but personal loyalty is a strong bond. In business most of our sales are driven by direct professional recommendation, and purchases of goods or services are often a reward for successfully meeting the personal needs of the client. It's very difficult for national brands to compete with you on this connection if you are doing our job well.


WHAT ARE THE GREATEST BENEFITS IN IDENTITY BRANDING?

Money and the protection of your hard-won customer loyalty! Most branding will offer better gross profit margins on their products. Simply put, you can keep a lot more money per sale than when selling goods or services that have sales that are driven by the market place or manufacturer's pricing - or more and more now, goods and services you can buy over the internet.

As for the benefits of brochures, printed bags, discounts and samples a closer look will reveal an interesting insight. Branding is for showing your company's uniqueness - Branding makes you the "go to" place to get this "thing" you sell. But relying on support tools as a primary means of product pro-motion can actually encourage you and your employees to avoid in the direct approach; this can result in a loss in potential sales. These items are important - but they CAN NOT replace direct involvement with your customer. Use these items to reinforce your direct contact with the client. Don't just leave samples and a brochure sitting around -- Placing samples and brochures in the hands of customers is a better strategy. Immediacy is everything in business.

Competition in business is at all-time high. It is difficult for even large businesses to retain their share of the market when so many means of access to these goods is now avail-able to their customers. Customers have the internet and the new guy with the new sales gimmick asking for your customers to take a look or buy at home. If you haven't made preparation this business challenge - you will be soon. And if you are selling goods - then you may be competing with a trend for suppliers of products that are offering their goods directly to the consumer - your customer. That is you and me folks. You have worked to establish a demand in the consumer market, now many suppliers are bypassing and selling through their own web sites and 'etailers'. Big business is about making money and in a changing world, companies must respond decisively and correctly to survive.

This is precisely where selling your own brand makes good sense. As far as the consumer is concerned the only place to get your brand is from you, whether it is at your office, your retail counter, or through your own online store.

So is Identity branding products and services right for your business? Only you can answer this question accurately. But if you are committed to working smart, and providing value to your clients, and if profits, customer retention, and building brand loyalty into your company investment has any meaning for you there are fewer options available that can help you better than the Identity Branding option can.

Copyright 4/26/07

Life is a series of dogs....

I remember a song when I was little where some Irish sounding guy rattled off one Irish name after another ---it is too a point in my life that if I listed them all it would be sound like that song -- if I named off all off the lifelong parade of dogs in my life. From Pete, the first in my life, he was my Dad's dog when I was born -- to today's dogs Tibeaux and Emma - the two that I live with now.

I love dogs

I have had mutts and purebreds, from Dalmatians to Llasa's to my passion for the Harlequin Great Danes. But really I love them all. We lost another one last week. Roxanne. Roxy -- Roxy Annie -- a snugly old thing that came to me in her old age. She was very puppy brained though - so it was not like a crotchety old lady came here -- no Rox was truly a puppy in her head.

Roxanne was a merle Great Dane, she was born on our property-- she was the daughter of my sweet girl Layla, a very nice show dog. And our Hugo was her father, a nearly as nice harl dog. He was a very promising harlequin puppy, he took the 6-9 harlequin puppy class at the nationals - against 601 other puppies. A top judge (whose name was also Hugo) told me that Hugo was about "as good as they get". And he liked Layla so much he hunted down her breeder and arranged to get her sister. I am not a very disciplined show person, so my dogs did not finish though (become champions)...... Layla came very close, she was one major away when I stopped. Layla had taken reserve winner's bitch at every specialty show she was in, even when she was a puppy -- she even got her one major win at a specialty show with lots of great competition.... but I just could not get that other major win on her.

Every one that shows has one like this -- one that they think should be a champion, one that you start wondering if you are just kennel blind or not - but then get reassured that you are right she IS a champion. But after 83 shows, she had so many points it was ridiculous - but she did not have that second major that she needed to finish. So we stopped....

I don't know why I am off on Layla, it was not Layla that died. Layla died two years ago now. But every dog that passes on, re-opens the pain from the passing of those before them

The first dog that broke my heart was George. George was a Gordon Setter, he had the most luxurious coat and a tail that just flowed. George was my companion, George was my pal, my brothers and sisters. My mother had emotional problems, serious ones, that did not allow her to consistently interact with me as a child. But George was there. And if my Mom lost control and came after me -- George was there.... he intimidated her enough that she had to lock him up if she wanted to "spank" me. If she took the time to do that - she would get control enough to either lose interest in the beating, or actually only spank me because she had a cooling off period.

My father took home movies of me as a child with our dog Dolly (a Dalmation) -- it impresses the grown up me, watching the seven year old child me, using perfect hand signals to ask Dolly to sit, stay, down- come, etc... Dolly was a great dog.

My mother traded Dolly to our vet for another dog though. The was an Old English Sheepdog named Whitey. (My Dad shaved her beautiful coat off every summer because he thought she was too hot in the big old coat - now I hear that they need the coat for insulation!). When her coat was long and she was groomed, she was so beautiful. She was huge. And she had the problem that this kind of breed often has, that is having a poopy butt - if she is not kept groomed.

My mother was ready to trade in another perfectly good dog when I made the deal that I would get my first Girl Scout merit badge in dog grooming. Then I would take care of the grooming. I was an iddy biddy thing -- I was maybe 10 when I started this. But I started every other day combing this dog. Bathing her weekly in the summer, and monthly in the winter (We were in California). I discovered putting a little Clorox bleach in her wash water (very little) made her sparkle, and we used a little laundry bluing in the rinse water to keep her from yellowing.

Don't tell the Health Department - but my father let me wash this dog in the back of his meat market! There was a drain in the middle of the floor and there was a hose with lots of warm water. It was perfect.

There was a series of family dogs - my first dog in my first rented house as a young adult was a German Shepherd, named Heidi.

We have only had one gap in dogs, for 18 months in the 1970's when we were afraid of Parvo Virus when we had two dogs die. But since then we have had as many as five dogs as once and as few as two.

So so long to Rox, and all the rest. Your loyalty, humor and love will never be forgotten.

Ta Ta for now.

I think this information maybe useful to someone

I don't know if other designers have had to hunt to find the "rules" for bulk mail -- but I did. So now that I think I have them pretty well sorted out - I share them here with you............. (Please let me know if you find mistakes in this -- I am not an expert on direct mail).

Click on this image to see it larger.

Child's Play!! Serious Business

Imagine this -- a village with water pumps powered by children playing on the new school playground equipment! Well imagine no more - for $14,000 one can be erected, and some of these are being put up by the advertisers on the sides of the tank! Women and children are not spending a huge part of each day carrying heavy loads of water! Some of these kids can now go to school because they have time that was used for water before.

Visit PlayPumps.org and see for yourself!

Leaving on a jet plane........

I am thrilled to say that I am leaving for the UK in two days! I am pretty excited. I will share some photos and impressions when I get back.

Branding

There are three things that make up a company’s core elements. Who you are - your essence - (how your customers experience you), the company's look and the company's voice.


Before you can craft a solid marketing plan or materials, you need to have a rock solid understanding of who you are.


It's how your company and your customer interact. It's about how they experience you.

I call it your essence. Your essence is what others will experience.

Businesses are living, breathing entities. Every business has a personality and ultimately, an essence. It has a core purpose for existing. It is something everyone who is in contact with your business will intrinsically know is true about you. This will give your business a single purpose and goal to work towards.

Once you have explored and defined your brand and it is really true to who you are - you'll be amazed at what happens next. Your marketing will exceed goals. You will have direction. Everyone will understand the vision and pride you take in what you do and deliver every day,

When I help you brand yourself – I do not want to “inflict” my perceptions on you – we must communicate YOUR essence. I want to help you provide a look that is unique, effective, incredibly smart communication.

Was it as good for you as it was for me?

The most important thing I learned from running a spa.

Everything in live is defined by the Experience while doing it, anticipation of doing it, the memory of doing it

Why do people hate going to the Department of Motor Vehicles? They are usually pretty competent, they have systems that work for them, and you eventually get what you went there for.

But all of us have had at least one bad experience at the DMV. Someone was ________ (bored, rude, incompetent, slow, uncaring – fill in your own word). You waited too long. Their system was not ‘friendly’ to you – the customer. And if that was not enough, their lack of clarity and poor service may have required a second visit to this purgatory.

I talk about that because EXPERIENCE is not about touchy feely things – it is about being human. We all want non-threatening experiences with nice people who don’t rip us off, and treat us with respect – if there is expertise, passion, joy or fun a long the way – it becomes an experience that you want to repeat and share with others.

Grandaughters -- Christmas past

I talked to Camille today, she phoned from California. This is an old picture, she is eight years old now. I was just missing her a bit and thought that I would share a picture.

Only 11 more days until I leave for England~!

Everything I know about Guys

Have you ever wondered what makes men tick? A couple of years ago I worked with a woman who insisted that you could get anything you wanted from a man with Pot Roast. She said she had proven this theory to herself many times.

It recently occurred to me that Pot Roast is but one of the identified stages in the lives of men.



It is my theory that the identified stages are: Cookie, Sex, Pot Roast.

Pot Roast does seem to be more universal, span more age groups and can be learned by almost anyone. (I'll put my recipe at the end of this blog).

Cookie Stage -

four months until puberty

As small children men are conditioned and rewarded with words of praise, quickly followed by a treat like a cookie. This sets up a pattern of conditioning that they react to for the rest of their lives.

Sex

Puberty - adulthood

This is the "wild card". We all know how this reward works - so let me quickly illustrate. What would make I guy think he looks like this? (and that this is a good thing?)



When he really looks like this?



Sex -- enough said. This is the one that they finally learn they have really no control over and there are too many ways to make fools of themselves.


Pot Roast

The stage we all work towards though is Pot Roast -- the Pavlovian reward system has worked so well that everything is possible once we get to the adult male and Pot Roast.

This one is started in childhood, periodically cooking a huge pot roast; cooking all day, simmering an odor of garlic and meat -- with the promise of the obvious reward of a meal with potatoes, gravy and meat. With the conditioning that will last a life time. This is the gift that good mothers-in-law give to wives. One generation gives this to the next.

Later in life the timing of the well cooked roast will almost always trigger the most positive of responses from men.




Warning:
Taking this too seriously could lead to misconceptions.

This theory has had no scientific studies, these claims are strictly anecdotal, and really have no basis in anything except my personal musings... based on my own twisted point of view. And as with all theories - this does not fit all men, all the time; or any man, all of the time; or even any men - except the ones in my family! It is my blog and I am just spouting off.


My Pot Roast

There are much fancier pot roasts, but the simplicity of this is what works.
4 to 5 lb Chuck Roast - well marbled
2 teaspoons cooking oil
2 cloves garlic
garlic salt.

Rub the cooking pan with enough oil that the meat will not stick. Heat pan to "very hot" -- place meat in pan and brown the heck out of it. Brown the garlic cloves at the same time. Then turn down the heat and sprinkle with garlic salt. Cover and cook all day on a very low heat. While cooking, if the meat appears to be dry at all, add a little bit of water -- remember it is not soup though. Just enough moisture to make sure the end product is moist.

It is done when it is falling apart.


I use a cast iron dutch oven, mine was my mother's before me, and maybe her mother's before that. I think it just works better. They still sell them. Here is what one looks like:

If you are using a dutch oven you can cook covered on top of the stove, or cover and put it in the oven.



You can slow cook this in a crock pot, but it must be browned first on top of the stove in a dark pan.

Now that you know the secret, have fun!

Long Absence -- Back to say that "I love my community!"

Yesterday was a beautiful day - so on the way back from an errand I ran for one of my clients - I took the road less travelled. I was in the area of the Historical Reserve and it is so charming, the air clear and sun shining, I just turned past the Pearson Air Park (there is a PT Boat parked across the street! Much bigger boat than I imaged!). I drove towards the Columbia River -- under the freeway, and turned left on Marine Drive.

Truthfully I have not been down there in a decade. There was a lot of construction going on, with condos being built and such. I mistakenly thought that most of the views must be blocked by all the new structures. They block some areas, but this is a big area - and lots of things are still open.

At least once a month I reaffirm my love for this town when I turn a corner and am reminded how many things are just done intentionally RIGHT.

For instance - look at that lovely building in the photo above. It looks like the front of a library, or university -- city office or court house. Nope, that is the Water Resources Education Center. In most cities, there is a small office and some stinky pools and filters, and everyone sort of ignores the necessity of having a water treatment plant. Not Vancouver Washington. Here, someone said - "Why not more?" - "Why not beautiful?" - "Why not educate and celebrate our water?" So our community has a center, with pools with Giant White Sturgeons, reflecting ponds, galleries, interactive museum, events and truly beautiful place to spend the day. If you are a visitor to my home in Vancouver Washington, I would include a trip to the Water Center in my tour of our community.

In some ways this center says more about how wonderful Vancouver is in a way that illustrates this better than other places we could visit. It shows how a our community when it has a choice, picks something really NICE to do for its residents and visitors - it just goes beyond the things it has to do and gives that little "bling" that makes us a wonderful place to live.

Ta ta for now..........

Good works

Do you ever just do a job that you are even impressed with yourself? I have done a few of these lately. It is not that I underestimate myself - it is that I did not "estimate" at all. The work itself just blossomed and it told me what it wanted to be and I was so pleased at the results that I felt like it had a life of its own!

The business card I did for my friend Vickie is that sort of job. Victoria Sasselli is an artist, her specialty is paper, but she is mixed media. Everything is potentially art to her, and in her hands most things can be art. You and I will not see these items as art, usually, but in Vickie's talented hands she reveals these things for the beauty they hold if they are just looked at with open eyes. Common junk mail and buttons, scraps and bits -- a come together to be art in her hands.

I tried to describe her work in Vickie's card. But I also wanted to reveal the person who is Vickie. For a long time I have been telling Vickie that I think that she is her greatest piece of art. People may believe that God created mankind, but I know that Vickie is a work in progress and Vickie created Vickie, and she is working on her greatest masterpiece.

So this led me to incorporate some other things that I know about Vickie.

Vickie likes color, not necessarily antiques - but she like old things. She tats (an old fashioned way to make hand made lace - few people do this today). She makes cards, books, handmade paper - she does lithographs and her degree in art was qualifies her to do most things that involve paper.

But she is more than that - Vickie works hard to improve herself. Not in some ground breaking way that involves large groups of people, but in a personal way. She has overcome huge personal hurdles. She is working to improve herself every day she faces her demons head on, and I really admire that. I am too cowardly and basically lazy to do that - but not Vickie.

Vickie makes herself "raw" working on herself. She exposes nerves and works on the hard stuff that most of us bury so deep that we will not be hurt by it any more. By adulthood and middle age most of us have figured out that the hard stuff hurts when we work on it, and we don't get a lot of support when we work on it, and when we do make changes we like - others may not even like the changes. Vickie gets to that point, and just keeps on going.

If I have not said it outright - I admire Vickie. She makes me proud to say she is my friend. Her talent for being a friend is huge too. Being a friend, a daughter, wife, aunt, citizen and artist are things she works at every single day.

So, bravo Vickie!

Ta Ta for now.

9/11: Five Years Later

Like the rest of the world I am reflecting on the abomination that is now called "9/11". Five years ago I watched Matt Lauer and Katie as this thing unfolded. Hour after hour past and history was changing right in front of us. My mind looked for historical comparisons an latched onto Pearl Harbor. I was born after Pearl Harbor, but I grew up with the stories from people who were stirred by it. I knew how to react, I knew how my country men would react.

My personal memories from that time though are distinct and not at all what they are talking about on television. I thought of my parents and that it seems weird that such a big thing could happen and they not be alive to share this with. ("Daddy how could you be dead -- I need to talk to you?"). I think about the strange quiet -- the sound of no planes flying. I never realized how much noise their was all they time from planes. I remember how nice everyone was to one another for a few months afterward. Polite in traffic and going out of their way to be courteous with strangers. My diary has notes about how nice it will be if defeat these creeps by discovering how nice we can be with one another.

Our son Paul was away in the Army, and I was not able to contact him. I was sure he was going to have to go fight a foe and I was terrified and proud that again my family was ready and willing to serve.

The picture above is of my granddaughter, Camille Louise, she is an American in every sense of the word. Two grandparents from Vietnam, one from the Netherlands, plus my family; every branch of which goes back to New England and the Pilgrims that are the stereotype of our founders.

Our families have come together to create this child. Each family brings our dreams for freedom and opportunity to this land.

I know that the government and idealists always want people to come here for freedom and justice; they want everyone to be political refugees. Our schools teach us that everyone came here to escape political or religious persecution. I don't with that agree. That would mean that we are a bunch of people who were so political that each and every one of us and our ancestors was some kind of zealot. I can't believe that people were that different from those today. I am sure that part of the population was very religion and/or political - but as today most people just wanted to be safe and optimistic enough to want to have a chance for their families to safely thrive.

America is a country founded by optimists, for optimists.

That is what the terrorists are messing with - we are not a bunch of wienies - Americans take big chances, we are bold. And it pisses us off to have to look under, over, inside - sniff and x-ray every darn thing we do. That is what "scaredy-cats" have to do. Not Americans!

Some people are acting like we don't like the inconvenience of all this. Americans have never minded inconvenience. Did the Westward Migration worry about inconvenience? How about the early astronauts (who wore diapers because the first short trips had no provisions for elimination!), or my parents (and probably yours) who blacked out their windows and rationed gas and meat (and everything else) - some who sent their husbands, sons and fathers off for 4+ years and did not hear from them for months at a time. People saved their bacon fat for the war effort for god's sake.

In the case of our all volunteer Army, our opportunities are built on the backs and the bodies of those people who make it happen. The word hero is thrown around too easily, but we are a country of heroic ideas. Every guy or girl that goes off to war is not a hero. But there is something optimistic and heroic about believing in ideals enough to put your life of "on call" for a half decade at a time with our all volunteer military. My cynical side used to think it was only for the educational benefits, and thought it too dear a price to pay to get an education that is free in other parts of the first world; But watching the group of educated men and women who are signing up again and again- even though they have had nothing but frustration with resuming education and careers... Well there is something else going on here.

I contend that we don't like being a bunch of Cautious Katies. Our heroes are not cautious - we are "Damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead". We are "Wait till you see the whites of their eyes" ... Our folk heroes are not cautious. Didn't Davey Crockett "wrestle him a 'bar' when he was only three"? Huck Finn was scared, but not cautious about Injun Joe. None of this feels American.

Later I will put out my opinion on war (hate it - but think that if you are going to fight it - then fight it and accept the fact that there will be lot of collateral damage! Dead civilians, on both sides and we must be willing to use every resource including rich men's sons and possibly the draft re-instituted to make the fight a full out war. We can win a war, it is a police action that we have a hard time winning).

ta ta

Life needs a snooze button

Don't you think that it would be nice if you could hit a snooze button on life and mentally catch up on things that you need time to ponder?

I know it sounds like a Twilight Zone episode because they did a few shows on stopping time - but mine is more of a time for resting and REM sleep, where things could be dealt with in sleep mode. Down deep where things are really dealt with.

I have wonderful dreams -- do you? In mine I deal with very huge subjects. Sometimes I completely rework my life so well that when I wake up I am surprised that it is not already reality!

My dreams are vivid, they are filled with ancient symbols, old friends (actual and virtual from books and history), family members long past (some I love to see in dreams, others that creep me out for days after they show up!).

My dreams are better than books or movies -- I love them. So many things are assimilated while dreaming.

I wish I could snooze life for a little while and do some intentional dreaming. Guess I will explore some guided visualization again. That has always been the closest to dreaming for me.

Any thoughts on Snooze Buttons?

ta ta

My Kid Lives at the Historic Reserve, at Fort Vancouver!

Paul has rented one of the most unique properties in Vancouver, Washington - Actually in the country. Little known fact is that there are rental properties in the old non- commissioned officer's quarters at Fort Vancouver. These are a couple of blocks of charming duplexes.

Everyone seems to know about the mansions on the road facing the main parade field, in the area known as Officer's Row. People like George Marshall (of the Marshall Plan) and U S Grant (who went on to be US President) spent time here commanding the fort here. These properties have long been rented to business ventures, (I think one might be rented as a private residence).

There are other properties here, these run opposite the Auditorium and in the area of the hospital building. They are a series of duplexes that are in the Edwardian style, and built around the second decade of the Twentieth Century. They are lovely three bedroom, 2 bath residences. They have extras like; hardwood floors, sun rooms, formal dining rooms, full basement, brick patio and fireplace. The site is quiet, with enormous oak trees, and lawns and gardens kept up by the US Park Service!

I am just so pleased that Paul got the opportunity to rent such a great place. That and he works at the Fort so he will be able to walk right across the road to work.

They are doing a lot of interesting things at the Fort right now. They are starting to build a land bridge to the river. All the City and Counties activities are right there - it is a political year and most of the politicians have offices here too.

graphics artists

Stage ONE: Concept

What will your product be about? Be as specific as you can. You are going to pick one concept and tell the story with words, color, design and pictures or illustrations.

Stage TWO: Cost
Agree on pricing. Your designer should be able to give you an estimate for the work; this can be written or oral. Most routine jobs can be quoted at a flat rate. If the job proves to not be as “routine” as agreed, then you might have to pay some or a lot more. Like any other professional, you are paying for expertise and time. At this time you should agree how many revisions are included in the design process.

Stage THREE: Clarification

This is the part where the client makes sure that she and the designer make the story personal. Tell the story as cleanly as possible. Why are you better than everyone else who says they are the best at what you do or have to sell?

Note: This is the part of the job that you bring in technical or creative writers and photographers if you are going to work with your own. These professionals have to be on the same page to know what you want to say.
If you want the graphic artist to provide these skills, this is the same information that the graphics person will need to get started on this.

Bring graphics that you need incorporated in the design to this meeting. High quality digital images of your logos, mascots, products should be made available to the artist at this time also.

The graphics person needs a fully articulated concept to translate into words and design that your target market can understand.

Stage FOUR: Composition and Editing

The graphics person takes the concept and goes away for a period of time to flesh out your ideas. The graphics artist calls for a meeting and you get to see the beginning of the product.

You will see a roughed out mock up of what the final product is aiming for. There could be place holders where pictures will be, samples of fonts and text layouts for you to approve or remove.

Depending on the project – there are usually a couple of meetings to refine the artwork. For a business card – one well articulated concept should usually result in one meeting, one change, and a finished product that is approved. A poster or brochure should take maybe two or three layout revisions. If you change large parts of the project after the first meeting then you can expect to pay a larger amount for the graphics work.



Stage FIVE: Editing and the Creative Process

At the end of this refinement process the graphic designer will present a final layout for final approval.

As the client you should be happy with everything – the typography, photography, copy writing, paper and colors at this point. This can be tricky here – responsibility rests with the client for correctness of copy, spelling, proofreading and content – all of it.

Stage SIX: The Production

During the production part of the product development you will be asked to review and approve drafts along the way. This is to make sure that the layout is what you agreed upon, that the colors are what you agreed upon – etc. (This is not the place to change anything in the layout or design. This is the quality assurance part of the project. )

Stage Seven: Receipt of product
Before accepting delivery and making payment for the finished product, be sure that the production was consistent and that the product is of uniform quality.

If you have any questions or comments – please email me

Ta ta for now……..

Louise

Paul gets a bike! (Yike)

I have to admit though that it is no scarier than when they are seven or eight and they take off on an unsupervised bicycle ride. And I must admit I have not seen him happier in a very long time. He was glowing, and that is not only because he had been out in the wind and sun.

That is not a picture of him up there -- but his cycle is like that one, and he got a black leather costume. He bought a very safe helmet, ironically his EMT training helped him decide on the kind of design he wanted.

Now that my kid is thirty-something he probably has more to worry about with me, than I with him - but that is just the nature of parenting.

later

Quick picture for yesterday's Post

Handy devise to keep you from saying the wrong thing at the wrong time!

New speak

"Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages" Dave Berry

The Language We Speak At Work

Most of us use the computer and have at least a fair understanding of the need to be able to communicate with others about our computers, the Internet, email, our software and all the bits and pieces of this gizmo that increasingly makes our lives so much more powerful.

However, some of the terms may just seem weird if you have never heard them used before and if you don’t speak up and get explanations you will be left wondering if you are just getting dumber or something!

Exchanging Ideas

For instance – the word BLOG. The thing you are reading right now is a blog. Language is organic and this is a good example. Combine the words web and log and mumble and slur your words a little, and it sounds like blog.

We now have bulletin boards, mailing lists, forums, chat rooms, egroups – these are all things that people with certain specialized interests join into that allow free exchange of ideas and communication with people all over the globe. They do not occur in "real time" (you are not having a true back and forth conversation), but good groups really have enough responsiveness that communication is pretty quick. They are like a real bulletin board, where you write a question on an index card and post it up on the board; ten minutes later someone else comes along, they know the answer – they write the answer on a card and pin it up too. Others join in, some have things to add, some disagree, some get outright crazy with anger and start writing nasty notes and pinning them all over the board. These things all happen online too (getting nasty is called flaming – and usually a moderator will put a stop to it.

Exchanging images

Other things that have become part of the computer language that we are expecting people to understand are things having to do with online images. Images for the Internet are the lowest resolution that can be used and still have a clear picture. This is because you need your picture to load really quickly. For most purposes – just check that the image is set at 72 pix/inch.

Now this is where it gets tricky. Just as Humpty Dumpty could not be reassembled, you cannot downsize a picture and then go back again. When you downsize the picture the information is gone forever. The image will only be good for the Internet. How do you get around this? When you scan a photo or download a picture from your camera – save one high resolution image.

Higher than 300 dpi(dots per inch) is the ideal. Then when you downsize the image for other uses – rename that image. Then you have a high res and a low res image for use later.

Do not snag images from the Internet and try to use them in printed matter – they just look horrible. When you get things done for you by a web designer or graphic artist, ask for artwork in all formats and resolution available.

If you have logos designed, ask the artist to provide you with a CD with color, black and white, every format they worked in and at least one really high resolution large .jpg. This way you have something that you can copy and give to anyone who is doing graphic work for you.

So, like travel in any other unfamiliar place, try to learn the language; use a few key words, smile, be polite and keep up with the language as much as you can – without the words you cannot communicate with the natives.

Ta ta for now….
Louise

Pictures on these blogs

Trouble posting pictures

I am having trouble posting some pictures to this blog -- I have not figured out what I am doing wrong. I was trying to post the picture above to a previously posted blog -- maybe you just can't always change the past!

This is a caricature of me – running over everyone trying to get to a project. Did I tell you I love projects?

C'ya
Louise

Passwords -- security....

Musing on passwords today.
I was talking to Howard Leighty of Future Solutions Now, Inc. The other day and he brought up the fact that many of the passwords 'out there' are just too easy. Some of the reason they are easy is because they are real words. He says we should use nonsense words for passwords because they are harder to figure out.

This makes sense to me, a good 'social engineer' can get sensitive cracking information. We use our dogs name for a password and somewhere on the Internet there is something that asks us to verify our information with giving our pet's name. Our mother's maiden name for verification is problematic as those of us who do genealogy have this in the public domain. And besides, the worst crime ever perpetrated against me was by a relative - one who knew my mother and certainly knew her maiden name! (By the way, this was not an online crime, this one was just before every criminal was also doing identity theft - this one was done by walking in the bank, multiple times, and taking cash out of our account. Face to Face - a non-signer withdrew over $5,000 from an account that she was not on, never was on. Yet the bank said we must have approved of this, because they could not believe that they had done this!)

This other blog online said that it was time to add another digit to your password.
You think your "paSSw0rd" is secure because you used mix-cased characters and numbers? Someone with a strong workstation doesn't need to wait that long - 25 days is all he needs. So, what if you add other things like symbols, capitol and lowercase letters to your passwords? However according to new information this could be cracked 2.25 years with a reasonably strong computer. (More patience than I have, certainly!)

So, give some thought to your passwords today -- and maybe a nonsense word, with numbers, upper/lower case and symbols is the way to go. Let's see something like, pRe51dEn+min0patub....

TTYL
Louise

Friday --

I thought I would share a picture of my husband and our boy dog, Tibeaux. These are very important guys in my life!




I had my early morning Take The Lead meeting this morning.
7:30AM, what an awful time of day! Today's was our Networking meeting, we just really get to know each other better at this meeting, exchange leads, and share business ideas. Regular weeks we have a designated speaker and really learn how to help each other get business leads.



We have a couple of new members of this smaller group and today we had one visitor too.

My grandson James (Jr) is coming home from California today -- I bet my friend Vicki is exhausted -- it going to take her a month to recover from the activities that they have had this week.

My husband's business, Fast Specialties, is doing pretty darn good. We are both working way too many hours. His weeks have him at work for up to 16 hours a day. I swear people who think that being your own boss means you can do almost anything have no idea how hard the work is for small businessman.

I have to finish three projects this weekend. I will try to show samples of some of the layouts here.

The other picture is one that was 'doctored' by my friend Ginnie - It was called Hurricane Party, the large Dane is our old girl Diva, Layla is on the far left, Hugo is upside down top - I don't know who the Dane one the right is. This picture is just here for fun.

Visit Ginnie.com for many more great graphics.

I Love This Story!

Murder in England
Barney the Doberman pinscher was guard dog for million dollar exhibit --- duh! He could not help himself, night after night they taunted him, they stared at him, the silent eyes daring him to step into the world of "bad dog" -- This is one line that once crossed, there is no going back.

Full Story Here
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14153449/


Un-bearable! "Dastardly Doberman" destroys Elvis' teddy bear.......... and $75,000 others!






My own experience with TeddyBearicide.....

The one on the left was one that was murdered by my girl Emma (years ago). She can not stand eyes on stuffed animals -- the eyes are the "windows to the soul" you know. With Emma, the minute the eyes are removed she usually is done with the kill. This case was unusually gruesome, he was eviscerate, every wound was a mortal wound. Yet he still looks like he died happy, don't you think?

The best toys for Great Danes are Teddy's -- many just cuddle them, most carry them. One fatal flaw with the teddy bear adoption is that one little puncture wound opens the adopted parent attempt surgery - surgery that always goes wrong. It starts with, "I will just remove this little bit of fuzz that is handing out" and always ends with a room full of fluff!

(Considering toys cost 'big bucks' -- and last no time at all. Stuffed animals are still the best bet - Charity Stores have them for less than a $1.50 -- garage sales sell them for twenty-five cents. Don't tell the little kid that is selling them that you are getting them for your dog -- some people seem distressed by that! and NOTE: DO NOT buy anything with 'bean' type filling -- these will make a mess that lasts for years. One of my dogs also inhaled some of this filling and got it in her lungs, this ended with pneumonia).

A few wayward Danes can not seem to difference between pillows, (bed or throw), comforters, couch cushions, car interiors, bed pads or anything else with batting or stuffing).

False pregnancies have their own neuroses that many times involve the adoption of stuffed animals.

My good friend Ginnie Saunders, in South Carolina, is a graphic artist. A number of years ago she designed a t-shirt that perfectly captures Emma's personality (or personalities). She the graphic for this and you will understand. You can see many more of these great designs at Dogware.com -- also take a look at DaDane of the week, which is an ongoing muse- that has been there since the early 1990's and no one had heard of Blogs! They originally were exclusively about Danes, and in the 1990's we Dane people really spent a lot of time and energy on the 'net. Read some of the old ones like Rudolph and you can see how much fun we all had with Ginnie's work.

What do you think of the new business cards I designed?

Work Completed...

Don't you just love the sense of calm that comes over you when you get a job done and you feel you did a great job with it? When it is a graphic project there is also that sense of anticipation; waiting to see the hard copy come back from the printer, waiting for the client to see it.

I finished a project for ERS (Employer's Reference Source) this week, signed off yesterday. One brochure and one two sided business card. Janet Minton always entertains us with horror stories of the unfortunate hiring mistakes people make. Take a look at there site -- they provide a great service and can save employers a lot of heartache.


I also did some cards for Tina Vlachos at Country Insurance here in Vancouver, Washington. She can help with annuities, auto insurance, disability insurance, home, farm and life insurance too. She is starting to specialize in coverage for pleasure vehicles like collector cars and motorcycles. I have made a link from her name to email her if you are looking for insurance in Washington.

Speaking of insurance, if you are looking for insurance in Oregon, another client of mine - Don Gloud of Gloud Insurance Agency does just about everything. I have been working on some graphics for his site (which should be up any time) and doing some copy writing. I also helped him lay out a design for a postcard mailer that he is doing through an interesting service called Send Out Cards it is a lot like Hoppy Sales which I hear great things about all the time. Don does every kind of insurance in Oregon (some in Washington) for employee benefits and all the other kinds too.

My other finished product is a "cool" business card for Michael Knapp of Waddell and Reed Financial Services. It is a simple white calling card (finished heavy linen card stock) -- I think that Michael is a genius with words and this is an example of simplicity. The cards simply says "It happens" with his name and phone number. Which perfectly illustrates why one should have plans in place for when "it happens".

I am concerned about one of "my soldiers". I do some stateside services for soldiers that are deployed over in the Middle East. I have not heard from one of mine for a few weeks now and am getting concerned. Sgt. Lori, if you read this will you please email me. Just so I know you are okay?

Finally, if you have a desire to send goodies overseas - here is the current requests among soldiers (remember most of mine are women): Top requests are: Carpet fresh, scent stick-ups or non plug-in air fresheners and refills (whisp, glade fan, etc.), Home made breads (last well if vacu-sealed), Swiffer dusters (hand) , Dust repellent spray (like the canned air to clean out computers), Cereal, Breakfast bars (kashi, special K, etc.), Face wipes (Dove, Biore, etc.),
Easy Mac bowls (by the ton would be nice), basically any snacks that don't melt or squish easily --and things to help cope with the dust and smells.

Ta ta for now...... Your VA Louise

Gray Sunday in Vancouver Washington

Sunday, next to the last day of July - drizzly and overcast. Not chilly, and certainly much better than that awful hot weather we had last week!.

I slept in later than usual and went to work on some new graphic ideas I have been thinking about. I came up with a marketing idea that reflects a retro postcard look. I patterned the idea after those 1940's 'ish cards that were made for tourists, with Greetings From............ I love how they turned out. If you want me to mail you one you can email me with your address yva@ifeddema.com and I will send one to you. I also have another I get a kick out of that is a skeleton typing at a computer ....

I heard from my grandson, James, he is in California. He is 14 years old and visiting my best friend and her husband - Vicki and Roy live in San Jose. He is having a wonderful time, some of the things he is experiencing are: Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, swimming pools, Raging Waters, Great America, Santa Cruz --- I can't even remember all the things he is done -- he will be there for another week!

I am getting more and more call for graphic work in my job and I am so happy about that. Imagine a lifetime of work and people are finally hiring me for my artwork!

One of my clients is already starting on their Christmas campaign design. I am going to give mine some thought this week too.

I'll be back later.

"Don’t go around saying that the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."

Mark Twain

Well, so here we are..............

Along with everything else I am involved in, now it seems, I am compelled to start a blog. (Oh Ma, all the other kids are doing it!).

A little background...... Your Virtual Assistant.,LLC.

There are so many things I love doing, and I love to learn new things all the time. This job allows me to do that. I tried to figure out a way that I could use all of my skills, and finally do a lot more of my art.

Although I am not doing sculpture or painting, I am now getting paid to do art! The graphics component of my business life takes up at least 50% of what I do. I could not be happier with that arrangement.

I have designed a lot of marketing material for Virtual Assistants, if any other VA's are reading this please contact me if you want to talk about these materials and what they have done for me.

My business has grown mostly with advertising on Craigslist, networking, and I belong to a great group of people in a business to business group called I Take The Lead. We meet weekly to exchange leads and the help from this group has really helped me do more of the kind of work I want to be doing. If you want to learn more about this group take a look at http://www.itakethelead.com -- They are in the Pacific Northwest right now, but they are growing their business too.

I garden, have Great Danes, a lifetime husband, love to travel, read and be creative, I love quick thinking people - well rounded people. I laugh more than any one ever should - but life does just tickle me. I tolerate almost everything, but intolerance.

Well -- welcome to my world.

Louise

Please visit my website at www.ifeddema.com