I Have the Darndest Time with Furniture

I am not really a shopper, but I can tell you I go through chairs, sofas and mattresses more than I go through clothes.

When I moved to Florida, I got new "big" furniture -- sofa, mattress, and chairs. Out of the sofa, mattress and chairs, the only piece of furniture that is comfortable is my sofa. That is it. After a short period of time, the mattress started to sag in the middle (I am talking less than a year), so I bought a foam topper for it. Now, I need to replace it after a year or so of use.

The original chairs that I bought turned out to be too low. You would think that I would have learned from that, but sometimes it takes me many tries to learn my lessons. This past winter I bought a recliner and it fit great, felt great in the show room, but once home, once again, it is too low.

But the sofa was just right. This is the sofa (notice the lower back of the sofa, it rolls forward while the top of the sofa angles back). What I have found great about the sofa is the back part and the seat cushions can be moved to give support on who you are and how you sit. Actually, I love this sofa and would rebuy it. And everyone who sits on it agrees, and when my great-nephew visits, he wants to sleep on it. It is cushy as well as firm. Very important.





I liked the chair, and I fit well in it, but it is just a bit too low for me. Through the years, I have found that I like to sit straight up in a chair, and this chair does let me do that. So, what have I learned? My sofa is 18 1/2 inches from the floor to the top of the cushion. I am comfortable with this measurement. It is easy to sit down and easy to get up. Both the chair and the new recliner are 16 inches from the floor to the top of the cushion. I never would have thought that those two little inches make a difference, but they do.

I love cushy seats, you know, the kind you sink into and don't want to get out of. But, that's just it, I have to work at getting out of the. Too cushy. Those I can eliminate at the showroom, but I do love them.

Then, there is the leg part -- I am short and my legs are proportional to my height, which means that my leg from the knee to the hip is short; therefore, the depth of the chair can not be deep. It's when your knee to hip is long you need a deep seated chair.

So much to think about and learn just to buy a chair.

Then, there is the back. When Al was with me, he was a big and tall guy, so we had different furniture for both of us. It was his torso that was long, so we had to look at the back of the chair -- it had to support his shoulder blades. When I sat in his chair, my shoulder blades hit the middle of the chair! Actually, the best fit is to have the back 3 inches higher than your shoulder blades.

Then, there is the decision to have arms on the piece of furniture -- of course for me. And the arms need to feel right, which is when I sit in the chair or sofa, does my elbow and lower arm feel comfortable on the arm rest.




And pillows, don't forget the pillows. Yea or nay.

For me, a nay unless it is a back support, which I use a lot. But, I know many people who love their pillows, so it is a personal choice.






All of these considerations are so important to feel comfortable in a chair or sofa. The other small tidbit is that when you select the right size chair or sofa for you, you don't have to keep buying them. I know soon I will be on the prowl for another chair, but believe me, I'm going with my tape measure and take my time until it is just right. And then I will never have to spend another cent on a chair. My work will be done.

Tomorrow will be all about the mattress.

Until then...have a great day...

A Writer's Platform

When you are becoming a self-published author, you are going into business. This business has nothing to do with the creative side and everything to do with the business aspect of getting your work out there. This is what major publishing houses used to do, and from my understanding, today the major publishing houses like to see that you have a platform before really looking at you.

I attended a new writing group today, and they talked about the publishing side of this art. I took note on two aspects: making a website and making myself known via a writer's platform.

I do not understand that much about making a website yet, so I will put that aside for another day. But, I do want to talk about the platform, which includes a website, Facebook and YouTube. There is Instagram, too, but this was not a focus. It was a mention.

One of the first ideas to remember is to use key words about your creative piece (and really, this can be used for any idea from writing to painting to sewing to crafting to anything, really). Since I am into writing, that will be my examples. So, let's say I am writing a murder mystery about a detective (of course) and a serial killer (ho-hum, boring) but there is a twist, the serial killer takes the guise of a super hero -- you know, characters like IronMan, Superman, or Spiderman, those guys (more interesting here, I may perk up a bit). So, I have written the book and am starting to publicize it.

My key words would be heroes, serial killers, murder mystery.

I am going to do a search for the most searched words of my key words, and once I get the list (I would imagine a very long list on that one), then you look at the words that have the lowest competition  -- let's say "serial killer heroes". Since these words are highly googled it is a good thing, then if the phrase has little competition, like there are few serial killers who are considered heroes.

Please note not to use the actual character's name, such as Superman, because that could be a copyright infringement. You could write the company to see if you could use the name, but I would make up my own super hero's name, like Halbeast. As you write more and more books in the series, or if you paint and you paint a series of Halbeast paintings, you would then have that name as part of your key words.

That is the preliminary and very important for your name to be associated with that specific writing.

There are three major components of publicity, or what we could call a writer's platform as mentioned above. The website, Facebook and YouTube. They link together.

The website gives all your information, what you have published, how you are known, maybe a blog domain on the website, your shop, and links to your Facebook page and your YouTube videos.

I have a social media page for Facebook, and I asked how do I write for Facebook, and the moderator said that she has three Facebook pages -- personal (I have), an author page, and a fan page. On the author page, I might write about one of my characters, or some research, or ask for help on which cover to use or ideas about a twist in the book. (I would have my profile linked to my website and YouTube with all my necessary information under the "about" link).

Then, there is YouTube. I should make 15 seconds of video with maybe a reading of a scene, or maybe a visual scene and once again ask for input. This is also linked to my website and the author's page on Facebook.

I do have a lot to learn, and even more so, I have a lot to do. Getting my stories to the public seems to be quite a bit of work that has little to do with creating them. But, I am willing. So, it looks like I am going to be doing a lot more of this









Than this.






And dreaming of this

I need a vacation before I start all this. Think I will go to Alaska....

Until tomorrow...have a great day....

Omega 6

I think I am catching on to this nutrition "thing", and guess what folks, our diet in America is killing us. And if you are poor in America, it is really killing you.

Omega 6 is basically found in all oils, the different oils have varying amounts of Omega 6 fatty acids, such as safflower oil contains 75% Omega 6 and no Omega 3 vs.canola oil at 20% Omega 6 and 9% Omega 3. We can control what type of oils come into our house (I use extra virgin oil, but I have heard some of that may be mislabeled), but usually when a person goes to the grocery store they buy what they can afford, and the bad oils (safflower, corn, sunflower oils) are usually the cheapest.

Then, there are the fast food joints. I did a brief search on what kinds of oils used when frying the french fries at fast food joints, and I did not see any olive oil (monounsaturated fats) which is considered the healthiest fat to eat. I did see a lot of the unhealthy oils as their cooking oil.

Then, there are all our processed foods -- you know, the cookies, cakes, etc. that have to be cooked some way with fats. I am sure when you are cooking for the masses, you are not thinking of cooking with the best of oils.

So. Why is Omega 6 oils bad for us. Basically, because we have too much of it in our diet. Omega 6 is essential for our health, it's just that we have too much of it. The big thing is that too much produces inflammation, and with all the information out there, we now know that inflammation causes heart disease, cancer, arthritis -- you know, the big ones. When there is a 1:1 ratio of Omega 3 (remember nuts and salmon) to Omega 6 (oils), we are okay because the Omega 3 counter balances the Omega 6, and inflammation is kept in check.

So far, I keep seeing that eating the Mediterranean Diet is the best way to eat. I need to check that out. I do know that cooking at home is the safest way to eat because I am in control of what I cook and how I cook it.

Also, while I was doing the search, I found a statement that needs to be checked out more -- that canola oil is mostly a gmo (genetically modified oil) -- I need to learn about this. Stay tuned on this one, I will pass my info on.

If you want to learn more about Omega 6, Lifeextension.com/magazine and University of Maryland Medical Center have noteworthy information.

One of the items they discuss, but I am not in the least qualified to discuss, is GLA Omega 6 (gamma linolenic acid) which is plant derived and they are finding very beneficial to fight diseases. Check it out.

In between time, stay healthy.

Until tomorrow...have a great day...

The Making of a Writer

The other day I was talking about writing to a friend of mine who lives in Montana. He told me that he recently met a woman, an attorney, who is writing a series of books under a pen name. Interesting concept. Even though she has a day job, she has another life, she is making herself into a writer. As an attorney, no one may even know that she pens stories by night. Good for her. That is a story within itself.

I may have had the training and experience as a journalist and editor, but I am now making myself into a fiction writer. It has always been a dream, and it is coming true. I feel that I am in a make-believe world because I am doing exactly what I have always dreamt of doing -- writing fiction for me, not writing what a boss or a company wants. This is mine and who I am. And believe me, it is delicious. I know how this woman feels because I have been there, but in my day there was not this thing called internet or self publishing, so when I wrote, the stories sometimes got accepted into literary journals, but most of them were put in a file drawer. I love technology.

This is how I start. A blank sheet of lined paper and a pen. Not an unlined sheet of paper, not a pencil. It has to be a piece of lined paper and a pen.

Of course, I have lots of ideas about a story, and I start writing. The scene may come in the middle or end, but mostly I start from the beginning. I also write in my head before I put the words to paper. This is especially useful as I get into the story and need to develop the scene. In my social life, I may be talking to someone, but little do they know that I am really going over the scene in my head. I fall to sleep thinking about a scene, and wake up with the scene. Sometimes, not often though, I will wake up in the middle of the night knowing how to proceed with the scene (I am a very good sleeper so this does not happen often).

I am getting ready to start another story. I have been living with the idea for a bit now, and will begin writing in another month or so. (I need to get the short story book publishing under way before I really get into another story, but I can start with ideas, outline, and research.)

I love research. Love, love, love it. I learn so much, and sometimes it is hard to sift through what I want to include and what should not be included. Right now I am researching careers that are close or similar to an engineer. It should be fun to see what I end up with. Hmmm. Who knows, the career may not even resemble an engineer, but that is what I am starting with.

My stories take a life of their own. I am writing away, the majority of the research has been completed, and all of a sudden the story takes a turn that I never expected. Then, there may be more research, more writing, more scenes that are played out in my head. My life. I love my life.

Before I started this transformation, this Chapter 14 of my Journey, I saw a towel that had a saying on it -- "live the life you've imagined". I bought it and have kept it close to my heart since. And when I look at it, I say, I am, I am. I hope you do, too.







Until Monday...have a great weekend...

One Last Word about Volunteering Abroad

I have known many people who have volunteered abroad through their church, helping medically or building houses. I know of another family who travels to Guatemala to help build houses. I know one woman who has started an outreach program in Africa and empowers girls and women to learn technology or start their own business. I know some people who have gone abroad to teach English, but those are paid positions.

There are now the gap year, international internships, summer projects, family projects, high schoolers, summer help, 50+ers, working professionals, and group trips. I have heard of one university that requires students to spend one semester abroad helping others. Also, I have found that there are some companies that allow time off for their personnel to volunteer (check with your human resources department for this, I am sure it is not widely publicized). And. of course, there are those who study abroad whether at the high school or college level.

My search was focused on teaching English because that is where my experience lies -- shoot, I am a writer and a former English (composition) teacher. I have also started a blog on idioms and cliches, put it aside and going to resurrect it next month (after the Alaska trip). I have also tutored Spanish speaking people as they enter our country. I can do this job, would love to do this job. And I will prepare for this by taking the TEFL certification course.

But, could I do other jobs?

There is child development where I would go into child care centers or daycares and help those children who have been abused, abandoned, or who are vulnerable.

I think this would be too heartwrenching for me. I would end up tearing up most of the day.

There is also girls and women empowerment projects.


There is the health field abroad, and if I wanted to do this I would not have to be in the medical professions; rather, I would work alongside the health professionals. There is also an HIV/AIDS program to help destigmatize the disease as well as provide support for those who suffer with the disease.

Still working with people, I could help those who have special needs, and I can imagine there is a huge need here because people with special needs are discriminated against. I know that in some cultures, when I child is born deformed they are basically abandoned. Which means that those children have felt few hugs in their lives, let alone any other human contact or experiencing daily living skills.

Helping the elderly is also a huge project in some parts of the world, especially the third world countries. Here I would help serve meals or partake in activities with them.

Then, there are marine and wildlife conservation. There are tons of projects here, from rescuing animals to caring for them after the rescue.

Along these lines there are environment and conservation projects when you like to get your hands dirty and work with the earth.

Don't forget the building projects.


There are arts and music projects and sports, community development and fundraising and grant writing and teaching technology. You name it, there is a project to volunteer for.

I have only skimmed the surface of this vast field to help others around the world.

When I was doing my initial search of how to help, I did come across one other project that I would be interested in -- volunteers go to restaurants and get leftover food and then come back to a site and store it to be given away. Kinda like a food pantry here.

Am I going to do this? A BIG FAT YES! Next year I plan to go to Ireland and while I have paid for the ticket to go there, I might as well go somewhere on the other side of earth and get my feet wet. And yes, I will go to Laos to teach the novice monks, and while I am in that part of the world, I might as well teach in China for awhile. That flight is so long, I would definitely stay for more than a couple of weeks. Problem is, if I really like this lifestyle, I may never want to live a "normal" life again. Whatever "normal" is.

It looks like my life continues to evolve. I love it.

Until tomorrow...have a great day...

p.s. -- all photos are from Pixabay.

More on Volunteering

The more I research about volunteering abroad, the more excited I become. Today, I am going to stay with the idea of teaching English abroad, but this time it is actually teaching or being a helper in a classroom. Yesterday, I wrote about conversational English situated in a hotel with professional adults, where today it is in a typical classroom with school age children. Mostly.

Once again, I am going to report on three organizations but each one of these charge for your volunteer work. (I believe the expense is tax deductible.)

1. crossculturalsolutions.org has volunteers in 10 countries ranging from Brazil to Morocco to Ghana to India. I chose to look at volunteering in Costa Rica (Cartago).

Here, I would assist the teacher and also help with lesson plans and activities. This organization and all the others I researched include accommodations and meals as well as airport pick up and orientation for the price. But, this price is steep -- very steep. For one week in the classroom as a volunteer, it would cost me $2687, not including air fare and spending money. A very expensive week to help others!

Because of the expense, I also looked at Peru (Lima) and found the program similar to Costa Rica with the same cost. Too much for my pocket book, but they said the volunteer could raise funds to help pay for the cost. I don't particularly care for that idea. Remember, I am a baby boomer, and I was raised not to take anything from anyone -- so you are asking for charity to help. Doesn't make sense to me.

2. gviusa.com has 150 volunteer projects in 25 countries. Wow, we are helping the world! Also, this site boasts that if you are a student and you volunteer you could get academic credit for the work. Cool! Why didn't they have anything like this when I went to school? Darn.

I looked at three countries: Laos, Fiji, and India.

Laos was really cool. I would be volunteering my English with Buddhist Novice Monks. Really! That excites me -- what an opportunity! According to one of the websites, boys enter the monastery to escape poverty, and they get an education too. This program is from 2-24 weeks in duration. Two weeks cost $1890, and it goes to $7390 for 24 weeks (approximately 6 months). This cost is not bad, ranging from $400/week (24 week program) to $950/week (2 week program). This is something to think about.

Fiji is one country I would never have thought about. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean (I believe it is the Pacific) I would be assisting the teacher with lessons and activities. The cost here ranges from $2290 for 2 weeks to $7390 for 24 weeks.

India (Fort Kochi) would be a tough one! Here, I would go into the slum schools and help the teachers. I understand that some of the children were taken from the streets, and all the classrooms are overcrowded. If anything, these children learn academic curriculum as well as speaking English so they could obtain employment. This would be the most challenging, and I think the most frightening to me (because of the location) and probably the most rewarding. The cost here is $1700 for 2 weeks to $6100 for 24 weeks.

This organization includes cost, but reasonable. Once again, it includes accommodations, meals, airport pick up, orientation, etc.

3. volunteerhq.org is probably my favorite for paying to volunteer. They are headquartered in New Zealand and the cost to volunteer is minimal with the same accommodations, etc covered by the cost. I looked at three countries for teaching English: Argentina, China (bound determined to get there), and Laos. For all the countries, there is a $279 registration fee. Okay.

I want to go to Argentina, too, and Uruguay (a neighboring country), so I looked at teaching in Argentina (Cordoba). Here, I came to a roadblock. They want their volunteers to have at least an intermediate level of Spanish. That is a no-can-do for me. Yes, I can speak minimal Spanish, can read it better, but have a hard time understanding it because they speak so fast. The site said I could take Spanish lessons once there, but I still need an intermediate level of Spanish. So, that is out. But, how cool to go to Argentina and learn to Tango on the weekends!

If I could speak semi-fluent Spanish, I would be helping them with their English as well as other academic subjects, taking the role as a tutor. I could do any of that. The cost here is $325 for 1 week, $490 for 2 weeks up to $2015 for 12 weeks. Very doable.

China was a definite to look into. Located in Xi'an (Terracotta Warriors country) there is a desperate need for English speaking volunteers in this country, and the English lessons would be conversational English and/or helping the classroom teacher, who from the research can also use a little help with English. Now, I'm getting excited. Real excited. China. The vast country that is soon becoming a super power, if not already (I'm not that familiar with politics, but I do know how important China is to the world). I really, really want to see this country and to learn a bit about its inhabitants. I have taken a Chinese course and it was fascinating. I want to learn more.

I do think that is what volunteering is all about. Those people who I volunteer will get to know me a bit and what I represent from my country, but I am the one who will learn.

Back to China. The cost is $280 for one week, $440 for 2 weeks and $3960 for 24 weeks. I can afford volunteerhq.org prices.

Laos was the third country I looked at because it, too, offered teaching English to the novice monks at a monastery. I could either teach English to primary grade students in a classroom or the monks in a monastery where I would teach basic English skills. I would be responsible for my own lesson plans. Since I think that teaching monks would be an incredible opportunity, I would like to do this. The cost here is $270 for one week, $370 for two weeks up to $1220 for 12 weeks.

Just a couple more things before I end this part of volunteering abroad. First, the weekends would be mine to explore the area and take short trips. What a way to see the world. Helping and learning about other cultures and seeing the sights they are known for.

The second is while it is not necessary, I would take the TEFL course to help my teaching English to foreign students. It can be done online, is less than $400, and I have seen where it is from 100 hours to 130 hours in length.

What do you think about volunteering abroad? If you are thinking why not here at home, I have thought about that, also, and another week I will go into what I have found there. But, right now it's all about the world. And I want to see it and I want to be a part of it.

Tomorrow, I am going to give an abbreviated version of all the different projects that people can help with around the world. Teaching English is the one I zeroed in on, but there are tons out there.

Until then...have a great day...
   
   

Volunteering Abroad

As you know, this blog is about change. I started with moving across country, then getting settled in my new state of Florida (which I am still doing), then getting involved with crafts (still doing). Since then, I wrote a book of short stories (and am now in the process of self-publishing) and I have traveled some (Bahamas and Barcelona).

I am now considering adding volunteering abroad to my list. Over the next three days, I am going to write about what I have learned, and what I think I will try first.




The information I have found is so exciting. EXCITING. I love to travel, love to teach and love to write. I have found an avenue to do those three all rolled into one. So far I have found three agencies that promote speaking conversational English to people abroad for the price of an airline ticket.

How it works is you apply and once okayed, you will meet with a group of English-speaking volunteers where you are transferred to a hotel where you will be for approximately one week and you will be required to talk. That's it. Talk. Of course, there is one-on-one talking, but there are also planned activities throughout the day. You sleep there, eat there, talk there, and explore the countryside with new found friends. The following are the three programs I have found:

1. Diverbo.com PuebloIngles will set you up in either Spain or Germany for approximately 6-8 days. You will be talking for about 12-15 hours a day, so be prepared to learn about other cultures as well as to share your culture with the "students". It profiles these "students" as business people who have come for you to help them with their conversational English.
     Once you go online and check out the site, you can see where you will be staying and the calendar of when you may be needed.

2. Angloville.com/teach-english/ will set you up in either Poland, Hungary, Romania, or the Czech Republic. for approximately 1-2 weeks. It operates basically the same as PuebloIngles.
     I have also seen on this site that they do a 3-10 day immersion of conversational English in Dublin, Ireland. The conversationalist would stay in the dormitory at Dublin City University, and the same rules apply. Talk, talk, talk. And I bet there would be a bit of lifting that ale to a conversation about pubs! I am definitely going to do this. Next year. (This year is planned.)


3. Gocambio.com is different from the above two. You go to the website and they have hosts who want to learn something -- from learning Spanish or English to cooking to photography to technology. You then pick out who you would stay with (own room) in their house and you barter your expertise with their desire to learn a skill. To me, it seems like more of a way to make friends because they could show you around, etc. There are many, many countries to choose from, so go, check it out. It would be a great way to help someone learn something and for you to immerse yourself into a new culture, and possibly even meet a new friend or two.

These three are different from teaching English (and that is what I would do when I volunteer around the world) in the fact that the only thing you do do is talk. And talk. And talk. (I can do that!). Also, what sets them apart from the other programs I have found is these are free. The only money you put out is for transportation to the country. You will get free transportation to the venue, and you get a free tour of the major city in the country you have chosen, such as Warsaw or Prague.

Personally, I think this is a great idea to volunteer and see a bit of the world that a tourist does not see.

Tomorrow I am going to go into the agencies that cost.

Until then...have a great day...