FEATHERINYOURHAT.COM

Dealing with the Death of a Spouse

2011-08-03T15:44:00Z

I have had to face a difficult task in recent months and it is dealing with the death of a spouse. As this hasn’t been the easiest of times, I wanted to put my thoughts down to help people try to plan for the unexpected. I am no expert, but these are just some things I have encountered that I feel if I write them down and share them with people, it might make their life a little easier.

Have a will and a power of attorney. I have spoken with so many people that do not have a simple will. This has been a life saver and has helped ease the burden!

I was the one that had set up all the bills and for some unknown reason I had put them all in my husband’s name only. Make sure you put your bills in both of your names. It makes deleting a name a little bit easier.

Don’t put up with anyone’s crap when they say you need to have multiple items that declare your spouse has indeed passed away. I didn’t put up with anything. I did find working with PayPal was one of the most difficult tasks. They want everything including your firstborn. (Yes I’m being facetious!) After several telephone calls and trying to submit all of the documentation they demanded I again called them and got someone that said I needed to submit even more documentation. At this point I had had it and asked the nice person what I could do to get these things changed. I told him I had bent over backward trying to please them and no one else, including the life insurance and stocks, wanted as much as they did. He got the name changed without any further documentation.

Make lists! This is an overwhelming process and making a list and marking things off and adding things as you think of them helps. It helps to see progress and as I would mark off something on the list I would feel like I finally got something accomplished. I don’t feel like it is a bad thing to add something to the list. The way I would look at adding an item is it is one less thing I have to remember. If it is on the list it will get done when I get to it. (I’m still keeping lists, it still helps after 2½ months.)

Don’t expect to get everything done at once. That will never happen. You still have things you have to do on a daily basis and all the other stuff gets done when you can. It would be nice if you could just blink your eyes and everything would be taken care of, but it doesn’t happen that way. I had some neighbors tell me their mother is still trying to get through things 2 years after the death of her husband.

Don’t let people tell you that you shouldn’t make any major decisions before a year after a spouse’s death. Life goes on and so do your feelings and needs. I am living in a huge home and it was big before Dan died. We had talked often of selling the house and moving to something smaller, maybe even moving to a new state or country. This was an easy decision for me and one that was almost instantaneous. Nine weeks after Dan died I had to put our 14 year-old dog down. It makes the house even that much bigger.

I also found out shortly after Dan’s death that I needed to do something about the automobile situation. My car was 22 years old and having air conditioner problems and was stalling. We had talked about getting it repaired right before his death. Dan’s car was going on 11 years. I needed a car that could haul things and Dan’s car could not do that. Again, if I had listened to the people that said don’t make any major decisions for one year, I may not have the transportation I need.

Go through things at your own pace. Do not let anyone force you to get rid of anything until you are ready. Every so often, when time permits, I tackle another drawer in the office or a pile of things. Don’t get me wrong, my family has been more than helpful. Without their help I wouldn’t be as far along as I am. But they gave me the space I needed to get things done at my pace. No I still haven’t gone through the clothes, but that will come when I’m ready.

Understand that you have to start thinking on your own. After so many years it can be overwhelming, but you have to do it. I often think, would Dan have done it this way, or if Dan were here we would do this. I have had to do many things I had no desire to ever do in my life. It’s amazing to realize how many things your spouse took responsibility for. I always knew he did these things, it just amazes me the time and effort it took. I never wanted to do the hardware stuff for technology, that was Dan’s job, he liked doing it. I don’t, but I have had to learn. Just a few days ago I was griping at my brother that if he had bought the MacBookPro when Dan was alive I wouldn’t have to deal with trying to help him out, Dan would be doing it.

This fantastic quote came across my e-mail today from Abraham-Hicks and it puts the way I feel about death into the best possible terms. I hope this will help others.

We're not wanting to be insensitive to what so many of you are feeling, but we are very much wanting you to put this death thing in the proper perspective: You are all going to die! Except there is no death. You're all going to make your transition into Non-Physical. It is time to stop making your transition into Non-Physical sound like a subject that is uncomfortable and begin acknowledging that it is something that happens to everyone. This death thing is so misunderstood that you use it to torture yourself never-endingly and just absolutely unnecessarily. There are those who feel such fulfillment of life and such Connection to Source Energy, who understand that there is no separation between what is physical and Non-Physical; who understand that there is not even a lapse in consciousness, that "death" is a matter of closing one's eyes in this dimension and literally opening one's eyes in the other dimension. And that, truly, is how all death is, no matter how it looks, up to that point.. The re-emergence into Source Energy is always a delightful thing.
--- Abraham

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Why Do Men Think Women are Inept?

2011-07-11T19:40:05Z

I have been wondering of late, why some men think women are inept at mechanical details. In the past few weeks this has happened to me three times and I’m getting a bit tired of it.

My Father used to work six days a week and Sunday was his only day off. My Mother, being the saint that she was, always let my Dad go golf on Sundays because he worked so hard. She always told me however, “Don’t expect your husband to do any of the work around the house or to fix anything, "Do It Yourself!” So that is what I have been doing all my life.

As it happens, I married a man that was not mechanically inclined. He didn’t like doing that type of work and so therefore I have done it all. I used to tease Dan that he was not allowed to use power tools. We have a canister vacuum cleaner and one time when I was out of town he decided he was going to surprise me and vacuum the house. He ran over is toes. He loved using my power tools, but I always had to be there to make sure he was safe.

When I wanted something I would ask for it for Christmas or my birthday. I have asked and received a few drills, augers, an awl, a Little Giant ladder with all the accessories, and numerous other tools that I needed to get something done around the house. I have fixed the sprinkler systems on two (2) houses, installed a dishwasher and disposals, chopped wood into kindling, repaired my husband, Dan’s car, when he went over a parking block and the front fender popped out, plus many other things.

A couple of weeks ago I came in from working in the yard and went straight upstairs to take a shower. To my surprise it was cold! That was one of the quickest showers I’ve taken in a long time. The frigid water was a bit perplexing as we just installed a new hot water heater 2 ½ years ago. I finished with my shower and went downstairs to see the basement flooded around the hot water heater. I called the company that installed the hot water heater and they had someone come right over. It was a young man in his mid to late 20’s. When they installed the new hot water heater they also installed a thermal expansion unit. This is about a one (1) gallon tank that sits above the hot water heater. When this young man, I’d like to say boy, but then that would tell you my age, looked around he found the blue bolt on this expansion unit had loosened itself. He comes over to me and said it needed to be checked every once in awhile and then he proceeds to say, “righty tighty, lefty loosy.” This made my blood boil, but I bit my lip and didn’t say a word.

I am also having my house painted. Our front porch faces south and gets the beating sun on it all year long. When it snows the snow sits on the top railing as well. Because of this I have had to completely sand then prime and paint the railing once and I was working on it again, thinking I would be painting the house myself. But I decided to have the house painted because I just didn’t have the time. The painter was asking me if my husband had sanded the railing. I looked at him with this rather stern look and said, no I did it and this is the second time I’ve done it.

So today, the same painter wanted to plug in an extension cord so they could play music and he went to the backyard outlet. I get a knock on the door and he said, this outlet doesn’t work, have you used it. I said I use it every week when I mow. He thinks the light needs to be on, which it doesn’t. I told him, quite possibly it’s because you guys just power washed this side of the house and the outlet is wet, but I’ll go check the breaker. It wasn’t the breaker but I did plug it in the house so they could have their music.

So for all you men out there that think all women are inept at anything mechanical, be forewarned. I’m not going to be so nice the next time some man assumes I don’t know anything!

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Rising Cost of Medical Insurance

2011-05-04T16:29:00Z

We have been notified that my husband, Dan’s medical insurance is going to be increasing by about 70% starting next month. We have been paying over $373 a month for pretty poor insurance as it is. He has a $5100 deductible that has to be met before the insurance company even considers paying for anything. They have informed us they are increasing his medical insurance premiums to over $630 a month!

So I asked our insurance agent what the problem is. I have to say, she has not been the best insurance agent but I’ve stayed with her. She said, well it’s a combination of Obamacare and Colorado laws mandating coverage for everyone. The kicker here is Dan has to be covered for maternity!

I am not on this insurance policy. In fact, I have not had medical insurance for at least three years. I am trying to understand what makes these insurance companies think Dan could get pregnant? Are there some really unique experiments out there that Dan is going to participate in and become pregnant? Is there anyone else thinking, “huh?”

If anyone in the United States did not think this was going to be the result of Obamacare, then you have been living in the dark ages. Nothing is free. Someone has to pay for the people that cannot afford to have insurance..

We have been self-employed since 1990 and have had to cover ourselves and our employees ever since. As a small company, insurance was not always such a burden. When we first started our business, insurance was relatively inexpensive. But over the years with mandates from the various governments, insurance rates have skyrocketed!

I have informed Dan that if something happens to me, please just let me die. I can’t afford to be kept alive!

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Easter and Potato Salad

2011-04-27T15:49:00Z

I’ve been thinking this week how late Easter was this year. Easter to our family means we can start having potato salad and pasta salad for the year. It was always a tradition with our Mom that the first big bowl of potato salad was served on Easter Sunday. She also would make ham, pickled eggs, which none of us kids would eat and still will not eat, some type of vegetable, homemade rolls and some type of cake with some type of coconut icing that none on us kids seemed to like. We had all of the Easter basket candy to eat so I’m sure we didn’t really want any cake at that point anyway.

Suffice it to say, we are very delayed in beginning to have potato salad and pasta salad for the year. It’s kind of like not wearing white shoes until Easter and never wearing white shoes after Labor Day. These were just things that one did not do as we were growing up. It must stem from our West Virginia background.

On top of not having potato salad until Easter, the recipe of our Mother’s potato salad is special. But she did not give any of us the true recipe because it was just trial and error. There were no measurements, nothing written down. My daughter, Page, hates this. She wants so much to make potato salad but my recipe has no measurements and when I do make it and she watches I just say, it’s all about how it tastes. I think she growls every time I say this. I am listing the ingredients below, but I can’t give you any idea as to how much of what goes in there. I just taste until I get something close. We think the secret ingredient to Mom’s potato salad was “LOVE.”

So this year with Easter so late I was wondering what made it so late in the first place. I don’t recall Easter ever falling this late in April. I thought it had something to do with the Christian calendar with Lent, but actually had no idea.

I had to do some research. The timing of Easter actually is a mixture of ecclesiasticism and astronomy, which was worked out by the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.

Easter must follow the spring equinox with regards to the pagan tradition of spring festivals. For convenience the Council set it for March 21st even though it can fall on March 20th.

Easter must closely follow a full moon in order to light the way for the pilgrims to travel to the festivals. The Council arbitrarily set the 14th day as the day for the Jewish Passover “paschal month” (in the Jewish calendar it is the lunar month when the full moon occurs after the equinox) as the day of the full moon.

Easter must follow the Jewish Passover to avoid conflicts.

Easter must fall on a Sunday.

The full moon this year was March 21st and the next lunar month would begin on April 4th. Therefore Passover was April 18th and Easter is then the next Sunday or April 24th this year.

Only once in the past 100 years has Easter fallen so late and that was in 1886. It will not fall this late again in this century. The earliest possible date Easter can occur is March 22nd. The last time Easter occurred this early was in 1818 and it will not occur this early in this century.

Potato Salad

Potatoes	Onion Salt
Eggs	Celery Salt
Onions	Celery Seed
Pickles (Pickle Juice or Sugar)	Mayo
Salt	Mustard
Pepper	Milk
Garlic Salt

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Simply From Scratch Carrot Cake

2011-04-20T15:55:00Z

As my family can tell you I am not much of a cook. I don’t particularly like to cook. I use the crock pot a lot! It’s my best friend in the kitchen when it comes to cooking. When I do try to cook something that is considered gourmet, something out of my comfort zone it usually ends in a total failure! My comfort zone, by the way, is simple back home cooking, biscuits and gravy type of food.

However, I do love to bake! I love to make cakes, cookies, a secret family recipe of fudge, pies, bread, anything that I can find that stimulates my creative side.

Every year on my family members’ birthdays they always get the cake, pie, or whatever, of their choice. My sister Andi likes german chocolate cake, my daughter Page usually asks for a chocolate cream pie, my husband Dan has changed throughout the years.

This week Dan has celebrated his 62nd birthday, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday cake. (That’s a generic term for me because everyone knows whatever type of dessert they want they get.) His favorite used to be chocolate cream pie or coconut cream pie. It is now carrot cake. This used to also be my Mom’s favorite and I would make it for her birthdays.

None of those box cakes or pie crusts from the grocery store for me! No, I have to make everything from scratch. It just makes me happy!

Years ago I found one of those booklets at the grocery store checkout stands called “Simply from Scratch” by Pillsbury. To tell you how long ago it was when I found this booklet, it cost $2.25. Is there anything out there now that costs $2.25?

It’s not birthday cake without ice cream! My daughter, Page, has been telling us about Blue Bell ice cream for about two (2) years now. Page’s former supervisor, Colleen Nicholas, told Page how great Blue Bell ice cream is and every time she would go to Flagstaff, Arizona they would try to find it. Dan searched on the internet about a year ago to see if there was any place in our area that carried Blue Bell. At that time we couldn’t find a store that carried it. However, we went into WalMart this past weekend and found some so we decided to try it. The flavor brought me back to when my Dad would make homemade ice cream. What a delight this ice cream is! There is nothing better, except my Dad’s homemade ice cream.

Below is the recipe for the carrot cake, not the ice cream. I have had to change the icing recipe because Dan likes a layer cake and I have to increase the icing so there is PLENTY to go around. The more the merrier. (I told him this year I didn’t want to know what it did to his blood sugar.)

Carrot Cake with Creamy Supreme Frosting

2 ½   cups unbleached flour
2       teaspoons baking soda
1       teaspoon cinnamon, if desired (I usually add extra)
1       teaspoon salt
2       cups sugar
1       cup oil
2       teaspoons vanilla
2       eggs
2       cups shredded carrots (I usually add more than 2 cups)
8 ¼   oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained (They don’t make this size anymore so I just get the small can.)
½      cup raisins
½      cup chopped nuts
We don’t particularly like the raisins and nuts so I don’t add these.

We also live at high altitude, above 3500 feet so:
Increase flour to 2 ¾ cups
Decrease sugar to 1 ½ cups
(This time I actually forgot to adjust the recipe for high altitude and the cake came out so moist. Dan told me to forget to adjust the recipe from now on.)

Creamy Supreme Frosting
(This is what the recipe calls for.)
8       oz. package cream cheese, softened (As cream cheese now comes in soft I buy that.)
2 ½   cups powdered sugar
6       tablespoons margarine or butter, softened (I always bake with butter. Julia Childs would be so proud!)
2       teaspoons vanilla
1       cup coconut
½      cup chopped nuts (Again, I don’t add these.)

Here is the Creamy Supreme Frosting recipe with the ingredients increased .

1 ½   cups package cream cheese, softened
3 ¾   cups powdered sugar
8       oz. butter, softened
4       teaspoons vanilla
2       cups coconut (or more)
1       cup chopped nuts (I don’t add these)

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 13x9 inch pan. (I use two (2) eight inch rounds.) Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. In large bowl, combine sugar, oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla and eggs; beat well. Stir in flour mixture; mix well. Stir in carrots, pineapple, raisins and ½ cup nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely. (I bake these for 45 minutes and then usually have to add about 5 more minutes, but I don’t want to over bake.)

In medium bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, margarine and 2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in coconut and ½ cup nuts. Spread over cooled cake.

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What is ISO and where can you find it on your digital camera?

2011-04-13T15:38:00Z

Every camera is different when looking for the settings you want for each photograph. I will be using the Canon 5D Mark II DSLR and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 point and shoot. These are both representative of most camera types and you can usually find the same settings on your camera by looking for similar information.

The ISO setting refers to the film speed. Even though we don’t use film cameras much anymore, the ISO setting has the same function for digital cameras. ISO determines the sensitivity to the light. ISO speeds vary on each camera. My Canon 5D Mark II starts at 100 and can go up to 6400. The Panasonic Lumix goes from 80 up to 1600. There is an automatic setting for each camera. If you are in a hurry and want to get the photograph right away, use the automatic setting. Digital cameras do a fair job of automatically selecting the ISO for the type of photograph you are taking. However, if you are trying to set the shot or you are taking several photographs at an occasion and are going to be in the same situation, manually set your ISO to the film speed that will be appropriate.

The general rules for ISO settings are:

Use an ISO of 100 or 200 when taking photographs outside.
If you have a cloudy day or early evening ISO settings between 400 and 800 are best.
Night time shooting requires a much higher ISO and you would want to set your cameras ISO to 1600.

So now you are probably asking, so why not set your cameras ISO to 1600 and leave it at that. The higher the ISO the more grainy your photograph will be. Therefore you need to use the lowest possible ISO setting.

Another question that is often asked is where can I find my ISO settings?

On the Canon 5D Mark II and other DSLR cameras on the top right there is a LCD screen and several buttons in front of this screen. One of the buttons says ISO. Click this button and the ISO number will appear in the LCD screen. You would then move the Main Dial in front of the buttons and LCD screen to the appropriate ISO setting.

With the Panasonic Lumix and other point and shoot cameras you need to have your camera set to the Normal Picture mode where the dial looks like an outline of a camera. Click the menu button. At the top of the menu on the LCD will be some diagrams. Go to the one that will say Auto or ISO. Then you just move the arrow key to what ISO setting you desire.

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Changing Perspective

2011-02-23T15:26:00Z

There are times in a photographer’s life that taking photographs is more of a hurried thing. We normally like to take our time and frame our shots in the viewfinder. Less work at the end of a shoot!

However, there are those times when you have to hurry up to take a photograph. Below is one such instance. I was darting in and out of traffic, trying to frame the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe at 5:30 p.m. The sun was setting, the sky was a marvelous blue and the shadow from the front tree was just right.

But as you can see, the vertical lines of the cathedral are angling together at the top of the photograph. In some cases the photographer may intentionally want this effect. Here is a photograph, not intentionally taken this way, but it does serve the purpose. This photograph was taken in the majestic Redwood forest in California. The redwoods are dense and the sky peaks through the towering giants.

So how does one go about changing the perspective without having to purchase expensive software? There is a less expensive way, but you still have to purchase software.

I use Photoshop Elements 9 (PSE). Open the photo you want to change the perspective in PSE, click Filter and go down to Correct Camera Distortion. A window will open with the photograph in a grid. On the right hand side of this window are the controls for vignette, Perspective Control and Edge Extension. Under Perspective Control is a toggle for Vertical Perspective, which we will be working with in this photograph. Move your toggle switch to accommodate the way you want to reposition your photograph. When you have the vertical lines the way you want them click OK.

You will be taken back to the original window and your photograph will look like trapezoid. Next step is to take the Crop tool and crop the photograph to your liking.

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How To Use a Simple Flip Video To Generate Referrals

2011-01-26T17:25:00Z

This is got to be one of the most ingenious ideas I have come across in a long time. I read it on this weeks Joeann's Tuesday Tips! The video is called "How To Use a Simple Flip Video To Generate Referrals." This video is an interview by Michael Kiska aka "That Interview Guy" and he is interviewing real estate agent Shannon King.

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T15:47:00Z

I know everyone is extremely busy this time of year. With shopping, baking, wrapping presents, decorating the tree, there doesn't seem to be enough time to sleep. Late nights and early mornings don't stop even at Christmas.

I just wanted to share a short video to bring some Christmas joy into your hearts. I hope everyone is finding someone to snuggle close to this year!

Merry Christmas! Here's to a Fantastic 2011!

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Thanksgiving Thoughts

2010-11-24T15:31:00Z

Through the Law of Attraction I have been able to learn just how important it is to be grateful for everything I have. No matter how difficult the day, the last thing I do every night is take time to reflect upon what I am grateful for. Of course the list includes the most important people in my life, my home, food on the table, etc. So on those days that are trying, hectic, hair-pulling nightmares, what can I be grateful for? Most of the time I am grateful for the fact that I have the patience to work out the problems of the day in a relatively calm manner.

I have learned that even the things I detest doing, dusting, the necessary yard work, house cleaning, cooking on some occasions, cleaning the bathrooms, these too are things I am grateful for. I am grateful I have a warm home, one that I have to dust and clean the bathrooms. I am grateful I have the ability to go outside and enjoy the wonders that abound in my backyard while doing the back aching work that needs to be done. I am grateful for having electricity and gas to cook with and warm our home. So even the things I do not like to do there is always a sense of gratefulness in my mind as I go about my work.

Thanksgiving just annunciates my gratefulness. I will be traveling today to go visit my daughter. She needs her mother to come for a brief visit and I am so happy to oblige. I am grateful we had some money in the account that I could fly to Memphis and spend some much-needed time with my daughter. I’m sorry that my husband could not come with me, however, we have an older dog that just cannot be left in the kennel anymore. But we are grateful that we still have the dog around to enjoy and that my husband is willing to stay home to dog sit.

I have learned there is a rainbow at every turn in my life. All I have to do is sit back and watch it happen. There is a reason for everything and I look at everything with a positive attitude.

So with the warmth of family and friends around you, take the time to think of everything you are grateful for. Everything that happens in life has meaning and if you look at the positive it will all be good.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Give Thanks for All You Have!

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

At Last Help with the Shopp Plug-in

2010-11-03T15:42:00Z

There are times when even a virtual assistant needs help. Such is the case with the website I’m designing for Art & Cuisine Adventures. I have specific things I have in mind for this website and the shopping cart. I tried a few of the free plug-ins on WordPress but was not entirely happy with their capabilities. Don’t get me wrong, they are good plug-ins but I have this vision in my head what needs to be done and they didn’t have the capabilities I wanted.

I enquired at Studio Press as the theme I am using is one of theirs. The consensus was to use Shopp. Everyone said this plug-in had the most customizability and would suit me fine. I investigated the plug-in and what the capabilities were and decided to go with it.

But I have struggled! The tutorials were vague and difficult to understand. Shopp uses template API and I just could not grasp this concept. I read, re-read and asked some questions. The answers were never direct and here is how you do it. They were more, "here read this," which I had already done no less than twice before. I have since found there are a lot of people that are completely disenchanted with this plug-in, myself included. I was at my wits end!

I decided to put a question on the LinkedIn group “Shopp Plug-in for WordPress.” The consensus for this group was how difficult the tutorials are and it is easy once you can master exactly how to work with template API. I then asked a question to see if there was anyone I could hire to help me.

In the mean time I put projects on eLance and VWorker. I received no bids from VWorker at all. eLance was different. I did get several bids on this project however, most of them were from overseas and I specifically asked for North American providers and received all but one bid from overseas providers. The North American bidder took the assumption he had the job, which rankled me.

So what was I going to do?

I finally got a direct message from someone on the Shopp Plug-in for WordPress group and we were back and forth with e-mails. Through these e-mails I realized Lori Berkowitz of Beedragon Web Services knew the Shopp plug-in and would be able to customize the php language. I am so excited about the work Lori has already done and what is getting accomplished now!

Everyone needs help at one time or another. Help is out there if you ask. Be persistent! Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Photographs Around Kanab, Utah

2010-10-20T16:49:00Z

I have been pretty busy lately and have not had a chance to write a blog post. I thought it might be nice to share some of my photography with everyone. I hope you all enjoy the beauty of the Southwest. These photographs were all taken around Kanab, Utah. We would go visit our daughter Page when she was working for the National Forest Service doing archaeological surveying. This is a spectacular area of the United States and a place I want to go back to photograph a lot. The colors in this area are so vibrant.

Bryce Canyon , Utah HDR Photography

Bryce Canyon, Utah - HDR Photography

Playing with the sun and trees - Bryce Canyon

These clouds remind me of an eagle - Bryce Canyon, Utah

I'm wondering if you can tell, I adore dead trees! - Pahreah, Utah

The beauty of the Cactus! It has its thorns to protect itself and produces a bounty of color. It also offers lifesaving water. - Pahreah, Utah

An old mining cart wheel, the mine entrance is just to the top right of the wheel.

Pahreah, Utah

Pahreah, Utah

Pahreah , later spelled Pariah, was settled in the 1870's above the Pahreah River. This area flourished with nuts, vineyards and vegetables and later the settlers ran cattle in the canyons. Pahreah also served as a Hollywood set for many films and television series.

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How to Help Your Client as a Virtual Assistant

2010-10-13T15:22:00Z

I home schooled my daughter, Page, from fourth grade through high school. But it hasn’t stopped there. As she has progressed through college and now graduate school, I am still her sounding board and editor for most of her papers. It amazes me how little I edit these papers now as I did when she first entered college. Now I ask questions and make grammar suggestions.

Being her teacher for all those years she still relies on me for my help and I gladly do what I can. These past two weeks have been such an occasion and I have been able to help with some resources I have utilized a lot in my virtual assistant business.

Page has a paper due this next week and she needed at access The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Giza Archives. She was not able to see the photographs of the tombs or the other information she needed for this paper. This was not only a problem on her Mac computer, but she even tried the school’s PC and could not access the pages she needed. Obviously there were several calls asking for help.

Some people may think how in the world did you help from Colorado? This is definitely not a problem for someone that works as a virtual assistant. I utilize so many things that make my life easier.

The first problem was getting photos taken of the information she needed. As I use a MacBook Pro, I have several widgets that I use on a daily basis. Widgets are much like iPhone applications. One of these widgets is called Screenshot Plus. This widget allows you to take a full screen grab, timed full screen, grab a window, grab a widget or drag a picture. Basically, you can take a picture of almost anything on your computer screen and save it on your hard drive. This made taking pictures of the 56 photographs and the numerous diary pages fairly easy.

The next step was to get these files to Page. Again, not a problem. I utilize DropBox for this type of information. I also use DropBox for a couple of other clients I have and have found it extremely useful. I have also used DropBox to share photographs with family, friends and clients. It is extremely easy to use and is free. Free is always good in my book. Everything I put into DropBox is secure and even if I share it, I can be specific as to who is allowed to share these folders.

All I did was create a new folder for Page and share it with her by adding her e-mail address in the share window. As I took photos of the information and photographs she needed, I saved them to my desktop and dragged them into the DropBox folder I created. As soon as I put them into the folder, she was able to retrieve and download whatever I put in the folder.

Utilizing these free tools always makes my life easier.

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Amazing People on LinkedIn

2010-10-06T15:38:00Z

Since starting my business almost two (2) years ago, it has been hammered into my head how important social networking can be. It is hard to remember to get on the big three social networking sites everyday. I try to open TweetDeck at least once a day to see what is happening and to re-tweet information I feel that need to share information for my clients, myself and my family, and see what some of my favorite tweeters are saying.

I also try to get on Facebook once a day to see what is happening with the many friends I have. I check my favorites and then I usually get off as there are so many other things I need to do.

The one social network I do not use as much as I should is LinkedIn. However, that is definitely something that will be changing.

I am thinking about upgrading my camera body, I have a Canon 10D that was state of the art back in 2003. But I need something newer with more capabilities and state of the art technology. Don’t get me wrong I love my camera! I have no problems with it other than I keep getting little hairs on the mirrors. Could that be my dog?

I will be using my camera more and more in the very near future with Art & Cuisine Adventures and I am thinking I should have something that is not so dated.

Dan, my husband, went on-line and looked at what was available and what was in our price range. Of everything out there the 7D or 60D looked to be similar and within our price range. Then I finally got the idea I should check out some of the groups on LinkedIn that I have joined and remembered I joined Canon EOS Digital Photography. I decided to put a question on this group asking what their thoughts and recommendations would be.

The response has been amazing and it has been so informative. Instead of looking at the 60D and 7D cameras exclusively, I am now going to be looking at the 5D Mark II as well.

I have joined a couple of other groups on LinkedIn and have joined some of the discussions.

If you haven’t taken the time to join LinkedIn you really need to. The groups are so helpful and it has been so wonderful to receive the information people are so free with sharing.

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

There's Gold In Them Thar Hills

2010-09-29T15:17:00Z

There are many venues we are exploring for Art & Cuisine Adventures, another iron I have in my fire, Aspen, Colorado is one of those we are looking to include in our adventures. We decided we needed to take the trip up to Aspen to find the perfect venue for our June 2011 trip. Those going were Dan, (husband) Andi, (sister) Mack (brother-in-law) and myself. I get my camera equipment ready because the fall colors in Colorado are spectacular. I know everyone from the northeast part of the United States will scoff at this, however, we do love our golden aspens. As I like to say, “There’s Gold in Them Thar Hills!”

I start taking the camera out when we get to Snowmass (just outside of Aspen). It has been almost 30 years since Dan and I have been to Aspen and we always would go for the John Denver concert that helped support the Aspen Deaf Camp. We would take food, drink, blankets or chairs and drive on a dirt road up to the base of a ski run and sit, dance, drink and enjoy the music. There was nothing in Snowmass 30 years ago except the ski runs. It amazed me how built up this area has become. There are huge five star hotels, large expansive homes, a golf course, parks, the list goes on and on. I suppose this is called progress but it made me a little sad. We did not know about a hot air balloon ascension otherwise I would have been there much earlier. But we started seeing the turning of the aspens. The gold of the aspens in amongst the dark forest green pine trees is so dynamic.

During our stay I wanted to go up Aspen Mountain via the gondola to take photographs of the valley and surrounding areas. I saw it on Sunday when we arrived, but everyone wanted to watch the Bronco game and they said we could do it the next day. Little did we know after Labor Day the gondola only runs on the weekends. So my expectations were dashed. I’ll just have to do this in June.

We had appointments looking at possible venues on Monday but found some time Monday afternoon to drive up to the Maroon Bells for photo opportunities. It started out as a cool day and turned to rain the higher we drove. But the scenery up Maroon Creek Road is still something to behold!

Dan and I decided to get up early Tuesday morning as we didn’t have a confirmed appointment until 1:00 p.m. We left Aspen around 7:15 a.m. We thought we would be too late as the sun was rising rapidly, however with the mountains that surround the Bells we did a lot of standing around and waiting. But the sun did rise and Maroon Lake was very cooperative. The wind was just a light breeze allowing for the magnificent reflection on the water!

There are some photographs I am not happy with and was wondering what settings I really needed to change to improve some of the color. The maroon color of the Bells washed out a bit from the sunshine and I was thinking I needed to change the ISO (International Organization for Standardization or more simply, films sensitivity to light) setting and also the white balance setting. The ISO should have been set at 100 or 200. I think I had it set at 400. I am a fairly lazy person when it comes to the settings in my camera. I have just started to use more of the settings and playing around. I should have changed the white balance to possibly the shade mode. I have always set it to AWB (automatic white balance) as cameras are getting more sophisticated.

Wednesday dawns with a beautiful cloudy sun rise and then the mist starts again. This is the day we are driving home and I want to go over Independence Pass. I decided to keep my camera set on AWB and ISO 400 as the clouds were getting thicker. But the gold of the quaking aspen still abound on the road up to Independence. We stop every few hundred yards or so to jump out of the cars and take photographs. We finally come across the beginnings of the mine workings and the ghost town of Independence. Independence was built because of the gold fields and as a stagecoach stop/lay over for people who were traveling over Hunter’s Pass. Needless to say, the town died when the train came through Aspen. I have really always wondered what would possess people to try to build homes at 11,000 feet above sea level.

The Aspen Historical Society decided to preserve this site with the help of the U.S. Forest Service. 30 years ago there were corrugated tin roofs lying about and it was not as tidy. My daughter Page, the archaeologist, said this site is basically for tourists as they have gone in and added things to structures now instead of keeping it as an archaeological site. But it is still fun to photograph these old buildings.

There were several other stops along the way to Leadville and we stopped at many. By the time we hit Leadville Andi and I were cold and wet and just wanted some hot chocolate to warm our bones. We found, as Andi said, "the only restaurant in town." But a fantastic restaurant it was. If you ever go through Leadville, stop at The Golden Burro. The food is fantastic!

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Amazing Night Out at Canvas and Cocktails

2010-09-22T15:09:00Z

If you think you have absolutely no artistic talent for painting, you will have to take a back seat to me. There are many things I love to do creatively, and I think I am pretty good at some very creative activities. However, painting and drawing are not one of them. I have no qualms with telling you I cannot draw or paint! However, my sister Andi found a place in Cherry Creek, Colorado that is called Canvas and Cocktails and it looked like a blast! Plus we wanted to check this out to incorporate something fun like this into our adventures for Art & Cuisine Adventures.

I have to tell you this is absolutely a riot and you will come away from the evening smiling. If you ever get the chance to go to Canvas and Cocktails, do not pass it up! You will want to go back again and again. Make sure you take family or friends to make the experience even more delicious.
There is no pressure. Brittney Wilson, the artist and creator of Canvas and Cocktails, was so upbeat and cheerful you couldn’t help but enjoy yourself. She made everyone feel like they could paint a masterpiece.

You didn’t have to follow the step-by-step instructions if you didn’t want to. However, I do believe 99% of the class did the exact painting Brittney was demonstrating. She took it one baby step at a time and between each step we got great music and lots of laughter. Of course the evening was helped out by the availability of cocktails. Those who did imbibe didn’t have any better a time than those who abstained. How could this not be a fun evening with family and friends, doing something you are completely inept at doing?

Mack, Andi’s husband, thought he would be bored. Au Contraire! He enjoyed himself as much as the rest of us.

Brittney asked right up front, how many people consider themselves a “Type A” personality? There were numerous hands that flew up. She said, not to worry, this night is for fun and frivolity and to not stress about your painting not coming out the way you imagine. Keep it light and enjoy yourselves.

The end of the evening came too soon. Everyone held up their paintings, a table at a time so we could all see how other people worked their wonders. It was interesting to see the different variations of the same painting throughout the room. Dan, Andi, Mack and I all saw other ways people had painted and done things differently and we all saw things we wished we had done differently. But in the end it was all about the companionship and the enjoyment of sharing an evening together.

What an ice-breaker this will be for Art & Cuisine Adventures!

Our Final Masterpieces!

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Secrets of Using Google Maps

2010-09-15T15:07:00Z

I had used Google Maps for a website for San Antonio Riverwalk Rentals. There were two areas that I made Google Maps for this website: Restaurants and Attractions and Parking. This enables visitors of the website to see what is close by and what they might like to visit when they get to San Antonio. The Parking page gives directions for different parking garages in the area and below is a map of these garages, making it simple to know where to park, the cost and how far these garages are from the condominium.

I had some trouble at first trying to get the maps to work the way I wanted. It was a trial and error experience. I looked at YouTube for some videos and did some reading before I got started. Google has some quirks that can be a bit infuriating, but for the most part, it is fairly simple to get the map to fit your desires.

My sister and I are heading up to Aspen, Colorado to do some scouting for Art & Cuisine Adventures. We are planning this adventure for August/September time frame next year. So there are hotels/ranches we need to visit and talk with to see what venue would best support our guests and unique learning vacation.

With eight (8) location possibilities to investigate, I was finding it a daunting task to try to figure out the best way to visit these venues. So I decided I would just put together a Google Map that would map all of the locations and make it easier to get around.

As I work with real estate agents, I was thinking this would be a good tool for their websites. Real estate agents could have a map of all their listings and they would be able to put information in the description boxes, a photo, and include a link to their website for more information.

The possibilities are endless to use Google Maps on their websites.

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Memphis Memories on the Canon SD700 IS

2010-09-08T14:57:00Z

We finally make it to Memphis. We were tired and just really wanted to find the campus and see where we would be unloading the trailer. But we really didn’t want to drag the trailer around for 2 days and had to unhitch it from the car and lock it to the light post. As we were finally finishing this task, out comes a very nice man that works at the Hampton Inn. He said he was coming out to help and I told him, with a wink, he was too late and wasn’t that convenient. We laughed and talked a while longer.

That evening the moon was amazing. We tried getting photographs but they didn’t come out as well as I had hoped. Page was also trying her camera but none of them took good pictures of the moon. Page’s other Olympus camera probably would have given us a good photograph, but we were sending it to Olympus because she uses her cameras extensively and in the desert areas she has been working, sand gets into the closing mechanism and it won’t shut correctly.

My husband, Dan, requested I take pictures of the University of Memphis campus. So while Page was to meet one of her professors, I started taking photographs. Playing with the camera more, using different settings in the manual and scene modes. The architecture is unique and I was having a good time. I heard the University band and thought, oh, I can try to use the video setting so I went to take video. I do think you need to practice some with this part of the camera, but it’s nice to have this feature just for these types of events.

The sun was high and the humidity low, at least for Memphis standards, so the reflections in windows and playing with the sun made for some interesting photographs. I love windows and there are some remarkable windows on campus. With the sun and shadows, I think these make interesting photographs.

University of Memphis has two organic gardens on campus that anyone can pick flowers, fruits and vegetables. Page picked a cucumber, some jalapeno and banana peppers. Here I was able to use the macro setting and got some photographs of flowers and butterflies. I like taking the unusual photos that are opposite of what you would want to see. Most people want to see the butterfly in focus, but I waited with the 16x digital zoom for the butterfly to fly away.

Move in day came and of course Page couldn’t check in until after 1:00 p.m. This made it the hottest time of the day to move a lot of boxes and stuff into a 2nd floor apartment. Here I just wanted some quick photographs and used the auto setting.

We met a lot of really nice people in Memphis. There was a group of 26 people we had bumped into at dinner on Friday night when we went to Corky’s. We then bumped into them again Saturday morning at breakfast at the hotel. They were there for a funeral, but they were together as a family and exchanging a lot of laughs and comfort. Page and I kept commenting on some of the beautiful women and how lovely they looked. A little girl came in with an ivory dress, frilly ribbon socks, black patent leather shoes and pearls. They were taking pictures and I commented they needed a better backdrop than the thermostat and they should move over by the shears and the window. Then in walks a gentleman in a black-striped suit with a “zoot suit” style jacket. I went up to him and said, “Excuse me. Can I just tell you, you look beautiful.” He said, “Yes you can.”

As we are packing my luggage in the car, flowers from the trees had dropped on the car and Page needed to take pictures.

It was a hard trip, but we met many nice people and had a wonderful time spending time together. It also gave me an appreciation for a point and shoot camera. They are definitely convenient and fairly easy to use and understand.

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Secrets of Using the Point and Shoot Canon SD700 IS

2010-09-01T15:19:00Z

Our road trip to Memphis was exciting! I didn’t take any pictures the first day, I guess I really wanted to just get through Kansas. Kansas and Nebraska have always seemed very daunting to me. It just takes forever to drive through because they are so long from West to East and back again. But we met a lot of really nice people!

I was driving and we were getting close to Salina, Kansas. I noticed the gas gauge was getting low but there wasn’t a lot of stations at this juncture of our trip. Then I got greatly distracted by a huge wind farm on the left hand side of the road, looked to the right and just missed an exit with a Conoco station. The next exit didn’t have any gas stations on the blue signs, so I figured there was nothing there. Too late, there happened to be one but I couldn’t stop on a dime or swerve to get to that station because we were pulling a U-Haul trailer. By this time the gas light had come on, so I slowed the car down to 65 to try to make it to Salina. No such luck. We ran out of gas and coasted to the beginning of the Salina exit and Bosselman Travel Center. I had about a ½ mile walk in rather hot and humid conditions. So we put on the hazard signals, I left Page, my daughter, in the car and off I go.

You have to understand, my Dad would have been so mad at me, but I was thinking about him the whole time I was walking. Back when he owned a gas station, he always had gas cans he would loan out for stranded motorists. Not now. I asked and they had none, but I could buy a five (5) gallon gas can for $25.00. What was I supposed to do, so I bought one. The girl at the counter said it was a shame they didn’t have any to loan out anymore, it was because everyone would just take them. But the gentleman that showed me where the gas cans were, offered to drive me back to Page’s car. I told him it wasn’t necessary, but he said it was too hot to carry 5 gallons of gas ½ mile and he had no qualms about driving me. As I was filling the gas can, he drove up in his car and off we went. He was so nice he even filled up the car for us. So if ever you drive through Salina, Kansas on I-70, please stop at the Bosselman Travel Center, they were all so nice!

We next encountered tolls going into Kansas City, Kansas. I never knew they could put tolls on an Interstate highway, but I guess they can. We stayed the night in Blue Springs, Missouri at the Comfort Inn. The man at the front desk was so helpful and nice, he even called after we had gotten into the room to make sure everything was as we expected.

Up early and going the next morning on our final trek to Memphis. The billboard signs were a hoot. Some of our favorites were:

See the Live 5 Legged Steer

World’s Largest Prairie Dog

World’s Largest Prairie Dog Town

FollowTheYellowBrickRoadTrip.com

Oz Winery

Oz Museum

Kit Carson County Carousel

“Got a Bra Problem?” - Ann’s Bra Shop

Hot Tasty Butts, Piggy’s Bar-B-Que

Caution - Throwed Rolls Ahead

I kept noticing billboard signs for Nostalgiaville. We decided we wanted to stop and have a look around. The funny thing is Page was asking if I thought we would see some Burma Shave signs along the way. I told her I thought they were mainly on back roads, not Interstates. Little did I know we would find them here. This store had so many things that brought back some very fond memories. This is when I started taking pictures! Burma Shave signs, sunglasses, fun!

It took me a while to set the Canon SD700 IS camera. I wasn’t sure of all of the settings and where exactly everything was even though we had just gone over the camera the week before. But I gradually got reintroduced to the camera and started shooting some photographs. I took several of the Burma Shave signs because I was getting many underexposed, but fiddled with what settings to use and how far back to go. The first few signs where in a shady area and I didn’t want the flash on so I set it to manual exposure and daylight.

We went inside and started taking photos of the great sunglasses. These were taken in the auto exposure setting with the flash on. What a great time! We bought two (2) volumes of 50’s and 60’s music CD’s, a chocolate sign, old time candy, “remember the candy cigarettes?” put the CD’s in the CD changer and started down the road toward Memphis.

One thing I found I did not like about the Canon SD700 IS is the viewfinder. My husband never looks through the viewfinder, he always uses the LCD Monitor. We were in Arkansas and noticed the speed limit signs. They have two, one at 75 MPG and one a little smaller that says 65 MPG. Page said, “So which is it? “ Looking closer the one at 65MPG said Truckers. I wanted to take a picture of these but was having a hard time seeing them through the LCD Monitor so thought I would have better luck using the viewfinder. However, if you take a picture when you see the object in the viewfinder, you won’t get what you were looking at. You need to move the object to the upper right hand corner to get what you want in the photo. Needless to say, I gave up.

Next week I will be writing more about the photographs I took in Memphis and I even tried the video setting.

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!

Learning How to Use a Point and Shoot Camera

2010-08-25T15:12:07Z

My daughter, Page, and I are heading to Memphis, Tennessee so she can start a new adventure. She is starting graduate school at the University of Memphis , working on her masters in Egyptology. I wanted to take my camera with me because I have never been to Memphis but I am flying back home and didn’t really have enough hands for all of the carry on luggage I would have including my camera equipment. So I decided I would ask my husband, Dan, if he would show me how to use his Canon PowerShot SD 700 IS. (The “IS” stands for image stabilization.)

I have really never used a point and shoot camera before, unless you want to include my little 110 camera I had as a kid. I don’t know if anyone remembers those cameras, but they were small, inexpensive and you couldn’t really hurt them.

So we sat down for all of 10 minutes for Dan to show me how to work this camera. I have to admit to being a bit hesitant. I wasn’t sure if I could figure out all the bells and whistles to this camera. I figured it had to be a bit complicated. Dan kept telling me, you have a digital SLR, why do you think you wouldn’t be able to learn this camera?

It seems pretty straightforward. There are three (3) settings for camera mode and one (1) for video. Dan keeps the camera on Auto just in case he wants to take a quick picture of something. There are not a lot of options in the mode, but for a quick photograph this is definitely the setting you want to have the camera on to start.

The second setting is Manual and allows for more options in your picture taking. Here you can choose digital macro, exposure levels, automatic white balance, focusing point and color options. “Color options” is nice because you can shoot in black and white and sepia tone.

The last setting is SCN (Scene) which allows you to choose the type of scene you will be taking for a particular photograph. You can pick options such as portrait, outdoor, indoor, etc. You can also choose the exposure you would like.

Being able to choose the exposure level is good if you want to shoot photographs in a series of 3 or 7 for HDR (High Dynamic Range) photographs.

The last setting is for video and I really do not think I will be using this feature in the camera. Dan has used this once while we were in California at Disneyland California Adventures.

I have been impressed with the photographs Dan has produced from this camera. In my next blog post I will have my own photographs I have taken with this camera and give you my take on the ease of use and quality of the photographs.

Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!