“The RoseBouquet”

Time for a bit about Snowflake again. She is becoming a cat of sharp contrasts.

Snowflake is often frisky, racing from one favourite window view to the other at lightening speed as if scared by something. In fact, sometimes she takes some corners too fast, and whimpers as she accidentally skids into some furniture. A few moments later, she’s off and running again. (I’ve begun to wonder if there’s catnip in the new bag of cat food I bought, called Friskies). When she’s in this hyper mood, and I make any sudden move, however innocent, she’s off like a flash, her tail whippin’ tall over her.

I’ve got so when I see her tail dancing with that energetic tick going this way and that, I know she’s up to mischief with a flare!

Then there are times after a long nap when she comes up behind me, stands on her hind legs and taps me on the elbow with her paw, and meows politely for some cuddle time on my lap. She loves to be loved and physically handled and tickled, scratched or rubbed and stroked. I fill her food dishes and she ignores them until I’ve handled her a few minutes. So I tell her she’s a sensuous cat and a glutton for love. When I go to the kitchen she jumps up from a deep sleep and dashes in to join me, and whines like a toddler. Nothing shuts her up but to pick her up and cuddle for a while.

The first few days I had her, Snowflake seemed to have no interest in food or milk or water or anything. I tried various food, including people-food, but she sniffed and turned away. Now all of a sudden she checks the floor wherever I eat and if I’ve dropped a crumb, she wolfs it down. If I put it into one of her dishes, it dries up from neglect, but she wants my crumbs. Go figure that out!

Now for the biggie. I do not sleep well with a bed mate, so from the beginning I have refused to take her to bed with me. I’m very strict about the not-for-you-Snowflake zones in the house. She’s not allowed on my desk, or the kitchen counters or table either. But in the last two weeks she seems to be determined to sneak into bed with me after I’ve fallen asleep. The more devious she gets, the more creative I’ve had to become to discourage this.

I should back up to the first instance maybe a week or two after her arrival. One night I dreamt that a black mouse had leaped onto my blankets over my chest and was staring into my eyes. I freaked out and tossed away the blankets yelling for Snowflake to come get this mouse! Once I got the light on, I took to shaking my quilt and sheets to be sure that wee furry thing was not hiding underneath somewhere. All at once it hit me, mice don’t do such huge flying leaps; it must have been Snowflake! Well, my frantic war scared Snowflake to the other end of the house, and I think she remembered for quite a while that it was not a good idea to sneak up on me like that.

However, in the last two weeks she’s tried it several times. I’ve shooed her off, and chased her all the way to the pantry and slammed the door on her. (Then I opened it just to quickly shove in her litter box). She also crawled under the bed a few times and was scratching away there. So the other Saturday I pulled the bed away and cleaned thoroughly and then stuffed all kinds of foam cushions and boxes that fit tightly under the bed, so there is NO way she can get under there. I also rearranged the stuff at the bottom of my clothes closet right beside the bed, so she could not sneak in there and nest. This morning I discovered that she had found a way over my bed and into my laundry hamper in there!

We do take some short cat naps or Sunday afternoon naps together in the recliner. She’s not allowed there by herself, but when I have my pink fluffy housecoat on, she can curl up on my lap and we nap together. My advantage is that when she stirs I wake and can get back to work.

I realize poor Snowflake is just craving more cuddle time, but with her habit of coming and going through the night… nope, I’m still resolved to sleep alone in my bed. She has her towel on the desk by the window in my bedroom. If that’s not good enough… I will be more resourceful yet!

Thanks to a reminder from Robin, (South Africa) last week, I was able to upload all ten of my aloe-vera-and-handy-herbs.com pages much faster the next day. There’s still more tweaking to do. Then another 20 pages, and I can monetize it and turn this into a profitable little web business. I can hardly wait.

Day after tomorrow is May 1. I had hoped to have some students lined up for my Azaleas Virtual Assistants (AVA) course to start then. If I suddenly get some I can still throw myself into gear to work there, but over the last week or two I’ve been wondering what to do if I don’t get the students. On Sunday afternoon I took time for a prayer retreat to consider my options.

I began to see that not tutoring students over the summer months is not such a bad option. I still think the course plan is a very good idea, and that God is not asking me to cancel it. Rather, that it WILL surely come to pass yet. But it might not hurt to focus the next few months to working here from home mostly, so I can give my current clients more focused time, and also develop and promote my own sites. If I can get a deal with the WTM Board for a holding rent on the office space, I won’t have to get rid of all that I’ve set up there, but can have it ready for whenever the Lord will bring me the right students.

In fact, I really would rather that HE chooses and sends me the students best suited for this course and who could become trustworthy employees in the future. I’ve come away from that afternoon, feeling quite at peace about holding the office in readiness, and settling in here at home to be more productive again. Dividing my time to get that office ready has put me behind in some other things. My own sites have been neglected, and I have done only the most necessary things to keep promises to others.

On top of that, I have nearly all my estimates for the RRAP plan reno work in. I still need two quotes to be turned into me, and for two others to come quote on the eavestroughing jobs. If I can wrap that up in the next week or so, and get all of the quotes in to the inspector, the work may begin in May yet. It would be wise for me to be around here when those workmen come and need to get into the house.

I tell you, being at peace with either of two options is a whole lot more comfortable than dithering and worrying about what might or might not happen.

The other day I was listening online (in the background) to an interview with Marnie Pehrson of ideamarketers.com (she has 19 sites altogether!) and she was explaining the value of writing articles to post online in various places, and how it can greatly increase your publicity and image as someone who knows what she’s talking about - an expert in your field.

I’ve read this before and have in the past started to write and spread my articles with that intent. I believe there is something to it, but good intentions don’t get it done. I’m going to try to schedule in specific times to write articles and I hope after a while to become quite practiced at dashing them off.

If you love to write or are willing to learn I suggest this is a good method of getting good quality promotion for nothing - but your time and the experiences and knowledge you have garnered over the years. It is a skill you can learn. Just do a search online for articles about writing articles and then buckle down and try it.

You have nothing to lose and all kinds of benefits to gain.

(Now, watch me try my own advice).

I want to write more articles to promote my sites and products, but how do I make this an integral part of my life? Good intentions won’t get the work done. Come follow me as I make a plan and discipline myself to follow it until it comes as naturally as my bathroom routine.

First, I’ll make a list of the topics on which I would like to write articles. I’ll use the themes of the websites I work on as triggers. (I’m using abbreviations for the site’s names);
AVHH - articles on unique herbs and how to use them
BE - small business ideas, how to build a web business
RSR - inspirational on friendships, intimacy with God, makeovers, witnessing, and writing tips
AGI - genealogy and family stories, profiles of ancestors
GA - how to give wisely, profiles of worthy missions
manna - publication challenges in third world locations
RTM - Ugandan needs
PMC - challenges to do business in Tanzania
WTM - tract evangelism,
MMLC - log furniture ideas

Whoa, that list is getting so long I might scare myself away! That will do for now.

You will want to take note to not overwhelm yourself at first. Start with a short list. But while you are waiting for inspiration to come, keep making more lists. Where shall we look for the raw resource material to write our articles? Will some take extra research?

I have a handy book on herbs, but I’ll have to do some online research to make sure I don’t gloss over a business idea without checking for other things to include. The inspirational articles I can usually do out of my memory bank and my past, but I need to sit quietly and mull on some of these topics before an idea for an article gels. The profiles of ancestors and worthy missions will take some research too. So would the rest. But then I wouldn’t have to write an article a day on each.

Which brings me to another list part of planning this. How frequently do I need to write an article and how much time should I allow? Also, there is the matter of filing them and posting them - like where?

Okay, in my case, I think I can clear one hour for three mornings a week, but I will have to be flexible as that time may be taken over by some things that have priority. In fact, I have a couple of small jobs that need to be finished first, and then, if I get new clients I may have to sacrifice that time to deal with those jobs. But if I keep in the back of my mind that as soon as those hours clear up they belong to article writing, then I have a basis for a start. Later I may give up some other activities to make more room.

To make sure we don’t stress ourselves out with this, it might be wise to commit only to writing one article a week. If it needs research, I’ll do that on the Monday morning, and write in on the Thursday morning, and polish and post it on Friday. If it seems to really need more work I’ll set it aside, file it in a certain place, and come back to it whenever I run into writer’s block in another week.

Now, what about a plan for the actually writing of an article?

There are a number of articles and books with formulas to make this painless and productive. Each of us needs to experiment a bit first to see what works best for us. Some recommend making a list of 3-5 or 7 solutions to a problem, and describing each in a paragraph or two. Presto, there you have a short article of 300-500 words. Slant the article so the style is personable and talks directly to the reader. In an inspirational article you can tell a touching story, and if you get the reader to sigh with empathy, or smile at the humour in it, you’ve done well. All other articles need to share some practical help or advice. They don’t have to be complicated. The simpler they are the easier the reader can walk away and remember that advice and try it.

One more thing. Work very hard on the little biographical paragraph about yourself as the author that you are allowed to attach at the end of each article. The article directory sites insist that those who come to pick up your article to use on their site or in their ezine, MUST include that final blurb about you and what you do, or your website. That blurb is your gratis advertising, so use it wisely. If that article refers to and recommends a certain product you are selling on your site, be sure to include a url, or web address to the page where you sell it on your website. Then watch your STATs to see how many people come to that page after you have posted your article.

Write a bio something like this;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ruth Marlene Friesen, makes friends everywhere, just like her alter ego,
the heroine of her novel, Ruthe’s Secret Roses. Discover the secrets of
intentional friendship that transforms lives at http://Ruthes-SecretRoses.com.
Find more of Ruth’s articles on writing and publishing here;
http://Ruthes-SecretRosees.com/A/WPub/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last week the weather was so fine, I got eager to start my garden, and spent some time digging it up with a spade, about a 20-30 minute spell after lunch and again after supper. I was about half done. Then Thursday we began to hear about a big doozer of a snow storm to hit this area on Sunday. Friday evening the wind picked up and when I looked out of the window at midnight, behold, the ground was covered with white, and it still looked quite stormy.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny and everything turned to slush. Now the forecasters were saying that this big storm had by-passed us on the west, and was moving northward. We would just have rain on Sunday.

That was true, although there were icy patches in the morning. I had to scrape ice off the car for half an hour before starting out for church. I also had trouble with the padlock on my back gate being iced up. I managed to wiggle the key in and open it.

I thought now we’d go back to spring. Ha! Yesterday the winds were back, and the padlock was more trouble as I left to drive off for some errands and the office. When I came out of my office at 6 pm - Whoa! There was a full-blown snow storm in effect! My driver’s side car door was frozen shut and the once wiper iced up. But when I got to my gate, the padlock just would NOT open. I huffed and puffed on it, and got my key into it, but it would not turn. Finally when my fingers had had it, I drove around to the front and parked on the street in front of my house, praying of course, that no one will skid into it. That’s the main reason I’d taken to parking in the backyard; there’s been several such skidding accidents at this corner.

We are not having the quantities of snow first promised for Sunday, and the sun is supposed to come out tomorrow and things will warm up, but I tell you, today is a great day to have a home business, and no real need to go out anywhere!

Today I think I’ll give you a behind the scenes look at working with my SiteBuildIt! (SBI) site. It’s true that I have many irons in the fire, to use an old cliche, and I only mention one or two each week here, but this one has been more on my mind, and especially yesterday, so if you’d like to see what it’s like to build one of these creme de’ la creme sites, here’s a peek at aloe-vera-and-handy-herbs.com

A quick background; SiteBuildIt! is a proprietary software designed by Ken Evoy of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. You subscribe for a year at a time, and don’t have to know any html to use it. My personal frustration has been that I do know html and almost have to unlearn it to use this system. SBI has many wonderful features, such as great help with brainstorming for the most suitable, profitable topic for your site, and then automated submissions to the search engines, so that you are guaranteed excellent traffic without having to pay heavy duty for it. There is a video training course, to guide you through every step. Most people who try this plan and stick with it become enthusiastic devotees. (Listen to them rave in their ILOVEmySBI videos!

Well, as an affiliate, I’d been reading about these since the beginning, and finally was able to subscribe in November. My efforts to start this Azaleas business really cut back on my time to spend at it. It seemed to be relegated to Saturday evenings, when I was so exhausted I fell asleep. But early in April I resolved to rearrange my schedule to give three mornings a week to my SBI site so I could get further ahead faster. I have now got 10 web pages done. I did my research and built them offline the way I’m used to, but now I need to build them in the SBI software to get them online. That’s where I ran into a challenge yesterday.

My old method is to just drag and drop my completed pages by ftp to the site, and presto, they are ready for the world. In SBI I need to copy and paste the parts into blocks, every element into its own block. Never mind any html coding. (Well, I did sneak in some). Then you have to click the “Analyse It” button. Another window/tab opens, and you get this page of instructions telling you where you don’t have your keyword showing up enough. You need it in your title, description and keywords (meta tags) and in your heading, and a certain percentage of times in the main text of the web page. In my case, I needed it to appear 13 more times. So I went back to fix those spots, or so I thought.

Hit Analyse It again, and this time I’m doing better in the earlier blocks, but I need it to show up in my links and another 7 times in my body. Okay, I go back and edit it some more.

I went back and forth like this on two pages for about two hours. I have never been so fussy with my keywords before! But I’m sure beginning to see that if this system is so fussy, then when it encourages me to hit “Build It” that page will really make all the search engines happy. The traffic should stampede in to this site!

Right now I’m not even sure I will get all the 8 other pages “built” over Thursday and Friday. It depends on how fast I catch on and deal with this matter of keywords. I do believe it will pick up pace as I learn the ins and outs of this system. I do intend to keep adding more and more pages, but I was focusing on a core set to describe aloe vera, and how to care for it, and the benefits.

Once I have 30 pages up or am getting 50 visitors a day I can start adding various methods of monetizing the site. That means things like putting in AdSense codes, and other affiliate ads. I’m looking forward to that - it’s when this site will become an income stream!

Of course, resourceful me, I’m ready to adapt these principles to my other sites. Things should improve all around.

Incidentally, if you want a d-i-y SBI site, go here, SiteBuildIt! If you’d rather pay a bit more and have one of the SiteSell webmasters do all the work for you, (still less than most other webmasters charge) you should check out Services - SiteSell

Psst…! I have an idea…. I don’t know how soon I can pull it off, but I think it will bless the socks off of anyone in my downline at MyPowerMall. I would suggest you join up for a free mall, commit to shopping for at last one item each month, and giving away your link to your mall so your friends and relatives can join up under you. You will benefit from your frugal and usual shopping there, and later, if I can pull off my “bright idea” I can enlarge your downline for you in a unique way.

Last week I ordered some vitamins again from Puritans.com through MyPowerMall, and took advantage of their 2-for-1 sale. A little money goes a long way at some of those mall stores! I’d like you to get such advantages too. MyPowerMall

[I was on a long phone conversation last night, and we were discussing things like discretion, pride and humility. So this morning I'm thinking of this poem I wrote in 1996. It's in my Heart 2 Heart chapbook I hope it speaks a truth to you].

For six weeks I had been mentioning to friends that on Friday, April 11th I would have an eye appointment, and get those dilating drops in my eyes, but I was confident that I would be able to see again in time to drive to that Western Tract Mission Fundraiser in the evening. To avoid driving after that appointment, I caught a ride with my neighbours up to 25th Street; I just had to walk two blocks to the hospital where the City’s main Eye Clinic is run. I was in plenty of time, I had prepared sketches of how my floaters had decreased since that Feb/17/event, so I was feeling up and ready to show the specialist how God had healed me.

Only to discover that my appointment had been for the day before! Somehow - and I still can’t figure how - I mis-read the card and though the appointment card plainly said the 10th, I’d registered it as the 11th in my mind. Boy, did I feel foolish! They made me another one for Monday.

So I walked home and found I could do it in 45 minutes, including a brief rest in front of the bus depot, and that the distance works out to 19 1/2 blocks. I got busy and tried to do as much as I could. (Also got invited out to lunch).

Yesterday I kept that new appointment. This Dr. Ravi (long name) said that eyes just do that sometime - they heal themselves. No acknowledgment to my statement that God had healed my left eye. He didn’t say much about my sketches, but kept that page on his clipboard, so I guess it’s part of my file. I am still to call him immediately if I see flashing lights or a curtain coming down, as that means my retina is detaching.

When he learned that I was going to give computer lessons he was keen to ask me more about that. Seems he would like to learn to put up a database website.

I was grateful for my dark clipon sunglasses as I walked home, and as I worked on this computer. By late afternoon I saw normally again.

Our Music/Dessert Night on Friday was a great success. We had more people show up than we had anticipated, which made for a good problem. The men set up 120 chairs, and had to rustle up 75 more. Some were left standing, so we had about 200 people! Some people left without staying for dessert, so somehow we even had enough to go around. There were only a few pieces left to clear up at the end.

I was at a good position at the front to take photos of the Derksen children as they performed, but I haven’t got the photos ready yet for a photo story on the WTM website. Maybe in a week or two? (I wrote a one page report and stayed up late last night to get the Reflections ready and emailed to the printers).

Actually… if you give me a few moments here… I think I can show you the same page of sketches I gave the specialist yesterday. Here we go; I’ve put it up as a .pdf document, MyFloaters

Those eye appointments have cut into my SBI time, but I have been working at that site, and have created more pages. I just haven’t uploaded them yet. I keep discovering another and another I should add.

I also had an idea for a special group of college and career young adults to reach with an invitation to my course. I want to work on that this afternoon if at all possible.

Incidentally, did you know that this issue of the RoseBouquet starts the 8th year (vol) of my publication of an ezine? I began a JournalDigest at Easter 2000 to go with a site I worked on daily then, called by this long title, “The Journal of a a Woman Starting a Business on a Shoestring too Short to Wrap around a Finger.” When I was able to publish my novel through Booklocker, and won a free domain site in a contest, I shifted my focus to the new site based on the themes of my novel, Ruthe’s Secret Roses. I decided my ezine needed a transformation to more of an inspirational nature. I morphed it over at Easter 2001. (Of course, Easter fell in April that year).

Over the winter months, I confess, I have not spent as much time exercising out in the sunshine as I should for my osteoporosis, but now with the warmer temperatures I’ve started digging in my garden. Not having access to Dad’s rotortiller any more, I now do it the old-fashioned way. In the last couple of days I’ve made a good start.

Notice that I still have a lot of kitchen compost from the winter months to turn over. Oh, and do you see the bits of green coming up among the dried fall leaves? That’s my green onions and chives coming up! Hurrah!