Etsy

Tabitha and I are doing our group project on Etsy.  It is an e-commerce site.  There are lots of these sites, some good and some not-so-good.  There are also companies who will set up a site for you; one such company is Vandelay Website Design.  Not only can Vandelay create an e-commerce site for your small business, it creates websites for non profit organizations; it creates blogs; and it will allow you to consult on virtually any project that you have for promoting yourself or your business on the Internet.

Etsy was established in 2005 with the mission  "to help people make a living making things, and reconnect makers with buyers."  It has expanded to use in 150 countries, and is quite easy to use.  First you register.  Then you can navigate the entire website.  You can buy or sell.  The important thing about selling is that you can't run a duplicate site.  In other words, you can sell a craft that relates to a book you've written, but if the book is available on another site, you can't sell it on Etsy.  You can, however, link to the site that sells your book.  There are instructions and rules that explain all of this and more.

Another nice feature about Etsy is the ability to cross promote your product through Facebook.   Anyway, more on all of this tomorrow in class.

Halloween

Today is Halloween, and I am not a fan.  I was a fan when my girls were little.  I loved to make their costumes and take them trick or treating.  Now that the kids are older, they make their own plans.  Essentially, that means that I am here handing out candy.  Well, I would be handing out candy if I bought some and answered the door.  There will be none of that.  Instead, I will be out and about or sitting in a darkened room with my laptop and/or television.  I will admit to pricing candy.  The good stuff is ridiculously expensive.  That coupled with the fact that I made an error in my checkbook means no candy.  At least my error didn't cause me to bounce any checks.  Personally, I don't like dressing up for Halloween.    I enjoy seeing little ones in their outfits.  The other irritating thing about this evening is that teenagers seem to feel the need to go door to door begging for candy whether they are dressed up or not.  As a high school teacher, I find that exceptionally annoying.  Well, enough of this rant.  I'm getting dressed and heading out to run errands.

Christmas Calendar

For Christmas, beginning about ten years ago, I've been giving calendars as gifts.  I go through and mark all of the anniversaries and birthdays, and I have a picture of my girls on it.  I always order them through Heritage Studios.  Over the years the pricing has gone up a bit, and I could probably do the work myself and have the calendars printed; but old habits die hard (as they say).  Anyway, Kaytee was home this weekend so we took the calendar/Christmas letter picture.  These days only my parents get the calendar.  It used to be that I would order between 15 and 20 a season (incredibly time consuming when it was for my grandmother - so many birthdays and anniversaries of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren).  We also stopped exchanging gifts with all of the extended family (it got too pricey, and we don't usually see each other anyway).  So, of the five pictures we took, I think this is the one the girls decided we should use.

Autumn at its Finest

At the end of Hilton Road in Catonsville, adjacent to Pataspco State Park, is the All Saints Sisters of the Poor Convent.  I took this picture when we were hiking there last fall. Today is one of those days when I should be somewhere like that, taking pictures, and enjoying the weather.  Instead, I am stuck inside doing a lot of homework for my grad school classes... sigh.  The sun is shining; the leaves are in full color; there is a slight breeze; it's in the 70s.  If nothing else, I ought to be cutting my grass and doing yard work; but, I know myself well enough that if I don't get the bulk of my assignments done today, I'll have no tomorrow to enjoy.  My plan is to finish and post my six page memoir piece and write my one page final project proposal for e-publishing.  Then, it somehow seems fitting for me to crack a beer (or make a spritzer) as I finish reading The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer. 

The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow too - HOORAY!

Video Assignment Part Deux

My immediate family is delightful, quirky, and fun.  I decided that I would edit some tapes of them doing things that make me smile.  To that end, I have asked Lauren to sing, Andy (Lauren's boyfriend) to dance, and Dan (my boyfriend) to pontificate.  Kaytee is home from Salisbury and spends most of her time with her bff Collin.  I am also going to tape the two of them.  I haven't quite fleshed out the idea for them yet.  I think I'll leave it up to them because Kaytee and Collin are quite spontaneous and silly around each other.  So, it looks like that's it!

Lauren and Andy 

Dan

Kaytee and Collin

Video Project

I have been giving this video assignment a considerable amount of thought.  I want to show some aspect of my life, but I don't want to tell the story that I am going to use for my final project.  Originally, I was going to video the high school where I work; the physical building, the people in it and their various jobs, my classes; however, I couldn't come up with an angle that would be entertaining enough for me to spend that kind of time.  I would have had to take the footage this week, and I was sick for most of it (although I did work).

As the creative writing teacher at the high school, I inherited a wonder guest poet series.  I wish I had video of all the guest writers who come into my classes.  Each semester I have people like Moira Egan, James Taylor, Clarinda Harriss, Michael Fallon, Gary Blankenburg, Michael Salcman, Katelyn Cohen, and Danny DiCrispino.  That would make an amazing video.  James Taylor even lays on a bed of nails at the finale of his presentation.  Perhaps I will video my guests in the future.

Ship's Cafe

On Saturday evening we ate at Ships Cafe on Frederick Road in Catonsville.  It was a cool evening but we decided to eat on the upper deck anyway.  Besides us, there was a family of four who also braved the chilly night air.  Our waitress was very personable and knowledgeable about the menu.  Since we discovered that Ships is well known for crabs (and they are fantastic!) we no longer have to drive to Annapolis when we want them.  We started our meal by splitting a bowl of oyster stew.  They make the best I have ever tasted.  This particular evening the stew wasn't as peppery as usual.  I like it even better this way.  For dinner we split a dozen jumbo crabs.  They were well worth the $75.00 we paid.  We dipped the meat into tubs of drawn butter and Old Bay seasoning.  These crabs were so big and meaty that we had to take the last two home.

Ships has a full bar.  With our crabs we drank Coronas; not much beats crabs and beer.

If you go to Ships, I suggest you get there early on the weekends.  It is a popular restaurant and is always busy.  Because it has lots of wood, and it's in an old building, and a bit cramped, it's a loud place.  It isn't  the best place for a romantic dinner for two, but on this night, outside, it was perfect.

Portalli's Restaurant

On Friday evening we went to dinner at Portalli's in Ellicott City.  It was early, but they were packed.  We've eaten there four or five times now.  We only had one bad experience; this was not the case on Friday.  My boyfriend and I opted to eat at the bar rather than wait 45 minutes for a table.  We started with an appetizer of Oysters Romano (baked with garlic cream, crispy pancetta, caramelized leeks, and parmesan).  They were delicious, so smooth and creamy.  They melted on the tongue.  For entrees, I had Chicken Piccata.  The polenta was done to perfection.  The parsley pesto and lemon caper buerre blanc sauce was delicate, not at all overbearing.  My boyfriend had Prawn Scampi; it too had a lemon caper butter sauce, but it was done with wilted spinach and served over linguini.  The flavors blended well.  It was delicious too.  Although the portions are generous, there were so many wonderful sounding things on the menu that we were compelled to order side dishes.  We had the Celery & Cauliflower Risotto and the Spinach & Prosciutto.  Both were amazing, but the spinach was "to die for" (personally I'm not a huge fan of risotto).  There was no room for dessert.  In fact, I took half of my entree home.  It was lunch the next day.

In addition to excellent food, there is a full bar with specialty drinks.  I would recommend the Bellintini, but the Limoncello Drop was also good.  Portalli's Manhattan was intense (brandied cherries - yum!).  They also have a wine list.

You can usually find the owner on the premises, and he is always pleased to talk about his establishment.  This is a wonderful place.  The prices are reasonable; the ambiance is plush and comfortable.  

Regions Restaurant

Thursday evening we went to eat at Regions Restaurant on Frederick Road in Catonsville.  We arrived early (without a reservation) and were seated at once.  It is a fine dining establishment and is a sister restaurant to Catonsville Gourmet, just a few doors away.  Regions has a varied menu.  To start we shared a smoked fish plate which was quite good.  The cost was $14.00.  For entrees I had a surf and turf with mashed potatoes and snap peas.  My boyfriend had ancho steak.  The entrees cost around $25.00 each.  The portions are large, and the sauces are heavy. The food was good but not outstanding (especially considering the prices).  Also, it's BYOB which is inconvenient but keeps the cost down.  This is the second time we've been to this restaurant, and I think it will be a long time before we try it again.  There are so many excellent places within driving distance, even if you don't want to drive into Baltimore.

Website

Hooray!  My website is up and running!!!  Special thanks to Tabitha, Roger, and Liz for their help and support.  What an ordeal.

Breast Cancer

My friend and former co-worker is battling breast cancer.  She is an amazing woman.  Check out her blog: Reby's Weight Loss Journey.  Her blog was started to chart her weight loss.  There are before and after pictures that are remarkable.  It is rare to meet someone with such a positive outlook; perhaps it is because of her strong faith in God.

If you want to make a difference, order from the Breast Cancer Site Store.

Web Site Mid Term

ARGHHHHHHH - So I have finished creating my Dreamweaver website, and I've loaded all of my files on the H drive at the university; however, I am unable to access the web space I've requested as a student.  It's Saturday, and the tech help center closed at 4:00.  They were helpful earlier.  I'm hoping that it is just taking time for the site to become available (it said to wait a minimum of 30 minutes - I've been waiting for over an hour!).  Patience has never been one of my best things.  My mom used to say that I wanted everything yesterday.  Sigh...

Tender at the Bone

For my personal essay class, I have to read this book by Ruth Reichl.  I have to say, it is wonderful!  It is written in a conversational style; it is driven by stories that involve food, and it includes the recipes mentioned.  I have never read anything by Reichl before.  I have to say, after reading the Marlowe book about heroin and the Didion book about grief, Tender at the Bone is a "breath of fresh air."

Felines

I have always been a cat person.  My last cat, Delilah, lived until she was 23 years old!  By the time she died she no longer had the energy to groom herself.  She was really ratty; my girls fondly referred to her by the name of "Death Kitty."  She couldn't even retract her hind claws anymore.  She was the runt of the litter.  My brother found her at the Laurel Race Course when he was a hot walker, back in 1985.  She has been gone over two years now.  It's difficult to realize how tiny she was.  When her health was good she weighed 7 pounds (barely).  In this picture she weighed around 5 pounds.

Here is a picture of Delilah in better days.

Now my oldest daughter, Lauren, has a cat that she rescued from the shelter in Annapolis.  His name is Alfredo (Alfred, Fredo, Little Man).  At his last vet visit he weighed in at a whopping 18.6 pounds.  He is a unique cat.  He loves water (particularly bubble baths), likes to travel (will get right in his cat carrier to go), and chases toys like a dog (a favorite of his is a stuffed monkey).

Here is one of Fredo in his carrier.

This one will give you a better idea of his size (that's a large kitchen sink in a house we rented in Ocracoke in the Outer Banks last summer - yes, he rode by car all the way!).

Dead Bird

My daughter, Kaytee, took this picture of a dead bird that was entered into a contest by her digital photography instructor last year.  Kaytee won the grand prize (a $500.00 gift certificate to Security Square Mall).  Her picture is on display at the mall until next spring (it hangs for a year).  It's difficult to see in this picture, but there are droplets of water all over the bloated black bird.  The detail is something.  However, I found the content rather distressing.

Mid Term in Dreamweaver

Well, I have literally spent hours and hours on this project.  One of the things I wanted to do was create a page with a slide show of photos I've taken.  In order to do this, I had to create the slide show and then insert it into the page I had already prepared.  I had no idea how to use Flash.  Thankfully there is a plethora of websites with step by step instructions for how to do most anything with CS5.  My problem was that most of the sites assume you already know some of the steps.  For instance, one site said to import images onto the stage and then create a layer for each.  Hahaha - easier said than done.  I didn't know how to set the stage, much less create a layer.  After much trial and error (and trashing of pages) I managed to create a simple slide show that shows a new slide every second (for 15 to 18 slides).  The only problem I have been unable to remedy is centering the Flash production so that it shows in the center when previewing it on Safari.

This is the site I found most useful: http://www.freeadobeflashtutorials.com/