Just Flitting

A few recommendations...

2011-02-09T19:59:00.003-05:00

This is an article by Kathy W. that I really liked on Gather.com.... well worth reading, and following some of the links, even.... Dad's Brain, which tells of her father's experience - first, in taking care of her mother/his wife, who had Alzheimer's, for years - and then HE woke up one morning unable to ...well, go read it... it's worth the few minutes it requires, I think.And if you haven't yet

New Toys

2011-02-02T11:49:00.003-05:00

I have yet to figure out what I'm going to DO with them, exactly .... but they are very cool. I did, when I was looking for the picture, see that someone had used similar duckies to make ear rings.... hmmm.... I love glow in the dark stuff! I have new GITD shoelaces too - and a flashlight ... thanks to Stephanie :)

My New Lamp

2011-01-02T23:09:00.003-05:00

It isn't quite done.... the shade is, but it has yet to be attached to the lamp fittings... but it will get there... and it is, I think, going to be gorgeous. Buying Ross stained glass classes last year for Christmas was a very good plan ... not only does he spend bunches of time working on it (he has 2 workshops, one for each house) ... but he makes me very pretty presents.

An Update

2010-05-04T18:27:00.002-04:00

Wow.... I have done a lot of work lately!Just reading the list I posted - and realizing how over-whelming it all felt -I'm taking a moment to be amazed with myself.It is all done - well, not quite - one conference paper yet to finish - but most of that is done too; just need to pull out some stuff about surveillance and toss in some stuff about strip searches. As I wrote the first paper, I

Just Flitting

2010-03-12T19:56:00.003-05:00

Tanya, from http://www.idonotlikethisjob.com/ stopped by and asked why I wasn't writing (along with a compliment, even; thanks for that). Good question!I am doing a LOT of writing these days ...but most of it is academic. Right now, for example, I am working on:a 10 - 12 page paper about Falling Angels (the book and film adaptation)a 30ish page proposal for my dissertationa 25ish page paper about

I am STEAMED

2009-11-04T22:17:00.003-05:00

Heard today that an acquaintance died.Not a close friend or anything like that - but someone that I got to know on Gather.com - and someone that did not have to experience the crap he did over the last couple of years - nor die so needlessly now.If he were Canadian ... or English or Austrailian or... well, you get the idea ... had he been so fortunate as to have been born in a country that

Essays, Essays and more Essays

2009-10-16T17:00:00.002-04:00

That's all I'm doing this weekend - writing essays.I have 4 to do before Monday night - 3 short ones which SHOULD be relatively easy except that they are to be based on hundreds of pages of academic reading.And a longer one on sexuality and citizenship, which I'm almost done; should have that one finished this evening.And then I need to write several proposals for other essays I would "like" to

A Guest Post from Mandy - Cartwheels

2009-09-06T22:08:00.003-04:00

CartwheelsToday I came to my Auntie Lee and Ross’s new house. After everyone was finished eating and it was dessert time, me and my cousin Tamara (the most awesome person in the world...she made me put that), were doing cartwheels, round offs and handstands in the front yard. I was also doing some flips that Tamara could not figure out how I was doing them. I’m just that talented. Tamara was also

Made out of Awesome

2009-08-26T18:57:00.004-04:00

I'm borrowing Tamara's expression again - I am, today, made out of awesome!Not only have I lost 62lbs since April of this year - today I rode my bike all the way from my home to our lawyer's office in Midland ON - that is a distance of 10km (or 6.2 miles) - and is WAY beyond the distance I've gone before.The house is Peterborough is almost ready for occupation - we've cleaned everything, painted

Closing Date and other assorted flitting

2009-08-16T17:17:00.005-04:00

There's a reason this blog is called Just Flitting.So - we finally got the mortgage sorted out - in fact, we ended up with mortgages and $$ coming up the ying yang.At one point, our lawyer called and asked which we were actually planning to use, as they were getting extras showing up in their office - in one case, even one that we didn't know we had. We had talked to the guy about it, but hadn't

A New Start

2009-08-03T22:20:00.002-04:00

Today was a long weekend here in Canada - no good reason for it, really, other than people wanting an extra long weekend - but whatever... it was a pain in my butt because I only have until Wednesday to come up with a mortgage for the house and everything was closed.But since I couldn't do that, I worked on my major research paper instead, and managed to get that sent off for review.And now that

Frustration

2009-07-30T14:10:00.002-04:00

Everything seemed to be sorted out for the house - but then today the mortgage broker started to be difficult. She's frustrating me no end. She told us that we were approved for the first mortgage (on the house we live in here in the Harbour) and that the second on the new house would be no problem - but now she's making like nothing is approved and she isn't likely to be able to get it all done

Buying a House

2009-07-26T16:24:00.003-04:00

So - it took one more trip .... and we had a bit of drama (isn't there always?) but we just heard that our final offer was accepted and we have ourselves a house.I'm very happy about it - it is a BIG house ...with an apartment upstairs for me, and 4 rooms downstairs to rent to students. Lots of room - in addition to everything else one might expect, there is a large room adjacent to the kitchen .

Deadlines

2009-07-18T11:21:00.003-04:00

I work better when I have deadlines - but right now, I think I have a few too many of the darn things!The biggest one that's looming is that I have to have my major research paper done by the end of the month (sooner would be better). It needs to get to my advisor so that she can read/edit it before August 14, by which date I need a letter saying that I have completed all requirements for my MA

Working Outside

2009-07-11T11:16:00.004-04:00

I've pretty much made my deck my new office this week.... got everything set up just right - my laptop is on its stand on a chair in front of my chair; a table to the right for the mouse and my ashtray and drink (I'm drinking a lot of flavoured water these days) and another chair to the left has my stack of books and so on...Scrooge spends most of the day out here with me, either lying on the

Getting Down To Work

2009-07-06T22:18:00.002-04:00

Well...I didn't QUITE make my goal of writing 10 pages ...but I have 9, so it's a start, anyway. I also went for a long walk this evening... could have kept going but the skitters were getting obnoxious so I turned back... but even so, it was a good hour and a half. Called a real estate agent in Peterborough; left a message with her secretary, but no call back yet. Hope she doesn't take too long.

Elmvale Market

2009-07-05T16:01:00.005-04:00

Ross took me to the market outside Elmvale today.... and just LOOK at all the earrings I got! (And 2 hummingbird pins as well).None of the earrings cost more than $2/pair...some were only .50c ... I had a great time.And Ross got a Larry the Singing Lobster for only $2 too.There are bunches more pictures - I posted a photo essay on Gather, if you're interested.

Making Progress

2009-07-03T20:16:00.003-04:00

.... somewhat, anyway.Today I managed to get all of the details stuff that's been hanging over my head done - taxes, travel forms & receipts, all that ~fun~ stuff that I suck so bad at.Still haven't made much when it comes to my essays ... we ended up going to Toronto twice this week, which ate up a lot of time.Hubby has a job for tomorrow though, so hopefully while he's gone, I'll manage to get

Happy to be Home!

2009-06-27T10:01:00.005-04:00

Summer school is done - well, not really - but the coursework part is.So now I'm home again and sitting at my own desk and trying to sort out where to start - I do have a few ~minor~ projects on my to do list right now.First up is to write a proposal for the editing project for the EMiC course - I know that I want to DO an editing project rather than just writing a research paper - and that I

Sulking

2009-06-21T17:40:00.003-04:00

Ross was here for the weekend ....we spent Friday night at the house I'm staying at (single bed; not so comfortable when it's hot & muggy out but oh well) and then yesterday we went to visit a friend of his' cottage about an hour from here. It was very nice - even though we have our own waterfront, one tends to take that for granted ....I very much enjoyed just sitting out by the lake watching

HMPH!

2009-06-17T18:33:00.002-04:00

I don't know how or why, but it seems like the wireless router here (house where I'm renting a room) has gone kaput - that does not make me very happy.Fortunately, I have my Rogers stick - which uses the cell phone network to bring me Internet (it looks just like a flash drive and I pay about $40 a month for it) - but I don't like to use that TOO much as it has more limits to how much you can use

Not flitting....flying

2009-06-05T23:56:00.001-04:00

So ...tomorrow will be my first flight in a very long time.... >10 years I think.And during several of those years I have been teaching Aviation Management students - many of whom have ~underwhelmed~ me with their problem solving ability and ~committment~ to doing things RIGHT.I SO hope that none of those students wound up at WestJet!

Another Reason to Love Living in Cottage Country

2009-06-02T22:31:00.002-04:00

I was outside talking to my sister in law and her husband today and this is what we saw in the field immediately across the street from my house.I love cottage country!

Home Again ... for a bit

2009-05-30T09:36:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm home again ...actually ended up at home a day earlier than I expected - which, while a tad stressful at the time, was very nice.Not that I got much WORK on my papers done in that extra day .... I didn't... but I got some work done on our new pest control business which presumably means that now I shall be better able to focus and get down to work on my stuff. At least that's the

Congress 2009 Day 2

2009-05-24T23:43:00.002-04:00

Was up bright and early this morning...between the rock hard beds and the noise levels here, there really wasn't much point to staying in bed. Went to the breakfast buffet - it comes with the room. Wasn't bad... lots that I can eat on my diet... and tons of fruit to take for later if we wanted, which was nice.Of course, I didnt actually get around to eating my fruit... was far too busy

Congress 2009 Day 1

2009-05-23T23:11:00.002-04:00

Well, not day 1 for Congress, actually ...they started without me...can you imagine the nerve?Anyway...drive here wasn't too bad except that for about 2 hours, through a whole lotta rock up in the Muskokas and so on, I was entirely without cell phone service - and no cell phone also equals no Roger's Internet, also. No big deal though.We stopped at a place called Moose Inn outside Bancroft for

New Business Start Up - in Record Time

2009-05-22T15:11:00.003-04:00

Well...when we decide to do something, we don't mess around, hubby & I.Thanks to the fact that hubby already had a business we are able to get up & running with very little lead time. We already have PST & GST numbers... waiting on his license - but that should get here any day... and in the meantime, we've got a good start on a webpage for Cottage Country Pest Control, and I'm working on

I Am Being SUCH a good girl

2009-05-21T22:40:00.002-04:00

So ...I decided that tonight I was hungry ... and I went to the fridge and REALLY considered making myself a burger. No bun ...but I do have very nice frozen burgers that I could have made. But I decided instead to make myself a salad.A very nice salad - with black olives and grape tomatoes and a small amount of crumbled blue cheese since I'm out of feta ... and even with all that, it has far

A ~WONDERFUL~ day

2009-05-20T19:57:00.003-04:00

Well - this I needed like a hole in the head.Hubby is now officially out of work - all over ONE missed cell phone call.His boss doesn't LIKE it when his employees don't answer the phone immediately.It doesn't matter a bit that it is illegal to answer the phone while driving, rude to answer it while talking to customers, and downright dangerous to answer it while climbing a ladder or on a

Not FAIR!!

2009-05-18T22:22:00.005-04:00

I know, I know... no one ever said life was gonna be fair.I might have said it myself a time or twenty (thousand).But I am still inclined to pout.I am doing really well at sticking to my < 1000 calorie/day diet, and in the last week alone have done two 18.6 km walks, four 4km walks, and a 6 km long hike. PLUS gardening, helping with the dock, and assorted other physical activity the like of which

Blue Heron Nests at Matchedash Bay

2009-05-17T18:50:00.010-04:00

Well, I tried to post a photoessay on Gather.com but that doesn't seem to be working so well right now... so I shall post it here instead.Out hiking again today...not as far as I walked twice this week (18km YAY me) - but it was a lot rougher terrain, so it sure feels like we had a workout.Hubby took Jess & I to Matchedash Bay to go see where the herons nest. Oh, and of course, Scrooge got to

Grrr...what a waste of time!

2009-05-14T18:16:00.002-04:00

Had done my Entrecard drops in two accounts, in spite of how wonky EC has been today ...should not have bothered.Was just finishing the second when everything reset to 0. Damn it!I am pretty close to giving up on the whole EC thing... it is a pretty big time-suck.... crap like this does not change my mind any.

I am Freaking AMAZING!

2009-05-13T15:13:00.002-04:00

Okay... so not really ...but I am pretty darn proud of myselt today.One of my biggest issues with the whole not driving thing is that I have felt trapped and totally dependent on other people to give me rides to wherever. Can't even count on the cabs in this hick town - more than half the times that I have called to try to get a cab, I've gotten a nope, sorry, can't help you.So - I decided that

Sleeping With a Mouthguard

2009-05-12T12:56:00.002-04:00

Yeah, okay ...so I adjusted just ~fine~ to sleeping with the non-glow-in-the-dark mouthpiece my dentist made for me because when I'm stressed, I grind my teeth which keeps hubby awake, and damages my teeth. I have had to have SO many fillings replaced prematurely because of it.I SAID it should be glow in the dark!Of course, when I said it, I didn't have as good a reason for it - I just happen to

Dieting & the munchies

2009-05-09T15:34:00.003-04:00

I'm in munchie mode right now... not good for dieting! So far though, I have been being pretty damn good... am sticking to things that don't add too much to my calorie counter... drank a full pot of raspberry tea, and have eaten an orange, rice cakes, celery and so on ... but I WANT CHOCOLATE. Or fudge. Fudge would be good too. And I happen to have found one piece in the bottom of my school book

Gardening - the day after

2009-05-07T11:20:00.004-04:00

Well, the midscapular area of my back is fine - sure can feel that I WORKED yesterday in my lower back and neck and legs and stomach and...well, you get the idea.I am very stiff and sore - but a few painkillers later, I'm about set (when Judge Joe Brown is over) to get off my butt and go do some planting.Am going to walk up to the mail and the grocery store, too... and sometime soon I think I'm

Flitting Through my Garden

2009-05-06T17:23:00.008-04:00

Didn't make it for my walk today .... but I definitely got my workout.Had an opportunity to go to a garden centre yesterday. I don't get out much now that I can't drive so I enjoyed the outing, especially because the grandbabies were part of the deal.So - garden centre + diet - obviously I had no choice but to buy tomato plants. And brussel sprout plants. And spinach seeds. And hot peppers for

Tay Township Trail ~Improvements~

2009-05-05T15:32:00.006-04:00

I think that soon I am going to have to move my daily walk to the morning - it is just too hot to walk the Tay Township trail between my house and the post office any more. It really is too bad - the town took it over and have made a total hash of the whole thing.Used to be that we walked the trail - hubby more than me - and there was shade. Not ALL the way - but most of it was lined with trees

Trying to Watch HOUSE

2009-05-04T21:05:00.002-04:00

Oh sure! Now that House is over, the guys have gone outside. I have been gritting my teeth in frustration for the last half an hour or so - one of hubby's friends came over to chat, which is fine...or was, as long as he stayed in the kitchen, where hubby was doing dishes, and chatted out THERE.But then he decided to come sit in the living room - in the chair closest to the television - and talk

Just Flitting through my first week off

2009-05-01T14:54:00.003-04:00

After several years of year round school, I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself now that I have time off.I'm figuring it out.Scrooge and I have walked a lot this week .... expanding my distance, and picking up speed. My back has been really bothering me, especially when I walk, which is a pain - but for now, I'm taking pain killers before I go... but I am also considering going to a

Flitting on Ask Me Anything

2009-04-29T09:21:00.003-04:00

In addition to writing my own blogs this week, I am also covering Stephanie the Rocket Scientist's Ask Me Anything blog.... so far I've posted three articles over there, if you're interested:Differences between Canadians and AmericansGenerating blog trafficSearch Engine Optimization - Focus on KEYWORDSI plan to continue with more articles about search engine optimization - and of course, will

food flitting

2009-04-28T20:24:00.004-04:00

Three weeks into my diet, I'm 23lbs lighter and still doing very well with it. I thought it would be a lot harder than it has been, actually.Even the things that I really missed at first - like bread! and pasta! aren't calling to me all the time any more. I gave up coffee without a whimper - not allowed the caffeine and just doesn't seem to be much point to decaf to me. I would probably still be

Time Off

2009-04-27T21:33:00.003-04:00

Okay... so I have a week or so off before I need to get going on my Major Research Project... papers are done, marks are submitted, ~stuff~ is done.I SO do not do this off thing well.... I find it more exhausting than being constantly busy, I think.Think I'm going to haul out my YA novel and try to get back to work on that tomorrow... and will keep working on trying to organize my mess of

Timing is Everything

2009-04-26T23:15:00.004-04:00

I'm rather amazed... last semester, right near the end when all the essays were due, that's when I had a car accident and broke one wrist and sprained t'other. THIS semester I made it through the last of my essays... and an hour later, had to trundle off to emerg to find out why the left side of my face was swelling up... so if nothing else, I seem to have learned better timing, eh? Face is

A long day ....

2009-04-24T20:26:00.004-04:00

And it is far from over... didn't do so well at working en route today - I have a lovely little Aspire netbook and I did get SOME work done while hubby drove me to Peterborough and back ... but not really work on the essay I need to write (by tomorrow) itself - mostly I just futzed around copying & pasting bits from various resources that I expect I will use in one way or another.Picked up my

Forum & Blog Posting Guidelines Regarding Rate Changes, Performance and Today.com's T & C

2009-04-20T21:15:00.007-04:00

The lastest update from Today.com. This was posted in the ~private~ forum earlier today. Personally, I think it is time that we use our new-found SEO skills to ensure that anyone searching for "advertising opportunities" or "advertising Today.com" come up with some ~interesting~ posts. As IF they are going to hand our content over to whoever the hell they want.Moving forward with our plans to get

yay for me

2009-04-20T11:59:00.003-04:00

Another essay done and handed in - not until about 6:30 this morning, but it is done. It SUCKS...but it's done.Now onward - first finishing up my proposal re: my Major Research Paper so that I can get that sent off to my advisor and then there will be just one more to do (and about 20 essays to mark) before Thursday.Still bunches - but I'm into the home stretch.I think I can I think I can I think

This post is a figment of your imagination

2009-04-19T22:31:00.003-04:00

I could not possibly be here, seeing as how I am only on page 10 of a 20 page essay that needs to be done before I go to bed tonight...I would NEVER be so irresponsible as to write a blog when I have such a nasty deadline approaching; I am, of course, far too responsible for that.So anyway, while I am not here, can I just tell you how very FRUSTRATED I am with my database students right now?WHO

Locked out of Today.com Forums?

2009-04-19T10:51:00.003-04:00

Here's the text of the message Today.com posted aboutForum & Blog Posting Guidelines Regarding Rate Changes and PerformanceWe know that it is the nature of the business for there to be controversy whenever rates are dropped. We've said before and wil say again, it is not something we take lightly and it is a business decision based on a blogs[sic] performance . We understand the disappointmnet

Today.com Exile? To-do list.

2009-04-18T14:36:00.005-04:00

If you too are a today.com exile, you probably, like me, are not too thrilled with the thought of today.com continuing to profit from any traffic your blog brings in for them.Of course, we can’t prevent that - and honestly, I don’t think it is going to be an issue for long, since they are clearly having serious financial issues and since they are SO very, very fond of shooting themselves in the

Today.com Rejects...

2009-04-18T10:27:00.003-04:00

Or exiles or whatever you want to call us... like Bookishgal observed " it seems like there’s a definite pogrom going on at Today.com" .... you may notice that I've added a new blogroll to this site specifically for those who - like Bookishgal, Stephanie the rocket Scientist and I - and many other great bloggers - you should visit them! - have been kicked for having opinions.If you too are a

Today.com

2009-04-15T21:21:00.006-04:00

You may notice, if you are a regular visitor, that I deleted the post about Today.com's new advertising deals.Sour grapes, I guess...at least I'm sure that is how the powers-that-be at today would see it ... but I can no longer support or recommend advertising with them.I was SO not happy when I went into my account today, to check whether my ads had received any clicks.This is what I saw:I have

Dieting sucks

2009-04-12T22:27:00.002-04:00

I have decided! Am actually doing really well at sticking to the diet my new doctor gave me ... but oy! By 9 p.m. or so I'm wiped. Every night. This will not DO. I HAVE an essay due Tuesday and it is NOT DONE. And I'm too tired to work on it. No caffeine, no sugar, no carbs... what's supposed to fuel my essay?!

HMPH!

2009-04-05T23:14:00.002-04:00

What did I dooooooooooooooooooo?Yes, I'm whining. Again, tonight, having a run on being told that the blog owner doesn't want you to join their followers because YOU SUCK.Well, okay, that's not QUITE how it's worded, but close enough!I'm going to get a complex!!!! Seriously!Thank goodness Stephanie allowed me to join her followers on Ask the rocket scientist or I would REALLY have to pout and

School's Out for Summer

2009-04-03T14:00:00.004-04:00

Well, okay.. it is not really. I still have lots of papers to write, a presentation to give, and bunches of school-related conferences, summer courses in digital editing, books to review, dinners to attend.....Graduate school is year round, after all ...but hey, they fund us* year round too, so who am I to complain? But my semester classes are done... so that's something to celebrate, right?

Blog Promotion Tools - Twitter

2009-03-27T14:12:00.005-04:00

Now that I can't use Entrecard with my Today.com blogs, I am even more motivated to look at other ways of building traffic to my blogs.So one of the things that I intend to do with this blog is to experiment with various tools, and write about what works and what doesn't.Of course, just because something works - or doesn't - for me doesn't mean that it will do the same for others.... twitter

Entrecard & Today.com part ways

2009-03-26T22:45:00.002-04:00

Well, I guess I will be using this blog - and flitting.org - a whole lot more than I have been now that Entrecard will no longer be allowed on Today.com.I can't just quit using Entrecard at all - it helps me to make online friends & connections, and Entrecard blogs have been a main source of information - about blogging, about SEO, and about a whole lot of other topics that I just would never

Weekly Update

2009-03-14T20:17:00.000-04:00

So far so good! I have been able to meet my goal of posting a daily article on both Flitting on Fiction and Back to School for Grownups... and to drop my daily 300 Entrecards as well.On Flitting on Fiction, articles includetoday's review of Clive Cussler's Plague Ship (with Jack du Brul) articles about Viral Contagion, and Pandemic IIand pictures of my happy leprechans (aka my grandbabies) Back

My Blogs

2009-03-07T12:28:00.002-05:00

I already have a number of them... and didn't really want another...but in order to use the gmail address I use in Firefox (which I don't want to change because it is connected to my Adsense and other various tools) to comment on other people's blogs without having to sign in all the time....So .... if you've landed here through a comment I happened to make on your blog, welcome... but I'm not