About Additional Postings, Apple Trees, and Rain

You might have noticed a few extra posts each week that doesn't bear the SSS header in the title. I normally write these Sunday Stroke Survival blogs in advance. Sometimes a month or more in advance as the muse strikes me. Things crop up during that time that I think you might want to know like troubles with my AFO and exciting doctor visits that I can't wait until Sunday to tell you so there are extra posts.

I know some of you have caught on, but some of you have not. So much can happen in just a week. When you can have three appointments in one week, or a long awaited appointment happens.

A lot of the time living post stroke, it can be a major brain search to find a topic to write about. It all seems the same day in and day out. Weeks and even months can go by with nothing newsworthy happens. This particular blog has been here since May 2010, but my previous blog began in 1993. So I've been blogging for 25 year! That's a whole lot of blogs and information passed on. I'm amazed that I still have anything to say.

Living post stroke is as exciting or as boring as I want it to be. Sometimes, it's nice to be bored. As it stands there's very few boring moments on this homestead. After a hectic two weeks of getting all the plants  and seeds into the garden before the rains, we were looking forward to a few easier rainy days.

We didn't plan on planting apple trees this year, but I found three trees of clearance. All three trees cost me as much as one tree full price. It was a deal I couldn't pass up. So I brought them home. A full day was taken up me with a shovel and Mel with a pick axe digging holes in the orchard for these trees. Then it was gather rabbit poo and straw to go inyo the holes before the trees. I like to halfway fill the holes with eater before I put the trees in. Twelve gallons of water later, we put the first tree in the ground, then the second, and the third. The four foot metal stakes I had bought for the tomato trellis staked the trees upright. Best made plans and all that.

Not all the herbs got planted before the rainy days happened. We still sat on the porch swing and watched the droplets fall. Satisfied with what  we had accomplished. It wasn't until we heard a crash inside and we investigated that the roof was leaking inside. The crash we heard was part of the ceiling falling. Well, we had intended on being bored for a few days while it rained. Sigh! During a break in the heavy rain fall, Mel climbed up on the roof and laid out a tarp. I'm no use on ladders so it was all up to her.

The rains won't stop for a week to see what repairs have to be done on the roof. Inside, I'm making a list of insulation and plywood that needs to be purchased, hung, and painted. The dollar signs are adding up again. Because it is one great room, the living room, dining room, and breakfast room the whole ceiling needs to be redone. The monies I had set aside to gravel in the new car park will be going to the roof and the ceiling now. This will be this year's summer job instead of pressure cleaning the outside of the house and getting rid of the ugly, dark chocolate brown trim and porch. I've wanted to do this for two years. Now, it'll be three years until it's done. As far as I know, the fall renovation project of ripping out the 1980s carpeting out is still on track. But then again, who knows.

Nothing is impossible.

It Totally Amazes Me and Thank You All

I was going through my stats this morning and am floored. I do this periodically. Since I changed my blog over to stroke survival, I'm getting pretty close to 5K to 10K hits per blog. I realized that there was a need to talk about surviving and living post stroke, but the response to my weekly blog?!

When this was strictly a writing/author website, the numbers were fair. But this was a shocker to me. I'm no expert in this area. I'm just a person who was fortunate/unfortunate to survive multiple strokes. I lived to tell the tale.

I actually don't see comments or emails from all these views, Thank God! I would need a team of office assistants to get them answered in a timely fashion. I just wanted to say "Thank You!" It truly humbles me.

Monday Mailbox ~ Spotlighting- Alex J. Cavanaugh

Instead of answering e-mails today, I am choosing to spotlight an author/blogger today. I'll answer your emails next Monday. Today I'm shining the spotlight on none other than the Ninja Captain himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh. You may recall that I've mentioned him several times on this blog.

Back in 2011, I took a chance on an unknown author who wrote a sci-fi book called CassaStaR. I didn't know he was an online blogger guru and all-star at the time.

The Blurb (which caught my attention)
Few options remain for Byron. A talented but stubborn young man with a troubled past and rebellious attitude, his cockpit skills are his only hope. Slated to train as a Cosbolt fighter pilot, Byron is determined to prove his worth and begin a new life as he sets off for the moon base of Guaard.

Much to Byron’s chagrin the toughest instructor in the fleet takes notice of the young pilot. Haunted by a past tragedy, Bassa eventually sees through Byron's tough exterior and insolence. When a secret talent is revealed during training, Bassa feels compelled to help Byron achieve his full potential.

As war brews on the edge of space, time is running short. Byron requires a navigator of exceptional quality to survive, and Bassa must make a decision that could well decide the fate of both men. Will their skills be enough as they embark on a mission that may stretch their abilities to the limit?

In watching the video book trailer before my purchase only enhanced my curiosity and made me chance the $2.51 asking price for my Kindle. Watch it here. I never regretted my purchase.

Then in 2012, Alex published a second book, CassaFirE. Being how I loved the first book, there was no hesitation in purchasing the second. By this time, I found his blog via a writer's forum friend I follow. I read through his blogs and have ever since then. They are entertaining. He pays it forward by promoting other authors and bloggers.

The Blurb
From the Amazon best-selling author - CassaStar was just the beginning… The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather. The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities. To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…

Catch the book trailer here.

On his blog he states that his next one, CassaStorM, will be the last book that he'll write. I read this with sadness while I eagerly await the third installment of the Cassa series in September.  I've thoroughly enjoyed Alex's books. I even signed up for a free copy on Goodreads. Not that I'll have any chances of winning one of the six copies, but hey, it's a shot. To sign up click here. I hope September 17th gets here fast.

Check out his newly released book trailer for CassaStorM here.

No, I'm not part of his Ninja army. Just a ninja in real life. <g>I'm just one of his many fans. He writes an impressive blog too. If you are not following him you should be. He believes in paying it forward. Movie and book reviews, trivia, blog referrals, and something for just about everyone even insecure writers.

How to stalk Alex J. Cavanaugh

Blogspot from there you can follow him with Bloglovin', Linky
GoodReads
AMAZON Author Page
Twitter
Email
Google+
Or you can sign up for his blog to be emailed to you.

Happy Reading and waiting in anticipation with me for CassaStorM.

Just a nod to my favorite Ninja Captain and darn good author.

Saturday Saunter~ Blog Comments and Questions

I've gone into here on why I don't comment on most of the blogs I read. Number one is that I don't have a witty or supportive thing to say about the blog I've read. Number two is the unreadable captcha attached to many blogs which is why I don't require them here.

I get tons of hits on this blog, and feel that the topics are worthwhile for the most part so my question is...why don't more people leave a comment. and why doesn't the writer respond to the comments?

Now I understand if you get a hundred comments why you don't respond to each andevery comment, but if you are getting less than fifty. I think the most comments I've had of a blog was my interview with author Nick Wilford, standing to date at 16 unique comments.

I guess I'm just anal/result oriented when it comes to things I do. Even though I see the hits, I'm puzzled by the lack of viewable comments. That aside, the direct emails are through the roof at 250 per day, and I love answering your questions. Thank you for emailing. Yes, some of these are junk and don't answer them. About 75% are bonafide and I take considerable time to answer and read through them carefully.

If you open up your blog for comments, why don't you answer comments? Comments are a dialog. Whether it's good, bad, or ugly is no matter. For a long time I just read my comments and didn't answer them, but I realized how wrong I was after my stroke when it became difficult for me to even write a comment.

Granted, a few comments don't warrant an answer or reply, but someone takes the time to leave you a comment on what you've written of either support or other. Don't the commenter deserve at least a quick thank you?

The following questions are not for my readers who comment often, but feel free to comment if the need arises <grin>...

Does my blog not raise questions? 

Do the questions I ask not appeal/relate to you? 

Are you bored? Do you read half of it and click it off? 

Is it helpful to you? 

Is shorter really better? 

What would you, my blog readers, like to see more/less of?

Just pondering these questions today. If I don't know the answers, how can I fix it to make it better?

Tuesday Tumbling Terms~ Blog/Website

This week's Tuesday Tumbling Terms for the writer is Blog/Website.

blog
noun
1. a Web site containing the writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other Web sites.
verb (used without object)
2. to maintain or add new entries to a blog.
Origin: 1995–2000;  shortening of Weblog

Web site
noun
Computers. a connected group of pages on the World Wide Web regarded as a single entity, usually maintained by one person or organization and devoted to a single topic or several closely related topics.
Origin:  1990–95 

As you can see they are basically the same, if you choose to use it this way. You can incorporate a blog into your website, if you want. 

Yes, with a website you get your name as domain name. It costs money to register the domain. It costs money to maintain the site because if you are not a programmer fluent in html forget about it. Website designers make a killer of a living because charge for each additional update so the page basically stays the same. Sure, you can DYI it, but again there is a cost for the program and domain name.

People like change as in updates and possibly a new look when they stop by. They are a fickle bunch. They get bored easily. Why stop by a website unless you are going to buy something? If you are looking for something to buy, you don't care so much about how a site looks. For example, take a look at Ebay, or Amazon. Every decade or so they will revamp their overall look, but they basically stay the same. I've visited author sites that don't change unless they publish a new book and that's an add-on. Why would I want to keep coming back to the same information to reread? Today, the speed of information on the web changes by the minute or hour.

Wait, I get that with my blog too. (jomurphey dot blogspot dot com) It is mine exclusively as is The Murphey Saga. No two blogs can have the same name. No fee for domain or updates. I can update daily or several times a day if I want. I have full design control over what my background looks like. See my books in the background? Neato, huh? I think I finally found something that screams "memememe!" I can change the format, text size, and a host of other things with a click of my mouse. Do people return to my site often? You betcha. I always have something interesting to say...er, um, maybe.

But the bottom line is exposure. No, I'm not talking about flashing or streakers. Get your mind out of the gutter. The more it changes the more readers I get. The generation of readers increases possibility of sales of my books. Yes, I'm exposing myself in a decent way. You really want to know someone or the writing style of an author you might want to read...stop by their blog.

So do you blog as an author? Send me your link.

(Just so you know spams will be deleted)

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Sunday Stroke Srvivor~ Life is Like a MasterCard Commerical

I'm Irish by marriage so Happy St. Patrick's Day. Saint Patrick was the Apostle of Ireland and March 17th is the date of his death. He was purported to have driven all the snakes out of Ireland, but that's a myth. Ireland has never had any snakes.Betcha didn't know that!

 As any self respecting Irishman would know. Even I who am Japanese and only Irish in name knows that. I lovingly call my DH (darling hubby) my leprechaun because now he stands five feet tall and he's a magical alien. But that's another story.

On today of all days, while I'm busily preparing cabbage rolls in Guinness gravy,  Colecannon, and chocolate-mint mini cupcakes in the shape of leprechaun hats, I look at another holiday that my stroke forever changed.

Leprechaun hats

Cooking one handed is the pits. I make do, but as a trained chef, like I am, its ridiculous. Sure I have my rocker T knife and now an Ulu, and my cutting board has aluminum nails in it to hold the things I'm cutting, but compared to how I added little touches that added special touches...forget about it. I'm too pressed for time and energy to do it justice.

Savannah St Patrick's Day

I won't be cooking for a crowd again any time soon. It's hard enough cooking for just my husband and myself. All my children make the trek up to Savannah for the parade and the partying. Savannah is a huge St. Patrick's Day town. This year makes the 189th extravaganza and everyone gets involved. Not me, uh uh. I'm smart. I stay as far away as I can. Think of it like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I'm just and old fuddy-duddy at heart. I have been for decades.

Is it worth all the effort to make corned beef stuffed cabbage roll and Colecannon for just the two of us? Some traditions die hard. The recipes are from my husband's great-great grandmother. That's a lot of years. So many holiday traditions fell by the wayside this year and I couldn't let this one. So yeah, I guess its worth to see the smile on my hubby's face and him roll his eyes back in sheer pleasure at first bite. It makes the now three days of prep time worth it.

That's the thing. Even handicapped by a stroke, some things of your old life are worth learning how to do it again. Granted it may nor be exactly the same process as before., It may take twice as long to accomplish. You might have to use adaptive equipment. But it is doable. But the key is having the heart to do it.

I think that's one of the reasons I recovered some things faster than others. I didn't focus on me. I used my husband's care issues as priorities. I rehabbed with my heart to motivating my brain.

It  sort of reminds me of a MasterCard commercial...

• Stroke hospital bill $36,000
• Rehab therapy and splints $9,600
• Medication to prevent another stroke and treat this one annually $2,400
• Seeing my husband smile....Priceless

The only thing holding you back is YOU!

Welll....

Well you may have noticed that my blog didn't miraculous appear until 6PM EST yesterday.

It's strange because the time was set as the usual 6:30 AM. This is a mystery. There must have been ghosties in the system. I even double checked it at 6AM to make sure the time was set right because I have been known to miss the scheduling button a time or two.

Since I pre-write my blog because of my stroke and a hectic schedule, it seemed the logical thing to do. You gotta love this feature on Blogspot when it works. I do apologize to my readers who usually read my blog with their morning coffee or cuppa tea.

A glitch in the system perhaps.

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Monday Mailbox~This Blog Being Linked to Another Site

It's that time of the week to respond to your emails. This week's mailbox is a little different. It was a request to combine part of my blog with another website...a collaboration of sorts. Usually I ignore such request outright. Particularly if I don't the website in question, but this time I did.

Now, I'm very protective about my copyrighted material, including this blog. What writer isn't? There's not a week that goes by that I don't get half a dozen requests to link to this blog or quote something in this blog. But, this request had a hook with a worm on it. It promoted an issue that has my newly garnered interest.

It seems that due to my responses on their site and me writing after a stroke is news worthy. I've been following their site since I got home from the hospital in late June 2012. They patiently answered my comments and questions from a newbie stroke survivor with their expertise and first hand knowledge. Some have even popped in over here to read my blog and comment. Some have books and scholarly articles published in their field that they promote on their site also.

I received an email this week from the administrator over there. They asked to be able to link my site to theirs. They have both a org website and a blog on Blogspot. HERE

You could have knocked me over with a feather (I know that's a clique and a big no-no in writing) as I read the email. I started hyperventilating so bad my husband asked me if I was all right. My mouth opened and closed as the words wouldn't come, and I read it again to be sure.

My DH (darling husband) was so concerned that he couldn't understand my words lip reading, that he touched my arm. Of course not, I really wasn't saying anything. That's one of the problems with minor aphasia when dealing with a deaf person. I could teach him sign language, but you sort of need two hands and full dexterity of all your fingers to form some words. I just patted his hand to reassure him. I really didn't think that what I talked about on my blog would draw such international attention...besides my books and writing how-tos.

by Hziz

To say I feel honored is an understatement. My blogs about my surviving and coping with my stroke is just a bump in my path of writing. Much like young children hamper their mothers from writing.  I say in my byline... everything affects my writing. So this blog is about everything writers, especially this one, faces in producing books for sale. All the ups and downs, all the twists and turns, and bumps and sideways wiggles that some of us face. To let my readers know they are not alone in their struggles and possibly answer some questions you may have. Nothing is worse than feeling alone.

Of course I said, "yes!" I'm excited. Can't you tell? Whether you are a stroke survivor, caregiver for a stroke patient, or just curious I invite you to pop on over to read stroke survivor blogs and information.

Keep writing and loving the Lord.
 (You may have no idea who is reading on your blog)

Proving You Are Not a Robot~Captcha~ Rant!

While spammers are rampant on the internet, I find captcha even more so. I don't use them or require prior approval of posts on my blog. Yes, I've been hit a few times by spammers, but not enough to add the captcha back on for people wanting to respond to my blog.

As if normally before my stroke, trying to figure out all those numbers and letters wasn't an easy thing to do. Now, it's more difficult. I am not a Spring chicken nor even a Fall hen, my eyesight is not improving with age. Now personally, I sort of understand why it is used for financial transactions, but in responding to a blog?

So as a blog reader, it is inconvenient and makes me not respond to as many blogs as I read although some I do anyhow with great difficulty. If you read the list of blogs I follow or read, you'll understand...there are over fifty that I read when new posts become available. This is sometimes daily, but at least weekly.

I know not many handi-capable or elderly people read blogs. Let me check that statement. Baby Boomers are the largest  segment or population and eligible for Social Security. We were the first to jump on the home computer bandwagon, because we were the first to be able to afford such a luxury item. We wrote the programs that computers read. And even though we are aging, we have the most disposable income. Our homes are paid for. Our children have grown up and left home. Being retired or almost retired, we are the matriarchs and patriarch of the population. We shouldn't have to prove that we are not a robot when we are reading for our enjoyment or knowledge.

Now as a blogger, I can understand if you have a traffic flow to your blog of several thousand followers or hits per day possibly using a captcha to control spammers. If you are selling things on your blogger site, you might possibly use one or prior approval to post a comment. But for the rest of you...why?

I blog as a way to open lines of communication, impart knowledge, discuss ideas, obtain feedback, and replace a newsletter I used to write.

Do I care if a spammer gets access to my account? Yes, but there is a little thing on my keyboard called a delete key which comes in pretty handy. Am I afraid of bots? Nope. I build mechanical things and can take them apart just as easily. I post my web email on my site for people to contact me. Do I get bot and spam to that account? Yep, but the delete key handles those also. Am I afraid of trackers, hackers, and viruses? Yep! But, if you don't know them why open up a link or click "open" to an attachment? Don't you have anti-spyware, anti-virus, anti-everything on your computer? You better believe that I do. If you don't, you deserve to be infected.

Have I ever had a virus or worm hit my computer? Yep, but a helpful technician, my son-in-law, fixed it for me. Besides, I back-up my information. I have online backup, thumb drives, DVDs, and CDs full of information, not to mention a slew of 3.5, zips, and 5.25 disks. I have redundant backups. No matter what machine I jump on I have a disk backup for. And yes, I still have a functioning computer that runs Windows 3.1. In case you were wondering about the 5.25 disks. Those days I used to write with Word Perfect so some of my earlier works are on it.

So why do you captcha for your blog?

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

You Might of Noticed

I have started my 2013 blog writing schedule early.

I needed to work on the proposed schedule to make sure 1) I could write it, 2) it wouldn't be too taxing on energy resources, 3) practice writing sentences.

I did this purposely. I need the cognitive practice. I'm finding just writing the new nonfiction, Don't Get Your Panties in a Wad, was too scattered. If you've been following my blog, you've noticed I've complained bitterly about my loss of this particular cognitive function in writing.

Blog writing is the way I've chosen to relearn this skill. I practice my spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and staying on task skills this way. It's a mental exercise besides word games that I've played far too much of lately. As one of my many challenges recovering from my stroke, has been the "dyslexic ADD" that has affected my mind. It has basically affected the way I live and work the strongest...besides typing one-handed and the aphasia.

I have to say that the impact of aphasia is lifting or not as noticeable. I read each of my to blogs aloud to my husband before I publish them as well as new tidbits. There aren't too many times now that my deaf husband asked me to repeat what I said because he couldn't read my lips properly. So that's definite improvement. Unless, I'm tired or drugs slur my speech, I talk almost clearly. It's still a monotone voice, but I am able to now raise my voice a few levels higher to an almost shout. The baby monitor still come in handy between rooms.

I still have yet to take up my ministry again. I just don't have confidence in my voice. I was such an animated speaker before. Yeah, I'm one of those people who used their entire body to speak. It still takes me a while to find the right words to say. Anyhow that's on the slate for the new year...like a lot of other things.

So bear with me in this exercise towards a new normalcy.

Keep Writing and loving the Lord.

Wednesday Writerly Ways~ Websites

Part of getting readers to follow you and know you is a website. Last week's topic was on platform building and this is part of it. What's the sense of publishing a book, if it doesn't sell, right? It's all about marketing.

When I first learned about platforms or reaching readers, I realized I needed a website. A daunting thought by any stretch of the imagination. There are domain names, building a site or hiring someone to build it, and maintaining a site. It was basically overwhelming for me. Now keep in mind, I was a computer programmer in an earlier life.

The look has to be just right. There had to be a reason why people would frequent your site besides the books you were selling. I had two choices 1) either build it myself (DIY), or 2) have someone else build it for me. I mentioned before about me being eclectic, eccentric, and creative. This is not without built in complications.

1. Website DYI- There are tons of programs and books on the subject. There are even sites on the web that help you build your site in a preprogrammed templates.

1) Searching for a domain name- this can be easy or complicated depending on what name you pick and let's face it, the internet is full of websites. I did a web search under my real name...a psychologist in Texas has my name and has a website.

 Part of this search was using various last names including my maiden name, my ex's name (not that I wanted to credit him with anything other than a sperm donor for my terrific children), mother's maiden name, my grandmothers' maiden names, and names I made up. They were all taken at least once.

I do this also with writer names too. If another person or writer has your name that could be a bad thing or a good thing, but when there are seven with your name, it can be confusing really fast for a reader to find you. This can be cheap or expensive depending on the domain name you pick.

2) The design- KISS (keep it simple stupid). The more complicated it is; the harder it is to get around. Have you ever been to a website that had tons of flashy things, twenty buttons or windows to find what you wanted, or scrolling banners that slid in and out while you were trying to read something? Was it enjoyable? And yet, there isn't many websites that I'll visit that doesn't have one or multiple of these items. Keep the bells and whistles to a minimum. With my personality that can be difficult.

3) Maintenance- Who is going to maintain your website? Are you going to DYI all the html files and formatting? What about adding text to update your site as you publish more books? What if you want to add more picture do you have a resource available to convert your picture to the source code?

As I said, it can be daunting. Or if you have a couple thousand dollars lying around, you can go with option two...hire a company who specializes in web design. I didn't.

I went with a website company with templates. There was a fee for registering the domain name and hosting fee...all in all about $105 a year. Relatively cheap. I spent hours picking a simple background, the perfect layout, just the right amount of pages or tabs and voila, I had a website. This was the best semi-professional way to my way of thinking.

What I didn't take in consideration at the time 1) How the website would appear in the SEO, 2) The cost over the years versus the profit, and 3) the exposure I would gain.

• The website appeared on search engines as hosted by &#$% the main website which irritated me to no end because you have a limited amount of space which will show on a search engine search. This took up valuable space.
• The amount of views was small because nobody knew who I was and there are TONS of other websites. That's all the internet is.
• For months the website got one or no hits at all. I believe after the first year and the end of my contract, there were sixty hits. Now I've been a previously, traditionally published author of nonfiction books and articles for decades, but I could not draw people to my site. I was disappointed but the lesson was learned.

When it was close to the end of the first year of my website, I messaged a friend who designed several sites. It was before publication of my second novel. A bookstore wanted my website address before setting up a book signing.  I didn't want to use the one I had previously plus it was under a new author's name.

My friend asked me if I had a blog. Did I have followers? On average, what were my hits per blog? What was the main subject of my blog? I told her. She told me that me I already had a website and didn't need a new one.

While once upon a time (she writes twisted fairy tales) there was a difference between blogs and websites, today there is none. A blog can serve as both. Thank you, Charlotte! You saved me a ton of $$$$.

What an eye-opener! It was so simple. Did I have a following? Did I promote my books? Do I talk about me as an author? Do I entertain readers? Do I offer other information? Yes, yes, yes YES! I had a website without doing double the work. What was even better, Blogger/Blogspot is owned by Google which means they love it. It appears in other search engines as well. Wheeee! Can you say "jackpot" and "cha-ching"? Add Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds, e-mailability and keywords...double jackpot in possible hits.

Granted for the most part, there is a set guideline on the design of the site...just like the other one I paid for. There are constrictions, but isn't everything on the web...we are governed by size, layout and html. It's free so there's no cost versus profits. :) There are analytical tools available to see how many hits per blog and where their from. I can maintain it myself. I can add, delete, and update it to my heart's content. Best yet, I was already doing it so why not have it do double duty?

I frequent a lot of blogs and websites of writers and nonwriters. I see something I like and incorporate it in mine. It may not be exactly the same, but the idea for it may have come from another source. I can change it every month if I want to but that would be crazy and time consuming so I prefer quarterly. Do readers find this disconcerting? Possibly, but the important thing to note is that I can do-it-myself.

So why do you need a website too as an author?

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Monday's Mailbox ~Blushing

It's that time again...Tilda the mailbox had this to say this week, and yes, I'm tooting my own horn.

1) ӏ'm amazed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that's equally eduсative and еntertainіng, anԁ let me tеll уou, yοu've hit the nail on the head. The problem is something not enough folks are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy that I found this during my hunt for something concerning this.

2) Woah! I'm really enjoying the template/theme of this blog. It's simple, yet effective. A lot of times it's tough to get that "perfect balance" between superb usability and visual appearance. I must say you've done a amazing job with this. Additionally, the blog loads super quick for me on Chrome. Exceptional Blog!

3) You should be a part of a contest for one of the finest websites on the web.
I am going to highly recommend this web site!

4) I’m a long time watcher and I just thought I’d drop by and say hello
there for the very 1st time. I critically appreciate your posts. Many thanks
You might be my function models. Many thanks for
your post.

All I can say is "thank you" and blush becomingly at such high praise. Can a sexegenarian still blush? A sexegenarian is someone in their sixty's. Now get your mind out of the gutter <g>. You betcha. I can get that warm, fuzzy glow creeping up my neck, over my cheeks, and to my ears just like a teenager.

Are you surprised? I can hear you now... blushes show embarrassment. Surely someone your age can't be embarrassed. Praise is not something I accept well. I feel that there are more worthy and accomplished folks out there in the cyber world...so I blush because I am worthy and have touched someone. I feel honored that I hit a nerve and garnered a response.

On "Wednesday Writerly Way," I'll be talking more about websites as a promotion tool. This blog is not only a way to vent, although I do this quite a bit, it's a selling tool. It's a way of promoting and get readers to know me. This is my website, as well as my blog.

I thought I would share.

Keep writing on loving the Lord.

Twiddling my Thumbs

I sit today wondering what I'm going to blog about. I twiddle my thumbs. It's a mean feat for me. I had both of them broken by my auto air bag during a head on collision a few years back. Pressing the space bar is easier because they stick out straight so typing became a breeze once the splints came off. Nope I never got casts. I had to have custom splints made because up until the last week the swelling was a constant problem.

I'm basically waiting, very impatiently I might add, for my the 10th for my new baby...not a real one...my computer. It's strange when I look back over the decades. Those of you who remember I started writing on a typewriter. Now, I find myself lost without a computer. It just makes life so simple. The same went for my microwave, my cell phone, and a host of other technological advances I've reluctantly adopted over the past thirty years.

My computer is my bookkeeping, my tax worksheets, my calendar, my internet, most of my communications these days, and my job all locked up inside of it. So when my hard drive on my desktop failed...it died a horrible death, but not without warning, I was able to store everything on flash drives...it's amazing what this small USB drive can save in 18 megs. And it has no moving parts! But it doesn't handle the clothes washer very well as my daughter found out.

  I've talked before about backing up your data. It is so important. Have you backed-up your hard drive lately? Have you backed-up your blog? Have you got back-ups for your back-ups? I do. In fact I do a triple whammy. One on each of two computers (which I lost 1), one on flash drives, and one on an online service. I am positively anal compulsive about my back-ups. So much of our lives today are computer based.

My husband asked me about the benefits of buying an i-pad or some such device. I told him as far as I knew he would work fine for him because it wasn't a regular computer computer. He just surfs the internet when he's awake and reads the articles. But for me, I need the full functioning type computer. I do a lot more than just surf with mine. Yes, there are tons of aps, keyboards, mouses, etc for those type devices, but I don't see the need.

But then again... I felt the same way about computers, microwave ovens, and cell phones.

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Twiddling My Thumbs

Today finds me with a day off sort of. A day off??? What's that? Those you have followed the Murphey saga over the years, previous to this blog, wonder if I ever get down time.

It is 1 P.M.  Prayers and Bible study are done.  My homework for the week is completed.  My husband is sleeping comfortably and no oxygen or cardiac alarms are making a god-awful racket.  My youngest daughter is in Savannah with her fiancee.  My lesson plans are done.  My sermon for tomorrow is completed and rehearsed.  Dinner is planned and cooking low and slow--a pot roast.  I've written a chapter in my new novel, Engineered Death.  I've edited several chapters in previously completed works-in-progress.  Written another 500 words to a couple of work-in- progress non-fictions.  I've read and posted in Compuserve's Books and Writers Community. I answered and returned emails from five separate accounts.  I know y'all are reading this and thinking wait a minute...this is a day off?

Yes for me, this is now considered a day off. Everything I had planned, or worked on is as complete as I want it to be at this point.  For fun, I sat back and read fellow bloggers' posting for enjoyment.  As you will probably notice I've even played around with the formatting to this blog.  Now I sit twiddling my thumbs trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my day.  Of course, this day off and thumb twiddling could come to screeching halt with a telephone call...in this instant, I am free with options to do what I WANT to do rather than have to do.  This is honestly a rare occasion. 

What do I do?  Hm, a hot bubble bath and a novel?  Scrapbook? Do the dishes or laundry (Ugh, what a waste of free time)?  Garden or turn the compost pile?  The options are unlimited.  How many of us have said...if I only had the time?  I've got it!  I think I'll blog about twiddling my thumbs. And there you have it.