I have just sold my first two items on ebay this week. I think it would be interesting to see how everything turns out for the first selling of the two items. So far, it has not been a bad experience. However, I am waiting on receiving both payments. I don't think the shipping will be that much more complicated than normal.
I don't think I will sell everything I own on ebay. Although, it is tempting to get rid of the household clutter and make a small profit at the same time.
I am cleaning out the house now so that I will not have much left in the house when I reach the age of 70. The more things we, as human beings possess, the more difficult it is to let go of them (material things) when we grow older.
Writers are known to have the behavior of packrats. I plead guilty on that count myself. Guilty, I am a writer. Guilty, I am a packrat. Maybe I should plead guilty on both counts.
However, I am trying to mend my "writer - packrat" ways. And this is not easy to do. Especially, when I am getting rid of my childhood memories - as in the toys I am selling on ebay.

This has been an absolutely crazy week! I haven't been able to do anything consistently. I am supposed to have started on getting things ready for my home improvement(s) this week. However, the contractor's ability to start getting things done has been thwarted by the weather. The home improvement(s) are not all that complicated.
The home improvement projects include building a new roof, replacing the old windows with more energy efficient windows, and building a small porch in the backyard. I am ready to get these things done so that I can go back to resuming a normal life again.
The contractor says that he is coming to measure the windows today. However, I have not heard from him today at all. I have to be the one to take care of things at home because my husband is at work.
I don't see how married couples build an entire house together, much less make home improvements when the need arises.
The contractor needs just one good week with sunshine everyday to get things done.
Cross your fingers!!!

I finally had to break down and buy a new printer on Friday night. I had been experiencing too much trouble with my printer recently and it would have cost too much to have it repaired.
The old printer would print crooked pages thus causing a paper jam plus it would print in both bold and regular type at the same time with a blur on the printed page. Complicated, isn't it?
I installed the new printer late Sunday afternoon. The installation was successful, however, when the printer is turned on, the computer says that it is offline. The sales woman said that we could use the same cable(s) that we had used on our old printer on the new one. I think she may have not known what she was talking about. I think I will just need to buy a new USB Cable to use with this new printer.
So I have yet to make use of my new printer. It won't print anything at this time. The new printer is an HP Photosmart 3210 All-In-One. My husband wanted a printer that would also take care of his pictures and preserve them on a CD/DVD.
I am beginning to think that there was something to the idea of having just a typewriter that would just print written material.

The first day of spring was Monday, March 20. However, Georgia is expecting rain this afternoon with a chance of a wintry mix or snow either late Thursday night or early Friday morning. The temperatures are staying in the 50's during the day and the 30's at night.
Dale and Montana, my cats, are freezing both day and night. Dale and Montana, because they are experiencing the aging process, are already cold natured. The falling temperatures only make it worse for them.
I haven't been feeling too good this week either. I think it's due to the changing weather at this time of year. Both of my hands are freezing as I type this blog on the computer screen! Ouch!
I feel for those people who have recently accommodated both tornadoes and then more snowstorms in the midst of this coming spring. The loss of homes and businesses was especially devastating to those people. I will remember them in my prayers.
I can still remember the Blizzard of 1993 which occurred in March. There was no electricity for nine days. I remember it well ...

This year I have been able to keep up with the television program "L-O-S-T." Last year I missed a few episodes and therefore, could not fully comprehend what was happening. What irritates me, though, is the constant going back-and-forth of the weekly episodes. One week is current and the next week is a rerun of say, 2004.
Although looking back through the 2004 episodes I have seen some shows that I had apparently missed in the past, it remains confusing to the television viewer.
Whatever happened to the good old days when a program was viewed in its entirety from September to May without a break in the episodes? And was also viewed in the same time spot each week?
Thanks to Dancing With The Stars and Skating With Celebrities, I have missed episodes of my other show - C.S.I. - this year. Now Extreme Home Makeover is having special episodes at the same time C.S.I. is on television tomorrow night.
Please believe me when I say that I have nothing against Extreme Home Makeover because my husband and I watch the show religiously every Sunday night. However, when moving television programs around, I wish the networks would show some compassion.
Oh, Hope and Faith was also moved from Friday nights due to the popularity of Ghost Whisperer. Now you can watch Hope and Faith on Tuesday nights after According To Jim. It's a good thing because Ghost Whisperer has become another good show to watch on Friday nights ...

I got a quick study on ebay last evening. A friend of mine is helping me to get started on ebay. I have been out of work since November of 2005. So she is finding a new way for me to make some quick cash.
I worked a little more overtime yesterday. She didn't leave until about 6:00 p.m. So I was tired when she left. Just thinking about more stuff to learn had my head spinning when I went to bed last night. I could hardly go to sleep thinking about everything. You know, when your mind just won't quit working, even though you and your physical body are dead tired.
Everyone can relate to this. I am proud, though, of the new things I am learning to do with my computer. Who would have thought of all these things to do with this new technology?
The world is certainly spinning at a faster rate than it was when I was a child.
Perhaps it is flying by much too fast these days. It is difficult for the brain to comprehend it all.
I think I have just been taking baby steps when everybody else has been experiencing giant leaps.

I am getting ready to sell some childhood toys on ebay sometime this afternoon. Letting go of childhood is a difficult thing. Although I spent most of my childhood wondering where my biological father was and what he looked like, and who I favored the most, and why he never came to see me, my toys and my books kept me company and also fueled my imagination. My female cousin, who lived across the pasture, came to play with me often, and we most frequently played with Barbie, Ken, and Skipper hours upon hours alone in my room.
Of course, Barbie and Ken were married and Skipper tagged along with them for the fun. And Barbie could be anything she wanted to be, although she had an airline bag in her closet. As for me, I was entirely too short to be a flight attendant. But Barbie was slender and tall. Nowadays I admire her long legs. Her legs also remind of Lucille Ball's legs now.
And while I played with Barbie and Ken, my little brother played with G.I. Joe. And G.I.Joe was not a doll. G.I. Joe became one of the first action figures for boys. My little brother eventually graduated from West Point and became a civil engineer and a soldier. Much later in life, I found out that my father had been a soldier, too ...

I cannot believe that I already have written eight posts. This is the first time I have been consistent with a task since my college days. And I don't want to reveal how long ago that was.
It would be nice to return to those college days again and decide on a new major. My mother expected me to become a schoolteacher since that had been her desire. She said, "You will have the same hours as your children." "You will have the summers off." Need I say more.
So I became a schoolteacher and I taught for six and one-half years in the public school system. As it turned out, teaching was not for me.
And I married and could not have any children. Infertility is not pretty. So my husband and I decided to remain childless.
As for having the summers off, things have really changed in that department, too.
So I struck out three times in a row.
Other than majoring in the wrong subject, I really enjoyed my college days.
My mother had a "cow" when I quit teaching to write. She actually disliked me because my father had had the same desire to write when they were married. And that is another story...

I finally finished paying all my bills yesterday afternoon. And this morning I had to run into town for a couple of errands.
So now I am trying to play "catch-up" this afternoon. I live about twelve miles out of town, so when I go, I try to do all I can at one time.
It is sometimes frustrating because I can get home and then remember what I forgot to do in town! I know I should make a list, but I've been shopping without a list ever since I've been married.
I do not make time for lists and schedules, even though I know it would simplify my life. If I am at the computer, my husband will often ask, "What are you doing?" And as I like to keep some things private, I usually don't tell him exactly what I am doing.
I am a private person. Friends and relatives seldom visit me, but that doesn't bother me. As a writer, I am somewhat of a pack-rat. Sometimes I don't want other people to see what shape my house is in. However, my house is not as bad as I think it is. I have definitely seen worse than mine!
And as a child, I learned to entertain myself when I was alone.

I don't know what to write about this morning, except that I must finish paying the bills this afternoon, regardless of Dale and his whereabouts. I'll be glad when spring gets here, then I can open the windows and Dale can sit in the window sills and enjoy the fresh air.
I caught up on some much needed reading yesterday afternoon. I love to read as much as I love to write. I have a whole cabinet full of books that I have not read. I have ordered them but have not had the chance or the time to read them. My husband shakes his head everytime I order a new book to read.
After I've read them, I plan to donate the books to my local library. When I was a child, I participated in the summer reading programs. I stayed at the library so much during the summertime.
There really wasn't that much for us to do in the summer when school was out. My younger brother and I always attended Vacation Bible School each year. Every day we both went to the city pool to swim. M two brothers and I took swimming lessons at an early age.
I swam and read books to keep occupied until school started again in the fall. My older brother found other things to do when school was out. He had the musical talent in the family. He would play the piano and his guitar.
That's all folks! Until next time ...

I was trying to get some paperwork done this morning. Like everyone else, I have to pay the bills each month. Before I got finished, Dale came running upstairs and landed on the table where I was working.
I forgot to tell you that Dale also likes to eat paper. He will eat or chew on any kind of paper. He especially loves to eat fresh paper that's been crumpled.
So anytime I have paperwork to do, there Dale is - ready to chew on paper that's considered to be important. Sometimes I am able to finish my paperwork duties, but not this morning.
I will have to complete the rest of it either this afternoon or maybe, tomorrow morning. Dale has too much power in his own home. All he has to do is "meow" and I am there with him. Dale does take a lot of time out of my schedule.
It's bad when I have to blame my cat for not getting any work done at home, isn't it?
I have a lot of learned behaviors which need to be unlearned. I think it is more difficult to unlearn bad behaviors than it is to learn new behaviors. What do you think?

Back to the cats. Montana and Dakota were close as a mother and daughter. They slept together. They played together. One day Montana was at the back of the deck - looking up the hill at the dirt road. Some dogs had been barking up there and I thought that Dakota had been killed - the way that Montana was looking back toward the hill. Montana quickly disappeared underneath the deck like she had been spooked. I never saw Dakota again so I thought she was dead.
That was until spring/summer of last year (2005). I saw another cat out there with Montana and they were sitting down together face to face. Montana never got close to an unfamiliar cat. My husband and I finally caught a glimpse of the other cat and it was Dakota! Her tail had been cut off into a bob tail, but it was the same cat! Someone had obviously taken care of her when I did not know where she had been.
I was not able to pick her up or hold Dakota again. There were some more dogs chasing her this time and she disappeared before we could claim her as ours.
Montana is lonely now without Dakota here. I think Montana is older than Dale. Montana has slowed down in her old age and she has become an inside cat. Montana lost her "meow" due to her previous starvation. However, Dale makes up for it big time.
I don't know what I will write about tomorrow.

Here I am again. I promised that I would write about Montana today. But did I tell you that Dale is a gray male tabby cat? What distinguishes him from other cats is that he has black paws; they almost feel like leather.
Montana found our house when she was abandoned by her former owners. Her ribs were sticking out and she was starving to death when she arrived here. Montana is a female calico cat and a domestic short-hair cat. Before we could catch her to take her to the veterinarian, she got pregnant. Montana had three kittens: Yellowstone, Garfield, and Dakota. Garfield ran Yellowstone away from the house when he was a small kitten; I did not have enough money to neuter Garfield and Yellowstone and spay Dakota at the same time. So Yellowstone ran away from home. In the meantime, Garfield was killed in a car accident. Dakota's life story is filled with mystery; talk about a cat with nine lives!

This is the first time that I cannot think of anything to write about.
It is a beautiful day. The sunshine is out. There is a little breeze in the air. The temperatures are supposed to be in the 70's - the mid 70's at that - all next week. I think spring has arrived.
When there is nothing to write about, I guess the weather will have to do.
I would write about my cats. But that would probably be boring.
Anyway, Dale is my male tabby cat. He lives inside the house and is spoiled rotten. He will be sixteen years old in May. He talks constantly with his own "meow" opinions. He has been my constant companion since he was a little kitten. Everyone loves Dale because he is such a beautiful cat. He rarely meets strangers. He likes to be with people and likes to share his opinions with them.
Dale has a skin condition and a bladder problem, but these diseases can be controlled by daily medication.
It will be a sad day for me when Dale departs this world.
I told you it would be boring, but I wrote about Dale anyway. Next time, I'll inform you about my other cat, Montana.
At one time, I had seven cats, but now I have two.

I missed yesterday because I had my computer and printer cleaned. I was without my computer for one whole day. It felt like something was wrong at home. There was an empty space where the computer was supposed to be.
I hope I don't miss any more days this year. But, the inevitable somehow happens regardless of whether we anticipate it or not. Something most always happens to wreck our plans, whether it be to write or to do something else.
I think that's what I'm afraid of. If I make any plans to write, my schedule will be messed up by something out of my control. I won't be able to stop whatever is coming my way.
Writers are supposed to anticipate setbacks. There are setbacks in all kinds of businesses. The key is to be able to keep on going once the setbacks have occurred. This is one of my writing goals this year.
To keep on writing, to keep on going, no matter what happens, to be persistent. To keep on starting everyday, to keep writing everyday.

I like to write. I have published articles in several magazines. However, I have not been able to write or publish a book yet. Non-fiction is my specialty. I have been a freelance writer since 1986. That's been twenty years. I did not realize it had been that long until just now.

I have a difficult time starting projects and ending projects. I experience difficulty with time management. I must plan to write or I won't accomplish anything.

I am totally new at blogging. This is my first blog. I think blogging will get me on the right track to writing something everyday.

I like cats and I love to read.

I have had several jobs in the past, but nothing satisfies me like writing. I am a former schoolteacher. I taught in the public school system for six and one-half years. I majored in elementary education. I did what my mother told me to do and it didn't work out for me. She was upset when I quit teaching to write.

That's all for now ...