Wild Blue Yonder

Nothing remarkable to report on

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:33:13 PST

Yesterday I emailed the SPCA volunteer who helped me adopt my 2 cats last spring. I suspect Waldo may still have worms, though he was dewormed when i adopted him. He's looking very thin and he has these little burps after eating, the way he did when i first got him.

By right,...

Scored 89 on census exam

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:15:30 PST

I took the exam this morning with about 16 other wanna-be "enumerators." I was supposed to be there at 9:45 am but the 30-minute exam didn't start until 11 am; it was a little disorganized. After he told us no one would be allowed to leave the room once the exam started, people starting...

A day of wrangling and time wasted

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:36:41 PST

Yesterday was one of those days.

I had to make my mandatory appearance at the unemployment office's re-employment services program, a fancy name for here's all the ways we can help you. I didn't see anything they could do to help me. (My former employer provided job coaching services...

Make your own chocolate candies for Tgiving in 4 minutes

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:17:08 PST

But first, just a quick note....Waldo is so doing so well and becoming accustomed to the routines and sounds of domesticated life with a human.

Even the camera flash bothers him a little less.

Since I'll be traveling for Thanksgiving, I was looking for a quick and...

Walking for exercise

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:33:21 PST

I've been walking on my lunch hour for many years. When I got laid off last September, I decided there was no reason not to continue and up the ante a little.

So I set a goal of a minimum of 225 minutes of exercise a week; that works out to 45 minutes 5 days a week. What's acceptable...

Oh, the agony and the isolation

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:18:34 PST

On Tuesday, I couldn't get online. My AT&T modem, which I'd only had for a few years, broke. They said I needed to buy a new one and the price had risen from $50 to $75. I'd have to wait a few days to receive it in the mail.

Thank God, I got the new modem tonight and with a technician...

Surprise ending to the day

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:32:23 PST

Yesterday was such a nice day that I ended up doing a fair amount of yardwork, and housework.

I raked and mowed up a bunch more leaves, this time raking them out from underneath shrubs and trees. In the past I left these leaves in place becus i thought it protected the plants from...

Today's Accomplishments

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:09:59 PST

I love this old cemetery. It dates back to the 1700s.

As the days of joblessness wear on, I've begun to have difficulty distinguishing between one day and the next. A weekend day is much the same as a week day. And, no longer being bound by the 9 to 5 clock, I find myself working...

HOORAY, freelance work!

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:05:47 PST

Just got some email from one of my oldest and best freelance contacts. He asked me if I'd be able to write a monthly real estate blog for him...just one post a month, on an ongoing basis.

Yes, yes! I said. Can't wait to hear the details.

I picked some lettuce in the garden this...

The world of temping

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:37:13 PST

I had my interview yesterday in Hartford at the agency that finds temp jobs for writers, designers and other creative types. But before seeing "Rich" to discuss things, I had to complete a gauntlet of forms, paperwork, and a little computer quiz to satisfy all their requirements. (Hate...

Finally sold my gold necklace

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:04:49 PST

I finally got around to selling my gold necklace. Let's make this fun. Here's the picture below. It's a Cleopatra style necklace, 14K and 11.6 pennyweight, tri-colored gold. Can you guess how much I got?

Let's put it this way: I got a LOT less than I was hoping for, but then...

One of those days when you feel like you're getting nothing done

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:48:42 PST

And already it's 12:30 pm and i feel like it's time for a nap.

I did spend a good part of the morning painstakingly putting together my "top 10" writing samples for my Wednesday interview with the creative temp/perm hiring agency. I felt that I needed to write a few sentences of...

It's Soup Weather

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:50:02 PST

I made a very good pumpkin black bean soup the other day.

Ingredients: sauteed onion and garlic, broth, pumpkin puree, tomatoes, black beans and, believe it or not, balsamic vinegar.Pretty easy to make cus much of it comes from a can. Psst. That's not wine in the glass. I've...

Got a leak, great

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:46:45 PST

I freaked out 2 days ago when we got all that heavy rain becus as i sat here at my computer, water dripped down from between the window and frame. It's an old leak that's been repaired/caulked (on the outside, where wood trim meets the house siding) at least 3 times, every other year...

wednesday...

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:54:02 PST

Not a terribly exciting title, I know. that's an accurate reflection of my day.

It rained hard, all day long, so I was cooped up all day. I applied online for 2 interesting freelance writing jobs.

I finished reading the book club choice, World of Wonders. (Didn't really like...

I won an award....it's oh so ironic

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:00:28 PST

Shortly before I was laid off by my employer, I suggested to my managers that I submit several of my stories and blog posts for the 2009 MarCom Awards, an international competition sponsored by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals. They agreed, and I took care...

No Heat Contest update

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:47:27 PST

Here's who has already turned on the heat (boo hoo):

Canoineag (Denver): Oct. 1
Dido: First week of October
creditcardfree (Iowa): Oct. 3
wowitsawonderfullife (Toronto) Oct. 8
AnnLink (Buckeye)Ohio): Oct. 8
Boomeyer: Oct. 10
Fern (CT): Oct. 12
JoanoftheArch: Oct. 12
NorthGeorgiaGal...

Cat food analysis, job networking group, selling gold jewelry

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:30:14 PST

So the story continues with my search for healthy but not insanely expensive canned cat food.

For me, healthy means no meat by-products and preferably no preservatives.

I used to feed my old cat an all dry food diet, which is inferior quality nutrition and which i do believe...

One last kayak trip

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:19:06 PST

With temperatures expected to reach into the low 70s yesterday, I knew it could be one of my final chances to take Little Minnow out for a fall foliage cruise. So I set out yesterday and put in on the lake at one of my hometown's boat launches.

I've learned from experience...

MS conference

dawn303030@yahoo.com (Fern) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:09:51 PST

As an MS person, I've gotten invitations to MS conferences for many years. They're sponsored by the various drug makers and include an evening talk given by an area physician, with free dinner thrown in.

I've always wanted to attend (as much for the free meal as anything else),...