Hello!
As if I wasn't busy enough! I've started a new website for travel information.
The link is:
NW Travel Online
This site will contain my travel articles and information on travel in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho and Wymoing. I want to get serious about writing useful and informative articles.

Well, we planted the vegetable garden last night, getting the last seeds in the ground just as the sun set. I am excited to watch our garden grow.

We have been so blessed to have found such a nice house with such an amazing backyard. Nestled right in town, we are able to landscaped and garden with ease, without it getting out of hand.

Now, the fruits and vegetables produced on our city lot include:

blueberries
strawberries
raspberries
currants
apples
pears
plums
beans
peas
radishes
carrots
potatoes
tomatoes
peppers
herbs: parsely, cilantro, oregano,
rosemary, sage, thyme & peppermint



Photos taken by my husband in our yard, last summer.

I had a wonderful birthday, filled with family and kind gifts. I felt very loved. It's amazing how special gifts are when you grow up and when you are least expecting them. It's also wonderful when the person knows me well enough to give the things I need.

I received writing journals from my two moms. These are treasured items for me, as I am always filling notebooks with ideas, or putting them places and then forgetting where they are! It's nice to have a notebook for each topic I am thinking about. It helps keep me organized.

This weekend is the Rhody Run in Florence. My husband and I are going to attempt the 5K. We didn't get much time to train as I was sick for about a week. But we are doing good at walking. So, we will just enjoy ourselves, and the Rhododendron Festival.

So, on Saturday, my husband and I made a trip to Home Depot, one of his favorite stores. We walked all around the store, and my feet hurt. Then, as we walked by the lumber aisle, he asked if I wanted to know what my birthday present is. I thought it odd because he really likes surprises, and I love to know ahead of time. So, with a little hesitation, I said sure. He told me he wanted to build me a vegetable garden, and it would be hard to hide it from me until my birthday. I was so happy to hear about the garden! It is such a thoughtful gift, and something I've dreamed about.

So, we bought some lumber for the raised bed. Then my husband spent several hours digging out a small hill we have in our backyard. The hill ended up being a pile of fill dirt! So, now we have a huge pile of dug up grass and dirt in our backyard. But the spot for the garden plot is coming along.

I'm excited to get home tonight and continue working on the garden. Well, I might help but will let my husband do whatever he wants since it was his idea. I might go purchase the seeds I want to grow. I already have some tomato starts.

I love gardens. I grew up on a small farm and we always had a garden. I'm excited to have a new project. I love projects too.

I'm still trying to nail down concrete ideas for my book topics. I have about four topic/ titles now. I can't seem to focus on just one. So, I might have to work on four of them simultaneously! It's hard working full-time and wanting to write. I can and do think about writing constantly. Even if I am at work, I can at least think about the books I want to write, and jot down ideas when possible.

So, my latest ideas have to do with my book on missions trips and volunteering. I've changed my focus slightly but think it's a good change. I want to include thoughts and testimonials from people I know who have gone on these trips or volunteered. I think I can use these in the book. So, I am working on that.

I also have a new book idea: a student's guide of Oregon colleges and universities. It would be informational, and useful for high school seniors and current college students. This idea is still preliminary but I think it could work.

So, that's what I'm working on. I may be contacting you if you've been volunteering or gone on a missions trip. Thanks!

After the presentation by Bill Sullivan last week, I felt an urge to read his books. I do want to read all the books written by our speakers at sometime. So, I ordered two of Bill's books. To my delight, I received a package in the mail yesterday, containing the books. Like an ice cream sundae, I devoured the pages of the first book, "Listening for Coyote" almost immediately.

Just reading the preface, I was excited and impressed with the humor, honesty and style of Bill's writing. After hearing about this adventure, straight from the author, I couldn't wait to read it first hand. Yesterday I read 40 pages and didn't want to put the book down. I know if I had a few hours, I could finish it. I just want to know what happens next!

Because he is writing about Oregon and nature, I feel like I am part of his story. I have experienced a hike through the silent forest, seen the wildlife and heard the same thundering waterfalls. I hope to share these books with my family and friends, who also love Oregon and the outdoors.

The two books by William Sullivan I bought were:
"Listening for Coyote"
"Cabin Fever: Notes from a Part-Time Pioneer"

Last week I started a new page on this site called "List of Published Articles", which you can find under the Links menu, the fourth one down. This page contains a list of my articles published by Suite101.com that were published over one year ago.

Suite101.com has electronic rights to my published articles for one year. After that, I own all rights to these published works. So, I have created a list, as an index of all my published articles, published over one year ago. I hope you find the index useful and easy to use. I may publish some kind of book of all my articles in the future. I have added a disclaimer for those wishing to use my work, requiring my permission first.

Since I begun writing over one year ago for Suite101.com, I have learned a lot about internet writing, improving my techniques. You may observe a difference in my writing from the first articles to the most recent. Remember that Internet writing differs from articles you may find in print. Readers find my articles online by searching for keywords or titles unlike magazine and newspaper articles in print. It is important that I include these keywords in my titles and subtitles, and throughout my articles. So, sometimes my use of certain words, and keywords in subtitles may seem like overkill.

What a lovely weekend in Oregon! The warm sun made all the flowers open up and the plants grow. We spent most of the weekend in the yard, mowing, pulling weeds and enjoying all of our flowers. The crabapple tree has the most bushy white flowers that smell so good! I've included a picture of it and the Bleeding Heart plant.

We heard a good tip from a gardening show called "Gardening with Ciscoe", which is a great show with a very quirky, funny host. The tip he gave was to use vinegar as an easy way to kill dandelions and other weeds. It has to be dry and warm outside. It's so easy, and doesn't take all the chemicals involved with Roundup. So, I filled a squirt bottle with vinegar and went to work. Within hours the dandelions had turned brown and wilted away! It was great! I had to be careful not to let any get on the grass, as it would have killed the grass too. So, I was able to get rid of all the weeds growing between the stones on our patio.

Here are a few pictures from our yard from the beginning of May:

Speaker: Bill Sullivan
Making non-fiction writing exciting
Bill Sullivan shared his writing experience with us, telling us what worked and what was a struggle. He is the author a dozen books, and writes for the Register Guard.
Bill started in freelance writing and teaching. He jokes that his wife gave him 7 years to complete a successful book, and after that he’d have to get a job as a clerk at K-mart.

He began with a “How to” book but ended up signing a “buy out” contract so he didn’t make much money, although the book was successful. He then did some “ghost writing” on a textbook for his brother. He and his brother also printed their own book, a collection of their father’s columns while at the Stateman Journal in Salem.

Bill discovered success when he wrote a book about his travels across Oregon, hiking from the coast to Hells Canyon. He successfully wrote 2 books: a guidebook and an adventure story from his hiking experience. Before the trip, he wrote notes on history, flora and fauna, to add to what he experienced. During his trip, he kept several journals, which he let us look at. He told us to journal about everything. The book is called “Listening for Coyote".

But he then realized that he could make 10 times as much, if he self published his books. He uses a printing factory - $8,000 for 5,000 books = $1.70. Distribution can take 60 percent. He does self promotion through a book tour of the state, giving slide shows and talks.

Pitfalls of self-publishing
- printing too many copies and not being able to sell them
- expensive software needed for layout
- marketing

Tips for writers
- journal every experience
- work for deadlines
- if self-publishing, get help on editing and proofreading, and marketing
- try print on demand first, if want to self publish

His most recent book was written about Oregon’s history of natural disasters. He added fiction to this book, looking to a made-up future event. He took historical, scientific information, and interpreted it to layman’s terms for a general audience. Check out his website for more information: Oregon Hiking - Bill Sullivan

His talk was very motivating! I might have to look into self publishing, but first I need to write a book.

Today as I sit, wondering where my life will take me, ready for the next step in my career, I stop to give thanks for everything I have already accomplished and everything that gives me joy.
I am thankful for:
- My kind, respectful, and loving husband, who let’s me be me, and listens to my many thoughts and ideas
- My supportive, loving family who awaits my next writing adventure
- My entertaining pets who make me want to come home and laugh at their abilities and feel their personalities
- My friends and fellow writers around the world, who keep in touch and inspire me to keep writing
- A world of creation that inspires me with beauty and intrigue
- A world of connectivity and technology that allows for quick information retrieval and the ability to connect with the writing community at a mouse click
- An outlet for creative thought through writing articles and journal entries
- Finally, and most of all, our God, who’s constant contact I feel around me, urging me to be the best I can be