How Easy Is it For You?

        The joy of learning a new software program is never on my bucket list.  Hours of sitting in front of a computer. Trial and error trying to make the program do what I thought it should do. And that's if I understand what I'm suppose to be doing.  Do I get what I wanted on the screen?  NO!  
        Why can't software instruction be like reading a non-fiction children's book? 
         I pick up the book, open to page one and start to read. By page two or three, I am learning facts, understand the topic and am lost in the book.   I love the pictures (no matter how small) and can't put the book down. I read it several times. The bibliography, index, and further reading entices me to read more about the topic.  I am "in the know" about the topic.
       We need software folks to take education classes/teach training classes.  Learn how to provide instructions/directions that people understand.  Yes, Chat does help. Yes, feedback does help,too.  Just make it simpler to understand up front and this writer will GET IT!      

Yummy and Wild

Ice Cream Treat
It's  hot outside!  I'm in a bookstore browsing the children's book area, wishing I had an ice cream cone (instead of the coffee I'm holding). I pick up the book The Ice Cream King by Steven Metzger. Who can pass up a book with a happy boy holding an ice cream cone with many flavors from Thrill Chill ice cream shop?  The illustrations by Julie Downing are excellent. Great summer read aloud.

Some Like It Hot

                              It could be a hot day, a hot date, a hot dog or a hot topic.
               My favorite menu for a hot and steamy summer evening with your oh so special friend.
                  

                      Hot and spicy salsa with chips
                     Red sangria with orange and apple slices
                     Dark stout beer
                     Garden salad with lettuce (chopped), cucumbers (sliced),
                     green and yellow peppers (diced), tomato(sliced), apple (slices),
                       orange (pieces), nuts
                     Grilled Shrimp on a bed of rice
                      Fruit salad of watermelon and cantaloupe
                     Chocolate chip cookies

                                                                 Have fun and enjoy!  

Day at the Beach

I visit the local beach to relax and feel my inner peace, which I don't get to explore often enough. Soft gentle waves as they slap the shore. The horizon far over the blue-green water as the sun goes down in the evening.  Day dreaming  about a trip around the globe to far off places like China, Norway, England or in my own back yard, north to Bar Harbor Maine. 




A great little book I found in St. Petersburg Florida is  A Week at the Beach by Jim and Joanne Hubal.  Over 100 things that can inspire, motivate and/or fill your time at the seashore.  My favorite is  number 52 - Take pictures of your favorite beach smells.  Sand, food, heat, water! Seashells, fish on the pier, and suntan lotion come to mind.  Let me know what you smell and how you feel on your next visit the beach.   

   

Time to Write

Here I sit on a Friday morning starring at my office walls.  I tell myself-write, get to work, write. I see my calendar that says May 11.  Time to send out that magazine article I've been writing for 2 weeks.  My favorite quote by Audrey Hepburn, "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, I'm possible", hangs on my wall glaring at me.  I close the window shutters; it's dark. Nothing on the outside world to distract me. Write, I say write.  Coffee in one hand; type with the other.  Ah! this works. It must be the jolt, the kaboom to get going.Yes, I admit I'm a coffee addict. I do my best writing under the influence of the dark, smokey, rich blends.      

wish you were here

Have you ever visited a place and wanted the world to know about it?  A visit to Gulfport FL on the shores of Boca Ciega Bay is my new home away from home.  The seafood at Blackfin Blue Cafe is excellent.  Enjoy the pork tacos at Peg's Cantina and Brew Pub. Don't forget to order one of the three home brews made on site to go with that taco.  Strolling up and down the street on a Friday artwalk, first Friday of each month,  you talk with the vendors who truly enjoy their sidewalk gigs.  My favorite was last week when I met author Allison Cesario Paton. She is visiting from Maine and had her five books, Mrs.Bundle Mystery Series available.  I had to buy one. Visit her at www.mrsbundle.com.  An evening in this small town can be topped off with a community play in the Catherine Hickman Theater.  Fun for all ages with Gulfport Beach right next to Williams Pier.  Take a vacation and visit my little town.   

Q is for Quiet!

 A recommended read is the book Quiet by Susan Cain.  After reading the first page, I couldn't put it down even as night crept into early morning.   Quiet - The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking sounds so stuffy and too scientific.  Not so, with the approach taken by Ms. Cain.  Seems everyone has traits of each type-extrovert and introvert. How others perceive us makes a difference from as young as our childhood.  It is a great read. Let me know what you think.

Ready, Set, Go

Blogging made easy! Just follow the steps and you can be ready to go in minutes. Famous last words for this inexperienced blogger.  Sitting with  author Nancy Stewart for hours learning the process (could it really be this hard), I set up the blog on my own.  Now to post, who and where will it end up is the guess.  Enjoy!  Thank you Nancy, you are an angel! Oh yea, your books published by Guardian Angel Press says it all!