#i mean the diary's also like a published book so i agree it was fair to assume he'd know about them

[galacticlamps]

I can’t believe that a) Toby Hadoke read out some of the quotes from Joe Orton’s diary to Frazer Hines and b) this interaction occurred on the publicly-available dvd commentary of The Moonbase

[triggeringthehealing]

The Adventures Of Teen Werewolves In A Town Sitting On Top Of An Evil Tree Stump

Derek/Stiles | PG | 1811w | AO3

Summary: It’s been on Stiles’s mind for a while now, the fact that their experiences aren’t recorded anywhere for posteriority. It’s when they’re looking at the mementoes in the Hale vault that he decides to bring it up to Derek. 

A/N: Written for the @fullmoonficlet challenge: prompt #339 - record

"You know, I didn't realize that we never managed to put down all the shit we've been through into some sort of journal or diary, in all the years," Stiles says, shaking his head.

He's standing in the Hale vault that's still safely locked underneath the high school, still full of items from the family's history. The history that is now his too, in a tangential way. There are rows of shelves with all sorts of things on them, from mementos specific to some family members—he's pretty sure he saw a tiny basketball jersey at some point—to general items that were obviously important enough to be kept locked away. The same way that the tea that saved Malia, Scott, and Kira a while back was.

"Would you want to relive those things at some point?" Derek asks from across the vault, his tone incredulous.

"First of all, not all of it was bad," Stiles points out. "Second of all, we've encountered things that I feel would be worth having a record of, especially the parts about how to get rid of them.'

"Shitload of luck and a healthy dose of chance," Derek tells him with a snort. "With a few exceptions when we actually knew what we were doing. Most of those latter ones were also just humans fueled by anger-inducing irrational fear."

"Oh come on, Gerard would warrant an entire chapter all for himself," Stiles says.

He puts down the vial he's been staring at, right next to the tomes that he thinks are important documents, though maybe not quite as valuable as the bonds that were in a separate little safe and had been used to fund Peter's unintentional—or well, not deliberately conscious—deadpool scheme. Derek's already only a few steps away before Stiles starts moving toward him.

"But seriously, with the amount of crap that was thrown our way," he says, walking closer, "we really should put it all down on paper or something, for future generations."

"Are you expecting all those things to return?" Derek asks. "Because I honestly really hope none of them will, ever again."

"You know some of them will."

"Monroe is not that stupid, she won't set foot in California, let alone this town, again."

"Fair. But she does have minions who don't have such self-preservation. And I didn't mean the hunters either, I'm sure there's enough said about them in all the world's packs' records," Stiles tells Derek, reaching out to link their fingers. "I meant more things that go bump in the night. And not the fun kind of bump."

"So, what are we talking about? The Dread Doctors? Because we're several decades away from those being around again, provided someone who's currently human will decide to go down that route for immortality."

"No, I meant things like the Kanima," Stiles replies, his lips tugging into a smile. "We could absolutely get Jackson to help with that one, past and present."

"There's already all that information in the old Hale Bestiary," Derek points out. "Remember where we got it from when he was evolving? Into the creepy thing that I hope never to see again."

"But he didn't and I bet there's nothing in there about a Kanima becoming part werewolf. Or about the way its tail continues to be usable after that transformation," Stiles says with a grin.

"That face you're making is telling me that there are things I do not want to know about Jackson's tail. Ever. Not even if it would help in the future."

Stiles chuckles and tugs on Derek's hand, pulling him closer. He can feel the metal of the ring on Derek's finger against his hand and it makes his heart flutter, still. They've been married for over a year now and the thrill of it hasn't worn off yet. Stiles isn't sure it ever will.

"All I'm saying is, maybe it would be worth it to write it all down. There's stuff that's unbelievable enough that we could maybe disguise it as fiction, publish it as a book."

"The adventures of teen werewolves in a town sitting on top of an evil tree stump?" Derek suggests, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"That's a bit of a mouthful, but for all I know, it might just work."

"You might be on to something," Derek says then, his eyebrows scrunching.

"Really?"

Stiles can't help it, he's surprised that Derek seems to even remotely consider the idea. It isn't one that Stiles thought through, just something he said in the moment, his brain wandering off on a tangent. But it feels like it might be a way to preserve their experiences along with information that might potentially help not only Beacon Hills in the future but also packs around the world. It would definitely be easier to distribute a book that is presented as fiction than it has been trying to get hands on Bestiaries and other similar records of all things supernatural.

"No."

Derek shakes his head and Stiles's growing enthusiasm deflates like a flat tyre.

"There's no way you could put in all the information that you want to put in," Derek says, then holds up a finger when Stiles opens his mouth to protest, indicating that he's not done. "You'd need to have too much info dump and that doesn't make for good fiction. But I'll admit that no matter how much I don't want to go back through the memories of those years, we probably should at least add to the information that Peter already has in his laptop."

Stiles shakes off the disappointment about having his idea—one that he thought was kind of genius—shut down, because Derek agreeing to collect and record what they know is still a win.

"You still have Peter's laptop, right?'

Derek nods.

"Then we'll need to start looking through it."

"Right now?' Derek asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Not right this second, unless you have the laptop with you.."

"I don't. And we were down here for a reason," Derek points out.

"Right. Yeah. Reason."

Stiles steps closer and leans in to press his lips against Derek's.

"Would you like to go back to looking for my birth certificate? Or should we just forget about it?" Derek asks when he pulls away from the kiss a moment later.

"I would like to keep looking, yes," Stiles says. "We can't file for the adoption otherwise."

Because that's why they're here, in the vault, digging through piles of paperwork and—in Stiles's case—poking at all the treasures that generations of Hales left behind. They need Derek's birth certificate to apply for the adoption of Leah, a werewolf cub who found her way to them a few months ago, her pack decimated by hunters adjacent to Monroe's dwindling army. They've been taking care of her since, Stiles's father officially registered as a foster parent and in charge of her. But with multiple strings pulled and with Leah already attached to them both and to the pack, they want to make things official.

Derek is back across the room and looking for the necessary paperwork when Stiles gets an idea.

"Hey, Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I could try and take some of the stuff that we survived and make it into a story book anyway?"

"You're not reading stories about the Alpha pack or the Nogitsune to a three year old werewolf cub," Derek says firmly.

"I would not—“

"You would. But you won't."

Stiles wants to argue, but the urge only lasts a few seconds. After that, his mind comes up with all the possible results of retelling the Nogitsune events to Leah and he balks at the thought of not only traumatizing her with some of the parts but also inspiring her with some others. Her curiosity is off the charts as it is, she really doesn't need encouragement. Which is probably why Derek's putting an end to the idea before Stiles can even try to make it happen.

"I won't," Stiles says in a defeated tone.

"We'll have our hands full anyway, there's no reason to make it worse," Derek tells him, confirming that Stiles was right about his motivation. "But maybe you're right."

"Wait, what?" Stiles asks, surprised at that last addition.

"About recording things. Putting all the information together. Maybe even doing it the way you said we could," Derek tells him, looking almost like it hurts to admit that Stiles is right.

It's a tone and expression that Stiles has seen many times before, Derek grudgingly admitting that Stiles has a good point. It never fails to be satisfying.

"I get to write a book?" Stiles asks instead of openly gloating.

"We get to write a book. All of us," Derek says. "There are things that some of us know that others don't, so we'll need to work on it together. With everyone."

"Not Peter."

"Yes Peter. Seeing as there are things he’s been part of that no one else was. Also your dad."

Stiles cringes but nods. There's no one person who has all the information that he wants to write down, no single member of the pack who would know everything exactly the way it happened.

"You're right."

"I am," Derek says with a grin and he turns to a folder with what looks like paperwork that's on a shelf right next to them. "I also found what we were looking for," he adds as he reaches for the folder and flips it open.

"Yeah?"

Derek turns a few pages, then triumphantly pulls out one of the sheets in there.

"Derek S--"

"No."

"Come on, you know my first name."

"And I don't know your middle name. So you're not reading mine," Derek says, holding the printed side of the certificate out of Stiles's line of sight.

"Genim," Stiles says easily. "That's the easy one. Now can I see?'

"No."

"Derek."

"Stiles."

"Is that your middle name? Because that would be weird," Stiles says, grinning when Derek levels him with a glare.

"I'll tell you when Leah's adoption is complete, how's that?" Derek offers.

Stiles nods because he can wait that long. Maybe if he's lucky he'll even get to see the documents before that, so it's a win either way. He's already won one thing today, the fact that they'll write down all the things that happened in their lives up to this point. He hasn't said it, but part of why he wanted to was so the future generations would have a record that would be easy to find, notes on all the possible dangers they could face.

So that when Leah will grow up, she'll be better prepared for the world than he was. When Derek reaches for his hand and links their fingers, Stiles figures that maybe he gets it too.

[mfackenthal]

150 Follower Spotlight: @blackcatkita!

What follows is the transcript of the very first episode ever of “The MFackenthal show.”  Imagine the set of “The Ellen Degeneres Show.” Emojis have been used to help show facial expressions and to give this transcript greater depth.

Hello everyone and thank you for that warm welcome!  This show is a dream come true.  When Ellen saw me interview @simplyaiden-blog  and asked me to create a show, I almost fainted.  No one pinch me as I don’t want to learn this is just a dream. 

We have an amazing show for you today.  Please join me in welcoming @blackcatkita to the stage! 

MFack:  Jen, I am so glad you are here!  I have loved your work for a while now and I am so glad you are willing to join me on stage for my first episode of “The MFackenthal show.”

Jen:  Megs, thanks for having me!

MFack: So your name is Jen and your MC is often named Jennifer … now, I name all of my MC’s Megs …

Jen: Yep! I name all of them a derivative of my own name. Those based in high school are Jenny, because that’s what I went by. College aged ones are Jen. TRR is the only one I use Jennifer, because its more proper. 😁

Once I start writing for more series I will have to think up new names. It will be too confusing to have them all with the same name!

MFack:  I understand, though have you met the blogger @lizeboredom? All her MCs are named Minah and she's just made it a running joke.  You should reach out to her and tell her how awesome my show is – I’d love to have her on as a guest.  (wink)

But back to you, where are you from?

Jen: I'm from Milwaukee, WI, USA.  I’m still in the Milwaukee area but now I live in a nearby suburb.

MFack: and what do you do when you're not writing?

Jen: Oh, not much! I work a lot but when I'm not I'm usually playing the app, reading, or writing.

I’m a master level manicurist at a full-service salon and spa.

MFack: Whoa, that's awesome.

Jen: (Laughs) It is?

MFack: (Laughs) Well, I guess you'd have to tell me.  I'm thinking it's a lot of work, but that you'd also get a discount on some great spa services.

Jen: I don’t pay anything for hair or spa services. Most of the time we don’t even tip each other, just trade. And I get half off products, so that’s nice. I actually started doing it because it was flexible, and I could do it while I finished college. I never did go back because, honestly, I love what I do! I’ve been doing it for 15 years and some of my clients have been with me the whole time. They aren’t just clients, I consider them friends as well. I’m booked at 87-95%, I love my coworkers, the owner is awesome, it’s a great place to work and its insane to me how much I make doing nails. I always say I don't really work there, I just go there to hang out with my friends and they pay me for it.

MFack: Awh - so it is AWESOME!

Jen: It is 😁 Usually people don’t have that reaction is all. I’m not a surgeon or anything but I do make people feel good about themselves. Sometimes I feel like a therapist.  

MFack: In many ways, I'm sure you are a therapist.

So, what brought you to the choices fandom?

Jen: I honestly don’t remember why I downloaded the app in the first place. I played “The Crown and the Flame” and was hooked! I held out on purchasing diamonds until “The Royal Romance” and “Endless Summer.” I’ve now fallen completely off the deep end. Like hundreds of dollars into the abyss. Now I unlock everything in my favorite stories!

MFack:  Me too! "What's a few dollars here or there," my mind asks ... and then the other part of me says, "if only it was a few dollars … don't ask that question ... "

Jen: I look at it like this: it entertains me for hours every day. I work for a living, I deserve those diamond scenes! (whispering) and outfits!

MFack:  Who’s work in the fandom did you read first?

Jen: I think it was @captainkingliam, closely followed by @violetflipflops and @ladynevrakis (who have since changed their handles to @sgt-peppers-coffee-club and @i-dream-so-i-write) I absolutely adore @captainkingliam’s "In Another World" AU and @violetflipflops and @ladynevrakis' Kenna/Diavolos fics are life!

MFack: Yes! I love Diavolos! (Whispering) Here’s a little secret: I almost cried the other day when the former @ladynevrakis said she's pretty much done writing for Kenna/Diavolos!

Jen: NOOO! I didn't see that! I was already #teamDiavolos before I read her stuff but if I hadn’t been she certainly would have swayed me!

But, Megs, can I ask a question of you now?

MFack:  (Looking at Jen quizzically) I guess ….

Jen: Well, I saw that you’re reading all of my masterlist, including earlier stuff 🙈

MFack:  Yup! I'm calling it "research" (wink) Don't worry, I'll catch up ASAP!

Jen:  Well, I feel like I hit my stride in part 4 of Consequence of Secret and every time I write it gets a little better. I may rewrite those first 3 someday. We are our own worst critics though.

MFack:  Indeed! That's why I'm not a writer - I can't do the rewrite parts. Once I write it and read it for "editing" I hit publish and deal with my consequences of my many errors …

I'm remember chapter 4 and I love that Chance shames Liam. ;)

Jen:  Oh yeah, well then I have to ask, which chapter of “The Consequence of Secrets” was your favorite?

MFack: I think maybe chapter 9 is my current favorite. I get to hate new characters and things don't quite go as planned in that chapter, Olivia is delightful in her Olivia way - the writing is just soooo good! I love the chapter more when we realize that Liam's perspective is inaccurate.

Jen: Yes! Liam is so blind, and he doesn’t even know it. Spoiler alert: Shit goes down in chapter 11b.

MFack:  Ahhhh!  I can’t wait! I want to ask about that, but I know half my audience hates spoilers so let me ask my next question.  Have you read all of the choices books?

Jen: Yes! I replay my favorites all. the. time.

Megs:  What's your favorite?

Jen: Hmm ... I will go with The Royal Romance, followed by Lovehacks and The Crown and the Flame. I am really enjoying Perfect Match and Bloodbound too, just not enough to break into the top 3.

MFack:  While I agree with you about Lovehacks, I know it's not a Tumblr favorite.

Jen:  I don’t know why it gets so much hate. I think it’s hilarious and Mark is a perfect cinnamon roll of a man!

MFack:  I don't know why either!  Of course, as all my viewers will learn, I love anything that hints to the TV show Friends.

Okay, so seeing as The Royal Romance is your favorite, who is your favorite character from that universe?

Jen:  How can you make me choose?! I love them all! Liam is obviously a favorite of mine. There’s so much more to him than just "the sweet and romantic love interest." He’s been brought up to be the stoic king and he is, but he’s also a man with conviction who really does want the best for his people and his country. That being said, he isn’t afraid to fight for what’s important to him and he goes for what he wants in life even if that means going against what others think. Then there’s Maxwell. He’s the happy go lucky go to guy for a good time but he’s really the most supportive friend you could ever want. He will do anything for his friends, even bring a random commoner he just met to compete for his friend’s hand because he saw something in the two of them. All that said - I'm choosing the MC for the win! She's fearless, loyal (at least how I play her lol) assertive, kind, funny, generous, selfless etc. etc.

MFack: Going back to your work, what's your writing process?

Jen:  Uhh … I don’t know if I have one! An idea pops into my head and I start writing … I'm one of those fortunate people who retains information, so I don't usually have an outline when I start.  I kind of just know where I want the story to go. I do have a file of "fic ideas" but it’s full of simple like statements: "the Lovehacks gang at the renaissance faire" or "Red Carpet Diaries/The Royal Romance crossover." Consequence of Secrets is a little different, of course. The entire series started with the words "It's killing me to see you with him," and it quickly took on a life of its own. I know how each part starts and ends, and what I want to accomplish within that chapter. My goal is to have all of my fics line up together in a timeline that makes sense.

MFack: What's your favorite/least favorite thing about Tumblr?

Jen:  My favorite thing is the fandom itself! It amazes me how kind and supportive everyone is. Also, there are so many incredible writers here it's insane!

My least favorite thing? Not getting notifications and when tags don’t work.

MFack: Ugh, the tags are driving me crazy!  But I don’t want to go on a tangent, so instead tell me what is your favorite piece of your own work?

Jen:  I love how fun “How to Please a Woman” is but my favorite is “Consequence of Secrets” starting with part 4 and up. It has required a lot of research - Paris hotels, legal advice (from a real-life lawyer) and ... other things I can’t reveal at this time 😁. The characters are flawed, but still lovable. It really challenges me as a writer and I hope I convey how torn they all are. I want people to be mad at them, but still understand where they are coming from... if that makes sense.

MFack:  Well, if you want me to be mad at Liam, you're definitely succeeding … I do understand him though, so I think you can call it all a big success!

Now, for the question everyone wants to know ... do you like Pineapple on your pizza?

Jen: (laughing) I will dabble with pineapple on occasion but it’s not a topping I would choose often.

MFack:  Alright, it’s time to dish.  Tell us an "embarrassing story" … Something unique or cheesy about yourself.

Jen: (shaking her head but smiling) An embarrassing story huh? I'm so laid back my sister says I'm half dead so it’s REALLY hard to embarrass me.

Some "unique" things though ... Let’s see, I have a "Nerdary".  It’s our 3rd bedroom - filled with bookshelves, funko pops and harry potter memorabilia such as wands, time turner, golden snitch etc. Oh! Also, I sing in the car, with no shame, and if someone looks at me I sing to them! It’s especially fun when it’s the soundtrack to “Galavant” or “Grease 2” 😂

MFack:  Y’know, I love to sing.  Will you sing with me?

Jen:  Of course!

MFack and Jenn sing “Do it for our Country” from Grease 2:  

“America is calling, let's care enough to give our very best.

For if we give our very best,

I know that we will more than pass the test.

If I could have three wishes, I'd wish that you'd live free,

I'd wish for amber waves of grain from sea to shining sea.

Yeah, let's do it for our country, the red, white, and the blue.

It's Uncle Sam who's asking, so your mother will approve.

Tomorrow I'll be fighting, and I'll win this war for you.

Let's do it for our country, our country wants us to.

Bullets are exploding, they'll soon be at the door,

Give something to America you never gave before.

Yeah, let's do it for our country, the red, white, and the blue,

If the President were standin' here, I'm sure he would approve.

I'll be a mighty soldier before this night is through.

Let's do it for our country, our country wants us to.

(Spoken)

Just think about it -- it would be like as if we were doing it for the Statue of Liberty, or the Grand Canyon, or the New York Yankees... it would be like as if we were doing it for... Disneyland!

Yeah, let's do it for our country, the red, white, and the blue,

It's not a lot to ask of us, our parents will approve.

I'll be a mighty soldier, before this night is through.

Let's do it for our country, (spoken) we owe it to our country.

Let's do it for our country, our country wants us to.”

MFack:  (Laughing) Well, on that note … Jen, what do you want to say to your adoring fans?

Jen:  Thank you so much for your love and support! You all make me smile every day and I'm so happy you enjoy my work! It's all of you that keeps me going!

MFack:  That’s our show – thanks for coming everyone!  Have a GREAT night! We’ll see you next time (when MFackenthal has 200 followers) on “The MFackenthal Show!”

[polyrolemodels]

Poly Role Models: Alicia Bunyan-Sampson Author, Filmmaker, & Blogger of Diary of a Polyamorous Black Girl

Alicia: We’re making an interview.

Kevin: All right. Welcome to Poly Role Models. Would you like to introduce yourself?

Alicia: Sure. My name’s Alicia Bunyan-Sampson and I'm a big deal.

Kevin: All right. Let's get right to it. How long have you been polyamorous or have been practicing polyamory?

Alicia: I always think that's an interesting question. I've always been polyamorous, practicing polyamory, like I don't know. I mean I try to practice polyamory in like all of my relationships. It tends not to work out because of like the whole black thing but I'd say practicing for like seven years.

Kevin: Okay. What does your current relationship dynamic look like?

Alicia: Can you rephrase the question?

Kevin: I don't know, so why don’t you rephrase the question and answer it in the way that seems fit?

Alicia: My current relationship dynamic is that I have no partners at all. I think I'd say I have a lot of lovers, I guess, a lot of people I'm engaging with sexually on like different levels like on Alicia levels but yeah, that's my current relationship dynamic. Yeah.

Kevin: Sure. What aspect of polyamory do you excel at?

Alicia: I'm all about the love and I think I tend to get into interactions with people who like to be in relationships with people who aren't polyamorous, which I personally don't really understand but when it comes to kind of like navigating monogamous feelings and like bridging the gap, I think I'm really good at that. I’m a very … I’m all about community love. I just want everybody to live in a house together and just build, love and play board games and make babies and just have all of that, so I think I really excel at bringing people together.

Kevin: Barbecue too though, right?

Alicia: Of course, naturally.

Kevin: What aspects of polyamory do you struggle with?

Alicia: Ironically, I'm really, really jealous, like I’m such a jealous person but I recognize that the jealousy is about me. It's not about anybody else so I do struggle with that. I'll bring people together, encourage my partners to have more partners and just build and build and build and then, I'm like super, super jealous. I struggle with that and like unpacking what that is, like every time there's a new girl in the relationship, I'm like, “What am I jealous about? What is this? What's going on?” That’s where I struggle with.

Kevin: How do you address or overcome those struggles?

Alicia: I talk. I'm all about meetings like let's sit down and talk. I'm also … Okay, well, two parts. I'm all about talking but I'm also about like I need space because I know I need to do some work right now and I don't want my partners or whoever to do too much emotional labor so, yeah, that's what I do. I have conversation but I always keep a lot of space when I know I need to take space and work on my issue.

Kevin: Okay. Fair enough. In terms of risk aware, safer sex, what do you and your partners do to protect one another?

Alicia: Condoms and shit.

Kevin: All right.

Alicia: No. Um, is that what you mean?’ Okay. I guess like the correct response to this question would be like, “Yeah, we talk about safe sex all the time and everybody wears condoms and dental dams and all that stuff.” That's not 100% true. I'm going to be honest. I really like sex a lot, right, and sometimes, I'll find myself in situations where things happen, right? For my partners, long-term situation, there's a lot of conversations around that, testing and whatnot but I'm not going to lie there are instances where none of that happens at all.

Kevin: Okay. Honest.

Alicia: Completely and I think more people needs to be honest about the fact that they don't have that fucking conversation, that they aren't getting tested and they just fuck.

Kevin: I agree. What is the worst mistake you've ever made in your polyamorous history and how did you rebound from that? What's the story you're most embarrassed to tell?

Alicia: Getting involved with somebody who I knew was … I learned there’s … Actually, no. That’s another one … who wasn't really polyamorous. I knew they weren't but I just continued with the charade because I really wanted them to be and I really wanted the relationship to work. Then, it just turned into this, just cycle of me kind of like facilitating them, manipulating women into this fake polyamorous situation. I knew it like before it happened, I knew it while was going on. I knew it and I just kind of just … I don't know what the fuck I was doing. Actually, that is my most recent relationship and I just got out of it. Now, I'm just trying to pick up the pieces.

Kevin: What self-identities are important to you and how do you feel like being polyamorous intersects with or affects these identities?

Alicia: Self-identities are important to me. I am... That’s a very good question, Kevin.

Kevin: Thank you.

Alicia: What self-identities are important to me? Well, I’m a black woman. Black as fuck.

Kevin: Yes.

Alicia: That’s important to me. I'm a mentally ill woman but I actually don't like mentally ill as a term. I prefer crazy.

Kevin: Okay.

Alicia: I’m black woman. I'm crazy and I'm kinky and those things are really important to me because I kind of feel like I'm not supposed to be those things or like there's no space for me as a black woman to be crazy and kinky and polyamorous but I am so just like being that is like resistance or like … You know what I mean? It’s resistance whatnot so it's important for me to talk about that often.

Kevin: Fair enough. Last but not least, do you have any groups, projects, websites, blogs, et cetera that you are involved with that you would like to promote?

Alicia: Oh like shameless self-promotion.

Kevin: Yeah. I mean you can have some shame like … I’m pretty-

Alicia: I don’t have any shame. I don’t.

Kevin: I’m all shame with my self-promotion. I hate self-promoting but here we are.

Alicia: Wherever. Aliciabunyansampson.com and like Twitter, @QueenSampson. That’s about it. I'm in a lot of like writing thesis and development thesis so I have nothing super active going on. I guess I'm writing a book. That's happening but-

Kevin: Tell me about the book.

Alicia: Diary of a Polyamorous Black Girl. It's about me...Alicia. It's become the bane of my existence writing it because like it's fucking book. It's a challenge and a half but I'm really excited about it just because I feel like there's a lot of black polyamorous girls but nobody was talking about it in a public way. You know it's all happening in these pockets or at conferences or you know what I mean and at these small sectors but it’s happening on like a really wide scale and I feel like we need to talk about it because there should be no shame or anything about being black and polyamorous and a woman.

Kevin: Absolutely. Absolutely agree.

Alicia: Who better but Alicia Bunyan-Sampson?

Kevin: Absolutely agree with that as well. I can't wait for it. We got the same publisher. I can't wait to broadcast.

Alicia: I know, right?

Kevin: Thank you for taking the time and being a part of Poly Role Models.

Alicia: Thank you for having me.

Kevin: Absolutely.

---

Support Inclusive Polyamorous Representation at  https://www.patreon.com/PolyRoleModels

[bountyofbeads]

What Makes an American? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/09/sunday-review/immigration-assimilation-texas.html

PLEASE READ 📖 AND SHARE this important perspective for our current time. We have a DECISION TO MAKE about WHO WE ARE AS A NATION!!! Do we want this to be Trump's America or the America that is a patchwork quilt of diversity and culture that blends together that makes us uniquely American.

"Trumpism itself may impede assimilation: if you constantly tell immigrants they’re unwanted, they may come to believe it."

What Makes an American?

I took reassurance this past week in a Texas immigration story that suggests America’s powers of assimilation remain formidable.

By Jason DeParle | Published Aug. 9, 2019 | New York Times | Posted August 9, 2019 1:00 PM ET |

One man likens immigrants to snakes, frets that they will never “go back to their huts,” and insists that they threaten “jobs, wages, housing, schools, tax bills” and more.

Another sees a “Hispanic invasion,” fears that it will bring the “cultural and ethnic replacement of Americans,” and warns that the foreign influx endangers “our way of life.”

After last weekend’s shooting in El Paso, it was so hard to distinguish President Trump’s views of immigration (paragraph one) from those of the accused killer (paragraph two) that the suspect offered a pre-emptive defense against charges of plagiarism. In a “manifesto” released just before the massacre, he insisted he wasn’t just mouthing “Trump’s rhetoric’’ but offering thoughts of his own.

Posted on a far-right website, the statement never used the word “assimilation.” But it rested on the Trumpian view that immigration was failing and that this failure posed an existential threat. The fear that foreigners refuse to adapt is widespread among immigration critics, and even Americans with more welcoming views sometimes worry that assimilation is proceeding less surely than it once did.

I took reassurance this past week in another Texas immigration story, which suggests that America’s powers of assimilation remain formidable. It involves a third grader with an apt name, Precious Lara Villanueva, who lingered at dinner a year after arriving in the United States and said, “I sort of agree with Rosa Parks.”

This was news. The previous year, Lara’s teacher had called Parks a “hero.” But the idea of a hero in handcuffs made no sense to a girl straight from the Philippines, where children are admonished to respect elders and obey authority. “She didn’t listen to the policeman,” Lara had said. (Besides, she added, heroes wear capes.)

By the following year, her views were in flux. “It wasn’t, like, fair for the black people to sit in the back,” Lara told me at dinner in 2014. Parks’s courage impressed her, but so did her manners: “She said no — but she didn’t use a bad word.” To an immigrant deftly blending cultures, Rosa Parks became “The Civil Rights Hero Who Didn’t Curse.”

I’ve followed Lara’s family for 32 years, as they completed a remarkable rise from a Manila shantytown to the Houston suburbs. As a young journalist, I moved into her grandparents’ hovel, to better understand the country’s vast poverty, and I’ve been reporting on the family’s migrations ever since. Lara’s grandfather worked abroad for years at a time, cleaning pools in Saudi Arabia, and her grandmother raised their five children on the money he sent — 10 times his Manila pay.

All five children grew up to become overseas workers, too, and the one I know best — Lara’s mother, Rosalie — used her father’s remittances to get through nursing school. She worked in the Persian Gulf for nearly two decades, then got her big break in 2012 when a short-staffed hospital in Galveston, Tex., offered her a nursing job. Her husband and three children soon followed.

While opponents of immigration insist (ever more loudly) that assimilation has failed, the Villanuevas’ experience offers a retort. With a house in the suburbs and kids on the honor roll, they achieved in three years a degree of assimilation that used to take three generations.

They did so, moreover, in metro Houston, a pro-immigrant corner of Red State America where nearly a quarter of the work force is foreign-born. Once synonymous with honky-tonks and rodeos, Houston now sells itself as a hub of diversity, with Hindu temples and Viet-Cajun cuisine.

In a country of 44 million immigrants, no family stands for the whole. The Villanuevas merely stand for the substantial immigrant success missing from the Trump Twitter feed.

I got to see the process of becoming American through the eyes of Lara and her older sister, Kristine, who assimilated rapidly, in surprising and contrasting ways.

When they arrived in late 2012, it was obvious who had been the first-grade beauty queen. Kristine reigned as if she still wore the tiara. She was saucy, bossy, purposeful and proud, with a toughness that belied her nine years. Proud of the English she had learned back home, she spoke it with a syntax that conveyed exuberance. She was “so very, very excited” to see America and “so very, very proud” of her visa that she taped it to the wall.

But her move was very complex. In coming to the States, she had gained her “mommy” (Rosalie), but lost her “mama” (Rosalie’s sister, Rowena), who had raised her on a Philippine farm while Rosalie and her husband, Chris, worked in Abu Dhabi. “I didn’t want to leave Mama Wena, but I also couldn’t leave my parents — either way it’s sad,” she told me. Mama Wena called in tears and needed money. When Kristine bought a Barbie, “Mama” chided her for not sending the cash.

Kristine’s English, good for a foreign child, was weaker than it seemed. Whenever her teacher said “keep your book out,” Kristine put hers in her desk. It took a Filipino teacher to explain that itago, Tagalog for “to keep,” means to hide away. Asked to describe a “pet peeve,” Kristine wrote about her dog. Losing confidence, she hid behind a frozen smile.

In fifth grade, a new persona appeared. Tired of being the meek foreign girl, Kristine reinvented herself as a wisecracking diva of the sort she saw on TV. She described herself in diaries as “honest” and “joyful,” but also “mean” — a boast. “My classmates say, ‘Kristine, it’s not like you!’” she said. “Now I’m a Kristine who will fight for herself!”

Kristine snapped selfies by the thousand and posted them on Instagram accounts like “kristinecute” and “swelfwe.queen.” She practiced poses: Fish Mouth required an exaggerated pucker, Duck Face protruding lips. She touted them as sophisticated American looks her Philippine cousins wouldn’t know.

Kristine’s Barbies, like Kristine, straddled contrasting worlds. Her stories revolved around a family named the Fashion Fashionistas, who lived in a Manila trash dump but used their private plane to shop in America. For Kristine, poor Filipinos becoming rich Americans needed no explanation. It simply felt true.

Mostly the straddling went smoothly, but occasionally the Fashionistas’ daughter, Stacy, felt burdened by those left behind. When she caught someone back home wearing her shoes, Stacy beat her — as Kristine dramatized by whacking the doll’s head on the floor. Freed from obligations to the needy, Stacy flew back to the rich country and decorated her room in Hello Kitty.

As her frustration mounted and her school progress stalled, Kristine indulged in a series of minor rebellions — ignoring assignments, disrupting class, and affecting a scatterbrained personality in a bid for popularity. Her teacher affectionately groaned, “She’s becoming Americanized.”

Once, that would have been a compliment. The classic version of Americanization is called straight-line assimilation. It’s a three-generation tale as central to America’s mythology as the Boston Tea Party: The immigrants struggle amid poverty and bias; their children awkwardly juggle two cultures; the third generation completes the rise, with a white-collar job and a house in the suburbs. The story imparts two lessons: The descendants of immigrants advance and do so by blending in.

Straight-line assimilation was the reigning narrative of the mid-20th century. Half a century had passed since immigrants from southern and Eastern Europe had poured through Ellis Island. Learned men had warned that they would never adapt, but they did so decisively. A unified country had beaten the Nazis, with Mayflower descendants sharing foxholes with Kowalskis and Mancinis. Groups that warred abroad lived as neighbors in New York and Chicago. A Catholic became president.

Sometime in the 1960s, this assimilation story fell from favor. It overstated the acceptance that immigrants had won and understated the hardships they had faced. It idealized WASP culture and slighted the satisfactions of the ethnic community. It overlooked race — the lengths to which the country had gone to prevent the assimilation of blacks.

Leftist scholars condemned “the blight of assimilationist ideology” and celebrated ethnic struggle. Ozzie and Harriet gave way to Kojak and Columbo, heritage travel and klezmer bands. Assimilation seemed wrong as an explanation of what did happen and offensive as an explanation of what should happen.

The resurgence of ethnic identity was heartfelt but no sign that assimilation had failed. On the contrary, as scholars like Herbert Gans and Mary Waters argued, Americans could celebrate their heritage precisely because it meant so little. It did not affect where they could live, whom they could marry or what jobs they could get. “Symbolic ethnicity” flourished, but divisions faded: intermarriage rose, discrimination fell and residential enclaves dispersed.

Given the difficulties that immigrants and their descendants faced, Gans rightly called their assimilation “bumpy line” rather than straight. But bumps and all, assimilation prevailed.

It’s possible that Kristine’s generation will find assimilation harder. Economic mobility has waned, a quarter of the foreign-born lack legal status, and most of today’s immigrants are racial minorities, which could attract more enduring bigotry. Mass media once encouraged common identity. In today’s narrowcast world, pluribus triumphs over unum.

Trumpism itself may impede assimilation: if you constantly tell immigrants they’re unwanted, they may come to believe it.

But other differences between the eras could ease assimilation. Immigrants have civil rights their predecessors lacked. (Sicilians did not have affirmative action.) Many arrive like Rosalie, already middle-class. And mainstream culture is much more diverse, making it easier to fit in.

Two academic camps have shaped debate about the children of immigrants. Both see the majority succeeding — advancing in school, securing jobs and integrating. Intermarriage is high, and English is near universal. “Today’s immigrants are actually learning English faster than their predecessors,” the National Academy of Sciences concluded in 2015.

But some scholars warn that Americanization carries risks, especially for the poor. The longer newcomers are in the United States, the more likely they are to smoke, grow obese or commit crimes. Two prominent scholars, Alejandro Portes and Ruben Rumbaut, have warned that the children of the most disadvantaged immigrants may assimilate downward, joining the native poor in a “rainbow underclass.”

Kristine’s teacher wasn’t thinking about that when she fretted about Americanization. But even her mild concerns turned straight-line assimilation on its head: She saw Americanization as the problem, not the solution.

A rival group is more optimistic. They found that children of immigrants not only outperformed children of natives (of similar races) but did so despite having parents with less income and education. How could that be? Philip Kasinitz and three colleagues argue that children of immigrants often enjoy a “second-generation advantage” over native peers.

Two parts of the argument are familiar — immigrants, self-selected for ambition, pass along their drive, and the intensity of ethnic networks provides support that natives lack. But the researchers also argue that children of immigrants benefit intellectually from living at a cultural crossroads. (They note it took a Russian-born Jew, Irving Berlin, to write “White Christmas.”) Children of immigrants, they wrote, often “combine the best of both worlds” — their parents’ and their peers’ — or innovate in ways that “can be highly conducive to success.’’

In the Villanueva family, each theory offers a guide to a different daughter. (A son, Dominique, was too young to share his thoughts in equal depth.) Kristine’s experience provided a small reminder that Americanization isn’t always beneficial: She assimilated energetically, but to the distractions of middle school. Lara blended her Filipino and American selves in ways that supplied an edge. She was second-generation advantage personified.

While Kristine experienced migration as division (English vs. Tagalog, her mother vs. her aunt), Lara found it addition — Rosa Parks’s protests plus her politeness, parents beside her and grandparents on Skype.

Lara’s Filipino traits included her manners, her long dinnertime prayers and an immigrant’s belief in opportunity. They also included the benefits of a two-parent family, which social science finds considerable. (“American families are a mess!” her teacher complained.)

From the United States, Lara got a reduced sense of class and gender constraints, a school full of books and a classroom with just 24 students, instead of 70 in the Philippines. Above all, she got a license to ask questions.

Nothing about the Philippines had encouraged her to probe. On the contrary, a classroom so crowded had little time for raised hands, and children were taught to respect their elders, not interrogate them. American teachers loved questions.

“Do fish sleep?” Lara asked.

“Is the Leaning Tower of Pisa ever going to collapse?”

“Do nurses have to be caring? Maybe I’ll just be a doctor.”

Curious about how she had grown curious, Lara formed her own assimilation theory: America had scared her into asking questions. Confused when she arrived and afraid of repeating second grade, “I told myself I should be interested right now.” Being interested became a habit. Put differently, blending cultures produced new thinking — Lara was simply repeating what the Kasinitz camp argues about the cultural crossroads.

In her second school year in America, Lara flourished. Her teacher first noticed her gift when the class read a book about a bully. Asked what a story is “about,” most third graders summarize the plot. Lara extracted a lesson: “The theme of this book is not to be rude. We should show good character.”

Lara liked to debate, largely with herself, which of the heroines she studied was greatest. Rosa Parks didn’t swear and Helen Keller didn’t quit, but Harriet Tubman rescued others, “even though they weren’t her relatives!” Every Filipino understands sacrifice for family, but selflessness toward strangers opened a new moral universe. “She did the really, really right thing.”

One day when we stopped for an after-school snack, Lara sprang a sneaky question. “Do you know how to infer?”

I frowned as if trying to remember. “I’m going to teach you how!”

She paused to dip her fry in her milkshake and increase the suspense. “It’s like when you say, ‘Oh, it’s cold — it’s really snow outside.’ I didn’t tell you what season it is. But you can infer it’s winter.”

She stabbed the air in triumph with a milky fry. “You see? It works!’’

By the end of their third year in America, Kristine and Lara had each become an exaggerated version of herself, with Lara reveling in grade-school epiphanies and Kristine deep into middle-school intrigue. Her 15 closest sixth grade friends were arrayed in a fluid hierarchy, with “sisters” at the top, followed by “best friends for life,” then “baes for life” and “ride or dies.”“Your ride or dies are like your best friends but not your best-est friends.”

While Lara’s new word was “onomatopoeia,” Kristine’s was “stuffy-fluffy.” Her science teacher said she “wants to be one of the popular girls” who “act like they don’t have a clue. Her English teacher blamed the “ditsy’’ pose on “Americanization” but said, “I don’t think that’s really her.”

It wasn’t. With a little more time her English strengthened, her conflict about leaving Mama Wena waned, and the awkwardness of middle school passed. In tenth grade she sent me a matter-of-fact text that read,

“My current grades:

History: 91

Chemistry: 99

Geometry: 100

English: 100”

Two texts followed:

“Yes!” “Yesssss!”

When the family bought a new suburban house, Rosalie reminded her Americanized children how far they had come. “Mommy grew up a shanty,” she said.

“What’s a shanty, Mommy?” Kristine asked.

Lara spent our last ride to school talking about the difference between mean, median, and mode, then pumped her fist when she heard there was a test. She had studied Harriet Tubman again (“she saved people, even though they weren’t her relatives!”) and made the A-honor roll.

I offered to mark the occasion with a trip to the toy store, but Lara chose Office Depot and wrote her first book — an enigmatic study of a girl who asks questions.

“Why would I be excited for a TEST? Just why?!”

“Why do I have emotions just why — please tell me? Would you?”

“Why am I so curiouse (cq), just why?”

I thought back to second grade, when her first experience of America was a classroom of especially disruptive kids. Lara spoke little English but was so well behaved that her teacher exclaimed, “I need a few more like her!”

Fresh from the Philippines, Lara was the most foreign student in the class and in a Norman Rockwell way the most classically American — the earnest girl in a dainty sweater with an apple on her desk. She didn’t replace an American, she became one.

Jason DeParle is a reporter for The Times and the author of the forthcoming, “A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves: One Family and Migration in the 21st Century,” from which this essay is adapted.

[wildlyhardphilosopher-blog]

puppy training techniques | puppy training camp

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puppy training techniques | puppy training camp

Gerbils By familiarizing your puppy with a crate early on, you’re not only creating an easy avenue for house training, you’re also allowing them to become comfortable with their future means of transportation. A crate is a great way to transport your pup – whether it’s a short trip to the vet or a big move across country – and by familiarizing your pup with a crate early on, you’ll make travel a lot easier and more comfortable for your canine companion. Most Popular Dog Names of 2017 Fitness Always remember that you are dealing with a very immature young animal. Be realistic, flexible, patient and always fair during puppy training sessions. Your puppy doesn’t just automatically know this stuff! It’s all new to him and he is bound to have the odd slip up and mistake along the way. Don’t worry about these mistakes, just move on and do your best to prevent them in the future. c Usually, puppies urinate within half a minute of waking up from a nap and usually defecate within a couple of minutes of that. But who has the time to hang around to wait for puppy to wake up and pee and poop? Instead it’s a better plan to wake up the puppy yourself, when you are ready and the time is right. Litter Free Tip of the Week “I THOUGHT THAT THIS COULD BE THE END”: LITTLETON WOMAN DRAGGED BY A ROPE INTO THE WOODS, SEXUALLY ASSAULTED Here are some common complaints that trainers say they have encountered: Many new puppy owners find themselves worried or frustrated by their puppy’s behavior, or just plain worn down by all that puppy energy. If that’s you, our expert puppy trainers can help. Hill’s® Ideal Balance™ France FR AA For over 40 years, New Skete, has dedicated itself to providing the best possible companion dogs for you and your family. FANCY FEAST 89163 I covered this briefly in the sections: ‘Taking Your Puppy To The Bathroom Spot‘ and ‘If Your Puppy Doesn’t ‘Go’ When At Their Bathroom Spot‘, please re-read and see if that helps 🙂 Are you an author? Learn about Author Central Kit & Kaboodle® reply Joints & Mobility Train her to lie down: This is not as natural for your puppy, nor is it as easy to teach as sitting on command. I have seen far too many big dogs who never learned this command early and their owners are not able to handle them when they get big. To teach this command, tell her “down” when she is already sitting, then move the treat out in front of her face so that she has to stretch out and lie down to grab it. This needs to be repeated every session.

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fbq('track', 'ViewContent', content_ids: 'dogtraining.dknol', ); Muse Back Issue Archive Successful dog training is all about consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement. What is the best way to train a shelter dog? Country Living, Part of the Hearst UK Fashion & Beauty Network Country Living participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Thank you – I totally agree, but putting in the hours, in the beginning, will pay off the rest of your dog’s life. It is so worth it 🙂 Cart 0 Our Training You dismissed this ad. Remove Pests Researching the best training methods remains a cornerstone of my career is recommended by thousands of happy dogs and owners nationwide. Follow us on Facebook & Pinterest for the latest posts and updates. Look over any ‘accidents’ your puppy had and you noted during the day. Sports for Juniors Related Video Shorts Bulletin Board AllFerretsFishGuinea Pigs Carrie Nichole (Author) Copyright © Janine Pierce/J9’s K9s Dog Training Inc. All original work on this site is copyrighted. No portion may be copied without express written permission. In addition, over the past year, we have had great success integrating remote collars into our training program. These collars use very low-level electrical impulses (usually lower than a human can feel in their own hand,) in conjunction with commands to reinforce understanding and bring your dog to on and off-leash reliability, while adjusting unwanted behavior in less time and with much less stress than ever before.  Previous Post SUBSCRIBE (Left) Get the app Cleaning & Odor Control Settle ERROR Sunday 11:30am to 6:00pm (6) If I take him down and he doesn’t potty, multiple times, how long the total time should be until I need to take him to the vet to check for a medical issue? Richard’s Organics Walkathon Some time between 8 and 12 weeks, your puppy will start to show some bladder control (usually 9 to 10 weeks) and will begin to show warning signs that they’re about to potty instead of instantaneously leaking. They will sniff, circle and so on as I mentioned before. 3 Basics Steps to Training A Dog Rescue Tails We’ve designed a series of basic puppy training stages that follow the natural development of canine behaviors. Street Demonstration Your puppy is bound to display at least one type of problem behavior. Discover the best way to stop the undesirable behavior and how to get your puppy back on the right track. Also 50% of your tuition of this course can be applied toward the Dog Trainer Professional program.  Use these training tasks as you integrate the puppy into your life. For example, ask your puppy to “sit” prior to receiving her food, “sit” before you let her in or out the door, and “sit” before you pet her. These are times when your puppy wants something and is more likely to comply. In this way, you are training your dog all the time, throughout the day and also establishing predictable rules and routines for interactions and helping the dog to learn who controls the resources. Training your puppy prior to getting each requested necessity, helps to prevent problems. Having your puppy sit before getting a food or treat prevents begging, while teaching your dog to sit before opening the door can prevent jumping up or running out the door. Be creative. The time you spend training your puppy now will pay off when you have an adult dog. To have a well-trained dog, you need to be committedto reinforcing the training tasks on nearly a daily basis for the first year of your puppy’s life. The more you teach and supervise your puppy, the less opportunity it will have to engage in improper behaviors. Dogs do not train themselves, when left to choose their behavior they will act like dogs. Clothes & Costumes When you first get your puppy home at 8 weeks, they can barely control their bodily functions so keeping a diary isn’t perhaps that helpful but I still recommend you do so, to get yourself into the habit. Positive Approach for Dogs  To keep you informed on pet-related laws being… Announcements for Winter 2017: Items you will need Allergy Special Diets We offer basic through advanced obedience for dogs and puppies, as well as agility classes (for the novice or the competitor), specialty classes like Fun Nose Work, Come When Called, Trick Training, and more! It is not acceptable for puppies to bite people, or other animals, unless they are in true physical danger and need to defend themselves. How can I make my puppy go outside by his own without escaping? He always tries to escape and I want him to stay in the area I want him to stay. How can I do that? 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Español: enseñar a tu perro a ir al baño, Português: Ensinar o Cachorro a Fazer Necessidades no Lugar Certo, Italiano: Insegnare al Cane a Fare i Bisognini Fuori, Deutsch: Einen Hund stubenrein machen, Français: éduquer son chien à la propreté, Русский: приучить собаку к выгулу, 中文: 训练狗到固定地方大小便, Čeština: Jak naučit psa, aby se vyprazdňoval venku, العربية: تدريب الكلب على الطاعة, Bahasa Indonesia: Melatih Anjing di Rumah, ไทย: ฝึกสุนัขในบ้าน, 日本語: 犬のトイレトレーニングをする Surviving the Night with Your New Puppy Build a great relationship Puppies Wed – Thurs: Noon – 6 pm Replacement Parts Most recently, the room I used was basically our dining room, though it’s never used for that purpose and is essentially bare. Eye Health Siberian Husky Lifestyle Military & Defense News Dining & Travel Mossy Oak Set up your new dog or puppy for housetraining success. When you are still trying to teach him to pee only outdoors, it will be counterproductive to freak out when he pees on your roses. Either fence off areas where you do not want him to eliminate outdoors, or use a leash to prevent him from reaching those areas. Wee-Wee® Pads Not Helpful 1 Helpful 18 Pet owners who are novices at training can begin a training program with these few simple steps. It takes repetition, time and perseverance for the puppy to predictably and reliably respond to commands in a variety of situations. Consider only classes that use positive training techniques. german shepherd puppy training | house training a dog german shepherd puppy training | potty train puppy german shepherd puppy training | potty training a dog Legal | Sitemap

[illuminating-dragons]

Dreams and Visions (15/51): The Love Story of Miss W

Time Period: Victorian

Chapter Summary:  Some excerpts from the diary of Dr. Watson, concerning Miss Kitty W. Also, for those of you who don't know who Kitty Winter is, she was a character in 'the Adventure of the Illustrious Client'; she was horribly abused by a sadistic monster...and threw vitriol in his face. She's basically so much better than Irene Adler. Stanley Hopkins is a young detective (similar to Dimmock's character but much more polite) who idolizes Holmes. Together, they are my new OTP.

Read it on AO3

From the Journal of Dr. John Watson, October 1902

           It has been months since I wrote in this journal, simply because nothing of great note has happened in my personal relationship with Sherlock Holmes; at least, nothing that I cannot write about elsewhere. We have been married nearly six months now, and we are very happy.

I am still hesitant to write these words, for fear of this book falling into the wrong hands. But I must write these words down, to stop them from coming out of my mouth. I must trace my love across these pages, as I cannot write them anywhere else.

           Something happened today that is not entirely to do with us, but is another story that must be guarded. And yet…I will still write it, in case someday there comes a reader who wishes to know the full truth.

           The last case we worked, published under the name ‘The Adventure of the Illustrious Client’, was finally wrapped up judicially. Miss Winter was cleared of all charges, but she was not in the court room to hear the verdict. Sherlock didn’t tell me what was going on, but I hoped the young lady had gotten away. I read through Gruner’s book and I was utterly sickened by his depravity. Holmes and I have confronted monsters before, but I pray that there is a special Hell for souls like his.

           Then again, I am sure that people say the same about those who love as Holmes and I do.

           When we returned from court Mrs. Hudson met us at the door. She informed us that we had a visitor. My husband did not seem surprised, which intrigued me. Mrs. Hudson withdrew to the kitchen, promising tea in an hour, and we ascended the stairs together.

           The fire was lit in the sitting room, but the dark haired woman sitting in the visitor’s chair was wrapped up warmly, a thick veil shrouding her face. Sherlock closed the door behind us.

           “Well now, Miss Winter, have you made a decision?”

           The woman threw the veil off and stood. The fiery passion that had twisted her face when we first met her had faded, and with her fair hair dyed it took a moment for me to recognize Miss Kitty Winter.

           “Hello, Doctor, Mr. Holmes,” she said, and her smile seemed genuine. “I believe I have, Mr. Holmes, though why you want to help me is still beyond me.”

           Sherlock smiled at me. It’s infuriating when he does that; he is so pleased about surprising me that he forgets that I might actually have benefited from understanding the whole situation.

           “Hello, Miss Winter,” I said. “I am glad to see you uninjured, though I must admit that my partner has told me nothing of why you’re here.”

           Miss Winters laughed. “Of course he didn’t! Goodness, you two are funny.” Her eyes no longer sparked with fury and pain; they glinted with spirit instead. “Well, Dr. Watson, Mr. Holmes has offered to help me disappear, hence the change of appearance. I do believe dark hair suits me, don’t you?”

           I spread my hands. “I believe you would look lovely under any circumstances, Miss Winter.” I glanced at Sherlock. “Can I be of any assistance, Holmes?”

           “Of course, my dear fellow.” Holmes sat on the sofa, and I did the same. “So you have decided to remain in London then, Miss Winter?”

           “I want to,” she said frankly. “It’s my home, Hell or not, and with a new face I might be able to find another start.”

           “Surely things cannot be easy for a single woman in this city?” I asked.

           “I’ve managed perfectly well until now, Doctor. Even after…well, but that’s done now.” Miss Winter shook her head.

           “I meant no offence,” I said hastily. “I know that you are more than capable…but things might be easier if you had a story to go with your name.”

           “This is why I told you we should ask him,” Holmes confided to Miss Winter. “The good doctor has always been a tale-spinner.”

           I rolled my eyes. “It’s really quite simple. If you have a family background it will be easier for you to obtain lodgings in a safer part of town. You will also be questioned less if people believe that you have a family to live with but have made the choice to live apart for reasons of independence.”

           “That’s a pretty story, Doctor, but I’ve no living family, and I don’t need to be asking more strangers for charity.”

           “I could do it,” I said, surprising myself.

           Miss Winter’s eyebrows shot up. “I beg your pardon?”

           I thought for a moment. “Those who read my stories are aware that I once had a brother. It would be no great stretch if I had another, but if he had died young, leaving a widow and a small child…and then, upon the tragic loss of her mother, the child, now grown, came to London…”

           Holmes clapped. “Capital, Watson!”

           Miss Winter stared at me. “And you wouldn’t be ashamed to call me a relation, Doctor? I don’t intend to change much of who I am.”

           I reached out and took her hand. Her eyes were brighter now, perhaps, but there was still a shadow there of remembered loneliness and fear. I remembered seeing that expression in the mirror.

           “I would be honoured to be related to a girl—no, a woman of such bravery and strength,” I said firmly. “Welcome to the family, Miss Kate Watson.”

           Miss Winter smiled at me. “I’m proud of that name…Uncle. And you’d better call me Kitty; I’ve always hated ‘Kate’, that’s what an awful great-aunt of mine called me.”

           I chuckled. “Agreed.”

           Sherlock took her to find lodgings shortly after, acting in ‘his goddaughter’s’ interests. I thought that was inspired, on his part—should she begin to call him Uncle Sherlock (should we ever tell her the truth of our relationship), none will be the wiser.

February 1903

           I find myself writing again as a continuation of the previous entry. Kitty Watson has found an excellent boarding-house and has made several friends. She has even acquired a job doing some typing for Scotland Yard (entirely on her own, I may add, and none the wiser so far as to her true identity). She visits at least once a week, and I have found myself caring for her as dearly as if she were my own niece. Sherlock adores her too, and has begun training her in the art of observation; she is a far better student than I could ever hope to be.

           This evening she dropped in after her job finished for the day. Kitty was doing some amusing impersonations of various police officers over coffee and Holmes was correcting her form even as he chuckled.

           Just as she was about to leave, Hopkins burst in, having run up the stairs. He clutched a woman’s bag in his hand and he was breathing hard.

           “Miss Watson, you left your bag at the station.”

           Kitty leapt to her feet, and I was surprised to see her blush. “Oh, thank you, Stanley. I hadn’t realized I left it.”

           “How did you know she would be here?” I asked sharply. Hopkins is a good lad, but Kitty needs no more men peering over her life as though she were an insect.

           “I told him I was coming to visit you, Uncle John. Stanley—I mean, Mr. Hopkins is a good friend to me at the station. We often talk when it’s slow.”

           I exchanged a quick glance with my husband. “It’s lovely that you two are getting along,” I said finally. “Hopkins is a friend of ours.”

           “A good detective,” Sherlock allowed, though I saw his gaze harden as Kitty took the bag from Hopkins, her hand brushing against his. “Any official business, Hopkins?”

           “No sir,” Hopkins said, and he was blushing too now. “I’ll be going.”

           “I’d better leave too,” Kitty said, quickly brushing a kiss to my cheek. “I need to return in time for supper, or Mrs. Turner will have my head.”

           “Goodnight, Kitty.” Holmes continued to stare at Hopkins even as Kitty patted his shoulder.

           “I’ll walk with you,” Hopkins said quickly. “It’s dark out, and it’s not far, is it?”

           “That’s kind of you, Detective,” Kitty said.

           The two of them went downstairs together. As I heard the front door close, Holmes sprang to the window. “They’re walking arm in arm, John!”

           I considered this for a moment. “Kitty’s a grown woman,” I said. “And unfortunately she may be a better judge of men than we can be.”

           “But still…Hopkins!” Holmes shook his head. “The fellow’s got half her brains.”

           I joined him at the window, watching the two walk down the street, walking so close they almost seemed to be one figure.

           “Does that really matter, Holmes, if he’s got her heart?” I put a hand on his shoulder.

           He put his hand over mine. “I suppose not.”

           “You’re still going to talk to him, aren’t you?”

           “Of course. She’s my goddaughter.”

           I just laughed, for if I know my husband and my surrogate niece I know two things for certain. The first is that we will both speak to Hopkins, and make it clear that he should have Kitty’s best interests at heart. The second is that Kitty will have prepared him for this talk, and will make a scene of great distress and enjoy herself hugely.

May 1903

           Sometimes love is simply happy, and those occasions deserve note.

           Kitty and Hopkins have been seeing a great deal of each other in the last few months; they are officially courting.

           Three days ago Hopkins asked the two of us—dear fellow, he knows what we are—for Kitty’s hand in marriage. It is rather sudden, but Hopkins promises that they will not wed straight away. “I just want her to know that I love her and will forever,” he said earnestly. Of course, Sherlock and I agreed, provided that Kitty herself assents. Sherlock considers that a foregone conclusion.

           I was not entirely certain of that. While Kitty loves Stan—that, any with eyes can see—my girl is still damaged. I know what kind of wounds love can give, and I feared that she would refuse to trust herself enough to love again.

           I reckoned without her stubbornness and Hopkins’ dedication.

           Sherlock and I were returning from the theatre just before sunset when I grabbed his arm. Just down the alley we were passing I saw Kitty and Hopkins standing close together.

           To my consternation Sherlock drew me down the alley. It was utterly ridiculous; there was nowhere to hide but a narrow doorway, and I was sure that one of the two would turn and see us. And yet…it was far easier to hear what they were saying.

           “Stan, I don’t know if you want this. Not with me.”            “Kitty, darling, why not?”

           “You don’t know who I am.” Kitty’s face was drawn with fear as she stared up at Hopkins. “If you knew…”

           “Just tell me, Kitty. Please don’t think the worst of me before I’ve given reason.”

           Kitty laughed. “And I always hated it when people did that to me, didn’t I?” She ducked her head. “Stan, Uncle John…well, he’s not my uncle. My name’s Kitty Winter.”

           Stan stared at her. “The Kitty Winter…”

           “Yes, that one.”

           Stan bit his lip. “Well, you’ll be changing your name anyways if you agree. And Kitty Winter is just as pretty a name as Kitty Watson, though I like Kitty Hopkins better.”

           Kitty looked up, eyes wide. “Stan…do you know what I’ve done?”

           “I do. And I know what was done to you, too. And I also know that you are the most wonderful woman that I have ever met, brave and strong and true and funny.” He cradled her face in his hands. “I love you, Kitty, and that’s the most important thing that I have ever known. And if you can try to love me too…”

           Kitty kissed him, and I tapped Holmes’ arm. I knew we had no more business there.

           I am proud of Kitty, but I am also proud of Stan. Confessing love is never easy, and loving someone with a difficult past is not easy, but if you can give someone the gift of a happy future, the effort is worth it. I am sure they will both know this soon.

Two Days Later

           They are due to be married in November. Hopkins has asked Sherlock to be his best man, and Kitty wishes for me to escort her. Kitty knows about us now. She has promised not to say a word, and calls our arrangement ‘frightfully romantic’. I am not entirely sure this is a compliment.

[isabellelambert1975]

My favourite new garden tools and books

Garden bloggers see alot of new garden tools and books at the beginning of the gardening year.

This year, garden tools are lighter and stronger than they’ve ever been before. I’ve been given several brands to review, but am only going to write about the ones that I really like.

There are some affiliate links to Amazon in this post. This means you can click through to buy. If you do, I may receive a small fee.

The best loppers

Wilkinson Sword sent me their Ultralight Bypass Loppers to review. They really are ultra-light – I just couldn’t believe how little they weighed. And they cut well, with a good clean cut.

I will still have to pay someone to prune larger branches on my trees properly, but these loppers have hugely expanded the amount of pruning I can do myself. Their astonishing lightness and sharp cut mean that I can reach further up or into shrubs and trees.

Very light and easy to use.

Sold as suitable for pruning up 25mm diameter branches – but I did manage to cut some slightly thicker branches with them, too.

It’s well worth checking out all the extra light varieties in new garden tools, as innovative materials have made a huge difference to how they last. I’ve only had these loppers for a few months, but they feel sturdy and hard-wearing as well as very light.

The best new garden tools – trowels

There are some very cunning new trowels on the market. There are two brands I particularly like. One is the Burgon & Ball Florabrite range of luminescent pink and yellow new garden tools. There are gloves, hand forks, hand trowels, snippers and more, all in ultra-bright colours. The idea is that you stop losing hand tools by dropping them in the vegetation – you can see them easily if you drop them.

The Burgon and Ball FloraBrite range is luminous so you can’t lose it in the garden.

Burgon & Ball tools are endorsed by the RHS – I’ve bought some and also been given some to review, and have generally found them comfortable and hard-wearing.

The other planting trowel I really like is another Wilkinson Sword product – their Hand Transplanter trowel.  It has a depth measure in inches and centimetres up the side of the blade.

It’s not that I’m particularly fussy about planting distances, but I have often planted vegetables too close together – so they haven’t been as productive as they could have been. Or I’ve left overly large gaps in borders, because I haven’t planted flowers close enough. Of course, I could find a ruler, but I tried that and lost it…this is a really sensible trowel.

The best secateurs

I have been given three different brands of secateurs to review over the past six months, but I am not going to mention any of them.

None of them were as comfortable and efficient as the Felco secateurs I bought 15 years ago. It’s not fair to give a brand a negative review, because I am not ‘Which’ or ‘Good Housekeeping.’ These aren’t tests performed in clinical conditions. I’m just an individual with an opinion. What suits me may not suit you, or vice versa.

On the other hand, I’ve found that many professional gardeners agree with me about Felco. They are more expensive than most secateurs. I’d suggest doing without something else in the garden in order to buy them.

The best garden tie

The Soft Tie Company sent me a roll of dark green soft tie to review. It’s a bit like tying your shrubs, stems and branches up with an old stocking or a pair tights ( a useful gardener’s trick). But it’s finer, and more attractive than an old stocking, which always does look as if you’d just got undressed in the garden.

Soft Tie won’t dig into your branches and stems the way wire does.

The Soft Tie is stretchy and bio-degradable. It will drop off naturally within 12-14 months and decompose naturally in the garden.

For my basic essential tool set, see 7 essential garden tools.

The best indulgent present for garden lovers

The Thoughtful Gardener, An Intelligent Approach to Garden Design by Jinny Blom is a book for the garden-lover who likes to dream. It’s not a ‘how to have a Jinny Blom garden’, but a reflective journey through the way Jinny thinks and plans.

Pick it up when you can’t sleep. Three o-clock in the morning is a wonderful time to drift through Jinny’s romantic, flower-filled gardens, frothing with cow parsley and climbing roses. It’s a Number 1 best-seller in Amazon’s garden design list, so I’m clearly not the only person who thinks this is one of the most beguiling garden books published recently.

There are some fascinating insights into how Jinny works. She is deeply rooted in the landscape, referring to the importance of understanding the geology of your garden. She advises walking around the area you live in when you’re planning your garden. And her gardens use locally sourced materials.

This is not a book for minimalist, modernist gardener, but she also stresses the importance of structure. There are straight lines to anchor the exuberant planting.

The Thoughtful Gardener also has garden plans, as well as beautiful photographs. Buy it, and wallow.

Best present for the new gardener

If you have a friend who has just moved, thus acquiring a larger garden, then your housewarming present must be The Deckchair Gardener, An Improper Gardening Manual by Anne Wareham.

When we moved here thirteen years ago, we came from a London house with a tiny courtyard garden. This house had one fifth of an acre of immaculately planted and cared-for garden. I was way out of my depth.

A book like this would have been very helpful, although Helen Yemm’s Gardening in Pyjamas got me started.

Back to The Deckchair Gardener, however. Anne Wareham de-bunks most of the monthly ‘jobs to do in the garden.’ The basic message is that you can go a long way towards creating a beautiful garden just by mulching and occasionally getting out your hedge trimmer.

Everything else should be added in because you enjoy doing it, not because you ‘have to do it.��

Stay in bed with a coffee on Sunday morning and read…

Anne herself is a very knowledgeable gardener, and has created an outstanding garden Veddw, from a field. She and her photographer husband did it on a tight budget, although Alan Titchmarsh rates it as one of his ’10 best British gardens.’

The Deckchair Gardener would also be an excellent present for anyone who threatens to move house ‘because the garden is getting too much for them.’ Or buy it for yourself if you feel like lazing in bed with a cup of coffee rather than going out and gardening. It’s a fun read.

Best investment if you’ve got an allotment

Charles Dowding has achieved hero – or even saint – status amongst vegetables gardeners. He has stopped us digging and double-digging.

Charles Dowding and Steph Haggerty at the Garden Media Day 2017

Do you want a new raised bed? Just lay the planks on top of your established lawn. Or don’t even add wooden edging – you can simply pile compost and cow manure where you want the bed to be. The worms will rot it all down.

Charles Dowding’s Vegetable Garden Diary from www.charlesdowding.co.uk is a week-by-week manual on how to grow vegetables. Charles’s own garden is ‘middlesized’, so his advice is rooted in the home gardener.

There are seasonal prompts and useful tips on when to sow seeds, how to deal with pests and harvesting tips. Note: this isn’t a diary for dates – it’s a diary you can use to record your garden growing successes and failures. I don’t think you’d use it to book in meetings and parties, but I suppose you could.

For more books, see My 10 Most Useful and Inspiring Gardening Books

Do join us every Sunday morning on The Middlesized Garden blog – leave your email in the box on the top right. Thank you!

The post My favourite new garden tools and books appeared first on The Middle-Sized Garden.

from The Middle-Sized Garden http://www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/favourite-new-garden-tools-books/

[isabellelambert1975]

A week in the life of a garden blogger

What does a garden blogger do?

Or, indeed, what does any blogger do?

And, most importantly, does blogging make money? If so, how?

The world wakes up in February, after the hungover sleep of January. In the garden, the first snowdrops and hellebores are up.

And in the blogosphere, companies start reaching out to bloggers.

When I started the Middlesized Garden blog, I promised to be honest about the ups and downs. I said I would reveal what goes on behind the scenes.

So I thought a diary of this week would be one of the best ways of showing you how the business of blogging works.

Sunday – snowdrops day + editing

The Middlesized Garden comes out first thing on Sunday morning. So when I wake up, I check it on a mobile phone or tablet in order to spot any mistakes.

Then I publicise the new post. I use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and (sort of) Google+. It saves time to use Hootsuite to schedule tweets.

If you only tweet your post once, most people will miss it. You have a better chance of getting it seen if you tweet it around a dozen times, on different days and different times.

So rather than manually tweeting it every time, I use Hootsuite to schedule tweets about posts.

Last Sunday I went to Copton Ash’s snowdrop open day. Copton Ash’s owner, Tim Ingram, talked to me about growing snowdrops.

I turned this into a video for The Middlesized Garden YouTube channel. This, too, has to go on Twitter, Facebook Instagram etc.

I use a Sony Xperia X phone to video. The EE shop recommended Sony phones for the best photo and video because Sony are also camera manufacturers.

Note: there are some Amazon affiliate links in this post, which means you can click through to buy. If you do, I may get a small fee. More about that later in this post.

Here’s the video:

Monday – book review, emails and catching up.

I received a review copy of Good Soil from the publishers, Frances Lincoln.

As soon as I opened it, I was hooked. Would it be very shallow of me to say that I am only likely to read about something as worthy as soil if it’s written about in a very beautiful book?

Good Soil – manure, compost and nourishment for your garden, by Tina Raman has the design and photography you’d expect in a book on Californian smoothies or Danish hygge.

It has beautiful photographs, accompanied by really solid information. You will find interesting tips boxes and excellent advice.

For example, there’s a box on which wild flowers and weeds do best on which soils. And did you know that cow manure is the best manure for fertiliser?

A spread from Good Soil – a serious book that’s also a pleasure to look at.

As the intro says: ‘We hobby gardeners often go all out on the plants and decorations, completely forgetting how important it is to build up a good nutrient-rich soil.’  Well, no more.

Apparently, this book is already a best-seller in Scandinavia and Germany.

Note: bloggers are supposed to state clearly when something has been sent free for review.  Like most bloggers, I only review books and products I really like. There is absolutely no point in saying you think something is good if you don’t. That’s why I, along with most other blogs, can’t guarantee a review when a product is sent for free.

Now for the emails

I deal with around 100 emails a day, often from people wanting to ‘guest post’ on The Middlesized Garden. Some are charming, and say lovely things about the blog.

Others are misspelt and vague.

And some offer money. People and companies want to ‘guest post’ because it gives them links to a reputable site. When search engines see these links, this raises a company in the search engine rankings.

So Google have made it clear. If you are paid to link to a company, you should firstly state that it is ‘sponsored’ or ‘collaborative’.

Secondly, you should make the link ‘no-follow’. This means people can click through to the company from your blog, but there’s a piece of code in the link. Google then knows not to recognise it as a ranking signal.

So that is one way bloggers make money. Charging for guest posts on their site.

But  many companies do insist on a ‘follow link’. And a few don’t even want the words ‘sponsored’ or ‘collaborative’ on the post. Some bloggers agree to that.

Why ‘disclosure’ matters

If you don’t follow the rules, then both the blog and the company that paid for a ‘follow’ link could be marked down massively by Google. You may disappear from sight. It’s not worth the risk.

It’s also illegal to mislead readers. There’s more about ‘disclosure’ here:

And I believe it’s important to be honest. If you have been paid to write something, that’s fine, in my view. It’s just wrong if you pretend you haven’t been paid.

The Middlesized Garden only does a few sponsored posts. We only do them if I feel sure that the product is good, and that the sponsor is happy to stick to the rules.

I also read about a dozen other blogs a day. Some are gardening, homes and lifestyle blogs.

That’s why I know that a few bloggers are accepting money for paid posts, and not disclosing they’ve been paid. The same companies approached me.

Interestingly, however, some companies are increasingly emphatic that the guidelines must be followed. Wayfair works with a number of bloggers and insists that all links ‘must be no-follow’ and that posts must be marked ‘sponsored.’

Tuesday – Pippa Greenwood for tea and Gardeners Question Time

On Tuesday, BBC Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time recorded at the Alexander Centre, Faversham.

By coincidence, I handle the social media for the Alexander Centre. Blogging or handling the social media for other companies is another way bloggers earn a living.

Pippa Greenwood and I had been communicating on Twitter about her plug-plant veg growing sets, so I suggested she pop in for tea beforehand to talk about it.

Gardening author, plant pathologist and BBC Radio 4 panellist Pippa Greenwood in the Middlesized Garden. She’s talking about her new veg growing sets.

She started Grow Your Own with Pippa Greenwood to help people who want to grow their own veg but either don’t feel confident or are too busy to grow from seed.

Pippa is a trained botanist and plant pathologist, formerly of Wisley and Gardeners World. She’s a regular panellist on Gardeners Question Time, gives talks and is the author of many gardening books.

Grow Your Own With Pippa Greenwood is a range of garden-ready plug vegetable plants. You choose the ones you want. They’ll be sent to you when they’re ready to plant, along with precise growing instructions.

She also sends you a regular newsletter and advice on products that she recommends. And you can buy Gift Vouchers. That’s a really nice present for anyone thinking of growing their own for the first time.

‘Although I am really pleased to find that people are coming back year-after-year,’ she says.

‘And every year is different, so if you’ve just started growing veg, you may get disheartened when you get a bad year. If you’ve got access to good advice, then you either find out how to deal with bad weather or unexpected pests. Or at least you realise that it wasn’t your fault, and it is worth trying again.’

10% discount on Grow-Your-Own With Pippa Greenwood

There’s a 10% discount for readers of the Middlesized Garden. Order from www.pippagreenwood.com.

Use the discount code 12462-VNZJ7 when checking out. Valid until 15th May.

And there’s more about Pippa and her vegetable plug plants here:

We did the video interview in the back garden. I don’t have a tripod for my phone, so we propped it up on a table, step-ladder and two copies of Nigel Slater’s Tender.

My makeshift ‘tripod’. The cost of blogging equipment adds up quickly, so a proper tripod will have to wait. I managed to do a quick ‘poo-pick’ of the garden before she arrived, but we sat amid piles of pruned branches.

We then went to the Alexander Centre, where I interviewed the BBCGQT producer, Dan. He told me that Gardeners Question Time will record anywhere from a big city centre to a small village hall.

‘We try to vary where we go, week by week,’ he said. He revealed that the programme has never been to the Orkneys, so if there is an Orkney Horticultural Society reading this – invite BBCGQT now! Dan says he’d love to go.

Warming up for Gardeners Question Time at the Alexander Centre in Faversham.

If you go to Gardeners Question Time, there’s a pile of forms. You can write your gardening question on the form. If you’re chosen, you will be moved to a reserved seat at the front. If you fancy this, Dan advises you to choose a question that hasn’t been answered on the programme recently.

I use a Zoom Handy Recorder for interviews. The microphone on a mobile phone is never as good as the camera. A proper recorder or microphone makes the sound much better.

Wednesday – People’s Friend and photo/film editing

Twenty years ago, my journalistic work came mainly through magazines I’d worked for in the past. Now it’s more likely to come through editors reading the blog.

People’s Friend magazine has asked me to do fortnightly gardening pages for a couple of months. I’ve been gathering info for this during the week, and put it together on Wednesday.

A blog keeps your name out there, and anyone wanting to use your services will have a good idea of what you do. It’s a calling card, plus portfolio.

Whether you’re a writer or a specialist in cheese-making, cake baking or crochet, a blog can help you be better known in your field.

Beware of the time sink…

But – and it’s a big but – blogging takes time. If, for example, your work is very local, you’d be better off spending that time networking rather than blogging.

If you’re a florist who wants more weddings, then it’s probably better to spend the time at wedding fairs or at local events. If you’re a florist who wants a book deal, then blogging is an effective way forward.

I’ve seen several book review bloggers go on to get book deals, and then become novelists in their own right. The book review blogs got them known in the publishing industry. Their writing talent got them the deals.

Photography, video and editing takes time

I probably spend an hour or two each day taking photographs, editing them, then sharing them on social media or creating videos.

This includes making YouTube thumbnails and Pinterest images, using Canva. I’m not a trained designer – far from it – but images are vital both for the blog and social media.

A YouTube ‘thumbnail’ (cover photo). I made it with Canva and one of my photos.

Having worked with some brilliant ‘proper’ photographers, I know the difference between their work and mine. I have a lot to learn.

But some bloggers’ photography is good enough to sell. One friend has signed up to the Getty Images photo agency. Most months he only gets about £20. Occasionally, however, someone buys a chunk of his photos for a book or catalogue. Several hundred pounds (or more) come in.

If you blog in a visual industry, such as gardens, homes, art etc, then syndicating your photos is another option. Garden bloggers Harriet Rycroft and Andrew O’Brien – you should give it a go, if you don’t already!

Thursday – the Garden Press Event

I went up to London to The Garden Press Event in the Barbican.

This is where garden companies introduce their new products to the media.

The first person I saw was Charles Dowding. When I explained that the Middlesized Garden was for people whose gardens were larger than courtyard but smaller than an acre, he said ‘Like mine.’

‘No dig’ guru Charles Dowding and Steph Haggerty at The Garden Press Event.

I was impressed to find out that Charles has achieved so much in the world of veg with just quarter of an acre of veg growing space. The total area of the plot is only three-quarters of an acre.

‘Some of that is house,’ he says. ‘And I keep the rest fairly wild.’ Charles has written several books.  The most recent is Charles Dowding’s Vegetable Garden Diary from www.charlesdowding.co.uk.

The book starts on February 14th, because that’s when Charles starts planting seeds. And it gives you week by week ‘no dig’ veg planting and harvesting advice.

Gardening equipment is now easier to use

I’ll review other products I saw at the Garden Press Event in a few weeks. But the headline message is that tools are getting lighter, brighter and easier to use.

Wilkinson Sword has some super-lightweight tools. Burgon & Ball has luminous-bright tools that can even be seen in the dark.

Burgon & Ball’s luminescent tools- no more losing tools in the compost heap!

And Cobra have a lithium-ion lawn-mower which means you can mow  a middle-sized lawn with a battery-powered mower. It’ll do 40-50 minutes before you need to recharge it.

For the purposes of full disclosure, I must also reveal that Cobra had some delicious cup cakes on their stand. I’m not sure where Google stands on cake bribery.

The Garden Press Event is also an opportunity to catch up with people you normally only ‘see’ on Twitter or Instagram. Mr Plant Geek, Michael Perry and I had a quick catch-up, and I also met a fellow garden blogger, The Chatty Gardener.

Friday – coaching, writing and catching up

Coaching writers or bloggers is another strand of work that comes via the blog.

People get in touch because they’re thinking of starting a blog.

Sometimes people want a ‘blog clinic.’ Their blogs may already be successful, with a good following. But they have a sneaking feeling that they may be missing a trick or two.

Or they just want another eye on their work. When there’s only you, it’s easy to overlook something.

They’re not necessarily garden bloggers. Coachees have included Emma Varnam, who has a very successful and beautiful crochet blog. Rachael Hale’s lovely Home & History Magpie focuses on historic homes.

Whether you’re a primary school teacher or a pianist, you can publicise your coaching and teaching via a blog.

But the ‘local’ issue crops up again. If you want to coach eleven year olds to pass exams, you’d be better off spending the time getting involved with local schools.

However, I can coach or teach by Skype, so I’m not limited to local activity. Many bloggers also run excellent online courses (for example, Jen Stanbrook’s Pinterest tips courses.)

I’m trying to pluck up courage to start one myself.

Saturday – writing and photographing the next post

There hasn’t been alot of time for writing (or gardening!) this week. So at 9.30am, I went to a friend’s house to photograph next week’s post.

You can read about that next week, so now is probably a good time to mention affiliate sales.

What are affiliate sales?

If you are, for example, an Amazon Affiliate, then you can sell products via Amazon from your blog. You sign up, then you get special links to insert in your posts.

If someone clicks on the link and buys within 24 hours (without visiting another site), you would get a small percentage. Typically, this is 3%, but it ranges from 1%-10%.

It doesn’t affect the price the buyer pays.

The affiliate fee on books is 7%, so if you click through to buy the Gardener’s Companion to Medicinal Plants after my review, I would probably earn 94 pence. That’s only if you buy while clicking through my link. If you leave the site, but then return to buy the book, I wouldn’t earn anything.

However, if you buy other things, having clicked through via my site, I’d also get a small percentage on those.

As you can imagine, it takes a while for pence to add up. To date, in February, I have earned £33 via Amazon Affiliates.

Only recommend products you personally rate

And it is important to recommend products in your blog that you would recommend to a friend. People won’t be impressed if you just stuff your site full of links.

I only recommend either products I’ve tried myself, or those which have an exceptionally high number of positive reviews. It can take a while to hunt the latter down.

Often the products I recommend are ones I’ve bought, such as the Zoom Handy Recorder or Sony Xperia X phone that I mentioned earlier.

What about advertising?

You need hundreds of thousands of page views a month to make money from internet advertising.  Fashion, beauty, travel, food, parenting and personal finance blogs can get that many, but a garden blogger is operating in a smaller industry.

I also find that internet advertising interrupts my reading. And if I don’t like it, then you probably don’t like it either. So, as a garden blogger, I don’t personally think it’s worth taking advertising.

So that’s been my week. What about yours?

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from The Middle-Sized Garden http://www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/week-life-garden-blogger/