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my-writings-and-musings · 4 years ago

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Could you do Drift and Ravage for the oxygen loss prompt?

I absolutely can do Ravage, our dear kitty deserves the love! Drift can be found in part six below!

Part One: Here!

Part Two: Here!

Part Three: Here!

Part Four: Here!

Part Five: Here!

Part Six: Here!

Part Seven: Here!

Part Eight: Here!

Part Nine: Here!

Part Ten: Here!

Part Eleven: Here!

Part Twelve: Here!

Part Thirteen: You're Here!

Ravage

·The tale of how you even became friends with the reclusive and understandably untrusting felicon is as long as it is convoluted, but a good synopsis is that the two of you simply get one another. It doesn't hurt that you always gave him ample personal space and respected his boundaries, and the fact you don't mind meeting up in the vents is a plus for him. Bots are absolutely baffled by your relationship, so avoiding public spaces has become his preferred activity to enjoy with you, if only to be free of the gossip. Equally eager to have peace and quiet, you'd long since found ways to make his favorite spots in the vents into ideal hangouts.

·Unfortunately, today is one of the rare days he has to be away from your side and amongst the crew. On the Bridge there's some kind of trouble, requiring all the commanding officers to be present while it's sorted out, and he refuses to leave Megatron there alone. Primus knows his old friend gets blamed for everything that goes wrong eventually... Yet he's far from focused as the diagnostic scans reveal a confounding bug in the ship's programming. As worrying as it should be, his thoughts drift repeatedly to you, and how much he'd rather be somewhere far less open and bright. Hopefully this will all end soon, and the two of you can curl up somewhere to relax, with his larger body naturally fitting around yours as if made to do so...

·A teasing look from Megatron makes him realize he had allowed his dreamy thoughts to color his face with a ridiculous expression of lovestruck bliss. Pinning back his ears and flushing hot as a star, he can only be grateful no one else seemed to notice. Just as he's debating whether or not to sneak away, there's a commotion amongst the more tech savvy bots. They claim to have found the source of the programming bug; which isn't a bug at all, but a virus. Claws fully unsheathing in preparation for combat, his sense of dread grows exponentially as he puts together what is being said, realizing that something very bad is moments away. Lights flicker in confirmation of his fear. In moments the ship is flashing out a hundred or so alarms, signaling that it is more or less helpless against whatever may happen next.

·You're the first thing he thinks about as countless terrible scenarios begin to play in his mind. Between his hypersensitive hearing and smell he's nearly choked on the panic and fear growing through the Lost Light, but all he wants to focus on is you. A human has precious little in the way of defense, and with every system keeping the ship stable, there's nothing to protect you. The solution is obvious; he has to find you before something else does. When the ground quakes and an incoming transmission threatens the crew he doesn't stick around to hear the enemy gloat. A brief explanation to Megatron is all he offers before taking off, and though he doesn't stick around to see it, his old friend gives him a nod of understanding.

·Distant sounds of metallic warping and the scent of soldering tell him the ship is being breached, but also make it incredibly difficult to pinpoint your location. He's memorized every identifiable feature of yours for moments like this, but the chaos turns the air into a smog of panic, so that it's only the uniqueness of your scent that allows him to find a trail. Faster than most vehicle modes and far more limber, he's an unstoppable blur through the hallways. A path to your shared quarters forms effortlessly in his mind as he passes down the levels.

·Far from your partner, you're still recovering from the bang that shook the entire room you'd been so comfortably set up in. Dazed on the ground, you get your feet beneath you before thoughts return, and the first one is for Ravage. Unfamiliar with space travel, you feel compelled to fear the worst; what if he was too close to whatever just went wrong? Capable as he is, the Felicon isn't immortal. Dead communication lines cement the need for worry in your dizzy head. Careless to the considerable tumble you just endured, you try to think of the best possible response for both your sakes. If he's able to so much as crawl, Ravage will be headed for you, so the best thing to do is make yourself as easy to find as possible. Shallow as that plan may be, it's at least a starting point, and you won't have to go far.

·A trail of claw marks through the hallways marks a tireless and acrobatic flight of barely disguised panic. Ravage takes every possible vent into his olfactory receptors for even the tiniest whiff of you. It's a scent he falls asleep with every night, the familiar yet so unusual mammalian musk soothing him as he curled about your tiny body... Now he's panicking over every tiny whiff, if only because he can't tell if you're really okay. Foreign smells tell of an encroaching enemy spilling into the Lost Light, and from the overpowering rush it appears their numbers are considerable. Some even appear to be moving through the lower levels just a floor or two below... Hulking footsteps that are not Cybertronian register in his sensitive ears, moving with such little grace he can feel them through the floor in his perceptive paws. Anger helps him swallow down some fear. If they want to get between him and his partner, then it's their death wish.

·Finding little to be working reliably, you open the door to your room just wide enough to let you through only after multiple attempts prove unsuccessful. A lifeless but somehow noisy hallway greets you. The sounds of combat are close, or at least, you presume what you're hearing to be combat. Perhaps you hit your head harder than you thought, because thinking through what's going on is far more difficult than it should be. Holding onto the wall for support, you try desperately to think of a plan. Ravage could be anywhere, and with no way to reach him, it's impossible to plan a meet up or even attempt to learn of his status. Yet... these dire thoughts don't invoke the panic they should. It's growing impossible to even stand on your own, and without meaning to you start to lean more of your body against the wall...

·Ravage inevitably is faced with a foe he cannot evade, and for your sake, he charges forward. There's a group of them, all gathered in the only hallway that will take him quickly to your location. He can feel the heat of energy weapons simmering in the air by the time he's upon them. With the element of surprise he's able to unleash incredible damage in his first attack, claws and fangs tearing through protective armor to kill one and severely wound another before they even realize they're being attacked. Bounding between their hulking forms, he faces the one disadvantage he's always endured through combat; his enemies far outscale him. Though his need to protect as well as survive turns him into a living blender, a well placed and simply lucky strike makes painful contact with his back, cracking the armor and bringing forth a spattering of energon.

·Recovering with the aid of his own anger to fuel the final attacks, he fights on with the wound agonizing him all the while, sinking his fangs in deep to take care of the final enemy. It isn't until the last body thunders to the floor that his legs temporarily give way. He's in need of medical attention, but he doesn't dare slow down, or even get a moment of rest. Shaking legs push defiantly to get him upright, and for once he's able to be grateful to have four. The ragged pace he resumes with is only as fast as it is because he knows he's close, as your scent is now clear despite the warring smells of blood and a million other unpleasant odors. Even if all he can do is collapse by your side and keep you company, it will be enough...

·Time seems to stand still when he sees you slumped over by the doorway to the room you two share. Though you're without injuries and the iron rich smell of human blood is undetectable, he knows something is very wrong, and though every motion hurts he bounds to your side. Crying out your name, he gently nudges you with a careful muzzle. Warmth and the rythym of your heart quell his greatest fears just before you open your eyes. Not quite awake, you can only be relieved to see him again, far too out of it to be afraid. At his insistence to move you express a desire to rest instead. No amount of encouragement can seem to make you realize the danger, and thus he's forced to make the decision to move you himself, even if he's in bad shape himself. Clearly, you need more help than he can give.

·You go along as best you can when he insists you ride on his back, and it's only your considerable experience doing so in the past that makes it possible now. He tries to think through the pain, but has little luck imagining what could possibly have done this to you, and his efforts to do so are hampered further as he begins to limp forward. Between energon loss and exhaustion and fear he knows things are looking grim. It tears at him more aggressively than any wound ever could, particularly as he feels you growing weaker against him, and all he can do is beg for you to hold on. You want to, but with his body so close and the rocking of his steps, how can you resist the urge to sleep? Surely everything will be fine when you wake... It's too much for him to endure when you slip into unconsciousness, and his legs give out beneath him. Failure burns in his spark as he tries in vain to keep going, his inability to save you haunting his exhausted body as footsteps draw near.

·It's by fortune he has rarely experienced that you're happened upon by a group of bots led by Megatron. He forces himself to stay awake for your sake, refusing to let anyone separate you so long as you need care. The blur of the medical bay brings comfort only briefly, as when he's informed of the reason behind your struggle he's nearly torn apart by guilt. Seeing you with your oxygen mask confirms his failure to protect the one he holds dearest to his spark. Withdrawing from the world, he allows himself to be patched up before curling himself around your tiny body, all but shielding you from the universe so intent on hurting you both.

·The warmth of his frame so frequently is your first sensation upon waking that you don't realize something is off at first. It isn't until you feel the mask on your face that you remember what happened, but by then Ravage is gently tapping his muzzle against you to confirm everything feels alright. Without promoting, he gives a quick rundown of what led up to this moment. You're wide eyed as he explains the ship's atmospheric shutdown, particularly when he gets to the part where he tried to carry you to safety... The apathy as he recounts it all, however, is far from fitting. Laying a gentle hand on a paw, you ask if something happened that bothered him, and receive confirmation from his silent expression of sadness.

·Initially, he can't bring himself to say what's wrong. On the surface he knows his actions were reasonable, but in his spark... he's so afraid of how his own inability to save you nearly resulted in tragedy. Just the thought of losing you is terrifying enough, but having nearly faced it has rocked him to his core, and he sits in silence under the weight of those emotions. Mercifully, you can read him well enough to not need words. Ravage has always withdrawn when upset, and few things agonize him more than failure.

·Gently as you can, you encourage him to come close, pulling his helm as near to your lap as possible. The sadness in his optics nearly breaks your heart, but you're confident as you speak, thanking him for what he did to save you and insisting you wouldn't be here without him. When he briefly tries to protest, you point out that he likely wouldn't be injured had it not been for you, and he quickly replies that you're worth any scars. When you retort that you feel the same way about him, a small amount of weight appears to leave his shoulders. He recalls that the best part of loving you has always been the freedom to exist as he is, free of pressure, and that he can't be a failure in your eyes so long as he tries. It's simply easy to forget that sometimes... Allowing himself a purr, he uses his tail to most effectively wrap you in his protective body, intent on keeping the both of you safe and warm for some much needed rest. So long as you have each other, there's nothing that can't be overcome.

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write-1t-bop-1t · 4 years ago

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Plucked (Pixie Virgil/Dlampr) Part 1:

Summary: Virgil, a small and anxious pixie, goes out alone to scavenge for food only to find himself in the hands of a tall and not-so-gentle human intent on bringing him home as a gift to his boyfriends.

Words: 2670

(Warnings: Anxiety, treating people as pets, kidnapping, Character blacking out and other person thinking they died) - I stretch my arms as I yawn out, popping my back in the presses. I lean back and use my hands to rub out my sore wings, having slept on them weird. They flutter a bit as I try to wake up, the morning light shining through one of the small windows in my tree home hits them causing flashes of rainbow light to bounce off the walls.

A small smile crosses my face as I pull off the thick gray long sleeved shirt I wear to bed and change into a simple black tunic, the tunic itself being a little loose around the sleeves and neck, not that I really cared.

I walk across my dark hollow I call home, the whole room only being about a foot long and a half in human measurements. Sure it’s small, but I’ve never really liked large spaces, they make me feel overwhelmed.

There is a shard of broken mirror resting against the dark oaken wall, and I glance at myself in its reflection, taking specific notice in my hair that I try to tame with my fingers, not being very successful. I had given my brush to my cousin a few days ago for him to fix, and am yet to get it back from the forest fairy.

“Damn Emile…” I mutter to myself, cursing the kind fairy as I continue to struggle with my hair. The handle had been broken a small while ago, but it still worked its purpose. Which unfortunately wasn’t good enough for my green winged friend.

I don’t have great luck in flattening it down, and only seem to tame it a small amount. A few stray black strands continue to stick out, causing me to let out an annoyed sigh. I also notice a small amount of dark purple peeking out from my roots, reminding me that I need to get Emile to cut and re-dye it for me. I’ve never been too great at things like that, and last time I tried I almost cut my ear off and also left my arms up to my elbows dyed black. It didn’t wash out for a full month, and I got quite the earful from my older cousin, who acts more like my parent.

Always telling me to be careful, avoid humans, elves and other large creatures, never fly into Fae circles, stay out of the rain, remember to eat, and blah blah blah.

He’s way too protective of me, but I guess he has a reason to be, him being a fairy and me being a pixie. It’s easy to tell the difference, since fairies are two inches taller then pixies and it’s a well known fact that pixies are much more fragile than fairies. And much more rare, which is why I live in the middle of a dense forest, while Emile lives a little ways away and has to fly to see me.

I give up on trying to fix my hair and it’s not like anyone is going to see me. But thinking of my older cousin did remind me that I’m almost out of food and water. It rained a few days ago, but almost nothing ever reaches the mossy forest floor through the trees, and whatever did has dried up by now, meaning I have to go out to get supplies.

“Uuuugghhh….” I groan out as I rub my face. I hate leaving my house, I wish I could just stay here forever. But a main reason I picked my home to be here is it’s not too far from a small pond, hidden between some trees. But an even bigger plus is what’s right across the pond, where large berry bushes sprout. They hold all types of berries, making it the perfect spot to get food all year round.

It's secluded enough that no real predators are able to get to it, but just in-secluded enough for me to be able to walk there in about 20-30 minutes. I could fly but that draws too much attention to me, and I prefer walking over flying anyways.

I wish I was a fairy if I’m being honest, like Emile. His wings and body are much larger than mine, as I stand at a small 4 inches while he stands at a whopping 6. His wings are a light green color, looking like butterflies and they allow him to glide through the air instead of mine, which are thin, almost completely see through. They shimmer when light touches them, and they hold thin silver highlights that seem to emphasize their fragility. I always try to tuck them away, knowing of the horror stories of pixies who had gotten caught by humans, their wings torn off and used for jewelry or a collectors item, while they get thrown into a cage to live out the rest of their lives.

Another thing I happen to be jealous of is Emile’s skin tone. He holds a nice peach color that often ends up tanned due to him spending so much of his free time outside with the other creatures of his small section of forest. Pixies are known to be on the paler side, but I am almost sickly pale due to almost never getting sunlight, along with the patches of light and dark purple littering my skin, the most prominent ones being on my forearms and on both sides of my face.

I sigh again, putting on some platform shoes Emile had made me, grabbing a large bag I can throw over my shoulder, along with another bag stuffed inside to hold the water as I get ready to leave the house.

I put a small cloak on as well, using the hood to cover my hair, and to make it easier to camouflage, since I happen to pop out against the brown and lush green environment of the forest.

I use my feet to push up and leap my way up and out of the small room, my wings being open and fluttering slightly to help my balance.

There is one thing that Emile was jealous of me for, and that was the fact that even though pixies aren’t great or fast fliers like fairies, we can jump significantly higher than almost all fairies and on ground we are incredibly fast on our feet, which is another reason I prefer walking to flying.

I jump over the wall of my room and use my wings to lower myself onto the mossy forest floor. I stretch out my wings again before looking up and rubbing my eyes, trying to get used to the bright light coming from above the tree line high above. The sun feels warm against my skin, and it’s only slightly humid.

“I really need to get out more.” I say to myself as I adjust my bag and begin the trek towards the pond. I stick to walking near the trees instead of the few natural open paths, making it easy to leap up incase of any dangerous animals came towards me, and partially because I’m paranoid.

Wouldn’t be the first time somethings tried to eat me….

I continue walking, humming a quiet tune to ease my mind, as I always feel anxious walking outside by myself. I end up being alert the whole time, feeling as though I’m being watched. Of course I’m not being watched and I know that. No sane person would ever just walk into an enchanted forest, everyone knew that. Not to mention where I live is a good way into the forest, miles away from any human or elf towns.

I stop my humming abruptly as I hear a ruffle of leaves above me to the right, and my eyes shoot over to the area immediately. My breath stops as I try to stay as quiet and still as physically possible. After a few minutes of nothing happening, I let out a shaky sigh, allowing my muscles to relax.

It was probably the wind. Or a bird.

I shiver at the thought. Birds are the worst and one of the only predators a pixie can’t just fly away from.

I start speed walking towards the pond. Being by the large open water always calmed my nerves. There were no fish or kelpies and thank god there aren’t any mermaids or any type of aquatic animals living in the deep water for that matter. But I have seen a deer or two around the area, along with the water spirits that inhabit the clear waters. They let me take water as long as I give them something in return, which is normally a berry or two extra I grab from the bush on the other side of the lake. It’s not a lot, but I think they know I can’t carry much as it is.

I see the pond behind some long grass and my face lights up, as my anxiety seems to melt away. I always was at my calmest at the pond and my paranoid nature would be put on hold until I got home.

I smile as I walk towards the body of fresh water coming towards the edge, easily seeing my reflection in the clear surface.

Pixies and fairies can’t exactly swim, and if even a little water gets on our wings we become temporarily grounded and unable to fly. I don’t really worry about that when coming here, I mean, now anyways…

I slowly got over that fear a year or so ago,

I had been giving the water spirits berries in exchange for water for a while at that point, until one day I had gotten frightened and lost my footing causing me to fall straight into the depth below. I thought I was going to drown….

That was until I heard soft, echoing voices and the light above the water became brighter, the next thing I knew I woke up on the grass next to the pond and my satchel filled with fresh water. I made sure to put double the amount of berries into the pond that day…

I pull out my spare bag and unscrew the lid near the top before lowering it into the water and waiting for it to fill.

A few stray ripples in the blue water come towards me, causing small waves against my bag. I smile at it, making small talk. From anyone else’s view it would seem like I’m crazy and talking to myself, but I know that the water spirits appreciate conversation.

Once my bag is full I pull it away from the water and screw on the lid, while thanking the spirits.

I use my cloak to dry off the outside of the pouch before placing my water bag inside my larger bag. Sure it’s heavy, but I don’t have anywhere to be at the moment, so I’ll take my time.

I sigh and begin the tiring trek around the pond. It takes longer than I would like to get to the berry bushes, but the sound of the soft water makes for a quiet and calming walk. Around this time of year, the path to the other side of the pond is extended. While the rain might not make it through the forest where I live, it does here, making the edges of the pond muddy and dangerous.

I walk deeper into the forest, making a big semi circle around the muddy area. I decide to walk deeper, enjoying the fresh air and the small breeze that causes my hood to almost fly off, but I fortunately catch it and pull it back onto my face.

I walk a straight line between a few of the trees, a content smile on my face, while starting to hum quietly to myself again. I close my eyes for a second as I walk, a hand crossing over on the strap of my bag, but when I open them slightly I notice a large dark shadow covering me. I look up quickly to see a large hand coming towards me.

Out of instinct I immediately drop my bag and jump backwards just in time for another hand to rush at me and I barely make it out of the way. I use the hand to push myself into the air, my wings immediately getting to work as I go to fly upwards, trying to put as much distance between me and the stranger.

‘Crap!-’

I don’t get more than a few feet before I narrowly avoid another hand, this one coming at me so quickly that instead of grabbing me, it barely manages to snag my cloak with it’s nail, but it lets out a loud ‘riiiiiiiiiiiip’ that seems to echo out into the otherwise quiet forest.

That momentary distraction is all it takes for the two large hands to harshly cup around me, shadowing me into darkness. Once it grips on I start to struggle, thrashing and screeching in it’s hold, my feet kicking against its palms. This only seems to anger it as its grip tightens to an almost suffocating hold, I whimper as the grip pushes my arms together, my chest feeling like it’s going to explode as tear prick the corners of my eyes.

My wings sting against the calloused hands and I can feel him start to move quickly causing me to bump around against the mini prison, murmurs of someone's voice heard somewhere outside as my vision starts to swim, so I do the only reasonable thing I could think of.

I bite down. Hard.

I draw blood easily and the second the hand opens I launch myself out towards the light ahead of me, adrenaline and fear fueling my movements as I see the hand try to reach out to me before I see it pushing down, taking me with it.

All I see is the hand and the forest floor rushing up to greet me before I’m slammed onto it, the weight of the hand crushing me and knocking the wind out of my chest before everything in sight is covered in black pools and eventually nothing….

I groan from my place on the ground, having tripped over my own feet when reaching for the winged mini-person. My boyfriend Logan was always fascinated with fairies so when I saw it just walking around I figured it would make a great ‘I’m-Sorry-I-Accidentally-Lit-The-Bathroom-On-Fire’ gift.

I hadn't expected the thing to bite me though. Or sting me, I don’t know which one it was but it hurts like a bitch. I hope they're not poisonous…. But then again if they are, my boyfriends will have to take care of me….. I shake my head to get rid of the thought, looking around for the little thing that has caused me so much trouble.

I look to where my hand is planted on the ground, and I try to keep it steady as I wipe a bit of dirt that had gotten on my green throw over that Patton had made me bring incase it got cold.

I scoop up the little being with both of my hands in a little pocket, making sure not to crush it and bring it up to my eyes before slowly opening my hands, allowing me to look at it.

I can see it’s pale skin, dark messy hair and clearly ripped cloak, along with some patches of purple throughout their body. But the most striking part are its wings, not like any fairies I’d ever heard of, and once the light catches them they seem to burst with colors…

“Logan is going to love this!” I mutter to myself.

But then I notice something else strange. The once feisty and screeching fairy wasn’t struggling, heck it wasn’t moving at all!

My body jumps when I realize this, and I nearly drop the little person, my eyes widen in panic as I end up blurting out,

“Shit! Did I fucking kill it!?”

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benjamingarden · 6 years ago

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This Month On The Farm: July 2018 - Garden Updates (plus a plan!), Kitchen Updates, Answers To A Business Question Many Of You Have Asked Me About, And More!

Jack

Oh my. It was a HOT start to the month. We had a 6-day stretch of upper 90's to low 100's + full on "oppressive" humidity weather to kick it off. It was, in one word, miserable.

It's generally been quite a hot and humid summer and you can see it in the garden. The few times we've been the lucky recipient of rain, thankfully, we've received quite a bit, but it was very inconsistent and partnered with scorching hot temp's during the stretches between rain showers. There's proof of it in the summer squash with some of the little fruit getting rot as well as in the cukes with deformity on a good handful. The Garden Despite the oppressive summer, the garden continues to do well. We are even still collecting sugar snap peas from our very generous, albeit little, patch! I can't believe it. Usually by now they turn hard and lose their sweetness but for some reason it's working out well this year. The potatoes are about ready to begin harvesting, we've been swimming in green beans the last 2 weeks (hooray for that!), the cukes are ripening slowly, which is ideal, so we are able to keep up with them, and the broccoli is ready to begin harvesting. I (again) forgot to net the elderberries, so the birds have feasted on a good portion of them. It will still leave me quite a few to dry now that they are ripe, so for that I'm grateful. I hope to remember to net them after they flower next year. Summer squash has had a few issues, but it's looking good and we are harvesting a LOT of tomatoes (stinks now that I'm not eating tomatoes.....). The peppers are getting big and the little sweets are ripening as if on cue, because I am now out of frozen peppers from last year's garden. Did I tell you we had some surprise kohlrabi? I didn't mean to plant the seeds, they must have gotten into my broccoli seed packet by accident. So, surprise!! They are delicious. If you’re just tuning in, this is a brand new ongoing series in which I document each month of our lives in our transition to a simple, homemade life on a modern homestead. We ditched town and moved to the country in 2008 and we blog about both our successful and not-so-successful ventures in homesteading, switching to natural products, and embracing a whole foods lifestyle. Check out the entire series here.

elderberries

I have plans to get our garden space fenced in this year so I can grow carrots and cabbage again without rabbits and woodchucks feasting. It would also be fantastic to get beans from all of the plants rather than seeing half of them eaten (the plants, not the beans) with just stems pointing toward the sky as proof of what could have been. We just need to do it, regardless of whether or not there is time. You can always find time if you prioritize and I have declared this the priority for fall. A little bit of resistance was had but we are now both on the same page.

notice the "sticks"?

I am excited. I am also trying to convince the "handy man" that I need a small greenhouse space. I would, ideally, like to convert the current garden shed into a bit of a greenhouse for seed starting. Communication regarding this project has (temporarily) halted. I'll give it time to roll around in his head before I push. Again.

I took this photo during my blueberry jam-making session. Nope, we are not interested in the "open cabinet" look. Rather, they've been removed for painting and I have never seen them again.....maybe in the fall?

Projects And Such Projects continue to be on hold until fall. We've prioritized what we'll be doing as soon as we have a couple of weeks to devote to them. So, this means the kitchen is still not finished. The last of the project is to paint the kitchen as well as all of the cabinets. I've written a bit in our weekly meal plan about excluding nightshades from my diet to try and get ahold of my seasonal allergies. It's working well. I will try to re-introduce them in another month or so to see if they are a source of inflammation for me or not. Fingers crossed they are not....

blueberry jam

We were able to freeze a LOT of blueberries in July (plus make jam) as well as quite a bit of cauliflower and broccoli. I'm hoping to freeze green beans, kale, peppers, onions, carrots, and mirepoix this month. I freeze mirepoix because I start many soups with the mix and it's just so much easier than chopping carrots, onions and celery every single time. I believe we will try to can tomatoes either this month or next month as well, if we can find a day to do it. It takes quite a bit of time to process them, so we'll see. If not, I'll at least oven-dry and/or dehydrate some of the tomatoes and freeze those. They are great added to sauce later in the year.

can you believe this is one of the chicks?

and another of the chicks!

The Chickens So, I've come to the conclusion that we've increased our flock larger than it should be. Live and learn, right? It's an interesting balance, trying to do what's right for the homestead and trying to keep up with egg demand. Our egg customers tell us time and again that ours are the best eggs they've ever eaten. Even compared to other local eggs. I have absolutely no idea why - when they are compared to others who free range, but we are thrilled and grateful to hear it. So, because of this, and because we run out of eggs within 40 minutes of getting to the farmer's market, we decided to continue increasing the flock. And we were wrong. It's just too much. It doesn't feel right, it's not the right blend of breeds (we've got quite an ornery group right now) and it can be overwhelming at times. So, we'll keep them all until the inevitable happens, and won't add for a couple of years. This, of course, means we will be feeding a lot of girls and get fewer and fewer eggs (egg production typically peaks at 2 years of age and declines thereafter) for a bit, but we've learned. We will then, going forward, stick with Plymouth Barred Rocks and Americauna/Aracaunas. We may have a few buffs, but no other breeds. We've always had a flock we've bonded very well with and who have, although they are chickens and have pecking orders, etc., have respectfully lived with each other. This group has some just downright mean and cranky chickens that are dirtier/messier and louder than any of our previous flocks. The littles, however, we have bonded very well with, which worries me about when we have to combine the two flocks. I don't want them to lose their sweetness. The reality is, we don't make any money off of the eggs (because we feed them certified organic feed and still sell the eggs and the same price as non-organic - $4.00/dozen). So yes, it's our fault, but even if we charged more, we wouldn't make much off of the increase. We don't have a large enough flock for profit (still), and don't plan to work toward that. The egg money does, however, pay for all of the chicken's bills (feed, shavings, straw, treats, etc.), and will continue to as the flock decreases (fingers crossed). We enjoy raising them and are happy we are able to furnish some families with reasonably priced (non-certified) organic eggs.

Emerson (left) and Oliver

Jackson

Oliver, Emerson & Jack Oliver had a bit of a difficult month. He goes through periods of just not feeling well, which means he doesn't want to eat, is a bit cranky and clingy, and is just downright upset. It's sooooooo difficult because I have no idea how to help him. This is the part of having pets that I get frustrated with. I just hate seeing any animal in pain or not feeling well so when I can't fix it, it's incredibly hard. Both he and Emerson had trips to the vet in July. Both for eye issues, although on separate weeks and different issues. Em had a bump at the corner of his eye which, thankfully, went away. Oliver had what we believe were allergy issues. Of course! He's got just about every health issue Frenchie's are known for, so why not allergies too??? And then there's Jack. He's actually been fairly low-key this month although the periods of thunder we've had (every single week) as well as 2 weeks of fireworks being set off around us are making him a bit gun-shy. He is such a chicken and so fearful of loud noises. The poor guy has a lot of pacing time put in this past month.

The Business We are knee-deep in our 1st busy season of the year (the second starts the beginning of October through New Years). Summer means we are working 7 days a week to keep up with products as well as attending markets and craft shows. I have many of you email me and ask about starting a bath & body business yourself. I figured I would speak to that a bit here because it's such a common question. Yes, it's certainly a business that anyone can start. Similar to some other businesses, the largest 2 hurdles are formulating good products and then finding customers who will buy them. It's, unfortunately, a very saturated market, so you have to figure out how your products are different and advertise that. We've had many of our customers start (and end) bath & body product businesses of their own. Many ended because it's expensive. You've certainly got overhead in products and packaging. Others have ended because they can't grow their customer base as quick as they'd hoped. And still others didn't realize how much work it really is to do everything - formulate, make, package, sell, run a website, ship products, keep the books, and so on. And if you decide to sell wholesale, that's a whole other set of "to-do's". The demands and struggles are not unique to this field, by any means, but because it's "home-based" I think it's looked at as an easier business to get into. And it can be - as long as you have a realistic view. If you have a passion for it, are prepared to work for yourself (fully responsible for it and your paycheck) as well as a handful of really good products, you should absolutely consider going into business! I encourage you to keep the questions coming, ask a handful of people currently working in the field for their thoughts as well, and think about all of the struggles shared with you to ensure you are willing (and able) to have a similar experience.

How was your July on your own homestead?

If you would like to see more of our day-to-day, please join us on Instagram.

How was your July?

This Month On The Farm: July 2018 - Garden Updates (plus a plan!), Kitchen Updates, Answers To A Business Question Many Of You Have Asked Me About, And More! was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

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daveywankenobie · 8 years ago

Text

So it’s here. It’s actually a whole year since I joined Slimming World.

365 days have passed.

It’s currently 8.21am on Saturday 15th April 2017 – and if I’m completely honest I’m a little nervous about what the scales will say today. I’ve focused so much on walking over the last two weeks that weight loss has oddly enough taken something of a back seat. I’ve also found that my appetite has been a bit bigger as a consequence of all the exercise – so I have no idea what’s going to happen in two hours.

Honestly though my Saturday morning nerves are habitual more than anything else. I do this every week and it would seem odd not to.

On the plus side my eating has been extremely healthy – and over the last 3 days I’ve had between 1500-2000 calories a day and feel awesome. Therefore whatever happens it doesn’t really matter. My mindset is completely focused on moving forward in life – and if exercise means slower or temporarily static weight loss for a little while I’m happy with that. I’d much rather be able to bound up flights of stairs without feeling like I’m dying than being thin and unfit – so it’s all part of a larger plan.

Although I’ve not done so yet I think I’m going to get a (large) tape measure and note down my vital statistics to see how they change. I suspect I might need these as time goes on and I get fitter.

One really good bit of news at the moment however is that the (ahem, cough cough) ‘digestive transit’ issue from last week appears to have been sorted. I’ve been drinking LOTS more water (in fact lots more fluids in general) and for the last five days I’ve also been a vegetarian.

(I have it on good authority that fish – which I’ve also been eating – are vegetables by the way so although some may question my commitment to the way of the carrot I’m sticking with this label.)

Regularity has consequently been celebrating a spirited resurgence.

Financially it’s also been a great time to do this – as my shopping bills completely fell through the floor. Aldi has been selling bags of veg for as little as 19p each this week – meaning that several large rucksacks of ridiculously healthy shopping have cost me only a few pounds. On top of this they’ve also provided some great exercise as I’ve carried them the full two miles back to my house. Being health conscious is a win on multiple fronts.

So is being a prolific selfie taker.

I started (not long after joining Slimming World and for pretty much the first time in my life) regularly using the front facing camera on my phone instead of just the one pointing away from me.

I wanted to stop hating my own image and start to love who I was, regardless of what I looked like. I also wanted to see how things changed over time and keep a record of my progress. The first photo here has been used (probably too) many times on my blog – and I’m now kind of immune now to how it makes me feel. It used to make me cringe. Now I look at it as if it’s someone else. I was even asked jokingly on Facebook earlier today who the man in it was.

Honestly I don’t know now. I remember him though, and all of the other me’s in this timeline.

So here’s a small chronological collage of me from the last year. You can enjoy my moon faced symphony of chins whilst I have a shower and get ready for group.

Processed with VSCO with 4 preset

(author slips away to powder his nose and attend Slimming World)

Well – as I expected things have not moved very much this week and my inch losses have not been equaled by weight loss. I maintained.

However – I wasn’t kidding. I’m totally cool with this. I’m not freaking out, I’m not worrying about plateaus and I’m not thinking this is the beginning of the end.

Quite the opposite.

As I type it’s 6.25pm in the afternoon.

After Slimming World I walked a round trip of almost 7 miles to have a salad at the Harvester with a most excellent friend. We had a lovely lovely chat and I feel all warm and fuzzy inside after some serious twalking.

After I came home I went out shopping – and now my cupboards and fridge are FILLED with items that have little halos floating above them. My kitchen is (as always) a den of virtue instead of vice. Earlier its saintly aura only contained a banana, a can of chick peas, an onion and some mint sauce – which even I’m not creative enough to turn into something delicious.

Also according to Apple Watch I’ve been a busy boy. I have so far today walked 10.13 miles, made 20,049 steps, burned 1,436/3,862 active/total calories and completed 109 minutes of cardio. I’m also considering maybe going out this evening too so that’s by no means the end of it. I have the same planned for tomorrow, and on Monday and also Tuesday.

You see – a year on things are very different to how they were when I joined my group. If you’ve never seen it before it’s here. Honestly I still have difficulty reading it. The emotions (and tears) contained within it seem all too real even now.

At some point though I have to move away from judging my successes and failures solely by numbers on scales. That’s not to say I don’t have to keep losing weight because I most certainly do – but I mean that the goals I am developing are becoming ones not just related to being smaller – but becoming fitter and (probably more crucially) stronger.

Many people have asked me (now that I’ve completed my 1700 mile virtual walking challenge) what I am thinking of doing next. So far there’s nothing particularly massive in my head (apart from climbing Snowdon) but I DO want to get more muscular.

I don’t mean that I plan to become a hulking meathead obsessed with protein bars and fake tan lines around my budgy smugglers – but I want to be strong enough to do press-ups (I still can’t) or pull-ups (never ever ever been able to do one of these in my entire life) or climb obstacles, or vault over a fence.

These are things honestly I’ve never really been capable of (or interested in) before – and they all require both agility and muscle.

Muscle weighs more than fat, and at some point I have to make a pivot from just shedding flab to getting more toned, and that will require a different mindset. So, while I continue over the next days and weeks to exercise, stay positive and move forward I’ll be considering how I will go about this.

In the meantime I’ll be eating good things, thinking good things, doing good things, and trying to be a better person. Most of all though I’m just looking forward to what the next year has to bring! I think it’s gonna to be great!

Who knows though internet…

Maybe I will decide to change my taste in underwear after all…

Davey

One year on… So it's here. It's actually a whole year since I joined Slimming World. 365 days have passed.

#Exercise #Fitness #Friendship #Health #Slimming World #Weight loss

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beingmad2017-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Being a Part of a Blog Wordpress Society

New Post has been published on https://beingmad.org/being-a-part-of-a-blog-wordpress-society/

Being a Part of a Blog Wordpress Society

The blogosphere, made up of countless blogs from all over the world, is one of the most popular faces of the Internet. It’s not just for teenagers anymore. Several years ago, most blogs were run by kids who just wanted to keep in touch with their friends, or people who just wanted to talk about their daily life.

These days, almost everyone online has a blog.

Chances are, you have one – and if you don’t, you should.

Stay at home moms like to blog about their daily lives and raising children. CEOs of major corporations own blogs about the latest happenings at their company. Many celebrities run blogs, and they blog about their upcoming events, movies, and roles (not to mention scandals).

And marketers have blogs about every niche imaginable!

I’m confident to say I myself am part of the blogging culture.

Blogging is a great way to reach out to the people on the Internet. They can touch millions of lives, and spread your message like no other medium. You can say almost anything you want, and there will be an audience for almost every niche!

You can run a blog just for fun. If you want to talk about parties you attend, restaurants you eat at, places you go shopping, or where you go on vacation, someone will probably want to read about it.

Even if the only audience you have is your close friends and relatives, you’ll have fun and be able to say whatever’s on your mind.

More and more people are turning to blogging as a way to make money. Some people just want to make a few extra dollars for spending money, but others are actually making a full-time income with their blogs.

A few prominent bloggers even boast of making hundreds of thousands of dollars with their blogs (a la Perez Hilton, who parlayed his blogging fun into thousands of dollars in ad money each month, which delivered him his own TV show, podcast, and clothing line)!

There are plenty of ways to make money blogging. Whether you’re a college student who just wants to make a little extra cash for pizza and clothes, or you’re a serious marketer who wants to make a small fortune, it’s totally possible with blogging.

Blogs are big, even if they’re small. Some blogs get millions of hits per month. Blog traffic has been growing steadily for several years as consumers gain confidence from peers rather than trusting hard hitting sales pitches they find on the web.

With more and more people jumping onto the blogosphere bandwagon, it probably won’t slow down within the foreseeable future. If you’re thinking about getting into blogging, it’s a good idea to get started now.

It generally takes a few months to begin building up a following. And you really need regular visitors if you want to make money with your blog. You should work to gain subscribers to your RSS feed, because those people will come back often to read your new posts.

And remember to lend your own unique voice to your posts. One of the most important nuances in regards to why blogging is such a major global phenomenon is the fact that people really enjoy reading unique voices on certain topics.

They crave the differences in personalities. It’s refreshing to read information that has personality and isn’t stale or stuffy, which means it’s been translated by a single editor so that every voice is uniform. This is why columnist pages in local newspapers are so popular.

Your unique voice is the most important part of getting regular visitors to your blog. If you want to see examples of this, visit some of the most popular blogs you can find. You’ll see that one thing these blogs have in common is the fact that the bloggers make engaging, funny, or original posts.

That’s your key to making it big in the blogosphere!

Before You Blog, Build a Blueprint

A lot of bloggers put together a blog without any real plan for how they’re going to promote it or monetize it. Putting a blog together without a plan is like trying to build a house without a blueprint.

It’s possible, yes. But the end result is probably going to be shoddy, and the whole thing could fall apart at any minute.

You should create a solid plan of action before you even buy the domain. You need to develop a strong blueprint before you ever get started. Waiting until after you’ve already set it up and are getting traffic could mean a lot of extra work going in to correct mistakes.

Changing themes and adding plugins after you’re already getting traffic could interrupt your traffic. Sometimes new plugins and themes can temporarily break your blog, which could mean a loss of traffic (and money) until you’re able to fix everything.

The first part of your plan should be choosing a niche, of course. Part of choosing a niche is finding products you can promote. If a niche has no products available, you could create your own.

But if there are no affiliate products available, it could be because there isn’t enough demand there for a product. In this case, you’d have to do some careful market research in order to determine whether or not a niche is truly viable.

What’s your purpose for blogging? Do you have your own product you want to promote? Do you want to promote affiliate products? Do you want to just put AdSense or CPA offers on your site?

You need to ask yourself questions like these so that you’ll know how you intend to monetize the site. If you plan to promote affiliate products, you should test the products yourself before you promote them.

If you don’t, your visitors could end up being very upset if you promoted a product of really poor quality and they bought it because they trusted you. Even worse, what if you end up promoting something that turns out to be a scam?

You don’t necessarily have to purchase every product you wish to promote. If you can prove you have a decent amount of traffic (and sometimes if you just ask), you may be able to get free review copies of some of the products you’d like to promote.

It doesn’t hurt to ask. Even if you don’t have any existing traffic yet, you can write to the owner of a particular affiliate program, tell them what you’re planning to do, and ask if you could get a review copy.

Some people won’t give you a review copy. Plenty of marketers get requests for review copies from those who just want to get a copy of their product for free. So if you run into a skeptic, or someone who’s been burned before, you may get turned down.

In this case, it’s probably best to just go ahead and buy the product if you really want to promote it. If it’s a scam or a really crappy product, just ask for a refund.

You can also consider using a donation button on your blog. If you can’t find any good products to promote, and you don’t have the time, money, or ability to create your own product, you can still put up a donation button. If your blog is very good, you may get donations.

Or, you can always sell ad space on your blog. If you start getting a substantial amount of traffic or you get a very high PageRank in Google, you could charge a lot of money for a link on your blog. You can also get paid for making posts on your blog that review other sites.

Should a Blog Topic Be Broad or Narrow?

There are two schools of thought regarding blog topics. Some people believe your topic should be very focused, because you can bring in a flurry of laser-targeted visitors. Plus, you have less competition in smaller market segments.

Another group of people believe that anything worth doing is worth doing big. They believe that the only way blogging can truly be worth it is if you’re bringing in massive traffic, and the only way you can achieve that level of traffic is by being very broad – casting a wide net, so to speak.

For example, you might have a sports blog that has broad appeal. You could talk about baseball, football, basketball, soccer, tennis, and golf. This would give you a much more broad appeal, and the potential for larger traffic.

But since there would be so much competition, it might take a lot longer to get more traffic coming in. Plus, the way I see it is, if I’m interested in golf, I really won’t care about the other parts of the blog, so the value of it plummets in my eyes.

But let’s say you choose golf as your broad topic. Even this is broad, although you just segregated it from the other sports in existence. There are many things you could write about golf – vacations, apparel, clubs, courses, techniques, etc.

You could choose an even more targeted niche like women’s golf or senior golf. This is a smaller segment of a small niche. This means you could get traffic faster, because there would be less competition.

Less competition means you have the potential to rise faster in the search engine rankings. Of course, women’s golf would get far less traffic from the number one spot of Google than the combined traffic of all of the other sports niches, but the chances of that traffic converting into a sale will soar.

So basically, it boils down to how you feel about your abilities. If you believe you have the ability to get one large blog to the top of the search engines rather quickly, then you might be able to handle a broad topic blog.

If you don’t believe your abilities are up-to-snuff, then you might want to stick with a smaller niche at first. Remember, you can always start other blogs later. You could either build a network of small niche blogs, or you could start out with one broad blog and then start multiple sub-niche blogs later. You could then link to all of your smaller blogs from your large blog.

You could also start with the smaller blogs, get them to gain some popularity, and then start a large, broad blog later. Once you start the larger blog, you’ll have several smaller blogs already getting traffic and already having PR that can link to the larger blog to get it started.

If you already have a lot of SEO experience and you’re confident in your ability to pull off some great search engine rankings quickly, then starting with a more broad blog might be a better option.

You can still get some of the benefits of having a smaller blog by having categories for each of the smaller niches on your broad topic blog. One last thing to keep in mind is that your traffic will be less targeted if you run a broad blog.

If you have a site about skin care, you may get a lot of traffic that’s just looking for information about the best lotions or skin creams. But if you start a blog about something specific, like acne, you’re more likely to get people who are ready and willing to buy something.

Where Will You Host Your Blog?

A lot of people start out by hosting their blog for free at one of the common blog hosting companies. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it’s a much better idea to host your blog on your own domain if possible.

Let’s take a look at WordPress. WordPress is a very popular blogging platform. You can host your blog on their servers, or you can download the software and host your blog on your own domain.

There are a few reasons why you should host your own blog, rather than hosting your blog directly on WordPress.com. For one thing, WordPress doesn’t allow you to promote affiliate links on their domain.

So if you want to make any money with your blog, you can’t host it on their server, you’ll have to host it yourself. Another reason why you shouldn’t host your blog on WordPress is the fact that you can’t use the variety of plugins and themes that you could use on your own domain.

WordPress is very limited as far as the functionality, so don’t expect to have anything really cool on your blog if you host it there. You can find free WordPress tutorials to help you get started with your blog.

Now let’s look at Blogger. They do allow commercial blogs, so you can post affiliate links there if you want. But they’re also against what they deem as “spam blogs” or “splogs.” If they decide your blog is spam, or they decide it’s “too” commercial, or they just don’t like it, they can delete it for any reason.

There goes all that hard work you put into it!

You have to agree to those terms and conditions when you sign up. That means that even if you don’t actually break any rules, they could still delete your blog if they chose. That’s a pretty powerful motivator.

It certainly wouldn’t be a very pleasant thing to build a blog up to several thousand hits per day, only to have it deleted (and trust me, I’ve heard these horror stories). You’d lose all of that traffic, all of those backlinks, all of your reputation and your search engine rankings.

Imagine it all being wiped out overnight. That’s not a good thing.

It’s like having a fire rip through your brick and mortar store and you don’t have any insurance to rebuild.

Another very important reason to host your blog on your own domain is that it gives you credibility. If you host your blog on your own domain, you’ll appear more professional, and more like an authority figure in your niche.

People will automatically assume you’re more serious if you’re hosting your blog on your own domain, rather than putting it up somewhere for free. If you do decide to host your own domain, the first thing you’ll need to do is choose a domain that contains a few keywords related to your niche.

If your blog is about house cleaning tips, then try to get housecleaningtips.com. If that’s not available, go down your keyword list and find the next best thing. Then register the domain.

Next you need to find a host for your blog. You might want to choose a host that has Fantastico, which is a program that sits on the server and allows you to very easily install WordPress (and other scripts) without having to create and manage MySQL databases yourself.

Once you have hosting, you just need to go to your domain registrar and set up the name servers to point to your new host. Your hosting company’s support should be able to help you with this.

Blogging Is Big Business

More and more companies are starting blogs, and many people are even forming their entire companies around blogging. Customers really love blogs because they’re generally full of great (free) information, they offer a personal touch that generally isn’t found on a standard corporate website, and they’re not usually full of a lot of hype and hard sell tactics.

Another reason customers love blogs is that they offer a great medium for interaction. Visitors can leave comments and receive responses to their comments. This helps build loyalty to your blog and your company, and readers really enjoy this level of interaction with someone they consider an authority figure.

It helps them feel like they’re really being listened to, and like the company really cares about what they have to say – even if that “company” is an entrepreneur like you! Blogs are a fantastic way to build loyalty.

You can reach your audience in a very personal way, must more so than with a standard, stuffy stagnant website. Readers expect to see some personality coming out in a blog. If you really let your personality shine through, you can build a following that will subscribe to your RSS feed and come back often, eagerly waiting to hear more of what you have to say.

This is a great way to brand yourself and your business. Since you can get more personal with a blog, people start to get to know you a bit as a person. This makes you seem more real, and people begin to trust you and your messages more.

For some reason, people trust websites with identifiable people behind them.

Remember, when you’re blogging for business you should stay somewhat professional. It’s probably best not to post about your aunt’s cataract surgery or your grandma’s cat that died. You can get a bit personal – after all, that’s what really makes you stand out.

But most people who are reading your blog are there to find out information about the niche, seeking solutions to their needs. Keep your posts on topic, but get personal by providing your own voice within those entries.

Provide valuable information within your blog posts. People aren’t going to keep coming back to your blog over and over just to read about the new products you’re releasing, unless you’re releasing some really revolutionary stuff.

They’re going to want to read industry news, tips and tricks, special strategies, and other important information for free. While it’s perfectly fine to blog about new product releases, it’s also important to keep providing helpful information to keep your readers coming back.

Don’t ever lose sight of the fact that your readers are real people. You know what you enjoy reading in a blog, right? You want solid information – something useful. You probably don’t mind the occasional sales pitch on a blog full of great information, but you’d be pretty annoyed to reading nothing but pitch after pitch.

If you’re running a business blog, it’s important to keep your readers in mind. Give them the kind of quality information they’re hungry for, and they’ll keep coming back for more. In fact, the more you give them for free, the more loyal they’ll become, and the more likely they’ll be to buy from you in the future.

Blogging is all about informing and educating. If you can do that, your visitors will form a bond with you and they’ll be sure to spread the word about your blog so that your URL goes viral and it attracts an even bigger following within your niche.

Blogging can be very lucrative, not to mention it enhances your overall branding and networking on the ‘net. Here are the steps you need to take to get started RIGHT NOW:

1.) Pick a niche topic (my advice is to go narrow). 2.) Find a domain and buy it. 3.) Set up your WordPress blog using your Fantastico host. 4.) Pick a theme online – Google free WordPress themes and you’ll find millions you can upload. 5.) Set up your blog for categories, ad space, and stick an opt-in box in it to begin building a list. 6.) Start posting to your blog using keyword relevant titles and entries. 7.) Start bookmarking your blog and sharing that link to get it moving in the viral direction. 8.) Test the conversion of various products you promote on your blog and switch out those that aren’t working well for you.

0 notes

giveuselife-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Being a Part of a Blogging Wordpress Society

New Post has been published on https://giveuselife.org/being-a-part-of-a-blogging-wordpress-society/

Being a Part of a Blogging Wordpress Society

These days, almost everyone online has a blog.

Chances are, you have one – and if you don’t, you should.

And marketers have blogs about every niche imaginable!

I’m confident to say I myself am part of the blogging culture.

Even if the only audience you have is your close friends and relatives, you’ll have fun and be able to say whatever’s on your mind.

That’s your key to making it big in the blogosphere!

Before You Blog, Build a Blueprint

It’s possible, yes. But the end result is probably going to be shoddy, and the whole thing could fall apart at any minute.

The first part of your plan should be choosing a niche, of course. Part of choosing a niche is finding products you can promote. If a niche has no products available, you could create your own.

What’s your purpose for blogging? Do you have your own product you want to promote? Do you want to promote affiliate products? Do you want to just put AdSense or CPA offers on your site?

In this case, it’s probably best to just go ahead and buy the product if you really want to promote it. If it’s a scam or a really crappy product, just ask for a refund.

Should a Blog Topic Be Broad or Narrow?

Where Will You Host Your Blog?

Let’s take a look at WordPress. WordPress is a very popular blogging platform. You can host your blog on their servers, or you can download the software and host your blog on your own domain.

There goes all that hard work you put into it!

Imagine it all being wiped out overnight. That’s not a good thing.

It’s like having a fire rip through your brick and mortar store and you don’t have any insurance to rebuild.

If your blog is about house cleaning tips, then try to get housecleaningtips.com. If that’s not available, go down your keyword list and find the next best thing. Then register the domain.

Once you have hosting, you just need to go to your domain registrar and set up the name servers to point to your new host. Your hosting company’s support should be able to help you with this.

Blogging Is Big Business

For some reason, people trust websites with identifiable people behind them.

Blogging can be very lucrative, not to mention it enhances your overall branding and networking on the ‘net. Here are the steps you need to take to get started RIGHT NOW:

0 notes

emerysmerkin · 8 years ago

Text

The Holiday: Chapter 11

A Debt Repaid

Tortillilya has gone from a bustling port to complete and utter madness in the space of a day. It's like the whole city has turned into one giant erection party, but with extras. The streets are lined with stalls, and people dressed up in all sorts of different garb. From the instant Amy and Ash left their house she was accosted with new sights, sounds and smells. Music fills the air from seemingly every part of the island. The scent of food battles within her senses until she can't distinguish one smell from another. Her eyes aren't given a break either, everywhere she looks there are things she's never witnessed before and every colour she can dream of. Ash has managed to keep her close until she sees a shop selling second-hand masques tended to by olive skinned human with a ridiculous comb over. She darts off to look at it, hoping Ash's behind her. "Good afternoon beautiful young lady." The vendor’s accent is so thick, the only way she can place it is 'from the north somewhere'. He speaks with all the flourish of an Orisian, but the accent isn’t quite right. "Can I interest you in one of my magnificent masques? Perhaps this one in particular." He presents a pale purple beaked masque with huge dark purple plumes and gold inlays. It looks smaller than most others, maybe made specifically for halflings. Amy gawps at it for a second, "It's beautiful" "But not as much as you, in fact it would be an utter shame to cover such a face. But it is The Frenzy and sometimes there is a thrill in anonymity. This can be yours for a mere twenty gold." Ash has appears next to her just as the vendor finishes speaking. If he’s annoyed at her disappearing, it doesn't’ show it on his face. She grins at him, "I knew you'd find me." She turns back to the vendor, fully enraptured with the piece he’s holding. This man knows what his clients want before even they do. "May I try it on?" "It would be my honour." He says with a great flourish of his arms that almost gives her a face full of his sky blue doublet.

She turns around so he can put it on for her, with Ash watching she doesn't need to worry about him swiping her coin. His many rings clink together as he ties the silk behind her. It's heavy. Not so much the masque but the feathers, they are high enough to tickle Ash's nose. Amy wonders what manner of bird makes such large plumage, dire peacocks maybe. She laughs internally at the thought of a giant feral peacock. It's truly a beast to be feared. The vendor ushers her towards a large mirror. Unfortunately, the pale purple of the masque makes her skin look washed out. Her lips however, naturally stand out and so does the darker purple plumes framing her face. It's a shame, if the shades were opposite, it'd look amazing. As it is, she feels like she looks sickly and that just won’t do. Her mother always said that it’s important to be comfortable and confident in your beauty, no matter the event, and a light coloured masque wouldn’t do that. "I dare say it is not an improvement on one so lovely as yourself but you do look magnificent." Amy smiles at the vendor, "You may take it off now. Thank you"

He delicately unties the back. "Do you like what you see?" "It's a little bit pale for my tastes" She looks at Ash, he seems to be waiting patiently. She suddenly has an idea. "Do you have any that are around midrange green? Not dark nor light, I'm sorry I'm not sure what the word is" "My lady green is such a pedestrian word, I have emeralds, turquoises, mints, saps…" The vendor drones on while Amy takes a sweeping look at all the masques in the store. There’s hundreds all facing her, all different types and pattern. Every one is unique in it’s beauty.

Halfway through him speaking Amy finds what she’s looking for, "There. Could I look at that one on the top shelf?" His eyes follow her gaze to a vibrant green masque, not dark or light, framed with an assortment of metal butterflies all of which produce a rainbow of colours but never once clashing. She grins while looking at it, "It just might be perfect." "But my lady this will be too big for your petite stature, I can find you something similar designed to fit the more dainty races." Amy raises her eyebrow at him, she's a lot of things but she doesn't think dainty is one of them. Ash's deep voice comes from over her shoulder. "The vendor is right, you are too dainty for that masque." "Dainty? Seriously? Dainty?” She huffs, she’ll show him how dainty she isn’t when she gets him back to the house. “Anyway, it's not for me"

He's lowering it down, gingerly. "A gift you say, well a magnificent gift it will make. Is it for your companion?" "My what? Oh. No." She turns to Ash, "Do you think Emery would like it?" "I do not know.” Ash looks at the store with dull, uninterested eyes. "Well what do you THINK?" He can be so obtuse sometimes, it’s infuriating. He turns to her, annoyance plain on his face. "I think I do not know." Luckily the vendor steps in before it can escalate, sensing blood in the water. "I believe if your friend has as good taste as yourself he would love it. If you are taking it over the water I can sell you the box I brought it over in for an additional five silvers? It is how much they cost me." "And the masque itself?" She looks over the masque closer. There's not a single flaw she can see. It's beautiful. Emery will love it. "This one is only thirty gold." The vendor gives her a little sideways smile. Amy laughs, it’s the ‘we both know it is worth more but I am giving you a bargain’ smile. This man is almost running off a script. Bloody merchants, Amy thinks, they’re worse than thieves.

She looks over the masque again, keeping her face passive, "Ah, that's a bit out of my price range. I can get a cask of my friends favourite wine for only twenty gold.” She turns to her companion, knowing he’ll say exactly what he wants her to and the vendor already has him pegged as an honest fool. “Ash, do you think he'll prefer wine more?" "Yes" Ash says flatly, now looking at the finer details of a horrifying masque made to look like a squid. Of course he’d be interested in the sea creatures, he’s so predictable and she adores him for it. "Oh you are both beautiful and cunning, I would ask you to be my wife but I am but a simply merchant and beneath such loveliness. I can give this masque to you for” He counts on his hand. “twenty eight gold." "That's still over eight gold more than the wine with the box. I think we will go to him instead. Thank you for your time sir."Ash pulls away from his tentacle masque and goes to leave. She feels his hand grasp for hers and she’s happy to give it to him. The vendor stretches out his arm, stopping them. "Wait, wait, wait. You haggle hard, perhaps it is best we do not marry.” He quickly umms and ahhhs “Twenty five gold plus the box." "That's still a five more than I wanted to pay" Amy pretends to think for a second, staring at Ash and running her thumb across his knuckles. "Throw in the box for free and we'll call it a deal" "You will make a pauper,” The vendor sulks, Amy almost feels bad, but this is all apart of the dance. Stefan quickly taught her that a merchant will never part with his goods willingly without a profit. “We have a deal." She grins at him and he goes to put the masque in the box. She gives him an extra two coppers to deliver it to the house tomorrow morning.

Once the transaction is complete, she curtseys to him and takes Ash's hand again as they leave the store, "One problem solved. We have Emery's gift" Ash’s thumb is running over the back of her hand, sending shivers up her arm. "But the wine would be cheaper, you said that on a number of occasions." "I have no idea how much the wine is and I prefer the masque. And could you imagine the pain and suffering Ellen would rain down on me if I bought Emery a cask of wine?" She shudders at the thought. "Then why did you give him a price for wine? I do not understand." They have been through this before. "I was haggling.” She gestures with her free hand, almost hitting a gnome in the face. Thank the gods for her quick reflexes. The last thing she needs is to get into a fist fight with a gnome, they cheat. “He knew as much as I did that I was pulling that number out my arse."

There is a large knot of people in the street and the pair have to shove through, temporarily unlinking their fingers. Amy’s hand feels cold and lonely the instant they break apart. "Why do they tell you one price but are willing to lower it? Shouldn't they say that price to begin with? It is all baffling. I will stick to taking things at sword point. It is simpler" Ash gives a drunk a hard shove out of the way. Amy uses less brute force to get through the crowd, instead dodging around the legs of the larger races, sliding through gaps and barely touching anyone to get back to Ash’s side. "They start at a higher price and lower it because people will pay different things. I paid twenty five gold, someone else may pay the thirty. Someone else may pay twenty. He could set the price at twenty gold, but then he's lost…" Amy counts on her fingers, "ten gold from the other two sales? No, fifteen. Fifteen?" They finally make their way out of the crowd and their hands entwine again, Amy’s hand is happy again. "Then why doesn't everyone haggle to the lowest possible price?" He sounds so confused, this must be what she sounds like to Mannistone all the time. "Because you pay what you think it's worth combined with what you think you can get away with. And it's fun.” Amy has to admit, the swindling of merchants for coppers is highly amusing and their fake flattery reminds her of home. That part makes her haggle harder. “It's something I'm still fully learning to do. Noble daughters generally don't haggle for their wares. Shopping with Emery has been a boon for me, he can haggle like an Asterian merchant." Now the street is less full he pulls her close. "I will stick to paying the stated price or just taking what I want." He’s given in trying to understand, so she resigns herself to having this conversation again in a moon. Amy rolls her eyes and cuddles into his side, not missing a step "And that is why I do our food shopping. What do you want to do now? I'm a bit overwhelmed by everything"

"Actually.” He stops speaking and thinks for a moment. Amy stops walking, curious. “There is a place I would like to visit since it is The Frenzy. It will take a long time to get to in this crowd, so you do not have to come if you do not want to." "Where you go, I go, unless you specifically say you want to be alone." She squeezes his side as hard as she can, snuggling into his chest. . "I am glad you want to.” She can hear the smile in his voice. “We should buy some silk on the way." "Oh gods, what am I getting myself into" "You will see." Amy frowns up at him but holds her tongue. This better not be the chillies all over again.

#The Holiday #char: ash #char: amy #place: Tortillilya #festival: the frenzy #masques #shopping #hand holding

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benjamingarden · 6 years ago

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This Month On The Farm: July 2018 - Garden Updates (plus a plan!), Kitchen Updates, Answers To A Business Question Many Of You Have Asked Me About, And More!

Jack

Oh my. It was a HOT start to the month. We had a 6-day stretch of upper 90's to low 100's + full on "oppressive" humidity weather to kick it off. It was, in one word, miserable.

elderberries

notice the "sticks"?

blueberry jam

can you believe this is one of the chicks?

and another of the chicks!

Emerson (left) and Oliver

Jackson

How was your July on your own homestead?

If you would like to see more of our day-to-day, please join us on Instagram.

How was your July?

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