The factors that make me loyal to certain brands of pens are: low-cost, high quality, and reliability. I'm not asking for much, am I? I don't think I am and I've found that with the InkJoy retractable, ballpoint pens, all of those needs are met. Recently, I ran out of my own personal stash of pens at work the other day and I realized I should recommend these pens to others. I should spread the joy. InkJoy pens are my first choice of pens for work and personal writing.
Highly Recommended - InkJoy Ballpoint Pens by Paper Mate
There are many reasons I love these pens enough to buy my own for work, rather than use the free pens that work provides. Reliability - These pens work every single time I pick one up. There's nothing worse than being in a meeting, or trying to write down a phone number when someone is speaking quickly, and have the pen not work at all, or work only after your hurridley scribble in order to get the ink flow moving again. Annoying! No Ink Blobs - I really, really, REALLY hate running my hand through an ink blob on the paper. Smeary ink and blobs are so frustrating. My InkJoy pens have never left a blob.
Inexpensive - Each time I purchase a pack of InkJoy pens, I compare with the less expensive "stick" pens. I'm a penny-pincher so I try to remember to compare costs. The InkJoy pens are usually slightly more expensive than the stick pens. But not by much. The cost tends to even out as I throw away a few of the stick pens that blob or do not work well. Also, my purchase of InkJoy pens is more costly than the free pens the agency supplies to employees. But I'd rather pay a few dollars for the reliability. Color choices - At work I am limited to black ink. When I pay bills, I often rebel and use blue ink. But, when I write journal entries, notes in my day planner, and other personal items, I go for the InkJoy color pens. It is so much fun to use the variety of colors.
Ballpoint or gel pens - I prefer the retractable, medium ballpoint pens. However, InkJoy also makes a gel pen variety that is very popular. I cannot keep the InkJoy gel pens in my office.
Many Uses for InkJoy Color Pens (ballpoint or gel pens)
addressing holiday or special occasion envelopes
creation of eye-catching and pretty invitations
letter writing
scrapbooking
journaling
drawing and doodling
making those to-do and grocery lists more fun
gifts for artists, children, people who journal, and so on
popular school store item and/or children's rewards
and so much more - take a peek at the very short video and just imagine what you could do
Related Links Journals - Technology makes writing and recording things as easy as a tap of a key or a flip of a switch. But I love journaling. There is something that increases my creativity when I use the process of hand-writing. Read about Writing and Remembering the Old-Fashioned Way Drawing and Coloring - Colored pencils are a fun and popular way to create and color. Our very own Heather has created her own line of high-quality colored pencils. If you are giving art supplies as gifts or are yourself artistic, check out Heather's introduction to Aurora Art Supplies. Poster-Sized Color - In the event you need BIG and bold colors, for posters and such, Sharpies are amazing. Sharpies come in marker-sized "fine point", "chisel tip", and "extra bold marker point".
introduction graphic design created by the author using FotoJet
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
I have been using a flip phone since the 1990's. I only bought it because I traveled on business and needed a way to communicate on the road. There weren't any smartphones then. The little phone fit easily in my purse or pocket and I used my landline whenever I was home. I only gave family members and very close friends my cell number -- and, of course, services that insisted I get two-step verification by text message. I don't really text anyone myself -- yet.
Almost everyone I know seems to have a smartphone and many seem addicted to them. But I didn't want one. I hate typing on tiny keyboards with my arthritic fingers. I like to work on a desktop where I have it all. So I happily blogged on and resisted the smartphone. I processed my photos nicely without one and took a digital camera on my photo walks. Then came Instagram and I couldn't join the party. Unless I got a smartphone. So five days ago I finally got one.
My Galaxy Note 9 with Accessories
Why I Bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Instead of an iPhone
My brother and many of my friends have iPhones and love them. My husband has a Galaxy S7. I've seen people do amazing things with smartphones and I thought they were using iPhones. One day I was at a winery with a friend and had forgotten to bring my phone. I borrowed hers and it took fantastic photos. I had seen my nephew scan a document by taking a photo with what I thought was an iPhone. I was all set to get an iPhone. But when I double checked with my nephew and my friend, I discovered they both had Galaxy phones. The camera I had borrowed was on a Galaxy Note 8 or 9
I wanted to buy the phone with the best camera. My plan was to start making more videos where I could just talk to people, so I needed a front-facing camera. I also wanted to get great nature and product photos and videos for my blogs and for making Zazzle products. And, of course, I wanted to be able to post to my Instagram account with my own phone -- not Hubby's. I was using my PC to like and comment on posts from my friends, and I wanted to join the fun and post more. Now I can. If you like nature, books, gardening, or a simple lifestyle, you can follow me on Instagram and see the quality of what I've posted so far from my new phone. I'm barbradis on Instagram.
Cyclist in Riverbed of Salinas River in Paso Robles Taken with Galaxy Note 9
I decided on the Galaxy Note 9 because it had great cameras. Yes, the iPhone camera is also a good one, but for my purposes, the Galaxy Note 9 tops it. There is also a lesser reason. I have both a Windows PC and an iMac. Both have been sick. While my PC was really sick, I used the Apple almost exclusively, even though it was really slow. I couldn't find anything. I called our local guru to come fix it and he confirmed that Apple just hides things and you have to know the tricks to get around that. I like a clear file path. I think in Windows, not Apple. I understand Google better than Apple. I thought over the long haul I'd be happier with Android.
The Learning Curve
If I had already been a smartphone user just trading up or getting a different brand, I don't think the learning curve would have been as steep for me as it's been these last five days. I'm used to the space and options I have with a desktop. I work with forty tabs open in Chrome, four notepads to cut and paste from, and several Windows Explorer windows open at once. Although the Galaxy Note has a larger screen than many phones, it doesn't come close to the 21 inches my computer monitor has.
The Note 9 lets me open several apps at once and flip between them, but I had some trouble getting an email with a pin I needed to put in a registration form for Verizon or Samsung -- I forget which. Once the email came in through the GMail app, I couldn't get back to the form where I was supposed to enter it. I think that would have happened on any smartphone. So most of my learning curve is just learning to use a smartphone instead of a PC -- not something unique to the Galaxy smartphone. It's a totally different way of working. It will take time to really get good at this.
The thing that bothered me most was that tiny keyboard. It's hard for me to hit only one key at once -- even though the Galaxy Note 9's keyboard is larger than most. I have two work-arounds for that. First, I use that little microphone on the keyboard and talk instead of type when I can. I also have a small wireless keyboard I bought to use with another device. It plays nicely with my Galaxy Note 9, as would just about any portable Bluetooth keyboard. So if I'm free to talk without disturbing anyone, I make my Instagram captions and hashtags with my voice and correct most of my mistakes using the keyboard. The speech recognition does confuse to with too or two. I have to speak slowly. It mistook my friend Celia's name for silly. But I can live with that as it learns to better understand my voice.
What Happens if You Hold the Volume Button Down Too Long While Taking a Photo
What I love about the Galaxy Note 9
The large 6.4" screen
The ability to type with my voice instead of my fingers
The quality of the front and back cameras
The way the phone camera handles lighting differences -- what's in the shade shows better than it does in my Canon PowerShot photos if the photo subject is partially shaded.
When I shoot videos while walking, they are less shaky than the ones I shoot with my Canon PowerShot SX410 IS. I'll show you one of my photo walks below.
Easy updates for software
Ease of installing the apps I want
Easy flipping between apps
The ability to take multiple photos in quick succession by holding down the volume button. I learned this accidentally.
Clear voice reception on calls. I called my landline and my husband just to make sure.
Easy contact management, but I confess that I used my little bluetooth keyboard to help enter the names and numbers.
Fast charging and long battery life.
Flaps that cover the ports for the charger and headphones to help keep them safe from water and dust during everyday use.
The S-Pen with its many amazing features, only some of which I've tried so far. I can't do it all in five days. So far I've found it very handy when I have to use the keyboard since I can better control what I click. A video I watched showed many more pen features I have yet to try. The S-Pen can even control some phone features remotely.
The ability to make a monitor act like a PC if you have the right cable, monitor, and the S-pen. It will work with your monitor if it has an HDMI port and you have an HDMI to USB Type C cable
I can use the Do Not Disturb setting to keep away all notification sounds during the hours I sleep. While I'm trying to fall asleep I can play relaxing music for as long as I set the timer for -- all while my phone is charging.
A Video of a Photo Walk I Made Yesterday
I made this video with the Galaxy Note 9 in the morning during a lull between rainstorms.
Here's the Camera and Accessories I Use With It
This is my phone color. I also bought the case and screen protector to keep my investment safe. I already had a portable keyboard to use.
Much as I love my new phone, there are some things I don't love as much.
The phone is somewhat heavy because of its size.
The shape of the phone, though similar in shape to most other smartphones, is harder for my arthritic hands to hold while trying to take a photo than a camera is.
If I want to take a horizontal photo, it's really easy to press the button that will make the phone take multiple shots in a row as long as the button is held down. I'm learning to be careful how I hold the phone.
Selfies
I have never yet found a camera that made selfies I liked. I'm afraid the problem is not the camera but the subject. Nevertheless, I made a selfie so I could photograph the screen for you. The weird colors are the result of the artificial lighting in the room that my Canon couldn't handle well. Flashes leave light bursts I didn't want. You do see the editing icons here. I don't normally edit photos except to crop them or add text, but I think I'll learn to use some of those available apps that remove wrinkles, etc.
Since I haven't learned to use those apps yet, I'm hiding behind the camera. The editing icons are above the circle-shaped camera icons. The bottom row of icons are for the whole phone. The quality of this photo has nothing to do with the smartphone camera, since I didn't know how to use the Note 9 to take a photo of itself. It probably would have done a better job with the lighting. I think I did use one filter and kept it because it changed my hair from gray to the blond I was born with.
Apps
Once I got my Note 9 smartphone, I started adding more apps. It's almost impossible not to when you see all that's available to play with. The thing that's hard is organizing those apps so you can find them again. The Note 9 gives me the Apps Edge. Most of the time it sits almost invisibly on the right edge of my screen, but I can slide it out whenever I need it. I can choose ten apps to put there, so I included what I use most. I guess they are also put in files. If I click the files icon (far left under open apps screen below) it will show me every app that's currently open and I can go back to working in it. Handy! I love both these features. Perhaps other smartphones also have them, but I only have experience on this phone.
So far my favorite free app besides Instagram is Relaxio. It gives me a choice of sixteen kinds of white noise I can listen to alone or combine with other sounds. I can choose from city traffic noises, falling rain, ocean waves, birds, crackling fire, wind, a flowing brook, night nature sounds, coffee shop, and a few other white noise sounds I haven't figured out. I love this app for falling asleep, since I can set a timer for how long it will play. I let it play beside my bed while the phone charges at night.
Comparing Photos
This morning I decided to photograph some books in a bookcase in my office. The only light source was across the room and partially blocked with my iMac monitor. I made the shots as identical as I could except I used a flash for the shot from my Canon PowerShot SX410 IS. The phone, of course, needed no flash. I didn't guess accurately the number of books included in each shot, but I think it's close enough for you to get the idea. Except to crop and size these for Instagram and add a background color in PicMonkey, I did no photo editing to change tone, lighting or anything else. I added no effects. Here are the shots, as I will post them to Instagram later.
As you can see, I didn't edit as much extraneous stuff out of the phone shot as I did the Canon shot. I'd never tried putting backgrounds on before in PicMonkey and I wound up using FotoJet to crop the photos when I hadn't gotten the images the right size for the background. I've never used layers before and PicMonkey just added them to their app. In the end I put the wrong photo in the shot above, not the one that trimmed the lower shelf out. I think you still have a fair comparison between the Canon and the Note 9 cameras.
My Recommendation
If you need a phone with an outstanding camera, I can't think of a better one than the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. I bought it for the camera, but also love the pen and the ability to use it to turn my phone into something very much like a PC should I ever need to. Just tonight I downloaded the Amazon Music app and discovered I also get great sound quality for the songs I love when I play them on the Note 9.
Now if my Note 9 could only take a selfie! There's probably an app for that, but I still need to find it. My advice? Get yourself or someone you love a Galaxy Note 9.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
Do You Wish You Had More Engagement with Your Twitter Tweets?
So was I. That's why I decided to buy Tweep-e-licious by marketing expert Lynn Serafinn. She believes in ethical marketing and is also the author of bestselling book The 7 Graces of Marketing. I bought Tweep-e-licious because I wanted to increase engagement with my followers and to get more followers targeted to my accounts. I was also looking for help in using Twitter more effectively to market my blogs and Zazzle products. I knew what I was doing wasn't working.
My Twitter Accounts and How They Grew
If you are new to Twitter or haven't paid much attention to your account, you may find it hard to get the followers you want. I also had that problem -- especially when I was getting started. I didn't just want followers -- I wanted the right followers who would enjoy my content. How I wish I'd had Tweep-e-licious back then! What a difference it would have made. I gradually learned some of what the book covered on my own, but the going was slow, by trial and error. Lynn's book would have helped me get off to a much faster and better start.
I now manage three Twitter accounts I started in different years. As of three days ago in the morning, @barbsbooks had 2457 followers. I opened that account for my book business in March 2009. That averages out to about 308 new followers a year. Of course, the first 200 followers are the hardest to get, since it takes time to build more credibility. This account targets readers, writers, educators, and bloggers.
I opened @Gale427 in March 2012. I had reluctantly become somewhat of a political activist by then. I didn't want to mix politics and business -- especially since most of my target audience on my first account did not have similar thoughts on politics. I wanted to separate these topics so as not to alienate customers for no good reason. This account had 1074 followers three days ago and I follow 814. The account targets those with similar religious and political views, photographers, gardeners, affiliate marketers, bloggers, and those who like to read.
By 2013 I was starting to be more involved in my local community. I had started a blog completely about my local area and I wanted to target people who lived in California, who were not necessarily writers or bloggers, and who liked to share photos of their travels and Zazzle products. I opened the @barbsloco account in November 2013. It was very slow to take off, compared to the others. I had 388 followers three days ago and I follow 304.
It took forever to get to 100. Perhaps that's because it was also harder to pinpoint my target audience. I knew I wanted followers as close to my local area as possible, but also anyone interested in traveling to the area. What I discovered is that the people following me tended to be either businesses in my area or travel bloggers and photographers from far away. Lynn's wonderful book of tips is answering all the questions I had about how to find my ideal followers and how to engage them. I also learned which content my current followers like to see and I'm trying to keep providing it. It's possible I was targeting the wrong audience.
How Will Tweep-e-licious Help Me Grow My Account?
Here's what the book will help you learn to do:
Master the basics. Even if you've had your account for a long time, you may have missed some of the basics of using Twitter you thought you knew or had been misinformed about. Lynn takes you through choosing the right ID and setting up or editing to create an engaging profile. Using her advice, I just edited the profiles of all three of my accounts. I found I wasn't making the best use of that very important space.
Manage followers effectively. Learn who to follow, how to follow, who not to follow, and who to unfollow. I had my own ideas on how to do this and most of what I've been doing after a lot of trial and error in the first years is pretty close to what Lynn teaches, except I don't yet use any automation to find followers.
Make the best use of Twitter lists to their best advantage. I already had lots of lists in my accounts, but I still got some great tips on how to make better use of them. I just finished the book, so I haven't had time to fully implement the tips. I have started a private VIP list for each account. I never would have thought of that. Most of my lists are based on a profession, a topic, or a location.
Create content that will attract and engage followers. Some of this I knew, but there were still a lot of useful tips I hadn't thought of. Learn what not to tweet. Many Tweeps make tweets every day that annoy people and it's one reason I didn't follow them or I later unfollow them.
Determine how often to tweet. People often disagree on this issue, but if you don't tweet often enough, no one will see you. How much is too much? Lynn helps you decide.
How to repeat tweets often without annoying followers. I found this section very useful. Most of us have a number of evergreen tweets we want to keep active. There is a better way to do it than most people, including me, have used.
Make and use effective hashtags. I try to make effective use of hashtags, but Lynn offered even more tips I can try.
Determine when and how to use automation and applications. Lynn did explain at the beginning that because technology and Twitter rules change so often, some of her book, last updated at the beginning of 2014, might be obsolete. Most of her tips are still good, but when reading this section I discovered some of it was out of date. ---- You might as well skip the sections on Tweet Adder because it's gone. I could no longer find a free version of Gremln. Lynn suggested Tweepi.com for targeting followers by location, but I found out when I got there that you need the most expensive version to use that function. I'm still using Buffer, Hootsuite, and Tweetdeck, so they are still good, but they have also evolved since the book was updated.
Build relationships and not get overwhelmed by them. This group of tips is important. It's easy to get overwhelmed while using the tips to build relationships -- especially if you are also implementing suggestions on using lists and finding the right followers. Lynn suggests ways to avoid getting overwhelmed.
Use Twitter ethically to market products and expand your influence. Many of these tips are for bigger fish than I am, but I found some tips on marketing and monetization I can use. If you are planning a virtual blog tour, have joint venture partners, want to run a contest, get a media interview, or do some crowd funding, you will find help here. Lynn also discusses another topic many wonder about -- whether and when to set up multiple Twitter accounts.
The summary above barely scratches the surface of what the 158 tips in this book cover. Don't start a new Twitter account without Tweep-e-licious! It's still helpful even if you've had an account for years.
My Recommendation
I was feeling invisible on Twitter. Do you ever feel that way? There were occasional likes and retweets, but few clicks or replies. If you are frustrated on Twitter because you don't have enough of the right followers and/or it seems no one is engaging with your content, you need this book.
I finished Tweep-e-licious just a few days ago and started using the tips right away. Already I see my engagement increasing. I have more new followers than usual on my two oldest accounts. Since I changed my profile and cleared a lot of inactive followers, the smallest and newest account lost one today. Many people use automation to unfollow anyone who unfollows them. I don't mind since a follower who won't be interested in your content won't be engaging with you anyway.
The only downside to the book is that some of it has become obsolete, as Lynn predicted it would. I suggest you check out apps you aren't familiar with before reading her tips on how to use them, in case they have disappeared.
I ordered this book in paper. I recommend you do the same since it's much easier to flip back and forth to the tips you want to read again if you have actual pages.
The Table of Contents lists all the tips in order. They are organized so that related tips are together. This makes the book very easy to use. If you want to be all you can be on Twitter, increase your following and engagement, and learn to run effective marketing campaigns, Tweep-e-licious is the "textbook" you need. It is so practical you can start applying the tips immediately as you read them. Get the book today.
Image Courtesy of Pixabay
Image Credits:
Top image: https://pixabay.com/en/twitter-banner-message-sky-1566735/
Middle image: https://pixabay.com/en/tweet-twitter-bird-blue-twig-155281/
Last image: https://pixabay.com/en/twitter-mobile-phone-social-media-1183719/
All images were edited and modified on Fotojet.com.
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Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
The Elfin Forest is a natural area in Los Osos. It's named for its "pigmy" live oaks which have been stunted by growing where they do. The forest looks out over the southeastern shore of Morro Bay and covers about 90 acres.
Every traveler or tourist has unique interests. I, for example, am much happier walking a nature trail than I would be walking in downtown San Francisco. I know, because I've done both. I'd rather be surrounded by nature and have a camera in my hand.
One winter day we decided to play tourist while out doing errands. We had time to kill after our medical appointment in San Luis Obispo. It was too soon to take advantage of the lunch special at our favorite restaurant (now closed). After twenty years in this area, we’d never stopped in Los Osos. I thought it was time. I wanted a photo walk, and Hubby couldn't take his usual swim at the gym because we were away. We both needed exercise. We decided to go see the Elfin Forest in Los Osos.
Before we left for San Luis Obispo that day, I'd checked the sites that listed tourist attractions. Although the AAA Tour Book for Northern California did not consider this attraction worth mentioning, I had passed signs along the road before. So I looked it up and discovered we could walk the entire trail through the pigmy oak forest in less than an hour. We decided to see what was there and walk off a bit of the buffet lunch we would eat afterwards.
We took the Los Osos Valley Road exit west from the 101 Freeway in San Luis Obispo. Below is a scene we passed on Los Osos Valley Road once we were out of the commercial area. I made my husband stop the car so that I could snap the photo I used in this canvas print. It's also available as a greeting card, poster, postcard, and iPad Mini case. In fact, once you are on the Zazzle site, you can transfer the design to any product you choose.
As mentioned above, we toured the Elfin Forest in winter, but Los Osos is on the coast and the climate is mild. The weather was just right for taking a walk outdoors -- not too hot or too cold. But the season did give us a different experience than we would have had in spring or summer. We were still experiencing the drought of 2014 when we took our walk, as well.
I took the photo above from a lookout on the trail called Siena’s view. It looks out toward Morro Bay, and you can see Morro Rock off in the distance. Do you see how the drought has affected the estuary?
This is another view of the estuary from the boardwalk, looking toward Baywood Park. I made a puzzle of it on Zazzle with the same design as the postcard below. The text is easy to remove with the customize button.
I'm sure there were probably some fauna around, but I didn't see anything in the Elfin Forest itself the day I visited. The creatures must have seen me first. In other reviews I've read, people mentioned seeing rabbits, lizards, and even a fox. All I saw was birds. In one of the photos above there was either a hawk or a vulture in the sky. There were many water birds I could see in the estuary from the boardwalk. To get a good view one would need binoculars. This is what I was able to capture with a zoom lens from quite a distance. It would have been better if I'd been zeroing in on the birds, but at the time I was more interested in the overview.
Many people enjoy bird watching from the Elfin Forest. I recognize the ducks, but not the birds with longer legs. Here is a complete list of the birds that hang out here. Unfortunately, there aren't any photos. If anyone recognizes the two wading birds near the center of the photo below, please let me know in the comments.
Flora of the Elfin Forest
I have seen photos taken in spring when the forest's many plants are in bloom, but not much was blooming in January. I did see coyote brush in bloom. You can learn more about coyote brush here - Coyote Brush: Blessing or Curse.
I did find something else in bloom, but I haven't been able to identify it yet. I'm quite sure it's a berry, but the blooming times and/or leaves didn't match what seemed to make sense from the list I checked of the flora of this forest. Or maybe my eyes are bad. If you recognize it, please let me know in the comments.
Poison Oak also lurks around the Elfin Forest. Be careful of it, especially in winter when it's harder to see. In the photo below, the very bright leaves are oak leaves. The leaves that show some red are poison oak. Do you see their bare stems? Those are just as dangerous to touch as the leaves are. Sometimes in winter there aren't any leaves to warn you. So stay on trails and don't touch bare stems unless you know it's not poison oak. Find more help with poison oak identification in this article: Oak and Poison Oak in Photos - Can You Tell the Difference?
The pigmy oaks are live oak trees that are stunted by their environment and can't grow as tall as the live oak trees you find in other places. It appears many of them are dead or barely alive. Some appear to be skeletons offering a place for Spanish moss to establish themselves. Below you see one such tree with what appear to be suckers or fresh baby branches near the bottom of the tree. A healthy tree sits to the right displaying branches full of deep green leaves.
To get things into perspective, here are some photos to help you gauge the size of the plants in relationship to the boardwalk. Usually when one thinks of walking through a forest, one imagines looking up at the trees which block the view of what's beyond them. The Elfin Forest is different. Everything that grows there is short -- elf-size. Here's my husband, a giant among the pygmies.
But sometimes the trees and shrubs along the boardwalk do grow higher, as did the oaks in the previous photo. The photo below shows that they can often go over one's head and block the surrounding view.
There are many other photos of the flora that I snapped from the boardwalk, but there is not room for all of them here.
Amenities in the Elfin Forest
There really aren't many to speak of. There are no restrooms or drinking fountains nearby. If you plan to stay long, bring water. Most people would not spend more than an hour here. The boardwalk loop is only 4/5 of a mile long. It is flat and wheelchair accessible. There are several benches for resting along the way. Here is one resting place. You can find out where the nearest restrooms are here.
Along the walk there are also signs to point out attractions or help identify some of the plants. Some just let you know where you are on the walk. I showed one such sign near the beginning of this post. Although sometimes as you go through a "tunnel" you may feel like you are in a maze, there is little chance you will get lost.
TheLos Osos / Morro Bay Chapter of Small Wilderness Area helps maintain the Elfin Forest and also sponsors nature walks on the third Saturday of each month. You can find more information about visiting the Elfin Forest here. If you are ever driving south on Highway 1 or 101 from Paso Robles or Cambria or points north, The Elfin Forest is a quick place to stop and stretch your legs and get a dose of nature. Hungry people can take a short drive to the San Luis Obispo Costco afterward for an inexpensive snack. Pizza, hot dogs, frozen treats, and more are available to the public -- not just Costco members. Purchase the food outside the store and eat at the picnic tables provided. There are also several restaurants nearby.
If you are in the area with some time to kill and would like to take a quick nature walk or do some birdwatching, stop by the Elfin Forest. It's also a good place to walk your dog. And admission is free. I plan to go back in a couple of days when we again have a medical appointment. I'm hoping to find all the plants that were dormant in January in bloom in June.
Dawn Rae reviewed one of my favorite places that also appears to be one of hers -- Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. She has done a lot of hiking there. I've only been there for a couple of hours at a time on my way to and from other historical sites. If you're ever near it, don't hesitate to stop and explore.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
'Tis the season for baking cookies, so how appropriate that Bake Cookies Day
is held every December 18th right in the middle of the holiday
season. The word 'cooky' or 'cookie' comes from the Dutch word “koekje”, meaning
“little cake”. Cookies arrived in America along about the 17th century,
although they may date back as far as 7th century Persia! Today they are a
global phenomena, coming in more varieties, flavors and styles than you can
possibly imagine. The writers on Review This Reviews often write on the subject of food and
have reviewed recipes for many varieties of cookies. It seems appropriate for
Bake Cookies Day to share a few here.
Cookie Varieties and Recipes on Review This Reviews
If you want to give a gift of cookies, but don't have time to bake your
own, try out
Byrd's Famous Cookies
reviewed by Wednesday Elf. They are delicious.
Other Cookie Days
Source: Pixabay
There are other dates throughout the year that celebrate
'cookies'.
National Chocolate Cookie Days happens on August 15th.
National Homemade Cookies Day is October 1st.
National Gingerbread Cookie Day is November 11th.
National Cookie Day is December 4th.
Summary
So, enjoy Bake Cookie Day December 18th, or any of the other fun
cookie days all year long. And don't forget to leave a couple cookies out for
Santa on Christmas Eve!
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
by Dick Francis I have been a fan of the books by Dick Francis since the 1970s. I own them
all and now am collecting them for my daughter, who has also become a huge
fan. The Dick Francis books revolve around horse racing in England. Most of
the books are stand-alone stories (not continuing), although there are 3
short sets of continuing characters among the Francis collection. The
main character and narrator of each story is somehow associated with horse
racing. He may be a jockey, a trainer, a racehorse owner, or someone in
another profession somehow linked to racing. I love each and every one of the 40+ books Dick Francis wrote and re-read
them frequently. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to name a
favorite. That said, I would like to review for you now one I just finished re-reading
that is among those of my top favorites of the Francis collection ~ entitled Straight. As with all of the stories, it deals with crime in
the horse racing world.
Straight, published in 1989, features a steeplechase jockey, Derek Franklin, as the
main character and narrator of the story. While recovering from an injury,
Derek receives news that his older brother, Greville, has died in an accident.
Greville was a successful gemstone importer in London. He did not import
diamonds, but recently did so for one specific customer who creates beautiful
pieces studded with gems.
Therein, lies the problem. Derek has no idea where
the 100 diamonds are, due to his brother's need for secrecy, and it soon
becomes apparent that unscrupulous others are also looking for them. The bank
holds a loan of $1.5 million dollars for the diamonds and the gemstone
business Derek has inherited and is now trying to run is in jeopardy if the
diamonds cannot be found. Danger suddenly surrounds Derek on all fronts
and his only hope of survival is to identify the enemy.
Derek says: “I inherited my brother's desk, his business, his gadgets, his enemies,
his horses and his mistress. I inherited my brother's life, and it
nearly killed me.”
Author Dick Francis
(c) Wednesday Elf Personal Photo of my Copy of this book
Dick Francis was a pilot with the RAF (Royal Air Force) during World War II
and after the war became a highly successful professional jockey. In fact, he
was a jockey for The Queen Mother's (Queen Elizabeth) horse, the story of
which is outlined in“The Sport of Queens”, an autobiography published in 1957. After retiring from racing as a jockey, Francis worked as a racing
correspondent for a newspaper, and also began to write his horse racing
mystery stories. A nearly unknown fact is that his wife, Mary, was his
researcher and a major contributor to his stories. In fact, during the many
and varied subjects she researched, Mary became a pilot (3 novels
feature a pilot) and a photographer for a book about a race course
photographer.
Dick Francis with son Felix Francis
Near the end of his writing career, and after Mary's death in 2000, his son,
Felix, became his writing partner. Dick Francis was born on Halloween in 1910 and died on Valentine's Day in
2010 at age 89. His son, Felix Francis has continued writing the Dick Francis
Mysteries ever since. I am delighted that my favorite series of books
continues to this day. The subject matter is still about horse racing, mainly
in England, and involves a mystery to be solved. Felix's writing style is very
similar to that of his dad and just as enjoyable to read.
Summary
My Dick Francis Book Collection
(c) Wednesday Elf
I highly recommend Straight, or any of the other Dick Francis and
Felix Francis horse racing mysteries. You don't even have to like horses or be
a fan of racing to enjoy these stories, as the writing is superb, the
characters interesting, and the stories fascinating.
(c) Wednesday Elf - 5/11/2019
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