Sunday, July 27, 2008

Quick Shares

Click to Mix and Solve
This was today's Jig Zone puzzle. It's a pair of medieval shoes. If you go to renaissance fairs you can still get a pair of these hand made and fitted to your feet. A friend, who is a strong member of Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), went to the Houston, TX fair with me and ordered himself a pair. They aren't cheap and take a fairly long time to be delivered because they hand make them. I was impressed. Someday I want to own a set of these shoes. Of course I'd also like a set of San Antonio Shoes (SAS) custom made boots too. I think the factory still does this. They are pretty dear too, but you probably get them quicker than the medieval ones because they are a business with a factory to cut the leather and can use a sewing machine to do the stitching.

Just got off the phone with Mom. Their power came back on Friday afternoon. The cable is working too. Yay, things are getting back to normal. They had to throw out some food that had spoiled in the refrigerator. Interesting note on survival: Mom said that she was surprised the food in the veggie drawer was still good. Apparently the lettuce was still crisp and she had Dad go and get her some tomatoes (now on the approved list again, Yay!) and enjoyed her first salad in a while. They are still drinking the water they put aside before Dolly's arrival because the water is still threatened. Other than that they seem to be fine!

Mom and I talked about the houses I'd lived in as a child. We remembered gardens she had grown and I told her about Sandi's tomato crop. Mom used to have a nice vegetable garden back behind the garage before I was old enough to be in school. I didn't remember that one. Or not much...some vague visuals are returning. But I did remember spending time with Grandma and Granddaddy helping out in their garden. They had a really good one with lots of veggies in it. Grandmother even grew an asparagus plant or two which, if I recall correctly, are perennial and take about 2 years before you can harvest a crop from them. That's certainly faster than the 5 years it takes for an avocado tree to mature. Gee...it's amazing the things you learn and remember from growing up in an agricultural area with two agricultural study farms in the area sponsored by two different universities (Texas A&I and Texas A&M).

Mom also suggested that in writing my resume I might be able to use my blog writing experience as part of my skills repertoire. I don't think of that as "work experience" but I guess some folk might. So I'm asking anyone who reads this blog: Do you think it would be okay to include blogging in your list of experiences or skills? And if so how? I know professional journalists often blog for their company. Is this an up and coming skill or just a hoped for one?

Oh, and one more notable thing I discovered. While talking to Mom about books and the public library I checked out hers. They have a nice website and when I searched their catalog for a book I was going to suggest to Mom not only did I get the book's catalog page but a Discover Tag Cloud with tags for related topics that might be interesting to the reader. What a cool use of technology for a library and a great way to encourage broader reading!

Peace! Hope! & Joy! Wishes for a good week!

6 comments:

murat11 said...

The veggie picture looks like beets to me: I say this because I've become a real fan of beet greens: still marginal appreciation at best for beets themselves, but the greens are wonderful in a stir fry.

I know that blogging's got an up and down rep in professional settings, but your blog is evidence of a number of skills: techy, writing (creative and informational), photographic, and design. You could view (and present) your blog as an example of a free lance writing venue. With some folks, you might be able to simply say that you maintain a blog; with others more (unnecessarily) skittish about blogs, you could simply itemize the skills that go into your blogging efforts.

Another thought: perhaps developing a second blog that is more straightforwardly "professional." You are clearly a Renaissance woman, with lots of interests: perhaps one could be folded into a second blog for you. I have an old friend in Austin, a free lance writer, who I recently noticed has a number of "professional" blogs she has started:

http://writerfriendjen.wordpress.com/
http://foodiefriendjen.wordpress.com/
http://jenhamilton.wordpress.com/

Lastly, and then I'll shut up: have you thought of creating a website? I mention this because Tina created her site completely on her own, just using Yahoo's (I think free) web starter kit. Just more ways to showcase your talents in this area.

That's it for now.

Lee said...

Yeah, I think that is what they are Paschal.

Thank you SO much for all this good feedback on using blogging in a job interview. You didn't have to shut up at all. As long as you are handing out that kind of thoughtful and informed info PLEASE, keep right on talking. I'll definitely check out your friend's websites. :)

Hope to see you two at the concert tonight!

Thanks again!
Peace!

San said...

Lee, I read Paschal's excellent feedback before writing this comment. I don't believe I could add a thing to that. He seems to have looked at the issue from all the angles. Good luck with it all!

Lee said...

LOL Well you might have said something if you'd seen the way my jaw dropped when I read the list of skills he attributed to me because of my blogging. I've definitely got to work on that "how I see myself" thing. I would have never come up with creative writing or design. (blush) It just makes me feel so good. And hopefully closer to that goal or two I keep aching towards.

Hugs!

San said...

P.S. I will add one thing. When you get those medieval shoes made, don't wear them to a job interview in a corporate setting. NOT the most effective way to demonstrate one's Renaissance womanhood.

;-)

Lee said...

LOL I promise, San! But I might wear them dancing. (grin)

Hugs!