Monday 16 March 2009

A Temporary Farewell

pic is by Alchemica at Wikimedia Commons
Only two days to Egypt now. I'm getting so excited. Keep thinking of things I have to rush out and buy to take with us. The cash stash is getting really depleted by this holiday, but I'm making sure that we are going to have the time of our lives, and hubby will have the best birthday ever.

Hope I'll come back to find more sales at Constant Content. Nice to think my work can still make money even while I'm absent. I'm close to payout levels at Project Wonderful and Helium as well.

No more posts or EC dropping till next month, I'm afraid. Then I'll be back, though I'll still have to ration my time here a bit.

I will not be able to agree to EC widget ads either, or Project Wonderful bids, as I don't intend to spend time in internet cafes if I can help it.

As hubby says, we're off to visit his ancestors in the Valley of the Kings.

Monday 9 March 2009

Getting the Priorities Right

After my extra post on Thursday, I didn't post here on Friday as well. I didn’t post anywhere on Friday. And I found that I couldn’t even finish the article I was writing abut a Chinese island, which does have a deadline, but I can’t remember when it is. Everything I did slowed down to a crawl till I was more or less on strike.

I was thinking instead. Thinking about whether I had my current priorities right. And I decide that I hadn’t. Not sure why this should be of interest to anyone else, but hopefully it will explain why my posts and EC droppping might become a little sparse for a while.

Because I have a dream of ending my days living by the sea, I’ve had my house on the market since July 2007. There have been quite a few viewings but no offers. I told myself the timing was wrong. But the last couple who came to see it recently have made me take a good look around. After they had viewed this one, and another which is just a few doors away, they told the estate agent that the other is much more ‘modernised’ than mine and they were surprised that my price was higher. Of course, I have to reduce the price. But I already knew that.

I looked around my house and thought about what we had done in the meantime to make it more attractive for buyers and more comfortable for us while we waited. The biggest thing was changing the central heating from hot air to a gas combi boiler and radiators. After that we’d had the hot air vents to seal and wall painting to do, plus a couple of cupboards to transform for other use. This was all done by George.

Then I wanted to change all the internal doors, but they were 2 inches over the current standard size and the number I wanted was impossible to find. George valiantly offered to paint over all our varnished doors and turn them white. They’ve all had an undercoat and one gloss coat. But then he gave up. All the door frames are left undone and skirting boards need to match and so on. This is going to be down to me.

And I need to do something about the bathroom, where pipes are on view. The washbasin just has a plastic skirt around it and the bath has an unpainted board for a side panel.

The there are the front and back gardens which desperately need some attention. If I get stuck in, he just might be motivated to help. We might get back our attractive landscaped back that I had thought would be a great selling point.

So instead of all these hours at the computer which I enjoy but are draining my energy, I have to do things differently. If I get all these things sorted, even if I still can’t find a buyer, I think it could restore my energies and zest for life here. I could regain a social life in this place and fulfil my yen for the seaside by driving there on my own a couple of times a month.

I’ve written so many articles about how to live life to the full, it’s about time I started to practise more of what I preach. And I remember how my dream of moving out of London to a house in the country finally came true 12 years ago. So I’ll keep my next dream alive, alongside making a good life here in the meantime.

So there you have it. I may not be so active in here for a while. Just as I may not be so active elsewhere on the web. I’ll just have to see where all this goes.

Thursday 5 March 2009

Dream Homes in Paradise

If I was fabulously wealthy, I might be tempted to buy a dream home in Paradise Valley, Arizona. This website, Paradise Valley Real Estate, makes them all look so gorgeous.

I wouldn’t have to go away for holidays. Everything for my leisure would be there on my doorstep. I’d have my own pool and sun terrace, could take more exercise at the nearest golf course and spend evenings relaxing over a glass or to of wine taking in the mountain views. If only I had upwards of $2 million to spend, I could be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Mike Tyson, Erma Bombeck or Dan Quayle, who are just a small selection of the celebrities that make it their home.

Most of the houses were originally custom built for their first owners. The one I really like overlooks the Paradise Valley Country Club golf course. It is in the low to mid price range at $5,300,000 with three bedrooms and bathrooms in the main house, plus a guesthouse with two more beds and baths. It also has a five car garage. The website gave me a slideshow of its spacious rooms and outlook. If I registered, The Holm Group, who own the website, also offered free access to its new MLS Virtual Mapping system, with 2D and 3D views of the property.

Paradise Valley supposedly got its name, because in the spring, it displayed a riot of wild flowers.

Oh well, we can all dream, I suppose.

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Swan Family


The year marches on - not too long now before we see cute families like this.

Monday 2 March 2009

Top Droppers in February

Once again I’ve missed the last day of the month, so I can only give you my top droppers for the last 30 days. Which is close enough really.

I can’t thank you all enough for all your visits. Here’s some Linky love to make the blog world go round.

It’s a real hotch-potch, the variety that is the spice of life and makes blog life absolutely fabulous and fascinating. They are only a click away for you to check out what I mean.

Symphony of Love

The Way I See It

Guilty Pleasures

John Wright Art

Behind the Bit

Flitting on Fiction

Exchange of Realities

Celeb Girlz for Charity

One Step Up

The Fearless Blog

Happy blogging, everyone.

Writing Tip



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