November 18, 1978, my aunt and uncle were informed that their child, at the time just six months on her way to birth, was dead.  My aunt was very sick and required, the doctors assured her, an emergency C-section to deliver the dead baby and save my aunt's life. Devastated, they did as directed and my cousin was born.  Yes, she was not dead, but, of course, not at all prepared to handle survival on her own. 

At the time Tallahassee Memorial Regional Medical Hospital was ill-equipped to accommodate the premies so tiny, and both my aunt and my cousin were flown to Shands at University of Florida.  There, my cousin Emily, underwent several surgeries to help her survive.  My aunt was also cared for and eventually, she was able to leave the hospital.  But Emily was not ready.

Being born weighing in at about 2 1/2 lbs has its significant drawbacks, but Emily was a fighter.  Her red hair and determination saw her through all of the operations and procedures.  And finally, in May, she was able to come home.  Understand that while she was in the hospital, a hospital several hours drive from Tallahassee, my aunt and uncle spent a great deal of their time there.  The Ronald McDonald House provided them a place to stay more than once during this time.

Emily was home, still on oxygen, but weighing in at about 10 lbs.  Light for a six month old baby, but still, a strong little girl with a lovely personality.  I believe it was in June when she went to the pediatrician for her regular immunizations and contracted pertussis.  Shortly thereafter, she was back at Shands, once again, fighting for her life.  Again, the Ronald McDonald House was home on more than one occasion to my uncle and aunt.  By some time in September, Emily was showing real improvement.  She was carrying on as normal babies will, flailing and wailing.

And things were looking positive.  And then one day, she managed to knock the tube off the oxygen tent, and breathed regular air for some period of time.  Whether that was the cause, or whether it was already destined to happen, Emily contracted pneumonia. 

On  November 18, 1979, one year after she was pulled into this world, Emily passed from this world.  In her one year on this earth, she lived only a couple of months at the home her parents had made for her.  The remainder of her life was spent in Shands, and had the Ronald McDonald House not been there to aid the families of those children in the teaching hospital, I am certain her parents would not have been able to spend as much time as the did with their little girl.

Today, the medical advances have made such premature babies' chances of survival far better than were Emily's back in the late 1970's.  But there are thousands of Emilies today -- children who must spend a good portion of their lives hospitalized.  And the Ronald McDonald Houses provide that little bit of help to the families -- that they might have one less worry during these very stressful times.

Thanks pegonthebay.  Thank you for allowing me to think about Emily again.  And thank you for helping to support such a worthy cause.

Today was one of those odd days for me.  Hubby is a fighting a cold, which means he'd rather not have to budge off the couch.  I was tied to the phone for four solid hours this morning on a conference call (real work), had several deliverables I worked and completed this afternoon (real work again), and had to write, print, collate, stuff, seal, stamp and mail the 43 four-page annual membership meeting announcements for our Pond Association.  And I had VERY LITTLE time to check on eBay....no time to check on the Blogs.

And yet, somehow, during my lack of attention, basically, while nobody was minding the store, the customers came and had their way with me (figuratively speaking, of course.)  I shipped out 8 items in four packages, and have 8 more awaiting shipment in the morning.  My final lot of 15 lbs of hickory nuts sold this morning for more than the Buy It Now price had been and that is always rewarding.  But alas, no more hickory nuts this year.

I am constantly amazed at life.  When I have no time to even really think about my eBay store, it seems to do very well.  When I am away from home and cannot ship for several days, the store seems to do very well.  And, on the days that I can devote lots of attention to the store and eBay in general, the customers are away, no doubt shopping in YOUR stores.

So, I figure I need to write a new guide.  How to make regular sales on eBay.....

• make sure you have no time at all to
• list,
• photograph,
  
• answer questions,
  
• blog,
  
• check the status of your auctions
• ....and you will sell plenty!

And still, at the end of the day, when I have actually accomplished so much, I find myself here, reflecting and wondering.......what did I forget to do????

It's just been one of those days.

How was your day?

How is it possible that I just now decided to try Firefox?  What on earth was I waiting for? 

So today I decided to give it a try and it seems fine to me.  I have encountered no issues whatsoever.  BUT, I started noticing these little red lines popping up when I was doing my listings...I discovered I had spell checker active as I listed.  Did eBay change or is it Firefox?

So then, after getting all my listing done for the night, I came to the blogs for my "unwind" time.  The first post I saw was Aidan's, so, I said hello....what's this?  more red lines?  What?  Spell check active while commenting on another's post?  Awesome...is this Firefox, or did eBay give us spell check for comments in the blogs?

So, I decided to write my own post.  I came in here and wrote my title.....but I could not enter anything into the body of the post.  Uh oh, Firefox is horrible!  How can it be that I cannot write a post?  Wait, when I right-click in the window, I can paste....so I pasted whatever it was I had copied last.....some URL.  And then, with that pasted in the window, I was able to backspace and type to my heart's content.  Oh, but no little red lines....is spell check NOT available for my post?????  Well, it turns out, all I had to do was right click and turn that feature on.....and suddenly, little red lines alert me to the fact that my fingers are failing to translate my thoughts into words in the English dictionary.  Is this Firefox, or is it eBay that gave me this spell check, everywhere I go?

What on earth took me so long to try Firefox????

I am tapped out.  Even though in the past three days I have been informed that I am the winner in the British Lottery, the Australian Lottery,  and my distant cousin on my uncle Hubert’s side died in a tragic accident in Africa along with his wife and two young children and I am the sole recipient of his carefully acquired MILLIONS….I have discovered I have given all I have to give to the various “good causes” I am presented with daily.

In fact, I am so tapped out, that I cannot afford to pay the “handling fees” to claim all of my winnings!  I just hate that! 

So, among the other tasks on my lengthy to-do list, today I suppose I will have to draft a standard letter to these lovely people whose lotteries I keep winning and whose deceased clients I appear to be related to, thanking them for “thinking of me,” but suggesting they consider extending that “second chance offer” to the next highest bidder!

Hope y’all are having a great day!

As many of you know, I decided to try selling some of the hickory nuts that fall from my trees each year, denting anything that stands between them and the ground.  I took a look on eBay and sure enough a few others were selling them, so, I gave it a shot.  Success in selling my first offerings prompted me to continue collecting, sorting, bathing, weighing, packing and selling….over 450 lbs of hickory nuts over the past eight weeks.

I sold to those who eat them fresh, or use them in baking, and I sold those who run squirrel habitats, and whose local trees had not produced well this year.  And I met a lot of nice people in the process.

One of my first customers was brand new to eBay…in fact I was her very first transacting partner.  She actually was missing hickory nuts which she had always enjoyed in her previous home, but to which she had no access in her new location.  She did a Google search for hickory nuts and my listing showed up….she went directly in and used the Buy It Now option, having taken the time to become a member of the eBay community, simply for the opportunity to get some hickory nuts. 

No sooner had the auction ended and my invoice been sent, than the phone rang.  I answered and a very excited lady introduced herself as my new hickory nut customer on eBay.  This marked only the second time I have received a phone call from an eBay customer.  At any rate, she told me the story of her love of hickory nuts and promised her money order would be in the mail the next day.

During the next few days, I received and responded to several emails from this customer, as she eagerly awaited my receipt of her payment and the shipment of her hickory nuts.  Meanwhile, I was selling nuts right and left and building up my muscles hauling these sacks of hickory nuts through the woods, up the stairs, down the stairs, to the post office, etc.  On the day her payment arrived, I notified her and shipped the nuts the following morning.

For nearly three weeks, I heard nothing from my previously chatty customer.  Then, I found lovely positive feedback from her.  Yippee!  She liked them.  Then the emails began again….she wanted more nuts, she really was impressed with the size of the nuts, she loved the flavor of the nuts…..

Suffice to say that her next shipment of nuts was in two boxes, totally 54 lbs of nuts…..

This lady, crazy about her hickory nuts, for sure, has been a delight to get to know.  And she has given my card to lots of her co-workers.  And they have been getting a kick out of her exuberance in her hickory nut acquisition. And I have made some non-hickory nut related sales to those co-workers…..

I suppose you just never know what a simple thing like a hickory nut can do for your business.  It isn’t just nuts, of course -- it’s that item that is taken so much for granted in your own world that others have no access to….and it’s realizing that potential.

I have my eye set on another interesting item….I’ll let y’all know how I fare with it.  But, for the record, the final 15 lbs of hickory nuts will sell in a couple of days, and for my eight weeks of exercise, I will have earned $600 (profit).  You just never know what will work.

I looked back one year, to November 27, 2006.  I was curious how I was feeling this day last year.  How odd it was to find the post I made that day, had so much meaning for me today.  Today, and in recent blog history, I have watched some work very, very hard to regain a sense of community on the blogs, even as others seem bent on dashing any semblance of community.  I thought I'd share again, what I wrote last year.

Community -- jcarolek

When I came to work for the company which has since been acquired by my current company, I recall the disdain with which we new, smart and go-getter types, thought of the “good ol’ boys.”   In my line of work, they were the ones who had been around since before dirt had a bad connotation, and if they had ever BEEN technically savvy, had long since given up that technical expertise for a spot on the “management team.”

Everyone knew that to get anything accomplished, one basically had to have the “approval” of at least one of the “good ol’ boys.”  I cannot begin to say how many hours, days, weeks, months I spent trying to help convince one of this elite group of the right way to implement a new program, application, what-have-you. 

On one occasion I recall being called in near the end of the day by my boss’s boss.  He wanted to know whether we could state with certainty who had last touched a file.  Well, the simple answer, was, “no.”  Unfortunately, this was not the answer this good ol’ boy wanted to hear.  It seems that even amongst that esteemed group there was dischord.  My boss’s boss had proclaimed that we could do something we could not, and rather than go back and admit he was wrong, he tasked me with making him right.

So, for the next 14 months, I kid you not, I spent every waking moment working the problem, writing the code that would allow us to state with 99.99% accuracy, who had opened a file last.  I was told that this needed to be able to be defended in the courts, should we ever get sued based on actions taken on this information.  Great, I was a lowly programmer, and these bigwigs wanted me to ensure they were not going to end up facing a hefty fine or worse.  And, so it was that I explained to my boss’s boss, that I could get only to about 98.7% accuracy, and would be happy to pop his name into any record I could not be certain of.  He decided to live with the accuracy I could achieve.

So, 14 months after being called into the office to settle a dispute between two good ol’ boys, my code was placed into production and we waited to see HOW it was going to be used.  Well, sadly, I know of only one time it was actually used.  It was used to fire a man who was doing his school work on company time and using company resources.  Flabbergasted was I to find out he had been “let go” based the results of my program…considering he SHOULD have been “let go” several years earlier….for ALWAYS SLEEPING on the JOB!

Still, he was, actually, one of the good ol’ boys himself, though, apparently, not of high enough esteem to allow sleeping on the clock or doing schoolwork on the clock. 

This morning I was sitting in a meeting, listening to the young and energetic analysts, jockeying for speaker time, regularly cutting each other off with their impassioned annoyance with the other’s “approach” and I suddenly realized I was a Good ol’ Boy!  That’s right.  ME!  These younger, smarter, technically more savvy folks are spending their efforts to convince ME that theirs is the right way….with MY endorsement, they will have their shot at … whatever it is in their career path.

It was a sobering thought.  I never want to set one of these folks in motion on a self-serving task.  And I now have to redefine my own image of the Good Ol’ Boy….because…..I am “he.”

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So, tomorrow is another long drive.  Well, of course, I will likely do very little of the driving, and will have plenty of time to blog while on the road. 

Today was nice, if a bit sad, and my MIL was happy we were here to spend her anniversary with her.  We followed a long standing family tradition, taking a drive after supper, to see who had put up Christmas decorations.  Of course, this might not have been the best night to go, considering half the town was at the Clemson USC game, but still, we went and we did get to see some nice lights and decorations.

Unfortunately, Clemson won….in the final second of the game….hubby will not be happy when he awakens tomorrow morning.  MIL will not be happy when she awakes tomorrow morning.  But, I figure, I was the only one who actually had to WITNESS the atrocity!  LOL

So, while the teams were taking up the challenge on the football field, I decided to decorate my blog for Christmas.  Not too fancy, but, well, that’s me!

I hope everyone is having great sales and finding great buys!

Sleep well, if sleep there be in your immediate future.  I will try to do the same. 

And thoughts of continued strength go out to those suffering losses and uncertainties, during this time of the year. 

I also go to bed tonight with the realization that I have spent only half my day being right.  The rest of the day, I'm pretty certain, I got it wrong.  I am thankful nobody keeps that close an eye on me, and I am able to recover from my missteps without too much scrutiny.  I still have this notion that one day I will get it right...and then I have to ask myself, "what is IT?"

Who knows, but I heard I could get IT one eBay.

Good night all.

Today was a traditional day here at MIL’s house.  Last year, she could not handle the tradition, so we did not put up the Christmas tree and the “tidy” decorations that have been the mainstay for all the nearly 58 years of my in-laws’ married life.

In fact, last year, the only decorating she did was to put a string of lights and a few red bows on a tiny Norfolk Pine, and plug in the Iced Cube I had purchased from ddskitty and given to her.  We wondered whether this year would be easier for her.  I’m not sure it is easier, but she is moving along, one foot in front of the other.

Tomorrow will be especially hard for her, as it will be the 59th anniversary of Bud and Joanne’s married life.  I’m not certain what she has planned for the day, but I know it will be with Bud on her mind.

In the past six months, she has begun to have more spunk in her step and laughs more easily.  She has filled her need to care for another by adding a puppy to her world.  Katie is almost six months old and is a bundle of energy.  Ma is in love and it does magical things for her.

Last night she told me of finding a type-written reflection in her old Bible…the Bible she has carried for more than 40 years but had set aside for a newer Bible about five years ago.  She handed it to me to read, and she spoke of how it had affected her when she found it.  She knows that she typed it herself many years ago, and had tucked it away…but she cannot recall why she typed it.  Its message, however, was exactly what she had needed the other week when she discovered it again.

“When Grief is New
When Grief is new it is hard to pray.
‘Thy will be done’ is hard to say.
With heart and mind numb with pain
We cry ‘Beloved, come back again.’

But can we really ask that he
Return from God’s eternity,
To suffer and grow old in years?
The selfish cry is drowned in tears,
Death comes to all, one first must go,
Oh, if he were left, he would sorrow so;
It is better that I wait awhile;
God grant, I do it with a smile.”
                                         (Emma D Carswell)

And she does seem more at peace.  And we did put up the tree.  And we did take the traditional drive around town to see who had started decorating.  And she smiled and laughed.   I am thankful she found this reflection, for it helped her.

I feel sorry for the dog next door.  My MIL’s neighbors left this afternoon to travel overnight for Thanksgiving dinner with family.  And they left their big black lab (I think) dog, Sasha, in their back yard.  She cannot run away, and she has food, water and shelter.  But she is clearly not a happy camper.  She has been barking in the same steady three deep bark pattern constantly for more than four hours now.

Hubby spent a few months down here last year after his father passed away.  These neighbors moved in during that time.  He said every time the neighbors go off and leave Sasha, she barks until they return.  It amazes me that nobody has mentioned this to them…or, if they have, that the neighbors haven’t figured out a better solution to their leaving Sasha home alone.

Now, I figure I have another hour or so before I will want to lie down and take a rest, and I am guessing that Sasha will still be going strong. Hubby and my MIL have apparently been able to block it out, as they are able to block out the train that passes through all day and night, blowing its horn…I would have to live here a VERY long time before I could accomplish that!  I’m thinking I will hunt earplugs!  Meanwhile, I feel sorry for Sasha.  Even though her unhappiness is spilling over and causing me discomfort, I find myself feeling sorry for her!

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Advice from a Horse

Take life's hurdles in stride - Loosen the reins - Be free spirited - Keep the burrs from under your saddle - Carry your friends when they need it - Keep stable - Spur yourself on to greatness.

Advice from a Dog

Be Loyal. Delight in the simple joys of a long walk. Unleash your talents. Hide your favorite snack. Make new friends. Learn new tricks, no matter your age. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Advice from a Squirrel

Look both ways when you cross the road, Plan ahead, Stay Active Eat plenty of fiber, Spend time in the woods Go out on a limb,It's OK to be a little nuts!

Advice from a Panda

Be lovable, Care for your habitat, Chew your food well, live large Take it slow, Cherish wild places, Make a little panda-monium!

Advice from a Whale

Make a splash, Move with grace and beauty Explore the depths of your true nature, Think big Keep a song in your heart, Remember to come up for air No blubbering!

Look for these and more in Judy's Corner.

Available "advice-givers" -- Moose, Cactus, Rose, Bat, Hummingbird, Snowman, Penguin, Polar Bear, Bear, Loon, Wolf, Owl, Butterfly, Cat, Garden, Sunflower.

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Well, my belly is full.  I have eaten all I need to eat for the next week, I am sure, but something tells me I will be saddling up to the trough again before the day is over!  So, now I am sitting here, as hubby watches the football game and MIL takes a well-earned nap, and I am fooling around on the computer. 

 

I started looking at photos taken last winter, sort of gearing myself up for this winter.  I’m not a huge fan of cold.  In fact, my hubby used to joke that I only take off my sweater or jacket from the 4th of July to about the 6th of July….but THAT was BEFORE……now, with the onset of the hot flashes of life, I have a new appreciation for all things cold…..

 

So, I opened a file of photos from last winter, when snowfall was minimal, but what we had was, as always, beautiful.  The woods provide a stunning backdrop to life, no matter the season.  And, I am truly looking forward to this winter.  And again, I give thanks, on this day of Thanksgiving….for all that is and all that can be.

 

Winter in the woods at Judy's Corner.

 

But it is still sunny and warm in Woodruff, SC, where we are visiting with my MIL.

We went to a little hole in the wall diner type place for lunch today.  It is one of hubby’s favorites so we usually go at least once every time we visit my MIL.  At any rate, we had just sat down with our drinks, awaiting delivery of our ordered food, when an “elderly” gentleman came up to the table.  I would judge him to have been in his mid seventies. 

Without introduction of any sort, he began engaging us in his “cow” jokes:

“What to you call a cow who has just had a calf?”
“umm, I dunno” we responded in somewhat stunned embarrassment.
“Decaffeinated!”

“What do you call a cow with no legs?”
“umm, I dunno” we responded, not at all sure where this was going.
“Ground beef!”

“What do you call a cow who cannot give milk?”
“umm, I dunno” we responded, certain now that we were at this guy’s mercy and might as well enjoy the show.
“An Udder failure!”

“What do you call a cow who has only three legs?”
“umm, I dunno” we responded, wondering when the waitress would arrive with our food and thankful that NONE of us had order BEEF!
“Lean beef!”

About this time, the waitress did arrive with our food and our “entertainment” meandered off to the folks in line to place their order.  We could hear him telling his jokes and their polite laughter and I wondered, what had brought this man here?  He was not looking for handouts.  He was not ill-dressed.  He did not appear to be off his rocker.  Sure, when my MIL asked him where he had gotten all these cow jokes, he claimed to have made them up himself, which I doubt, but he certainly had them down pat.  (He actually had several more in his repertoire, but I was not taking notes and they escape me at the moment.)

It occurred to me, as I saw him walk across the parking lot to his car, that this was a man alone.  A man who enjoyed seeing others smile.  A man who enjoyed making others laugh.  A man not afraid to grab three precious minutes of a stranger’s time just to brighten the stranger’s day.  We had a lovely chuckle at his jokes.  We had something “different” to talk about over lunch, and we paid nothing extra for it.

I think I’d like to be more like that man.  Less concerned by what others think of me, and more concerned with what I can do to brighten their day!

Last year I was alone for Thanksgiving.  Not only was I alone, but I had a TON of work to complete, meaning that I spent more than 60 hours over the 4-day "weekend" proofreading the technical papers I had to turn in on the Monday following.  I took a look back at my post on that day before Thanksgiving last year, and I can honestly say....what a difference a year makes.  This year I am able to spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws in SC...and the fridge is anything BUT empty!

I shocked my Own Self! -- jcarolek

When regular bloggers suddenly drop out of sight, I wonder whether they are OK.  I know many others are the same way -- especially when a blogger has been a very active one, and just “stops” all of a sudden.  Sometimes, when I take a look at their profile, I see they are NARU and I wonder why.  The help pages assure me that there are several reasons a member can become NARU and only one of those reasons is a positive one.  That is the case where the member decided they no longer wanted to be on eBay and actually closed their account, thereby protecting their account from hackers and their Member ID from being reused by another.

Knowing this, I am concerned when I see posts asking “whatever became of so-in-so” going on to say that this person is NARU’d.  I don’t know the percentages of members who are NARU’d for the simple reason they failed to pay their eBay fees, but I suspect it is pretty high. 

Basically, though I might “CARE” about what happened to that blogger, I am reluctant to broadcast to Blogville questions about them, as I think this can bring unnecessary embarrassment to those who were not NARU’d be choice.  I use the rule of thumb that if my relationship with that member was on a sufficiently personal level, I will have a method of contact other than the eBay messages and the eBay blogs.  If I was not on that level, I have to accept that my curiosity is not sufficient reason to broadcast their NARU status to the world. 

I was just looking back at sellers from whom I purchased successfully last Christmas season.  I was considering repeat business from some of these and I was sad to discover that seven of my really excellent transacting partners are now NARU.  I hope they all went out by their own choice.

This holiday season, as last and I am certain many before that, there will be a number of sellers who go “all out” to try to make a go of the eBay selling, and find they are unable to achieve their goals.  Shortly after the New Year, those sellers will show up NARU.  Sadly, often before that NARU they will have received several negative feedbacks that seem to paint a picture of a seller who got in over his head.

I like to support the new sellers and I understand we sellers are all here to make some extra income, if not to make a living.  But, especially at this time of the year, I try to make certain I am dealing with a seller who has established himself well in preparation for this heavy selling season.  And, if I suddenly discover a blogger has dropped out of sight, and I discover he has become NARU, I try to control my curiosity.  If and when he makes his reappearance, I trust he will be the one to decide whether he wants to share the reason for his absence and NARU status.

Have a great day.  I have to work a few hours today, even though I am taking some vacation time!  Happy selling and buying to all!

I'll check in on y'all after they all hit the sack...(ummm...in about an hour, no doubt!)

I had an enjoyable 8 hour ride down ...hubby drove the WHOLE way...(am I a slacker, or WHAT??)

My family has a favorite card game we play whenever we get together.  As many people as want to can play, and each has his own deck of cards.  The game is called "GOOF" and it is one that my grandfather brought over with him, as a child, when his family immigrated here from England in the early part of the 20th century.  The one difficulty we occaisionally experience is finding enough decks of cards with significantly different backs, to allow us to play and sort the cards easily. (all cards from all decks get mixed together during each round and at the end of each round, must be sorted and handed back to the appropriate players.)

So this year, I decided to 'prepare" for our holiday GOOF marathon by ordering some custom designed playing cards.  I did not buy these on eBay.  However, I did place a significant order (about 20 decks) with a company I found online. 

• I placed my order on 11/13/2007 after 5:00PM. 
• My custom designed and printed cards were shipped on 11/15/2007, and
• they were delivered yesterday afternoon via DHL....less than six days from order to delivery....and
• are absolutely perfect product.

I am SO accustomed to eBay, that I wanted to jump online and leave positive feedback....but....that's an eBay novelty.  As an eBay seller, I constantly remind myself that it is THESE types of sellers with whom I am competing.  These folks do not get feedback other than return business, and that IS their ultimate goal.

Here are some of the cards I had created from my photos!  What fun!

If you care to read about how this game is played, I have written a guide on the game.

http://reviews.ebay.com/G-is-For-GOOF_W0QQugidZ10000000001946161

Greetings from the road again! 

I love this “new” capability.  I have the converter that changes my cigarette lighter into regular three-pronged outlet, so I need not worry about running out of battery power any time.  I have the wireless Internet card, so, I am able to stay connected as long as there are Cellular towers…. And best of all, I have a hubby, who doesn’t mind doing MOST of the driving….

So, with Killian sleeping in her travel kennel in the back seat, a dedicated driver, an unabridged mystery novel on CD playing, glorious weather and access to the WWW, I am a happy camper.  (My boss is too, because I get to put in nearly eight hours of work while traveling to SC!)  And now you know why, when I reviewed my available leave time a couple of weeks ago, I discovered I have 12 weeks of unused vacation time…..I’ll use 6 days between now and Jan 2.  One of the downfalls of working from home is that I don’t end up taking much of my vacation time.

At any rate, I hope everyone is doing well.  I hope your sales are up, you’re finding the items you want to buy at the prices you want and that you are enjoying yourself in the process.