Should Senior Citizens Trust Online Offers? Are We Gullible?

The lure of the Internet is always there. The web knows what I shop for, where I shop for it and how to get my attention.

I personally think that Facebook has the most enticing sidebar but even my gmail inbox is filled with "promotions" and "updates" too. Almost every senior that I know is on Facebook A LOT! It is sometimes hard for people like me to figure out what is true and what is not.

All of that plays into the Amazon business model. If I am not sure, I always check on Amazon to see if the offer is a good price and if I can have it delivered tomorrow. Should I be doing that?

Now, I have found that Amazon offers their own coffee pods at such a low price that it not even smart to buy anything else.

In all of this I am reminded of Ma Bell (AT&T), you know that phone company that had a monopoly on all things telephone. The phones were sacred property, never belonged to you and if the repair man came and saw that the phone had been opened, you would be in big trouble. The grip they had on our life was not good and turned out to be illegal. They were prosecuted for being a monopoly!

Amazon is almost there...our groceries, clothing, even the rock wool for the gas fireplace are all being ordered through them. We feel safe from those scammers that are in the sidebar of Facebook when we use Amazon.

But it seems to me that Amazon's reach might not be such a good thing either. Putting everyone out of business does not feel right and letting one online website take everything over is equally as scary.

 I really do like to have bricks and mortar stores in my neighborhood. The landscape without them would be very barren. But even some of the bigger stores are struggling to keep ahead of Amazon and their online buddies.

It could be that because seniors are not as suspicious as they could be they get caught up in what appears to be perfectly safe. The big warning sign that appears on your computer saying you have been hacked, the call from the people impersonating Social Security telling you that your account has been closed, the email from a friend in the Ukraine asking you to send money because they are in jail...it is all so confusing and easy to believe.

I have had all those things happen to me. I am so skeptical I do not bite. In fact, I probably have passed up some very good offers. I have always been a skeptic.

Now, I do not know if Amazon is safe but until you write me telling about the big scam, I am going to give them a little bit of my trust.

How about you...what has happened to you lately that scared you because you trusted the wrong person? Oh and believe me you are not alone.

I would like to hear from you.

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Note:
I might add that I think that our political situation could even be laid at Facebook's door.

WAIT A DOGGONE MINUTE...I HAVE STUFF I NEED TO DO!

As I am drawing my last breath I will pop up from the bed yelling Wait a minute! I have stuff I need to do! My husband just shrugs his shoulders and laughs. He knows the truth and you know it now too.

So I am thinking about cutting bottles right now because I think it would be fun to create new stuff. My cutter arrived day before yesterday and we are saving wine bottles (no you do not need to help...I will take care of the drinking part, thank you.)

I really does work so we are off to the races. I am excited.

What do you think? I like these a lot!

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Christmas: 6 Rules for Buying ANOTHER #Book

English: Stack of books in Gould's Book Arcade, Newtown, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Note: Christmas is coming and what better gift could there ever by than a great book. Here is a place to start: 10 Best Books for 2014 (Amazon)

I don't know if you have been watching but my slideshow of books from Amazon that I display in the sidebar just keeps, growing and growing. I really want to own a paper version of everyone of those books but there are #rules you know...even when you buy a book.

Let me see if I can explain. My daughter has rules for napping on weekend. The nap can only be so long, outside of the covers, with the curtains open and so the list goes. That is the thing about buying books. If you don't have rules, you will have a house full of books and no place to sit and read them.

1. Only buy a book if you think about it for a while and still want it.
2. Always buy a book that is on your wish list and is then recommended by someone else.
3. If you will go back to a book after you have read it to use a quote, it is ok to buy that book.
4. Limit the number of unread books you have on your Kindle or in your book bag...10 or less is a good idea.
5. If a book is a big prize winner (Pulitzer, Booker, etc.) buy it and treasure it.
6. Don't buy books that the library can lend you if you really don't care about keeping it but still want to read.

Because books are so important to me, I don't have many rules. But the ones I have are written in stone. Do you have rules?

Adsense: Does Just Breathing Count?

I know the title might be a little misleading but I do just wonder about things. For example, I was looking at my Adsense earnings today. The money part of blogging has ceased to mean a thing to me but once in a while I check to see what is happening. Here is how it has been going...

I looked for FITBIT bands...
now that is all I see in
the ads! I am sorry I didn't buy
from you but the ads were everywhere. :)

The real people that actually stop and read anything is not much but I do get between 500 and 600 hits per day. Of those people a few really care about what I have written. A few of those that read are also taken by the ads in the sidebar...the trouble is every blog or website they go to will probably show the same ads so the chances of anyone clicking on my ads drops to the minus column. Personally, I did a search for a particular type of skirt I want. Now, no matter where I am on the web, that skirt shows up in the ads. I am assuming that this happens with everyone.

However, on those days my traffic drops, the income will go up. I find that extremely strange!

Even today, when I doubt anyone has clicked on an ad, I have earned a few pennies. So the question is "does just breathing count?" Do I earn income even though no one has clicked an ad or has someone seen an item that catches their interest and clicked...then I earned 4 cents? I wonder.

Now as far as Amazon is concerned, I do know that someone has to buy something on the main part of the page they do in a Amazon search. Those ads at the bottom earn Amazon money and I won't see a penny of it ever. As far as Amazon is concerned, I don't even exist unless someone buys something. Going to the website through my blog does NOT earn me or any blogger money. In their case, breathing does not count.

Any thoughts on the subject?

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When You Write a Book, What Will Your Biography Say?

I have heard that there are people that write their own obituaries just so they know that it is done right. My thinking has always been that it really won't matter to me anymore so I don't care if it is right. Say I was  a stripper or a pole dancer...it will be fine. 

But if I ever write a book, that will be another matter. I want my biography to say something about me that makes my readers laugh AND want to read my book. Why would I write a book if no one read it?

On my left sidebar the Amazon ad contains some of the books that Amazon recommends as being outstanding. One of those books is called Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children) (available on Amazon here.)

I loved the title so I had to take a look at the review and then I went on to read some of the reader's comments. It appears I need to buy this book for sure.

At the bottom of the Amazon book page was Ransom Rigg's biography. It made me laugh...notice that he had been complaining about the heat pretty much his whole life. Still he decided to make southern California his home. But if he lived in Oregon or England,

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
 (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children) 

he could complain about the rain so I guess complaining is the point. But I digress....

I like his idea of a biography a lot...this guy has a very unusual way of catching your interest.

Biography

Ransom Riggs grew up in Florida, where he spent his formative years making silly movies with his friends in their various backyards, snorkeling, and complaining about the heat.

Ransom Riggs (doesn't like the heat!)

He studied English at Kenyon College and film at the University of Southern California. He lives in Los Angeles. He makes films you can watch on his YouTube page: www.youtube.com/ransriggs. 

He enjoys traveling to exotic lands and complaining about the heat. 

He would like to thank you for reading this short biography.

The best part of it all was when he said "Thank you" for reading his biography. He used almost 85 words so was very difficult you see.  Now, if you ever write a book, what will your biography say?

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Great Beach Read Book: The Last Day for Rob Rhino By Kathleen O'Donnell

It has come to my attention that I need to pay better attention. See, I love a Pulitzer Prize winning book or a book that gains attention for it meaty content or a book written about or by someone I admire. The Last Day for Rob Rhino by Kathleen O'Donnell fits into no category of mine so I didn't notice it at all. (Now I find that it was an Indy Book of the Year Finalist.)


I first noticed the book when I was reading Kathleen O'Donnell's blog on her website that carries her name. The blog page is called Bald Spots. I read a post she had written recently about her stepfather. She did not particularly like him, his alcoholic lifestyle or even the way he treated her mother. But she held a grudging respect for the effort he put into trying to be the father he knew she needed. He fell far short and she could not grieve his death because her memories were clouded by his abusive behavior. It is not a happy story but the way she wrote it was just beautiful honest and even poignantly funny. 

Kathleen O'Donnell

When I saw that she had written a book, I went to Amazon and bought the Kindle version. That was day before yesterday. I finished the book late last night. 

O'Donnell's byline for her blog is "There is nothing scarier than normal people." It gives a hint that she is able to look behind the mask and see something interesting even in the least likely people.  

She gathered a list of character that might be on a list of people least likely to ever meet...ever. I found an angry, rich and drug addicted bald widow, a outrageous old porn star, a slimey manager for the star, a liberal arts college with a cemetery open to only the trustees and a dead husband in a cremation box with a whole gaggle of crazy relatives. In a lot of cases, these people are not who they appear to be in the beginning. Somehow O'Donnell manages to bring them all together in a mysterious set of circumstances that keeps the reader reading long after their eyes have gone to bed.

Even though there is a porn star and his quirky friends, there is no sex. There is just one small murder with tiny hints of more. I am only telling you this because I thought you would want to know.

So, if you are looking for the perfect read for the beach or a rainy afternoon snuggled in a chair with a cup of tea, this is it.  Put it on your list. You will not regret it.

 Available on Amazon: The Last Day for Rob Rhino  

By Kathleen O'Donnell, ( Author ) [ 2013 ) [ Paperback 

Indy Book of the Year Finalist

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6 Idea for Building Affiliate Marketing

One of the things we miss most when we are not working or retired is the validation that working for an income provides. Someone thinks we are worthy and pays us to do what we do. I don't know about you but we missed that part of our careers. So, the question is, "How do you find validation and a little income when you are retired or a blogger?" That is where Adsense and Amazon come in if you are a blogger like me.

I'm restoring my water fountain

in my front yard and so I am

shopping for a pump. I

just thought you would want to know!

Tom over at Sightings Over Sixty left a comment and asked me the other day how I made any money using those sources that are allowed on Google Blogger. He said that he had tried Amazon and found that it just didn't provide the validation he wanted. It is tricky to say the very least. There are some ingredients I think you need to make it a worthwhile endeavor.

1. Time is what you have the most of in retirement or a freelance blogger...time that you can do what YOU want and time is what it takes to make any money online.
2. Products that you can write about consistently and truly want to promote.
3. The ability to promote your affiliate position without putting off family and friends.
4. Enthusiasm for following other people and connecting with them. 
5. A Facebook account and a group of like minded people that are active in that media. I belong to several groups of women online that support each other. It has worked for me.
6. Remain realistic in your expectations.

Yesterday I wrote about patience and how it can be such a positive thing. That is what affiliate marketing is all about for me. I suggest that you bookmark my Amazon page on your computer if you shop at Amazon. But I don't bombast you with emails that make you feel you are being stalked. I take my time and am not impatient if I don't see results. I have been doing this for several years. 

In my case, books are my go-to subject. But there are other things I buy. I use Amazon Prime so I usually get free shipping and I can send gifts to grandchildren without worrying that the postage will cost more than the gift. Anytime I buy something on Amazon, I post it on my Facebook account and talk about it on my blog. I write about products that I can promote sincerely. If I don't love the experience why would I try to sell it?

Amazon will also pay me a fee if I refer you to their program.

I love to shop so I visit those website that carry a product that I love and follow their links to find really good stuff that I actually would like to have. For me it is clothes and beautiful things for my home or garden and gifts for my family/friends. It may be boating or financial interests or even underwear for you. (Remind me to tell you about my pantelones underwear online order one day soon.) Then I write about it on my blog. ADSENSE will add links in my sidebar ads that fit what I write about. If people click on those (as I hope they will) I receive some income. I get several checks a year from them...sometimes more and sometimes less.

Word of mouth is my best connection. I have spoken to those people in my family that shop at Amazon and asked them to bookmark my Amazon link. They all told their friends and hopefully the word will get out more and more. I also have asked my friends to do the same...once. I have mentioned my account on my Facebook page and in the groups like Midlife Boulevard to which I belong on that social media website.

The key here is you realize this is not easy money. It is something much, much more. It is a small way of validating what we do for fun. Seeking out readers, telling them what you like and spending time being a reader/follower can pay off for you but it will not come fast. I personally think that small income and building an affiliate presence can make a big difference in your life.

I would be interested in hearing any other idea you have.  Just leave a comment with a link to your blog.

Be well.

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Note: I only get a fee if you buy something on Amazon or Adsense. The links above are for your convenience. I hope you found the information helpful.

Counting: 8 Ways to Keep Your Blogging Life Simple

It occurred to me yesterday that I needed to simplify my blogging life...a lot!  Passwords, social media and time spent maintaining might be sucking the life out of me and the payback is not worth it.

I do earn a little money from my Adsense account linked to me blog and an Amazon account (which I would love you to visit) but it has come time to remind myself why I began blogging back over 8 years ago.

The blogging idea was so appealing...I could see my words in print, tell stories and even share pictures I had taken of faraway places. Best of all the thrill of having even one reader put me over the moon.

I loved the process of writing and learning while I was doing it. It never occurred to me that people would want to use my blog to promote their products. When they did, I jumped at the chance. However, when that happened, I then felt the need to promote my blog more. Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and even following followers took over the computer time that I had been spending just enjoying writing.

And it turned out Google really doesn't want me to use my blog to make money unless it is through Adsense. Even when I linked to a business for no money but simply to share information, Google asked the business to remove the links! It was getting just too twisted for me to deal with on a daily basis. So my blogging life is changing for the better I think.

Here is what I have done so far:

1. I have withdrawn my option to promote any businesses with a link on my blog and will just support those businesses that have used the blog up until now. That was big step for me. It was a relief!
2. I do not participate in Linkedin. They were contacting people on my email list without my permission and it became embarrassing after a time. Plus I did not see that it helped me at all.
3. I now use Facebook almost entirely for promoting my blog with friends, contacts and family. I do not post anything personal or an update of my day to day activities there. In fact, I use private pages that different groups have to post questions or special blog titles that those groups may find helpful. That has turned out to be a very positive change.
4. I have blog articles automatically posted on Facebook and Google. I never think about it at all.
5. There is a need for a hard heart. Sometimes it is a good idea to be less visible. I block people on my Facebook account...especially if they seem to be lurking. I just don't want anyone following me like a needy dog or even contacting me there instead of using email or calling. I generally tell the person that I am not going to be a visible so they will know what I have done. 
6. The passwords needed to be dealt with. What a pain in the neck those have turned out to be. I have actually found that doing things the old fashioned way can be less bothersome than trying to do everything online. A simple phone call can suffice in a lot of cases and I don't need a password to do that.
7. Restraint in my blogging life is all about actually never signing up with anything new that requires a passwords or even more of my attention. Honestly, I don't want to join every website I visit. It drives me nuts! In fact, some websites may be losing business because they require a password to even take a look at their products. I will pass thank-you-very-much.
8. I am now using that unsubscribe option...a lot. While I don't want to live in a vacuum, I don't feel the need to see a newsletter from anyone more than once a month. If I get them anymore frequently I unsubscribe. TMI is not good for me. 

Now I am back to simply writing about what interests me on a daily basis. The series on "counting" is one new twist I have added. Numbers appeal to me somehow so I thought why not pursue it FOR AS LONG AS IT INTERESTS ME.

I will continue to use Adsense advertising so my readers can click on products linked to what I write about.  I love my Amazon affiliate account and would love it if you began to buy your Amazonproducts through me...including Amazon Prime which turns out to be the best deal around if you order online. I will keep my twitter account (barbblogtwits) and Facebook because they are very simple once I got it under control. But that will be it...for now.

Do you have any ideas about how to make your online life simpler? I would love to hear them.

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Christmas decorating in a VERY small space!

Keeping it simple is the only way we can live in such a very, very small space.  When we find treasures that we love and want to display them for even just one season, we have to find ways to morph fall into winter and then into spring. 

This year we bought a metal rooster in Wickenburg, AZ. We will love it for a season and then who knows what we will do next year. He was beautiful in the fall but now it is Christmastime and he needs to become a Christmas rooster. The arrangement at the right looks like dried fall foliage. I added plastic Christmas tree decorations to both and now they are looking very festive.

This lantern I bought at Home Goods become a Christmas decoration with the
addition of a white pottery santa ornament.

Our potted palm gets some lights and garlands.
It is kind of tacky but it looks happy and proud.

Why do we do it this way. Well, if we want to live within our space and not have boxes stacked around everywhere, we need to keep the extra things to a minimum.  I just don't want my alley space to get filled with things I cannot put away inside. This really works for us.

Have a wonderful day.

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Toys for Grandchildren

On Opening Pandora's Box
My grandchildren have always loved to come to our house. They wanted to come before my daughter brought her son's collection of toy cars and her daughter's Polly Pockets. They loved my house before the Imaginext Dino appeared. Before I made four bags of sugar cookie dough that can be rolled out at a moments notice, they counted the sleeps until they could spend the day with with us.

We have two pairs of small digging gloves, one trowel, one old spoon, a patch of dirt and a plastic bucket that serves as a truck/bucket/water container. The toys in the toy basket came from my classroom I taught in over 15 years ago. Life was good and they were satisfied. Then...

Dump Truck And Wheel Loader

Hot Wheels Race Rally Water Park Playset

...we decided that Grandpa and I should have a day alone with each child. That was when we opened Pandora's Box.

A single child, the oldest sibling, came with us first. We went to the book store and bought a Where's Waldo? book, then to a big box store to shop for a special Hot Wheels toy.

We went out to lunch.

We played together when we got home. DUPLOs were dumped on a big table. My grandson built a wonderful pretend play ground. I video taped him telling about it. Just the perfect books were read and there was NO nap time at all. Best of all, unlike all the other visits, he was allowed to take the toy we bought home with him!

Yesterday we repeated the special day for the younger brother.

Things will never, never be the same. Now they know about Grandma's car and have discovered that I have a car seat for each boy. All that time spent helping us dust, vacuum and garden could be over shadowed by the things we did on that special day. You know, once you have opened Pandora's Box you can never put the things that escape back inside...it is a fact.

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Note: Our Pandora's Box only contained toys and fun. I'm just not sure how much fun Grandpa and Grandma can handle. We will see!

Shopping with Grandchildren: Amelia Made a Difference

The way children use the English language is fascinating.  Remember, this is the language that calls the people that run our country a congress and also call a collection of baboons by the same name.  You can understand why it is a little confusing.

My granddaughters and I went shopping at Target yesterday.  I love their toy department. It makes me happy. Even when my husband and I are in the store without children, I will surf the toys just to see what is new. I always have my grandchildren in mind plus I like to tell you about what I think might be fun.

So, the girls and I walked the length of the store stopping in the aisle with girlie sheets and glancing at the shoes.  Eventually, we made our way to the toys. These girls are experienced shoppers but they are even a little in awe of the selection in our Target store.

Maddie

Amelia on the move!

We surfed through the dolls and the Legos past the Barbie aisle and the Imaginex boxes. Then Amelia, the 5 year old, stopped dead in front of the Lite Brite box.  There was no doubt in her mind that she had found exactly what she wanted and could buy it with the money I had allotted for her on that day.  SCORE!  It was only a few seconds before her 9 year old sister picked up a remote control car and put it in the cart. I was a little surprised by her choice.  But I didn't ask any questions because I knew she wanted it...period. We were good to go.

When we got in the car to come home, Amelia made a wonderful observation about their choices.  Maddie, know what! I made a difference! Maddie was a little puzzled but went along with her little sister.  She had never heard the word difference used that way before. Amelia immediately explained what was on her mind. She knew what she was talking about. She knew it was special when she didn't pick out the very same thing as her big sister. She had made a choice on her very own.  It was a big moment in her life.

So, you see, Amelia does made a difference...she is a teacher and she taught us all that growing up can happen at any time...even when you are shopping in Target.

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Note: The Lite Brite that Amelia picked out was packaged in a pink color especially for girls.  Do you think she would have chosen it if it had been red?  I wonder.



The remote control car Maddie chose was not wireless and a little less expensive than this.

I am adding both of these toys to my Amazon Store in the slide show in the right sidebar. They turned out to be a great success.

How to set up your Zooka (wireless speakers)...the puzzle is solved!

Note: Make this little device work for you...see this information!

Zooka Wireless Speaker for iPad and Bluetooth Devices (Black)
(or pink if you prefer)

I wrote yesterday about my friend Jo. She doesn't own a computer and uses the good old fashioned mail to communicate with her friends. I love that she does what she does.

I, on the other hand, will never be going back to the old fashioned way of doing things. My dad taught me very early on that life and creativity is very exiting. We talked about the newest inventions and could hardly wait to see what it would be like when we could actually hold it in our hands. TV, transistor radios, satellites in space and rocket ships to the moon filled our heads.
I only regret that he did not see the computer age. Oh how he would have loved that.

Now I am trying not the the "gadget of the week" kind of person but it is really hard. I love to try things out. I decided I wanted a wireless speaker for my iPad and Zooka was calling my name. It is just the kind of minor toy that happens to make me very happy.

The little egg shaped bar is produced by Carbon Audio. I found it online and ordered it from Amazon.  The advertisement talked about how easy and wonderful it was. According to them, you might be able to just open the package and have tunes right away.

I love a puzzle better than the average bear. But when I opened the  little box there was only the speaker, a cord and a little card with a few pictures.  No words, no verbal instruction in any language. No information on a link to look for more information. They had taken the "quick start" method to extremes.

HMMMMMM! Common sense told me that all I needed to do was plug it in and wait. I know that my iPhone said that I needed to charge it before I could use it. But the card didn't say that and did not have a picture of my Zooka plugged in. There was a picture of the sound bar with a little rod that would support the Zooka but the rod was not in the box. I was a little miffed. I thought they had forgotten my stand. What was up with that? And what was that little piece of metal sticking out of the end? Darn.

I slept on it...well didn't sleep exactly...but I thought about it all night. I wanted to figure this out on my own because I had learned at my father's knee was that it was more fun to put something together without the directions. We did laugh a lot but in this particular case, I was not laughing though. Now was the time to get smart.

I turned on my computer and found PC Magazine had posted an article about the device. They said it is a "Treasure Hunt" to set it up. This is what was is NOT on the card:

1. Hold the power button in for about a second.
2. Hold the Bluetooth button in for three seconds to activate it. Zooka will emit a tone at the end of that time to confirm Bluetooth activation.
3. The passcode needed to pair Zooka with a Bluetooth device. It's 0000. (I do not need with with my apple devices.)
4. The information missing from the card can be found in an excellent quick start guide for the device prepared by Carbon Audio. All you have to do is go online and get it, not a route taken by many enthusiastic purchasers until forced to resort to it. (I wasn't the only one!)
5. Oh, and that little metal piece sticking out the end is the rod that serves as the stand. I gave it a little tug and there it was. All I needed to do was screw it in the back of the sound bar.

I do check my iPad, iPhone or computer to make sure it is paired with Zooka when I want to use it. If you are like us you will have three or four bluetooth devices in the same room. I don't know if it is necessary but I turn bluetooth off on the ones I am not using. 

Oh by the way, Zooka was funded using KickStarter. The developer lives right here in Portland, Oregon. That is a good story all by itself. Take a look at their KickStarter website.

Rating: I love this Zooka thing. It does just what I want it to do. It is not surround sound but I do not want that. I wanted portable, small, easy to use and black. I got all of those and more...the box contained an invisible story!

Have a wonderful day.

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Note: Be sure to notice the Amazon Store at the top left hand corner under the header. That is my new store. If you don't find what you want there, go to the Amazon search on the left sidebar:).

What do teens REALLY want for Xmas...besides money!

Note:  Be sure to check out the new page link just under the blog header for my new Gift Boomer Store.

Here is a BIG hint for grandparents...directly from a 15 year old. If you go to a website called Wanelo you will find all that stuff your teen wants! We went through the website yesterday and she pointed out some items she loved.

Head Bands Etsy

Ribbed Beanie Hat Slouch Style Skull Cap Ski Hat Burgundy

Crystal 

Scalpmaster Ceramic Thermal Hair Straightener

Toms - Womens Burnt Chambray Botas

Calvin Klein Jeans Women's Fitted Denim Shirt