Just saying "hey"

[Starlight]

Hello to all... and a thank you to Bob Wells.

I'll be hanging around... reading posts... gleaning whatever information I can... and so I'm saying "hey" to all you wonderful brave souls. I'm taking early retirement and am seriously considering a "nomadic" or "semi-nomadic" lifestyle. I do not want to live in Oklahoma any longer. Being a woman... I must take this seriously. How nice it would be to join a gypsy caravan... like a traveling town... to give that extra bit of security one may need.

I'll be in a van... capable of stealth camping... capable of off-grid camping... and hopefully discovering some beauty along the way. I have ideas for supplementing my income making "grow bags" and portable gardens. We'll see how that works out. Basically... I'm a writer... and hope to spend many happy days doing just that.

Hello... and happy camping to one and all.

 

[msbarth]

Welcome and good luck.

 

[akrvbob]

We're glad you're here Starlight!

Do you have any thoughts on container gardening in your van?
Bob

 

[mockturtle]

Welcome! As another solo female getting ready to hit the road, I'm excited for both of us. Maybe I'll see you out there!

 

[Starlight]

@mockturtle
I think maybe I'll make a front license plate of a star (like my icon) -- to make me recognizable to friends I make. It will be June-July before I start my adventure and I love Colorado so much that I may just hang around there for a good while. Mainly, I want away from the electro-smog.

@akrvbob
thank you for your welcome
I want to have a garden. I wouldn't mind living in a greenhouse, actually. Grow bags would be relatively lightweight... made of garden weed cloth allowing plants to naturally prune their roots. Roots hit the air at the edge and close off, then sprout little roots towards the center of the soil. When the bags are set in a shallow dish of water, they wick water as they need it. They can go dry for a day or two. To me, this makes them ideal for a portable set up... lightweight... square and packable in a small space. Maybe I'll put my tomatoes in a plastic bag in the front seat while traveling... and then set them in the tub of shallow water in camp. Cool, eh..?

 

[decodancer]

Hello from another solo female. I'm a workamper now but plan on hitting the road in November. I also love to write but have no idea how to actually make money at it. Dog grooming will be my way to get extra cash on the road. I love your gardening idea, good luck on your ventures.

 

[Starlight]

@decodancer

hiya, thanks for the welcome

Ways to make money writing...?
I'm sure there are many... there are blog sites (is it Msnbc..?) where if people follow you, you get so much (.0001 cents...?? ha) per view. I just don't like the pay per click format... and I like to choose what ads are on a blog of mine.

The cheapest web host I've found is misk.com, which was originally registersite.com, (or register.com?) and is a long-time hosting site. They are very secure, but you are limited to 50mg and no php. It is $25. a year, and $10. register fee for site name. This works quite nicely if you can write simple html code. If you can't write code, you can copy a hand-written format somewhere, and just change all the words within it. You'd be surprised how much you can get in a few megabytes. Even pics can be resized to a few kb.

If you write your own code you eliminate a lot of wasted space with invisible codes that programs put into your background. I wouldn't want anything on my site that I didn't understand or control.

Then, you can become an Amazon agent, and choose the ads that you want people to see, and what you think they might buy. It is totally automated through Amazon... you decide the size of the ads, everything. This is totally different than googleads where... you get strange ads not really appropriate.
You get a proportion of the sale... not .0001 cent per hit.

I've even considered having a catalog... and hand picking the items... just pick a subject and surf amazon for the best stuff... post it to the site.

Another way... publish at lulu.com
This is really worth spending the time to learn all it offers. You can make calendars, etc. from their templates... add photos (which is a trick to learn)... and basically is a self-publishing dreamscape.

There are many books, etc that are in the public domain which anyone can publish, and add their own art... do anything to, really. There are CD publishing templates. The books are printed only as they are ordered by a customer... or you... to sell on your own.
YOU OWN THE RIGHTS TO YOUR WORK.

I've also learned Closed Captioning, where you transcribe video audio content and upload it as an attachment to the video. It is now law that any government paid site must provide access to hearing impaired. But... hey... I couldn't find anyone to pay me to do it. One must have great patience to transcribe, type in timing codes, and edit... but it can pay if you find a customer who will put you on a contract. Most of the work can be done offline after you download the video you are working on.

Good luck to you, too. I love animals... they just speak a different language, that's all...

 

[decodancer]

Wow! A lot of useful information there, most of which I actually understand LOL. I always wanted to write greeting card inserts. Everyone who knows me calls whenever they need a silly little ditty for an event and I can come up with them in five minutes. I know one of the other members here makes beautiful cards, I'm really better at wall murals and big stuff. I'm having a ball with the blog though, it's fun sharing my life with whoever chooses to read it. We all find our niche eventually, for now I'm jack of all trades.

 

[Starlight]

@decodancer
Nice blog. If I get a chance I'll look around a little more there. Great idea to keep in touch with everyone. My poor brain is concentrating on my projects right now. I watched the puppy videos... very cute. Dogs must have traveling legs, fer sure.
Nice to meet you.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

Deco, I laughed my butt off when I saw the picture of your "former tow vehicle" on fire. Its not funny that it burned but that is an excellent shot. Good job.

 

[GypsySilver]

Hi Starlight

I am also new and getting things ready to go - around October. Good Luck!

 

[Starlight]

hey, gypsy, nice to know ya
Your photographs (do they still call them photographs?)
are really well done... and actually look untouched by graphics programs. What's the word for that... "original"?

 

[The Ethiopian]

What do think of this one? http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/4348669628.html

 

[Starlight]

@The Ethiopian

Pretty van. (posted 25 days ago)
I hope you're not looking for van advice from me... I am not a mechanic. The best thing you could do is to get a read-out from CarFax. Then, talk a little "mechanicy talk" to the owner, and see what he/she knows about maintaining a vehicle. Did they keep maintenance records??

I got lucky with my van. It was a one-owner vehicle and had just left it's warranty dates. The owner had followed its warranty list of maintenance checks for the warranty and it was well-kept. The guy lived a distance from any town and the windshield was broken, one side had a scratch, and he had let the tag expire... and he was at the point of giving it away. In four years, the only thing I've had to do is maintain it and replace the tires.

Good luck.

 

[caseyc]

What do think of this one? http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/4348669628.html

A bit on the high side for a 1993 older model. That's my impression.

 

[GypsySilver]

hey, gypsy, nice to know ya
Your photographs (do they still call them photographs?)
are really well done... and actually look untouched by graphics programs. What's the word for that... "original"?

Thank You - yes, original works

 

[blkjak]

welcome .... blkjak

 

[Pikachu711]

Welcome to the group Starlight!