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The Buffalo News has a story today about Jonathan Cote and his four companions, private security contractors in Iraq who were kidnapped, tortured and murdered. I have a friend who is an in-law of the Cote family here in WNY. This is a sad disgrace for our country.
Do not miss this movie, just out on DVD this week. Ben Stein looks at the academic, media and court barriers to the discussion of intelligent design in the United States today. He then looks at Darwinism's influence on Nazism. Must see!
Way back in April I wrote a post about how I manage our books. It was meant to kick off a series of posts on the topic, but I never followed through.
So in the same vein, six months later, I am going to talk about managing books on LibraryThing.
LibraryThing allows users to catalog and tag books they own, read, want to own, etc. Users can log in 200 books for free. Above that you can purchase an annual membership for $10 or a lifetime one for $25. I have been a lifetime member for over two years and have never regretted spending the $25.
There is a lot of detail in the information you can input and edit. For those of us obsessed with books, it could turn into an addiction. But we busy homeschool moms don't have time to devote to every aspect of LT.
I was sitting up the other night brainstorming ideas for making extra money, and trying to prioritize them.
I have been selling things, mostly books, online for nine years. At various times in the past I have put quite a lot of effort into it, and made some money. I need to revisit where I am with all of that and get a move on using my time wisely.
So, here is my list of online moneymaking priorities:
- Sell and swap books: I have at least 200 books to get scanned, described, priced and listed. I have about 25 done. There is much work to be done here, but since the stuff is already on hand, there is no real cost outlay involved unless I list on ebay. I used to sell only on ebay. I am over that now, and cross-list my books on up to five selling venues. I also list low-value books for trade on seven different swap sites. I can then use my swap points for books we need for homeschooling, or books with a decent resale value to get and sell.
- Sell hand-rolled beeswax Advent candles: Last fall I made my own hand-rolled beeswax Advent candles. I still have some sheets of beeswax, so I just need to spend an evening cutting and rolling them. I will probably put them on ebay and etsy (a new venue for me). Again, I have all of the supplies on hand except shipping boxes. I need to check out USPS Priority Mail boxes to see if there is a good size, or decide if I want to order boxes for shipping (I really don't want to do this unless I have to). I have plenty of bubble wrap and peanuts in the basement. But I need to move fast on this one, and get these done, photographed, priced and listed in the next week. I also have some natural beeswax sheets and if the Advent candles sell I may make up some sets of natural tapers, too, afterwards.
- Sell hand-crocheted wrist warmers: Last winter I crocheted myself a pair of wrist warmers from a pattern I found online. I love them. My hands always got cold in the house because we keep the heat at 68 during the day to save money. I think these will be a good seller, and I can get them posted after the Advent candles, before Christmas, and hopefully I will sell them all winter. Again, probably mainly etsy and possibly ebay. I don't think I have enough yarn on hand, so I will have to purchase some.
- Photography and Graphic Design: As I stated in my last post, I have been playing around lately with Cafe Press. I really need to take some kind of community college graphic design class to understand how to make quality products. I am pretty happy with my photographs of nature, and maybe I will sell something.
- Virtues Guide: I have had it in mind to write a virtures curriculum for some time. I don't know if I will get to this during the current school year, so this is on the back burner. I would self-publish this on lulu.
- Mystery Novel: I am writing a murder mystery novel in the style of the Golden Age detective novels. Will I ever finish it? Hard to tell. Sometimes I think "yes" and other time I have no idea how I will do it. I have pages upon pages written out longhand in notebooks, and I have typed exactly one and one-half pages of it into the computer. If I ever do finish it I will self-publish it on lulu.
With times being lean and the economy being what it is, I am going to apply myself to get some of the things above done. Want to see my stuff for sale or trade? Check out my "Me Elsewhere" badge on the right sidebar at the top of this blog.
I have been playing around with Cafe Press. I made two cards from original photographs I took with my digital camera. I just made a homeschooling car magnet. Come check it out!
Franz Joseph Haydn is our composer of the month. I thought I'd put up a quick post linking to our resources. Most of these are from the library.
Plus I bought copies of the Farewell Symphony (No. 45) and the Surprise Symphony (No. 94) on iTunes.
Our spine for classical music studies is:
Fr. Dwight Longenecker, whom I often read, has an article today at Inside Catholic on the global financial crisis worth reading. Here is a line I just can't resist quoting: Proper restrictions and regulations were lifted and, in a mind-staggering glut of greed and speculation, money was loaned on money that was borrowed on securities that were based on other monies that were insured by companies that had borrowed more money that only existed as computer calculations -- and if that explanation is not exactly correct, neither is the reality any simpler.
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