Make Yourself at Home ~

Serious Questions or Simply for Entertainment. This blog can be anything you want it to be ... Click the FOLLOW button ... makes me feel better. Add your message to Gills' Guest Book. Post a Comment at the end of a blog ... Email me with your questions: gmhesketh@yahoo.co.uk


Wednesday 22 February 2012

Shopping list for Life ...

5 top tips to get you moving and grooving and-a-moving - and a gr ...

First instalment:
[you won't lose sleep - these posts will be short - this is a light-hearted blog, not a power-happy must have mogul making guide - but now I'm thinking along those lines ... erm, well, er ...]

Whilst we hang around waiting for the weather to change and the financial climate to warm up ... Let's get planning ...

First thoughts :~

Write a random list of Anything and Everything you Need, Want, Wish for in Your Life - even if you're thinking there are obstacles in your way...

Get thinking, jotting, writing, typing, doodling, drawing, day-dreaming ~ oh ~ and don't forget your day job [is that your boss behind you? ] ! !

Second instalment tomorrow.

[so is that one 'l' or two? - don't check it out - just get planning ! ]

Enjoy,
Gillian

PS - couldn't resist: it's one 'l' in UK, 2 'l's in USA - phew, glad that's settled.



100 Random things to do at a a place near you ...




100 Random Things to do  ...
1  Join a rambling club
2  Write a letter to yourself
3  Draw your lunch
4  Read a book
5  State 5 good things about yourself
6  Go to a gym
7  Give yourself 3 pieces of advice
8  Buy something inexpensive as a symbol
9  Visit an elderly relative
10 Find a poem you like
11 Re-write it and stick it on your fridge
12 Fill an envelope with things you have collected on a walk
13 Do some gardening or buy a houseplant
14 Check out your photo album
15 Spend a day drawing only blue things
16 Make a list of everything you bought last week
17 List everyone you know
18 Buy some flowers for someone else
19 Make cakes for a neighbour
20 Chalk something on your path
21 Tidy out one cupboard
22 Make a map of everywhere you went in one day
23 Draw your shoes in detail
24 Make a shopping list of everything you want in life
25 Draw a tree
26 List 3 habits you have
27 Slice an apple and eat it
28 Learn something new
29 List 5 all-time favourite songs
30 Begin a diary
31 List 3 famous people you respect or admire
32 Go on a train journey
33 Run on the spot for 5 minutes
34 Join a choir
35 Organise a charity event
35 Go swimming
35 Play a board game
36 Make something silly with card or material
37 Clear a storage cupboard 
38 Make a private den in the garden / shed / garage 
39 Learn a joke and tell it
40 Cook something new
41 Read a story or poem out loud
42 Contact 2 friends you haven’t seen for ages
43 Make a blog
44 Enrol on a course
45 Give blood
46 Write a letter to someone you admire
47 Draw your food shopping list
48 Bake some biscuits
49 Go for a run - join a running group
50 Save glass jars and make them useful
51 Listen to the birds
52 Sit on a street bench and listen
53 Study the faces of your work colleagues
54 Doodle a whole page
55 Take unwanted items to a charity shop
56 Make a home-made greetings card
57 Make a list of all the places you have lived
58 Pick apples and make some chutney
59 Draw your favourite room in detail
60 Describe yourself in 5 words
61 List all the things in your garage / shed / loft
61 Go on a bike ride
62 Write a letter to your local newspaper
63 Draw all the things in your handbag or pocket
64 Clear our your wardrobe
65 Write a journal
66 Draw a map of your town / village / environment
67 Name 3 favourite characters from your childhood stories
68 Go to a beach in cold weather
69 Make a collage
70 Go to a market
71 Write a list of colours in your favourite order
72 Do a crossword
73 Make something for your home
74 Research another culture
75 List 5 things you want to do one day
75 Change your hair-style
76 Set the table for someone else
77 Go to a car boot or table top sale
78 Look up 3 words you don’t really understand
79 Draw some of the doors from your life
80 Join a dance class
81 Collect some flowers and press them
82 Research a Greek myth
82 Choose a colour. Go for a walk. Recognise anything in that colour
83 Mend something that’s been broken for ages
84 Make up with family members
85 Find a new hobby
85 Write to a magazine 
86 Go to a poetry reading
87 Look at photos of you as a child - say how you felt
88 Write out pent up feelings in large letters
89 Visit an art gallery
90 Write a list of all the places you want to visit
91 Find a new word and use it all week
92 Make dot to dot images - ask other people to connect the dots
93 Go on a picnic
94 Research someone from history
95 Have a street party in your house
96 Visit a zoo, wildlife park or conservation area
97 Find a library
98 Cook your favourite meal for a friend
99 Go to the countryside - or the city
100 Do something useful today
101 Write a list of 100 things to do 

Please feel free to add to the list - add a comment, tweet, Facebook or email gmhesketh@googlemail.com

Enjoy, Gillian

Monday 6 February 2012

Essays ! Arghh

Thank-you Son-in-distress for your questions on writing University essay responses.


Not wanting to sound like your mother but probably going to ... here's a few simple tips for getting on with those essays - follow these for stress-er-free essay writing experience. 


* Warning: you may have to use paper and pen !

  • Begin early !  Like - as soon as you have the titles !
  • Spread out the process in stages.

  • Get some topic-related books from the Uni library !  
  • List all the books on a Bibliography - asap.                                           

  • Look at key words in your title and jot down on separate pieces of paper
  • Look the words up in a dictionary and thesaurus.
  • Note anything you know from lectures, want to discuss or learn about.                                               
  • Decide roughly how many Topic Key Points will cover your answer i.e. 5.
  • Head pieces of paper with each Topic Point / other Ideas for paragraph.
  • Head other pieces of paper with: Quotations, Introduction, Conclusion.
  • Read or flick through books - jot down related points and page numbers under headings on the papers - to return to later.
  • Research internet - jot down findings under related headings on papers.                          
  • Put all internet sitings/dates on Bibliography                                           


Now you have the Basis to Transfer your Information, Ideas and Quotations to your computer screen. Transferring will help you absorb the subject matter.


Type these temporary headings:


QUESTION AND PROPOSAL 
[say what you're going to do - research - consider - answer - discuss - contrast]
INTRODUCTION 
[introduce your ideas about the subject matter]
PARA 1 - [insert topic here]
PARA 2 - [insert topic here]
PARA 3 - [insert topic here]
PARA 4 - [insert topic here]
PARA 5 - [insert topic here]
CONCLUSION 
[bring together your points and state your opinion/answer to the question]


Use the headings. 
[These can be deleted when you've finished each topic area]


Work in stages - Write one paragraph or one topic area at a time - ie one a day.


*Make a point / Back it up with research or quotation  / Discuss it.
*Ensure you name authors scientists etc with correct name. 
*Use full name first, then surname. Repeat same name-use throughout.
*Remember to put correct link to author, book, page, in brackets after quotations.


Most of all - try to enjoy learning.
Don't see essays as a chore - see them as an opportunity.


Email for further essay pointers: gmhesketh@yahoo.co.uk


Gillian


]BA Hons English lit/lang/creative writing. MA creative writing]











Saturday 4 February 2012

Don't slam the door !

Thank you Daughter-in-distress for your question:

'How can you stop a door slamming?'

Well, obviously, I want to say, hold onto the door longer, turn the handle and/or the lock and close it quietly - but that's probably something your mother would say, so I say this ... if your door is clanging into it's door frame and driving your neighbour nuts ...

Either -
Spray some oil into and around the lock. Wipe off excess oil.

Or -
Buy a door closer.
http://www.doorstuff.co.uk/doorclosers/eurospec-t2024-overhead-door-closer.php

This is the Eurospec T2040, £22.50 inc VAT. When the door closer is fitted, you can adjust the hydraulic system according to your requirements [= amount of door banging].

Enjoy !
Gillian