Sunset Retreat

As a writer I dream of quiet, uninterrupted places where I can write for hours without be disturbed by a slobbering dog or a cat meowing for food. If you’re a writer with children I imagine you muliply that desire x 20. So what’s a writer to do to get away and just simply write?

Retreat…………

To one of many places where writers are given a quiet place to create while the world slips away for a weekend or a week as we explore our artistic nature and do the work we were put on this planet to accomplish. Where can you as a writer retreat in a beautiful space? Read on for my growing list of options for writers who need to retreat.

Writing Retreat or Workshop on a Budget

Writers Digest Create Your Own Mini Writing Retreat

A Room of Her Own

The Writer’s Retreat

Hay House Writers Cruise

Want to be inspired or meet with other like minded professionals? Try one of many workshops around the country and the world.

Florida Workshop in Gainesville

Laguna Writers Retreats and Workshops

Orcas Island Washington Writer’s Festival

University of Northern Florida Writers Conference

Travel Writing Workshop Hudson, NY

Clarity Works Inspire Your Writing Asheville NC

Photo Credit: Lisa Overman

I grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, next to a town park right on Lake Erie.  On a recent visit home, my sister and I took several walks through this park, as one of its entrances is only a couple hundred feet from our mother’s front door.

With the help of the Army Corps of Engineers, Lakeshore Park has grown into a very nice something-for-everyone park. Some of the features include beach, boat launch, Frisbee golf course and bocci courts, picnic tables and hibachis, duck pond with ducks, geese, and swans; pavilions, lots of open space, ball field, playground, bathrooms and a concession stand.  The one notable drawback (in my opinion) is that dogs are not allowed in the park.

Oh, and for those of you who need you some WiFi, Lakeshore Park is equipped!

There is no fee to get into the park, but reservations may be necessary for pavilion space for family reunions, or weddings, say. If you find yourself on American’s ‘North Coast’, specifically, Ashtabula, Ohio, take a visit to this lovely and historic park.

I’ve recently been giving the house files a thorough purging and taking a serious look at just how low I can go when it comes to the number of hard copy documents we’ll need to have on hand. While we were already pretty low, I’ve managed within the last week to reduce the amount of critical paper files by an additional thirty percent.

The next step? Reduce things even further before we hit the road on a semi permanent to permanent basis. The process for how I’ll be doing this requires a separate future post entirely. The purpose of today’s piece is to give a shout out to a cool new office item I just found. The stand file “totefolio” from Globe-Weis.

These things are sleek, reasonably small and have a unique feature that makes them extremely usable in my opinion. The bottom of the file is a flexible, snap-attached section that allows you to unsnap it and fold it back for flat storage in the car or stand it up for easy sorting when you need it.

Ultimately, I’d love to be digital on everything. And certainly traveling abroad for extended periods of time makes carrying large amounts of paperwork inconvenient. However, for those running their business out of their car while visiting clients, or doing the full time RV thing, this product is a clear winner. I’m gearing down to one for personal and house files and one for business files. That’ll bring us to the point where our total paper file space is less than the size of one regular hanging file box.

From there, I’ll move on to going as digital as possible. Eventually, I may only need these things for specific short term projects. For now though, I’m in heaven. Sleek, portable and easy to use, these totefolios are bringing increased flexibility and organized space into my home office. Personal verdict? Two thumbs up. Approximate retail price where I purchased them? Around fifteen USD.

I’d love to be able to direct you to an online source for this item, but there isn’t one. The only places they are available are brick and mortar Staples locations, which is where I found the two that I bought. Believe me, did I ever search around on your behalf. You name the online office supply source, I checked. Not even an image anywhere. I finally found out that Globe-Weis products are sold under the name of Cardinal Brands. So I called the customer service number and talked to “Hank”. After giving him the item number (13 Pocket Stand File Totefolio Item # 17124), he was able to tell me that this product was one they imported and sold to one customer only. Staples. And the only place that Staples sells them is in the stores. Apparently, it’s not unusual for companies like Cardinal Brands to sell a particular item to one customer only, while selling others to various venders across the the spectrum.

Flickr Photo Credit: Steven Witherden

Just when we thought we’d streamlined packing and minimalized travel items and chaos as much as possible, we were slapped with the following reality:

Apparently we have a major experience gap when it comes to the airport security protocols for laptop computers. Additional complication? This gap may result in yet another luggage purchase. Here’s the deal:

For whatever reason, laptops are required to be pulled out of their cases and put in a separate bin. OK. Fine. However, when this happens, the case and loose cord components are all exposed to baggage handlers in a hurry which means risk of dumping / misplacing of key elements. I used to have a rolling office case, but with the size of the new machine, I’m no longer able to use it.

What to do? More research is needed. What we’re leaning to is some sort of hybrid rolling carry-on that handles clothing, files and smaller electronic accessories such as adapters, chargers, cell phones, I-pods, PDA’s Blackberries, etc. Once all of the other items have been secured independently within that luggage piece, our thought is that the laptop can then be handled with a separate laptop sleeve. Don’t get me wrong. The basic laptop case with front pocket, back slot and carrying strap works great most of the time. But airport screening adds another layer of aggravation that didn’t used to be there.

The long answer to the short question? As far as a recommended solution, we’re still test driving options. This article basically illustrates the discovered need, our thoughts in how we’ll approach the issue, and our intent to keep you posted. As always, we are interested to hear about any tips and tricks you might have. So feel free to chime in. We’re looking forward to it.

Flickr Photo Credit: Marcin Wichary

I found this great article today listing and linking to 10 different free online word processing resources tailor made for road warriors on the move.

I’ve been hearing about the possibility of these for a while now, but this is the first article I’ve seen that lists and reviews this many. More than enough suggestions here to find one that meets your needs.

http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/06/22/10-free-minimalist-word-processors/

We’d love to know what you think. Pop us a note with your own reviews of any of these services.

Photo Credit: We Be Sharin’

Last night, I was feeling just plain frustrated with my office supply situation.

Since we are still unpacking from our move across the country as well as our recent extended backpacking trip, and moving out the stuff from the property we purchased, things are a bit scattered, to say the least. We are also in much less space than we had in Arizona. One of the concessions we made to be debt free . . . we’ll expand later.

There was an old rusted fishing tackle box on the front porch that we’d been meaning to empty and get out of our way during this week’s run to the dump. I sent the contents on their way, but decided to scrub out the box and spray paint it with some left over paint from another project. It’s now a sharp looking black office supply case that holds our post-it notes, pens, highlighters, grease pencils, staples, paper clips, business envelopes, etc.

It takes up much less space on our desk / library table, and is easily grabbed when we have to head out in the car for a few days. This project is great for both the road warrior and work at home person.

I just LOVE the Dollar Stretcher newsletter. It always has fantastic ideas, but recently I found something that was just over the top cool.

Here’s an article posted on their site for staying organized while on the road. This little gem has ideas for Moms, sales people and more. With all of the high tech solutions out there, it’s always nice to feel that those of us on a budget still have some options to participate in the “work from the road” game. Some of the ideas covered?

• Using the vertical portion of the back of your car seats for extra storage.
• Zippered transparant pockets to stock with supplies.
• Three ring binders with multiple pocket folders. (Which also functions as a lap desk.)
• Visor organizers
• Traveling cases for hanging files.

And these are just the highlights. Got any other slamming suggestions for operating efficiently while on the road? I’m all ears!

Flickr Photo Credit: Tuppus

Hello, everyone. If you’re like me, you are always looking for a way to streamline mobile productivity. Here’s something might help.

I found this great online article today about setting up a virtual work space. Personally, there are several software options I need that can’t be found online. Although, I sure put a ton of research into this concept before we hit the road six months ago. This person has some interesting suggestions, though, and I really think his approach could work for many people. He provides direct links to several online resources (free) and describes how he himself makes this concept work from the road.

I’d love to hear any stories from those of you who have tried any of these free services and are making them work in your own road warrior career.

Flickr Photo Credit: Jon Rawlinson

I know I usually try to lean towards the extreme budget end of things, but I ran across a couple of items here that I am anxious to try out when budget and circumstances permit.

First, this cool tri-fold garment bag from the Swiss Army company. What I like about it (at least from what I can tell) is that it is the only garment bag I’ve every seen that would be even remotely convenient to carry through an airport. It holds several changes of clothes neatly, and folds up to a size small enough to fit under the seat in front of you. How many of us have ever been traveling to a job interview, wedding, or (God forbid) a funeral only to have our luggage misplaced and been stuck problem solving (and purchasing) a new clothing solution? At around three hundred bucks, this garment bag isn’t cheap, but compared to the cost of replacing the more expensive clothing we take to these types of events, it might just be worth it when the time is right.

Second, if you’re looking for mobile gear , this web site has a few interesting things. A bit overpriced in my opinion, but I did take note of a very trendy looking laptop case that converts from a shoulder strap carrying case into a small backpack. Quite handy for the active urbanite on the go, I would think.

I’ll continue to be on the lookout for cool items that might be worth the money in the right situation. As I’ve learned from some time on the road, the right gear can be worth its weight in gold.

Flickr Photo Credit: Pipi Wild Head

When we were planning our trip around the world, I couldn’t wait to see the temple rubbings available at Angkor Wat. That got me to thinking about the possibility of a novice like me actually attempting my own.

I did a bit of research, and attempted a few gravestone rubbings of my own on a family trip to Nova Scotia. It’s quite fun, and apparently there are some enterprising people out there who finance their way around the world with this art form. Here are some links I found:

• This one is from the state of Michigan’s official web site. It’s a bit more oriented towards getting children excited about it, but if you are taking a family vacation, and want to get the kids excited about climbing around temples in Guatemala, this would be a good activity to start building the skills.
• This one is a great how to article regarding the creation of tombstone rubbings. With some of the hilarious wild west epitaphs in Tombstone, Arizona, I’m sorry I didn’t think of this while we were there.
• This link is to a collection of Mayan rubbings that a gentleman did on a trip to Guatemala. If you scroll down just a bit, you’ll see he also wrote a log of the trip and provided photos of where and how he actually did these life – sized rubbings. Knowing how much my arm muscles hurt after tackling a few gravestones, I can really appreciate the work and attention to detail this person has devoted to his collection.
• Want to turn your temple rubbings into cash to finance your trip? This article describes how you might approach it.

I think rubbings make a very unusual souvenir from a trip, definitely suitable for framing. If you try this yourself, please send us a link or image. We would be happy to post it. Researching this topic proved a bit challenging, as you will note from the short list of links I was able to find. Happy travels!