WELCOME TO MY HEALTHY LIVING BLOG

Welcome to my ever-expanding blog site. I trust you are enjoying your day. I invite you to browse the site, read the articles and enjoy my photography. Your opinion counts, so please leave a comment at the end of the posts. If you enjoy reading these blogs, feel free to pass the link on to any friends you think would also enjoy it.

The purpose of this blog site is 3-fold: a place for sharing general information, a place to share about spiritual matters that will help move us toward a healthier inner life and a place where I can talk about my business and the products that can help us experience better health. Note: This section, though still on the blog for you to read, is no longer relevant to me as I am no longer in business since I retired in 2010

Thank you for dropping by. I trust you will consider your visit worthwhile. This site is a 'work in progress', sometimes changing by the minute, so come back soon to see what's new on MY HEALTHY LIVING BLOG.

God bless you today and every day. Remember, "A joyful heart is good medicine" (Proverbs 17:22-NASB). Blessings and health to you and yours.

Diane

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all photos on this blog taken by Diane Stephenson

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Susan Ross, Storyteller and Author

Susan Ross, former storyteller at Fanshawe Pioneer Village and London International Children's Festival is an author of books for children. Born in Toronto, Ontario she now lives in London with her husband Nathan and her menagerie of pets.

People used to tell Susan that she should write down her stories for her grandchildren (which she doesn't have yet). She spoke with David Carruthers, another children's author from London, about self-publishing. But then she laid her stories aside for some years. Finally she decided to "just do it". 

"It took me six months to find an artist who could do the illustrations the way I wanted," Susan told me. Then she found the perfect match in a graduate of BealArt here in London. Megan Stiver is currently at Sheridan College studying Illustration.

Susan's first book, "The Great Bellybutton Cover-Up" (ages 2-8), was published in 2008. She is currently producing one book per year. She published "The Kit Kat Caper" in 2009 and "'Say Please to the Honeybees" in 2010.

Look for her next book, a fairytale called "The Rose and the Lily" (ages 4-10) which will be available in 2011.

Check out Susan's new blog.    

THE TRAIN MAN

Long-time London resident Fred Zaza needed something to keep him occupied after he retired. So he built a workshop in his basement and started to make trains out of scrap materials. I spoke with Fred and his wife Donna at a small show a few weeks ago. Fred has made close to 100 trains since he began his hobby. He shows and sells them locally. Fred has taken part in the St. Thomas Model Railway Show and he made his largest model for the North American Railway Museum in St. Thomas. 

Fred says it takes him a couple of weeks to make one train engine. Discarded shredders from Office Depot provide some of the items he needs along with various car parts and anything else he can put to use for one of his creations. For one engine he used a small air purifier (see photo at bottom). Some even have working headlights.

Fred told me an interesting story about one show he did a while back. He had a number of trains on display when someone came along and started a conversation about the trains. Fred did not know then who he was speaking with. This man ended up purchasing all of the trains. When he asked who this man was he discovered it was the owner of  Farhi Holdings Corporation which owns much of downtown London. Founded in 1988 by Mr. Shmuel Farhi, Farhi Holdings Corporation currently owns and manages more than 4 million square feet of office, retail, industrial and residential space throughout Ontario. 

A few months later, Fred, curious as to what Mr. Farhi had wanted the trains for, went to his office in downtown London. There he discovered that the trains were simply sitting where they had been placed after Mr. Farhi purchased them. He didn't buy them for any particular purpose - simply to own them.  Just because he could.


Thursday, December 2, 2010

Traffic from Social Media

Check out the latest recording of the TalkShoe program on getting traffic from social media. Chuck Bartok hosts this interactive call with members of Beginners Marketing Class.  Join us live every Wednesday evening at 6:30 PST, 9:30 EST. Ask questions on the current topic, offer your suggestions, share your experiences in building your business. Timely topics every week.
Phone number: 1-724-444-7444
Call ID 13372#
Hope to "see" you on the next call.