I think I wrote this before 2009. I'm not sure. I looked up the Inherited Values site with the Wayback Machine today. My friend, Deanna, created, ran, everything, the site. I wrote for her for awhile. Mostly posts about hobbies and collectibles.

I try not to gamble or collect things because I know this is a hazardous area for me. I seem to be one of those people who become obsessed with everything, at least for awhile. I also like to try almost everything – everything is fodder for my curiosity. I especially like arts, crafts and history.

On Flickr I have my photos of abandoned farm houses and many other abandoned or just old places. I have two Flickr groups: Ontario Rural Ruins and Canadian Rural Exploration.

Does the house in the photo look haunted to you? To me it has the mystery, romance and bluntness of history and craftsmanship. With a side of weathering and pure determination to survive the elements. I do have some feelings about the paranormal but I don’t look for them in an old house or building. I have yet to feel anything spooky when I explore. Though I did once shriek when I thought I had stepped on a toad in the long grass.

There are some things I collect: bone china posies, postcards and odd other things which aren’t coming to mind right now. I don’t keep them very organized or catalogued and I don’t join groups with other collectors with the idea of trading or buying more. I just like the randomness of a great find. I should have been an archaeologist, except I’m allergic to dust, mold and mildew. To me, the value of a collectible is in the finding of it as much as the beauty of it. I shop at thrift shops but not gift shops.

I love history. History I can reach out and touch is as close to time travel as I may ever get. As a Pagan (Earth Witch) I feel connected to history, it’s traditions and the foundations it has given us. The invention, ingenuity and thriftiness that early people had to develop to survive, that is what I see when I look at old objects and old buildings. I also treasure the art and crafts which have endured into the present. Objects which we no longer use and may not even know how to use any longer. Sometimes I feel a sense of loss for the road not taken and the knowledge lost to us. I like to read about odd crafts, new crafts and hobbies too as these are our own contributions to what will become history in time.

When not out taking photos of derelict farm houses I am writing on the web. My own little monster project is Word Grrls. My main site is ThatGrrl.ca. Most of my other projects link from there.

If you Twitter I am @thatgrrl. If you StumbleUpon I am thatgrrl and if you Tumblr I am also thatgrrl. Nice how that all works out.

In the end, I'm glad it was a site I wrote for and a site that did pay writers.

I have awards and accolades:

• A member for over 15 years
• Published at least 300 articles
• Had at least 100 simultaneously featured articles
• Had at least 300 followers
• My articles were read over 100,000 times

Currently my articles have been read 236,022 times.

I haven't used keywords much at all. Mainly, its hard to find any for my niche, other than those I'm already using. But, this would be a better way to use keywords on the front of your site. Plus, it isn't just useless SEO. Answering questions about your topic, niche, or business is great for readers too. I will have to think about how to do this with my site, its current navigation may need to change. I think posts would have to move in order to use a static loading/ introduction page.

Ask & Answer Keyword-Based Questions

...don’t stop at keyword optimization, of course. Powerful copy that carefully leads users into the conversion funnel is equally (or even more) important.

Asking a relevant (popular) question on your page is one of the best ways to prompt users to stop, read, and finally opt in to find the answer. Asking a question triggers a natural answering reflex in people encouraging them to interact.

Tip: Any time you find a good keyword to focus on, use question research to find related questions to build your opt-in form around.

Another old site from my blogging history.

ThatBlog A wallflower in disguise. ASCII artist, Earth Witch, Canadian freelance writer.

At that time I also had my editor profile on Dmoz:

I'm a Canadian freelance writer and columnist, personal blogger and ASCII artist. I started online in July of 1996. I've been a Dmoz editor since November, 1998. HerCorner, for women writers, opened January 1st, 2002.

When I get away from the computer I like to travel (backpacking), sew (crazy quilting), garden (wildflowers and herbs), take long walks and enjoy the outdoors. I like to read about history, art and science.

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. --Eden Phillpotts

Life hasn't always smiled on me, but I have always smiled on life. --Raoul Dufy

My profile on GoGuides (didn't last as long as Dmoz)

GoGuide since: 03 September 2002 Profile: Web developer, publisher and writer. ASCII artist. My favourite things are the outdoors, crafts, history, writing and exploring endlessly.

I was using my married name, Laura Tripp. That didn't last long either.

Written for my About/ profile on the LockerGnome.

Life doesn’t stop for us just because we feel we look fat in everything. Don’t fall into becoming a hermit and letting your goals, your passions and your life itself just slip on by. Grab on!

Having just typed that I have days where I hide behind the front door and just don’t get out. It is handy having the washer and dryer here now instead of going to the laundry mat. I can even order in food when I have the money. But you can’t order in life and all the explorations and adventures you are missing out on.

What are your interests? Mine include rural and urban exploration (old abandoned buildings), ASCII art, pixel art, drawing, cartooning, personal web publishing, writing, reading, photography, philosophy, spirituality, dabbling in web design and web development, small and home business, self help, creative arts, graphic arts, baking, quilting, sewing, embroidery and family.

There is always something new around the corner, you just have to keep looking.

Before I called this column/blog Creative Fat Grrl, or after (I forget which) I had the title:

Blogging Should be Sexy - Blogging should be personal, artistic and sexy. Imperfect, experimental web publishing for free spirits.

I wouldn't use either of those titles now. For different reasons.