Recipe Book Spawned by Lockdown

January 29, 2021April 30, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ 2 Comments

What have I been doing during our latest lockdown? Nothing too exciting, as is the point of said lockdown. Advised to stay home and socially distance ourselves from loved ones and not so loved ones alike, there is not much else to do. Grocery shopping has become an event on my calendar. Although a warm vacation would have been great, I have found other things to keep me busy. When all the local gardens are frozen solid and covered in snow, the part of my brain focusing on my landscaping/gardening business switches over to freelance writing. I have a few projects on the go in that department, specifically, a recipe book containing childhood recipes originating from my maternal grandmother at the farmhouse I have mentioned a few times.

Social Media to the Rescue

Social media, namely Facebook, has been a great tool to rekindle connections with my many cousins on that side of my family. I believe there are at least thirty of us first cousins and many more second and third cousins! This adventure is going to create quite a collaborative cookbook.

I volunteered to spearhead the project, appointing myself as chief collator, sorter, editor etc. Many of these recipes were handwritten (of course no one had any other method of transcription back in those days) by my Grandmother, back in the 1950s. Her short forms, terminology, and unique cursive writing often have me guessing.

Publishing Options for Recipe Book

So, when my eldest granddaughter is busy with her online school classes, or during any other spare time I find (who doesn’t have spare time these days??) I am typing furiously, trying to get the recipes ready for publishing.

I have chosen Lulu, a self-publishing, online platform for this recipe book where copies are only printed as they are ordered. That way I do not have to pay anything in advance, worry about deliveries or store unsold copies. When I am done, I simply send a link to my extended family members and they can order copies as they wish.

Proceeds Donated

All proceeds from the sale of this recipe book will be donated to the Pleasant Valley Cemetery where many generations of this family are laid to rest, located just down the road from the family farmhouse.

Domain Nightmare for my Blog

November 18, 2020March 23, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ 7 Comments

Recently I have experienced frustrating (and somewhat embarrassing) issues with my blog. It all started when I canceled the domain I paid for through WordPress way back when I was new to the blogging world. The problem arose when someone else picked up the domain through GoDaddy. Now that is a common occurrence but is causing me grief because the site is now an adult-only (or soft porn) site. Not quite the image I am trying to portray…

The Blog in Question

The blog in question is called L****b.com. I will not provide a link or even tag it as I do not want to associate myself with that blog. If you are curious about just what kind of site it currently is, you can google it yourself. My biggest concern now is that this blog still links to my Facebook page. Why, you ask? That’s what I am trying to find out. I am not sure if the association is intentional (fraudulent don’t you think?) or accidental.

Steps to Investigate my Domain Nightmare

I have contacted FB with a request for them to investigate my predicament. I have not yet heard back from them. I appear to be caught up in a loop of reporting problems, lists of solutions (that don’t work, or apply) with nary a real person to contact or chat with.

When I asked WordPress for help, they discovered the domain was purchased through GoDaddy. That was a step forward, but now they (WP) cannot do anything further to help the situation. They did suggest I contact the new domain holder, but I have had no success finding out who exactly that is.

I have also contacted GoDaddy and was told they cannot make changes because the new domain owner has tight security options. I bet they do! I suggested they (GoDaddy) contact the new blog owner to ask them to delete the link to my FB page. They (GoDaddy) refused to do so. Once again, contacting someone who cares appears to be a recurring theme.

Recourse for This Domain Nightmare

In the meantime, I have been painstakingly going through my (almost) one thousand blog posts, removing the offending name from my tags and categories. WordPress helped me in this case by suggesting a way to filter out the affected posts. I even changed the name of my WordPress blog (did you notice?) so it does not sound or look anything like the offensive site. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused any of my followers. I have also (I hope) removed any links I created to that website on any of my blog pages, pictures, business website, correspondence etc. I also changed my Facebook name to Loree Bee.

How You Can Help

Please notify me if you happen upon the blog through any of my links. As a non-IT person, I’m sure I have missed a few! And, if you are aware of anything else I can do to prevent this site from linking to me, I would appreciate the help. I am not sure either if those of you that followed me under that name would still be on the list of subscribers; you may want to check your list of blogs you subscribe to.

Last, but not least, if you get an invitation to like or subscribe to my (sort of) new blog (loreeebee.ca), it’s not a scam, please accept it and help me move on.

Update on Domain Nightmare

Shortly after contacting Facebook, they fixed the issue so the fraudulent blog is no longer connected to my Facebook page. Phew! I think I filtered out all the connecting posts too, any searches I do now no longer bring the other name up.

Daniel Campoli: Local Talent

September 30, 2020March 25, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ Leave a comment

Check out this young, very talented musician. Daniel Campoli not only writes and records his own pieces but sings beautifully and plays the piano too. Simply amazing! Listen to his latest single entitled “Broadcast From my Bedroom” here or on YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, or Amazon Music.

Daniel Campoli

I was just introduced to Daniel myself, virtually that is, through Facebook, and was blown away by his voice and talent. It turns out he grew up, and his parents still live, around the corner from my brother in Ingleside, just west of Cornwall, Ontario. His mother and my sister-in-law have been friends for years. It is indeed a small world, especially when you grow up in a small town.

Social media can be wonderful for sharing positive, inspirational stories like this, compared to all the vitriol that seems to have taken over our media sources lately. I am always happy to share such amazing talent.