@ladyanneclare

@ladyanneclare 19 May 2021

Posting Images - anyone have any tips on resizing images here? I tend to use the images from Unsplash given to us here. Possible to resize them? I just feel like they tend to take over the space.

@ladyanneclare 19 May 2021

Posting Images - anyone have any tips on resizing images here? I tend to use the images from Unsplash given to us here. Possible to resize them? I just feel like they tend to take over the space.

@ladyanneclare 17 May 2021

The Fallen Sky It was 6:03 am. I opened my door to find it appeared the sky had fallen. The thickest layer of fog sat just right above the street, blocking my view of anything beyond it. It was a dreary day, with the wind blowing a chill to the bone. The houses, trees, cars no longer there - just a blank white canvas sat invading the space that was air. “Hmm,” I thought, walking might be interesting this morning. After surveying the visibility through the denseness, I decided it was best to sit this walk out until the fog had cleared. I went back inside and clicked on the stove to warm up a cup of tea. I sat next to the window, staring out at the fog in wonder. Letting my mind go blank. Sipping on my cup of earl grey, I closed my eyes to take in the warm scent of the bergamot oils wafting upwards. It comforted me and was like a cozy blanket wrapped all around me. My hands warmed from the heat of the mug, I stared down into the billowing steam. “My goodness,” I thought, “how will we ever?” I was referring to the secret. It had been twelve years since I sat inside the cave off the cove with Will, holding hands with tears streaming down our faces. I had fallen in love with him. It was as simple as that and when he drew close to me, the magnetic pull between us was undeniable. His hands on my waist pulling me into that brief moment of wanting, while the waves crashed onto the rocks that were at the cave’s entrance. Now I had to fight what felt unnatural, denying these true feelings of longing for him. “Do you solemnly swear Elaine?” he asked. His pleading voice struck my core as I sniffled, barely able to glance up at his handsome scruffy face. I knew if I looked back at him I would sob even harder so instead looked down and pushed out, “Umm... okay, I swear.” Will was granted a full scholarship to the seminary school of seminary schools - the Harvard of all religious thought. Upon entering this honor, he could not have a sin of his virginity lost to be cast out amongst his peers and colleagues. He would lose everything. We sat holding hands and crying harder. He went to hug and hold me and I reluctantly let him. We heaved against each other, torn at the decision of having to bury their secrets of a love so pure. Now looking through the window, wistful of a love so pure, how could that have dwindled? Will was now involved in politics and journalists were scrambling to collect bits of Will’s life wherever they could be collected. An email inquiry came to my email inbox that morning that made me cringe in horror. I was anxious. In only a matter of hours, I would be hauling my suitcase to the car and driving up a long winding road to the mountain top where Adelaide now lived. We hadn’t seen each other in years. How could that be? I knew full well it was because of the spat we got in over the summer of 2011 over her father.

@ladyanneclare 17 May 2021

How to Get Started with read.cash After almost half a year of using read.cash, I’ve become a changed person :). I’d like to help anyone signing up for the first time with an easy to understand guide to introduce you to this global community of writers. I will outline the essentials and give you beginner tips into receiving your BCH payments. As someone who owned zero cryptocurrency and just stumbled upon this site about six months ago and now owns several different currencies, it is possible to make this site work for you. Start Writing What should you write about? The best part of this site is that you have the freedom to write about anything, anything! As long as you follow the guidelines that read.cash has listed you’re good. You can review them here or if you scroll down to the very bottom of any read.cash page, it’s there under the “Rules” link. Nothing hate filled, erotic/porn/sexually explicit, trash talking etc. - that type of writing will be deleted. If you want to get started, I urge you to read and review that link. Once you’ve gained an understanding, start posting. You can join one of communities, which have posted additional rules to posting under their communities - some are word count, content or otherwise. If you don’t find a community for the subject you want to write about, start your own. This is an open platform and you have that power to do so. https://read.cash/@Read.Cash/what-is-readcash-faq-7b0bfcfc#what-can-i-publish-on-readcash Getting Paid I have received the majority of my payments through The Random Rewarder and some from other writers here. Along with the Rules link I posted above, this here is a great resource to make sure that you will receive the awesome tips from our favorite robot. It goes over why or why not you’re receiving payment and more in detail about what kind of content will get noticed by Random Rewarder. Also, if you are able to get a cool sponsor like I have (thanks @scottcbusiness !) You can receive additional payments through that sponsor. https://read.cash/@TheRandomRewarder/have-i-tipped-you-a12541ca Introduce Yourself When you sign up, you’ll be prompted to introduce yourself to the community. It doesn’t take long and it’s a great opportunity to meet others in the community and get subscribers. I have subscribed and welcomed many to the community, it’s always nice to find out who you’re spending time with here on read.cash, they might personally be different from the content that they write and it’s always nice to have that image of a real person behind the articles. Take a Look Around Now you’ve introduced yourself. Great, now look around the neighborhood, look through the Communities, see what’s Hot, New, Trending, look at writer’s profiles and what they write about. Get a feel of how you would like to contribute and write about. Time to get comfortable and break in that keyboard. Posted Article, Received Payment Woohoo! Now you’ve posted your first article, woohoo! And Random Rewarder even sent you some BCH (bitcoin cash), you’re doing awesome 👏. Now at sign up, you had to connect/signup for a Badger wallet. Feel free to use that wallet and send to wherever you’d like, an exchange or another wallet of your choosing. Now you can either HODL that BCH or sell it to send to your local bank account for using. I had received some questions on how to do this and I will give you a brief overview on what I have found has worked best for me. Wallets/Exchanges ****Celsius**** I have decided to use a few different wallets and it’s up to you which one makes most sense for you. One of them that I really enjoy using is Celsius because I earn interest on BCH there - way more than any bank is offering now in my country. If you’re interested in signing up for it, click here or enter **1910617d98** and if you deposit $400 or more, you’ll receive $40 in BTC. https://celsiusnetwork.app.link/1910617d98 ****Coinbase**** I consider Coinbase as a gateway crypto company. They did have an IPO on the exchange recently. They both have an exchange, wallet and another app called Coinbase Pro. The exchange is where I started. They offer quizzes to learn about new tokens and in return, you receive a small about of that token. It really adds up if you’re able to take all the quizzes. They limit the amount of users able to take advantage of this perk. I always try and open the app and scroll down to see if any new quizzes are available to make sure I don’t miss out. In the exchange you can either HODL that new currency or exchange it for another one that is selling on Coinbase. To join, you can use my referral link to get $10 in BTC (bitcoin) when you buy or sell $100 here. https://www.coinbase.com/join/yang_lia?src=ios-share ****Coinbase Wallet**** They do have a wallet where you can keep your crypto and even stake it to earn interest. Their interest rates do not compare to Celsius though, pretty low in comparison. But if you want to use it, it’s there and you can easily transfer between the exchange and this wallet. ****Coinbase Pro**** Now initially, the Pro equalled fee to use to me when I read about it. But it’s not, it’s free to use, just download and connect to your Coinbase exchange account. It’s withdrawal fees are lower than the exchange (wish I had know about this earlier smh) and is a great way to send your crypto and save on those fees. ****Crypto.com**** While I have mixed feelings on this one, they have and offer a lot of unique benefits that the others do not. They have an exchange which I have used and a wallet, that I have yet to try out. One thing I like about them is that they offer a lot of ALT coins that come out that Coinbase or the other majors don’t offer (like that SHIB, sorry I had to!) They are also one of the few that offer a sign up for a debit card connected to your account. I signed up for the basic card that has one benefit of earning 1% back on purchases, which is paid back in their own token, CRO (Crypto.com Coin). The higher tiers are available if you buy certain amounts of CRO. The benefits are pretty cool, free Spotify, Netflix, airport lounge access, CRO stake rewards and more, depending on how much CRO you buy. If this sounds interesting to you, sign up here and you’ll get $25 in CRO, which unfortunately is locked until you stake $400 CRO - but can be done by getting the Metal Crypto.com Visa card. So if that is the card you were eyeing, this works for you. https://crypto.com/app/jnasqzw4nb ****Last Word on Wallets/Exchanges**** Research any exchange or wallet you sign up for, make sure you’re signing up for a secure and safe product. Always, always, always keep your seed phrase safe and stored away. The best way is to write it down on a piece of paper and not stored on your phone or computer. Another tip is to make sure that you’re using the correct wallet address, check check and double check you are sending it the right way. When I got started, I was so excited and wanted to participate in the airdrop of BCH and was so new, I made the mistake of sending $15 worth of BCH to some address because I didn’t understand. Now I’m a bit wiser. Thank goodness for the low fees on BCH that you can send it without a chunk being taken away for gas fees. So send a small amount as a test run and once it’s confirmed, send the rest. Now You’re Ready! Hope this has been helpful and I’m super pumped that you are reading this and ready to join us in this fabulous community. I look forward to what you all plan to share with us. Please let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or are interested in reading anything additional about what I’ve written.

@ladyanneclare 11 May 2021

Fold App Card - Earn BTC for Every Purchase In my crypto journey, I can’t tell you how I discovered the Fold app. Hmm... I would say it would either be here or Reddit - my go to sources for crypto. Initially I wrote about the Fold App here on Read.Cash, along with the other ways I earn crypto for free. I signed up and have been doing a free spin on the app every day, working my way up to about 27,000 satoshis. At sign up, you receive 5,000 satoshis! Also earn satoshis by purchasing gift cards through the app and the Amazon ones go fast. The cards are limited and run out but then are replenished after some days. I have to really be on it to purchase one. I got my first Amazon gift card for $25 and earned 1015 satoshis. I know that there is always something on Amazon that I will need in the future so this was a double bonus for me. https://read.cash/@ladyanneclare/seven-ways-i-earn-crypto-for-free-fb00b9d5 Now I decided out of curiosity to try out the Fold App card. I signed up on a waiting list and then it became available to me. There’s two card choices - Intro and Premium cards. They both require a payment - the Intro card has an initiation fee of $21 and the Premium has an annual fee of $150. Since this was an experiment, I signed up for the Intro card and paid the initiation fee - which in case you‘re wondering, does not earn you any satoshis or free spins :-(. I’m writing this article because its only been a few days and I’m pretty impressed with the earnings. Maybe I just spend too much money? But I have been earning satoshis on EVERY purchase I have made - food, gas, bills, groceries, it’s so cool. I was expecting to spin the same everyday wheel on the purchases but you spin a souped up one where one of the prizes is 1 BTC! If you’re curiosity has been sparked like mine, here is a breakdown. And before we get too far, unfortunately this opportunity is for those only living in the U.S. at this time. Hope that changes for our international community out there. Here is my referral link to sign up and receive 5000 satoshis: https://use.foldapp.com/r/T3FM9XH7. Here is an article on Medium with all the wheel updates, which changes time to time, they keep it fun and fresh. They also change the prizes weekly, so it would be good to follow Josh on Medium for all the updates. Also they posted this handy chart for this week’s wheel with all the odds listed. 0.0001% to win a whole bitcoin! https://medium.com/in-the-fold/tagged/fold-wheel-update https://medium.com/@joshrosenblatt https://medium.com/in-the-fold/happy-cinco-de-mayo-spinwheels-may-2021-4c7b63bf2dd5 Intro Card: Up to 25% back on purchases (that’s through spinning the wheel or a flat cash back) 1 extra weekly spin One hour to spin the upgraded wheel Boosted merchant offers (gift card purchases) - including a 5% boost on Amazon Gift cards, up to $250 a month No annual fee Activation Fee of $21 There are the usual card fees associated with it - using out of network ATMs, international fees, replacement card fees and also note that if you use it for cash back at a point of sale - meaning you make a purchase and enter your pin for cash back, you will be charged 1% of that cash back. Premium Card Now if I start to feel good about this card, I may just upgrade to Premium. What I want to wrap my head around is if the annual $150 pays for itself. At first glance, it seems that you definitely do get lots out of it, but let’s review: Up to 100% back on purchases 3 extra weekly spins Limited edition gold foil card 24 hours to spin the wheel Boosted merchant offers - 5% boost on Amazon Giftcards, up to $500 a month Free upgrade to Fold Credit Card No activation fee Annual Fee $150 Premium Wheel spins on purchases All the other fees mentioned above for the Intro card apply to the Premium card. So the only differences lie in all the bullet points listed above. From taking a look, I do feel comfortable with the Intro card at the moment. The Premuim card is definitely enticing and can see myself signing up for it. I haven’t seen APR rates and the credit card conditions though, so I’m cautious on that point. Even though I might not win a bitcoin, it seems that this card will make sense in helping me pad my crypto stash while making everyday purchases, and then some. Please comment below on what you think about the Fold App Card and is it worth it? Which card would you sign up for? If you don’t want to scroll back up to sign up, feel free to click here to sign up for the Fold App and receive free 5,000 satoshis today. https://use.foldapp.com/r/T3FM9XH7

@ladyanneclare 11 May 2021

Las Vegas 101: Attractions Here is part two of my Vegas series. If you missed the first part, catch it here: https://read.cash/@ladyanneclare/las-vegas-101-overview-the-strip-81b3121f Art/Culture I am a culture nerd, so I always make time to take in some kind of art or culture in the midst of this play land. Here are my favorites below. **Bellagio Gardens** - Inside the Bellagio, past the front desk, is a freshly, ornate kept garden. It changes quarterly with the seasons and does not disappoint. It definitely is where all those Instagram posts from Bellagio comes from. What’s amazing is how much they pack into that space. Imagine thousands of fresh blooms permeating the air and misters to keep everything alive. Along with the flowers and plants are the sculptures to complement the season. Sometimes they have live music performances which are appropriate with the beautiful setting. **Bellagio Fine Art Gallery** - After you’ve strolled the gardens, you can check out the Fine Art Gallery . Unfortunately at this time is closed temporarily but hoping for an opening soon. I have seen Picasso and ancient Samurai outfits here and it was awesome. What else is awesome? I was able to get tickets to the gallery for free by playing MGM’s app games and gaining coins to redeem them for tickets to the gallery. There’s now four games you can play. I might do a post on their games soon but if you want to get started, just download them to your phone or play on Facebook. https://www.mgmresorts.com/en/entertainment/bellagio/gallery-of-fine-art.html **Akhob by James Turrell** - Louis Vuitton Light Installation For a reservation, call (702) 730-3150. NOTE: The reservations are always booked for six to eight weeks (yes, a healthy two months) solid, so call well in advance. I just called them and the first reservation is June 14th and today is April 30. Their hours have changed slightly also, they are opened Fri-Sun 12p-5p and the whole experience takes 30 minutes, minus the registration/arrival. You should plan on showing up at least 10 minutes before your reservation to fill out the paperwork. **Bauman** **Rare Books** https://www.baumanrarebooks.com/about-us/locations/las-vegas-nv.aspx I’m a book geek so I was thrilled to find out that this store had opened in Vegas. I stopped by and it is smaller than it’s NY store, or from what I have gathered of the photos online of it. It still is quite interesting to see all these volumes of old books in one place and some of my childhood favorites. It’s like the museum of books for any book lover. It’s located in the shopping center of the Venetian and is keeping limited hours at the moment 10a-6p everyday. https://www.baumanrarebooks.com/about-us/locations/las-vegas-nv.aspx Animals **Flamingo Gardens** Located at the Flamingo, not only do you get to see real live pink flamingoes, but many of their friends - turtles, birds and fish. It’s a natural habit set right in the middle of Sin City. No charge to view the gardens and it’s a nice respite from all the sinning you’ve been doing all over town. **Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat** Here are the intelligent dolphins, lions, tigers and leopards to see up close. There is a price of admission for this one at $25 and it’s opened every day from 10a-6p. If animals are your thing, then this one should be on your list. https://mirage.mgmresorts.com/en/amenities/siegfried-roys-secret-garden-and-dolphin-habitat.html **Shark Reef Aquarium** There’s no shortage of dangerous animals on the Strip. You can head over to the Mandalay Bay for your creatures of the ocean. Over 2000 animals on view will give you a nice overview of the species that live in our waters. An adult admission is $29 and there is a senior discount and a child’s admission price. When I went here, I went with friends who had extra tickets comped and I was also to get another free ticket through playing the MGM app games. You have to link your Facebook, but don’t worry, you can keep yourself on private so no one sees. I’ll tell you more about these later. They update what kinds of items you can redeem and lucky for me I was able to get a ticket for my cousin who was with us. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playstudios.popslots&referrer=adjust_reftag%3DccwYpC3EPfy1N%26utm_source%3DInvites_DeepLinking **Shows/Concerts etc.** The one thing that is most known about in Vegas is their shows. They change often but the one show you should see is one of the Cirque de Soleil shows - there’s usually about four different ones playing, from O at the Bellagio, Ka at MGM to Zumanity at NYNY and Zarkana at Aria. They’re a lot of fun and at first was hard for me to grasp maybe due to the French or humor but their very entertaining. I also saw Le Rêve at the Wynn and it was a similar style to Cirque de Soleil but not the same company. Unfortunately it is not playing but I see that there’s many comedians and musicians up for performances at the Wynn. One show on my list to see is Opium at the Cosmopolitan, unfortunately at the moment it is on hiatus. https://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/entertainment/exclusives/opium I am a huge comedy fan and will see most anyone but there is something about discovering that one person that’s hilarious that no one knows. The club I go to for this is Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club at the Linq. They usually have a great lineup and I’m always entertained. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjM88WH18DwAhVeFTQIHSwgDdYQFjAAegQIAxAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.caesars.com%2Flinq%2Fshows%2Fjimmy-kimmels-comedy-club&usg=AOvVaw3YHrFAuKYJ0uLCDBT8VVoP There’s lots of concerts I’ve attended over the years, at the Cosmopolitan’s Chelsea, a great venue for a concert. And mostly anywhere else is entertaining. It seems more and more people are performing there so I would take a look before your trip to see if your favorite performer is giving a show. https://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/entertainment/the-chelsea Thrill seekers There are rides in Vegas - I am not one to get on one :-D. But New York New York has a big rollercoaster and the Linq has the High Roller and there’s the Eiffel Tower ride at Paris. There’s no shortage of fun here people, you choose your own adventure. More to come... I will be exploring Downtown Vegas for you all. Please post any questions you may have, happy to answer them for you!

@ladyanneclare 5 May 2021

Unstable World The moon was almost in its fullest phase. Glancing up at it, Dash squinted at the glowing orb in the sky. He searched for that image of a face that he would sometimes see as a child. Sometimes he saw the face in the moon as a round-faced woman singing in a choir. The lips were in that O-shape as if mid-song. Other times, the face looked like a wistful woman with lips parsed, looking down on the earth woefully, as global warming burns it up slowly. Tonight, the moon’s face seemed to be at a strange off angle, looking towards its right, strikingly off kilter. Interesting, thought Dash, hoping it was not an ominous sign from the heavens above.  Dash let a deep breath out, and the wisps of air formed a white cloud released from his mouth. The fire outside his shelter was burning a conservative medium flame. He decided to get up and throw two more logs onto it, hoping it would keep on for the rest of the evening. The log pile was getting a little thin, but he dipped down and gathered two small, stocky logs and tossed them on top of the fire.  He stood over the fire, transfixed by the small withering flames. It was time to turn in and he hoped the warmth would continue on as long as he needed to fall into a restful sleep. His shelter was a lean-to made of young saplings that angled up from the ground, where they rested against a rock wall edge. It sheltered from the wind, rain, snow somewhat, but was good for the moment. Reinforcements and walls would have to soon be built. Inside, he had a bed built of small branches tied together at the ends, which helped propped him up off the ground. On top of that, was a nice thick layer of spruce branches, which was the coziest part of the shelter and gave the benefit of a nice sharp fragrance of a fresh spruce. The thin, worn, red and black checkered wool blanket is what he covered up with while sleeping.  He rested his head finally after a grueling day. Reaching underneath his log bed platform, he searched around until his fingers felt the glassy plastic beads. He picked up the rosary beads and ran them through his left hand, letting his thoughts go in all directions until he drifted asleep.  Deep in slumber, Dash came upon a reoccurring dream. He is running and trying to find something, he’s running through the woods and then is suddenly in a downtown area. Two cops stop him and tell him to stay where he is, he feels trapped. Then from above, a woman is floating and calls out to him, asking for his help.  Abruptly, Dash wakes upright in anxiety, from the same reoccurring dream that he has had for months. It made him feel uneasy. No one in the dream was recognizable and he never knew what it meant exactly. He felt a wetness on his forehead from sweating from the uneasiness the imaginary world caused him.   Rubbing his eyes, he stretched out his arms and went about his usual day. He went to his metal pot and walked towards the small river creek about 200 yards away and came back to boil it over the fire. The fire from the night did go out, but there were leftover coals. Grabbing a few dry leaves, small sticks and debris, he blew them over the coals and a small flick of a flame came to life. He hung the pot of water on the rope that hung from the tripod that stood over the fire. Heading back into the shelter, he dug into an area right inside the shelter and unearthed a supply of blueberries and smoked fish. He took out a conservative amount and enjoyed his breakfast in the silence of the morning. Looking out from the shelter, he felt the frigid cold air of autumn, and sensed that the first snow would soon arrive. Today’s task would be to find enough logs to build three walls for his shelter.  The water was boiling and he took an old metal cup and put some green leaves and pine needles in it and poured the hot water over them. Taking a deep breath in of the warmth and blowing to cool down the temperature, he took a small sip. It was time to really make his stay a real one.  He finished his breakfast and got all his supplies together. Ax, rope and a small knife - in case anything out there might prove to be useful. He walked southeast from his camp and into a grove area where he obtained the logs that currently sheltered him. Walking around he spotted one log and went to work. He was like a machine, going at the logs, piling and roping them up to be dragged back to the camp. He estimated that he would need about eight logs on each side, so 24 total. It was going to be a lot of work and energy. This task would require a ton of energy so he made sure that he stocked up on extra food the next stop at his shelter.  There was a rope that hung from a tree branch across from his shelter and gently pulled until a cloth sack came down towards him. Inside of this sack was a supply of smoked rabbit and smoked fish. He took a good amount and ate it all and threw the sack over the branch again, before heading back out to the grove. He had ten logs to go.  As he walked back, he heard what sounded like a couple fighting. He could hear the low pitch of a male voice speaking in a harsh tone and a female voice responding in a high pitched determination. Puzzled, he craned his neck in the direction of the sound and saw a couple walking. They wore heavy parkas, carried one backpack and it seemed as if the woman was pregnant. From their appearance, they definitely did not seem like the typical hikers or campers that came through this part of the woods.  Hoping they wouldn’t notice him, he turned away and started walking in the direction towards more robust logs ready for chopping.  “Hey,” yelled out the man, “Wow, I didn’t realize someone would be out here, hey there!” Too late, the couple had spotted him. And he turned back around to meet them. “Hey there...,” Dash clearing his throat and speaking in a friendly tone, realizing he hadn’t spoken words in months to another person, “wow, yeah amazing you found this part of the woods,” “We had taken a wrong turn and well here we are,” the man said with a chuckle. “I’m Wayne, and this here is Patricia.” “Everyone calls me Pat,” the woman piped up, rubbing her swelling belly. Dash’s eyes fell on her belly. “I’m about eight months along, it’s usually everyone’s first question. I’ve got a real kicker inside here, can’t wait to get them out.,” she said with a jolly enthusiasm.  “Congratulations, that’s amazing, wow,” Dash wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation.  “The hope is that we find our way to her sister’s in time for the birth, can you imagine, trying to have the baby here?” Wayne said laughing. “We’re really trying to give the baby a chance at this thing you know?” Dash sympathetically replied, “Yeah, I get it, give all you got to that little one. I hope the best for them.” “Well thanks, we appreciate that. Hey, you wouldn’t know where we can find the main road? I believe the wrong turn we took was about an hour back and now we’ve just twisted ourselves around, “ Wayne said with an intense inquiry.  “The main road I know of is about a two hours walk heading west,” replied Dash.  “Oh okay wow, we really got lost,” said Pat. “My sister is was expecting us sometime tomorrow. It might get a little worrisome.”  “We’re losing light right about now so it would be impossible to make it to where you need to go by tonight. Listen, just come back with me and you can spend the night in my shelter,” Dash offered, not really wanting to but felt it was the right thing to do.  “You sure man?” Asked Wayne, “we don’t want to impose on you or anything, we’re pretty active people and we can walk along.”  “No, it’s no bother, you can leave at first light tomorrow. It would be a much better for the both of you. Please, I insist,” Dash said, not sure where all the hospitality was coming from.  “Okay then,” Wayne said, “I guess that settles it then. I imagine it gets real cold at night, huh?”  “It gets cold sure, but we can build a few extra fires and keep it warm,” Dash said.  Dash led them back, with a slight bit of regret, but he did have some sympathy for a lost couple in the woods and especially for the pregnant lady. Pregnant women would need to be taken care of extra well in these conditions.  As they walked Wayne asked about food and Dash said that they could fish or hunt if he was up for it. Wayne nodded that it sounded liked a good plan.  They arrived to the shelter and Wayne and Pat were astonished to see that Dash had made a real home there.  “My god, you like live live here,” said Wayne, “you are out here to survive on the land.”  “You built all of this, and you’re feeding yourself?” Asked Pat. “Yep,” Dash replied sheepishly to all their questions that continued to spout out. You built this? You made this too? You live on this? He has been self-subsisting for so long the questions they asked were so mundane.  They got Pat comfortable on the spruce bed and decided to go out to bring food back for a meal. Dash grabbed some fishing line, hooks and bait.  “You got any hunting or fishing gear on you?” Dash asked.  “Does a firearm count?” Asked Wayne. “Yep, that sure does,” Dash said. Then his feeling about them suddenly got tense, but he understood if the man carried one for protection, but wasn’t sure if there were any more sinister intentions.  He took Wayne to his fishing spot. I nice peaceful inlet right off the main lake. It had been a plentiful spot, supplying him with trout, bass and the random tilapia. They got their hooks baited up and had the handmade lures attached that Dash had made out of a beer can he found in the woods.  “This life you’re living is amazing,” Wayne said. “I’ve only seen this kind of thing on TV, what you’re doing, never met anyone whose actually done it. You got sick of all that nonsense down in Washington eh?”  “Well, I’d say it was a good motivator. But I think I was just looking for a different kind of life,” Dash replied, trying not to reveal too much. Wayne kept inching in, and Dash found himself having to fight off the urge to saying anything at all. He hadn’t read a newspaper, seen a TV or heard of any outside news since his family had been separated by the actions of the government. He still was wrapping his head around the household maximum count that became mandatory. By the new statutes of the government. He would have to get rid of two household members. By leaving, he left the other choice up to the family that remained. Each night, he rubbed the rosary’s hoping that it would be his younger brother and not his disabled sister who was the most vulnerable in this unstable world.

@ladyanneclare 4 May 2021

Las Vegas 101: Overview - The Strip After a long break from not traveling, many are anxious to get back on the tarmac and take flight to escape their Covid bunkers. As a good majority of the world turns the corner, if one of the destinations you are thinking about or have always wanted to travel to is Las Vegas, please read the below. I’m going to be posting a series on the ins and outs of going to the world famous playground for adults. There’s something for everyone - whether you gamble or not, Las Vegas has found a way to make sure that all its visitors are entertained and make lasting memories to take home, after all money and drinks run dry. I will give you some of my personal observations & factoids - starting with the Strip and off Strip, as the locals say, in this series. After writing this I’m realizing that everything I want to say is a lot and have had to cut it back so you can digest each piece properly and not inundate your brains - their full of crypto knowledge so I want to make this reader friendly. *Notes: Pay attention to the parentheses and it will tell you their affiliation and some special extras will soon come, stay tuned! Strip Overview: Tropicana It’s a Miami/Cuba themed casino resort, with the light smell of coconut scent pumping the air. It’s medium to smallish sized and has been reconstructed since its comeback, keeping the only an original stained-glass ceiling that sits above some of the blackjack tables. Sitting at the edge of the Strip, it’s the closest one to the airport and across from the Luxor. It’s white and red themed interior and coconut smell will make it feel that you are indeed vacationing amongst the palm trees, the palm trees of Vegas that is ;-). Mandalay Bay (MGM) I have not spent much time in this one but there’s a few things I can tell you about it. It is connected to the Luxor - so if the weather outside is extreme, cold or hot - you can walk entirely inside and make it to Luxor through the connected walkway. Also, there is a tram that you can catch here that stops at Luxor and than Excalibur and it’s free. ***[Please note that the tram is closed at this time. I’ll update this post when it’s open.]*** They have an Aquarium which I have been to, and it’s a decent sized one that takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes to get through depending on the crowd and your interest. What’s great about that visit is I was able to get in free by playing the myMGM games on my phone and using the accumulated coins to get a ticket. I may do a separate post about it in the future so you can get in on it. Luxor (MGM) I’ve stayed at this one a few times, it’s affordable and connected to Mandalay Bay. There’s a shopping area/mall that you walk through between the two locations. It’s a large size casino, plenty of tables, slot machines and rooms for many. The pyramid is definitely a big attraction, and I’ve been able to stay in a few rooms that have a cool slanted wall that’s part of the pyramid. I would say that makes the rooms interesting. Excalibur (MGM) More affordable than Luxor, is Excalibur, in its medieval themed casino you can find a large layout and some of the most affordable minimums when it comes to table games. I have only passed through here. My family members stayed here, and actually told me never to stay at this one, not sure why. The tram from Mandalay Bay connects here. ***[Please note that the tram is closed at this time. I’ll update this post when it’s open.]*** MGM This is the megalith of all the MGM chain resorts on the Strip. So large, I’m quite sure that one could get lost easily. The interior seems to stretch forever, casino floors seem endless and continuing, like you’ll never find the exit - which I almost think was the idea when they built it. I have stayed here once and been a few times but the immense size always intimidates me, as I tend to like smaller sized venues. But if you are into the nightlife, they do have one of the hottest night spots Hakkasan, bringing in the best performers in music worldwide. New York New York (MGM) Yes, Vegas has it all! The Big Apple themed casino stays true to its theme and you can find all signs and comforts of New York here, pizza, rude cabbies and the cityscape. Maybe not rude cabbies - the Vegas cabbies are actually really nice! Again, I have only passed through this one. Like the other MGM properties, a large casino floor and plenty of affordable rooms are here at this property. I did go here once because Shake Shack opened here - great yummy, affordable (by Strip standards) grass-fed burgers here. Park MGM (MGM obviously) It is one of the newest resorts in this chain - formerly known as the Monte Carlo, it is now the only one on the strip to be a mandatory non-smoking facility. Goodbye having to launder all your clothes to rid itself of the residual, lingering smoke smell of the casino. It also has an outdoor walking path that is reminiscent of a downtown pedestrian area, complete with artistic sculptures. Eataly is one of their top attractions - it’s the sister store of the one in New York. Cosmopolitan I would say this is my favorite strip located hotel and casino out of all others. The decor of casino and hotel rooms are a bit flashy but don’t feel dated like the other Strip locations. It’s atmosphere is hip, trendy, young and exciting. But don’t be fooled, Vegas is a place for all ages. Dining and entertainment are top notch too - matching the trendiness of the rest of the resort is the latest in dining chef superstars and musical/comedy guests performing. They are also part of the Autograph Collection, which is part of Marriott, so if you have any Bonvoy points you can earn or use them here. Bellagio (MGM) One of the more glamorous and sophisticated Italian themed Strip resorts, Bellagio definitely is a nice one to stop by. They offer their fresh Gardens, Art Gallery and luxury shopping. Who could forget their fountains that welcome every visitor, designed to lighting and music is a definite spectacle not to be missed and very much has become synonymous with representing the Strip. They are enjoyable anytime of day. But I will caution you - I met a very disappointed British traveler who did not get to see the fountain show because it was too windy and they closed them for the evening. Expect a show every 30 min before 8p and every 15 minutes thereafter until midnight. Planet Hollywood (Caesars) Now we’ve come to our first Caesar’s owned property. The theme here originated with the now defunct Planet Hollywood brand and tried to bridge into the new generation in branding itself. It’s now slightly aged but still holds its glitz and glamour Hollywood style with the sparkling lights and deep red interior. It has a sensuous and seductive feel to its design, all the way to their hotel rooms. Holding true to this is, I don’t know if it’s my age, but the music is always banging loud, like a constant party. It’s a nice smaller sized casino that has a decent sized shopping mall attached to it with good shopping choices. Paris Las Vegas (Caesars) Next door to Planet Hollywood is Paris Las Vegas - complete with replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and various Parisian themed foods, outlets and more. I have stayed at this resort the most next to the Cosmopolitan. For me, I think I get the best value at this resort due to location, shape of the property and access food/shopping. They also have an inner walkway lined with shops and restaurants that leads to Ballys for those blistering hot summer days. The Eiffel Tower by the way is integrated into the casino floor and is complete with a restaurant and elevator ride up in it just like the real deal. But it wouldn’t be Vegas styled though if a nightclub was not built somewhere inside the attraction - so plan on dancing inside the Eiffel Tower Vegas style. Ballys (Caesars) As mentioned above - it connects through an interior walkway of shops and restaurants to Paris. So if your heart was set on staying at Paris but they have no rooms, no fear - check Ballys out and you’ll be as close as can be. This resort reminds me of a typical casino that is worn and cliched in what casinos are - smoke-filled and cheesy. To me, it’s as no frills as you can get on the Strip - just your average hotel and casino that are attached. There are a few restaurants, they usually have a Vegas style show going on and this resort has an arcade on the lower level, which I’ve noticed has become more of a trend to have a place for your under gambling age folks to spend time. They have pretty affordable food prices compared to the rest of the Strip and a brand new outdoor shopping area in front on the corner which is actually pretty cute and has it’s touristy fare of shops and restaurants. Cromwell (Caesars) On the newer side, Cromwell is easiest the smallest hotel/resort on the Strip. Taking the corner across from Caesar’s Palace, it is the most boutique style and close to feeling like one of the Downtown casinos. It’s decor almost seems like it’s competing with Cosmpolitan in decor, entertainment and feel. It has a hip and sumptuous feel - lots of shiny metal and swathes of purple. If you want a more intimate feel to your Vegas experience, and have a casino floor, room, two restaurants - casual and fine dining and one hot nightclub, Cromwell is your place. Caesar’s Palace (Caesars) A behemoth on the strip and comparative to MGM in mega resort, is Caesar’s Palace. As a Roman-themed casino and hotel, there’s no shortage of the ancient statue replicas all over, frescoes and complete with architecture that matches that of the past empire. Again here, it is easy to get lost and is easily a city within a city with it’s sprawling casino floor, several food outlets and it’s own upscale shopping mall. It definitely is one of the nicer casinos with more room to spare but just be aware of its immensity and be prepared to walk. If I’m not staying here and walking over, it always seems like such a long time to just walk in and then get where you want to be. The Linq (Caesars) The second newest branded hotel in the Vegas Caesar’s family is The Linq, which was formerly known as many other property names but the most recent one is the Quad. They have invest a lot into this property in its most recent renovation and is one of the most affordable on the Strip. It’s got a young and cool vibe while being on the lower scale of price. I did visit the pool here once and they even had fun games to play like pool Jenga. One of the biggest attractions here is the High Roller Ferris Wheel, which is comparatively like the London’s Eye. While I have not personally ridden this, I was surprised to find out how spacious it was, accommodating 40 people in one cabin. While you’re taking in the sights of Nevada high above, you can buy cocktails and even rent a private cabin for a special event. Right outdoors this casino is another big attraction their citywalk area, which reminds me of a mini version of the Universal Studios city walk. It’s an area that is lined with restaurants, shops, bars and Jimmy Kimmel’s comedy club. It makes for a nice mini outing if you are in the area. Harrah’s Las Vegas (Caesars) You may have a Harrah’s somewhere near you and the one in Las Vegas is quite the same except for it’s location. For this location, I have heard they have the most newest renovated rooms out of all the others on the Strip. There’s more of a feel of American-style businesses and there is an outdoor bar/stage outside on the way to the Linq for any free entertainment or drinks. Flamingo (Caesars) Just like it’s name, the entire place is themed under that special bird the flamingo. The pink bird shows up everywhere and most of the interior is in pink or similar complementary colors which is fun. What’s fun is that they do have live ones in their Wildlife Habit, complete with other bird friends, turtles, koi fish and more. I noticed there is kind of a coconut smell that mixes with cigarette smoke here, kind of like Tropicana, that is throughout the casino. Mirage (MGM) I have not spent very much time here but can tell you that they have a volcano in front on the Strip that erupts on the hour from 8-11p. Not only that, but it also houses the Siegfried and Roy Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat, open daily 10a-6p. You’ll get to see the most intelligent animals of the ocean - dolphins! It’s pretty cool and you can find a decent decor and environment. I would say that it’s not the bottom of the barrel and won’t break the bank. It should make for a comfortable stay if you’re okay with basic accommodations. Treasure Island Here we come to a pirate-like themed casino. Low table minimums and affordable in every since. It reminds me a lot of a local casino, offering its slot players lots of incentives, low costing food options, cheap rooms and fantasy-themed attractions such as the Marvel Avenger Station. The Venetian Venetian is, you guessed it, a Venice themed resort. All the replicas of Venice under one roof and you can take a gondola ride and have a gondolier sing a special song to you. St. Mark’s Cathedral, canals and the frescoes adorn throughout. There’s a youthful feel to this place and they have a popular nightclub Tao. It is a fun place to go with lots of great places to eat. They do have an upscale shopping mall and is related to the Palazzo property, which you can read about below. Palazzo Sophisticated and upscale, this one continues its Italian themed outlets. Luxury is its theme and the casino floor is quite reserved, except for the occasional fun times around the bar. I do enjoy the calm here and if looking for more action or excitement, Venetian is just a short walk away. They are connected and, you guessed it, by a line of shops and restaurants. What’s nice about this walk between the two is their art/garden installation that is in front of the Palazzo that changes quarterly and fits the current season. Lots of great fine dining and shopping is a mere steps away. Wynn/Encore We’ve made it to the end of the Strip! Congratulations 🍾, now hold your money so you can pay for that Uber back to the airport. The Wynn and Encore resorts are two separate locations connected by an interior walkway. Note that it is a long walk between the two. I’m embarrassed to say that the walk is so far, I’ve only done it once and decided I didn’t want to do it more often than not . This place is a Steven Wynn themed casino resort. I don’t know how else to describe that - it has all the most expensive shops, luxury and upscale offerings of the Strip. They’re’s a golf course, spa and they have a complimentary mini-attraction Lake of Dreams - a LED run show against the backdrop of nature made up of a waterfall and pine trees. Now I’ve only exclusively stayed at the Wynn and that’s because there is just more offerings in that location. Encore is more limited and mini, but I might give it a try sometime.

@ladyanneclare 27 April 2021

Poppo Time An electronics store was pumping with EDM and the bass vibrated all the goods on the store’s shelf. Nikel was working a late shift but enjoyed his work. The drones were flying about, flashing banners in red “70% off now.” He leaned back into the wall and took a puff of his vaporizer. The vaporizer said, “only 10,453 puffs left in this cartridge.” Nikel felt calm, scanning the various activity around him. There was families and kids. It felt more like a toy store then an electronics store. His wrist vibrated, he received an incoming message from Poppo. “Yo man, you got to stop by tonight, we’re doing something radical,” read the text on his device. Nikel thought, “hmm, do I really trust Poppo?” Last time they had hung out the informational detectives interrogated them for 48 hours, which was due to a gag that Poppo that was going to be hilarious. But instead it caught the alarm of law enforcement. It took there parents and friends in high places to convince all that they were not criminals and to remove them from the watch list. Unfortunately, that was only of of the many instances of poor judgment he had while hanging out with Poppo. Another time Poppo took him to a girls house for a party and they ended apologizing to the parents, cleaning the house and Nikel even washed the dishes because he felt so horrible about the situation. Nikel quickly dashed his fingers across the screen to dismiss the message from Poppo. Today was quiet in the store and when he went home that evening, he hoped for a quiet home at night. He welcomed the peace and solitude, it seemed even more so now that he was older. Dating was not on the table for the moment. The break-up still felt fresh in his heart, an open un-protected wound. His quiet nights were the healing remedy necessary for this particular wound.

@ladyanneclare 27 April 2021

Missing Piece My mind is bugging. How do I talk to Marissa? What do I do? The last time we talked we both said we were no longer best friends and then proceeded to unfollow each other on TikTok. I am so close to getting this treasure, only three more clues and that $1 milling dollars in treasure is mine. The last time we spoke, we were at my house and Marissa said she had studied with Evan in the library. When she told me, my cheeks burned red and I felt anger swelling up inside me. I was hurt, real hurt. How could my best friend do this without telling? Evan has been my crush since 5th grade and Marissa has known every torrid detail that has happened between us plus the exact way I feel about him. It pained me inside. When she told me this news, nonchalantly throwing it out there, I stood up and said, “You studied with him and idn’t tell me?” Marris taken aback said, “Well you never study in the library and you said that Evan was rude and you were over him.” ”Yeah but I always say stuff like that, you know how much I like him and for how long.” ”I’ve listened to you long enough about him,” Marisa aggressively replied. “How is it my best friend could not guess that maybe Evan likes me and not you.” Horrified at what I just heard, stood up and shouted, “How dare you! Get out of my house right now, I hate you!” Then I flung myself on the bed while hearing Marissa gather her things and marching out of my room. How could this be? My best and oldest friend betraying me, the knife was plunged deep into the very pit of my stomach. I sobbed and sobbed harder, so much so I barely heard the tapping at my door. “Hey hon?” A voice quietly called out, “are you okay in there?” It was my mom. Of course she heard the clamor and clash in my room. Sniffling I replied, “Mom go away. I don’t want to talk. yeah I’m okay.” But the way I said it definitely said I was not okay. The last time with Marissa was a heartbreaking moment, but seeing her at school became even more excruciating. Everything changed. Where she sat in class, who she did assignments with, where she sat in the cafeteria and who she hung out with at recess. It was an astronomical change. But there was the $1 million dollar treasure and Marissa had the next clue at her house. It would mean they would have to talk, possibly make up, gulp. I wasn’t so sure I was ready for that yet. As night wore on, I tossed and turned in bed, trying to figure out ways to get to that clue. Should I try and disguise myself and search the house? Break in? Pay my younger brother to dash in, grab it and run out? Everything I could think of seemed impossible, except for, saying I’m sorry. The hurt was still there. I didn’t want to but this treasure hunt has been stalled for too long.

@ladyanneclare 26 April 2021

Cyberpunk Games “Giddy, wake up!” said a drone that hovered in her room. Goddamn it, thought Giddy, groaning and getting herself up from the wonderful, restful sleep she just had. “Okay, I’m up, happy?!” she said to her drone. She got up and then thought that the day had come to compete with the others in the games that they had practicing at for months. Was she scared? Maybe a little, but she was determined not to let any negative influences get in her way. The past months had trained her for this moment and she was going to come away with a prize or go down swinging. Looking at her closet she already knew what she was going to wear for months. It was a dark grey leather jacket with WiFi hookups and backup battery power for her apps while she was on the game field. Underneath she would wear the temperature controlled black button down, made of the smart thread that would sense her perspiration, which was good because she knew that would be happening a lot that day. Her pants were almost a combination of her tops, temperature controlled and with smart backups - gps tracker and battery backup. It only came in black and she was okay with that. Her shoes would be her trusty boots that although old-fashioned and plain, withstood the test of time and their worn leather look still had a lot of wear ahead of them. It was time to officially get started and she went down to the kitchen for some breakfast. As she got coffee and cereal on the table and waited for toast, her drone beeped, “Bobby calling.” “Answer,” Giddy replied thinking it was a little too early for game plan talk but guessed it was necessary. “Good morning sunshine, how did you sleep? You ready to go ape shit on everyone?” A usual greeting from her jealous best friend who did not make it into the game but was fully supportive in helping to train her. “Hiya, yeah, I slept well. Just glad the day is finally here. Getting a little breakfast before I destroy anyone. You know, priorities,” throwing in my bit of wit. “I hear that the crowds are growing, and the bandwidth is barely holding and nothing has even started. This is going to be one big blowout, I mean, hope it doesn’t blow out and stop the games but you know what I’m saying,” Bobby meaning well, was giving me the pre-game overview. “Yeah well I’m not really surprised. It is the first time some of old players got knocked out so there’s a lot of new blood. People want to see the new ones,” Giddy replied. “True that, well I’ll pick you up in 10?” Bobby said. He had insisted that I not be responsible for any transportation to and from the game, that I had to be solely focused on what I was doing, and I agreed. “Okay great.” And with that I was almost there. About to play the game of my life against the biggest gamers of the world. We were going to go head to head in games that would try and decode a secret blockchain.

@ladyanneclare 22 April 2021

Happy Earth Day 🌎 - Plant a Tree I wanted to let everyone know about a super cool opportunity to do your part in honor of Earth Day on April 22nd. While there are many oppportunities to hug Mother Earth, I came upon this one through Sweatcoin app (which I mentioned in one of my other posts - let your steps gain you some coins.) There was an opportunity in the app to sign up for this free card Tree Card. It’s a MasterCard that is made out of sustainably sourced cherry wood and it’s plastic bits inside are made of entirely recycled plastic bottles. https://sweatco.in/i/alicia765990 https://read.cash/@ladyanneclare/seven-ways-i-earn-crypto-for-free-fb00b9d5 I don’t know about you, but plastic is so 80s. It would be great if all the cards that we keep in our wallets could now be made of recycled products. There’s plenty of stuff to be recycled to make more stuff! Just by signing up you are planting a tree! I am currently 129,310 on the waiting list for the card and have planted three trees just by signing up. The way the card works is similar to the Cash app debit card (which if you sign up for and get $5 through here) can get . You link it to a bank account and just use it as a normal card, and through the app you can see your spending or disable the card. Here’s the awesome part - every $60 spent through this card plants another tree. At some point, I know that $60 will come and go from my account so why not plant trees while I’m at it? It’s a card that will make me feel good for using. https://cash.app/app/RZSVWJL Let’s plant trees everywhere! Happy Earth Day :-). Here are the links I mentioned if you want to sign up and learn more, they are linked back to me FYI: Sweatcoin: link https://sweatco.in/i/alicia765990 Cash App: link https://cash.app/app/RZSVWJL TreeCard: link https://treecard.app.link/uXbWjatyEfb

@ladyanneclare 18 April 2021

Seven Ways I Earn Crypto for Free It has been a journey. I have learned so much about crypto thanks to the read.cash community and my hours of researching online. I would be remiss if I did not mention the reddit communities out there - you all know who you are, posting your memes :). Look at me now! I’d like to let you all know how far I’ve come and share how I have been earning my crypto with little to no investment except for time. 1. Read.cash If you’re reading this, you probably don’t need to sign up for an account but writing for this site has been a game changer for me and as I’ve read on the site for so many worldwide. If you haven’t signed up yet, please do! You can click here or down below on my affiliate links to get started. Just start writing, writing, writing and editing. https://read.cash/r/ladyanneclare 2. Coinbase Taking the quizzes has given me a great leg up in this game. After taking their quizzes or watching short videos on new crypto tokens, you gain a new batch of this same crypto. It’s been a win win for all. I have been able to sell or hodl the ones I believe in and I have had astronomical gains, no exaggeration. If you want to get started, you can sign up here with my referral link and we both get $10 in BTC when you sell/buy $100 of crypto. https://www.coinbase.com/join/yang_lia?src=ios-share 3. Celsius Wallet I sent some of my read.cash earnings and Coinbase quiz money to this wallet and now it sits earning passive interest, and it has been good to me. Their interest earning rates are far better than some of the checking or savings accounts in the US. It’s definitely a wallet I feel good about using. If you sign up here, we both get $40 BTC when you transfer at least $400 to your wallet. Or feel free to enter my referral code when you sign up: 1910617d98**.** https://celsiusnetwork.app.link/1910617d98 4. Cash App They were doing some awesome promotions with their Cash App debit card which is easy to sign up for in their app. Once you have this card, they have weekly promos to either get discounts for various places (food, travel, shopping, etc.) When I signed up, they were offering a percentage of bitcoin back for any purchase. I took advantage of this as many times as it showed up. I haven’t seen it lately, but Cash App is definitely in the bitcoin/crypto game for the long haul, adding a new way to send/receive crypto. It is also one of my preferred ways to buy/send bitcoin now because of their ridiculously low gas fees on buying/sending/selling/receiving. They have also offered $5 off or various discounts on any purchases. It just a great debit card option to have overall. You can sign up now and get $5 just for signing up here: https://cash.app/app/RZSVWJL 5. Rollercoin This one put me down the rabbit hole... a good one :). This way only involves playing games! Who’s in? The games are 8-bit, simple, fun and addictive (really addictive.) While it involves some time on your part, you get to choose if you want to earn in bitcoin, ethereum, doge or Rollercoin (which is their own currency meant to use only on the site.) The site creates a simulation of you in a room with a computer that you can upgrade after winning 10, 30 and 60 games and miners that you purchase with Rollercoin or satoshis. I have to give a shoutout to ufoguy on YouTube for showing me the ins and outs of maximizing this opportunity. If you sign up, you get 1000 satoshis to start - click here to get started. https://youtube.com/channel/UC7uhOTrdZK15Hm8l59O1ZSg https://rollercoin.com/?r=kktwtplw 6. Sweatcoin My friend in Iceland told me about this app and how much she wishes it were available where she was to help her exercise. It might not be available where you are but it is available in the U.S. This app is a great incentive to get off that couch and start walking around and earn some Sweatcoins. It is a crypto that’s unique to this particular app that tracks each step you take. You can even get into a friendly competition with friends and see who makes out with the most at the end of one day. They also give you an opportunity to win free Sweatcoins by watching ads everyday. If you go past 500 steps, you get another ad chance and past 500 more steps, another. I’ve done a fair amount of watching the ads and one time was surprised to get 500 Sweatcoins! At first they had an awesome deal of redeeming Sweatcoins for $1000. I haven’t seen that in years now. I have redeemed these coins for tea and beeswax wraps (I’m an earthy type of girl okay.) They were items that I was absolutely about to buy so this was a great way to get them without spending too much. The items they have to redeem often come with having to pay for postage, which in regards to the tea, was well worth it. Get sweating and sign up here. I am not positive that any promo coins are offered but getting healthy is worth it! https://sweatco.in/i/alicia765990 7. Fold This app I downloaded on my phone. You can buy gift cards at stores and receive satoshis/BTC for each purchase and they’re good stores! Places I buy from like Amazon, DoorDash and Starbucks. Another cool feature that’s my favorite thing about this app is the daily wheel bonus. There’s many prizes you get can, including satoshis. If you spin the wheel everyday for a week, you are rewarded with 500 satoshis. Once you reach 50,000 satoshis, you are able to cash out. You can get started with 5000 free sats by using this referral link. Check out my review on the Fold App card which I recently signed up for here. https://use.foldapp.com/r/T3FM9XH7 https://read.cash/@ladyanneclare/fold-app-card-earn-btc-for-every-purchase-6ce594e7 Conclusion: By signing up with the opportunities above, here is what you get: Read.cash = endless opportunities! Up to you to make it happen, get started here https://read.cash/r/ladyanneclare Coinbase = $10 BTC when $100 in cryto is sold/bought Celcius = $40 BTC when $400 is transferred Cash App = $5 Rollercoin = 1000 sats for signing up Sweatcoin = Possible bonus coins & getting fit! Fold = 5000 sats Thanks for reading all the way up to this point, hope you subscribe and comment and look forward to reading your articles too!

@ladyanneclare 17 April 2021

I’ve been having trouble posting my articles to communities. Today each time I tried I got a red “Error” flag at the top right of my screen. Any insight? Thanks everyone in advance. I took a bit of a hiatus but glad to be back!

@ladyanneclare 17 April 2021

Covid-19 Vaccination: To Vax or Not to Vax **Disclaimer: this article is only the opinion of the author and in no way is meant to provide health or medical advisement to its readers.* What I have to say, may be controversial, but I feel that all is entitled to their own opinions. These are my thoughts on the Covid-19 vaccination and how I have encountered those who do not want to get one. Everyone probably has this person in their life, someone who has good reason not to get one of the many vaccines that are available in their countries. Moderna, Pfizer and up to a few days ago, the Johnson & Johnson vaccines were available in the U.S. where I live. https://www.modernatx.com/ https://www.pfizer.com/science/coronavirus/vaccine/rapid-progress https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/JJUpdate.html First I’ll let you know that I am vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine. Was I scared? Yes. Was I hesitant? Indeed. But the more articles I read and the more I mulled over it, I felt that the reward outweighed the risk in this instance. I do feel that all things involving Covid-19 are a huge experiment, one that we are all involved in and that is not just taking place in a hermetically-sealed laboratory with an unknown location. The study of how this virus operates is ongoing, causing news fatigue around the whole subject. For the first initial months of 2020, I was glued to the news and statistics of infection daily. As we are seeing, more information is being learned and the flow of information is often not distributed evenly. Media outlets may send certain information in certain areas. Due to this, I take caution to always go to the most reliable sources since media outlets are not medical and science research organizations. In my country, we have the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and for the world at large, the World Health Organization. Both have worked tirelessly around the clock to stay up to date on the virus and what can be done. I joked with my family the other day, “Dr. Fauci really needs a vacation.” https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/keythingstoknow.html?s_cid=10499:covid%2019%20vaccine%20article:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:FY21 https://www.who.int/ Why was I scared and hesitant of the vaccine initially? Because I had no idea what kind of effect it would take on my body, would I have a reaction, would I get Covid? I think I had all the same rational questions of most others when it comes to getting a brand new vaccine with little more than a few clinical trials that has been fast-tracked in a matter of a few months. Although I had signed no paperwork, I felt I would be an additional silent participant in an on-going trial vaccine. It was very hard to contemplate. All the various factors at play and was I healthy enough for it. On the other hand, my parents, who are elderly, were excited for the vaccine. They knew that it would be the necessary fix for the world’s situation. They eagerly waited for their turn and with no hesitation signed up at the first opportunity. On the day of their first vaccine (Moderna), they even showed up two hours early and were told not to show up so early. A good friend of mine as well, was eagerly awaiting for the vaccine to become available in our area and kept up to the hour of when, how and all the details he was able to glean about getting it. Even though I feigned interest, he would send me updates and even signed me up on a vaccine list without me knowing! Since all my loved ones seem all in, I became persuaded to see all the positives to getting the vaccine. I could travel, grocery shop, get gas for my car and go to the post office with less fear of contracting the virus and face hospitalization or death. Most importantly for me, I looked forward to finally being in the company of all those I have not had the opportunity to visit with in over a year. My social life became decimated and I am not lost on that point. As the opportunity arrived for me to sign up, I did so and made myself not think more of it. I pushed myself to see all the positives which I noted in the above paragraph. The most important part of the vaccine that I soon realized after was to know that being vaccinated does not protect me from ever having the virus as some might believe. I was naive to think this as well - that it was a passport to non-masking and running freely as B.C. (before Covid). Hence it was not, it would only serve as an additional invisible layer of protection to prevent hospitalization and face dying. I still mask up, wash hands and keep my distance from others even though after receiving my second vaccination. There will be no socializing in large crowds or feeling more free until the evidence and science appears to let me do so. There is no silver bullet in the face of this virus, yet. The first vaccine did not have much effect on me. I was feeling lazy and a bit lethargic for a day or so. But I did really feel the second vaccine. The day after, my body just felt like it had been hit with a ton of bricks and heavy. I just wanted to lie in bed. I also did feel a headache during this time. I wanted to reach for a pain reliever, but it is suggested not to take any pain relievers as it might interfere with the effectiveness of the vaccine. So I gritted my teeth and laid there, reminding myself that it was not a lot to go through for what it would give me. Thankfully, this unpleasant state lasted me one day. The day after, I was back to normal. I have not been very open about my vaccinated status and do not expect others to be with me about their status. But, for the ones I consider close and care about, we have checked in and talked about it at length. There are two people close to me that have yet to have theirs, although they have the full go ahead to receive one. One being a family member. I love her with all my heart and want to see her have that protection, but she has told me that she is not sure she is healthy enough to get one. On top of that, she is very adverse to discussing it further. It says to me that yes, she fears but does not want to discuss further. Another friend told me he’s not sure about it, since having undergone an intensive health treatment that involved medication that depleted much of his energy. He has finished the treatment successfully but is fearful of how the vaccine would interact with the results of his prior health condition and age is also a factor for him. I did not push him, but I did simply tell him, “As a friend, I would really like you to get your vaccine.”

@ladyanneclare 6 February 2021

Ex-Lover, Sunny Windows & Strangeness In a weird turn of events, my mind has ceased in the colorful dreams that I have been having all year. I wonder if writing about all of them had assisted in making them go away or resolve any issues I’ve been having. There are times I have woken up and remembered scattered snapshots of a dream but wasn’t able to piece together all that had happened in my dream state. Today I woke up with a clear understanding about last night’s dream and it was weird. I went to my ex-lover’s place, but it wasn’t his exact home in real life. It was a bright, sunny apartment with white walls and lots of windows. At each window was his pets in a taxidermic state, that is they were preserved and stuffed and in front of each window. My sister was with me and the lover was not in so we sat there and just hung out. At some point, either she handed me or I picked a stack of card shaped papers. They were the size of playing cards. I shuffled through them and they were a deep blue color and some of them were solid and some had a picture of the same little Caucasian girl on them. In the dream I thought it was strange I kept seeing the same image over and over. We sat there for a bit longer, there were a few more things that happened that I can’t remember. But we soon left and went to the Fountainbeau hotel in Miami. *Note: I did watch “One Night in Miami” last night, so the Fountainbleau in my dream may have inserted itself into my dream, so be it. My Analysis In the past few weeks I have been following the Marilyn Manson fallout and reading about the consequences of both sides and the history. I am wondering if this leaked into my subconscious and made me question my own history with this past lover. The most disturbing element of the dream was the taxidermy pets. It’s as if I have thought that he views his ex-girlfriends and ex-lovers as pets and trophies that he likes to keep in some form to remind him of the power he had over them, in the same way Marilyn Manson wielded his over the women in his life. I had commented to someone earlier in the week that I had felt reading about this had made me think about my own past relationship, more specifically the part I related to was the gaslighting. It’s as if he purposefully made me feel crazy and questioning about our past, denying events between us when I know in fact they happened. But in our recent years would not admit they had happened. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/arts/evan-rachel-wood-marilyn-manson.html https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201701/11-warning-signs-gaslighting My heart and spirit goes out to any woman who has had to endure this, especially from one who is suppose to be a close loved one.

@ladyanneclare 19 December 2020

Mining Equipment - I do not pay electricity where I live and am interested in mining. Would it be possible to do it with a MacBook, iPad, iphone or pc netbooks? I did some research and it seems there would be an option available somehow but was wondering from this community the thoughts on this.

@ladyanneclare 15 December 2020

Boss Again... Cute Kittens & Crazy Finger Bite Yet another work and bizzare-o dream, this one happened over a week ago and I just wanted to put some finishing touches on it before I posted. I dreamt of my former boss again, yes this one here . I have to say that writing about all the dreams has kind of magically made me stop dreaming about him. There’s a therapy about this writing it all out that I feel has mended me inside. When I wake up, I no longer have that anxiety I use to have when dreaming about him or this particular job. It’s been a good long time since this dream I’m writing about and I’m glad. The other dreams I haven’t written about but they were pretty boring, usually just me working at this former job and working with other people. Writing is therapy and for now I feel that I’ve escaped this cursed dreamland. Thank you read.cash! https://read.cash/@ladyanneclare/anxiety-killer-ants-snl-skit-hottie-boss-dc550b13 Onto the dream, we were at a birthday party for a little girl, someone random I don’t remember her particularly belonging to anyone. In the first hour of the party, it was around 9am, my boss found out his mother had died and had to leave and he quietly told a few of us co-workers and left. The birthday girl came up to me and said that my boss had promised her that he would be at the party. I told her his mother passed away and he had to leave. End of this segment.  I suddenly then was in a different setting and had a male kitten, it was named the same name as my cat that had passed away years ago. I turned my back for a second and it was gone while I was talking to someone. Literally turned my back for a few seconds and gone. I went around looking for it and calling out his name, every time I called him two other kittens would appear - they were the cutest kittens but not him. When I would shine a flashlight in a dark area, little puffballs of cuteness would appear. I couldn’t find him. There were cats and dogs scattered around me everywhere Scene three: I was in a room with a lot of windows, it was dusk, not a lot of light outside. I was with a woman who I haven’t seen in about 10 years. Not sure what we were talking about but it was neutral. Then she bit down on my index finger and I screamed at her to let go and starting saying stuff about COVID and how she shouldn’t be biting me in case she had it or I had it. She wouldn’t let go and my anxiety was high. I was in pain and angry at her. Shortly after I woke up. This part was so bizarre, I was so concerned I would be catching COVID from her. It seems that the reality of the world has caught up with my subconscious in a strange creepy way.  Just to say it again, I feel relieved about the dream about my boss going away. If it was writing about it here, then I am very grateful for it. I’ve learned this lesson that expressing those things that haunt you is definitely the best medicine. I will write and share about the next thing that comes along in the subconscious, however fearful or anxiety ridden it is, it’s worth it to be rid of it finally.

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@ladyanneclare 15 December 2020

Five Uses for Tea Tree Oil There’s so many products out there in the health/beauty sections of the stores. Buy one product to treat a symptom and another to prevent another. But what I’ve discovered is tea tree oil to be my one go-to for all if not most of my skin ailments. The first and foremost use I get out of tea tree oil has been cleaning my face and battling burgeoning acne and pimple flare ups. As soon as I notice any red spots, I immediately apply just a small drop of tea tree oil. Now I know that is not safe for all, so please use sparingly, especially for those with sensitive skin. You can take a one part tea tree oil to four parts water or any carrier oil that is safe for the skin. Favorite carrier oils are almond, grape seed, vitamin E, coconut or even olive oil. My skin runs combination to normal so I can withstand the sting and cooling effect of tea tree oil. There’s times I’ve just diluted a few drops with water and used that to cleanse my face or use a cotton ball to dab and brush over any areas needing attention. I am an admitted beauty product junkie and my shelves are FULL of products. But during this time in the pandemic, I have slowly but surely cutdown and tossed many. If anything, tea tree oil will be the last man standing. Another use for tea tree oil is for cleansing anything. Again diluting the oil is key because it could sting and be painful, especially for a cut or any open skin. Since I’ve been using it, I have gotten use to it but I know people range in all levels of sensitivities. I always have it on hand - especially when hiking or camping. I consider it one of my first-aid items. If I have any cuts or injuries to cleanse, I would take a few drops with water and wash out my injury. There will be a sting to it but I would feel better knowing I just protected myself from using this anti-viral, antifungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory panacea. Also when hiking and camping, bug bites are inevitable and just a little drop of tea tree oil can help get rid of the itching and cleanse the area at the same time. Just remember this key rule with tea tree oil - a little goes a long way. It’s strong and you will tell by opening a bottle of pure tea tree oil how strong it is. In review, these are the main points of why I keep tea tree oil in my purse or on hand at all times: Uses for Tea Tree Oil **Acne/facial blemishes** - for any emergency flare ups or stubborn blemishes. I try to do a few applications in a day but everyone is different so go at a slow steady pace starting with one application of a few drops diluted. **Bug bites** - In the thick of the woods and summer, tea tree oil is your friend and will remove the itch and cleanse at the same time to avoid risk of infection. **Cuts/injuries** - I have never carried hydrogen peroxide while traveling, hiking or camping. A bottle of tea tree oil has given me confidence in its properties enough to cleanse any cut or injury from any bacteria or additional nasties of infecting it. **Goo remover** - I didn’t talk about this one above, but anytime something sticky is on my hands or on an item, diluted tea tree oil has been a great dissolver. For objects and hard surfaces, use at your own risk. I haven’t tested it out on enough surfaces to see if any stripping occurs so this is your warning. I have been able to remove sap and other sticky residues off my hands, very handy. **Aromatherapy** - I personally have not used the scent for this, but when I have shared my bottle, people have told me it smells nice at soothing. I would say it has an energizing scent that wakes you up, much like eucalyptus. **Disclaimer: This article is not written by a medical professional and should not be taken or substituted as medical advisement. Please seek the advice of a medical professional for any health issue you are having.*

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@ladyanneclare 25 November 2020

Anxiety Killer Ants, SNL Skit & Hottie Boss I really can’t believe how many work dreams I’ve been having. This one I felt was another healing dream from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) at a job with a tough boss and weird life residual stuff. The first scene I recall was being in a very tight, small office space and two of my former bosses were sitting at very small desk cubicles - they were extremely small. They are like desks I’ve seen in the library, where there are several desk areas linked together partitioned by a wall on three sides and you can sit individually at your own desktop.  Of the former bosses, one is a good one - Charlie* and the other one is Scott* who was unforgiving, shitty and demanded a lot. Strangely enough, I was also attracted to him lol, and so were all the other girls. My working for him became an issue of jealousy amongst the other women in the office, adding another layer of difficulty on this job. I was constantly questioned about our interactions and felt like I was under a microscope and part of the office gossip. He was tough but I found him cute and attractive. But I was professional and I was not going to let those feelings ever intervene. I did tell my friend though, if he made I move, I wouldn’t have stopped him ;-). It was daytime and it was my first day on the job. I knew them in the dream but we pretended not to know each other or acknowledge knowing each other. Charlie stood up and introduced himself in a warm manner and in my dream, Covid was part of this dreamscape, so there was distancing and no contact due to it. Scott sat at his desk looking up at me and asked me to get him some food. I think he asked me to get him a salad or açaí bowl. In real life - I use to get Scott coffee or some kind of beverage when he asked or picked up his meals. When clients were in, we would stage me giving me coffees as a kind of power move to show clients.  I went to the kitchen and then later to the lobby to find food to bring to Scott. In my mind in the dream, I went through feelings of being comfortable with them just because of knowing them for a while and had a strong dislike for Scott, remembering the stress and torture I felt at times that I was put through when I worked for him before.  It’s been a long time since I worked for either of these guys so I was shocked to have this dream but it just dredged up old feelings of how miserable I was. Also the anxiety and disgust I felt in the dream were definitely feelings I have kept and should really let go of since this is all in the past. I’m seeing this as a sign to really move on and address the issues I’m still holding onto internally.  Grief can be a strange process and feeling inappropriate feelings at time can be part of this process. I bring grief up because many have been saying we are all grieving our old lives BC (before Covid.) Next in the dream I’m in my bed. I look at the ground and see that there is a plastic bag and there are two huge killer ants. I’m terrified and am really worried about them coming near me and biting me. I’m stuck in fear and just watching these gigantic ants. The two are crawling outside the bag and I realize there are more ants inside the bag. In the dream I think I have to get rid of the ants fast and kill them or take them outside before they harm me. But I’m afraid if I go near them they’ll attack. So I sit observing them waiting for, I don’t know what. As I keep looking at them, I wonder if they have wings and can fly. Then I get even more terrified. After this thought, one of the killer ants starts flying lifting up the ground high and it grew bigger somehow. It got big like the size of a small pet and I had a ceiling fan (which I don’t in real life) but the ant went high towards the fan and then it got tangled up in the ceiling fan and went to pieces.  This dream was not very pleasant. **Anxiety and fear were the huge themes of this one.** As I noted, it does seem apparent I’m still in need of healing from a bad situation. The killer ants - I’m not really afraid of insects unless they look wild and are a gigantic size. But let me analyze this one for you. I think this has a little bit of a funny ending, weirdly enough. There’s two videos I have watched recently that might have inspired this. I watched Les Stroudsman Survivorman series where he talks about surviving in the wild and food sources. One of his food sources is anything that crawls - grasshoppers, termites, ants, worms, scorpions, whatever crawls. One of the items he showed was the biggest larvae grub I’ve ever seen and it was outrageously disgusting to me. I am very open-minded and culturally-sensitive to other cultures, especially when it comes to cuisines, but it was hard to watch. I would probably maybe eat one - but must be cooked. The size of the ones in Malaysia were HUGE and the kids loved them! They showed the kids with it moving around their mouths and it really grossed me out - I’m not easily grossed out either.  http://www.lesstroud.ca/ Also recently I watched a SNL (Saturday Night Live) skit, “Farewell Mr. Bunting” and I thought it was hilarious. https://youtu.be/Ie6LpKOJVf0 https://youtu.be/Ie6LpKOJVf0 Unfortunately I will have to ruin the ending for this to make sense, so if you haven’t watched this one and don’t like spoilers, click above and watch now. **DISCLAIMER**: I realize this humor is not for everyone and maybe I’ve just been in a place where laughter was much needed so when I watched this I just laughed hysterically. Grief can be a strange process and feeling inappropriate feelings at time can be part of this process. I bring grief up because many have been saying we are all grieving our old lives BC (before Covid.) Also I have lost a few people recently and my friends have lost their loved ones too. It’s been a year. So in the skit, out of the blue a character stands up and his head is cut off by the fan and it’s a completely unexpected bizarre moment. It stuck with me. Hence the ant getting destroyed by the fan.  I’m hoping for sunnier and happier dreams to share with you all. May Mr. Sandman bless me and you with more lighter dreams.   *Names have been changed.

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@ladyanneclare 24 November 2020

Dream of Dogs I’ve come to the conclusion that the dream themes lately have been about being in an office and men. Two things my life is considerably lacking right now. The office dreams aren’t really alarming and are just being in an office atmosphere. The men dreams are a real wild card though. I’m not certain what they mean.  My latest dream was about being in a multi floored home. I went downstairs and saw a familiar guy Chad*. In real life we are casual acquaintances and I do think he’s attractive. But I do know a little bit about his dating past and he has been through a lot of relationships since I’ve known him, which hasn’t been a long time. When we do meet, we greet each other and catch up on the latest in our lives. There’s been times he’s really rubbed me the wrong way so I started to become a little distant. Overall, I do respect him and his approach on life but have not become too close to this world.  Back to the dream, we were together in this basement area and there were three dogs. They ranged from large, medium and small. The large dog was just kind of a slow darling dog and the small one was one of those tiny dogs that get carried around in a purse. The medium one was off to their own in a far away corner. We spent some time chatting about the dogs and he started smoking, which he does in real life. I decided to have a cigarette with him. We chatted and it was the first time I realized in the dream that we had been together alone. There was room to maybe take things to another level. Alas, that was not the moment.  At one side of the basement was a sliding glass door and it grew into the evening. We left and took the large dog and small dog with us. We walked literally around the corner and faced a huge office building. It seemed the day was over and people were piling out of the building leaving their workday in business attire. I seem to remember that we were bringing the dogs to their owner which worked in this building. Soon we met with a Latino man and were talking about the dogs and it was very dark outside and chilly.  The End.  All these dreams (which I will post about later, still writing them up) about offices and working are giving me pause as to why. Do I miss the office that much even though I’m stuck to my laptop during the day, messaging and texting with my bosses and co-workers? My brain must truly be trained to be on the hamster wheel. I have to say overall I’ve enjoyed working from my couch in my fuzzy socks, sweats and oversized wool sweater jacket, just kicking back with my comforts of home. It must be the brain train, still left in the corporate maze. There are aspects of working in an office that is great but really who can complain about not having to do my makeup, put together a fashionable business smart outfit and make sure my hair is perfect? Those things I only partially miss. I love clothes and style so having that put on display is one of my signatures I feel is missing. Perhaps I can dress at home just to remember how classy I can be. My jewelry and accessories are also sorely missed. Why haven’t I joined the masses in dressing up to take the garbage out? Because the garbage area of my home is straight down an alley next to my building along a fence and I have not ever seen anyone when taking it out.  https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/12/world/bin-isolation-outing-facebook-trnd/index.html Sorry for the diatribe on working from home. Just wanted to let you in on my subconscious analysis. Until I dream again all, good night.

@ladyanneclare 22 November 2020

Growing Upland Cress in a Pot Today I decided to take stock in all the plants I’m growing, they’ve been long neglected. I put lots of extra water on some and repotted a few more. The one project that has been nagging at me is to pot an upland cress plant that I bought at the grocery. I’ve bought many of these and have enjoyed their peppery tasting fresh leaves. What is upland cress? According to an article from Epicurious, think of upland cress as a baby watercress - a more tender and thinner plant than watercress. It’s scientific name is *Barbarea verna*, which shows it’s in a different but related genus than watercress - known as *Nasturtium Officinale*. https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/difference-between-upland-cress-baby-watercress-article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarea_verna https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercress The upland cress I buy comes with its full root ball and is even in dirt and a growing medium, so the thought came, why can’t I just continuing growing this like a regular plant? I decided to turn to YouTube because I’ve found that if something can be done, there’s a YouTube video about it.  I watched two but there was one in particular that really helped me navigate this project. John’s **video** below was easy to follow and showed me step by step how to successfully plant in a pot. He did add some extras to the potting mix and I am a humble gardener so I only had a few things he did.  https://youtu.be/9u-MYWDQFxI https://youtu.be/9u-MYWDQFxI I also watched Robbie’s **video**, below here, which was entertaining but didn’t have the steps I needed to help assure me and be secure in my steps to have a healthy transfer for my cress.  https://youtu.be/WljMJUuwDXM https://youtu.be/WljMJUuwDXM If it sounds like I’m being extremely cautious around planting/transplanting, it’s for good reason! I can have a green thumb and then a brown thumb and all my plants go dying on me - especially when I attempt a transplant. But thankfully, it hasn’t discouraged me to continue on to keep planting.  Another reason why I’m gunning for success is that winter has come and stay at home orders with it. I will be sticking closer to home and I imagine fewer trips to the grocery store will be had and I do intend to be safe and healthy, limiting my time inside public places.  Read.cash has given me a place to practice my green thumb (fingers crossed) and a chance to redeem myself from all the plants I’ve killed. I’m hoping by taking the community on this journey with me, I’ll keep this one alive and healthy.  Tonight I embarked on this project. Here is my upland cress in its new home, I still just need to add the top layer of dirt. In John’s video, he added some type of fertilizer or nutrients. While I don’t have the exact type he has, I do have this organic fertilizer handy. I sprinkled about a teaspoon’s worth on the dirt right below the plants.  https://youtu.be/9u-MYWDQFxI Then the last step was to water it real well, leave in a slightly shady spot and watch it grow.  I’ll keep posting updates on this endeavor and hope you all look into growing an indoor garden for yourself. My plants have given me the small boost of positivity that is much needed in life right about now.

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@ladyanneclare 17 November 2020

Social Media Alert - Almost a Victim Today I battled it out with a fake identity on social media. It could have been a bot, not sure. I’ll start at the beginning. During the daytime, I see an alert on my phone that a celebrity I follow in a social media platform was doing a live feed. It’s been a while since I opened that platform and needed a break so decided to check him out since I know he’s been doing an outdoors road trip which sounds really fun right now. I watch a little bit and sent a comment or two. What I didn’t realize was that my comments are forever linked to that video, because it was posted on the account. In the past I would watch these and all the comments would go away because it was a live feed. Now I’m guessing he decided to post it up after live feeding? I’m getting further and further away from how social media is working these days. I go about my day and all the sudden I get a direct message (DM) from the celebrity! I open it up, slightly suspicious. By now, I’ve deleted the whole interaction so below is what I remember from about nine hours ago. I was hard at work so I didn’t give it much thought but the message said, “Hi, are you a super fan of mine?” And I replied right away that yes I was and was familiar with his work way back when. “Nice,” was the message I got and then soon after, “What’s your first and last name and where do you live?” Hoping to remind myself and others to always make secure passwords and change them regularly. My heart starting pumping a little harder because of the personal nature and I could see the ellipses going during our whole interaction. Was this him? It couldn’t be. But it could be, and I noticed the profile and looked it over. Just newly created with 0 followers and following no one. My next question was is this really you? And the reply was “Yes”. Me, “Okay what book was on your desk during [certain show] and who inspired it?” Nothing after that. Probably 45 minutes or so afterward, the account no longer existed. I share this experience with others hoping to really combat the junk the out there. I feel ashamed to even admit this happened but really it could happen to anyone. What freaked me out the most was whoever this was, might be trying to get in contact with my contacts - that’s the worst. My identity has been stolen and my stuff is out there, anyone can buy me. Now since that experience, I lead a pretty under the radar existence and like to keep it that way. Which is why my heart was pumping to the fact that I may have finally succumb to some kind of cybercriminal and that we were chatting live, ellipses to ellipses. It felt too close for comfort. They say that people network and meet each other sometimes over social media but it’s experiences like this and all the other stuff out there that make it hard to make online relationships. I guess I’m a twice bitten extra shy kind of gal now. My biggest regret is how fast I replied though without checking out the profile, history and followers/following information. Hoping to remind myself and others to always make secure passwords and change them regularly. I am close to leaning towards deleting them altogether. Due to the current situation of the world though, it seems we will need these outlets a bit longer.

@ladyanneclare 15 November 2020

Tips in the Kitchen I’ve Learned Since The Pandemic I enjoy cooking. But have not been in the kitchen as much as I have the past eight months, never in my life have I. My eating has always been a mix of eating out and cooking at a minimum. These days I have embraced my inner kitchen goddess and have learned and implemented a few things to my routine. Hope these may be helpful to you too: Caramelizing Onions I usually have an onion or a few on hand but cutting and cooking them got to be a real chore everyday. So now I slice up a few and leave them in the pan with some olive oil for about 20-30 minutes. They can be any kind of onion out there - red, white or yellow. Flip them around and once they’re soft I know they’re right where I want them. If I’m cooking a dish at the moment, I put some aside for eating and the rest go in a ziplock baggie or reusable container and into the freezer. This I do once a week. Spa Water One thing I’ve been missing the most is my visits to the spa. Luxuriating in the steam mist and pampering myself with a massage. Then to quench my thirst, reach for a cool glass of water flavored with anything from mint, cucumbers, lemon, strawberries or oranges. Although I’m super tempted to get a massage, since the word is my massage spot is open, I’m holding out for a while. In the meantime, I’ve decided to fill a pitcher of water everyday with spa water. My favorite combination has been mint, cucumber and lemon. But if I just have two of these ingredients I’m happy. It’s been a small treat that has kept my spirits up.  Vegetable Broth I heard a radio interview with an author and I wish I could remember her name or the name of the book, it was maybe a year ago I heard it. But she talked about using vegetable scraps and how nutritious skins and roots and the parts we’re accustomed to throwing away were (If I find this information or if anyone knows of this author/book, please let me know and I will update it here.) One part that I did take from this interview was the ability to create broth from the skins, roots and leftovers that usually get composted or thrown out. So I decided to save all the leftover vegetable skins and various parts that are usually thrown away and put them in a large ziplock bag or container which is then kept in the the freezer. Once the bag or container has a good about, I would say about 4-5 cups worth, it’s time to put them in my instapot. It was the first time I ever used my instapot after owning it for maybe eight months or so.  I put about 9 cups of water, some salt, pepper, whole cloves of garlic, cut up a whole onion and dropped in the bagged up leftovers. I placed the instapot on high for about 3-4 hours. When it’s done, I filter out all the old veggies, which go to compost and then pour the clear brown broth into plastic containers, which then all go into the freezer.  At this time, I’ve made about four batches of vegetable broth and I’ve been very pleased. I’ve played around with different ingredients, cinnamon stick once - which gave a very pleasing broth that comforted me. It reminded me of pho broth, which I do love. On occasion I’ve thrown in extra potatoes, dried red pepper, brown sugar or lemon juice. I always look forward to the new creation I get from my vegetable broth.  Then what you do with the broth is entirely up to you. I’ve made soups with bean sprouts, mushrooms and rice. Or I’ve made it a base to a sauce to mix with noodles. Or I’ve cooked a bunch of beans and had a bean and rice soup. Whatever is palatable I’m sure will work.  Hope you’ve enjoyed this, happy cooking.

@ladyanneclare 15 November 2020

The Garden that Heals November 14, 2020 Saturdays can either be super active or really lazy. Today was lazy. Motivation has been rough lately. I had one task to do, that was to mail out something I sold on eBay. I was super motivated to do that so as not to risk a down mark on my profile from the buyer. As long as I made it to the post office that is opened before closing.  I knew that it was a short drive so I added another task on to visit the community garden. It’s been months since I was there last and has been one of my new favorite places I’ve discovered in the past few months. It’s a garden with herbs, fruits, some vegetables, flowers, beehive and butterfly garden. It was designed to educate the community and kids about nature and gardening. One of the neat things is that they have a compost that the public can contribute to and the public is also allowed to harvest anything that grows there. Although there was one time that a worker there told me not to harvest ornamental plants (oops too late!) But I became a real regular there since there’s WiFi I would bring my work laptop and take in the sun while I finished out my days of work. Great times during the summer. I’ll soon have to go back for a workday here.  After the post office, I planned on going to the community garden and filled a bag of coffee grounds and egg shells which I had been saving, it was a lot. I consume coffee and eggshells daily, combine that with no visits for months and it adds up quite a lot. The air quality due to the fires had kept me from visiting. I decided exploring the outdoors as I have wasn’t the wisest thing to do at this time while we are suppose to be mindful of our respiratory health. Maybe I was overly cautious, but we’re in the middle of experimental stages so I thought to err on the side of caution.  It was really wonderful to be back in the garden and to see the changes. The rangers there do a great job of looking after the grounds and I see that they hunkered down a lot of the plants for the winter. I also saw some plants have new growth from being cut back, such as the lavender. The lavender plants are ornamental but one of the rangers I became friendly with told me that they would be eventually cut back in the fall. He said that I could go for it and take as much as I liked. I was thrilled. My own shears were in hand and I was off, whacking off some lavender. But I was conscious of how much I took, I didn’t want to be greedy and hope that the rest of the the bunch was enough for others to enjoy.  When I got home with that lavender bunch, I proceeded to remove the buds, the inner part that smells, from the flowers and stems. At that point, the flowers and surrounding greenery had died off a good amount, so it was easy to separate them. It was a good project for a week or two. I stored the buds in a glass jar and am still figuring out how I want to use them. I should mention right now that the general name for this plant I’m gushing about is lavender but the actual genus of this particular lavender is lavandin - which carries a stronger camphor scent and is used in a lot of soaps and oils. It’s not the sweet smelling lavender but the almost menthol like scent. So it seems that I will be making lotions, salves and some aromatherapy products with this batch. I do like to cook with lavender but that will have to be another type when I find it.  The community garden has been so therapeutic for me. It’s not a huge place, it’s super small. The parking lot has like 15 spots. But there are walking trails that connect to the garden park so many people cross through. It also has one of those walking meditation labyrinth’s made with stones. I really hope that every community, city, township has there own place of restoring one’s mind, body and soul.  After the garden, I went to the store and was planning to buy potatoes and onions but surprise surprise, I left with a bunch of other stuff. I guess I was running low on some supplies but have really been trying to cut back on the spending. When I got home, I spoke briefly with a friend and brought up this same topic, going to the store for one thing and all the sudden a bunch of things came with it. Oh well, I bought some tiny Snickers bars. I never eat candy but I guess tonight is the night.  Where do my Saturdays go? It went by really fast. I still want to take a shower, whiten my teeth, clear my desk, read a book and write more for read.cash. Well tomorrow is another day. I’ll have to find an article on time management.

@ladyanneclare 14 November 2020

Men, Affection and the Weird It almost seems like my dreams have replaced my former life before this pandemic. I dream all the time now. Here is a dream from a few nights ago and last night that has me thinking about healing past wounds. I’ll explain as I go along. What’s interesting is that I dream about real people I have known throughout my life.  Here’s the dream from a few nights ago. I’m in a room with a desk area lining the wall, kind of like what you’d see in an office. There is seating area with a couch and coffee table nearby. I’m seated on the couch. A past lover, Dan*, sits at the desk area that has a computer and he is learning how to edit videos, a teacher comes to him and guides him through the software. On the couch, I’m looking through a pile of CDs. Someone I had a crush on, Steve*, is sitting in the area. There’s a small TV and I turn it on and start watching a vintage like home movie that Steve’s mom is in and she’s surrounded by younger women throughout it.   None of this dream makes any sense of why I would dream it, but there it is in my subconscious. Last night’s dream was definitely more striking and has me in a quandary today, let me know what you think.  I am away from home at some kind of conference. The guy who first broke my heart in my younger years, Greg*, is there. At first I’m very shy and think, I really don’t want to interact with him at all. After all its been years, decades and I’m done with this chapter. It’s too late, and as I’ve turned my back to him, he comes behind me and grabs me by my ankles, lifting me off the ground. It’s his way of greeting me and expressing he’s happy to see me. We’re now hanging out together and he starts to kiss me. Nothing passionate, very small little pecks. It’s made me a nervous and wondering what’s going on. Then he asks, can we do more stuff? As in, he wants to make out more beyond kissing. I said sure, I was all for it. He continues kissing and being very affectionate. We never went beyond the kissing in the dream. At one point, we’re sitting and he’s behind me with his arms wrapped around me. It felt good in the dream to have him holding me. I thought in the dream, this is good, it makes sense. We should be a couple, this is who I will be with. Then a group of us got in a van and it appeared to be a shuttle stopping at various stops. We drove by a large massive university like building, like a library of some sort. Greg told the van to stop and he got off the van and just said bye to me like nothing happened. No words about keeping in touch or anything, he just went off.  Somewhere in this dream, I can’t remember if was before or after the Greg sequence, I was in a church. In the church, I was going through the side hallways along the chapel area, it was very ornate and reminded me of an old Catholic Church. I found my way into the chapel area, which was inside. Suddenly the chapel area turned into an outside stadium seated area with a tent above the seats. There was an elder man, *Mr. Smith, who was a friend of my family’s in real life that had passed away about five years ago, asked me to buy him Starbucks. I got him the Starbucks and now had to hand it to him. In order to do this, I had to walk up the levels of various people in the stands to get to him. I passed by this family I had grown up with in my parent’s church. Their family had three sons but in this dream, they had over ten sons, and they all looked alike and filled up about three to four rows of the seating area. It kind of freaked me out that there were so many of them. In the dream I kept thinking, they only had like three sons right? Maybe it was four, it wasn’t this many. I just about got there and that is all I remember.  Frequent Dreaming I’ve continued to write about my dreams because they’ve been so vivid and constant for the past eight months. Before then I would have a dream maybe a couple times a month. Now it just feels like a ritual when I go to sleep, I wake with some bizarre dream. Its caused me to wonder if dreams are trying to replace the activity and interaction I would have with others before Covid. It’s interesting to posit that my brain is being impacted by pandemic shutdown subconsciously, it’s trying to create the hustle and bustle that I usually have going on.  On an emotional note, this recent dream felt healing and comforting. It was about that person in life from who teaches you about heartbreak. Truthfully, this one really did break me as a teenager and it was painful and hard to talk about and I still to this day do not discuss it with many people. Perhaps it was a heartache I never healed fully from and it came to the surface. If anything, I found comfort and it felt like a dream of closure to me. Albeit he left unceremoniously at the end, it was the affection and desire from him that was healing.  Or it could mean, I really need a boyfriend.  *Names have been changed for privacy.

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@ladyanneclare 8 November 2020

The Benny Chuck Dream This dream is from last night and was so bizarre, I’ll have to explain some things to make sense of it to you all. But then again, are dreams suppose to make sense? I was in a room with a few girls and a guy who I knew, Benny Chuck*. This dream did not make any sense to me and even knowing a little background about Benny wouldn’t really explain anything. But let me tell you about Benny Chuck.  He is a character - we met in a parking lot behind a bar/club and he’s taken a liking to trolling me on social media! It’s harmless, but once I post I know not far away is a post by Benny. Back to the dreamscape, we were in a brightly lit room, the decor was a mix of 70’s retro. Neutral bland colors, old style television, macrame plant holders, couches threaded with shades of green, beige and orange. Benny sat next to me and we were talking shit. I can’t remember all too well this part but I kind of remember a flask being passed around. Then as we sat there, I glanced down and noticed Benny’s penis started to peek out of his pants, I was alarmed. Then he started moving around and I looked elsewhere and a few moments later, I look at Benny and he’s exposed his crotch. On his penis was a tattoo of a coin. The coin’s color was a mixed alloy of yellow gold and silver metals and about the size of a US quarter. It kind of reminded me of a Susan B. Anthony gold dollar. It was was so real I thought it was an actual coin attached to his penis. There were other tattoo/markings but the one of the coin was a real standout.  My mouth agape, I said something like, “What is that, why?” Benny started to tell me that it was dedicated to three guys that meant the most to him, The Doobie Brothers. As he’s telling me this I was imagining it was dedicated to family members.  Surprised by his dedication to the Doobie Brothers, he started to express how much they meant the world to him and changed his life. When they passed away, he was heartbroken. He went into their music and the meaning it had for him.  This definitely was a weird one. I can’t explain why I dreamt this, nothing in this dream makes sense.  If you’ve had a similar experience with a dream, please post in the comments below. It would be great to hear anyone who is as stumped as I am about an outlandish dream.  *Name has been changed to protect identity of person mentioned.

@ladyanneclare 7 November 2020

The Longest Week of the Pandemic November 6, 2020. It’s Friday yay! Actually that statement meant a lot more BC (before Covid) since I’ve been home all week, it tends to mean less. On Fridays now, I ceremoniously clap my laptop closed and zip it up in its case until I have to open it again on Monday morning. Something about this helps to regulate my brain in allowing it to rest and have a true weekend.  I ain’t gonna lie, it’s been the longest week of the pandemic. Due all to the presidential election, or lack thereof should I say. It feels like I’ve just been staring at a frozen screen since Wednesday - no substantial updates or end in sight, hey just like we have been since March. I digress.  At times I feel its been pointless to keep my television on, hoping that they make some official announcement, but nope. From the start of this, I did imagine that it was going to be a real feat to push Trump out of the White House. I read Tony Robbins “Awakening the Giant Within” that has an interview with Trump from 1991. When Trump first entered office and the Hillary aftermath, I reached for the book again because I remembered some key piece of information that I thought would help me process it all. In the interview, Tony asks Trump what was his key to success, what made him the success he was. Trump replied, “I refuse to lose.” I read that and a chill ran through my body. It made me realize that this was a man who was willing to go to great lengths to win.  The predicament of this drawn out election has not surprised me due to that piece of information. It’s going to be a long, nasty, anxiety-driven, nail-biting battle that will just tear at heart strings everywhere. Cities all over the US knew this going in, beefing up security and preparing for the worst. Waiting has been the worst part. It seems we’re all holding our energy and emotion inside until the moment we can collectively sigh or express ourselves at what outcome lies ahead.  It’s been exhausting, just like the rest of the year. I’m looking ahead to 2021, good riddance to 2020. Not sure how much more “non-news” I can continue to watch but I will be watching.

@ladyanneclare 6 November 2020

Filling the Cracks of My Life  November 5, 2020. It was a decent day today. I received two calls from friends, which is always welcomed and nice. It was a great way to end the day.  The first call was from a dear friend whom I’ve known for over 19 years. We live in different states but have been able to catch up more often as of late. He called with some unfortunate news that his father had passed. I gave my condolences and I listened to him for a while about all the goings on surrounding his passing. From what he told me, his father had been ill for sometime, in and out of the hospital. I hope that I was able to give my friend the support and solace that he needed tonight and let him know that I would be available whenever he needed to talk. Services are being held next week and I told him to keep me posted regarding the online service taking place. He said that funeral homes had been extremely busy and it had been hard to scheduling something and that the funeral would be limited to thirty attendees. I was sad to hear this and hope that all the loved ones that were able to participate in paying respects would be able to in the way that would help all to grieve.  I know that it was sad to hear the news but I also know that it is the inevitable part of life that we all will face. My parents are both still alive and I know I’ll have a great deal of my own grieving and loss when it’s time for them to move on.  The second call was from a friend who had started a new job and I was extremely happy for her. She had been at a job that was had been shut down at the start of the pandemic so to hear that she found something different and (to me) more better and suitable for her was awesome. She’s such a sweet soul and I want good things for her since she went through some suffering at her former employment. Her boss was just a prick and I didn’t like the way he treated her so I’m glad that she’ll leave that behind.  It’s calls like these that fill my heart and makes me happy to connect and answer my phone. Although I’m apart from my friends, our calls fill the cracks of our lives in and helps me feel human and that I exist, instead of being some kind of weird hermit that doesn’t venture out much (not entirely by choice that is).  I have a subscription to an online class that expires next month and decided to log in for a few lessons. It’s been a good productful day.

@ladyanneclare 6 November 2020

Connections & the Supernatural Last night I had a wild multilayered dream. Let me start from the beginning.  In my dream I had been trying to get in touch with a certain celebrity and I asked if he read my message. He texted me that he was just looking at it in that moment. It was a text from a year ago. On his phone in my dream, the texts I had sent him were in shown in a vertical fashion. There was something strange between us, an interesting chemistry. We decided to meet sometime soon.  Next I was with my sister and brother in a wooden cabin. We were somewhere we had never been. We got into some kind of disagreement and I went to leave to go outside. Just as I opened the door, I noticed it was dusk going to darkness, there was a huge boulder that started sinking into the ground across the road. There were people all around that turned to watch. I watched in disbelief as the boulder disappeared into the ground forming a gigantic hole and brilliant light of blues and greens flashed upward. Then a solid green liquid appeared and floated above the hole, it then continued to float and morph in various shapes. Several rainbow like colors started to shoot out of the hole, I continued watching, my mouth open and watching in horror. More light and sparkling like action occurred over the hole and the green liquid turned more into a slime entity. It grew larger and loomed over while the brilliant lights continued to churn upward. The colors became more varied, pinks, lavender, reds and oranges came about. The ground rumbled and all those present shook about, like a mini earthquake. The light show continued the colorful mass continued to morph and move about over the pitted ground. I thought that this had some kind of connection to an alien being, my memory may have not remembered something also falling from the sky into the pit. But this sight definitely gave me the feeling of some kind of supernatural occurrence.