Ode to Dolly is published again & more news

An Update on the Poem  "An Ode to Dolly"

I have posted the poem "An Ode to Dolly  Re: Global Warming" in 2 blogs, a webpage and elsewhere in the past. It got noticed! It is published in a textbook. (Keep reading below the credits  for details.)

• (Blogs: Valerie's Memos & Valerie's Soapbox; Webpage: VCCTI, an extremely outdated and practically unusable website that I have not had time to update. Give me time. I still have plans for it.)
• I have used this photo in past posts of the poem. This photo of a sheep and her lamb is NOT Dolly, but is from Fotolia [© foto.fritz - FOTOLIA
  fotolia_397073 sheep with lamb and full wool coat.jpg] Get more from this photographer.schaf 7 © foto.fritz  

I offer the first 2 lines as a teaser of "An Ode to Dolly."

Dolly had a little lamb.

It came the natural way.

Valerie Coskrey (c)2006.

Back in 2012 or 2013, I received a request to allow the use of the poem in an educational workshop and a textbook. I gave Pearson permission to use the poem, retaining the copyright. I had them donate to RFF in lieu of payment, which they did. Now I learn that the textbook has been reissued.

This poem is included in Pearson's educational text that was just republished in 2019.

Read to Achieve: Gateway to Academic Reading
By David Rothman, Jilani Warsi
Published by Pearson
Copyright © 2013
Published Date: Jun 21, 2019

http://www.mypearsonstore.com/bookstore/read-to-achieve-gateway-to-academic-reading-9780205578061?xid=PSED

The link shows the book and its table of contents. The poem is listed in Chapter 2. I checked Amazon.com and found used versions of the 2013 edition still for sell. So I bought one--a paperback.

 An Update on Coskrey Biz

An update on Coskrey Biz is is to be in an upcoming post. Hint: Editing is really keeping me busy, as is publishing. Stay in touch!!

Read Standing Tall and Looking Good

The Book is Published

In the last post I said that I was editing a book. That book is now published to Amazon as an ebook.

You can get it by clicking on the image. Standing Tall and Looking Good is a memoir by R. Fred Zuker's years in the Army during 1968-1971. Zuker tells of  his days in basic combat training, attending classes for military intelligence and serving in South Korea during the Vietnam War.

His clipped, objective style echos the brief sentences of military communications, both in person and on forms. I relate because I grew up on Navy bases and have family members who served. As I read, I could feel the rhythm of cadences and the sense of getting the job done, no excuses, that I felt when growing up.

Zuker was a leader and a doer with skills that carried him through his academic career after Army life. He was also a history major, and uses his knowledge of history to relate to events in the book. You can read about Zuker here.

Yes, I edited the book, trying my best to maintain the voice of military speech that my veteran family members assured me was true. Coskrey Biz also published the book online. Wayne, the other half of Coskey Biz, did the photo processing and the cover art. The cover art is based on a sketch by Walt Johnson, a friend of Fred Zuker. Wayne and Walt Johnson share the copyright. Questions? Contact me.

We plan a Young Adult edition in the near future. We believe that ROTC and high school history classes will enoy reading the YA version. The original version contains the salty dialog of young military men, which will be removed for the YA version. The YA version should be, hopefully, published in January-February of 2019. with a slightly different title. Stay in touch for the publication announcement.

Coskrey Biz Business -- 9/8/14

Websites in the Making

Button on NetworkShrub
Visit the website.

This week saw the completion of the website for a local business, English Garden Florist & Boutique, which is in Brazoria, TX. Check it out and shop this local business for gifts and flowers!

I am consulting with Vic Penuel of Jeter's Old World Antiques & Gifts in Angleton, TX, on the website he is building and posting for free to a closed Facebook group of local antique dealers and vintage resale merchants. Vic's goal is to bring more business into our area south of Houston. The website will feature all local antique and vintage resale merchants in the group. Flyers for the merchants are planned that will feature member merchants, too.

The site should be posted by 9/30/14.  Local merchants of antiques and vintage resale should email Vic and ask to be included in the Facebook group. Those who join after the webpage due date can be added to the website after its launch.

For beach goers, there is plenty to see, do, and buy on your way down Hwy's 6, 288, 35 and neighboring roads south. The website's focus is on Brazoria County, which ends with Surfside, Bryan and Quintana beaches. Let Antiquing be a part of your activity list. Plan to visit the website for information on where to shop or browse and visit.

Sketch of website design for sale at Coskrey Biz

I designed a webpage based on 6-7 images I found in Fotolia and just had to use. So far the design is simply a jpeg layout. I wrote text reflective of someone who upcycles and repurposes vintage and resale items. The original text uses plenty of "magically transforms" and other flowery phrases, but hey...it's a rough draft. If interested, let me know. I will develop the template for a website if purchased. For more details, visit Coskrey Biz.

I also managed to get a few pages about teaching with science fiction added to the Valerie Coskrey's Classroom Tools and Ideas website that I am rewriting.

Posting in Blogs 

Have you visited the Discovery Garden pages yet? Sam, my partner in these pages, has started a blog, Friends of the West Columbia Discovery Garden. We invite your participation.

Today in Valerie's Soapbox, I posted a teachable moment essay about reading with young children. Here I described an experience with a first grade girl I tutor as she read No. David! to me.

I wrote another poem that I am debating posting in my blog Valerie's Soapbox. Might do that this week. It is called Homage to Bt-corn. Look for information about it in the next memo.

On 9/1/14 I posted an article about cooking with crock pots in Talking about This and That.

Tutoring Continues

Know anyone near Sweeny, TX, who needs a tutor or homeschool academic coach? Visit Coskrey Biz for information. I still have a couple of open time spans.


That's all for now. 'Til next time. ~Valerie

Coskrey Biz Business 6/29/14

Welcome Gifts & Gadgets 

Gifts & Gadgets has joined the NetworkShrub of Coskrey Biz. The blog is up and looking good.  Look for a minumum of 2 postings each month. The website will be up shortly, as will the button. There is a link to the Gifts & Gadget Facebook page on the blog.

Gifts & Gadgets, owned by Cindy Heard, is located in Sweeny, TX, in the Stewart's Shopping Center. Store hours are 10:00 AM  -- 6:00 PM, Tuesday-Saturday. Come and shop or just visit.

Mertie's This and That

Mertie's This and That is running a sale on women's clothing. She has some beautiful dresses in the sales rack. Visit the  Mertie's This and That Facebook page. Don't forget the blog Talking about This and That, with new postings on 1st and 3rd Mondays each month. There is a link to Mertie's website there.

Library Activity

I helped with a science crafts workshop for children at the local library in Sweeny, TX. The children made a half dozen projects each and were joyful for the entire hour. Guess that is a measure of success.

The Discovery Garden

Over a dozen webpages are awaiting approval and adjustment by the IT guys. Soon they should be posted on the West Columbia, TX, website.

Coskrey Biz Business 2/13/14

 In the shop; At the Computer Class; Getting Insurance;  Keeping Busy

A peek at the glassware and table
I have for sale at
Mertie's This and That

Valerie Sells Items at Mertie's This and That

As you know, I am selling items at Mertie's This and That on Hwy 521 just southwest of Brazoria. It is on the north side just east of the San Bernard River Bridge.

Currently, I am selling vintage Norwood, Imperial and  Indiana glassware, including carnival glass, milkglass,  and FTD vases from the 70's and onward. Bowls and votives round out the collection. There are some furniture items and more to round out your shopping experience.

Looking for china and crystal? I have sets of Moonspun China by Lennox and Navarre Crystal Stemware by Fostoria for sale. Tell Mertie you are interested and ask for my card. Call me and we will discuss it. It is not in the store, although it can be sold at the store. Mertie has other sets of china in the store.

Just one of the patterns of china for sale.

Add these items to Mertie's large inventory and you are sure to find something to please when you come by. Browse and visit; Mertie enjoys company. I might even be there when you stop by. Come between 11:00am-5:00pm from Tuesdays through Saturday. Beware, Mertie occasionally closes a tad early!

Computer Classes at the Sweeny Library

This past week we added tables and columns to a Word file.  Copies of the lesson can be obtained from the librarians.

Next week,  2/18/14, we will use Excel to build a spreadsheet of information and numbers. We will learn the quirks of entering data, formatting cells, and working a few calculations.  We will write a few simple formulas and concatenate text. We might have time for a graph or two.

I ask for suggestions of topics to cover and I ask if anyone is interested in extending the class into March. Also, remember to let me know if you need to arrange some one-on-one time for your individual needs.

Insurance Help is on the Way

A friend of mine emailed me this message just last week: "On Feb. 25, Mar. 4, 11, 18, and 25 at the [American Legion Hall in West Columbia[TX]from 8 AM to 7 PM free help will be available to people to sign up for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). You need to bring your tax return, Social Security Number, date of birth, and an ID."

Many thanks, Sam, for letting us know!

Keeping Busy

I am making progress with the updating of the website Valerie Coskrey's Classroom Tools and Ideas. It will be a better site when I am finished. I am also busy tutoring, and have added a few subjects to my list of qualified areas on WyzAnt. (Find me as Mrs. C at WyzAnt.com). You can also hire me directly. Visit Coskrey Biz for details and a link to WyzAnt.

Coskrey Biz Bizness 1/19/14

Keeping Busy at Coskrey Biz

Computer Classes and Web Pages

I am teaching computer classes at the local library at 2:30 on Tuesday afternoons. About 9 students are taking the classes, so far. Lessons from past classes are posted on Coskrey Biz. Just follow the links from the library page.

Information for the Computer Class

This week's class will focus on using the file management system

Explorer to locate, open, save and organize files. Portable drives for transporting information will be discussed. To have files to play with, we will put an image in a word file and manipulate it. Then we will save it to a thumb drive and locate it; save it to documents and locate it there, etc. 

All students bringing their own laptops should come a few minutes early to get their internet log-on information from the librarians. Others should get their computer slips from me and be ready to use Word when we start class.

Valerie Coskrey's Classroom Tools and Ideas

I am in the process of updating my first website, nicknamed VCCTI or vforteachers. It should be up and running again soon. Let me know what you think of the new home page. It is up, solo, but up.

I am adding a series called Reading Kits.

My Apologies

For a while there the websites were a bit messed up. The problem was in the directory. My bad. I have fixed the problem now and the webpages are once more correctly accessible. For anyone who was exploring, 2 index pages got switched.

A Network of Shops

Besides webpages and blog management, I offer shop networks. Resale Shops near Brazoria to see the concept in action. Currently, I am building this network. The active member is Merties This and That.

A group of shops share an entry page linking to the webpages of each shop. It is an inexpensive way for a small business to get a webpage, share the expense of advertising locally, and build a network of like-minded business people. A ListLocal account is available for each network entry page.

Tutoring News

All students took a break over the Christmas holidays. Many took off the first week back to school since teachers started few new concepts that week. This gave me a mini-vacation that I enjoyed. I am glad to be seeing them again now. Currently, I have only a few slots open for new students.

About Wayne

Wayne is ready to process photos now. He has become quite expert at digital photo restoration.
He is still designing his webpages, but can be contacted at wayne @ coskrey-biz.com (close up the spaces, please. Spammer-prevention, you know.)

Coskrey Biz Bizness 11/5/13

What's New? Lots!

New Webpages

New webpages are posted.

Fluffy Cat ©2012
Read more below.

• Resale Shops in the Brazoria, TX, area 
•  Mertie's This and That

New Services

Photo albums are now available. I have added ZenPhoto to the Coskrey Biz website.

• Get your catalog of products posted with your webpage--or just get a photo album.
• I will be adding my templates for presentations (PowerPoint, etc.) to my photo album. It may take a few days/weeks, but it will soon be an example for you to consider.

Wayne is ready to take orders for digital photo restoration. Contact wayne@coskrey-biz.com.

Just Catching Up

Yes, I am still tutoring.

My new business cards will be here next week.

Don"t forget to read Mertie's blog Talking About This and That. The last posting was just before Halloween and the next one comes out next week.

The Dirt Poor Book blog has been reactivated for book reviews. Have you a book review to post there? Send it to me, along with some info to post about yourself as the reviewer. I will add the Amazon link to the book, if available. As a network, we can grow this additional outlet for our ideas, works and opinions.

Did you see the blog post this past week on Valerie's Soapbox that featured 2 local artists? Love their work. But they are both sooooooo different!

About Fluffy Cat

Begun as a painting by Wendy Sterling, Fluffy Cat had been rendered as a graphic image by me. Then Wayne (see above) got hold of it and made a few artistic adjustments on the lighting and color balance to the image I had processed from a photo. Voila, a clip art that I am so proud of. Thanks to Wendy and the other artists that have provided the original paintings and stained glass that I have photographed and turned into graphics for websites and template designs.

Coskrey Biz Bizness 10/15/13

Notes from Val

Ok, so the title is lame. I might be a step up from CB Bizness or Coskrey Biz Bizyness. Newsletter sounds so bland. Should I call it Leaves Falling from the NetworkShrub? Fruit of the Shrub? Falling Leaves? Branches of the Shrub? Any suggestions? Maybe those names should be column names. OK. Let's get this newsletter set up so it can be read...

Talking about This and That

In the last postings of Talking about This and That, I talked about re-purposing furniture. Also, I interviewed a local artisan, Donn Correll of Texas Attitudes, CR 316, Brazoria, TX, who refinishes furniture--so be sure to scroll all the way down to the last half of the post. I plan to write more about Mertie and Donn on Valerie's Soapbox. I will let you know when you can read it there.

At Coskrey Biz

The website for Coskrey Biz is up. There are still some pages not posted, so do not be alarmed if you get to an error page on a few of the links. Also, Wayne has still to put his pages up. You will just have to contact him through me. The services he will be offering are graphic arts, photo processing, art, photography and more. He used to fix computers, so if any of you in our network need advice, call.

For those of you considering a Button for the NetworkShrub℠, take a look at the home page and the NetworkShrub℠ Directory. For a description of how it works, read about it on Websites and Blogs. Remember that information displayed will be only what you ask me to display. Also, your Button will link to whatever page online or email that you want it to.
Wayne is busily restoring old photos as digital images with Adobe Cloud software and a Wacom tablet. He is now ready for orders. If you have old photos that you want stored on CD, if you want them touched-up or restored, call for Wayne, the other half of Coskrey Biz.
I am placing some items for sale at Mertie's This and That on FM 521 just southwest of Brazoria, TX. Next time you shop at Mertie's This and That, take a look at my section. I will be up and running by the end of this week. Mertie's items are so attractive, you just know she sets the bar for fine thrift shops in the area. I hope to learn lots from her while we "partner-up" in her store. She has graciously allowed me add a few comments about my stuff in her blog. Look for next week's posting to mention the types of stuff in Coskrey Corner.

Branches of the NetworkShrub℠

Jessie is the newest member of the network. She is an artist and a photographer. She has a sign company in Sweeny, TX, called Total Graphics.

Blog Memos as Newsletters

©2013 All Rights Reserved;
My logo at Coskrey Biz

It seems a bit redundant to send out emails to subscribers when rss feeds from a blog will work just as well. Or do we send emails to remind people to read blogs?  Are you subscribed to this blog?

Anyway, I plan to re-purpose this blog to include newsletter info for my new business activities. My business and its new website are called Coskrey Biz. I plan to continue freelance activities under this name.

If you want an email, use the "Follow by email" form at the bottom of this page, send info in the comment, visit Valerie Coskrey on Facebook and send a message, or send me an email.  I also have a google+ page.  Eventually I will determine who wants what and shape the newsletter plans accordingly.  If the newsletter idea doesn't fly, then I will make other plans for this blog.

Let me know if you like/don't like this idea.

At any rate, the original purpose for the blog is still viable, I have just been inactive for a bit.

By the way, we decided to change our business name when we moved to TX just over a year ago.  Since the site Valerie Coskrey's Classroom Tools and Ideas is being updated and will continue on, and since freelance work I do includes tutoring, the news in the memos will still apply to educational ideas.