A couple of years ago I got an order from a businessman from Singapore. This businessman made a huge difference to me at the time. This businessman called me on the phone several times from Singapore. He called at a time when things were not going well for me. (eBay sales had been dropping, and the US economy was just beginning to crash) I am truly grateful for those phone conversations, he encouraged and reminded me to just keep moving forward, to not give up and that everything has a way of just working out. He was at the time truly a shining light during a time of darkness. I had forgotten that Spirit, God, the Universe always opens new doors when old doors begin to close.
From the encouragement and conversations with this businessman at the time I began moving forward. I have been saying Yes to the Universe, to Sprit. Rather than giving up I have been learning a lot of new things, I have added to my product lines and learned new ways to market. I am finalizing a new site Geezer n Geek and very soon I will be beginning a whole new series of opportunities from what I have been learning since this man encouraged me not to give up, not to look back and to simply move forward.
Right at the time when the new opportunities have begun to open up and become reality, I got an email from this businessman, placing a new order a couple of days ago. He enclosed a two photos of the windmills I had shipped to him a couple of years back. So here are the photos – I wanted to share how much these mean to me, and to say Thank You to the Universe, God, Spirit for sending this businessman to me and for his help and encouragement.
Tags: 4.5 foot windmill, Garden Windmill, Geezer n Geek, photos, Singapore
In the free computer tips I will be mentioning some tools and software that I use a lot on my computers. Some of the tools and software are free and some are things you can buy. In the how to use your computer class I will be showing you how to get some of these tools and software onto you computer and how to use it.
In the class and webinars I will be showing you some free tools and how they work and will also show some tools you pay for and how they work. The goal is to show you a free way of getting something done and a paid way of getting things done. There will a lot of free information and tips on the site. There will also be a “membership” area where you will have available much more detail and on screen tutorials on how to do things. The membership area will have a monthly fee.
I will also soon have a course on how to use your computer available soon. This course will be available for purchase soon.
If you want to begin to learn how to use your computer and or learn a lot about the Internet there will soon be a pace on the Geezer n Geek site where you can sign up for free tips and information.
Tags: computer instruction, computer learning, internet instruction, internet tutorials
I have been working on a new site Geezer n Geek It is pretty “rough” right now – however I do want to invite you to “take a look” as I put the site together.
What does this new site have to do with windmills and weather vanes? I get phone calls quite often from people who want a windmill or weathervane but do not know how to buy things on line or use their computer. I also get people coming into the store and also emailing me that they just do not know much about how to use their computer or how to connect and use things like their digital camera, video camera, iPod or other music playing device, iPhone and other smart phones and so on.
I have been asking my windmill customers if they would like to learn how to use their computer better, I have been asking people who come into the store the same thing – I keep hearing some of the same things. “computer illiterate” is something I hear a lot. So I am putting the Geezer n Geek site together to offer a place to learn about computers and some of the “new” technology.
I also get emails and have people asking me how to do things like get on Facebook, or put their photos in an email or on Facebook.
It just seems that a number of people are really struggling when it comes to computers, the Internet, application software, electronic gadgets and on and on. So I am putting together several things that will help people become a lot more comfortable with the technology and electronic gadgets and do that in a way that is in plain English rather than “tech or geek” speak.
As you watch me put the site together you will see I am really just learning how to do this type of site. Even though I have a couple of sales sites and a couple of blog sites already I am learning and experiment with this site. I will be posting more on this site as I make it work. I will be recommending a number of tools, classes, instruction that I find useful in learning.
Geezer n Geek will have a number of tips, ideas, tutorials, simple instructions and live webinars to help people learn to use their computers and or learn how to do more with their computers.
It appears that a lot of people my age (baby boomer) and older have gotten computers and can do some basic web searches, send email and maybe have gotten on Facebook but just do not know much about how to actually use their computer.
What Geezer n Geek is about is a place where people can learn to use their computer, and how to do things with their computer like bring digital photos from their phone or camera on to their computer.
There will be a number of free tips and tutorials and there will also be some courses and webinars designed to help people get much more comfortable with technology. You can overcome being “computer literate” and we can help.
Watch as I build up the site. There will be places where you can sign up to receive simple computer tips and tutorials and if you sign up you will be not only kept in the loop you will be able to tell me what you would like to learn to do with your computer. A lot of the upcoming classes will be based on what you want to learn how to do, or what is giving you problems with using and understanding your computer.
Tags: blog, computer instruction, computer tutorial, digital camera, digital video, facebook, members site, weathervanes, windmills, Word Press
Back in the late 1890’s there were a number of windmill companies in the Midwest. As people began to develop agriculture in the Midwestern plains a source of good clean clear water was found 50 to 100 feet below the surface. The Midwestern plains has few rivers. Livestock was a part of farming and windmills were a part of raising cattle and hogs. On just about every plains farm there was at least one windmill. I grew up in Central Nebraska – we had a windmill at our main farm as well as at least one on several pasture lands we had for grazing cattle. Water was pumped into cattle tanks from the windmills. You could travel west to the sand hills and see hundreds of windmills in dozens of styles from a number of manufacturers out on the farms and ranches.
There were also windmills along the railways for the steam trains. There are still quite a few operating windmills in western Nebraska and in the Sand Hills area however as time goes by the number become fewer and fewer. In the Central Plains rural electricity became more available plus the water table dropped – the result was that deeper wells had to be drilled to get water. The windmills could not pump water from these deeper wells. Only about 100 feet was pretty much the maximum. The windmills were replaced with electric submersible pumps in many areas. Windmill manufacturers either went out of business or started making other things. Windmill parts became difficult to find and windmill maintenance became more and more time consuming.
There are several museums and historic windmill collections around. There is an annual event where people sell and swap windmills and windmill parts. CLICK HERE for a link to the Windmill Trade Fair and Windmill Museum to one of the windmill Museums. Here is a great site about windmills this Museum is in Lubbock Texas. Here is another great resource if you are into windmills and windmill history – The Windmillers Gazette has some back issues and reprints.
This year the Windmill Trade fair was held in York Nebraska – Windmillers Trade Fair. I really had hoped to attend this event this year but just could not get away. I am hoping that there will photos up on one of the above site about this years Windmill event.
Something interesting to do is Google the various manufacturers represented by the 17” mini windmills – there is some very interesting information available. There now are 7 of the “brand name mini windmills – Dempster and Eli being the most recent. Others are the Currie, Fairbury, Heller Aller and Kirkwood. There are 7 others – the plain tailed 17”, the Aero, Stars and Stripes, Texas, Route 66, Kansas and the Commemorative models to make a total of 14 of the mini windmills available. This Link will take you to where you can see the 14 made in the USA mini windmills that I carry.
The second new mini windmill is a model of the ELI from Kregel Windmill Company – Nebraska City, Nebraska. "Stop working for the oil kings!" Use the wind to pump water and save time and money." from a 1922 ad for the Eli Windmill Company. (make one wonder if we had paid attention to this message by the Kregel Company then where we would be today) The Eli windmills were made by George Kregel beginning in 1891. The Kregel Windmill company building still exists in Nebraska City although they have not made windmills for the past 40 years. The tools and equipment are still there and an effort is being made to preserve the building and equipment as a museum. The Eli windmills were locally sold and so were rarely seen further than 60 miles from Nebraska City.
Tags: Eli Windmill, George Kregel, Kregel Windmill company, Kregel Windmill museum, Nebraska City Nebraska
There two new mini windmills now available. This is the first of the two. This is a model of the 1922 Dempster from Dempster which was located at Beatrice Nebraska. Dempster Mill Manufacturing was founded in 1978. The made windmills, hand pumps, water well products and agricultural implements. The company today is still in Beatrice Nebraska is now called Dempster Industries. They now make submersible pumps, still are making farm inplements and have gotten into recycling trailers, and wind energy products.
Have you looked at Internet Marketing – and find it is really difficult to figure out what you need to know or who you want to learn from?
I went to SIMPLE by Bob Jenkins – aka Bob the Teacher last spring. This was absolutely the BEST training seminar on Internet marketing that I have ever attended!!! Bob teaches at a level that is easy to follow and understand. He will show you how to be successful at Internet Marketing. Bob is one the very best IM teachers (trainer) that there is.
The people that attend Bob’s training are very helpful so there is the class room training and there is the other people you will meet to make this weekend training well worth going to.
I really cannot say enough about this – I signed up within 5 minutes of getting the email that registration had opened. I learned more at SIMPLE last spring in a weekend than I had in years of attempting to learn how to do this. I continue to learn and be totally amazed by the things the others that were there are doing and from ongoing training by Bob the Teacher.
This LINK is important – click it and at least take a look.
Tags: Bob Jenkins, Bob the teacher, internet marketing, internet training, SIMPLE, SIMPLE 10K, SIMPLE 2
My sales site yardgardenwindmill.com had a major problem last week. Somehow the link to Pay Pal failed. The result was customers were calling in and emailing saying they could not check out. The site is actually a “build it” site which means I can add pages and products but I have no real control over how things work. Called the provider and it ended up taking a few days before they got it fixed.
In the mean time I began adding Pay Pal Buy Now buttons to each product just so customers would have a way to buy. At this point nearly a week later I have added a either a Buy Now or Add to Cart Pay Pal button, and I am finding I like this check out better than the check out that is included with the site. Items now have a Buy Now button that will take people directly to Pay Pal. (Remember that on the left there is a place where you can check out using a credit card — you do not have to have a Pay Pal account. On the Right is where you check out if you are a Pay Pal member)
I have kept the old Add to Cart check out working. This is for customers who do not want to use a credit card on line or who wish to use a check or money order. Use this check out if you wish to call in with a credit card.
It has been a “fun” week getting everything updated. I am not done with every item yet so if you do not see the Pay Pal Check out or Buy Now button on an item you are interested in – you can still use the other check out. The Pay Pal check out is on the left below each item – the “old” check out is on the Right.
Tags: check out, Pay Pal, yardgarden windmill site
It just “makes my day” when a customer takes the time to send in photos of their new windmill. Here are a couple of photos from Mesquite Texas of a customers garden and her new 4.5 foot windmill.
I love the windmill. It is perfect for where I wanted to put it. the area is a work in progress, but here are a couple pictures of the area where I have put it up. I put in a kidney shaped flower bed and there is an area behind it and the fence that I wanted to do something with and thought the windmill would be perfect there with some other decorations. I put up the windmill, put pine cones, rocks, branches around it with a small bucket with (for now) artificial flowers in the bucket. I want to put in some figurines of animals if I can find what I want. Am going to cover the whole area with dark brown mulch and will add some small river rocks.
Thanks again… The windmill is wonderful.
Barbara
Click on photos to enlarge
Tags: 4.5 foot windmill, garden, Texas
