Small Things

The hard drive on my lap top went to the land of OZ, you know, the Outer Zone. It developed a terminal case of black screen almost two weeks ago. So after finally ordering a new hard drive and installing it, I now get to the fun part. I get to reinstall all of the software, and try to get it to work correctly. Luckily I had most of my files backed up on an external hard drive. The bad part, the backup software isn’t perfect at installing everything, so I get to copy and paste a lot. Then there are the “issues” of things still not working the way they’re supposed to.  Even George the kitten and his commando attacks on Elisha the adult cat didn’t do much for my humor. George even lacks decent fear of the Dutch, the big dog. Tonight he was hanging on Dutch’s ear with his claws and biting it. Poor, good natured Dutch just sat there.

Work from home has something in common with reinstalling software on a computer, a series of small things. Vincent Van Gogh said it best; “Great things are not done by impulse, but a series of small things brought together.” Just the way you make a home business function, a series of small things. You know, check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Is the business concept or opportunity accredited? It better be! Have there been any complaints? After more than thirty years as a police officer, I think it’s terrific that there is an agency that does all of the investigating for you. Does the business opportunity provide training for you? How about free websites? Are you getting the idea? A home business is more than having a computer and a telephone.

There are lots of scams out there. One of the things to watch out for is, are the asking for money for nothing in return? Now I don’t mean paying for a membership, that’s legal. On-line shopping is also legal. However, if they ask for money up front so they can send you more money later on? The red flag should go up on that one. One of the most common of these has been named by the FBI as the Nigerian scam. There are lots of variations of this one, but it usually starts by someone with the same last name as you dying in another country and having a lot of money. Someone in that country, usually claiming to be with a bank, wants to keep the government from getting all of the money, and want your help. Send them ten or twenty thousand dollars for the bank fees, and they’ll let you claim to be the heir to millions of dollars. Except there isn’t a fortune waiting for you, and any money you sent to them is already in another country. So remember the BBB, and check out the home business.

A legit home business concept lets you have time to do other things as well. Like make a tasty snack. You might want to try this one from the Rachel Ray website.

Pies on Sticks

Serves 12

These fruity pies are fast to prepare and fun to serve.

Ingredients:

12 popsicle sticks

1 box pre-made pie crust (2 crusts per box)

flour for dusting

1 egg, beaten with a splash of water

Filling choices:

Any canned pie filling, such as pumpkin

Cherry all-fruit preserves

Strawberry all-fruit preserves

Nutella

1 small ripe banana, combined with 8 ounces cream cheese and

4 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F

Place the popsicle sticks in a shallow dish. Cover with water and soak for 20 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll both pie dough’s out to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into six wedges.

Place 3 tablespoons of filling on each triangle (wedge). Place a popsicle stick at the wide end of the wedge. Brush the edges with the egg wash and fold over, creating a pie filled wedge. Crimp the sides with a fork and brush the tops with egg wash. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

www.evprofessionals.com/concept