Ramkitten's Lensography

The Story Of The Last Remaining Felis Hornicus & Her Lenses

Some people laugh at my nickname, but, me, I'm proud of it. And it makes me smile too. Why? Because "Ramkitten" reminds me of special times and adventures.

The name originated on RamCat Farm in southwestern Pennsylvania, where Steve and I lived and worked as property caretakers from 1998 through 2003. It was shortly after moving there that I (reluctantly) used the internet for the very first time. When choosing an email address, Ramcat was already taken, you see, so I decided on Ramkitten. (Sounded cuter, anyway.)

And not only did that become my online moniker but also my trail name amongst the long-distance backpacking community, before I even set foot on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia with Maine in the back of my mind. That happened on April 1st, 2000, the day I began the six-month journey I'd dreamed of for more than a decade. And it was our situation on RamCat Farm (and my husband's support) that made it possible for me to do the hike.

Now, nine years later, I'm not only the creature and hiking writer known as Ramkitten but the Squidoo Lensmaster Ramkitten as well. **puffed up sniff** And this is my Squidoo lensography, a combination biography and catalog of my Squidoo lenses, which are basically articles that each focus, as would the lens of a camera, on a specific subject. Me, I write about my passions, my likes and even sometimes my dislikes, and just about anything else that piques my interest, tickles my funny bone, or ruffles my Ramkitten feathers. (Ramkittens are 1/100th bird, you know.)

Come to think of it, rather than simply categorize and catalog my lenses, I think I'll tell you a story first. Ready? Okay.....

Once Upon A Time....

....in a town far, far away from the land of Squidoo, (North Kingstown, Rhode Island, to be specific), there was born an angelic child name Debra Elaine Coles. That happened on March 28, 1969.

And while it was the event of the day--so said my parents--other things did take place in the world at the very same time. Can ya believe it!

So, what else DID happen on my birthday, you ask?

Why, I Just Happen To Have A Lens....

....on that very subject!

On The Day I Was Born: March 28, 1969

At 6:05am on Friday, March 28th, 1969, I made my very first appearance on the world stage. I was pink and wrinkly and probably not looking my best, but I wasn't all that concerned with my image at the time. Rather, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the...

By the way....

....know who else was born on a March 28th, just 55 years earlier?

None other than this here young man, who went missing for 75 years.

The Mystery of Everett Ruess (Solved?)

Artist and poet Everett Ruess was a wanderer, a loner, and a minimalist, who was also a prolific letter-writer. Each time he'd set out to explore the wild beauty of the southwest, Everett would pen long, extravagantly emotional letters to his pa...

Now Fast Forward 18 Years

From 1969 To 1987

Why eighteen? Well, because I haven't written any lenses yet on stuff that happened in between. K?

K....

So at the age of 18, I was a Sophomore at the University of New Hampshire (studying Environmental Conservation, but that's kinda beside the point). It was there that I made one of the most important decisions of my college career: I joined the New Hampshire Outdoors Club.

As a member and eventually a trip-leader for the NHOC, I spent nearly every weekend in the nearby White Mountains, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and the Massachusetts Berkshires, hiking, camping and perfecting the art of the ol' sit-and-slide. (Nevermind that last thing.)

It was on one of those weekend trips, as I was walking along above treeline on New Hampshire's Franconia Ridge, that my companion pointed at the trail we were on, following it with his finger off into the distance, and said, "If you keep going, you can hike all the way to Maine. And if you go the other way, you'll end up in Georgia." (Was he trying to get rid of me, I wondered.)

Well, I was floored. I never knew there was a trail that long!

"Has anyone ever hiked the whole thing?" I asked my friend.

"Oh, yeah," he replied, like it was nothin'. "That's called thru-hiking."

And I knew, then and there as I watched the storm clouds roll in, that, someday, I would be a thru-hiker too. Later that day, I learned that the trail we were on, while locally called the Old Bridal Path, was also one and the same footpath as the Appalachian Trail.

So I Added "Hike The A.T." To My List Of....

Outdoor Adventure Goals

I don't know about you, but I make lists. Lots of lists. Of course, there's the weekly grocery list and the never-ending "to do" list of chores and issues to take care of (like the darn cable company's billing mistake ... again)...

Skipping Right Along To 1995.....

After graduating from college, I moved around a bit, to Maine then Florida, trying this career path and that--environmental educator, medical office worker, paralegal, etc.--but never really stumbling on anything that truly floated my professional boat. So I decided instead to follow my heart, and my heart led me to the North Rim of Grand Canyon, where I took a job for the snowed-in winter at the remote Kaibab Lodge. It was there that I met this sweet, mustached man named Steve Lauman. --------------------------->

Steve is truly the most wonderful, supportive, nice, honest, and down-to-earth person I've ever known. He's my best friend and number one fan, who loves me just as I am. I can't say enough good things about him. (Unless he's listening, that is. Then I keep to about one compliment a day.)

In 1998, then living in my native New England, Steve and I got married back in his home state of Arizona, then spent our honeymoon at the Canyon where we'd met.

The Grand Canyon has always been one of my favorite destinations. I was a guide there for a while and, now that we live back in Flagstaff, just an hour and a half away from the National Park, Steve and I hike there often.

Two of my favorite hikes are....

Hiking The Grand Canyon, Rim To Rim

There is SO much one could write about hiking in the Grand Canyon, but here I want to focus on hiking rim to rim using the popular "Corridor" trails. I usually do my rim to rim treks from south to north, so that's the order in which I&#...

Hiking Grand Canyon's South Bass Trail

It was August 24th. I had things on my to-do list for the next several days, but I couldn't pass up the invitation from a friend to hike Grand Canyon's South Bass trail. A Park Service volunteer, Sueanne had to check on some archaeological si...

But Where Was I? Oh, 1998....

So, after our honeymoon backpacking in Grand Canyon, Steve and I returned to Kent, Connecticut, where we were living and working on Howland Homestead Farm, helping the owners with animal care, hay-making and upkeep of the property. We also grew a large vegetable garden and sold some of our bumper crop--beginners' luck, I guess--at the local farmers market and a self-serve vegetable stand.

We learned a lot in those two seasons about running a market garden and how to sell our goodies.

And that's why I wrote this lens:

Ideas For Your Farmers Market Booth Or Vegetable Stand

Once upon a time, Steve and I lived on a farm. And on that farm we had a garden, full of tasty veggies. Intending to grow only what we needed for ourselves, but being new to gardening and not confident in the greenness of our thumbs, we not only till...

Our Next Adventure....

....began in September, 1998.

After nearly two years in Connecticut, Steve and I decided to relocate and become actual property caretakers, where, instead of paying rent like we'd been doing on the Howland Hometead, part of our compensation in exchange for the work would be a free home. To that end, we applied for a few positions listed in the "Caretaker Gazette," and that's how we ended up in Pennyslvania on RamCat Farm.

Which is what inspired me to write THIS lens:

Property Caretaking: How To Get The Job & Make The Most Of It

You may have heard some of the buzz about "The Best Job in the World." It's that position on Australia's Hamilton Island--an island of the Great Barrier Reef--paying AUD$150,000 (about $115,000 U.S. dollars) for a six-month stay in...

From The Farm To The Trail

One of the great things about our caretaking situation on RamCat Farm was that it allowed both Steve and me the time to pursue other interests and goals. As long as the work got done and the animals were well cared for, the owners, who lived a couple of hours away in Pittsburgh, didn't mind what we did otherwise or whether or not one of us was off the property for an extended period.

So, one winter day in 1999, as I was typing away in a long-distance hiker chat room, giving Steve a play-by-play of the online conversation, he said, "Hey, why don't you go for it? Hike the A.T. next spring. I can take care of the farm myself while you hike."

I remember my fingers freezing on the keys. In a split second, thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail went from dream to reality. I knew I'd be passing painted white blazes in less than six months. And the experience turned out to be everything I'd hoped it would be and more, which is why I write about, talk about, and think about the Appalachian Trail ad nauseum.

Like I've Done In......

Hiking the Appalachian Trail: A Story in Postcards

On a recent snowed-in lazy day, I plopped myself on the floor in front of my shelf full of scrapbooks and started flipping through some memories. Three of the scrapbooks contained keepsakes from my six-month Appalachian Trail thru-hike, includi...

Hiking The Appalachian Trail: What You Really Need To Know

The picture to your left is me, the A.T. hiker known as Ramkitten (on a really cold April morning in the Georgia mountains), here to share the wisdom gained from six months on the trail, all in one fell swoop! Most of what you'll find on the int...

Best Of The Appalachian Trail on Twitter And Beyond

It just gets under your skin. The fresh air. The sheer physical exertion. The camaraderie with others who walk with packs on their backs. Okay, and the rain and the mud, the bugs and rocks, the lightning, the snakes and the bears. The sweat and the...

Trail Days Festival In Damascus, Virginia

In 1999, I attended my first Trail Days festival as a wanna-be Appalachian Trail thru-hiker. The following year, I hiked into Damascus, Virginia--considered by some to be the friendliest town on the A.T.--after walking nearly 500 miles from Springer...

How To Plan For An Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike

When I finally made the decision that it was my year to go for it--to hike from Georgia to Maine from the beginning of April to sometime in the Fall--I set out the pens and notebooks and books and calendar. I made lists and more lists and began sched...

And the other long trails of the world keep calling me, too. The fresh air. The sheer physical exertion. The camaraderie with others who walk with packs on their backs. Not to mention all that guilt-free eating!

So I'm constantly daydreaming about....

Great Long-Distance Walks Of The World

As a long-distance backpacker with an Appalachian Trail thru-hike under my feet and many other treks on my ever-growing "trails to walk" bucket list, I love reading about the footpaths of the world, especially those that ramble on for hundr...

But, For Me....

one of the best things about hiking is the creative freedom.

Sometimes it takes a while to hike off whatever might have been irking me lately, or to stop mulling over global issues or how many times Steve and I can afford to go out for sushi during the next month, but, once I do, my thoughts move on to wonderful, weird and sometimes pretty wild places. And that's where many of my stories and novels come from.

Like what? Oh ... well, like these:

My New Novel: A Picket Fence In Pawpaw

Picket fences can enclose not only what seem to be perfect houses and perfect lives but also small-town thinking. In A Picket Fence in Pawpaw, thirty-six year-old Minnie Mincola takes us to Pawpaw, Pennsylvania, where this tale of the people who were...

A Short Story: The Gum Tree

The idea for a gum tree came from a real-life experience I had as a kid at summer camp. There was a large oak tree along the trail from the cabins down to the lakefront beach, where we weren't allowed to chew gum. So, on the way down to the water...

My Favorite Fictional Character: Dr. I. Joseph Kellerman

The shingle outside the Boston row house reads, "I. Joseph Kellerman, Psychiatrist," but inside exists a tormented man. Under the watchful eye peering through a hole hidden by a bizarre painting, Dr. Kellerman listens to the problems of th...

A Man Called "Screamer"

Standing thirty feet away or thirty inches, he spoke in the same loud voice. That's why we called him Screamer. "We" were hikers on the Appalachian Trail. Each year, millions of people use those 2,174 miles of footpath extending from Georgia to Main...

Hiking My Way to a Novel

On September 25th, 2000, I completed a six-month journey from one end of the Appalachian Trail to the other, a 2,175-mile walk from Georgia to Maine otherwise known as a thru-hike. Along the way, I embarked on another type of journey, a creative adve...

Anyhow, Moving Right Along To 2003....

When the owners of RamCat Farm retired and decided to move from the city to the country on a permanent basis, Steve and I decided to end our time as their farm caretakers. We could have stayed on, and we really did (and do) like the owners, but we just felt it was time for something new. We also wanted to return to Arizona.

So we made our next cross-country move in April, 2003, first to another caretaking position in the Bradshaw Mountains. Long story short, we ended that arrangement six months later, when a flash flood literally washed us out of our little casita one stormy night. Luckily, we made it to a hill with our two pets around our shoulders, but much of our belongings were ruined and our feeling of security in that remote location was wiped out, too. So on to Flagstaff, Steve's home town, we went.

In June, 2004, my mustached man and I bought our first home. It was a fixer-upper, for sure. Wanna see the before and after?

Sure! Right here....

A Home Remodel: From Worn Out, Drab And Cold To Fresh And Cozy

It was a small house in Flagstaff, Arizona--a bit under 1300 square feet--and not a fancy house by any means. And it needed a lot of work. This was our first home, a single-level ranch built in 1967, which we purchased in June, 2004. At one time, it...

I Love Living In Flagstaff

Northern Arizona has really grown on me and now feels like home.

Flagstaff is a great location too, surrounded by National Forest with hiking and wildlife, big and small, literally right out our front door.

Here, let me show you around a bit....

Wildlife of the Coconino National Forest

If you're ever in my neck of the woods here in Northern Arizona, I encourage you to explore the many wonders of the Coconino National Forest. At 1.8 million acres with an elevation span of 10,000 feet, the Coconino is one of the most diverse Nat...

What To See And Do In Flagstaff, Arizona

I first arrived in Flagstaff in 1994, on my way to a river trip through the Grand Canyon. A year and a half later, in the middle of winter, I was back again, en route to the Canyon's North Rim to work at a snowbound place called Kaibab Lodge. The...

Heritage Square: Flagstaff's Outdoor Living Room

When my husband and I feel like going for a walk, we often find ourselves headed downtown, where we usually end up at Heritage Square. There's always something to see or do in this public gathering place, be it a free concert, a dance performance...

Flagstaff, Arizona Public Art

My husband, Steve, and I love a good art gallery, and we rarely miss a Flagstaff First Friday Art Walk, when local galleries and other businesses that display artwork stay open late. But we thought we'd focus for a change on art we often walk or...

Flagstaff First Friday Art Walk

Beginning around 6:30pm on the first Friday of each month, downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, buzzes with activity, inside and out, even during the coldest months. On this special night twelve times per year, galleries, restaurants and other businesses dis...

It Does Get Cold Here, Though

Some people who aren't familiar with Arizona have the impression that the whole state is like Phoenix: comfortably cool to hot as heck throughout the year. But Flagstaff is about 5,500 feet higher in elevation (at 7,000 feet), with the San Francisco Peaks rising to 12,633 feet on Mt. Humphreys, so we get a full-blown winter and sometimes a lot of snow.

Which means we gotta have our warm and toasties, like these....

(Steve's a wonderful model, isn't he?)

Down Booties: Keep Warm From The Floor Up

Try warming up your feet first. That's what we did last winter, and we never had to touch the dial. The thermosat stayed at 64 degrees Fahrenheit from October through April, and then we turned the heat off. Our house is wall-to-wall tile, and th...

For The Love Of Fleece: Soft & Warm Clothing And Accessories

If you peek into my closet and go through my drawers, you'll see a LOT of fleece -- fleece pullovers and pants, fleece socks, fleece mittens and hats, fleece scarves, and even a homemade, red fleece serape (pictured left). I have a pretty big pil...

Footed Fleece Pajamas

Nothing says, "Aaahhhh," like slipping into soft, warm, footed fleece pajamas on a chilly evening. (Okay, except maybe for a hot bath or shower. But you'll need something to put on afterward, right?) And footies aren't just for kidd...

Funky And Funny Fleece Hats

This is Steve, my mustached man, in his favorite floppy, funky fleece hat. See how happy he is! Smile, Stevie. Show everyone how much you LOVE your hat. I said, SMILE!!

Flagstaff Winter Temperatures....

....can get downright frigid

But the often sunny, blue skies and the snow-covered peaks really make the season special. And after a nice long snowshoe in the silent Ponderosa pine forest, it's a good time to come in, get warm and catch up on some reading and movie-watching.

Oo, which reminds me; I wrote some lenses about my favorites....

Wilderness Survival and Rescue Reading

Ever since I joined a Search & Rescue (SAR) team in September, 2007, I've been reading book after book about true wilderness survival and SAR stories. I'm an addict, I tell you! In this lens, I'll review and recommend only what...

Anne Tyler & The Character-Driven Novel

When I first picked up an Anne Tyler novel, I had no idea who she was or what I was getting into. I just grabbed a book off the store shelf--I guess the cover caught my eye--then paid my twelve dollars and was on my way. I didn't start reading p...

Adventure-Travel Writer, Peter Jenkins

I discovered the writings of Peter Jenkins when I found a used, 25-cent copy of A Walk Across America in a sidewalk book bin. Given my own penchant for wanderlust, the title alone drew me in. And that turned out to be a very well-spent quarter. I...

Hooked On Submarine Movies

Well, vicariously, anyway. I don't know if I'd have the nerve to go down there in a sub. Heck, I'm even too chicken to scuba dive. One thing's for sure, though: I love submarine movies, or those where a submarine plays a significant...

Sometimes, Though, I Have To Go Out Even In A Blizzard

That is, when my SAR pager goes off.

SAR stands for "Search & Rescue," which fits in well with my love of hiking.

In September, 2007, I became a volunteer member of the Coconino County, Arizona, Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team, and I can say without a doubt that it's the most worthwhile thing I've ever done. In fact, I enjoy it so much, I not only yack Steve's ears off about it, but I blog about it and create Squidoo lenses about it.

Wanna see? Here are some of them....

Man-Tracking 101: How To Find And Follow Tracks For Search And Rescue

The primary purpose of man-tracking is to determine the lost or missing person's direction of travel, which can greatly reduce the size of the search area. So wouldn't it be nice if all prints were as obvious as this one? But obviously they're not....

My Search And Rescue Stories Blog

In September, 2007, I began the month-long Basic Academy for the Coconino County, Arizona, Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team. In October, I completed the training and was given my pager. And no sooner than it was placed in my hand, the thing went...

Search & Rescue On Twitter: Follow These Good Folks

Are you involved with SAR yourself? Or just interested in following people who are? I'm putting together a list of Search & Rescue volunteers and professionals--individuals, teams and organizations--on Twitter, along with their latest tweets...

Becoming a Search and Rescue Volunteer

Are you intrigued by stories about wilderness rescues and searches for missing hikers or mountain climbers? If so, perhaps becoming a Search and Rescue--often referred to as "SAR"--volunteer might just be for you. I've enjoyed and bene...

Participating in SAR....

....has really made me focus on outdoor skills and awareness, and writing lenses about those topics is a good way for me to continue to learn and review. And I hope they'll be helpful to other outdoor enthusiasts, too.

These are some of the lenses I'm talking about:

Man-Tracking 101: How To Find And Follow Tracks For Search And Rescue

The primary purpose of man-tracking is to determine the lost or missing person's direction of travel, which can greatly reduce the size of the search area. So wouldn't it be nice if all prints were as obvious as this one? But obviously they're not....

Land Navigation Without A Compass Or GPS

Catch features. Attack points. Handrails. Aiming off. Those are just some of the terms and techniques used when practicing alternative navigation. When I say "alternative," I'm referring to navigating without the use of instruments, like a compass,...

How To Use A GPS: The Basics And Background

So you've decided to purchase a GPS for some reason. You're a backcountry traveler perhaps who wants another form of navigation. Or maybe you're getting into geocaching or simply love gadgets. Some people, like me, purchase a GPS for Sea...

Hikers: Common Mistakes to Avoid

In Search & Rescue, while each mission is unique, my teammates and I do see a number of common errors, oversights, and decisions that ultimately get people into jams and pickles. And, regrettably, worse. I hesitate to call all of the following &...

Basic Map And Compass

I can't say there's just one thing you should never go without when heading into the backcountry--in fact, I have a whole list of what I consider essential gear--but a map definitely competes for the top spot on that list, and a compass is a...

One Of The Things I Love About SAR....

....is the continual learning and new skills I pick up along the way. Using those skills to help others is an amazing feeling, as is the personal growth. Some of those skills don't come easy to me, but as I keep on keeping on, pushing myself and practicing, I'm getting the hang of those challenging things too.

Recently, I began training to become a member of our team's technical rescue unit. The series of courses for newbie techs like me is called the Rock Rescue Academy, held once every two years. I decided to document that experience in a series of lenses. And here's what I have so far:

Rock Rescue Academy Part 1: Learning to Rappel

I'm no fan of heights, but somehow I wasn't (too) afraid as I backed up off the edge of a long way down under the watchful eyes of my Search & Rescue teammates, some from above, others with the lovely view from below ... thinking to mysel...

Rock Rescue Academy Part 2: Learning To Ascend & Rig Anchors

That's what they told us in Search & Rescue training. Our instructors--my teammates--told those of us who are new to high-angle rescue that we should never, ever go over a cliff that we can't get back up on our own. They said we can never...

Rock Rescue Academy Part 3: Raising Systems

Much of the time, technical rescues involve falls, with the rescuers descending to the victim and then raising that person back up in a litter. In this next phase of our Rock Rescue Academy training, new technical team members learned how to package...

Rock Rescue Academy Part 4: Learning To Belay

If something goes wrong after you've gone over the edge, it sure is nice to have a belay to keep you from going down, fast. In this article, as with the others in my Rock Rescue Academy series, I'm writing from the perspective of one who'...

And Did I Mention I Love Outdoor Gear Too?

Of course, no piece of gear or gadget takes the place of knowledge, skill or common sense. Still, I like to play with backpacking and SAR equipment, not to mention write about it.

See....

Backcountry Water Purification

Before backpacking the Appalachian Trail, I'd done a lot of hiking, but those outings had lasted a day or two at most. So I'd been able to carry all the drinking water I needed, straight from tap to bottle, and never had to obtain extra supply from b...

Trekking Poles: Multi-Use Gear For Hikers

I'd say the trekking poles pictured here have at least 4,000 miles on them, including an Appalachian Trail thru-hike, a couple hundred miles on overgrown Minnesota trails, more Grand Canyon hikes than I can count, backpacking trips in New Hampshi...

The Ten Essentials For Backcountry Travel

If you've read other articles of mine, you may be rolling your eyes right about now, thinking, ugh, is she harping on this stuff again? Well ... yeah. I can't help it; I'm a big proponent of being prepared, particularly in the backcountry. And if yo...

Outfitting For Technical Rescue: The Gear I'm Using

In May, 2009, I began training for our Search & Rescue team's technical rescue group in a series of class and field sessions collectively known as the Rock Rescue Academy. Between training sessions, I spent many additional hours practicing th...

The 24-Hour Pack: Hike Smart, Be Prepared, Be Safe

As a Search & Rescue volunteer, I've participated in many missions that wouldn't have happened in the first place had those we went looking for carried just a few simple items in a small daypack. Sometimes, it was the lack of a light source or not b...

And Speaking Of Gear....

....in 2009, I began selling some of it, too. So now I have a house FULL of goodies, like these:

SARpack: Search & Rescue Gear

When I was first training to be a Search and Rescue volunteer, one of the required courses was all about personal safety and gear. Being a well-seasoned hiker and long-distance backpacker, I already had a closet overflowing with packs, sleeping bags,...

The PREpack: A Pre-Equipped Daypack For Hikers

Because it's a good idea to have what you need in case the unexpected happens. Actually, I hope this pack I've put together with the recreational day-hiker in mind will help avoid some of those common problems in the first place. That's why I've inc...

But Before I Move On....

....to the next part of this story

I do have a confession.

I may be in Search & Rescue, often out in the woods and the desert and canyons, looking for the lost, and I may be good at keeping myself found, but I do have a knack for losing things. So from frequent personal experience, I thought I'd share some of my wisdom on....

How To NOT Lose Your Cell Phone

"Honey, sweetie-pie," I typed, sending my husband a gooey instant message while he was at work. "Sorry to bother you, but could you call my cell?" I didn't have to explain why; we'd been through this umpteen times before....

So What Do I Do When I'm NOT Looking For My Cellphone...

...or lost people, or curled up with a good book or submarine movie?

Jazzercise, for one thing. It's a fun dance-fitness program and a really positive atmosphere. Wanna know more about it?

Oh, good! I just happen to have a few lenses about that too, one about the fitness program, another about a Jazzercise nutrition program, and a third about a Jazzercise special event. They are....

My Experience With The Jazzercise "Know More Diet"

I never thought I'd write about a weight-loss plan of any kind, but having tried a number of programs at various times during my yo-yo-ing life (calorie-counting, Adkins, the Weight Watchers system on my own), this one is my favorite and a method...

Jazzercise: More Than a Great Workout

Although I'm an avid outdoors woman, hiking and backpacking aren't the only things I do for exercise. I'm also known to work out three or four times each week in a class called Jazzercise. Three years ago, on my 37th birthday--and 37 yea...

Jazzercise Spa Getaway On Location

Each year, the Jazzercise corporation hosts an event called On Location, during which a live taping of new choreography is made with conference participants. These new routines are then distributed on DVD to Jazzercise's 7,300 franchises around t...

Oh, And Before I Forget....

... I also occasionally mess around on Squidoo!

I even created some lenses about this joint, just for fun, because Squidoo IS fun.

Squidoo Lenses That Don't Sell A Thing

Okay, so maybe they get a share of Squidoo's Google ad revenue, but here I'm talking about lenses without sales modules or product pitches. I'm talking about lenses that exist primarily to make us laugh, to inform and entertain us, to inspire or just...

Squidoo Fan Clubs

Well, okay, I guess there are some real stinkers who don't deserve any fans--naming no names, of course--but let's not talk about them, shall we? This is a happy lens. Smiles up! So, to me, having a fan is like getting a pat on the back with a "Hey...

Set Up A Gift Registry On Squidoo

I don't really know why I thought of this--just had Squidoo on the brain, I guess--but the idea of using Squidoo lenses as gift registries popped into my head as I was sunning myself on the porch, eating watermelon. (No connection.) Not that I n...

A Gift Registry For The Birthday Squid

You may have seen (or just come from) my lens, Set Up A Gift Registry On Squidoo, and if so, here's an example of what I was talking about. This is a gift registry I've made on behalf of my friend, the Birthday Squid, who'll be turning .....

Free Editing For Squidoo Lenses And Common Mistakes To Look For

I'd be happy to help. As long as your lens isn't against Squidoo Terms of Service (TOS), spammy or in a language other than English, I'll give it a once over for spelling, punctuation and grammar. So, who am I to think I'm such a gre...

In Fact....

....I make lenses "just for fun" quite often.

Why not? An idea pops into my pea brain, sometimes one that makes me giggle, so I write about it.

Here are some of my random, "just cuz" lenses:

Meeting Trace Adkins: My Favorite Country Music Man

"Trace ... Adkins ... is ... sitting ... behind you," my husband whispered, accentuating each word. We were at our gate in the Nashville Airport, waiting to board the plane back to Arizona. I looked at Steve and scowled. "Bull!"...

Green Fog: What's Up With My Farting Dog?

So I was struggling with a bout of writer's block, agonizing over my next subject, when suddenly it hit me out of not-so-thin air. Sometimes, ideas come from strange places. Today, the inspiration (an emanation) came to me on the barely detectable b...

Poetry by Ramkitten, Just For Fun

See, I went through this phase a while back, when I'd amuse myself with rhyme, often while out walking the herd of dogs on the farm Steve and I ... caretook? caretaked? were the caretakers of? Well, anyhow, the dogs seemed to enjoy my spontaneous...

Is "Funnest" Really A Word?

....well, then I'm a dork. But I just can't wrap my head around it. Funnest? No English teacher I ever had approved of that one. (Or its cousin, "funner," for that matter.) The red pen woulda come out fightin' mad. Am I wrong, though? Some folks ve...

Top 10 Lists Of Top Ten Lists Of Top Ten

Oh yeah! Says who? Well, says me; although, the lists were made by other people. Top 10 lists abound on the web, and here are my picks of some of the best lists of ten around (in no particular order, of course). I may change 'em up as I discove...

And When I'm Not Glued To The Computer....

Steve and I like to take a weekend road trip now and again.

There's so much to see and do within several hours' drive from Flagstaff, so we'll sometimes leave when Steve gets off work on Friday at 4pm, head to our destination and have at least a good day and a half to explore before heading home on Sunday night. And once in a while, I write a lens about the places we visit. (Or sometimes I go with a friend.) Like....

Hiking The Wave In Coyote Buttes

Until a friend of mine invited me to tag along on a hiking trip in northern Arizona and southern Utah, I'd never heard of The Wave. But I realized when we got there that I'd definitely seen photos of this amazing formation, now an internation...

Colorado's Durango - Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

On a recent trip to Colorado, Steve and I took a ride with the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, using the train as a fun means of shuttling from one end of our Colorado Trail section-hike to the other. We'd wanted to ride this historic,...

A Tour Of Biosphere 2 In Oracle, Arizona

A couple of years ago, on a road trip around southern Arizona without much of an itinerary, my husband and I made a spontaneous stop at a place called Biosphere 2 near a town called Oracle. I'd heard of Biosphere 2 years earlier in college while stu...

We Also Love A Good Outdoor Vacation

In fact, I find planning them a lot of fun, too. Such as....

Planning A Colorado Trail Section Hike: Silverton To Durango

And, boy, do we need one. It's been a long time since my husband and I have done a multi-day backpacking trip together, and we're really looking forward to our first section-hike on the Colorado Trail in June, 2009. I figured that, as I plan...

Visiting Voyageurs National Park And Kabetogama Lake

After finishing our canoe-camping trip in the Boundary Waters, Steve and I decided to make our way down the North Shore of Lake Superior and then inland, eventually ending up in Voyageurs National Park. But we really knew nothing about the Park or wh...

Planning A Canoe Trip In The Boundary Waters

In August, 2009, my husband and I and two other couples traveled to northern Minnesota for a week-long trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) on the Canadian border. Since this trip was my idea and I'd been to the area once bef...

A Trip To The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

While paddling close to shore in the Boundary Waters one evening, looking for wildlife as the setting sun created artwork on the surface of the still water, my husband commented with a smile, "If it weren't for the mosquitoes, the biting fli...

Hiking In Ouray, Colorado

Spending our vacations with packs on our backs is not unusual for my husband, Steve, and me. In fact, that's how we spent our honeymoon, when we went for a five-day hike in the Grand Canyon, where we'd met a few years earlier. Several months...

But While We're Away

Enjoying our trips...

....I don't want to worry about anything back at home--not our dog (if she can't go with us), the plants, the mail, the house, the bills or anything else. So that's why I made a lens as a checklist for myself and others about:

Taking Care Of Your Home While You're Away On Vacation

I don't want to spend one moment worrying about anything at home while I'm on vacation--not about the house, my dog, my plants, whether I left something turned on that I shouldn't have, or if a bill will be late if not paid before I get b...

So, It's Now June, 2009, And We're Still In Flagstaff....

....but now we have a new home.

Ever heard of Lowell Observatory? It's the place where Pluto was discovered, among other notable celestial bodies and phenomena. Lowell is also now Steve's place of employment as the fourth instrument-maker in the Observatory's more than 100-year history, and our home as well.

In 2007, we sold that first house of ours and, after renting for a while, were fortunate to be offered one of only seven employee houses up here on Mars Hill.

Here, let me tell you a bit about the place. And if you're ever in town, I hope you'll stop by.

Lowell Observatory And Life On Mars (Hill)

The first time I heard of Lowell Observatory was when my future husband, Steve, brought me to his hometown of Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1995, shortly after we'd met. On that trip--an extended second date--we visited his childhood friend, Charlie, wh...

So, As We Were Once Again Moving And Unpacking....

....I did what I always do when I've moved: go through stuff and weed out the unwanted and unused. I'm a clutter hater. There are some things, though, that have sentimental value to me that I like to display wherever we live.

Wanna see some of those keepsakes and hear their stories? If so, check out....

Mementos Help Make A House Homey

I like to think I'm not materialistic. In fact, I can't stand clutter and am always looking for things neither my husband nor I have used in a long time and can't see us using any time soon--things I might give away, sell or trade. And ha...

And Do You Wanna See What Else Steve Recently Brought Home....

....to our house on the hill?

Unfortunately, it's sitting right outside.

My Husband Brought Home A $100 Datsun

Guess what!" Steve said, grinning like a naughty boy. He'd just walked through the door and hadn't even said hello or "how was your day?" yet. Uh-oh, I thought, now what? Without pausing for breath, my husband told me, "...

Ah, Well, That's Okay

He can keep his creaky rust-bucket.

Steve is a good egg. And he makes good eggs, too. In fact, he cooks his signature egg dish for me just about once a week.

Wanna try it? Here's my "how to make huevos" lens, along with instructions from making the dish right from the ground (and chicken) up....

Huevos Rancheros: Breakfast (Or Dinner) At Our House

Being a New England native without a south-of-the-border bone in my body, I'd not heard of this dish until my mustached man, Steve, an Arizona boy, prepared it for me years after our first date. Since then, this classic Mexican meal has become a...

Want To Know More About The Talented, Fuzzy-Faced One?

I made another lens about him....

The Best of BuffaloKid on Twitter

He's my husband of eleven years, Lowell Observatory's fourth instrument-maker in its more than 100-year history, a multi-media artist who loves to experiment with new techniques and styles, a hiker, an avid learner, and an all-around great gu...

Well, Folks, I Guess That's About It....

....for now.

I'm just about out of lenses for show and tell. I do have one left, though. And it's one I open and read quite often, especially when I'm feeling a little blue. It was a challenge of sorts, made by another Squidoo lensmaster, to come up with 100 things we're thankful for. At first, I didn't think I could do it; one hundred was just too many. But when I got going, it was actually pretty easy and, in fact, I may just have to do a second lens called, "101 to 200 Things I'm Thankful For."

This one, though, was one of the most enjoyable of all my lenses to create:

100 Things I'm Thankful For

Lensmaster LittleIsMore (aka Claudette Mitchell) started a thread in the SquidU forums titled, "What are you thankful for?" She wrote: Although I knew how important it was to be thankful, I only learned a few years ago the sign...

So, Do You Wanna See All Those Lenses Again?

Just kidding. But if you'd rather browse my lenses simply by category, including some that aren't listed here, I created a more basic lensography as a catalog. After all, I'm anal when it comes to being organized, so this one gives me a place to file them in some kind of order.

Deb Lauman's Creations

Hello and thank you for stopping by my Squidoo lensography. (Or one of them, anyway.) I hope you'll stick around and window-shop for a bit and maybe even try a few things on. Here, you'll find all of my lenses (articles, basically, if you ar...

I Also Made A Coupe Of Niche Lensographies

For my Search & Rescue and hiking lenses

And these are the last lenses I'll show you. I swear!

My Search And Rescue Articles, Blogs And Websites

The more I participate in Search and Rescue, the more I enjoy it, the more I learn, the more satisfying it is, and the more I read and write about it. So I thought I'd gather together all of my SAR articles (called "lenses" here on Squi...

Hiking Trails, Hiking Tips, Hiking Trips

When I'm not hiking, I'm often thinking about hiking. And when I'm thinking about hiking, I'm often talking about or writing about hiking. And since I write about hiking a lot, I thought I'd put together this collection of my arti...

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BarbRad BarbRad Dec 10, 2009 @ 4:08 am

Someday I intend to read all these lenses. I've never yet been disappointed with any of your lenses I've read, including this one. Keep writing them, so I can keep enjoying them and learning from you.

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skiesgreen skiesgreen Nov 29, 2009 @ 3:16 pm

Its great to read about happy people and successful marriages. You live in a particularly beautiful part of the world and obviously hiking is part of it. We have long trails here in Oz as well. One stretches from Melbourne right up to the top of Queensland. Some do it on horse back but there are hikers who do part of it. Its over 5,000 kilometers or thereabouts so its not something that appeals to too many. 5* and fave

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ajgodinho ajgodinho Nov 27, 2009 @ 5:51 pm

Great job on this lensography - I thought I'd seen this one, but I guess not. You've lived quite the life...very inspiring!

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alexkazam alexkazam Nov 23, 2009 @ 1:54 pm

Wow! Looks like all that great travel has inspired alot of lenses!

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OhMe OhMe Nov 15, 2009 @ 3:34 pm

I love this lensography. Fantastic and Blessed!
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