Gosh Tammi, I don't know what else you could say about the 403A. I didn't realize that you had all those other vids up there already. It's a pretty carefree machine, so I guess you've covered it. Do you do sewing machine repair classes/courses that go beyond the basic videos? How about online ones? If not, you should. You're a far better teacher than the person I took a class from last year.

~ Cindy

I agree - figure out how to make a little cash, Tammi.

I did one class last April one province over and had a ball! I would love to do more of them but I have to figure out the logistics. We have a (very!) geriatric cat, geriatric dog and an old codger of another cat. Traveling without them is almost impossible because we can't board them due to age or medical conditions. Traveling with them.... Oi. The very geriatric cat is dog intolerant,.... It may have to wait a year or so.

The class last year was a whirlwind trip where I left DH home to care for the animals and I was home sick for all of them the whole time.

At this point, online might be an option but the repair type classes I've seen in the past look kind of scammy.... I guess that's more logistics. ;)

The only thing that comes to mind really is a "buy me a coffee" paypal sort of thing. I wouldn't remove the videos I've already published, it makes me crazy when information starts out free then the person decides they want payment for what many people already got for free.

I laughed out loud the day someone "recognized" me via a kijiji ad. We were taking back and forth via email about a machine, then suddenly out of nowhere she goes, "Hey! Are you Archaic Arcane?" I guess the level of detail in my answers to her questions gave me away. She wanted me to do an online class on repair with her but time isn't my friend these last 8 months, so I couldn't commit to it.

Tammi, I hear you about the senior fur-babies. One of my old dogs passed away last month and although I was terribly sad about it, I have to admit...it was freeing. Of course, what did I do but go to the shelter and pick out a 3 year old pup. I can't be without at least 2 dogs at any time in my life. We also have a 12 year old dog, along with 11 and 8 year old cats.

Anyway, You really should do some online courses. I play the violin and joined an online violin school: The Violin Lab, http://violinlab.com. You might want to go have a look at what she does and how she's set up. I pay $75/year to belong and it's well worth the money. She also has some free videos on YouTube that actually help to lure in new members. She's continually putting up new lessons for the members, as well as joining in the on site discussion group to answer questions. She also runs a workshop each year and brings in other teachers. (I'm going this year. I'm so excited about it!) Overall, I don't think it takes all of her day to run the site. After all, she has a violin store to run, as well as playing professionally in a symphony.

My 2 cents. :)

~ Cindy

Also you may want to check out a product called GoToMeeting. they have a really nice package for live online training. Has webcam support, voice, etc. (I use it to teach classes to our folks in China)

On of our vendors introduced me to it, and they do the class with two pricing models, you can call in and "hear" the class for free, access to view the cam and visual stuff requires payment.

just an option.

EDIT: I actually use their product GoToTraining

Tammi,

I guess there's more than a few of us with geriatric (make that ancient) puddy tats. We have one somewhere around 18 and one around 17. The older one is in need of a vet visit but sadly she's got to take a back seat to the newest one that really needs spaid. (Picture a hormone laced teenage girl in a room full of jocks and you've got the picture)

Joe

I definitely know what you mean about the freeing part. A number of years ago our grey kitty had a rough geriatric portion of her life. We were treating for kidney disease and hyperthyroid. It was one of the worst days of my life when she passed and for months I couldn't figure out what to do with all the time I'd previously been dedicating to her care. Now we're treating kidney disease with another one of our gals and I know that the time I'm devoting will go away one day but it's tiring sometimes. I just remember that this time I'm spending is to make her comfortable and keep her with us as long as she wants to stay. The theory is that we will likely try a year or so without pets when these go - especially because I suspect we'll lose 2 fairly close to each other - and do some of the traveling we want to do but I don't know that I can be without a furbaby much longer than that. I got the grey lady when I was 19. I've had pets longer than I haven't.

I will poke around violinlab a little in the next couple of days and see what I can come up with. I've been toying with the idea of setting up a forum on AA and that would likely play into something similar to what she's doing too.

We used to use that from time to time at one of my contracts. I completely forgot about GTM and GTT. I've also attended a number of seminars that way too. You're right, it seems pretty well put together.

Yeah, I remember Stormi before she was fixed. She was way worse than Gizmo. She'd even try to back up to kids and DH! I think that's why the last one was fixed before she hit puberty! ;) I don't miss that!

Tammi, what I really like about the Violinlab is that you can learn at your own pace and go back to the older videos anytime that you want. She has over 500 of them! She's also an excellent teacher, as are you. I've been studying for a year and have never had a face-to-face lesson. I'm doing OK at it...not Joshua Bell, mind you, but certainly OK. :D

~ Cindy