Wahm Of The Week -- Miriam Grayfer

My name is Miriam Grafer

I am a retired RN. I have been retired for 5 years. My husband and I have 7 children, 5 boys and 2 girls. We also have 7 grandchildren, #8 is in the process of being made and will be due in August.We have spent most of our lives on Long Island, New York. I was born in Germany and came here in 1953 when I was 4 1/2 years old. Our entire marriage we lived on Long Island. We bought a boat about 6 years ago and spent 2 1/2 years working on it. It is big enough to live on and we have been doing that for the last 2 1/2 years. We travel on the eastern seacoast, in the south in the winter and we go back home to New York in the summer. Last year we did what is called the "Great Loop Trip". Up the Hudson, through the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario and then to Canada - Trent Severn Waterway, Georgian Bay and North Channel - to Lake Michigan to Chicago, down the river system to the Gulf of Mexico and around Florida. Today we are in Cumberland Island Georgia.. While on our boat I started making crocheted with wire jewelry and started a business run from the boat. I have been crocheting for about 30 years, but never with wire and beads. I found not only did I love it but I had so many necklaces that I needed to live to be 500 to wear them all, so now I sell them.I try to do trunk parties or home parties while I am at dock. If someone contacts me via email or phone I can set up a schedule while at port, let them know when I will be in their area. Some docks I can set up and some I can't. If I am crocheting at the boat I will get people by who inquire what I am doing and then it goes from there. Frequently I will walk down the street with my necklaces on and people will stop me and ask me where I purchased my piece. When I tell them it is one of a kind that I designed, made and sell it is always a hit.I kind of fell into this business by way of hobby and expect to do this until I can't hold my crochet hook anymor.For internet and computer we have 2 computers on board and we have an aircard from Verizon. For $69.00 a month we have unlimited access to the internet and it doesn't interfere with our telephone. Last year we went to the Bahamas for 4 months and we used WiFi at the marinas for access because our air card didn't work overseas.For networking I have Ryze, Wayne, Moms Blogging Club, Twitter, Moms United in Business. My Yahoo Groups include friendsineveryport, wireartists, wirewrappedjewelry, WomansNewtowkingCommunity, Women-in-Business, WomenInSmallBiz, WomenMMOnline, work-at-home-moms, WorkingMomsofLongIsland, wahw, whatsamomtodo, themompack, TheWAHMConnection, Two-of-a-Kind, powerful-entrepreneur, Moms_United_In_Business.In my younger days I spent 7 years as a firefighter and rescue worker on Long Island. I raced cars (Enduro races) and scuba dive.