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Author of twenty-eight books, Margo Sorenson was born in Washington, DC, and spent the first seven years of her life in Spain and Italy, living where there were few children her age, so books became her friends. She finished her school years in California, graduating from the University of California at Los Angeles. After teaching high school and middle school and raising a family of two daughters, Margo is now a full-time writer, writing primarily for young people of all ages, toddlers through high schoolers. Margo enjoys writing for young readers since she believes they are ready for new ideas and experiences, and they really have fun "living" the lives of the characters in books. A National Milken Educator Award recipient, Margo always has a good time meeting with her readers in school and library settings from Minnesota to California and Hawaii.
1) Why do you write for children? I believe children deserve hope and to enjoy life. Besides, I don't know any adults.
2) Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a writer. I grew up in Europe as small child, which left me to become the perennial observer of other people, watching from the "outside," so to speak. Reading was my favorite occupation and being able to live different lives through the characters was pure joy. When I became a teacher and taught my English students creative and nonfiction writing, my students' parents encouraged me to write myself, so I gave it a try!
3) What were the inspirations for Island Danger and Time of Honor? We lived in Hawaii for ten years, and the conflicts that newcomers often felt before they appreciated the culture were a source of fascination for me, so I wrote Todd's story in ISLAND DANGER, in which he tries to find weapons hidden by a terrorist group. For TIME OF HONOR, as a medieval history major, I always wished I could have lived during those times, so I wrote a time-travel adventure with a feisty heroine who has to adapt to life in 1272 and prevent the murders of her new friends, as well as of herself.
4) Tell us about your process. As William Faulkner wrote, "It all begins with a character, really, and once he gets up and starts moving around, all you have to do is follow behind him with a pencil and paper and write down everything he says and does." Once a character appears and I keep working on him/her, playwright David Mamet's wise words guide my next steps in working on the plot: "Who wants what and why? Why now? What happens if her [sic] don't [sic] get it?"
5) What does a typical writing day look like? Coffee, coffee, coffee! I'm an early riser, so I answer emails and tweets, review and tweak any upcoming Skype visits, and read the publishing news of the day. Then I settle down to write. Either I am revising manuscripts or I am starting new ones, and I may also be researching editors to whom to send manuscripts.
6) Where is your favorite place to write? In the beginning stages, I have a chaise lounge that I like to use; I can scatter papers and notes everywhere. Once I transfer the work to the computer, I work in my office, where I can look at my inspiration – some of my favorite childhood books right next to my laptop.
7) What did or do you find most challenging in creating the story and/or getting it published? What do you wish you would have known? The most challenging thing about writing and publishing is the revision process. That is always the hardest, because, as you well know, being an author yourself, we writers tend to fall in love with our own words!
8) What is the best writing advice you have ever received? "Put it away in a drawer and don't look at it for a while!"
9) Are you working on a new project? Can you tell us about it? I have a new picture book coming out in the fall of 2014, SPAGHETTI SMILES (Pelican Publishing), and I'm working on publicity for it. Besides that, I am working on some new picture books and revising older manuscripts – the never-ending story!
10) What advice would you give others that write for children? Stay in touch with children and listen to them and observe them. I volunteer for homework help every week during the school year at our local Boys and Girls Club, and I know I couldn't be effective in writing for children if I didn't stay immersed in their world. Things have changed so much!
Margo would love to hear from you. You can find her in many places online.


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Effective management of your clinical supply chain is critical to your clinical development timelines and budget. You simply can't afford not to get it right from the start. Any number of variables—from poor planning and coordination to system inefficiencies—can put your clinical supplies at high risk of cost overruns and delays.
Trust the knowledge that comes with experience to help with your clinical supply management. From forecasting, drug logistics, drug sourcing, to managing your packaging & labeling vendors, YPrime can help.
Forecasting & Demand Planning
Our clinical supply experts forecast drug supply requirements for all study types, and any level of complexity. We'll create reports for you based on your study design and make adjustments as your study progresses.
Our data intelligence tools provide a simple way for drug supply managers to gain visibility into their supply and demand needs across global, depot, and site levels. Plus, cross-functionality with our IRT supply-centric system shows the whole picture of your clinical supply chain.
Packaging & Labeling Coordination
Our packaging and labeling plan includes optimal patient dosing unit design, milestones, deliverables, label design and global supply strategy. Our team brings experience working with nearly all the major packaging and labeling vendors and can assist in vendor selection, review of batch documentation and coordination of these activities between your CMC and clinical teams.
Logistics & Comparator Sourcing
YPrime works with the major providers of logistics of clinical supply transport, import, exports, and comparator sourcing. We can help you avoid common pitfalls of logistics and shipping.
Oversight of IRT and Manual Drug Assignment
Our clinical supply management team can provide support with the IRT setup process as well as serving as unblinded supply managers to monitor the IRT functionality and drug supply support. Whether it is a YPrime IRT or a third party, we have the skills and experience to help your studies stay on target. For small studies not supported by IRT systems, we can provide manual patient randomization and drug management.
Contact Us
Locations in:
USA, UK, Macedonia, Australia, China

subset: commoncrawl


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Cinnamon Rolls
*not* low-carbohydrate
We tried these; they're OK, but perhaps not enough better than Pillsbury to be worth the time.
Combine the yeast and warm water and let stand until the yeast is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Combine all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dissolved yeast and using an electric mixer with a dough hook, blend together on low speed. The beat on high for 5 minutes. Turn onto a lightly floured board. Lightly grease and cover. Let rise 1 hour. Roll risen dough into a 20 x 10 inch rectangle. spread with the filling. Roll up starting on the long side. Pinch the edges to seal. Cut into 1 inch slices. Place on a well greased cookie sheet. Let rise until almost doubled in bulk. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and frost with the glaze.
Combine all the ingredients and set aside.
Combine the sugar with just enough milk to make a glaze of spreading consistency. Do not make ahead!!


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Visa Credit Card
- Visa Credit Cards
Give your purchasing power a lift with an Atlantic Financial Visa® Credit Card.
We give you everything you need and are looking for in a credit card. You get the worldwide acceptance, security and liability protection of the Visa network, with an amazingly low-rate from AFFCU. We keep it simple and have a card to suit your needs
AFFCU Visa Rewards Credit Card
Get all the perks of an AFFCU Visa credit card while earning rewards points on every purchase.
- Earn 1.5 points per $1 spent
- Points redeemable for Cash Rewards
- Variable-rate As Low As 12.49% APR*
- No annual fee
- Up to $15,000 credit limit
AFFCU Visa Credit Card holders can quickly, and easily upgrade to a Visa Platinum Rewards Credit Card without re-applying. Make the switch today and upgrade your wallet. (This quick conversion option is only available for AFFCU Visa Credit Card account holders. New applicants can apply here.)
AFFCU Visa Credit Card
Get all the purchasing power and access to credit that you need with an amazing low-rate.
- Variable-rate As Low As 10.49% APR*
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- Up to $15,000 credit limit
Standard AFFCU Visa Credit Card Features
No matter what your need or preference, AFFCU has the simple credit card solutions you need. All AFFCU Visa Credit Cards Come With:
- No Annual Fee
- Same low rate for purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers
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- EMV chip technology
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- Accepted worldwide and no foreign exchange fees
- Visa Account Updater
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- Verified by Visa® online purchase protection
- Discounts from Visa merchants
- Easily replaced if lost or stolen
EMV Technology
AFFCU VISA credit cards come with the latest EMV chip card technology.
To learn more, read "5 Things To Know About Your AFFCU EMV Card" and check out this EMV video.
Credit Card Agreement and Account Opening Disclosure
*APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Rates are based on your creditworthiness when you open your account. Actual rate subject to application and credit review. After that, your APR will vary with the market, based on the Prime Rate.


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Tanking Products
4 Item(s)
4 Item(s)
Best Selling Tanking Products Products
More information on Tanking Products
Basement Tanking
At Waterproof & Dry, we are proud to stock a range of specialist tanking products from KÖSTER to protect your basements and other structures from water ingress. These products are environmentally friendly and of the highest quality, meaning that you can use them with confidence.
Although it is preferable to waterproof the external structure during construction, this is not always possible. With KÖSTER basement tanking products, you can waterproof basements and cellars from the inside. Wall tanking is an easy process and an alternative to cavity drainage membrane systems. You need to ensure the substrate is clean and in sound condition. You can use a repair mortar in order to make watertight repairs to the basement walls.
Waterproof & Dry stock KÖSTER tanking products including:
Internal Tanking Products
- Polysil TG500 – salt & lime inhibitor
- NB 1 Grey Tanking Slurry
- Repair Mortar Plus
If you are looking for external waterproofing, we stock external waterproofing coatings like KÖSTER Deuxan 2C and external cavity drain membranes.
Tanking a Basement
You can use a tanking slurry such as KÖSTER NB 1 to tank a basement and keep the interior dry. The slurry creates a watertight layer than prevents moisture from entering. It penetrates deep into the substrate and then reacts with moisture to make the substrate permanently waterproof.
Salt Contamination
If water from surrounding soil enters a substrate such as a basement wall it can transport salts, contaminating the wall. You will need to deal with this salt contamination to prevent the salts from forming crystals that can expand and destroy the building material and ruin any wall finishes /decoration. KÖSTER Polysil TG 500 is a thin fluid salt-inhibitor product that can be used in combination with our waterproofing products to encloses the salt molecules and reduces their mobility.
Waterproof & Dry
If you have any questions about KÖSTER tanking products then contact us today on 0203 947 2972.


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Flash Fiction #8
I want to thank DasBaiyo for responding to my last flash. I know a few others who had planned to flash for the prompt, had instead found themselves turning their flash into a series story instead. Good luck with that my friends, and I'm glad I could inspire you. This prompt is going to be a little bit different. See the information below.
Word limit: 100 – 2500 words (If you find the prompt turning into a series instead of a flash, give us a link to where you posted it, along with an excerpt.)
Genre: Tell us what genre your piece is (Angst, drama, horror, thriller, romance, etc)
Name and Twitter handle
I'm guarding myself,
Always protecting against everyone else.
I let my guard down just for a bit,
Like the game of battleship, I take a hit.
Keeping a distance from everything that hurts,
Since I never feel like being curt.
I love people with everything I have,
Often I end up the one who is sad.
But trust me please, when I say I'm ok,
I would never ever put myself in harms way.
I may be brash and bold in thought,
But behind my words is a simple plot.
To enjoy life and have some fun,
Maybe spend some time in the sun.
So remember that I love much more than I drink,
Tossing my keys to you in a wink.
I won't let myself get caught in the fire,
Simply overwhelmed cause my stress has been dire.
Remember I am always on guard,
Even when my life is but a shard!


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Robin Dress
In stock
Boat neck with button detail at shoulder, elastic at waist, separate detachable slip, sash belt ties at waist, shirt tail hem.
Product added! Browse Wishlist
The product is already in the wishlist! Browse Wishlist
Product Description
We suggest dry cleaning for best results. MADE IN USA.
Additional Information
|1.0 lbs
|12.25 x 10.9 x 1.5 in
Fabrication: 100% Silk, Lining: 100%acetate, *Dry Clean, *Model is 5'9" wearing size 2, *35 1/2" long measured from center back neck edge to hem (size 4).
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Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Lead times are between 1-2 weeks depending on selected products and availability of stock.
Categories: 81 Poppies, Jackets & Coats, Women.
Tags: 81 Poppies, Boat Neck, Dresses, Romantic Floral.
Tags: 81 Poppies, Boat Neck, Dresses, Romantic Floral.


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The Premier League is fascinating as we enter the home straight of a momentous season.
Three teams are battling neck and neck for the championship, two points covering their charge. Another three are competing eagerly for the last Champions' League place. And at the bottom no fewer than eight sides are quivering over the drop into First Division oblivion.
Nothing to play for? Virtually every match carries a health warning!
Surprises? Of course, of course.
Newcastle United and Sunderland are both in the thick of it - the Magpies gloriously going for the Champions' League, the Mackems unbelievably fighting for their very existence despite pulling in around 46,000 for every home match.
Manchester United, the perennial champions, no longer favourites to retain what Sir believes is theirs by right and boring old Boro comfortably ahead of Sunderland when it was expected to be the other way round.
It is, indeed, a league to savour. Blanket coverage all the way.
When iron-willed Roy Keane admits he's getting nervous you know you've a mighty scrap on your hands.
That is what, in theory, football is supposed to be all about, rather than a procession before the coronation.
Newcastle regained their feet with an awesome, goal-laden second-half display against Everton to make it a really good Friday, compounded 24 hours later by Leeds significantly losing ground. Eight goals at St James's Park, seven at Elland Road. Dull it most certainly is not.
Bets? You daren't, dare you? Everyone has a shout and there's more twists than Chubby Checker ever envisaged when he concocted that loopy dance routine in my youth.


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Before we let you know how to curate content to get plenty of organic traffic, we would like to make you aware of a few things first.
Let's take you through the most recent Google algorithm update, which has (in fact) left most marketers baffled and suspicious. This also created a kind of discomfort among copywriters as well. It's because they want to know the answers to a few basic questions, especially after the recent Google update.
Also Read- Ten Pragmatic SEO Tips That Deliver Actual Results
Do we have any kind of directions to go from here? We are absolutely puzzled.
How can we get our website rank in the presence of such an update?
How we will be able to fight with our competitors or big brands that have their presence in the industry for decades?
Well, the questions are not new as they are the same being asked by our clients. There are a lot more questions that are being bombarded in the event of such a new Google update. As a highly sensible digital marketing agency, we can sense the feeling of unrest and panic among our clients. But what to do?
Well, we tried to communicate with all our clients by saying not to become panic. We suggested them to better change their content strategy and further asked them to re-evaluate their core strategy of content planning and start working with more zeal.
Finally, we went back to our drawing board and managed to offer a few individual plans for some of our clients. Albeit, all of them belonged to different industries, but there were certain things in common.
How to Curate Content to attract more organic traffic
If you are a serious marketer and have read all the stuff posted here, then you must be aware that we don't advocate for vanity metrics. What we believe is that traffic (most of the times) becomes irrelevant if it doesn't become the cause of actual revenue.
Well, this is the reason why we always try to create such an SEO and a content marketing plan that end up giving the ROI. And that's why we say that traffic is just a means to achieve that goal, but is not the end goal.
Now, please know how to curate content to attract tons of organic traffic back to your website. You must follow all the tips given below to get the desired results.
Create More Content
Well, if you still stick to the old format of creating a 500 word content for your blog or website, then it's not going to work for you any longer.
How to curate content to make a mark in the eyes of your audience? For that, you will require longer form of content. This will not only help you attract more traffic, but will also boost your website's rankings. So, all you require is to write meaningful and lengthy articles that give value to your visitors. And yes, you need to post them on a regular basis.
Please take a note of this- Close to 45% of content curators believe that their efforts have brought the expected ROI. Also, the fact that both B2C and B2B agencies strive to curate more and meaningful content cannot be a coincidence. It's as simple as today's norm.
You must agree with us that a consistent flow of great content tends to bring a constant flow of targeted traffic from search engines. And this traffic turns into your business goals.
Now, by knowing all the above, we can see that creating great content is not going to be a walk in the park for most of the marketers. When we hire new content curators or copywriters for our own business, we always expect them to better come up with a workable content strategy to boost the client's ROI.
To our own digital marketing firm, we don't want to rely on those who primarily think of following instructions to insert keywords. What we basically expect from a successful marketing professional is that they should possess a growth hacking or marketing mindset.
How to Curate Content Which Is Better and Valuable
Try and create a meaningful copy to your readers. But how does it differ from the marketing prospective? Well, we never said that your marketing angle should not be crucial, but it should not be more than offering a greater value to the audience.
The value you provide to your readers is by offering them an in-depth quality content. But how can we achieve that? Well, you can easily produce great content by doing a proper research. Here you should also need to think about the right tone of voice to appeal to your client's persona and also by coming up with a new angle.
Search engines really advocate that your content should be for people and not for machines. They can easily spot a write-up not offering any value to its readers. And you may end up losing the rankings of your website.
So, the bottom line is that if your readers are happy reading your content, so will be the search engines. And if you know the magic to win your customer's hearts by creating a meaningful content, you are heading towards winning the game.
Focus on Targeting Long-Tail Keywords
There are keywords that you would love to rank for but will prove tough to do so. For example, there is a keyword "ice cream" that will be tough to rank. On the other hand, consider the keyword, "ice cream shops in India." This is a long-tail keyword and will be much easier to target.
You might be wondering how to curate content to insert long tail keywords. Well, there is no such magic formula but try to be natural and don't try to stiff your content with keywords.
There are many advantages to rank for a long tail keyword as discussed above. One of them is that you start getting more targeted traffic from search engines.
We have seen SEO marketers committing mistakes while trying to rank for highly irrelevant keywords. This is the reason why they fail to achieve their desired goals.
LSI Keywords Are Easier to Rank
Before giving you the insights, let's explain what LSI keywords are all about. LSI is better known as Latent Semantic that is related to your main list of keywords. They cannot be called as synonyms, but otherwise help Google to distinguish the details of your content.
If you again refer above where we discussed 'ice cream' keyword, you can have a list of other such keywords related to ice cream and those can be- 'mint chocolate chip ice cream', 'vanilla ice cream', chocolate ice cream and so on.
You might have understood by now about the importance of LSI keywords and their importance to plan your SEO strategy.
For now, we would continue to explain how to curate content in such a way to get the free traffic from search engines.
Importance of Inbound and Outbound Linking
Linking your blog posts with inbound and outbound links also help to rank higher in many ways. Inbound linking is a great way to enhance the credibility of your work in Google's eyes. For that, you simply need to connect all your individual blog posts between each other.
But the question arises- why would you need to insert links on third party (high authority) websites to your blog? What would happen to link your blog with external websites and help them (in a way) to gain more traction?
Well, if you continue to link your blog to high domain authority (DA) websites, then it means you are making your copy more transparent. You are telling the search engines that you have already done your own research. And believe us, this is what Google needs to deem your copy relevant and will eventually boost your rankings.
Great Headlines Matter
At times, you think about creating those crispy headlines as compared to the rest of your article. Well, there is nothing wrong with it.
But why does the headline matter? Well, as per the findings in that direction, close to 82% readers never able to get past the headlines itself. Just think about creating a great headline of your article and people will love your content anyway and you will get a chance to make your content go viral.
And who knows? You might stand a chance to get close to 20% crowd who actually make a click on your copy. As you know traffic tends to attract more traffic and if you share your content to the high authority social media sites, you might end up getting a few leads out of a great headline.
Try to Write Crisp and Provoking Content
Eliminating fluff from your content is one of the best ways to make it presentable among readers. It sounds challenging though, but heads for a better composition.
Other than that, if you are able to explain your point by going brief and to-the-point, then you will surely receive much appreciation. So, all we meant to say is that you must practice writing short and brief content to make people understand your point in a better way.
Also, you don't need to focus making your article too long. A longer content doesn't always become better. If you try and keep your article shorter, it will also prove beneficial for you in the long run.
Quality Content and Organic Traffic Go Hand In Hand
So, would you still like to spend $50 to get those SEO friendly articles for your website? If yes, then you better need to think again.
If you look at the reasons why the cost of SEO copywriting services continue to surge, we can tell you it's mainly because getting traction to both your potential users and Google has become harder.
After Google's recent update, if you try to deliver anything other than high quality content that has no values in terms of your readers, then you will surely get penalized.
What we want to make a point here is too simple to understand.
If you wish to receive more traffic, you need not worry about pleasing the search engines. And therefore, stop writing for search engines.
All you need to do is to write for your audience. And they will love your work by finding great content through search engines.
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You're looking for a massage therapist, so you're probably feeling tense or experiencing stress or physical discomfort. You're on the right track. Massage can help.
Massage induces relaxation, increases circulation, and improves self-awareness. Our clients tell us that after treatment they sleep better, move with greater ease, have more energy, and laugh more.
We tailor your treatment to your particular needs. We use a variety of techniques to address what ails you on the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual level.
Our clientele comprises blue collar workers, healthcare professionals, corporate executives, academics, marathoners, dancers, grandmas, granddads, moms, dads, and teenagers.
What We Offer
Massage therapists typically use Swedish massage to induce relaxation and a feeling of general well being. Following a rhythmic protocol that aids in creating a feeling of serenity, the massage therapist will work on one part of the body at a time, using light to medium touch in long, superficial strokes (effleurage), followed by slightly deeper and shorter cross fiber strokes (petrissage), and finishing with more effleurage. It may also be appropriate to use light drumming (tapotement).
Deep Tissue
A word of caution: Clients sometimes say they want a full-body deep-tissue massage. Deep-tissue work over the entire body in one session is a very unpleasant and unhealthy experience for the client and the massage therapist. These clients probably have in mind a firm Swedish massage.
Myofascial Release
Hot Stone Massage
Aromatherapy Massage
Hoshino Therapy
Energy Balancing
Pregnancy and Labor
- Relieve Back Pain or Tension 80%
- Reduce General Stress 50%
- Neck or shoulder pain 20%
- Pain in hips, feet or legs 10%
- Alleviate Depression or Anxiety 6%
- Men 25%
- Women 75%
- Over 60 11%
- Under 20 4%
- Athletes 16%
- Healthcare Professionals 11%
- Office Workers 30%
- Teachers 6%
|60-minute Session
|Initial Visit
Our signature treatment includes hot rocks on the back and hot towels on the feet, both of which enhance the relaxation response.
We are happy to accommodate your time constraints with shorter sessions; longer sessions are also possible. The type of work is always calibrated to your needs.
The number of sessions you may need will vary. For short-term, acute stress, one session may provide significant relief. For accumulated stress, clients should notice an immediate improvement, but it may take as many as four to six sessions to begin noticing enduring relief. In any case, clients should consider maintenance/wellbeing massage no less than once a month.
Lesley Ann Wernsdorfer
Licensed Massage Therapist
Lesley Ann Wernsdorfer approaches her practice from the knowledge that reducing any type of stress reduces discomfort and disease. Her work is precise and efficient, grounded in a thorough understanding of anatomy and physiology, but compassion and caring for her clients are essential aspects of her treatment. Choosing methods and techniques that best serve the client's needs in the moment, Lesley Ann delivers a deeply satisfying, unique treatment at each session. Lesley Ann has been practicing massage since November 1992. She is also a Registered Yoga Teacher and teaches classes at GBYC. She writes and hikes when she can.
Leise Ballou
Licensed Massage Therapist
Leise Ballou offers massage therapy based on the work and teaching of Professor Tomezo Hoshino. This unique discipline allows her to address each client's immediate needs, resulting in an experience of deep relaxation, increased blood circulation, and improved well-being. Her work is at once invigorating and relaxing as she focuses on countering arthrosis, the hardening and shortening of soft tissue that often causes muscle fatigue, pain, numbness, and tingling. Leise apprenticed with Don Hayward in New York after completing massage school. Leise also gives instruction in self-care to complement her treatments. She has been practicing massage since April 2008 and completed a yoga teacher training in 2004. She plays the french horn professionally, gardens, bakes, and hikes.


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Fully Licensed & Bonded
See how the West was won with Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley, the Rough Riders and special guest stars Mickey and his friends. Your evening experience starts with Sheriff Goofy and musicians entertaining you in the bar area. Then, take a seat in one of four ranches and defend its honour during the competitions held in the arena. Enjoy a live and authentic spectacular show while you savour traditional tex-mex cuisine served in western-style mess tins!
Save 10% on your dinner show by purchasing your ticket together with your package before you travel! Supplement applies for shows on 24th and 31st December call for price details - 01 804 7160
Prices Up to 02 April 2020
If you already have a booking to Disneyland Paris with Abbey Travel and would like to add Buffalo Bills Show call Charlotte or Marie on 01 804 7160


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November 17, 2016, 11:08 am
According to coach Fred Hoiberg Bulls guard Rajon Rondo is doubtful for Thursday's game against the Jazz.
Rondo is still recovering from an ankle injury that kept him out of the Bulls previous two games. While he is still finding his way in a strange Chicago back court owners will need to stay patient and hope the former all-star can start putting up Rondo type numbers. Jerian Grant will get the start in Rondo's absence.
Fantasy News
January 28, 2020, 3:33 pmVictor OladipoSG, Indiana Pacers
Victor Oladipo (ruptured right quad tendon) is expected to come off the bench and be on a minutes limit in his season debut against the Bulls on Wednesday.
The Pacers are going to ease their star SG back into the lineup after missing just over a year of action due to the devastating injury he suffered last January. Oladipo should eventually supplant Jeremy Lamb take over the starting SG job where he'll pair with offseason acquisition Malcolm Brogdon in the backcourt.
Source: Scott Agness on Twitter
January 28, 2020, 3:03 pmMyles TurnerC, Indiana Pacers
Myles Turner was sent home before Tuesday's practice as he continues to battle an illness.
Turner missed Sunday's game against the Blazers and is in danger of missing Victor Oladipo's season debut as well. If Turner can't go, Domantas Sabonis and Goga Bitadze should see extra minutes.
Source: J. Michael on Twitter
January 28, 2020, 3:00 pmMalcolm BrogdonPG, Indiana Pacers
Malcolm Brogdon has two more steps to complete in the concussion protocol but stated that he is optimistic about returning to the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Bulls.
If Brogdon can go, we'll get a glimpse of what the Pacers backcourt will look like going forward, as Victor Oladipo will be making his season debut. Brogdon has battled a multitude of injuries this year, so it is not a given that he will return. If Brogdon can't go, T.J McConnell and Aaron Holiday would see extra minutes.
Source: J. Michael on Twitter
January 28, 2020, 2:14 pmKyrie IrvingPG, Brooklyn Nets
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said on Tuesday that he isn't sure if Kyrie Irving (personal) will play against the Pistons on Wednesday, but the team is 'optimistic' that he will be out there after he returned to practice on Tuesday.
Keep tabs on the situation as more information rolls in. If Irving sits this one out, Spencer Dinwiddie would start at PG again and maintain peak usage.
Source: Alex Schiffer on Twitter
January 28, 2020, 2:11 pmDeAndre JordanC, Brooklyn Nets
DeAndre Jordan (right middle finger dislocation) will return to the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pistons.
With Jordan back in the lineup, Jarrett Allen will take a hit as the two will presumably return to splitting C minutes. Nicolas Claxton had seen extra run the past few games, but he will be relegated to deeper-reserve status for this one.
Source: Alex Schiffer on Twitter
January 28, 2020, 2:06 pmKristaps PorzingisPF-C, Dallas Mavericks
Kristaps Porzingis (left knee) is being listed as questionable to play against the Suns on Tuesday.
Porzingis has been a top-45 9/8 cat asset over the past week on the back of 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.0 steals and 2.3 treys per game in 26.1 minutes. Although he has shot poorly, 37 percent from the floor, his ability to hit threes and contribute in stocks has been a boost to owners who were waiting for his return. If Porzingis is held out of the back-end of the back-to-back, look for Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, Justin Jackson and Willie Cauley-Stein to see extra minutes.
Source: NBA Injury Report
January 28, 2020, 1:58 pmLuka DoncicPG-SF, Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic (right ankle soreness) is being listed as probable to play in Tuesday's matchup with the Suns.
The past two weeks have brought some struggles from the free-throw line with Doncic, as he is shooting just 57 percent on 8.3 attempts per game. Doncic has provided just top-85 value in 9 cats over this time, but if we take out the free-throw shooting he jumps back to top-10 value over this time period.
Source: NBA Injury Report
January 28, 2020, 1:51 pmKendrick NunnPG, Miami Heat
Kendrick Nunn (bilateral Achilles soreness) is being listed as questionable to play against the Celtics on Tuesday.
Nunn missed Monday's game as he has dealt with the soreness throughout the season. If Nunn can't go, Goran Dragic would again be in line for the start, while Tyler Herro would get extra minutes off the bench.
Source: NBA Injury Report
January 28, 2020, 1:48 pmKevin Porter Jr.SG-SF, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Porter Jr. (right ankle sprain) is being listed as questionable to play against the Pelicans on Tuesday.
Porter Jr. returned to action on Monday after a multi-week absence, and the team may exercise caution on the back end of a back-to-back set. If Porter can go, he may slide into the starting SG, with Darius Garland (rest) out and Collin Sexton sliding over to PG. Keep an eye on this situation as we approach tip-off.
Source: NBA Injury Report
January 28, 2020, 1:45 pmDarius GarlandPG, Cleveland Cavaliers
Darius Garland (rest) is being listed as out for Tuesday's matchup with the Pelicans.
With Garland sitting out on the second half of a back-to-back there will be more minutes to go around for Collin Sexton, Dante Exum, Matthew Dellavedova, and Kevin Porter Jr. (questionable). Sexton will likely slide over to PG, while Porter would be a very interesting streamer if he hadn't only returned from a multi-week absence on Monday.
Source: NBA Injury Report


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Yesterday I attended the Rochester Teen Book Festival for the 5th time. I haven't written a follow up on this event in a few years but I was planning to this year, especially since Sarah J. Maas was to be there and I was so excited to see her. She was supposed to attend a couple years ago but was injured days beforehand and had to cancel last minute. I debated how much time I'd have for signings, packed my tote bags full of books just in case I could get to more than a couple authors, and went on my way! Unfortunately it was a complete letdown.
Before I get into the chaos that was the Sarah J. Maas portion of the event, I feel like I should give a few details on how the event works.
This is just a sample of the schedule as there are between 25-30 authors in attendance. They split them up throughout the college campus where the event is held, and in some cases put a couple authors together to speak to groups during time slots/sessions. The chapel location is where they put those who they expect to have the largest amount of seats to fill since it seats about 300 per session.
I arrived at the Sarah J. Maas session at 12:45. She was currently on lunch and wasn't due to speak again until 1:30. I was already expecting not to get into the session due to what happened to me a couple years ago (at the Sarah Dessen session in 2015, despite arriving early to a near empty room, I was asked to move to the back with the possibly of needing to give up a seat entirely and stand in the back, as seats started to fill to make room for teens), which is why I didn't even bother trying a session earlier in the day. But I wanted to get a head start on the signing line, at least.
The signing was due to start at 2:30. There was already quite a line formed so I asked a volunteer where the signing line was. She said the session and signing line was one for now and priority would be given to teens, which they expected to fill the whole event. Like I thought, I wouldn't get in. But what about the signing? I was then told that they were also prioritizing teens for that as well. What? But they had stamped bookplates they could give out. Nevertheless, I got in line just in case as they suggested. The line grew and grew and grew. When looking at just how large it got, I was more towards the front at least. They started letting people in late, around 1:40, and as we moved farther to the front, they started to tell all adults to line up against the wall and let teens bypass them. Adults who came from hours away just to see Sarah J. Maas who had then waited in line for an hour or so, were bypassed by teens who arrived only moments before. Adults that were there with their teen that had to let them go in alone. After the chapel was full, more bad news. They were going to let all of those in the session already be the front of the signing line. Sarah could only sign 300 books and that was the exact number in the chapel. So my hopes of seeing her at all were crushed. The bookplates? They didn't have many and those were prioritized for teens as well. So what was I waiting around for? Another couple hours to see if I may be luckily enough to snag one when the teens stopped showing up? Maybe? Meanwhile miss out on the two other authors I came for as well? Not worth it. The kicker is that the book Sarah was on tour promoting isn't even YA, it's NA. Meaning adults too. I was in line between two mothers who sent their teens in alone and they just wanted to wait with them in the line for the signing afterwards and to take a picture but they couldn't even get a straight answer if that would be allowed (it didn't sound like it would). One girl was 13. As an adult I don't even like being alone in crowds that large for hours, let alone as a young teen.
What happened after that I cannot say for sure because I left after waiting from 12:45-2:00 and once multiple volunteers confirmed that the signing wouldn't be happening for me. I wish you could have seen the line wrapped along the hallway filled with disappointed adults being told they didn't have a shot but could stick around for another hour or two for the potential of a bookplate (There were a few bookplates left later on and I went back and grabbed one). Adults sharing how far they traveled, what family obligations they skipped to come. I had to leave the line to make my trip to the event worth something. I got over in Renee Ahdieh's line and was thankfully able to see her, twice, as I had more books than the limit that needed to get signed. I'm super bummed I didn't even get to see Renee Ahdieh speak in a session though because she was paired with Sarah J. Maas.
I've greatly enjoyed my past experiences at the Rochester Teen Book Festival. Living in Western New York, not much comes out this way and unless I travel quite a distance away, I'm out of luck of seeing any of my favorite authors. I'll never forget all those years ago when I realized the event existed and the joy it brought to my face in that moment. But it has become obvious that as the event grows it is the Rochester TEEN Book Festival and not the Rochester TEEN BOOK Festival. Adults are not welcome. I am so very grateful an event like this exists for young readers, I really am. I wish I took pictures of the amount of people that showed up. I can physically see the growth from year to year. It is absolutely teen centered and I'm totally fine with that, I just wish the small percentage of adults in comparison that attend could be a part of it all too.
So here is my open letter to the event:
To those who run the Rochester Teen Book Festival,
Please change your policies on your event. There is a tremendous adult following of Young Adult books and the way they are treated is atrocious. All readers of any age who love Young Adult and Middle Grade books should be made to feel welcome. Making anyone above the age of 19 feel ashamed for liking YA is cruel and that's how I feel when I attend your event. And if you cannot accommodate the number of attendees then you need to modify how you run your event.
Make yourself knowledgeable on the books and authors you are promoting and their following (the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas is considered by many to be more of a New Adult read. New Adult according to Wikipedia – New adult (NA) fiction, also rendered as new–adult fiction, is a developing genre of fiction with protagonists in the 18–30 age bracket. Though she also writes YA, she was on book tour for A Court of Wings and Ruin).
Making adults stand against the wall for hours as you let every teen who just walked into the door go by is not fair in the least. Those in the last session of the day should also not get priority for signings. What about everyone who went earlier? They don't even get a chance? If there is a set number of people who can enter the session and a set number of people who can enter the signing, then I recommend holding a line earlier in the day for tickets to attend. That would solve a lot of your chaos issues. First come first serve. All ages. Since it's just a ticket or two if they want a session and the signing, it should move very quickly. A lot of book conventions do this already for popular authors. It works. Recommend adults who are there as support or supervision to wait in the hallway for sessions if there is not enough room but then allow them to join for the signing line so teens are not left feeling alone and anxious in a large crowd for hours.
I realize the people working the event are volunteers but depending on who you asked, you almost always got a different answer about what was going on, which made the Sarah J. Maas event event more chaotic. Please make sure volunteers running specific events have all the info.
I used to love the Rochester Teen Book Festival. The atmosphere used to be so encouraging and loving, a great place for readers to meet others like themselves and to meet some of their favorite authors, as well as be introduced to new ones. And I love how much you love teen readers, but it shouldn't be at the expense of others.
An Avid Adult Reader
So I think I've officially broken up with the event. Really sucks to have favorite authors in my city that I cannot see, but I don't like how the event makes me feel so it's not worth the embarrassment and the disappointment. I've never been made to feel like I don't belong in the YA book community before and it's quite awful. I'm thankful for all the bloggers and readers I get to talk to through my blog as well as others so at least I know I am not alone and have support somewhere because if I didn't have that blogging community before I went to that event, I have no idea how much worse I'd feel after attending.
So unless things change or I guess if my kids insist on going when they get a little older, that's it for me.
I do want to thank Renee Ahdieh and Tamara Ireland Stone who I did get to see and who are truly amazing!


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The Eskimo Slugger
It's the summer of 1983, and Trent Days is Major League Baseball's rookie sensation. Since he was born in Alaska to an Inupiat mother, the press have dubbed him the Eskimo Slugger, but a midseason collision at home plate temporarily halts his meteoric rise to the top.
Sent back to Austin to recuperate, Trent visits his favorite record store, Inner Sanctum, where he meets amiable law student Brendan Baxter. A skip in the vinyl of New Order's "Blue Monday" drives Trent back to Brendan, and their romance takes them into uncharted territory. As Trent's feelings move from casual to serious, he's faced with an impossible dilemma. Does he abandon any hope of a future with Brendan and return to the shadows and secrets of professional sports? Or does he embrace the possibility of real love and leave baseball behind him forever? As he struggles with his decision, Trent embarks on a journey of self-discovery to figure out who he really is and what matters most.
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- alex
- 20-09-16
didnt realise it was part of another story
Would you listen to The Eskimo Slugger again? Why?
yes, names and places need rethinking
What other book might you compare The Eskimo Slugger to, and why?
though I didn't know it is part of 'the return' and 'the nothingness of ben'.. once I realised it was heading that way and who the characters are the story takes on another dimension ..
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
yes indeed, not wanting to spoil, but knowing their plans for the future can never be, puts a different slant on the story
Any additional comments?
I had to think about buying this book for a while. then decided to give it a try. at no point did I realise it is tied in with others.. when one character names a character from another book (Stanton Porter) I felt somewhat 'disappointed', why can authors not come up with new names.... (mr clune - the queen and the homo jock king).. then as it started to dawn on me that the character actually was part of the story I realised who the two main characters were, I realised I knew the ending.. it certainly puts a different slant on everything.. the characters, how they all fit, even the two unborn babies.. all in all a good story once I understood...
- 11-11-15
The Missing Piece of the Pie
Any additional comments?
The Eskimo Slugger is a fitting final piece to Brad Boney's circular M/M romance trilogy as it is a both a sequel to 2nd book, The Return, and a prequel to the first book, The Nothingness of Ben. The way the stories are written TNOB can stand alone and makes sense even without the others. Unfortunately, it is the weakest book of the 3 [I would rate it 3-4 stars] but you may want to REread it AFTER the other 2. The Return is an excellent book [4&5 stars], definitely the best of the three and it both expands on people & events in book one and gives you information that is really important to book three [The Eskimo Slugger].
The Eskimo Slugger is a really good book [a solid 4 stars]. Some people may find some of the M/M elements to be TMI, but I think this info enhances the realism of what is a M/M romance with spiritual/fantasy elements [depending on your beliefs]. I don't think this book would be as enjoyable on its own and should only be read third [or at least after The Return]. The climax of the story is very intense even though you know what is going to happen by then; and really, I could only deal with it Because I knew what was going to happen. The change in narrator isn't a problem [from the other 2 books], both give 4 star performances. This book is a very enjoyable "read" and both enhances and completes the stories of this trilogy.
3 people found this helpful
- Morgan A Skye
- 04-06-15
Different Narrator Still Excellent, Amazing Series
Trent is a baseball player from Alaska, thus the name Eskimo Slugger. He's at the top of his game when he gets injured and ends up spending two weeks in Austin, TX. There he meets Brendan, a law student/record store clerk. They start as friends but once Brendan tentatively asks Trent "Is this a date?" the two acknowledge the deeper aspect of their blossoming relationship. The two immediately set sparks off one another, though neither has ever had a gay relationship before.
With some pretty funny forays into gay sex, the two explore each other and a relatively unexplored aspect to their personalities. For Brendan, being gay is something he's pondered but been afraid of, but with the right incentive he embraces the idea and eventually decides to incorporate into his life fully and without secrecy.
For Trent, being gay means possibly (probably) the end of his career, certainly the end of his life as it stands currently, and though he's always known he was gay, he has never let himself entertain the idea that he could actually live as a gay man.
Brendan enlists the help of Stanton and Hutch (from The Return) as "gay mentors" and together, with Bill Walsh (from The Nothingness of Ben) the group bonds, smoke a lot of weed and begin to form relationships that even death won't end.
Ultimately, Trent has to make the biggest decision of his life: Choose baseball or choose Brendan. Perhaps the two can be together, but probably it's one or the other.
By now you should have read the first two books (The Nothingness of Ben and The Return). If you haven't – go! What are you waiting for? Technically this could be a standalone, I guess, but it won't make a heck of a lot of sense and will leave you very unsatisfied.
If you have read the other books you know that the end of this book is really the beginning of TNOB. That, Brad Boney, is an amazing feat! Mr. Boney has managed to create this beautiful circular set of books that literally bleeds one into the other so that (as a reader) you want to just keep going round and round the merry-go-round.
I found myself referencing both of the earlier books time and again with the "treasures" that were revealed throughout this book. Without completely giving away all the secrets just know that the MCs of all three books are inter-related in various ways and little bits of their stories, past and present are slipped in throughout the story.
In The Return it was all about music – fast paced facts and quips, with Slugger it's baseball. For me, the music was more interesting, but if you are a baseball fan this will really hit home. (See what I did there?)
I didn't like the love story as much in Slugger as in The Return or TNOB, probably because it happens so quickly. I just never felt the emotion – especially from Brendan. Trent was invested, you get that feeling so strongly. Brendan was too standoffish for me and it made me a little sad. But… since I know what I know about how things end… he's forgiven ☺.
I really, really enjoyed these books and was sad to see it end. I can't say for sure, but I think that if I were to recommend a reading order I would say start with The Return, then Slugger then finish with TNOB. There may be something "missing" with that order, but I think, ultimately, it will be so much more satisfying. Or… do as the author may have intended and read it : TNOB, Return, Slugger, TNOB… and so on and so on…
Just a fantastic book all around, 5 of 5 stars and for the series 6 of 5!
Michael Ferraluolo did an excellent job with this! I adored Charlie David and was disappointed he didn't narrate this, the third of the series. I think the continuity would have been great. But… Michael didn't disappoint with his performance. He has a great voice that is easy to listen to, did a nice job differentiating the characters, really got into the emotion of the story and even managed to do a nice job with the female voices.
All in all I am sticking with 6 of 5 stars for this in either book or audio form!
2 people found this helpful
- Rob
- 30-08-15
Excellent Third Book
This book is an excellent addition to the first two books in this series, The Nothingness of Ben and The Return. We finally get to find out the connection between Stanton, the Walsh's and the link between characters past and present.
This novel was narrated by a different voice actor than the first two, however I immediately felt comfortable with Michael Ferraiuolo's characterizations of the book's main players and thought he did a magnificent job. The book's tempo was spot on. No part of the book dragged nor did it gloss too quickly over important happenings. For me, this Brad Boney book was just spot on.
I really empathized with the main character, Trent. I felt that he had always been more interested in pleasing others and keeping his true self hidden. Brenden on the other hand is more confident with who he is, albeit somewhat inexperienced. I found Brenden to be a little unrealistic at times, which is why I only scored the book four stars for story and overall. Something seemed a little amiss with how forward and confident Brenden was given both his inexperience and that he clearly had a crush on Trent the baseball player before he met the real person. I didn't think someone like Brenden would be quite so confident meeting an idol. I also found Brenden to be a little 'standoffish' at times as though he wasn't quite as committed as Trent.
However, I listened to this book in record time and highly recommend it to anyone interested in quality gay fiction. Brad Boney has delivered a most interesting and extremely clever trilogy which comes full circle from book one to the end of this novel. To get the most from this book, I think readers definitely need to read The Nothingness of Ben and The Return first though. It will be a far better overall experience if you come to this novel already aware of what happens 30 years or so after the time in which this novel is set.
1 person found this helpful
- Joseph
- 14-07-15
The Eskimo Slugger Hits It Out of the Park
This is Brad Boney at his finest. He had a tremendous talent for weaving several stories together at once, but the reader doesn't necessarily know that. Then at the end, it all comes together. Boney had a tremendous talent, he doesn't disappoint in this third installment of this series that began with The Nothingness of Ben. I highly encourage anyone to listen to The Nothingness of Ben and The Return before reading this book, or else the ending will not make sense.
- Ryan
- 12-07-15
love Brad boney
I didn't enjoy this narrator as much as the one he had for his other books. but it was still an enjoyable book.
- Heather K (Dentist in my Spare Time)
- 15-06-15
Warning: I wouldn't read this as a standalone
Lots of problems with this one and I ended up DNFing at 68%.
I'll start out by saying that I think I picked a bad choice for my first Brad Boney book.
Many people told me that this book is best read after a couple of others (The Nothingness of Ben and The Return), neither of which I've read. I guess they are loosely a series, but they aren't marketed that way. Nevertheless, I had a number of issues that I'll go into detail about.
I'll start with the narration. This book is very heavy on the dialogue. Most of the book is the two MCs talking back and forth, which is great, GREAT, if only I could differentiate their voices at all. AT ALL. The narrator used the same/similar voice for both MCs and I honestly got the two characters mixed up for my entire listening experience. I kept thinking to myself, "Trent is the baseball player right?? So he is the one with the friend who... no wait, I think that is Brandon talking... or maybe that IS Trent..." It was too jumpy back and forth for me with this particular narrator. He had a pleasant voice, but I had a hard time following, which really affected my decision to DNF.
In terms of the plot, I found it to be a bit dry and also more than a little confusing. There is a lot of baseball talk, and a lot of discussing of feelings and philosophies, which is great in small doses but became too dull for my tastes. The confusing aspect I chalk up to not knowing any history of these characters due to the fact that I hadn't read the others in the so-called series. I really wish the author would at least write in the description that this book should follow the others, or link them formally together, because it was just a hot mess of secondary characters and phrases that I felt like should have some importance or foreshadowing but meant nothing to me.
All in all, I just sort of gave up on this one. I think that if I had read the others in the series or had read this in ebook form I would like enjoyed it a great deal more.
**Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**


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Great VBS Week
First Thoughts is written by Bill Shiell, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Knoxville, Tennessee.
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USA Today says that Mission trips may do more harm than good. I'm sure that's the same argument people made before the idea of "partnership missions" became so popular. During the great missions movements of the 40 and 50s, people empowered individuals to leave churches and "Rescue the Perishing" in foreign lands. With the global village at our doorstep, we have grown in our understanding of missions. Everyone is a missionary. Each Christian has the apostolic call. Macedonia is Main Street.
Partnership missions or short-term mission trips have been the primary catalyst driving international service since the 1970s. We should distinguish between experiences, relationships, and lifestyle missions, however.
USA Today describes the dangers of experiential mission trips. These are designed to give individuals who have never been exposed to the problems of the world a chance to see it firsthand. It's hard to believe that Americans would not understand how impoverished other parts of the world are. No, it's really not hard to believe. Hence the reason for taking blessed Americans to places not nearly as blessed materially. These once in a lifetime experiences raise awareness and cause individuals to be more sensitive to needs in their homes. The downside is that some groups merely return with a great powerpoint show for their churches, and churches risk becoming God's travel agency, offering great discounts to faraway lands. The article fails to note, however, that most of the Katrina recovery process has been placed on the backs of churches and religious groups taking experiential trips. And they have risen to the challenge.
Relationship trips are ongoing ministry opportunities designed to do more than simply benefit the traveler. These collaborations take churches and groups to parts of the world that over the long haul, prove beneficial for both parties. Not only do you see the individuals in a particular place, but you see their lives (and yours) change. The risk of course is that the host becomes dependent on the visitor. The opportunity, however, goes far beyond the risks.
Third is the lifestyle of missions. This is the ultimate end of the journey, when a person sees her life as one called to a place, to serve a people, wherever the road takes her.
Posted by Bill Shiell at 10:06 PM 1 comments
I'm a mission trip veteran. If mission trips had ranks, I'd at least be 2nd Lieutenant. I've swung more hammers, weed-whacked more yards, and enjoyed more Kool-Aid from yellow igloo coolers than I can count. But after all the work, do they do any good? A recent article in USA Today questions the value of short-term mission trips.
I'd like to explore this idea over the next few posts. First, the article....
"On a mission — a short-term mission"
Posted 6/18/2006
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Special for USA TODAY
As a single mother and elementary-school music teacher in Alamogordo, N.M., Cheryl Dockray usually umpires all the summer softball games she can to make ends meet.
But in early June, she took a rare week off — and worked even harder than usual. With eight other adults and 13 young people from Alamogordo's Grace United Methodist Church, she helped gut a New Orleans home that had been rotting in floodwaters for nine months.
"I can't give huge monetary donations, but I can give of myself and my time," Dockray says from Kenner, La., where the group was sleeping on air mattresses at a church.
Short-term mission trips (less than two weeks) are enjoying a wave of popularity with Americans eager to put faith into action and make vacations meaningful. About 1.6 million Americans took such trips abroad last year, according to a survey by Robert Wuthnow, Princeton University sociologist of religion. Domestic trips, which peak in the summer, are even more popular.
Popular as they are, critics say, short-term mission trips can be counterproductive — or worse. Concerns surface especially with international trips.
Judd Birdsall, former managing editor of The Review of Faith & International Affairs, a Christian journal, grew up in Japan in an evangelical missionary home. Too often these days, he says, untrained short-term missioners — or "vacationaries" — offend indigenous populations and undermine hard-earned relationships cultivated by long-term missionaries over many years.
"At this point, it really is an out-of-control phenomenon," Birdsall says. "Americans come in with good intentions, but they couple zeal with ignorance, and that can be a deadly combination for the folks who are on the ground slogging it out year after year."
All too often, groups set off with scant foreign-language skills and minimal cross-cultural training, says David Livermore, author of Serving with Eyes Wide Open. Their construction projects sometimes take work away from locals or come at the expense of more pressing needs, Livermore says, but impoverished hosts dare not protest.
"Often there's too high a price for them to say no to this because often (hosting a group) is the means to getting the check that will help support them."
Volunteers also run the risk of duplicating efforts in today's decentralized mission environment, says Mark Oestreicher of Youth Specialties, an El Cajon, Calif.-based training firm for church youth leaders. One slum in Tijuana, Mexico, for example, now expects regular visits from mission-driven groups from Southern California.
"Each of these groups will come in, do a vacation Bible school and lead the same kids to Christ over and over again," Oestreicher says.
Others concede that the trips aren't perfect but say they do a lot of good. Dana Robert of the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University points to improved standards of living and broadened perspectives of those who travel, interact and serve.
"A lot of people come back from these trips humbled," Robert says. "I think, on balance, it's more worthwhile than not."
This year, short-term missions are getting a prominent stage as thousands of teams focus on hurricane-damaged regions of the USA. For the first time since Katrina hit last August, volunteers this month are using every bed available from the Louisiana United Methodist Storm Recovery Center as 2,400 teams arrive in the New Orleans area.
Whether the destination is the Gulf Coast or the Persian Gulf, the Internet has made short-term mission trips relatively easy to arrange, says Todd Johnson of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass. He says fast-growing independent churches have "absolutely transformed" short-term missions over the past decade into an arena where congregations, rather than established agencies with a long-term presence in a region, define trips' goals and parameters.
Pamela Brown of Richmond, Va., says unmediated connections between religious communities help relationships flourish. When her Presbyterian (U.S.A.) church first established a direct tie with a local church and orphanage in Morelia, Mexico, in the late 1990s, "everything we did was fine with them because we left it a better place than we found it."
Based on this model, with "no red tape involved," her church now sends teams quarterly to Kazakhstan to help with dental care, management consulting and other humanitarian ministries.
Proponents of short-term missions generally agree that missionaries need cultural training to be effective, whether their goal is to alleviate physical suffering, win converts or both. The Alamogordo group opted to work within Methodist channels, which provide an orientation and prohibit proselytizing, because no one in the group knew the landscape or needs of New Orleans, says group leader Heath Husted.
For others, the days of seeking guidance from denominations or established agencies are a distant memory.
At the 4,000-member Word of Grace Church in Mesa, Ariz., regular mission trips to Central America, Africa and the Middle East rely on the church's own local connections and in-house training.
"We're not dependent on an agency. ... We don't have a middleman," says the Rev. Andy Jackson, pastor of discipleship and leadership development. "Just because a group calls itself a mission agency, that doesn't mean it provides good quality control."
Posted by Bill Shiell at 9:30 PM 1 comments
The most significant news in Baptist life in Knoxville last week was not the election of a new president of the Southern Baptist Convention. We're pretty removed from politics now at 510 W Main. The most significant story ran the same day in the local paper. Baptist Hospital is being sold.
Baptists have never been very good at parting ways with their institutions. Like an overprotective parent, we keep a pretty tight rein on our hospitals, universities, and children's homes. When the rumors started circulating late last year that our old friend Baptist Hospital was officially on the market, the First Baptist family felt a collective sense of loss. East Tennessee's Baptist Hospital would not exist were it not for Fred Brown and the leadership of First Baptist. Some have even said that Dr. Brown announced in the pulpit of FBC that they needed more money for the hospital and passed the plate until he collected enough. Over the years, First Baptist members have had a strong presence on the board and given time and money to make it possible for everyone to have access to healthcare.
With this week's news of Triad Health System's purchase of our baby, we say farewell to an old friend. Long ago, Tennessee Baptists removed themselves from positions of monetary influence. As healthcare costs soared, Tennessee Baptists contributions did not. That's life today, and we've seen this story repeated around the country as various Baptist institutions have grown up and moved on. We have church members today that serve on the board and as employees in each of the healthcare systems in Knoxville. It's truly a new day in healthcare.
The board and employees of Baptist have been in my prayers the past months. Each person knows the agony of the decision at a personal and private level. We have seen good church members relocate; we have encouraged board members who have made tough, difficult decisions. We will walk beside each person as they face inevitable transitions in the coming days and hopefully welcome new members who are part of Triad's group.
Several lessons can be learned as people of First Baptist.
(1) The Baptist name is still popular in some circles. Ironically, one of the things Triad wanted to maintain is the name. Isn't it interesting that the only area where Baptists get good reviews is in healthcare? This should be a lesson to all of us. Baptists as a brand and as a people are at their best when they minister to people in the crisis moments in the name of Christ.
(2) We can still have a prophetic voice. The News-Sentinel's editorial alluded to a looming crisis if charity cases are not covered in the new system. UT and St. Mary's can't do it alone. We need to refocus our efforts to caring for those who cannot afford the benefits that most of us take for granted. We must accomplish this beyond pious rhetoric. Our wallets and actions must match our words.
(3) Institutions grow and change. We should apply the principles of the Baptist experience to Belmont, Carson-Newman, and other institutions. We should allow them freedom to be the best they can be, raise money from as many sources as possible, and help them maintain a Baptist identity in the best sense of the word.
(4) We will always be there for Baptist. First Baptist will continue to send employees and volunteers across the river and out west. Baptists are everywhere. Let's welcome our new friends, encourage those who remain, and pray for people who will seek new employment.
Farewell, old friend, East Tennessee Baptist Hospital. May the new Baptist carry on the legacy that we have built together.
Posted by Bill Shiell at 4:16 PM 1 comments
Michael Gartner wrote a great Father's Day tribute in this weekend's USA Today. Enjoy.
"A Life Without Left Turns"
Michael Gartner
My father never drove a car.
Well, that's not quite right.
I should say I never saw him drive a car. He quit driving in 1927, when he was 25 years old, and the last car he drove was a 1926 Whippet.
"In those days," he told me when he was in his 90s, "to drive a car you had to do things with your hands, and do things with your feet, and look every which way, and I decided you could walk through life and enjoy it or drive through life and miss it."
At which point my mother, a sometimes salty Irishwoman, chimed in:
"Oh, bull——!" she said. "He hit a horse."
"Well," my father said, "there was that, too."
So my brother and I grew up in a household without a car. The neighbors all had cars — the Kollingses next door had a green 1941 Dodge, the VanLaninghams across the street a gray 1936 Plymouth, the Hopsons two doors down a black 1941 Ford — but we had none. My father, a newspaperman in Des Moines, would take the streetcar to work and, often as not, walk the 3 miles home. If he took the streetcar home, my mother and brother and I would walk the three blocks to the streetcar stop, meet him and walk home together.
Our 1950 Chevy
My brother, David, was born in 1935, and I was born in 1938, and sometimes, at dinner, we'd ask how come all the neighbors had cars but we had none. "No one in the family drives," my mother would explain, and that was that. But, sometimes, my father would say, "But as soon as one of you boys turns 16, we'll get one."
It was as if he wasn't sure which one of us would turn 16 first.
But, sure enough, my brother turned 16 before I did, so in 1951 my parents bought a used 1950 Chevrolet from a friend who ran the parts department at a Chevy dealership downtown. It was a four-door, white model, stick shift, fender skirts, loaded with everything, and, since my parents didn't drive, it more or less became my brother's car.
Having a car but not being able to drive didn't bother my father, but it didn't make sense to my mother. So in 1952, when she was 43 years old, she asked a friend to teach her to drive. She learned in a nearby cemetery, the place where I learned to drive the following year and where, a generation later, I took my two sons to practice driving. The cemetery probably was my father's idea. "Who can your mother hurt in the cemetery?" I remember him saying once.
For the next 45 years or so, until she was 90, my mother was the driver in the family. Neither she nor my father had any sense of direction, but he loaded up on maps — though they seldom left the city limits — and appointed himself navigator. It seemed to work.
The ritual walk to church
Still, they both continued to walk a lot. My mother was a devout Catholic, and my father an equally devout agnostic, an arrangement that didn't seem to bother either of them through their 75 years of marriage. (Yes, 75 years, and they were deeply in love the entire time.) He retired when he was 70, and nearly every morning for the next 20 years or so, he would walk with her the mile to St. Augustin's Church. She would walk down and sit in the front pew, and he would wait in the back until he saw which of the parish's two priests was on duty that morning. If it was the pastor, my father then would go out and take a 2-mile walk, meeting my mother at the end of the service and walking her home. If it was the assistant pastor, he'd take just a 1-mile walk and then head back to the church.
He called the priests "Father Fast" and "Father Slow."
After he retired, my father almost always accompanied my mother whenever she drove anywhere, even if he had no reason to go along. If she were going to the beauty parlor, he'd sit in the car and read, or go take a stroll or, if it was summer, have her keep the engine running so he could listen to the Cubs game on the radio. (In the evening, then, when I'd stop by, he'd explain: "The Cubs lost again. The millionaire on second base made a bad throw to the millionaire on first base, so the multimillionaire on third base scored.") If she were going to the grocery store, he would go along to carry the bags out — and to make sure she loaded up on ice cream.
As I said, he was always the navigator, and once, when he was 95 and she was 88 and still driving, he said to me, "Do you want to know the secret of a long life?" "I guess so," I said, knowing it probably would be something bizarre.
"No left turns," he said.
"What?" I asked.
"No left turns," he repeated. "Several years ago, your mother and I read an article that said most accidents that old people are in happen when they turn left in front of oncoming traffic. As you get older, your eyesight worsens, and you can lose your depth perception, it said. So your mother and I decided never again to make a left turn."
"What?" I said again. "No left turns," he said. "Think about it. Three rights are the same as a left, and that's a lot safer. So we always make three rights."
"You're kidding!" I said, and I turned to my mother for support. "No," she said, "your father is right. We make three rights. It works."
But then she added: "Except when your father loses count."
I was driving at the time, and I almost drove off the road as I started laughing. "Loses count?" I asked. "Yes," my father admitted, "that sometimes happens. But it's not a problem. You just make seven rights, and you're okay again."
I couldn't resist. "Do you ever go for 11?" I asked.
"No," he said. "If we miss it at seven, we just come home and call it a bad day. Besides, nothing in life is so important it can't be put off another day or another week."
My mother was never in an accident, but one evening she handed me her car keys and said she had decided to quit driving. That was in 1999, when she was 90. She lived four more years, until 2003. My father died the next year, at 102. They both died in the bungalow they had moved into in 1937 and bought a few years later for $3,000. (Sixty years later, my brother and I paid $8,000 to have a shower put in the tiny bathroom — the house had never had one. My father would have died then and there if he knew the shower cost nearly three times what he paid for the house.) He continued to walk daily — he had me get him a treadmill when he was 101 because he was afraid he'd fall on the icy sidewalks but wanted to keep exercising — and he was of sound mind and sound body until the moment he died.
A happy life
One September afternoon in 2004, he and my son went with me when I had to give a talk in a neighboring town, and it was clear to all three of us that he was wearing out, though we had the usual wide-ranging conversation about politics and newspapers and things in the news. A few weeks earlier, he had told my son, "You know, Mike, the first hundred years are a lot easier than the second hundred." At one point in our drive that Saturday, he said, "You know, I'm probably not going to live much longer." "You're probably right," I said. "Why would you say that?" he countered, somewhat irritated. "Because you're 102 years old," I said. "Yes," he said, "you're right." He stayed in bed all the next day. That night, I suggested to my son and daughter that we sit up with him through the night. He appreciated it, he said, though at one point, apparently seeing us look gloomy, he said: "I would like to make an announcement. No one in this room is dead yet." An hour or so later, he spoke his last words:
"I want you to know," he said, clearly and lucidly, "that I am in no pain. I am very comfortable. And I have had as happy a life as anyone on this earth could ever have."
A short time later, he died.
I miss him a lot, and I think about him a lot. I've wondered now and then how it was that my family and I were so lucky that he lived so long.
I can't figure out if it was because he walked through life.
Or because he quit taking left turns.
Michael Gartner has been editor of newspapers large and small and president of NBC News. In 1997, he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.
Posted by Bill Shiell at 9:56 AM 0 comments
On Monday, several East Tennessee Baptist churches published an advertisement in the Knoxville News-Sentinel. To view the ad, click on this link. Thanks, educators.
To view other resources for Baptists who support public schools, visit Ethicsdaily.com.
Posted by Bill Shiell at 11:46 PM 0 comments
Amidst all the things going on in our world today: a new hurricane season, ministering to immigrants, and handling the Iraq issues, the Southern Baptists made headlines again.
In our annual 2nd week in June pilgrimage to a Civic Center near you, the SBC voted for a hometown guy to be the president. A native of Greensboro, Frank Page squeaked by with some home cookin' and some local voters.
What made this so interesting to the New York Times and even local news here in Knoxville is this guy is not one of "the boys." He wasn't hand-picked in a back room. He was voted on by the people.
Here's the real story. Dr. Frank Page is the SBC's first blogging president. A pastor in Oklahoma used his blog to run Frank Page's campaign. The big stink over Dr. Page among the other candidates is not only his age (he's a young buck-- 51), but also he supports only the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. This is the new document voted on by the SBC to replace their old confession of 1963. (My church still adheres to the 1963 document, not the 2000.) But the 2000 is the criteria for hiring in the new SBC. Lately, the International Mission Board has been in a tailspin because some of their missionaries who want to pray as they feel led. The International Mission Board trustees have been debating whether or not it's ok for their missionaries to pray in tongues. I'm not kidding; this is the stuff they debate in board rooms. And of course, prayer or the said language in which one prays is not covered in the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. So.... Dr. Page is in the camp of "let 'em pray as they feel led." Or in other words, don't go beyond the hiring document that they already have.
If this is confusing to you, it should be. While the rest of the South waits for more hurricanes, we're debating who and how people should be praying. Baptists are fiercely independent, and they really don't like to be told how to pray.
So...good luck to Dr. Page as he sorts things out in the prayer closet. As for me, I'm going to try to stay focused on sharing Christ's love with the people affected by paragraph 1. I'm sure we don't need a vote or a blog to do it. And these are the things that really matter.
Posted by Bill Shiell at 10:49 PM 0 comments
One of the best kept secrets about First Baptist Knoxville has been our Pastoral Counselor who has been here for nearly 30 years. He writes a regular column on my church's website entitled, "Money Talks." Here's his latest entry. To read more, go to the Money Talks link on my church website.
Differences are Attractive but Difficult
Differences are so attractive but they are so difficult. Relationships are often created by differences. Those same differences challenge, divide, and test us. For example, in marriage, marital researchers convince us that differences attract. When we look for a marital partner, we do not look for someone like us. We look for someone to complete us.
Sydnor and I often talk about our differences and how they attracted us to one another. For example, Sydnor grew up at 1423 Madison Avenue. I grew up on Route 3. Sydnor grew up with two siblings. I grew up with eight. Sydnor grew up with much travel. I traveled to two other states—Georgia five miles away, and Florida, 80 miles away—till I was 20 years of age. Sydnor grew up with the expectation to finish college. I grew up with the expectation to finish high school. Sydnor grew up with banking. I grew up with farming.
The major difference that attracted me to Sydnor was that she was extroverted and comfortable with people. When I met her, I was looking for a wife. I was also looking for a wife that would compliment my call and profession. I needed her social skills. Her skills would make up for mine. And I married well!
That difference showed up on our marital screen when we moved back to South Carolina, to Darlington, which was only ten miles away from her hometown of Florence. Suddenly we were invited to many parties, many weddings, many family occasions; and my social appetite, that ate sparingly, was being overly fed. I found myself resenting the very piece that I needed and liked most about her.
Differences are a gift but at the same time they require hard work. Dealing with relational differences has been one of the defining issues of the church since Jesus created her. Over against his own heritage, Jesus created one of the most diverse communities imaginable. It was a community made up of Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. Those differences that Jesus sought to build into the tapestry of his New Kingdom became the very core of Paul's teaching and ministry. They challenged the early church and eventually defined it.
What we do with differences, whether church or marriage, will have much to do with both who we are and who we become. Enjoy the gift but work hard!
Posted by Bill Shiell at 8:15 AM 1 comments
In May 1989, 6 months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dayna Curry graduated from high school to attend Baylor University. This generation X-er attending a Baptist school would have been the average girl next door, except she felt God's call to service and missions. She did not go through the standard boards or agencies. She volunteered with Shelter Now International, a German relief group. She and her friend Heather Mercer were caught in the crossfire of 9/11. They were missionaries to the Taliban in Afghanistan when the United States invaded.
What drives these women to serve? As we discover from Generations X and Y, this is part of their culture. They represent the generations of the future for Baptists. They are living between 11/9 and 9/11.
Posted by Bill Shiell at 8:58 AM 0 comments
3.) Expect more. These generations volunteered to be missionaries among the Taliban and fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. They will do the unthinkable; it might as well be through your organization.
4.) Collaborate with parachurch ministries. Church is one of many spiritual vendors in society. Young Life, Campus Crusade, etc., are all part of the spiritual formation of these students. Don't resist it; affirm it. Buy into it; work with these organizations. Learn from them, and build community with them.
In a recent article on youth ministry, The New York Times suggested that students are going to one church for worship, another church or parachurch for Bible study, and another to assist in the community. I anticipate this trend to carry into adulthood. If you are not the worship place for students, provide another way to connect with them.
5.) Release control. One thing we're learning is that these students not only want to attend worship, they desire to own the experience. If it is right for your context, start a service to reach this generation. If it is not, know that many in this generation will appreciate the ancient traditions of the faith if they connect with you and own part of the church. We cannot expect this group to be a part of something they have little input into. They need to feel ownership in the church and its ministries. It's not about style, it's about ownership and authenticity.
6.) Be the faith family for these generations. Multigenerations are back. Community is important. One college student said, "Be the community I never had at home." Where Willow Creek and Saddleback pioneered niche market churches, now young people want to connect with spiritual grandparents. Pair senior adults with college students for mission projects. Create opportunities for mentoring and service. Adopt a college student, share life, and learn from each other.
Posted by Bill Shiell at 4:03 PM 0 comments
One part of our future as Baptists relates to how we will work with other churches. Here's one example from our context in Knoxville. This recent article in Knoxville Magazine tells the story better than I can.
Posted by Bill Shiell at 2:25 PM 1 comments
Implications for Church Ministry
Because most Baptists are members of institutional churches, we are affected by these trends and should take note of several things that affect us as we move forward.
1.) Keep it real. The best advice that I continue to hear from younger people is whatever you do, be authentic. Ministers should have face time with these generations. Go to Starbucks. Hang out. Be accessible. Give your current students a safe place now to ask tough questions. Martinson says that one of the key factors in students' returning to church is that they had a safe place in young adulthood to ask questions and a place where they could come "home."
2.) Give opportunities to serve. Service is an entry point to the church. We saw this especially during our Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. We had volunteers from UT who had never been to worship or Sunday School.
Posted by Bill Shiell at 9:40 AM 0 comments


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Spend it at SSI stores!
That's what I did when I got mine as one of the perks of being a Smart infinity subscriber.
As if having these privileges for its subscribers are not enough, Smart Infinity came up with this awesome partnership with Stores Specialists, Inc.'s Purple Card perfect for shopaholics! And that's on top of owning the latest iPhone6 or iPhone6 Plus!
You also have the option to get higher amounts of Purple Cards (as high as Php35,000 worth!) if you're not gonna avail a device.
"Smart Infinity has always been about having our members enjoy the lifestyle they want and deserve, hence our latest offerings featuring the Purple Card of our partner Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI)," said Julie Carceller, head of Smart Infinity. She added, "If you subscribe to our plans today, you will receive a generous amount of shopping GCs, a.k.a. Purple Cards, matched to your chosen package and/or your iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus device."
You also have the option to get higher amounts of Purple Cards (as high as Php35,000 worth!) if you're not gonna avail a device.
Being a Smart Infinity subscriber, I got to enjoy this perk in shopping at my favorite Stores Specialists, Inc. shops using my Purple Card! To see the complete list of SSI stores, go HERE. Here are some shops that I "shortlisted" to shop at when I recently visited the SSI Central Square, BGC.
I ended up at Zara, of course. Not in Central Square, though.
Purple Cards are also bundled with Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Samsung Galaxy S5 Premium smartphones. New Smart Infinity members may receive Purple Cards in the amount of Php14,000 plus a Samsung Note 4 and Gear S with their Premium Plan 8000 subscriptions.
"As the premium postpaid brand of Smart, we at Smart Infinity constantly think of ways to complement the lifestyles of our members," added Carceller.
James Chi, Marketing Manager for Smart Infinity, stated, "This is one of Smart Infinity's means to let our clients know that we are here to give the best of every mobile and data experience. It's really one thing to give them plans that cater to their demands--such as network reliability and quality service--and it's another fulfilling experience to know that your needs are being thought of."
Chi added, "Previously, we bundled our plans with gadgets and premium appliances; this time, our subscribers get to shop for the premium brands they want for themselves! That in itself is quite an offer."
To know more about this rewarding partnership of Smart Infinity and SSI's Purple Card, visit http://smart.com.ph/infinity/purplecard.
*All photos were taken using my Smart iPhone6 Plus


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All Olney homes currently listed for sale in Olney as of 01/21/2020 are shown below. You can change the search criteria at any time by pressing the 'Change Search' button below.
If you have any questions or you would like more information about any Olney homes for sale or other Olney real estate, please contact us and one of our knowledgeable Olney REALTORS® would be pleased to assist you.


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Things to Consider Before Constructing an Oil Storage Tank
With recent events like the BP gulf oil spill, Americans are more aware of the need for safe steel storage tank options for oil. The 2013 Colorado floods left 48,250 gallons of oil and 43,478 gallons of produced water spilled; this created the initiative to repair oil wells and upgrade above ground storage tanks by 2016. Just this year, Washington state experienced a similar disaster when over 1,500 gallons of motor oil leaked from an above ground storage tank into the Yakima River as of March of 2015. Safe, reliable storage tanks can not only spare you the added
Understanding the Differences Between an API 650 and API 653 Inspection
Above ground storage tanks are an integral part of a variety of different ventures, both agricultural and industrial in nature. But many tank owners and operators aren't entirely aware of the American Petroleum Institute (API)'s code of regulations and standards for these tanks; and these standards are crucial to ensuring that your tanks function as they should.
Two of the most prominent sets of API standards are the API 650 and API 653 standards. But what do these mean, and how can you tell between the two?
If you're still not sure what the differences between these two groups of storage tank inspection standards are, this quick guide should help you:
API 650 standards are for the construction of wel


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There is a lot to be said for long weekends. First of course there is a the extra day off when you don't have to head to work, which is great. Then there are the opportunities to use that extra day to see friends and family, host or attend BBQs, spend time at cottages, hit the beach, relax at home…well the possibilities are nearly endless.
If you're like a lot of people, summer in general and long weekends in particular might just be the time you catch up on your reading. Now we know, lots of you probably read year round, and that's awesome, of course! But since a lot of us do have holidays and vacation during the summer months, it makes sense that the biggest reading push of the year starts to happen around the beginning of May.
That's when we start to see the "Summer Reads" lists, and there is no shortage of these babies! It seems everyone wants to help us get a jump on our summer reading, and the lists are everywhere! They're in magazines, online, in the newspaper…you name it. And they sure do make it easy to choose your next read. You can also check out the public library for their picks for the best in summer books/beach reads. Libraries are the home of the Summer Reading Club (Did you participate as a kid? So much fun!) so they really know their stuff. Bookstores are also fantastic places to go to find your next favourite book. Think of their displays and all the gorgeous books on tables and shelves, just laid out for you. For a booklover, it's open season, and it's glorious! And, pro tip: booksellers and library people LOVE to recommend books, so if you're stuck, just ask your friendly neighbourhood bookstore or library person and they will be happy to help you pick your next read!
Now, we at the Willow Salon blog don't necessarily want to replace your trusted and true book lists, but we do like to help, and seeing as how not a lot of the summer book lists tend to have books about hair, makeup, or style, we thought perhaps we could fill in a couple of gaps for you. A lot of book lists focus on what they call "light" reads – easy to consume on the beach, in a hammock, etc. If you're the type of person who maybe prefers to tackle something a little meatier (since you've actually got some time to read during the summer) well, welcome to the Willow Salon Blog Book Recommendations, for Summer 2016!
First up: Hair Tales
Want all the deets on one of the first and most famous icons of hair styling? Look no further than these two guides to the one and only Vidal Sassoon! Both Vidal: The Autobiography and Vidal Sassoon: How One Man Changed the World with a Pair of Scissors give us insight into the life, inspirations, and career of one of the most recognizable names in the hair world.
Next: You Know Her Name
When it comes to fashion goals and icons, Coco Chanel is second to none. An intriguing person with enviable business savvy and impeccable style, Chanel has fascinated us for decades. Take a look at this New York Times feature on three relatively current, and very different, books about her life and times. The NYT article The Many Faces of Coco is from 2011 but like Chanel herself, the subject is timeless.
Finally: Making Up
Two lovely books about the history of and our fascination with makeup in all its forms round out our style book suggestions for your summer reading. Face Paint: The Story of Makeup was released last year, and gives a history of makeup from ancient times to the present day in a gorgeously illustrated edition. Similarly, Classic Beauty: The History of Makeup looks at trends from the 1920s onward, as well as makeup innovations and innovators.
What did we miss? Do you have a favourite biography or history of style that you would recommend? Let us know in the comments!
Happy long weekend, blog friends! Here's hoping we all have some time to kick back with an epic story at some point. See you Tuesday!


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Earlier this summer, my husband and I celebrated our 45th Wedding Anniversary. We were newlyweds in the early 1970's, an era enriched with the beautiful music preformed by Karen Carpenter and her brother Richard. They told our story in We've Only Just Begun*: "…White lace and promises. A kiss for luck and we're on our way." They expressed our dreams in For All We Know**: "…We've got a lifetime to share. So much to say…Let's take a lifetime to say I knew you well…And love may grow for all we know."
Our promises and dreams were godly, and we sought God's blessing and invoked His help. It is good we did. For life happened. Demands and stresses within and without took a toll on our marriage, which nearly failed. (You can read our story by going to the book page of this website.) We've had a lifetime to know each other well and see our love mature and grow because of the God we trusted.
"Then the Nations around you that remain will know that I , the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it." Ezekiel 36:36
In this, our 45th year of life together, Howard and I honor the God who rebuilt and replanted our marriage, the God who spoke and did what He said He could do!
* written by Nicolas,Roger S./Williams, Paul H.
** written by Bunch, John/Colbert, Joshua/Cordoba,Derick/Neptune, Cha


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Our products are made in our home using the finest ingredients available. Our goal is to prove that even the most basic products like bath soap can be beautiful and stylish while serving the purpose of providing a fresh and clean bathing experience every time. We meticulously craft our unique soap and bath products in small hand-made batches to form them into beautiful works of art.
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