text:
I've just recently found that I love audio books. I figured they were for the hearing impaired or for workers with long commutes. My commute is only about 15 minutes to work. However, when working to produce the audio book for The Curse of Europa, I figured I should listen to an audio book or two. Now I'm hooked!! Even though my commute is only 15 minutes, that is still a good 30 minutes a day. If I go to lunch I may listen again in my car, or take headphones and listen while I eat. It's great because it's hard to find time to read and it is easy now to plug reading into time that is otherwise "wasted", such as driving a car.
On our trip to Florida (driving from Michigan), it was great. It kept me awake better than the radio. Even laying in the sun. Sure, you can easily read, but it sure is more relaxing to just lay back and listen (especially if the audio book production is top notch.) Many narrators will do certain voices for the various characters. Depending on the narrator, sometimes this can be great, sometimes a bit weird. If you've got a good narrator if adds a whole new level to the enjoyment of the book.
So what is this "trick?"
It's not really a trick I guess. There's nothing devious or deceitful about it. It's taking advantage of special pricing if you do things in the correct order. I believe it is Amazon's way to promote their Whispersync technology. The basic trick is that if you purchase the Kindle version of a book first, you may get a huge discount on the audio book. You can basically purchase both the Kindle version and the Audio version for much less than just the Audio version alone. And you don't even have to be an Audible.com Gold member. Many times the audio version is discounted down to $4.99, $2.99, $1.99, sometimes even 99 cents for example.
Amazon owns Audible.com. To purchase a book from Audible.com, you can simply login with your Amazon.com credentials. You don't have to sign-up for their membership to purchase audio books. Members get special pricing and usually get a book a month for free (but you're paying a monthly membership). So again, you don't need to do the monthly membership to take advantage of this "trick." In many cases, purchasing the Kindle version and then the Audible version is still cheaper than the member pricing (use less they use their monthly credit to get it for free, of course.)
Here are some examples from popular books. These are based on pricing as of 5/24/2013
The Hunger Games. If you want to purchase the audio book alone it will cost you $24.95. If you are an Audible.com member, you can get it for the discounted price of $19.58. However, anyone, can purchase the Kindle version for $5.00 and then the Audible version is discounted to $3.95. So… you can get both versions for $8.95. You just saved $16. All legit, all direct through Amazon.com and Audible.com. You can then download the Audible book onto a Kindle or any iPhone or Android phone via the Audible app.
Mocking Jay / Catching Fire. Well, to wrap up The Hunger Games series, you can get both versions for Mocking Jay for $9.48 (save $8.47) and both versions of Catching Fire for $9.94 (save $15.01.) These are well narrated books by the way! I've listened to them both.
A Storm of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book III. Purchase the Audio version for $39.95, or purchase the Kindle version for $9.99 and then get the discounted Audio version for $12.99. So this one is a bit more expensive, but at $22.98 you are still saving $16.97!
Wool Omnibus Edition. You can get the Kindle version for $5.99 and then the Audio version for only $1.99. So this is $7.98 vs. the regular price of $27.95 for only the Audio version alone. Save almost $20. The narration for this book is a little subpar, but okay.
14 by Peter Clines. I LOVED this book. The narrator did an awesome job!! Purchase the Kindle version for $7.99 and get the audio version for only $1.99! Again, the narration on this was superb, I highly recommend. So you get both for $9.98 vs. $21.95, save $11.97!
The Host: A Novel. Purchase both versions for $8.69 vs. $23.95, save $15.26.
Gone Girl. Purchase both versions for $17.98 vs. $28.95, save 10.97.
Theft of Swords: Riyria Revelations, Book 1. Purchase both versions for $11.98 vs. $35.95, save $23.97.
The Martian. This is a GREAT book also. Unfortunately the Kindle version is no longer available because this independent author got a full book deal and sold the rights. The audio version is still available. The audio book is GREAT also; the narrator did a superb job and has almost as many voices as Rich Little. If you were not lucky enough to purchase the Kindle version for 99 cents when it was available, I still highly recommend the audio version for $13.96. However, if you did happen to have purchased the Kindle version, you can get the audio version for just $2.99!!
The Curse of Europa. I guess I would be remised if I left out my own book. You can currently purchase the Kindle version for $2.99. If you do so, you can get the Audible.com audio version for just $1.99. So get both for $4.98 vs. $17.95, save $12.97.
The Classics
Okay, one last item. You can get many classic book for free on Kindle, and then get the audio version for 99 cents in many cases. Sometimes less! Crazy!
A few examples:
A Tale of Two Cities. Kindle version free, Audio version $0.99. It is $4.89 if you don't "buy" the free version first.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Get both versions for $.049
The Mysterious Island. Both for $0.99
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Both for $2.99
The Invisible Man. Both for $0.99 I just listened to this. It was a good narration!
The Time Machine. Both for $0.49.
See all the "Free Popular Classics" here: http://www.amazon.com/s/?node=2245146011
So, I think you get the point. I'm not sure how long Amazon will be doing this special pricing promotion, but while they do, you can get some pretty fantastic deals. Most of the time you can simply go to the Kindle version for a book and look for their "Whispersnyc for Voice" box. In the box look for the bolded words: "for a reduced price of $$ after you buy this Kindle book."
Some discounts are better than others. Some are no discounts at all. I believe it has to be a book with Whispersync enabled. Explore and have fun!
FOLLOW UP POST: Audio Books – Patience can be a virtue


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Determine a band's leader by analyzing a publicity photo.
A band's inclusion on this blog reflects neither an endorsement nor a criticism of its music. This post is merely intended as a spotlight on the inner political workings of a collection of individuals who are in the midst of a cooperative, creative endeavor.
The Process:
You, dear reader, please answer the question, "Who's in charge here?"
After sufficient discussion has taken place, a verdict can then be passed based on a majority vote.
Band: Red Rockers
Genre: Rock (duh!)
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rockers (Wikipedia)
Voting ends on: Monday, May 3rd, 9:00am CST (GMT-5)
THE VERDICT (Updated!)
Voting has ended.
Here is the tally:
The Red Rocker: 2 votes
No contest here -- the Red Rocker is in charge!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Red Rockers
Labels: red rockers
2 comments:
- McGone said...
It's the blond guy, since everybody casually glancing at this picture will assume he is Sammy "The Red Rocker" Hagar.
My God, Benecio del Toro there on the left looks like he's trying to make my head explode with his mind.
- April 26, 2010 at 10:07 AM
- Hatless in Hattiesburg said...
"dead heroes" may have been leader back when he was alive, but the blond zombiemaster aka sammy hagar is in charge now.
- April 27, 2010 at 12:31 PM
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
It has been three years. Since Dr. O performed a valgus osteotomy to medium boy's right hip.
In February, Small appeared out of nowhere (or so it seemed) refusing to walk. To make that long story short, he had been climbing around on his bed and whacked it in the side board sliding off, but we didn't think it was that bad. So we waited a day or two and watched for him to begin walking normally. Two days and he did not. Refused to weight bear. At all. Lovely visit to ER and Dr. O, and a cute red "flash" cast later. He had a stress fracture on his femur above the knee and on the tibia below the knee. Huh. I mentioned to Dr. O that Medium had a pronounced funny gait and was toe walking. She said to bring him in when we came to get smalls cast removed. Fast forward four weeks.
She took a checkup X-ray of medium (while the techs removed smalls cast) and came in and stretched mediums legs a bit and announced that he should have physical therapy to stretch out the muscles and help stop the toe walk, possibly an AFO brace to help. We finished up talking about both boys and she said "let's step into the hall and we can look at the X-ray on your way out." We. Were. Done. Or so we thought. Walked up to the X-ray machine and we all looked and (it was so obvious) we all turned our heads as we looked, huh. She turns and says "we'll, we have two options". Medium turns to me and says "mom, what does she mean? " I said to him, " it means you have to have surgery, and there are two choices, pinning or or fusing your hip". And he takes a deep breath, sucks in the fear and says"Before or After my birthday?". What a brave little guy. Okay maybe the conversations were a little longer...that was the summary. Now, on to the real story...
The surgery story...
Whirlwind. Blur. Funny how sitting and waiting is so tiring.
Arrived at hospital (Mercy) at 7 am. Checked in, got medium ready, talked with doctor and staff, he went back to surgery, got update calls from operating room, I updated FB frequently, talked with doctor, went to recovery and then straight up to room.
Surgery went well. Took a good hour longer than expected, simply due to Dr. O having a very hard time chipping the old plate out. Medium also lost a lot of blood due to plate removal. Noted in my brain. Wished at this point I had donated blood, Dr. O said it was too late now, b/c it takes two days+ for them to process and be able to use mine. (now I wish I had gone and done it Wednesday, perhaps Friday he could have had it!) It is explained to me that the blood loss has given him low hemoglobin and crit counts. Dr. O tells me she wants to monitor it, and stay away from transfusion, if possible, due to risks. Tells me the lowest number she would let the bloodwork counts get, especially if it were her child. She believes medium looks good, considering. I agree. And I would not want a transfusion for him (unless I donated and then, maybe)
In room. Medium begins to throw up (probably from anesthetic) and continues to do so every five to fifteen minutes for the next. Seven. Hours. Each time sitting up (thereby bending at the hip). There is not yet a cast or a brace. They will come the next day to make an orthotic brace to protect it. He has had and is given more iv anti nausea meds. Not working. Hubby goes home to other children, I stay the night. I tend to my poor little sick guy. Nurses come in and out, giving him pain meds anti nausea meds, taking vitals, etc. I lie down, only to jump back up repeatedly and simply care for my guy. It's what we do. He is hurting and I hate that. A bigger problem is that he keeps telling the nurses his pain level is fine. I keep advising them to give him the meds anyway, that he has a high pain tolerance, but that he is hurting. Night nurse catches on when he has refused for a long time and then is shaking he hurts so bad. She passes on the info to the next nurse.
Thursday morning brings an orthotics tech to cast for a brace. The nurses gave iv meds ahead of time, to help with the pain. We are offered two options, they can stand him up and cast or do two half casts, lying down on his back first and then flip him over and then cast the other side. I heard the word "flip" and knew he would not lie on his stomach this soon out of surgery. Standing. This was his first time vertical since surgery. Dizzy and Nauseous, oh my. Little did I know that there would be two nurses, my hubby supporting him and then the tech, casting and cutting off the cast. And it turned out all wonky, because he was not supported well. (why didn't they prop his armpits with crutches?) anyway... they tell me it does the job of protecting the hip, so whatever. Orthotics leaves, Medium throws up and has more pain meds and anti-nausea meds and we make our way through the afternoon, trying to get him to keep fluids and crackers down. Late in the day Dr. O shows up, talks with us about how he is doing. We all feel like he is progressing forward, still has okay color, another night in the hospital would do him good. I keep thinking he will keep down what he ate/drank last. She wants to check his levels again, which seem to be dropping (he was at 6.7 and 20.2). With his severe anemia, she is in no hurry to send him home. He is pale, still throwing up, he is dizzy and has a headache. Never mind the hip pain. IV pain meds should help with that. Except they cause more dizzyness and throwing up. We are in a vicious cycle of him not keeping food or fluid down and basically crying because he feels terrible. The headache is the worst part, for him. and crying does not help that either. My poor little guy. and he just wants to go home.
Thursday night brings hourly checks on pulse ox and various other things. His numbers are low and everyone is worried. Except me. We had a word before we knew he was having surgery the "He will be fine". and I believe it. I know it is true. We had a 5am blood draw. Crit and Hemoglobin.
We expected to go home on Thursday. One night in the hospital after a femural osteotomy, that was the expectation and our previous experience. Tall had taken off work Wed and Thur to help with the other medium and small boys. Tonight I have to text and find someone to cover tomorrow day, so Tall can go to work and Hubby can be at the hospital to help with brace fitting and general care of our medium boy and be there to bring him home.
Friday morning the orthotics guy shows up early with the brace. Hubby arrives as orthotics guy is getting ready to put it on Medium. Nurses gave him iv pain meds ahead of time. Good thing, he puts the brace on amidst much screaming and crying. makes a couple of marks and takes it off (again crying and screaming). Orthotics guy leaves. Dr. O shows up. They called her with lab results. She is uber concerned. His numbers went down again.(5.1 15.9). She wanted to see him in person. He has color. Is very coherent. Talking, complaining of headache, but his hip "is fine", "hurts a bit." She asks if they took the blood from his right hand (iv for draws) or his left (iv for putting in fluids). I say the nurse could not get from the right, so she took from the left. She thinks that even though nurse followed protocol, it could have been a little weak, considering all the fluids being pushed. She is now less concerned and orders a straight draw from his right arm later that afternoon. It becomes clear that he not going home again today... Dr. O reassures us she is still in no hurry to send him home. Orthotics guy comes back after cutting and sanding the waistline shorter. Painfully puts the brace back on with two nurses holding medium and he was screaming and crying and could not breathe and panic filled. Simply could not catch his breath, He kept telling us the brace was compressing his ribs. Orthotics guy is in a hurry and leaves. Medium is crying and not a comfortable guy for the next 24 hours. The brace is ill-fitted and uncomfortable. Headache and throwing up follow every thing he eats or drinks. Noon comes and they redraw his blood. The counts come back higher. (6.7 and 18.9) They call her and Dr. O is good with them. They are going up, that is good news. It is a long day. Medicine, naps, headache and throwing up. Evening brings a little guy who seems to be keeping a little bit down. A little graham crackers and apple juice. The pulse ox alarm went off in the afternoon and his nurse was very concerned. Started oxygen by nasal cannula. Explained to me how the low hemoglobin was causing low blood oxygen... Then the number went up and stayed up. Removed the nasal oxygen. Evening normal. As normal as it can be with everything else going on.
We have nurses in and out, but more quietly tonight. Until about 1am. The pulse ox alarm. The nurse put a new one on his finger. The reading was normal and then dropped. We raised the head of the bed a little and moved his hand. The reading stayed normal. all. night. long. Thank God. He has such dizzyness and headache. He wants to go home. I suggested that the nurse keep the oral pain medication going every 4 hours so he stays constant and we don't need to use iv pain med again.
Saturday morning. At 8 am, I realize there were No oral meds given at 4am. His pain is beyond his threshold. He is crying and miserable. The new nurse is very compassionate and does all she can to help him during her shift. He gets oral pain meds and iron supplement with crackers and juice. And he is now throwing up the oral meds and has to go back to iv pain meds until he stabilizes a bit. Dr. O comes in while he is throwing up and tells him he cannot go home because he is sick to his stomach. IF, he feels better by 5p, perhaps he could go home. She also looks at his brace, we talk about how uncomfortable he is and the things that need to be adjusted. She leaves and calls the orthotics people, there is an orthotics person in our room in a half an hour. She is kind and gentle. Removes, adjusts, removes, adjusts and all without discomfort to him. whew. We spend the day trying to get his tummy back to keeping fluids and crackers down. This whole time, he has had no appetite. Nothing. Sounds. Good. to eat. He is finally feeling a bit better that afternoon, but the headache makes him throw up. Every. Time. Ugh. Not going home again, Hubby goes home to be with boys so Tall can go to work. Another night of sleeping an hour or two at a time. Tonight the nurse makes certain she comes in and he eats graham cookies and juice before taking the oral pain meds at 4am.
Sunday morning at 8am, he has some juice and more oral pain meds, with iron supplement. It comes back up. almost immediately. I am brushing his teeth as his doctor comes in. Did he throw up? Yes, but I think the pain meds with the iron are making him sick. Being Anemic is causing him to be super sensitive. She agrees. He is well hydrated and seems fine. He gets to go home today. I call hubby and he comes over right after work at eleven.
We take him down to the car, and he has a headache before we can even put him in the car. He throws up the entire way home. Ugh. At this point we take him into the house and spend the day trying to help him keep something down. Sierra mist. Pedialyte. Crackers. Chicken. Tummy is wore out. Nothing stays with him. He has the headache. He needs protein. He cannot eat it, yet.
Monday morning, he is lying in bed. Eats a couple of saltines. moves to the couch, drinks some pedialyte. so far so good. He has to go to the bathroom. (that is great marker) Sitting up, makes him throw up. again. Back to the couch. More pedialyte and crackers. Dr. O office calls. I tell them how he is, and that I will call back if I cannot get him to keep anything down today. The day goes by... he is able to eat a saltine here and there and keep the pedialyte down. Hours. Yes. He finally eats a banana at lunch. Yes. We give him liquid iron. In the afternoon, he has a cheerful personality for a short while and a little color in his cheeks. He eats a little rice at supper. Crackers and Pedialyte. This is working. He has water before bed. No problem. His output is a little low, but consistent. His headache is severe enough at bedtime, he asked for pain medicine. He falls asleep before taking any.
Tuesday, crackers before we move him to the couch. Pedialyte. He uses the bathroom again, not much and his urine is very concentrated. I spend the day pushing pedialyte and crackers. He eats toast at lunch and a banana. We give him liquid Iron with honey so it tastes okay. We are having success! He is keeping everything down. He is hydrated. For supper, he eats rice and about 1 oz of grilled chicken. It stays with him. He has to stay horizontal or the headache is unbearable. He is still cold. He barely has an appetite. All three symptoms are from the severe anemia.
It has been a week since the surgery. He has only been home for three days. This surgery and this recovery are a way bigger deal than ever before.
Wednesday brings a cheerful boy who is hungry. He still must stay horizontal to keep the headache to a dull roar. He is drinking water with no problems. He has normal output. He is still cold. He is still rather pale. He does have pink nail beds on hands and feet, that's good. He starting to get bored. That is a great sign. He able to eat an ounce of grilled chicken wrapped in a tortilla for lunch. We are on the upswing. No idea how long the anemia will last, but he is having steak for supper. Nice. Rare. Steak. :)
We see his doc for a checkup on Saturday. Hopefully, he will be able to handle the car ride. We plan to recline him and see if that and Sea Bands help.
The nurses at Mercy were all fantastic and helpful and very sweet to Medium! We are happy with all the great care he got there.
Thanking everyone for their prayers!
Fun pictures and stories of this happy family and all our laughable adventures! Random food and gardening escapades included!
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Medium has hip surgery... again...
Posted by Paige at 2:31 PM
1 comment:
- Cassidy Baumann Cooley said...
Ack! Reading this made me cry!!! Ugh-poor Medium!! My heart goes out to him, and to Mama--you're a good Mama, Paige! I know what a blessing it is, to have Mom there during scary hospital stays...just to have you there, to hold his hand while he cries, and be in the same room, is a huge comfort. I'll keep y'all in my prayers!
- April 11, 2013 at 6:34 AM
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text:
On my trip to Home Goods this week I was hunting for Valentine's decor. I came up empty on that end, but I did find something I'm in love with. I got this totally adorable owl necklace tree. It's so cute on my dresser. Don't you love? The owl trend is alive and strong at the Loop house.
Flower Study Part 8: Pinecone Flowers
All of the flowers I have shown so far have been fabric. Amie over at Kitty Cats and Airplanes has a great tutorial for pine cone flowers. These would be so cute in the winter. Plus they are free! Check out her tute!Pin It
Labels: 5 minute crafts, Fabric Flowers, Flowers
Let's Be BFF's on Pinterest
I know I am so slow on this on the blogging game. I've been on Pinterest for a while. I've just never really promoted it on my blog. I'd love to see what you've pinned so leave your link for me to follow you and check me out if you like.Pin It
I had to Share This
I'm totally in love with this chair redo over at Kojo Designs.
Beachy Button Art
I've been seeing button art all over blogland for forever now. Weirdly, my main reason for not trying it is because I didn't really have any cute buttons. Have you noticed buttons never go on sale and if they do they aren't the cute ones?Pin It
I broke down and bought a bag of buttons from Hobby Lobby this past week. Then Amie came over and brought her expansive stash. She also brought her Silouette and I showed her how to cut vinyl. We each cut out a letter and placed it on some scrapbooking paper. Then we started gluing away.
I really wanted more of a teal look, but the buttons I liked best were all more of a baby blue. It turned out super cute. Luckily we are planning on doing a nautical theme in our basement so it will fit right in.
I broke down and bought a bag of buttons from Hobby Lobby this past week. Then Amie came over and brought her expansive stash. She also brought her Silouette and I showed her how to cut vinyl. We each cut out a letter and placed it on some scrapbooking paper. Then we started gluing away.
I really wanted more of a teal look, but the buttons I liked best were all more of a baby blue. It turned out super cute. Luckily we are planning on doing a nautical theme in our basement so it will fit right in.
I found this other super cute example of button art over at Mod Podge Rocks.
Posted by The Loops 8 comments
Labels: 5 minute crafts, Art, Buttons, Mod Podge
My Crafty To- Do List
After buying a fixer upper house it seems like my list of to-do's never ends. Not only do we still need to do some major renos (hello bathroom!), but I am definitely still working on making it cuter. Here are a few projects that I have already bought all the supplies for and are just waiting foe me to find some time.Pin It
Painted Rug at The Idea Room
Painted Rug at The Idea Room
Washer and Dryer Pedestals from Ana White
Amy Butler Gumdrop Pillows
Tinted Mason Jars from Momtastic
Labels: 5 minute crafts, DIY, mason jars, Paint, Sewing
Flower Study Part 7: Pinwheel Flowers
I'm so excited with all the new flower techniques we have been discovering over the past week. There are so many creative ideas out there. I came across another super cute one for you. It looks like these Pinwheel Flowers may require a little more sewing skills that some of the others. These look like they will take a bit of patience, but I like that they are made from separate pieces of fabric that you could mix and match. Check out this tutorial over at Crafting and Creativity.Pin It
Labels: Fabric Flowers, Sewing, Tutorials, Wreaths
Flower Study Part 6: Hair Fluffs aka Flowers
I just came across a new flower tutorial today. They look very fancy and the tute says they are for your hair, but I think they would also work for a classy holiday wreath. Check out my bloggy friend Camille's tutorial.Pin It
Labels: crafts, Decor, Fabric Flowers, Wreaths
Super Cute Giveaway Over at The Idea Room
The Idea Room is hosting a giveaway from Nest of Posies for an adorable Posey Cluster. I actually discovered these last week and have been drooling over them ever since. Enter now!
Labels: Fabric Flowers, Felt, Giveaway
Flower Study Part 5: Felted Roses Like You Have Never Seen
Just when I think I have mastered the felt rose, I realize I'm an idiot. The Shabby Creek has an amazing flower tutorial. I love this version because it plays into my OCD desires. They look perfect!Pin It
Labels: 5 minute crafts, Decor, Fabric Flowers, Felt Roses, Valentine's
Flower Study Part 4: Fabric Yo-Yo Flowers
These are super cute and simple. They would be a great wretah embellishment. I'm not sure how an entire wreath would look with these on it, or how my little fingers would feel trying to hand sew these babies. I think the fact that you could make them any size you want would also be a plus. Maybe a teeny tiny one for a card would be sweet.
Checkout Crafting and Creativity for the tutorial.
Posted by The Loops 3 comments
Labels: 5 minute crafts, Buttons, Cards, Decor, Fabric Flowers, Sewing, Wreath
I Can Sew! (Kinda)
There's no denying my blogging has been scarce the past few months, but I swear I have actually been crafting. I have been working really hard learning to sew. I had pretty low expectations for my skills and I am pumped I was able to make my first table runner. It's very very far from perfect, but I think it's a good first try.Pin It
Amie helped me as usual and we did our best to make it Valentine's-ish with fabric from our stash.
Amie helped me as usual and we did our best to make it Valentine's-ish with fabric from our stash.
At first you may think I made it too short. Au contraire mon amie. I made it a shorty on purpose so the puppies wouldn't try and pull it off the table.
Also, how do you like my super lazy Valentine's Day Centerpiece? I kept my usual pinecone filled hurricane and just threw in some felt hearts. It's kinda cute in an uber lazy way.
Flower Study Part 3: Felt Roses
Dianna pointed me in the direction of this felted rose tutorial over at Positively Splendid . It seems like it would take a bit longer than the method that I use, but the roses definitely seem to have more dimension this way. If you are making a wreath with fewwer flowers like her this would probably be worth it.
Labels: 5 minute crafts, Decor, Fabric Flowers, Felt, how to, Tutorials, Wreath
Flower Study Part 2: Wrinkled Roses
As the quest to increase my flower making skills continues I wanted to introduce you all to a tutorial I have used many times. Check out this tute for making roses from inexpensive crepe paper over at House of Smiths. These are time consuming, but they actually look awesome when they are done. Plus they are much cheaper than using fabric.Pin It
Remember to email me your flower making ideas so I can share them with everyong :-)
Labels: 5 minute crafts, Crepe Paper, Decor, Fabric Flowers, Kissing Balls, Valentine
In Case You Were Wondering
I have a few random crafts I haven't shared. My biggest weakness in blogging is to get up and take actual photos of the process. I'm so lazy! Ok that's not true. I am kind of a machine in real life. I still hate photo editing though.Pin It
Lucky for me I have Caroline who takes the pictures for me when I craft at her house.
Lucky for me I have Caroline who takes the pictures for me when I craft at her house.
Here is a super creepy picture of me holding the first bag I ever made. I was shocked I was able to do it in one day. Granted Caroline is like a sewing drill sergeant in an awesome way and she always gets me to finish my projects.
Two weeks ago Amie, Caroline, and I got together for a craft day and we decided to switch it up and do jewlery. By "we" I mean Amie and Caroline since I haven't made any jewelry since I was 8. Amie and Caroline are much more advanced. I like jewelry making, but I don't think it will become my passion. It's just good to broaden my craft horizons.
Above you can see our creations. Mine is on the lower left. I made some pink beaded bracelets with heart embellishments. I'll try and take a better photo soon, but dang jewelry is hard to photograph.
Valentine's Banner
A while back Amie and I found this cool burlap with vintage keys printed on it. I have been hanging on to it for the right project and I thought of "The Key to My Heart" banner. Isn't is gorgeous?
Here is my in progress mantle for Valentine's Day. I have filled in the middle since then, but I need something on the left. Any ideas? I'm thinking a vase?
Labels: Burlap Banner, craft, Valentine
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text:
About Our Program
The Parents Training Program provides initial and ongoing support to foster, adoptive, and kinship parents. All aspects of the program aim to give all out of home care parents the knowledge, skill, coaching, peer support and resources they need to provide nurturing care to the children they parent both temporarily and permanently.
The training program includes the following components:
Training dates, by county, can be found on our Statewide Foster and Adoptive Parent Training Calendar page.
Getting Started
Preplacement Training is required for all individuals pursuing a foster care license. These sessions are designed to reinforce and clarify any information participants have learned as part of the licensing process, as well as to orient participants to the Foster Parent Handbook. Each course consists of three session lasting three hours each. Sessions must be taken in order and completed prior to taking placement of a child. To get started, please see your Foster Care Licensing Worker.
Child Care
We offer limited, free child care services at our Center for Learning for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents who are attending training classes. In order to be eligible for child care services, children must be registered at least one week prior to the scheduled training session.


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Friday, September 24, 2010
Can You Guess What This Is?
Yesterday I was just getting ready to eat dinner when I happen to look outside our back window towards the park and I witnessed the most peculiar thing! I went upstairs to grab my camera, grabbed my sweater because the wind was blowing a slight chill in the air, and even placed my barefeet into my hubby's yard shoes to go investigate! It must have been something pretty spectacular for me to put my barefeet into his yucky yard shoes! LOL!
I walked to the chain link fence and set up my camera to capture wild mushrooms growing in an arched line! I had never seen this before EVER! I don't know if I'm just naive, or if I never paid attention before but it was the most beautiful artistic wild thing growing I have seen this year and so I took many pictures! The above picture is sure enough the underbelly of a wild mushroom. I had to take a photo of this magnificant pattern! Not only were the mushrooms growing in an arch artistic but this pattern was amazing too!
Look at this amazing arch they are growing in? I am so glad that it captured my attention lastnight. I needed a spark of inspiration and I got it!
They were huge too! I don't know what kind of mushrooms they were but I wouldn't chance eating them! I am extremely naive when it comes to plants and such so I wouldn't know a "magic" mushroom from an "edible" mushroom! LOL!
I hope you enjoyed my beautiful find. I think we can find beauty in every creation if we just look at it differently, don't you?
Hugs and happy creating everyone!
Posted by Kelly at 12:40 PM
5 comments:
- Anne Huskey-Lockard said...
You have half a fairy-ring. It generally has to do with how spores are distributed (circular is normal) or sometimes if a mushroom/toadstool is mowed at spore peak, you'll get half a ring!
I love the close up~~looks like ominous teeth!
How lucky you are to have found and photographed this.
- September 24, 2010 at 1:51 PM
- Janet Ghio said...
Wonderful sight! When they grow in a circle, it's called a fairy ring.
- September 24, 2010 at 2:40 PM
- Creative Mish said...
I have some really weird mushrooms in my card this week too. They're black and lacy and set lighter towards the top. They're almost a metalic gunmetal color.
- September 24, 2010 at 3:40 PM
- Rita A. said...
How cool is that? The photos area great.
- September 24, 2010 at 8:56 PM
- ArtfulLee Designed said...
that is fascinating Kelly. Love the pattern underneath the mushroom. It looks like the little fairies with their umbrellas on a walk. LOL
- September 26, 2010 at 2:22 AM
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Retail sale of newspapers and stationery in specialised stores (NACE code: 47.62.0)
Status: active
Last modified: Apr 4, 2017
With FirmenWissen you get access to Germany''s largest database for company information. Always up-to-date and immediately available. Place your trust in verified data from the European market leader Creditreform.
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Happy Sewing
My blog is basically about my travels through sewing land making quilts and tote bags and purses. I am learning as I go and willing to help others. I love to sew and love fabric. I am a retired school teacher. I have a store on ebay http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Fabric-for-quilts-and-more and I am the owner of a yahoo group called sewingtotebagsandpurses
Thanks so much for this tutorial Barbara, I can't wait to give it a try.ReplyDelete
Mia, thanks for the kind words. Coming from you that means a lot. You one of the best.Delete
Hi Barbara, your basket is beautiful!! The tutorial that you did, is perfect, the photos you've added with all the steps are excellent. I love the shape of this basket, now I have to make a basket like yours. Thanks for sharing your tutorial with us!
Oh dear friend thank you for the encouragement and sweet comments. I am always inspired by everything you do and makes me want to try harder.ReplyDelete
You've been featured on my storage basket tutorials post :) http://baileymarieandme.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/storage-basket-tutorials/
<3 craft love! Keep it up
this turned out greatReplyDelete


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Review: Claudia Bruns & Tilmann Walter (Eds.) (2004). Von Lust und Schmerz. Eine Historische Anthropologie der Sexualität [Lust and Pain. A Historical Anthropology of Sexuality]
This compilation contains eleven articles concerned with the description of sexual practices. Here, sexuality is defined as a human experience, as a specific part of the quotidian. The focus is on the 19th century but three articles deal with early modern history. Through examples such as hysteria, homosexuality, racial hygienics, family planning, Jewish sexuality and rejuvenation [Verjüngungskuren], discourses of the self and the other are analysed within their scientific and political contexts. Most of the authors come to the conclusion that due to the lack of personal documentation of individually experienced sexuality, the different ways of dealing with the topic can only be retraced through sources such as reports of court trials, scientific or medical texts, and publications by specific pressure groups. This compilation nicely illustrates this linguistic staging, but beyond that it offers little in terms of new methodological insights for a historical anthropology of sexuality.
URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs050268
URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs050268
historical anthropology; sexuality; Michel Foucault; discourse analysis
Full Text:HTML (Deutsch) PDF (Deutsch)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/fqs-6.2.475
Copyright (c) 2005 Volker Barth
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


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Welcome to New England Quarterboards.
We have been
producing quality carved signs since 1972 and are
located in a venerable old home in the historic district of
beautiful Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Starting out as a
carved sign business we have evolved into a manufacturer
of outdoor furniture, garden statuary, wind directionals
and unique carved
flower boxes.
Special: Carved Quarterboards
Contact Us
Custom Carved Signs
Carved Flower Boxes
Sign Order Blank
Flower Box Order Blank
Garden Birds
Custom Carved Murals
Wind Directonals
E. Louis Vuilleumier
Website Designed
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Britain's most embarrassing names revealed in new survey
If you ever disliked your own name, this is sure to make you feel better. Britain's worst names have been revealed in a new survey which has disclosed both the embarrassing and plain weird names.
Many of the following names have been used in common jokes but real names such as Lee King, Barb Dwyer and Mary Christmas have been found by The BabyWebsite.com.
A spokesperson for the company told the Daily Telegraph that many parents might not have realised the embarrassment their children would face for the rest of their lives.
"There must be tremendous embarrassment every time they have to introduce themselves to anyone, especially to a crowd", the spokesperson said.
So here is the list of Britain's most bizarre names:
Barb Dwyer
Pearl Button
Hazel Nutt
Ray Gun
Helen Back
Stan Still
Jo King
Lee King
Terry Bull
Mary Christmas
Max Power
Paige Turner
Sonny Day
Tim Burr
Teresa Green
Will Power
Anna Sasin
Chris Cross
Doug Hole
Justin Case
Barry Cade


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1. I'm loving the James study from Beth Moore. And the weather...it's still cool enough to sit comfortably in our screened in porch!
2. I got to spend the whole day Monday with my dear friend, Tammy. We worked on getting her room organized and ready for August. She just moved buildings and her room is adorable and amazing! I won't lie...it totally made me miss teaching. I love, love, loved that job.
3. Ugh - potty training. Let's just say my son is in diapers today. What in the world?!?! I've cleaned up more messes this week and it's just frustrating! We are taking a little re-group break.
But he sure does look cute in his little undies!
4. PROJECT LIFE ORGANIZATION!!!!! Thanks to Leslie, I have the perfect way to organize all my PL goodies! These are closet organizers from Target but they fit the PL cards perfectly!
5. It's Friday. Finally. My house is a wreck and needs some deep cleaning and we have lots more to do on the attic before we are ready for the insulation to be blown in. But it IS Friday and I'm just gonna take it. Sometimes that's all we got!


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Hauling is a necessary evil of trading, and it is likely that once in a while you are going to have to move good around. Actually, if you want really nice profit margins then you are pretty much going to be required to do something. Remember to fly safe, fit your ships, and get out of tech one industrial asap.
1.) Tech one industrial can be suicide ganked - even if you are not on autopilot.
10 Tips When Hauling
2.) Never fly expensive cargo on autopilot - unless it is a freighter (but then it depends on how expensive).
3.) Do not take a full tech one industrial into low sec.
4.) The safest ship to take into low/null sec is a Cov-Ops Industrial.
5.) Always have a scout in low/null sec.
6.) Courier contracts are cheap and safe but slow. Remember to set high collateral.
7.) Tank your ship!
8.) Freighters can be bumped indefinitely, or as long as it takes to set up a suicide squad.
9.) Do not haul during any war dec.
10.) Use anonymous alts to do your hauling.


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What exactly is earlace?
Just one of the HOTTEST fashion trends this year. Made popular by this picture of Rihanna:
Available in all shapes in sizes, it's a combination of a necklace and earrings . . . that's about it. Nothing complex just earrings attached to a necklace or a necklace attached to earrings, or one long pair of connected earrings, however you want to describe it, EARLACE is definitely a HOT accessory!


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by Karen D. Swim
This morning I opened my devotional and the following words jumped off the page and opened my still sleepy eyes:
Each of us must decide where we're going to put our energy when the battle grows fierce.
The headline was particularly meaningful this week as I have read and listened to many others who are feeling the strain of keeping things in balance. Yvonne Russell wrote about managing the noise level in a Web 2.0 world and Wendi Kelly blogged about managing the multiple priorities in our lives. The demands for our time and attention seem to be growing at a rapid pace. We have to treat our energy as a precious commodity. As Ellen Wilson wrote this week "It pays (literally, because that is the currency that gives all the goods we need for survival) to think about how you spend your precious energy."
So how do we pick our battles? How do we choose where to put our energy?
Keep your Eyes on the Prize
The answer in my morning devotional was to keep your eyes on the prize. We're all in a race but what are you running for ultimately? Take some quiet time, shut off the noise and list what's most important to you. Are your day to day actions aligned with your guiding values? Your values, your purpose are your constant gut check as to where, how and with whom you spend that precious commodity known as energy.
Just Say No!
Women in particular seem to have a hard time saying "No." We want to support, nurture, do and help everyone but there's not enough of you to go around. I've learned to say "No" but even I still experience those times when I say "No" but feel guilty about it. This can be especially difficult when if time and and energy permitted you would say "yes." If you struggle with saying "No" learn to not give an immediate answer. Distance yourself from the pressure of the situation by saying "I'll have to get back to you," or "I have to check my calendar." Follow up by politely but firmly declining. Remember that YOU own your time. It is yours to spend as you please. You do not have to explain your reason for saying no.
Shrink your World
When my husband was diagnosed with cancer I became a full time caregiver. My world became smaller out of necessity. My husband was obviously my top priority. I also continued running and training for a marathon, stayed connected to friends and my church family. I had to narrow my focus and ignore everything else. Sometimes you have to prune your life. In planting, pruning removes the non-productive, diseased or unwanted. When you properly prune plants and trees it enhances the health, strength and beauty. Pruning your life can produce the same effect and is a practice we should all engage in periodically.
You do not have to read every blog post, accept every invitation or join and participate in every social media forum. Choose your battles based on your ultimate prize, your body, mind, soul and loved ones will thank you for it!
How do you manage your energy? How do you make the tough decisions?


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I am not one to plan to far ahead. I just go with the flow. But today I hope to get some quilting done. Yesterday I ran some errands for Lionel.
I have been working on some letters this morning to make a wall hanging. I am going to try to learn a little about spacing letters with my embroidery machine. As you saw in my last post, I didn't do to well. This time I am printing out a template of each letter and placing it on the material and going to mark each letter to where it should go. Now getting it placed in the hoop is another story. We will just have to see when it is sewn out.


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In case you were wondering seeing two different versions of similar footage... there is a competition with Magic Seaweed (a major surf forecasting website) of a winter session surf vid. To capture one surfer, in one winter session, within a 90 second edit. So I thought I would mix it up and do a different edit, with a different tune... kinda of like a remix!
The song is called 'Deeper' written and performed by a good friend, Gareth Logan. So has been cool to mix it up. The competition is interestingly full of shortboarding entries, so thought it was kinda fitting that the last shot is of James doing his thing infront of a (seemingly) appreciative 'shortboarder'.


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Well not quite so new now, as there has been another new release since I took this picture but this outfit is just soo cute I had to post it. The new Off Shoulder dress from DCNY came out a few weeks ago and I just love it. It is available in ten different colors and if you find it diffcult to choose, then go for one of the two fat packs where you will find five colors to choose from. Each comes with matching leggings and is designed in a pretty floral texture, finished off with a sculpted neckline and sleeves. To check out all of the new releases follow the link below to the new DCNY mainstore.
Off Shoulder Dress from DCNY
Mischa Sandals and TONI hair from LeLutka
Wood Bangle from M.R.M
Amelie Skin from Glam Affair


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Mike K. necessitava di un nuovo design di logo e ha lanciato un contest su 99designs.
È stato scelto un vincitore tra 260 design presentati da 77 designer.
Redesigning our existing website and logo to fit a different image. We are moving towards more of a social activist type clothing apparel from environmental issues, to political and world issues, civil rights etc. for babies. Need a more professional logo to fit that image.
We have been selling some funny and some outrageous baby t-shirts for a few years, but want to take the idea in a new direction. Our current logo is awful (I did it myself, bad idea!) )We are looking to re-brand our image to be more of a socially and environmentally concious theme, a little less tacky and a bit more high end.
- Website Name of course.
- Something that goes along with the theme of world, social and environmental consciousness.
- Something that looks clean and balanced and would appeal to young hip mothers.
- NEW ADD- If you include a Baby in the design, maybe they could be wearing a onesie with something on it since that is what we are selling.
- Anything tacky looking
- No traditional pink and blue
Maggiori informazioni su come funziona un contest di design o sui nostri servizi di design di logo.


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The new JournalTOCs design has been warmly welcomed by various commentators.
Peter Scott blogged about the new design: New-look JournalTOCs website, it was reported in the Information World Review, and also in the Bournemouth University Research Support blog, and Hervé Basset in Science Intelligence and InfoPros wrote that "…the best journals Table of contents service in the world" has a new look and some new features. Jean Thomas blogged about the new design, as did Math Library News, and Biology Library News, it was mentioned on the SLAINTE website, in CILIP's Weekly Information World, and featured by InformmationToday Europe.
A number of people have tweeted about the new design, including @sallyheroes, @enriquediestro, @aarontay, @CarolineCooke, @LivUniPress, @kotlnc, @Assidens, @StevenHeywood, @andywalsh999, @Anne6fy, @pstainthorp, @glambuslib, @linda_kerr, @HelenPullen, @Bulelwa and @aabibliographer.
JournalTOCs is a free current awareness service that helps you keep up-to-date with new scholarly publications from multiple publishers (commercial, professional, and Open Access). It's aimed at researchers, students, academics, librarians and anyone else who wants to scan the latest scholarly articles and link to the full text (where institutional or personal subscriptions, or Open Access, allow).


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I have decided to join the blogging craze. I am looking forward to taking a moment to find out a little more about the plants I have been photographing. I hope to explore all aspects of plants, flowers, trees and other garden related topics. Sorry about having to watermark the photos but there are a lot of people using them without permission.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Caucasian Daphne
Caucasian Daphne
Daphne caucasica
(DAF-nee) (kaw-KAS-ee-kuh)
This little flower was blooming on November 1st, which is pretty late for this area. I am not going to recommend Daphne for most gardeners. My experience is that they are difficult to grow and prone to sudden death. If you approach them with the attitude they you are going to possibly lose them then go ahead. Their fragrance is one of the best in the garden.
This plant was bought by a client at a plant sale as Daphne caucasica but I still have my doubts. Selecting an area with lean, neutral pH soil and above excellent drainage is important. They like a little shade during the winter. I like mounding them up a little and try to keep the summer watering to a minimum.
There is a variegated form called 'Carol Mackie' (Daphne x burkwoodii) that is a little easier to grow. It is a cross between D. cneorum and D. caucasica. We have been growing a couple patches of that and it seems to be a little more perennial than some of the other species. Sometimes after a cold winter they are completely defoliated and look dead but they usually releaf and look good fairly quickly in the spring. My favorite of the over 75 species is Rose Daphne (Daphne cneorum) but I have given up growing it.
2 comments:
- Sara Chapman in Seattle said...
Hi Chris,
I've had excellent luck growing daphne odorata variegata (probably spelling it wrong) both in Seattle and in Sonoma Co., California. Yes, a bit of shade in afternoons is appreciated, and I actually do an acid fertilizer once or twice a year, due to ignorance, as I thought that was what it wanted, but so far, so good. The scent is just heaven. Lovely photo, as usual.
- Monday, January 19, 2009 5:03:00 PM
- Laerte Pupo said...
Great! Thanks for sharing!
Very nice small white flower.
- Monday, January 19, 2009 7:46:00 PM


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Some days I just don't wanna crochet! 😫 horrible, I know, but when it gets sticky hot I don't really want to be sitting on furniture with a skein of yarn in my lap. Today its sticky, damp, rainy, just not feeling any motivation at all!! I do feel like I need to be productive though so I found a simple little project that only took an hour or so.
I love myself some succulents, they're gorgeous and easy to maintain. For Mother's Day the mister got me THREE new ones, all were planted happily with the others and we're doing great! A few days ago I noticed my little lotus was being suffocated by his "roommate". That would just not do!! So I quickly made him a deluxe apartment in the sky!😃
I used a mason jar, doily, and some yarn. Channel your inner high schooler and make some "ropes" for hanging. I just went with the round friendship bracelets we all used to make! Ran a strand of yarn through the top of the doily and cinched it around the jar. Securely tied on my ropes, planted the succulent and viola! Upcycled and pretty:
Now if the sun would come out we'd be good to go!!


text: Wonderfully light and fresh, pastel tones are a must-have as temperatures rise! Our collection of quilt covers, cushions and accessories are perfect for giving your space a new season update. Choose from contemporary geometric prints, Scandinavian-inspired designs, and timeless classics – these styles look stunning in every home. For a sleek and sophisticated look you'll love the whole year round, you can't go past pastels.


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Yeah, this worries me. A lot:
Opposition activists say defiance of Lukashenko is rising, and more protests will come. Lukashenko blames the protests on a "fifth column" of foreign spies who should be "picked out like raisins from a bun." Rapprochement with the West, long considered a foreign policy aim for the EU to draw the country away from Russia's influence, has been put on indefinite hold. Anger simmers.
The popular discontent with Lukashenko, a tall, broad man with a bushy moustache and a fondness for harvesting vegetables by hand, stems from issues as varied as economic hardship, corruption, and repression of basic rights.
It worries me because I don't see a free Belarus as the alternative to the dictator Lukashenko. No, I see the alternative to a Belarus dictatorship balancing between Russia and Europe as a Belarus being a province of Russia again.
Putin already has the military force to grab Belarus and could easily set them loose to arrest and shoot civilians who resist. Putin will justify an invasion of Belarus by pointing to Belarus protesters and calling them NATO agents.
Let's keep a close eye on Russia's Zapad 2017 exercise later this year, eh?
The Baltic states will press the United States and NATO to take additional security measures in the region ahead of a large Russian military exercise planned for September, Lithuania's president said on Thursday.
If that happens, the Suwalki Gap becomes NATO's new frontline along a new iron curtain.
I've long viewed a possible Russian annexation of Belarus as an Austria-like Anschluss. But it may be better thought of as remilitarizing the Rhineleand or perhaps better, the occupation of the Sudetenland.
Or, depending on whether Putin sees taking Belarus as more than an intermediate step, the new Belgium (and it could be 1914 or 1940).
For those looking for historical comparisons, of course.
If Putin occupies Belarus and annexes it, he will move his military into Belarus in force, making the defense of NATO Lithuania far more difficult.
The NATO defense of Estonia and Latvia farther north already relies on a counter-attack to liberate them, truth be told.
We'll need a non-Polish NATO heavy corps in Poland with equipment for more troops stored there.
With better logistics to funnel more troops east.
Because right now, American forces are an ocean away (From "AUSA's 5 Things" email):
Speed of deployment is becoming a closely watched measurement of Army readiness. The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team from Fort Carson, Colo., moved to Poland in 76 days in January, and the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Drum, N.Y., moved to Greece in 62 days in February.
What to watch: To improve readiness, the Army plans on treating every exercise like a wartime deployment to practice shaving time off movements, said Lt. Gen. Aundre F. Piggee, the Army's deputy chief of staff for logistics.
Obviously, that's not fast enough to stop a Russian attack. And don't become confused and think the Europeans will buy time for us to arrive:
NATO undoubtedly needs additional funding sources, but the unwillingness of European countries to meet their 2 percent of GDP pledge isn't NATO's real problem. Rather the real problem is its unwillingness to realize that Europe is not at peace and will not be for a considerable time to come. NATO's response to Russian threats to European security has been too slow and halting. As a recent Rand report suggests, European forces are still not ready for prime time. Consequently, NATO faces both conventional inferiority on the Baltic, Balkan, and Black Sea flanks and nuclear blackmail by Moscow.
A little sense of urgency from our European allies west of Poland would be helpful.
And America could use a rebuilt actual armored cavalry regiment standing guard at the Suwalki Gap to fight a delaying action while attriting the attacking Russians. With perhaps another ACR earmarked for screening the Latvian and Estonian borders.
All this comes into play because Belarus is possibly the most important territory in Europe right now.
And for real fun as we look for historical analogies, as bad as Putin seems, what if Putin is the Mussolini sidekick of our 1930s deja vu?


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All artwork and text is copyrighted by James McDermott, unless otherwise attributed to the respective copyright owner, it is illegal to publish or print any such artwork or text without written permission by the artist or copyright owners.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
9/11 Memorial
This is a collaboration piece I did with my friend Jim Budman. He owns a gallery workspace studio in Venice that I paint in from time to time. He originally had taken a photo of the twin towers a year to the day before the tragic event from the balcony of his studio in New York. He asked artists to do whatever they pleased with the photograph. The piece covers a little of the story of whats happened since and the moment itself. The matador bull represents the bull market, with bricks collapsing inside of it representing the housing market. The Bear, Bear market taking over, and the Dove in the wine glass is in honor of the people who passed along with the vertical array of striped color representing the variety of ethnicity.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
FOX - Allen Gregory
I did these pieces during development for Fox's "Allen Gregory". The rough expressions are what the characters ended up looking like in the final form. On the Allen Gregory page and the Principal Gottlieb and Jeremy page, the designs to the left are designs I liked that didn't make the cut. Richard stayed the same mostly. On the previous post below showing Allen Gregory publicity art is what the final design of the characters eventually looked like.
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Norm Geras takes issue with the opening of the piece, which reads as follows:
One widespread myth about the Mideast conflict is that the Arabs are paying the price for Germany's sins. The notion that the Palestinians are the "second victims" of the Holocaust contains two falsehoods: It suggests that without Auschwitz, there would be no justification for Israel, ignoring 3,000 years of Jewish history in the land. It also suggests Arab innocence in German crimes, ignoring especially the fascist past of Palestinian leader Haj Amin al Husseini, who was not only Grand Mufti of Jerusalem but also Waffen SS recruiter and Nazi propagandist in Berlin.
Geras responds:
It is true that Israel's existence has a justification that is independent of the Holocaust (though it is not inconsistent with the justification due to the Holocaust). But Arab and Palestinian collaboration with Nazism has no bearing on what the Palestinians lost or what they have suffered because of Israel's creation. To maintain the contrary is to make every Palestinian responsible for Haj Amin al Husseini. It is also to treat the existence of Israel as a form of punishment - punishment on account of Husseini and other Arabs who were complicit with Nazism.
I think Geras is mistaking what's going on here. It is quite true that whatever role the Palestinian political community did or didn't play in the Holocaust has nothing to do with what the Palestinians have lost in this conflict. But Geras is wrong to say that noting the vibrant enactment of Arab anti-Semitism in that time period is to treat Israel like a punishment. It is true that anti-Israel zealots like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad try to promote that framing as a turn against the Holocaust-justification, so they can then say that Israel should have been established in Germany. But they miss the point because, as usual, they categorically refuse to center the focus on Jews as moral beings of worth and dignity. It makes the center of the story the Germans, (one of) the perpetrators, rather than the Jews, the victims.
When people cite the Holocaust as a reason for creating Israel, they're not saying Israel was a punishment against perpetrators. They're saying Israel was protection for a victimized group, with the Holocaust being a particularly dramatic instantiation of that victimization. Noting the eager willingness of many Arab leaders to partake and promote in that atrocity demonstrates that the need for this shelter did not exist merely in Europe, that essentially where ever Jews lived -- be it Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East -- the prevailing powers could not be trusted to protect Jewish lives. Israel was established, fundamentally, because the rest of the world had proven itself impossible to trust. Haj Amin al Husseini is a demonstration that this was as true of the local Arab political class as it was of the contemporary European political class.
As I've written before, when dealing with sustained and ingrained systems of discrimination, like racism or anti-Semitism, I'm less interested in "getting the bad guys" than I am in making sure that the disadvantaged group has access to what they need in order to live fulfilling lives in an egalitarian social sphere. Sometimes, that means retribution against discrete perpetrators -- I don't want to minimize that -- but it is a severe misunderstanding of justice to think that's all that it means. It is only when we have these blinders on that restrict "justice" to "punishment" that we view the justice of establishing Israel as making sense only within a frame of punishment, rather than in a frame of securing equality and equal global citizenship.
It doesn't have to be about punishment. Indeed, it shouldn't be about punishment. It's about giving Jews what they need in order to be equals in global society.


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Y. Charlie Hu is an Inventor (core technologies on smartphone energy management), Entrepreneur, Open Source Contributor (released Hush - a system for reducing app background energy drain that rivals Android M app standby), Researcher (Yale, Harvard, Rice, Purdue, Microsoft Research), Educator (graduated 14 outstanding PhDs), Math Tutor (trained a MathCounts National Champ), ACM Distinguished Scientist, and IEEE Fellow.
Charlie's research interests are in Mobile, Distributed systems, Operating Systems, and Networking. He received a Honda Initiation Grant Award in 2002, the NSF CAREER Award in 2003, and the 2009 Purdue University College of Engineering Early Career Research Award. Charlie received the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Harvard University, was a research scientist in the Systems group at Rice University, and a visiting researcher at Microsoft Research Redmond.
Wireless Networking:
Pacifier: High-Throughput, Reliable Multicast without "Crying Babies" in Wireless Mesh Networks. (ToN 2012, Software Release) (90 cites Google Scholar)
CCACK: Efficient Network Coding Based Opportunistic Routing through Cumulative Coded Acknowledgments (ToN 2011) (180 cites Google Scholar)
Context Based Routing: Technique, Applications and Experience (NSDI 2008)
How to evaluate exotic wireless routing protocols? (HotNets 2008)
TDM MAC Protocol Design and Implementation for Wireless Mesh Networks (CoNEXT 2008)
Practical Defenses Against BGP Prefix Hijacking (CoNEXT 2007)
How to Improve Your Google Ranking: Myths and Reality (WI 2010, press: InfoExec, JH Web, SpoonyLife, 1 of 7 favorite papers of Human Factors International 2014)
Botnet Spam Campaigns can be Long Lasting: Evidence, Implications, and Analysis (SIGMETRICS 2009)
iSPY: Detecting IP Prefix Hijacking on My Own (SIGCOMM 2008, ToN 2010) (160 cites in Google Scholar)
Practical Service Provisioning for Wireless Meshes (CoNEXT 2007)
Understanding Network Delay Changes Caused by Routing Events (SIGMETRICS 2007)
On the Impact of Research Network Based Testbeds on Wide-area Experiments (IMC 2006)
Exploiting the Synergy between Peer-to-Peer and Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (HotOS 2003) (140 cites in Google Scholar)
Runtime Support for Distributed Sharing in Safe Languages (ACM TOCS 2003)
o o O O O O O O O o _______ Y__'_|_|_|_| --++++++-- |__|__| GO ||| BOILERS! | (|____|_____|:|__________| //oo-----oo oo---oo


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I loved this recipe. (sorry if the picture looks a bit "slimy", but I was fooling around with the setting again...I should know better by now, I know!!) I am a fan of spicy peanut sauces, though, so it sort of goes without saying....even Chris was a fan, though hesitant since my last attempt at making a peanut sauce was a disaster..a few months before I started my blog, I made this spicy peanut stir fry that was over loaded with peanut butter...so overloaded, the sauce sort of stuck to the roof of your mouth, just like a spoonful of peanut butter. Good, but a bit much. This fish was not that at all. It was a perfect blend and amount. I grilled this in foil packets, but never fear, you can bake it too. Don't you just love the versatility of some of my recipes??? :) And speaking of versatility, you could use this on chicken too... mmmmm..!!!
Thai Peanut Tilapia
4 Tilapia Fillets (or any other white fish)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons red chili paste (I used Huy Fong Sambal Oelek Sauce)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 lime, juiced
2-4 Tablespoons warm water
2 Tablespoons chopped peanuts
In a microwaveable bowl, add the peanut better, soy, chili paste, brown sugar, and lime juice. Microwave for about 20 seconds. Remove and stir. Add warm water to help thin out the sauce. Continue to microwave 10 seconds at a time until all ingredients are well blended.
To Grill: Preheat a grill. Tear off 4 squares of aluminum foil and spray with non stick cooking spray. Place each fillet on the foil and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over each fillet. Seal foil packet and place on grill. Grill for 12-14 minutes, turning at least one time. Remove from grill and carefully remove fish from foil. Enjoy!
To Bake: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non stick cooking spray and place the fillets in the dish. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the fillets and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove from oven and enjoy!


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Committee rejects WPCA reappointment
Sewage spill into Stamford Harbor cited in 'no' vote
STAMFORD -- Angered by last week's sewage spill into Stamford Harbor and continued problems at the Water Pollution Control Authority, the Board of Representatives Appointments Committee voted against veteran Board of Directors member Don Huppert's reappointment.
Huppert, a Democrat who has served on the board since 2006, said he was disappointed by the committee's vote on Thursday. He said he believes the WPCA has moved to correct its long-neglected funding and infrastructure issues over the last year.
"I like giving back to the city of Stamford," Huppert said about his service on the board. "I think the WPCA has turned a corner. I think that the authority as a whole finally has gotten a handle on maintenance and projects that need to be done and completed."
But Appointments Committee members said they were not satisfied with the WPCA's progress, especially since heavy rainfall overwhelmed the facility's disinfection system last week, spilling more than 25 million gallons of partially treated sewage into the harbor.
The spill was not due to an equipment failure at the WPCA, but committee members said Thursday they were fed up with repeated reports of malfunctions at the city's wastewater treatment plant. The WPCA's disinfection system failed five times between December and January, resulting in the release of tens of thousands of gallons of non-disinfected wastewater into Stamford Harbor.
"I have trouble with what's happening at the WPCA," said city Rep. Carl Franzetti, R-14. "What happened (Wednesday) at the WPCA is a disgrace so I will not be voting for him."
City Rep. Mary Uva, R-1, does not sit on the Appointments Committee but said she wants to see new membership on the WPCA board.
"He's been on the board a long time, it's time for some change," Uva said. "There's people out there who could bring some serious expertise to this board."
The Appointments Committee's members voted 3-4 against Huppert's reappointment Thursday. City Reps. Mary Savage, D-4, Anabel Figueroa, D-8, and Annie Summerville, D-6, raised their hands in support of Huppert, while city Reps. Ben Velishka, D-2, James Caterbone, R-18, Carl Franzetti, R-14, and Marion McGarry, D-12, voted against his reappointment.
Huppert's nomination will now go before the full Board of Representatives for a final vote Monday. The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the legislative chambers on the fourth floor of the Government Center.
firstname.lastname@example.com; 203-964-2263; http://twitter.com/kcarliniking


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Pretty Nozomi is being bent over by two men and then looses her white panties. This sweet chick is about to experience some anal pleasure and everything starts with a rimjob. After she got her asshole licked the guys fingers her anus and then use a sex toy to pleasure her more.
Join Jav Hd for only 29.95$ 19.99$ This offer ends in:
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text:
Brulion Lucyny
lunes, 23 de enero de 2012
First time in Cholula
Cholula is a small town in Puebla state, about 2 hours in a bus from Mexico City. It's famous for the Great Pyramide and Nuestra Señora de los Remedios sanctuary that is build on it's top. While going up, there is a lot of street vendor selling handmade goods, food, drinks (I dared to try Tepache - fermented pineapple drink - it was delicous) and also roasted locust (called 'chapulines'). The day was beautiful, and we enjoyed Cholula so much we was back there in few weeks, I'll post some more photos soon.
On the top there is beautiful view of volcano Popocatepetl.
Well of wishes
"Don't enter with dogs and bikes"
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Today is my turn to post at One Crazy Stamper and the card I have to show you is happy and cheerful like Spring even if the weather is not where you are.
(Linked supplies are available at One Crazy Stamper)
Image ~ Whimsy Elizabeth Bell "Honeybee"
Card Stock and Patterned Paper ~ Recollections
Spellbinders ~ Nestabilities Classic Ovals Large
~ Nestabilities Lacey Ovals
Die ~ Whimsy Ticket Die
Sentiments ~ Whimsy Treasured Moments Tickets (outside)
~ My Creative Time "Just A Note" (inside)
White Flowers ~ Recollections
And a close up of Honeybee:
Copic Colours Used: Skin ~ E00, E02, E04, E11; Hair ~ E25, E29, E31, E35; Dress ~ BG11, BG13, BG15, BG18, E41, E42, E43, Y11, Y13, Y15; Hairband ~ BG11, BG13, BG15, Y11, Y13; Leg Warmers ~ BG13, BG15, BG18, E41, E42; Flowers ~ G03, G05, G07, Y11, Y13, Y15; Ground ~ G03, G05, G07, E25, E40
Thanks for coming by today. Enjoy your first day of Spring whatever you choose to do on it. Keep crafting!
{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather


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Now begins the discussions of when can he drive, where can he drive, never mind WHAT will he drive. We only have two cars at this time so I'm sure this is going to create many happy occasions of "why can't I take the car".
Personally I believe Patrick was extremely motivated to get his license this past week as Meg is old enough to get her permit so the race was on, at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Our school system no longer teaches drivers ed so it is up to us parents to teach our kids to drive. On a funny note they can take a Driver's Education class online! Go figure.
With having a licensed 18yr and a 15yr old days away from her learner's permit I was curious how different the driving requirements were around the country. Well my head must have been in the sand on this one as I completely missed hearing anything about the STANDUP ACT. For those of you fellow ostriches:
The Safe Teen And Novice Driver Uniform Protection (STANDUP) Act is federal legislation that would compel states to strengthen their laws for novice teen drivers, often called Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws, the identifying bills are:S.528 and H.R.1515. The following is the national standards this bill would like to set:
• A 3-stage licensing process (learner's permit and intermediate stage before unrestricted driver's license);
• A prohibition on unsupervised nighttime driving during the learner's permit and intermediate stages
• A passenger restriction during the learner's permit and intermediate stage (no more than 1 non-familial passenger under the age of 21 unless a licensed driver over 21 years of age is in the vehicle)
• A prohibition on non-emergency use of cell phones and other communication devices, including text messaging, during the learner's permit and intermediate stages;
• Age 16 for issuance of learner's permit and full licensure at age 18;
• Any other requirement adopted by the Secretary of Transportation, including learner's permit holding period at least 6 months; intermediate stage at least 6 months; at least 30 hours behind-the-wheel, supervised driving by licensed driver 21 years of age or older; automatic delay of full licensure if permit holder commits an offense, such as DWI, misrepresentation of true age, reckless driving, unbelted driving, speeding, or other violations as determined by the Secretary.
Should this bill pass in the state of Florida that following would change:
- Applicants must be 16 instead of 15 when applying for their learner's permit
- would restrict the number of non-family passengers to 1 until driver is 21
- restriction on use of cell-phones for non-emergency situations.
You can go to Safe Road 4 Teens to see the changes in your state.
Now I completely understand the idea of having national standards. I truly do not think a 15 yr old from North Dakota with a license is prepared to drive on national highways. At the same time I understand that in our heartland states many teens are driving farm equipment at young ages, while often those vehicles are primarily driven on private property there are times they need to be on public roads so some type of exception needs to be made. AND I don't think that experience translates to real road/traffic experience. Currently 8 states issue permits at the age of 14. There are 7 states and the District of Columbia that have the minimum age set at 16. The remaining 35 states issue permits at the age of either 15yrs. or 15yrs 6 months.
I do like the idea of restricting non-family passengers but to the age of 21?? YEAH NO. That goes along with my opinion on the drinking age~ We believe that 18, 19 and 20 year olds are mature enough to vote for a president, get married, enlist in our armed forces and possibly die for our country but not mature enough to drive with friends? I think that age should be 18. Prior to Patrick getting his license I found a couple of sites that recommend that a driver log 1,000 miles after receiving their license before they were allowed to have friends in the car with them. Now that sounds like a lot of miles but just 2 days after getting his license Patrick has logged close to 150 miles and we'll see how it goes.
As far as restricting the use of cell phones why limit it to their permit and intermediate stage? There are a number of states where it is already illegal to talk on the phone and drive. And as far as texting...there is no reason whatsoever that anyone needs to text and drive period paragraph!!
I am a little old fashioned in some of my thinking (big surprise) and beyond maybe to work where does a 16yr need to go by themselves? Am I looking forward to having Patrick run errands and take Meg to different events ~ you betcha. (Especially if he stays home next year one of his tasks will be driving her to school :). Would I let a 16 year old drive the 70+ miles to their YouthQuake Live practice ~ not on your life!! Most certainly not with friends in the car. Unfortunately I think more often than not the idea of letting kids drive goes with the thought that it makes our lives easier if we don't have to drive them here and there. Well my take on that is the complete opposite. For the four years that Emily went to school out of county the rides home from school was where we had some of our greatest conversations. Even now with driving Meg to and from school (by the way she's finally learned no talking in the am~I don't do mornings well :) on the afternoons when Michael picks her up I feel as if I've missed out on something. I enjoy picking Patrick up after ROTC or Tennis and hearing about his day one on one.
So we have a licensed driver in the house. It is exciting to see how proud he is and how much he is looking forward to the freedom it brings. Now all he needs is a car.... that's another blog.


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Bungie resets the rank and credits of those who have been exploiting challanges.
Well, its happened. It is a glorious day for all us who don't abuse the system - with all those who have been manipulating their xboxs into letting them compete the lucrative daily challenges as many times as they want per-day, getting them hundreds of thousands of credits in a very short span of time.
Bungie has since taken the shiny new e-peen that these children have glitched themselves to and handed them back their starting Armour, rank and credits, as well as the slight scold of a 1 day XBL ban. More 'legitimate' forms of boosting, such as playing Gruntpocalypse is still fine (however, that playlists xp is being reduced with the October Update.)
Here's a link to the law being laid down
The best part of all this? The delicious
By the way, Bungies' responce? basicly just 'u mad'
The most vicious, violent, hilarious 12 year olds had already been banned and their posts gone, shame.
But its a good day to not be a cheater :D
- Entropy
A semi-personal blog that is about me, Entropy, discussing a variety of entertainment mediums, and the news and culture surrounding them.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Bungie lays down the law on Cheaters.
7 comments:
I hope they do the same for cod I hate people that nuke boost so much.ReplyDelete
gg no re to cheatersReplyDelete
mm, cheatins bad, mmkay?ReplyDelete
Yes, thanks god yes. Oh man, let the butthurt beginReplyDelete
haha That one day ban is probably really painful for them.ReplyDelete
Great post! Supporting you! ;)ReplyDelete
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Saturday, April 19, 2003
what took me so long?
few things in life are as simple and full of joy as making your own mozzarella. i mean really -- why has it been all these years before i made my own mozzarella?
it does only take 30 minutes: 1 gallon of milk, food-grade citric acid, rennet, a microwave, an instant-read thermometer, a nice big pot, and your favorite wooden spoon. amazing: and it tastes better than you can imagine.
it's delicious. you can't mess it up. it's so much fun it's probably a sin. it's easier than boiling water, since you don't have to boil anything at all.
what's great is that you are left with a huge amount of whey. and whey, we all know, is perfect for bread. yeast loves whey. thus i immediately made some pizza crust with whey. and i still have lots of whey, which i could theoretically re-cook into my own fresh ricotta.
maybe i'll do that tomorrow. . . but mozzarella. it's a must. you are depriving yourself of possibly the most amusing event ever in your kitchen if you don't immediately begin making your own mozzarella. 1 gallon of milk yields about 15-1/4 oz. mozzarella (or since i'm using plain old US$2.50 a gallon supermarket cow's milk, fiori di latte.)
what's great is that i can't think of a single other bit of cooking that creates as much reward for so little work. make some; impress your friends, delight your family, and revel -- absolutely revel -- in the lazy ease of cheesemaking. . .
posted by fortune | 4:14 PM | top | link to this | | email this: |
Friday, April 18, 2003
true comfort
what do people crave most in uncertain times? a red cross official sez bread: flour and yeast.
today finds a wonderfully thoughtful article on bread, along with a home recipe derived from the great food writer -- make that literary stylist, impulsive actress, cranky woman of fashion, and sort-of diplomat -- elizabeth david. all good. (david fans with broadband will love this homage. . .)
what's most interesting is not only the amusing review of bread customs around the world, but also a nice timeline of bread events in history. . .
posted by fortune | 4:34 PM | top | link to this | | email this: |
Thursday, April 17, 2003
easter candy
you can't ignore the easter-chocolate connection. the problem most people have is finding quality chocolate to give at easter.
but this is no difficulty for long-time readers because i've always taken pride in pointing out where the quality chocolate can be found. plus i'm not shy about telling you who the truly great chocolatiers are.
and so today i'm just thrilled to see an article on cnn that discusses many of my favorite chocolatiers: donnelly, dagoba. . .all sourced to bccy pal clay gordon of chocophile.
meanwhile, as the easter bunny hops on by, we shouldn't forget that other popular holiday, passover. passover doesn't have a lot of traditional chocolate associations, with perhaps the exception of the flourless chocolate cake so often served for dessert during this time.
the most interesting version i personally have eaten of this delight is a recipe created by a really a nice girl, who was kind enough to share the recipe. you'll find this awesome flourless chocolate cake here. she blithely departed from a standard-type recipe, adding extra liquid, which made this cake moister and soft in the center. sort of pudding-y.
anyway, go to it, see how it comes out for you. . .
and finally, long-time readers remember my interest in regional coffee and coffehouse cultures. here's a great article on the growing latino coffeehouse culture in southern california.
posted by fortune | 4:33 PM | top | link to this | | email this: |
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
cantaloupe flavored coffee?
as usual, i can't make this stuff up. nestle is attempting to launch exotic fruit-flavored instant cappucino products onto the market as part of its nescafe brand. sadly, germany is the target for testing this new horror.
let's take a moment and talk about -- if i can stop gagging long enough to do so -- instant coffee, especially these "international" house of whatever flavored stuffs on the market. we see them advertised to women in gauzy, feel-good commercials that attempt to instill the notion that a cup of instant coffee is better than even a bubble bath.
but what's in that instant cappucino? nothing you really want to drink! instant coffee is made from the lowest-grade of coffee beans, almost always robusta. unlike the high-quality arabica coffee beans that smell and taste delicious, these inferior robustas taste like burning tires smell. yuck! many say that these bottom-of-the-barrel beans contain "insect parts" and even mold.
(not to gross you out, but here in the u.s.a, the food and drug administration rules essentially permit unripe or moldy beans, gravel and other junk to constitute as much as 30 percent of a cup of "pure" coffee, industry experts say. that's why we consumers need to support the scaa's coffee purity initiative. i'll rant about this another time.)
to make this nastiness palatable, the mega-corporations that sell this stuff have apparently invented a special steaming process whereby they remove the flavor(s) from the beans. so they have this bit of tasteless vegetable fiber left over. however, due to lax laws here in the u.s.a, this is still technically coffee.
which they roast and grind. then they add water to make "coffee." they dehydrate ("freeze dry") this liquid into crystals or powdery stuff. then they take this cellulose "coffee" powder, add chemical flavorings, chemical perfumes, chemical "milk" powder (a.k.a. "coffee whitener" or "nondairy creamer"), foaming agents, anti-clumping agents, fake colors. . .ugh. only the sugar may be real.
no wonder they are scrambling to make this stuff taste like something, anything. . .even melons.
this is why it is so important to buy high-quality specialty coffee from a local independent roaster or coffeehouse. from someone you can get to know and trust, from someone who cares what they're selling.
coffee designated "specialty" approaches zero twigs, bugs, and moldy bad beans. only this is should be allowed for sale as "pure" coffee. and this is the stuff you really want to drink. . .
posted by fortune | 4:49 PM | top | link to this | | email this: |
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
2 great articles. . .
the first: a really superior discussion of the world-price depression known as the coffee crisis, with some nice figures that are hard to obtain elsewhere.
long-time readers know i've been worried about bankrupt coffee farmers resorting to illegal drugs to make ends meet. every time i've talked about this, however, i've been pish-toshed by by strident readers.
finally however i can quote an excellent source: the head of the i.c.o. himself. " 'its a crisis with a social dimension that is politically explosive,' [nestor] osorio explains. on a recent trip to colombia, for instance, osorio says he saw aerial photographs of coffee farms planted with new coca crops."
the plight of the coffee farmer and worker isn't a distant one, dear readers. unlike situations where celebrities call for help for those far away, those who honestly may have little or no discernable affect on your life, the coffee workers are with you every day in your kitchen, your office, your car, your favorite cafe.
the beans you are drinking are the direct result of their labor, which comes straight to you in the cup you're holding. thus i urge everyone to learn more about the great work done by coffeekids. . .
but further, i hope you will realize how both you and the coffee worker are being totally ripped off by the large multi-national corporations named in the article, corporations that work to depress prices for farmers while selling you inferior coffee at ever-higher prices.
which is also why i encourage everyone to support high-quality fresh specialty coffee from your local independent roaster or coffeehouse.
the second: a truly charming story about how a group of sweet nuns are using the internet to promote and develop their traditional handmade chocolate business.
as the article notes, new technology has allowed them to be more efficient on the business and paperwork side, leaving "more time and energy for the spiritual tasks: prayer and making chocolate."
chocolate as a spiritual task: that's an approach to life even we worldings at bccy can appreciate! no one will mistake the nuns' humble fudges for the sensual delights offered by jacques torres or richard donnelly. but i can say that i know both donnelly and the nuns do consider their art in this same way. . .
posted by fortune | 4:15 PM | top | link to this | | email this: |
Monday, April 14, 2003
here comes the cheese. . .
long-time readers know i'm a pizza fanatic. mr. right loves pizza, and he gets what he wants!
i make the crust; i make the sauce -- but i'm still buying the fresh mozzarella cheese. why? because for a long time i have been repeatedly told that making mozzarella in small batches useful for the home was just too difficult, even tho' i know italian peasants have been doing it for centuries. . .
i was told wrong. inspired by this article on making cheese at home, i have now purchased the mozzarella kit from new england cheesemaking.
i will make fresh, organic mozzarella. it will taste good. it will probably cost less than the US$7 a pound i now pay at the gourmet store, even if i use high-end organic milk. (snob note: actually, since i will use cow's milk, it won't be mozzarella, which requires buffalo milk, but rather fiori di latte.)
i will be laticini elkins! the fresh ricotta i so enjoy for breakfast should be gravy. . .
posted by fortune | 4:31 PM | top | link to this | | email this: |
Sunday, April 13, 2003
my kingdom for a tinsmith. . .
tinsmiths seem to get a bad rap in this sad world of ours. however, a good tinman is a necessity in life, as i have learned!
those of us fortunate enough to possess beautiful hand-crafted copper cookware, lined with tin, will all face the day when you just can't patch it up yourself any more. (hand patches for small bits can be done with the "tin lizzy" kit you buy at zabar's famed 2nd floor housewares department.)
nope, eventually, large patches of copper are going to come through, and you need the pan professionally relined. but where do you find the skilled artisan who will treat your lovely pans with care? i faced this dilemma myself yesterday with my much-beloved 2-1/2 qt. copper saucepan. . .
as far as i can tell, only 2 places in all of new york: mrs. bridge of bridge kitchenware will accept your pans and send them for repair, or jaime cooper of atlantic retinning.
jaime's just left chelsea's gallery district for newark -- the curse of gentrification. but you can still drop pots off in chelsea and he will pick 'em up once a week. . .
either way your beloved cookware will be gone a few weeks, so prepare. . .prepare. . .
posted by fortune | 12:18 PM | top | link to this | | email this: |


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Lots of papercrafting. Stamping, Cricut, Silhouette, and more. Video tutorials and all kinds of fun ideas.
Monday, August 22, 2011
15 comments:
- Scrappin_3rdeeschik said...
Really cute idea. I lvoe the pumpkin. I can't believe Halloween is around the corner already. :D Where did teh time go.
I hope to work with you in the future. It has been an honor and pleasure this last 6 months to be on this team with you. :D Best of luck in the future. :D
Hugs and Blessings,
- August 22, 2011 at 6:22 AM
- Jovan said...
These are so cute!
- August 22, 2011 at 7:20 AM
- scrappinC said...
Amber ~ I just love your little cards, Halloween is one of my favorite things to scrapbook and make cards.
Have a fantastic day.
Cindy Lou
- August 22, 2011 at 10:29 AM
- Lisa said...
I love Halloween and these cards are just perfect! I love all of the images you used and the twine accent! Love these, Amber!! :)
- August 22, 2011 at 7:34 PM
- Missy said...
These are great, quick & easy but still so cute....I love the doodling & twine you added!!
- August 22, 2011 at 8:00 PM
- Audrey Frelx said...
Amber, you always come up with such cute cards!
- August 22, 2011 at 11:14 PM
- Scrappin Rabbit Designs said...
Hi Amber your cards are so cute. I love that pumpkin. I just love Halloween.
- August 23, 2011 at 7:06 AM
- Audrey Frelx said...
Amber, I have a blog award waiting for you on my blog!!!
- August 23, 2011 at 3:06 PM
- Angi @ CokiePop said...
Soooo super cute. Love that paper that you used. :)
- August 24, 2011 at 12:18 PM
- abusybee - DoubleClick Connections said...
Fun and spooky! Great Halloween cards!
- August 24, 2011 at 4:38 PM
- Cindy said...
Oh my your cards are sooo AWESOME Amber!I TOTALLY LOVE Halloween, These are so FUN and CUTE!SUPER job!!:)
- August 25, 2011 at 6:53 AM
- Whimcees said...
These are all wonderful! I love making cards for this holiday - the colors are so fun to work with.
I hope that all is well with you and wish you a happy week ahead!
Barbara Diane
- August 28, 2011 at 7:52 PM
- Kelly said...
These are the cutest Halloween cards ever. Great use of the twine.
- August 29, 2011 at 4:48 AM
- ChatterScene.com said...
love these!!!
- August 29, 2011 at 7:42 PM
- Crooked Scrapper said...
Amber- Cards are so cute. I like the twine you used on the cards, Great job! Thanks for Sharing!
- September 2, 2011 at 12:38 AM


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If you need a large harvest table for your buffet or bar table, try reclaiming a sturdy base such as a pedestal topped with an old door or plank of wood. In Better Homes and Gardens, Sarah Wolf shows a party table created with a galvanized tank or trough balancing a wooden door. If you don't have a galvanized tank yet and always wanted one, thoughtful designer/blogger Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy recommends ones by Behlen and Dover Parkersburg.
Need extra seating? Eco-living guru/blogger Danny Seo's tree trunk chair makes a handsome perch. Without your own set of available firewood and a neighbor who doesn't want their tree taken out, try bales of hay. The bales can be grouped as benches and covered with old quilts for a softer settee.
Resourceful + Stylish = Makeshift!
Photograph courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens


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Boy was yesterday a bad day. I made a terrible discovery while trying to select a scene from my novel to rework. Somehow the changes I made to my manuscript last fall after a proofreader worked on it with me hadn't "taken." This resulted in "typos" where the original material still showed up even though I had deleted it, right next to anything I might have inserted. I figure there are about 100 such problems throughout the manuscript, the first on page 4. Here I was, thinking I had a super clean, proofread manuscript, from which I lifted samples to send with queries. Of course I didn't proof the samples, I'd proofed the entire manuscript! A reasonable assumption that I can lift a sample to accompany a query without proofreading IT?
These problems show up in many of the samples I sent along with queries. I remember finding a couple of these problems when I was reformatting samples to be embedded in emails to agents (shift from paragraph indents and double space to no indents, single spaced and a line space between paragraphs) but considered them anomalies. Tech glitch exceptions.
I estimate that 40 agents received samples with problems.
This is enough to drive me mad. I can't help but wonder how this has affected agent responses. In my business career, I was brutal with typos. A typo in your resume? Round file. I could make a case that this disaster is a "bad karma" consequence.
The cause turns out to be "user error." I've now figured out how to make the deletions go away permanently.
My question to you is, should I go back to those agents who received problem samples? Or, since I'm making substantial revisions, just wait until I have a new manuscript (after making double-extra-sure all deletions have been permanently eliminated)? If yes, then what would be the best way to pitch? I'm going to guess your answer:
For any agents that responded with any sort of comments (such as yourself), state that the novel has been substantially revised and present the new query.
For any agents that either declined or didn't respond at all, pitch as a "new" project.
(If I ever have to go back into the business world, I promise I will practice greater kindness toward job applicants with typos).
Yup, you and the pooch had a not-so-romantic interlude and neither of you intend to call each other again, right? RIGHT??
You are quite right to assume that agents will draw conclusions from what sounds like an unholy mess.
I've gotten mss with this kind of stuff from clients. I just send it back with "nope, not going to fix this; that's your job." In fact, a client had JUST this sort of problem only a few weeks back: edits he thought were there, including spell check, did not show up in the ms he sent me.
While I assumed an editing glitch with a client, queriers get no such leeway. It's a form rejection.
We all know stuff happens, even to nice undeserving writers. Thus you contact EVERY agent who got the unholy mess, and you say (much more briefly) what you told me here: due to some editing problems, the polished version did not get sent. You are requerying with the polished version.
JUST SEND THAT. Do not email to ask if you can, or if they want it. Don't give them a chance to say no.
Because we all understand the vagaries of editing software, most agents will at least give you a second glance. It may not be enough, but you will at least have tried, and not assumed no.
Your take away from all this: you proof EVERY SINGLE version.
I can hear some of you howling with laughter given my typos here on the blog but oh man, yes indeed, I do read those pitch letters and spell check before sending every single time.
And yes, I learned that the hard way just like you did.


text:
We have a great show this month at the red thread,thanks so much to all the on-line artist that sent work for the show. It looks great, photos of reception coming next week.
We are also having the Virginia Historic Garden tours today, so it will be busy.
The Art of Printing
The printed word and illustration is forever tied to our past. With new technology hand printing may be considered a lost art. But today many artisans are embracing the skills of these techniques and bringing there own new spin to these traditional forms of art.
Fabric, paper, wood, metal all become the "canvas" for applications of ink and paint.
We present this invitational showcase of art work created using any one of various printing techniques, including but not limited to block printing, lithograph, stencil/screen printing, mono type, and letterpress.
Opening Reception Saturday April 26, 4-6pm
Music by Martha Giles, Hammer Dulcimer
Show continues through June 7, 2008
Print by Leanne Graeff


text:
I love colored mascara, but they have always disappointed me because my lashes are black, and the color never shows up. Beautiful in the tube, and nothing special on my lashes. There once was a Elizabeth Arden blue mascara that showed up in the sun, that was special...until now!
Ciate is a nailpolish brand, not sure why they made mascara, but I'm sure glad they did!
The applicator is a comb, rather than a brush. You comb this through your lashes AFTER putting your regular black mascara on (maybe this was what I was supposed to do with all those other colored mascaras that didn't work? Ah but they never instructed me to do that...)
I don't need to say anymore...this photo somehow looks photoshopped to me, like I drew green lines on my lashes. Except I don't know how to use photoshop so this mascara is just plain awesome...
Oh, and it doesn't smudge, and removes well with the bi-phasic stuff.
Oh, and it doesn't smudge, and removes well with the bi-phasic stuff.
Do you have a favorite colored mascara that actually shows up on dark lashes? If you didn't before you do now :)