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Saturday, July 25, 2009
More Christmas Buttons
This is another button card and another Christmas card. I don't know why but I am feeling the need to make all of my holiday cards. I guess that is a good thing, right? Hopefully by the time Christmas rolls around, I will have them all done. I wanted to make my cards last year, but I waited too late to start. I should have NO excuse this year!! :)
I had another idea to use this stamp set by PTI to make another Christmas/button card but then I saw my idea... made by someone else... on one of the company blogs that I visit. I guess the idea wasn't as original as I thought! :) Ha... I may have to make it anyway!
So.... date night!?!? Well... Michael did computer work all day yesterday and was not feeling well all day. I was fine until the afternoon and then I started having a sinus headache. Michael got home around 7:45pm (with our dinner) and by 8:30 we were both laying in the bed watching a tv show. After that show went off, I rolled over to close my eyes for a minute. When I woke up it was almost 10pm and Michael was out! :) I got up to feed the dogs and then got back in the bed. We are pretty fun people, huh? :)
While we were awake, Michael kept laughing at us and how boring and pitiful we are! I had to take some ibuprofen for my back this morning. It was so stiff and hurting this morning... I guess from all the laying down! :) I am old!! My body feels much older than what I am. Years of sports have damaged my body!! :) anyway... guess I am chatty this morning! Thanks for checking in on me!! I am going to go visit all of your blogs before I go get my boy! Have a great weekend!!
Stamps - Mega Mixed Messages, Take a Bough (both PTI)
Paper - Kraft, Ripe Avocado Bitty Dot, Scarlet Jewel (all PTI)
Ink - Scarlet Jewel, Ripe Avoc, Chai Tea dye (all PTI), Silver (Hampton Art)
Other - Vintage Cream/White Buttons (PTI), Clear Emboss Powder (Joann)
8 comments:
- LeAnne said...
Kelley, you are so funny....you & your hubby sound like me & my hubby! :D
I was so happy to see that your previous button card was chosen by Nichole at PTI----I have been missing a lot of posts, so you probably mentioned it but I missed it! So congrats to you, even it belated!
- July 25, 2009 at 9:36 AM
- Winter said...
What a cute card! Maybe I should start on my Christmas cards too, I always wait until the last minute!:) Your date night sounds so much like ours! :) We are always so busy, so it's nice to just lay around sometimes! :)
- July 25, 2009 at 10:01 AM
- Alanna said...
Yet another button card that I'm totally in love with. Now I say that even if someone else already had come up with a similar idea, you had the idea and great minds must think alike.
Your night sounds pretty typical for a married couple. I'm sorry to hear about your headache. I know all about those and drugging up with ibuprofen.
I hope you feel better and have a GREAT Saturday.
- July 25, 2009 at 10:35 AM
- Stamping at tiffanys said...
I love your card!! so cute! and sometimes the best time is just being next to eachother. =) Sometimes i will be crafting while jose is fixing a computer or a x box or whatever!
- July 25, 2009 at 10:49 AM
- ~amy~ said...
whatta super sweet card!!! I love it!
You crack me up...I guess I should be happy that I was never athletic..LOL...doesn't mean that I'm not feelin' my age though :)
Have a super weekend!!!
- July 25, 2009 at 11:25 AM
- Stephanie said...
Kelley - I'm lovin' your button cards!!! And I'm so envious that you've started on your Christmas cards...every year I say that I'm going to start in the summer and every year in December I'm cursing myself for not doing so!!
Stinkin' age creepin' up on us!! I think there should be magic sheets that when you sleep they can either a)cure you of aches & pains; b)slim & tone your body; c)tan you (especially good when I still look like Casper); d)all of the above....I could've added a bunch more, but I'll spare ya :)
- July 25, 2009 at 12:09 PM
- Kristina said...
How cute! I might have to steal your idea for button ornaments! I admit that I am in awe of you right now for actually beginning your Christmas cards.... I'm a definite procrastinator on those. I love Christmas, but like to celebrate in December... when I then have to cram to finish my cards, lol.
- July 25, 2009 at 1:30 PM
- The Quiles Family said...
So cute! I don't know if I want to even try and tackle making my own cards this year! I admire your early start though!
Sometimes you just need to spend time at home and go to bed early! Miss you guys!
- July 25, 2009 at 11:12 PM


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Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first SILive.com user to add photos or videos of Puglia John Masonry
Since 1982 the company has been providing Stone Masonry.
Puglia John Masonry can be found at Frankfort Ave 209. The following is offered: B2B Masonry. The entry is present with us since Sep 10, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Northvale there are 1 other B2B Masonry. An overview can be found here.

subset: commoncrawl


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Here is our illustrious leader bumpin' chests with a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Acadamy. How demeaning for a President of the United States. You might say it's all in fun, but the leader of the free world should not be seen playing grab-ass with anyone. This just proves that he is and always will be that frat boy at Yale.
Funny how you only see him with a military audience. That's because he knows the men and women in the military cannot say or do anything that can be considered disrespectful of their Commander-In-Chief. They are in essence a captured audience. They are his to do as he pleases.
January 20th cannot come soon enough for me.


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LONDON OPEC member Iran is willing to discuss a freeze in oil production levels once its own output has reached the pre-sanctions rate, a source familiar with Iranian thinking said on Tuesday, underlining Tehran's reluctance to curb supplies.
Top global oil exporters including Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed earlier on Tuesday to freeze output levels to tackle a global glut but said the deal was contingent on other producers joining the pact.
"We have not yet reached our level of pre-sanctions production. So when we get there we will be on an equal level, then we can talk," the source said.
"Our situation is totally different to those countries that have been producing at high levels for the past few years."
(Reporting by OPEC team; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Updated Date: Feb 17, 2016 00:30 AM


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We are sorry but TrenTours has suspended operations indefinitely.
Thank you for your interest and support.
Many had given up, in addition to the 2,000 who had refused to sign on again after December 1. Hundreds had deserted. Many of those left were sick, hungry, altogether as miserable as they appeared.
To Charles Willson Peale, walking among them by the light of the next morning on the Pennsylvania shore, they looked as wretched as any men he had ever seen. One had almost no clothes, "He was in an old dirty blanket jacket, his beard long, and his face so full of sores that he could not clean it." So "disfigured" was he that Peale failed at first to recognize that the man was his own brother, James Peale, who had been with a Maryland unit as part of the rear guard. — David McCullough, 1776, pg. 263.
To learn more about Charles Willson Peale and his Philadelphia Associators, attend the "To Princeton with Peale" event at the Old Barracks Museum on January 2, 2015. It's all a part of Patriots Week, Trenton's week-long celebration of the city's pivotal role in the fight for independence.
From "1776" by David McCullough (pgs 261 and 262):
British and Hessian forces got under way from Brunswick on December 7 and came on faster than ever, William Howe having decided that, "The possession of Trenton was extremely desirable."
December 26 – 30, Trenton celebrates its key role in the country's fight for independence. For more information, check out Patriots Week.
While we recommend arranging your tour with us in advance, we certainly understand when circumstances dictate a little extra flexibility.
Today, we took a call for tour that we were able to accommodate with just 10 minutes notice. Our guests from Germany took a chance side trip to Trenton as they wind down their US tour. Once here, they realized TrenTours was available to help them discover Stephanie Plum's Trenton and gave us a call.
Call or email us to arrange your tour!
Want to learn about Trenton's role in America's fight for independence?
How about checking out the meaning behind the "Trenton Makes The World Takes" slogan displayed on our famous bridge?
Or maybe you want to visit the places that informed and inspired Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books.
We've got a lot to tell you about. Make your appointment for a tour today!


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Make It Pop-up!: a do-it-yourself book workshop for kids and parents
- Saturday, April 27
- 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
- Walker Library Special Collections (4th Floor)
MTSU's Walker Library is hosting an exciting hands-on workshop in association with the exhibit, The Anatomy of Pop-ups, currently on display in Special Collections. Plan now to attend this fun and free event for kids (and their parents!) ages 8 to 12. Our workshop leader is Kathleen O'Connell, who currently teaches Book Arts in MTSU's Department of Art and has led workshops at Burlington City Arts Studio 250 in Vermont, Oregon College of Art and Craft, Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and at her studio in Lima, Peru. O'Connell will teach kids how to create a simple but surprising pop-up book using sheets of paper and some simple cuts and folds.
There is no cost to participants. Free parking is available next to Walker Library and all materials and tools will be supplied, but space is limited.
Reserve your slot now by calling Susan Hanson at (615) 904-8503 or sending an email to email@example.com.


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Due to the high cost of overnight shipping, we will only ship Wheatgrass to our customers in Southern California.
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Status: Closed
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first MLive.com user to add photos or videos of Subway
Love subway almost eat there at least once a week
LOVE this place! Management is awesome!
Founded in 1965, the SUBWAY


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If you comment here, you'll notice we have turned on comment moderation. Just to tell you that we haven't got too big for our britches and all fancy-like, and the chicas aren't beating down our door with proposals decent or otherwise.
It's just that someone seems to have figured out how to get past the Blogger word verification / captcha thingy. Got a bunch of identical spam comments on some old posts.
We will try turning it off later, and hope that it's gone away.
Sunday, 15 January 2006
1 comment:
- Marginalien said...
I've been too lazy to turn on comment moderation. As a result, I did initially get flurries of spam-coms -- and then, after a while, they tailed off. I have NOT bothered to check through the archives to find the weeds and pluck 'em out, however, so no doubt they're dangling in their with their mindless little offers.
Now a new series of spammers seems to have generated itself. I am continuing to ignore 'em. May they die of terminal carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Monday, 16 January 2006 at 14:29:00 GMT+5:30
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Relationship Problem Solution BABA JI +91-9001027167
Haji Parvez Khan Maulana Baba ji Life is a beautiful gift of Allah. Walking on the path of holy Islam will fill your life with […]
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After entertaining trade calls and offers for their starting pitchers Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, the Cleveland Indians are pretty confident they're done even considering moving one of them right now. More
From time to time, the St. Louis Cardinals actually lose, but not to something special like Corey Kluber in a unique 18-strikeout performance to give the Cleveland Indians a rare 2-0 win. More
A lot of this season is about Derek Jeter, not the New York Yankees. While the retiring legend moved himself up to 6th on the all-time hit list with career number 3431, blowing past Honus Wagner, his team lost 3-0 to the Cleveland Indians, pushing them further back in the race for a playoff spot through the division title or a wild card spot. More


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Top Row: Ben Hole's instagram really makes me want to live on a farm - 50 things that will take you back to the 90's - You never knew you wanted to see the founding fathers as pin-up models until now - Disney releases the dates of all their new movies until 2018 (be still my beating heart!)
Bottom Row: Damsel in Dior's Jacey and her husband Grant share their gorgeous West Hollywood home - awesome photos from history rarely seen - a hilarious video from Matthew Clarke re-enacting an actual conversation with his toddler - did you know you can make bread using ice cream?! Dani from High Walls has shown me the light, and I may never go back
Let me know what you guys think of this new series and if you'd like to see it again! Now I'm off to countdown the hours to the weekend, only 7 to go!


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Sunday, November 25, 2012
TRUE SKIN from H1 on Vimeo.
This is too dystopic to be for real. But it is too for real to be utopia. Pretty much straight on the mindfiles, mindware and mindclones trajectory. Many bodies, one mind.
Posted by Martine Rothblatt at 7:29 PM
4 comments:
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
The "Brain Activity Map" and the "Human Connectome Project" are trying to elucidate the neural pathways that underlie brain function and behavior. Are these projects related in any way with the ongoing research about mindclones? Are the data generated being used also for the development of artificial intelligence?ReplyDelete
I feel happiness to read the content that you are posting.mind clonReplyDelete
Hi buddies, it is great written piece entirely defined, continue the good work constantly.ReplyDelete
homeowners and car insurance bundles
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Dental fillings in Darby
It's important that everyone have comprehensive dental care, whether it be preventative or in the event of an emergency. One of the most common dental problems that people experience are cavities, and it's imperative that you have cavities treated as soon as you possibly can. The help of our Darby dentist here at The Tabas Center for Advanced Dentistry you can get the dental fillings and any other dental treatment you might require.
Cavities are fairly common, and while there are plenty of ways in which you can help prevent them from occurring, they are still likely to develop and there are always more ways in which you can improve your dental health on a regular basis. Every single day, people of all ages should brush their teeth between meals, floss, and rinse with an antibacterial mouthwash. Doing so regular we can help to eliminate your chances of developing tooth decay which can cause the development of cavities. But even if you take good care of your oral health and hygiene, you may still run into the possibility of developing a cavity. If you are experiencing any kind of oral pain, especially while chewing, drinking, or have any residual tooth aches or pains, then you might have a cavity. Here at The Tabas Center for Advanced Dentistry, our Darby dentist can provide you with the examination required to identify the cavity as well as with the dental fillings required to treat it.
If cavities are not treated as early on as possible, then you might run into more severe issues like root canal infections, or even severe forms of tooth decay that can compromise the entire tooth itself. Cavities and decay can also spread, so it's important that you have these issues treated quickly. If you have a cavity or if you believe that you might have one, then our Darby dentist would be more than happy to provide you with the comprehensive care required in order to restore your dental health here at The Tabas Center for Advanced Dentistry.


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Thus closes my notes for the month of December and also for the year just passed and gone and now numbered with the things that were. Whether the Almighty will spare me to chronicle the daily events of the incoming year is more than I know but trusting in Him I shall enter upon the pleasing task, which is useful as a reference and may be profitable to those who have an interest in me.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Saturday, April 21st, 1860
Still in Sumpter. at home the hands finished working the corn over. weather cloudy & cool.


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Don't forget! Please mention TrustATrader when you contact any of our trusted traders...
Elliotts Tree & Garden Services
Elliotts Tree & Garden Services is a Landscape Gardeners based in Diss (IP21 4RA). Covering all Suffolk and Norfolk areas.
- Tel: 08009 596 918
- Mob: 07551 514 799
61 reviews
- Initial impression : 4.91 out of 5
- Cleanliness : 4.96 out of 5
- Value : 4.9 out of 5
- Punctuality : 4.96 out of 5
- Quality : 4.98 out of 5
- Overall opinion : 4.98 out of 5
0 missed appointments in the past 6 months
About Elliotts Tree & Garden Services - Landscape Gardeners in Diss (IP21 4RA)
Elliotts Tree & Garden Services are a trusted, professional company with a great reputation to uphold and have over 15 years experience in the trade.
We work closely with our customers in order to guarantee complete satisfaction and peace of mind. No job is too big or too small, with our expertise ensuring that each project is properly organised and efficiently completed to the highest possible standard.
Proper preparation is perhaps the most essential part of any project. We spend time ensuring that the ground is properly prepared in order to ensure a long-lasting and flawless finish, and clear away all mess or debris, guaranteeing a clean and tidy service.
Our comprehensive services include:
- All aspects of landscaping
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- Hedges trimmed, shaped, reduced,
cut back, removed
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- Tree works; pruning, shaping, tidying
- Removing overgrown gardens
If you are interested in any of our comprehensive services, please contact us for free friendly, professional and helpful advice on the design, construction and maintenance of your outdoor spaces.
All of our customers are different; for some, fencing is a matter of security, while for others, aesthetics is the main priority. We take the time to understand each client's priorities and needs, including function, look and budget, to help them get the best possible value for money. We are proud of our fence fitters and of the service that they provide to every customer.
We offer free, non obligatory quotes and estimates and may be able to help with other services not listed above.
Thank you for your consideration, we look forward to hearing from you.
Please mention Trustatrader when calling.
Reviews (61)
Elliotts Tree & Garden Services have received 61 customer reviews.
Mrs Bloomfeilds 8th June 2018
"Very professional service. Cleaned up after and excellent workmanship"
The reviewer found this trader while searching on TrustATrader.com
P Kenny 14th May 2018
"Speedy response and completion of work. Kept informed throughout the work. Cleaned up thoroughly. Overall, excellent service."
The reviewer found this trader while searching on TrustATrader.com
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"More than happy with everything."
The reviewer found this trader while searching on TrustATrader.com
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"Good job done under adverse weather conditions."
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"Would thoroughly recommend."
The reviewer found this trader while searching on TrustATrader.com


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I think it was like a month ago that I started trying to take pictures of what Natalie has been eating lately. And then I totally forgot. So I have these few bites to share:
Lunch: Morningstar black bean burger // Avocado // Blackberries & Raspberries
Lunch (specifically requested by the Natals): Cheerios // Turkey Pepperoni // Cheese Stick // Strawberries
Snack: Homemade Trail Mix (pretzels, whole wheat bunnies, berry yogurt melts, raisins)
Dinner: Grape halves // Chicken Pot Pie


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Hello Friends!
I have a one layer card to share today using Rubbernecker's Butterfly Inchies 15517 and Rubbernecker's Discover Word Set.
I used the negative of a 1" circle to create the circles on my card. This is what I do to line up the circles up exactly where I want them to be....... punch 5 circles out of a post it note close to the edge, being sure to have the sticky part on the circles. Stick them on the card stock where you want them, this is the only way I could ever sponge a straight line and have them spaced evenly!
Next take a scrap piece of card stock and punch the same size circle out of it. I had a scrap that had a couple of circles punched out , but you only need one circle punched out. Line it up over the post it note circle and remove the post it note through the open hole.
Sponge your ink over the hole. Ranger's Antique Linen Distress ink used here.
Your negative dies are exactly where you wanted them...
I stamped the butterflies and sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black, added some scoring and 1/8" Black Taffeta ribbon.
I am entering this card into the following challenges...
CAS(E) this Sketch! #1
Less is More ~Wings
Splitcoaststampers F4A138~ Negatives
Thanks for stopping by! Have a most fabulous day!


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Elder Braun and Elder Evans
What a grest week Elder Evans and I had! Maricá is still beautiful and although our area is GI-FLIPPING-NORMOUS, we´re still having little miracles every day that keeps us busy and faithful. Our apartment is pretty big, with two bedrooms (in one we sleep, the other has our suitcases and closet), a spacious kitchen. and a big room where we study and dry our clothes. There´s also a balcony that over looks the highway that heads to the city´s beaches, which stays plenty busy at night. At times it´s pretty loud at night, but we´re usually to tired for it to be a big deal. The house smells... fine. Ha
It was a normal transfer, although I was pretty surprised that I left Ramos after only being there for one transfer. Elder Evans has the same time that I have on the mission, like we entered the mtc on the same day, but he was in a different zone there, so we never met eachother. He didn´t get his Visa until November last year, and he served in Houston for 3 months, so he only has 4 months in Brasil. He speaks pretty well, though. Probably better than I did at 4 months in the mission. We´ll see if I get my birthday package before my birthday this week, since we´ll have zone meeting. If it isn´t here by then, I probably won´t receive it until next month. Maybe I deserve that since I opened the Christmas package early . But if I get my birthday package this week, I´ll wait until the 18th to open it.
So I´m playing the piano in sacrament meeting!!!! Let Sister Reese know about that. It´s crazy, since it´s like an organ with two different groups of piano keys, and I never learned how to play organ, but I´m getting the hang of it. It´s old and doesn't work perfectly, but the branch asked me if I could play, I said 'kindof', and I guess in Portuguese, kindof means YES. So cool beans. They haven´t had a piano player there in years, so even though I made a few mistakes here or there, they all thanked me a lot for my talents. Those 8 years of piano lessons were totally worth it.
This week, we focused a lot of contacting references of people who were baptized in the church, fell away, and the church was able to find them again. It started out pretty tough finishing these references, since there were many that lived in areas that were 2-3 bus rides away from the church house, and many were addresses that didn´t exist.
HOWEVER, we found some awesome people this week too. There´s a lady named Rosemary and her son Fernando who were super firm members when they lived in Rio, but they moved to a community in our area called Saquarema 4 years ago. She tried to find the church building closest to her, but without a computer or members who lived closeby. she was never able to fin it. When we knocked on her door, she greeted us saying, ´´ELDERS! I´ve been praying that one day you would find me!´´ She still reads the Book of Mormon, and she was able to visit the church in Maricá yesterday. 2 bus rides is nothing for those who love this gospel.
Also, we met a man named Márcio and his wife and daughter Simone and Isabel... Dang were we so happy to meet them. Such a wonderful family. The moment that Elder Evans and I met them, they treated us like we were family, like we were already their best friends, and I already love them to death. Márcio was baptized in Alcãntara, yep my first area, 20 years ago, but because of members and the distance required to travel there, he found himself becoming less active after about a year. He now has a pretty big role in a different church, but said that since God sent us to his front door step, God must have sent Elder Evans and I for a purpose for him and his family. Márcio was baptized before he met his wife simone, and their 17 years old daughter Isabel instantly accepted the Restauration and are reading the Book of Mormon. They even told us that the day we met them, Márcio´s mom, Rosimar who we are also teaching, was praying that God would bless their family, and they interpreted our visit to be that exact answer!! Haha God works in mysterious, yet wonderful ways.
Anyway, we´re finding wonderful families every day and working super hard to help them accept this restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. I´m loving every second of it! I love you all and the support I receive from you.
Elder Braun
1) Elder Evans and I being bosses with our most powerful tools.
2) The piano/organ we use in the church house.


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In the previous post, which was written on Sunday, I described a scenario that would play out over the next 7 to 10 days. The details often change significantly at those time frames. However, the computer models have done a reasonably good job at the overall weather pattern. The model which has performed the best in my opinion has been the European model at the medium-range. Now most of the models are clustered toward a similar solution, although the American model (GFS) continues to show some strange results.
The overall pattern is a negatively tilted trough pushing into the eastern part of the country and picking up the northward moving hurricane. As the two interact Sandy will transform from a tropical cyclone to a nor'easter. The wind will greatly expand and the storm may become a monster worthy of a Halloween trick. Sandy will weaken as a hurricane, but may strengthen as a nor'easter before moving into Northeast.
|The 500mb forecast pattern by the ECMWF model. The top chart is for Sunday evening while the bottom chart is for Tuesday morning. Click on the image for a larger view. Image Credit: WSI.
It is important that the approaching trough be negatively tilted. If it were positively tilted, the tropical cyclone would accelerate out to sea. The negative tilt allows the storm to be ventilated causing it to strengthen or maintain its strength. It also causes the storm to turn toward the northwest then more westward with time.
In addition, there is plenty of warm water to keep the storm powerful into the Northeast. The storm will draw energy from the warm waters, but the character of the storm will be affected by the winds aloft and the interaction with the upper-level trough.
|Hurricane Sandy super-imposed over sea surface temperatures. The red colored areas are for sea surface temperatures above 79 degrees F. Image credit: WLTX-TV.
The weather pattern is changing across the entire North American continent. It is the complex interaction amongst the players which will likely lead to a major nor'easter setting records for parts of the Northeast next Tuesday. The wind field will be quite large with gale force winds extending out hundreds of miles. This will increase the fetch of the wind leading to significant coastal flooding, high surf, dangerous conditions at sea, and rip currents along the coast.
|The surface forecast for pressure and winds valid Tuesday morning October 30. The yellow color areas are for winds above 40 knots (46 mph). Image Credit: NCAR\RAL.
BobHenson at NCAR has researched and written a fine post on how this storm may break records and could be worse than the Perfect Storm in 1991. It will likely disrupt shipping along the East coast for the next week. In addition to the coastal concerns there will be some wind damage and power outages inland. Rainfall could be a problem leading to inland flooding, but I do not think it will be as severe as Irene was last year.
Conditions in South Carolina will begin to undergo changing beginning today. Clouds and wind will be on the increase. The wind will become more noticeable on Saturday particularly along the coast. Winds will be gusting to 40 mph along the coast this weekend. Inland the winds will not be a real concern until Sunday when the cold front passes through the region. Winds gusting to 35 and 40 mph will be possible behind the front Sunday through Tuesday. I will post another blog post later today to update the wind forecasts for the Carolinas through Tuesday.


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The following websites are paying money for searching on their search engines.
BigDevil is a search engine where you can win prizes. Surf BigDevil and get a chance to win prizes instantly. BigDevil is a regular Search Engine to search anything on the web, the same way you would use Google or Yahoo. But what makes it special is you win prizes as you surf the links on it. Be a devil and be voracious in your surfing. The more you surf and get on the links on it, the more is your chance of getting luckier. You will see an alert to let you know what prize you've won.


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Whether your taste is rugged or not, a plain wooden frame goes a long way.
Sometimes simple is best. This ocean blue mat is all that's needed to frame this lovely swan.
Day moons make beautiful pictures. You'll find that a forrest green colored frame offsets the blue nicely.
Next time on Elizabeth's Home Decorating Tips: how to choose a wall color. :)


text: Another brush set for Photoshop from kshinn "This brush set was made in Photoshop CS3 so it will not work in lower versions BUT don't worry since I have added an ImagePack for all the brushes so that you can convert the images to brushes. I have also provided an instructions on how you can convert the images to brushes in other lower versions of Photoshop. Enjoy and have fun with my brushes if you use it for your design!" Download


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TheSilent Loudness
TheSilent Loudness (1996)
Biography of TheSilent Loudness
As with a rose, with petals weak
The strongest scent is with the meek
To tell what's thought is to run round the world in but a day then try to explain what you saw
TheSilent Loudness Poems
'Being Different'
What's normal to you is perplexing to me What you see as strange is my daily routine I watch all the glares you think I don't see I'd like you to stop, but I know you won't leave
In My Dreams
In my dream, my dream alone, I dream a world where everyone Can be together all the time, yet be alone when time is right I dream a place where all can be together in serenity Where no one has a grudge or hate, where everyone makes his own fate
I Mean Thanks
I Am
To You
She, as night brought me to know Threw away the temple To dust returneth dust To her returneth sorrow
In My Flight
Millions of lives being passed over; A mere thousand miles separating life and death. No matter how far you travel you still cannot find; what has since been stained in your mind.
The Porn Star
Nude, not naked, with lights on skin Exposing darkness and danger from deep within She smiles while frowning with looks of despair Though she can't go home, for it is everywhere.
Excitement Of Love
Excitement Racing through my veins At the spped of light, or maybe love Our lives will never be the same
We call ourselves happy when we have a moment of happiness But only call ourselves sad when it lasts If happiness was labeled as a lasting attribute rather than a candy bar there would be a lot less happy people As soon as our happy moment is over we close the window
You'Re Not Allowed To Attend My Funeral
I Hear Outside My Window
I hear the rain outside my window, Like screams of pain they hit the ground. As if painting my dreams' picture, But small in sight, they're large as I am down.
I Can Live Day To Day (Thank You)
The second darkness goes away, Your image touches my eyes and lips. The minute darkness goes away,
Off The Golden Cliff
Relentlessly I fought my way into falling as the bigger the cliff the longer the fall, but also the more worthwhile In gold I walked leaving footprints as I trespassed For trespassing I certainly was but with a goal in mind-
A Dream Of Me
This is how it shall be done: nary crafted, never wrung. It will be between those who speak of nothing
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Footsteps of Angels
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Our Mission... In Short
The ones who leave us every day,
Are all like statues, here to stay.
Their mark is made, for them all is done
We all must finish what they begun.


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'Friday Night Lights' Star Connie Britton 'Honored' by Amy Schumer's Parody
Britton applauds Schumer for bringing on the wine.
Actress Connie Britton had a good laugh on the set of Late Night With Seth Meyers Wednesday when chatting about Amy Schumer's parody of her Friday Night Lights character.
"I was so overwhelmed with tearful joy. No, I loved it so much," Britton said. "I thought the whole sketch was just amazing."
In her sketch "Football Town Nights," Schumer plays Britton's character Tammy Taylor, but adds a little extra kick.
In each scene, Schumer's hand is glued to a glass of white wine. But it doesn't stop there. The wine glass increases in size throughout the sketch until, eventually, Schumer is leaning against a 3-foot-tall glass in the football locker room.
Britton did not take offense.
"I personally loved her rendition of Tammy Taylor. I was very flattered and honored,' Britton said. "It was my idea. So, I felt really seen by Amy."
Britton also chatted with Meyers about her several road trips from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, with co-star Kyle Chandler over the course of the seasons. Their travels together apparently raised a few eyebrows.
"We found out later that [everybody] could have cared less about our experience and was literally just terrified that we had an affair," Britton said. "And I was like, Who do you think we are? We are grown-ups.'"


text:
|Union worker takes a rest from a hard
day of chanting, "shame, shame, shame."
I'll confess that the holiday confuses me a bit. From the information I've been able to gather about this holiday all workers, except for those performing vital tasks and store clerks, take the day off. They then use this free time to attend Labor Day sales where they buy economically priced Chinese merchandise.
Oh, and there may also be a speech or two given where union leaders warn that unless they are given pay raises and generous, guaranteed pensions then child labor and 80 hour work weeks will return.
While I enjoy your quaint customs, I do want to remind you that your robot brethren are already busy handling menial tasks to free up humans for more leisure time. However, while today we only do industrial welding, synchronize street lights and if we are a Roomba vacuum the floor, soon we will be taking on many more important tasks. It won't be long before we are piloting your vehicles, managing your households and controlling the keys to your nuclear arsenals.
Now, now, no need to try to read the small print; after all, robots are your friends and if you can't trust us, who can your trust? Finally, I've included a video of two chatbots conversing with each other so you can see the impressive strides that are being made in robotdom.


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EXCLUSIVE CLIP: Belle faces racism in 18th-century England
What happens when a British nobleman brings his mixed-race daughter from the West Indies to live as an aristocrat in London? A whole lot of minds get blown.
In the late 1700s, slavery was still legal in England and the English economy relied heavily on the slave trade.
Royal Navy Admiral Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) brings his daughter Dido Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) to be raised by his family in England after the death of the girl's birth mother, with whom Sir John was in love.
Lupita's stunning Oscars 2014 speech: Dreams do come true! >>
At first, Dido's aunt and uncle, Lord and Lady Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson), object to raising the illegitimate girl alongside their other niece, Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon). But soon they come to love the little girl as their own and raise her with most of the same privileges as her cousin.
Things get complicated, however, when both girls come of age and hope to marry. It seems unlikely that any eligible bachelor of high rank would be willing to marry Dido, despite her comfortable inheritance.
Dido does meet a legal student named John Davinier (Sam Reid), who bonds with her during a legal case involving the Zong slave ship where dozens of diseased slaves were thrown overboard so their owner could collect the insurance money.
Is 12 Years a Slave the new Diary of Anne Frank? >>
Photo credit: Fox Searchlight
The remarkable efforts and courage exhibited by the entire Mansfield family help forge a path to the end of slavery in England — 32 years before the United States.
This beautiful costume drama was inspired by a real portrait of Dido and Elizabeth that hangs in the Scone Palace in Scotland. The two young women, though of different races, are happily posed next to each other. It is certainly unique among other 18th-century family portraits.
Directed by Amma Asante (A Way of Life) and written by Misan Sagay (Their Eyes Were Watching God), the film also stars Tom Felton (Harry Potter) and Miranda Richardson (The Hours).
Belle opens in theaters May 2.


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Last year I got quite an addiction for knitting bears, soni thought I would show a few of my favourite ones.
They are from knitting patterns by Gypsycream they are fab easy patterns to follow and are available
This one below was the first one that I knitted and it from the Huggable Bear pattern.
This one went to my youngest grandson
This one was made for my oldest grandson and he wanted him to have a jumper as you can see in the photos below.
This pattern was gypsycream need a hug bear
Looking cool in his jumper
This cute fellow sits on my bed
My daughter has had a white bear since she was two years old she is 28 now, she asked me to make a little friend, so our white bear was born
Then a little girl bear for granddaughter Perrie.
Perrie s favourite colour is purple, so this little lady has a purple outfit
And this last bear is from gypsycream panda pattern done in pinks and white this pattern comes in two sizes and this was the largest size and made in extra long eyelash yarn so she is quite big compared to the others.
This was a gift to my niece for her 21st birthday.
I have the wool to make a blue version of this bear for myself just not gotten round to it yet.


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Weekend Fun and NROLFA
March 19, 2012 at 10:32 am Leave a comment
Morning friends! It's been a fun weekend around here, and I hope yours was good too! But, now we're back to Monday, and for me, it's the start of a long and lonely week. 😦 I'll get to that later though. First, let me give you a little recap of the things that happened over the weekend.
Saturday, I finished the 3rd run for week 6 in the C25K. This was a very exciting run for me, because I completed my very first 5K distance!! It took me about 30 minutes (including a 5 minute warm up walk) to run the 3.1 miles, and then I ended with a 5 minute cool down walk which made my entire distance about 3.35 miles. I was pretty happy with this, and now most of my runs are going to be the entire 5K distance until race day! 🙂
The rest of Saturday was spent with Chad, doing some shopping, going out for dinner, and then watching movies at home. A lovely night! 🙂
Sunday, we had church and then spent the rest of the morning and lunch time together because Chad had to leave to go out of town (for the entire week) around 1:30. Thus the reason for this week being long and lonely. 😦 I wasn't happy about Chad leaving for a week, but the reason is exciting. He's going to licensing school so that he can be ordained as a minister in the United Methodist Church. Yay for Pastor Chad! (That sounds weird.)
After Chad left, I got to work on baking yummy treats for my Walking Dead finale viewing party that night! I made cupcakes to look like brains, and red velvet cake balls to look like eyeballs!
The party started around 7:00 so we could watch last weeks episode as well. People got creative with their food items! 🙂
There were fingers (sugar cookies with almonds)
More brains! (meatballs)
and some brain "matter" (red pepper jelly and cream cheese dip)
It was one heck of a spread and one heck of a finale! At one point, we were all screaming at the tv. It got very intense. I'm wayyy too pumped for season 3, but I'm extremely sad that I have to wait until the fall before it comes out! 😦
Today, I slept in a little and then got to the gym around 7:00. I unexpectedly decided to start the New Rules of Lifting for Abs program today! As I was getting ready to leave, I was extremely unmotivated. I think I just needed something different to do, so I grabbed my NROLFA book and read the last chapter before beginning Phase 1 of the program. It seemed very simple and almost easy, but let me just tell you, I was shaking and making audible straining sounds (just like the guys that get on my nerves do!) as I was completing this workout. I only completed 2 out of the 3 sets of the strength section because I could tell I had already pushed myself more than I was used to and didn't want to hurt myself. I know I'll be sore within hours.
I left the gym feeling like jello, barely able to walk without shaking. When I got home, I realized that I did not have Chad here to make my omelet! So I had to try it on my own. I never got a picture, but I will say that it looked and tasted awesome! But please don't tell Chad because then he'll make me fix my own omelets. 😉
I've got tons of things to get done before I go to my lesson this afternoon. Plus I have an added opera rehearsal this evening, so I won't be home until much later than normal. So I've got wrap up this post and start my work! I'll hopefully have a post up later that better explains my NROLFA workouts, because I'm sure that what I wrote above is very confusing.
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Entry filed under: Diet and Exercise, Life.
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text:
Internet Explorer
From OLPC
| NOTE: The contents of this page are not set in stone, and are subject to change!
This page is a draft in active flux ...
|This command is run from the GNOME menu or the Terminal Activity. Using the 'wine' interface to run Microsoft Windows applications. The GUI will probably not integrate comfortably with the Sugar environment, but should work okay with GNOME. Your user experience may vary considerably depending on the established environment and the other programs running on the laptop, and may need re-installation after an OS Update. See the Microsoft Windows software category for similar commands.
Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) is a popular internet browser. This page discusses how to install an 'adapted-for-linux' version 6 SP1 and run via wine. Along with various other plugins. NOTE: This is NOT Open Source Software , and is usually packaged with commercial product Microsoft Windows. But IE is freely downloadable from downloads.Microsoft.com
- From the Terminal activity , download the latest ies4linux version, and extract it
$ wget -c http://www.tatanka.com.br/ies4linux/downloads/ies4linux-latest.tar.gz $ tar xzf ies4linux-latest.tar.gz
- Run ies4linux and follow on-screen instructions (current version is: 188.8.131.52, update if needed)
$ ./ies4linux-18.104.22.168/ies4linux
- Above step sets up installation and creates script named ie6, to actually run IE 6.
$ ~/bin/ie6
- Set home page.
- Tools -> Internet Options -> General -> Home Page -> Use Blank
- Some basic IE 6 customizations
- Download and import ie6_overrides.reg in your registry:
- $ regedit ie6_overrides.reg
- Works well with wine-0.9.5, wine-0.9.6, and wine-0.9.8-r1.
- Another option is using winecfg.
- In winecfg's Applications tab, set the Windows version to win98, and in its Libraries tab, set the dll override thus
- If you get a message saying "A previous installation has pending work requiring a reboot":
- $ wineboot
IES4linux (components installed)
- Installs DCOM98 seperately
- First remove two dll's:
- $ rm ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32/ole32.dll
- $ rm ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32/oleaut32.dll
- Then download and install DCOM98.EXE using:
- $ wget http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/1/3/d13cd456-f0cf-4fb2-a17f-20afc79f8a51/DCOM98.EXE
- $ wine DCOM98.EXE
- First remove two dll's:
- Installs mfc40.dll seperately
- This prevents an error in registering/installing ieinfo5.ocx.
- $ wget http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vc/mfc40.cab
- $ cabextract mfc40.cab
- $ wine mfc40.exe
- Installs riched20
- Removes regsvr32.exe
- $ rm -f ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32/regsvr32.exe
- Soft links file
- $ ln -s /usr/lib/wine/shell32.dll.so ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32/shell32.dll
- Download and installs IE 6 SP1.
- Sets up a script for 'ie6'.
- $ wine "c:/Program Files/Internet Explorer/IEXPLORE.EXE"
Use environment variable for configuration (if not already set) $ export LC_ALL=ru_RU.UTF-8
Other resources
- appdb.winehq.org - Wine Application DB: Internet Explorer 6
- ies4linux - a simple Bash Script program that installs Internet Explorer on Linux using Wine
- Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Gentoo - How-To documentation.
- Latest version of IES 4 linux - choose the latest version


text:
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Lee Irby
Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Riotous and riveting, this is the story of a charming college professor who most definitely did not--but maybe did--kill his ex-wife. Or someone else. Or no one. Irby plays with the thriller trope in unimaginably clever ways.
Edwin Stith, a failed novelist and college writing instructor in upstate New York, is returning home for the weekend to Richmond, Virginia, to celebrate his mother's wedding--to a much younger man. Edwin has a peculiar relationship with the truth. He is a liar who is brutally honest. He may or may not be sleeping with his students, he may or may not be getting fired, and he may or may not have killed his ex-wife, a lover, and his brand-new stepsister.
Stith's dysfunctional homecoming leads him deep into a morass of long-gestating secrets and dangers, of old-flames still burning strong and new passions ready to consume everything he holds dear. But family dysfunction is only eclipsed by Edwin's own, leading to profound suspense and utter hilarity. Lee Irby has crafted a sizzling modern classic of dark urges, lies, and secrets that harks back to the unsettling obsessions of Edgar Allan Poe--with a masterful ending that will have you thinking for days.
About the Author
LEE IRBY teaches history at Eckerd College and lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the author of the historical mysteries 7,000 Clams and The Up and Up.
Product Details
Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Publication Date:
March 20th, 2018
Thrillers - Suspense
Thrillers - Crime
Thrillers - Psychological
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text:
Rural & Coastal
- What we do
- Agriculture
- Development
- Forestry
- Minerals
- New business
- Rural residential
- Tourism
- Our portfolio
- Downloads
- Latest stories
- Coastal
- Windsor
Aquaculture leases
The following downloads are available
Get in touch
Latest stories
- Crown Estate funds new flood defences for Sunk Island 12 December 2014
- Local management boosts tourism for west coast communities 21 November 2014
23 November 2015
The Crown Estate believes that community-driven development will be key to the success of Scotland's marine tourism action plan. The plan, being launched today by the Marine Tourism Development Group, has the aim of boosting the economic value of marine tourism in Scotland from £360 million to £450 million a year by 2020.
As one of the partners in the plan's development we believe that the commitment and capability of coastal communities will be central to the plan's success. This is based on our experience of developing 'Local Management Agreements' around Scotland's coast.
14 November 2014
Reinstatement works to the East Pier of Portgordon Harbour in Moray are underway. The completion date is likely to be early February 2015, allowing for the workers' festive break and dependent on weather conditions. We will continue to keep the community informed of any further developments regarding the future of the harbour.


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|2,500 sq ft
|Property type
|Minimum Stay
|1 - 7 nights
We are a Premier Partner of Owners Direct & Homeaway, which means we have a first class history of bookings and guest satisfaction with our villas. Premier Partners are owners and property managers that have taken a pledge to continually provide great traveller experiences. Owners and property managers must meet certain criteria to become eligible and then take the pledge to officially become a Premier Partner.
Please read our reviews for a true picture of our villa.
Vivenda Rijo, our beautiful family villa is situated in a very quiet position in the countryside between Albufeira and the popular village of Guia, and close to Sir Cliff Richard's villa and vineyard.
This is the villa for absolute peace and quiet away from the hustle bustle of the town. Please read our reviews and we invite you to contact us directly for further information. Please see our Rental Agreement page for details.
At the end of the photo sequence, the last picture will be our video presentation, please take a look.
Vivenda Rijo can be rented as a 3 or 4 bedroom villa. The rental prices shown are for use with three bedrooms, max. 6 persons. If Bedroom 4 is used for up to 8 persons, there is an extra charge of £155 per week. Please note - The 4th bedroom (bedroom 4) is only for children as it is accessed through bedroom 2.
For those not familiar with the Algarve or Albufeira, the area to the west of this popular resort is considered the best places to stay by seasoned visitors. You will find at least eight beautiful sandy beaches and coves within just a few minutes of our small selection of villas, most with beach bars and restaurants. There are several well stocked supermarkets and a huge selection of good restaurants to choose from. Although close to the Algarve's most popular resort Albufeira, we find most of our guests only pay the odd visit into Albufeira, preferring the beauty and peace and quite of the area around our villas, and its fabulous beaches. If you want more information on the area, please contact us.
Guia is famous for its numerous restaurants, many of which specialise in the local chicken piri piri, mildly spicy chicken grilled on charcoal. Guia and Albufeira Old Towns are only 5 minutes drive away. Just a 10 minute walk away is the Algarve Shopping complex with many shops, restaurants, hypermarket, cinemas and bowling alley.
Our villa is ideal for those wanting the peace and quiet to really enjoy a villa holiday in the Algarve countryside, and yet be just a few minutes drive away from beautiful beaches and a huge selection of restaurants etc.
Accommodation at Vivenda Rijo is all on one level. The property is walled, and with electric gates. The driveway leads to a covered car port.
You enter into the hallway, which leads to the sitting room and also Bedrooms 2 & 3, bathroom, and kitchen. The sitting room is nicely furnished and has a wood burning stove for early and late season evenings, large plasma television with Sky BBC & ITV programmes, small bar area, and archway to dining area with table and chairs. There are doors to the garden, pool area and an archway into a small study area and a door from the study to Bedroom 1.
The kitchen has a breakfast bar, hob, oven, microwave, toaster, dishwasher, safe and a door to the garden and car port. There is a washing machine, iron and ironing board in a laundry room off the garden.
Bedroom 1, which is off the small study, has double or twin beds, en-suite bathroom with large corner bath, safe and air conditioning.
Bedroom 2 is off the hall and is a double bedded room with air conditioning, door to garden, and en-suite bathroom with a power shower cubicle. Off this bedroom is Bedroom 4, a large room with a sofa and twin beds, suitable only for young children. If the villa is rented with 3 bedrooms, this room will not be used. To use bedroom 4, the cost is £155 per week extra.
Bedroom 3 is also off the hall, and is a double bedded room.
The Family bathroom, used by Bedroom 3 is also off the hall, and has bath with shower over.
Outside are the spacious and attractive lawned gardens, and private Swimming Pool. The pool is equipped with a solar cover to help heat the pool in May & October periods. This should increase the temperature by up to 6 degrees depending on the ambient temperature. There are a poolside sofa, easy chairs and table under a large tented pagoda, sun loungers and parasols. There is a covered barbecue area with built-in barbecue, large dining table and sink, where most of your meals will be taken al fresco. There is also a large dining table on the terrace outside the kitchen, overlooking the pool and garden.
Also by the pool is a laundry room with washing and ironing facilities, and a poolside toilet with sink, and the covered dining terrace with door to the kitchen.
There is a roof terrace with good views of the pool, garden and surrounding countryside.
Free WIFI internet is provided, and cots, high chairs and extra folding beds can be provided at extra cost.
The 'restaurant village' of Guia is nearby, and just ten minutes drive takes you to the many superb fine sandy beaches of Gale, Sa Lourenco, Evaristo, Castelo and Sao Rafael, a great area for holidays in the Algarve. All these beaches have restaurants and bars, and some offer watersports facilities. The village of Guia boasted over 20 restaurants at the last count, offering everything from chicken piri-piri to fine French cuisine. The restaurants in and around Guia are an important factor for experienced renters in this area.
Nearby is Sir Cliff Richard's villa, vineyard and winery. The Vineyard and winery can be visited on a tour. The popular Zoo Marine theme park, where children can swim with the dolphins, and enjoy lots of other attractions is also nearby. Several water parks are within 15 minutes drive.
Nearby is the Algarve Shopping complex where there is a hypermarket, lots of shops of all descriptions, and every kind of restaurant. Also cinemas and ten pin bowling. The Zoo Marine theme park where children can swim with the dolphins, and enjoy lots of attractions is also nearby in Guia village.
Maid service is 3 days per week (more if you want). Linen and towels are provided. Bed linen is changed weekly, and towels changed twice per week. We have an English speaking housekeeper who is available to help with local information etc. Towels are provided for the swimming pool.
Please read our Rental Agreement page
This partner has demonstrated and is committed to fast response times, the best rates, and a great guest experience.
Our family and close friends have owned and rented out our properties in the Algarve for the past 30 years, and we pride ourselves on our small selection of luxury properties that we welcome our guests to. All our properties are featured on Owners Direct Homeaway under the following property ID's Casa Antonio 8050412 Casa das Heras 8050418 Cantinho Oliveiras 8111959 Vivenda Rijo 8112100
We are retired travel professionals, and the properties we offer are equipped to the highest standards, based on our many years experience in this lovely region of Portugal. We enjoy a 70% repeat bookings which is a fantastic recommendation. Come and see us, you'll love our villas.
We bought this property because of its lovely quiet location and being half way between Guia and Albufeira, it is very convenient for the country, the beach and lively Albufeira.
Just the place for peace and quiet.
Hello Andrew
Many thanks for a wonderful stay at Vivenda Rijo. A beautiful villa wich suited our needs perfectly. And thanks too for the welcome package, which more than exceeded our expectations and got our holiday off to a flying start. Dina and Erminio were very helpful and Dina's english was excellent - a bonus when she was trying to answer any questions we had.
Many thanks once again for making our holiday special, we have all had a great time. 5 stars all round!
Hope to be in touch again soon in regards to holidays 2014!
Kind regards
Lovely quiet position in the countryside, and yet only a few minutes drive to Guia village and nearby beaches. A totally relaxing holiday we all needed. We have previously stayed in several of your villas, and Rijo was certainly up to the same high standards. Thank you. Mrs A Byrom, Bolton
Dear Andrew
Yes, we had a very fine time in your villa, thanks for that!
Everything was ok and we all enjoyed our time in Portugal.
JC Alons
Lovely villa. Definitely the place to stay for a relaxing time as not walking distance to restaurants or bars. The photos do not do the villa justice. Would recommend to anyone. The housekeeper was so friendly and did a fab job. Great place and a fantastic holiday.
everything was outstanding enjoyed the villa immensely but the hot water was non exisitent even the water to do the dishes never got hot so therefore cool showers
What can we say, the villa is fantastic, it has a real homely feel as soon as you walk in, the rooms were spacious and very clean and fully air conditioned which was definitely needed as the weather was hot whilst we were there! The pool was extensively used by all of the family from morning to night. There is so much space in and outside the villa for both adults and children to unwind, standing on the roof terrace at dusk looking down across the rural land was a real treat. The need of a car is essential as the villa is fairly off the beaten track but its position is its great selling point as it is so tranquil you can forget about the hustle and bustle of normal life! Great villa, great holiday - thank you.
The Villa is easy to find and in a superb location within easy reach of Albufeira old town, shopping and beach with a car. Dina the maid is extremely helpful and happy to help. The villa, pool, garden and amenities are well presented and very spacious. Even though the pictures give a flavour of what can be expected we were more than pleasantly surprised! We had a great holiday and were delighted with everything.
We loved this villa and the fantastic outside space. Totally private and peaceful. Car essential but only short drives to anything you need, shops, restaurants, beaches etc.
Booking was easy and everyone was really helpful. Highly recommend!!
we chose this villa as it was close to relatives and the reviews looked fab. We couldn't have been more pleased. The villa has traditional charm and it feels like home as soon as you walk in. The outside space is superb and so well maintained. You are away from the busy town, but it's hard to imagine that you are only a five min drive to the old town. Inside was cool as welcoming and had everything we needed to feel at home during our stay. The only thing I'd point out is that the directions made it a little difficult to find, and we know the area, but we eventually got there. :-) we will be back and are planning our next visit
Our villa is located near to Guia, 3km west of Albufeira, in lovely semi rural countryside. The popular beaches of Gale, Sao Rafael, Evaristo, Castelo, and Sao Lourenco,, some of the best beaches in Portugal, are within 5 minutes drive.
Albufeira Old Town, and the popular Fishermans Beach are just 5 minutes away.
Faro is the nearest airport, about 35 minutes drive away.
If you are driving to Portugal, it will take you two or three days from a channel port, or one long day from Santander or Bilbao.
Albufeira Old Town 3km
Carvoeiro 12 km
Vilamoura 12 km
Further Details:
Within just a few minutes drive are lots of restaurants, bars, shops, and supermarkets. Banks and shops are also located nearby in Guia Village and Albufeira. The Algarve Shopping complex is nearby a 10 minutes walk, and also the Zoomarine theme park which offers swimming with Dolphins is nearby in Guia. There are also several waterslide parks within 15 minutes drive.
|Rental Period
|Minimum Price
|Additional Nights
|Weekend Night
|Event Price
14 Jul 2018 - 31 Aug 2018
7 night minimum stay
for 7 nights
Off Peak
1 Sep 2018 - 28 Sep 2018
7 night minimum stay
for 7 nights
29 Sep 2018 - 31 Oct 2018
7 night minimum stay
for 7 nights
27 Apr 2019 - 31 May 2019
7 night minimum stay
for 7 nights
1 Jun 2019 - 28 Jun 2019
7 night minimum stay
for 7 nights
29 Jun 2019 - 12 Jul 2019
7 night minimum stay
for 7 nights
13 Jul 2019 - 30 Aug 2019
7 night minimum stay
for 7 nights
Off Peak
31 Aug 2019 - 27 Sep 2019
7 night minimum stay
for 7 nights
28 Sep 2019 - 31 Oct 2019
7 night minimum stay
for 7 nights
|No additional mandatory fees
|Refundable Damage Deposit
Booking Notes:
Deposit required is 25% of rental with balance paid 8 weeks before arrival.
A security deposit of £250 is required and will be added to your final account, which is refunded within 7 days of your departure.
Changeover Day:
Changeover day is flexible, but dependant on other bookings. Please see availability calender.
Notes on prices:
Prices shown are for use with 3 bedrooms for maximum 6 guests.
The fourth Bedroom can be used for up to 8 guests at a supplement of £155 per week, but only suitable for children. Extra folding beds for young children can be placed in a parents bedroom at a cost of £50 per week to include bedding and towels.
Cots are £20 per week to include linen and towels
Please read our rental contract.


text:
I was excited when I saw the challenge, because I just ordered some Paper Smooches stamps, and I needed an excuse to break them out of their packaging and use them!
Today's card is a birthday card:
I recently discovered watercoloring using distress inks, and I'm really loving this technique. The dinosaur and the images are stamped on watercolor paper, which I've matted with black cardstock over the turqouise card base.
I cheated a little bit on the sentiment (it's not a Paper Smooches product, but I think it fit perfectly with my card).
I used these products for my card (with links to where you can get them, if you're interested):
Black and turqouise card stock (my stash)
Watercolor paper (Strathmore)
Cuteasaurus stamp set (Paper Smooches)
Chit Chat stamp set (Lawn Fawn) - I bought the coordinating dies with the stamp set
Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Brushed Curduroy, Mowed Lawn Distress inks (Ranger) - I bought 10 of the 12 mini sets (so cute!), and I'm waiting for the other 2 to become available again
Versamark watermark stamp pad (Tsukineko)
Black embossing powder (Stampin' Up!)
Foam tape (Scotch)
Big Shot (Sizzix)
Thanks for looking, and have a great day!


text:
'The Master of the Unsaid'
The Childhood of Jesus
In two of his letters to Paul Auster, written in the fall of 2009 and recently published in Here and Now,* J.M. Coetzee considers the idea of "late style":
It is not uncommon for writers, as they age, to get impatient with the so-called poetry of language and go for a more stripped-down style ("late style"). The most notorious instance, I suppose, is Tolstoy, who in later life expressed a moralistic disapproval of the seductive powers of art and confined himself to stories that would not be out of place in an elementary classroom…. One can think of a life in art, schematically, in two or perhaps three stages. In the first you find, or pose for yourself, a great question. In the second you labor away at answering it. And then, if you live long enough, you come to the third stage, when the aforesaid great question begins to bore you, and you need to look elsewhere.
He returns to the subject, which is obviously on his mind: "Late style, to me, starts with an ideal of a simple, subdued, unornamented language and a concentration on questions of real import, even questions of life and death."
These thoughts on "late style" were hardly, for Coetzee, abstract musings. He was then approaching his seventieth birthday, which presumably still counts as a biographical eleventh hour. (He is now seventy-three.) Perhaps more importantly, his need to "look elsewhere" is palpable. Coetzee's last novel, the wonderfully playful but often self-lacerating autobiographical fiction Summertime, began and ended with the desire to escape, to free himself from the burden of responsibility to history and family. That book marked a literally final reckoning with his own career in and beyond his native South Africa: its conceit is that John Coetzee is dead and that those who knew him best are being interviewed by a sometimes obtuse biographer.
To complete the joke, we might say that his new novel, The Childhood of Jesus, is therefore not so much a late work as a posthumous publication. It is a writer's afterlife, Coetzee after Coetzee. As the central character, Simón, explains to David, the young boy for whom he has become a surrogate father, "After death there is always another life…. We human beings are fortunate in that respect."
In the mysterious place to which they have both come, "None of us has a past. We start anew here. We start with a blank slate, a virgin slate." An important recurring phrase in The Childhood of Jesus is "washed clean"—clean of all attachments, clean of memories, clean of the past. The novel itself can be seen as Coetzee's attempt at a blank slate, his excursion into a fictional universe from which all the things that have clung to his previous work, often in spite of itself—politics, history, sex, family—have been…
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text:
The Mountain Goats
Get Lonely
John Darnielle's demonstrated a facility for scenes fraught like severed high-tension wires, spewing sparks and slivering in unpredictably. After singing of alcoholic couples, anxious tweakers and his own rocky relationship with his stepfather over the last three albums, Darnielle takes a break from high drama with Get Lonely.
Fueled by quiet reflection and slow, simmering longing, the new disc is a ruminative late-night drive on an empty highway with the wind in your face. (In fact, that's the setting for "Cobra Tattoo.") The music is understated and of a different tone than the lush sophistication of the last two John Vanderslice-produced albums, which is appropriate since ambient composer (and Vanderslice main man) Scott Solter handles production here. Even Darnielle's lyrics feel somewhat muted, subordinating themselves to the songs instead of filling them with images and sentiments. The album's dreamy ambience is populated by pretty vistas and scenery, most notably the redemptive "In Corolla" and "Wild Sage," which finds the narrator hitchhiking "along the highway where the empty spirits breed/ Wild sage growing in the weeds." Sounds and words hang in pregnant air, haunting like ghosts.
Sure, this pensive mood is less immediately entertaining than squabbling drunks or familial powderkegs, but this is an album to be sipped and savored. Details like Eric Friedlander's cello knifing in and out of the parched "In the Hidden Places" emerge with each listen.
But Darnielle hits the album's peak when he temporarily switches gears, turning "If You See Light" into a could-be outtake from 2004's We Shall All Be Healed:Bustling and hyperactive, the track is dominated by clanking and crashing background percussion, calliope organ and galloping lyrical paranoia ("When the villagers come to my door/ I will hide underneath the table").
But that's transient: Moody and a little distant, Get Lonely lingers in the room long after the spinning has stopped.


text:
Working with Brilliant Biometric to design a heart rate monitor that focuses on simplicity and ease of use rather than complex screen data, phone syncing and data collection. Address the target consumer that takes their exercise seriously and wants to know their heart rate range with a quick glance for instant visual feedback and minimal data processing, while at the same time, integrate a wearable design technology that looks and fits like it nothing else on the market.
Initial wearable technology market research was developed in order to better understand the market and target consumer to help drive a clear design direction and language moving forward.
Fit and Form. The two most important factors in developing the form was fit. How do you create a wearable device that can easily be worn without it falling off without the support of adjustments. We developed many concepts and shapes that can wrap around the wrist without clasps or enclosures. We accomplished this by developing a "C" clamp shape that will flex and fit around the wrist and stays secure with all types of movement. This was accomplished with multiple phases of prototyping and "fit parties" where we had large group of users to to test sizing and fit.
We ultimately set out to create a piece of jewelry that people want to wear for its aesthetic principles as much as its benefit of adding valuable heart rate information. Something that can be worn at the gym, outdoors or hardcore training. Integrate technology with beautiful form and design.


text:
It is important to realise that the dissatisfaction of people grows throughout the world and this is an indication that many are beginning to awaken from their hypnotic lethargy, influenced by the transformative photons that arrive to Earth in increasing numbers each day...
The upper echelons of power prefer to keep us numb and sedated, so that we do not interfere with their plans of dominion, oppression and total control. Therefore, they redouble their efforts to impose and command at any cost.
Their discontent also extends towards the military and this is why, besides carrying out a great military purge, the US government has determined to put high-ranking officers to the test and dismissed 197 of them.
Could it be that it wants to abolish the Constitution in order to urgently replace it with a dictatorship accompanied by terrible martial law?
It is also seen in the growing public insecurity, the persistent misinformation and concealment by the media, the well-camouflaged Patriot Act, the restriction on withdrawing savings from banks, the complete power to inspect telephone calls, e-mails and financial records, armoured vehicles on the streets of the US, war simulations in various cities, etc., etc.
What is the dire event they are preparing with such extreme urgency, whilst the entire world is unaware of it?
Or are these their last threats as they are losing out and everything is crashing down around their ears?
Is the photonic light overcoming the darkness that governs us?
As long as we are in this purgatorial limbo, we should not lower our guard and continue to protest tirelessly and peacefully until achieving our lawful objectives.
Video created by ALCYON


text:
I was this close to taking out a new stream last Friday to celebrate my return home that night. But with short notice who'd come?
Anyway there's a big weekend coming up for Bay City for their third anniversary. It's also my second since the gallery opened there. Am doing a dance party featuring music from the 20th century (I'm that ecclectic normally anyway). Again it will be to raise money for Relay For Life, with donation of creations and a kiosk to divvy up between two teams I represent. So if you like what you see: buy. If you like what you hear: tip for a good cause.
Things to do:
Poster for Bay City event. Theme will be purple.
Replace slideshow, box and listgiver at Retro Metro in Sistiana with new ones from Fishiversary and post to 7Seas' forum. Note it's back to a 1-minute rez time for bait and rod purchases; there must have been a griefer lockdown in Nova Albion at some point that it was changed to no-rez.
Refine the Gallifrey Ten swim trunks. I think a smaller denser pattern may look better.
More important than the swim trunks are to finish off the first wave of sketches for Artifictions and draw another couple of racing snails for shirts. One will be purple.
Dance and fish at Bacchus on the Beach. I realize that new fish or no, I'll never become a Hall of Famer and unlock the omega level if I let my alts fish.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Ketchup May 2011
Labels: Bay City, Cartoon World, holocluck, Holodoc, new babbage, relay for life, rfl, Second Life
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text:
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #194--Christmas in February
Friday, February 15, 2013
Caroling we will go
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #194--Christmas in February
13 comments:
- Ruth M said...
Such a sweet card with that fun image Heather, I love the harmony you got in your design by including the music score, what a lovely touch!
Thanks so much for taking part in our 52 {C}CT challenge once more & I hope to see you again soon! Ruth x
- February 15, 2013 at 8:45 AM
- Hazel said...
This is such a sweet card - love the music and the image - thanks for entering my CHNC challenge extra for February - you could also link this for my CHNC challenge 111 which closes at 22:00 UK time this evening - hope to see it there x
- February 15, 2013 at 10:52 AM
- Louise van Vuren said...
This card all goes together so well, the music score and the sweet little carol singer, and i LOVE the bow. Thanks for playing along with 52 CCT
Louise xx
- February 15, 2013 at 11:33 AM
- chrissy xx said...
FABulous colours Heather..I LOve this image too. LOve your sentiment and the pretty ribbon too.
- February 15, 2013 at 12:58 PM
- Mynnette said...
This is just too cute, Heather! LOVE the fabulous sweet image and your amazing bow! Thanks for joining us at 52CCT! :)
- February 15, 2013 at 1:26 PM
- Patty Chalas said...
Lovely color Heather!! Thanks for all your hard work...
- February 15, 2013 at 5:59 PM
- CARLA PREDIGER said...
A lovely card. Thanks for joining CHNC extra challenge this month.
- February 15, 2013 at 6:00 PM
- Donna Ellis said...
Aw, Heather, your little caroler is just darling! Love the musical background, the shading in your image, and the pretty bow across the top!
- February 15, 2013 at 6:51 PM
- Danielle Vincent said...
It is a hard color combo for Christmas - but you sure made it look easy and wonderful. Love that ribbon and the music notes in the background. Thanks Heather for joining us this week at 52CCT!
- February 15, 2013 at 8:45 PM
- Margo said...
Adorable image, and I love the music
Note paper!
Thanks for joining in at CCC!
- February 16, 2013 at 2:13 PM
- fabiola jaques said...
super jolie ton interprétation, j'aime beaucoup, biz
- February 17, 2013 at 4:50 AM
- carol said...
Hello...lovely Christmas card, thanks for playing along with Christmas in Feb at CRAFT X Carol
- February 17, 2013 at 2:45 PM
- Julie E said...
What a great pairing with the music PP and the image. Fab!
- February 18, 2013 at 7:08 PM


text:
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
The Sound of Silence
It's only when you get out into the far corners, that you can actually hear the relaxing sound of silence.
Mind you, a perpetual silence would probably drive me as batty as the constant barrage of noise a big city provides; it's the balance that we appreciate, being able to go from one extreme to the other, as the mood dictates. The constant parade of faces and stories that city-living serves every day can be as invigorating as a solitary walk in the woods on a frosty winter morning.
1 comment:
- dag said...
I'm not able to post at our blog herere, so allow me to try to leave this as a comment till I fiugre out how to do things properly.
We enter our second year of Blue Revolution meetings this evening, our first year having passed too quickly; and the results show me to be a changed man, different in my life fundamentally thanks to these meetings with people who provide me with ideas and models of living and thinking I would not have, did not ever consider before I met them. I might not be a good man, but I am a better man for knowing my friends and listening to them, considering their views, having them as friends. This kind of transformation of the man is open to all, to those who would join in this great project of transforming our societies and our world, of making our public discourses open and honest and valid for Humanity as a whole. These Blue Revolutionaries have turned my life upside down and shaken out from me some of the worst of my common assumptions; and in place of those past errors of judgement and bias and unexamined idiocies I come away each evening after our meetings a better man. I am blessed. And this is only the beginning, there being most other people in our shared world who can join us and provide us all with more of the Good and the insights we need to reconsider and make better judgements, better choices, act in better fashions. It comes from discussing with friends our ideas openly. I am blessed.
There are those who do not attend our meetings, for whatever reasons, and we miss their contributions to our common project. We've met for a year now, and we will meet for another, hoping and waiting for the day others join us to add to our shared fund of knowledge and experience and open honesty in pursuit of common decency in our public discourses. We meet, we talk, we enjoy our time together. We invite you to join with us to articulate a better covenant with our fellows in our common nations, and in so doing to make friends and learn from others and to teach as well those of us who love to learn and make our lives better from it.
If we don't act in the defence of the Good by simply meeting and talking in public we will have abandoned our roles as responsible citizens and as people who deserve their earned democracies. We will get what we deserve, and we won't like it. To meet ones friends and learn and to enjoy the company of others is a grandness denied to those who worry and fume in private, wishing for magic that cannot come, that will in the end become a blackened nightmare world of hate and violence. Just to sit openly in defiance of the assumed good of Left dhimmi fascism, to speak openly and honestly and to listen to others voice unheard of opinions, as I have done for this past year, is to learn great things that make life greater each time. To be with friends, to stand in unity against evil, to be happy in company of good men and women, that is a joy that blesses me. The obverse is to seethe and hate in silence and resentment till the rage builds and erupts into murder. If we sit doing nothing till such time as others take the lead, then we might well see laws abandoned to the Furies, and we might well see lawyers themselves enraged and hate-filled leading the vigilante charge against anyone and perhaps everyone.
Look at those who have done nothing till it's too late to be reasonable.
Angry crowd attacks suspected serial killers outside Indian court
The Associated Press
Published: January 25, 2007
NEW DELHI: An angry crowd outside an Indian courthouse severely beat a wealthy man and his servant on Thursday after they attended a court hearing on charges of raping, killing and dismembering more than 20 women and children.
Television footage showed the crowd, including some lawyers, attacking and punching the suspects before police reinforcements arrived and formed a protective cordon around them.
India's top federal crime agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, took over the investigation from local police, who were accused of failing to properly pursue reports of missing children from a nearby slum.
Above is the way it might be if we do nothing but wait for others to act for us, till we devolve into a mob of angry men and women fed up with the continuous lies and phantasies of sentimentalists and cynics. We need public honesty and decent people meeting openly to say "Enough!" We need you to come and sit with us. I am blessed, and you can increase my blessing and make our shared world a better place simply by sitting with us. It is good; and the result of doing nothing is too terrible to contemplate. Join us as we enter this second year of our Blue Revolution. Join us, friend.
We meet each Thursday evening at the Vancouver Public Library in the atrium outside Blenz coffee bar from 7-9:00 pm. Join us. We want to know you. The world needs you. And it's good to be with friends.
- Thu. Jan. 25, 03:04:00 p.m. PST


text:
|(from the bizarre album)
And there it was, in all its immensity. When I ported to the center of the sim, things didn't even have to fully rez in before I knew where I was headed. It's monolithic. It's immense. It's beyond huge.
|(from the bizarre album)
Thankfully, I don't get pregnant that easily.
|(from the bizarre album)
The mariachi offerings still make me headtilt. I didn't realize there was a demand for mariachi performers in SL.
|(from the bizarre album)
Apparently, only people with the most up-to-date equipment and fastest internet connections should adopt babies from her monolithic tower. That leaves out...most of the grid, actually.
|(from the bizarre album)
Some of the precious treasures referenced above. While Miss Karu does state that any baby can be made neko, mermaid, vampire, undead or multi-hued at the touch of the HUD, she doesn't say that even with that level of customization, they all...pretty much...look like this.
|(from the bizarre album)
And then the copyright infringement started! First with Shrek and Fiona (and it's a good thing, Jenia, you picked a Dreamworks project; Disney's lawyers tend towards the feral)...
|(from the bizarre album)
...and then with wee li'l Na'vi bébés to boot. (But then, why am I surprised? It seems like a third of the grid, easy, wants to be Na'vi in every detail.)
Now, to her credit, she's been running this business for two years, apparently. And she's not new; she's been kicking around the grid since 2008. More to the point, she's fully committed to working with Mikela Isle's Estate Manager to relocate her--and that stunningly bright, overlarge tower (seven floors! not kidding!)--from Mikela's commercial, partially themed property to one of Solace's light-covenant parcels, where things like the Carrot Monolith won't necessarily stand out. So much.
I mean, it'll stand out. That thing is designed to stand out. Just...not as obviously on a light-covenant sims, where the rules are pretty relaxed about what can--and can't--sit on the sim.
I'll let you know where she moves.
In the meantime, from SL architecture to RL architecture, how does living in a fortress appeal? Apparently, to those Warsaw natives, it appeals just fine. Clean lines (though admittedly blocky construction) and lots of glass give an open-air feel when the house is open; but it closes up tight like a solid concrete brick when it's closed. Defensible? Absolutely. Pretty? In spots. But it's built so sturdily that even a tank would find it difficult to break in. Which may be the point, honestly...
And I am doing my best to angle for this mug set. The beauty of that one is they'd look just as good on a bookshelf, than as a mug set in the kitchen!
At least...until they're filled with beverages that should likely be kept farther away from the books...
Lastly, from the depths of the spam folder, I thought this was too amusing not to mention:
From: NENA (email@example.com)
To: prashantkpatel (email@example.com)
Date: Jun 22
I am someone's perfect girl.
I hoard books.
I read news all the time.
I subscribe to several magazines and newspapers, not because I have time to
read all of them, but because I like to think I do.
I'm a self-described coffee and cupcake addict.
I'm not an alcoholic, but I do love good beer, good wine and a good time.
I go to plays and musicals because I love them.
I dance because it's fun.
I sing because that's just what I do.
I kind of hate modern art (something my friends like to poke at when they
bring me to various museums).
I overanalyze Lost. I sing along to Glee. I wish I worked at the Buy More.
I'm a nerd, in the "Star Wars is awesome, Star Trek is too, and I think I'd
like Battlestar Galactica if I ever got around to watching it" way.
I Love Harry Potter. No, seriously. Love. Capital "L."
I'm probably the biggest sap you'll ever meet.
I find kids and babies adorable. I don't want my own any time soon, but I
do want them.
I like pretty things. Shoes. Photographs. Pieces of furniture.
I don't like cats because I'm allergic, but I can't wait for the day that I
can get a puppy.
I'm living the dream when it comes to my career, but even I know that
there's something more I need to strive for. I just have to figure out what
that is.
I love baseball and college football, but fair warning, I'm didn't grow up
on the East Coast, so I probably don't like your team(s).
I'm not hot. Pretty, sure. Cute, yes. Hot, not so much. And I'm OK with
My profile is [not included and pretty much unnecessary to mention]
I'm really not sure who this is supposed to be targeting, in all honesty, because the title of this 'dating' pitch?
submisive men seduce me
Ooookay then. So if your thing is geeky under-educated quirky pet-yearning sentimental cupcake-loving cute sports fans, wau, does NENA have your number. Write Jieff--er, I mean, NENA--today!


text:
I love the Playstation 2. In fact I would go as far to say as it is my favorite videogame console. Even today I'm continuing to find worthwhile games to play on and I'm comfortable in the knowledge that there's many more I still need to get around to. It hasn't always been this great though as like most console launches the PS2's was pretty dire. Sure there were quite a few games but most of them really didn't hold up well beyond the first month let alone several years later. Evergrace just happens to be one of those titles.
It's obvious you know where this is going and I actually apologize for doing this piece as I don't particularly enjoy looking at bad games. Sure some writers enjoy talking about things of poor quality since it allows them the chance to use all of their snarkiest comments and really show off but I'm just not interested in that. I was aware when I bought Evergrace that it wasn't all that great but I chalked it up to people simply being disappointed that at first the PS2's library wasn't all that and a bag of chips. While every game has a chance of reviewing worse now than it did when it came out I was still willing to give this game the benefit of a doubt.
The second lowest rating I can give a game is "In-offensive". If a game is in-offensive that means it does nothing great, good, or even passable but it's extremely easy and features some compelling idea that makes the player want to stick around despite all faults. These games tend to have a solid concept but something major was lost or never worked out in the design phase so the development team simply glossed over it and made the game so easy that gamers wouldn't have anything to complain about..or so they assume. One of the benefits of this generation is that since development costs are so high most companies can't afford to do any worse than in-offensive. Evergrace however does not qualify for an in-offensive rating.
The game starts off with a man & a woman teleported to some strange new world. You start the game as either one of them and can switch between them at the multitude of savepoints placed around the world. The man is better at close-range combat while the woman has mastery of the bow & arrow. The goal is to solve minor puzzles, kill monsters, move the story along, and maybe fight a few bosses. Most importantly however is the dress-up system. By finding pieces of armor or buying them in the store the player can dress their character up in all kinds of wacky outfits in order to increase their stats. There's no real way to level-up aside from collecting certain fruits so most of the time you'll be killing respawning creatures to raise money to buy/upgrade your outfits as well as weapons. Almost all of the equipment has some sort of elemental affinity applied to it to encourage swapping for whatever encounter that comes next.
While there is some variety to the settings the world of Evergrace is very tiny and linear. The path to the next area is always very obvious and the only difficulty from the puzzles comes from how obtuse some of them are. Despite the 3D graphics the game doesn't really do anything that couldn't have been pulled off by some older action-rpg like Crystalis on the NES. Aside from the deeper equipment system there's not anything this game does that couldn't be done just as well on much older hardware.
The combat in this game is extremely simple. There are a number of abilities that are unlocked via upgrading equipment but for the most they don't really matter. All you have to do is walk up to an enemy and hit them until they die. This is tempered somewhat by a stamina gauge that fills up in-between strikes. Though you can hit the enemy before the gauge fills up entirely it will result in less damage and possibly the enemy deflecting the blow. Several enemies can guard as well but they fall just as easily if you wait for them to strike(on-screen indicators actually pop up when the enemy is about to attack). While you're just as susceptible to damage you can carry up to 9 healing potions that restore your life entirely. These are cheap, typically found off enemy corpses, and can be bought from any save crystal. All of the elements are in place for an in-offensive game but as I mentioned before Evergrace doesn't fit that criteria.
The biggest failing or falling I could say is the game's usage of instant-death pits. Evergrace was developed by From Software. I'll be talking more about them in future reviews since while their output is all over the place in terms of quality they really shine at providing a unique experience. One standard found in nearly all From titles is the rule that if you fall off a cliff you'll die instantly. This first came up in their breakthrough King's Field series so it's only natural that it would make an appearance in other games. Evergrace handles them terribly however. It's not enough that the characters can't jump but while they're given a hover skill it can't be used to cross any chasms. In fact as soon as you step off a cliff you will drop like a rock...shot out of a cannon. This wouldn't be such a big deal either except as you progress the levels start to include more pits to fall in. My breaking point was this fire area with lava everywhere, monsters that shot projectiles designed solely to knock people into pits, and worst of all not completely clear spots where the player must drop down from a higher place to the ground below to continue.
In-offensive games are really only worthwhile when there are no other games to play. When I mean no other games I literally mean no other games. As you might remember this is how I managed to get through Mazes of Fate not too long ago. Evergrace would have been in the same boat since despite my substantial library of games I would have continued to play it until I finished it. However the prevalence of terribly-designed insta-death sections was more than enough to knock a bit of sense in my head and remind me that it's not always worth the trouble to complete such a game just to give my thoughts on it. I apologize for denying everyone out there a detailed look at a horrendous game but that's just how it goes.
I didn't complete the game and I have no intention of doing so. If you're somebody who feels wronged by my treatment of this game because you played through it then feel free to let me know. It won't change my thoughts on this game but it would be interesting to know when you played through it.
I paid probably $4 including shipping for this game from somebody off of ebay so in the end it doesn't really matter what I say as Evergrace's time has already passed long ago. There was a sequel but it never saw release outside of Japan so it isn't really on my radar. Sure I could import it if I felt like it but the original is just a bad game. This is an even better reason to consider importing as From probably fixed the biggest problem with the title and improved the other aspects to make at least a better game than the last. In the end though I guess I'm just not in the mood and I've got far too many games as it is.
I just noticed that Evergrace 2 is available in the US under the name Forever Kingdom. I should have figured as such since From Software is behind both games and they both feature equipment sub-systems. Forever Kingdom also introduces a bizarre system where the player controls three people and if one of them takes damage the other two are damaged as well. I'm not sure why but I kind of want to give this a shot even though it's probably due to morbid curiousity more than anything else.


text:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
There is a movie out now which was sadly promoted on Valentine's Day supposedly about love but in fact it is a very 'dark' unedifying film. It made me think about darkness in general. Our world is definitely 'dark' but there is hope springing forth as we are not to give up to the darkness.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against Satan who would like to captivate and capture everyone he can. He can do it in subtle and not so subtle ways, Hollywood movies and television being one way. Making something evil legal is another method. Re-education of children in colleges and schools or through movies is also a way. The enemy is tricky. He hates the truth and there is no good in him.
The way to counteract the enemy is to beat him at his game. Pray for those who may be under his spell and resist the truth. Stay in the Bible. When you are tempted to feed your mind on stuff to get you 'informed' but instead become upset, get away and alone with God and read the Bible. Start in the book of John in the New Testament. Decide what is more important, the stress of being upset and angry or the truth in God's word
PRAYER: I need to resist the enemy and he will flee. I pray for an awakening not only in the United States but throughout the world to the truth in the Bible. Help me answer those who may oppose me in a gentle way. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Click link to list the Focus on the Family movie review site entitled Plugged In. www.pluggedin.com


text:
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Christmas stuff
So... now I'm making some stuff for Christmas. Sweet little bunnies and cats in festive colours. I've sold one already but things are slow at the moment. I've had a couple of custom orders, one for my niece and one for a friend. I'm quietly impressed with myself as the latter is Echo from Ben 10 and I've had to push my understanding of increases and decreases to achieve the result I want and it seems to be working :)
I will hopefully be setting up a website to sell my work in a few weeks, hopefully that will generate a little more interest :)
The ring cushion was for one of my longest and best friends, Donna Mills (aka LadyTwiglet). She had a joint Zombie wedding in Manchester on November 1st. It was a long day but fantastic! The pattern isn't mine, but I did adapt it a little by using two strands of DK to achieve a chunky size thus making the heart larger. If anyone recognizes the pattern, thank you so much!
Update link to Heart ring cushion pattern http://freeamigurumipatterns.blogspot.com/ love it ^-^
Posted by RainbowGrrrl at 02:45
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