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A Straight Talk on Debt gives you the real deal on debt, straight from our employees and industry insiders. Learn more about our debt relief plans and important industry updates.
A Debt Relief Plan is not for everyone and there are several things to consider before enrolling in one.
The marketplace has many options for Debt Relief Providers and often consumers struggle to make sure they are comparing apples to apples.
With options such as; Credit Counseling, Debt Management, Debt Settlement, and Bankruptcy it is difficult to ensure that the same type of plan is being compared from one provider to the next.
Here are a few questions that consumers should ask before entering any agreement with a Debt Relief Provider to ensure they select a provider that is best for them.
1. How many different plans do you offer? To ensure you are offered the solution that is best for your situation, make sure the company you are reviewing offers a full suite of Debt Relief options. Look for a company that can offer a range of options to ensure that your situation is matched to the best plan, not the other way around. There are three options available; Debt Management, Debt Settlement and Bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a legal option that requires the advice of an attorney and is a last resort to overcome an extreme financial situation; the impact to your credit can last much longer compared to the other options. For some people this is the best choice so it is important that it is taken into consideration and the provider can refer you to an attorney for Bankruptcy services if it is the best option for you. Most providers also offer credit counseling, the practice of offering counseling from a certified credit counselor that is tailored to your financial situation. Credit counseling should be available for free, regardless of whether you sign up for a debt relief plan.
2. What is your rating and track record with the Better Business Bureau? This is important as the BBB acts as an advocate for consumers to resolve disputes, facilitate communication, and provide information on ethical business practices. If the company has a poor rating or you see unresolved complaints, look for another provider. CareOne works very hard to maintain our A+ BBB rating which was earned after years of service in the debt relief industry. Make sure the company you select doesn't give customers the cold shoulder when an issue arises with their account. To check a company's BBB rating, click here.
3. Are your credit counselors certified? If someone is providing you advice and counseling on how best to manage your debt, make sure you are speaking with a certified financial counselor. Certified counselors helps ensure that the person you are speaking to is up to date on the latest standards and is held accountable for their practices and actions.
4. Are you licensed to do business in my state? To check if the company is licensed and authorized to provide services in your state do a search for "licensed debt management companies" and "your state" and "licensed debt settlement companies" and "your state". Within the results you are looking for a state website with the domain ".us" or ".gov".
5. Is your agency certified to ISO standards? ISO is a series of standards used internationally to develop a quality management system that establishes the processes needed to ensure customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.Companies that adhere to these standards are more likely to provide consistent high quality service.
6. Do you receive "fair share" payments from creditors? Many Debt Management companies accept a payment from creditors called "fair share". Check with the company you are investigating to make sure that they are truly your advocate and can be objective when dealing with your creditors. This payment is most commonly accepted by non-profit providers. If the company accepts a "fair share" payment the FTC requires that it be disclosed that a dual-relationship exists with the creditor and the consumer. This is typically disclosed in the client agreement. CareOne has taken a stand to not accept "fair share" payments from creditors because we believe that accepting payments from a creditor compromises our ability to act solely as an advocate for our customers.
7. Will I receive all contracts and disclosures in writing? A documented paper trail is essential with any financial transaction. In the case of Debt Relief you want to receive a good faith estimate of costs and cancellation policy associated with the plan.
8. How will enrolling in your company's plan affect my credit? What you are looking for here is an honest answer. Ask the counselor how the debt relief plan you are considering will affect your credit. If they tell you they can remove negative marks on your credit report, it is a huge red flag. Legally, negative marks on your credit history can only be removed after a seven year period is over. There are pros and cons to both Debt Management and Debt Settlement. It will depend on your situation as to which is the best for you; based on your previous payment history, amount owed, household income levels, household expenses and the potential impact to your financial profile.
9. How will my payments be made to my creditors? Depending on the option that is best for you there is a big difference in whether or not your creditors receive monthly payments. Make sure you understand the difference between how payments are handled in a Debt Management plan versus Debt Settlement.
10. Can you provide me with real customer experiences? These can be invaluable in making your decision; reading the pros and cons of others experiences can help you see if this is the right choice for you. Look for an online community where you can post a question and hear directly from customers on what they have experienced. Also, beware of an online community with only positive posts and no negative posts. This suggests the company is filtering information by deleting anything negative. This raises questions that they may have something to hide.
11. What other tools and resources do you offer to keep me on track and help me maintain success once I've finished my plan? Enrolling in a Debt Relief Plan is one of the first steps to changing credit habits, but it is critical to have access to tools and resources that will help you to make lifetime changes in order to prevent falling back into the same habits. Utilizing resources like an online community where you can speak openly about debt, motivational blog posts, monthly newsletters, and on-going tools and tips increase your chances of long-term success.
Entering into a Debt Relief Plan is a commitment and like any major financial decision it requires thorough consideration. Consumers should make sure they know what they are signing up for and that the company they are trusting to help them get out of debt has a good reputation and is committed to protecting their rights while providing the tools needed for success.
Did I miss anything? What tips would you provide someone who is in debt and researching Debt Relief Providers? Please share your ideas in the comments section!
Want to comment and don't see the comment box? Just log in!
Related Posts:
How Can I Pay off my Debt?
The Debt Management Plan Proposal Process
I knew I had to get out of Debt When….
I just signed up for a DMP after speaking with a debt counselor. After reading some of these blogs, I just want to verify a couple things and at this point not sure exactly if this is the right spot to do so, but will try.
We were making are payments on time and have not fallen behind at this point. We checked into this because we did not qualify for a home loan due to income to debt ratio. This plan seemed a good way to get these balances cleared up a bit faster but in doing so I did not want to be negatively effected to badly. I understood signing up that the credit score would be effected due to closing of my credit accounts but from what I have read so far this could be effected even more so than that.
I also noticed that the notices have yet to be accepted by the creditors and the next plan payments will be lower than minimum. If they do not accept and that lower payment is all that is made would that not even hurt me more so.
We would still like to be able to buy a home within the next year and I am hoping that this program will not make this an impossible desire.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Hi John,
Thank you for your question regarding your credit. These questions are asked very often and we like to provide the best information we can. Enrolling in a credit counseling plan can have a negative effect on your credit and limit your ability to acquire new credit while you are enrolled. While nothing can be done to fix a poor credit history, by focusing on making timely payments on your existing debt, your financial situation will improve. If you are looking for more information regarding your credit profile you can visit any of the following credit bureau sites.
www.experian.com www.equifax.com www.transunion.com
Best of luck with your plan!
Oftentimes when a family is faced with medical debt the added expense pushes them over the edge financially. Many of us are over-leveraged financially and not in a position to fall back on emergency savings or even credit cards to pay the bills incurred
We hear "experts" clamor daily about the importance of communication. Communication with your children, employer, and spouse are all very important for various reasons. I had always viewed myself as a great communicator. I tell my family I love them every
I've changed my mind and going a different way.Sorry for wasting your time,Thank you for information.
We are taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course. I believe the answer is in process thru completing this course. We don't want to file bankruptcy again, although our income is nothing compared to what it was six years ago. My hustand is disable and I am unemployed. We have lost our home, vehicles and I do not have health insurance. We got to come out from under this mess that we have gotten ourselves into. So, I believe that once begain to budget and follow Dave's plan, the Lord is going to bless us to be debt free.
Debt Settlement is a debt relief option for those who can no longer keep up with their payments and want to avoid bankruptcy.
hi, i need help with my past due accounts and late payments. I got a call from someone who wa telling me "you will go to jail, things you own will be taken, if you are working-you will lose your job and so forth. I tried to get his name, telephone number and last, I said send it to me in writing so I can get someone to help me. He refused.
explain briefly the ins & outs of debt settlement only- the how to exactly?
Does the program consider payday loans as debt?
@denise, There has been a recent policy change and PayDay Loans are now considered. Please contact Customer Care at 1-800-CARE123 and a representative will be able to verify if your particular loan is eligible.
@gre, For customers who are unable to afford the Debt Management Plan we offer an alternative, Debt Settlement which requires 2 accounts with a total of $7500. Under this plan you have agreed that you are no longer able to afford paying your creditors, either on your own, or through a CareOne DMP. Instead your monthly payment is deposited into an escrow account. As that account builds value, an experienced team of negotiators contacts your creditors in an attempt to work out more favorable repayment terms, which can either be a single lump sum payment or multiple monthly payments. The monthly payment is based specifically on your budget, and acceptance of a settlement offer can vary on the amount of your monthly payment, the rate at which your escrow fund builds value, and the creditors. Your creditors will not receive a monthly payment.
Debt settlement works and it does take time and patience. We have several resources to help you be successful on the plan:
We have several guides to help you as well please see
Coach Tammy
Do you offer help with credit card loan with low credit scores?
Well according to me the planning of debt should be given from childhood so that children's should know how to manage and face it. The main reason for people being drowning into debt is lack of awareness and management skills. Managing finance is an art and not everyone is been specialized in it, but there are options for people who are in debt and can consult expert in getting help from debt.
What fees are required for this program? How much is this program to start?


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Home | News | For Teachers | For Learners | About | Contact | Sitemap | Spelling Blog
Remedial Spelling in EFL
Copyright © Johanna Stirling 2003
(for spelling practice activities click here)
(My book on Teaching Spelling to English Language Learners, info here)
This report will focus on the difficulties that some learners experience with spelling, particularly those whose general language level markedly exceeds that of their writing. As this often applies to Arabic students, we will explore their specific problems.The report sets out detailed recommendations for the teaching of spelling in various situations. It is arranged as follows:
Specific Problems for Arabic Speakers
What is Involved in Learning to Spell?
Suggestions for Teaching Spelling in General English Classes
Suggestions for Teaching Spelling in Low Level Reading and Writing Classes
I want you to teatch me how I can make my spilling moor beater. I prames you that I will do my best.
It was such cris de coeur that persuaded me that I needed to find out more about how to teach spelling to our EFL students, especially those whose oral and aural skills are considerably better than their written ones.(The quote above comes from a student who coped well in an upper intermediate class, until he had to write, that is.) Although poor spelling is not their only obstacle to better writing, it is a stubborn one that I feel is often brushed over. Many of these students, are intending to go on to British universities. They needto be able to spell. As a teacher I felt that it was an area that I knew very little about and one that is all but ignored in EFL literature. I confess I have been guilty of the worst kind of 'teaching': telling students that they are not very good at something and then not being able to really help them to improve. Colleagues expressed similar feelings of helplessness and guilt.
In the course of this project I researched EFL literature and materials on spelling, but also looked briefly at how spelling is taught to children in schools and to adults in Basic Education schemes (Adult Literacy). I interviewed some of our students at Bell Norwich who consider that they either are or have been poor spellers. Teachers also filled in a questionnaire on the subject.
The problem for students
First let us consider how students perceive the problem. I interviewed 7 students who confessed to being or having been poor spellers. Five of these were Arabs, the other two were from the Far East. All the students I interviewed claimed that spelling was no problem in their own language and they did believe that their English spelling was improving, but nearly all felt that considerable further improvement was essential. The main reason given was to be able to cope with future academic study in Britain.
Let us consider for a moment why we need to be able to spell well, in both academic and everyday life.
Accepting these reasons, my students complained that English spelling was so difficult. They perceived it as not representing the pronunciation of words; there are silent letters, and so many different ways to spell one sound (and ways to sound one spelling). This cannot be denied. Invaders from abroad and early printers have bequeathed us odd remnants of language that we have assimilated. We also have a rather inadequate alphabet, only 26 letters for about 44 sounds. However, English spelling is not as irregular as it at first seems, in fact it is generally estimated to be over 80 per cent regular (providing 'regular' is taken to mean that most words are constructed according to a rather complicated system of patterns relating to their sounds). Frustratingly however, it is the commonest words which are most likely to be irregular.
Another difficulty that relates specifically to learners of EFL is not being able to identify pronunciation distinctly enough to spell words. This is a particular problem with vowel sounds and other sounds that do not have direct equivalents in students' own language e.g. /p/ and /b/, /l/ and /r/, or /f/ and /v/.
There are added problems of course for students whose languages use a different alphabet or have a non-alphabetic system, such as Arabic, Japanese and Chinese. They have a great deal more to learn than those who also use the Roman alphabet, but the latter also have problems where a letter has a different sound value, eg in German the letter v = /f/. Those with very phonetic languages such as Italian may over generalise about spelling based on phonetics.
Sometimes we cannot blame the language or the L1 difference, some students are just weak spellers. Margaret Peters, writing about native speakers, identifies two reasons for poor spelling, weak visual memory and weak auditory memory, and compares these with the performance of good spellers: [i]
Peters also identifies 5 kinds of error that poor spellers often make:
Specific problems of Arabic Speakers
aspects of writing in English cause major problems for Arabic speakers,
and they should not be expected to cope with
reading and writing at the same level or pace as European
students who are at a similar level of proficiency in oral English." [iii]
Arabic spelling follows a simple system and is virtually phonetic. One sound equals one letter. Arabic has 32 consonants and 8 vowels (including diphthongs), so a lot fewer vowel sounds than English and the short ones are almost allophonic. Meaning is carried by consonants and long vowels only. Arabic words never start with a vowel. In fact vowels are often not shown in Arabic writing (except for example in the Koran and in books for children). When they are shown this is by means of small marks above or below the word. For this reason Arabic speakers tend to confuse or gloss over short vowel sounds and as a consequence have problems writing them. The most common confusions are between /I/ and /e/ (bit and bet), / Q / and / O: / (cot and caught) , /eI/ and /e/ (laid and led) and /@U / and /Q / (hope and hop). If students cannot distinguish between these sounds orally and aurally they are unlikely to be able to write them. As far as consonants are concerned /p/ and /b/ are allophonic as are /v/ and /f/. /g/ and /k/ are often confused and / T / and /D/ (thin and that) may cause problems. In some dialects there is no / tS / 'ch' sound. In Arabic the /r/ is pronounced much more strongly so they may not hear it in English and therefore not write it. Some initial consonant clusters such as 'spr', 'str' do not occur in Arabic and students may insert a short vowel letter.
They also have the challenge of reading from left to right and when writing they may transpose two or more letters e.g. 'tow' for 'two' or 'waht' for 'what'. In addition, students often experience problems keeping their writing on the line, which makes it more difficult to recognise if the word is the correct shape.
The aspects of spelling that the Arab students I interviewed said they found particularly difficult were:
§ all vowel sounds,
§ /p/ and /b/,
§ double/single letters,
§ digraphs (eg -ch, -ph "in my language c is c and h is h!"),
§ silent letters,
§ the letters g, c and k.
The problem for teachers
Several Bell Norwich teachers answered a questionnaire on how we could help students with spelling.
Most teachers felt they did not or could not give enough systematic help to weak spellers, as a result some students reach a high level class without being able to spell. Several very experienced teachers admitted that they did not know how to go about teaching remedial spelling (myself included). Teachers felt strongly that they needed more training in this area. There was also a need, many felt, for more self-access materials, though it was pointed out that sometimes the students with the most serious problems were the least likely to use them. The idea of special low-level reading and writing options was also felt to be useful. One further suggestion was displaying posters with spelling rules on classroom walls.
What's involved in learning to spell?
In order to be able to spell well a number of language processing skills are needed.
1. Students need to know the alphabet and sounds that letters represent, discriminate between similar looking letters and be able to copy.
2. Students need to be able to hear and probably pronounce the word they want to spell. However research suggests that deaf children spell better than hearing children of the same reading age as they rely more on strategies of visual perception. This is encouraging news for our students as poor listening is seen as a handicap to spelling.
3. Then learners have to remember the phonemes in the right order and the which letters represent those phonemes. They have to call to mind 'rules' about spelling patterns. Good spellers recognise the probability of letters occurring in certain sequences. Plenty of handwriting practice reinforces the 'muscle memories' of these letter sequences.
4. If the phonemes can be represented by alternative spellings learners have to decide which to choose for a particular word and learn these.
5. There may be irregularities, such as silent letters, that they need to learn. These spellings just have to be memorised, an onerous task as they include many of the most common words. Students therefore need to employ strategies to remember these just as they remember names, perhaps symbols in their own written language (eg Chinese) or any other information.
6. They often need to think about associated words they know with the same root or a similar meaning and be able to consider the affixes separately. In other words students need to learn to look at the internal structure of words.
7. The appropriate spelling of homophones is needed for the context: Too is a correct spelling of /tu:/ but not in I have too brothers.
Most of the Arabs I spoke to said that they had learnt spelling in their own countries by memorisation rather than any rules or cognitive strategies. One Japanese student said she had had a similar experience but when a private teacher had later explained some rules to her, her spelling improved greatly. Experience suggests that we mainly spell by memorisation but refer to rules we have learnt when we cannot remember. This seems to be the key to learning spelling.
Suggestions for Teaching Spelling in General English Classes.
A multilingual general English class usually comprises a mix of learners with different levels of spelling and varying needs. So below I will outline some general methodological hints I have gleaned from my research that we might usefully apply to all classes.
Suggestions for Teaching Spelling in Low Level Reading and Writing Classes.
All the points above should be borne in mind, but as there will be a much greater emphasis on developing spelling skills and assuming that all the students in the class struggle with English spelling, here are some further points to consider.
Some specific areas of study
In conclusion then we can see that although there are plenty of problems facing our students when it comes to spelling, there is also valuable help that we can give them. We must first endeavour to identify and understand their problems and recognise that we can teach them to develop this important skill. A wide range of strategies for improving spelling should be introduced. To back this up we can show that there is some degree of regularity to the patterns that we find in English words, although the students will meet a disproportionate number of irregular spelling in very common words. These patterns or 'rules' can be taught as a fallback for when other strategies fail. While unfortunately there is rather a shortage of material for teaching spelling in EFL, we can employ and adapt many of the techniques we use in other areas of our work to enliven spelling lessons and make them more effective. Some of the methodology and techniques can be used with general English classes to teach spelling more explicitly to all. There are many more which will be of great use with low level writing classes, where development of spelling skills is a priority and more time can be devoted to it.
This, coupled with guidance in how to use effective self-access materials, shows our students that we take their spelling problems seriously and that they can overcome this obstacle to their progress and ambitions.
[i] Peters M, Spelling: Caught or Taught (Revised) Routledge and Keegan Paul 1985
[ii] Ibid
[iii] Swan M and Smith B, Learner English CUP 1987
If you found this article useful, you will like my new book, coming soon:
For more information about the forthcoming book
Please help me to raise money for The Afghan Reading Project. It won't cost you anything. If you go to Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com through a link on this site (like the one above) Amazon pay a commission on anything you buy. All money raised will go to The Afghan Reading Project . So why not bookmark this page and call it 'Amazon' - then you won't forget. Thank you.

subset: commoncrawl


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- Address: 200 Old Palisade Road, #11E, Fort Lee, NJ 07024, USA
- Asking Price: $888,000
- Bedrooms: 2
- Bathrooms: 2 Full Baths, 1 Powder Room
- Office Number: 201-741-4999
Beautiful 2-floor duplex with stunning panoramic views of New York City & the Hudson River throughout every room. First floor includes large entry foyer and kitchen with marble floors, formal dining and living rooms, solarium, powder room and separate laundry. Second floor master suite featuring large walk-in closet and private balcony with stunning views of New York City and the Hudson River. Master bath boasts Jacuzzi tub, separate steam shower and double vanity sinks. Building amenities include fitness center, sauna, steam room, pool with hot tub, a separate children's pool, barbecue area, valet parking, 24-hr doorman and on-site building management office. Unit comes with two deeded parking spaces.


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Distribution Solutions
To be successful, you need to seize new opportunities, deliver multiple formats and be first to market where and when new demand materializes. You want fast access to those pockets of viewers, wherever they may be.
IntelsatOne Terrestrial Network
Media: Embracing New Markets, New Formats
The media sector of today is hardly recognizable from a decade ago. There are few businesses that have embraced globalization to the extent of the media …Read More
Spotlight on Distribution Applications
Whether you're seeking a broader regional audience or looking to create a new global distribution network, when you partner with Intelsat you can:
- Immediately reach Broadcast and Cable systems worldwide
- Efficiently implement Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT)
- Rapidly launch and grow your Direct-to-Home (DTH) business
Contribution Solutions
Whether you are broadcasting live events or backhauling production content between studios, contribution links are critical to your success.
Investing for a C-band Future
Intelsat's Commitment to C-band in Asia By Hazem Moakkit, Vice President of Spectrum Strategy, Intelsat For over 40 years customers worldwide have relied on C-band …Read More
Disaster Recovery
As the complexity of media networks increases, so do the potential points of failure. In the unfortunate event of an outage, you can seamlessly restore your network and services via satellite.
The State of Global Broadband Connectivity
While it may seem like everyone has 24/7/365 broadband connectivity, it's far from reality for many parts of the world. There are still vast populations …Read More


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MIT Climate CoLab: Crowd-Sourcing Global Warming Solutions
MIT's Climate CoLab aims to construct an effective democratic consensus on how best to address global warming across the international community. In other words, it's perhaps the most powerful and ambitious effort yet to crowd-source climate solutions. The short video above does a more interesting (and more succinct) job of explaining how the CoLab works than I can, so check it out. But think Linux meets Reddit (or some other democratic social media site) meets a friendly online competition to solve the climate crisis, and you'll have some idea of how the CoLab works.
Anyone can sign up and submit ideas or lend your opinions to what's essentially an elaborate online discussion thread for climate issues. Last year, the overarching topic was "What international climate agreements should the world community make?". This year, it's "How should the 21st century economy evolve bearing in mind the risks of climate change?" The discussion takes the form of a 'contest', as the users that submit the most successful ideas receive the opportunity to present their work to the real-world U.N. Here are some of the proposals currently undergoing discussion.
So, members posit ideas, which are then debated on the thread by other members. Scientists and policy experts then weigh in on the ideas, as do other members of the CoLab (which, fittingly, happens to be short for Collaboratorium) community. The most roundly-agreed upon ideas, and those that are most scientifically and politically sound, get 'rated up'.
Then, this being MIT and all, the CoLabbers take it one step further: they actually model the top ideas using advanced software. According to MIT, "Open modeling, or simulation modeling, projects the likely impact of actions proposed to address climate change in the CoLab. The system makes use of the many existing models of the physical and human systems that effect climate. The CoLab will also pioneer a new approach for extending and developing these models, radically open modeling."
In other words, you get to see an extremely advanced estimation of the real-world impact the crowd's policy solutions would have.
From start to finish, it's an extremely interesting process, and one that has a potential to yield the sort of big ideas that we need more of in the climate debate. And, as far as I can tell, it could most significantly benefit from some good PR, in order to get as many people involved as possible. Hence, this post, and a Treehugger partnership of sorts -- we'll be posting on the best ideas here, and featuring an interview with the winner of the contest. So stay tuned.
Follow the Utopianist on Twitter and Facebook.
More on Crowd-Sourcing Climate Solutions
Crowdsourcing the Most Energy-Efficient Life
Crowd - Sourcing Solutions to Plastic-Filled Oceans


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...The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well....Down, down, down...
...and all around me was a blur. One day, one week, one month, all one muddled lapse of time filled with little sense and less reason, all for a muddled purpose...
...here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.
Twice as fast as that.
The end.
It has been one year. One year since we left an established life and complicated our already complicated life in search of something. I still don't know exactly what I'm searching for. It has felt like a Wonderland search for madness. And time has moved in Wonderland speed. Months have passed and yet I'm sure that I might at any minute wake up under a tree from a lovely nap having found that no time has passed at all.
In one sense, I have done exactly what I came here to do. I have made connections and gained experiences. I have grown as an artist and a writer. I have been pushed and pulled into something new. As my feet start to search for solid ground, I can look back up the rabbit-hole and see that I have come a very long way toward something.
In another sense, I feel as if I have lost a year of relationships. I feel alone. I severely underestimated the value of community. I need Mad Hatter tea parties and coffee with friends. For this reason, I would pinch myself and wake-up, back where I was a year ago, if I could.
Then again, I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.
So here we are. School is coming to an end. I have done what I came here to do. And, the question that everyone wants answered is, what now? I wish that I knew. I am just moving forward. At a slightly altered pace. Racing toward an ill-defined end is exhausting. And I have missed far too much beauty as I've run twice as fast as I can possibly run just to to go somewhere that I can't even see. Yet a path must be chosen. Decisions must be made. We can't stay exactly here. This exact spot fits exactly none of us. So what now?
Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.
'I don't know," Alice answered.
'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
*Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll


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Lamb with Spiced Berry Sauce
Member recipe by phillipa1
ServingsServes 4
Perfect for winter entertaining, the warming spices in the sauce compliment the tender lamb.
This recipe has been submitted by the Good Food community. Sign in or create a My Good Food account to upload your own recipe creations. Please note that all recipes will be moderated but they are not tested in the Good Food kitchen.
Save to My Good Food
- · 2 racks of lamb, approx 8-12 cutlets
- · 2 shallots
- · 15g butter
- · 8tbsps Bottlegreen Spiced Berry Cordial
- · 6tbsps port
- · 100g mixed berries, i.e., redcurrants, blackberries or cranberries, any combination
- · 1tsp Dijon mustard
- 1. Preheat oven to 180c, 350f, gas mark 4. Place the rack of lamb in a roasting tin, cook for 30 minutes. Remove and brush over 2tbsps of the Spiced Berry Cordial as a glaze, return to the oven for approx 15 minutes, 5 minutes less for pinker lamb and 5 minutes more for well done.
- 2. To make the sauce, finely chop the shallots. Heat the butter in a saucepan, gently cook the shallots until softened, add the remaining cordial and port, simmer for 5 minutes. Add the berries and Dijon mustard, heat through.
- 3. Carve the lamb into cutlets, arrange on a plate, spoon over the sauce. Serve with green beans, sugar snap peas and new potatoes.


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Have you heard of Jackson Pollock? How about Willem de Kooning? Or John Bratby?
And have you heard of Lee Krasner? How about Elaine de Kooning? Or Jean Cooke?
This year, the 17th November marks the centenary of Auguste Rodin's death. BBC Arts has looked at how Camille Claudel, for a long time thought of only as Rodin's muse and mistress, was a talented sculptor in her own right.
Camille Claudel is not, sadly, an exception: art history is full of women whose work has been obscured or belittled in the context of their male partners. The men have romped home with the accolades, the adoring critics and the household-name status, while women have had to push, shove and pray for their inclusion.
In a (small) attempt to redress the balance, here are three women artists who deserve to be brought out of their partners' shadows.
Lee Krasner
'There were the artists and then there were the "dames,"' Krasner said of the New York art scene. 'I was considered a "dame" even if I was a painter too.'
Lee Krasner was an artist working in New York from the 1940s through to the 1970s. She was a part of the Abstract Expressionist movement, though she remained slightly distanced from its core.
In 1949, Krasner and her husband – you may have heard of him – Jackson Pollock exhibited their works together, at a show called 'Artists: Man and Wife'. An Art News reviewer, Gretchen T. Munsun, wrote: 'There is a tendency among some of these wives to "tidy up" their husbands' styles. Lee Krasner (Mrs. Jackson Pollock) takes her husband's paint and enamels and changes his unrestrained, sweeping lines into neat little squares and triangles'.
It was in an environment of such comments and prejudices that Krasner spent her whole working life. Her career was largely subsumed by Pollock's and the masculine world of Abstract Expressionism; a world she was a part of, but as Pollock's wife, rather than as herself. 'There were the artists and then there were the "dames,"' Krasner said of the New York art scene. 'I was considered a "dame" even if I was a painter too.'
Krasner was instrumental in making Pollock a part of the New York art scene. In Gail Levin's biography, she chronicles how Clement Greenberg (an influential critic) would turn to Krasner for 'intellectual, wide-ranging conversations about art' – but in the press wrote exclusively about Pollock's work, ignoring Krasner's entirely.
After Pollock's death, Krasner found new artistic expression, and many critics argue this is when she produced some of her best work – including Gothic Landscape, above, made in 1961. Yet she continued to be identified more with Pollock's work than her own.
Krasner herself hasn't been forgotten. Her works are owned by major collections and fetch high prices at auction. A 1978 exhibition placed Krasner's works alongside those of Pollock and Mark Rothko, and a 1981 show titled 'Krasner/Pollock: A Working Relationship' showed how the two artists had influenced each other. Despite all of this, she will never be a household name in the way Jackson Pollock is. Ironically, his status today is partly attributable to her efforts to preserve his legacy – Krasner was always convinced of his genius and, after his death, placed his works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Pompidou Centre.
Jean Cooke
John Bratby is remembered as being at the forefront of the post-war 'kitchen sink' movement in Britain, depicting life in its messy or gloomy entirety. In 2016, Bratby was the subject of a retrospective, 'Everything but the Kitchen Sink' at the Jerwood Gallery.
Jean Cooke, Bratby's wife, has never had a retrospective, despite many critics' view that she is as talented – if not more than – her husband. It seems Bratby recognised this; he forced Jean to start signing her paintings with 'Cooke' (she had previously signed them 'Jean Bratby') when he became too jealous of her success and talent: as put in The Times' obituary: 'he feared and resented the competition she offered to his reputation as the one and only painting Bratby'. Bratby also limited the amount Cooke was 'allowed' to make art, and he would paint over her canvases carelessly when he needed one for himself. Sometimes he would slash at her canvases when he was 'displeased'.
The 120-strong collection of John Bratby's works on Art UK is full of women: Janet, Anne, Aphrodite, Gloria, Patti, Josephine. When he does paint Jean, she appears diminished, sometimes sheepish, as in Jean and Still Life in front of a Window. These images are in stark, strange contrast to the way Cooke painted herself: her self-portraits are weird, funny, interesting, and in Cooke's own word – 'mad'.
The Guardian's obituary for Cooke describes her art: 'There is a disquietingly subtle immediacy and intense sensitivity to nuances of colour in her work, which puts the viewer in mind of other notable women artists – such as Paula Modersohn-Becker and Gwen John – who similarly had to struggle to find their own voice in the face of the formidable egos of close male artistic relatives or spouses'.
Bratby's work divides opinion. He was the recipient of attention and praise when he first started getting noticed, perhaps due to the disruption he created to the art world. Jean Cooke lived and painted in his shadow, and it is a sign of her prodigious output that she is remembered at all, her work surviving against all the odds.
Elaine de Kooning
Elaine de Kooning, born Elaine Fried, moved to Manhattan in the 1930s, took lessons at the Leonardo da Vinci school, and subsequently met, took classes from, and fell in love with, a young immigrant artist named Willem de Kooning.
Elaine was as much a part of the post-war New York art scene as Willem, though she remained more focussed on people and portraiture than pure Abstract Expressionism. She developed the ability, in her paintings, to capture the essence of a person through their figure alone. In her later work, she blurred faces entirely, wanting instead to capture an individual's indefinable essence.
Elaine was personally chosen by John F. Kennedy to paint his portrait, and she created a series of huge, bright canvases depicting the president. Some of these now live in the Truman and Kennedy presidential libraries; pictured below is Elaine with former president Truman and one of the canvases. Elaine worked rapidly, in broad brushstrokes, racing up and down ladders and across her studio during the process, a restless painter for a restless president. She recounted the process in detail in a fascinating interview with Artnews.
In 2015, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D. C., held a retrospective of Elaine's work (though the director said it was a 'huge risk' given how little-known she was). Many of her paintings are owned by major American institutions. But it's safe to say that she will never have the same impact or name recognition as her husband. Willem will always be the default de Kooning.
The last word will go to the indomitable Linda Nochlin, who sadly passed away recently. Writing in Women Artists at the Millennium, she said: 'We will need all our wit and courage to make sure that women's voices are heard, their work seen and written about.'
Molly Tresadern, Art UK Content Creator and Marketer
- Last year, we looked at women artists who deserve greater recognition – including Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, who worked with her husband, the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh
- It's not just husbands that are the problem: in her lifetime, Gwen John was overshadowed by her brother, Augustus Edwin John
- In 1971, Linda Nochlin wrote the essay 'Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?'
- Nochlin was a pioneering feminist art historian who helped to re-evaluate the history of art and drew attention to overlooked women artists. You can read her obituary in the Guardian


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We supply fibreglass/grp, aluminium, liftshaft scaffolding towers for rent. Providing platform towers in %location% and around Hertfordshire, Greater london and Essex. Access towers, bridging decks & much more, our range of towers and platforms are very easy to set up, reliable & certified.
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Posted by: fay
I receive this bird and was assembled from 9W2SRS around Dec 2006. This bird had full fiber on the fuselage and balsa with covering on the wing. The wing tip also having fiber. This scale a little bit difficult to fly unless having negative (positive on JR) expo on Futaba. This scale fly like a real scale and land a little bit fast to.
To read more on this scale, please visit it's web.
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Accounting Intern
Hinge Inquirer Publications, Inc.
- Makati, Philippines3/F Media Resource Plaza, Makati, Metro Manila, PhilippinesMakatiMetro ManilaPhilippines
- Part time
Posted 4 months ago and deadline of application is on 14 Dec
Recruiter was hiring 15 days ago
Job Description
- Assist General Accountant in preparation of schedules, analysis of accounts, reconciliation of accounts in preparation for Audit for BIR and yeared Audit
- Assists Admin associate in canvassing, inventory, updating schedules
- Perform other tasks from time to time
Minimum Qualifications
- Strong analytical and planning skills;
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- Free Lunch or Snacks
Required Skills
- General Accounting
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- Internal Audit
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Preferred Courses
- Accountancy
- Accountancy Management
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Jobs Summary
- Job level
- Internship / OJT
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- Accounting and Finance
- Educational requirement
- Graduated from high school
- Recruiter response to application
- Once in a while
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- 4/F Media Resource Plaza
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- Publishing
- Vacancy
- 2 openings
- Website
- http://www.hip.ph/
Feel secure when applying: look for the verified icon and always do your research on a company. Avoid and report situations when employers require payment or work without compensation as part of their application process.
About Hinge Inquirer Publications, Inc.
Hinge Inquirer Publications, Inc. (HIP) is the multimedia content complement of the Inquirer Group of Companies (IGC). Known as the bold first-mover in the freezine space, we have seamlessly transformed our core tactile platform through integrated marketing solutions across what are digital, experiential, social and mobile platforms. Our freeziness carries the Hinge Inquirer style of storytelling, with content and visual aesthetics that captivate niche communities. We entertain audiences, share information, and tell stories to high value market segments and thriving population subsets with popular lifestyle interests. For campaigns that require undiluted brand experience, Hinge Inquirer has an active Custom Publishing Division that takes care of the entire process from ideation, production, promotion, to distribution. VISION HIP + Communities = Connections. We are the preferred name in targeted media 360 MISSION We create engaging and inspiring content and services for you, COMMUNITIES! VALUES •Teamwork We shall recognize and respect each other's ideas and opinions. We shall act in the best interest of the team – because Together Everyone Achieves More •Innovation To embed in our psyche that there is always a better way of doing things. •Integrity We shall strongly uphold ethical and professional standards without compromising our values. •Passion We become excellent — both in heart and mind in everything we do. •Sustainable Living We shall be advocates of environmentally friendly print products and seek ways to be active in the community by participating in CSR programs.


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The Pelham School District is committed to inspiring success by providing personalized, flexible, student-centered learning that utilizes a wide spectrum of instructional practices and tools that support high-order thinking and college and career ready skills. A flexible approach and environments, supportive resources and professional learning are essential to this success.
District Vision for Digital Learning
- Details


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The IT Service Desk is your front door to technology services at Sheridan. The Service Desk Team provides customer-focused service with a goal of first call resolution, regardless of the method of contact – phone, email, in-person or via our online chat feature.
|Phone, Email, Online Chat
& Remote Assistance
|In Person Support
Hours of Operation
Contact Info
Online Chat & Remote Assistance
[Mar. 20, 2020] Due to recent operational changes brought about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, effective immediately, no in-person support will be available at the IT Service counters until further notice.
Telephone, email and chat support will still be available during the times and hours indicated.
IT Service staff will only be deployed to respond to on campus, business-critical issues at the approval of their manager and in coordination with Security, OH&S and Health Centre protocols.
Sheridan students and employees can take advantage of web-based click-to-chat support sessions to get assistance with technology-related issues. [Read more about Click-to-Chat.]
Service Desk technicians can be dispatched to Sheridan classrooms and other academic spaces to provide in-person technical support. [Read more about Classroom Support.]
Service Desk technicians can be dispatched to provide in-person support to employee users in administrative or faculty offices throughout the college. [Read more about Desk-side Support.]
Short-term equipment loans for Sheridan employees and eligible students. [Read more about Equipment Loans.]
IT can provide technical support for events being held on campus. Service Desk Technicians will ensure that technology equipment is configured, tested, and ready-to-go. [Read more about Event Support.]
Sheridan employees and students can get in-person technical assistance at the Service Desk counter locations. [Read more about In-person Support.]
Remote assistance to troubleshoot software and hardware issues with user laptops and desktop computers. [Read more about remote assistance.]
Schedule a service appointment to deal with technology issues that require a bit more time and effort to address. [Read more about Service Desk Appointments.]
Laptop Readiness Sessions are drop-in sessions where students who are beginning a program that mandates the use of a laptop computer can get personal assistance connecting their laptop to Sheridan's network and installing academic software required for their program. [Read more about Training Resources.]
Sheridan's classrooms are equipped with a variety of technology tools to help support teaching and learning, including podium PCs, document cameras, media players, data projectors and classroom controls. [Read more about Classroom Technology.]
IT provides training for Sheridan faculty/instructors where they learn to utilize the classroom technology available to them in Sheridan's podium equipped classrooms. [Read more about Podium Training.]


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Advantages of Real Estate
One can look for a person who is read to buy their house with ready cash so that they can be able to make quick money. It is important for the people to look for people who will be willing to buy their houses at any time so that they can make more money and be in a position to satisfy their needs and also be able to start other projects. When a person wants to sell their houses, they should look for buyers and they can be assisted by the real estate agents to know the people who are willing to buy their houses. Therefore in this kind of business the people will always have a steady income and they will not lack some money to spend. It is important for the people to ensure that they invest wisely so that they can always go for the parts that are going to appreciate really quickly. One should always buy houses which will be easy to resell and hence the house should be in good condition.
The people should always invest their money by buying houses which will be used as a long term security. When the people own houses, they can be able to sell them in future and use the money to cater for their emergencies which they could be having. It is important for a person to ensure that they have saved their money and be able to buy a property which will appreciate within a short period of time and the people will sell it to make profits.When the people are starting their real estate business, they should always aim at making more money which will help them to develop their business and make it big.
The real estate business should be placed in a place that is strategic for most people to be able to reach in that area. It is important for the experts in the real estate to advice the clients who might need to buy the property so that they can know the best place to buy the property.They may also hook them up with the potential buyers and sellers of the houses. It is important for the people not to worry when they want to sell their houses because they can sell their houses as is to the investors and they will get ready cash. When the people are doing the transaction, it is important for them to ask for the legal documents that shows the house belongs to them.
How I Became An Expert on Properties


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Advanced Cooling Systems has been serving the Clearwater, Florida and the surrounding areas since 1999. They are a Trane Top 10 Performer, won Angie's List Super Service Award in 2016, and have an A+ rating with The Better Business Bureau. As a heating and cooling business in the humid climate of Florida, Advanced Cooling Systems provides not only the comforts of an air conditioner and heating upkeep but also ductwork and indoor air quality is on the long list of services. As endorsed Trane Specialists, they have access to the most current equipment as well as the extensive training their specialists must attend to be qualified to work on the top of the line systems.
With a client first approach, Advanced Cooling Systems is dedicated to the best quality work possible and backs it up with a 100% guarantee of service. They believe in proactivity with new and cold patrons, alike. Keeping their technicians up to date on training is merely a single step in ensuring the customer's experience is positive. Advanced Cooling Systems may have accolades, but they never take it for granted. Instead, they continue to better their customer service. They install over 1,500 systems a year and continue to improve on their mission statements and company quality. With 24/7 emergency service available, they are easily contacted by internet or phone for unexpected needs.
CLEARWATER, Florida 33765
Please enter your zip code


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The Smithsonian often reaches out to the public to help its transcription projects. The most recent is to help transcribe diaries from World War I.
The project is called Operation War Diary, and it comes from a partnership between the National Archives, the citizen science initiative Zooniverse and the Imperial War Museum in the UK. The diaries have all been scanned and posted online for citizen historians to look at and transcribe.
To participate, users just pick a diary and get started. They're then given a scanned page to classify and document. Users are asked to take notes of particular data points—the date of the entry, whether the entry lists casualties, what people it mentions, if it has a map and more.
Currently, these documents are only available in paper form. However, the Smithsonian hopes to change that by making them fully digitized! To volunteer for this important project, please see their blog post here.


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Machine condition monitoring tracks machine or asset conditions to predict mechanical wear and failure. Vibration, noise, and temperature are key state indicators. Data trends can show how to prevent unexpected failure and costly repair.
Maintenance, operations, and reliability engineers and technicians rely on condition monitoring and predictive maintenance techniques to ensure critical equipment such as turbines, generators, pumps, compressors, and motors operate more efficiently and last longer.
Industrial and commercial customers trust our solution to monitor the health and condition of their equipments and processes to ensure the reliability and efficient operation of rotating and industrial equipment.


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Before we were Rileys or Jacksons, many of us were Petersons such as the three below
It Started here with her on the right
Continues here
and here
Meet us here
Follow the link above to visit the Jacksons Rileys and Petersons
O children of those slaves who came before be ye not ashamed of the past from which you have emerged. Embrace it with all of your heart, beseech your guardian Lord that He should grant you their indelible spirit..
What ever the last name we subscribe to in the South Washington County African-American community, be it Peterson Riley or Jackson, we are one. We are of one heritage one blood, and one love of each other. Many who are either Jacksons or Rileys.
You were first Peterson. Part of the Jackson Riley blood first blended at the turn of the twentieth century. Albeit, the Peterson name has never been included in the family gathering. The Riley name has virtually disappeared from the faily landscapewith so few male children being born to the Riley men, the Riley name has diminished greatly over the last scores.
On Christmas day 1883, the union or Rosa Peterson and Cyphron Riley began. Rosa was the daughter of Joseph and Charlotte Peterson. Joseph was born about 1797 on a plantation in North Carolina, Charlotte on the other hand was born in South Carolina in about 1809, or 1812.
Allen Peterson was born in Florida in mid 1850s as well as Rosa. Allen died a month after his son Allen in December 1889
. By 1896, there were 8 additional Rileys. At no time since then has then more 8 Riley men alive at one time. Other than Rose and Sipp as he was called, the original eight off springs were 4 females, and four males. The females in order of birth were Charlotte, Katie, Effie, and Lena. The males were Joseph, Jessie. Oliver and Ben. In June 1903 the connections of the Jacksons began, with the union of Eugene and Charlotte. That Union was follwed by Ben and Lena, to who many Jacksons were born. Yet of the male Rileys on Ben had children 4 males 2 females. James, John, Frank and Cyrus. The females were Eunice and Mary. Today there are four known males that carry the original Rileys name. Cyrus, Kenneth, Cy, and Ben. Yet, we are of one blood, one heritage and one love for each other
Riley Or Jackson: We Are One
Subpages (1): Wharlest Jackson Sr/ Local Korean Vet/National Martyr©


text: We are already going through June, and July will be here in no time, so we should be all getting ready to celebrate Independence Day in the right way. Dressing in the patriotic themes is a must, and you shouldn't skip having a patriotic manicure too! The holidays are great excuse to have fun with our nails,...Read more →


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Double Bowl | table ware
You are here
Double bowl
multi-purpose tableware - fruit bowls
Hand crafted bowls with a wooden oak base and floating glass top. Can be used upside down or as two separate bowls.
Use: Indoor
Materials: Solid Oak and Glass
Finishes: Varnished Natural Oak, Lacquered Black Oak + Transpar- ent/Grey Glass
Available in 2 sizes :
large d 43 cm
small d 35 cm


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Sunday, February 28, 2010
Pleasing him
I was trying to decide what was appropriate to have on this last day (though actually I do want to keep writing on this regularly) I decided that this verse is a good and needed one:
"Let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self-control." 1 Cor. 7:3-5
I think this verse is pretty self explanatory and I don't want to go into it on this blog but I thought I would mention this thought I had, past the obvious meaning of this it seems to me that if the wife's body is for her husband, I think we should present ourselves in a way that pleases him (and of course that pleases God as well!), meaning do you wear things and do your hair in a way that your husband likes? That is something that we often put a lot of thought into before marriage but sometimes can not be thought about so much later on. When I am picking clothes (especially getting new ones) I like to think about what kind of things Ken likes to see me in. Also if I am thinking about a new hairstyle I like to consult him first and get his opinion. I want him to like the way I look and to please him in that way.
Have fun loving your husband!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Ease his workload
"Try to look for stuff you can do to ease his workload-even if he doesn't ask. My hubby used to do groceries all the time for me, and still does not mind doing it. But I thought, I am able to do this with the children, and then he won't have to use that time on week-ends to do it anymore-so now we all go Friday afternoons, and it's great!=)"
This is something I have done some (scooping snow, mowing the lawn and various things like that) but not as often as I would like. I want to do this more. I think it is a great way to show my love.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Getting rid of set stains
I had a cotton knit white shirt that I really liked but had stained the elbow of at some time. (I guess I put my elbow in something without realizing it.) I was wanting to wear it the other day but didn't want to wear it with the stain so I tried to figure out what I could do to get the stain out.
I am all out of bleach (and trying not to use it much anyway) but I remembered that Hydrogen Peroxide can remove stains at times. I put some H.P. on the stain (that was well set at this point- it had been through the wash many times) and it started to fizz and seemed to be working. I worked with it and then rinsed it out. The stain didn't all come out but it seemed to be a bit lighter. Then I sprayed it with shout and put it through the wash and YEA! it was all pure white again! (and I didn't think to take any pictures of that one!)
Later I tried it one various different stains on white things. It didn't work on everything but it did on some.
This stain on Mara's shirt....
....disappeared. Yea!
Sorry I wasn't able to get very good pictures but I was excited about the results so I wanted to tell you all too! It seems like inevitably we end up with stain white clothes and then though they may be perfectly good in any other way they are basically ready to be turned into rags. If I can get the stains out instead that will be a very good deal!
Removing set stains certianly works for me!
I would love to hear your greatest stain removing tricks!
Say "I love you"
That is funny to laugh over but it wouldn't be very funny if that was how it was in our marriages. We can't make our Husbands say "I love you" (and I have no need to) but we can certianly tell him that we love him.
Ken and I like to say those words pretty often. We don't always say "I love you" when he leaves for work but we often do. We don't always say "I love you" when we talk on the phone but we often do. We don't always say it just before we fall to sleep at night but we often do. I don't want it to be something we just say automatically without thinking about it but I do want to say it often! Throughout the day in many ways it is fun to remind our husband verbally that we love them.
Another thing that I think is fun to do is send a little e-mail to him at work just to let him know that I love him. Do you have any special ways of communicating that message to your husband? Lets not ever assume that they know that already, lets tell them!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Be thankful for your husband
- I am thankful for Ken being such a hardworker.
- I am thankful that Ken is careful with our money.
- I am thankful that Ken really enjoys playing with and spending time with our children.
Being thankful is always good and I think it always puts you in a better frame of mind after you practise thankfulness. This little exercise is especially good to do at times when your husband may have done something that you don't feel so thankful for. After making the list you realize that even though you feel unhappy about one thing there are so many other things that you are happy about.
Have you done this before? What are your thoughts?
Monday, February 22, 2010
Gratitude for a Winter Wonderland
"It is the living who give thanks to Thee, as I do today;
A father tells his sons about Thy faithfulness."
Isaiah 38:19
We have been having fun lately spending a little more time outside. This post's pictures reflect that. I am so glad that God has given us different seasons with different activities to enjoy! Here are a few of the things that I am thanking God for:
#394 Frost on the trees. We have been waking up many mornings lately to see that. It is so beautiful! I love seeing what God can do! (The picture above doesn't begin to do it justice!)
#395 Creative Children.
#396 Fun times watching the Olympics together.
#397 Inspiration that we get from the Olympics.
#398 Children that really love and enjoy each other.
#399 Older siblings that offer to help their younger siblings.
#400 Sunny days!
#401 A little warmer weather that draws us outside.
#402 Determination and perserverance.
#403 Health that God provides. Each muscle that moves and works because He made it too.
#404 Courage to try new things- even little ski jumps. :-)
#405 Fun times getting to know poeple from other countries.
#406 Mara's quick healing after a crash. A God's eye watching out for every single person going down the hills.
#407 Lots of fun together times with Ken lately.
#408 Enjoying a happy marriage!
#409 My "baby" sister who I love being able to spend time with.
#410 My very silly boy!
#411 Smiles that light up my days.
#412 A God who loves me even though I am not perfect!
#413 Forgiveness of sin.
What are you thankful for this week?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
"Serve in the little things (that feel big at the time) Like...he forgot to check to locks and we are already in bed, I can hop out and do it if he's tired.....or be the one to make the tea and bring it to him...or put his stuff away instead of waiting for him to do it...etc. etc. these little opportunities to serve really add up!"
I think this is a wonderful tip. I can really relate to the locks one. I know that has happened with us to and I do remember offering to go check them but I don't think I actually jumped up to do it and he went ahead and did it. One of the ways that has worked for us is bringing him his "bedtime snack" or a glass of water especially when he is hot and sweaty and working outside. I know Ken appreciates being served especially when I do it with a special smile just for him.
Tonight I heard a verse at church that made me think of the Olympics again. The verse is:
"But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perserverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnessess. " 1 Timothy 6:11-12
This verse isn't talking about things being easy. It talks of Fleeing, pursueing and fighting. Living the christian life takes work, sometimes it will be harder than we think we are capable of. But just like we see the atheletes in the Olympics do we need to be willing to push ourselves, to work and run harder than we ever thought possible. The prize in this race is far more important than any gold medal!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Celebrations with Creativity instead of Cost
Before Valentines Day this year I was pretty busy and felt a little worn out. So I didn't really get anything done in the way of decorating. I had decided not to worry about it as it didn't seem like it was essential but I found out the kids didn't quite feel that way. So the night before I pushed myself to make some special things (Cheese cake, blueberry muffins, cards and little treats) and then the morning of I just quickly looked around at what I had to do some super fast decorating.
I pulled out some pretty shiny pink fabric and then some silver netting which I put together to make a tablecloth. Then I added some pink tulips that were leftover from the Bridal Fair. Megan decided we also needed the pink Hyacinths on the table. I also grabbed my heart shape tins and a heart shaped basket (which I added a pink ribbon to) and added them to the table.
It was very quick but it changed the look of our dining room which made the kids happy and even Ken commited on how pretty the table looked. I was happy too because I didn't have to go buy anything or spend to much time and it still looked like we were celebrating!
This kids got into the act too. Aaron hung up a little wreath he had made at the library and cut out some more hearts to hang up as well. Jonathan cut out some red hearts which he added to the table top. Mara had worked hard the evening before to make little surprises to put on everyone's plates and also made hearts to hang up.
Megan got in the action too and decided she needed to make Valentines to put on everyone's plates too.
This sort of thing always make me realize how much fun and celebration we can have with out costing anything at all. A special event can be made from Creativity instead of money.
This doesn't just work for Valentines day. It can work for birthday parties, weddings, Christmas and any other sort of party that you desire to have. You can't always throw a party with no cost at all but you can certianly use a lot less money if you use some creativity too!
There is a wedding blog {Ruffled} I have been having a ton of fun reading lately that features a lot of vintage and DIY weddings. There have been some really cool ideas. The ideas make you realize how much you can do using things you already have on hand. Also how cool it can be to buy dresses and other things second hand.
Here are some other ideas I have come across that call for some creativity but could cost very little and you could still have a very fun celebration!
- Have a nature theme. There are so many things that can be had if you are just willing to go out and pick them up. It depends on where you live to what is most available but here are some ideas: pinecones, shells, rocks, grasses, twigs, sweet gum balls, mistle toe,birch bark, cattails, wildflowers, "weeds" and so much more! God has made so many beautiful things and so many of them are in abundance!
- A recycling theme. This one is rather fun.
- When you are decorating for any event simply chose your colors and then go through your house and see what you have in those colors. You might be surprised what you come up with to decorate with. It is fun to use your creativity in that way.
- Have a destination theme. Chose a place, decorate with old maps and atlases. Check out books from the library or look on the internet for ideas for the menu, games and decorations. If you look hard you can probably find a lot of things that can be made yourself from stuff you have on hand.
- A circus party can be made using lots of stuffed animals, some old clothes, lots of popcorn (cheap!), some ballons and a bunch of kids having fun doing "tricks".
- For Mother's or Father's day think about what those people enjoy most and decorate and cook accordingly. A lot of times an expensive budget is simply not needed!
- Tea Parties are lovely events to use what pretty things you have on hand. Check out this sweet one my sister had with my kids.
- Have your event outdoors using Christmas lights and whatever else seems fun to you. It can be quite fun! Check out my sister's birthday party.
Linked to: Funky Junk Interiors
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Laugh together
So what to do? I try to remember them and share them with him (if needed in private so they don't get embarrassed) when he gets home. Parenting is a great joy and sharing it together is wonderful! It is great for our marriage and laughing together is always fun!
Do you have fun sharing cute kid stories with your husband?
Little lovely bits and pieces of life
This is my odds and ends post! :-) Different parts of life that have been captured by the camera. Snapshots of life that I am enjoying right now.
Some "new" silverware that I found at Goodwill. (I hardly ever go there as I simply don't need anything but this was fun to shop for!) Some of it even matched my good set exactly and other ones were very close. They are all nice quality and there was enough that I got rid of our cheap set that was sharp on the hands.
Making keifer. I got the start (keifer grains) from my sister Anna and also the instructions for making it. It is easy to make, has a neat taste and is good for you. Anna tells all about it on her blog.
Last Saturday Mara and I were headed to the Wedding Expo and were just in awe of how God had decorated during the night. All the trees and bushes where just covered with frost. I didn't stop to get a picture right then (the camera was in the trunk) but I wish I had.
After we got to our destination Mara went out and took some pretty pictures including the one to the right. There weren't as many trees around to take pictures of however.
This is my beautiful helper at the show. She is fun to have around. It is fun to see how outgoing she is. She went around to every other booth and got aquainted with everybody. I don't think there is one shy bone in her body which always continues to amaze me as that is NOT how Ken and I were at her age.
On Sunday night at church we have been doing things a little differenty for this month. We are having a short song service and a scripture reading and then we have been doing things to get ready for our upcoming Retreat. This past Sunday night some worked on a play and some of us had fun gathering around the piano and learning some new songs. I love informally gathering around and singing in four part harmony praises to our God.
Keren cut my hair last week. I am enjoying a shorter and different look. The picture to the left is not how it looks at its best as I had been wearing a hat so it was rather flattened. I am so blessed to have a sister who can cut hair and I don't have to go out and spend a bunch of money elsewhere. Thanks Keren!
Fun with puppets on Wednesday night. Mary and I are teaching the kids on Wed. nights and Mary came up with this really cute method for making sock puppets. The kids loved them!
In Class we have been talking about following in Jesus' steps and this week was especially about service. Mary decided to wash the kids feet. I wasn't sure how they would react but they loved it! The little ones especially. :-)
I am enjoying teaching the kids about working with flowers. As I get busier the better my helpers will get.
And just a sweet/silly picture of my Aaron boy taken by auntie Keren.
I hope you are having lots of lovely moments at your houses too! :-)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Noticing the little things that bother him.
So I am trying to get better at keeping them cleaned off. This is one little (though sometimes it feels pretty big!) way that I can show him I love him. I am not doing a perfect job yet, (the busier I am the harder time I have it seems) but I am trying.
Do your husbands have little things that bother them in your house? Is there anything you can do to fix them?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Fabric covered "Vases"
one of them was the last day in Jan.), consultations and then putting together quotes. Of course there is still all the normal responsibilities as homemaker, wife, mother and homeschooler. I have been busy with politics this month too as we get ready for a busy summer getting ready for the elections this fall. At church we are busy with getting ready for a Retreat in a little less than a month and I am currently teaching Wednesday night class. And then on top of that I have to admit our family is rather Winter Olympics Junkies! :-) Normally the kids and I watch no TV but lately.... well our evenings have often found us in the family room cheering on the Americans or whoever we think really deserves to win. The kids are trying to figure out just what sport they want to be good at so that they can go to the olympics someday. I am of course encouraging the safe ones which seem to be rather few! Anyway all that to say that someday (maybe next month) I will probably start posting more about projects and stuff again!
But I will share a quick project that I put together last week:
Very fast and easy! I think it looks sweet too! AND... It recycles and was totally free!
Do you have any cool ways you use tins cans? Someday soon I am hoping to write a whole post on things you can make or do with tin cans. I would love to hear your ideas! If you have posted about it, please leave a link because when I write the list I plan on linking to posts that explain how to do it or at least have pictures.
This is linked to A Soft place to Land's DIY day and Reinvented.
But I will share a quick project that I put together last week:
Very fast and easy! I think it looks sweet too! AND... It recycles and was totally free!
Do you have any cool ways you use tins cans? Someday soon I am hoping to write a whole post on things you can make or do with tin cans. I would love to hear your ideas! If you have posted about it, please leave a link because when I write the list I plan on linking to posts that explain how to do it or at least have pictures.
This is linked to A Soft place to Land's DIY day and Reinvented.
With Patience
By nature I am not a patient person, I don't think very many people are. It is something I have to work on and I am very thankful to have the Holy Spirit working in my life so that patience can become a part of my personality. So with the Holy Spirit's help it is my goal to be more patient every day with everyone I am around.
Here are some ways I think that patience is particularly important in marriage.
- Husbands (and wives!) don't always get things done as fast as we would like them too. That is just the way it is, everybody is busy, everybody has different priorities as to what is most important. A nagging wife (one who is impatient) doesn't ever endear herself to her husband, I think these verses in Proverbs say it very well: "It's better to stay outside on the roof of your house than to live inside with a nagging wife." "It's better out in the desert than at home with a nagging, complaining wife." Prov. 21:9 & 19. Showing a little patience rather than nagging is a very good choice! :-)
- We are all a work in progress, our husbands included. They aren't perfect and so just like we appreciate them being patient with us, we need to be patient with them.
"We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone." 1 Thessalonians 5:14
Sunday, February 14, 2010
In my reading of Isaiah I love this verse that talks about the nature of God:
"Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him."
Isaiah 30:18
God is Gracious, Compassionate and Just. I am so glad He is my God. I am indeed very blessed!
Love is patient, love is kind....
"Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoiced with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Saturday, February 13, 2010
A special meal at home
"Plan a special dinner for two! Either have the children eat early and do a quiet activity while you eat, or do it after bedtime. This has been fun, and feels like a date, even when we haven't left the house=) I have moved a little table into the living room with candles and dim light, and it felt real 'restaurant' like=)"
Have you ever done this? If so how did it work for you. I am trying to imagine this with our kids. Doing it after they go to bed (Around 9:30) sounds a bit late but I think they might enjoy being the wait staff if they are still up..... It might work.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Eating what you have and substituting for what you don't have.
Last month I had fun joining in with the Eat from your pantry challange. We were (and are) well stocked up on the basics so it wasn't to hard. I did have to work at having enough variety to suit me. One of the ways that I find that really helps in economical cooking and baking is being willing to substitute. This is something I have always done a lot of as I watched my Mom doing it the whole time I was growing up. Ken teases me regularly about this trait, he is convinced that I absolutely never follow a recipe, I think I do once in a great while, but perhaps he is right.
Your food can still turn out fine even while substituting, there are just some basic quidelines that help a lot. Here are some of the ones that I can think of right now:
- Feel free to substitute flours. I use recipes all the time that call for regular flour but I rarely use it. Instead I use whole wheat flour, rye flour, corn meal, oatmeal and other whole grain flours. As long as it is dry and has a similiar consistency it should work! :-) The product won't be indentical to that in the cookbook but if you haven't used that recipe before anyway you won't know the difference!
- Exchange liquid for other liquids. In my baked goods especially I do a lot of substituting here. My basic rule is look at how much liquids are used (Add up milk, oil or butter, etc) and then I put in whatever else I want to. I have been using a lot of pumpkin which adds a little nutrition but generaly doesn't change the flavor. (I probably wouldn't do this in an angel food cake!)
- Things like fruit, nuts or chocolate chips in baking can usually be changed however you desire. Generally you can leave them out and still have a nice finished product or add them in to a recipe that doesn't have them or change them. If it calls for blueberries but you have raspberries, then swap them! You can come up with wonderful new recipes this way!
- How about sweeteners? I am still in the learning process with this. All my life I have done things like cut the sugar in half but lately I have been working to eliminate sugar from our diet so I have been trying to use maple syrup, molasses and honey instead. This is a bit complicated as all of these are liquid. What I have found to work pretty well is to eliminate some of the other liquid and also the sugar in the recipe and then add the liquid sweetener in the amount to replace the liquid you eliminated.
- Cooking is even easier to mix things up in than baking. Feel free to use hamburger insteand of diced steak or maybe even cooked chicken for a different style. Just let yourself be creative! I usually just use recipes as an idea starter or a guideline. From there you can totally do what you want!
Personally I have a lot more fun in the kitchen if I can be creative and do something different. I would love to hear your good or wacky substitutions!
If you want to do some very careful substituting check out this very comprehensive list!
I also thought I should report on how I did on the Pantry Challange. I finally got all the reciepts together and added it up and now tonight I can't find my paper! Here is what I remember:
For Dairy and Produce I had alotted $100. In this area I went slightly over and spent $104 and a few cents. It was interesting to see just how much we spend on milk! I am curious how much milk other families use. We drink it usually for every breakfast and supper (for lunch and in between times we drink water) and we go through4-5 gallons a week. If you don't drink milk for meals what do you drink? I am just curious.
I had bought some Gluten free diet for our experiment with having Megan go Gluten Free. That cost $31. That was according to my plan. We are off the gluten free diet, I had fun doing it for her for 2 weeks but it seemed to hinder more than help.
I did "cheat" and bought Ketchup for $1.88.
I did a little stocking up but not nearly as much as the $75 I alloted. I spent around $35 in that area.
My total was around $172 which was under the $205 that I had allowed myself. I was pleased with the end result.
I also did not go to Walmart as planned. I am hoping not to go to Walmart in February either. I am hoping to stay under $250 for groceries this month. We still have quite a lot of food to eat from the pantry. Some of my other goals this month are going sugar free (using natural sweeteners instead) and drinking a lot of water!
For more frugal thougts please visit Life as MOM.
Child training affects a marriage.
"Do a great job training and teaching the children while he is off at work so he can come home to happy children who have interesting things to tell Dad about and he can enjoy them=) but...don't do too much stuff that you don't have energy left for him! "
I think this is a great way to show love for our husbands!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Be your husbands biggest fan
So something that I am going to work on more and encourage you to do as well, is complimenting my husband. Finding the things that he does very well and telling him so. Not only that but "bragging" on him a little too.
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text:
Potential hominin affinities of Graecopithecus from the Late Miocene of Europe
Jochen Fuss, Nikolai Spassov, David R. Begun, Madelaine Böhme
Published: May 22, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177127
The split of our own clade from the Panini is undocumented in the fossil record. To fill this gap we investigated the dentognathic morphology of Graecopithecus freybergi from Pyrgos Vassilissis (Greece) and cf. Graecopithecus sp. from Azmaka (Bulgaria), using new μCT and 3D reconstructions of the two known specimens. Pyrgos Vassilissis and Azmaka are currently dated to the early Messinian at 7.175 Ma and 7.24 Ma. Mainly based on its external preservation and the previously vague dating, Graecopithecus is often referred to as nomen dubium. The examination of its previously unknown dental root and pulp canal morphology confirms the taxonomic distinction from the significantly older northern Greek hominine Ouranopithecus. Furthermore, it shows features that point to a possible phylogenetic affinity with hominins. G. freybergi uniquely shares p4 partial root fusion and a possible canine root reduction with this tribe and therefore, provides intriguing evidence of what could be the oldest known hominin.
Citation: Fuss J, Spassov N, Begun DR, Böhme M (2017) Potential hominin affinities of Graecopithecus from the Late Miocene of Europe. PLoS ONE 12(5): e0177127. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177127
Editor: Roberto Macchiarelli, Université de Poitiers, FRANCE
Received: December 22, 2016; Accepted: April 21, 2017; Published: May 22, 2017
Copyright: © 2017 Fuss et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Funding: We acknowledge funding from the German Science Foundation DFG (grant Bo 1550/19-1 to MB). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
FREE PDF GRATIS: PLoS One


text:
After an initial Taittinger champagne toast to the celebrant, assorted appetizers of foie gras, Manila clams with chorizo, escargots, parmesan tarts, pork rillettes, etc. were served. I stuck to the escargots and had a bit of the Manila clams with chorizo (the latter the best of the appetizers to my mind) washed down with well-chilled glasses of:
2005 Domaine Henri Bourgeois Pouilly-fumé "La Demoiselle de Bourgeois" - My bottle, several of which I purchased from Bacchus after having it at last year's IWFS 25th Anniversary dinner. I've mentioned before that Pouilly-fumé is an appellation in the Loire that, together with Sancerre (across the river), is famous for crisp, clean, minerally sauvignon blanc-based wines. My old notes state: "clean citrus, mild gooseberry/guava tang and inherent white minerality...faint celery nuance...."
Still fairly accurate, except that now, it appears to have put on a little bit of weight and roundness in the middle, it seemed less linear, and the fruit seems a touch riper (more typical of the vintage), but still brightly dry. Nice purity, lift and balance.
Unfortunately, this was my last bottle and, as far as I know, I picked up the last of the 2005s in Bacchus. I believe, though, they have the 2006 version currently available which should be more sharply focused and defined, judging from the 2006 Sancerres and Pouilly-fumés I've tried over the past year.
La Régalade's main course servings are pretty generous, so several dishes were ordered and placed in the middle for sharing "family style". At our side of the table, there were dishes of rib-eye steak, duck in fruits, boeuf bourguignonne and apricot lamb stew. I wasn't aware of what the other dishes were on the far side; neither did I know what bottles of red they had opened over there.
I do know that, on our side, we had 1996 Château de Fieuzal (Pessac-Léognan) from me, 1996 Argiano Solengo (a Super Tuscan from Montalcino) from the Doc, and, three Napas: 2004 Pahlmeyer and 1998 Château Montelena from the Stockbroker, and 1999 Duckhorn Howell Mountain Merlot from Miguel.
Engrossed in the food and conversation, I was a bit remiss in documenting this evening's wines and didn't get to taste the Argiano Solengo and Duckhorn. It didn't help that said bottles were swiftly "commandeered" by the ladies. Well, too bad for me; I would have liked to. But, really, though, I already had more than enough as it was. I could have all too easily (not to mention eagerly) over-indulged myself yet again if not for the influence of...*uhurm*...influence.
In any event, as to the wines I did have...
1998 Château Montelena - The Stockbroker's bottle. One of the better wines from Napa, in my opinion; certainly one of the very best from California wineries not French-owned, controlled or similarly or historically influenced (until, of course, mid this year when Montelena was purchased by Michel Reybier, the owner of St-Estèphe 2nd Growth, Château Cos d'Estournel).
I've always considered Montelena's reds as made with considerably more finesse (i.e., easy on the sweet over-ripe berry syrup, vanilla shake, coconut cream and chocolate bars) and proper restraint than most of its bretheren (two other exceptions are Dominus and Araujo, among a few others).
This wine was true to form. Though 1998 is not considered an exceptional year for Napa, the few I remember having tried (notably the 1998 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve) suited my tastes well - not syrupy, "goopy", over-ripe, over-alcoholic or over-done.Cedar-laced, comfortingly warm, masculine, earthy-toned cassis, dark fruit, undertones of black coffee, slight nuances of mushrooms and well-worn leather. Small red berries surface just past mid-mouth. The faintest whisper of toffee/spiced oak on the finish tell you it's from California. Again, a testament to the quality of an under-appreciated Napa vintage.
1996 Château de Fieuzal - My bottle. I've long enjoyed the wines from this low-profile château from Pessac-Léognan and have gone through several bottles of the 1996. As mentioned before, I find it superior to the more famous and higher Parker-rated 1995 version. Pessac-Léognan, where hails first growth Château Haut Brion, is a relatively recent appellation, previously lumped into Graves before being granted its own separate classification/status in 1987.
My notes from December 2007, I feel, are still accurate and I find no need to alter or add to them:
As earlier stated, this is not a particularly well-known, much less famous, maker, and I, for selfish reasons, am thankful for it. Its relative anonymity, especially in light of the international fame of riper/oakier/more modern-styled, Parker-anointed "stars" Smith-Haut-Lafitte and Pape-Clément, helps keep their wines under-valued and comparatively more affordable.
Already a lot of bottle-age sweetness to this medium-bordering-on-full-bodied,
ripe, red currant-and-kirsch-laced, cassis/tar/earth dominant wine with finely
knit, with a vaguely smoky, sweetish roasted herbs and cedar surfacing mid-mouth
and following through on the finish.
I recall the first time I made the Vigneron taste this, he enjoyed it greatly, and, after I told him how much it cost, he had only three words to say: "Buy them all."
Mrs. Vigneron came back for seconds of this wine and the Doc told me he liked this the most among the other reds that evening. I believe my wife felt the same way. I know I did.
Säntis still sells this for around P3300 per bottle where I bought several until a year and a half ago when I got a badly corked one. Thereafter, I started ordering them from selected US shops where they are materially cheaper and in better condition.
2004 Pahlmeyer - The Stockbroker's bottle. Pahlmeyer is a high-end Napa producer with Helen Turley at the helm. I have tasted their wines barely a handful of times. I recall a couple of their chardonnays had in the early days of Mezzaluna (Serendra), they were typically big, rich, buttery, vanilla-oaky yet somehow acceptably balanced wines which my wife likes (she also likes the chards of Newton, Darioush, Saintsbury's Brown Ranch bottling and Beringer's Sbragia Limited release).
I also recall having one of their reds with a rib-eye steak a couple of years ago, the vintage of which escapes me, but I remember it was a big, hugely curved wine with super-ripe/extracted flavors and hefty doses of chocolate and oak/vanilla.
The 2004 was cut from the same cloth. In contrast to the calm and collected '98 Montelena, this was a thick, dense, over-stuffed, no-holds-barred Napa red that has its way with you using bodacious sex-bomb curves, sweetly super-ripe (virtually candied) viscous dark fruit/cassis, kirsch, black coffee and dark chocolate undertones, with a heavy dose of vanilla/oak. There is also some sweet toffee in the finish. Whew! For some reason, I had an irresistible urge for a cigarette after drinking it.
The ladies then ordered desserts, I saw plates of tart tatin with ice cream and tart citron. I only noticed the Doc, however, partaking of them. The rest of the fellows stuck to espressos. Lots of fun. Thanks, Miguel!