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Board of Governors
The Board of Governors has full responsibility for the Institute of Turkish Studies' policies and programs. The Board is composed of distinguished scholars in the field of Turkish Studies and prominent individuals from the private and public sectors in the United States, including former U.S. ambassadors. The Board of Governors meets on a regular basis to review and evaluate the Institute's activities and makes all decisions for its grant program.
|Adnan Akant
Fischer, Francis, Trees and Watts, Inc.
Adnan Akant is Chief Investment Officer for Currencies at FFTW, an institutional global bond management firm with over $50 billion in assets. Prior to joining FFTW in 1984, Akant spent six years managing the World Bank's liquidity portfolio and advising the Treasurer on the Bank's multi-currency borrowing program.
Akant holds Ph.D., SB, SM and Engineering Degrees from MIT in electrical engineering and computer science (1972-1977). He also holds an SM in finance from the MIT Sloan School (1978). Adnan Akant is Co-Head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank's FX Committee for the Buy-Side Group. He is also a member of the New York Academy of Science and Sigma Xi.
|Prof. Sinan Ciddi (ex oficio)
Executive Director
Sinan Ciddi was appointed as the fourth Executive Director of the Institute of Turkish Studies, succeeding David C. Cuthell at the end of August 2011. Ciddi was born in Turkey and educated in the United Kingdom, where he gained his Ph.D. in Political Science from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in June 2007. He was previously an instructor at Sabancı University between 2004-2008 and completed his Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the same institution between 2007-2008. He recently published a book titled Kemalism in Turkish Politics: The Republican People's Party: Secularism and Nationalism (Routledge, January 2009) focusing on the electoral weakness of the Republican People's Party. Between 2008-2011, he established the Turkish Studies program at the University of Florida's Center for European Studies.
|Steven A. Cook
Council on Foreign Relations
Steven A. Cook is Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy. Cook is the author of The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square (Oxford University Press, Fall 2011), which won the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's gold medal in 2012, and Ruling But Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007). His new book, Thwarted Dreams: Violence and Authoritarianism in the New Middle East, will be published by Oxford University Press in 2016.
Cook has published widely in foreign policy journals, opinion magazines, and newspapers, and he is a frequent commentator on radio and television. He also currently writes the blog, From the Potomac to the Euphrates.
Prior to joining CFR, Cook was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution (2001-2002) and a Soref research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (1995-1996).
Cook holds a BA in international studies from Vassar College, an MA in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and both an MA and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks Arabic and Turkish and reads French.
|Prof. Walter Denny
University of Massachusetts
Walter B. Denny joined the faculty of the UM/A Art History Program in 1970. His primary field of teaching and research is the art and architecture of the Islamic world, in particular the artistic traditions of the Ottoman Turks, Islamic carpets and textiles, Islamic imagery in European art, and issues of economics and patronage in Islamic art. His recent publications include the books Gardens of Paradise: Ottoman Turkish Tiles of the 15th-17th Centuries (İstanbul, 1998); Masterpieces of Anatolian Carpets from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, İstanbul (Bern, 2001); Ipek: Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets (London, 2002); and The Classical Tradition in Anatolian Carpets (Washington D.C., 2002). Iznik: La Céramique Turque et l'art Ottoman appeared in 2004 in Paris (Editions Citadelles et Mazenod), followed by English (Thames & Hudson) and German (Hirmer) versions in 2005.
Denny has served as a Trustee of The Textile Museum (Washington) and was for three decades Honorary Curator of Carpets and Textiles at the Harvard University Art Museums in Cambridge. In addition to his ITS board membership, Denny serves as Charles Grant Ellis Research Fellow in Oriental Carpets at The Textile Museum. He is active as a lecturer and as a consultant to museums and other institutions in the United States and abroad. He is married to Alice Robbins, a professional musician (Baroque cello and viola da gamba) who is also an instructor in the Five College Early Music Program, and is the father of Matthew, born in 1988. Denny performs as a tenor soloist and chorister with various ensembles, including Da Camera Singers and Arcadia Players, and serves on the Board of Directors of Arcadia Players.
|Prof. Sibel Erol
New York University
Sibel Erol, who holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, is a Clinical Professor of Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at New York University, where she has taught Turkish language and literature courses (including courses on Middle Eastern film and masculinity) since 1998. She works on a variety of topics such nationalism, modernity, postmodernism, gender, film and the novel. She is currently editing a book in Turkish on Orhan Pamuk's novel Snow. Her previous publications on Pamuk's works include Reading Orhan Pamuk's Snow as Parody: Difference as Sameness (originally appearing in Comparative Literary Studies, then reprinted twice in Contemporary Literary Criticism and Twentieth Century Criticism, respectively), and The Chronotope of Istanbul in Orhan Pamuk's Memoir Istanbul (published in IJMES). She has written extensively on the authors of the republican period such as Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu and Resat Nuri Guntekin. She works on women authors: on Halide Edib Adıvar, Adalet Agaoglu, Nazli Eray, Latife Tekin, Leyla Erbil among others. She has written a series of introductions for Halide Edib's Memoirs, for the English translations of Adalet Agaoglu's Summer's End (Yazsonu) and of Nazli Eray's Orpheus (Orfee). She has appeared in the Halide Edib documentary The Greedy Heart of Halide. She has contributed an essay on Turkish literature to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women, describing and analyzing the works of Turkish women authors. She has recently published Does Turkish Literature Exist: An Attempt to Answer through the Works of Leyla Erbil, Savkar Altinel and Ataol Behramoglu, in the Journal of Levantine Studies. She has served on the boards of the American Association of Teachers of Turkic Languages and of the Turkish Studies Association. She is currently on the editorial board of the International Journal of Middle East Studies.
|Edward J. Erickson, Ph.D.
Clark Center for Global Engagement at the State University of New York at Cortland
Dr. Ed Erickson recently retired as Professor of Military History at the Command and Staff College, Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. He now serves as a Scholar-in-Residence in the Clark Center for Global Engagement at the State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, New York.
Dr. Erickson is a retired regular US Army lieutenant colonel and was commissioned in the field artillery in 1975. He also qualified as a Foreign Area Officer specializing in Turkey. During his career, he served in artillery and general staff assignments in the United States, Europe and the Middle East (including three tours in Turkey). In the Persian Gulf War of 1991, he served in the Third Armored Division as an artillery battalion operations officer, in Sarajevo in 1995 as a special assistant to the NATO Force commander, and in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 with the Fourth Infantry Division as General Raymond Odiernos political advisor. He is the recipient of two Bronze Star medals, the Legion of Merit and numerous other military awards.
After retiring from active duty, Dr. Erickson worked as a high school social studies teacher and a school administrator in his hometown of Norwich, New York. He returned to Baghdad, Iraq in 2007 for a year to work as Professor of Political Science at the Ministry of Defense Training and Development College before coming to the Marine Corps University in Quantico in 2009. He has masters degrees from Colgate University and Saint Lawrence University as well as a Doctorate in History from the University of Leeds in the UK.
Dr. Erickson is widely recognized as one of the foremost specialists on the Ottoman Army during the First World War. Among the numerous books he has written are Ordered To Die, A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War; Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913; Gallipoli, The Ottoman Campaign; Ottomans and Armenians, A Study in Counterinsurgency; Gallipoli, Command under Fire; and Palestine, The Ottoman Campaigns 1914-1918. He is the co-author, with Dr. Mesut Uyar, of A Military History of the Ottomans, from Osman to Ataturk. Dr. Erickson is also the author of Strategic Water; Iraq and Security Planning in the Euphrates-Tigris Basin and A Soldiers Kipling, Poetry and the Profession of Arms. Dr. Erickson is a frequent visitor to Europe and the Middle East and his latest book project is titled Phase Line Attila, The Amphibious Campaign for Cyprus.
|Ambassador James Jeffrey
Philip Solondz Distinguished Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Ambassador James F. Jeffrey retired from the Foreign Service with the rank of Career Ambassador in June, 2012. At present he is the Philip Solondz distinguished visiting fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a Visiting Instructor at George Washington University, consultant, and member of the Secretary of Defense's Defense Policy Board.
Ambassador Jeffrey has held a series of senior posts in Washington, D.C., and abroad. Prior to his service as Ambassador in Ankara, 2008-2010, and Baghdad 2010-2012, he served as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor in the George W. Bush Administration. Previously he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State, where his responsibilities included leading the Iran policy team and coordinating public diplomacy. Earlier appointments included service as Senior Advisor on Iraq to the Secretary of State; Chargé d'affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Baghdad; Deputy Chief of Mission in Ankara and Kuwait; Ambassador to Albania, and Deputy Coordinator for Bosnia.
A former infantry officer in the U.S. Army, Ambassador Jeffrey served in Germany and Vietnam from 1969 to 1976. His wife Gudrun and he have two children, Julia, and Jahn.
|Sylvia Önder
Georgetown University
Sylvia Wing Önder is Visiting Associate Professor of Turkish Language and Culture in Georgetown University's Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Division of Eastern Mediterranean Studies, where she has taught since 1998. Her Ph.D., in Interdisciplinary Turkish Culture, is from The Ohio State University, 1998. She has an MA in Folklore and Folklife (1991) and a BA in International Relations (1986) both from the University of Pennsylvania.
At Georgetown, she has designed and continues to teach Turkish Language at three levels, culture classes such as "Central Asian Cultures", "Introduction to Turkish Culture", and anthropology classes such as "Anthropology, Colonialism, and Islam", "Medical Anthropology", and "Intro to Cultural Anthropology". Her book, We Have No Microbes Here: Healing Practices in a Turkish Black Sea Village, came out in May of 2007 in the Medical Anthropology Series of Carolina Academic Press. Dr. Önder has taught at Georgetown University's McGhee Program in Alanya, Turkey. This year, she won a federal grant from the Department of Education, Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad, to run the ARIT-BU Fellowship competition for the Intensive Summer Advanced Turkish Language Program at Boğaziçi University in İstanbul.
|Kent F. Schull
SUNY Binghamton
Kent Schull is Associate Professor in the Department of History at Binghamton University, SUNY. He received a Doctorate and MA in history from UCLA and a Graduate Diploma in Jewish Studies from the University of Oxford. He is also a twice Fulbright Scholar to Turkey. Schull's general research and teaching endeavors focus on the history of the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East during the 19th and 20th centuries. Research specializations include socio-legal history, state formation, criminal justice, incarceration, identity, and Islamic criminal law in the Ottoman Empire and broader Middle East. His first book, Prisons in the Late Ottoman Empire: Microcosms of Modernity (Edinburgh University Press, 2014), investigates the intersection between Ottoman prison reform and the everyday lives of prisoners and prison officials. His second book, a co-edited volume entitled Living in the Ottoman Realm: Sultans, Subjects, and Elites (Indiana University Press, 2016), looks at the transformation of what it meant to be Ottoman during the empire's long existence as it transformed from a pastoral-nomadic polity, to a conquest state, world empire, and nation-state by the end of its existence. His third book, another co-edited volume entitled Law and Legality in the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic (Indiana University Press, 2016), looks at the intersection of law, legitimacy, and legality in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey from the early modern era till the early Turkish Republican era. His current research projects include comparative criminal justice between the Ottoman Empire and its Eurasian contemporaries during the long nineteenth century; an investigation of Ottoman POWs and "Enemy Alien" expatriates during WWI; the role of prisons and prisoners in the Ottoman war effort during WWI; Mormon Missionary and Relief efforts among the Ottoman Armenian populations, and the codification and transformation of Islamic criminal law and practice during the late Ottoman Empire.
Kent Schull is currently the editor of the Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association (JOTSA) and the book series editor for Edinburgh's Studies on the Ottoman Empire (Edinburgh University Press).
|Angela E. Stent
Director of The Center for Eurasian, Russian & East European Studies
Angela Stent is Director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She is also a Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the Brookings Institution and co-chairs its Hewett Forum on Post-Soviet Affairs. During the academic year 2015-2016 she is a fellow at the Transatlantic Academy of the German Marshall Fund. From 2004-2006 she served as National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council. From 1999 to 2001, she served in the Office of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State.
Stent's academic work focuses on the triangular political and economic relationship between the United Sates, Russia and Europe. Her publications include: Russia and Germany Reborn: Unification, The Soviet Collapse and The New Europe (Princeton University Pres, 1999); From Embargo to Ostpolitik: The Political Economy of West German-Soviet Relations, 1955-1980 (Cambridge University Press, 1981); Repairing US-Russian Relations: A Long Road Ahead (2009) Restoration and Revolution in Putin's Foreign Policy (2008), An Energy Superpower? Russia and Europe (2008), Reluctant Europeans: Three Centuries of Russian Ambivalence Toward the West (2007), and Putin's World (2014). Her latest book is The Limits of Partnership: US-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century (Princeton University Press, 2014), for which she won the American Academy of Diplomacy's Douglas Dillon prize for the best book on the practice of American Diplomacy.
She is a member of the senior advisory panel for NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a contributing editor to Survival and is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Cold War Studies, World Policy Journal, Internationale Politik and Mirovaia Ekonomika i Mezhdunarodnie Otnosheniie. She has served on the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council for Russia and Central Asia. She is a Trustee of the Eurasia Foundation and of Supporters of Civil Society in Russia. Dr. Stent received her B.A. from Cambridge University, her MSc. with distinction from the London School of Economics and Political Science and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.
|Prof. Jenny White
Boston University
Jenny White is a social anthropologist and professor at Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies. She served as president of the Turkish Studies Association and of the American Anthropological Association Middle East Section. She is the author of Muslim Nationalism and the New Turks (chosen by Foreign Affairs as one of three best books on the Middle East in 2012); Islamist Mobilization in Turkey: A Study in Vernacular Politics (Winner of the 2003 Douglass Prize for best book in Europeanist anthropology); and Money Makes Us Relatives: Women's Labor in Urban Turkey. She also has published three historical novels set in nineteenth-century İstanbul, The Sultan's Seal (2006), The Abyssinian Proof (2008), and The Winter Thief (2010). The Sultan's Seal has appeared in fourteen languages. The Sultan's Seal was named one of the top ten first novels of 2006 by Booklist and was shortlisted for the 2006 Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award.
|Amb. Ross Wilson (retired)
Chairman of the Board Governors
Atlantic Council
Ambassador Ross Wilson is a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, visiting lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University, and chairman of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Turkish Studies. Over the course of a thirty-year career in the US Foreign Service, he served as American ambassador to Turkey in 2005-08 and to Azerbaijan in 2000-03. Elsewhere overseas, he held assignments at the US embassies in Moscow and Prague and at the American consulate general in Melbourne, Australia.
In Washington, Ambassador Wilson was principal deputy to the ambassador-at-large and special advisor to the Secretary of State for the new independent states of the former Soviet Union in 1997-2000. He also served as deputy executive secretary of the State Department for Secretaries James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger, and Warren Christopher; chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick; chief US negotiator for the Free Trade Area of the Americas; and in the State Department's offices dealing with the USSR and Egypt.
In 2010-2014, Ambassador Wilson was director of the Atlantic Council's Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, where he led the Council's work on the former Soviet states, Turkey, and regional energy issues, and he organized the Council's annual Energy and Economic Summit in İstanbul.
A native of Minnesota, Ambassador Wilson received a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota and master's degrees from Columbia University and the US National War College. He is a recipient of the president's Meritorious Service Award, as well as numerous Department of State awards and honors. He presently serves as vice chairman of the board of Global Minnesota (the World Affairs Council affiliate in Minneapolis) and on the Eurasia Foundation Advisory Council. He holds memberships in the Academy of American Diplomacy, the American Foreign Service Association, and the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs, and he is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He is married to Margo Squire, formerly a career diplomat with the US Information Agency and State Department. They live in the Minneapolis area.
|Prof. Birol Yesilada
Portland State University
Birol A. Yesilada joined Portland State University in 1998 as professor of Political Science and International Studies and holds the endowed chair in Contemporary Turkish Studies. He is also the Director of the Center for Turkish Studies in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government as well as Director of the Middle East Studies Center of PSU. Prior to joining Portland State, he was chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He received his B.A. degree in 1977 in Neurobiology from the University of California at Berkeley, his M.A. in Political Science in 1979 from San Francisco State University and his Ph.D. in Political Science in 1984 from the University of Michigan.
His current research interests include: Global power transition, World Values Survey (Cyprus), the European Union, political and economic development of Turkey, radical Islam and terrorism, the Cyprus negotiations and international conflict resolution, and politics of economic reform in the emerging markets. His recent publications include several books EU-Turkey Relations in the 21st Century (Routledge, 2013), Islamization of Turkey Under the AKP Rule (co-ed with Barry Rubin, Routledge, 2012), The Emerging European Union (Longman, 2010) and over 30 articles and book chapters. His is the former co-editor-in-chief of International Studies Perspectives and former Associate editor of Middle East Studies Association Bulletin. Dr. Yesilada has been a consultant at various Departments of the US government, the Council on Foreign Relations, the RAND Corporation, Booz Allen Hamilton, the Nathan Associates, Barclays Capital, the World Bank, and is an Academic Associate of the Atlantic Council. He was invited by the White House to take part in a panel study at the RAND Corporation on "Politics and Islam in the New Constitution of Afghanistan" as part of the commission that drafted the new Constitution of that country.
|Prof. Heath Lowry
Governor Emeritus
Since 1993 Heath W. Lowry has been the AtatÜrk Professor of Ottoman & Modern Turkish Studies at Princeton University. Prior to that time he was a founding member of the History Department at the Bosphorus University in İstanbul, Turkey (1973-1980), and a Senior Research Associate at Harvard University's Dumbarton Oaks Research Library & Collection in Washington, D.C. (1980-1983). Between 1983 and 1993 he established and directed the Institute of Turkish Studies in Washington, D.C. Currently, together with his position at Princeton University, he serves as an Advisor to the Bahçeşehir University Board of Trustees in İstanbul, Turkey.


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WEST KELOWNA – Dwight Unrau says he knew as soon as he kicked open the door to the house that there was no way he would be able to get up the stairs.
"No one was going up there without oxygen," he says. "It was thick, black smoke right to the floor. There was no way to even crawl underneath it."
Unrau was a few blocks away at Casa Loma Resort when he noticed a pillar of smoke coming from a house on Bennedick Road Friday at around 2 p.m. He and another man ran to the scene and decided to try and get inside to see if anybody was there.
The two men called out a few times and that's when they heard the frantic barking of a small dog.
"She was really freaked out," he says. "Running around, there was just no way I could catch it."
As Unrau struggled to get further inside the smoke-filled, two-storey house, another neighbour Shelley Lynn Mazur was at the back of the house also trying to catch the dog.
"He was so fast," she says. "He knew he was in trouble but didn't know what to do."
Eventually she managed to get hold of the poodle-cross and carried him to safety.
West Kelowna Fire Rescue arrived on scene and found the roof of the house in flames.
Fire Chief Wayne Schnitzler says the house, which is also a bed and breakfast, suffered damage to the roof and ceiling but that no one was inside.
Although he doesn't recommend people risk their lives to save an animal, he says he is impressed with the bravery shown by the three strangers.
"It's really great to see that," he says.
No one was seriously injured in the fire, however Mazur says she did inhale some smoke.
"I'm okay," she says. "I probably do more damage to my throat when I'm screaming on my Sea-Doo."
A cat also managed to get out of the house and both the cat and the dog are in the care of neighbours while RCMP try to contact the owners of the house.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)
To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at email@example.com or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email email@example.com or call 250-718-2724.


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Best logo design of the week is a weekly roundup with the most interesting logos I stumble upon during my every day browsing. This week selection contain logos designed by True North, Ty Mattson, Tag Collective, Mike Rigby, and Nick Ramos.
Expecting Baby logo designed by True North.
TV Editor logo designed by Ty Mattson.
Brooklyn Taco logo designed by Tag Collective.
Bookworld logo designed by Mike Rigby.
The Williamson Museum logo designed by Nick Ramos.
If you known of a logo that should be featured in our best logo design of the week series, then by all means, send us a link and we'll consider including it in a future post. Also, if you haven't yet, subscribe to our blog to keep updated with this weekly series and a lot more about logo design.


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Jack Joseph Pauly
"Mommy, you hit something," 3-year-old, Lily Pauly said from her car seat in the back of the GMC Acadia.
Karen Pauly slammed on the brakes. A special education teacher, Karen had left her 19-month-old son, Jack, inside the family's farm house in DeWitt, Iowa, with his father on April 17, 2011. But he had slipped outside, and there he was, bleeding on the driveway. Karen screamed, and her husband came running. Jack was still alive when they took him to the hospital, but a brain scan showed no activity. He died within hours. When Karen was trying to pick out something to wear to Jack's funeral, her husband took her keys and traded in her Acadia for a newer one with a back-up camera.
After they buried Jack, Karen willed herself to confront every spot on the farm that she wanted most to avoid. She went into his room, full of toy cars and trucks and tractors. She forced herself to stare at the spot on the driveway where she hit him. She had to confront the pain, to look right at it, so she could move on. "I can't let that be what I think about when I think about him." Now she remembers Jack just as he was the other 584 days of his life: a smiling, sweet boy who loved cupcakes, dancing and getting kisses from his dog, Henry.
Special report: How can tragedies like this happen?
Timeline: Why all the delays in regulation?
Database: Search for cars equipped with rearview cameras
Photo gallery on chron.com: Cars under $30,000 with rearview cameras


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The Drifter (A Peter Ash Novel)
- Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
- Publication date: 2017-03-07
- Language: English
- Pages: 464
"Lots of characters get compared to my own Jack Reacher, but Petrie's Peter Ash is the real deal."--Lee Child*An Edgar Finalist for Best First NovelAn explosive thriller debut introducing Peter Ash, a veteran who finds that the demons of war aren't easily left behind...Peter Ash came home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with only one souvenir: what he calls his "white static," the buzzing claustrophobia due to post-traumatic stress that has driven him to spend a year roaming in nature, sleeping under the stars. But when a friend from the Marines commits suicide, Ash returns to civilization to help the man's widow with some home repairs. Under her dilapidated porch, he finds more than he bargained for: the largest, ugliest, meanest dog he's ever encountered...and a Samsonite suitcase stuffed with cash and explosives. As Ash begins to investigate this unexpected discovery, he finds himself at the center of a plot that is far larger than he could have imagined...and it may lead straight back to the world he thought he'd left for good. Suspenseful and thrilling, and featuring a compelling new hero, The Drifter is an exciting debut from a fresh voice in crime fiction.Also look for BURNING BRIGHT, available now from Nick Petrie


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I guess we are back to the cold weather… at least for a few days anyway. Yesterday I had a great day! Courtney's neice Emily had her latin club get together "Jazzum" at Austin's in Monroe. Before the evening started, I did her hair as her mother did her nails. Then after she got dressed, off we went to take some pictures before the big event. First we went to the boardwalk in Monroe, then down the street in front of Austin's. Then we got to go inside of Austin's before anyone was there. I was so excited to get to go into Historical Austin's, it is so beautiful! So was Emily! =)
We went all over Austin's taking pictures… in the window, at the bar upstairs, the stairs and even the old phone booth. After that we still had enough time to hit the raidroad tracks and trenton street. I had a blast! Thanks Em for letting me take all the pictures! You are beautiful! The whole family has said how much they love the pictures, so I wanted to share them with everyone else! I hope you enjoy the pictures and I'm sure you will agree… This is beauty!


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Welcome to the New Year we hope that our customers are well and rested looking forward to what 2017 has to offer. As we look back at 2016 – it was busy for us but not in way we had expected.
On a few occasions we failed to keep up with the demand and thank those that were caught up in it for their patience. For the first time we had to close the workshop to all work, due to the unprecedented heat during the summer. Not that many of us remember it now with all the grey, rain and cold.
We have noticed that we are seeing more older bike plastic for repair. These have proved to be more challenging to repair technically speaking because of their age. Brought back some fond memories though!. One of the jobs in particular comes to mind which, came in the form of a rare battery cover from a classic Suzuki. As always we work with our customers to get the best possible out come.
We are happy to talk to anybody that has a problem with broken plastic. It is part of our service to inform not just sell our ability to repair. It is our way of giving something back. Maybe you will remember us in the future when it comes to that job that does need our expertise.
We have published a guide on how to repair plastic properly using plastic welding which is available from blurb and from time to time we run plastic welding courses. (At the time of writing we have no planed dates for these courses.)
With the festive period over it is back to work as usual. I should say it is good to be back, but to be honest we have not stopped, as there is now a new web site and a twitter feed for Plasweld.
Best wishes for the New year.


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Heiress Huguette Clark, owner of lavish Santa Barbara estate Bellosguardo, dies at 104
Huguette Clark, the 104-year-old heiress to a Montana copper fortune who owned a Santa Barbara mansion built on a 23-acre bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, has died at a Manhattan hospital even as an investigation continues into how her millions were handled.
Clark spent the last two decades of her life in New York City hospitals. She died Tuesday, "with dignity and privacy," her lawyer, Wallace Bock, said in a statement.
The statement was released by Robert Anello, an attorney who represents Bock in an investigation into Clark's finances.
The Manhattan district attorney is looking into claims made by Clark's family that she was kept isolated from almost everyone except Bock and her accountant and that she may not have understood decisions being made related to her fortune.
Clark was born in 1906 to a then-67-year-old U.S. senator, William A. Clark of Montana, and a 28-year-old Michigan woman named Anna Eugenia La Chapelle. Clark had made a fortune in mining and was one of the richest men in America. He built railroads across the United States, founding Las Vegas in the process.
Huguette Clark's fortune is believed to be worth some $500 million. As of last year, she still owned a 42-room, multi-floor apartment at 907 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan and a Connecticut castle surrounded by 52 acres of land in addition to the Santa Barbara estate.
Beginning in the 1960s, Clark rarely left her Fifth Avenue home, having whatever she needed delivered. She moved into a hospital in the 1980s.
Bock and accountant Irving Kamsler had been in charge of her financial affairs for years, and they're among the few people who have contact with her. Distant relatives say they have not seen her in years.
More later at www.latimes.com/obits.
RELATED: Bellosguardo, Santa Barbara seaside jewel
-- Associated Press
Photos: The Bellosguardo mansion in Santa Barbara (top) and Huguette Clark in 1930. Credits: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times (top) and Associated Press file (bottom)


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The printer is working great! Thanks for helping me save money I didn't even know laser could be refilled
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Thank you for your interest in the 2018 Summer Courses in Japanese (SCJ)
Before beginning the application process, please take time to read our catalog carefully, so as to determine whether or not the courses we offer match your own needs and goals. We aim to offer places for approximately 100 students. Please note that our courses are extremely demanding and academic in orientation. Students who plan to work part-time or travel during the summer should consider a less intensive course. Applicants should make every effort to ensure their application and supporting documents (including Application and Screening Fees) reach the appropriate offices as listed in the catalog before the stated deadline. Good luck to you as you make your future academic plans. We hope that these include Japan and the International Christian University.
*SCJ applicants should be 18 years old and above and currently enrolled as degree-seeking students in, or have graduated from a college or university, and have an academic interest in Japan.Senior high school students cannot apply for the Summer Courses in the year of their graduation. The student who is accepted to enter ICU from September 2018 can apply for it.
Step 1.
Go to a website of APPLICATION for 2018 Summer Courses in Japanese.
Register your information and upload your Statement of Purpose* on this page.
*Statement of Purpose: Explain in 250 words or less why you wish to study Japanese, how this study relates to your future academic interests or career goals and why it is crucial at this point in your study to attend the ICU Summer Courses in Japanese.
You will receive a reply e-mail when your web-application is accepted.
Now you may proceed to Step 2 below.
If you do not receive the reply e-mail, please contact SCJ office via email. (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Step 2.
Submit all the following documents to SCJ office by post until February 28, 2018 (JST).
- Official Academic Transcript of university courses completed. (ORIGINALS ONLY)
- Letter of Recommendation (letterform.pdf)
It should be written by someone from your university/college who can verify your suitability and motivation for enrolling in this
language program. Letters from family members/relatives cannot be accepted. The envelope must be signed and sealed.
- Application and Screening Fees Payment Form and payment receipt (Paymentform.pdf)
Fill out the "Application and Screening Fees Payment Form" and attach a print/copy of the payment webpage or photocopy of your bank transfer remittance receipt.
- While medical certification is not required at the time of application, any applicants with conditions that might require special considerations in order to undertake intensive academic work should include this information on a separate sheet of paper.
Application and Screening Fees (non-refundable) : 10,000 JPY
Application and Screening Fees are payable by credit card on online payment site→ Online Payment Click Here!!
Personal checks and travelers checks will NOT be accepted.
Please refer to how-to-pay or the second page of Paymentform.pdf for details.


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The Solution Revolution has been saved
The Solution Revolution
How business, government, and social enterprises are teaming up to solve society's toughest problems
It's happening in your country, in your industry, in your community. It will disrupt old operating models, old services, and the way we think about them. Are you ready to contribute?
Where tough societal problems persist, citizens, social enterprises, and yes, even businesses, are relying less and less on government-only solutions. More likely, they are crowd funding, ride-sharing, app-developing or impact investing to design lightweight solutions for seemingly intractable problems. No challenge is too daunting, from malaria in Africa to traffic congestion in California. These wavemakers range from edgy social enterprises growing at a clip of 15% a year, to mega-foundations that are eclipsing development aid, to Fortune 500 companies delivering social good on the path to profit.
The collective force of these new problem solvers is creating dynamic and rapidly evolving markets for social good. They trade solutions instead of dollars to fill the gap between what government can provide and what citizens need. By erasing public-private sector boundaries, they are unlocking trillions of dollars in social benefit and commercial value.
The Solution Revolution explores how public and private are converging to form the Solution Economy. By examining scores of examples, William Eggers and Paul Macmillan reveal the fundamentals of this new – globally prevalent – economic and social order. The book is designed to help guide those willing to invest time, knowledge or capital toward sustainable, social progress.
About the authors
William D. Eggers is a leading authority on government reform. He is responsible for research and thought leadership for Deloitte's Public Sector industry practice.
He is the author of eight books, including the Washington Post best seller If We Can Put a Man on the Moon: Getting Big Things Done in Government (Harvard Business Press, 2009), Governing by Network (Brookings Institution Press, 2004), and The Public Innovator's Playbook (Deloitte Research 2009). He coined the term Government 2.0 in a book of the same name.
His books have won numerous awards including the Louis Brownlow Award for best book on public management, the Sir Antony Fisher Memorial Award for best book promoting an understanding of the free economy, and the Roe Award for leadership and innovation in public policy research.
Paul Macmillan grew up in Canada's national capital where he studied Public Administration at Carleton University and received an MBA from the University of Ottawa. He has been a management consultant and strategic advisor to government leaders for over 25 years. As the Global Public Sector Leader for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, Paul is responsible for the firm's client service innovation to support public purpose organizations around the world. He is a frequent writer and speaker on topics of government innovation, public accountability, and advanced analytics.
He is a founding leader of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)-Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Awards and a member of the Board of Directors of Bridgepoint Hospital in Toronto. Paul was recently invited to contribute his expertise to the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation as a member of its Associates Group.


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Talk to us! We would love to hear from you!
There was a problem loading the streaming video on this page
We'd appreciate it if you could report the error to us, rpitv-web AT union.rpi.edu. In the meantime, we recommend viewing this page in an updated version of Firefox or Chrome
Waldo robs a bank and witnesses retell their memory of the event.


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FCA Canada and Unifor announce tentative labour deal
Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles Canada announced it had reached a new tentative agreement with auto workers union Unifor but, because the deal still needs union member ratification, it did not provide details.
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text: Add to Cart Compare Quick view Crucible Vintage Heavy Metal Magazine Iron Maiden Issue 1 MSRP: Now: $159.99 Was: Very rare Vintage Crucible magazine. In great shape all pages intact Steve Harris on the cover. Issue #1. Stories on Venom,Metallica and more. MSRP: Now: $159.99 Was: Add to Cart Compare Quick view


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Android OS, the APAD iRobot has a touch screen 7″ intregrated WebCam, USB, and WiFi, with which you can access the Internet for free.
technical data from iRobot Oficial Website – aPad iRobot Android
You can connect to WiFi Networks: Access your email, connect to Skype, Msn, and your favorite social networks. Furthermore, thankssa Google Maps application, you will have free browser to display maps, find routes or guide you in your travels.
More Connectivity: Webcam and USB ports
The APAD is equipped with a 0.3 Mpix webcam. Integrated, so you can videoconference and communicate online in real time. Furthermore, as key role, you will find in your accessory box which enables you to duplicate the USB ports to connect a conventional keyboard and mouse. Thus, you can write and use your APAD like a conventional PC, allowing you to perform everyday tasks (see, answer e-mails …) with maximum speed.
With Android Market, access to more than 100,000 applications and customize your APAD.
* Webcam Yes
* USB 2 connectors. USB 2.0 High Speed.
* Software Google Android Market. Official. Skype, Youtube, Office, Ebook Reader, MSN, Music and Video Player pre-installed.
* Operation system Android 1.5
* NandFlash Internal 2GB
* Microphone Internal Microphone
* Memory 128MB RAM
* External Storage Support to the 32 GB TF card Support MicroSD up to 32 GB card
* Display Screen 7″ Resistive Screen High Sensibility 800 x 480
* Device Weight 332g
* CPU Rockchips 2808A 600MHZ + DSP 500Mhz DUAL CORE
* Battery 3000MAH big capacity ( last 5 hours) 3000MAH big capacity ( last 5 hours)
* Audio 3,5 Mini Jack Output. Integrated Speaker. Internal Microphone.
* Accessories Charger, User Manual, USB cable
* Touch operation Yes


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Castello Boutique Resort and Spa
Adult only Boutique Hotel in a newly built complex with cosy and comfortable facilities.
The elegant high-quality design is the hallmark of the deluxe section of the Castello Resort. Recalling a bygone era of gracious living, this deluxe section offers the personalised service and amenities required by today's discerning traveller.
The Castello Boutique complex is situated a few hundred metres from the centre of Sissi village; where convenient amenities, such as shops, bars and restaurants are found.
Please Note: This accomodation is not suitable for guests with walking difficulties or wheelshair users due to the number of stairs within the property.
This is an Adults only Hotel.
Olympic Rating: 5 Star
Official Rating: 5 Star
Superior room containing air conditioning, fridge, tea & coffee making facilities, safety deposit box, voicemail, free internet access, bath and/or shower and balcony or terrace with inland , side sea view or pool view. Superior rooms with private pool, junior suites with inland or side sea view and junior suite with private pool are also available at a supplement.
High-class cuisine is a priority at the Castello Boutique Resort - Deluxe Section. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are prepared to suit guest's tastes and mood. From a banquet for fifty to an intimate dinner for two in the guest's suite!
Various dishes from Crete and around the world can be enjoyed at Aroma Bar, with garden and pool view.
Please note that the Castello Boutique Resort & Spa requests that gentlemen wear long trousers and closed shoes during their dinner.


text: What's your favorite thing about your brother? In honor of Brother's Day, check out this video and find out what these three sets of brothers value the most about each other. Even though brotherly love creates a unique and irreplaceable bond, you don't need to have a brother to understand the importance of laughter, love and friendship.


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I conduct research in the area of international environmental governance. My empirically-grounded work contributes to scholarly and policy debates on environmental management, policy and politics. It spans traditional disciplinary boundaries by drawing on data and perspectives from across the social and natural sciences. It combines a range of research approaches and methods, such as process tracing, interviews with international officials and national policy makers, personal observations at international meetings and treaty negotiations over two decades, and document analysis. I have always valued and sought out opportunities for research collaborations with scholars from both the social and natural sciences. Over time, I have expanded and deepened my research agenda within three main empirical areas (allowing for my different interests to inform each other): i) global cooperation on sustainable development; ii) multilevel management of hazardous substances and wastes; and iii) regional environmental politics and policy-making.
My first research area focuses on global sustainability cooperation. My early work examined how divisions between the global North and the global South influenced a series of global conferences from the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and onward. I found that the conferences served important agenda-setting functions, but that a lack of political will and effective mechanisms for monitoring and accountability contributed to a lack of implementation, leaving many targets and promises unfulfilled. Later, I started to explore how an increasingly multipolar world shapes the sustainable development agenda. I argue that there are opportunities for incremental institutional change, but that there are greater prospects for moving forward based on new conceptualizations of human development together with a stronger system for reviewing progress. Additional work examines efforts to advance global climate change cooperation and opportunities and risks facing the implementation of the global Sustainable Development Goals toward 2030.
My second research area examines multilevel environmental policy making on hazardous substances and wastes. My work has developed from an early focus on regime creation to paying greater attention to institutional linkages within and across different forum and scales. Initially, I clarified how leader states advanced treaty-based efforts to control persistent organic pollutants (including major science-policy linkages). I also studied how states, international organizations and non-state groups worked together to develop regional and Arctic cooperation, including the influence of indigenous peoples groups. In addition, I demonstrated how different forms of institutional linkages shaped actors' behavior and decision-making across different agreements. I also elucidated how decision-making was linked across global, regional, national and local forums, impacting efforts to address environmental and human health problems and institutional effectiveness. My recent research details the importance of cross-scale policy-making and institutional linkages on mercury abatement.
My third research area explores the dynamics and drivers of regional environmental policy-making with a focus on North America, Europe and the transatlantic region. My North American-centered research demonstrated how bottom-up factors drove early climate change policy-making at sub-national levels in the face of federal inaction. My initial European-focused research developed a model for characterizing and analyzing institutional linkages, demonstrated the difficulty of operationalizing the precautionary principle, and uncovered drivers of regional cooperation. Later, I expanded this research into a more comprehensive focus on European Union environmental policy-making in the broader context of moving towards sustainable development. My early transatlantic research explored major areas and patterns of European and North American cooperation and conflict on environmental policy-making. More recent work details the multiple and changing ways in which regional bodies, national and sub-national governments and non-state actors on both sides of the Atlantic interact on climate change and other environmental issues.


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The delivery of a child is a significant event for any family. Most parents try to capture in the photo every moment of peanut's life, starting from the first minutes. However, it's not easy to make really good pictures of babies. A small child is capricious, you cannot ask him or her to stand up beautifully, take some pose. Therefore, there are a lot of tricks and secrets about how to make cute childbirth photographs, for example, here are some of them. Let's try to figure out how to photograph the newborn children in this article.
"6 Safe & Easy Newborn Photography Tips":
In many countries, there are signs that forbid exposing infants to strangers. It is especially widespread among the older generation. Parents are often afraid of diseases, germs, spoilage, evil eye, envy. From the point of view of psychology, such fears are understandable: the fear of a child's life is one of the most powerful parental phobias.
From the medical side, this rule has a reasonable explanation: a newborn needs time to adapt in new conditions. First, he develops immunity at home, among relatives, and then this circle of intimates gradually expands. It is also believed that young children are especially vulnerable to people with poor energy.
Only parents can decide to take shots of their breastfed child or not. Over time, many details are forgotten, if not captured on a film. It is not necessary to arrange photo sessions with a large number of relatives or spread all the photos for everyone to see. The main thing is to preserve important, touching moments for the history.
As a rule, an infant is photographed at the level of his eyes. To do this, you have to crouch or sit on the floor. But often they make cadres as if "from above", so it turns out that the child is located, as it were, vertically on the wall. Then you have to get on a chair or a ladder. When shooting it is desirable to change the camera angle so that the pictures turn out to be interesting.
If the child turns away from the camera, lowers his head, then play in front of him a ringing toy, draw his attention. Affectionate intonation can also fix the situation – the baby begins to smile, and here he is again ready to shoot. During the photo session, try to change the shooting location and background color: diversity is the basis of creative photography.
Do not forget to be photographed with a toddler on your hands, because you are the happiest parents in the world, it will be written on your faces!
There are two main types of family photography: staging photography and everyday style. Consider the pros and cons of each type.
When staging photography, the details of the future photography are thought through to the smallest detail. This format allows you to embody a lot of original ideas, create real masterpieces for a home photo album. Often shoot production shots invite professional birth photographers who know how to put the right light, take the right angle.
The task of everyday shooting is to take pictures of the moments of a child's ordinary life. Here, much less attention is paid to detail, it is more important to catch a successful shot: the first smile, the first toy, the first walk, the acquaintance with the grandmother. The reason for shooting can be found every day, most importantly – to keep the camera ready.
We'll figure out how to photograph babies so that the shooting gives pleasure to all the participants of the process.
1. Choose habitual babies places or objects (baby cots, parents' hands, favorite rattles, and pets); among them, the baby will feel at ease, his behavior will be as natural as possible;
2. When the shooting is planned for a long time, pre-feed the baby, change the diaper;
3. If you shoot the child naked, place a waterproof cloth under the basic fabric to protect furniture from "surprises";
4. Beforehand, check the sounds that your equipment is emitting. Sometimes the shutter of the camera clicks loudly enough to wake or even scares the baby; do not forget to turn off the flash;
5. Ensure that the surface on which the baby is lying is soft, pleasant to the delicate skin; on a perfectly flat plane the child will not be too comfortable, place soft toys, pillows under the head and back;
6. Choose for a photo session a monophonic background with small bright details, otherwise the small body will be "lost" among the variegated objects;
7. Photographing babies more conveniently asleep, so they are less active, almost do not cause trouble;
8. Set the camera to burst mode when photographing the baby on the move (on different models it can be called "sport", "burst", and "continuous" mode). The camera makes up to 3-4 shots per second; the pictures will not be blurred, and from a large number of photographs there will always be some particularly successful ones;
9. Do not forget to process the received pictures using photo post production serviceseven on the best images sometimes it is worth fixing the light or removing unnecessary visual noise.
Sometimes in the pursuit of cadres, adults forget about security measures during a photo shoot. Harmless at first glance objects can cause inconvenience or create a traumatic situation. What seems to us a trifle; it can make a suckling experience serious discomfort. How to photograph babies without risk to health? Understand the basic rules of safe shooting.
Many talk about the danger associated with a flash, which at best can scare the baby, and at worst – negatively affect his retina and vision in general, because newborns still have "immature" eyes: the pupils are dilated, poorly accommodated, they do not have yet protection from bright light.
Recently, non-standard plans have risen to popularity: in cabbage, in a basket, in a gift box. Very popular position is the "frog", when the baby lies on his stomach, picking up his hands and feet. Many seek to imitate famous photographers, not knowing that most of these pictures are made in Photoshop. Look at "How to photograph children – the best poses for toddler shooting" and try to implement them. But it must be remembered that in all non-standard poses the baby is firmly held by the parent or assistant from different sides, then from one set of photographs one is mounted, removing the hands of adults with the help of a Photoshop. Shoot the baby during sleep, so as not to frighten him with an unusual situation.
And now, when we talked about security, it's time to start shooting.
Photos, which depict close-up individual parts of the baby's body, are not found in the home album often. However, with the right focus, they can fully convey the charm and fragility of a small creature: a thin fluff on the cheek, soft folds of the hands, tiny fingers. Particularly touching are the hands of parents near the baby.
Take close-up small legs in daddy palms or facial expression of little darling, when she sleeps in the arms of her mother. Such photos do not require special preparation, because only the baby will be in focus, and a light mess or uncombed mother will remain behind the scenes. You can see "How to improve your Baby photo shooting" and get your ideas.
Usually for such photos use the macro mode, this allows you to capture the smallest details. The final version of the image is often rendered in black and white to emphasize the main idea.
Often parents photograph only the baby, forgetting about the value of family photos. Runaround can be different: the mother after childbearing has gain weight; the father is too lazy to change his T-shirt, not that day, not that mood. But think about the fact that after years your child will be very interested in knowing what you were like at the time of his birth. Do not deprive him of his family history.
It is not necessary to turn a photo of a family into an exhibition model, where everyone is like a mannequin. Take live pictures of everyday life, applying only few effects of baby photo retouching. Excellent shots can be caught when a child plays with older children, looks at pet, smiles at mom or sleeps with a dad.
Sleeping babies are an excellent basis for creating fantastic stories. For 2-3 hours you have time to deploy around the baby this magic, the main thing in advance to come up with the plot. Decorations are any safe items.You should start with the preparation of the shooting place. It can be a bed, a basket or a frameless chair, which is very convenient to work. You may need small pads or cushions that will help give the baby a certain pose.
Do not use a too mottled or colored background that would steal the show. The baby must be the central figure, because everything is arranged for him! Use for this purpose monophonic fabrics and plaids made of natural materials.
The newborn should not be cold. Before shooting, turn on the heater (especially if you photograph the baby in winter and the house is cool). The air should be at least 25-26 °C. For a baby, this will be the most comfortable temperature.
The childbirth photographs will turn out interesting if you use different props. Most often you can see newborn babies in crocheted hats of various "modifications", including imitating animal ears.
Plots for a photo shoot can be very much, which will spur your creativity and will indicate in which direction to move.
For example, we can make an astrologer from a baby. Spread out the appropriate sizes of plaid dark blue or black color, the sleeping baby is placed on its side or back roughly centered. Around it, carefully arrange stars and planets, cut out of foil or multi-colored paper. Tinsel will serve as the tail of a comet; the mother's handkerchief will become a cloak. From the soft plastic tubule from the juice make a Skywatcher wand and gently insert it into the cam. Then photograph the resulting picture.
Most of the scenery can be folded from multi-colored pieces of fabric (blue sea, green meadow, blue sky) or cut from paper; Snow and clouds are obtained from cotton wool, tree trunks from twisted knitted things. Let your imagination run wild, and you will create the best fairy tale for your treasure.
A photograph, where is nothing but the baby, requires a special aesthetics. If you observe all the subtleties of light, colors and textures, you will get a masterpiece worthy of a separate photo frame.
Usually for such a picture on the baby leave a minimum of clothes: a hat and panties. The background is chosen in a discreet color (preferably warm pastel shades), but with a strong texture: a cable knit blanket, cloth or a rug with a well distinguishable pile. In the photo there must be an object on which the attention of the audience is focused: a bright hat, a large soft toy or the name of the baby laid out in cubes.
The photos of the baby are a source of warm family memories for many years to come. Take pictures of your baby as often as possible, because at the age of one year he changes literally every week.
The first year of the baby's life is the most interesting for photographing and so important for the family chronicle. Every month of the life of babies is an important milestone in their little history. It is very important to record for the family album how the suckling sleeps touchingly, how to do hand-to-mouth activity, how to learn to sit, crawl on his stomach, and then on his hands and knees, their first steps...
You can organize a professional photo shoot for newborns. Parents can find among friends or through friends a professional photographer, who specializes in this style of photography, then discuss with him photo editing prices and agree on the style of the photo session and the venue.
First, there is a light in the photo studio that you will never get at home. Secondly, professional birth photographers will always take pictures of such quality that you cannot do. Thirdly, the professional retouches the pictures so that any drawbacks simply disappear.
Just try to choose a photographer who specializes in children's photography. Such people are very tolerant of children's whims, which a photographer of a different direction can greatly angry. In addition, professional birth photographers, as a rule, make good contact with children, and this is the main condition for a successful photo session.
The first year of a child's life is a unique moment, which, as a rule, passes quickly, because the baby is growing rapidly and developing. It is during this period of life that we recommend not to be lazy to take photographs of the baby, because this period of life of the child will no longer be repeated.
In Europe, babies were photographed more than 10 years ago. They have long had such a direction as "photographing newborns" with all their "goodies" and features. And in the US, such photo sessions have long been popular; many celebrities even sell photos of their newborn children for fabulous money to magazines. Many photographers are happy to share their experiences and newborn photography tips.
1. "Catching" a successful shot with a child who is always busy is not easy. Therefore, you will have to show miracles of patience and skill. Do a lot of shots, some of them just will not work, they will be blurry, but 1-2 will be different. For them it is worth spending a little more time.
2. Increasingly popular are the production shots with interesting stories. But if you wait, when you have time for this creativity, then miss the most interesting moments of your baby's development. Let the camera (even just a phone) always be at your fingertips: the first smile, the first tooth, the first step is never on order. If everything is not photographed "right here and right now", then you will greatly regret it.
3.Yes, everyone wants to capture the merry and joyful face of a child. But let in your collection there will be some photos where the kid cries or something is dissatisfied. This is also an emotion that belongs to him. Then he will be interested to see himself in this mood.
4. Do not avoid close-ups. For some reason, when you look at someone's family albums, in most cases, objects and people are taken from afar. There happen to be, but diversity still nice to have. Face of little one in close-up better conveys his emotions: he yawns, frowns, smiles. Such pictures cause a lot of emotion.
The secret: if at the moment of shooting the kid is still capricious, it is easy and quick to calm white noise – you just need to include a special application on your smartphone.
Modern moms are not afraid to take pictures of an infant. On the contrary, they do this often and with great pleasure. Many of them have learned to use the feature packed cameras, Photoshop and special programs for editing photos and Portrait retouch, have learned to make collages and slideshows. All this indicates their genuine interest in their children, because the occupation of such creativity is one of the brightest demonstrations of their love for the baby.
Let's get back to our tips. Small participants in photo shoots are best shot on a macro lens. It paints virtually every eyelash and allows you to create very clear pictures. With its help you can make beautiful photos of the legs or hands of the baby, capture a close-up of the mouth or eye with fluffy eyelashes. And then from these photos you can make a wonderful collage.
A clear draughtsmanship is one of the main features of optics. Coupled with the camera, pictures on this lens are sometimes so detailed that you can consider, for example, the structure of cosmetics on women's skin and here all it takes is Headshot retouching. This optics is great for shooting children of any age, especially newborns, when you need to draw the smallest hairs and the finest eyelashes of a child. The lens focuses from a short distance, does not distort when shooting portraits, and neatly works out details in the correct lighting.
Natural photos always look more alive than the production ones. In addition, exactly these real moments from life are a present value for a family photo album. Do not get dwell on production shots and baby photo retouching, because the images should be as real as possible. Breastfeeding, the first toy, the first dress and walks – that's what will surely well catch on the family album.
As we can see, now in the trend images, where the kids touchingly lie snug in bed. The ideal age for such photos is 2-3 weeks. Often when shooting children under the age of three weeks they are placed in special baskets for newborns, wrapped in diapers or waists, decorated with bandages with flowers. During the photo shoot the baby tries on several different images, behind which you cannot see him. After three weeks of age, children no longer sleep so tightly, they cannot be put in such poses. However, when shooting children from 1 to 3 months, the pictures are more interesting: the kids begin to react to the sounds, smile to their mother, keep the toy in their hand and stay awake longer, which means that there are a few more scenes for shooting. The bulk of clients turn to the professional birth photographers when the newborns begin to hold the head on their own.
Processing begins with the technical correction of the selected images. It is necessary to clarify and the image framing; align and improve the color and brightness of the image. Pictures are getting closer to the ideal, and many photographers are limited to this. But lovers of their business go further. They use various programs like Photoshop and Lightroom and resort to Photo color correction services.
The processing photos can be natural and artistic. All sorts of skin problems associated with redness, allergies, are easily removed with natural color correction and light retouching. Artistic processing means tinting, all excesses, imperfections are removed – the photo is brought up to the ideal.
The next step is retouching. With simple retouching, the master removes the random parts that have got into the cadre, works on the complexion and hides skin imperfections, emphasizes or corrects the figure; the level of retouching skill can be determined by his Before and after retouch portfolio. But sometimes you just have to build the pictures again. This is not a shooting error. Children's shooting often has to spend more time on processing to provide comfortable and safe conditions for children during the photo session.
And only then comes the time of artistic processing of the very best images. This is a long and complex process and the most important, because it is the artistic processing creates the mood of the cadre. It is necessary to choose a gamma; to emphasize the appropriate light and color to the general idea; sharpen the composition; choose an ideal contrast... Processing possibilities are endless. The main thing is to see what exactly you want to do. Many people benefit from art education and creative experience. After all, only the artist can see whether the pics of childbirth will look better in black and white, or it should remove green shades, emphasizing the red ones.
Of course, technology has paramount importance in photography. However, another very important point is the ability of the photographer to sensitively capture the mood of the kids and pay attention to the smallest details. This can help your own experience of parenting. After all, photographers film their children literally from the first minutes of their life and understand the value of unique moments from family chronicles that all members of the family will remember with time, viewing the photo album. If your parents like the first-born shots, they will most likely become your regular customers and will return again as soon as their family replenishes.


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|Farmhouse front
|Farmhouse back
|Farmhouse front
|Farmhouse back
Your porch is awesome. That's one thing I want in my future, a big porch, screened in since we'll likely be living in the woods. Your house is very cozy looking! :)ReplyDelete
How charming!ReplyDelete
What a wonderful farmhouse, filled to the brim with all you Thursday potentials! It is a lovely place.ReplyDelete
what a wonderful place! i can't wait to see all of those flower beds in bloom!ReplyDelete
Thanks! It helps once in a while to be refreshed about the layout and the location of new plantings. I love all the doors.ReplyDelete
Quaint little farmhouse.
Just wait till you get flowers planted in them front beds and they begin to bloom; it's going to be beautiful with added color out front.
Perfect party area right there by your tree.
Neighbors dog must not had been around on that day. Would had made a great addition laying on your front porch or at the bottom of the steps.
Noticed one thing; you have no back door.
Always enjoy seeing your photos. Thank you
Very cute Texas farmhouse.ReplyDelete
Your farm house is just perfect for the country. I definitely have porch envy!
And your party tree is in a wonderfully convenient location. The flower beds are going to be gorgeous when in full bloom.
Thanks for the visual - it helps to "see" where everything is being planted, built, and planned for.
Please leave us a comment! I have some comment moderation on and of course will approve your comment relatively quickly. We love feedback and hearing what others have to share with us all. Please know that I can't always reply to it right away, but ALL comments are read. I will reply just as soon as I can so be sure to come back and see my reply.
Now, let us hear from you!


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Looking forward to the debut of The Liberty Belle Hour at its new home, Blog Talk Radio, and new time, 6 p.m. Eastern, tonight. Steve Trevelise of WIP Philly Sportsradio will be joining me for my inaugural broadcast on BTR. This will be a new experience, hosting a show and managing the switchboard and chat room, having been very spoiled at WAFS, where all I had to do was show up and talk. Guess I'll get an idea of what it's like week in and week out for my Conservative Republican Forum co-host, Steve! 🙂
See you at 6 p.m.
Update: It was a great show tonight with Steve Trevelise! To listen to the archive, click here.


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I don't know exactly how many years ago it was, maybe five or six, but I remember when it was normal to go up to Salt Lake City in early April and October of each year to help with the translation of General Conference for the Icelanders. There was one or two people who were over the process of keeping the RM's who were still around on a list and calling on them when conference was getting close to help out. I was on that list since I planned to stay in the area and still had contact with those who were putting everything together. During a few of those years there was not an Icelander around to help us with the process. During other years Þorbergur Sigurjónsson and Friðrik Guðmundsson were at BYU and able to keep the group of us organized.
I remember starting out as a translator in the basement of the old tabernacle on Temple Square. Then, once the Conference Center was complete, we moved over there to a beautiful facility above the main floor in the north-west corner of the building.
In my third or four go-around doing this, I showed up to my particular session of conference and met up with some of the other RM's who would be helping out. I saw this one elder who I didn't recognize and didn't hear his name right off. He was speaking Icelandic to one of the two natives there and my mouth fell open. I said to myself, "wow, this guy's Icelandic is perfect. He is gifted and probably just barely home from his mission." I'd never seen him before, not even a picture of him so I was curious. Well I asked Friðrik, I think, who he was and he told me that he wasn't just an RM but an Icelander who was baptized after I left my mission. No wonder I didn't know him. His name was Kristján Mathiesen and had served his mission mostly in Bristol, England.
I learned a bit about his story that night and then a bunch more later on. He, it turns out, is the only Icelander to my knowledge who has ever served part of his regular mission in his home country, Iceland. He served his last three months in Iceland because of either the death or illness of one of his parents. That is why he is in this picture with the other missionaries of his day back in early 1993. He is the 2nd from the left on the bottom row. An interesting three months that must have been.
Kristján married Sóley Ólafsdóttir whose family are all faithful members of the Church. It is very difficult for LDS Icelanders to find spouses who are also LDS Icelanders, but in Kristján's case, he found a great one; one who was a favorite of all the missionaries since she was so happy and helped us patiently with our Icelandic. She was seven when I arrived in Iceland. Now the two of them have three kids of their own, the oldest of whom, Daníel, just became a deacon.
11 August 2008
2 comments:
- Grandpa and Grandma B said...
Do you know which branch Kristján and his family are in? We are excited to be going to Iceland and enjoy your blog. Thanks
- Darron said...
They are in the Reykjavik branch like Soley's parents, Olafur and Bjorg. It is quite the scene to see all of them sitting in one row in the chapel there. Something you see in Utah a lot, but not Iceland!
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I am making final preparations for teaching at next week's Perkins School of Youth Ministry. One of the classes I will be teaching is titled "Deconstructing the Generation Gap." I will allege, and hopefully convince my class, that the generation gap is a social construct and one that is (ought to be) unwelcome in the church.
It struck me today that the term "generation gap" really came into being as the Baby Boomers began to rise into late adolescence and early adulthood. Now, however, they are on the other end of the gap.
How are you doing, Baby Boomers, from this side of the "gap," as compared to how the older generation did when you were on the young end?


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by Jessica Abel
The first full-length graphic novel from an acclaimed young comics artist. This is an emotional, high velocity tale of a young woman who journeys to Mexico City in search of her true identity, only to discover a self she can hardly recognize.
HC, 8x6, 272pgs,$19.95
I enjoyed the beginning of the series quite a bit, although I thought the end was a bit of a let-down when I first read it. I'll have to re-read the whole thing before I decide if I want it in a more permanent format. I do recommend it for those who haven't read it, for the art if nothing else. And a very good price, a hardcover for $6 less than the separate comics cost. It's enough to put you off serialized comics for good.
Written by Otto Binder
Art by Curt Swan, Ruben Moreria, Ray Burnley and others
Cover by Swan & Stan Kaye
The super-affordable Showcase collections continue with a volume spotlighting Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane and pal Jimmy Olsen, collecting the first 22 issues of SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN and Lois's first solo outing from SHOWCASE #9!
On sale March 15 576 pg, B&W, $16.99 US
It's almost wrong how excited I was when I first heard of this. Over 500 pages of Curt Swan drawing silly stories of Jimmy Olsen. It's almost a shame that there'll be a Lois Lane thing contaminating it at the end (though I'm looking forward to the Schaffenberger version of Lois if there are future volumes)
by David, Staton, & Milgrom
With the rest of the Soulsearchers involved in their slapstick search for a new group headquarters, Bridget and Baraka follow Cloa Fille's trail to the accursed house overgrown by menacing plants, and find the most audacious adversary they've ever met in the "The Calamityville Horror"!
32pgs, B&W $2.50
This should be good. I'm looking forward to seeing Joe Staton's version of the characters.
by Scott Roberts
At last, Patty-Cake in full color! You knew it had to happen sooner or later! After ten years,multiplee Eisner and Ignatz nominations, Scott Roberts' beloved Patty-Cake is coming to you in color! This special trade paperback reprints the first three issues of Patty's long SLG run (from away back in 1997) as you've never seen them before.
SC, 6x9, 96pgs, FC $12.95
This is really good to see. Roberts' work will look great in colour, and hopefully with their publication of some Disney stuff Slave Labor will be able to make some inroads into mainstream distribution with it.
Written and illustrated by Tony Millionaire, Kyle Baker, Dylan Horrocks, Eddie Campbell, Harvey Pekar, James Kochalka, Gilbert Hernandez, Peter Bagge and others
Cover by Jaime Hernandez
A heaping slab of great comics featuring Bizarro by a who's-who of fantastic comic artists and writers! It's big! It's indisputably rectangular! It stays crunchy even in milk!
on sale April 26 ' 200 pg, FC, $19.99 US
Might pick this up if I see it on sale somewhere. I got the first volume a while back, and while I didn't like most of it, there were a few gems, so if this is the same I'd probably be happy to pay about half that cover price.
Written by Bob Haney, Marv Wolfman and Len Wein
Art by Nick Cardy, Bruno Premiani, Bill Molno, Irv Novick, Lee Elias, Bill Draut, Sal Trapani and Jack Abel
Cover by Cardy
The "Showcase" format continues with a volume collecting BRAVE AND THE BOLD #54, 60, SHOWCASE #59, and TEEN TITANS #1-18. Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Aqualad unite for adventures only a teen team could handle!
on sale April 5 ' 528 pg, B&W, $16.99 US
While not quite as glee inducing as 500 pages of JIMMY OLSEN, this is still going to be well worth picking up. Cardy's artwork is great on these stories, and it's probably my favourite of Bob Haney's books.
JOHN STANLEY (W/A) and IRVING TRIPP (A)
On sale April 12, SC, 200pg, b&w, 6" x 9", $9.95
For eight-year-old Lulu Moppet, nothing is impossible even if the results of her efforts are impossibly imperfect. Need to quell the fury of a rambunctious two-year-old? Lulu's got a hilarious fairy tale brewing in her brain that'll do just the trick. Father needs his best suit taken to the tailor? Lulu can handle it - so long as Pop doesn't mind if she makes a few unplanned and wholly unpredictable stops along the way. Have a wayward ghost in your house who needs a new home? Lulu's your girl!
Glad to see Dark Horse is getting these out on a steady basis. I've really enjoyed those I picked up so far, and look forward to getting all of them at some point.
by Mark Martin
After a hiatus from a regularly serialized comic - but not from comics - Mark Martin debuts his new, semi-annual title Runaway this month. The first issue begins the longest story starring his popular character Montgomery Wart (from Tantalizing Stories) - plus several shorter stories to round out the first issue. The book is full of Martin's patented visuals, slapstick humor, perfect timing, distinctive character designs, and rambunctious storytelling. Find out why so many cartoonists, from Scott McCloud to Jim Woodring, love Martin's comics.
24pgs $3.50
Good to see Mark Martin back on the printed page, even if just on a semi-annual basis. More than worth taking a look at.
On sale March 29, b&w, 24pg, $2.99
Internationally acclaimed storyteller Stan Sakai presents another adventure from feudal Japan! The foxy thief Kitsune visits the Geishu clan in this issue, and the rabbit ronin is caught between his friendship with the charming thief and his loyalty to the Geishu clan... and how will Tomoe react when she meets Usagi's beautiful and flirtatious friend? It's a meeting of two fan-favorite characters, with the long-eared samurai caught in the middle! As if that weren't enough, when Kitsune's young protege Kiyoko steals a priceless temple scroll, the man who wants it would rather kill the pair than pay for it. Can they get out of this mess before permanent damage is caused to the clan? Find out, this month in Usagi Yojimbo!
I guess there are only so many ways to say hey, it's Sakai, it's Usagi, it'll be good.
Written by Joe Kubert
Art and cover by Kubert
Sgt. Rock and Easy Co. continue on their mission to bring "The Prophecy" to Estonia. After a harrowing shootout with a band of renegade Nazis, the combat-happy Joes of Easy Company and their precious cargo stumble upon a place they've never seen before and one they won't soon forget.
On sale March 22 3 of 6 ' 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
And of course Kubert doing Rock is always going to be good to look at.


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In the early part of the week there are few reports that will be important to watch. However, on Wednesday, the Fed will release the minutes from their last meeting and there will surely be a divide that is growing on the amount of stimulus they are serving up.
Durable good will be interesting as currency headwinds via the strength in the USD may put a damper on analysts estimates as less goods are ordered fromoverseas buyers.


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Unlike Madonna, the Middle East Isn't A "Material Girl":
A reader pointed out that in the West, it is assumed to be obvious that Arabs understand that material advancement is necessary for progress and power. For example, Tom Friedman talked about the UN Arab Human development report written by Arab liberals. In other words, the Arabic-speaking world is shaped by the failure of leaders to understand that Western pundits know far more about their society than they do.Indeed, the insistence to refer to the protests that engulfed the Middle East over the past 2 years is a symptom of the problem -- to the extent that arming Islamist extremists in Syria is considered a serious policy by the Obama administration, which considers the extremists of the Muslim Brotherhood to be an antidote to Al Qaeda.
Understanding that Friedman doesn't understand the Middle East, though he has persuaded a big audience otherwise, is the beginning of wisdom on the region.
Egypt is perhaps the perfect example of how badly the West in general, and pundits in particular, got -- and continue to get -- the Arab Spring all wrong:
Think of the perfect symbolism of what happened on February 18, 2011, in Cairo's Tahrir Square which shows where the locals think the West can physically insert its deficits. President Husni Mubarak had just been overthrown in the "Arab Spring." There was the huge rally to greet al-Qaradawi with an estimated one million people, ten times what the "moderates" (many of whom were Muslim Brothers in disguise) had been able to muster.Read the whole thing.
Wael Ghonim, an executive of Google on leave who had been a leader of the revolt, a young man of about 30 and married to an American convert to Islam tried to get on the platform. He was thrown off. Since then, Ghonim has been a political zero.
And so Ghonim, the 30-something hero in the West, got to be in Time Magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people; was presented by the JFK Profile in Courage Aware (whose name was based on a book that had Kennedy's name on it but was written by my PhD advisor, Professor Jules Davids) by Caroline Kennedy on behalf of "the people of Egypt." He was listed as the second most powerful Arab in the world by Arabian Business magazine for leading Egyptian youth.
Yet perhaps it would have been more appropriate if the award had been given by a hijab-wearing Caroline Kennedy to the Muslim Brotherhood leadership, who really represented "the people of Egypt."
What happened to the 80-something al-Qaradawi? Oh, he didn't get any Western awards or plaudits. He just got Egypt.
|Wael Ghonim, one-time hero of the Arab Spring in Egypt,
before reality set in. Ghonim, Ghonim, gone.
Credit: Wiki Commons
Wael Ghonim's awards have as much meaning as the Nobel Peace Prize that Obama received: both were more a political statement on hope for the future than a reflection of actual accomplishment. At least in Ghonim's case, there was a brief moment when it appeared that Egypt had turned the corner -- until the Egyptian majority took over the situation.
Hope may spring eternal, but the reality across the Middle East is providing a lesson whose importance goes beyond the pap the pundits are peddling.
If you found this post interesting or informative, please it below. Thanks!


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Its back again this August Bank Holiday and this year we are looking to make it bigger and better than ever with 8 teams of 5 players (that's 40 people) playing in 2 boxes of 4 teams with a final match on the Sunday afternoon to find your final placement from 1-8. This year we will be taking our team names from the Football World Cup Quarter Finalists, so we can't name them as yet!!! but it should lead to some new countries being involved, which means new flags, new noisy musical instruments being played and most importantly new outfits to wear!!!
You can choose to play singles & doubles or just doubles as we have 16 singles placements and 24 doubles spaces available.. click on the link below to book your place and then let me know what you would like to be involved with singles & doubs or just doubs!!!
We will obviously have our end of event BBQ on the Sunday night and this year we are looking to go to "The Royal Exchange" pub our club sponsor to spend an enjoyable Saturday evening in the company of our fellow competitors, hopefully disabling them for the next day's play!!! Full details of the Saturday night menu will be available nearer the time…
This event is open to everyone who is 16 years old and above and we welcome all levels as we will match you up evenly through the 8 teams – c'mon get involved and join the 26th KTC Davis Cup!!!


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If you feel that the first inflation is too small, you can leave it full for 1-2 days to relax the surface and re-inflate.
Origin : Taiwan
Material: PVC
Size: 25cm indiameter and 109g in weight
Color : Pink
Quantity: 2
Accessories: Straw
Cleaning: Wipe with a damp cloth


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10 Good Reasons to Take Korean Ginseng
Korean (Panax Ginseng) is the most widely used and studied ginseng in the world. It is known in many Asian countries as the "king of all herbs". Almost 3,000 research articles on Korean ginseng have been published to date. It's the Ginsenosides that are the active ingredients that trigger the over-all benefits of Korean Ginseng.
Ginseng is one of the few herbs and natural supplements on the market which naturally contains as many antioxidants and healthy plant saponins as it does. Because it provides a boost to the liver and blood filtration systems, the body's efficiency at processing lactic acid (which can build up in muscles, causing body fatigue) is improved. Olympic gold athletes swear that they notice increase in stamina and vitality.
1. It has been shown to stimulate the entire body to overcome stress, fatigue and weakness, resulting in optimal performance and delivering of nutrients to the body that generates a sense of relaxation and well-being.
2. The ginsenosides found in Korean ginseng enhances memory and improves cognitive abilities, making it useful in the treatment of poor concentration, sluggish mental function, poor memory, insomnia and anxiety. Many students take this kind of ginseng while studying and taking tests as it sharpens concentration and memory and makes learning new subjects much easier.
3. Ginseng strengthens the immune systems and enhances the body's ability to fight against diseases and allergies by stimulating the production of interferon.
4. Korean ginseng is used to treat stomach disorders such diarrhea, poor appetite, nausea, vomiting and indigestion.
5. It enhances the body's ability to fight against diseases and allergies by stimulating the production of interferon. It thus helps prevent colds, flu.
6. It has been shown to fight against some forms of cancer, as well as being effective in lowering high blood sugar levels as well as blood cholesterol.
7. Korean ginseng relaxes the lungs and prevents constriction of the airways. It can be taken as a remedy for asthma and other types of lung problems.
8. Panax ginseng has been shown to be effective in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, as suggested by a 2002 study from the Journal of Urology. In tests on 45 men with erectile dysfunction, those who took Panax ginseng for eight weeks showed greater improvements than those given a placebo for the same time period. In an earlier study of 90 men with erectile dysfunction, 60% of the participants reported improvement in their symptoms compared with 30 percent of those using the placebo. The study was published in the International Journal of Impotence Research.
9. Korean ginseng is very popular for seniors as it is thought to prevent senility. It's strengthening and energizing effects are important to keep the body active well into old age. It has a very positive effect in making the whole body healthy. When you take it daily, it balances all of the systems in the body.
10. Ginseng helps Diabetes. A 2008 study published in "Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases" showed that Panax ginseng aids in diabetes management. The study involved 19 people with well-controlled type 2 diabetes. Compared to those given a placebo for 12 weeks, study members who took Panax ginseng supplements for the same time period experienced greater improvements in blood sugar control.


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John, our kilt-wearing tour guide today, was the best yet! I'll probably regret not detailing out today's events in detail later but I'm exhausted.
In short, we traveled up through the Scotland highlands from Edinburgh to Loch Ness. Up through Glen Coe and The Three Sisters mountains, over the curviest of roads for hundreds of miles and passed the most picturesque of Lochs I'd ever seen. I took more time today to observe my surroundings than to take photos and I'm so glad I did. So refreshing to be surrounded by the nature that Scotland holds dear!


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Biale, Biale vineyards, black chicken, cluck, Mourvèdre, Napa, Petite Sirah, red, red wine, Sonoma, syrah, wine, wine learner, wine lover, winelearner, zinfandel
On day two of my journeys through Napa, Biale Vineyards was our first stop, home of the Black Chicken. It was a clear and sunny day stunning, especially after the threat of it being a cold and rainy day, however it was quite windy.
Getting there a little early, I took a quick stroll back down the driveway, almost getting blown away in the process. Heading back towards the barn and the storefront for tasting, I was able to appreciate for the second time the beauty and quaintness of the winery. Walking along the side of the building towards the store front were tables all set up for outdoor tasting overlooking the rolling vineyards. Unfortunately, due to the wind we were unable to enjoy the space. The inside was as beautiful with handcrafted wood bars.
We were immediately greeted and provided with glasses for our tasting and a menu outlining the 5 wines provided for tasting, heavy on the Zinfandels (their specialty). The start was their staple: Black Chicken Zinfandel. A blend of grapes from all their vineyards to produce an approachable and full bodied red. Classic notes of blueberry, figs, plums and black cherry all present with vanilla, leather and slight tar. It was a great palate warmer to the day. Continue reading


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Story Cake Wedding | By Donna
Hello, everyone!
Donna here with another card. This time I have made a wedding card using the gorgeous Gummiapan Story Cake with Glasing die. It is one of my favourite Gummiapan dies.
Links to the products used are in text, and can be found at the end of my post.
For the shape of my card I used GoKreate large frame frilly #5. The purple papers and pretty lace is from my stash! The other papers that I used are Maja Design Sofiero.
I die cut a Gummiapan pierced scalloped circle, and stamped it with the Gummiapan angelpost stamp. Then I die cut Gummiapan story cake with glasing using Sofiero papers and matted it onto the centre of the circle with foam tape, layering the tiers with 2mm foam tape.
I decorated the top of the cake with small mulberry flowers, trailing them down the side of the first tier. The 3mm purple pearls that I have adhered to each of the daisy centres are from my stash! The lovely tiny butterflies are included in the Gummiapan "story cake with glasing" set of dies.
To give the sentiment the illusion that it was floating off the card I cut the Gummiapan wedding sentiment and adhered it to a piece of clear acetate. Then I cut around the sentiment and adhered a strip of acetate folded in half to the back of it using permanent clear glue dots. It looks great and I got the idea from my crafty friend Tammy!
I placed a wrapped so lovely tag behind the scalloped circle. The flowers, seam binding, decorative pins, charm, and resin cherub are from my stash!
The clock dies are from my stash. The hands of the clock are set to 3.30pm - the time of the wedding.
Inside the card is decorated to complement the front.
Thank you for stopping by today!
You can find my blog HERE
Links to the products I used;