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|July 24, 2002
Volume 4, Issue 28
|Midwifery Today E-News
"Herbal Remedies"
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Midwifery Today Conference News
Italian midwife Verena Schmid, one of the teachers for the August intensive, is in the United States now, at Nancy Wainer's in Boston. Verena then plans to visit the Farm in Tennessee, then Jeannine Parvati Baker and on to the San Francisco area, hopefully to visit Elizabeth Davis. When she comes to Eugene, I will take her on a trip visiting more midwives, schools and birth centers in Oregon. It will be exciting to see what Verena has learned in her travels around the United States meeting birth practitioners. Her insights are always astounding in their depth.
Verena has a school for midwives in Italy and has also spoken in hospitals across that country. There is a map of Italy on her wall with a pin of one color for every hospital she has spoken in, and another for upcoming talks. The map is covered with pins.
Besides being a midwife for 25 years, Verena plans to start a birth center. She has put on many conferences herself and speaks in various parts of Europe. Verena and I have even talked about doing a joint conference in Italy. I can't wait to see how this trip has affected her already deep knowledge of childbirth. I am anxious to learn about the similarities and differences between birth and midwifery here and in Italy. I especially like Verena's concept that if we address issues and do enough in the prenatal period with women then the birth will go well. I am thrilled that she has agreed to come and teach us about how she addresses those issues with women.
- Jan Tritten
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Quote of the Week
"The women I have served as a midwife over many years taught me how interesting, subtle and complex women really are."
- Marion Toepke McLean
The Art of Midwifery
As a La Leche League leader, I strongly recommend this simple, effective way to increase milk supply: NURSE! NURSE! NURSE! Because milk is produced by supply/demand, the more your nursling is at the breast, the better your milk supply. If you are concerned, try "super switch nursing" -- as soon as your babe slows on one breast, immediately switch to the other. Repeat this process. Offering both breasts at every feeding is also a good way to stimulate milk production. This supply/demand process is the underlying reason why babies nurse more frequently during growth spurts. Not only do they want more milk, but they are building up mother's milk supply by needing more time at the breast.
- Beth Leianne Curtis, MSW
Share your midwifery arts with E-News readers! Send your favorite tricks to firstname.lastname@example.com
News Flashes
Previous research has shown that alcohol consumption by pregnant women is one of the leading preventable causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities, yet when researchers reviewed 81 clinical obstetric texts in current use, they found that only 14 contain a consistent recommendation that pregnant women should not drink alcohol. Among the 29 texts published since 1991, only seven consistently recommend abstinence. More than half of the 81 texts contain at least one statement condoning drinking. Although none of the 29 texts published since 1991 contains a consistent message that drinking is permissible during pregnancy, 15 carry a mixed message, recommending abstinence in one place and stating elsewhere that some level of drinking is permissible.
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Herbal Remedies for Normal Childbirth
The birth kit is a prepared and easily transportable package of herbal remedies intended for use in normal childbirth. Any and all of the following can be beneficial to have handy to help facilitate normal birth. In the following list, I offer information about natural, safe and effective herbal remedies that are tried and true and long valued by women worldwide as allies for the transformative process of childbirth.
Blue/black cohosh roots combination (Caulophyllum thalictroides, Cimicifuga racemosa): Establishes and regulates labor. Blue cohosh especially carries a significant amount of oxytocin, which is responsible for initiating and mainaining the process of labor. Black cohosh helps labor progress without intensity, taking the edge off powerful contractions and allowing the mother to remain open. Take 15 drops of the tincture in a cup of warm water every half hour until a good rhythm is established.
Ginseng/ginger roots combination (Panax, Zingiber officinale): Lends energy during labor and birth. Ginseng is renowned as a strengthening tonic overall and is useful in difficult or prolonged labor in which the mother feels exhausted and unable to go on. Ginger root is a warming, stimulating tonic that will give a boost while easing contracting muscles. Use 20 drops of tincture hourly as needed. As labor moves into the pushing stage, a one-time dose of 30-40 drops can be used to boost energy.
Skullcap/passionflower combination (Scutellaria laterifolia, Passiflora incarnata): Specific for pain relief and nerve nourishment. Helps settle the nervous system and adrenals, helps reduce fears and anxiety, particularly when the fear of pain becomes greater than the pain itself. This formula also can be used if the blood pressure rises above an acceptable normal range. This combination can be taken following the delivery to help settle and relax the mother. Use 10-20 drops of tincture hourly, or every half hour if necessary as labor deepens.
Yarrow/shepherd's purse (Achillea millefolium, Capsella bursa-pastoris): These are wonderful to have on hand in case of unchecked postpartum bleeding. They are renowned hemostatics that help control excessive blood flow. This tincture must be prepared with fresh flowering shepherd's purse. The dried herb is not as effective. Use 10-15 drops of this formula, only after the placenta has been delivered, every 15 minutes until bleeding is under control.
Dong quai (Angelica sinensis): Encourages the expulsion of a reluctant placenta. This herb usually yields good results within one or two doses. Take 15 drops of dong quai tincture every 15 minutes for three doses.
Rescue Remedy: This is a classic flower essence combination from the Dr. Edward Bach school of flower essence therapy. The five flowers of this formula -- clematis, star of Bethlehem, rock rose, cherry plum and impatiens -- were chosen for their specific and synergistic effect on the spirit following a shock, trauma or any intensely moving experience. To use it, nothing need be "wrong." Administering a few drops to everyone in the birthing party following delivery can be a grounding and unifying ritual. Use a dose of 3-5 drops under the tongue once or up to every 15 minutes for an hour.
Mugwort flower essence: For connection to the spirit world when seeking guidance and strength; attunement to the incoming soul. Use 2-4 drops on the tongue as desired.
Walnut flower essence: Releasing the child and the pregnancy; transitioning to the next level of the mother-child relationship. Use 2-4 drops as needed.
Red hibiscus flower essence: Universal feminine power, sexual/creative power of women, tapping into the goddess-self who is capable of anything. Use 2-4 drops as desired.
Chamomile essential oil: Carries concentrated benefits of its relaxing, warming and soothing properties. Most notably a classic antispasmodic herb. Add the essential oil to a hot tub for labor or dispersed in a carrier oil for massage. It will relax the muscles, ease pain, calm the spirit and help the laboring mother remain open to birthing energy.
Comfrey leaf (Symphytum officinale): The healing powers are unparalleled in the ability to quickly repair tissues and bones. The herb in infusion form can be used topically for any perineal tears, stitches or general soreness in the pelvic floor. Soak in a comfrey sitz bath several times a day. The bath can be prepared by adding a quart of comfrey leaf infusion to a quart of warm water and mixing these in the sitz bowl before use. Soak up to 20 minutes each time.
- Susan Perri, clinical herbalist,
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GOOD NEWS: The Shiatsu class has been approved for CEU credits by ACNM. The Working with Women class was not approved because "it did not go beyond core competencies."
Other Products of Interest
Life After Birth: Every Woman's Guide to the First Year of Motherhood
The perfect gift for a new or expectant mother, Life After Birth helps her understand the physical and emotional changes she faces in the year after her baby is born.
Only a few copies left, so order yours today!
Forum Talk: Polyhydramnios
I am a doula working with a woman who has been experiencing early labor for about 10 days, complete with bloody show, good contractions that react normally to movement, and she was even a bit dilated last week. This week she is still contracting, although not strongly, but is no longer dilated, and has been told by her midwife that she has polyhydramnios, and that baby may have a defect. Does anyone have any information or advice about how to deal with this situation?
- Mikki
Go to our forums to share your thoughts and experience.
Question of the Week: Hypertension
Q: Has anyone else noticed an increase in hypertension for women who conceived soon after 9-11? I just had five hypertensive clients in a row, and I normally only have a maximum of two each year.
- Lisa Goldstein
Send your responses to firstname.lastname@example.com
Question of the Week Responses: Loose Stools
Q: Do readers have insight or remedies for a pregnant mother who has had loose stools all of first and second trimester? Why does this happen, and is it normal for some pregnancies?
- Anonymous
A: I am 7 months pregnant and have had this problem through most of my pregnancy. I just figured it was part of the hormonal changes occurring in my body. I drink plenty of water, eat well and have gained a normal amount of weight. My only thought was the possibility of developing lactose intolerance since becoming pregnant.
- Ramona
A: I had very loose stools through most of my pregnancy. My midwife put me on iron supplements and it seemed to help. I think I was constipated 1-2 times through my pregnancy and supposedly that's the norm. Talk to your midwife or doc about it, and don't forget to drink a lot of water!
- Donna
A: bet it is somehow related to all the relaxin in a mom's body during pregnancy. I had loose stools with both of my pregnancies, and afterward I returned to normal.
- Carla
A: Instead of throwing up every morning I got up and had diarrhea. This continued into my 3rd trimester. I did throw up some and had morning sickness up to 2 weeks before my baby was born. My midwife was unconcerned and said that some women just respond differently to the hormone surges. Overall, I had a very normal and healthy pregnancy, labor, birth and baby. My midwife helped changed my perspective on this matter to be grateful to be pregnant and not constipated!
- Liberty Coultas
The BirthLove Web site has helped many women grow trust in birth and in their bodies. It has helped women resist Cytotec, find good midwives and stop believing everything their doctors say. There are hundreds of homebirth stories: unassisted VBAC, fathers' stories, twin (and triplet home VBAC!) stories, breech stories -- for things that people get sectioned for daily, there are homebirth stories on the site. Marsden Wagner, MD is a contributing expert, as is Sarah Buckley, MD, Gloria Lemay and Gretchen Humphries. BirthLove has changed and saved lives through education, communication and love. Become a member of BirthLove today and be inspired!
Question of the Quarter, Midwifery Today magazine
Issue 64, Unity
Is unity possible in this diverse midwifery community? Can we stand up for and support one another when there is such a range of philosophical approaches to training and practice?
Please submit your response by Sept. 30, 2002, to firstname.lastname@example.com.
All responses subject to editing for content and style. Sorry, but we cannot reply to each individual submission.
With Woman
by Gloria Lemay, compiled by Leilah McCracken
Hands Off the Breech!
These words are legend in obstetrics, yet many practitioners are seemingly unable to resist the temptation to meddle with the breech baby.
Hands off the breech applies to doing pelvics to see if the cervix is dilated to 10 cm. The woman should be told in advance that she will be asked to resist the urge to push for a full 45 minutes once her bearing down begins. That way the cervix will be out of the way of the aftercoming head. I have seen nurses declare the mother fully dilated and then discover there is still cervix in the way as the mother pushes.
Hands off the breech also refers to cleaning away meconium or lubricating the vaginal opening of the mother. The slightest outside stimulation can cause the baby to extend arms over the head or gasp.
Once the baby is born to the waist, the baby's spine should be pointing toward the symphysis pubis of the mother. Hands off at this point means wrap a receiving blanket that is folded like a strap around the baby's belly near the hips. Twist the ends of the strap into a handle and use that handle to keep the hands of the practitioner away from the baby during the rest of the expulsion. Gripping the baby's abdominal region during this time can cause damage to kidneys and other organs that are engorged with blood. The cloth strap disperses the pressure evenly all around the baby's body. If the arms have extended above the head, the midwife must reach in and pull down an elbow, one at a time. This is the ONLY part of the breech birth where the hands are used directly on the baby's body.
Hands off the breech again while the body dangles and brings the back hairline of the baby into view. Once the baby is born to the hairline of the neck, the body is lifted with the strap up toward the mother's symphysis pubis. Just the cloth handle is touched. This lifting upward of the body brings the mouth and nose into view, and at this point an airway is established. Everything should slow down and the top of the head is gently panted out. The only hands on part of the breech birth is to bring down arms that are up by the head. Usually the arms stay down at the sides if the breech birth has been hands off.
Gloria Lemay is a private birth attendant in Vancouver, BC, and is a contributing expert at BirthLove.
The June 12 issue [Issue 4:24] carried a note from "Anonymous" who wrote asking for advice about balancing midwifery school and a young family because she has a "burning desire to be with women" and feels she must do this "NOW." My advice is to put off school until your children are grown. They came first and need you at home to take care of them, not to be sent to the daycare to be taken care of by someone else's mother. Your children deserve a mother who is on call for them, not her patients. Babies will continue to be born, but your children will only be young now. A wise man said, "Don't sacrifice the future on the altar of the immediate." Your desires can wait; their need for you can't.
- Joy Hearn
The article about difficult patients [Issue 4:23] is exactly why I choose to birth without a midwife for all my births. The condescending tone that implies that clients need to be soothed, consoled or patronized is no different than how OBs regularly treat their patients. Women about to give birth and during pregnancy are in the most powerful state of their lives, and they should be honored and loved. Midwives often forget that they are servants in the truest sense of the word. This is a serving profession; the woman is in charge, which is why she hired a midwife in the first place, not so she could be pyschoanalyzed and patronized. If more midwifes would understand that they should be quiet, respectful and honoring of each woman as an individual, there would be fewer women choosing unassisted birth. I chose unassisted birth for my first child (and all subsequent ones as well) because over and over the midwives I met were of the same mindset as the author of this article. I have yet to meet a midwife who knows her true role, that of a highly respectful doula who happens to know a lot. So for my births I hire a doula, which for most women is all the support they really need.
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"Returning Birth to the Family" Midwifery Conference in Asheville, NC - August 23-25th. Grand Midwife Margaret Charles Smith, Wise Woman Herbalist Susun Weed, Waterbirth Pioneer Marina Alzugaray. Southeast MANA meeting. Contact Cheryl - 828-628-6345 or email@example.com or www.thematrona.com
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Midwifery Today: Each One Teach One!


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Conger getting more time behind the plate
HOUSTON -- Angels catcher Hank Conger was behind the plate for a fifth consecutive C.J. Wilson start on Tuesday, but it had less to do with any exclusive pairing with the left-hander and more to do with Chris Iannetta's early struggles with the pitching staff, manager Mike Scioscia said.
"First and foremost, we want him to get a little more comfortable behind the plate," Scioscia said prior to the opener of a three-game series against the Astros at Minute Maid Park. "He's doing a good job, but it just doesn't look like he's as comfortable as he needs to be back there. On the offensive side, he hasn't gotten a lot of hits to fall in, but that's secondary to what our starting pitchers need."
At the plate, Iannetta has just one hit in his last 23 at-bats, putting his slash line at .203/.305/.367. Defensively, he's allowed only a couple of passed balls, but has been behind the plate for 14 wild pitches -- he had 17 in 78 games at catcher all of last year -- and has thrown out only two of 23 basestealers.
A lot of that, of course, is a byproduct of the pitchers he's catching. And Conger became the first catcher in franchise history to record three errors in one game on Tuesday night.
But Scioscia said Iannetta is still trying to find chemistry with a pitching staff that for two straight years has had a lot of unfamiliar faces. So he'll "mix and match" for the time being, though he added that Iannetta will still "do the lion's share."
"It's just trying to get acclimated with some of these guys," said Scioscia, who has started Conger at catcher in four of the last seven games. "Sometimes it takes a little bit of time."
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Gonzo and "The Show", and follow him on Twitter @Alden_Gonzalez. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

subset: commoncrawl


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Skip to Content
The University Memorial Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado's official memorial to veterans, will host a Veterans Day ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. in the Glenn Miller Ballroom.
The public ceremony will feature State Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, and the University of Colorado ROTC Color Guard. Other speakers will include Carlos Garcia, UMC Director and CU-Boulder student Brandon Kinnard, UMC board chair. A reception will follow in the UMC Veterans Lounge.
Heath, a United States Army veteran, represents Senate District 18. Heath was elected to the Senate in 2008, and chaired the state's Long-Term Fiscal Stability Commission in 2009. Currently, Heath chairs the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs committee, and serves on the Senate Education and Appropriations committees.
Heath earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and a juris doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin. He served in the U.S. Army for 23 years, with nine years of active duty and 14 years of reserve service.
In 1947, more than half of all college students were World War II veterans. When funding began for the new student union building on the CU-Boulder campus that same year, CU students and Colorado citizens decided that the building would serve as a living memorial to Coloradans who had served in the world wars. Colorado Gov. Lee Knous issued a proclamation stating, "The Memorial Center at the University of Colorado shall be the official state memorial to those who served and to those who died in these great wars to preserve our democratic freedom."
The UMC is the custodian for artifacts from the U.S.S. Colorado, a battleship active from 1942 to 1945. The ship's wheel and bell, and a cast-iron scaled model of the battleship are on permanent display in the UMC Veterans Lounge, as is the 48-star American flag that flew on the ship during World War II.
The CU-Boulder Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band will present the free, public performance "Veterans Day: A Musical Salute to Courage and Honor" on Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Macky Auditorium. Call the CU Presents Box Office at 303-492-8008 or visit http://music.colorado.edu/ for more information.
In addition to the Veterans Day ceremony, Veterans will be recognized in the stands during the CU-Iowa State football game on Saturday, Nov. 13. In celebration of Veterans Day and in recognition of their service to the country, veterans and their families also are eligible to purchase tickets for Saturday's game at the reduced price of $5 per ticket. For more information, call 303-492-4356. Veterans tickets are not available to purchase on the day of the game and must be ordered by Friday, November 12.


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The Smoking Goat
3408 30th Street, San Diego, CA 92104 (map); 858-955-5295; thesmokinggoatrestaurant.com
Cooking method: Grilled
Short Order: Easily one of the best premium-priced burgers in San Diego
Want Fries With That? Awesome duck fat truffle fries come standard, so yes
Price: Burger, $16
Note: Closed Mondays
Every bistro needs a great burger. It should be a few noticeable degrees better than what you'd find elsewhere, feature a primo beef patty cooked reliably to order, have a few cheffy tweaks that merit the price (but aren't so overdone they alienate purists), and come with stellar fresh-cut fries. On all counts, The Smoking Goat delivers.
Burgers are served open-faced on a brioche bun, with bubbly cheese and caramelized onions on top, and mustard aioli on the bottom. Lettuce, tomato, and an enormous housemade pickle come on the side. Even if you're iffy on mustard and onions like I am, eat it as intended. Chef Fred Piehl knows what he's doing, and having confidence in that pays off. The sweetness of the onions is matched by the savory mustard, the vegetable toppings are all exceptionally fresh, and the flavor of the beef shines through everything that's piled on top of it.
I thought the loosely formed beef patty could use a smidge more salt, but in terms of juiciness, it was off the charts. Eating this burger without having juices dribbling down your chin requires a make-out session. You have to get in close, and have a very personal moment with the patty. Kudos are also due to the cook who prepared it. The beef was nicely browned and cooked exactly to order, with a warm, pink center.
Thin-cut fries crisped in a mix of oil and rendered duck fat come standard, but there's nothing ordinary about them. Fresh from the fryer, they're tossed with truffle oil, dusted with Pecorino Romano and herbs, and served with a generous portion of the same mustard aioli that's on the burger. You're going to eat every last one.
Pricing a burger north of $15 sets up certain expectations, but whether it's atmosphere, quality, or flavor, the burger at The Smoking Goat is absolutely worth paying the premium price. To everyone who has been encouraging me to try it for the past three years: you were right, this is a great burger.
About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax
Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter while you're at it!


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National Book Award, Fiction, 2002A Good Morning America "Read This" selection, Three Junes is a vividly textured symphonic novel set on both sides of the Atlantic during three fateful summers in the lives of a Scottish family. In June 1989, Paul McLeod, the recently widowed patriarch, becomes infatuated with a young American artist while traveling through Greece, and is compelled to relive the secret sorrows of his marriage. Six years later, Paul's death reunites his sons at Tealing, their idyllic childhood home, where Fenno, the eldest, faces a choice that puts him at the center of his family's future. A lovable, slightly repressed gay man, Fenno leads the life of an aloof expatriate in the West Village, running a shop filled with books and birdwatching gear. He believes himself safe from all emotional entanglements - until a worldly neighbor presents him with an extraordinary gift and a seductive photographer makes him an unwitting subject. Each man draws Fenno into territories of the heart he has never braved before, leading him toward an almost unbearable loss that will reveal to him the nature of love.
Love in its limitless forms - between husband and wife, between lovers, between people and animals, between parents and children - is the force that moves these characters' lives, which collide again, in yet another June, over a Long Island dinner table. This time it is Fenno who meets and captivates Fern, the same woman who captivated his father in Greece ten years before. Now pregnant with a son of her own, Fern, like Fenno and Paul before him, must make peace with her past to embrace her future. Elegantly detailed yet full of emotional suspense, often as comic as it is sad, Three Junes is a glorious triptych about how we learn to live, and live fully, beyond incurable grief and betrayals of the heart - how family ties, both those we're born into and those we make, can offer us redemption and joy.
Three Junes is available in print from Pantheon Books.
Producers: Laura Wilson/ Dan Zitt
Directed by Paula Parker
Jacket photographs: Johner/Photonica: (sky) Jennifer Rocholl
Jacket design by Archie Ferguson
©2002 by Julia Glass
(P)2002 by Random House Audio
"Julia Glass' talent just sends chills up my spine; her novel is a marvel." (Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls)
"Has the rich pleasures of a 19th-century novel and the rush of New York life of the last ten years. I'm amazed it's a first novel - it is a mature, captivating work of fiction." (John Casey, author of The Half-life of Happiness)
"Almost threatens to burst with all the life it contains...extraordinary." (Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours)
"Beautiful Narration of a Wonderful Story!"
Delightfully written, true to life & completely believable characters make this the best "read" I've had in a long time. The narration with the brogue really completes it. My only complaint is that the book goes from past to present & back again very frequently & can be hard to follow (especially at first, till you figure out what's going on). It doubtlessly would have been easier to follow on paper.
Honestly, this has been my best find here, I highly recommend it!
"The Search For Love"
In the end I enjoyed the book. However, that said, I also agree with negative reviewers in that part 2, the longest of this three part novel, could have used an editor. The flashbacks and time frames got mixed up and at times were really hard to follow.
Further, while audible has this book listed in the genre of fiction with a subheading of contemporary most online book sites list it in the LGBT section. Be aware that the book focuses a great deal on gay men in 1980's NYC during the early AIDS crisis. At times, for me, this focus was too generalized, distanced and stereotypical.
Overall, I stuck with the story in spite of these reservations because I liked the author's writing style and I was caught up in how the tale would play out. I really like books that twist time and provide a variety of points of view on the same events. This was my first book written by Glass and I plan on continuing with her more recent novels. Not perfect, but worth a listen as much of the writing was beautifully done.
"Excellent book, iffy reader...."
While a little confusing in its backing and forthing over time, this is a well written book dealing with complex family and other relationships in a subtle way.But the narrator's accent almost made me give up near the beginning(I'm glad I didn't...) The accent, intended to be scottish, constantly slithers into irish and back again, with frequent anomalies that seem to be neither. I'm English with a Scottish son-in-law and Irish friends; if you're not well acquainted with either accent, the narrator may not bother you (he reads well apart from the accent prob.) If you are, however, listen to the sample first to ensure this won't drive you mad!
"I wanted to like this book ..."
I really wanted to like this book. I had truly enjoyed Julia Glass' other book that I had downloaded from Audible ("The Whole World Over") and was sorry when it had ended. I tried listening to this book for the first time several months ago and could not get past about 15 minutes of it so I just stopped listening -- at the time I figured I had just enjoyed the previous book (The Company by Robert Littell) so much that I wasn't ready to embark on anything so divergent. So after listening to a few more books I gave Three Junes a try again today. After 75 minutes, I decided it was just impossible to complete -- a first for me. While I don't think the writing was up to the same standard of "The Whole World Over", what really killed the book was the narration. There was little differentiation between the characters, and when there was differentiation it made some of the characters sound unappealing; that would be OK if that was the author's intent but I don't think that was the case. The poor differentiation would have probably been tolerable, though, if it were not for the poor diction of the narrator. There was no pause at the end of some sentences and then some sentences would run into another with no pause. This made for a stilted, hard to follow listening experience. Hopefully this will be the first and only book that I can't finish.
"Three Junes"
This is my first review after literally dozens and dozens of listens. I've been tempted to write reviews before - so, this doesn't mean this is the best I've listened to. But - it was a great listen. I didn't want to reach the end - I grew that much interested in these people's lives. If you're interested in a narrative about relationships between spouses, lovers, siblings, pet owners and pets, you will enjoy this book, The narration was excellent.
"A great book with many layers."
This book is teeming with its relationships and interconnected lives. The three interrelating, but separate stories are all wonderfully written. Some books lend themselves better to audio than others and this is defently one of them. I found myself relistening a few times and picking up more from the book each time.
Lynette Who
"Very difficult to follow"
I bought this title with high expectations. I was quite disappointed, and listened to the first CD five different times on my commute to work.
I agree with Kathy that it's very hard to follow. It jumps around from past to present unexpectedly and introduces too many characters at one time. I just could not keep up with the storyline or who was who.
The narrator reads with a heavy accent so perhaps this contributed to the audiobook being so hard to follow.
In any case, after listening to the first CD for the fifth time, I came to the conclusion that I really didn't care about the characters or the storyline and threw away the CD's and began listening to "The Cabinet of Curiosities", also available on Audible, and which I heartily recommend!
Love reading, hard to find the time! audible member since 2006
"I truly loved listening to this novel"
The characters were wonderful, the writing witty and touching, the reader just beautiful. My only regret - I wished the third part of the book was about the french wife, I think she would have made a very compelling story. But all in all, I loved it.
Loves gadgets
If I had not been trapped in a car on a 13 hour trip to Kentucky with no other Audible book available, I would never have finished this book.
It was so confusing that I listened to part 1 twice without realizing it until I was 20 minutes into it.
Some of Fenno's observations are delightful but they, sadly, do not make up for the rest of the book's lack of organization.
"Intriguing, Insightful, Rewarding!"
A delightful story about engaging, imperfect and lovable people. Many beautiful turns of a phrase and fresh, believable metaphors sprinkled throughout. Also,Keating's reading made the book so much more delightful than it would have been to sight read. His native burr and command of accents and styles of speech is wonderful. Never difficult to hear the content, however. I found the jumps between past and present always incorporated a clue to the time period quiickly after the jump. It kept this reader alert and involved in each unfolding event or recollection.
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This week's economic data lineup is compressed because of the President's Day holiday. The early focus will be on the housing market, as the National Association of Home Builders releases its monthly sentiment index at 10 a.m. Tuesday (all times Eastern). The January reading was unchanged at 47, remaining at the highest level since April 2006.
David Crowe, NAHB's chief economist, expects to see a steady rise in builder sentiment this year. "I think it will improve simply because the industry will continue to improve," he says. "We're not looking for dramatic growth, but steady growth." Last year's improvement in sentiment will be tough to match, Crowe says: "We'll not see the same rate of growth in 2013, but we'll still see growth."
Wednesday: Housing starts and permits
The Commerce Department releases January housing starts and building permits at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Both starts and permits are seen as key gauges for the home construction business. Kenneth Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America, says growth should continue until mid-year, when he expects a potential pause. He expects multifamily dwellings, such as apartments and condominiums, to fare better.
"There seems to be rapidly growing demand for home purchases and I believe that's inspiring builders to go ahead and start a lot more homes," says Simonson. He adds that the outlook is murky for the second half of the year, and he fears that the overall level of home sales could stall.
On multifamily construction, Simonson believes the outlook is brighter. He says, "I think multi-family construction and rentals will remain very strong all year long."
Simonson says that, if interest rates begin to rise, "that will tilt the calculation ... in favor of continuing to rent." He expects multifamily starts to keep growing throughout 2013 and probably beyond.
Thursday: Existing home sales and CPI
Shifting the focus from building to purchases of homes, at 10 a.m. Thursday we get the January existing home sales report from the National Association of Realtors.
The twin readings on inflation are due from the Labor Department this week. The producer price index, the government's main gauge of inflation at the wholesale level, is due at 8:30 a.m.Wednesday. The consumer price index, which measures inflation at the retail level, follows at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
A forward-looking snapshot of the economy is due from The Conference Board. It issues the index of leading economic indicators at 10 a.m. Thursday. The index for December rose 0.5 percent, suggesting that a surge in growth could be on tap in the coming months.
This week in history
Friday marks the anniversary of a noteworthy, but perhaps largely forgotten event in the nation's business history. In 1878, Frank Woolworth opened the first Woolworth's store in Utica, N.Y. It would fail, but he tried again and succeeded in Lancaster, Pa., giving rise to the five-and-dime store craze. As the chain concept gained momentum, there were 100 stores by 1900. Woolworth's thrived in the discount retailing segment until would-be rivals like Wal-Mart stepped in. As its business declined, Woolworth's morphed into Venator Group and the Foot Locker athletic apparel store chain, which is still operating in the United States and elsewhere.


text: Show Hide image Politics 13 June 2012 Leader: Gay marriage and the clash of fundamental values The value of marriage would be increased, not diminished, through its extension to same-sex couples. Sign up for our weekly email * Contrary to reports, gay marriage is one policy on which David Cameron has not changed course. There was never any intention to include legislation in the Queen's Speech last month, which pre-dated the end of the government's consultation. Now, the consultation has ended and the coalition has pledged to legislate before 2015. There are strong political reasons for Mr Cameron's commitment to the policy. He is determined for his government to be remembered for more than austerity and has also argued persuasively that same-sex marriage can be reconciled with Conservative philosophy. If marriage, as Conservatives believe, is the foundation of a successful society, then it should surely be offered to the greatest number of people possible. Mr Cameron says he doesn't support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative but because he is one. On this issue, the Prime Minister is right. The value of marriage would be increased, not diminished, through its extension to same-sex couples. Some may question whether the introduction of gay marriage is necessary when the Civil Partnership Act 2004 already allows couples access to almost all of the legal rights enjoyed by heterosexuals. Yet this two-tier system implicitly condones the belief that same-sex relationships are inferior to others. Gay couples are rightly aggrieved that they are unable legally to refer to themselves as "married". Nor is the distinction merely a semantic one: while a civil marriage is formed when the couple exchange spoken words, a civil partnership is, rather less romantically, formed when the second civil partner signs the register. Long before its consultation began, the government indicated that no religious organisation would be forced to conduct same-sex marriages. The principle of religious freedom demands as much. Indeed, it went further by ruling that those religious groups that wish to officiate gay marriages, such as Reform Jews and Quakers, would be barred from doing so, even though they can now legally host civil partnerships. This has not prevented a series of absurd responses from senior clerics. Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, has compared the introduction of gay marriage to the legalisation of slavery. The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, has accused Mr Cameron of behaving like a "dictator". Now, in its formal submission to the government's consultation, the Church of England has reaffirmed its opposition to gay marriage on the basis that it would "alter the intrinsic nature of a marriage as the union of a man and woman, as enshrined in human institutions through history". For a church that was founded in opposition to the belief that a sacramental marriage could never be dissolved, it is a reactionary stance. A greater challenge for liberals is the Church's assertion that European human rights law could force it to hold gay marriages, with some even raising the spectre of disestablishment. Such a ruling would require the government to adjudicate between the competing priorities of religious freedom and equality. The Home Office's lawyers insist that the law favours the former, while independent observers suggest that, at most, religious organisations would be permitted to conduct gay marriages voluntarily. The suspicion arises that the Church's claims are part of a desperate rearguard action, aimed at preventing same-sex marriage ever reaching the statute book. Many in Mr Cameron's party will prove similarly obstructive but the Prime Minister should use the full weight of his office to override their dissent. When the Civil Partnership Act was passed, it was said that no single law had done more to promote human happiness. In the same spirit, gay couples should be granted full equality. Subscribe from just £1 per issue This article first appeared in the 18 June 2012 issue of the New Statesman, Drones: video game warfare More


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Thank you to everyone who Voted for First Book's idea to Launch the Global Resources Network in round 1 of Change.org's Ideas for Change in America! We're thrilled to have moved on to the next round of voting, but we need your help!
Please vote again in round 2 to help Launch the Global Resources Network at Change.org. A Global Resources Network would allow anyone serving disadvantaged children to gain access to resources and collaborate to create a vibrant educational environment for the kids they serve. We've created the video below that describes the idea and the impact it would have on children and families in need across the nation.
Voting ends January 15th, so don't miss out! Cast your vote and tell a friend.
The top 10 ideas will be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day and will be supported by a national campaign run by Change.org, MySpace and more than a dozen leading nonprofits after the Inauguration. So each idea has a real chance at coming to life. Thanks for your help and your vote!


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Sub-Zero, Raiden, Johnny Cage and Scorpion enter the arena...
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Despite struggles in opener, Marmol remains closer
PITTSBURGH -- Carlos Marmol is still the Cubs closer, and pitching coach Chris Bosio would like to see the right-hander get back in a game as soon as possible.
Marmol was pulled in the ninth inning of the season opener Monday against the Pirates. He struck out the first batter, then hit a batter, gave up a RBI single, and walked another before he was lifted.
"He's the closer," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said Wednesday. "We've talked, and he knows he's got to throw strikes. ... When the starter goes eight [innings], you're going to do whatever you can to save that lead."
Jeff Samardzija threw eight scoreless innings, and Kyuji Fujikawa got the final out for the save in his first U.S. appearance.
"It's just one game," Sveum said, trying to downplay any closer controversy. "We had the opportunity to get matchups in there when Marmol didn't have his fastball or slider, but it isn't going to affect anything right now. You just play nine innings."
Last season, Marmol got off to a rough start, posting a 5.61 ERA in the first half, but finished strong, compiling a 1.52 ERA in his final 30 games. Bosio said Marmol was aggressive with his fastball, but his command wasn't sharp.
"That's the guy he knows he's capable of being, and that's the guy we're hoping he'll be," Bosio said. "The only way to find out [if he's back on track] is to get him right back out there."
Wednesday won't be easy. It was cold on Monday, and it was even colder Wednesday at PNC Park.
"It was a little chilly for the players, especially holding a baseball," Bosio said of the conditions on Opening Day. "Hey, it's cold. We get it. But be aggressive in the zone as best you can. He competed, he was frustrated, but at the same time, relieved because we won the game.
"The bottom line is getting wins right now," Bosio added. "I don't care what the score is, how we do it. We're trying to get wins to build momentum. It would've been nice, and I know Carlos wanted to have a 1-2-3 inning, but it didn't happen, and [James] Russell came in and picked Carlos up, and Fujikawa came in and picked Russell up. It was a great win for Opening Day for us and a guy who made a great start. ... I thought it was a good team effort all the way around. Carlos did get a big out there as Russell did and Fujikawa did."
Marmol did say after the game he was surprised to be pulled.
"In a perfect scenario, you'd love for it to go smooth and we win that game, 3-0, but baseball doesn't work like that," Bosio said. "There are things that happen along the way. Bottom line right now is winning games. There are going to be some hiccups along the way, whether it's getting a bunt down, a ground ball, a popup, a throw from the outfield, a throw from the infield or pitchers throwing strikes. We've got to be able to overcome those things. Good teams overcome those things and win games."
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. She writes a blog, Muskat Ramblings, and you can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Hamilton Quilt + Sham
No longer available
- Overview
Classic and comfy, our patchwork plaid bedding creates the good vibe of a favorite shirt.
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FRANKFORT - On March 6, juniors attending Kentucky public high schools will take the ACT, a national college entrance exam. The ACT assesses students' ability to perform college-level work. Scores may also qualify students for a bonus award through the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program.
To do their best on the ACT, students should follow these tips from the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA), which administers the KEES program:
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Wale — A Day in the Life
"I don't have a home right now," Wale tells The BoomBox. This statement coming from a man who banks big bucks from concert performances and scored opening week sophomore sales of 164,062 units sold for his 'Ambition' LP. "I'm living out of a suitcase literally," he admits. "The suitcase blues." As the 27-year-old Washington, D.C. native begins to comically sing, "I got the blues, suitcase blues," the tone in his voice reveals that there's more beatitude in his life than melancholia, considering he travels nationwide via a mega tour bus doing work that he loves — spreading his brand of raps.
Following the emotive MC around in New York City on Nov. 2, a day after his first album under the Maybach Music Group/Warner Bros. Records umbrella debuted, brushes away preconceived notions that he's just an irate rapper posting 140-character jabs at critics and unsupportive followers on Twitter. Wale's happy, as long as there's a blunt full of weed in his hand — which he smoked many times throughout his hectic day — and a forum to showcase his lyrical talents.
His morning kicks off around 10:30AM, where he sits down with The Breakfast Club radio hosts DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne at Power 105.1. Music off his second LP plays, answers are given as to his departure from former label, Interscope Records ("My assistant knew before I did that I got dropped") and stories are shared behind the inspiration for tracks like his love-gone-wrong ode 'Sabotage' ("That was the first time a girl punched me in the face; I love crazy women").
Watch Wale — A Day in the Life
Crazy is a word that many people may use to describe Wale, who dropped his first album, 'Attention Deficit,' in 2009. However, Power 105.1's Angela Yee thinks his actions, which sometimes include emotional outbursts via social networking platforms, are misconstrued by the public. "People have this idea about him that he spazzes out and he's so crazy but I think all of that shows that he's a passionate person," she shares. "He's passionate about what you think about his music, he cares so much about what you think about him."
Besides crafting songs like the braggadocio bars of 'Bait' and the Miguel-assisted 'Lotus Flower Bomb,' his other passion lies in sneakers. At 11:30AM, he walks into Flight Club, a popular sneaker boutique, and scours the walls lined with kicks like a kid in a candy store. Wale, born Olubowale Victor Akintimehin on Sept. 21, 1984, admits to having most every kind of sneakers displayed in the store but that doesn't stop him from scooping up a pair of camouflage Adidas Jeremy Scott Wings. "It's his addiction," says Wes, who serves as the MC's road manager and is an official member of his Board of Administration movement. In total, Wale walks out of the store after dropping $3,340 on merchandise.
Before getting a slew of interviews underway with various outlets, a rapper's got to eat. He'll settle for Subway but after making a pit-stop at Flatotel — the hotel he's chosen to rest his dreadlocked head while in the Big Apple — he and his entourage opt for a more elegant eatery. A pricey seafood restaurant tucked away on a midtown street is where the 'Eleven One Eleven Theory' mixtape creator not only eats a crab cake sandwich and drinks fresh squeezed orange juice at 1:40PM, but also where he charges his phone, which never seems to leave his fingertips throughout the day.
Sitting with his crew, it's apparent Wale has a tight-knit team. His manager Greg and Roc Nation manager Rich Kleiman sit beside him, laughing at the random conversation being thrown out. Of course Wale appreciates those in his presence, but there's an absence felt for one of his hometown friends. He shares sentiments about him on a track that hits close to the soul. "'D.C. or Nothing,' I don't listen to [that song] that much 'cause it's too emotional," he says.
"On [that song off the album] I talk about my friend Ricky, who's currently incarcerated. I haven't talked to Ricky in about a year-and-a-half — he did something really bad. [On my album release day Nov. 1], I never pick up blocked numbers [and] I picked it up and it said, 'You have a collect call from Inez, Kentucky, it's Ricky F.' I was dog-tired and my heart sunk to my stomach. He was like, 'Man, I'm so proud of you. You're doing it big.' We just stayed on the phone reminiscin' about high school and the first time we got locked up. I was thinking, this is what's it's about. This is what life is really about. These are the moments I have to work toward, those memories and enjoying that. I'll take collect calls like that all day."
As he walks with a full stomach just a few blocks away to his talk sessions with US Weekly and Rolling Stone regarding 'Ambition,' Wale, ever the Twitter enthusiast, reads a tweet that one of his legion of fans sends his way regarding 'Illest Bitch Alive,' one of the songs on his LP. "Thou I'm not a fan of the title. I am in LOVE w/the lyrics 2 @Wale Illest B**** Its a modern love letter since men don't write those nemore [sic]," @Almond2yourJoy writes. "She hit the nail right on the head," he states with satisfaction.
Watch Wale's 'Bait'
The heavily tattooed rhymer, who has the word "ambition" inked on his right hand, isn't usually a staple on the pages of US Weekly like reality TV stars or Botox-injected celebrities. On his first album, a song titled '90210' features lyrics that speak of a Hollywood lifestyle that regular women strive to be a part of by any means. The publication's Senior Editor Ian Drew probably isn't aware the rapper isn't too keen on the "nothing here's real and everyone's alike" image the celebrities project in the magazine because he's all smiles at the moment, especially when Drew flaunts a physical copy of his album in front of the camera for a Hot Stuff segment at 2:30PM.
Wale jokes when Drew lists off past collaborators like Lady Gaga ("You don't call. I got the same number. Call me") and throws on another grin when his boss, Rick Ross is mentioned. After all, the Teflon Don was the one who helped paved his yellow brick road towards a second career opportunity.
"He's a special person to me," Wale discloses. "[Rick Ross] gave me my shot and he got us to where we needed to go. I just want him to know that me and Meek [Mill] got him. We work hard so he doesn't have to work as hard no more. He already put in his years of super hardcore work. Now you just kick your feet up and be the boss. Maybach we gon' keep pushing. He taught us how to be entrepreneurs for real, told us how to work the game and how to get to the top and do it the right way."
Rolling Stone is next on the To-Do list, then there's a stop in Times Square to visit Sway for a live TV showing of MTV's RapFix. A lauded journalist, Sway's watched the MMG signee's come-up from trials and tribulations with his first effort to the current success of 'Ambition.' The firm handshake he serves Wale as well as the solid pat on his back are unspoken actions that prove he's a lyricist fully embraced by an elite member of the hip-hop community.
"The percentage of the girls that come up and cry to me is getting higher," Wale says after squaring away his pow wow at MTV. He currently rests inside a turtle-top Mercedes van en route to an album signing at J&R Music World. When he arrives to the one-stop music shop in lower Manhattan at 5:15PM, screaming fans with T-shirts emblazoned with his logo line the street. Indoors, the fandemonium is a bit calmer as he sits at a table to scribble his autograph on 'Ambition' covers. One young female Waleiber — yes, the rapper jokingly refers to his fans this way ever since going head-to-head with Justin Bieber's 'Under the Mistletoe' holiday album during release week — offers the DMV-bred entertainer a handwritten letter when she finally gets the chance to meet him. "There's always stuff in these joints that make me sad," he admits with a lost look on his face.
He's back in his vehicle after J&R, stopping quickly in SoHo to purchase a camouflage Penfield vest — a brand he "loves" — at Atrium. By 8:15PM, Wale's sitting inside Hot 97's studios to speak with Funkmaster Flex. Their discussion includes his song 'Legendary,' a past verbal spat with model Rosa Acosta, a free midnight concert he'll perform at Highline Ballroom — Miguel, Ne-Yo, Meek Mill, Rick Ross and French Montana all take the stage alongside him — later that evening and his overall maturation process.
Watch Wale's 'That Way' Feat. Rick Ross & Jeremih
"Anytime you can see artists grow from a first album to a second album, it's a great thing," Funkmaster Flex explains. "Since Wale's new album is here, it makes me think about his old album a lot. Now you can understand how talented he is because that feel and what he gave us in the first album was dope, but this one he stepped up. He didn't abandon the style but he grew."
Growth is what is expected of artists putting their second body of work out for public consumption. Wale's work ethic — he doesn't recommend his way to anyone because it's an "unhealthy one" — in creating 'Ambition' hasn't gone unnoticed. Countless videos, mixtapes and collaborations with other rap guys in the game are among his accomplishments, but there's more he's looking to do than just stand in front of a microphone commanding audiences. Wale wants to "try the Hollywood thing," possibly recording his third album on the West Coast, where albums like 'Doggystyle,' Snoop Dogg's debut LP, were made and one that inspired his own lyrics growing up. He's also set on penning a book.
For the sneaker and sports aficionado, now is the right time for aspirations such as that. However, music is still at the forefront and his ultimate goal is to push his sound globally. He's the best at what he does in his eyes, but he's not arrogant in his admission. Humbly, he understands he still has a ways to go to get to where the greats are, with mediocrity being his only fear. "I think I'm one of the best rappers," he declares. "I know I'm one of the best lyricists but I'm not in the all-star game yet. I'm not in the starting five. I'm on the team though. I'll get in the game soon."


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Topic: Just finished 12 rounds of Gemox and Erbitux
Hi everybody,
It has been a long time since I have posted anything. I have finished all of my latest chemo course. The last few were tough, but I made it through. I am starting maintenance of just the Erbitux. I had a PET scan and it was awesome. Nothing lite up at all and my oncologist used the word "remission".
I have been down this road a few times, but praying for the best. He also mentioned looking into clinical trials to keep me in remission, so that is my new path to investigate.
I will update more as I research,


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Condition: Standard
All Product Details
This audiobook bundle includes the first five books in the Song of Ice and Fire series from George R. R. Martin. Tony Award winner Roy Dotrice narrates this stellar collection. Collection includes A Game of Thrones (HBO Tie-in Edition), A Clash of Kings (HBO Tie-in Edition), A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons.
A Game of Thrones: Book One
Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.
A Clash of Kings: Book Two
A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who hold sway over an age of enforced peace are dead, victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.
A Storm of Swords: Book Three
Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King's Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. . . As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . .
A Feast for Crows: Book Four
It seems too good to be true. After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. Or so it appears. . . . With the death of the monstrous King Joffrey, Cersei is ruling as regent in King's Landing. Robb Stark's demise has broken the back of the Northern rebels, and his siblings are scattered throughout the kingdom like seeds on barren soil. Few legitimate claims to the once desperately sought Iron Throne still exist—or they are held in hands too weak or too distant to wield them effectively. The war, which raged out of control for so long, has burned itself out. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.
A Dance with Dragons: Book Five
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.
She dreamt she sat the Iron Throne, high above them all.
The courtiers were brightly colored mice below. Great lords and proud ladies knelt before her. Bold young knights laid their swords at her feet and pleaded for her favors, and the queen smiled down at them. Until the dwarf appeared as if from nowhere, pointing at her and howling with laughter. The lords and ladies began to chuckle too, hiding their smiles behind their hands. Only then did the queen realize she was naked.
Horrified, she tried to cover herself with her hands. The barbs and blades of the Iron Throne bit into her flesh as she crouched to hide her shame. Blood ran red down her legs, as steel teeth gnawed at her buttocks. When she tried to stand, her foot slipped through a gap in the twisted metal. The more she struggled the more the throne engulfed her, tearing chunks of flesh from her breasts and belly, slicing at her arms and legs until they were slick and red, glistening.
And all the while her brother capered below, laughing. His merriment still echoed in her ears when she felt a light touch on her shoulder, and woke suddenly. For half a heartbeat the hand seemed part of the nightmare, and Cersei cried out, but it was only Senelle. The maids face was white and frightened.
We are not alone, the queen realized. Shadows loomed around her bed, tall shapes with chainmail glimmering beneath their cloaks. Armed men had no business here.
Where are my guards? Her bedchamber was dark, but for the lantern one of the intruders held on high. I must show no fear. Cersei pushed back sleep-tousled hair, and said, "What do you want of me?" A man stepped into the lantern light, and she saw his cloak was white. "Jaime?" I dreamt of one brother, but the other has come to wake me.
"Your Grace." The voice was not her brothers. "The Lord Commander said come get you." His hair curled, as Jaimes did, but her brothers hair was beaten gold, like hers, where this mans was black and oily. She stared at him, confused, as he muttered about a privy and a crossbow, and said her fathers name. I am dreaming still, Cersei thought. I have not woken, nor has my nightmare ended. Tyrion will creep out from under the bed soon and begin to laugh at me.
But that was folly. Her dwarf brother was down in the black cells, condemned to die this very day. She looked down at her hands, turning them over to make certain all her fingers were still there. When she ran a hand down her arm the skin was covered with gooseprickles, but unbroken. There were no cuts on her legs, no gashes on the soles of her feet. A dream, thats all it was, a dream. I drank too much last night, these fears are only humors born of wine. I will be the one laughing, come dusk. My children will be safe, Tommens throne will be secure, and my twisted little valonqar will be short a head and rotting.
Jocelyn Swyft was at her elbow, pressing a cup on her. Cersei took a sip: water, mixed with lemon squeezings, so tart she spit it out. She could hear the night wind rattling the shutters, and she saw with a strange sharp clarity. Jocelyn was trembling like a leaf, as frightened as Senelle. Ser Osmund Kettleblack loomed over her. Behind him stood Ser Boros Blount, with a lantern. At the door were Lannister guardsmen with gilded lions shining on the crests of their helmets. They looked afraid as well. Can it be? the queen wondered. Can it be true?
She rose, and let Senelle slip a bedrobe over her shoulders to hide her nakedness. Cersei belted it herself, her fingers stiff and clumsy. "My lord father keeps guards about him, night and day," she said. Her tongue felt thick. She took another swallow of lemon water and sloshed it round her mouth to freshen her breath. A moth had gotten into the lantern Ser Boros was holding; she could hear it buzzing and see the shadow of its wings as it beat against the glass.
"The guards were at their posts, Your Grace," said Osmund Kettleblack. "We found a hidden door behind the hearth. A secret passage. The Lord Commanders gone down to see where it goes."
"Jaime?" Terror seized her, sudden as a storm. "Jaime should be with the king . . ."
"The lads not been harmed. Ser Jaime sent a dozen men to look in on him. His Grace is sleeping peaceful." Let him have a sweeter dream than mine, and a kinder waking. "Who is with the king?"
"Ser Loras has that honor, if it please you."
It did not please her. The Tyrells were only stewards that the dragon-kings had upjumped far above their station. Their vanity was exceeded only by their ambition.
Ser Loras might be as pretty as a maidens dream, but underneath
his white cloak he was Tyrell to the bone. For all she knew, this nights foul fruit had been planted and nurtured in Highgarden.
But that was a suspicion she dare not speak aloud.
"Allow me a moment to dress. Ser Osmund, you shall accompany me to the Tower of the Hand. Ser Boros, roust the gaolers and make certain the dwarf is still in his cell." She would not say his name. He would never have found the courage to lift a hand against Father, she told herself, but she had to be certain.
"As Your Grace commands." Blount surrendered the lantern to Ser Osmund. Cersei was not displeased to see the back of him. Father should never have restored him to the white. The man had proved himself a craven. By the time they left Maegors Holdfast, the sky had turned a deep cobalt blue, though the stars still shone. All but one, Cersei thought. The bright star of the west has fallen, and the nights will be darker now. She paused upon the drawbridge that spanned the dry moat, gazing down at the spikes below. They would not dare lie to me about such a thing. "Who found him?"
"One of his guards," said Ser Osmund. "Lum. He felt a call of nature, and found his lordship in the privy."
No, that cannot be. That is not the way a lion dies. The queen felt strangely calm. She remembered the first time she had lost a tooth, when she was just a little girl. It hadnt hurt, but the hole in her mouth felt so odd she could not stop touching it with her tongue. Now there is a hole in the world where Father stood, and holes want filling.
If Tywin Lannister was truly dead, no one was safe . . . least of all her son upon his throne. When the lion falls the lesser beasts move in: the jackals and the vultures and the feral dogs. They would try to push her aside, as they always had. She would need to move quickly, as she had when Robert died. This might be the work of Stannis Baratheon, through some catspaw. It could well be the prelude to another attack upon the city. She hoped it was. Let him come. I will smash him, just as Father did, and this time he will die. Stannis did not frighten her, no more than Mace Tyrell did. No one frightened her. She was a daughter of the Rock, a lion. There will be no more talk of forcing me to wed again. Casterly Rock was hers now, and all the power of House Lannister. No one would ever disregard her again. Even when Tommen had no further need of a regent, the Lady of Casterly Rock would remain a power in the land.
The rising sun had painted the tower tops a vivid red, but beneath the walls the night still huddled. The outer castle was so hushed that she could have believed all its people dead. They should be. It is not fitting for Tywin Lannister to die alone. Such a man deserves a retinue to attend his needs in hell.
Four spearmen in red cloaks and lion-crested helms were posted at the door of the Tower of the Hand. "No one is to enter or leave without my permission," she told them. The command came easily to her. My father had steel in his voice as well.
Within the tower, the smoke from the torches irritated her eyes, but Cersei did not weep, no more than her father would have. I am the only true son he ever had. Her heels scraped against the stone as she climbed, and she could still hear the moth fluttering wildly inside Ser Osmunds lantern. Die, the queen thought at it, in irritation, fly into the flame and be done with it.
Two more red-cloaked guardsmen stood atop the steps. Red Lester muttered a condolence as she passed. The queens breath was coming fast and short, and she could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. The steps, she told herself, this cursed tower has too many steps. She had half a mind to tear it down.
The hall was full of fools speaking in whispers, as if Lord Tywin were asleep and they were afraid to wake him. Guards and servants alike shrank back before her, mouths flapping. She saw their pink gums and waggling tongues, but their words made no more sense than the buzzing of the moth. What are they doing here? How did they know? By rights they should have called her first. She was the Queen Regent, had they forgotten that?
Before the Hands bedchamber stood Ser Meryn Trant in his white armor and cloak. The visor of his helm was open, and the bags beneath his eyes made him look still half-asleep. "Clear these people away," Cersei told him.
"Is my father in the privy?"
"They carried him back to his bed, mlady." Ser Meryn pushed the door open for her to enter.
Morning light slashed through the shutters to paint golden bars upon the rushes strewn across the floor of the bedchamber. Her uncle Kevan was on his knees beside the bed, trying to pray, but he could scarcely get the words out. Guardsmen clustered near the hearth. The secret door that Ser Osmund had spoken of gaped open behind the ashes, no bigger than an oven. A man would need to crawl. But Tyrion is only half a man. The thought made her angry. No, the dwarf is locked in a black cell. This could not be his work. Stannis, she told herself, Stannis was behind it. He still has adherents in the city. Him, or the Tyrells . . . There had always been talk of secret passages within the Red Keep. Maegor the Cruel was supposed to have killed the men who built the castle to keep the knowledge of them secret. How many other bedchambers have hidden doors? Cersei had a sudden vision of the dwarf crawling out from behind a tapestry in Tommens bedchamber with blade in hand. Tommen is well guarded, she told herself. But Lord Tywin had been well guarded too.
For a moment she did not recognize the dead man. He had hair like her father, yes, but this was some other man, surely, a smaller man, and much older. His bedrobe was hiked up around his chest, leaving him naked below the waist. The quarrel had taken him in his groin between his navel and his manhood, and was sunk so deep that only the fletching showed. His pubic hair was stiff with dried blood. More was congealing in his navel.
The smell of him made her wrinkle her nose. "Take the quarrel out of him," she commanded. "This is the Kings Hand!" And my father. My lord father. Should I scream and tear my hair? They said Catelyn Stark had clawed her own face to bloody ribbons when the Freys slew her precious Robb. Would you like that, Father? she wanted to ask him. Or would you want me to be strong? Did you weep for your own father? Her grandfather had died when she was only a year old, but she knew the story. Lord Tytos had grown very fat, and his heart burst one day when he was climbing the steps to his mistress. Her father was off in Kings Landing when it happened, serving as the Mad Kings Hand. Lord Tywin was often away in Kings Landing when she and Jaime were young. If he wept when they brought him word of his fathers death, he did it where no one could see the tears.
The queen could feel her nails digging into her palms.
"How could you leave him like this? My father was Hand to three kings, as great a man as ever strode the Seven Kingdoms. The bells must ring for him, as they rang for Robert. He must be bathed and dressed as befits his stature, in ermine and cloth-of-gold and crimson silk. Where is Pycelle? Where is Pycelle?" She turned to the guardsmen. "Puckens, bring Grand Maester Pycelle. He must see to Lord Tywin."
"Hes seen him, Your Grace," said Puckens. "He came and saw and went, to summon the silent sisters."
They sent for me last. The realization made her almost too angry for words. And Pycelle runs off to send a message rather than soil his soft, wrinkled hands. The man is useless. "Find Maester Ballabar," she commanded. "Find Maester Frenken. Any of them." Puckens and Shortear ran to obey. "Where is my brother?"
"Down the tunnel. Theres a shaft, with iron rungs set in the stone. Ser Jaime went to see how deep it goes."
He has only one hand, she wanted to shout at them. One of you should have gone. He has no business climbing ladders. The men who murdered Father might be down there, waiting for him. Her twin had always been too rash, and it would seem that even losing a hand had not taught him caution. She was about to command the guards to go down after him and bring him back when Puckens and Shortear returned with a grey-haired man between them.
"Your Grace," said Shortear, "this here claims he was a maester."
The man bowed low. "How may I serve Your Grace?"
His face was vaguely familiar, though Cersei could not place him. Old, but not so old as Pycelle. This one has some strength in him still. He was tall, though slightly stooped, with crinkles around his bold blue eyes. His throat is naked. "You wear no maesters chain."
"It was taken from me. My name is Qyburn, if it please Your Grace. I treated your brothers hand."
"His stump, you mean." She remembered him now. He had come with Jaime from Harrenhal.
"I could not save Ser Jaimes hand, it is true. My arts saved his arm, however, mayhaps his very life. The Citadel took my chain, but they could not take my knowledge."
"You may suffice," she decided. "If you fail me you will lose more than a chain, I promise you. Remove the quarrel from my fathers belly and make him ready for the silent sisters."
"As my queen commands." Qyburn went to the bedside, paused, looked back. "And how shall I deal with the girl, Your Grace?"
"Girl?" Cersei had overlooked the second body. She strode to the bed, flung aside the heap of bloody coverlets, and there she was, naked, cold, and pink . . . save for her face, which had turned as black as Joff s had at his wedding feast. A chain of linked golden hands was half-buried in the flesh of her throat, twisted so tight that it had broken the skin. Cersei hissed like an angry cat. "What is she doing here?"
"We found her there, Your Grace," said Shortear. "Its the Imps whore." As if that explained why she was here. My lord father had no use for whores, she thought.
After our mother died he never touched a woman. She gave the guardsman a chilly look. "This is not . . . when Lord Tywins father died he returned to Casterly Rock to find a . . . a woman of this sort . . . bedecked in his lady mothers jewels, wearing one of her gowns. He stripped them off her, and all else as well. For a fortnight she was paraded naked through the streets of Lannisport, to confess to every man she met that she was a thief and a harlot. That was how Lord Tywin Lannister dealt with whores. He never . . . this woman was here for some other purpose, not for . . ."
"Perhaps his lordship was questioning the girl about her mistress," Qyburn suggested. "Sansa Stark vanished the night the king was murdered, I have heard."
"Thats so." Cersei seized on the suggestion eagerly.
"He was questioning her, to be sure. There can be no doubt." She could see Tyrion leering, his mouth twisted into a monkeys grin beneath the ruin of his nose. And what better way to question her than naked, with her legs well spread? the dwarf whispered. Thats how I like to question her too.
The queen turned away. I will not look at her. Suddenly it was too much even to be in the same room as the dead woman. She pushed past Qyburn, out into the hall.
Ser Osmund had been joined by his brothers Osney and Osfryd. "There is a dead woman in the Hands bedchamber," Cersei told the three Kettleblacks. "No one is ever to know that she was here."
"Aye, mlady." Ser Osney had faint scratches on his cheek where another of Tyrions whores had clawed him.
"And what shall we do with her?"
"Feed her to your dogs. Keep her for a bedmate. What do I care? She was never here. Ill have the tongue of any man who dares to say she was. Do you understand me?"
Osney and Osfryd exchanged a look. "Aye, Your Grace."
She followed them back inside and watched as they bundled the girl up in her fathers bloody blankets. Shae, her name was Shae. They had last spoken the night before the dwarf s trial by combat, after that smiling Dornish snake offered to champion him. Shae had been asking about some jewels Tyrion had given her, and certain promises Cersei might have made, a manse in the city and a knight to marry her. The queen made it plain that the whore would have nothing of her until she told them where Sansa Stark had gone. "You were her maid. Do you expect me to believe that you knew nothing of her plans?" she had said. Shae left in tears.
Ser Osfryd slung the bundled corpse up over his shoulder.
"I want that chain," Cersei said. "See that you do not scratch the gold." Osfryd nodded and started toward the door. "No, not through the yard." She gestured toward the secret passage. "Theres a shaft down to the dungeons. That way." As Ser Osfryd went down on one knee before thehearth, the light brightened within, and the queen heard
noises. Jaime emerged bent over like an old woman, his boots kicking up puffs of soot from Lord Tywins last fire.
"Get out of my way," he told the Kettleblacks.
Cersei rushed toward him. "Did you find them? Did you find the killers? How many were there?" Surely there had been more than one. One man alone could not have killed her father.
Her twins face had a haggard look. "The shaft goes down to a chamber where half a dozen tunnels meet. Theyre closed off by iron gates, chained and locked. I need to find keys." He glanced around the bedchamber.
"Whoever did this might still be lurking in the walls. Its a maze back there, and dark."
She imagined Tyrion creeping between the walls like some monstrous rat. No. You are being silly. The dwarf is in his cell. "Take hammers to the walls. Knock this tower down, if you must. I want them found. Whoever did this. I want them killed."
Jaime hugged her, his good hand pressing against the small of her back. He smelled of ash, but the morning sun was in his hair, giving it a golden glow. She wanted to draw his face to hers for a kiss. Later, she told herself, later he will come to me, for comfort. "We are his heirs, Jaime," she whispered. "It will be up to us to finish his work. You must take Fathers place as Hand. You see that now, surely. Tommen will need you . . ."
He pushed away from her and raised his arm, forcing his stump into her face. "A Hand without a hand? A bad jape, sister. Dont ask me to rule."
Their uncle heard the rebuff. Qyburn as well, and the Kettleblacks, wrestling their bundle through the ashes. Even the guardsmen heard, Puckens and Hoke the Horseleg and Shortear. It will be all over the castle by nightfall. Cersei felt the heat rising up her cheeks. "Rule? I said naught of ruling. I shall rule until my son comes of age."
"I dont know who I pity more," her brother said.
"Tommen, or the Seven Kingdoms."
She slapped him. Jaimes arm rose to catch the blow, cat-quick . . . but this cat had a cripples stump in place of a right hand. Her fingers left red marks on his cheek. The sound brought their uncle to his feet. "Your father lies here dead. Have the decency to take your quarrel outside."
Jaime inclined his head in apology. "Forgive us, Uncle. My sister is sick with grief. She forgets herself."
She wanted to slap him again for that. I must have been mad to think he could be Hand. She would sooner abolish the office. When had a Hand ever brought her anything but grief ? Jon Arryn put Robert Baratheon in her bed, and before he died hed begun sniffing about her and Jaime as well. Eddard Stark took up right where Arryn had left off; his meddling had forced her to rid herself of Robert sooner than she would have liked, before she could deal with his pestilential brothers. Tyrion sold Myrcella to the Dornishmen, made one of her sons his hostage, and murdered the other. And when Lord Tywin returned to Kings Landing . . .
The next Hand will know his place, she promised her-self. It would have to be Ser Kevan. Her uncle was tireless, prudent, unfailingly obedient. She could rely on him, as her father had. The hand does not argue with the head. She had a realm to rule, but she would need new men to help her rule it. Pycelle was a doddering lickspittle, Jaime had lost his courage with his sword hand, and Mace Tyrell and his cronies Redwyne and Rowan could not be trusted. For all she knew they might have had a part in this. Lord Tyrell had to know that he would never rule the Seven Kingdoms so long as Tywin Lannister lived.
I will need to move carefully with that one. The city was full of his men, and hed even managed to plant one of his sons in the Kingsguard, and meant to plant his daughter in Tommens bed. It still made her furious to think that Father had agreed to betroth Tommen to Margaery Tyrell. The girl is twice his age and twice widowed. Mace Tyrell claimed his daughter was still virgin, but Cersei had her doubts. Joffrey had been murdered before he could bed the girl, but she had been wed to Renly first . . . A man may prefer the taste of hippocras, yet if you set a tankard of ale before him, he will quaff it quick enough. She must command Lord Varys to find out what he could.
That stopped her where she stood. She had forgotten about Varys. He should be here. He is always here. Whenever anything of import happened in the Red Keep, the eunuch appeared as if from nowhere. Jaime is here, and Uncle Kevan, and Pycelle has come and gone, but not Varys. A cold finger touched her spine. He was part of this. He must have feared that Father meant to have his head, so he struck first. Lord Tywin had never had any love for the simpering master of whisperers. And if any man knew the Red Keeps secrets, it was surely the master of whisperers. He must have made common cause with Lord Stannis. They served together on Roberts council, after all . . .
Cersei strode to the door of the bedchamber, to Ser Meryn Trant. "Trant, bring me Lord Varys. Squealing and squirming if need be, but unharmed."
"As Your Grace commands."
But no sooner had one Kingsguard departed than another one returned. Ser Boros Blount was red-faced and puffing from his headlong rush up the steps. "Gone," he panted, when he saw the queen. He sank to one knee. "The Imp . . . his cells open, Your Grace . . . no sign of him anywhere . . ."
The dream was true. "I gave orders," she said. "He was to be kept under guard, night and day . . ."
Blounts chest was heaving. "One of the gaolers has gone missing too. Rugen, his name was. Two other men we found asleep."
It was all she could do not to scream. "I hope you did not wake them, Ser Boros. Let them sleep."
"Sleep?" He looked up, jowly and confused. "Aye, Your Grace. How long shall-"
"Forever. See that they sleep forever, ser. I will not suffer guards to sleep on watch." He is in the walls. He killed Father as he killed Mother, as he killed Joff. The dwarf would come for her as well, the queen knew, just as the old woman had promised her in the dimness of that tent. I laughed in her face, but she had powers. I saw my future in a drop of blood. My doom. Her legs were weak as water. Ser Boros tried to take her by the arm, but the queen recoiled from his touch. For all she knew he might be one of Tyrions creatures. "Get away from me," she said. "Get away!" She staggered to a settle.
"Your Grace?" said Blount. "Shall I fetch a cup of water?"
It is blood I need, not water. Tyrions blood, the blood of the valonqar. The torches spun around her. Cersei closed her eyes, and saw the dwarf grinning at her. No, she thought, no, I was almost rid of you. But his fingers had closed around her neck, and she could feel them beginning to tighten.


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Will Madison said the family noticed something was amiss when his daughter Maysie would be walking.
"We'd be together and her legs would give out," he said.
Maysie, 10, would then sit for awhile.
"We couldn't put our fingers on what was going on," he said.
The Clarkston community is rallying around Maysie, now in a medical coma at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, according to her family.
People are raising funds to help the family with medical bills.
Jenny Emery, Maysie's aunt, said doctors thought at first it was a muscle disorder -- then epilepsy, encephalitis or an autoimmune disorder.
The words they hear now from doctors are "rare" and "unique," said Emery of Clarkston. "It's very frustrating to be told so many things and have none be the right answers."
Maysie's parents -- William and Stephanie -- are divorced but both care for Maysie.
Will Madison said Maysie went into the hospital March 6 with significant seizures.
The doctors placed her in a medically induced coma to run tests to determine the amount and location of damage to Maysie's brain. She then underwent major brain surgery, targeting the damaged area, said Will.
Maysie has had the entire right side of her brain removed, he said.
"We were told the left side would compensate for the loss and that she would be OK and wake up," he said.
But the little girl has not awakened.
"We wait for her to say, 'Hi, Daddy, hi, Mommy,'" said Will.
Stephanie has stayed with her during the ordeal, and Will also visits.
"Doctors are baffled," said Will. Now more tests are scheduled.
Medical bills have been piling up.
"Insurance falls short of what is needed now and will be needed in the future," said Will.
Emery said her niece loved to read and write.
"She was always pretending to be a teacher," said Emery.
Around her family Maysie would be a "gabber," her aunt said.
"People are missing that, and her huge joyous smile."
Several fundraisers have been held at Maysie's school, Pine Knob Elementary in Clarkston, where Maysie was a fifth grader.
Staff at Mel's Grill in Clarkston, where Stephanie works waiting tables, is helping to raise funds.
Anyone who wants to assist the family is invited to contribute to funds set up through two banks. The "Wake Up Maysie Jean/Maysie Jean Fund" has been established at Clarkston State Bank at 5800 South Main Street Clarkston MI 48346. Any TCF bank will also accept funds for the "Maysie Madison Fund," said family.
A public Facebook page called "Wake Up Maysie Jean" tracks her progress. Will said people's comments and encouragement on the web keep him positive.
"Every 'Like' is hope," said Will. "We are asking for any and all support anyone can offer, be it emotional, spiritual or financial."
Emery said the outpouring of help and support "brings out a heart in the community. People are keeping us and Stephanie going."
Anyone who recognizes the medical condition is asked to get in touch with the family, stated Emery.
"It's such a mystery," she said.
� People can contact William Madison at firstname.lastname@example.com.
To help Maysie Madison and her family during the girl's health ordeal, people can contribute to funds set up at two banks. The "Wake Up Maysie Jean/Maysie Jean Fund" has been established at Clarkston State Bank at 5800 South Main St., Clarkston, MI 48346. Any TCF bank will also accept funds for the "Maysie Madison Fund."
Mel's Grill 1 at 4545 Pelton Road in Clarkston will host fundraiser with Pine Knob Elementary on May 20. Mel's Grill 2 at 7080 Gateway Park Drive will host a fundraiser on May 21. Call 248-618-7257.
Contact Carol Hopkins at 248-745-4645 or email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @OPCarolHopkins or on Facebook @OPcarolhopkins


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I love today's steal. You know, I feel like I say that just about every day, but I do! I'm like a kid in a candy shop whenever Melodee brings me new product to shoot for the page, and today's steal, the KI Memories, Gel Candy Epoxy Stickers is of no exception!
They truly take me back to my childhood, to a time when I was pretty in love with collecting stickers. Smurf stickers, Holly Hobbie, Scratch and Sniff, and of course, I always loved when I was able to add an epoxy sticker to my collection. (Yes...they were few and far between wayyyyyyyyyyyy back then!)
For this weeks Monday Card Madness, I decided to not to have a set sketch but more of a challenge. Your challenge is to use stickers. (Although by all means, feel free to use my cards to copy!)
I had so much fun putting to use some of the stickers in the Gel Candy collections as well as the Love Elsie collections. I love the fresh colors as well as the slight demension that an epoxy sticker gives to a project.
The first two cards that I made each have a sticker from the Love Elsie collections. I've always loved Elsie Flannagans whimsical, doodling style.
On the second card I wanted to keep the soft feel of the design of the cards and used my corner rounder on the sticker to take away the sharp edges.
I was honestly a little stumped as to which Gel Candy stickers to use for my other cards, because there are SO many to choose from. KI Memories named their product well, as it truly is like being in a candy shop trying to decide what to use. :)
I loved the pink stickers, so I used an assortment of them to create the design of this card.
I also loved the round circle from all of the sets and started using a bunch of them, but settled on one from the pink set for this card. I added some rubons on top and was able to create a unique sentiment.
So how have you done on sending out joy? I hope that we are starting to see cards surfacing all over the continent, to brighten someones day!
We will have the first Monday Card Madness drawing of the year next Monday. You have until Sunday night to get your cards posted to our Facebook Fan Page with a link to the blog in order to be eligible for the drawing. The winner will receive something great from our prize closet that will help in the creating of MORE cards! :)
Be sure to check in tomorrow as we have another fantastic How To'sday, in the works! One you will not want to miss.
Have a great day! As always. Scrap happy! :)