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If you are thinking about working in the automotive industry, looking into the availability of auto body programs online is a good initial step, albeit one that it can be easy to discount, given the physical nature of working with cars. It is also worth considering this kind of approach if you have a reasonable amount of knowledge but no previous employment in that field- getting some official certification attached to your name goes a long way to reassuring potential customers that you know what you are doing. In a crowded marketplace, anything that can differentiate you from the cowboys is well worth thinking about.
The good thing about training in the auto body field is that there is a huge amount of choice. Apart from the fact that there is so much that goes into working with cars (do you want to be an engine mechanic, a bodywork specialist, an interiors technician specialising in on-board electronics, a spray painter, a wheels and tires specialist?), there is a crowded training marketplace. Simply typing the words auto body programs online into a search engine brings up all kinds of options, from full-time apprenticeships for the young, through part-time evening classes at community colleges, or distance-learning schemes run by various online bodies. There are a myriad of articles around that give practical advice, to varying degrees of detail. You will also find countless forums of people eagerly discussing the modifications on their particular makes of car. Some of this will be worthless, though even if you are serious about being a professional, it is worth dipping into these informal sources from time to time. The usual caveats apply about thinking for yourself of course, but it is counter-productive to overlook or simply write off any source of information from the outset. If you are looking to become a professional in this field, however, then doing a course is probably essential- you will need to have a good general framework of knowledge about all aspects of auto body work- the basics of shop work, information about tools and materials, metalworking and welding, and body painting, to name but a few. With the basic knowledge in place, you can then add to your expertise or specialise at your leisure.
If you are 16, or 18, and looking to learn a trade, then a college is probably the right way forward for you. Auto body repair is an inherently hands-on subject, and there is no way that you can learn how to fix a dent on a car's bodywork, or to mask a panel for re-spraying, whilst sat at a computer desk. There are disadvantages, however, in signing up to something full-time if you need to keep working, and cannot work around someone else's schedule, or perhaps have problems with location. This is when auto body programs online can be more useful. Of course, always ask what you are getting from the course, and if possible get testimonials from people who have gone through it.
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Mascot: Roadrunner
Class times: 7:50 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.
Indian Oasis, a Title I school serving the Tohono O'odham Nation in Sells, Arizona, empowers its students for life success. We partner with families and our community to teach the skills and knowledge necessary for our students to compete in a global market while retaining their traditional values and unique culture, and continuing the legacy of the Nation.
At Indian Oasis, we believe that everyone has a right to a safe learning environment. We believe that we should take pride in our words, our actions, and our culture. We believe that we should act responsibly in every way to ensure a positive environment for everyone. We believe that respect for ourselves and for others should be woven into the fabric of our lives. We are Tohono STARs!
Vital to the academic success of our students is proficiency in core subjects like reading and math. Vital to the journey of life is a love for learning. If we can help students develop decoding and comprehension skills in reading and become proficient in foundational math skills they will discover an ease and love of learning for the rest of their lives.
To do this, we have adopted a new reading program called Success for All (SFA). This program blocks a portion of our day for reading instruction and practice. Divided into skill level, each child is able to receive the exact instruction he/she needs to build upon their previous knowledge and move toward reading proficiency. The first stage of this program is Reading Roots which teaches phonemic and decoding skills. Once students have shown mastery here, they move on to Reading Wings which begins teaching concepts and tools for comprehension and fluency. We have found much success with this program and appreciate its frequent assessment and reward of improving student skills!
We also employ Power Teaching Math in the classroom. This is a great program that focuses on the connection between math skills and everyday life. We want each child to reach mastery levels in math and to know that mathematics is more than just a set of numbers and rules. Math is the organized and predictable foundation of our world; it governs such things as seasons and life process. You can encourage an understanding of math at home by involving your child with daily tasks like baking, budgeting, gardening, and crafts.
At Indian Oasis we round out our curriculum with classes that help meet the developmental needs of every child. Once or twice a week students participate in physical education, technology, fine arts, library, and culture classes. These classes are great for creating an atmosphere in which each child's individual talents can shine!
Regular school attendance is essential for school achievement; daily class participation is important to the learning process. Absence from class limits a student's chance of academic success and places an extra burden upon both the student and teacher to maintain academic skills.
State law requires regular, daily school attendance of children over the age of seven. Indian Oasis complies with these requirements by maintaining attendance records for each child. We understand that occasionally absences cannot be avoided, but we ask that parents make a conscious effort to help their child develop good attendance habits for life.
Please contact the school office if your child will be absent for illness or memorial services.
Students with perfect attendance are recognized each month with awards and special privileges. We publish their names in our school Roadrunner! Attendance also plays an important role in the determination of our "student of the month" recognition.
You can view our detailed attendance policy in the student handbook, located under the Parents quick link on the Home page.
Indian Oasis utilizes the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) system as the foundation for our school-wide discipline program. PBIS is a proactive approach to preventing student behavior problems and achieving social and learning goals. We teach desired classroom behaviors and skills and focus on positive behavior to create a safe and productive classroom environment. This system allows for a structured classroom in which all students can participate equally and learn with greater ease.
As a part of this program, we reward students for modeling good behavior and they can earn special awards and privileges in the classroom. Each month our students participate in a STAR assembly which reinforces our creed that they can be safe, take pride, act responsibly, and respect others. Encourage your child to do their best!
For more information on our discipline policy and procedures, please see our Student Handbook.
Indian Oasis provides free transportation services to students in our district. It is important to remember that the school bus is an extension of the public school system and property with the same expectations for behavior.
Each student is responsible for his/her actions on the school bus and is subject to the direction and discipline of the driver.
All students will:

subset: commoncrawl


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The True Italian Taste project - funded and promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development and realised by Assocamerestero with the support of 9 Italian Chambers of Commerce in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver and Mexico City - is a major campaign to enhance the awareness of authentic Italian products in the USA, Canada and Mexico. True Italian Taste, which is part of a programme promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development under the name "The Extraordinary Italian Taste", has the aim of:
The Project
Tell consumers all over the world about the benefits of true Italian products and the importance of the link between foods and the places they come from.
Help "foodies" choose and use authentic Italian ingredients, supporting both businesses and consumers.
Support Italian makers of certified, traditional and niche products who would like to be better known on international markets, and reinforce and expand business opportunities for companies already present on world markets.
How to take advantage of the healthy qualities of true Italian food, promoting organic products, new nutri-free food, dietary supplements, and all Italian-made products certified for certain ethnic categories (halal and kosher foods)


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The Power Of Flowers
One of Mother Nature's most powerful gifts is the flower. Not only are flowers beautiful to look at and smell, but they also promote wellbeing. All around you is an abundance of healing flowers, each bloom with its own unique appearance, fragrance, essence and energies.
Flower Power
Every flower variety has a personality and powerful healing properties. Many flowers are used in naturopathic medicine and flower therapy, in a similar way that herbal plants are used. The colour and fragrance of a flower has potent energy that can enhance your spirituality. Working closely with the healing gifts of nature can help to open up your psychic abilities, and to balance your emotional, physical and mental wellbeing.
Treat yourself to a bouquet of your favourite flowers and be open to exploring their symbolic meaning, restorative properties and potent power. If you are strongly attracted to a particular flower, its energy pattern may be resonating with your out of synch vibration.
What Is Flower Therapy?
Flower therapy is the practice of using flower essences to restore harmony and balance between the mind, body and spirit. Flower essence liquid tinctures – made by immersing fully bloomed flowers in spring water, and placing them in sunlight – can be used to identify and heal the core aspects of emotional and mental imbalances. The healing energy of the flower is transferred to the water and is then made into the flower essence, with added preservatives.
Flower essences can effectively treat many common stress related conditions and ailments. Essences first became a popular complementary healing method in the 1930s, when Dr Edward Bach introduced his first flower infusions. Today, Dr Bach's floral blended tincture Rescue Remedy is widely sold all around the world.
A Bouquet Of Healing Flowers
If you enjoy spending time in nature, or love to tend to your garden flowers, there are many resources available that can teach you all there is to know about the healing power of flowers. To get you started here are a few varieties:


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Mims | creativity | imagination | adventure
A simple but striking colourful typographic card with the word YES.
This card is left blank inside for your own message and comes with a bright, colourful envelope.
350gsm white card stock
140 x 100mm
Dark Cloud Greetings Card
Christmas carol foiled Christmas cards
Queen Bee Gold Mother's Day Card
Keep Going Foiled Cloud Card


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[via Science Fiction Awards Watch]
The finalists for the 2009 Philip K. Dick Award have been announced. They are:
- Bitter Angels, C. L. Anderson (Ballantine Books/Spectra)
- The Prisoner, Carlos J. Cortes (Ballantine Books/Spectra)
- The Repossession Mambo, Eric Garcia (Harper) [See SF Signal's review]
- The Devil's Alphabet, Daryl Gregory (Del Rey) [See SF Signal's review]
- Cyberabad Days, Ian McDonald (Pyr) [See SF Signal's review]
- Centuries Ago and Very Fast, Rebecca Ore (Aqueduct Press)
- Prophets, S. Andrew Swann (DAW Books) [See SF Signal's review]
The Award will be presented Friday, April 2, 2010 at Norwescon 33 in SeaTac, Washington.
See also: Past winners


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The Executive Study Group (ESG) seminar 2016 – Leadership Strategy series named "How to Control the Bargaining Table to Build Your Influential Power" was held by the ESG, Asia Pacific Institute for Strategy Limited (APIFS) and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp (HKSTPC) on 30 Aug 2016. I would like to summarize the seminar for sharing below. (The seminar is full!)
Dr. Mark Lee briefed the purpose of Executive Study Group (ESG) and he established 100 CEOs Peer Learning Group. He told us the coming topics in the CEO Group included "Downturn Strategy", "Design & Innovation Strategy", "Re-Branding and Marketing", "Alliance and Plug-and-Play Strategy" and "Organization Development Strategy". He then also quoted Steve Jobs statement that Creativity is just connecting things.


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Raymond Charles Pierson (1931-2018)
Raymond Charles Pierson was born July 11, 1931 in Cortez, Colorado to Jim and Edna Pierson. After a brief illness in Everett WA, he left this life to enter the presence of his Savior on March 15, 2018. Ray lived a life that spanned continents, decades and lifelong friendships. He was a thoughtful, kind, and caring man whose life was spent in service to his Lord, Jesus Christ.
He spent his childhood in Colorado on a family-owned bee farm, graduating as valedictorian from Bayfield HS in 1948. From there, Ray attended Colorado State for one year, then transferred to Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he was drafted into the US Army, training in Ft Leonard Wood, MO, then was stationed in South Korea, working with KMAG. After returning to the US in 1955, Ray married Winifred Lehman in Berne, Indiana, whom he had met through her brother, his college roommate. He furthered his education at Columbia Seminary in GA, then finished at Grace Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. In 1958, Ray and Wini accepted God's call for them to go to Korea with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM), where they lived and served in various capacities from 1960-1973. Upon their return from the mission field in 1973, Ray and Wini served in churches in Cissna Park, Illinois and Hastings, Nebraska. In 1976, they moved to what would become their favorite place on earth, the state of Montana, first to work with Montana Institute of the Bible in Lewistown, then pastoring Central Bible Church in Kalispell. They also lived in the Bozeman area for many years.
Ray and Wini would have been married 63 years this June. He is survived by Wini, his wife and best friend; and his daughters Raye Pride (Ed), Jenny Poelman (Ken), Patti Clark (Bryan), and sons Eric (Lisa), Bruce (Betha), and Jay (Rachel), as well as his foster daughter Greer Baines, and a very large, loving family of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his fourth child and first son, Robert Charles; and a great-granddaughter, Letti Marie.
There will be a celebration of Ray's life on June 7, 2018, at Lincoln Berean Church, Lincoln, NE.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift in Ray's memory to:
Christian Friends of Korea
129 Center Avenue
Black Mountain, NC 28711
Montana Bible College
3625 S. 19th
Bozeman MT 59715


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This Remembrance Day, I invite you to join me in wearing a poppy to commemorate the men and women who served, and are currently serving in our Canadian Armed Forces.
The poppy is a solemn tribute to all who have given so much for the rights and freedoms we cherish and enjoy every day. I encourage you, and all Canadians to take a moment to honour our veterans and their families.


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Real Estate Services Whether you're a first-time home buyer or looking for a winter home, we have Realtors that will help you find your next home. Financial Services Buying a home involves more than finding a property that meets your needs – you also have to deal with the banks. Don't worry, we're here to help.
Renovation services available, qulaified and experied personel.
Boutique style Real Estate Agency servicing all the Greater Montreal area including the West Island, Laval and the Laurentians. As the Agency Director, I manage a portfolio of properties, for rent or sale, in the residential and commercial sectors and have a dedicated team of licensed Brokers that work at my Agency completing the concept of true 'Teamwork' offering the client a full service Brokerage Firm.
Titulaire d'un certificat valide de l'OACIQ détient une assurance responsabilité civile professionnelle Parle Anglais et français.
Holds a valid practicing certificate of OACIQ Holds professional liability insurance Speaks English, French
Annonce dans les nouvelles 'Main Street News' d'une publication de les Laurentides.
Advertisement in the Main Street news a Laurentian publication.


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Interested in weaving, but not ready to dive in head first? Dip your toe into the wide world of rigid heddle weaving with this texture tasting.
This class is sure to get anyone excited about weaving. After covering the basics of weaving on a rigid heddle loom, you will play, play, PLAY with yarn, fiber, texture, and colour in order to craft a one-of-a-kind piece! You will leave with a finished work that can be used as a wall hanging, a table runner, or a scarf.
No experience necessary. All supplies are included, and the shop will provide pre-warped looms for the duration of the course. Warp colours may differ from one course to the next.
Supplies included:
Course details:
Price: $80 (plus tax)
Classes: 1
Duration: 3 hours
Date: Friday, February 1 from 12:30 to 3:30 pm
Cancellation Policy
Students must cancel at least 2 weeks before the class is scheduled in order to receive a refund. Should the store cancel a class, students will receive a full refund.
Minimum number of students required to run class: 3
Class ticket


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The fewer the barriers to the cross-border flow of goods, services, capital and labour, the greater the openness of an economy. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) publishes the Open Markets Index (OMI) with the aim of presenting a balanced and reliable measurement of an economy's openness to trade. ICC hopes that the OMI may serve as a guide for governments in implementing reforms to enable trade as a driver of sustainable growth and job creation.
The period covered by the report concludes at the end of 2015, as not all economic indicators for 2016 were reported by the economies at the time of compilation. The report therefore shows results from a period of trade and investment that led to a gradual slowdown in global trade growth (1.3% for 2016).
The OMI 2017 set out in this report covers four main areas of focus, which are further split across 23 indicators intended to cover factors of openness in each area.
The four main components of OMI 2017 are:
- Observed openness to trade
- Trade policy settings
- Foreign direct investment (FDI) openness
- Trade-enabling infrastructure
As with earlier versions of the OMI, due to complexity and data availability, the OMI 2017 does not address restrictive private business practices, or behind-the-border measures such as subsidies.
A detailed overview of the four main components and key indicators within each component is provided in Annex I.
The economies selected for the study include all G20 economies, all EU member states, and a mix of lower, middle and upper-income economies. When taken together the OMI 2017 represents 90% of trade and investment worldwide. Detailed profiles on each of the 75 economies selected are published in addition to this report.


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There is a small child sitting on my lap.
She smells like a cucumber pickle.
Let's talk about why that is, shall we?
Well. I'm sure you know why that is. I mean it's pretty obvious. She's had her whole fist in the pickle jar all the live long day.
She is one of my many children who have been walking around the past few days since I made my first batch of sweet pickled cucumber slices this season and telling me just how much they LOVE my pickles.
(In fact, they love them so much the older children learned how to can their own pickles!)
So it's either make my children unhappy and stop making the pickles or put up with the pickle stink. I love my kids and they've smelled worse before. So we'll go with happy pickle munchin' munchkins.
Honestly, I can't blame them. I've never been big on pickles myself, but these are mighty fine if I do say so myself.
I want to feel guilty deep down inside about these not being the super healthy fermented, even lacto-fermented pickles that make for superhuman guts & immune systems, really I do. But what good would it do if I did?
No one would eat them unless a threat or a promise were involved. Food should bring pleasure, not punishment or bribery. And since these pickles lack the sodium benzoate, yellow 5, and polysorbate 80 of name brand pickles, I'll be content with that, reminding myself just why we don't stick to only one food fad.
But what about the crunch you ask. Are they crunchy?
Are they ever! Even after nearly a year, they retain their crunch. Beyond that, I can not attest to. For no matter how many I've made, they've never lasted that long.
I do have a few tricks up my sleeve that make them crunchy. First is removing the blossom end of the cucumber and discarding it. They have an anti-crunchy enzyme in them that makes the pickle break down into an undesirable state of crunchlessness.
Next is thicker slices. Obviously, if your slices are too thin, then your pickles will mush up more quickly.
The third trick is the salting and the icing. That draws out some of the liquid.
I've heard about tossing a grape leaf in your pickles too. Now that we have a grapevine, I tried that in a few jars, but doubt it will make a difference since I used the other tricks.
Recommended Canning Tools & Resources
Sweet Pickled Cucumber Slices Recipe
Sweet Pickled Cucumber Slices
Pickled cucumber or cucumber pickle? Either way, this recipe for canning Sweet Pickled Cucumber Slices makes the tastiest & crispy pickles!
Keep Reading
The post Sweet Pickled Cucumber Slices appeared first on Reformation Acres.
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I don't know about you, but one of the reasons I started raising backyard chickens was so my healthy, happy hens who would give our family nutritious eggs. Ok. I was really hoping to save money on eggs too! But I quickly learned that feed isn't cheap and if I wanted to do better, I was going to need to come up with some free chicken feed ideas to save money on the chicken feed bill!
After you learn what chickens can eat and what they actually will eat (because remember, animals don't like to stick to our generalizations,) it's time to start getting creative! It's fun to come up with chicken feed ideas that your hens love and yet are easy enough for you to manage. I always make sure to keep homesteading records to make sure my efforts are worth the while. More than once, I thought I was saving money to justify the extra work to save, but in the end, when I looked at the records, I was only fooling myself.
Here are my best free chicken feed ideas! They work great with either laying hens or the broiler chickens you're raising for meat. You can do side-jobs to earn money homesteading and help pay the feed bill or try some of these ideas on your hens at chore time. Check them out and see which would work for you to help you save!
Grow cover crops and rotate them through using a chicken tractor
Try growing alfalfa, clover, buckwheat, oats, wheat, barley, or sorghum.
Grow Winter Squash
Some varieties of winter squash, such as Sweet Meat, hold very well in storage. Cut them in half and let the chickens eat the flesh and seeds.
Sprouting Lentils for Chickens
Sprout legumes such as lentils for seeds and greens.
Grow Fodder for Chickens to Eat
Fodder is a great way for chickens to get their greens even when in the dead of winter.
Grow Sprouted Grain
Sprouting grain adds to the nutritional value of the whole grains you feed your chickens and using whole grains in your feed reduces your costs.
Grow Perennial Crops
There are many perennial plants you can grow that make excellent chicken feed! The best part about using perennial trees, bushes, and vines is they require less maintenance and cost each year. While yields go up, your chicken feed bill goes down!
Grow Duckweed
Dehydrated duckweed is high in protein and easy to grow.
Grazing Boxes
Building grazing boxes allow you to simulate a free-range or rotationally grazing system even if your hens are confined in a run. Our aerial predator load here is high so this year we've had to shut up our free-ranging hens. Grazing boxes are definitely going to be part of our new coop system.
Grow Sunflowers
Grow Herbs for your Chickens
Nettles, comfrey, chickweed, and more. Check out these herbs for chickens.
Kitchen Scraps
Saving your kitchen scraps at each meal is a great way to cut your chicken feed costs. Every little bit adds up and there isn't much they won't eat.
Garden Scraps
There is often a lot of waste that comes out of a garden. From the tops of roots to cleaning up plants done bearing, and more, the chickens can turn those scraps into eggs. Dandelion, plantain, lambs quarter, purslane, and chickweed are all great choices, but try feeding others and watch for what your gals like to eat.
Crushed Eggshells
Feed chickens crushed eggshells back to them so they get extra calcium without having buy oyster shells.
Grocery Store Scraps
You'd be surprised at how much produce grocery stores throw away! Ask them to save you some of the "waste" and feed those vegetables back to your hens.
Butchering Waste
Chickens are omnivores. That means they love to eat meat and all that protein is a great way to turn scraps from butchering into eggs. Though we work hard to reduce as much waste as possible, there is still always a 5-gallon bucket of scraps that get split between the chickens and dogs.
Farmers Markets Waste
Sadly, produce farmers sometimes have extra produce that didn't sell. Sometimes it can be saved for the next market, but many herbs and greens won't be good enough to offer for sale again. We would always share some with our neighbors but the rest went to the chickens. It doesn't hurt to ask!
Feeding Chickens Weeds
You definitely want to pull the weeds in your garden. (I've got 11 reasons why.) But that doesn't mean they're waste! You can use them to reduce your chicken feed bill.
Dairy Products
Feed your chickens soured milk or whey leftover from cheesemaking. Even better, soak your ration with it. They LOVE it! (If we have extra milk from our dairy cow, sometimes we'll just give them fresh milk too!)
Contain your chickens in your compost pile and let them pick through the scraps and bugs for food while keeping the pile nice and aerated.
Maggot Bucket
This is such an awesome idea I learned from Permaculture Chickens! It is a great way to turn your meat scraps into even more protein for your chickens.
Grow Mealworms
Learning how to grow mealworms is a great way to give your hens a protein boost. When our hens were molting last fall mealworms helped them get back into production sooner. (And when we ran out, guess who stopped laying again?!)
Black Soldier Fly Larvae
These are an alternative to growing mealworms.
Japanese Beetle Bags
Set out Japanese Beetle bags in the summer. They attract the beetles with their scent and trap them inside. Dump them out for the chickens and watch them feast! Just make sure to check the bag every day because if they die the chickens aren't interested in them anymore.
Mix Your Own Feed
Mixing your own feed allows you to source cheaper materials and buy in bulk to save.
Free-choice feeding your hens actually causes them to lay fewer eggs. They don't really practice portion control and will eat it if you serve it.
Cull Hens
Learn whether or not your hens are still laying and cull the ones that are no longer productive. After 3 years, your hens are only occasionally laying, but they're eating just as much as ever. It's not easy on the heart, but culling hens will definitely save you money on your chicken feed bill.
Soak the Chicken Feed
Soaking feed decreases waste but this is especially true with mash. That powdery stuff flies all over and a lot is lost. The soaking feed means that more is sitting in the trough for the hens to eat.
Free-Range Your Chickens
If you can… even for a few hours a day. We're not sure how free-ranging is going to fit into our new homestead, but on our other 2 homesteads, we let the gals free-range for most or all of the day. In some years, we didn't feed them the entire time the weather was warm enough for the grass to grow and bugs to be out. That meant 5 or more months of a chicken feed bill of $0!!!! And we got just as many eggs as ever! Probably more because I have definitely noticed that when our hens are cooped up they lay fewer eggs.
Use a Garden Moat
These are so cool and I'm going to use one on the new homestead. While chickens are valuable in the garden for tilling the ground and reducing the pest load, if they aren't contained they can wreak havoc on the crops you still want to have grown. I've tried talking to them about where they need to go. They don't listen.
Ferment their Chicken Feed
Fermenting the chicken feed is just like soaking it, but letting it sit for a couple days to being to ferment. Fermenting the feed makes more of the nutrients available for your chicken's bodies.
No-Waste Feeders
There are lots of great ideas to use no-waste feeders to feed your chickens. And less waste means less money spent on feed.
Boredom Busters
Hens cooped up often get bored. There are lots of great boredom busters you can give your flock that are food! Every little bit adds up! Try making some like Coconut Oil Suet Cakes.
Serve up the Grit (and Probiotics)
Improved digestion means they'll get more from their feed.
Get Damaged Bags from the Feed Store
If the feed store has bags they can't sell you may be able to score a deal.
Keep Homestead Records
One of the many reasons to keep homesteading records is so you can track your expenses and yields so you can see how much you are actually saving when you implement a new system on your homestead. I use the homestead management app, SmartSteader, to make it super easy (and math-free) to keep track. Comparing these numbers with your experiments lets you see where the real savings are at to help you make decisions about what is worth your time and what isn't.
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What are some of the best chicken feed ideas you've used to save money?
The post 36 Free Chicken Feed Ideas appeared first on Reformation Acres.
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Learn how to make the perfect no-sew DIY French Bistro Apron. Out of a flour sack towel! It's a frugal, functional, and super cute absorbent cafe apron!
I have a bad habit of not wearing aprons. And you know what happens? I end up using my clothes as a towel when I'm working in the kitchen. Not exactly the best way to keep your clothes in great condition, now is it?
But to be honest I don't find those pretty cotton prints at the fabric store to be very absorbent. And I put so much work into making the aprons, it kills me to soil them. My Gathering Apron is lined and it just feels too heavy to me for everyday use. They sure are a lot nicer than the plain t-shirt I'm trying to protect from kitchen mess…
My solution has been to carry a flour sack towel around tucked into my back pocket or thrown over my shoulder. But there's only so many times you can drop that thing on the farmstead floor kitchen and still feel ok about using it in food production.
My solution: A quick and easy no-sew flour sack towel bistro apron!
Now I can just wear my towel! My clothes stay cleaner. I don't have to worry about dropping it on the floor…. I love the way it looks!
And I didn't have to break the bank buying it. (It costs about $3 per apron.) OR take all day making it. (I was done in about half an hour and that's with taking photos.) Saving money and time makes me happy!
But the biggest perk for me (yes more than how inexpensive it was to make) is I didn't even have to sew a single stitch!
My sewing machine is in storage and won't be coming out in the next 1-3 years. So that's a long time to wait to make an apron. But being a no-sew apron is great if you haven't learned that homesteading skill yet!
Flour Sack Towel (Makes 2)
Twill Ribbon
Stitch Witchery
Wet Rag
I got my Flour Sack Towels from Lehman's cause you KNOW everything they have is farm-tough! They work beautifully for everything from natural cleaning, drying dishes, or these 25 other homestead uses!
Take 10% OFF Orders with code "COUPON10" at Lehman's. Valid now through 7/1/18. Shop now!
$ Half of a Flour Sack Towel
$ Twill Ribbon
$ 2- 2-yard sections of Stitch Witchery
$ per apron (Plus any decorating you want to do with it.)
(If you want to embellish your apron with the French Ticking Stripes, see the tutorial below first… Or check out my other ideas for making your aprons pretty!)
That's it! Now you have yourself a lovely little bistro apron! The Stitch Witchery should have formed a bond and you have a nice pressed hem! Without sewing a single stitch!
I used a few cheap supplies to make some French Country Ticking Stripes on my apron. It turned out beautifully!
You will be laying down 6 pieces of tape and painting the spaces between. Make sure that you press the tape firmly into the fabric or the paint could bleed under.
|Dritz Stitch Witchery Fusible Bonding Web Regular Weight.625" X20yd
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|Wright Products Simplicity Twill Tape 1/2" X18yd, Ivory
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|Schiff Ribbons 922-1 100-Yard Cotton Twill Tape Ribbon, 1-Inch, White
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|Utopia Kitchen 12 Pack Flour-Sack Towels - 100% Pure Ring Spun Cotton...
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|Darice 97148 1-Inch Foam Brush Value pack, 50-Piece
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|Intertape Polymer Group PMD24 ProMask Blue Designer Painter's Tape...
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|FolkArt Home Decor Chalk Furniture & Craft Paint in Assorted Colors (2...
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Do you wear a bistro apron in your farmstead kitchen?
Take 10% OFF Orders with code "COUPON10" at Lehman's. Valid now through 7/1/18. Shop now!
The post DIY French Bistro Apron Tutorial (No Sewing Required) appeared first on Reformation Acres.
The post Sourdough Muffins Recipe: Four Different Variations to Try appeared first on Reformation Acres.
|BrotformDotCom Danish Dough Whisk, Made in Poland, Size Large
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|Simply Scrumptous Low Carb Fat Free Banana Muffins
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Since firing up a new batch of sourdough starter, I've been trying to add sourdough quick bread into our breakfast menu. Sourdough muffins obviously bake up faster than bread so my batter is going into muffin tins and baking for 20 minutes rather than a loaf and baking for an hour.
One of the challenges and frustrations I encountered was the wide variety of methods and ingredients and inconsistent results.
I wanted to simplify and come up with a basic recipe that I could slightly modify depending on what type of muffin was being requested or craved. In our home, most often that means Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Sourdough Muffins, Blueberry Sourdough Muffins (or Blackberry Muffins), Banana Nut Sourdough Muffins, or Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Muffins, but you could make the necessary changes to create your own sourdough muffins!
The result was a basic overnight preferment and a simple muffin recipe with a few additions/changes being made for each recipe.
Unlike many muffin recipes, this basic recipe results in a nice tall, rounded muffin instead of one that is flat or worse sunken.
•I use the Kitchen Aid mixer to stir in the thick preferment. I've decided though that for mornings when I want to be quiet in the kitchen and not wake anyone up, an inexpensive tool like this one might come in awfully handy.
•I've learned that due to the nature of sourdough, greasing the muffin tins first is better than using cupcake papers because the papers stick horribly to the muffin.
•We also like Pumpkin Nut Sourdough Muffins a whole lot and really like the recipe I've been using the last few years. So much so, I've decided not to fuss with it.
•Applesauce is highly recommended as a butter substitute in the Apple Cinnamon Muffins.
Basic Overnight Sourdough Muffins Ferment
|BrotformDotCom Danish Dough Whisk, Made in Poland, Size Large
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|Otis Spunkmeyer Delicious Essentials Apple Cinnamon Muffin, 4 Ounce -...
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|Otis Spunkmeyer Delicious Essentials Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin,...
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|Simply Scrumptous Low Carb Fat Free Banana Muffins
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What is your favorite type of muffin?
The post Sourdough Muffins Recipe: Four Different Variations to Try appeared first on Reformation Acres.
The post Beginner's Herb Garden: What to Plant appeared first on Reformation Acres.
There is a countless list of plants you can grow in your herb garden (and just as many reasons why you should be growing herbs!) But narrowing the list down and figuring out what to put in the herb garden doesn't have to be confusing and frustrating!
When I first started planning what herbs I wanted to plant in my garden years ago, I admit I totally went overboard. I bought all the things!
And ended up regretting it, big time!
It turned out to be such a waste of my time and money. (Unless you count the lessons I learned. Then it's never a waste.) But these herbs were persnickety and managing all their specific needs made starting them from seed a real challenge.
As I read through The Homesteader's Herbal Companion by Amy Fewell I was impressed with her strategy for planning the beginner's herb garden! It was just plain good common sense!
The easiest way to begin your herb garden is to choose five herbs that best suit your homestead needs. My initial list looked something like this:
- respiratory
- seasonal allergies
- common cold and flue
- wounds
- pretty things
Yes, "pretty things was definitely on my list. I wanted some herbs just for their aromatic benefits, like lavender, and to be pretty too…. As our homesteading journey went on, so did my needs. –The Homesteader's Herbal Companion
Isn't that a great approach?
Expanding on that herb garden planning idea from The Homesteader's Herbal Companion, here are 5 things to consider as you decide what herbs to plant in your garden. Begin by prioritizing your list. Amy suggests choosing your top 5 herbs to master this year.
But save that list, because it will help you decide how to expand next year. (This is just one of the ways the principles we used when starting our homestead help us to stay sane even now. They can continue to be practiced so we can avoid burnout and become masters of our homestead!)
Make sure you keep good homesteading records to reinforce what you're learning about these herbs so you know them inside and out. Snag yourself a set of The Homestead Management Printables to help you know what information to record. (There's also a handy Seed Sowing Calculator in there you can customize to your specific frost dates and know exactly when you should plant your herbs!)
Do you want to grow culinary herbs, medicinal herbs, or (like me) BOTH! Thankfully, some culinary herbs are also beneficial in the kitchen as well as the medicine cabinet.
Thyme is amazing on chicken but is also wonderful for making Lemon Honey Thyme Cough Syrup.
Sage is my favorite herb for flavoring pork, but it also does double duty as a tea for sore throats, coughs, and laryngitis.
Cayenne pepper gives our food some kick. And it works great in pain relieving salve. I use it for sore muscles or back pain.
We use garlic honey "pills" to boost our immune system when we get sick, but most of the time our homegrown garlic is used for mealtime prep.
What herbs do you use most frequently in the kitchen when preparing homemade meals? Are there some that have been sitting in your cupboard longer than you can remember? (Don't grow those.)
In my kitchen, it's parsley, sage, oregano, and thyme. Thankfully, these herbs are all really easy to grow and self-sow abundantly so I only have to start them once. (That's just one of the many reasons I never cook with essential oils.)
Does your family come down with the same type of illness each winter? Does someone suffer from chronic headaches? Grow feverfew. Eczema? Maybe try growing calendula. Insomnia? Plant some chamomile for homemade Sleepytime Herbal Tea Mix. Think about your family's specific health needs and choose to grow herbs that will support their well-being.
Every garden site has specific needs and some garden sites may be limiting. Thankfully there are several culinary and medicinal herbs that grow well in part shade or shade gardens.
Companion planting herbs in your vegetable garden is one of the ways to increase your yields and invite pollinators to visit.
But many herbs also have symbiotic relationships with the vegetables in your garden. It will be worth your while to learn what to plant together in the herb garden. Amy recommends planting chives to enhance the flavor of your vegetables. Or mint to repel cabbage moths. (You can bet I'll be giving that tip a try! I've all but given up on cabbage!) According to The Homesteader's Herbal Companion, basil will deter pests. And garlic will keep the bunnies away.
The Homesteader's Herbal Companion is a beautiful resource to supplement your herbal library! It was a delight just to flip through the pages and admire the photography. (But then again, I'm like a kid and I like books with pictures.)
The Homesteader's Herbal Companion includes chapters on:
It has an extensive Materia Medica tailored for the homesteader and is LOADED with lots of recipes for you to try. Several recipes are "basic" so you can get creative and customize them to your needs. There are recipes for salves, syrups, cleaners, tinctures, delicious sounding meals enhanced with herbs, Spice Mixes, body lotions and other beauty products, soap, ways to use herbs for the coop and livestock. (I love her idea of using Hot Cocoa as a carrier for medicinal herbs to soothe sore throats and coughs with the Respiratory Marshmallow Hot Cocoa!)
The information in Amy's book is easy to read and thoughtfully presented. There is something in it for everyone! When readers are through, beginners will have a thorough understanding and the confidence to get started without feeling overwhelmed. And more experienced herb-lovers will have their knowledge challenged. The beauty of the pages and variety of recipes are truly inspirational!
What herbs do you want to grow in your garden?
The post Beginner's Herb Garden: What to Plant appeared first on Reformation Acres.
The post How To Make Your Own DIY Potting Soil Mix appeared first on Reformation Acres.
|Espoma RP7 Rock Phosphate, 7.25-Pound
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|Espoma GS7 Greensand Soil Conditioner, 7.5-Pound
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|Neptune's Harvest HF136 Hydrolyzed Fish Fertilizer 2-4-1 , 36 Ounce
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After years of less than stellar results from pre-made mixes, I'm now using an easy recipe to make my own DIY organic potting soil mix using a few simple ingredients I'm able to easily find at my gardening supply store.
Nothing frustrates me more than a poor quality potting soil mix. There's a lot riding on whether you've got a good soil from the beginning for your tender seedlings… In fact, the success of your whole garden depends on it. Weak, under-nourished seedlings won't bear nearly as early or produce as much as a strong plant that was healthy from the beginning.
I hate ripping into a bag and finding it practically dust, it's so fine and dry. There's soil that you'll struggle to keep wet until the day you can get the plant into the ground. Others seem like they'll do well only to find that they seem to run out of nutrients to give to the seedling before they're large enough to transplant meaning you'll have the extra investment of additional fertilizer (I use cold-pressed fish fertilizer). The worst was one year when I couldn't find anything other than Miracle Gro Potting mix. I ended up with furry soil with the most peculiar orange fungus-y mass growing on top of the soil. Suffice it to say, I never used the mix again. Not surprisingly, I haven't had that problem recur in all my years of seed starting.
The recipe for this potting soil mix is so simple. It's a "Parts" recipe so it doesn't matter how big the bucket you're measuring out scoops with.
But the measurements of the amendments are based off a 4-gallon bucket so adjust the amendments accordingly. (So if you use a 1-gallon bucket, you'll only need a ⅛ cup of the agricultural lime. You should easily be able to find all of the ingredients at your garden center or on Amazon. Depending on how much you make, you can mix it in a 5-gallon bucket or trash can. Pop on the lid and roll it across the ground to help mix it!
Other amendments you can consider adding would be rock phosphate, greensand (iron & potassium), and blood meal, bonemeal, or feather meal (nitrogen). But making sure that your potting soil has enough nutrients to feed your seedlings until it's time to transplant them in the garden is a great way to increase your garden yields (without tilling up more garden space.) And gets you healthier, more nutrient-dense vegetables.
When you're ready to use your potting soil, transfer the dry potting soil to another container. Add enough water that it's fairly wet and you can ball it up into a clump. But not so much that you can squeeze water out.
If you're using pots instead of a soil-blocker (which are my fave), I like to fill the cups all the way, press them down so they're packed about ¾ of the way full, and then fill them up all the way again without packing the second time. Doing this helps to provide loose soil for the young seedling near the top. And it avoids the problem of settling that happens later on when the soil sinks to half the cup level.
Regardless of whichever seed-starting container I prefer to use, I sprinkle the top of the potting soil in each cell with vermiculite to prevent damping off disease.
I store any dry, unused soil in the bucket or trash can. Mixing extra ahead of time saves time when your seed starting calculator tells you it's time to start seeds again!
UPDATE: I've received many comments questioning the sustainability of using peat moss in this mix. This winter while reading The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman I came across an excellent assessment of the peat controversy.
"I do not share the anti-peat moss sentiment I occasionally hear expressed. The anti-peat moss movement began in Europe where, because of population density, limited peat deposits, and centuries-long use of the resource, they are at the point where finding substitutes for peat makes sense. But the same is no the case in North America. Of the peat lands in North America, only 0.02 percent (2/100 of 1 percent) are being used for peat harvesting. On this continent peat is forming some five to ten times faster than the rate at which we are using it. And even if we don't include bogs located so far north that their use would never be economic, peat is still a resource that is forming much faster than we are using it. To my mind that is the definition of a renewable resource.
Obviously, it behooves us to make sure that every natural resource is managed sustainable and that unique areas are protected. My investigations into the peat moss industry don't give me cause to worry…
Someday we may need to find a substitute for peat moss, but I do not believe that day is here. In fact, I do not believe it ever needs to arrive. But if we do need a substitute, some of the present contenders, like coir fiber imported, at great expense and energy, from faraway South Pacific islands, which need that organic matter to maintain their own soil fertility, make very little sense. If I am going to react against using peat to improve agricultural soils, I want to do it with all the facts at had, both as to whether the problem actually exists and as to whether the supposed solution is logical and environmentally appropriate."
Recipe Credit: The Market Gardener
Have you ever tried your own potting soil mix?
|Espoma RP7 Rock Phosphate, 7.25-Pound
|Check Prices
|Espoma GS7 Greensand Soil Conditioner, 7.5-Pound
|Check Prices
|Jobe's Organics 9327 Vegetables, Ferns, Shrubs and Composting, 3 Pound...
|from $3.97
|Check Prices
|Espoma BM4 4-Pound Bone Meal 4-12-0
|Check Prices
|Walt's Feather Meal (2 LB)
|Check Prices
|Neptune's Harvest HF136 Hydrolyzed Fish Fertilizer 2-4-1 , 36 Ounce
|Check Prices
The post How To Make Your Own DIY Potting Soil Mix appeared first on Reformation Acres.
The post Silky Smooth Chocolate Pudding Recipe appeared first on Reformation Acres.
|The French Slow Cooker
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|Cook's Pure Chocolate Extract 8 oz
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|Scott's Cakes 1 Pound Dutch Cocoa Powder
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|Midyett Premium Meat Rub - All-Natural Gourmet Blend - As Seen in"Bon...
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After trying every variation of homemade chocolate pudding out there, I finally discovered the secret to rich chocolate flavor and silky smooth texture!
It wasn't long after you all tried my Creamy Homemade Vanilla Pudding recipe that you started asking if I had a recipe for chocolate pudding that was just as delicious. And until now, sadly, I had to say no. When I wanted a chocolate pudding I made something called Bittersweet Chocolate Creams from The French Slow Cooker. They are amazing! But, not really chocolate pudding.
So when our Jersey cow freshened last month my first mission before diving into cheesemaking was to perfect a chocolate pudding.
But that was actually a lot harder than I expected! With "hard" being relative because let's face it, the fact I didn't hit upon a good recipe meant I had to keep trying. Which meant I had to keep making and sampling chocolate pudding.
Which is really not that hard at all. Even with a "bad" recipe.
I found the recipes for a classic pudding to be weak in flavor and almost watery in texture. The cocoa powder left an unpleasant grit on the roof of my mouth. I just wasn't satisfied and knew there had to be a better way.
Unlike with vanilla pudding, adding butter to the chocolate pudding made an incredible difference in the smoothness and flavor. We all liked it so much better! After that, it wasn't about whether to add butter, but how much?
I also knew right away that my pudding recipe was going to be a "double chocolate" pudding. I needed the chocolate flavor but it couldn't come with cocoa powder because of the grittiness. In the end, I like the ratio of 1 Tablespoon of cocoa powder per 1 cup of milk. Anything more and I noticed the chalky grit.
I think this recipe has the perfect balance of sweetness but I did use 60% bittersweet chocolate chips so if you use anything lighter than that you may need to back off the sugar a touch.
After my experiments with different thickeners in vanilla pudding, I didn't even bother to test the others in chocolate pudding and assumed that the best texture would come from cornstarch. You could use flour in a pinch, but it might not make the finest pudding possible.
I'm looking forward to using my yellow cake recipe from Cake Stand to make a pudding cake! Or even turning this pudding into a Farmstead Pie if I don't have the time to make Chocolate Silk Pie.
After trying every variation of homemade chocolate pudding out there, I finally discovered the secret to rich chocolate flavor and silky smooth texture.
|The French Slow Cooker
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|Kootek 11 Inch Rotating Cake Turntable with 2 Icing Spatula and Icing...
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|Cook's Pure Chocolate Extract 8 oz
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|Scott's Cakes 1 Pound Dutch Cocoa Powder
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|Midyett Premium Meat Rub - All-Natural Gourmet Blend - As Seen in"Bon...
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The post Silky Smooth Chocolate Pudding Recipe appeared first on Reformation Acres.
The post Cooking with Essential Oils: 6 Reasons to Never Do It appeared first on Reformation Acres.
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This topic has been on my mind the last few weeks. I knew I wasn't comfortable with seasoning our food with essential oils. But I felt like I wanted a clear reason why so if I stumble across information going forward, my resolution stayed firm.
As with all food and health advice, my standard for discernment is to follow the money trail from the source. So before we go any further I just want you to know, I've got no stake in the game.
I want to clarify that I'm not talking about ingesting essential oils for medical purposes. Though I do have an opinion on the topic, and deep trust issues (remember that whole money trail thing?), the efficacy and safety of the practice is a can of worms I'm not ever going to open. Ultimately, we're all responsible for our own choices and decisions. We are all doing the best we can and need to respect that in each other.
Also, I'd like to point out that cooking with essential oils is NOT the same as using an extract like vanilla. Tincture-like extraction is a completely different process from the methods used to isolate the volatile oils in plants. (And see Reason #2 for why volatile oils aren't the healthiest choice for our foods.)
Beyond all of the current talking points on each side, I think there are 6 very good reasons for not cooking with essential oils on the homestead you may not have heard before.
Not sure if you noticed that or not, but depending on where you buy them from, essential oils are expensive! Fresh herbs and spices, not so much. Especially when we're growing them in our own backyard. Over time, they end paying for themselves many times over both in expense and pleasure.
Whether you should even ingest essential oils is up in the air. However, whether essential oils lose their health benefits during the cooking process is not. Essential oils no longer add any nutritional value to your food when you cook them. They're just there for quick (expensive) flavor. If you want your food to be your medicine, whole herbs are a healthier choice.
For the sake of argument though, let's suppose you're extremely careful in the cooking process and the essential oils didn't lose their nutritional value in cooking.
Are they still the healthiest choice?
I would suggest no.
Volatile oils are simply one component of any plant. The fact is that when we use fresh herbs, flowers, citrus, etc. in our cooking there are volatile (essential) oils as one of the constituents in the plant. But there are other constituents too. All of those parts in a plant often work together to create a full, well-rounded nutritional and health profile.
I think willow bark is my favorite example. One of the key constituents in willow bark is salicin which is what aspirin is also made from. But willow bark taken as a pain reliever doesn't come with the side effects that aspirin does. Because there are other properties in the plant acting together to be gentler on our systems, there is built-in protection. (Not to mention that willow bark is also an antiseptic, antioxidant, and has anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties. But not so with only the acetylsalicylic acid in aspirin.)
Using whole herbs, flowers, and spices, whenever possible, is highly recommended by knowledgeable herbalists.
A homesteading and "local food" lifestyle goes hand-in-hand with being sustainable.
If we want to be earth-stewards and make conscientious choices about what we purchase and consume, cooking with essential oils makes very, very little sense. When you look at the amount of fossil fuel it took to produce one little bottle of essential oils and compare that to the abundance of package-free organic herbs you could walk out your back door and harvest, it's easy to see which choice is more sustainable.
Not to mention when you learn to cook or perfect your recipes based off of drops of essential oils, you become dependent on the oil supply (pun not intended, but in proofreading there it is-lol!) to keep trucking them to your door.
And if homesteaders are anything, we're independent!
We live in an age of fast and easy consumerism. Convenience foods, convenience packaging, heck, we don't even want to chop our vegetables ourselves and the trend at farmer's markets is for the farmer to cut the veggies for their customers. (Like they don't have anything else to do.) Using essential oils in the kitchen as a convenience food (or ingredient) goes against the grain of one of the many reasons why I love the homesteading lifestyle so much.
I embrace the slow food movement. So after spending an hour in the kitchen preparing our meal and I'm ready to add in that last pop of bright color from the herbs, it's invigorating, refreshing, and a joy to walk outdoors and snip a bundle of herbs to bring back indoors to finish off the meal. You couldn't PAY me to give up that luxury!
Essential oils aren't my backup plan for poor menu planning (which I am notorious for). Neither do I stock microwave dinners "just in case." Instead, I have a few meals I rotate through on my menu-planning-fail nights. Even if it's just Buttermilk Pancakes. (Which I really don't mind if we have our own maple syrup. Talk about a slow food flavoring!)
When I use essential oils in my cooking, they may flavor the food that feeds my family, but they will never go on to also feed my land.
Growing my own herbs allows me to create compost, helps retain soil over the winter, feeds the bees I want to bring to my garden, and create micro-climates where they are planted which nourish the soil food web.
You can't get that from a glass bottle!
When you grow your own herbs there is usually more than enough to use fresh and have enough to dehydrate for use over the winter. (I put up a QUART of powdered sage this year!) With essential oils, there is no way for abundance to happen and bless us with the increase. The gratitude those full jars of homegrown preserved herbs cultivates an attitude of thankfulness that can never be bought in a bottle.
Choosing not to cook with essential oils is simply my preference and practice. As with all things, I would encourage you to do thorough research. Make the best decision for yourself and your family. (Which is easier said than done in the noise of information online, I know.) Once you've made that choice, then go forward confident in your decision! Neither judging others nor feeling judged by others… again, we're all just doing the best we can!
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|Aroma2Go All Natural 100% Pure Essential Oil Sets (Cooking Set)
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|Citrus Pure Essential Oil 4 Piece Gift Set by Pure Organic...
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|Natural Health Aromatherapy Top 8 Essential Oils 100% Pure &...
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|Cooking Pure Essential Oil 4 Piece Gift Set by Pure Organic...
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The post Cooking with Essential Oils: 6 Reasons to Never Do It appeared first on Reformation Acres.
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text: License Suspension in Los Angeles Reach out to an experienced criminal defense attorney The DMV will seek to suspend your license if you are arrested for Driving Under the Influence. In the past, both the court and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) could order driver's license suspensions. Now, only the Department of Motor Vehicles can suspend a license, either because of a DMV hearing suspension or a criminal court conviction. In other words, even if the jury finds you not guilty, the DMV may still decide to suspend your license. After you are arrested for DUI, you have 10 days to request a hearing. This hearing is known as an "administrative per se" hearing, or APS. They are held at the DMV offices nearest to where the offense occurred. Unlike court trials, which involve live witness testimony, the DMV hearing will focus on the various police and chemical test reports. Generally, live witnesses are rarely called unless your attorney requests their appearance by issuing a subpoena. A unique aspect of the DMV hearing is that it is not a court of law. Therefore, the DMV representative is both the "prosecutor" and the judge. In other words, the individual seeking to introduce evidence is the same person who will rule upon it. Much of the evidence introduced at the administrative per se hearing is hearsay. Your Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can object on these grounds. Since this hearing is not in a court of law, however, but rather an administrative hearing, the representative will rely on this hearsay evidence. Los Angeles DUI Lawyer The attorneys at The Law Offices of Decio Rangel Jr. have found the best mode of attack is to challenge to basis for the stop and the actions of the law enforcement officer during the arrest. Some of the issues raised at a hearing may include: Were you driving the vehicle? Were you legally stopped by the officer? Were you legally arrested by the officer? Did you take a test and was it done properly under the law? Did you have a blood alcohol level above the legal limit? If you took a chemical test, there are three issues at stake: 1) whether the officer had a reasonable belief that you were under the influence, 2) whether the arrest was lawful, and 3) whether a properly conducted chemical test indicated that the driver had a BAC of above the legal limit. When you are licensed in the State of California, your consent to take a chemical test is implied. If you refuse a chemical test, it must be determined whether you were advised of the consequences of refusing the test, and whether you still refused the test after being advised of the consequences. If you lose the DMV hearing, the length of the license suspension will be substantially longer if you refused the test. The arresting officer is required by law to immediately send to the DMV a copy, with a sworn report, of the notice of suspension or revocation and any driver's license taken into possession. The DMV automatically conducts an administrative review that includes an examination of the officer's report, the suspension or revocation order, and any test results. If the suspension or revocation is upheld during the administrative review, you may request a hearing to contest the decision. Your driver's license will be returned to you at the end of the suspension or revocation period provided you pay a reissue fee to the DMV and you file proof of financial responsibility. If it is determined that there is no basis for suspending or revoking your license, it will be issued or returned to you. If your California driver's license has been suspended due to a DUI, it will be reinstated after the suspension period has elapsed. The length of the suspension will vary depending on whether the offense was a first time offense, or you have multiple offenses. As mentioned above, the DMV may suspend your license for a longer period of time if you refused to take a chemical test. It becomes imperative to fight the case in both the DMV hearing and in court to have the best opportunity to avoid losing your right to drive. For help fighting to retain your driving privileges, contact a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer .


text:
One of the nicest jobs we have been asked to do was supply a UV Protection Film to the windows of this magnificent castle in beautiful Glenveigh.
With so many priceless works of art and treasured old furniture and coverings there was a big concern about the damage the sun was causing to the all of the these items. A Tint Glass Coatings Ltd (now Coatek Ltd) was asked to supply and fit our clear UV film to all of the castle's windows. While the windows were all quiet small we fitted every piece of glass with our totally transparent film in two days during a closed period for the castle. Our film is the leading product on the market and blocks out up to 99% of UV rays which are responsible for 60% of fading. As this obviously is a listed building the aesthetics of the glass could not be changed so our totally transparent film met all of the criteria and was strenuously tested against other films on the market but came out on top in all categories.
Since we installed this we have also fitted this film in Ross Castle in Killarney, Marsh's Library in Dublin and Dalgin Park Missionaries in Meath to name but a few. This film is ideal for Stately homes, museums, shop fronts, sun rooms and much more.


text:
4 years ago
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
JPG Magazine Rocks!
I just discovered one of the coolest photo magazines! It's JPG Magazine. If you love photo magazines for and BY its readers then this is the magazine. The pictures chosen for each magazine are voted upon by the site's registered users. And the selection of pics come from uploaded pictures from the site's registered users! Of course, editors always have the final say, but what an amazing idea! And the magazine is BEAUTIFUL! It's hard to find in a book store in my neck of the woods, but when my husband went north (to Northern Virginia, that is), he picked it up for me at Barnes & Nobles. I read it cover to cover in a sitting. Go get one now!!
Posted by inHERdarkroom at 3:44 PM
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We would leave for planet Boltos almost immediately. Neither Lotor nor I would have time to say our good-byes to Romelle. As much as I wanted to see the princess, I couldn't help but be relieved this mission had come up. It would buy her some more time, keep Lotor away from her for just a little while longer.
Of course Lotor also viewed this time away as a good thing. He strongly believed in the human saying that absence made the heart grow fonder. He thought if Romelle had enough time, she would get over her upset, that she would come to appreciate the wealth and comfort of her surroundings. The surroundings Lotor had provided for her. He couldn't, wouldn't understand that she would have been happier inside the dungeons.
It was Lotor's delusions at work again, the prince feeling confidant that by the time he returned from planet Bolto, Romelle would happily fall into line. He set himself up for disappointment, but then that was nothing new as far as the prince was concerned.
But before that disappointment could happen, the Bolto incident had to play out. We would travel straight to it, our lazon fueled ships flying at top speed to the planet. Onboard was one of Haggar's hastily construed robeasts. It's sole task would be to take on the lions, for the missiles had already destroyed much of the planet's civilization.
It would take our fleet nearly three hours to get to the planet, which was an hour after the Voltron force's arrival. The Voltron Force was already on the move, having been discovered rooting through the remains of a building. Star cutters from the fleet that had been continuously bombarding Boltos, were attacking. The lions roared out the pilots' anger, fighting back with those ships.
Our star cutters were merely a delaying tactic. They weren't capable of handling ships such as the lions. Nor did Lotor see a point in prolonging the star cutter's battle once we arrived. He quickly launched the robeast, the beam of magic enlarging it once it was on the planet's surface. It was an ugly thing, and it kind of reminded me of a bat that had been twisted by Haggar's magic. It even had wings, and the large ears of that earth creature, though fortunately it didn't rely on a bat's sensitive hearing.
The robeast was able to launch it's own flame based missiles, along with a cyclone of cold air. The wind based cyclone sent the lions flying, causing them to crash into the ground. They never had time to get up, the robeast flying overhead and bombarding them with it's missiles. The lions seemed as weak as kittens then, and I remember well the excitement that filled the flag ship. We all thought Doom was finally going to win, and it was with lifted spirits that we set about our duties.
The robeast should have finished off the lions while it had them pinned down. Only then would disaster be diverted. But Lotor was enjoying the show too much, goading the robeast on to greater attacks, laughing as the lions bounced around like oddly shaped balls. I should have talked some sense into him, instead of letting Lotor have free reign to do as he pleased. All we were succeeding in doing was buying the Voltron Force some much needed time, blue lion soon arriving.
Of course Lotor was delighted to see Allura's lion. I could remember him gloating, purring in satisfaction about how she was saving him the trouble of going to Arus to fetch her. He didn't think she'd be able to do anything to turn the tide of battle in the Voltron Force's favor. Neither did I truthfully. She had always proven to be the weakest link of the Voltron Force, often falling prey to our attacks. What could she hope to do against a robeast that had pinned down the other members of her team?
The robeast was in the midst of burying the Voltron Force, having knocked the lions down into a pit inside the planet, when blue lions' laser darts began blowing up the stray star cutters, and striking the robeast. Lotor immediately tried to capture her lion, a lighting laced tractor beam surrounding her. We could hear Allura's screams over the air waves, but so distracted were we by blue lion, we didn't notice the lions were fighting back.
Even with blue lion in trouble, the lions seemed invigorated by it's presence. They would claw their way out of the pit, and attack the robeast. At the same time, the planet was besieged by earthquakes, a result of all the missiles Doom had bombarded Boltos with. It caused a volcano to erupt violently, lava flowing, and large rocks taking to the air. They made effective projectiles, and some hit our vessels, including the flag ship.
An electrical short circuit occurred after the third boulder struck us. The tractor beam was disrupted enough for blue lion to get free. The princess immediately flew towards the other lions, and together the five moved to form Voltron. It was all over for the robeast once that happened, electro sabers and blazing sword playing a part in slaying the monster.
Lotor hadn't wanted to accept that it was over. He actually had wanted to try and fight Voltron with our ships. The rest of us knew that was folly, ships no matter the size, were no match for Voltron. In the end, it was a readout from one of the onboard technicians that convinced Lotor to call the order for retreat. Boltos was just minutes away from total destruction, the core of the planet having grown so hot from the missiles, it would soon explode. We could have remained to fight Voltron, but all of us would have died in the process.
Even Lotor could understand that, though he grumbled about the fact that he would have to face his father with news of this disappointment. I was nervous about the same thing, not sure how I could explain why we had lost when the lions had been separated. No one had expected blue lion to come to Boltos, no one had expected there to be enough time for Allura to make a difference.
I could have, should have blamed Lotor. He had after all, allowed the robeast to have it's fun with the lions. But I was still thinking of him as my friend, and so I didn't point out his failings to King Zarkon. It left me with little excuse to give the King, leaving my to stand awkwardly before his throne. Lotor was to the right of me, sullen and defiant. He didn't see the seriousness of the situation, arguing that we had at least destroyed the planet Boltos.
Zarkon sighed, his eyes gleaming with annoyance. Anyone could see he was displeased by what his son had said. "Lotor, my bumbling nincompoop of a son. This mission was never about Boltos or it's destruction!"
"That's right!" Haggar spoke up from besides the King's throne. She was radiating disapproval, scowling with her upset. And all because she hadn't even begun to prepare a sure fire plan for Arus' invasion before word had come of our failure on Boltos. "You were supposed to keep the lions busy! Keep them well away from Arus so that the planet could fall from MY attack."
"You should have worked quicker witch." Lotor retorted. "There was a window of opportunity. It took time for Allura to fly blue lion to Boltos."
"Are you insane?!" The witch demanded. "There was no way I could have had a robeast ready in the hour it took blue lion to reach Boltos! And even if I had, it would have still taken time for our ships to fly to planet Arus!" She was holding her blue cat, petting the feline's fur in an agitated manner. The cat seemed to echo her displeasure, tail lashing about angrily as it glared down at us. "At the way the Boltos mission went down, the lions would have arrived on Arus at exactly the same time as Doom."
"Are you saying your robeast wouldn't have been able to stand up to Voltron?" Lotor demanded, not risking a smirk this time.
"I'm saying that an ill prepared robeast would have been reduced to mincemeat at that robot's hands!" Haggar snarled. "You've seen how quickly they end the battles, if I do not have the time to carefully augment a monster's powers!"
"Enough." Zarkon grumbled. "We've already established the fact that Haggar didn't have time to make plans for Arus or to execute them. We are to discover whose fault that is. Commander….what do you have to say about it?"
I tried not to show my discomfort. "Blue Lion was an unfortunate set back. One we did not see coming, nor were we prepared for how that lion would give the other pilots the motivation to regroup and continue the fight."
"Is it not true my son tried to capture blue lion?" The King asked me. I didn't so much as blink, ill at ease as I confirmed that yes he had. "And wouldn't you, in your estimations, say that was pure folly? That if Lotor hadn't been so determined to not bring harm to blue lion's pilot, that if he had set out to destroy it, rather than capture that lion, then things would have gone differently on Boltos?"
"Blue Lion was the deciding factor in this battle." I wanted to look at Lotor and give him an apologetic look. "If it hadn't arrived, if it had been destroyed by our ships, then the other four lions wouldn't have been able to combine with it and form Voltron. The lions and their pilots would have perished on Boltos."
"See Lotor. Even your trusted Commander thinks the fault lies with you…!"
"However!" I hastily spoke up, my voice ringing through the cavernous chamber. "The prince was determined to continue to fight the Voltron Force. He had to be persuaded to leave. Even when presented with proof of the planet's imminent collapse, Lotor hesitated."
"It might have been better if you had remained on that planet Lotor." Zarkon grumbled. "At least then, if you died with Voltron, you'd still retain some honor to your name."
"Sire, your son did everything possible to try and gain us a victory over the lions. His only mistake was that he didn't try to take down blue lion."
"Commander, even that is one mistake too many." Zarkon told me. He stroked his chin then, sharp claws careful with their caresses. "There is much for me to consider. And even though I am becoming used to Lotor's failures, it still disappoints me." He narrowed his eyes in my direction. "You disappoint me too Commander."
"You were supposed to watch over him, to keep him from making such foolish mistakes!" Zarkon's fingers tightened on his scepter. I feared he was about to fling it towards me, and remained rooted in the spot. If he was going to kill me, running wouldn't save me. Zarkon despised cowards, and would have no problem on spearing me in the back with his scepter.
"In all truthfulness sire, can you imagine the prince listening to anyone save you? Especially someone who is of a lower rank then he is?" I asked, trying not to break out into a cold sweat. "I am free to give my advice, but without a way to force the prince into following it, there was little I could do."
"He speaks true sire." Haggar of all people came to my rescue. "Lotor is headstrong and impulsive. He never wants to listen to anyone, not even you. And when that princess of Arus is added into the picture, he becomes even worse!"
"You make a valid point Haggar." Zarkon nodded. "All right commander, you can relax. I won't be killing you today."
"Thank you, sire." I bowed, but never took my eyes off the King. You didn't survive long in the courts by trusting the King's words.
"What about me father?" Lotor demanded, and the King's eyes narrowed.
"I wouldn't be calling any attention to myself if I was you!" Zarkon snarled. "I think you need to work to get over this obsession with the princess of Arus. She will never be yours, it's time you accept that."
"Allura WILL be mine!" Lotor shouted. "I will see to it personally that her planet falls, and she ends up in my possession!"
"Hmph. You've been trying for weeks now to do just that. And each time you fail. All because of your fixation on her. Don't think I haven't noticed! Your friends might not want to rat you out, but there are other, lesser soldiers that owe their loyalty not to you, but to me! Rumors are abounding, telling me of how you continue to make mistakes, continue to protect Allura's lion. You should be treating her like the enemy she is, focusing your attacks on her! Not coddling her like a child!"
There was no real way for Lotor to respond to that. Not without endangering and damning himself in the process. The truth of the matter was Zarkon's accusations were right, Lotor had been going easy on blue lion. He didn't want to damage the precious cargo inside it, wanted to keep Allura out of harm even if it had meant sabotaging our own missions.
"Your concern, that infatuation, it disturbs not only me, but the entirety of our people!" continued Zarkon, pounding a fist on the arm rest of his throne. "You're poised to become the laughing stock of the Empire. Do you even realize that your actions reflect badly on me, on our entire people?! DO YOU?!"
"If you will just calm down, and allow me another chance, I will not disappoint you where the princess is concerned."
"Sometimes I think I am the bigger fool for granting you those chances! I must be addled minded to not disown you, and wash my hands of the mess you made!" Zarkon grumbled in retort.
"Then why don't you?!" challenged Lotor, to the gasps of the court.
"Lotor, don't tempt me…" Zarkon growled in threat, Haggar coughing to get his attention.
"You son is young and impetuous. But such things can be curbed, and improved upon with time."
"I may not have the patience for him to mature into some semblance of brains. Nor for him to tire of Allura!" Zarkon retorted.
"We all make mistakes…Need I remind you of Adaline?" Haggar asked, and the court erupted into talk at that name. Zarkon didn't look pleased by their reactions or what Haggar had said, openly glaring at the witch.
"I thought I made it clear you are to never speak that name." He hissed, looking like he could barely control his rage.
"I just thought it important to remind you of your own past mistakes and follies." Soothed Haggar. "It wasn't that long ago that a certain King was young and foolish, and hopelessly infatuated too."
Zarkon grimaced at that, then pounded his fist once more. "Silence! All of you!" The court didn't immediately quiet, stray voices whispering through the room.
"You can admit there are similarities between that situation and this…" Haggar continued, and Zarkon growled in her face.
"That was different and you know it!"
"Different how?" The witch wanted to know. "Mistakes happened even then, the Empire losing face from them." The King's face grew angrier yet, mouth tightlipped and showing the briefest hint of fang. "Show some leniency towards your son….he is struggling to do right by the Empire and by his heart."
"I would rather have you come up with a potion to wash him of his lust for that princess!" grumbled Zarkon. "Rather than stir up unwanted memories of the past…"
"If such a potion could exist, I would have made it long ago." Haggar almost sounded wistful then. It made me all the more curious about their exchange, and I was left wondering who this Adaline was.
"Hmph." Zarkon rose from his seat, the entire court seeming on edge over what would happen next. "Court is over with for today. Lotor, go…do what you must to get over this obsession with Allura of Arus. I do not want any further screws up where she is concerned."
"Yes, father." Lotor bowed slightly, mockingly. The rest of the court would follow his gesture, although their bows were more respectful. Zarkon would walk down the dais steps, Haggar following close behind him. They would leave together, and I could only wonder what they would talk about. Would it be about the mysterious Adaline?
The crowd of nobles were slower to leave, hanging around the throne room to openly gossip about today's events. I glanced at Lotor, who was scowling. He clearly didn't look like he intended to do what his father had commanded of him.
"Just who was Adaline?" I asked him, and an array of dark emotions crossed his face. "Lotor?"
"She was my mother." It was all he would say on the matter, but it shocked me all the same. There wasn't much known about the woman that had given birth to the prince. To the point it had to have been on purpose, the people of the castle who had lived during the Queen's time, keeping quiet with what little they knew. I would learn later it was the way Zarkon wanted it, the King refusing to have any reminders spoken of that woman.
"What are you going to do now?" I asked, following the prince out of the throne room.
"I'm going drinking." He paused, and smirked at me. "Care to join me?"
"No thanks, I'll pass."
"Pity." Lotor feigned a sigh. "I could have used you."
"Used me for what?"
"To find the rat who blabbed to my father about my attempts to spare Allura from harm." His look was positively murderous then, and I realized Lotor was intending to go drink with the soldiers in an attempt to track down the spy. I almost felt pity for the one who had been reporting on the prince's actions to Zarkon for I knew if Lotor found him, he wouldn't live out the night.
"Good luck with that." I wished him sincerely. Lotor nodded, and walked away, his pace leisurely as though he had not a care in his world. All to better lull those who looked at him into a false sense of comfort. I wasn't one of them, feeling uneasy. I had thought my sense of foreboding had had to do with dealing with King Zarkon on the heels of our failure. But even now that we had escaped his wrath, intact and alive, I still felt a kind of trepidation through me. I didn't know what was causing it, nor did I know how to settle down from it. I wouldn't know it then, but some part of me had sensed that this evening was going to be the night that changed all our relationships for forever.


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All music performed and recorded live, no overdubs or electronic effects
Music by Julian Sartorius
Recording production by Shahzad Ismaily at Dampfzentrale Bern, February 2014
Mixed and mastered by Martin Ruch at Fidelity Suite, Berlin
Cover art by Luzia Rink
Graphic design by Jonas Schoder
Graphic design vinyl reissue by Urs Althaus
Produced by Julian Sartorius and Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt, 2014
Vinyl reissue by Everest Records, 2015
Julian Sartorius - Zatter
The album is intended to represent the music of my solo concerts. But it didn't seem interesting simply to reproduce the material from my live appearances; right from the initial test recordings it was clear that this album would be a separate, new work. I did stick to the basic idea however: the album was to be recorded live, with no overdubs, edits or electronic effects. I wanted to work with the physicality and limits of the body, and the directness of performance. Each piece is entirely acoustic and the recordings are live performances. In terms of the way it was produced this is my most 'traditional' album and the production is very different from my previous two albums, Beat Diary and Merz's No Compass Will Find Home (Julian Sartorius – Drum & Vocal Renditions). On both these albums I worked with several recording tracks in order not to be trapped by the limits of the human body. Sometimes I resent having just two hands and two feet. In some musical situations it would be helpful to have more of both. But on Zatter I wanted to work with precisely these limitations.
Zatter is also an album in which beats and rhythms are almost entirely obscured; the tracks are mostly calm, contemplative and abstract. The titles are all Bern-German words which have vanished from everyday use.
Text by Julian Sartorius, summer 2014
Translation Steak Morris
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Older Release (er_080 (Bruno Spoerri - Memories)) →
← Back to Releases


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Any sophisticated little girl knows what bike is cool - it's the one that mum has! The Mini Molly is just that - a scaled-down Creme bike with all the style that makes them so special. The Mini Molly is not only beautiful but also has a unique feature - a 2 speed hub with automatic shifting. Starting off from a standstill and going uphill is easy, but as soon as the bike picks up speed, the gears automatically shift up (about 16 kph for 20" wheels). No levers, no cables, nothing to distract the young rider from enjoying the ride There are also 3-speed version with Shimano Nexus hub. On top of that we also made sure the bike is as light as possible by using aluminum components wherever possible. The Mini Molly is awesome, really. We know because our own kids ride them!
|Seat tube: 250 mm
|Head angle: 68
|Top tube: 446 mm
|Seat angle: 70
|Chainstay: 365 mm
Bottom bracket: square taper, 68mm shell
Brake front: Promax caliper
Brake rear: coaster brake / hub integrated
Carrier / Basket: front wicker basket
Chain: KMC 1/2"x1/8"
Crankset: steel, 127mm, 38t
Mudguards: steel painted
Fork: hi-ten steel fork, 1"
Frame: aluminium
Grips: Creme Gummy grips
Handlebar: steel, chrome plated, width: 425mm
Headset: VP, threaded, 1"
Hub front: Joytech
Hub rear: SRAM Automatix, 2-speed, sprocket: 23t // Shimano Nexus 3 *depending on version
Pedals: Creme plastic pedals
Light front: — // Light front: Union retro LED, battery, 20 lux, STVZO compatible *depending on version
Light front: — // Light rear: Spanninga Pixeo XDS battery powered, STVZO compatible *depending on version
Rims: aluminium, polished
Saddle: Creme
Seatpost: steel, chrome plated, 25,4mm
Spokes: stainless steel
Stand: aluminium
Stem: aluminium, polished
Tyres: Kenda Kommuter, 20X1,75
Weight: 10kg
Additional: stylish bell


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Earlier this week, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) admitted what many of his Republican colleagues will not: that extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans will "dig the hole deeper" when it comes to the deficit. But that hasn't changed Cantor's desire to spend $830 billion to extend the cuts anyway. But if the tax cuts were actually extended, how would Cantor go about reducing the deficit? Today, Robert Barbera, chief economist of Mount Lucas Management — who seems sympathetic to extending all of the Bush tax cuts himself — asked Cantor three times what he would do to get the long-term budget deficit under control if the cuts were extended. "Excuse me, do you have any proposals about out-year cuts in entitlement expenditures?" he asked. The results were predictable:
CANTOR: First of all, let's just talk about these so-called tax cuts. If you look at the entrepreneurs and small and large businesses out there, nobody's getting a tax cut. One of two things is going to happen in January. Taxes go up or they stay the same.
BARBERA: No, no, no, I agree. I want my taxes to stay the same. I agree with you. I'm just saying if the contention is that we have a large expenditure problem, can't you attach to this, and end the debate, some cuts in out-year entitlement spending? You're saying we need to cut spending, so let's cut spending.
CANTOR: Absolutely, listen, we've got spending to cut in the short-term, and what we've got is a huge problem in the long-term, where we've got to get serious about it. You're absolutely right.
BARBERA: We could get serious about it now. In other words, there's nothing preventing you from saying 'I would propose that we cut, ten years out, expenditures on Social Security by blank.' You could do that today. You could put out a press release.
Watch it:
Cantor finally came to the eloquent conclusion that we need a "commitment to long-term address these situations." As the Wonk Room explains further, the GOP's collective inability to name any solutions for the deficit shows that they're fundamentally disinterested in serious budgeting. Of course, considering that Cantor's "big idea" for job creation is "to get, to get, to produce an environment where we can have job creation again," his performance really isn't surprising.


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In week 17 Broncos will again face a decision regarding whether Brock Osweiler or Paxton Lynch will start at quarterback, Aric DiLalla of Denverbroncos.com reports.
Lynch, who is recovering from a high-ankle sprain he suffered in Week 12 against the Raiders, practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the Broncos' game in Washington. He was a full participant Friday, but Osweiler started and played the entirety of Sunday's contest.
Head Coach Vance Joseph noted earlier in the week that Lynch's health would play a key role in determining whether he would start vs. Washington.
Following Sunday's game, Joseph reiterated that point.
"Our goal is to see him play, so absolutely," Joseph said. "If he's ready to go next week, he will probably play for us."


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This is a short video on how the Ri Treat Aerobic Waste Water System works in your home.
Waste water travels from your plumbing fixtures into a series of drainage pipes below your home. It then enters the main drain which is connected directly to your Ri Treat waste water treatment system.
Your waste water then flows into the first chamber where it undergoes settlement and digestion for a minimum of 24 hours. This is the anaerobic part of the treatment process.
Settled waste water then flows from the Primary Septic Chambers into aeration chamber 1 where air is pumped through in fine bubbles, providing the distribution of air and turbulence required for effective treatment of the waste water.
Turbulence causes liquids to travel in a circular motion through the bio filter medium, which encourages biomass growth. The biomass incorporates nutrients and oxygen from the water, leading to a reduction of impurities as the effluent passes through the system.
Effluent and sludge then pass into the settlement chamber , where the sludge settles to the bottom before being returned to the primary chamber, along with scum which floats in the settlement chamber.
Settled effluent water passes through the chlorinator into the irrigation chamber where it is held for irrigation and is pumped out when the chamber is full, at approximately 450 Litres.
After your household waste from the toilet, bathroom, kitchen and laundry have entered the Ri Treat waste water treatment system, it is now separated and has digested the solid waste, using a natural process to purify the wastewater. This odourless, clean, disinfected water is then reused through sprinklers in your garden.


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Polyneuropathy is a relatively common problem that accompanies many diseases. "Poly-" means "many" and "–neuropathy" means a neural disorder. Therefore, polyneuropathy is a condition related to dysfunction of more nerves. Typically, most visibly affected are the longest nerves in the body, i.e. the nerves of the lower extremities.
There are many peripheral nerves in our body. Some of them bring motoric information out of the central nervous system towards the muscles and other take information about sensitivity, pain, and ambient temperature from the peripheral tissues back into the central nervous system.
For example, when you put your hand into warm water, the information about the high temperature is transferred via the nerve fibers from the skin and deeper tissues into the spinal cord and from there it gets into the brain. The information is evaluated and you feel an uncomfortable pain. The brain urges us to get rid of the pain and pull the hand out. This information is transmitted from the brain to the spinal cord, and to the nerves controlling the muscles of the affected extremity to perform the desired movement.
(Note: If you think about it, the man is with the exception of changing emotions able to respond to any stimulus and only movement. Sometimes it is a whole body movements, sometimes the movement of muscles allowing speech and articulation, eye muscle movements, etc..)
There are numerous possible causes of neuropathy. Chronic alcoholism is probably the most common as regular excessive alcohol intake damages the nerve fibers and nerve cells. Another common cause is the lack of vitamins of B-complex (eg. vitamin B1 or vitamin B5). Disruption of the nerves also accompanies chronic cases of diabetes and the polyneuropathy may occur in patients with malignant diseases and patients receiving chemotherapy.
There are also less common causes of polyneuropathy such as certain immune inflammations of blood vessels (vasculitides), other autoimmune processes and a particular neurological disease known as Guillain-Barré syndrome.
The symptoms are related to impaired ability of neural transmission of neuroelectric signals. They include numbness, decreased sensitivity and tingling sensations of the extremities. The decreased sensitivity in the affected body parts may be dangerous as it may lead to more frequent unnoticed and underestimated injuries due to the decreased or missing sense of pain. Polyneuropathy is an important element in the development of diabetic foot in patients with diabetes.
The polyneuropathy may less commonly affect the motoric nerves resulting in muscle weakness, muscle atrophy or even in muscle paralysis. This occurs especially in the disease known as the Guillain-Barré syndrome. This disease has quite dramatic symptoms including muscle paralysis of the lower extremities, which moves gradually upwards until it affects nerves coming out of thoracic or even cervical spine. The most serious complication is paralysis of breathing muscles, which threatens the patient with suffocation. When the patient survives, the disease tends to slowly disappear.
A case of suspected polyneuropathy should be examined by a neurologist. The patient undergoes physical examination and electromyography (EMG). The electromyography serves to evaluate the conduction of neuroelectric signals by the nerves and muscles and to determine the diagnosis and severity of the neuropathy. In addition, when the neuropathy is confirmed, it is necessary to find its cause, especially rule out chronic alcoholism or diabetes. A search for any present autoimmune disease is much more challenging and many causes of polyneuropathy stay undiagnosed.
The treatment is difficult. In the majority of cases, the doctors prescribe vitamins of the B complex, but the outcome is rather controversial. If possible, the underlying cause should be identified and treated (alcoholism, diabetes, etc). Proper care of the lower extremities is essential in patients with diabetes and polyneuropathy to prevent the development of diabetic foot syndrome. Quite special approach is necessary in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (see related article).
Author of texts: Jiri Stefanek, MD
Contact: email@example.com
Sources: basic text sources