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Mad for Plaid
From time to time, I happen upon some fine examples of tartanware on ebay as well as in a nearby antiques shop. These napkin rings would be just the thing to begin a serious collection of Scottish tartanware. Made in the town of Mauchline in southwest Scotland, tartanware is made from the wood of the plane tree, known as the Sycamore here in the United States. Originally, the tartans were hand-painted on the wood, a time-consuming and expensive process. Two brothers, William and Andrew Smith, are credited with inventing the machine that was able to reproduce and ink the country's beloved tartans onto paper. The paper was then carefully glued onto small wooden household objects, including napkin rings, sewing kits, letter openers and knife sheaths, as well as snuff and card boxes.
The paper seams were disguised with black paint, and then the entire item was coated with multiple layers of hand-applied shellac, creating a rich patina. Tartanware was produced in this fashion from the early 1840s until 1933, when the equipment, and subsequently the manufacturing business, was destroyed in a devastating fire.
Although, my fondness for plaid does seem to grow this time of year, as you can see from the photo below, I like tartan well enough year round to have a family room wing chair upholstered in a cheerful Ralph Lauren plaid.
Last year I looked and looked for some good-looking plaid wrapping paper, but to no avail. All I could find seemed either to have a metallic edge or to be overly red and green, kind of like the paper was trying too hard. (And, yes, as I write this, I realize how ridiculous it is that I could even bother about such details.) Nevertheless, this year, as I was wending my way through Target, I came upon this red wrap, which has a lovely muted plaid. The paper itself is thin, but the rolls are large as well as wide. In a moment of inspiration, I used the paper to cover my Christmas binder, the notebook in which I store decorating ideas, holiday recipes, and so forth. Looking quite festive, I think! And, although I've had them for years, I'll be sure to don my plaid cheaters for reading Christmas novels and holiday cards.My last dash of plaid this season are these well-loved dinner napkins. I'm afraid they're no longer up-to-snuff for company, but we use them for casual family and friends suppers all season long. Despite their being a bit care-worn around the edges, these napkins are wonderfully soft, and they make an ordinary dinner seem somehow festive. Surprisingly, they look great with my old Blue Willow English dishware!
If you are still yearning for tartan—or perhaps for the occasion to wear it (um, yes, I have these shoes, too)--then be sure to check out Tartans & Tidings at The Entertaining House.
It looks like a terrific holiday event for those in the MidAtlantic as well as a great fund-raiser for disadvantaged children in Baltimore.
So, tell me, does the holiday season make you mad for plaid?
How Lovely Are Thy Branches!
When the Mister and I had been dating for a while and things seemed pretty serious, I decided to ask him gently about some of his former girlfriends. I was particularly curious as to why he hadn't continued seeing one young woman, who was quite beautiful. His reply was "Oh, I could never be serious about her. She didn't like Christmas!" Years later, I wonder if any other man loves Christmas as much as my husband—his enthusiasm is just shy of that of Buddy the Elf's. In fact, it probably surpasses it when you take into account that Buddy's zeal was focused on the North Pole and Santa while the Mister's is centered on the birth of Christ and encompasses almost every detail of this season of celebration. Even so, we're kind of picky about our holiday traditions, being firm believers that Thanksgiving should get its due. And we do our best to honor Advent and its deliberate and thoughtful traditions. In years past, we've set aside the first Saturday in December to get our Christmas tree. We would bring it home, put it in a bucket of water, and usually have it in the house ready for decorating by the following Saturday. But when a child goes to college, family traditions have to be adjusted, and so today we made the trip to Cedar Mountain, North Carolina, to cut a Frasier fir. Our favorite tree farm is a very small, family run operation. A yellow bow saw is provided. As is a measuring stick, marked up to nine feet.It's a pretty secluded place.There's no piped-in Christmas music, and Santa Claus is nowhere to be seen, but Lovely and Little are still on their best behavior. Trimmings are free for the taking, rather than bundled up and sold. Once you have made your selection, just carry it to the cashier, who is one of the owner's granddaughters. The owner's son will measure it and then net it for you. At only $7 per foot, it's easy to see why five trees seems reasonable to the buyer of these fragrant beauties!Big makes sure the tree is ready for the hour-long ride down the mountain.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
What are your Christmas tree traditions?
How richly God has decked thee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
Thou bidst us true and faithful be,
And trust in God unchangingly.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!"
Happy Thanksgiving
Our table is ready, and the feast is coming along rather well, too.
I decided to go with the more formal table because I want our children to remember a lovely table and to know that there is joy in showing hospitality to others. The flowers are from Costco, rearranged by me. (I really need to take a class in this.)
Other than turkey, the T&C house has three traditional dishes that must be served. They are Cornbread Dressing with Sausage and Pecans; Sweet Potato Soufflé; and Nannie's Corn Pudding. And although I love making cranberry sauce from real cranberries, the Mister and the boys insist on sauce from a can. I used to make both, but, honestly, I have given up trying to convert them. There are worse things than canned cranberry sauce. I do, however, refuse to serve it as a cylinder to be sliced. Nevertheless, my little darlings led by the Mister, usually buy their own can and open it on the sly, and then pass the offensive condiment in its wiggling, shimmering glory. I like to try other vegetables and side dishes from time to time. Everyone always likes macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes. This year's menu includes Sweet Vinegar Green Beans and Roasted Brussels Sprouts. Yeast rolls complete the main course. I have a wonderful, time-consuming recipe, so this year Sister Schubert has made our rolls. What a doll.
A Moment to Reflect
So to breathe. To be grateful. To count my blessings, which are, truthfully, too many to count. And to remember.
It was faith, courage, and bravery that brought us to the first Thanksgiving.
The first Thanksgiving came after leaving home, after suffering, after sickness, after grief.
The celebration came after hard work, after toil, after struggle, after compromise.
And still after such hardship and loss, people gave thanks and were grateful to God not so much because the worst was over, but because—in their faith, they knew the best was still to come.
The above images were taken from N. C. Wyeth's Pilgrims. Wyeth, father of Andrew Wyeth and grandfather of Jamie Wyeth, was renowned for his illustrations of such children's classics as Treasure Island and The Last of the Mohicans. These images were commissioned for a series of murals by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1940.
Another book that tells the story of the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving is Barbara Rainey's A Thanksgiving to Remember. This publication includes the story of the Pilgrims in a read-aloud version for younger children as well as a more detailed version for older children and adults.
For a delightful Thanksgiving tale set in the 1820s, Louisa May Alcott's An Old-fashioned Thanksgiving is a marvelous story that gives a glimpse into a loving New England family.
Lastly, for older children and adults, Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor is a poignant story not to be missed.
I hope you find a moment to breathe a prayer, to read and to ponder, to sit at the top of the roller coaster and appreciate the view.
Made for Walking
I've been thinking about buying some new boots this season.
The classic LLBean duck boot comes to mind first. Oh, I know it's not fashion forward, and I have no plans to go duck hunting. It's just that I owned a pair for forever—all through college and young adult life, and then when I moved to Florida I got rid of them. Mistake. I would seriously only need footwear like this half a dozen times a year, so I guess it's nostalgia that makes me crave a pair. I tell myself that I would wear them to walk the dog through the woods. And to pick out the Christmas tree. After all, I have the khakis, the ragg socks, the Norweigan sweater, the plaid Pendleton scarf, and the field coat, for heaven's sake!
I also already have a pair of riding boots, but they're a bit low on the calf, and they are starting to bag around my ankles. These beauts are from Ralph Lauren, and I think they're awfully handsome. Of course, they're available in black, too, which makes for a difficult choice.
What about over-the-knee boots and booties? Um, no, that's not really my style, but these Tony Lama boots for gals? Well, Howdy Pard'ner.
Aw, shucks. Y'all know I'm not springing for these, but a gal can dream.
I suppose I'm dealing with a midlife boot crisis.
As it turns out, however, I do get to buy some new boots. Rather, a new boot, as in one, single boot. Total up the dreamy pairs above, but write the check for one of these state-of-the-art pneumatic walking boots, and a complimentary fitting, of course.
Yes, Middle broke his foot, practicing lacrosse. Not to worry, though, because as the Doc said, "He's going to heal just fine. His growth plates haven't even begun to close." Pause.
Doc: "What size shoe do you wear, young man?"
Middle: "Um, fourteen."
Doc: "And, you're 15?"
Middle: "Yessir."
Doc (to me): "Wow. Gonna need a lot of groceries, Mom."
Me: "Right. Thanks."
So. Maybe I will buy some new boots
—you know, just for kicks.
Gladsome Tidings
We so enjoy receiving cards each year. I know it's an expensive endeavor--postage alone is costly. But still, even in the world of social networking and emails, I think it's a tradition worth keeping. For the past two years I've ordered our Christmas cards online from Shutterfly, and I've been extremely pleased with both the quality and the service. And after looking around at a few other online sites, I have to say that I think the prices on the stationery are extremely reasonable.
A good friend took the photo we're using this year, and the Mister and I had a lot of fun selecting our card. Shutterfly offers a lot of choices, but, happily, you can narrow them by color, by designer, by number of photos you'd like to use, and so on. We first considered this one, called Holly Peppermint. It's traditional but graphic and fun, I thought.
Also in the running was this tartan card. Of course, I love tartan (more about that later!), and I thought this one, named Vintage Plaid, looked great with a casual black and white photo.
The Mister suggested that we choose a card in which our photo bled off the page. How daring! (Well, for me, at least—I do tend toward the traditional.) We were pretty taken with this one, called simply Merry Xmas 2010.
And then we both saw this lovely number, called Bright Merry Cheer. We imported our picture, and a couple of clicks later, we had found our holiday photo card for 2010! One of my favorite features of Shutterfly is that you can completely compose your own message for the inside of the card. Many designs even allow you to include additional photos, something we're considering for the top half of our card. Our message reads:
May your days be merry and brightI'm so excited to have our cards ready to go, and if all goes according to plan, I'll be nestled in with pen and stamps on Thanksgiving night.
with the Light of the love of the Savior!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
If you send holiday cards, be sure to address a few to:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD
Pitney-Bowes and the American Red Cross have once again combined efforts to send holiday cards to American service men and women and their families as well as to veterans all over the world. Cards must be postmarked no later than December 10th, to ensure timely delivery.
Finally, I am thrilled to tell you that Shutterfly is providing me with a coupon code for 50 free holiday cards this year! If you are a blogger and are interested in receiving free cards from Shutterfly, click here.
And I hope your mailbox is chock full of gladsome tidings this season!
Salad Days
It seems that once the weather turns, I am perpetually cold unless I'm standing in front of a crackling fire or warm oven, so the idea of a crisp, chilled salad leaves me, well, cold. Hence, the Town and Country Mom Warm Vegetable Salad.
Pour approximately two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, and add chopped garlic, if desired. Next, add your favorite red, yellow, and green vegetables, and saute until slightly carmelized. I like to use red and yellow pepper strips, chopped red onion, and tiny baby carrots and broccoli florets. Halved grape tomatoes would be great in this, as well. While the vegetables are cooking, wash and dry your favorite mixed greens. Place the desired amount of greens on a dinner or salad plate and sprinkle with a few crumbles of feta cheese. Drizzle lightly with a vinegar-based dressing and top with the warm vegetables. This makes a wonderful, healthful, and filling meal— that, I hope, will help offset the rich foods and treats that are just around the calendar corner!
Talking Turkey about the Table
Usually, for Thanksgiving, I tend toward formal—the old Haviland china, the Hepplewhite sterling with a coin silver spoon for coffee, a white damask napkin in a sterling napkin ring, and—my favorite touch—a sterling nut dish with some sort of treat. I'm not sure I'll use M&Ms, it's just what I had on hand for the photo. Most likely I would set the table on a white damask cloth, and use the crystal, of course. For flowers, I'm imagining silver cups with rust-colored chrysanthemums and a sprig of ivy, pine, or fern. Ivory tapers would complete the table.
A casual place setting has its appeal, too, though. I'd still use the sterling, but I could switch to a large and heavy pinecone plate (from Target) and a paisley print placemat. The monogrammed linen napkins are always fun to use, too. If I decide to set a casual table, I have a small collection of wooden candlesticks that I would use around an arrangement of mixed autumn flowers in a low wooden bowl.
One benefit of the casual arrangement is that we could use our Pilgrim salt and pepper shakers. I bought these at Publix at least 10 years ago, shortly after the company introduced its adorable Thanksgiving commercial. We love using them in the days leading up to Thanksgiving every year.
If you don't have Publix grocery stores in your neck of the woods, or if you don't remember this darling spot, by all means, click and watch. I am sure it will make you smile. It's also a great way to teach your children to always pass the salt and pepper together—never separately!
The Reading Corner
And how could I resist when the inspirational Jessica at The Entertaining House tagged me to name 15 of my most influential authors!? Of course, I couldn't resist, and so began thinking of who I would name as not merely favorites but as influential. I also began thinking of how blessed I am to have a husband and children who love to read as much as I do. And thinking of that inspired me to retrieve some of my favorite pictures from last fall's trip to New York, where one of our favorite adventures was finding some literary landmarks.
Madison Avenue at 93rd Street is the home of the Corner Bookstore, one of the shops that inspired the Shop Around the Corner in one of my favorite chick flicks You've Got Mail. After lunch on Sunday, Big, Middle, and Little were eager to find something to read on the plane home.
Little is not a bit intimidated by the Mad Hatter of Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Meanwhile Middle and I cozy up to the White Rabbit. Here, Middle pretends to shed a tear as Hans Christian Andersen reads The Ugly Duckling. Middle first heard this story at nursery school, and he was absolutely traumatized by it. Many nights, both at bedtime and in the middle of the night, the Mister and I had to comfort Middle and assure him that the Ugly Duckling did make new friends and that the ducks that were mean to him felt very, very sorry for leaving him behind. Little strikes a pose in front of the New York Public Library entrance on 36th Street.And, unbelievably but truly, an unposed moment in the Corner Bookstore, where everyone found something to read on the plane home. And so, here's my list of my fifteen most influential authors, some from childhood and some from later. This list, by no means, represents the most intellectual books nor the most entertaining books I've ever read, but, rather the writers that have somehow inspired me or changed my thinking, beginning with childhood.
Robert McCloskey. Make Way for Ducklings, One Morning in Maine, Blueberries for Sal, Homer Price. As a child, I loved his simple stories and his detailed illustrations. Reading his books made me want to write as well as to draw.
Beverly Cleary. Ramona the Pest, Henry Huggins, and all the rest. Beverly Cleary showed me contemporary characters with familiar neighborhood and schoolhouse struggles. Reading Mrs. Cleary's books made me feel normal.
Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Little House books. Lovely stories taught me to appreciate both the sacrifices that it took to settle our country as well as the simple pleasures of fiddle music in the firelight.
Louise Fitzhugh. Harriet the Spy. I must've read this book half a dozen times. Fitzhugh's writing made me want to keep a journal, be a spy, live in Manhattan, and eat tomato sandwiches.
E. L. Konigsburg. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Manhattan, again. Art, again. And, how intoxicating to consider self-reliance as a child.
Catherine Marshall. Christy. My grandmother pretty much insisted I read this. Marshall's book opened my eyes to the opportunity of relying on one's faith to give back to those in need. For the first time, I saw teaching as a noble profession and not merely "a job that mothers could have." I think I read this when I was 12 or so.
Margaret Mitchell. Gone with the Wind. Mitchell's incredibly descriptive prose influenced me as much as her thoughtfully created characters. I read this when I was 13 and first encountering "the Scarletts" in my own little junior high world.
Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee's book taught me about honor.
Eudora Welty. Delta Wedding and others. I spent a semester in college studying Welty, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, and Katherine Anne Porter, but it was Welty's unashamed pride of place and innate sense of waiting for the right word that, I hope, continue to influence me.
Mark Twain. Huckleberry Finn. I think I read this in seventh or eighth grade, and I know the lessons we were supposed to learn were about racism and class conflict, but what I most remember is how blessed I was to have caring parents.
William Strunk & E. B. White. Elements of Style. Occasionally criticized for rather inconsistent grammar advice, Strunk and White's little manual of style continues to influence my thinking, and, I hope, my writing.
Corrie Ten Boom. The Hiding Place. When a young woman writes that she thanked God for the lice because it kept the officers out of the barracks in her German prison camp, well, let's just say Corrie Ten Boom's writing continues to influence me to keep things in perspective.
Alexandra Stoddard. Creating a Beautiful Home and others. Minimally illustrated, Ms. Stoddard's books have encouraged me to further develop both my love and discipline for decorating and design. I've had the opportunity to meet her twice, and she is just as gracious and inspiring in person.
C. S. Lewis. A Grief Observed. I read this book in the aftermath of a grave personal tragedy. Lewis provided the words that enabled me to talk about my loss and begin the healing process.
Dr. Luke. The Gospel of Luke. The Acts of the Apostles. The Bible, as you may know, includes many books—some of poetry, some of history, some of prophecy, but Luke, a man believed to have been a physician, wrote of Christ's life and teaching in great detail. He followed his Gospel with Acts, which chronicles the missionary Paul's adventures and the growth of the early church. It's fascinating, life-changing, challenging reading.
So, there you have it—15 authors who have influenced my life. I would love to hear who yours are, so consider yourself tagged!


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subset: commoncrawl


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"About an hour's drive from Boston, this tiny barrier island (near Newburyport) can only be accessed by bridge, so it's refreshingly quiet. The beachside Blue Inn (so named because of its blue decor) is lovely—they bring breakfast to your room, in a lobster trap, and have hot tubs right on Plum Island Beach. You can hit the sand, or go biking around the island, which is only 11 miles long. Be sure to stop by the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on your ride. For dinner, don't miss the Plum Island Grille, which serves mouthwatering seafood dishes like Thai seafood stew ("mussels, shrimp, scallops, and fresh fish simmered with seasonal vegetables in green curry")—need we say more?" —Bridget Hallinan
Courtesy Twin Farms
"You know things are going to be quiet when you pull up to Twin Farms in Barnard, Vermont—all those wildflowers and winding roads. The resort has limited cell service, but plenty to do. Stay in one of their ten cottages to maximize the feeling that you have the place all to yourself, and spend a long weekend hiking and canoeing—Twin Farms has a private pond and gorgeous trails over their 300 acres." —Paulie Dibner
Courtesy Mirbeau Inn & Spa
"Yes, everyone comes out to the Finger Lakes in the summer, but Skaneateles isn't nearly as mobbed as Lake George, and it's plenty charming. This small lakeside town feels like a European getaway—without the plane ride. Think vineyards, excellent restaurants (Rosalie's is a must), and kayaking on a lake so translucent, you can see straight to the bottom. I'm checking into the Mirbeau Inn & Spa, which looks like it was plucked from Giverny and dropped in upstate New York. (Monet's gardens and a French wine country estate were the inspiration here.) As an added bonus, all on-site spa treatments come with a free yoga or exercise class, access to an herbal-infused steam room, and whirlpool spas. Yes please."—B.H
"Though the Oregon coast gets its share of beachgoers, there seem to be turnoffs and state parks every couple miles where you can enjoy a few minutes of quiet: like wandering off the road to Cape Meares in pursuit of an 800-year-old "octopus tree," or heading north of Oceanside to Short Beach to see a giant Haystack-like rock (without the Goonies'-nostalgia-seeking crowds on Cannon Beach). My favorite spot is on a stormy day, feet in the sand at Pelican Pub in Pacific City, watching the waves churn." —Laura Dannen Redman
Photo by Evan G Schneider
"Minam redefines the word remote and is located on 126 acres in Eastern Oregon's spectacular Eagle Cap Wilderness, which is about a five-hour drive (plus that hike or horseback ride) due East from Portland. The draw truly is the setting. You're surrounded by old growth forests, more than 40 glacial lakes, and the snow-capped Wallowa Mountains—perfect for hiking, fishing or, if it's your thing, hunting deer or elk. The quiet afforded by such isolation is pretty rare these days; there's zero cell service or Wi-Fi, and absolutely no television. Entertainment at the lodge involves sitting by the fire with a book, chatting with other guests over coffee and Ponderosa pine sugar cookies or maybe a Terminal Gravity IPA, and sitting on the porch of your cabin trying to spot elk or black bear."—Rebecca Misner
"Yes, there are fewer people in West Texas's Big Bend National Park in the summer because daytime temps reach the high 100s. (In fact, it can be deadly to hike through the park's desert after 10 a.m.) But you're not there for the day hikes—you're there for the cool 70-degree nights, away from light pollution, to enjoy the International Dark-Sky Association–recognized stargazing. The Rio Grande Village Nature Trail is the easiest way to see the stars—the path is wheelchair accessible)—but the real go-to is the strenuous Hot Springs Canyon Trail. It offers no shade, which means no interference in spotting shooting stars. True night in the summer doesn't start until 10 p.m. so you can camp in the park's backcountry with a permit if you're looking to rough it. If not, burn the midnight oil on the two-hour drive to Marathon to stay at the small-town Gage Hotel."—Meredith Carey
"D.C. summers are famously hot and humid—the kind where shade doesn't help—so when I lived there, I liked to hop in the car and head for the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, to Shenandoah Park's Skyline Drive. In addition to cool, fresh air and open road known for its scenic overlooks, there are plenty of places to stop and hike or sightsee along the way (like Luray Caverns and Natural Bridge). Stretching from Front Royal, Virginia, south toward Waynesboro, you can drive the whole thing in four hours, though I'd make time for breaks. The path nearly overlaps with the Shenandoah Spirits Trail, a network of home-grown wineries, craft breweries, and distilleries perfect for a pit stop, sampling, and mountain views. Staunton and Harrisonburg are larger towns with quality dining scenes (and universities), while the spots like New Market and Berryville play up the historic charm."—Corina Quinn
"Despite how much modern society changes, Orcas pretty much stays the same. It's still hard to get to, which is why, even over a holiday weekend in summer, you'll see only one or two other hikers on the trails and will have the rope swing at Mountain Lake to yourself. Days still revolve around hiking through old growth cedar forests, sea kayaking, swimming in lakes, going to the farmers' market in town, and eating some of the best local oysters, salmon, Dungeness crab, and spot prawns in the world. There are a few good hotels, but the better move is to rent a house through Vacation Doorways, or to stay at on-the-water cabins, like Cabins on the Point or Beach Haven resort."—R.M.
"This is the forgotten stepsister to the other four parks in Utah's Big 5 National Parks (with Zion, Bryce, Arches, and Canyonlands). Beautiful rock formations, a historic Mormon settlement, and Native American petroglyphs are highlights. Activities include hiking inside the park, and just outside, 4-wheel drive trips in the neighboring mountains, viewing of bison herds, world-class fly and spin fishing, and horseback riding."—Marty Behr
"Old Florida is still alive and well on this barrier island in the state's northeast reaches. Pull up an Adirondack chair, swap the mojito for an old-fashioned ice cream cone, and watch the kids build sand castles and cavort across uncrowded beaches."—Paul Rubio
"An hour-and-a-half drive north of San Francisco, Instagrammable stilted cottages sit on the pristine Tomales Bay, where you can catch sunset from your private porch or soaking tub. Check into Nick's Cove, which also has a restaurant just steps away—most items on the menu are fresh catches plucked straight out of the water. There are 12 cottages, but you'll feel like you have the place to yourself." —Megan Spurrell
Courtesy Taylor River Lodge
"At this private, eight-cabin lodge located within Colorado's Taylor Canyon, your main company is the surrounding nature—pine trees, ponds, rivers, and hiking trails. You'll rise at dawn in your timber cabin for fly-fishing (followed by a steam in the bathhouse). It's the perfect retreat to unplug and get back to basics."—CNT Editors
Courtesy Collective Retreats
"Two hours by car from New York City, this glamping retreat on an organic farm just outside the town of Hudson has only ten canvas tents, each set into a forested grove and outfitted with a king-sized bed, rustic-chic decor, and a porch where you can sit and gaze out over the empty fields. The only thing you'll hear at night are crickets."—Andrea Whittle
"Think of Ghent as Brugge's medieval cousin, which thankfully, comes without the overwhelming throngs of tourists. The city is criss-crossed with canals, footbridges, and historic stone buildings. You can easily spend an afternoon getting lost in the cute boutiques and customary waffle shops that pepper the streets (there's even a surprisingly good tapas bar). However, one of the best ways to experience Ghent is posting up at a restaurant on the water, ordering moules-frites, and kicking back with a good beer (Belgian, of course). The vibe here is low-key and laid-back—when we called Ghent "Antwerp's Brooklyn," we meant it."—B.H.
"With blue skies, pastel village houses, green forests, and a shock of turquoise river gushing through the valley, it's the kind of place where you go for a hike in the morning—perhaps along the Soča River to the Kozjak Waterfalls—and sip chardonnay on the terrace of Restaurant Topli Val all afternoon. Settle in for a few days at the mountain-top Chalets Nebesa, home to four private Alpine cottages—each with a private deck overlooking the Soča River below and Julian Alps beyond. Complimentary prosciutto and wine is up for grabs anytime of day, not to mention hiking trails right behind the property and an entire floor dedicated to saunas. The Soča Valley also happens to be home to Slovenia's most celebrated restaurant, Hiša Franko." —Kate Springer
Photo by Johan Jansson
"Suspended from trees in an unspoiled natural setting, the Treehotel has become somewhat of an icon in the world of alternative accommodations. Located in the town of Harads with a population of just 600, the Treehotel offers an authentic Swedish experience despite its contemporary appearance. As of early 2017, the hotel added a seventh room, 33 feet above the ground. Designed by the Norwegian-based Snøhetta architectural collaborative, it maximizes its stellar views of the Lapland treetops and Lule River. Twelve skinny pillars support the two-bedroom structure." —David Jefferys
"Even in summer high season, the Azores remains uncrowded when compared to beachier destinations, including the other Portuguese island group of Madeira—and that's because this isn't a cocktail-on-the-beach kind of place. Here, year-round temperate waters; a huge concentration of dolphins and whales; and hiking, cycling, and canyoning trails galore means there's an adventure around every corner. If you're really looking to get away from other tourists, use São Miguel as a jumping off point to explore the Azores' smaller outlying island like Pico, famous for its mineral-rich wines, or the mostly still wild Flores, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve."—Sebastian Modak
Photo by Adrian Gaut
"If you've never been to Tulum and are interested in getting the full experience without being sandwiched onto the main beach with the bachelorette crowds, this is your spot. The vibe is fun, the tents are cute and comfortable, the beach is beautiful, and the food is tasty, healthy and tropical."—A.W.
"The Coast Path of Pembrokeshire, Wales is one of the most dramatic of the 1,000+ miles of the U.K.'s National Trails system. Because of its five-hour drive from London and with more than 185 miles of paths to traverse, you'll feel blissfully alone as you hike the remote, rugged cliffs and hard-to-reach sheltered coves. When you've hiked a day's worth, enjoy a visit to 12th-century St. David's Cathedral, on a site recognized as a monastic community for more than 1,500 years."—Kate Cunningham
"Though technically the same landmass as Lewis, Harris is treated by locals as a separate island. The reason: A high rocky ridge divides the two, which formed an insurmountable barrier to the seafaring folk who first lived here, so creating two cultures on one landmass. Generally, Harris is quieter and feels smaller than Lewis. A gulf stream makes The Hebrides surprisingly warm, so you can happily take a midsummer stroll on the glorious beach at Luskentyre Sands. Those winds also sweep in surfers; newbies can sign up for lessons with a local instructor. Harris is also the site of an upstart distillery: The religious conservatism of the Outer Hebrides stymied historic whisky production, but erstwhile Glenmorangie director Simon Erlanger has broken through with his gin distillery on the island's southern coast."—Mark Ellwood
"Ecuador is known worldwide as a destination for the outdoor adventurer: There are volcanoes to scale in the Andes, jungles to explore, giant tortoises to meet in the Galápagos. But too many people skip over one of the country's real treasures: its capital, Quito. That's good news for you this summer as crowds are never overbearing, including (remarkably) in the cobblestoned Centro Histórico (Historic Center), UNESCO's very first World Heritage city. This year marks the 40th anniversary of that distinction, all the more reason to take in the area's more than 200 convents, monasteries, and churches. Once you've had your fill of the city head out for a night in or two in the cloud forest of Mindo, a haven for bird-watchers, hikers, and eco-conscious travelers."—S.M.
"Aka has no shortage of beautiful beaches, but for the most picturesque, head to Nishibama, on the island's northeast coast. Less than a mile long, Nishibama—also sometimes referred to as Nishihama—is often empty. From here, you can snorkel in transparent waters, or laze on the white sand while taking in the view of nearby Zamami and Amuro islands. For an even better vantage point, head up the wooden staircase behind the beach to an observatory on top of Nishibama ridge."—Katherine LaGrave
"If you've seen Pixar's Coco, then you have an idea of what Guanajuato looks like—this town in central Mexico was the inspiration for the film's fantastical land of the dead. Colorful homes rise from the main square to the surrounding hills, narrow alleys wind between them, and the town's past as a wealthy silver mining town shows in ornate colonial architecture. It's all fairly romantic. You could easily spend days wandering side streets and people watching in shady plazas, but don't leave without checking out famed Mexican painter Diego Rivera's home (he was born here), the Museum of Mummies (housing hundreds of mummified bodies found here), or eating at Las Mercedes, a spot just outside town with homestyle Mexican dishes and an unbeatable view of the city."—Megan Spurrell
"Unless you hit Auckland or Queenstown, crowds generally won't be an issue in New Zealand. But this time of year, consider the Abel Tasman National Park, which is the country's smallest but one of its loveliest. A micro-climate means temps hover around 60 degrees in winter which makes it comfortable to do both the hiking trails and kayak routes (the park runs along a coastline, making it more popular in summer) while all the other tourists are dodging each other on the slopes of Ruapehu and Treble Cone."—Erin Florio
"Botswana's tourism model means you'll avoid crowds at any time of the year (the government highly restricts the number of beds that can go in any national park). But we're especially fond of the Okavango Delta in the north, where some of the concessions are around 65,000 acres with just ten tents total (like Quorokwe, on this year's Hot List of best new hotels and resorts), meaning it'll be just you, your guide, and all the lions and baboons you can imagine: Restricting the number of humans lets the animal populations flourish."—E.F.
"It's safari season. And while that means peak game-viewing across the continent as animals congregate around scarce watering holes, it also means that at some of the more popular parks can feel like you're part of just another herd—one of jeeps. Etosha, in northern Namibia, isn't in the usual run-down of must-do southern African safaris. But it should be. Its centerpiece, an otherworldly, largely featureless 1,900-square-mile salt pan is home to more than 100 species of animals, including the Big Five. There are only a handful of lodges in the park, which keeps crowds relatively low, but also means you should book in advance to make sure you get a spot."—S.M.
"The 175-mile-long chain has benefited from its extreme isolation, with some of the largest and oldest spruce trees on the planet; 20 kinds of whale, dolphin, and porpoise; and animal subspecies that exist nowhere else—like the Haida Gwaii black bear, which has developed especially large teeth and jaws due to a steady diet of crabs and salmon. Only a dozen visitors at a time are allowed to set foot on some of the islands. (Though Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge did manage to swing a visit to the area last September.)"—K.L.G
"Everyone knows Tenerife, the biggest of Spain's Canary Islands, but this lesser-known isle will be trending after the May release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was filmed in part on its gorgeous golden sands. Getting there is easiest if you're already in Europe, thanks to budget-airline nonstops, like Easyjet's from Gatwick or Condor's from frankfurt, but Iberia has one-stop flights from the U.S."—Sarah Khan


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3 Steps To Using Drones For Safe Roof Inspection
Drones are becoming more popular for commercial use, and can be a safe way to do tasks like inspect structures. Today, small drones are even affordable, and even a small toy drone of an older child can be used for some simple tasks. If you have roof damage, these small machines can be used to take photos and inspect the damage. Commercial roofing companies have begun using them, but you may also want to do your own inspections to evaluate problems and repairs that need to be done.…Read More »
Ready To Start Your Own At Home Business Or Become A Consultant? What To Know
If you have decided to work independently and you want to freelance your own skills, you want to make sure you do it the right way. There are some things you want to do before you start working on assignments, selling products and collecting checks. Instead, you have to plan out a few things to make sure that everything with your business is legal, and to make sure that you don't have to worry about consequences later on.…Read More »
Unusual Home Insurance Claims
Homeowner's insurance is designed to protect the homeowner and the lender from loss and damage. Most claims are filed as a result of things like fire, natural disasters, or flooding. But home insurance policies can also cover a few other unusual things that you might not know about. Here are some items that your homeowner's policy may cover if you need it. Dog Bites If you own a dog, there is always a possibility that it could bite someone inside your home or even in the backyard.…Read More »


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Having Fun at Salt Lake City
Wilderness, lakes and recreation activity areas are very popular in Salk Lake City, and you will get many opportunities for sightseeing in Utah. A number of tourists from across the country visit Salk Lake City to ski and snowboard at one of the many major resorts situated here. The scenic and beautiful outdoors and the fame of Utah's capital, Salt Lake City is usually enough to draw people not just from surrounding states, but from all over the globe.
Salt Lake City is the cultural center of the state. Temple Square is the Mecca for the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons. The 10-acre square is enclosed by 15-foot walls, with a gate in the center of each. In addition to the church buildings, there are the square houses and the North and South Visitor Centers as well as lovely gardens and statuary that are well known.
The city's much-traveled Mormon Tabernacle Choir is world famous, and the Utah Symphony is internationally recognized. Also in the city are Ballet West, considered among the best classical ballet companies in the country, modern dance companies, the Utah Opera, and the Salt Lake Art Center. The Fine Arts and Natural History museums in the University of Utah campus houses the state's principal collections. For fans of live sports, NBA's Utah Jazz makes its home in Salt Lake City.
Despite the city's former reputation for its lack of nightlife, Salt Lake City now has a range of clubs with sports broadcasts or live music for people with all types and tastes. The city's bars are the perfect start or finish to one of the many cultural events that are hosted here. There are many restaurants that offer American and international cuisines at reasonable rates to suit people with different budgets. Though Salt Lake City is not a major shopping destination, its malls will satisfy all your shopping needs. To make yourself comfortable as if you were in the western US, pick up a genuine Stetson hat and a pair of Tony Lama cowboy boots.


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Arrivals Indira Gandhi New Delhi Airport
New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (IATA abbreviation: DEL), is the largest airport in India, and carried approximately 40 million passengers in 2014. Recently the new Terminal 3 opened to the capacity of the airport has multiplied. It is one of the 10 largest passenger terminals in the world.
Terminals 1 and 2 each consist of three parts, of which some parts are very outdated. International flights use the new Terminal 3. mostly fly-cost airlines on the old airport. It runs every 20 minutes a shuttle bus from Terminal 1D to Terminal 3 and vice versa. This bus is the highway outside the airport and takes quite a long time.
The airport is a hub for Air India and Kingfisher Airlines.


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Yes, there are a few different options for more in-depth tours.
Architecture & Planning Tours [2 hours] consists of the general tour plus a tour of the planning office, current construction, and a special session on design development with models and drawings. $20 per person ($200 minimum) or $15 per student.
Non-English Arcosanti Site Tour [1 hour] can be arranged depending on guide availability. Languages: Italian, French, German, Japanese, etc. ($200 minimum)
Tour of the Archives Department [1 hour] including drawings and other archival materials from Paolo Soleri's work is available for $250.
For Special Group Tour, please make arrangement with the Guest Services department.


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Do You Know Jesus?
This is by far the most important decision of your life.
Video Selections
Various video selections related to the ministry of FCPO.
Audio Selections
Various audio selections related to the ministry of FCPO.
Law Enforcement in the Scriptures
Bible passages where the role, service, office, or type of law enforcement officer is found either implicitly or explicitly.
Making the Most of Your Membership
As a strong member of your local chapter, you enhance the reputation and effectiveness of FCPO.
Recommended Reading
Reading materials for the law enforcement officer\'s spiritual growth.
Helpful Links
Other resources to help you in your walk with Christ.
Chapter Toolbox
A password-protected area containing chapter leader resource materials.


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Perhaps you've already noticed. Things are changing all around us and it's happening at lightening speed.
The workplace, as many of us know it, is going through a facelift. A facelift commonly referred to as 'the gig economy'. It is estimated that 35% of the US workforce in 2017 is now comprised of Gig's.
Gig's and gig users have something in common…
work doesn't always need to be 9-5, M-F…
And many of us have been slow to adapt to this change in our workforce.
What is the Gig Economy anyways?
It's an alternative work approach in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements.
This doesn't sound new, so what's the deal?
While using temporary labor may not be a new thing, what is very new is the amount of work that is now being facilitated through Gig's on short-term engagement. (AKA freelance, independent contractors, contingent workers, temporary workers, etc.)
Gig freelancing is taking a much wider foothold in our economy. Today it's common to find all sorts of work being packaged and facilitated through Gigs whereas before these jobs were considered only as fully employed roles. Management roles, engineering, software, events, cooking, the music industry, professional coaching and even academics are a few examples of work which is now being performed largely by the current day Gig worker. It could also mean you and I having a separate part-time job which we use to bring in extra income on the side. (AKA moonlighting)
For example, there are companies and people who do nothing but provide short term support for other companies which have a need for an interim CEO. There are just as many options for companies who want additional support in doing their product design but don't want to hire a full time employee because it's work that is intermittent. These are examples of where Gigs come into play.
They serve a role for a period of time on behalf of a separate organization. Once they're done they're off to finding their next opportunity, often times they may have multiple jobs/ projects going on at the same time.
Why are companies and people alike moving in this direction?
As our economy and technology continues to evolve we become less and less reliant on doing business face to face. For those of us who grew up in business when you were expected to be in the office for no other reason than 'face-time' you should be happy to know that many companies are moving away from this model. Why? We're learning, slowly but surely, that 'face-time' isn't productive. Employees can be just as productive from home, at a coffee shop or at the local water hole (not that I recommend that) rather than being shackled to their four foot cubicle for nine hours a day.
Productivity soars thanks to the usage of Gigs because it offers people the ability to do work and do so on their own accord. We often hear people who are Gig's say they "like working this way because it's more creative, allows for a better work/ life balance and gives them the ability to choose the work they want to do." The benefit to the employer utilizing a Gig approach is they can reduce their overhead on costly brick and mortar facilities (estimated at $12k per employee per year) while having work completed by true experts in the field. Employers are also able to onboard new talent and off-board unneeded skills without the burden of employment taxes and paperwork.
Why it is important for me to be aware of 'The Gig Life'?
The reason you should care about what is going on in the Gig Economy is because very soon we will all need to adjust to this new work style in order to remain competitive.
Now I've got your attention!
It's time we gave some good introspective thought on how we do things at the workplace and whether or not that is the right way to do it. Perhaps your business, your department or your team could benefit from using Gigs to handle freelance work. Maybe in doing so you'll be able to facilitate a wider volume of business which means more customers, more money and more margaritas on the beach in Acapulco. Maybe your employees are tired of seeing your face on the daily and could use a little R&R while working from home.
Either way, it's time we all jump on the wagon because whether we like it or not the Gig Economy is here to stay and it promises to only grow as time goes on.
Leave a Reply.
About the Author
Serving over a decade in the technical services industry in Orange County, CA, Travis Smith has developed a talent for assessing technical talent and overseeing technical projects. His other areas of specialty include: leadership development, business development, resource planning and creative solutioning.
March 2020


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Left: ABH Brow Wiz Right: L'Oreal Brow Stylist
The Brow Wiz by Anastasia Beverly Hills ($21) is probably one of the most cult favorite brow products that everyone wants to get their hands on and for a while, there was not really a cheaper option to this revolutionary brow pencil. That is until L'oreal came out with their Brow Stylist ($7) and I have to say that is is a great dupe for the ABH Brow Wiz and is also less than half the price.
I own both the Brow Wiz and the Brow Stylist and honestly, I probably will not repurchase the Brow Wiz because I feel that the L'oreal option basically does the same thing. I own the Brow Wiz in the shade dark brown and the Stylist in the shade dark brunette and I like it just the same. It does come out a little darker than the Brow Wiz but it is nothing I can't blend out with a spoolie. The only other difference is that I have to apply a little bit more pressure with the Stylist, but again you can't beat the price and if you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the ABH Brow Wiz, I think the L'oreal Brow Stylist is your best option.
**NYX cosmetics does have a brow product called The Micro Brow Pencil that I heard is also comparable to the Brow Wiz. I do not own this one, but it is just another cheaper alternative that is available!


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Change is energizing and productive. Well duh!
As you may know we have moved. I have been through all my stuff and my methodologies. Why do I have this? Why do I do it that way? What could be done better?
This has been a wonderful opportunity for cleaning out the stables. It gave me the chance to examine and improve and streamline. I am not recommending moving as a fun occupation – but I am recommending finding some excuse now and then for stripping down and seeing what is working and what is not and fixing things up.
Take your technology. You know at the very least that since you last made a technology investment, everything has changed. You may not need to make that change right now – but you should spend a little time figuring out what it means because otherwise when the next upgrade comes you could find yourself way behind – it gets harder to catch up the further behind you get.
And your marketing! Well you know where that could lead.
The other effect of all this is that it takes you out of your comfort zone – your formed habits. This has the effect of making you think and rethink – it is very energizing – nothing can slow your brain down like unthinkingly following the same routes and methods day after day.


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Ok, if you of one of the best ways of creating money is making money without using any of my own cash. Various other words I'm talking about free money. I absolutely love free moola. Here a couple ways even worse free cash that almost certainly never heard about.
If you are a teacher looking on a regular basis to play in your classroom, a place schooling mom looking for fun, educational games, toned man walking parent seeking to liven up their child's next birthday party; we you sheltered.
There greater level of of games you can take advantage of online and earn cash while you're doing so. If are generally a big kid at heart, your jaw probably just hit the earth. You heard me right the first time, could certainly get paid to pay games online quizzes.
Kids are only going to enjoy a celebration if there are an a lot of games in it. While organizing children parties, you should think throughout the point of view of an kid. They are full of your energy and to channel their energies in the proper manner, arranging games is the best option. You'd like to come forth with some funny and creative gaming ideas, instead of going for the same old boring video clip games.
A game that created history and brought a genuine revolution from the world of gaming was Pacman. Pacman was generated by Nintendo games in 1980s and it continues to rule the heart of many gamers presently! You will find this flash game in the arcade patch of your blog. In the game, you've got to control Pac-man the maze of eating dots. If you want to succeed through the sport you can have to eat all the dots until none remains in the maze. There are four ghosts called Pinky, Inky, Blinky and Clyde to hunt you. Shortly lose a life if each of these of these touches a.
The ease of playing that you really need home interests many players of online bingo. It is not just these people are open all the time, any kind of time hour of day or night, but that you have to to go forth of the house to the game. Spending a quiet evening at home without in order to arrange for transportation, babysitters and every single piece of the tariff of spending an evening out, a lot more fascinating to many users.
Another solid place to look at the Washington Redskins at New York Giants game online is Channel Scubadivng. This website already has a web site posted for your game (as of 10:30 am). Simply scroll listed below about a few minutes before kickoff and click the link. The game are able to open from a new Web page.


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This page aims to help you remove the Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware . Our removal instructions work for every version of Windows.
Trojan Horse malware viruses can be devastating cyber threats since those nasty pieces of malware are both capable of silently sneaking inside your computer and carrying out a variety of criminal tasks once inside it. It's actually oftentimes difficult to predict what kind of damage a Trojan would try to cause to your PC and to your virtual privacy and security. One thing's for certain though, if such a virus manages to infiltrate your computer, you must do everything in your power to deal with the threat before it has managed to complete its insidious purpose. In the next paragraphs, we will do our best to help you handle a malware threat called Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware which is one of the more recent additions to the Trojan Horse virus family. Similarly to most other representatives of this virus group, Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware is known for being able to stealthily get inside the targeted machine and then complete its insidious purpose with showing little to no visible symptoms. That is why, all users need to be well acquainted with the possible capabilities of those viruses so as to be able to spot them and remove them on time. If you think (or know) that the Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware infection is already in your system, you'd better carefully read all the information from this page and then head down to our removal guide. Within the guide, you will find instructions on how to manually detect and remove any Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware -related data from your machine. If, however, you think that you won't be able to complete all of the removal steps on your own, a possible alternative is to use the suggested virus-removal tool that you can also find in the guide. In fact, the best piece of advice we can give you here is to use both the removal program and the instructions from the guide as this would give you the best chances at successfully and effectively eliminating the malware.
The danger of Trojans
There are several important aspects that ought to be factored in when it comes to understanding why and how Trojans are as dangerous and as problematic as they are. The first thing to be pointed out here is the fact that threats like Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware can infiltrate your system without you realizing it. They normally manage to do that by being initially presented to the targeted user under the guise of something that doesn't look harmful – an online ad, a suggested download, a torrent file, an attachment to a spam message or something else similar. If the user isn't careful enough, they could easily slip and open the infected piece of content and that way allow the malware piece inside their computer. Oftentimes, when this happens, there's pretty much nothing to give away the infection. The Trojan Horse malware category is infamous for its lack of specific symptoms and you might have Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware on your PC for days, weeks or even months without noticing anything suspicious that might give away the malware attack. That said, there are still possible indications of a Trojan Horse infection that some lucky users (and vigilant) users might be able to notice.
Remove Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware
Some of the steps will likely require you to exit the page. Bookmark it for later reference.
Reboot in Safe Mode (use this guide if you don't know how to do it).
Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC at the same time and go to the Processes Tab. Try to determine which processes are dangerous.
Right click on each of them and select Open File Location. Then scan the files with our free online virus scanner:
This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users. You can find its full-page version at: https://howtoremove.guide/online-virus-scanner/
Scan Results
|Virus Scanner
After you open their folder, end the processes that are infected, then delete their folders.
Note: If you are sure something is part of the infection – delete it, even if the scanner doesn't flag it. No anti-virus program can detect all infections.
Hold together the Start Key and R. Type appwiz.cpl –> OK.
You are now in the Control Panel. Look for suspicious entries. Uninstall it/them. If you see a screen like this when you click Uninstall, choose NO:
Type msconfig in the search field and hit enter. A window will pop-up:
Startup —> Uncheck entries that have "Unknown" as Manufacturer or otherwise look suspicious.
- Remember this step – if you have reason to believe a bigger threat (like ransomware) is on your PC, check everything here.
Hold the Start Key and R – copy + paste the following and click OK:
notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts
A new file will open. If you are hacked, there will be a bunch of other IPs connected to you at the bottom. Look at the image below:
If there are suspicious IPs below "Localhost" – write to us in the comments.
Type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter.
Once inside, press CTRL and F together and type the virus's Name. Right click and delete any entries you find with a similar name. If they don't show up this way, go manually to these directories and delete/uninstall them:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—–Random Directory. It could be any one of them – ask us if you can't discern which ones are malicious.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—-Windows—CurrentVersion—Run– Random
HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—Internet Explorer—-Main—- Random
If the guide doesn't help, download the anti-virus program we recommended or try our free online virus scanner. Also, you can always ask us in the comments for help!
There might be an increase of the used-up RAM, CPU and GPU on your system caused by the malware or your computer might start experiencing freezes, crashes or errors for no visible reason. Other similar irregularities can also suggest that there's some nasty virus in your system so be watchful at all times and you might just spot a malware like Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware before it has gotten too late. Having a strong antivirus program could also benefit you and help you fend off malware threats like this one so bear this in mind and get one such program if you don't already have an antivirus.
What's the damage?
It's oftentimes difficult to say what a Trojan virus would actually try to do when it's in your system – the infection from the virus could be used to damage your system, take control of your PC, acquire sensitive info and steal it from your machine or corrupt important files on your computer. Some Trojans are also used for distributing other infections like Ransomware and Spyware so it's perfectly possible that if you have Xml/ddedownldr.m Malware on your machine, some other nasty piece of malware might have been loaded on your computer without you even having realized it. There are many other possibilities but we won't stop at each and every one of the. The bottom line, however, is clear – if there's a Trojan on your computer, you need to take all the necessary precautions and get rid of it ASAP.
|Danger Level
|High (Trojans are often used as a backdoor for Ransomware)
|Though there could be certain symptoms like CPU and RAM spikes as well as frequent errors and crashes, most Trojans are capable of showing as few symptoms as possible.
|Distribution Method
|Malvertising, pirated downloads, illegal torrents, spam messages with attached links or files, etc.
|Detection Tool
parasite may reinstall itself multiple times if you don't delete its core files. We recommend downloading SpyHunter to scan for malicious programs. This may save you hours and cut down your time to about 15 minutes.
Download SpyHunter Anti-Malware
More information on SpyHunter, steps to uninstall, EULA, Threat Assessment Criteria, and Privacy Policy.


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Rosalind McLachlan is an artist whose practice includes sculpture, video and installation.
It was after taking part in a Mayan ceremony while conducting archaeological fieldwork in Belize in Central America that McLachlan decided to become an artist. She felt it was only through the empirical framework of art that she could explore subjective and collective human experience.
Between 2001 – 2004 she studied at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London and at The Slade School of Fine Art. In 2014 she graduated from the Master of Fine Art at Newcastle University. She is the co-founder of The Brewhouse Project, a radical and psychedelic workshop for contemporary artists in the North East who want to experiment working with clay.
Video plays a big part in her work, but she has always been a maker, making sculpture – totemic objects made from clay, even meteorite. She sees video as space to put her objects, as a space to cross pollinate them with ideas and things from the world.
As an artist, she is interested in alternate ways of understanding the world and human experience, both now and in the past. Her work is not an illustration of her interests however, but a means to afford others and herself different ways of seeing beneath, beyond or within scientific, philosophical and esoteric concepts.
Importantly, McLachlan does not apply systems of judgment to her subject matter, never categorising it as 'true' or 'false', 'fact' or 'fiction', preferring her work to exist liminally between such divisions.


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Return to player
Min. bet
Maximum bet
Review of Gemix
Gemix Slot from Play'n GO is a super colorful and original slot played on 7x7 grid similar to Candy Crush. This is what it reminds us of, the colourful symbols which look almost like candy, and the layout is extremely similar. Perhaps Play N' Go got some inspiration from this extremely popular mobile game. It looks like it could even be a fun video game that you could play on your playstation or something.
But anyway, it is not a playstation game, it's a slot game, and a slot game with some fantastic features for that matter. Along with Bonus features, there are 'Worlds' in which you can progress in, but we will explain that more below because there is a lot to get in to! Instead of the usual five reels, Gemix contains 7 reels and a completely different layout from normal. Players progress through three different worlds with new challenges and special features keeping you entertained for hours and hours. In this way bonuses become bigger in the process, as well as profits! With its RTP of 96.75% it is definitely one of the most profitable slots in the gaming industry.
it is definitely one of the most profitable slots in the gaming industry
Play Gemix
New Customers Only - T&C Apply
18+ | Select welcome bonus from deposit menu before first deposit of min £20. Offer expires 7 days from registration. For every £100 wagered £5 will be credited. Max. bonus is £50. This offer does not apply to wagering on certain games. T&Cs apply.
18+ | First time depositors only. Min. deposit £10. Maximum amount of Free Spins is 80. Free Spins valued at £0.10 per spin, in Book of Dead. Excluding new players in Northern Ireland. OJO's Reward and Game Play Policy Applies.
First Deposit Only. Min. deposit: £10. Game: Wild Wild West The Great Train Heist. Spin Value: £0.2. Max Free Spins: 100. WR 60x free spin winnings amount (only Slots count) within 30 days. Max bet is 10% (min £0.10) of the free spin winnings amount or £5 (lowest amount applies). Free Spins must be used before deposited funds. First Deposit/Welcome Bonus can only be claimed once every 72 hours across all Casinos. Bonus Policy applies.
How to play Gemix slot?
Before you begin your Gemix journey in this magical looking slot game you should be sure to adjust your betting limits. The minimum amount that you can bet is £0.50, and the maximum amount is £100, so this is a perfect slot for those low rollers, and the high rollers. Your mission on Gemix is to get groups of 5 or more gems of the same colour, vertically or horizontally (not diagonally).
When the gems match, they will disappear creating space for new gems to make more groups of symbols. This is very similar to Candy Crush if you have ever played it. In the background you can see the pattern that needs to be filled in order to progress to the next level of the game. Each of the three worlds has different patterns and special Wild symbols and you can find out more below.
Gemix Bonus Features
There are a few bonus features in Gemix, but they are pretty much very straightforward so you will get the hang of them and how they work in no time. Inside the game there is a meter which is called "The Crystal Charge Meter". This plays a very important role during the game and during your spinning because with every winning combination it fills up. When the meter gets completely full, any of the following bonus features could come into play and you can earn some magical wins, you can even triple your wins if you are extra lucky:
Chain Lightning When the Chain Lightning charge occurs, the symbols in the two opposite corners will light up, and all the symbols between these corners will turn the same colour. The Chain Lightning feature is very beautiful when it triggers, and it lights up your whole screen so that it ends up looking like one whole block of the same colour!
Nova Blast During the Nova Blast charge, one random symbol on the reels will explode and destroy some of the symbols which are close to it creating room for new symbols.
Crystal Warp When the Crystal Warp charge triggers on your game, one random symbol is picked on the reels, and this one, together with other symbols of the same colour will turn to the colour that dominates the screen.
Light Beams The Light Beams charge is the most beautiful one of all, when this charge occurs, one random symbol is picked on the reels and it starts blasting a ray of light, both horizontally and vertically. Where the light touches, the gems turn to the same colour.
Super Charged Crystal The rarest, yet most exciting Gemix Bonus feature charge, this is definitely not easy to get, but when you manage to do it you will get your winnings tripled. This is a Bonus feature that you will be wishing to get throughout your whole game, let's hope you manage to trigger it.
This is a Bonus feature that you will be wishing to get throughout your whole game
Gemix Online Slot
Wild symbols on Gemix
Each of the three worlds has their own Wild symbol in this slot game and we will explain them below:
World 1 You will receive up to 10 Miners lamp Wild symbols added to your games grid
World 2 In World 2, you will receive a Lolly pop Wild symbol spread across your games grid. This is probably our favourite Wild because it's so bright and colourful and really captures your attention.
World 3 And lastly in World 3 you will receive up to 8 of the Spell Book Sticky Wilds, and this will be added to your games grid remaining locked and frozen in place until there are no more matching gems on your grid.


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1) I will have a full race report to come, but as I unpack from a week in Lake Placid, I can report that I did it. I finished Ironman Lake Placid. We experienced amazingly ridiculous weather but we persevered and stayed the course. I finished with a smile on my face and I was even found singing along the run course. So needless to say, I maintained my goal of keeping my head in a good place and I helped out a friend along the way. IMLP 2014 is in the books.
2) And the best part is that all of my friends finished too! There is nothing like doing and Ironman, but now imagine doing it with about 30 people that you know. It makes for a day filled with hugs, high fives and more all along the race course. Add to that all of the support from additional friends and family along he course. I had friends from the body marking station to transition tents to bike special needs and more. Hands down the best. If you can ever race that which is essentially a home town race, do it!
And with that, it's back to unpacking! Happy Tuesday!


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Harry & Garth are back for the first time in the Wandering Room for 2018! It's been a while since episodes but this was a great return – hear some of Harry's Benjamin Button styled plan for the next half of his life, a practical guide for how we can save the planet from plastic, and an astonishingly good tale connecting san Audio Book to a movie to the grit of our forebears. It's good to be back, hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download


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Knitting Patterns
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Bella Coola
We headed to Bella Coola for our summer holidays this year. Bella Coola is a small community on BC's central coast. There is only one road that accesses the central coast, and you must drive down a very scary hill to get to the ocean. It is so notorious, you only need to say "The Hill," and everyone knows exactly which hill you are referring to.
The switchbacks were terrifying, and the steep drop-offs forced me to close my eyes (fortunately, I was not the one driving).
We stayed in a very cute cabin at the Rip Rap campground. It was a beautiful place, right on the river. There was fresh bear poo not far from our door, so we were happy to have the protection of the cabin at nights (toddlers are not very "bear aware"!).
We had some rainy days, which did not damper our fun. You can hike just as well in the rain, if you have the right clothes.
There are many spots with old growth forests and Cedar made sure to give the giant cedars a hug.
Some very, very ancient trees!
We also did a boat tour with Discovery Coast and it was a fun experience! We caught prawns:
Saw pictographs:
Saw seals:
Hiked to a giant, GIANT cedar tree:
Posed in front of beautiful waterfalls:
And soaked in some hotsprings:
It was a wonderful time spent with family.
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Garden 2016
Our garden is taking off with all the rain we have been having! Our deck has a variety of pots with food growing in it. Here is my "cut-and-come-again" salad box.
We've also got herbs and peppers, tomatoes, and melons.
The cucumbers are now even bigger than this.
And we've eaten our first ripe tomato.
The peppers
The squashes
Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, dill, and lettuce.
Beans, lettuce, and peas.
Broccoli and beets. We have broccoli almost daily. The kids love it roasted.
Kesten's sunflowers are now almost as tall as me.
Our purple podded pole peas have been a lot of fun!
Asparagus and basil
Jerusalem artichokes, garlic, and onions.
More onions
Carrots and kale
Our playhouse had some renos done! It has been getting daily use.
I made a little kitchen inside and the kids love it! The go to the garden to pick peas and dill, and bring it back to their kitchen to "cook" it and eat it.
The raspberries are ripe now.
We have a bumper crop of sour cherries this year!
Dinner provided by the garden.
And some sour cherry crumb cake for dessert.
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Pre-workout Smoothie
By Kim McDevitt, MPH RD on April 12, 2014
Welcome this smoothie with the change of the season – a perfect "meal" before heading out for a long workout. Thanks to the combination of fruit and coconut you'll get both immediate and sustained energy. Bonus: coconut butter digests easily in the body and offers a host of health benefits – as athletes the best benefit is the body's ability to immediately convert it to lasting energy.
What Fuels Your Better?
Get training and nutrition tips on how to #FuelYourBetter today!
- 1 serving Vega Sport® Pre-Workout Energizer
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 cup frozen pineapple
- 1 Tbsp coconut butter or 2 Tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
- Water and ice
Add all ingredients to blender.
Blend until smooth.


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Emotions play a role in almost every decision we make, but in the case of investing, acting on emotion can have a detrimental impact on success. Working with Anthem Mortgage Group, you will learn how to make the best possible investments through strategic decision-making that removes emotion and ensures a solid fit with your financial plan for the future.
Our innovative investment principles use the equity in your home in order to optimize the allocation of your leverage/debt in a way that will make your accountant (and pocketbook) very happy.


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2015 1st Convention of Global Korea FTAs Research Association(Global KoFRA) will be held on 30th January to 1st February 2015 at KIIT University Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. The 1st Convention of Global Korea FTAs Research Association(Global KoFRA) is Organize by KIIT University, Bhubaneswar.
|KIIT University
The mission of the Global KoFRA is to promote academic and applied research writen by international authors and of interest to the global audience. It aims to bring together professors, researchers and postgraduate students in countries which the Korean government has signed FTAs with to exchange their experiences and research results and share the practical chalenges encountered and the solutions adopted. We expect the Global KoFRA to provide a platform for universities, governments and law firms to discuss risks and solutions of FTAs as wel as the international trade disputes and the ADR system from diferent international perspectives. Anyone who can share ideas on FTAs and the ADR system wil be welcomed.
The academic sections for paper presentations will be held on 31st January and 1st February while the foundation commitee conference will be on 30th January. If you want to be the foundation commitee members of the Global KoFRA, please tick the box of "Commitee Member" as the Registrant Type on the Registration Form.
"Trade Dispute Cases and Solutions within the Regime of the Korean FTAs"
30th January 2015 to 1st February 2015
Convention Center of KIT University, Bhubaneswar, India
For more details of the 2015 1st Convention of Global KoFRA at KIIT University clicking here.


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MT Rainey's classic texts: Stephen King's "Another turning point for brands?"
It has been said that advertising has many gurus, professors, geniuses and mavericks, but only one King. As a young planner, trying to practise and pioneer the discipline in the US, I devoured Stephen King's papers and speeches as ballast to my arguments for using advertising to shape and add value to brands, rather than simply to reflect a product proposition.
While much has been made of the contrasting styles of JWT and BMP, I believe those differences were emphases of practice, rather than conviction, and that both approaches reflect the importance of brands to the economic value of a company and the power of advertising to create new value in those brands.


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We place equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything we do. We want to ensure that we provide the communities of Dorset and Wiltshire with services that are accessible to everyone.
We are committed to:
- knowing our communities, staff and volunteers;
- protecting our most vulnerable people;
- taking action to make a difference; and
- evaluating our performance.
We recognise that people have different needs, and that some groups within our community share protected characteristics and have specific requirements. We try to ensure that we identify risk factors for vulnerable people and address these in our work and within the workplace.
The nine protected characteristics are:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
Evaluating our commitment
We evaluate our work in this area in a number of ways. Understanding the diversity, needs and expectations of our local communities and our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion helps us to improve our performance.
Our performance
We benchmark ourselves against national equality standards to monitor, evaluate and continually improve our performance in diversity practice.
Code of Conduct
Our reputation relies on the trust we build within the communities we serve. High ethical standards are an essential part of public life and it is important that the public and our customers have confidence in us. We have a Code of Conduct, which sets out the standards that we expect from our staff and volunteers.
Impact Assessments
A Impact Assessment (IA) is a tool to help make sure that we carry out our functions and deliver our services in the way they are intended. IAs ensure that we meet our legal equality duties by assessing the likely (or actual) effects of our proposals, policies, functions or services on our diverse populations. This includes looking for opportunities to promote equality that have been previously missed, as well as negative impacts that can be removed, mitigated or justified.
When looking at who could be affected by our proposals, we have to include those with protected characteristics, vulnerable groups, all aspects of Fire & Rescue Service workforce, and the impact on the community.
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 outlines a minimum set of standards that help to ensure a society based on fairness and respect. We have ensured that these principles are embedded throughout the Service by incorporating them into the IA process, our training and our values.


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Imam Al-Khoei Islamic Store
Regular price
$ 12.00
Little Isa the Ant loves the playground. But he's scared to climb the playground's great big hill, Mount Mushkil! No matter how hard he tries, he can't follow his brothers and sisters to the top. This makes him sad. When the mean ants from school laugh at him, he feels worse. Then a wise old ant teaches Isa the secret of climbing Mount Mushkil. But can Isa believe hard enough to make it to the top? Will the secret really help Isa?


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Connected to the Tournament Gymnasium, along with athletic
offices and locker rooms, is the Raider Athletics Training
Room. Riverwood Athletics proudly partners with
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) to provide a state of
the art training room with four training tables and a
Children's Healthcare provides the Raiders with a year-round trainer who is present at all practices and games. Children's Healthcare also provides Riverwood with a team doctor.


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There was a threat of severe thunderstorms Wednesday as a cold front swept through the region.
An area of low pressure and its associated cold front moved through this afternoon and early this evening. As the front arrived, winds increased.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 9 p.m. for Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Clarke, Frederick, Highland, Page, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren counties in Virginia, as well as the cities of Buena Vista, Covington, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton, Waynesboro and Winchester.
Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued this afternoon in Virginia as storms capable of producing heavy rain, hail and damaging winds were spotted. Inch-size hail was reported in West Virginia, and wind gusts of 35 mph were reported in Charleston, W.Va., and 36 mph in Roanoke.
Closer to D.C., a tenth to two tenths of an inch of rain fell in some places, and there were some stronger storms.
If a severe storm is threatening where you live, make sure everyone is inside and that they stay away from windows until the storm passes.
Thursday's highs will "only" reach the lower to mid-60s. It will be mostly sunny and mild, but blustery with winds reaching 10-30 mph.
Friday should be partly cloudy and mild with light wind and highs in the mid-60s.
Weather on the Web: Get the latest weather from NBCWashington.com anytime, anywhere:
- Severe Weather Alerts: Click Here
- Interactive Radar: Click Here
- Complete Weather Coverage: Click Here
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up for our e-mail newsletters.


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We want the same deal, say Greeks as Spain wins easy street bailout
The lack of conditions attached to the €100 billion bailout for Spain emboldened Greece and other debtor nations to demand better terms from Europe yesterday .
Syriza, the far-left party that could win the re-run of the Greek election on Sunday, said that the Spanish deal showed that Europe was abandoning its policy of austerity.
"Developments in Spain have confirmed the position we have supported from the start. Namely, that the crisis is a Europe-wide problem and that the way it has been dealt with so far is socially destructive and completely ineffective," Alexis Tsipras, the party's leader, who could be the next Prime Minister, told the Avgi newspaper.
"Two years ago the crisis was related to the supposed laziness and unproductiveness of the Greeks.


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I recently saw this hairstyle done over at Girl Do's and just loves it! Basically you just need to know how to do a Waterfall braid. (Click here to be directed to the Waterfall Braid.)
You will want to work with wet hair because it will hold it's shape better as it dries.
Comb all of the hair straight back and begin your Waterfall Braid right behind the left ear.
Work your way across the head and over toward the right ear.
Once you get close to the ear you will want to curve your braid back under the original plates. This time gather in the strands that you dropped through from the top braid.
Continue this back over to the left ear and then wrap around to come back again. Keep wrapping back and forth as many times as you like.
On your last level you will want to gather into your braid but not drop any strand through. Finish plating that braid all the way to the ends of the hair and then tuck it up underneath the previously plated braid. Secure it with bobby pins for a nice tight hold.
Add any hairpins that you like for decoration and you're all finished. This also make for beautiful waves the next morning when you take the braid out!


text: Sean Arbabi is a commercial photographer specializing in nature, adventure, lifestyle, and travel imagery. His work has been featured in more than 250 publications, including National Geographic, Outside, Newsweek, Sunset, Backpacker, and the New York Times. Sean teaches on-site nature photography workshops and is an instructor at the Perfect Picture School of Photography (ppsop.com). He is also the author of The BetterPhoto Guide to Exposure. Sean can be found at seanarbabi.com.


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Focused On Relationships! Focused On You!
Here at Focus Real Estate Group, we take great pride in the quality and professionalism of our service. The quality of our reputation is the direct result of the individual care we give to our relationships with our customers. We would like to thank the following individuals for their generous acknowledgement of our work.
Exceptional Service
"When I was looking for someone to market and sell my town home in Gainesville, Todd was my choice. His team handled everything from start to close"
-Kerwin Bell
(Former University of Florida NFL and CFL Quarterback)
Quick Sale
"Todd, thank you for the fast sale on my spec home in Plantation Oaks at Turkey Creek Golf Course. It was very nice to have a contract on the house one week after completion."
-George Hank Rone
(Former University of Florida Punter and Local Builder)
Superior Service
Superior Service
"Todd's superior service and knowledge of the area made the stressful experience of buying a home a smooth transaction from start to finish."
-Darrin and Lisa Moore
(Nationwide Insurance Manager)
My Home Tracker
- Save your favorite homes
- Get new property alerts
- Share with friends and family
Home ValuesFind and compare local neighborhood home values


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Todays photos taken with mobile phone or smartphone came to replace much part of the professional photographers work. But even unwanted photos can say much informations about us.
But we think the bit the camera limitations of a smartphone can be overcome with only few photographer skills. And maybe with some advices from StanleyTips.com.We see daily photos on social networking uploaded directly by messenger or email from smartphone (Android, iOS or Windows mobile devices). Let's see some simple rules to convert taken pictures with smartphone in better pictures.
- How to keep the phone?
- My advice. Do not take pictures with the smartphone in portrait mode. That goes for filming too. You must use the the entire width of the lens that expands to fit some decor besides character.
- How to frame the picture?
- Learn to respect the holy trinity, just kidding. Rule of thirds. A third ground, the middle for the posing, and a third of the sky. Too much of any of them, and the picture looks terrible.
- You should be always behind the sun.
- If you create outdoor pictures, you have to be always behind the sun, not the filmed character. Otherwise your model will look black. But you can solve this problem with two solutions from StanleyTips. You can get an artistic effect if you put the character behind the sun and use the integrated flash. Or HDR. That keeps the camera still on a position. It will make two pictures. One more and one less exposed, and then superimpose them to be seen and the sky and the model.
- Improved photos.
- There are thousands of photo applications that will help you to make more interesting pictures. Facebook already uses Instagram and twitter application has improved their pictures filters.
Today I will recommend some funny and interesting photo apps: [highlight]Cycloramic[/highlight] and [highlight]Split Pic Pro.[/highlight]
- Note the GPS tag.
- Most smartphone cameras automatically adds the place where my picture was taken. You will probably not scare at first thought, but if you say so some thieves know where you are standing, where you've been … Go to menu, the locale settings and disable this information for future photos.
Now "we know" how to make professional photos with a smatphone, but how to organise all our photos is the easiest and cool way? The solution is not to keep them on the phone. Your device can break down or disappear and the pictures are lost. Use a cloud service. There are already a lot. Let's quickly take place.
- Facebook lets you climb all the pictures from phone in the account and you can keep them private. The problem is that if you make public by mistake you can have problems. But anyway be careful.
- Google do the same service Google Plus and lets you climb as many pictures as long as no more than 2 MB per file.
- Dropbox is a perfect tool, can be installed quickly and allows you to take the picture when you get a phone and wifi, it automatically climb the cloud account. From there you can see on other phones, tablets or computers. You can recover if the phone disappears.
- Check mobile operators too. For example Vodafone offer new cloud services that include a few GBs of storage.
The best solution for you is to download them regularly.


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Find & Fix it Friday
In any kind of design, vertical elements are super important. I think that in gardening, that is most definitely true! It can be incredibly easy to fill up a raised garden bed with vegetation. If you are like me, you may find yourself pretty darn frustrated as you see plants grow and cramp. I think that I secretly wish all of our raised beds were at least an acre in size. Is it wrong to want to grow enough produce to fill our own tables and those of all our friends? Gahhh….I always want more space. That is when you need to think outside the box! Literally!! LOL
Instead of counting my bed fully planted and no longer accessible for planting more food, I had an "ah-ha" moment when I saw a cast-off old plant stand. Why not create more space with a little ingenuity, right?
Using some plant stakes, I secured the stand right into the soil (it has done a great job of securing it in the wind!)
Next up, I drilled a hole right through the top of the plant stand. Why? Well, it may not be necessary for the project, but I love that all the watering run off literally falls right down onto my bed of beets and arugula! Besides, as you will see below, it helps with securing this vertical element.
Taking some basic garden wire (copper is my fav!), I ran it through the pot hole and then through the hole I made in the stand. Do this several times, securing the pot on all sides from toppling in the wind.
Next up? Time to plant! I decided on a strawberry plant. I liked that the crimson fruit would hang down from my new planter.
Hope you are inspired to get out there and think outside-of-the-box! There are few things more rewarding than getting your hands dirty and growing your own food! LOVE!


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Los Angeles is a city infamous for its traffic, smog, and tourist traps. How do we Angelenos escape from the hectic everyday life, you ask? Just a short drive away from Downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena, you will find the peaceful outdoor oasis, Descanso Gardens. Located in the city of La Canada Flintridge, Descanso Gardens is nestled in a quiet neighborhood with wide, spacious streets. All year long Descanso Gardens host events, offer classes, have docent and self-guided walking tours throughout the gardens, while providing a place where the public can come and enjoy nature. This beautiful garden is a must-see for families, locals, and tourists!
Fun Facts - Descanso Gardens was once a private estate owned by the Boddy family. Elias Manchester Boddy, owner of the Daily News, bought the 150 acre land in 1937 and built his two-story mansion with 22 rooms on the land for his family. Boddy was very interested in horticulture, ranching, and plant science. Guests of the gardens can now visit the Boddy House and learn more about the family and how they came to preserve nature so close to the city.
What to See - You will need at least a couple of hours to wander around the different parts of Descanso Gardens! Luckily, the brochure given at the box office upon entry has a map and details about each section of the garden for you to plan your visit to your liking. The list of attractions include the Oak Forest, Oak Woodland, Rose Garden, Ancient Forest, Nature's Table, Camellia Forest, California Natives, Lilac Garden, Japanese Garden, Enchanted Railroad and Center Circle. Right now Tulips and Cherry Blossoms are in bloom. I went on a sunny day and the sight was vibrant and full of life. I cannot wait until the Rose Garden have its bloom!
Where to Eat - In need of a bite while taking a break from walking around the forests? You have two options for dining at Descanso Gardens. For something a little more on the casual dining side, Cafe Descanso serves a delicious menu of Salads, Burgers, Sandwiches, and Soups. They also serve Intelligentsia Coffee so anyone who is picky about coffee can sip on a great cup of coffee here! Guests order at the window and then dine outside on the outdoor patio. Cafe Descanso is open Monday - Sunday, 9am - 4:30pm.
Another dining option at Descanso Gardens is at the Maple restaurant. As of right now, Maple is only open on Saturdays and Sundays for breakfast and brunch, from 9am - 2pm. There is indoor and outdoor seating and reservations can be made. This is a place that is great for cocktails while you have a hearty brunch to de-stress from a long week of work.
Special Events - Descanso Gardens host classes and special events all year long! Most events are based on the season and what is in bloom. I have been to the beautiful Cherry Blossom Festival in the Spring and the Enchanted Forest event in the Winter. Each event was fantastic in its own way. Be sure to check out their calendar to see what interests you! The events also tend to be sold out so I would suggest buying your ticket online as soon as possible so you won't miss out.
Gift Shop - Before you leave, stop by the Descanso Gardens gift shop and take a peek! They have the cutest cards, typical souvenirs, and plants you can take home! The gift shop won me over with the outdoor nursery and pretty decorations. It was like walking into a Pinterest photo.
Ready for your escape from the city? Put on your walking shoes and get yourself out to the Descanso Gardens! Now that it's officially Spring, flowers are in bloom, escape from the hectic LA traffic and take a deep breath while exploring the different parts of the gardens. Make the best of a beautiful day and don't forget to stop and smell the flowers. Take care!
Your L.A. Friend,


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Griggs and Pinson were grief stricken over the incident. Griggs wrote on his Facebook account, "My eyes have been raining all afternoon. Twenty Little Angels tells of the tragedy and asks questions we all have asked and want to know. How did these sweet, pure, innocent children get 'caught up in someone else's hell?' We do believe these little angels are in heaven now so we tried to put things in perspective by sharing our personal feelings to calm our anger and soothe our grief by writing a song that would bring comfort to us and to all affected by this tragedy."
"There's not enough that can be done for this cause but by downloading this song, everyone's small contribution can make a big difference to the families of these Twenty Little Angels," he said.
The song will be available for download, via iTunes, this week.
"United Way says there will be no fees for the administration of this project," said Griggs. "Even credit card companies have waived their fees for credit transactions benefiting this cause."
The pair met while signed with RCA Records. More than 40 of Pinson's songs found their way onto major albums and 6 were number 1 hits by Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland and Jason Aldean.
Griggs signed with RCA in 1998 and his first album and single by the same name "You Won't Ever Be Lonely" went number 1. He had three albums on RCA, and one on Montage before taking the leap to start his own label, Little Hannel Records.


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To work as a real property agent or registered dealer in Dubai, there are numerous laws and guidelines to observe. The principal legislation regarding observe as an actual property agent in Dubai is given in By-Regulation No. (85) of 2006. Subsequent formalities regarding enrollment within the broker's register have later been devised by RERA. An vital part of the legislation of brokerage is the Code of Ethics, observing which is obligatory. In essence, the code of ethics for an actual property agent in Dubai is derived from social norms and values which are the heritage of Dubai society. A 'notaire' is the vastly revered law consultant the place house buying, promoting and and any authorized land or property issues are concerned. He is addressed as 'Maître' moderately than plain previous 'Messieur'. He is a specialist on this field and doesn't take care of another legal matters (e.g. divorce), whereas the title 'solicitor' in England refers to a authorized representative who deals with a variety of issues though many do concentrate on a particular field.
Daftarkan e-mail Anda untuk mendapatkan informasi property terbaru dan terupdate dari kami. Something must be executed concerning the excessive power the ADRE has over each and every home proprietor in Arizona. It's time to get with the century ADRE. However, if it is advisable sell your property quick during a downturn, the options out there to you might be less and you must make some arduous selections.
There are tons of good agents out there and bad ones. The secret's to seek out those that really care. Its similar to any business there are sincere folks then there are crooks. I do know in actual estate investing there are bad traders each the place and they just wont be in business long. Lastly, most agents, including myself, aren't attorneys. Anytime that you really feel the necessity, it's best to consult an legal professional, and so it is best to to get a definitive answer to your questions above. Backside line, all my shoppers know that.
These agents do not have a transparent plan, methods, they don't know about online/offline marketing, limited systems, and battle to point out a track file of success. Hi Lady_E, just began testing Xomba for backlinks. Delighted that it introduced you right here! To create a survey utilizing the Real Property Agent Analysis survey template, just join or sign in to SurveyMonkey. You'll choose the template when you start making a survey.
If you want to buy a house, you need the assistance of actual estate brokers and brokers. They're the professionals who can assist you find a home, sell your home, make a suggestion on a home, take care of patrons, and extra. They're going to assist you each step of the best way. Not solely do we information you easily by way of the complex and opaque markets, but in addition using our empathy to your wants and personal preferences we will assist you. A Peter Brown brokerage apparent service that can nonetheless apply after putting your signature.