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Lady Sew and Sew brings Lady Sew and Sew Knits to Henley

We’re opening our new Yarn Department at the Lady Sew and Sew Warehouse in Henley – yes, at last! – on December 8th, and we’d love you to celebrate with us!

When: Thursday, 8th December, 6.30pm onwards

•    Special offers, fabulous ranges, inspiration for Christmas gifts, fashion and designer knitting
•    Sneak previews of upcoming collections from Rowan, Patons, StyleCraft, Peter Pan, Wendy, Sirdar and more
•    A chance to meet some of the designers – and some lovely surprises

Enjoy a glass of wine and share a good yarn or two with us – it’s going to be a fun evening!

Oh, if you can’t make it on the night, why not come and see us on Friday, 9th December from 10am-4pm for the same great things plus tea and cakes?

Where: click here for directions

See you there…

Judy, Vanessa, Jon and the Lady Sew and Sew Knits team

Lady Sew and Sew, Farm Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 1EJ
Tel: (01491) 572528

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Create New Application

Select an Application Type?

Select the type of transaction this application is for.

Select a Building

To find the building enter the BUILDING ADDRESS NUMBER ONLY. (Eg. Enter 123 for 123 Main Street).

Select your Role:

In what capacity are you starting this application?

Setup Required Parties

There can be a number of different parties associated with an application. However, every application requires an Applicant, and at least 1 Unit Owner. Each of these parties has specific forms that they must complete.

In this section we ask you to set up the applicant and unit owner(s).

If there is more than one applicant (eg: Husband and Wife), enter any one as the primary applicant: you can setup the other(s) as co-applicants in the next section.

If you are completing the application on another parties’ behalf, you will be asked for documentation to verify that this person has granted you the authority.

You will also have the opportunity to setup adult occupants, guarantors, brokers and attorneys in the next section.

It is important to understand that the process of setting up the applicant and unit owner does not give them permission to see or edit each other's information. As a general rule, the unit owner(s) and their agents are never able to view or modify the applicant(s)'s personal or financial information. Brokers and attorneys are usually allowed to enter information and upload required documents on behalf of their clients, but applicants and unit owners must always log in and sign their own acknowledgements.

When you are setting up an applicant and unit owner, you will confirm the legal identity of the parties. By default each party will be set up as an individual. However you can change the identity of a party by selecting the legal entity type from the "Applying as a" dropdown. If you select something other than individual, you will be asked for the legal (trust, partnership or corporation) name, and should put the information of an authorized signer in the first, last and email address fields.

If you make a mistake while setting up the parties, don't worry you can always make changes by clicking "Edit" located next to the party's name.

Add Another Applicant/Unit Owner

Setup Additional Parties

The application you have selected for must be completed offline.

To download a sample pdf of this application please click on the "Download Sample Application PDF" button at the bottom of this page.

You will need to print the pdf, complete it manually and mail or messenger it to

Attn: Processing Department
FirstService Residential New York, Inc.
622 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
T: (212) 634-8900
F: (212) 634-3946

In accordance with the laws of New York City, Applicant is advised that information provided by Applicant may be used to obtain a tenant screening report (also known as a Consumer Report) from a Consumer Reporting Agency. The name and address of the Consumer Reporting Agency is:

11990 San Vicente Blvd., Ste 340
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Telephone: (866) 272-8400

In addition, on behalf of the Owner of the Building for which this application is being accepted (the "Owner"), we are notifying Applicant that, pursuant to federal and state law:

If the Owner takes an adverse action against Applicant on the basis of information contained in a tenant screening report, we must notify Applicant that such action was taken and supply the name and address of the consumer reporting agency that provided the tenant screening report on the basis of which such action was taken;

Any Applicant against whom adverse action is taken based on information contained in a tenant screening report has the right to inspect and receive a free copy of such report by contacting the consumer reporting agency;

Every Applicant is entitled to one free tenant screening report from each national consumer reporting agency annually in addition to a credit report that should be obtained from; and

Every Applicant may dispute inaccurate or incorrect information contained in a tenant screening report directly with the consumer reporting agency.

Previous Selections (Click edit to modify)

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text:
One man was killed and two were wounded in an early-morning shooting at a Brooklyn party yesterday, police said.

The violence broke out at the Three Bells Amusement Center on East 39th Street in East Flatbush at about 4:45 a.m.

A party of an estimated 50 people was going on in the rented locale — a large room behind an upholstery shop — when two 29-year-old men began arguing in the bathroom, cops said.

One of the men was thrown out, but soon returned with a .40-caliber handgun, police said.

He killed the other man with shots in the back and buttocks, police said.

In an ensuing scuffle, the gunman and a third man, who tried to seize the weapon, were each shot in the head. Both were taken to Kings County Hospital.

The gunman was listed in critical condition and the second victim, also 29, was in critical but stable condition. None of the three men were identified.

“I was surprised and shocked,” said Winston Peterson, owner of the East 39th Street building.

“I never had anything like that happen in my place before,” he said. “This is a nice neighborhood.”


text:
Ignoring our shrinking economy, Wall Street cheered the march on Baghdad to send stocks and the greenback soaring in a powerful victory rally felt around the world.

It was one of the strongest surges for battered markets both here and abroad since the war began two weeks ago.

Some analysts and economists think the gains could be short-lived if U.S. troops meet strong resistance entering the Iraqi capital and investors return to their worries over the weak economy.

“The thinking is that all of a sudden the U.S. is winning the war again. And if tomorrow something bad happens, it will be losing the war,” said Grant Wilson, vice president at Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh.

But for now, the U.S. military’s march to within 20 miles of the gates of Baghdad triggered heavy buying sprees for stocks in global markets.

It was the first session in a long while where every major stock market in the world soared into positive territory.

Led by tech stocks here, the rally sent the Nasdaq up 3.59 percent and lifted the Dow Jones industrial average 2.67 percent.

In Europe, where political opposition to the war is strong, gains were even higher, with Germany’s market up 5.68 percent, France’s up 4.13 percent, Milan’s up 3.19 percent and London’s up 1.86 percent.

Analysts said investors ignored a batch of negative economic reports yesterday to root for a quick end to the war.

The dismal data showed that factory orders fell a steep 1.5 percent in February, more than double the 0.6 percent dip expected.

Orders for other durable goods were revised, showing a bigger 1.6 percent drop. Even orders for nondurable goods slid 1.4 percent, surprising many analysts with the scope of the weakness.

The data reinforced suspicions that national output contracted in February, while surveys of manufacturing for March suggest the malaise deepened last month.

Leading the rally here were Microsoft, jumping 5.6 percent to $25.72, up $1.37, and Intel, which soared 6.7 percent to $17.52, up $1.10. The Dow gained 215.20 to 8,285.06, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 22.42 points, or 2.61 percent, to 880.90, while the Nasdaq rose 48.42 points to 1,396.72.

Trading was heavy on both the Big Board and Nasdaq, with about 1.6 billion shares traded on each.

Progress in the Iraqi fighting also sent the dollar gaining about 1.3 percent against the euro.

Dealers said economic developments would continue to take a backseat to news on Iraq, for now.

“If the war does end well and there does seem to be a renewed bit of confidence in the U.S., the dollar might be in good stead. But eventually we will have to go back to the old dynamics of capital flows and the U.S. current account deficit,” said Mellon Bank’s Wilson.

Oil, bonds and gold prices also slid over the Gulf war news.

Treasuries lost six days of gains, with the benchmark 10-year note shedding a full point in value, sending yields spiraling up to 3.93 percent from 3.81 percent a day earlier. Crude oil skidded here 5 percent, hitting $28.56 a barrel, down $1.22. Gold futures were down here 1.5 percent to $330.40 an ounce, $4.80 lower.

Traders bid up stocks yesterday as U.S.-led forces approached Baghdad, fueling hopes the war could end soon.

NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX: 1,396.72 (+48.42)


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Recovery & Support for Osteonecrosis

Regardless of whether you’ve been treated with medication or surgery, most people fully recover from osteonecrosis and are eventually able to use the affected joint without pain.

During and after treatment, our doctors, pain management specialists, and physical therapists provide continued care to help you feel better as quickly as possible.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is an important part of your recovery from osteonecrosis, whether your doctor recommends medication or surgery. If osteonecrosis has affected the hip or knee, you must use crutches and stay off your feet as your bones heal, which may lead to a weakening of the muscles in the thighs and legs.

Physical therapists at NYU Langone’s Rusk Rehabilitation can help you build strength in the muscles surrounding the affected joint, stabilizing and supporting the joint.

Our physical therapists can show you how to perform simple stretching and resistance exercises to improve flexibility and restore a full range of motion in the affected joint. Over time, physical therapy enables you to move easily and without pain.

The length of time doctors recommend physical therapy varies based on the location of the affected bone, the type of treatment your doctor prescribes, the extent of the osteonecrosis, and your overall health. Typically, doctors recommend 6 to 12 weeks of physical therapy. After that, they assess your progress to determine if additional therapy is needed. You may need to continue physical therapy for as long as a year to ensure a full recovery from osteonecrosis.

Tobacco Cessation

Research shows that smoking cigarettes and other forms of tobacco consumption slow the rate at which bones heal. Some insurance companies won’t cover a total joint replacement surgery unless you quit.

Our doctors understand how hard it is to stop smoking and offer Tobacco Cessation Programs to help you.

Quitting Drinking

If osteonecrosis resulted from excessive alcohol use, talk with your doctor about how to get the support you need to cut down on or quit drinking.

Weight Loss

Major joints like those in the hip and knee bear a significant amount of stress every time you stand up, walk, climb stairs, or run. This stress increases when you are overweight or obese. Maintaining a healthy weight can help speed recovery during physical therapy and can protect your hip and knee joints against additional injury.

Specialists at NYU Langone’s Weight Management Program offer support and guidance to help you lose weight. Maintaining a healthy weight can decrease the risk of complications after total joint replacement surgery and help ensure the longevity of the new joint.

More Osteonecrosis Resources

Meet Our Doctors

NYU Langone specialists provide care and support throughout your entire healthcare journey.

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Let Consciousness Be Your Master – Osho

You say: Go beyond the mind. Do not listen to its chatter. Discipline it and make it a servant. Do not be its slave. But how to know when the mind is being disciplined and when it is being repressed.

Prem Lisa, the difference is so great that it is impossible to miss it. Repression happens through fighting with your mind. Discipline happens through being watchful, aware, alert. In discipline, there is no fight implied. In discipline, there is no condemnation, no evaluation. One simply looks at the mind silently, seeing the whole traffic, without saying what is right and what is wrong, what should be and what should not be, just as, standing by the side of the road, you watch the people walking by – saints and sinners, beautiful people, ugly people, good people, bad people – but you are unconcerned. It has nothing to do with you; you are out of it.

That’s exactly the meaning of the English word “ecstasy”. Ecstasy means to be out of the mind. You are just looking, as one looks at the clouds moving in the sky or at the river flowing by – cool, detached. Neither are you trying to cling to something nor are you trying to push something away from you.

This is pure awareness: you are only a mirror. And in just being a mirror, the miracle happens – the miracle of discipline. Slowly, slowly, the traffic starts disappearing. Less and less thoughts are moving on the road; less and less pictures are appearing on the screen, less and less memories, fantasies. Gaps start appearing.

A mother was telling her child, “Be very careful when you go to school because the traffic is dangerous at rush hour time.”

The child said, “Don’t be worried. I always wait by the side of the road. When a gap comes by, then I cross the road.”

“When a gap comes by…” As you are looking at your mind you will be surprised: gaps come by, intervals when there is nothing to be seen. The observer remains alone and because it is alone it is no longer an observer either. You can’t call it an observer because there is nothing to observe. The mirror is there, but it is not reflecting anything. There is no duality of the seen and the seer. In these intervals discipline arises.

The word “discipline” is also beautiful. It is sometimes very significant to go to the roots of words. “Discipline” comes from a root which means learning. When you are looking at a gap, learning happens. Learning about what? Learning about yourself, because there is nothing else. You are full of awareness. You are just full of your own being, overflowing. And this experience of just being yourself, overflowing, undistracted by anything, undisturbed by anything, is the greatest learning, the greatest possibility of knowing the truth. This is discipline.

From the same root comes the word “disciple.” Disciple means one who is becoming capable of being utterly silent in the presence of the Master. The disciple is one who allows the interval to happen when he is with the Master. With the Master you are bridged only through silence; when there is nothing in your mind you are bridged. Something then transpires between the Master and the disciple. A flame jumps from the Master into the heart of the disciple. The unlit candle of the disciple suddenly becomes lit. All is joy and light and love, and a great dance arises.

Lisa, discipline can never be misunderstood as repression. Repressions are totally different. In repression you have already decided what is wrong – a priori decisions. In fact, others have decided for you what is wrong and what is right. Now you are simply trying to impose the ideas and opinions of others upon yourself. You will have to repress your nature. You will have to force that which is wrong – or which you have been told is wrong – deep into the unconscious. There will be a fight, great turmoil. Instead of bringing silence to you, every method of repression brings more turmoil.

That’s why the so-called religious people are more restless, more worried. You are worried only about this world; they are worried even about the other. You are worried only about this life, they are worried about many, many past lives and future lives. Your worries are nothing compared to the worries of the so-called religious people. And they are sitting on a volcano, because whatsoever is repressed is there; it is not destroyed.  Repression never destroys anything; you are simply sitting on top of it. And the danger is that you cannot sit on top of it for twenty-four hours a day; you have limitations. You will get tired, you will need some rest. And whenever you will be tired and you will need rest, repressions will start arising in you.

Hence, even your greatest saints go on thinking, fantasizing, dreaming about all those things that they have repressed.

Mahatma Gandhi has written in his autobiography: “I have been able to control my sexuality as far as my day is concerned, but in the night, in my dreams, it comes with a vengeance.” This he was writing at the age of seventy… a whole life of repression!

Yes, in the day you can somehow manage, but in the night, in the dreams, that which you have repressed in the day is bound to take revenge. It will come back, it will explode in you.

Hence, down the ages your saints have been very much afraid of sleep. They go on cutting down on their sleep – five hours, four hours, three hours, two hours. And the less they sleep the greater the danger, because all their repressions have to come in those two hours in a very condensed way. Then they are crowding in from everywhere. And people worship them! The less a saint sleeps, the more people worship him. They say, “Look how much he has sacrificed! What a great austerity he is doing – he is not even sleeping! Or he sleeps for only two hours or one hour.”

The reality is that he is afraid of sleep. And from where is the fear coming? The fear is coming from the fact that when you are awake you can control, but when you are asleep, who is there to control? The controller is asleep, is in a relaxed state. He cannot sit on top of all the repressions, and they will assert themselves.

So, Lisa, if you are fighting with anything, then it is not discipline. I don’t teach fight, I teach awareness. It is useless to fight with the darkness, utterly useless and stupid. Bring the light in. Why fight with darkness? And how can you ever hope to win by fighting with darkness? Bring the light in and the darkness is found no more.

You are surrounded by much darkness: greed, anger, jealousy, lust, ambition, ego. These are layers of darkness. If you start fighting with all these layers of darkness you are not going to win, because there is no way to fight with darkness directly. Darkness does not exist in the first place; it is only the absence of light. So if you want to do something with darkness, don’t try to do it directly, do something with light. If you want darkness, put the light out. If you don’t want darkness, put the light on. But do something with the light, forget about darkness. If the light is there, darkness is not there. If the light is not there, you cannot avoid darkness. You can close your eyes, you can try to forget about it, you can become occupied somewhere else, you can take your mind far, far away from it, but it is there all the same. And it will show in your acts, in your thoughts, in your behavior. It will come up again and again. You cannot hide it – it is impossible to hide it. The truth of your being, whatsoever it is, is bound to surface.

Lisa, become aware. And I am not saying what is wrong and what is right. I am simply saying: Be aware; or, awareness is right and unawareness is wrong. When you are aware, things will start changing of their own accord, and then the mind functions as a servant. It is a machine, a beautiful machine, one of the most complex machines invented by nature in thousands of years. Man has not yet been able to create anything comparable to it. Even the best computer is not yet so capable.

A single human mind can contain all the libraries of the world. It is almost infinite. Its capacity is great, its use is great, but it should be your servant not your master. As a servant it is beautiful; as a master it is dangerous.

Let consciousness be your master and mind your servant. It happens through awareness. And I am not telling you to control it, because all control is repression. I am not telling you to fight, because all fight is a sheer waste of energy. You are fighting with your own servant – you are wasting your energy. You need not fight with your servant, you have simply to say, “I am the master”; that’s all.

You have simply to be the master, that’s all, and the servant bows down. The servant immediately understands that the master has come in. And how does the master come in? The moment you become awake, the master comes in.

You ask me, Lisa:

You say: Go beyond the mind. Do not listen to its chatter. Discipline it and make it a servant. Don not be its slave. But how to know when the mind is being disciplined and when it is being repressed?

It is very simple. Nobody can ever mistake the two; nobody can ever confuse the two. They are so different – just like light and darkness, just like love and hate, just like flowers and thorns, just like poison and nectar. They are so totally different! But if you think about them you may get confused.

In thinking you cannot make the distinction. Don’t think about them – experiment, experience, and the distinction will be absolutely clear.

From Walking in Zen, Sitting in Zen, Chapter Three

Copyright© OSHO International Foundation

An MP3 audio file of this discourse can be downloaded from Osho.com, or you can read the entire book online at the Osho Library.

Many of Osho’s books are available online from Amazon.com and in the U.S. from OshoStore-Sedona and Osho Here and Now.

Release Those Devils – Osho

You said the other day to ignore negative mind contents and not give energy to them. I find it difficult to stay on the razor’s edge of ignoring without falling into suppressing and thus putting things back into the unconscious. Can you please tell me how to discriminate between these two?

You already know it. Your question contains the discrimination. You know perfectly well when you are ignoring and when you are suppressing.

Ignoring simply means not paying attention to it. Something is there; let it be there. You are unconcerned this way or that, whether it should remain or go. You have no judgment. You have simply accepted it is there, and it is none of your business whether it should be there or not.

In suppressing you are taking an active part. You are wrestling with that energy; you are forcing it into the unconscious. You are trying not to be able to see it anywhere. You want to know that it is no longer there.

For example, anger is there. Just sit silently and watch that the anger is there. Let it remain. How long can it remain? Do you think it is something immortal, eternal? Just as it has come, it will be gone. You simply wait. You don’t do anything about it, for or against. If you do something for, you are expressing it, and when you are expressing it you are getting into a mess because the other person may not be a meditator – most probably he will not be. He will also react with greater rage. Now you are in a vicious circle.

You are angry, you made the other angry, and you go on becoming angry with each other more and more. Sooner or later your anger will become almost a solid rock of hatred, violence, and while you are moving in this vicious circle you are losing consciousness. You may do something for which you will repent later on. You may murder, you may kill or at least you may attempt to. And after the episode is over you may wonder: “I had never thought that I could murder somebody!” But you created the energy, and energy can do anything. Energy is neutral: it can create, it can destroy; it can light your house, it can set your house on fire.

Ignoring means you are not doing anything about it. The anger is there. Just take note of it, that anger is there, just the way you see a tree is there outside. Do you have to do something about it? A cloud is moving in the sky; do you have to do something about it? Anger is also a cloud moving on the screen of your mind. So watch; let it move.

And it is not a question of being on a razor’s edge. Don’t make small things into big things. This is a very small thing and can be done very simply; you just have to accept that it is there. Don’t try to remove it, don’t try to act upon it, and don’t feel ashamed that you are angry. Even if you feel ashamed, you have started acting. Can’t you be a non-doer?

Sadness is there, anger is there: just watch. And be ready for a surprise; if you can watch, and your watchfulness is uncontaminated, is pure – you are really not doing anything but simply looking – the anger will slowly pass by. The sadness will disappear, and you will be left with such a clean consciousness.

You were not so clean before because the possibility of anger was there. Now that possibility has become actual and it is gone with the anger. You are far cleaner. You were not so silent, so peaceful; now you are. Sadness had taken up some energy. It would not have allowed you a deep sense of happiness, it would have clouded your consciousness.

And all the other negative emotions are eating your energy. They are all there because you have repressed them, and they are repressed so you don’t let them out. You have closed the door and you have put them in the basement; they cannot escape. Even if they want to escape, you won’t let them out. And they will disturb your whole life. In the night they will become nightmares, ugly dreams. In the day they will affect your actions.

And there is always a possibility that some emotion may become too big to control. You have been repressing and repressing and repressing, and the cloud is becoming bigger. And a point comes when you cannot control it anymore. Then something happens, which the world will see as you doing, but only those who know can see you are not doing it: you are under a very great impulsive force. You are behaving like a robot; you are helpless.

You are murdering, you are raping, you are doing something ugly, but in fact you are not doing it. You have collected all that material which has become so powerful that now it can force you to do things – things in spite of you, things against you. Even while you are doing it you know it is not right. You know, “I should not be doing it. Why am I doing it?” but still you will do it.

Many murderers in many courts of the world have said very honestly that they have not murdered. But the court cannot believe it, the law cannot believe it. I can believe it – because the courts and the law are all primitive. They have not come to maturity. They are not yet psychologically based. They are simply the revenge of the society – put into beautiful words, but it is really nothing but the same thing the man has done… he has murdered, now the society wants to murder him.

He was alone. But the society has the law, the court, the police, the jail. And it will go through a long ritual to prove to itself, “We are not murdering the man, we are simply trying to prevent crime.” But this is not the fact. If you want to prevent crime, then your law should be based more on psychology, psychoanalysis, meditation. Then you will be able to see that no man has ever done anything wrong, just your whole society is wrong.

The society is wrong because it teaches people to repress, and when they repress there comes a point when what they have repressed starts overflowing and they are simply helpless. They are victims. All your criminals are victims, and all your judges and all your politicians and priests are criminals. But this has been going on for centuries so it has become accepted.

Don’t do anything, just ignore… and it is not difficult, it is a very simple phenomenon. For example, this plant is here. Can’t you ignore it? Do you have to do something about it? There is no need to do anything about it.

Just take a look at the contents of your mind from a distance, just a little distance, so that you can see, “This is anger, this is sadness, this is anguish, this is anxiety, this is worry,” and so on and so forth. Let them be there. ”I am unconcerned. I am not going to do anything for or against.” And they will start disappearing.

And if you can learn a simple thing, of letting these things disappear from the conscious, you will have such a clarity of consciousness… your vision will be so penetrating, your insight so far-reaching that not only will it change your individuality, it will allow the repressed contents in the unconscious to surface. Seeing that you have learned not to repress, things are moving out. They want to go out into the world.

Nobody wants to live in your basement in the darkness. Seeing that you are allowing things to move out, they need not wait for the night when you are asleep; they will start coming up. You will see them coming up from the basement of your being and moving out from your consciousness. Slowly your unconscious will be empty.

And this is the miracle, the magic: if the unconscious is empty, the wall between the conscious and unconscious collapses. It all becomes consciousness. First you had only one-tenth of your mind conscious; now you have all ten parts together conscious. You are ten times more conscious. And the process can go deeper; it can release the collective unconscious. The key is the same. It can release the cosmic unconscious.

And if you can clean all the unconscious parts below your consciousness, you will have such a beautiful awareness that to enter into the superconscious will be as easy as a bird taking wing.

It is your open sky. It is just that you were so loaded… so much weight that you could not fly. Now there is no weight. You are so light that gravitation loses its force over your mind; you can fly to the superconscious, to the collective conscious, to the cosmic conscious.

Godliness is within your reach. You just have to release the devils you have been keeping in your consciousness, forcing them into unconsciousness. Release those devils, and godliness is within your reach. And both things can happen together: as the lower part is cleaned, the upper world becomes available to you. And remember, again I say, it is a simple process.

From The Path of the Mystic, Chapter 35

Path of the Mystic

Copyright© OSHO International Foundation

An MP3 audio file of this discourse can be downloaded from Osho.com, or you can read the entire book online at the Osho Library.

Many of Osho’s books are available online from Amazon.com and in the U.S. from OshoStore-Sedona and Osho Here and Now.


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Ocean City Today

Lend helping hand to Harvey victims

Aug 31, 2017

printed 09/01/2017

As is the custom in these parts when tragedy strikes elsewhere, northern Worcester County residents are preparing to do what they can to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Following this tradition is one of the few times when it is perfectly acceptable to say, “That’s how we’ve always done it.” One reason for our propensity for charitable giving following weather-related disasters is that, as coastal residents ourselves, we know we might one day be on the receiving end of a similar calamity.

Giving, however, can be confusing because the rise of so many fund drives and appeals in the aftermath of these tragedies makes it difficult to discern where our contributions are actually going.

To that end, Charity Navigator at www.charitynavigator.org can help. It rates thousands of charities, and has established a Hurricane Harvey section that lists multiple legitimate ways to give.

Among them, obviously, are the American Red Cross, the United Way, the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, as well as Houston-area charities, including the Houston Food Bank and the Houston SPCA.

Locally, Shamrock Realty of Ocean Pines has launched a clothing drive (see ad on page 42) and other businesses and organizations will follow with their own campaigns.

As this happens, the Bayside Gazette and Ocean City Today will provide free advertising space and layout services for all legitimate efforts to help.

Call either office and we’ll go to work for the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

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Time Person of The Year: It’s You!

YOU were named TIME magazine ‘Person of the Year’ Saturday for the explosive growth and influence of user-generated Internet content such as ‘blogs’, video-file sharing site YouTube and social network MySpace… You — YES, YOU — beat out candidates including Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, China’s President Hu Jintao, North Korean leader Ki

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Wednesday, October 28 • 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Developing applications with Open Data & App Studio

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During this course will address how to create and build a mobile application that uses open data using a free tool (App Studio). Finally we show how to publish it in the app store Microsoft.

Wednesday October 28, 2015 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Palacio de Minería Calle de Tacuba 5, Centro, Mexico CIty

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• Do you wish your dog listened better to you?
  • Does your dog’s behavior appear dominant, bossy or out of control?
  • Are you sick of your dog not listening?

We understand how you feel. You are in the right place, and we can definitely help you.

Call or e-mail us now

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At age 8, I received my first puppy from a free puppy litter up the street in Garrettsville, Ohio.

She became my best friend and I enjoyed training her cute tricks.

When I got older I joined dog 4-H in Portage County and attended many obedience shows in Ohio.

More About Johanna, the Trainer

Ohio Dog Training Success Stories:

Colleen O’Donnell Studzinski from Hudson, Ohio
As first time dog owners my husband and I needed some help training over energetic puppy! After a couple of weeks, our friends and my husband and I noticed a huge change for the better in our puppy! The training classes helped and changed our busy lives for the best!!!!
Phillip Blevins with Sammy (Pit Bull Terrier)
As I was learning to train Sammy, there were times I felt lost and hesitant. Johanna easily noticed this hesitancy and helped shift my energy so that Sammy and my energy field’s were in alignment. I noticed when my attitude and my emotions were playful, I was able to manifest a faster response with Sammy’s behavior.
Tawni Hanseen and Todd Harman with Sadie (Yellow Labrador)
Johanna is amazing! She has helped us better understand our dog Sadie and has taught us how to get Sadie to do what we want. She even makes training fun. We live together much more peacefully now thanks to Johanna teaching us how to get Sadie’s attention. We would be lost without her. Thanks Johanna!
Paula Carl with Silly Billy and Princess Gus
She has been a real lifesaver! She has come to my home so patiently, week after week, trying to get me to learn the behaviors that I need to live happily with Silly Billy and Gus. She has been extremely prompt, professional and knowledgeable. She encourages me when I get discouraged, is optimistic when I feel down, and has generally become a real friend.


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Kickstart your summer reading with Open Wounds, Secret Obsessions

A Special Message to my blog readers:

I wanted to let you know that my book of short stories, Open Wounds, Secret Obsessions, has just been published. It’s available as a trade paperback (print on demand) on and as an e-book on Kindle. Click on the link below to preview the book and get your copy:\c+secret+obsessions&keywords=open+wounds%2C+secret+obsessions&ie=UTF8&qid=1371246169

To celebrate the launch, I’m offering the Kindle e-book version of Open Wounds, Secret Obsessions as a free download from June 21 to June 25.

Here’s the back cover description of the book:

“This remarkable collection of fourteen short stories introduces a powerful new voice in literary fiction. In each of these compelling narratives, Canadian author Linda Joyce Ott creates a deceptively smooth surface where ogres and monsters lurk below. Her characters mysteriously pass from normalcy into serious obsession, if not madness, and the reader is never quite able to say when this happens.

Linda’s special talent for writing instinctively with enormous gut-feeling gives these poignant stories their amazing power. Her refined sense of understatement, direct style, and a keen eye for the telling detail combine to reveal complete worlds of inner turmoil. Vivid descriptions reveal an author who is observant, savvy, and possesses a wicked sense of humour.

Linda Joyce Ott tells a good story with dazzling simplicity. You will delight in discovering this unique voice in these emotionally intense stories.”

Please let me know what you think of the stories. I appreciate your feedback.

Happy Reading! Linda

About the Optimism of Color Blog

Every Tuesday and Friday,  I’m posting a photo or piece of art that I’ve created that reflects what I call the Optimism of Color. Through vibrant colors and bold visceral forms, these works shout out my joy at being alive, and my good fortune at being able to continue to make art after a near death experience.

Each of the images I post brings a smile to my face. I hope they bring you similar joy and laughter through the Optimism of Color.

All photos © Linda Joyce Ott, 2013
Links may be used provided that credit is given to

One comment on “Kickstart your summer reading with Open Wounds, Secret Obsessions”

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Father’s Day is Coming! http://ow.ly/i/

Father’s Day is Coming! http://ow.ly/i/2l6hd

Osteria Warwick Opens

Yesterday marked the opening of Osteria Del Chianti’s fifth restaurant, Osteria Warwick.  Osteria Warwick is a timely addition to Osteria’s rapidly growing brand and a delightful, happy New Year’s gift for Italian food lovers.

osteria warwick glistens in elegance

Italian cuisine at Osteria Warwick

Osteria Warwick is a picture of charm and delight. Located on the ground floor of the Warwick Centre on United Nations avenue, the restaurant’s seaside blue ambience makes you feel right at home.

Inspired by the cult surfing film ‘Big Wednesday’, a surfboard rests above the bar and pictures from the movie adorn the walls.   With both indoor seating for raining days, and an outside terrace with umbrella covering, the restaurant is an ideal stop for business lunches or supper and cocktails with friends.

Osteria’s trademark menu offers you the finest in Italian cuisine At Warwick however, we have added a little extra ‘international’ twist to the menu where you will also find exceptional sushi,teppanyaki and paella.

The chef will be more than delighted to prepare the teppanyaki while you watch the orange flames augmented by the pleasant aroma, or sit back and observe our sushi chefs hard at work in their open sushi bar.

Fancy a bit of retail therapy whilst you wait for your meal? Upstairs sits a gallery of fine paintings that is well worth a visit!

osteria del chianti warwick nairobi

Dine in style at Osteria Warwick

All our menu items, including sushi, are available for takeaway and delivery. Delivery is free within 5km of the restaurant. Please visit http://www.osteriatakeaway.com for more information and how to order.

The restaurant is open from 10:30 am to 11.00 pm 7 days a week so come and treat yourself to the magic of Osteria Warwick.

Fine wine & Dining at convenient locations in Nairobi.

Osteria has a unique sophisticated charm that appeals to its many regulars who continue to increase in number. Located in the most pleasant surrounding, offering elegant and refined personalized service, Osteria Del Chianti is a unique and authentic Italian Restaurant, situated along Lenana Road.

Welcome to Osteria

Welcome to Osteria

A taste of Italian in Nairobi

  • Lunches
  • dinners
  • Birthdays
  • Weddings
  • Evening parties
  • Wine tasting Parties
  • Corporate Functions
  • Product launches
  • Outside Catering
  • Pizza Delivery
  • Ice – cream Delivery
  • Rent a cab service
  • Excursions, Safaris and Tours
  • Photo Shoots on our locations


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DEVONthink To Go 2.1.3 uses new declutterer and brings automation

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - DEVONtechnologies today is proud to announce the release of DEVONthink To Go 2.1.3, an update to the company's iOS companion to DEVONthink for Mac, with enhancements and bug fixes. Take your databases with you and organize your documents on the go. Synchronize your data directly on the local network, via Dropbox, or any WebDAV server. Strong encryption keeps your private data private.

Version 2.1.3 uses DEVONtechnologies' new decluttering service for clipping web pages and adds new settings for PDFs. It also improves automation with new URL commands and x-callback-url support. A new smart group lists all items that have comments, and email attachments are now shown separately so that they can be viewed and shared. The Apple Pencil support for PDF annotations has been improved too. The update is free and recommended for all users.

Following its Mac counterpart, DEVONthink To Go 2.1.3 replaces the use of Instapaper for decluttering clipped web pages and articles. Our own new web service makes the app independent from third-party services and is prepared for future improvements.

Viewing PDFs in DEVONthink To Go becomes more comfortable with two new settings. Continuous scrolling allows to maintain the zoom level while browsing PDFs. And users of smaller iPads can let the app display only one page at a time instead of two next to each other in landscape orientation. Working with email messages has been improved, too, with attachments listed separately so that users can view and share them.

Other usability enhancements in version 2.1.3 include better Apple Pencil support for annotating PDFs and improved searching while typing. A new smart group lists items with comments. In addition, it's now possible to copy item links for databases. This makes it possible to, e.g., open them from OmniFocus tasks or Calendar entries. Switching away from DEVONthink To Go saves documents without ending editing mode. This makes it more comfortable to look something up in another app while working on a document.

Automation on iOS:
It's still treated as an orphan on iOS: automation. Workflow, the app that was just acquired by Apple, and custom URL schemes are currently your best bet for automating repetitive tasks across apps. DEVONthink To Go 2.1.3 greatly enhances the existing set of URL commands. New calls allow users to add documents, retrieve item data, and search their databases. Using the x-callback-url scheme all commands also return data to the calling app if needed.

"Our users are power users," comments Eric Bohnisch-Volkmann, DEVONtechnologies' President. "They make heavy use of all aspects of their devices, and they don't like to do the same thing over and over again. With DEVONthink To Go 2.1.3 we support the available initiatives for creating automated workflows on iOS with an extended set of URL and x-callback-url commands."

The update also improves the responsiveness and reliability, and fixes bugs and glitches. It's free for existing users and highly recommended.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
* Requires iOS 9.1 or later
* 103 MB

Pricing and Availability:
DEVONthink To Go 2.1.3 is $14.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Productivity category. Some features require a one-time in-app purchase. Customers find more information about our apps on the DEVONtechnologies website. Eric Bohnisch-Volkmann also posts news, opinions, previews, and public betas in his blog Devonian Times.

DEVONthink To Go 2.1.3
Purchase and Download
Devonian Times
App Icon

DEVONtechnologies LLC creates end-user and server applications for the Mac and iOS platforms that enhance productivity, organization, and user experience with unique artificial intelligence technology. All applications are focused on both ease of use and satisfying the needs of even the most savvy users. The underlying DEVONtechnology is a flexible and versatile foundation that can be used for a large range of purposes from databases, data mining, and information retrieval to human-computer interfaces. DEVONtechnologies LLC was founded 2002 and incorporated 2004, and is today headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2017 DEVONtechnologies LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh and Mac OS X are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.

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otago massacre

cheap home made alcohol by ophalm
February 13, 2009, 6:06 am
Filed under: guide, student life | Tags: , , , ,

it’s entirely possible you are on a super tight budget. concepts such as “warmth” and “nutrition” are luxuries you can’t afford, and while some would say alcohol too was a luxury, it’s life giving properties and pain numbing sensations has proved it extremely worth while and a must-have in anyones survival kit

there is a problem though: alcohol costs money. this is a simple fact of life that can’t be escaped unless you’re one of those pricks who turns up to a party with no drink and get given drinks out of sheer pity (a noble cause, don’t get me wrong). ideally the cheaper the drink the better, right? you can bang on down to north dunedin super liquor and get some southern gold for $1 a can, or maybe go to paknsave and get some cheap wine, but that would require going to south dunedin, or you could make your own.. or you could just complain about it to the internet. (always listening, never caring)

so as luck would have it, a magical recipe for ginger beer has fallen into my hands. and when I say “recipe” I don’t so much mean it in the sense of “pancake recipe” but more “p recipe” because it’s all about chemical reactions and getting on the waste

ginger beer is not normally an alcoholic drink, but any form of fermentation is going to create some alcohol and here is a lesson in chemistry:

fermentation: yeast in anaerobic conditions converts sugar to co2 + ethanol.

lesson over

so to start how do we make ginger beer?

now if we wanted to do it the very easy way, basically, put some sugar (I’ll get to the amount later) in an empty coke bottle, luke warm water, a teaspoon to a tablespoon of ginger powder and a 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. put the lid on and leave for a day. that’s it. when you open the lid you have to be careful as an insane amount of co2 has built up and it’ll take a couple of minutes of letting the fizz out… so you’ll have a nice tasting ginger beer that’s fizzy

the problem with the above recipe is that when the co2 builds up past a certain level, the reaction stops and no more sugar is converted to co2 + ethanol.. bad news for those addicted to alcohol
so the trick is to let the co2 out – but not let o2 in (otherwise the reaction will aerobic and won’t make ethanol)
so all I’ve done is attach a small rubber tube to the lid (sealed n shit), and I’m gonna dangle it in water, so no air can come in, but the co2 can escape and allow the reaction to go to completion

will this work? will anything I ever guide you to do work? it’s a question that can’t be answered. it’s entirely possible that the reaction will need a bit of heat to get it going/keep it going. why is this? I don’t know because I’m not a brewer.. I’ve found if I put the bottle in a pot of hot water it gets it going again. apparently this “yeast” likes heat. it also makes heat sometimes. why it can’t make all the heat it needs for itself is beyond me but you’ve got to work with what you’re given.

so how alcoholic is it? I used some form of poor stoiciometry to work out that you needed 2 cups of sugar (~400g) in 1.5L bottle and that would make 3.5 standard drinks but I was wrong.
apparently the rule is 17g of sugar per % per litre. so if you want 1.5L of 5% then that’s 17 x 1.5 x 5 = 127g of sugar. I made one with my method before I realised how to do it properly and used 400g so my drink is going to be about 15% (or 7 std drinks in a 1.5L) but I’m not sure how high you can make it before the yeast stops working, probably around 15% or so, or maybe less, so mine will just be sweet (literally)

I’ve yet to work out a cost for this, but $6 for 5kg that’s probably gonna cost $8 all up for ~100-120 standard drinks, ringing in at about 12 drinks per $. in fact that’s so insane my maths must be wrong

and it’s even possible to make it taste good (this requires effort – something this guide does not)

brew time


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otago massacre

Blondes have more Fun by loisweathers
May 28, 2009, 3:43 pm
Filed under: philosophy | Tags: , , , ,

poasted by lois weathers

So recently I have dyed my hair blonde. I would like to say I did so as an experiment that I could then base this amazing article on, but unfortunatly the main reason for the drastic dye was severe peer pressure from a friend of mine; thanks Van. And im going to share with you the exciting new things that happened to me as a blonde.

from this

First I would like you all to know I wasnt kinda blonde and just went a wee bit lighter, I had dark brown hair and its now like a white blonde. I just want to advise children not to do this at home, it burns like something really sore and ouchy and *@$#%^ mainly just pay the money and get a professional. But for those of you who are cheap and keen for a fun exciting bonding experiance with your bestest friend then might I suggest “myhd”, they sell it at that new life pharmacy in the new mall and you can use it several times to get rid of that nasty re-growth. Be sure to get a toner as well to make it actually blonde because the peroxide just turnes it white. Talk to the lady she’s very helpful.

to this

to this

But the question you brunetts are all asking me is “Is life truely greener on the other side”. And in my honest opinion, after the burny and the ouchy. . . ITS FUCKING AMAZING! DO IT DO IT NOW. Being blonde is amazing, people look at you like your automatically hot and good in bed. One week after I went blonde I was getting some (and not candy) from this really good looking guy that I had been working on (as a brunett) for quiet some time. No, actually not one week, NO OMG now that I remember, it was actually first time he saw me with blonde hair. Thats how well it worked!!

from this

People notice you when you walk down the street and to be honest Im pretty sure they’re all undressing me with their eyes. The other day a good looking guy bought me a drink and asked me to dance at this gig we were at. This shit never happened to me when I was a brunett!!! At the present I am testing if it is my personal reaction to myself as a blonde that is making me seem more attractive to the opposite sex (I feel better about myself so others are attracted to that), or if it is in fact just the blonde. I’ll keep you updated. And boys who read this could you post if blonde hair is really attractive or if it her “personality”.

to this

The main issue with the blonde is that im killing my hair follicles and am constantly paranoid my hair is going to fall out, and I know I wont be able to keep it up forever and will soon have to go back to the dull dull life of a brunett. But if you are brown or black haired and reading this.. Be happy with who you are, your beautiful no matter what I say and my words wont bring you down 😀

news watch 20/02/09 by ophalm
February 20, 2009, 8:59 am
Filed under: entertainment, horrible, mockery | Tags: , ,

we read the news because you can’t (illiteracy strikes 1 in 5 nz adults)

so anyway continuing with our theme of hating on psuedoscience here’s chiropracty
now chiropracty isn’t totally evil by definition. apparently some people really may have something wrong with their spine and it can help. but claiming your immune system attacks you because your spine is out line is total and utter bullshit please society stop being such retards! stop paying for this shit immediately

so for a change from bad to good
here’s some strippers! this isn’t really all that funny but it’s kinda sexy and I just want to remind all the ladies out there that if they need some extra cash and have little to no morals here is an opportunity. also somewhere to get sluts for a stag do, because nothing says “monogamy” like prostitutes.

and just like captain cook here’s more scat fanatics

this will be taken so far out of context it's not even funny

this will be taken so far out of context

so this is a band “the biff merchants” who “have just one thing on their minds: public toilets“… “say the best thing about touring is ‘definitely public toilets‘”… “see if the public toilets in the north island have the same song [inside lingo for glory holes? – ed] playing in them as the south island ones”…
they’re playing at orientation on march 6. if you go to their concert may I suggest a poncho


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Polling Shows Democrats Should Campaign On Corporate Patriotism

Dave Johnson

You may have heard about corporations renouncing their US “citizenship” in order to avoid paying taxes for the infrastructure, courts, police and military protection on which they rely, the schools which their employees send their kids — even the food stamps and other government assistance which some of their extremely-low-wage employees receive.

Polling shows that the public is outraged. The President and Democrats should use this as a top campaign issue this fall.

Corporations are using a gimmicky tax loophole with the technical name “inversions” to abandon their US citizenship. They buy or merge with a company in a tax-haven country and then pretend that company is now the owner of them. They keep all the same employees, buildings and customers here but stop paying all kinds of taxes they would otherwise (or already) owe — including “deferred” taxes on non-US profits.

Part Of A Larger Problem Of Corporations Avoiding Taxes

This is just part of a larger corporate taxation problem. In addition to inversions, corporations currently are allowed to “defer” (forever) paying taxes on profits made outside of the country, so they move jobs, factories, call centers, profit centers and everything they can out of the country. Corporations pit our states and cities against each other extorting breaks and subsidies with a promise to bring jobs (which of course come from somewhere else so there is no net gain to the economy, only loss of revenue with which to fund schools, etc.) Corporate cash influences our government demanding tax breaks and subsidies.

As a result of these and other corporate tax avoidance/breaks/subsidies the corporate share of the federal “tax burden” has fallen from about 30% in the 1950s to about 10% now. Guess who has to make up the rest? (Hint: it’s you and me.)

So while there is a bigger problem than just these “inversions,” the idea of American corporations renouncing their citizenship to get out of paying for the services that they will still be using has pushed public opinion over the edge.

Polling Is Very Clear. The Public Hates This.

The polling is clear. An August poll highlighted by Americans for Tax Fairness found that “Over two-thirds of likely voters disapprove of corporate inversions, including 86% of Democrats, 80% of Independents and 69% of Republicans.”

Morning Consult breaks down this poll a little further, writing: “Disapproval was consistent despite education level. Nearly 8 in 10 respondents across all education levels disapprove of tax inversions. Those with a post-grad degree had the highest intensity of disapproval, with 47 percent indicating that they ‘strongly disapprove’ of tax inversions. This was 10 percentage points higher than other education levels.”

Other polls also show that the more general issue of corporate taxes is potentially huge for the 2014 elections.

For example, by 67% to 31% voters believe “we should end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs and profits offshore, and level the playing field for small businesses that create jobs in America.” But in July Senate Republicans filibustered a bill that would do just that.

But wait, there’s more. By 79% to 17%, voters want to, “Close tax loopholes to ensure that American corporations pay as much on foreign profits as they do on profits made in the United States.”

By 83% to 13% voters want to, “Increase taxes on the profits that American corporations make overseas, to ensure they pay as much on foreign profits as they do on profits made in the United States.”

President And Democrats Trying To Fix This

The President and Democrats are trying to do something about this, calling for “Economic Patriotism” from our corporations.

The President is proposing taking executive action to stop “income stripping” and other measures that are within the administration’s power. One idea is an executive action to “prevent companies from reincorporating abroad if they are owned by at least 50% of the former U.S. parent’s stockholders (the current threshold is 80%). He would also require that the new foreign corporation be primarily managed and controlled from abroad.”

Meanwhile in Congress, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) has introduced the Stop Corporate Inversions Act of 2014 and Representative Sander Levin (D-Mich.) has introduced a companion bill. (Call or write to your Representative and Senators and let them know you support these bills!)

Blocked By Republicans

But these Democratic efforts are being fought by the Republican propaganda machine. They will be blocked by Republican filibusters in the Senate and by the Republican leadership’s refusal to allow the issue to come up for a vote in the House — because it would pass.

This effort by Democrats to do something about this is a clear contrast with Republican efforts to help these companies leave the country. It should be a major campaign plus for Democrats this fall.

Note — In the post, A Simplified Way To Tax Multinational Corporations, I wrote about a report by District Economics Group economist Michael Udell that “offered a bold new alternative that is so radically simple that even the most clever corporate tax accountant would have a hard time finding a way around its fair and universal proposition.” Simply put, we just measure what percent of a company’s sales occur in the US, and tax that same percentage of that company’s worldwide profits at the US rate. This gets rid of the data-gathering problems in getting companies to pay their fair share of taxes on their profits while they pretend their profits were made somewhere else. Also, it would apply to companies from any country, making “inversions” irrelevant. Please click and read that post for details.

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Wednesday, 31 July 2013

Fresh Cut Florals from Wplus9

Quick post of a card that I made yesterday. I'm loving the Fresh Cut Floral stamp set from Wplus9! So cute and so versatile.

Stamped a PTI Kraft cardstock panel with the Hero Arts/Basic Grey Woodgrain Background stamp with Fresh Ink Paper White. Then I impressed it using PTI's Vertical Chevron Cover Plate. Cut two circles with some Spellbinder dies (one from PTI Vintage Cream cardstock; one from PTI Soft Stone pp). The flowers and leaves were diecut from PTI Vintage Cream cardstock and stamped with Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado, Sweet Blush, Melon Berry, Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet (all PTI) and Sugar (from Fresh Ink). Banner is from a Simon Says Stamp die, stamped in Versafine Black with one of the sentiments from the Fresh Cut Floral set.

This is one stamp set that I'm going to be using often!

Thanks for visiting!

Thursday, 25 July 2013

Papertrey Ink July 2013 Blog Hop

This month there is a colour challenge for the PTI blog hop. Lots of super delicious combinations to choose from! I really wanted the chance to do some stamping for it, but unfortunately the last two weeks have been super busy for me. I managed to squeak out one card last night. My inspiration was this combo:

And this is what I came up with:

Of course it didn't start out like this! (Does it ever?) My original idea just wasn't working and somehow I ended up with this. Absolutely everything (except the black sequins) is from Papertrey.

Thanks for visiting.

Friday, 12 July 2013

Papertrey Ink Make It Monday #124

Dressing up your envelopes. That's the challenge this week. First up is my card:

Next is the envelope. I actually had to make an envelope (with the We R Memory Makers envelope punch board) because the little banners on my card exceed an A2 envelope:

And next is card with envelope:

Cardstock: PTI Rustic Cream, Vintage Cream
Stamps: PTI Birthday Style, Big Ticket Basics, To You From Me
Ink: PTI Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise, Ripe Avocado; Fresh Ink Strawberry, Island, Provincial Gray
Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Dear Lizzy
Dies: PTI Big Ticket Basics, Birthday Style; MFT Fishtail Stax
Other: Silhouette Cameo (banners); Teresa Collins enamel dots


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Board (or Bored) Meetings

“Hedley Lamarr: ‘Meeting adjourned. Oh, I am sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to overstep my bounds. You say that.’
Governor Lepetomane: ‘What?’
Hedley Lamarr: ‘Meeting is adjourned.’
Governor Lepetomane: ‘It is?’
Hedley Lamarr: ‘No, you say that, Governor.’
Governor Lepetomane: ‘What?’
Hedley Lamarr: ‘Meeting is adjourned.’
Governor Lepetomane: ‘It is?’”
Dialogue from Blazing Saddles by Mel Brooks

You would laugh if I told you how many board meetings I have attended where the disorganization and lack of discipline reminded me of this scene from one of my favorite movies. I am amazed when entrepreneurs really go out of their way to recruit qualified people to join their board (regular or advisory) only to subject them to a dysfunctional meeting which in essence, negates the benefit these valuable resources can bring to the table. I cringe when I see them roll their eyes.

But all is not lost. There are three things I would suggest you focus on to convert these wasted opportunities into meaningful events.

First, bifurcate the formal “approval” portion of the meeting. Instead of interspersing required approvals with topics which might result in robust exchanges, have all the standard approval agenda items covered in a succinct manner. Now I do not mean to imply that you should give short shrift to key items that require discussion, but those that have been fully discussed and vetted should be the subject of brief motions and approvals so proper time can be spent on more significant issues.

Second, distribute information on key topics in advance. I once watched a pretty successful owner get dressed down by a Board for distributing a 20-page budget at a meeting and asking for immediate approval. The more he tried to limit discussion, the worse it became. A simple rule of thumb; if it is more than 2 pages, send it in advance.

Finally, don’t forget to discuss “future state.” So many of the meetings seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time discussing current state that there is either no time (or participants are too exhausted) to cover developments like pending paradigm shifts. This usually happens with financial statements which though distributed in advance, seem to be destined to be discussed on a line-by-line basis. If you find this happening to you, take notes at two meetings noting common questions (and they will be apparent) and then use that information to prepare a summary that will accompany the financials distributed in advance. Surprising how that may help.

One side note. Good entrepreneurs are in contact with their board members in between meetings to get their temperature on various hot issues. It is always worthwhile knowing what the “judges” will find important before presenting a case.

So the simple advice is to spend a little time managing your board in this manner and you will turn those “bored” meetings into memorable gatherings of these valued advisors.


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Commercial on Demand Water Heater Installation

Serving Vancouver WA | Portland OR

Commercial on Demand Water Heater From Pacific Plumbing And Drain Services in Vancouver WA and Portland ORMany business owners consider tankless water heaters a great asset for their operations. The use of this equipment continues to grow as more companies switch from conventional storage tank designs to on demand water heaters. The energy savings can be as high as 30 percent. Tankless, or continuous flow, water heaters have a long life span and are manufactured with recyclable replacement parts. This means that the service repairs are quicker and easier to perform than those required for conventional storage tank systems.

Advantages of a Commercial On Demand Water Heaters

Commercial businesses need hot water for showers, washing machines and dishwashers. These newer systems are mounted near the faucet. This eliminates the problem of water being wasted down the drain while waiting for it to heat up. In addition to utility cost savings, other benefits of tankless water heaters include:

  • They can be installed almost anywhere.
  • There is an endless supply of hot water.
  • The equipment is more environmentally friendly than traditional equipment.
  • There is now open space where the older storage tanks were installed.

Why Wait for Water?

Traditional storage tank water heaters often have a difficult time keeping up with high demands for hot water. No matter how large the tank is, it eventually runs out of stored, pre-heated water. Available in various sizes, commercial on demand water heaters can meet any demand for hot water. The unit may be the size of a suitcase. A tankless unit provides hot water faster and keeps supplying it as long as the faucet is turned on.

Installation Requirements

The tankless water reservoir can be mounted on an interior or exterior wall. The compact design enables it to be installed in tight-fitting spaces, attics or crawlspaces, which frees up more open space for storage or other uses. This is another benefit as square footage is often at a premium in many facilities. A professional commercial plumber in can evaluate a company’s hot water needs, determine which commercial on demand water heater fits those requirements and recommend a point of installation for the best service.

Commercial On Demand Water Heaters in Vancouver WA and Portland OR

Serving Clients in the Vancouver WA Metro Area:
Vancouver | Salmon Creek | Battle Ground | Ridgefield | Camas | Washougal | East Vancouver | West Vancouver | Hazel Dell | Cascade Park | Felida | Lake Shore | Hockinson | Mill Plain | Brush Prairie

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Puppy tongue

Adriana Lima‘s 21-month-old daughter, Valentina, speaks three languages, but only speaks English to their dog, Ivy. The model bragged about Valentina’s trilingual skills at a Victoria’s Secret launch of the new Showstopper bra Tuesday morning in Herald Square.

Lima said her daughter knows Serbian and Portuguese, but still talks to their Maltese in English, saying things like “come now” to get the puppy to follow her around. Brazilian-born Lima is married to Serbian pro basketball player Marko Jaric.

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Rappy’s RPG Reviews: BESM d20

01 Jun

Hello again readers! For today’s review, I’ll be stepping a bit out of my comfort zone with a rendition of d20 rules that are departed from the d20 Star Wars series, Dungeons and Dragons and d20 Modern: Big Eyes Small Mouth d20 by the now-defunct Guardians of the Order. For those of you that don’t know, Big Eyes Small Mouth (often referred to simply as BESM) was originally a tristat system that still lives on in White Wolf’s buyout of the property. The d20 edition, however, was GoO’s attempt to be “hip” and “in” with the d20 scene despite their apparent snobbish nose-turning at the “inferior” system. How did they fare? Well, let’s look inside. Note that this isn’t a review of the tristat system BESM…I don’t own it, and unless you’re willing to shell out money for me to buy them, I’m not reviewing non-d20 products right now.

The Basics

At first glance, BESM d20 looks familiar…the recognizable 6 ability scores, feats, skills, classes…then you look in deeper instead of skimming. The first big difference you’ll note is a point-buy system. Now, while some use point-buy for ability scores and skills already (albeit separately and not together), BESM has it for abilities, feats, SPECIES…pretty much everything not based on classes or the like. Yes, it will cost you points you could place toward ability scores to be members of specific species. I may be “old fashioned”, but I just don’t get the point. Why pool abilities, feats, and of all things race/species together? It seems to be an unncessary lumping for the sake of a semblance of what Guardians of the Order believed to be “balance”. Most classes tend to have only a few unique abilities and many levels dedicated to beefing up said character points count to buy specific abilities.

Speaking of classes, there are 15 new classes for the system. With names like Gun Bunny, Sentai Member, Pet Monster Trainer, you can rest assured that no anime stereotype stone is left unturned. These classes are well-made for the system, and a complete overhaul to d20 Modern advanced classes might be of interest to me. They also provide standard-to-BESM d20 conversions of D&D and d20 Modern classes. Here’s where it gets ugly. They essentially insinuate “these classes are broken and unbalanced, so we made them good for you!” in an attitude that comes across as overly high-and-mighty. While the Dungeons and Dragons conversions are fine for the system, the d20 Modern ones completely miss the point. There are no unique talents presented, no specialization, just “here’s a mountain of character points to spend in 20 levels! Go crazy.” B+ for the main classes and D&D conversions, but a big fat F for missing the point of d20 Modern classes.

Next, we have attributes. What are attributes, you might ask? Well, they are essentially point-buy rankable talents (with some more special quality-like exceptions, such as Extra Arms and Superstrength). With such gems as Train a Pet Monster and Spirit Ward, these might do well to be converted into real d20 Modern talents. Again, I know that’s not what the creators intended, but it’s what I first see when I look at these.

Well, at least skills are a familiar face. Skill points, skill ranks, classic d20 skills, and… *Record scratch* Melee Defense and Melee Attack?! How are those skills and not considered part of the Base Attack Bonus?! Even worse, there are separate skills for melee weapon fighting, unarmed fighting, and ranged fighting, as well as their respective defenses! Similarly deplorable, despite Sleight of Hand being the skill used by pickpockets, BESM d20 has a separate skill called Pick Pockets for no real reason. What clinches the deal are such “we could have used ability scores but we didn’t get that far into the book” skills such as Powerlifting (why not use a Strength check?) and Seduction (why not use a Charisma check?) Small here and there errors I can understand, wanting to revise a system I can understand, but blatantly contradicting yourself this many times without any explanation is stupid.

Even dumber are some of the feat changes. It suggests “replacing” some feats with skills…skills that those feats GIVE BONUSES TO IN NORMAL D20! Did they not even get the point?! Similarly, the feats they deem “inappropriate for an anime-style campaign” are stupid. Renown and Low Profile? Criminals and celebrities exist in anime. Dead Aim? Deadshots exist in anime. Shot on the Run and Quick Draw? …I don’t even want to know why they felt those were inappropriate for an anime campaign when they wrote a freakin’ Trigun sourcebook for the title.

See attributes, reverse them to being negative things that grant extra character points instead of good things that take away character points.

Weaponry and Equipment

…What they’ve done to weapons is just….blyeah. Attributes and defects applied to a template of damage to make a weapon. Just…blyeah. At least some of the addons could make good gadgets under the d20 Modern system. That just barely ekes out making up for the silliness that is point-buy weaponry.

Final Thoughts

This book barely passes my standard d20 Modern product review acid tests. It’s not horrid, though, so I have to give it an average rather than hateful rating despite its misunderstandings of just what normal d20 is. 5/10.

Author’s Aside: Also, how does a system claim itself to be so “balanced” compared to Dungeons and Dragons, then turn around and have rules on how much damage a character can deal to a planet before it a’splodes a la Dragonball Z?

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Posted by on June 1, 2009 in RPG Reviews

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DINAH SHORE WEEKEND 2011, The Official Club Skirts event

Join us for the 21st Anniversary of The Dinah, the undisputed ruler of all things Dinah Shore.

Club Skirts produces the largest lesbian event in the world for women. We brought you Ke$ha and Salt and Pepa in `10, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga in `09, Pat Benatar and Colbie Caillat in `08, India.Arie, The Cast of The L Word and Uh Huh her in `07, The PussyCat Dolls in `06!

Plus at our world famous pool parties, Battle of The Web Series, presented by OML, celesbians, celesbians celesbians, and more surprises ...

Our events take place in the largest event space in Palm Springs, The Palm Springs Convention Center.

Our pool parties this year are at The Riviera Resort and Spa, using two pools and three side gardens to produce the largest pool party in Dinah history!

We are sponsored by such media moguls as MTV Logo Networks, Here TV, Sirius Radio , Go Mag, Bound and more!

The Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend is often imitated. Anybody can go to Palm Springs and call their party The Dinah Shore Weekend. Only Club Skirts can call it's party "The Dinah." If it doesn't say Club Skirts, it is NOT The Dinah.
  • Riviera Resort, Hilton Hotel and Palm Springs Convention Center
    1600 Indian Canyon Way, 400 East Tahquitz Canyon and 177 Avenidas Caballeros, Palm Springs
  • Wednesday Mar 30, 2011
  • Event on Facebook

More events in Palm Springs


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Another Twist

The Workshop on the Go Kaleidoscope Card Making Kit was the inspiration for my card.  I pulled the colors of my card directly from the paper packet and used the stamp set from the WOTG.

This card is cut from the Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge, I then lined it with a second card so I could still have a place to write a message.  I popped up the “celebrate” banner on the front with some thin 3D foam tape (have I ever mentioned I love this stuff?)

Thanks for stopping by I hope you’ll be inspired to put a twist on a workshop card!


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Posted in Life in General

Walker Stalker Con ~ Boston

The Walking Dead came to Boston on August 22nd and 23rd, and I was there for the zombie invasion. Well, it wasn’t actually an invasion. More of a zombie trickle of
a zombie clown, a lifelike puppet, and a few professional haunted house actors.

Walker Stalker Con was one heck of a learning experience. The last convention I attended was way back in 2006, and I went with a group of people rather than by myself. This time it was just me wandering through the vendor areas, watching panels, and standing in line to meet celebrities. And I think that may have made all the difference.

My haul
My haul from Walker Stalker Con Boston

I grossly underestimated how much I would spend. While I only visited one celebrity, I bought a whole lot of stuff. Hats, Funko Pop figurines, clothes, etc. I planned on buying a few things; I just didn’t realize how many other items would catch my eye. I’ll certainly budget better next time as I’m hoping to visit at least one of the big stars from the show (who are expensive to meet).

And even though I didn’t get to attend all the panels I planned on seeing, I made it to the last panel on Sunday afternoon. ZOMBIES: MIND, BODY, AND SOCIETY featured a doctor from the Harvard Medical School, a former medical examiner for Massachusetts, and a professor of international relations at Tufts University. It was a fantastic research opportunity for me as I’m planning on writing a zombie novel in the next couple of months.

The panelists discussed their pet peeves in the zombie genre, like how none of the characters recognize zombies from pop culture and how society often collapses too easily during the zombie apocalypse. Conversation also moved to how countries might react and how the zombie infection could spread from person to person.

Ultimately, I’m glad that I went to the convention, and I’m already planning on heading to the Atlanta Walker Stalker Con next fall.

Have you been to any conventions? What was your experience like?photo 2 (8)

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Reading as a form of meditation

In his new work, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama together with the Archbishop Desmond Tutu (a South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop who fought against the apartheid in the 1980s) explores how mindfulness in a world so chaotic can lead to a more permanently joyful life. Revealing the reason he is able to be mindful every day is by sleeping for nine hours and meditating for five hours every day – four hours when he rises and one before bed. These are the two most joyful and enlightened humans on earth, so when they have something to say it`s probably worth our attention.

To meditate is to be still for an extended period of time in order to reach a calm and relaxed state where all your concentration and senses are focused on one single task: emptying the mind of all exterior stimulation in order to reach a higher conscience. One could easily relate this to reading, so why not read more as a way to achieve mindfulness? It`s been scientifically proven that the habit of reading leads to greater attention to details, better problem solving skills and open mindedness.

Last year was not a big reading year for me, and the year before that. Truth of the matter is that with adulthood some habits are hard to keep, and as my high school literature teacher once put it: some days you get home and just want to shut your brain down for a while. If doing something completely useless like watching TV helps, then why not? This perfectly explains our modern addiction to that black square on the wall.

Since habits have to be broken and I want to catch up on my reading this year, I decided to compile a sort of Oprah Winfrey book club style list, which I am more then happy to share!

I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book. – J. K. Rowling

To kick off my list the book I am reading now is Harper Lee`s Go Set a Watchman, published May 2016. She actually finished writing it in 1960 as a sequel to How to Kill a Mockingbird, but the manuscript remained tucked away all this time until it was finally published, to readers`s delight.

I feel the author takes more risks with language and dialogue, but as much as I missed Scout Finch and Jem`s adventures, just like in her first novel, this one drags a bit in some parts before it picks up pace. I don`t like it when the author takes forever to introduce the plot making the story drag along without purpose. Otherwise I think it`s a promising and definitely more mature book,  now with a going on thirty Scout Finch facing grown up dramas on love and family.

Drum rolls… the runner up and soon to be premiered movie starred by Jessica Chastain and (swoon) Daniel Brühl:

The Zookeeper`s Wife, by Diane Ackerman, September 2008

A true story in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, September 2016

Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crises, by J.D. Vance, June 2016

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NAMED BY THE TIMES AS ONE OF “6 BOOKS TO HELP UNDERSTAND TRUMP’S WIN” – tells the real story of what it is like to live in the forgotten “rusty belt” region of our nation

The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, April 2016

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as five other awards, The Sympathizer is the breakthrough novel of the year

Miss Peregrine`s School for Peculiar Children ( a trilogy), by Ransom Riggs, June 2013

“A tense, moving, and wondrously strange first novel. The photographs and text work together brilliantly to create an unforgettable story.”—John Green, New York Times best-selling author of The Fault in Our Stars

The Circle, by Dave Eggers, April 2014

Exhilarating novel from Dave Eggers, best-selling author of Heroes of the Frontier, and soon to be a Major Motion Picture starred by Emma Watson, our eternal Hermione Granger

The Underground Railroad: A Novel, by Colson Whitehead, August 2016

National Book Award Winner and #1 New York Times bestseller from Colson Whitehead, a magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave’s adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South –  Also one of Oprah Winfrey`s book club pick.

The Bill Hodges Trilogy (Mr. Mercedes (winner of the Edgar Award), Finders Keepers and End of Watch: A Novel), Stephan King, January 2015

It`s Stephen King, need I say more?

Scrappy Little Nobody, by Anna Kendrick, November 2016

An “honest, effortlessly funny, and alternatively relatable” (Harper’s Bazaar) collection of autobiographical essays by the Academy Award-nominated actress and star of Up in the Air, Pitch Perfect, and Trolls, “Scrappy Little Nobody lets readers feel like they have spent an afternoon chatting with their closest friend” (Booklist).

Someday, Someday, Maybe: A Novel, by Lauren Graham, March 2014

From Lauren Graham, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood, comes a witty, charming, and hilariously relatable debut novel about a struggling young actress trying to get ahead―and keep it together―in New York City.

Girls in White Dresses, by Jennifer Close, May 2012

National Bestseller and Goodreads recommended novel by Jennifer Close

The Goldfinch: A Novel, by Donna Tart, May 2013

A Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction, The Goldfinch is a mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate

Finally, like any other book club this will require commitment to read every day. Take inspiration from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and wake up a little earlier to read for an hour, and then for two more before bed if necessary. It will be challenging but breaking that habit and reconnecting with the book worm inside will make it all worth it, besides, for a writer the habit of constant reading should be second nature, right up there with eating and sleeping.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments, recommendations are also very welcome.

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Any time the experts can’t figure out a complicated problem they point the lazer of blame at the parents. Result: support for children engaging in a Gotcha War.

IMAGE FOUND AT Carroll County Times

When I was first studying to be a therapist, parents were blamed for creating schizophrenia – now known to be caused by a brain change due to a number of yet unknown causes, but not by parents behavior–perhaps by family genes.

Double Bind communication was where the experts pointed their lasor of blame in terms of schizophrenia. My mother had a different term for what the experts meant.

“D — ed if you do; d—ed if you don’t. “

Never mind that the person or teen suffering from this mental illness distorted reality, heard voices, and acting irrationally;  such behaviors make it difficult for anyone to understand what the person wants or needs at any particular moment. The experts focused on the parents as causing the irrational behavior.  Fortunately, times have changed and serious mental illnesses are better understood. But not completely.  Drives me crazy that every once in a while I see an article suggesting parents are the source of a child’s major mental illness.  It is much more complicated than that.

In yesterday’s post, I talked about the Gotcha Wars – where kids want parents to behave wacko so the child feels less wacko.  The Gotcha Wars are a normal part of some adolescent behavior.  But, sometimes, they involve  double bind communication from the child. Here’s an example:

One of my sons called home at the end of a school day.  He had been grounded for five days.  This was day number five.  He begged me to let him off as he had been good and his friends needed him for a pick up football game.

“Please, please.”

Soft touch that I am, I gave in.  Shake the finger of blame at me.  Thought I was being sweet and kind.  Did I get it when this son came home.

“You made a fool of me,” he complained; “I had all my friends listening. I had told them you would go ballistic if I asked to be excused from being grounded.”

I apologized but he sulked for a good fifteen minutes.

A parent cannot win sometimes.

Obviously, stick to your rules is good general advice for parents when it comes to avoiding double binds.  When parents hold to rules, children know what to expect and that increases feeling safe and in control.  I failed that one, but it was a good lesson for both of us.

Lesson for me: Hold to rules and punishments.  Family meetings should be the only place rule changes and consequences should be re-negotiated.

Lesson for son: Be clear about what you want to happen when you ask for something.

Tip one: Say what you mean, mean what you say, and try hard not to say it mean.

Tip two:  Don’t ask questions instead of issuing an order. I am so guilty of asking a question when I am hoping the person will choose what I wanted. When you make that mistake, the only right thing to do is accept the other person’s answer.

Well, most of the time, but not if you have said to a three-year old: “Do you want to hold my hand or cross the street by yourself.”

Not, that you would ask that of a three-year old.

Tip three: Remember Parents Are People Too. I guarantee you will double bind your child more often than not.  So hear this: parents and kids are not robots but living and learning human beings.

Bad news that means mistakes like double binds happen.

Good news: Kids are heaps stronger than the keep ’em happy gurus suggest.  Otherwise,  the human race would not have moved far out of the trees.

Tip four: As much as you can, follow Tip one, but when you haven’t, don’t have a hissy fit or beat up on yourself.  Most of the time, life will go on and everyone will be A- Okay.

Lots of parenting advice seeks to make parents perfect parents. Not fair. As noted above,  none of us are perfect; however, most of us are good enough and most kids are strong enough to survive imperfect parenting.

Here is my thank you or welcome to the my blog  gift – a quick introduction to The Daily Twelve Emotional Fitness Exercises.

For more details about staying strong as a parent buy any one of my E-books.

My newest E book  When Good Kids Get You in A Gotcha War is available on Smashwords for the introductory price of 99 cents.

Another related to this subject s available at Amazon  How to Hold a Successful Family Meeting.

You don’t need a kindle to read ebooks from Amazon. You can download a free Kindle reader to your computer when you buy the book.

If you buy any of my books, please review where you bought it or leave a comment on my blog.  Thank you helping me stay strong.

DISCLAIMER: FORGIVE MY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS FOR I HAVE DYSGRAPHIA. If you need perfect posts, you will not find them here. I have dysgraphia which means that sometimes my sentence structure is not that easy to follow or I make other errors. Still, most people understand me. All of my books are professionally edited, but not all of my blog posts are. Thanks for your understanding and reading my work.

As always thank you for following me.  If you know someone else who will benefit from my thoughts, forward this to them.  Liking, commenting, and sharing are other ways you can help me stay strong and spread some ideas others might find helpful.

As I tell myself a thousand times a day, stay strong, and give lots of love and hope for a bit of luck.

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‘Tis Better to Give — Tuesday After Epiphany

(The Micro Machines Aircraft Carrier – Not the Summum Bonum)

When I was a kid, in preparation for Christmas, I remember how my sisters and I would explore those big Sears and J.C. Pennies catalogues and circle the things we really wanted. I also remember the intensity of my excitement when I would open my presents to discover the toys that I had dreamed about. But over the years, I saw a pattern develop that maybe you’ve begun to start noticing for yourself.

Christmas after Christmas, I would play with all my toys, but I discovered that I would never get as much happiness from as I had imagined they would give me when they were still in their boxes. No Christmas toy ever delivered the supreme happiness I had hoped for from them. I was blessed through these experiences to learn a very valuable lesson. I learned that that getting stuff would not and could not complete me—it couldn’t make me truly happy.

Stuff won’t make you truly happy, but there are lots of people who don’t know this. Why do you think it is that TV and advertisers are always going after that “target demographic” of 18 to 34 year-olds, especially that younger segment of 18 to 24 year-olds? It’s because these consumers have significant amounts of disposable income, perhaps for the first time in their lives. And, since they do not have the wisdom of years, many of them can still be fooled into thinking that this or that product will really make them as happy as advertised.

Don’t let yourself be fooled into taking that bait. Keep in mind the words Jesus who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 2:35). It’s really about giving that I want to speak to you today. There are many ways that we can give of ourselves, of our time, talent and treasure, but this morning I want to address the importance and blessedness of giving from our incredible wealth.

Now I doubt that you would describe yourself as a rich person. In terms of our society, you’re probably not. But realize, that when compared to the rest of the world, you are a very wealthy individual. Did you know that about half of the people in the world live on less than $2.50 a day?

From our great material blessedness comes the great responsibility to share. Yet, the fact that we are far richer than many other people is really beside the point. Even if we were poor compared to everyone else, Jesus would still ask us to share of what we have. For whenever we give out of love, and a desire to spread and advance God’s kingdom, we imitate Jesus Himself, who gave of Himself to us first.

Maybe you feel like you have nothing much to give. The disciples thought they had next to nothing to give too, and they were right. They had just five loaves of bread and two fishes, but Jesus said to them, ‘Give the crowd some food yourselves.’ The disciples wondered what good so little could do for so many, but in Jesus’ hands their small gifts multiplied.  Their deed first feed thousands, and then, through its retelling in the Gospel, it feed untold millions.

It would be hubris, or foolish pride, for us to think that if only we had a million dollars, a billion dollars, a trillion dollars, or any sum, that we by ourselves could save the world. Yet, when we place what little we have into Christ’s hands, giving where and when the Holy Spirit prompts us, Jesus blesses it and our deed does more good within His kingdom than we realize.

Though you never fully see all of the good your giving causes on earth, you can immediately feel some of its goodness inside yourself. Part of the blessedness of charitable giving is in the joy you feel in always knowing that you have done a good deed. When you consume something you may enjoy it for a moment, but when you give something away in love you can enjoy that act forever. If fact, when we get to heaven, we should find ourselves made the instant friends of many strangers when it is revealed to us how our lives were profoundly connected through the smallest gifts.

To help in put our faith into practice, to love our neighbors and advance the Kingdom, we are going to begin taking more regular collections at our weekly school Masses in support various causes. We will be starting by helping a number of area organizations suggested by the Student Senate. And, once our Liturgy & Campus Ministry Committee is up and running, about which Mr. Zimmerman will be speaking to you about at the end of Mass, the selection of worthy charitable causes will one of the important tasks that will fall to them.

Today our collection will be going, in its entirety, to support the Hope Lodge here in Marshfield. The Hope Lodge provides temporary accommodations for patients and their family members while they are receiving cancer treatments at the Marshfield Clinic. Please give as generously as the Holy Spirit may prompt you and know that you will certainly be blessed.

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