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Small business

I’m in Unicode Love: The Curator’s Code

Mike | April 2nd, 2012

Attribution on the web is a controversial topic; ideas, stories, videos, graphics are copied and pasted over and over again, propagating their way across the virtual universe. As an entrepreneur and blogger, I am always pleased when I see my articles shared on other sites, or linked to in the social media. While I would […]

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Work From Home Fridays

Ross | March 28th, 2012

We encourage our team to work remotely when they want. We care about performance, not face-time in the office. Did you know that the average commute is 45 minutes each way and that telecommuters report having 25% less stress? We leverage technology to work remotely: Basecamp and Campfire from our friends at 37signals, Skype and […]

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Lean Marketing Tips: Hyperlocal Marketing Channels

Mike | March 26th, 2012

We write often about marketing strategies and tactics for small business and startups. These companies typically have limited budgets, thin resources, and strained capacity which combine to create a challenge for managers and owners: how to develop an effective marketing campaign using tactics that will work for their business. The Lean Startup movement provides a […]

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Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

Ross | March 6th, 2012

When we come across successful products, services or startups, we often wonder – where did the idea come from? Why didn’t WE think of Pinterest, Facebook, or Google? In the following video, Steven johnson discusses ideas, innovation and how entrepreneurs and companies can groom environments to help incubate and promote good ideas. How do you […]

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Small Business Tips: Foreign Payments, The Patriot Act, OFAC, and you.

Mike | March 5th, 2012

Every time I find myself on the security line at the airport, I watch the folks ahead of me anticipating that someone will be pulled from the line because their name appeared on the TSA “no-fly” list. I have yet to see this happen, but I sympathize with the poor schlub whose name matches that […]

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Why Cloud Is A Big Deal For Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC]

Ross | February 28th, 2012

Five years ago, a small business launching a new online product would traditionally have purchased their own servers and software, or leased servers, software and hosting services from one of many hosting providers around the world. The cloud has changed the way individuals and organizations of all sizes leverage technology. Cloud computing involves the delivery […]

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Secrets to Select and Evaluate Innovative Business Ideas

admin | February 22nd, 2012

While browsing the web I came across this useful guideline for selecting and evaluating business ideas made by the Board of Innovation. Very useful for when you have several solutions to solve a problem or create a new business and you want to avoid innovative ideas from falling to the cracks. A hint for scoring […]

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10 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Politicians

Mike | February 13th, 2012

‘Tis the season. Not for giving gifts or reflecting on peace on earth. This is the silly season where we have to opportunity to elect our next President of the United States. Every four years, our country engages in a ritual which will impact the course of our economy, our social policy, and our governmental […]

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10 things entrepreneurs can learn from chefs

Mike | January 9th, 2012

Who among us doesn’t love a great meal? Whether we choose eat at home or in a restaurant, all of us appreciate and respect the work that goes into preparing and presenting our food. We love the humble diner which serves up a phenomenal burger and fries and marvel over the lavish cuisine served up […]

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What It’s Like To Be An Entrepreneur – Eboo Patel

Ross | January 4th, 2012

We’re thrilled to be part of a new web/TV reality series – Trep Life – giving audiences a unique, 360-degree view of what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur. Each episode focuses on one company or organization. The first episode featured our friends Matt Maloney and Mike Evans from Grub Hub – a terrific […]

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CustomInk > Blog

Why Stick to Basics When You Can Go BOLD?

by Amanda Vida

in CustomInk News

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Using color to make a statement is one of the oldest tricks in the book.  Think neon posters, flashy yellow sports cars, the time I dyed my hair fire engine red in the 9th grade (perhaps not the most flattering shade, but a statement nonetheless)!

A brightly colored shirt can certainly have an impact on your custom designs, but why stop there?   Colorblocking t-shirts are a big trend this season when it comes to athletic apparel.  Be on the lookout for team gear that features contrast colors for sleeves, stripes, and stitching.  You’ll be sure to look great on or off the field.

In addition to looking pretty cool and sporty, colorblocking can really take your logo or design up a notch.  You can match your ink colors to the contrasting trim to create a tidy package, or use bright ink colors like hot pink or lime to totally mix it up.   So get bold and go with colorblocking…it just may knock your blocks (errr, socks) off!

Design on these featured products in the CustomInk Lab: Sport-Tek Colorblock Performance Shorts, Sport-Tek Colorblock Hooded Sweatshirt, and Champion Colorblock Performance T.

About the Author - Amanda Vida

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

alevine December 30, 2011 at 2:27 pm

Thanks Hipolito! Right back atcha from McLean, VA!

Hipolito M. Wiseman December 30, 2011 at 8:59 am

Hey there! I’ve been following your web site for a while now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Lubbock Texas! Just wanted to say keep up the excellent work!

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My gothic self-portrait

posted on 18th of march, 2013

My gothic self-portrait with black dress.

Comments (4)

Posted by Egomezta on March 19, 2013
Beautiful images, good luck.
Posted by Wisconsinart on March 19, 2013
Congratulations on taking the plunge. Being your own model can be more difficult than one may think.

Any plans for a Victoria Secret shoot? :-)
Posted by Laurasinelle on March 19, 2013
Wish you many sales!!
Posted by Davidwatmough on March 18, 2013
Were you using a remote radio trigger...... I find it difficult to hide it when pressing the transmitter . Your pictures are superb and will surely sell well. David

This article has been read 631 times.
Photo credits: Elisa Bistocchi.

About me

I\'m a girl of 32 years old! I live in umbria, in the center of Italy and I love the nature, the music, the animals and the photography! The camera is always with me.

Foligno, IT

March (1)

Stock Photography that BLOGS!

Interact, make friends, share tips and techniques, have fun. Dreamstime wants your ideas and thoughts whether you are a photographer, designer or regular user. Create a blog to tell your story, promote favorite images and photographers, post tutorials or simply exchange opinions with your with fellow dreamstimers.

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How Do I Learn English?

study blues

I get asked all the time, “What’s the best way to learn English?”. Usually by frustrated learners, so many of them! I’ve learned that without knowing the person well, I have to be quite general in my response. However, it always comes down to a version of, “Love and do what one will” (to quote […]

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Our Company

Hey! I want to be able to make my own choices!

In 2005, our founder Chris Duggan was helping a customer the tack store that she managed in Virginia and was struggling to find the item that her customer was looking for. ” I would love to be able to show you everything I know is available” she said, thinking of the huge pile of equestrian catalogs they had in the back from every major brand.

At home, she leafed through a pile of magazines and thought “Tomorrow, I am going to try and purchase all this wonderful equestrian stuff advertised in the magazines by placing calls to the phone numbers they had listed in their magazine ads”.  And so she did.  And the results were astounding – a 95% failure rate in getting the products she was calling about.  Obviously, customers like her were not being well-served – even by the large equestrian retail catalogs, that also cherrypicked items.

Everything for Horse and Rider

Online shopping was just becoming more accepted but what was interesting to Chris was that there was no major online retailer that offered “Everything for Horse & Rider”. So in 2006, Equestrian Collections was born to allow riders of all disciplines to make their own informed choices from all the wonderful World of Equestrian Shopping.

A World of Choices. Delivered

The Equestrian Collections web site now features the entire Collections of over 310 brands and Equestrian Collections Shoppers can choose from over 65,000 products.

Every Shopper Matters to Us

Not only does Equestrian Collections strive to always offer the best selection in the Equestrian industry, we also strive to offer the best customer service.  All our Customer Service Order Support Team are riders and horse owners, with life-time experience.  We strive to give our Shoppers the kind of Customer Service that we ourselves would like to get – often surprising customers with personal phone calls in addition to our automated contacts.

Shop in Comfort, Ride in Style

We understand that you, our Shoppers (95% women) are busy – often balancing family and career with your Riding passion.

We understand that your order with us is very important to you and we pledge to do everything in our power to deliver that order accurately to you when you expect it, at a competitive price.  We value every order that you place with us and hope that we can earn your trust so that we can serve you again in the future.

Our focus is to bring you World of  Equestrian Shopping, so that you can Shop in Comfort and Ride in Style.

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Alumni Posts

This is that thing I signed up for

by Alumni Posts on September 27, 2013

in College Life,Extracurricular,Organizations, Activities & Events

So, this is my first post. I’ll introduce myself: My name is Holly Rogers. I am a freshman majoring in Advertising. I am from St. Charles, MO. And technically, I live on campus. But I feel like a commuter most days. Between 2 jobs and a boyfriend back where I live, I only sleep here a few days a week. I work about 12 hours on the weekends at Racanelli’s Pizza in St. Peters and I work about 25 to 30 hours at Potbelly Sandwiches in Creve Coeur, but will be transferring to the Clayton location in November. I am the Treasurer for Business Club and I am always doing something. Free time seems to have disappeared from my life as of a month ago. This is the first time in my entire life I’ve ever considered myself “busy”. I’ve never played a sport, done dance or cheerleading, or took an active role in a club. BUT I was not lazy. I worked all 4 years of High School. And that’s because I like to work. That’s why I am driving myself crazy with 2 jobs right now. I like it, and the double paychecks aren’t too bad either. So there’s your tidbits about me.

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Students writing for Real Life at Fontbonne are paid a small fee for each post by the university.


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And Now You Know

Thanks for signing up for our email updates. You'll be getting the inside scoop on everything Forever 21.

Fashion / Valentine’s Day Picks

Looking for a way to stand out on Vday without going overboard on the cheese factor! Our advice is to pick a knockout dress that is red hot or pretty in pink and keep the rest simple. Peep our latest Vday picks below and fall in love…

Which item are you crushin’ on? We want to know!

V-DAY_Lookbook_Blog VERSION 2

Can’t get enough, shop here!


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Inside My Summer Closet, From FP Jemma

Post image for Inside My Summer Closet, From FP Jemma

My closet is full of old clothes and new clothes. Ever since I can remember I’ve always gravitated towards bohemian and tomboy pieces and have loved mixing them together. Whenever I walk into a vintage store and I see something that catches my eye I find it hard not to buy it, as I know it’s rare and I might not come across it again. So, I’d say my closet is 50% vintage and then the other half is mostly Free People. I have a lot of dresses and 80’s-style jeans that I like to wear with crop tops — oh, and printed scarfs! You will always find a scarf in my bag just in case I get a little chilly and I can wrap it around me — lightweight ones in the summer and more knitted ones in the winter.

This jacket I bought at Brimfield. I don’t wear it often but the detail it has is beautiful. It looks good with boyfriend jeans and sneakers.

inside my closet

I have a slight addiction to high-waisted vintage jeans. These two are some of my favorites:

inside my closet

I bought these overalls at the Rosebowl Flea Market in LA. Whenever I wear them they bring me back to my younger years.

inside my closet

I have a lot of printed skirts and love wearing them in the summer with basic tops.

inside my closet

Dresses are so easy — you just throw them on and your outfit is complete. I have a lot of ivory dresses and then a few printed ones.

inside my closet

This is my favorite summer dress:

inside my closet

All my favorite pieces of jewelry have been bought for me and I cherish them dearly — mostly necklaces and then a few silver bracelets.

inside my closet

I always carry a scarf with me, mainly these two:

inside my closet

inside my closet

I don’t wear heels a lot — I have one or two pairs. My shoes are mostly flat and in a brown or black color. My new favorite sandals for summer are Free People’s Coastal Woven Sandal.  They are so comfy and I love their uniqueness.

inside my closet

That’s inside my summer closet!

More fashion inspiration from BLDG 25.

Tags: , , ,

Eva -June 1, 2013, 7:57AM

I love your style….thanks for giving us a peek!

lynn -June 1, 2013, 1:55PM

Those overalls are awesome!!!!!

Jocelyn -June 1, 2013, 3:07PM

Im wearing the skirt thats hanging on the door I got it at a festival last summer and I love it

Megan -June 1, 2013, 4:12PM

I love your style!!

Eliza -June 1, 2013, 8:26PM

Diptyque candles.. Baise is my absolute favorite scent. It just makes every room smell wonderful and well, perfect. Your scarves are fantastic Jemma! And your jewelry is unique, you’d love Middle Eastern gems. Really cool stuff!

krystal -June 1, 2013, 9:55PM

where did you get those gorgeous dresses? are they vintage?

julieanne -June 2, 2013, 4:54AM

Unique as always!!!! Beautiful closet x

rocsi -June 3, 2013, 7:39PM

i have several dresses like the tie dye one u have! any ideas on how to sew or cut it to make it more shapely? or how to wear it?

May -June 4, 2013, 12:24AM

Cool one! I love these shoes and they are fashion this year!

Carolina -June 4, 2013, 4:11AM

I love your dresses! Love your still! The rompers withe the blouse awesome shoes as well!

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Spygate, Sneakiness, and Success

by on December 12, 2007 updated April 19, 2014

 SOOOOOOOOOO, now there’s some talk about the New York Jets using unapproved video methods during a game against the Patriots. Will the Jets be fined? Probably not. If you’re doing as poorly as the Jets nobody cares. It’s only when you win that what turnd up under the rocks gets punished. Hank Stram once used the term “My fair advantage.” It’s what every NFL team is looking for. And besides, what’s a few million in fines compared to what the Patriots are raking in by their success.

You know, I once liked Bobby Petrino. Now it seems like he’s the epitome of sneakiness. Shortly after telling Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank that he was going to be coaching in Atlanta in 2008 he accepts the job from the Georgia Bulldogs. I say good riddance. If a guy can’t be straight up with you then he can’t be a winner. Maybe that’s why his players in Atlanta hated him.

Seems like it just doesn’t pay to be highly paid athlete. These guys are now paying the price for success. The Redskins have lost Sean Taylor and the NBA has suffered a rash of incidents where players were targeted for robbery and mayhem. Remember that the next time your favorite athlete seems a little snobbish. Maybe he’s afraid of the next nut to crawl out of the woodwork.

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Tuesday’s Tip – Read Wicked Joplin

Many have heard of Joplin, Missouri, due to the massive, devastating tornado that swept through there on May 22, 2011. But have you ever considered the history of the town? Did you even know Joplin existed before the news of the tornado?

I spent many years growing up about an hour and a half away from Joplin and my parents now live an hour from there. I never gave Joplin much thought until a few years ago when I reconnected with a friend who was living there. Isn’t it funny how you never “notice” something until you want or need to? Kind of like looking for that drug store you know is somewhere near you but you never needed it so never “saw” it before. If you are interested in learning a little about Joplin, the History Press’s Wicked Joplin by Larry Wood, provides a look at the town during its origins in 1870’s and 1880’s.

Larry Wood is, according to his bio, “…a retired publish school teacher and freelance writer specializing in the history of the Ozarks region.” Wood used many sources such as court records, newspaper articles, histories of the town and county, and photographs from the time period. It is a well-researched book.

Wood presents the early history of Joplin in a serious but sometimes humorous way. Joplin grew up from its roots as a mining town in the Old West. The stories told are primarily those of rough men, the town’s beginnings, and the saloons and bawdyhouses that were always a part of Joplin’s early history. Some of the town’s characters show up in multiple stories because of their connections to saloons and bawdyhouses. Wood pointed out many times that many of the town’s madame’s worked together and separately, as did some of the saloon owners, throughout the early days.

I viewed the book as humorous in some ways because try as I might to picture the town as it was at the time, hearing the author remark in one story that a supply of beer ran out one night in Joplin and the town took steps to ensure such a calamity would never happen in the future. The men of Joplin took their drinking seriously back then. In the present I’m not sure running out of beer would be considered a calamity, but things are different now. I did learn a lot about the general nature of early southwest Missouri and Wood’s book gives me a greater appreciation of how life was lived at that time. Now as I research families from that area I can better visualize their life.

Read Wicked Joplin and learn a little of the town’s history. You will enjoy the stories told and the pictures of the town that so vividly emerge off the pages as you read. If you enjoy history, read a few other books from The History Press such as:

Disclosure: The History Press asked several genealogists if they were interested in reading and reviewing some of their publications. I accepted and the company sent me several books to read, review and keep for my library.

Categories: Books | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

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One thought on “Tuesday’s Tip – Read Wicked Joplin

  1. I’m from Missouri, myself, and love all things Missouri. I’ll have to check this out.

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Glacial Energy Blog

What is a Cool Roof?

Theyâ€™ve been implemented across the globe for centuries in one form or another, like the white roofed buildings of Santorini, and they still hold usefulness today. Cool roofs are made with reflective paint, sheet, or tiles to reflect the rays of the sun and prevent the roof from absorbing much of the warmth. Â In the [...]

How Your Business can be Greener

There are numerous ways to make our businesses greener. They can be simple, immediate measures like cutting back on printers, scanners, and general paper use or installing high efficiency lighting. There are more in depth measures that can be taken too, that will have a strong, positive impact on the environment. These include revamping HVAC [...]

LED Bulbs are Energy Efficient, but are they Cost Efficient?

LED bulbs are many times more efficient than their incandescent counterparts. A 12 watt LED bulb can output as much light as a 60 watt incandescent bulb. But for all their energy saving abilities, are they really worth the investment? Would it actually be cheaper to use an incandescent bulb and replace it every time [...]

Is Your Attic Properly Insulated?

Does it seem like your home doesnâ€™t stay as warm or as cool as you feel it should be? During the winter, on a particularly cool evening, leave a thermometer in the attic for a few hours. When you collect it, compare the temperature to the outside temperature and the inside temperature of your home. [...]


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Posted in: Fun stuff, Social Networks

Google+ adds meme-style photo captioning

Google+ is going to add a simple edit tool for your future picture uploads, giving you the option to make captions to them.

Those of you familiar with meme captioning of pics should know what we’re talking about.

It’s a nice a fun way of goofing around on the social web and Google is calling it “Adding funny text to photos” (yeah, I know, of all titles).

You must be wondering what Facebook feels on the subject of Google+ going for the meme glory since last month Facebook were first to add “Rage faces” to its chat. To use the various rage faces in the chat you’ll need to copy-and-paste a special code for each meme. Head on over to the via link for the full list of those.

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• Tell Your Friends

My favorite Easter activities include decorating eggs, filling baskets with yummy treats and surprises, and my all-time favorite  — eating brunch with my family. Whether you’re hosting an extravagant brunch or making a simple meal for your family, we have easy, sweet and savory recipes that will please even your pickiest of guests.

Hatching Chick Egg

Great for the kids’ table, transform an ordinary hard-boiled egg into an adorable hatching chick.

How to Make a Hatching Chick Egg

Get the Full Recipe Here>>

Flatbread Pizza With Eggs, Tomatoes and Arugula

This healthy, protein-packed flatbread is a perfect main course for brunch.

Brunch Flatbread

Get the Full Recipe Here>>

Carrot Cake Cookies

Spread the cream cheese frosting between two cookies to make a sandwich. Just do it, trust me.

Carrot Cake Cookies

Get the Full Recipe Here>>

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

You can assemble this casserole the night before, giving you more time to spend Easter Sunday with your family.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

Get the Full Recipe Here>>

Easter Egg Cookies

I’m obviously on a cookie kick. These are so easy to make — just bake your favorite cookie recipe and place dyed shredded coconut and egg-shaped candy on top.

Easter Egg Cookies

What are your favorite Easter recipes?

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Farima AlaviFarima is the entertaining editor for HGTV.com. Aside from her job, she loves fashion, playing with her rambunctious Yorkie, Rosie, and is a self-proclaimed foodie. She lives in a house...

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We research, you save.
September 30th, 2010

Will we eventually recover, or is this the new normal?

A new survey suggests that a growing number of Americans believe that the economy won’t return to pre-recession levels for years to come:

Fifty-nine percent of Americans feel “not good” or “bad” about the direction the economy is headed, up from 49% in May.  And 76% don’t expect their quality of life, including their spending levels, to return to pre-recession levels until 2012 at the earliest, up from 63% who said that in May.  That’s according to the findings of a survey released today by AlixPartners LLP, the global business-advisory firm.

The poll also finds that 74% of Americans feel the same or worse today about their personal economic situations versus a year ago, up from 71% who had that negative sentiment in May, and, in what could be a sign of either growing discontent or growing resignation in the run-up to the November elections, just 30% of Americans said that Democrats’ losing control of the U.S. House or even of the U.S. House and Senate would have a substantially positive impact on the economy in the coming year.

The sentiment expressed in the AlixPartners survey directly correlates with the Consumer Confidence numbers that were released earlier this week:

“September’s pullback in confidence was due to less favorable business and labor market conditions, coupled with a more pessimistic short-term outlook,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s consumer research center.

“With so few expecting conditions to improve in the near term, the pace of economic growth is not likely to pick up in the coming months,” she said in a statement.

Still on the bottom…or the “new normal”?

I’m sure by now that many of you have heard the phrase, the “new normal.” While some are still waiting for current economic conditions to return to their “pre-recession” levels (as expressed in the survey), others have determined that the economy may never return to those levels, thus we must begin to recalculate our expectations for recovery and even view the current state of the economy as the “new normal.” Earlier this month I wrote a post that discussed exactly that.

In the post, Paul McMorrow, associate editor of CommonWealth magazine and a Boston Globe columnist, said that the low levels of home sales we’re currently experiencing aren’t something that should necessarily shock or even scare us.

Plain and simple: McMorrow says that the lending practices that led to the bubble are no longer in place, so it stands to reason that, as long as they aren’t, home sales and homeownership rates are unlikely to return to what they once were.

What does the Fed say? (emphasis added)

Participants generally anticipated that, in light of the severity of the economic downturn, it would take some time for the economy to converge fully to its longer-run path as characterized by sustainable rates of output growth, unemployment, and inflation consistent with participants’ interpretation of the Federal Reserve’s dual objectives; most expected the convergence process to take no more than five to six years.

READERS: Are you willing to accept that today’s economic conditions represent the “new normal,” or are you still confident that economic factors such as home prices, home sales and employment will return to where they stood before the “Great Recession”?

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4 Responses to “Will we eventually recover, or is this the new normal?”

  1. Lancy Blatt Says: October 1st, 2010 at 6:05 am

    Do you think the U.S. can approach an economic disaster? If yes, what can or should the administration and Congress do to avoid it?

  2. Mitch Says: October 2nd, 2010 at 10:12 pm

    I think things will return to where they are, but it will be more because of the cost of living than the net worth driving prices there. What I don’t believe is that all those jobs that were lost are coming back. We have to face the reality that it just costs too much for most industries to build stuff here, so they’re going to continue shipping things elsewhere.

    This means one of two things; either we start developing technology here that can employ a lot of people or there will be tons of small businesses with people offering services at lower rates so that everyone has a chance to participate, like plumbers and electricians.

  3. Tim Manni Says: October 5th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    We’re already mired in one! If the question is “do I think the US can handle another?”…well, that’s a whole new ballgame. I’m not too confident at this point. However, I think we’re much more prepared.

    Thanks for your comment,

  4. Tim Manni Says: October 5th, 2010 at 12:11 pm

    I can’t say I disagree with you. It seems that we’re so unwilling to pay higher prices to retain American-made goods. That’s kind of sad don’t you think? No one want to pay higher costs, but this country has a rich history at producing quality goods.

    Good hearing from you, sorry it has taken me a few days to respond. Thanks,

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Summer Garden Party Floral Arrangement Masterclass courtesy of Nikki Tibbles… read more

Hello and welcome to my floral master class where this time I am going to show you how to create the perfect table arrangement for a summer garden party.

With an abundance of colour, scent and texture, Summer is by far my favourite season. I just adore the array of beautiful flowers; blousy peonies, cloud-like hydrangeas and beautifully scented sweet peas to name just a few, as well as the assortment of colours that flowers such as Dahlias come in.

So, for this arrangement I wanted to create something playful, that would bring an element of fun as well as elegance to a summer garden party. Using the concept of a teaparty, I opted to use teacups and cakestands instead of vases to add a little quirkiness to the table setting. If you don’t have matching sets, don’t worry, the beauty of an arrangement like this is that it doesn’t have to be identical but instead works best with mis-matched pieces. For this arrangment I decided to combine a centrepiece of a cakestand with teacups filled with flowers. Depending on the size of your table either use the cake stand arrangement as a centrepiece and then place the teacups as placesettings or alternatively group them together to create one large central arrangement – the beauty is that you can play around and make it work for the space that you have.

Laura Ashley offer a gorgeous range of cake stands, cups and teapots

Step one:

When it comes to creating the dome of flowers on the cake stand the choice of colour and flowers is completely up to you, however I would suggest picking flowers that range from large and blousy to small and softer which can be used as fillers where there will be gaps between the larger flowers. I opted to use beautiful Sarah Burnhardt peonies, All For Love, Baroness and Nostalgia roses and bubble gum pink sweet peas. Cut a piece of oasis so that it fits on the centre of the cake stand and soak so that it is wet all the way through. Remember this is a centrepiece so you don’t want it too high so that your guests won’t be able to talk across the table so take this into consideration when you cut your oasis.

Step Two:

Start adding the larger flowers to the block of oasis. Cutting the flower stems to the height that you want the arrangement to be at. Remember to cut the stems at a diagonal angle and then place in the oasis.

Step Three:

Use the first few flowers to create the basic shape of the arrangement, placing them sporadically around the oasis.

Step Four:

By adding the larger flowers such as the full blown peonies and the larger headed roses, it will help to fill the space quicker and help create the basic shape of the dome. Don’t push the stems all the way into the oasis but instead place it so that the flowers come out to just over the lip of the cake stand so that the final arrangement will be a loose arrangement of blooms with a feathery, textured look.

Step Five:

Once all the large flowers have been placed in the oasis, take the smaller blooms and start to place in between, making sure that there is an even spread of the different shades across the dome.

Step Six:

As the arrangement is for a special occasion and isn’t required to last more than a day, make sure that the flowers that you are using are fully open and blooming so that you get maximum impact from your arrangement.

Step Seven:

Once the majority of your flowers are in place, fill out any gaps with the soft, small flowers such as sweet peas.

Step Eight:

…as well as the unopened buds of the peonies which are great fillers also.

Step Nine:

Once all the gaps have been filled, take a step back and make sure that you are happy with the shape and the placement of the flowers. Don’t be afraid to play with the flowers and pull them out and fiddle with them until you are happy with how it looks.

Step Ten:

When it comes to the teacups, fill each half full with water.

Step Eleven:

Keep things simple, using only a small selection of complementary blooms and use varying flowers for each teacup. So, with the peonies I cut the stems so that they were short enough that the flower sits in the cup and doesn’t float out.

Step Twelve:

Alternate the amount of flowers that you have in each cup. So, with the roses group them together.

…and arrange in a small hand-tie fashion with string.

Step Thirteen:

Arrange in the teacup and repeat with the other flowers of your choice.

Step Fourteen:

At this time of year dahlias are in season so I have chosen to use these to also float in the teacups as they come in an array of colours and add great texture to the arrangement.

Step Fifteen:

Enjoy all your guests’ reactions as they comment on your unique and beautiful summer garden table display.

To shop Laura Ashley tea-for-one click here

To shop Laura Ashley cake stands click here

To shop Laura Ashley mugs click here

I love Nikki Tibbles’s flowers and this is such a inspiring idea. I’m very back-handed but reckon even I could do manage displays like these. And the china looks gorgeous too.

What a delightful teaching aid . Can’t wait for the garden to start blossoming to put these beautiful flower arrangement tips into practise . THANKYOU for this !

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Sunday, October 31, 2010

iPad and iPhone Education Market : Montessori Crosswords Sales Figures (when it was in the top 10)

On Saturday october 14th , I was visiting a friend with my family and, one more time, I couldn’t resist to check the hourly ranks of my apps via AppFigures.  I looked at Montessori Crosswords stats and saw that it was ranked #25 in iPhone/education category. I remember telling my friend and wife that there was a bug because I’ve never been below rank #100 on iPhone (at that time, I've had good ranking only on iPad). Of course, one hour later I checked again and saw that it was even better; then I searched the web and found that Montessori Crosswords was mentioned in a New York Times article on iPhone and toddlers both on the web and in print:
"The 3-year-old has learned to spell compound words (...) through an app called Montessori Crossword, her mother said"
So I’ve been pretty lucky and the effect was huge: I sold a lot of units during this week-end and the following days since Montessori Crosswords was eventually ranked #6 in the iphone/education category. One week later the buzz was fading away (rank was #25) and was completely finished two weeks later (rank was #100).

I’ve always wanted to have some sales figures about the education market (especially sales when when an app is in the top 25) but these figures are rarely shared. So since I was fortunate enough to have one of my app in the top 10, I want to publish my own sales figures, and I hope it can help some indie developers to have a better view of the education market.

First graph below is units sold per day, and the second graph are ranks for these days (all figures from the US itunes store since 80% of the sales were in the US).
Some notes about these graphs :
  • I changed the price several times because the price of my app was originally $3.99 (it was for the iPad market where I sold most of my apps before this event). But this price was a little bit expensive for the iPhone education market (especially when the app is in the top 10), so I changed the price several times (to $1.99 or $2.99) to test what was the best price to stay in the top 25 as long as possible and maximizing revenue. Thanks Evan for the advices!
  • Montessori Crosswords is an universal app so iPad and iPhone sales are mixed (Dear Apple, this would be very nice to let us know how many apps are sold on each device)
  • if you don't know it yet, here is some theory about how ranking is computed by Apple : link
  • ranks are flat (and not valid) starting october 28th because Apple did froze US itunes store ranking these days.
iPad and iPhone Units Sold in the US

US iTunes Store Ranking

These graphs are not very easy to analyze because I changed the price often and it directly impacts the units sold, and the iPad/iPhone figures are mixed. But I thought that an app ranked #6 in education would sold more units (yes I'm a little bit optimist) - but education category is not the game category! In addition, perhaps I did not stay enough time in the top 10 to have very good figures (perhaps others developers that were- or are- in the top 10 for a longer period may comment these figures)
Anyway, you can see the buzz effect of the NYT article the week-end it was published (especially on sunday since the article was in the Sunday print edition) and how it fades away rapidly.
if you need others figures that are not displayed, do not hesitate to ask me.

A final word to thank Jill from Smarty Shortz and the fantastic MomsWithApps group since it would never have happened without Jill that was interviewed by the NYT and mentioned Montessori Crosswords that she has downloaded thanks to an AppFriday event of MomsWithApps.

  1. Pierre, thanks for your generosity in sharing these stats. I know a lot of developers are hesitant to share numbers, so your collaborative spirit is appreciated. Nice also to see the mention of Evan and Jill from MomsWithApps - exactly the kind of cross collaboration that is really nice to see!
    Congrats on your success and I hope we'll see Montessori Crosswords or other apps from L'Escapadou at the top of the charts in the future.

  2. Thank you so much for sharing. I am about to launch an app in the education market and have been entirely without numbers. This is helpful!


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Make Nursery Lighting Functional And Fun

When you prepare for a new baby, it’s easy to become too preoccupied in making the nursery aesthetically pleasing. As you get to know what your little one needs to be the healthiest and happiest he can be and establish your daily routine together, paint colors and matching crib linens will pale in comparison to… Read more


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Photo of the Day

Kristen Beam By Kristen Beam
on June 21, 2005 at 3:27 PM, updated May 14, 2007 at 4:59 PM

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters after he addressed the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation's healthcare summit at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston, Tuesday, June 21, 2005. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki)

It was at this event that Romney acknowledged that he has plans to run in the 2008 presidential election.


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UT football: Eligibility issues sideline McGee

AUSTIN — Texas tailback Vondrell McGee won’t play in tonight’s game against Wyoming because of “unresolved NCAA academic eligibility issues,” the Longhorns announced today.

McGee, a senior from Longview, has started seven games at UT but is now the team’s fourth-string running back and wasn’t expected to see extensive playing time against the Cowboys. He missed last week’s opener at Rice while serving a one-game suspension stemming from a drunken driving arrest last spring.

In a release announcing the eligibility situation, UT said McGee is enrolled in classes and is in “good academic standing.” He can practice with the team but won’t be allowed to play “until the eligibility issues are resolved.”

Categories: Uncategorized
Mike Finger

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Project Spurs At The 2010 NBA All-Star Game

Our very own staff writer, Lance Fell, had the opportunity to

attend the 2010 NBA All-Star game in Dallas. Here is his recap of the

sights and sounds of the game, his quest for a Tim Duncan jersey,

exclusive photos from Dallas and fan interviews. Enjoy!

By Lance Fell, Staff Writer Project Spurs

Being the die-hard Spurs fan that I am, Dallas has always been the

last place I’ve ever wanted go. Countless times I’ve told myself I

would never step into Dallas County, but with Tim Duncan’s hall of fame

career winding down and talented forwards like Kevin Durant and Carmelo

Anthony heading into the prime of their careers; this could be Duncan’s

last start as an All-Star, and there was no way, Dallas or not, I was

going to miss this.

My two friends and I arrived in Dallas late Friday night and stayed

at my cousin’s place right smack downtown. The next day, with no

tickets to the Jam Session or to All Star Saturday night, we jumped on

the Dallas Dart Rail and headed to the home of our bitter rivals, the

American Airline Center (AAC). Now, as a Spurs fan, I’ve done my fare

share of hating on Dallas, but as I rode the Dart through downtown

I was blown away by how beautiful it really is. I actually felt bad for

talking so much trash about a city that is actually incredibly stunning.

through Dallas, it was like a riding through NBA heaven. Every corner

was plastered with pictures of All Stars. Dwight Howard was on every

street sign, and the entire side of one building was covered with a

picture of LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki. But for all the pictures of

Brandon Roy and every other All Star, I had not seen a single picture

of Tim Duncan. How could this be? I thought I probably just missed them

while I was looking at all the different things and brushed it off my

shoulder. Surely, we would see portraits of Timmy at the AAC.

we arrived at the AAC I wasn’t disappointed. As soon as I stepped off

the Dart, there was a banner with Duncan, Dirk, Kobe Bryant and Steve

Nash. Finally some Timmy D. in this town. Outside the AAC, huge

portraits of Paul Pierce, Dwayne Wade and the other All Stars hung from

the sides of pillars surrounding it. We took pictures with the LeBron,

and Dwight Howard portraits, but the one portrait I wanted to take a

picture with, we couldn’t find. We walked a complete circle around the

AAC and saw not one portrait of Tim Duncan. Not one portrait of the 12

time All-Star and four time NBA Champion could be found.

So we

walked into the gift shop of the AAC, and immediately I went looking

for a Duncan jersey. If this is Timmy’s last start, I’m definitely

getting this jersey. So I walked through the fan shop in my Tim Duncan

shirt surrounded by Mavericks fans. I could feel their eyes glaring at

me, and I loved every second of it. The walls were covered with Mavs

gear, but not one shirt had the image of the Larry O’Bryant trophy on

it. That image, sorry Mavs fans, is on Spurs gear. I walked up to the

All Star jersey wall and began my search for the coveted Duncan Jersey.

I sorted through what seemed like a million Dirk and Kobe jerseys, but

no Duncan. Really? I thought to myself. In fact, the only item in the

entire store with any picture of Timmy was an All-Star shirt with every

All-Stars face drawn like a cartoon on the front.  Needless to say, I

was beginning to get a little annoyed with this theme of anti-Duncan

going on.

we left the AAC and headed to the Dallas Convention Center (DCC) to see

if maybe they had a Tim Duncan and Chris Paul jersey. My friend Tara is

obsessed with Chris Paul, but I let it slide because he went to Wake

Forest. While riding the Dart to the DCC, my other friend Nathan

shouted, “Duncan!” and pointed out the window. And there it was,

hanging from a street pole, a picture of Duncan posting up. It was only

the second picture we had seen of him all day, but it was worth it. We

arrived at the DCC, but unfortunately since we didn’t have tickets we

couldn’t get in. Maybe it was the DCC that had our elusive Tim Duncan

jersey. I guess we’ll never know.

Our Saturday was over and we

headed back to my cousin Adair’s apartment to watch what was sure to be

an eventful All-Star Saturday night. But as we all know, All-Star

Saturday night was on the dull side, and the highly anticipated dunk

contest lacked not only high profile players, but creativity and

We woke up the next morning, put on our Spurs gear, and made our way to Cowboys Stadium.

Click HERE for the complete article at Project Spurs.

Photos by Lance Fell/Project Spurs

Michael De Leon

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What areas of Spurs’ roster need improvement?

By Paul Garcia, Project Spurs

Today’s just a normal summer day here in San Antonio, but it could have been game seven of the Western Conference Finals at the AT&T Center. Instead it’s a gloomy cloudy day outside where the sun is battling through thick clouds and scattered showers to shine.

As far as sports in the city go, the quiet day is a resemblance of the state the San Antonio Spurs are in right now, out of the playoffs and questioning, wondering how in the world they let a championship that should have been theirs, slip away.

Click HERE for the complete article at Project Spurs.

Michael De Leon

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McDonald: Missing people Vs. hiding people

A call went out on the police radio Saturday morning, an all points bulletin to every officer on patrol: Start looking for a 15-year-old boy.

The boy had not been seen since leaving for school the prior morning. The mother was scared.

I called the dispatcher looking for more information. Two other were people missing as well.

There was a husband, a 27-year-old man and the boy, all gone without a trace.

It turns out people like to slip away from time to time. And the announcement did not do much to get those on patrol moving.

Officer Joe Rios explained.

A 15-year-old did not come home on a Friday night? That’s just a kid who is mad at something mom said.

For the others, draw your own conclusion, but it’s not a crime not to tell your wife/parents/neighbor/boss where you are going and to head out of town.

The 15-year-old was found that afternoon.

Categories: Uncategorized
mysa admin

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Big bench effort boosts Spurs to 59-48 halftime lead

Big bench contributions have helped spark the Spurs’ 59-48 halftime lead over Boston Wednesday night at the TD Garden.

Gary Neal leads the Spurs with 10 points. Danny Green has added nine and Matt Bonner and Tony Parker have chipped in with eight points apiece for the Spurs, who are gunning for their ninth consecutive victory.

Avery Bradley has scored a game-high 13 off the bench for Boston and Rajon Rondo has notched 10 points, six assists and three steals.

The Spurs have been proficient offensive, shooting at 54.3 percent and racking up 40 points in the paint.

The Spurs took control by hitting 11 of their first 13 shots in the second quarter during a blistering 19-4 run. They took their largest lead at 55-38 on Tim Duncan’s layup with 4:37 left in the half.

But Boston closed on a 10-4 finishing spurt capped by a hoop by Bradley to pull within 11 at the break.

The Spurs have dominated the Celtics on the board with a 28-17 rebounding edge, limiting the Celtics to one offensive rebound.

But San Antonio has been sloppy at times with seven turnovers compared to three by Boston.

Boston started the game hot, hitting eight of its first 11 shots to jump to a quick 16-11 lead.

But from there, they missed 12 of their last 14 shots of the quarter and finished hitting 40 percent in the quarter.

The Spurs closed the quarter on a 16-4 spurt capped by two foul shots by two foul shots by Jackson that gave them a 27-20 lead at the quarter break.

They picked up where they left off in the beatdown victory over Cleveland last night. It will be interesting if they become fatigued in the second half against the Celtics, who haven’t played since beating Miami on Sunday.

Categories: Boston Celtics, Spurs
Tim Griffin

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Woot: Where 1 isn’t the loneliest number

Remember in “City Slickers” when Jack Palance tells Billy Crystal the secret of life is “one”? That is, find one thing that makes you happy and do it well? The folks behind the retail Web site Woot must have loved that film. Because, unlike Amazon.com, which sells everything from the complete first season of “Charles in Charge” to squirrel-proof bird feeders, Woot takes a simpler approach. It sells one single, solitary item a day.

Nothing more, nothing less (which is fortunate because anything less would be nothing).

The Woot of the day, as each day’s offering is called, is usually something electronics-oriented, like a set of iPod speakers or a wireless networking system. But jokers occasional show up. Recently, Woot offered a Salton Water Wand Filtration System — basically a kitchen faucet with a built-in water filter. Lame, yes, but at $1 each, they quickly sold out.

That’s another thing about Woot. Once an item is sold out, it’s sold out. No back ordering. And since new Woots appear online each day at midnight, popular Woots are usually long gone by the time most people log on each morning. One more reason to stay up late to watch Conan O’Brien.

Categories: Uncategorized
mysa admin

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Friday, January 3, 2014

Montessori Activities for the Elderly

In many cases, Montessori activities for the elderly help to keep seniors with dementia happier and more productive while boosting their sense of self worth.

The Montessori Approach to Learning

The Montessori approach to learning is based on the educational theories of Maria Montessori, an Italian educator.  This method places great importance on adapting the learning experience to the developmental level of the child.  Learning takes place through repetitive, no-fail methods that are adapted to the individual’s specific needs.  There is great emphasis on developing fine motor skills and concentration, and building self-esteem.

The following are several of the main principles of the Montessori method of learning:
  • Each person must be considered as a whole.  All aspects of the individual are equally important and inseparable regarding his or her interests and needs.  These aspects are:
    1. Physical
    2. Emotional
    3. Cognitive
    4. Social
    5. Spiritual
    6. Aesthetic
  • It is necessary to show and have respect along with a caring attitude for everyone, including oneself, all life and the environment.
  • A cooperative atmosphere, peer teaching and social interaction are important for learning to occur.
  • Learning takes place through sensory provesses that include manipulating objects and interaction with other people.

Modifying the Montessori Method for the Elderly

Many nursing homes, elder care facilities and elder daycare centers are adapting the Montessori methods to their clients suffering from varying degrees of memory loss and dementia caused by such conditions as:

  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Storke
  • Illness

These individuals are given meaningful activities that build upon on their remaining skills and abilities.  The Montessori methods can also be used with individuals that have physical, mental or physical and mental types of disabilities.  Activity programs that are Montessori-based help to give the elderly suffering from memory loss a sense of task completion and success.  These programs often help to reestablish recognition skills and enhance an individual’s memory.

It is important that tasks are broken down into several smaller tasks, or steps.  This helps the individual establish success and lessens the chance of forgetting a step.  Key factors in having the individual achieve a successful outcome to an activity include:

  • Repetition
  • Positive reinforcement
  • Including as many of the five senses in the performance of the activity as possible

Examples of Montessori Activities for the Elderly

There are many types of Montessori tactile materials that can be uses with the elderly including:

  • Puzzles
  • Reading manterials that are printed in fonts that are large and easy to read
  • World flags
  • Letter recognition blocks

Caregivers often are able to find activities that relate to a former hobby, interest or job that the individual enjoyed in their earlier years.  The activity skill must be broken down into smaller tasks to ensure that the individual achieves success.  If the task is still not possible, it needs to be modified until it is possible for the person to perform it successfully.

The following are several examples of how Montessori-based activities have been adapted to use with elderly individuals.

  • Practice buttons, hooks and buckles on a colorful piece of material using large-sized items
  • Practice opening a lock attached to a wooden box
  • Matching plastic fruit they hold to pictures on a cloth or placemat.
  • Placing three different colored balls into matching cups.  If the task is too difficult, one color of the balls and cups would be removed.  If it is still too difficult, only one color would be used until the person was able to achieve success with the task.
By Terry Hurley

Become a Fan of Newby Realty on FacebookNewby Realty - Manufactured Home Sales
Newby Realty provides sales of new and used manufactured (mobile) homes throughout Florida in Bradenton, Clearwater, Debary, Edgewater, Ellenton, Fort Pierce, Hudson, Lakeland, N. Fort Myers, New Smyrna Beach, Ocala, Palmetto, Port Charlotte, Port Richey, Sarasota, Winter Springs, Zephyrhills.

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Increase hospital aid

Ali T Winston By Ali T Winston The Star-Ledger
on March 13, 2008 at 6:00 AM, updated March 13, 2008 at 6:11 AM

Recently, you reported that another New Jersey hospital will close: Muhlenberg in Union County. Shortly after, Gov. Jon Corzine proposed his new state budget. It includes slashes in aid for hospitals. How many more financially strapped hospitals will be forced to close? Having a sufficient number of economically viable, well-staffed hospitals should be a priority in New Jersey. State funding of hospitals should be neither decreased nor maintained at the same level. It should be appropriately increased. Sufficient funding is essential so that all New Jersey residents may be cared for promptly and properly when the need arises. Our lives may depend on it.


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St. Ann's Crawfish Rumble to be in Metairie

Melinda Morris, | The Times-Picayune By Melinda Morris, | The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on April 30, 2014 at 12:19 PM, updated April 30, 2014 at 12:20 PM

St. Ann Men’s Club invites the public to its fifth annual Crawfish Rumble, to be held rain or shine on the blacktop at St. Ann School, 4900 Loveland St. in Metairie on May 17 from 5-9 p.m. Those who buy entry armbands early guarantee their spot to dine on crawfish and fixin's prepared by some of the area’s best boilers.
The cost is $20 for ages 16 and up and $10 for ages 10 to 15. Those under 9 are admitted for free.

Hot dogs, soda, water, snowballs and beer will be available for purchase. Sing and dance along with live music from The Flashback Chameleons. Kids will be welcome to play in the special fun zone.

Buy armbands at the parish office during normal office hours, use forms available online at or request a form via email at

All proceeds go to Men’s Club service projects completed for St. Ann Church and School. To become a sponsor or register your team, call event chairs Curtis Matthews at 504.329.6832 or Jared Lazo at 504.416.9787.


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Obama Extending Life Of The Shuttle

In an answer from a question from Mark Matthews of the Orlando Sentinel about the future of the space shuttle-

OBAMA: First of all, we have authorized were budgeted for additional shuttle launches that had not been scheduled. So we’re extending the life of the shuttle because a) I think it is doing some important work and b) we are very mindful of the economic impact of the space program in the region.

It is unclear how many more shuttle mission over and for how long the President intends to keep flying the shuttle. It may not be possible to extend shuttle flights for much longer than planned.

This entry was posted in NASA, Space Policy. Bookmark the permalink.

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Washington County's Valley and Vineyard Scenic Tour Route highlights rural edge of Portland metro area

The transition is almost instantaneous.

One moment, you're speeding westbound on the Sunset Highway, trying to avoid detection by vigilant deputies. The next, you're slowed to a crawl behind a tractor hopscotching between fields.

What a relief. And you don't have to drive far to do it.

The western boundary of the Portland metro area is rimmed by a horseshoe-shaped scenic driving tour that knits together a bucolic 50-mile chain of rural delights. The route skirts North Plains, Forest Grove and Sherwood, but doesn't really enter any town unless you choose.

Just exit the Seaside-bound freeway on Helvetia Road, then settle into the slow lane. You're on the Washington County Vineyard and Valley Scenic Tour Route.

Yes, scenic drives are a dime a dozen around here. And this may be no better than the rest. But it has its advantages, especially if you live in the Portland area. Not only is it close, but it also offers enough to see and do for a full weekend without continuing that drive to the coast.

And autumn's harvest season could be the best time. That's when grapes get picked, pumpkins turn orange and alpacas pack on wool in anticipation of colder weather.

Roadside signs reminded me of the difference between the countryside and the Southeast Portland neighborhood where I live, as soon as I passed the last strip mall and left the freeway at Exit 61.

Signs pointed out my arrival in an agricultural zone, offered four ears of sweet corn for a buck and listed a phone number to call for mole and gopher control. It was as though I had entered the transporter in the old "Star Trek" TV series and arrived on a different planet.

Another sign also was common: "closed." To avoid these, time your tour for the weekend. Since my two-day tour began on a Friday, I was forced to bypass the lavender, peach, pumpkin, grape and alpaca places right off the bat.

The Helvetia Tavern was open, but it was too early to be tempted by the pleasure of a pint on the outdoor patio. I stopped to admire the tavern's collection of baseball hats tacked to the ceiling, then continued to a place where I knew the residents would be home: the Helvetia Cemetery.

The scenic tour route passes three pioneer cemeteries, along with their adjacent churches. Each offers a well-kept connection, in a peaceful and beautiful setting, to the late 1800s, when German and Dutch immigrants carved farms from the lush woodlands.

A short detour off the route from there is the North Plains Glider Port. It, too, was closed, but I didn't mind when I remembered how I had gone airborne there before, almost losing lunch when the pilot told me to take the controls. Members of the Willamette Valley Soaring Club offer flights for $120 on Wednesdays and weekends during good weather months.
One with wine

At my next stop, I was rewarded for my Friday outing when I was the only visitor in the Tualatin Estate Vineyard tasting room. That meant host David Prehn gave me his undivided attention for an hour, driving me around the vineyard to show off the view and explaining different methods of trellising vines.

Washington County has a long association with the grape, dating to those aforementioned pioneers. More recently, about two dozen vineyards have joined Yamhill County and others to make the Willamette Valley a world destination for wine lovers. Most of the county's wineries are on or near the scenic tour route.

Prehn explained how Tualatin Vineyard was established in 1978, but more recently saw its 200 acres of vines come under the umbrella of an Oregon powerhouse. Most of the grapes these days wind up with a Willamette Valley Vineyards label (the home vineyard, just off Interstate 5 south of Salem).

The Tualatin vineyard tasting room still sells Frizzanté, a semi-sparkling Muscat dessert wine, under its own label. Prehn plans to ramp up the vineyard's event schedule and conduct walking tours, where secrets of the trellising will be revealed.

Wine is one thing you won't see sold by the honor system along the tour route (the Oregon Liquor Control Commission would frown on that), but you can pick up corn, eggs, squash, flowers and even honey by leaving some bucks in a box.

"We've never had a problem with people not paying, and our honey is available 24 hours, seven days a week," said Eugenia Wessels, who sells honey from her family's 600 beehives.

Wessels Family Honey is on the outskirts of Forest Grove, which makes it a good last stop on the first day before veering toward town for some attractions slightly off route.

The L-Bar-T Bison Ranch has a display herd, but the shaggy beasts were suffering through a 90-degree day and in no mood to put on a show. Better to come back during winter, when a rare skiff of snow sends the calves romping like human kids when school is canceled. The ranch store sells processed meat, along with enough buffalo trinkets to make you think the national symbol should not be the bald eagle.

SakéOne produces premium sake in Forest Grove Tony Faustin talks about how SakéOne started in Forest Grove and explains the process of how they make sake.
Even Japanese sake is on the tour

Nearby is an American rarity: Sake One, a brewer of high-quality Japanese-style sake. This is sake you drink chilled in a wineglass, not something you pour down your throat warm.

Brewery tours are offered daily in the afternoons. The take-away lesson is that sake is the opposite of wine: every batch should taste the same, provided the same strains of yeast and enzyme additives are used, instead of being distinctive by vineyard location and year as with wine.

I would need to drink a lot more sake to test this theory.

Less than a mile away, I checked into a hotel and immediately went to the Doctor's Office to see whether it sold sake. Sorry, the bartender said, but she could serve just about anything else.

The Doctor's Office is one of four bars/restaurants on the impressive grounds of the McMenamins Grand Lodge, a Forest Grove institution since it was converted a decade ago from a Masons' retirement home. The 77-room hotel is a gem of the McMenamins' 57-property empire, alongside Edgefield in Troutdale, Kennedy School in Northeast Portland and Old St. Francis School in Bend.

You could easily spend the weekend at Grand Lodge and forget doing the scenic driving tour.

I most enjoyed the eclectic artwork decorating the long hallways. It mixes the lore and belief of the Masons with the history of the area in photographs. Orphan kids, octogenarians playing checkers, Pacific University students welcoming a campaigning Richard Nixon and Latino field workers all contributed to the diversity of Forest Grove, one of Oregon's best small towns.

I began day two wondering how the previous 25-mile tour could have been so exhausting. Was I up for a repeat? You bet.

Much of the delight along the tour is simply watching the countryside roll by the car window. Awaiting harvest, fields of grain, corn, vegetables, fruits and nuts carpet the valley floor. Vineyards climb the lower hills, then give way to the forests of the Coast Range foothills.

I came upon a group of bikers revving up their Harleys, outside Bald Peak Bar & Grill, for a Saturday afternoon tour. I assumed the pig on the rotisserie out back was for them upon their return.

I stopped for an ice cream at Laurel Valley Store, but flinched when the storekeeper wanted $2.89 for a snack I remember paying 25 cents for back in high school.

Instead, I bought a homemade pecan roll at South Store Cafe in Scholls. Wise choice.

Across the street, I met the owner of Smith Berry Barn, who went to the same university I did. Smart man, Rich Hildner. He wears his Washington State Cougars hat in hunter's camouflage, not wanting to rile Duck and Beaver fans on a fall football Saturday.

After studying agriculture in the Palouse, Hildner found heaven in Washington County. "Soil here is 39 inches deep before I hit clay," he said. "I can grow just about anything," including 10 types of berries and 20 varieties of apples.

He also has goats and chickens to keep the kids interested.

The tour continued, passing more wineries, orchards and farms, a horse stable and garden center. The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge anchors the south end, where another time machine, the Pacific Highway, returns you to the fast lane.

GS.11TOUR102.jpgView full size
Washington County Vineyard and Valley Scenic Tour Route

Get a map: Print a map of the route and list of attractions from the Washington County Visitors Association website (visitwashingtoncounty, pick one up at their office (11000 S.W. Stratus St., Suite 170, Beaverton), or call (503-644-555) and have it mailed.

Turns are signed in both directions, so you can do the tour from the north (Exit 61, Helvetia Road and Sunset Highway/U.S. 26) or the south (Roy Rogers Road and Pacific Highway/Oregon 99W).

Best time: The countryside is beautiful all year, but keep in mind the seasonality of farm products you want to experience. More attractions are open on weekends.

Highlights: Century-plus old churches and farms, country stores, cafes and taverns, wineries, a sake brewery, nurseries and wildlife viewing can easily make this tour last a full weekend.

Choices are many, but there is only one McMenamins Grand Lodge. Formerly a home for the aged run by the Masons, the 13-acre Forest Grove property was converted a decade ago into a hotel with 77 rooms, four restaurants/bars, a spa, movie theater and landscaped grounds; lodging from $40 to $215; 3505 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove, 503-992-9533,

More driving tours

State tour routes:
The Oregon Department of Transportation has a byway program that includes All-American Roads, National Scenic Byways, Oregon Scenic Byways and Oregon Tour Routes. These are designated mostly for scenery (

Oregon Country Trails: This is a growing network of agri-tourism driving routes, with 17 routes featuring 350 rural attractions (, mostly in the west-center of the state (Waldport to Prineville).

Localized tours:
As with Washington County, tourism promoters and businesses often join together to establish local tour routes. Examples include the Hood River Fruit Loop (, the Molalla Country Farm Loop ( and the Umpqua Valley Wine Tour (

-- Terry Richard


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Academic Insights for the Thinking World

The Man in the Monkeynut Coat and the men in the yellow jerseys

By Kersten Hall

It is a safe bet that the name of Pierre Rolland rings very few bells among the British public. In 2012, Rolland, riding for Team Europcar finished in eighth place in the overall final classifications of the Tour de France whilst Sir Bradley Wiggins has since become a household name following his fantastic achievement of being the first British person ever to win the most famous cycle race in the world.

In the world of sport, we remember a winner. But the history of science is often also described in similar terms – as a tale of winners and losers racing to the finish line. Nowhere is this more true than in the story of the discovery of the structure of DNA. When James Watson’s book, The Double Helix was published in 1968, it depicted science as a frantic and often ruthless race in which the winner clearly took all. In Watson’s account, it was he and his Cambridge colleague Francis Crick who were first to cross the finish line, with their competitors Rosalind Franklin at Kings College, London and Linus Pauling at Caltech, Pasadena trailing in behind.

There is no denying the importance of Watson and Crick’s achievement: their double-helical model of DNA not only answered fundamental questions in biology such as how organisms pass on hereditary traits from one generation to the next but also heralded the advent of genetic engineering and the production of vital new medicines such as recombinant insulin. But it is worth asking whether this portrayal of science as a breathless race to the finish line with only winners and losers, is necessarily an accurate one. And perhaps more importantly, does it actually obscure the way that science really works?

William Astbury. Reproduced with the permission of Leeds University Library
William Astbury. Reproduced with the permission of Leeds University Library

To illustrate this point, it is worth remembering that Watson and Crick obtained a vital clue to solving the double-helix thanks to a photograph taken by the crystallographer Rosalind Franklin. Labelled in her lab notes as ‘Photo 51′, it showed a pattern of black spots arranged in the shape of a cross, formed when X-rays were diffracted by fibres of DNA. The effect of this image on Watson was dramatic. The sight of the black cross, he later said, made his jaw drop and pulse race for he knew that this pattern could only arise from a molecule that was helical in shape.

In recognition of its importance in the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA, a plaque on the wall outside King’s College, London where Franklin worked now hails ‘Photo 51‘ as being ‘one of the world’s most important photographs’. Yet curiously, neither Watson nor Franklin had been the first to observe this striking cross pattern. For almost a year earlier, the physicist William Astbury working in his lab at Leeds had obtained an almost identical X-ray diffraction pattern of DNA.

Yet despite obtaining this clue that would prove to be so vital to Watson and Crick, Astbury never solved the double-helical structure himself and whilst the Cambridge duo went to win the Nobel Prize for their work, Astbury remains largely forgotten.

But to dismiss him as a mere ‘also-ran’ in the race for the double-helix would be both harsh and hasty: the questions that Astbury was asking and the aims of his research were subtly but significantly different to those of Watson and Crick. The Cambridge duo were solely focussed on DNA, whereas Astbury felt that by studying a wide range of biological fibres from wool to bacterial flagella, he might uncover some deep common theme based on molecular shape that could unify the whole of biology. It was this emphasis on the molecular shape of fibres and how these shapes could change that formed his core definition of the new science of ‘molecular biology’ which he helped to found and popularise, and one that has had a profound impact on modern biology and medicine.

On 5th July this year, Leeds will host ‘Le Grand Depart’ – the start of the 2014 Tour de France. As the contestants begin to climb the hills of Yorkshire each will no doubt harbour dreams of wearing the coveted yellow jersey and all will have their sights firmly fixed on crossing the same ultimate finishing line. At first sight scientific discovery may also appear to be a race towards a single finish line, but in truth it is a much more muddled affair rather like a badly organised school sports day in which several races all taking place in different directions and over different distances became jumbled together. For this reason it makes little sense to think of Astbury as having ‘lost’ the race for DNA to Watson and Crick. That Leeds was chosen to host the start of the 2014 Tour de France, is an honour for which the city can take pride, but in the life and work of William Astbury it also has a scientific heritage of which it can be equally proud.

Kersten Hall is graduated from St. Anne’s College, Oxford with a degree in biochemistry, before embarking on a PhD at the University of Leeds using molecular biology to study how viruses evade the human immune system. He then worked as a Research Fellow in the School of Medicine at Leeds during which time he developed a keen interest in the historical and philosophical roots of molecular biology. He is now Visiting Fellow in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, where his research focuses on the origins of molecular biology and in particular the role of the pioneering physicist William T. Astbury and the work of Sir William and Lawrence Bragg. He is the author of The Man in the Monkeynut Coat.

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Image credit: William Astbury, Reproduced with the permission of Leeds University Library

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  1. […] to James Watson’s famous book, The Double Helix (read  Kersten Hall’s blog post about William Asbury, James Watson and the forgotten road to the Double Helix), in which WLB was compared unflatteringly to Colonel Blimp. Watson has since claimed that it was […]

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Fireworks Next post: Interactive fireworks image: Oooh! Ahhhh!

Scarecrow Previous Post: Scarecrows: those anthropomorphic (not avian) symbols of the season

Remember, remember… pyrotechnic displays that amaze (and terrify)

It’s a custom peculiar to Britain, but for school children (and some adults) all over the country, as November begins, the following words march round and round.

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot

Confession time.  I have an uneasy relationship with fireworks, something which became apparent in early childhood. As a four-year old, I badgered my dad to take me along to the local stadium for the firework display on 5 November, which he did. As soon as the first firework exploded, with an ear-splitting bang, I began to scream and insisted on being taken home. Ever since, I have viewed Guy Fawkes Night with a mixture of fear and trepidation.

That’s not to say I am unable to appreciate them. I am, just from the comfort of indoors, where they aren’t nearly so loud but are every bit as impressive and pretty. The names themselves conjure up an image of great spectacle  –  you can imagine fizgigs, jumping jacks, and Roman candles filling the night sky and then disappearing almost as quickly as they arrived. I recall walks through parks the morning after, when you see the strangely sad sight of a burnt-out firework lying on the grass.

The history of today’s organised Bonfire Night celebrations is a turbulent one, according to the Dictionary of English Folklore, available in Oxford Reference Online:

Bonfires and bells
November the Fifth (also known as Bonfire Night, Guy Fawkes Night, Firework Night, Plot Night, or Squib Night), was officially declared a day of national celebration and commemoration in response to the failed attempt by Guy Fawkes and other Catholic sympathizers to blow up both King James I and Parliament in 1605. A special thanksgiving service was to be offered on the day, church bells were to be rung, and the people allowed to celebrate with bonfires and merrymaking. This was nothing unusual at the time, as bonfires and bells were the normal means used to mark national celebrations, and this encouragement by the authorities continued for many years.

Blazing tar barrels and burning effigies
Over the years, the custom changed considerably as the people gradually appropriated it for their own purposes. Effigies were burnt as early as the 1670s, although until the 19th century these were more likely to be of the Pope or some domestic political enemy rather than Guy Fawkes himself. Orderly processions and controlled bonfires soon gave way to the carrying and rolling of blazing tar barrels, letting off of guns or fireworks and general noisy, drunken, and dangerous mayhem became the norm. When these activities took place in the confines of city streets rather than more spacious rural areas, serious questions of public order and the safety of property were raised, which was not helped by a generally held notion that November the Fifth was a day on which extra licence was permitted.

By the 19th century respectable people in many towns were beginning first to withdraw their support from such crowd-based customs and then actively to oppose them. Lighting fires and setting off fireworks within towns were forbidden and perpetrators increasingly harassed by the police. Many towns in England were the scenes of protracted and often bitter struggles between those who wanted to keep their old customs intact and those dedicated to suppress, or at least reform, them.

Spectacular modern-day celebrations
Private celebrations held in gardens and yards had become the norm by the early 20th century, and continued to be the basic pattern until fears over safety and other societal changes in the 1960s and 1970s brought about another move towards controlled public displays. Today, a few places in England still preserve some of the older traditions associated with the Fifth: Lewes (Sussex) where impressive torch-lit processions and giant effigies are the main feature, while Ottery St Mary (Devon) and Hatherleigh (Devon) maintain the tradition of blazing tar barrels.

A Dictionary of English Folklore, Dr Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud, ©Oxford University Press 2000, 2003

Love’s Labour’s Lost: an ancient tradition …

Of course, fireworks have a much broader association than that of Guy Fawkes. They are a feature of countless celebrations, the world over, be it Fourth of July, Diwali, or New Year’s Eve.  Shakespeare wrote of pyrotechnic displays in Love’s Labour’s Lost, and as far back as 1562 the word was used to describe a combustible device used in war – quite some time before the Gunpowder Plot was even a twinkle in Guy Fawkes’ eye.

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