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Esoteric Mysteries of the PDF

by Sarah Warlick, content director

Have you ever copied text from a PDF file and pasted it somewhere else, comfortable in the knowledge that it had already been proofed and approved, only to find that certain letters were missing? If not, it’s time to get a little uncomfortable. That’s because there’s a strong likelihood you have used this finalized copy and never noticed that ‘fi’ had been systematically removed, leaving only a blank space where the letters were intended to appear.

Missing fi from PDFsThis and other weird phenomena can sometimes happen when copying from PDF documents to Word. The variability stems from the fact that PDF creation tools rely on specific “behind-the-scenes” protocols that have changed over the years. An older version may replace ‘fi’ with that sneaky blank space, where a document made with a newer PDF generator will show the words intact.

But what causes the problem to begin with? Here we must dig deep into the mysterious world of codes, glyphs, fonts and metadata. To begin with, let’s look at the nature of PDFs themselves. These documents are basically electronic images that usually combine graphics and text into a single format (the Portable Document Format, thus PDF). Unlike word processing software like MS Word or Macintosh Pages and similar tools, PDF creators don’t concern themselves with the text itself as an entity involving words that need to make sense. These tools instead focus on the way the whole file looks in order to create a complete image that’s suitable for rendering online as an image or attachment, or being printed on paper or another medium.

Take a deep breath, we’re going to get a bit technical, but just bear with me. Text included in a PDF is broken down into glyphs, or individual symbols. These are identified with codes that can be mapped to Unicode or ASCII in many cases, but not always. The PDF-producing application may or may not include metadata that recognizes the text as text rather than merely a long series of glyphs to be reproduced. This means that you might not be able to copy the text at all, search it for particular words or copy and paste it accurately.

PDF readers have the difficult task of taking the coded data and reproducing it as it appeared in the design tool, including the fonts that were originally embedded. The number of possible fonts is staggering – 238,982,375 for LaTeX, which is an older PDF production protocol. The readers must also determine where a space should appear, usually by identifying variation in the space between the glyphs in the code.

There’s a lot of room for miscalculation in this complicated sequence of coding, translating and recoding. Ligatures (sets of joined letters) are particularly prone to trouble, as certain pairs of letters often appear as a ligature in one font but not another. The letters ‘f’ and ‘i’ frequently form a ligature when they appear in that sequence. If the application that creates a PDF handles the two letters as a single ligature and then the reader application does not utilize the same font, the latter tool can identify a spacing anomaly in the glyph series and thus assume it’s time to add a space. It displays the space obediently, in the process wreaking havoc on what was once lovely copy.

One way to avoid this type of problem is to encourage the use of current PDF production applications, which utilize the newer XeLaTeX protocol. But since converting data to and from the PDF format involves tons of complex data translation, the only real answer is to carefully re-proof every bit of copy that comes out. Yes, it adds time, but it’s better than unwittingly sharing content that urges readers to approach the  nish line with con dence or learn about the  rm’s  nancial services today, or something just as silly. See how that works?

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Dependency On Wireless Internet In Houston And Washington Dc

Are you looking for a new hot water heater for your home? Indeed, finding the best one for your home’s needs can be costly and daunting. There are many styles available in the market today and going through each variety to make up your purchasing decision can be overwhelming. Although, the process is stressful and the cost may demand a lot, there is more than just the stress and the price when it comes to getting the best one for your home.

There is also another area of investing and just as important as the investment in products. You must invest in marketing your business! It does not matter what kind of business you are in an investment in marketing your business is a must. No One Will Know You Are in Business Unless you Tell – Get the Word out about Your Business!!

There are a few options you can choose when looking at home businesses. One option is a virtual assistant business. These are for small businesses to have a virtual assistant to do their clerical tasks. This saves them time and money. You can also choose writing a blog or articles. Others use affiliate marketing. They become sales representatives for a company and help drive traffic and sales to their site. Others go into a direct selling company like cosmetics or jewelry.

As your down line grows, the more passive income you receive. Residual or passive income requires no maintenance. This means that unlike owning rental property where a person receives passive income, they still must maintain the building. With direct selling, once the sale is made, there in no maintenance.

When contracting with a conferencing company, it is important to make sure that the company has its own bridging platform. The conference bridge is the piece of ACN Espana hardware that houses the audio conference calls. If the company does not have their own bridges, then they would have to outsource these calls to a third party. This will be an obvious loss of control having three parties involved and with three parties, all three will be sharing in the revenue. Also, when considering different companies, have a test call on their bridge to sell how the quality is.

So what are the down sides, the one that stands out to me is that it seems to cut most men out of the equation. Mary Kay and Avon have done very well mainly focusing on women, but that part of the population is pretty much eliminated from your customer market.

Canada’s standard time station signed on in 1929. Its call sign became CHU in 1938. It was operated by the Dominion Observatory of Canada until 1970. It’s the first foreign language station I ever heard. I learned how to count in French from listening. On the first day of French 101, I knew how to tell time, and count up to fifty-nine, hi.

Micromax Q7 has a blackberry look with Qwerty keypad in a cost of Rs 5000 approximately. The phone looks like professional and is available in two stylish colors black and silver. The phone has a 2MP camera with lot of features in it. The dimension of the phone is 110mmx59mmx10.7mm and is light in weight with just 100g. It also has a large phonebook which can store upto 1000 contacts. And also one can store 1000 SMS in it. The wifi feature makes the phone more attractive. Other features which increase the value of phone are its 78MB internal memory, Expandable Memory upto 4GB, upto 6 days standby time and upto 4.5 hours of talk time, Bluetooth, GPRS, WAP, Stereo FM Radio etc. For browsing it also comes with Opera Mini Browser.

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Help us stop the spread of COVID-19! If you are willing, please vote via absentee ballot in the August 4, 2020 Election. Fill out the application below and return to Bear Creek Township, and we will mail you a ballot. Thank you!

Upcoming Elections:

August 4, 2020 State Primary

November 3, 2020 November General

Register to Vote at:

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Emma Kendziorski, Clerk

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EXHIBITION: Kim Schoenstadt at Lapis Press, Culver City

At least, 2017 is not a bad start everywhere: in the heart of a peaceful neighborhood of Culver City, Lapis Press -lead by Adam Gross- continues to offer little jewels in the field of print and multiples. It is so good, especially at the present time, to see good people who do a good work to feel good yourself….

After some iconic projects such as La Brea Matrix, or Portfolios of pigmented ink prints by Graciela Iturbide, Rinko Kawauchi, or Vija Celmins to name a few, this time Adam Gross asked to Kim Schoenstadt to collaborate with Lapis Press.

Sightline Series: Inglewood/Malibu/Los Angeles 1, 2016 – Antique lithograph with cast vinyl film, pigment print elements, and electrophotography print in custom maple frame with two panes of Museum Glass.- 14-3/4 x 16-3/4 in. | 37.46 x 42.54 cm
From a series of 9 unique works. – Catalog number: KS16-0046 – Published by The Lapis Press

The project reflects exactly the universe of LA-based artist Schoenstadt. At Schoenstadt’s last exhibition at Chimento she defined a frame but made her design explode out of its initial frame.

The series shown at Lapis Press works the same. It is both contained within a 14 by 16 inches frame, but the making allows the freedom of the artist to express itself fully: when you look at that building -upper right- added to the original grey and white image used as a background, it is actually an assemblage/collage of images, and it has been layered with one more glass to add depth to the composition.

Very subtle indeed.

Kim Schoenstadt and two of her unique prints

Beatrice Chassepot Los Angeles, Feb 1st, 2017


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The Drum Network CEO lunch event will focus on what long terms plans independent agency owners can put in place with a potential exit in mind. This event will have a guest speaker from The Winterberry group, who will discuss latest trends in agency valuation and exit strategies.

The Drum Network events are based around peer to peer learning and collaboration. Places are limited to 12-15 people to ensure there is an environment where guests feel comfortable and share experiences in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

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Customizing the PnP Starter-Kit for Office 365 Part 1 – Portal Footer

If you’ve found this post, it’s likely you already know what the PnP Starter Kit is. However, if you do not, I’ve written a quick starter post about it here. The PnP Starter Kit is an open source initiative that provides an end to end solution for provisioning pre-built sites, web parts, extensions, site designs and more in an Office 365 environment.

While it really is an exhaustive example of how this can be done, many people are hoping to augment the solution to suit their own business needs. Because of this, I am going to start a series about how to configure and change certain aspects of the starter kit. In this post, we’ll talk about how to modify the footer in the hub site, aka “Portal Footer”.

The Portal Footer is the orange bar (highlighted in red) at the bottom this image.

The portal footer is an expanding footer that allows for showing standard company links and supports personalized links for the current logged in user. The personal links are stored in a property on the User Profile that needs to be created by an admin. Instructions to do so can be found on the GitHub repository at this page.

Here what the footer looks like expanded.

You’ll notice there are columns with a list of links inside. They are grouped by “Applications”, “Internal Modules”, “News” and “My Links” (the links that are held on the user profile).  The “Applications”, “Internal Modules” and “News” group of links are stored within a SharePoint list on the portal site in a list called “PnP-PortalFooter-Links”, which are deployed automatically with the Starter Kit. If you navigate to the list you will be able to see and modify the existing links and link groups that show in the footer.

Modify a company wide link in the footer

To modify an existing link in the footer, all you need to do is edit one of the links in the PnPPortalFooterLinks list. Let’s do that now. I am going to open up the CRM link item under “Applications” and change the title from “CRM” to “NEW CRM TITLE”.

Once I save the item, and reload the page and expand my footer, I’ll see my new title.

Permission the portal link items

While I rarely recommend item level permissions, there are times where this may make sense. Generally speaking, item level permissions can make it hard for IT staff members to manage what content users have access to in SharePoint. Also, in a list with many items, item level permissions become a performance concern. However, in the case of this links list, it’s unlikely we’ll have that many items so it should be fairly easy to manage.

The footer link can only access items in a list that the current logged in user has access to, thus allowing us to show or hide links to specific users. Let’s say that the ERP application in the “Applications” group should only be visible to a specific ERP team. Using out of the box permission, we can remove access and grant permissions to the item for that team only.

Add my own personal links

As previously mentioned, the portal footer allows for users to create and link to their favorite locations that they access the most. To do this, expand the footer using the arrows on the right. You’ll see the ability to add and edit the links on your profile.

If you are a SharePoint admin, you can navigate to the User Profiles in the SharePoint Admin center and see the values for links that users are storing on their profiles.

Update company name

If you look at the footer, you’ll notice it has a copyright for Contoso 2018 and also has a help desk link to Changing these values is the most common request I have seen from users who have tested out the starter kit and want to use these extensions. In order to do this, we actually need to modify the PnP Provisioning template provided with the solution because these values aren’t stored anywhere in SharePoint.

If you have downloaded/cloned the repository, navigate to the provisioning folder and open up the hubsite.xml file. This is the template that defines the structure of the portal site. It includes all of the pages, the navigation, the web parts and identifies which application customizers will load for this site. Towards the bottom of the file you will see an XML node called <pnp:CustomActions>, inside it defines the Portal Footer properties.

Let’s say I want to change the values highlighted in red that correspond to the Copyright and Help link in the footer. My fictional company is Cameronsoft and we manufacture fake widgets, so I definitely want to have my company’s name in the footer at all times. I will change these values in the template.xml before deploying the PnP starter kit.

Now, if i deploy the starter kit, my company’s information will be listed at the bottom instead of Contoso!

Updating an already deployed footer

Let’s say you’ve deployed the footer but you didn’t realize that it would be labeled with Contoso. I wouldn’t try to re-deploy the starter-kit, because you may find complications with that. So here is a set of PowerShell scripts to help you do so. Using PnP, you’ll need to connect to the hub site and remove the existing portal footer, and re-add a new one with new properties.

Remove-PnPCustomAction -Identity "PortalFooter"

Add-PnPCustomAction -Name "PortalFooter" -Title "PortalFooter" -ClientSideComponentId b8eb4ec9-934a-4248-a15f-863d27f94f60 -Location "ClientSideExtension.ApplicationCustomizer" -ClientSideComponentProperties "{""linksListTitle"":""PnP-PortalFooter-Links"",""copyright"":""@Copyright CameronSoft, 2018"",""support"":"""",""personalItemsStorageProperty"":""PnP-CollabFooter-MyLinks""}"

We start by connecting to the hub site using Connect-PnPOnline.

Then we remove the application customizer with the name “PortalFooter”. Followed up by Add-PnPCustomAction. Notice, the clientsidecomponentproperties is a JSON object that defines the values on the footer. Just update these to include your company instead of Constoso!

Modify Footer code

You may find the footer isn’t displayed exactly how you like, or you want to add your own custom functionality. Well, no problem there! This is an open source project and you are free to change anything you like. To find the footer code, open your sp-starter-kit folder in VS Code and navigate to /solution/src/extensions/portalfooter This is where you can modify the code to suite your needs. Once complete, just rebuild and package the solution then upload it to your app catalog! Instructions on SPFx and how to build and deploy apps can be found here.

Final Comments

I hope you find this post helpful. As I mentioned, I am going to be doing a short series on this for those of you who wish to customize or change the PnP Starter kit. If you have any questions, I suggest going to the GitHub repository first. Eric Overfield has done a fantastic job producing documentation for this solution. If you can’t find what you are looking for, you can ask a question in the issues list or you can just comment on this post and I’d be happy to help!

23 thoughts on “Customizing the PnP Starter-Kit for Office 365 Part 1 – Portal Footer

  1. Obs (@Obs_BE) July 20, 2018 / 1:19 am

    Great article! Thanks.
    I have a related question, maybe you can help with.
    As the starterkit clearly dictates, you shouldn’t deploy it to a production tenant.
    However I would very like to use this footer extension on my company’s tenant.
    As I have no experience with SPFx, I have no idea how to accomplish this.
    Could you point me to a resource or give some pointers on that? Thanks!

    • Beau Cameron July 20, 2018 / 11:43 am

      You have a couple of options. Likely, you’ll want to upload the .sppkg file to your app catalog. Then using PowerShell, you’ll want to add the footer to your new site. I have updated this post that shows how to remove/add/customize the footer on this site. The GitHub repo has instructions on how to upload the .sppkg file to your environment. Let me know how I can assist further.

      • Obs (@Obs_BE) July 21, 2018 / 5:14 am

        Thanks for you feedback, appreciate it.
        Is there a seperate sppkg file that only contains the footer extension? or do I need to use the sharepoint-starter-kit.sppkg file?

  2. westerdaled July 31, 2018 / 6:07 am

    With regards to PnP-PortalFooter-Links.XML , would I want to edit these prior deployment in VS Code . Note I am working in a copy of your PnP-Starter-Kit-Non-FR repo we talked about last week.

  3. Tommy September 18, 2018 / 8:41 am

    Great article! Thank you! I had already deployed the solution containing the Contoso copyright etc, after some searching your article allowed me to update the footer in a matter of minutes.

    • Beau Cameron September 19, 2018 / 8:15 am

      Awesome! I’m happy to hear it! Let me know if there is anything else in the Starter Kit you’d like to see how to customize 🙂

  4. G Davis October 4, 2018 / 7:06 am

    Your articles on the PnP Starter Kit are pretty awesome! But I have a question.

    Is there a way to modify/add/delete link groups in the portal footer?

    • Beau Cameron October 4, 2018 / 10:23 am

      Thanks! The Portal Footer links are controlled via a list on the portal site. If you go to site contents, you’ll see a list called PnP-PortalFooter-Links where all of the links are coming from!

  5. kiwithatflew October 23, 2018 / 3:13 pm

    Thanks for this Beau! I wish I came across this earlier! I had one quick question. I was extracting webparts and extensions from the SharePoint Starter Kit and I have managed to do the Portal Footer, Alerts and the Tiles so far. But I am seeing some inconsistencies which you may have seen.
    Specifically with the Alerts and Portal footer. I find that there are times when they both dont work (does not show up on the page) for me. After a couple of refreshes, it does. I am suspecting some sort of race condition or maybe I am loading libraries multiple times.
    Have you come across this yet?

  6. Peter June 25, 2019 / 12:35 pm

    How do I update the Starter Kit after it is already deployed? I see there are some changes to the footer a few days ago.

    • Beau Cameron June 25, 2019 / 1:36 pm

      You will have to get the latest solution/.sppkg file. And then re-deploy the .sppkg file to your app catalog and replace the existing starter kit app. This will update the solution in your environment!

  7. pikg10 June 25, 2019 / 3:02 pm

    So I just upload the .sppkg file to the app catalog and that’s it?

  8. pikg10 June 26, 2019 / 6:37 am

    I used the PowerShell code to change the footer company name and email.
    I did this script on the main hub site. When I go to the other associated site it shows the old company name and email. It seems like it is not updating the footer on other sites associated with the hub site.

    • Beau Cameron June 26, 2019 / 6:50 am

      Hi!, If you are using the portal footer on other sites, you’ll have to run that ps command on those sites as well, as it’s associated with each site.

      Liked by 1 person

      • pikg10 June 28, 2019 / 11:56 am

        I ran the command on other sites but the footer company name and email didn’t change.
        Sometimes it shows the changed text, sometimes it shows the contoso name.

  9. pikg10 June 27, 2019 / 9:59 am

    When I modify the footer company name and email in the starterkit.xml file do I need to repackage the starterkit.xml into a starterkit.pnp file? Using

    $kit = Read-PnPTenantTemplate -Path .\starterkit.xml
    Save-PnPTenantTemplate -Hierarchy $kit -Out yourstarterkit.pnp

  10. Santiago Bertola January 8, 2020 / 10:14 am

    Beau, you rock! I finally be able to change company name and support email in my deploy.
    Thaks a lot!

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Caramella Azure armchair with emblem

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A large, very comfortable armchair, 'eared' type, made of high-quality washable textile in light blue colour. The armchair is decorated with white corded trim and exclusive emblem with 'C' letter. Our feeding armchair will be appreciated by every nursing mother, because of its 'ears' and a high back. Moreover, it will enrich every interior- child room, living room and others.

Collection: Azure

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DIMENSIONS: height 105 cm, width 80 cm, depth 69 cm, seat depth 58 cm

Delivery Estimate 5-7 weeks.


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About Us

Our Goals

The Beaverton Police Department will provide a safe city, serving citizens with compassion and respect. We are fully invested in leading our profession with integrity, building and retaining a highly trained, well equipped, progressive, motivated and cohesive team. We will strive to be recognized and respected as a leading agency in the law enforcement community.

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Twin Flannel Sheet Set - Bed Linens Etc.
$ 69.00

Although a Twin sized bed is a common standard for many bedrooms, you do not have to settle for common linens when you are trying to get a good night’s rest. Quality sheets that keep you warm and feel soft against your body can help to relax you and ease you in recuperative slumber. Our Twin sized flannel flat sheets give you a plush fabric that is made of 100% cotton to offer you a great way to relax and keep out the cold air of wintery nights. These flannel flat sheets have been double brushed, which means that both sides of the sheet have a superior nap that is soft and velvety to the touch. Our Twin sized flat sheets are 66” by 96” to ensure that you stay fully cloaked in the warmth of the fabric, and still have ample room to roll over and move around. The Portuguese style flannel is made to be incredibly insulating and has a very generous 5.5 ounce weight, which is reassuring against the skin, but not so bulky that you will feel weighed down. These Twin sized flat sheet come in sage, camel, navy, chambray blue, and burgundy so you are guaranteed to find a shade that suits your sensibilities.


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From the beauty hall to the school hall: What edtech companies can learn from cosmetics counters

Picture the scene; a woman enters the beauty hall of her local department store to find the perfect ‘look’ for her brother’s wedding. As it’s a family occasion she wants to push the boat out and feel her best on the big day, however, she's the first to admit she knows little to nothing about cosmetics, much less how to apply the products she sees others using so confidently.

So here she is in the beauty hall, looking for guidance from the experts. Surrounded by gleaming counters of lotions, potions and palettes in every colour, she heads for the brand she recognises from a recent glossy magazine feature. Eyeing the sea of make up in front of her, she waits for the assistant to come and talk her through it all. And she waits.

When, after a few minutes of cautiously dipping her fingers into tester pots and scribbling lipstick lines onto the back of her hand, she finds herself still standing alone, she glances around at the other counters. She recognises a brand her friend has mentioned in the past and drifts towards it.

Beauty counters offer expert advice and guidance

As she approaches, the sales assistant smiles warmly. Our customer explains her predicament to the assistant who listens keenly, taking on board what the customer is looking for and her desired end result. The assistant settles our customer onto a comfortable stool and starts to gather various products from her counter. She introduces each product, matching colours and applying them to the customer using her arsenal of beauty tools.

As the assistant works, she explains what the products do, and how the products complement one another to create an overall effect. She also demonstrates alternatives, as well as the products that will help to remove the make up and care for the skin long after the wedding has been and gone.

Despite the assistant using more products than our customer had anticipated needing, she finds herself admiring her new reflection and having listened intently to the assistant’s advice, feels confident that she could recreate the look at home. She decides to purchase the products and with the lure of a free gift, she adds the cleansing products to her haul too. After all, she’s been meaning to establish a proper skincare routine for a while now…

Potential customer want to be pointed in the direction of features and add ons

But why is all this relevant to you? Why should you care what happens in the beauty hall and what does it matter to you that our customer attended her brother’s wedding feeling super confident and happy?

Well, this is why it matters…

Edtech companies regularly entice potential customers with the offer of a free trial. The customer might enter their details online and be sent a link or a password to use the technology for free for a period of time. The thought behind this approach is that once the customer can see what your product does they’re more likely to buy, right?

Wrong. In our beauty hall scenario, this makes you the unmanned cosmetics counter. The customer knows your name and has potentially read a bit about you online, but now that they’ve approached you and have the goods in front of them, they don’t know where to start. Even if they’re happy to have a tentative play, they’re unlikely to know how to use the product to its greatest potential without some assistance.

For a customer to truly see the value of your product in the brief window of the trial period, you need to take on the same role as the beauty counter assistant, providing straightforward guidance and easy to follow instructions. You need to point the potential customer in the direction of any features or add ons that could enhance their experience and be available to answer any questions they might have.

Sounds time consuming, huh? It doesn’t need to be. It’s easy to establish simple processes to guide potential customers through their trial period which, crucially, will make it far more likely they’ll actually use their trial in the first place.

So what does this hand-holding process look like?

  • Start with when the customer signs up for their free trial; do you have a short video you could email them showing them how to get started?
  • Create a series of emails that showcase a specific feature of the product that can be sent to potential customers throughout their trial period. Remember to explain what it is and why it’s so useful!
  • An email, or even a phone call, midway through the trial period is a great way to keep in touch and let the potential customer know you’re available if they need any help or have any questions.
  • If your product has several facets to it, could you temporarily unlock other features for the potential customer to explore?
  • Gather feedback from your existing customers, including any obstacles they’ve overcome by using your product. Include the best soundbites in an email to demonstrate that you’re not the only one who thinks your product is great!

Adopting a more hands on approach with your free trials allows you to guide your potential customer through your product rather than leaving them to work it out for themselves - after all, you’re the expert!

So, don’t leave your counter unmanned. Not everyone will need their hand held, some will arrive knowing exactly what they’re looking for. However, many will need a bit of reassuring guidance to get them on their way and feeling as satisfied with their experience as our beauty hall customer.

Sound good but still not sure you could put the above into practice? Well then let us assume the role of beauty counter assistant for YOU. Book a free growth strategy call with us today and in just 30 minutes we’ll identify the one thing you could be doing to maximise your trial period and increase sales to schools.

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"Hold the Front Page"
Series 4, Episode 5

Broadcast date 4 March 2012
Written by Tom Grieves
Directed by Philip John
Guest Cast
Episode chronology
"A Spectre Calls"
Becoming Human (Adam's Story)
"Puppy Love"
Adam: "How do you entertain a blob?"
Hal: "I thought I might read her some poetry."
Hal and Adam discuss Eve's care

Hold the Front Page is the fifth episode of the fourth series of Being Human which was first broadcast on 4th March 2012.

Summary Edit

Cutler is killing people and staging fake werewolf attacks, planning a staged expose in order to distract the public from finding out about vampires. Meanwhile, Permanent 'teenage' vampire Adam (having apparently become separated from his friends as seen in the Becoming Human spinoff) becomes romantically and sexually involved with Yvonne Bradshaw, a middle-aged schoolmistress with a history of dead lovers.

Fleeing the press, they come to Honolulu Heights in order to hide out. While there, Adam is photographed by the journalist Pete Travis, who realises Adam is a vampire, when his image does not show up on camera. Already investigating the hidden world of vampires for personal reasons, Peter enlists the help of Cutler. After Yvonne touches both Tom and Hal, they also fall for her, and Hal realises that she is a succubus - a half-demon seductress who first bewitches men and then drains life from them via sex, Adam having not succumbed only because as a vampire he is already dead.

Annie manages to separate Adam from Yvonne and tries to help both of them come to terms with her condition. Despite a period of self-disgust and resentment during which she almost kills Tom, Yvonne eventually accepts her nature, aided by Adam (who despite his initial disgust comes to realise that he genuinely loves her) and the two leave together. Aware of Cutler's true nature, Peter attempts to trap and expose him but his plan backfires and Cutler kills him. Cutler uploads the werewolf transformation footage of Tom to the Internet and begins his expose.

Music Edit

The Four Tops - Reach Out I’ll Be There (sung by Hal)

Being Human BBC Episodes

Series 1: PilotFlotsam and JetsamTullyGhost TownAnother Fine MessWhere The Wild Things AreBad Moon Rising

Series 2: Cure And ContagionServe God, Love Me And MendLong Live The KingEducating CreatureThe Looking GlassIn The MorningDamageAll God's Children

Series 3: LiaAdam's FamilyType 4 The PackThe Longest DayDaddy GhoulThough the Heavens FallThe Wolf-Shaped Bullet

Series 4: Eve Of The WarBeing Human 1955The Graveyard ShiftA Spectre CallsHold the Front PagePuppy LoveMaking HistoryThe War Child

Series 5: The TrinitySticks and RopePie and PrejudiceThe Greater GoodNo Care, All ResponsibilityThe Last Broadcast

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Sea Owl cottage

This sympathetically converted self-catering 3 bedroom barn cottage has one king , one twin and one 1-bunk bedroom, all on first floor level, making it the ideal, comfortable accommodation for 6 persons visiting Cornwall.

Each of the four holiday cottages in this superb development are fitted to a high standard.

This beautiful farm conversion is just a short distance from the bustling town of Newquay, and also ideally located for discovering the rest of Cornwall.

This property is a three bedroom unit, which is accessible via steps.

Sea Owl Cottage facilities include:

  • 1 double, 1 twin, 1 bunk bed
  • TV and DVD player
  • Radio/CD player
  • A fully equipped kitchen with gas hob, electric oven, dishwasher, washing machine, fridge with small freezer compartment
  • A modern bathroom fitted with shower cubical, bath, toilet & wash basin
  • Gas central heating
  • Shared landscape courtyard, patio area and furniture
  • Parking available for 2 cars
  • Natural water supply from borehole
  • All bed linen & towels provided (please bring along your own beach towels)
  • Highchair & travel cot available on request
  • Please note this is a non smoking cottage
  • Dogs welcome (one large dog or two small)
  • Complimentary tea, coffee, milk, juice and cornish biscuits
  • Wifi available


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How to Increase Fundraising Profits

Fundraising can be used for many causes. Regardless the cause, if you want to get the most out of your fundraising efforts, then embrace to respect the word “profit”.

You can maximize your profit by cutting down expenditure, planning in detail and finding unique ways to maximize fundraising revenues.

Start with, Minimizing Costs!

To increase fundraising profits, the first and simplest step is to work to reduce costs. If you cut your expenditure by one percent, it goes straight to your profits. Make a carefully planned budget; give deep thought to each and every cost element. Use cost-effective methods to help with your fundraiser, use volunteers and participants to do the work that you would normally outsource, etc.

There can be many ways to cut the flab, and do the fundraising with a lean budget. Here’s one fundraising idea that will give your group a 90% profit.

Plan for maximizing revenues!

Once you have determined ways to minimize the costs, the next big step is to create ways to maximize fundraising revenues. Start with writing a carefully detailed fundraising plan.

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Why are we raising the money?
  • How much do we need to raise?
  • How much time do we have to raise the money?
  • What are we going to do to raise the money?
  • Do we have a budget to help raise the money?
  • If we have a target of $10,000, how can we get 5% more?
  • How many volunteers/participants do we have that can help with the fundraiser?
  • How can we get one more donation?

And so on…

The list can be endless, and the result adds to your fundraising profits in the end.

Do it! Do it now! Do it well!

Thinking big is one thing, actually doing the work is altogether different. The difference between the success and failure of two people following the same strategy is determination and execution.

Once you have taken the above steps and are confident to make a run, give some thought to the effort it will take to see results. Compare it with the value of time, efforts and money that you are putting in to get it. If the gains look substantial, make a start and don’t give up; else think more for a while; there may still be better ways.

The above steps may seem simple at first glance, nonetheless they are essential to maximize your fundraising profits. The rules are applicable to all, be it a sports team or a nonprofit fundraising effort.

After all, money has only one color even if it gets used for different purposes!

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Altar Your Worship

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Romans 12:1

Worship is different than you think it is. It's not a musical presentation by a band, an event you attend weekly with a crowd of people, or entertainment that stirs you emotionally. But instead, it's a willing presentation of your complete being and all its facilities wholly and continually to God. In addition, it's done from a motivation of mercy; and not your mercy - God's. So as you wake, go through your day in active worship, and give it all - that's everything - to God.

DO THIS: Worship him.

PRAYER: God, may every word, action, and thought be of you and for you.

Be a brother and share this with a friend below.

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Local delivery

Delivery / Collection Update – April 2020

We are currently working on 5 working days turnaround, but are working hard to try and beat this.

You will receive a confirmation email once the meat is ready.

You can now order online and we are currently offering free local delivery to these postcodes RG30, RG31, RG1, RG2, RG5, RG6, RG7, and RG8.

A delivery surcharge of £5.00 applies to all other RG postcodes.

The current delivery timeframe will be displayed on your basket page.

All deliveries are zero contact, ie left on your doorstep.

Collections available at Deacon Way on Friday & Saturdays between 12pm and 4pm only. Choose click & collect at checkout.

The shop remains 1-in, 1-out and is for order collection only.

There is no membership required. Minimum spend of £40.


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2021 Kia Telluride

The 2021 Kia Telluride is the next version of the brand’s current addition in the growing, family-oriented, mid-size class. The biggest Kia’s crossover gets attention with the strong styling while earns high marks for the interior utility and upscale treatment. The Kia Telluride is likewise generous on standard features and freight room. The model equips great deals of basic active security systems and tech as well.

As for the changes expected for the 2021 model year, there ought to be simply a few of them. The model ought to provide new color and wheel choices, and some sources suggest an additional trim choice. Kia will likewise make some changes to the equipment company. There are no signs that Kia will introduce a new powertrain option.

With the Telluride in its crossover range, Kia Motors offers an alternative to the models such as the Honda Pilot, Ford Explorer, VW Atlas, and Chevy Traverse.

2021 Kia Telluride Design

The next 2021 Kia Telluride begins the phase just a year after the model’s intro, and there is no much room for enhancement. The Telluride needs to make some changes in the device’s schedule and offer new body color and wheel options.

The mid-size Telluride shares the platform with the smaller sized Sorrento and Hyundai Palisade. The model stretches 196.9 inches in length and 78.3 inches in width. The wheelbase measures 114.2 inches.

The large Kia Telluride crossover has a boxy shape and good styling information. The front area is dominated by the large tiger-nose grille, which takes position between narrow, upright headlights. The shapely front bumper and elegant hood shaping also add to its modern-day appearance.

The Telluride is likewise appealing from the profile thanks to the sharp charter line and toned fenders. The rear is likewise nicely resolved where narrow, upright taillights catch attention right away. The contrasting elements will also exist on the front and rear areas as well as on the profile side.

2021 Kia Telluride Interior

The cabin of the Telluride is also properly designed and equipped from the entry-level version. The model uses appealing products and gets high marks for construct quality. The dash is basic with efficient controls. There is likewise space for eight and as much as 87 cubic feet of the freight area. With the very first and second rows operational, the cargo capacity is still considerable, with 46 cubes at disposal.

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At the equipment level, the Telluride includes a long list of standard features, consisting of active security systems. The base Telluride gears up an 8-inch touchscreen, simulated-leather upholstery, automated headlights, six speakers, satellite radio and Apple Car Play, and Android Auto. The list of basic safety equipment includes lane-keeping assist, forward crash caution with automated emergency braking, blind-spot tracking with rear cross-traffic alert.

The next in line, trim switches to the 20-inch wheels, heated front seats, and adds a sunroof. The EX version gets leather upholstery, a 10.3-inch touchscreen, three-zone environment control, cordless charging, ventilated front seats, etc. The top-grade Telluride will likewise add ambient lighting, Harman Kardon sound system, an updated instrument panel, surround-view video cameras, etc.

2021 Kia Telluride Performance

On the efficiency front, the next 2021 Kia Telluride will once again depend on the same V-6 engine as the existing version, and there are no indications that Kia will offer optional powertrain.

A 3.8-liter naturally aspirated V-6 engine can be found in the mix with the 8-speed automated transmission. This combination benefits 291 hp and torque of 262 pound-feet. The largest Kia in the United States will likewise be available with the front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, which will demand addition $2, 000.

The Telluride can tow as much as 5, 000 pounds, and it will be readily available with the self-leveling rear suspension.

The fuel economy is ranked at 20 mpg city and 26 mpg highway or 23 combined. With the power on all wheels, the model loses one mpg from the city ranking and two mpg from the highway rating compared to the two-wheel drive.

2021 Kia Telluride Release and Price

The 2021 Kia Telluride needs to have the on-sale date in the spring of 2020. The price is expected to remain near to the present range. The base Telluride begins now from $31,690. The current model costs $43, 490 in the best-equipped from.


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Bred by Captain Max von Stephanitz, a German cavalry officer, to be the perfect all-purpose working dog. More than any other dog the German Shepherd toils for its keep, they are strong, intelligent and obedient. After World War 1 the German Shepherd was renamed the Alsatian, but since the 1970s has reverted to its original name. Rin Tin Tin was the German Shepherd version of Lassie. Adolf Hitler is reputed to have tested his cyanide capsules on his German Shepherd, Blondi.

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Best Law Firms Rankings

Schlapprizzi PC

2 Metro Rankings

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Create your profile to feature all of the most important information that existing and potential clients want to know about your firm.

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Schlapprizzi PC is regionally ranked in 2 practice areas. The U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process.
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Highest Rated Comments

farbeyondreality61 karma

Hey Pat, thanks for doing this. My question: have you read Jo Walton's incredibly detailed re-read of your first 2 novels over on Tor.com? And if so, is there anything there that surprised you - something they got completely wrong, or something you didn't think they'd figure out, and so on?

Edit: just read the post linked below, so I know the answer to the first question... but I'm still curious about the others. Thanks!

farbeyondreality52 karma

Hey Cory, thanks for doing this AMA!

My questions:

  1. For the Win showed that you have some familiarity with MMORPG's. Have you played or do you still play any yourself? Or any other games?

  2. Loved the character 26 in Pirate Cinema, but it drove me as nuts as Trent that we never found out her real name. Any chance you'll share it here, or in a future story about her?

  3. How did you get involved with the Humble eBook Bundle, and have you read any of the other excellent authors in the bundle?

(Stefan who has reviewed a few of your books on Tor.com in the past - and who is bummed you didn't make it down to the San Diego Mysterious Galaxy on your current tour. Would have loved to meet you!)


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Corporate Gifts

Giving a bottle of Best’s wines is special way to reward or say thank you to your most valuable staff or clients. It is a tangible present that can be received once, but the enjoyment keeps on coming with each glass shared.

We can arrange corporate gift packs for:
• Client or Staff Birthdays, Anniversaries and Christmas
• Returning that special thank-you to clients and customers
• Rewarding your valued staff and clients

There’s also some back vintage wines tucked away in our cellar that we are able to draw upon for gift purposes.

Call our cellar door on 03 53562250 for more information.


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News & Announcements

Optimal has been publishing rankings of colleges since 2009 and awarding scholarships since 2010. We pride ourselves on thorough research and fair assessment of all available programs, with the hopes of helping students make educated decisions when choosing a degree.

Optimal was formerly know as SR Education Group until January of 2020, when the company rebranded. All blog posts from 2019 and before will refer to SR Education Group.


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Contact me

So, how to go about describing myself?

Mostly we describe ourself by current work, but that really doesn’t say who we are, but only the work we currently do.

In regards to this site, I believe it’s more important mentioning that 3D printing is my Hobby. I have recently started selling my Extruders and a package containing the non-printed parts for them as well, since they became rather popular, and I could sell them cheaper than most people could make them themselves.


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Opel Campo

The Pickup SUV Isuzu Campo was sold from 1993 to 2001 in Germany under the name Opel Campo. The Campo was available as a two-seater or four-seater double cab (Sportscab) and could be equipped with a hard top, so he could be used as a van or camper. As engine variants, the diesel versions were 2.5 D (76 hp) and 3.1 TD (109 hp) and a 2.3 - liter gasoline engine with 94 hp. Opel Campo all models feature 4x4 (four-wheel), and are therefore often used in difficult terrain. The payload of the rugged workhorse is up to 865 kg.

Opel Campo photos


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Remembering Turkey Hill, the Newly Renovated Iconic Home of Martha Stewart

Iconic Turkey Hill, even if you don’t watch a lot of  television and haven’t ever read any of Martha Stewart’s books, you have probably heard of her wonderful, historic 1820 home in Westport, Connecticut. Actually, it’s Martha’s prior home since she sold it back in April of 2007 after having lived there for 30+ years.

While doing a little online research for this post, I came across an old article in a local paper and it stated, after Martha sold her Turkey Hill home, she said she was so depressed she had to go home and go to bed. I can identify with that feeling. We built our first home,  a modest yellow cottage with a screened in porch and when it was time for us to move, I barely held back my tears at the closing. I know the new owners must have wondered what the heck was wrong with me.

Why is it we get so attached to our homes? Is it all the blood, sweat and sometimes tears we put into making them the haven we envision or is it the sentimentality of all the memories we create while living there? Maybe it’s both or maybe some of us just don’t do well with change. (Raising my hand, here.)

When Martha first stumbled across Turkey Hill one weekend back in 1971, this is how it looked. She describes it on her website this way:

“There was no garage or barn, just a rickety picket fence and an unkempt yard. The house had been rented out to myriad families and had suffered obvious neglect. There was not much of a kitchen and no usable bathroom. The basement was damp, and there was no porch, terrace, garden, or driveway. But it had good bones, lovely windows, wide-plank floors, and seven fireplaces. To us, it was perfect: a do-it-yourself project resplendent with opportunity for a reasonable price, $46,750.”

Imagine trying to find a home in Westport, Connecticut now for that price!

Turkey Hill Before Martha Stewart Owned It

Here are a few pictures of the home after Martha completed an extensive renovation and restoration.

Turkey Hill, Home of Martha Stewarts Home

I’ve always loved the entry. If I read correctly, I think Martha painted the original mural you see here on the walls.

Turkey Hill Entry, Martha Stewarts Home

Later she had Eric Beare create the grisaille mural shown below. I like the diamond pattern on the floor above but I do prefer the simpler look in the picture below. What about you?

Do you think that’s a grandfather clock under there? While the home was being renovated and while she lived there, Martha would go to local tag sales and garage sales every week. She always found the most amazing antiques, antiques that have since sold for many thousand more than what she paid. Oh, to have been antiquing back in those days! Look at those gorgeous chandeliers! They are like jewelry for the home.

Turkey Hill Entrance, Martha Stewarts Home

This is how Turkey Hill’s kitchen looked after Martha completed her initial renovation…definitely had an upscale “country” look, isn’t it? As you can see, Martha was a huge collector of high-end copper cookware. I don’t remember where, but I once read an article written by someone who knew Martha Stewart but hadn’t seen her in several years. In the article the author said she bumped into Martha in a store where they were both shopping. I have a terrible memory but I still remember the story because of having seen this picture below.

Anyway, the author said Martha was purchasing several copper pots that day, and these were really nice copper pots…very pricey. She said she was remarking how beautiful they were to Martha but just not in her budget. She and Martha continued chatting as Martha checked out and purchased her pots. Once Martha had finished checking out, she turned and handed the copper pot she (the author) had been admiring to her. She said she was shocked because it was such an expensive gift. I loved that story! Apparently, Martha was into doing random acts of kindness long before that phrase became popular.

Turkey Hill Kitchen, Martha Stewarts Home

In 1990, Martha updated her kitchen. I love that she kept the copper cookware. Not only is it beautiful but it’s functional too. I miss Martha’s old-fashioned country kitchen but I do like the brighter kitchen better. Anyone prefer the country kitchen?

Kitchen at Turkey Hill, Home of Martha Stewart

This was the dining area in the kitchen after her 1990’s renovation. She was ahead of her time using the aqua blues, wasn’t she?

Turkey Hill Kitchen Dining, Martha Stewarts Home

When Martha threw parties and needed additional dining space, she set up beautiful tables in the mud room.

Turkey Hill Mud Room Used for Dining, Martha Stewarts Home

Here’s how the mudroom looked when it wasn’t being used for dining. It’s very different from how we design mudrooms today, isn’t it? It looks/feels more like a day room or porch.

Here’s the parlor at Turkey Hill after Martha’s original renovation/restoration, sporting another amazing chandelier! I think I would have enjoyed antiquing with Martha back in the day. 🙂

turkey hill

Remember this famous picture? This was the cover of the original book, Entertaining that was said to “launch an empire.”  I wonder if this was shot in her dining room or mudroom?

Turkey Hill Dining Room Early Days, Martha Stewarts Home

Many years later in 1998, the scene was photographed once again when Entertaining was released in paperback. I love that they reshot her in the same room again. So, which table do you like best…the one on the original cover or the one on the later version?

Turkey Hill Dining Room Later Years, Martha Stewarts Home

When Martha sold Turkey Hill in 2007, the new owners Casey and Chuck Berg made extensive changes that are described in this article as “equal parts restoration, renovation and addition.”

Turkey Hill After Renovation, Martha Stewart

Here’s the back view of Turkey Hill when Martha lived there. You can also see the historic, later dubbed “party” barn, she purchased for her husband and had moved to the property during the time she lived there.

Here’s the back view of Turkey Hill today. You can definitely see additions have been made.

Turkey Hill Back Yard, Previous Home of Martha Stewart 2

Looking into the entrance at Turkey Hill today, the moldings and the arched doorways are amazing, aren’t they?

Turkey Hill Entry After Renovation, Home of Martha Stewart 7

The living room today….

Living Room at Turkey Hill After Renovation, Prior Home of Martha Stewart

A large family room was added to the home using reclaimed beams that are reminiscent of the home’s history.

Turkey Hill Library Room After Renovation, Home of Martha Stewart 1

They kept the the beautiful chandelier in the dining room.

Turkey Hill Dining Room After Renovation, Home of Martha Stewart

The newly renovated and expanded kitchen…

Turkey Hill Kitchen After Renovation, Martha Stewart's Home

Martha Stewart Turkey Hill Kitchen After Renovation

Lots of great storage!

Turkey Hill After Renovation, Home of Martha Stewart 3

Not sure if this is a new addition or maybe part of the original mudroom or sunroom.

Turkey Hill Sun Room After Renovation, Home of Martha Stewart 6

A Master suite was also added with a balcony overlooking the beautiful gardens.

Turkey Hill Bedroom After Renovation, Prior Home of Martha Stewart

Turkey Hill has definitely seen some changes over the years. Imagine if the original owner/builder saw it today!

Turkey Hill After Renovation, Martha Stewart

Photos of Turkey Hill’s renovation/update were taken by Keith Scott Morton/Connecticut Cottage & Gardens.

The older photos in this post, taken during the time Martha owned Turkey Hill, were found HERE.

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  1. Hi Susan! Oh, I loved this post! Yes, Turkey Hill was a lovely spot. I remember when Martha had the TV show and it was all filmed there even with her fluffy dog. I’m amazed at all of her baskets as well as the copper pots. Now if I could only bump into her while she was looking at Jadeite! 🙂 The new owners have really put their stamp on this place too. Hope you’re doing well.
    Be a sweetie,

    • lol I love you Shelia, you made me laugh out loud with that Jadeite comment! 🙂 I love her Halloween specials, too…they crack me up because we get to see another side of her.

  2. I loved it when Martha filmed her show at this home , I learned so much from her. I just loved the intro music and getting tours of her home – so inspirational! She just lost me once she moved to a studio and became a talk show. Was never the same.

  3. I totally agree with Gerry. I loved Martha’s original show. I would tape it daily and watch just before bedtime every evening. The newer show was never quite as good. I did not enjoy the talk show aspect at all. Martha is an excellent teacher and I loved that about her original show. Plus, being able to see her garden in an actual garden was very valuable. Thanks for the great post, Susan.

    • Wish I had seen some of the original shows! They sound right up my alley!

      I to love the first shows that she did. She is a great teacher, I learned so much from her . Her show would still take the place of Food Network and HGTV too, she did it all. cooking, repairing, antiquing , painting and just general knowledge that I still use today. Thanks Martha for making me more of a do it yourself person.
      Ruth Ann Gammons

  4. This was when Martha was at her best in my opinion. I remember an episode where she was painting the front door with an oil enamel paint. And episodes of her going to the chicken coops for fresh eggs … the good ole days . Her sewing tutorials and her escapades to local tag sales … loved watching all the wonderful inspiration.

    • Oh, that sounds wonderful! I love hearing everyone describe those older shows. Wonder if they are on DVD or if there’s a way to see one. I should look on YouTube, just in case.

  5. Yowza!! This post really illustrates what can be done with a home with “good bones” and great imagination . What a transformation. Thank you for sharing the possibilities. Rosie

  6. Peggy Thal says

    Such a fun post of time past. I loved the country kitchen at one time. Even had the huge pot rack loaded with polished copper pots.( what a chore to maintain) They are now in a cabinet needing a polish. Also, collected baskets. I had a huge collection of copper molds that hung all around the kitchen. The butcher store butcher block that is now in my garage. I think at one time Martha Stewart was our idol. Times have changed. I still have all her cookbooks. It was a wonderful time.

    • I never had any of the copper pots but I still have all my old copper molds. I just got them out the other day and gave ’em a washing. Can’t make up mind what to do with them.

      • Peggy Thal says

        I love them too but no hanging room in my home. I have so many. Hope you find a place for yours. When I collect I go kind of nuts. Love your blog today as always. Big fan of Turkey Hill and Martha Stewart. Always wondered what happened to her beautiful home. It is beautifully renovated.

  7. The Quintessential Magpie Blog says

    Just in case you get your first poster and me confused since we are both sheladies who both love jadeite, she’s with a lia, and I’m with an eila! Plus, I signed in with my blog name ’cause that’s how I roll. 😉

    I do love Martha. I think I could have singlehandedly kept her in business buying quilts and towels. And dishes. And books. Yes, I have that first copy you showed. I like both covers. Don’t make me choose, Susan! I can’t! I can’t!

    And Turkey Hill? Gorgeous! Bridgeport is, too. I think one of my yankee ancestors was one of the Arlyne settlers there. I’d have to get out he kennel papers and check.

    Some time ago, I bought a pillow from a seller on etsy. (My IPad just typed “seeker”, but that would be yours truly!) Anyhow, I loved the pillow’s graphics and thought it had a great design. Turns out the seller was an RISD graduate who had worked for Martha and is distantly related to Mr. Magpie. Small world!

    I am not surprised by Martha’s random act of kindness. Anyone who loves animals as much as she does and loves to entertain has a giving spirit.

    Oh, and before I forget, I loved the first incarnation of the foyer. That floor! And from what I could see, I loved the walls, too. But I really like the second set of paintings, too. What a neat house! I am happy to see once again what our patronage helped to buy, and I heartily approve! Now, if she is giving away souvenirs and if Shelia laid claim to the jadeite , I would be happy to take her feather edge dishes! Matter of fact, I believe I see my name on them! 😉

    Thanks for this post, Susan. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

    PS… I love how we all call her “Martha” as if she is our BFF. But in a sense, she has been a good friend because when she was at K-Mart, she made it possible for all of us to shop frugally for nice items. Our place in St. Augustine could be a Martha ad. I have several of her quilts and still love them. I wish she would make more. A girl can never have too many quilts or too much china!

    • Magpie (may I call you that?), what are feather edge dishes? And you’ve reminded me of all the MS items I have purchased at K-Mart long ago. Sitting here at my desk, I am by windows with her lace curtains. Inexpensive, durable, beautiful.

    • You are so cute Sheila! Don’t worry, I always look at folks e-mail addresses or blog names to help tell folks apart when they have similar names. I know what you mean about quality. Whenever I’m in Michaels or some place that carries her craft things, I always end up buying her brand because the quality is always so much better.
      Kennel papers…lol. You are a riot! That’s amazing about the Etsy seller! How cool!
      That is so true…about the giving spirit…good observation!
      Oooh, feather edge dishes. I need to look that up to see what those are. I noticed Barbara asked about those, too. I like the way you think about quilts and china! 🙂

  8. I really enjoyed this post, Susan. I always enjoyed The Martha Stewart Show that ended maybe a year or so ago. Wish she would come back with another one. Your tour of her Turkey Hill house was really nice to see. I prefer the new kitchen that she put in over the country kitchen but it was nice to see that one. I have to say I prefer your tablescapes better than either of Martha’s for her book covers. I think tablescaping is getting better & better!

  9. Such a fascinating post, Susan! Love or dislike Martha Stewart, she’s had amazing vision, style, artistry. She is also a great teacher – I learned so much from her old show. I loved that format – Martha at her best as others said. So enjoyable to see the evolution of Turkey Hill. I think we all loved Turkey Hill – I once had a book from the library all about it with the garden layouts, etc. Hmmm, I wonder what book that was. Heading to google now. . .

  10. I’ve always been a fan of Martha Stewart from the very beginning. I had her first book and subsequent others. I smiled when you said she was ahead of her time with the aqua blue because she probably started that trend. She’s a gutsy lady and shows us that nothing is impossible or that nothing can’t be overcome. Thanks for writing this. It was a great stroll down memory lane.

  11. What a wonderful post Susan. I loved Martha’s shows from Turkey Hill. I loved her garden. I love the episode where she said when she started she spent her whole budget on annuals only to have them die and have to start over. She was free with her tales of her mistakes and what not to do. Michael Ruhlman said he went on her show to promote his cookbook. He said he was so dreading it because she is such a hard woman. He said he had never been treated better anywhere in his life and he said her kitchen is the best run, best organized kitchen he had been in. I have made her coffee custard, and her Lemon, Parsley, Pesto, and Pasta recipes. They are better than anything you can get in a high-end restaurant. Thanks for sharing, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    • I wonder if a late frost came and that’s what killed them. You know, if a man is tough in business, he’s admired. If a woman is tough in business, she’s called some not-so-nice words and considered “hard to work for.” Such a double standard sometimes. I personally wouldn’t want to have employees and run a business but I do admire women who can do it. Thanks for sharing that Madonna!

  12. Oh my heavens, what a fabulous post! I truly enjoyed each word and photograph! What a fabulous tour, thank you! I miss Martha in that old house!

  13. Hi Susan, I remember reading about the Turkey Hill renovation, years ago. Interesting to see how styles and approaches to decor change. Looking back, Martha’s original style was a bit cluttered (kitchen). Her style seems much more minimalist with cleaner, classic lines now. Sign of the times, I guess.

    Great post and fun to revisit the original Turkey Hill and see what it looks like today.

    Have a great week,

    • Thanks, Lisa! I’ve noticed that too…especially when I’ve seen pictures of her Cantitoe Corners home in Bedford. It’s funny how our taste/style changes over the years.

  14. Susan,
    It is so funny you did this blog post today… I was just looking at old pictures of Turkey Hill a few days ago…that house is so wonderful…. Martha has always been a source of warmth and comfort, and what is right. She researches everything so thoroughly, that you can be confident that you are getting the correct information.

  15. Angela Muller says

    Fabulous post………so interesting……….great visuals….and the research and substance of the article was superb, professional, informational……I should stop now! Great…..great…..great!

  16. I loved Martha’s original show. I would tape it and get up early in the morning to watch while I exercised. I wish she’d do a show like that again.

  17. I almost like the home more before all the additions and renovations. It’s gone from a country farmhouse style to country mansion.

  18. I loved the original show as well! I learned so much. I still have my copy of Entertaining, and still look to it, the advise is not dated. She brought back charm and graciousness to entertaining.

  19. Doreen Krajzel says

    Hi Susan;
    What a great post!! My absolute, all time favorite is Martha! Gotta love that woman. I agree with the others, her tv show isn’t the same anymore and I seldom watch her. But she is the big guru in home care and entertaining! Have a great day. Love and Hugs, Doreeen

  20. Thanks Susan for the interesting post. I’ve always been a “Martha” fan and have loved watching her shows through the years. As for the kitchen – I really love the renovation that she did. The baskets were a little cluttered looking. Plus, they’re dust gatherers which I wouldn’t want hanging above all the food on the counter. Ick!

  21. I watched Martha back when I was a young bride. Her show was on PBS and it was filmed in her home. I fondly remember a Thanksgiving Special she did that took place in the barn! I was in awe of her huge dish pantry and all the different ways she could set a table. That Jersey Girl (grew up not too far from me) sure has come a loooooong way!

  22. I must have been heavily influenced by Martha back in the 80s because I had a similar kitchen with baskets hanging from wooden beams, knotty pine cabinets, a real butcher block island, and some copper pots! (Wish I still had those pots!) I have one of her early Entertaining cookbooks but not the one you showed. Too bad she had to take the heat for insider information which I’m sure every other male capitalist has indulged in at some point in his business career!

  23. Great read..I love Martha..miss her shows dearly..I liked her better on her own & when her mom was on..I like Turkey Hill better when she owned it..when I moved to the shore after graduating in 76′ I seen bedding in K-Mart with her name on it..thought who is that…then maybe 15 yrs later her first show came on Saturday mornings…I still have some recorded..I wish some network would at least have her on with her Christmas specials again..I loved her baking show that was on a few yrs ago too…last time I seen her she was talking about her…Grandchildren..she only had one when her show was cancelled…Thanks for the memories of Turkey Hill =^}

  24. Marilyn in Mt. Vernon, VA says

    How fun! Thank you, Susan, for the trip…loved it!!

  25. Susan, I, too fondly remember when she filmed her shows in this setting. I’ve been a fan since those early days, though I haven’t watched her show in recent years. I continue to follow her blog and read Living. I have her first book and still enjoy it.

  26. Thanks for the memories! I learned so much from watching her shows. But the house as it is now makes me sad. It looks so bland and boring! What’s wrong with a little color! and flowers! and plants!

  27. pam ~ crumpety cottage says

    That’s the fanciest mud room I’ve ever seen! 😀 This was fun. I never did have any of Martha’s books or even watch her show regularly, but I do vaguely remember her Thanksgiving special and thinking she was awesome. As for her early kitchen, yikes! I probably would have loved it at the time, but all I see now is clutter and dust collectors. I get an uneasy feeling just looking at all those baskets and imagining the dust clinging to them and falling into the food below. 😛 Ick.

    I actually like the painted floor in the first picture, but I prefer the mural in the second. And I prefer the second table scape because of the softer colors. How fun to see the time progression in some ways (her hair and style) but how it stands still in others (the same room, table and chairs, etc.)

    It’s funny how some aspects of her style seem so austere, and almost severe, for instance, her living room seems so cold to me. But then her tablescape was colorful and inviting. And I do (also vaguely) remember her barn and thinking that was just about the COOLEST thing!! I thought, she must be so rich! Lol.

    The house is beautiful, now and then. Though the new folks seem to have picked up on some of her ‘austerity.’ 😀 Gee whiz, they practically rebuilt the house. It makes you wonder why they didn’t just buy a bigger house to begin with. Maybe it had something to do with being Martha’s. 😉

    Just think, it could have been “Susan” we are all talking about, instead of Martha. 🙂

  28. Who knew! Martha and I have “some” things in common…well, I do wish I had LOTS in common with her…selling “home” is absolutely….difficult. I feel just like…going to bed…do not want to face it upfront. Here I thought it was just me being silly. Well, you know what “they say” about time…but for now…I need some time to mourn. Just fantastic seeing all of those photos…I saw many of the original, too. franki

  29. I loved the original shows too. I do not understand people who say Martha says to do everything “her way.” I never felt that she thought we should be like soldiers. I always learned so many things from her! She inspired me to find my own groove. Even today on her PBS series, I believe we can take what we want and leave the other.

    I love Turkey Hill and wish I could see it in real life. Thank you for the tour. It brings back great memories.

  30. I miss the old Martha Stewart tv shows. I think both book covers are wonderful. I actually didn’t realize she had sold Turkey Hill. I would have loved her old kitchen back in the 70’s but now it looks heavy and cluttered. The newer kitchen she put in was great. It’s amazing how much of a change the new owners made to it. The details like the trim and wood floors are wonderful. I’m glad it didn’t get taken down and that the property didn’t get split up.

  31. bobbi duncan says

    Hi, Susan,
    Thank you for another great post. Brings back memories of Martha’s original shows, which I agree were so much better and so “homey” feeling. I still have all my taped VCR’s and refer to them from time to time. She is really quite something. I once saw a show where she said she only sleeps about four hours a night–I’m quite certain I couldn’t function after a few nights like that! I’ve seen Martha around town several times as she built a huge home about five minutes from us when she started up with QVC in West Chester, PA. ( one of three she owns in the Northeast ). I tried to get pictures of it one day, but got shooed away by an employee. I did, however, find aerial views of it online. The house location is at 1271 Creek Rd., between Continental Line Lane and Meetinghouse Rd. ( BTW, the Marley and Me house is located on Meetinghouse Rd., at the corner of Creek Rd., just in case anyone is interested in checking that one out as well). Unfortunately, the aerials don’t show just how beautiful this area is with it’s bucolic rolling hills.
    I like the way the new owners made the additions on the Turkey Hill house look like they were always there, and I do like the front better now, but there is something that holds me to the original house, maybe because watching her show, which was filmed there, are part of my memories.
    I don’t know what makes our homes so special to us. Perhaps it’s a combination of the memories and the sweat and tears, but I do know that, like you, I form great attachments and have cried every time I’ve moved–I drag my feet leaving them, looking around several times, and then drive by them again and again wondering why we left in the first place. That seems to go on until I forge a bond with the new house. It’s a mystery, all right.

  32. OMG! I wonder what she sold it at!!! Been her iconic house – Turkey Hill; I’m sure that incresed it’s Price and value, as well. I loved her original shows too in that grand farm of hers, so cozy, beautiful and warm. Martha has always been my inspiration for the beautiful tablescpaes, home, DYS’s and cooking, thus, my blog’s title…FABBY’S LIVING, LOL!
    I still have her old magazines in Turkey Hill and yes, I wish her old shows would be on a rerun in some cable cannel, like I love Lucy… the kind of shows you never want to part with…..or her old shows could be purchased, even!
    Thank you sweet Susan for a trip down memory lane for us.
    Have a great week.

  33. $46,750.00 in 1971 had the same buying power as $273,744.74 in 2014.

  34. bobbi duncan says

    hi, again.
    In answer to Fabby’s question, the asking price started at 7M!!! I’m sure that was owing to the fact that it was Martha Stewart’s home and not just because it is historic. Don’t know what it sold for, but I do know it was on the market a long time, probably because of the high figure price.

  35. I really enjoyed this post. Turkey Hill is quite the home! 😉

  36. Wowzers. First of all, I can’t even imagine breathing much less working in her first kitchen! It just looks so crowded, cluttered and busy to me. I need my open spaces, I guess. lol But wow….over the years, I love how the style morphed into a cleaner, airier, crisper look. I just adore it now….but I’ll have to just be happy dreaming about owning a grand home like that! lol

    xoxo laurie

  37. The only room since the new people bought the house that is somewhat as nice as what Martha would have had is the master bedroom with the buffalo check drapes behind the bed….the rest of the house has no personality…it’s too plain and lacking Martha’s wonderful style for the period of the house….

  38. Oh Susan, what a great post! I never knew all that information about Turkey Hill. Loved the before and after pictures of the home. Martha sure was a great role model for so many women.
    Thanks so much for sharing this – it was GREAT.

  39. mary scott says

    Love this post! Thanks for the memories. I always watched her first shows. Never watched the “talk” show with all the guests & audience. I prefer her again on PBS with the cooking lessons as they are like the 1st shows. I own a set of “Homemade Holidays” DVDs of her “lessons” on preparing for Thanksgiving & Christmas & Hanukkah. I never tire of watching them in the fall. She is a remarkable woman. Have enjoyed reading all these comments too.

  40. What a fantastic read! Love this post. Martha is an extraordinary woman, and definitely a game-changer. To answer your question, I prefer the first setting. Wonderful, wonderful post!

  41. I am late posting about Martha. First, I love her Turkey Hill home, all of the pictures, it is hard to choose a favorite! When we bought our house in 1996 the home owner had a MILLION baskets on the wood beam in the kitchen. I had always wondered where she got that idea to pack so many baskets together. 😀 Secondly, the new Turkey Hill owners need to add something to that living room, it looks like a doctor’s office waiting room BORING. Yes, I am hater, but not entirely, I LOVE what they did with the back of the house, wow, wow, wow.
    Thanks for the fun post! I read all the comments too, just great!
    Oh, I almost forgot, our friends in PA own a floor covering business, and he met Martha in NYC when Shaw carpets had a Martha Stewart line of carpet. She was there for the launch of her new line. He said she was very nice, personable and funny. She made a point to talk with everyone, and not just chit-chat. Made me like her even more.

  42. Nancy from northen California says

    What a great post! Thank you for the walk through the past and present Turkey Hill. It was so very informative. I, too, would have loved to tag along with Martha as she shopped for antiques. I learned so much from her during my beginning years as a homemaker – cooking, decorating and gardening.

  43. Thanks for this wonderful post. Like many women who are older, Martha was a big direct influence on us as homemakers, entertainers, hostess, and chiefs. Her influence is still alive today because though she did not start women’s interst in all thing beautiful and home, she knew how to capitalize and build on it. Too bad she became the woman people loved to hate because she really made a difference for many of us.

  44. I loved this post Susan! I watched all her shows when they were filmed from Turkey Hill, it was such a beautiful home I would have had to lie down and cry when I sold it too! I never really got into the studio shows like I did the ones filmed at her home. She was a great teacher and I just ooh-ed and aah-ed over her home every show!

  45. I was hooked on Martha way back when. That wonderful country kitchen with the large table full of huge bowls of produce and platters of delicious food. The entire kitchen overflowed with abundance and plenty.
    It was the working kitchen of a professional caterer who was amazingly talented in regards to food and gardening, for all the needed fresh ingredients. I am sorry to say that the new one looks like it could be any ones kitchen, any where, in a thousand designer magazines. There was a wonderful show on TV once of her preparing Thanksgiving dinner, that she was hosting in the barn, with three turkeys prepared different ways, I sure miss all that.

  46. I really enjoyed this post. Martha has been a blessing and I enjoyed her shows. Thank you for sharing.

  47. I have Martha’ s Entertainung books and always loved her home at Turkey Hill. I do believe one should
    Decorate an historic house to its period. I will have to say, I preferred the way it was decorated in
    It’s “before” state.

  48. Thank you so much, for taking me back to Turkey Hill…..

    I am one of the (older -smile-) lucky ones, who enjoyed these programs.

    • I never got to see those, I think I was working away from my home back then. I’m going to look on You Tube and see if I can some of those old shows. Thanks Tessa!

  49. Thanks for sharing such wonderful photos of Turkey Hill. I loved Martha’s old tv show that showcased her home and gardens, I miss it.

  50. did they keep Martha’s stenciled floors?

  51. I LOVE that house and loved so much the show she filmed there. I miss that very much. Thanks for sharing such a marvelous house!!

    • I know! I would love to see her filming from her home on a regular basis again…those are always the best. Anita, I found a site at YouTube where there are a bunch of her old videos to watch. So when I need my Martha fix, I can go there. There are so absolutely wonderful shows there from waaaaaay back when. Here’s the link if you would love to see them: I’m soooo glad that he posts them on YouTube for all the fans to watch. Hopefully that link will work.

  52. I remember watching Martha when her first tv program was a fifteen minute segment on early Sunday mornings. I would grab a a cup of coffee and trot back to bed and watch. Her early kitchen looked liked a country store in New England all staged for her shows. As she matured she kept expanding her knowlege and fortune by selling to women the joy homemaking again. She made jadeite a popular collectible and was a first in reintroducing the stenciled floors in the late 70’s and 80’s. She was also one of the first to popularize a painting palette for indoor as well as house paint. Now everyone has to have fancy breed chickens thanks to Martha.

  53. Looking at the book Garending Month by Month.I
    can’t wait to replicate some portions in my yard!

  54. My ancestors actually settled Turkey Hill way back in 1640. Yes, Martha did a great job restoring that house ,but other families in the neighborhood did so much more for the community and the town of Westport. One of these families,
    the Kowalskis ,built and maintained local little league fields and also had a fall fair at there house where local kids could get aquianted with farm animals while going for a hayride, or picking out a perfect pumpkin.
    Another family on N. Turkey Hill ,
    the Pertruccis, let kids skate on there pond and actually had lights installed for night skating.
    Yes Martha Stewart did a great job restoring her house aswell as the 10ft wall around with an iron gate.
    Theres a reason why the people of Westport signed a card when she moved saying good luck…
    …and Good Riddance !

  55. JL Williams says

    This ardent fan of Martha’s truly believes that home to be the trademark, “classic Martha.” Had I bought it, I would have indeed made changes. i.e. a back addition. However to own a piece of such pop culture significance, not leaving say the front rooms and there fantastic stenciled floors or the exterior, is indeed a shame. As she did with SKYLANDS, leave something original. – J

  56. You’ve got to hand it to Martha, she has style, class and an eye for traditional design! Love her

  57. Jon Allen says

    The fabric used on the mudroom wicker furniture is called Hollyhock and it is hand printed using antique wood blocks.

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text:
Sept. 24, 2019

Farewell, Father John

From Prometheus Writes! by Nathaniel Lindell (author's profile)
This post is in reply to comments on:  Why Did I Do It? thumbnail
Why Did I Do It?
(March 13, 2013)

Date: 9/19/2019 11:55:36 PM
Subject: Reply ID wa3r

Farewell, Father John
created 19 Sept. 2019

Those of you following my blog know that I am an atheist, humanist and honest. I'm anti-deist, anti-inspired religion because of the many and outrageous degradations those belief systems have inflicted on people, causing witch burnings, pogroms, crusades, genocides, genital mutilations, whole ages of darkness—ultimately because believers can't accept non-believers as full, fellow human beings.

This awareness on my part I can't pretend to not have, yet I have no problem embracing, relating with those who do believe, even remaining silent about my beliefs. So long as they don't try to evangelize me.

You also know I shoot straight, talk blunt, honestly in my writings.

Well, I let Father John know that I'm trying to get in a Christian studies BA program yet reiterated that I'm an atheist and that atheists are in the program. Fr. John replied that he wanted me to stop saying that I'm a disbeliever, asked me to "keep an open mind," after we already discussed this. He said he wouldn't try to reconvert me (I was raised Catholic, didn't have a choice in the matter). My response in relevant part is pasted below, followed by the results.

Have you ever scrutinized Deceptions and Myths of the Bible or, more generally, The Psychology of Superstition? I have, along with world and European history books, the history and evolution of the world and European religions.

From all of those studies, I KNOW that all sects of Christianity and other religions are man's invention, mostly male inventors too, which explains (partly) the peculiar phenomenon that the God individuals believe in tends to have a personality that the believer wants or needs psychologically. Some gods condemn homosexuality, other gods condone it, and both believers adamantly justify their views of their gods based on the same scripture.

But when someone like me points such things out, I'm evil or mean or some other ad hominem attack is used to ignore the truth I point out: people, mostly men, invent gods to server their typically subconscious purposes. Sometimes people invent gods (or religions) for more conscious purposes as maybe Constantine did ("By this you will conquer").

Being a morally conscientious person, I thus can't and won't fake belief not even to get the Pope's help. And it surprised me that you seemed to suggest that I do so. When younger and more ruthless, bro, I'dve faked the funk on you. And maybe you'd be happier believing the lie that I "believe."

Anyhoo, I ain't scared of studying Christianity. Are you scared of studying criticisms of religion, Christianity in particular?

Doesn't matter what your religion is to me. Does my lack of religion make it... difficult to see me as a full, functional human being worthy of dignity and respect? I've no hangups, no biases, even though I KNOW that Catholics in particular have caused the deaths of tens of millions, easily, and justified that with their religion. Not to mention the torture inflicted on me in the name of Catholicism. It's too in the past for me to be angry about it, as you assume I am.

I'm disappointed at humans such as yourself, who are intelligent and mean well yet are mentally blocked from objectively considering the POSSIBILITY that your beliefs are not valid, or worse, not caring because the "beliefs" serve a pragmatic purpose, not the act of desperation that compels some to embrace "beliefs" that they really don't believe in, in order to survive.

I suspect that you believe I'm angry at God because you can't accept that a decentislmguyy can simply disregard a need to believe in God, so you assume there must be some reconcilable reason for my disbelief so I don't lose my eternal soul. Good intentions on your part. But I also don't believe in the Easter Bunny, one of the many Pagan components of Catholicism. And I'm not angry at it either.

I am, however, dismayed and displeased at how powerful people, mostly men, use their positions to force their conceptions of God on the world and oppress people in the process, which I don't want you to feel guilty about. I don't intend to manipulate you into accepting me or my beliefs, nor do I need or want to persuade you of anything. I'm just attempting to correct your misperception about why I'm atheistic. Truth matters to me, and someone else's imagined deity is not the truth, even if they have a powerful machine backing them.

Anyway, I can only beat that horse to death, bring it back to life, and beat it to death again so many times! :) Die, horse!

Man, I'm not perfect, but I fail to grasp how this email is so horrible that Fr. John would block me. Yet block me he did—without comment!

That's just foul.

Like I said in another part of my email to Fr. John, "I don't do dictators, especially of thoughts, my thoughts in particular." I don't dictate to either of my remaining close friends what to believe (one's a Jewish neuroscientist, the other's a French-English literature post grad), and I'm tired of people trying to "save" my soul by withdrawing their friendship when I don't accept their religion. Not the first time—a girlfriend who wanted to have my baby did the same schtick!

Let me be clear—I AM AN ATHEIST! I'M NOT AFRAID TO BURN IN HELL! As some guy said on TV recently. YOU WILL NOT CONVERT ME.

Don't write me expecting otherwise. Write me only if you're willing to take me as I am.

Goodbye, Father John. Enjoy this free lesson in morality—you're not the first priest in need of one.

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text:
Finding Your Way

A Sister’s Perspective

The Anticipation

Running to the tree, being careful not to break the bright red ornaments, I grabbed the rectangular box. I knew what to expect. I anxiously ripped the green foil wrapping paper from the box to see which Bratz doll was inside. There she was  – Yasmin in a crisp clear box – wearing a white midriff tank top and a black leather jacket with red lightning bolt patches. She had denim bellbottom jeans and black ankle boots. She sported sunglasses on top of her blonde highlighted hair and wore bright red lipstick. My shriek startled the baby. Yasmin wasn’t the only doll I got that year. On December 20, 2005, I got my own real life baby doll, my baby sister Catherine.

A New Normal

As an only child, I looked forward to having a baby sister. However, my real baby doll wasn’t as perfect as I thought she would be. The first day I saw her she was in her clear box, so sweet and fragile waiting to breathe the fresh air. The nurses took her out of the incubator and I touched her small fingers and toes. She was just barely breathing. I didn’t want to hurt her. When it was time to take her home, I helped pack a bag full of diapers and wipes only to find out that they weren’t her only accessories. Unlike most newborns, she came with an oxygen concentrator, a feeding tube and a pulse oximeter.

I could dance around with Yasmin and bend her limbs in every direction with no problem. But, I couldn’t do these  so easily with Catherine. Her countless doctor visits and endless days in the hospital weren’t fun. Watching my real life doll get pinched and poked was difficult. I just wanted to put her back in her box. I couldn’t take her back to the store and exchange her; she didn’t come with a receipt. Instead, I adapted to a new normal.

Usually the last child in aftercare, my afternoons consisted of drawing pictures of what I thought home life should be. I didn’t mind waiting because I knew getting my sister’s accessories in the car was a grueling task. Going home meant eating a grilled cheese sandwich while Catherine got her feeding through her tube; doing my homework and mom filling out the hospital insurance papers; taking a bath while mom carefully took off Catherine’s tubing to bathe her; and before bed taking my vitamins while  Catherine received the final dosages of her different medications.

A Broader Understanding

After the medical conditions were minimized, the intellectual challenges became apparent. Catherine has Down syndrome. Soon Catherine prepared for pre-k and mainstreamed into the school system. She had a difficult time adjusting to the flow of the classroom. Often times, my mother would receive a phone call asking her to pick up Catherine because Catherine had one of her “episodes”. When Catherine has an episode, she tightens every muscle, making her hard as stone. Trying to get her to move is like trying to pick up a two-ton statue.

When I look at Catherine, I can predict what she is feeling, whether she’s frustrated and about to break into a tantrum, or if she simply wants to color. I sometimes watch others as they watch her with curiosity; I want to ensure she is not mistreated or overlooked. She is the sister who gets into my stuff and picks a fight, but will also hug you at a moment’s notice and sneak snacks for us to share. These days she has her own dolls.

Our Bond Today

I am away at college now and do not get to see her every day. My mom warned me that time away from her would be the most difficult, “you’re going to miss us but parting with her will be the biggest challenge.” I have to admit I miss her like crazy sometimes. I am grateful for Facetime and look forward to those late afternoon calls from her where we share a virtual kiss; she asks about my day and when I am coming home. Catherine brings out the best in me and is an integral part of my childhood memory and future dreams. Most importantly, when traveling life’s journey it’s good to have a sister’s hand to hold on to (Unknown).

— Written by Christina Flakes

  1. Audrey Moore

    November 9th, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    I have had the pleasure of seeing both Catherine and Christina. What a beautiful way to describe your love for your sister and for your new normal life. You and Catherine will forever share the bond of sistering which is so precious to me. I’m so proud of both of you and I pray that God will bless you with many years of togetherness.

  2. lillianflakes

    November 26th, 2018 at 5:28 pm

    Audrey, Thank you for you constant love and support of Christina and Catherine
    – Lillian

  3. Michelle Devon

    November 10th, 2018 at 12:28 am

    I thoroughly enjoyed this heart wrenching article about an unbreakable bond between sisters!💋

  4. lillianflakes

    November 26th, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    Michelle, I am happy that you enjoyed reading the article and supporting both girls.
    – Lillian

  5. Ms. Nancy

    November 10th, 2018 at 5:06 am

    What a beautiful story you have written about having a sister with special needs. I work at the school where Catherine goes. She is a special young lady.

  6. lillianflakes

    November 26th, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    Ms. Nancy, Thanks for your kind words and the support and kindness you show Catherine on a daily basis.
    – Lillian

  7. Anthony Grant

    November 10th, 2018 at 11:37 pm

    Oh wow! I’m so touched , as I can relate. God will not give us more than we can bare.

  8. lillianflakes

    November 26th, 2018 at 5:31 pm

    Anthony, Yes we live each day thanking God for His love and support.
    – Lillian

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