10 Ways to Accent Your Log Cabin from the Inside Out

Your log cabin has so much charm and the right decor can bring out its best features. From the moment you step out of your car until you settle indoors, you can create that warm woodsy-chic feeling that attracted you to the style in the first place.

Consider these 10 decor ideas that can help to make a log cabin feel even more special indoors and outdoors.

1. Fancy faucets
   Whether you choose charming antique or shining steel faucets, these small touches get noticed because they are used all of the time. You want to select a style that matches the finishings in your bathroom or kitchen. For example, if you have brushed steel appliances, select a more modern metallic faucet.
2. Modern lighting
   Log cabins are naturally beautiful and a great way to make their best features shine is by adding hyper-modern lighting for contrast. Install geometric shaped chandeliers or polished steel sconces for a quick and easy decor upgrade that stands out.
3. Artful Antiques
   Log cabins may be the inspiration behind the rustic-chic home trend. Recently, designers have been repurposing old gardening tools, typewriters, and toys as artistic decor. Hang a few as art on a wall to add interest to a space. These decor touches can be useful as well. For instance, you can select antique iron rods to hold curtains or incandescent light bulbs to illuminate your dining area.
4. Weave in natural materials
   Continue the organic style of your log cabin with wool and cotton rugs, wall hangings, and throw blankets. You can bring a peaceful feeling to a space with neutral undyed tones or opt for pops of colour by finding a large woven art print for an empty wall or floor.
   
5. Solid rocks
   Add another element to your feng shui at home with stone feature walls. Extend the slate or brick beyond your fireplace mantle to fill the entire side of a room. In bathing areas, raw stone showers and sink basins naturally compliment the wood and water of the log cabin around them.
   
6. Firepits and chimineas
   Fireplaces inside log cabins are a natural match so why not continue that cozy ambiance outside? Firepits and chimineas (clay freestanding fireplaces) are easy to install and allow you to make use of your outdoor space beyond the summer season.
7. Water features
   Your log cabin blends into the environment with its wooden beams, adding water elements can bring that organic feeling to life. An easy addition is a decorative bird bath that will attract wildlife and music to your yard. Or, you can install a fountain or create a stream to allow the tranquility of flowing water to surround your home.
8. Pergolas
   These canopies provide shade in the summer and help to define an outdoor living area. Extend your log cabin’s charm by building one of these chic wooden structures over your patio. For an added natural effect, you can grow vines along the beams and watch them flower in the springtime.
9. Hanging lanterns
   Light the way from the driveway into your charming abode with the magical look of lanterns. Use them to brighten walkways and hang them on your patio for a more intimate ambiance at parties. Depending on your personal taste, there are string lights, Moroccan style lanterns, and even solar options available.
10. Handcrafted address plaques
    Artisans have been crafting, carving, and welding personalized signs for centuries. Some homeowners place an address plaque at the end of their driveway and others right on the home itself. Whether you select a carved wood sign to match your log cabin or a welded metal one that contrasts with it, you can make finding your home a beautiful experience right from the roadside.

When you start with a naturally beautiful log cabin, it’s easy to create enchanting spaces inside and out. A little bit of decor can compliment and contrast with the organic structure and bring out your own personal style.

If you’re looking for log cabin design examples or inspiration for building your own log or timber framed home you can visit our plans page or give us a call. 

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Summer Reading! YAY!!!

Oh Summer, I'm so glad you're hear.  Except for the sudden hike in humidity, temperatures (It was 97 degrees here on Sunday), and those damn gnats. Sitting on the deck? Yes! Sipping moscow mules while sitting on the deck? Yes!
Grilling? Yes! Summer reading?  YEESSSSSSS.

I am, as always, ambitious in the many books I want to finish this summer. Big surprise, right? I'm going to carve out time every day for reading. I try to do this 365 days a year, but I'm making a conscious effort starting today. I always tell myself "If you clean the bathroom, and do the dishes, you can read afterwards." Only problem is there's no one but me to hold myself to it, so of course half the time I just read anyway and leave the house a bit, ahem, messy. 

I posted a video on my Facebook page ( search @Bookaliciousbabe on FB) highlighting a few of the books I plan on reading and reviewing this summer.  Check it out! I welcome comments.  Just know I will video when I get the chance, and I am not the least bit worried if my hair is a mess and I look goofy.  But those books aren't the only ones I'm reading this summer.  Here are some of the books I mentioned in no particular order, as well as a few more on my list for Summer 2018:

There's my rough list.  There will be other books, of course. 

 What are you going to read this summer?
I'd love to know! 

I'll be posting random videos, giving quick reviews or talking about books I've discovered.  
They will appear on my Facebook page, and I'll attempt to load them here, too. 

Happy Summer!  Get reading!

The Bookalicious Babe




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PMP:Encore027 Ten Tips for Interviewing for an Education Opening

Last week I was on the phone with a teacher who will soon be interviewing for a position an assistant principal opening. Just this past week, I have talked to two superintendents and a principal who were opening principal or assistant principal positions at their schools. It’s that time of year again for hiring and […]

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White Sand, Blue Sea by Anita Hughes

I've read plenty of novels set in exotic locations, characters who live the lush life and think nothing of it.  Anita Hughes novels are all about that, and I've read three of her novels. I find myself rolling my eyes and being annoyed at the characters, the writing, and pretty much the whole story. Every. Single. Time. 

I picked White Sand, Blue Sea because I thought I'd give her another chance, and it looked like a fun read. I have a book group meeting in June that has the theme of "reading something that we consider a guilty pleasure".  A fun, frolicky, summer novel was perfect, and I knew Anita Hughes would write about a lifestyle that is completely foreign to me.  Fun stuff. 

Ugh. This took me way longer than it should have, and mostly because I was annoyed a lot of the time.  A quick recap:  Olivia Miller is almost 25; she's beautiful, in love, and her boyfriend will be proposing to her on her birthday.  She's in St. Bart's, staying with her mother and step-father in the family villa. They spend time there every summer and at Christmas. One day, there's a knock on the door.  It's Olivia's father, Sebastian, whom Olivia hasn't seen in 20 years.  A semi-famous artist, he's spent his whole adult life traveling the world, painting. Now he's come to help celebrate Olivia's 25th birthday.  Surprise!

Sebastian stirs up trouble, of course, when he questions Olivia's relatively boring, staid life. She only goes to the best restaurants in NYC and spends the weekends in the Hamptons. Poor Olivia. Her engagement to Finn may be in trouble if she follows her father's advice to travel and see the world before marriage.  Hadley, Olivia's mother, is furious at Sebastian for potentially ruining what was supposed to be a wonderful time at St. Bart's.  Present day and the past mingle at Hadley remembers key times in her marriage to Sebastian, as they traveled the world, living in guest houses, hotel suites, and wherever else hosts would put them up while Sebastian painted.  The marriage ended when Sebastian refused to return to the U.S. to settle down in New York City so Olivia could go to school. 

Here's what annoyed me about this novel. EVERYTHING.  Sebastian couldn't have a conversation without saying "this reminds me of the time I climbed a tree to save myself from a tiger", or "I spent three months in Tibet in a monastic retreat not speaking to anyone", or...well, you get my drift. I kept waiting for someone other than me to shriek "Shut up about your stupid travels!" 

And Olivia! She was so damn annoying. She's either slightly peeved she hasn't seen her father for 20 years, or defending him.  Here's a passage from the novel that I found stupefying: 

" I know I should be angry that he missed my whole childhood, but artists are wired differently," Olivia continued. "Can you imagine Cezanne getting a job in a factory, or Matisse working in La Bon Marche? They have to roam the world of where would they get the inspiration to paint?"

What?!  The whole novel was like this! My take on Olivia: very immature. Her excitement over her birthday seemed very childish to me, and not the way an adult would act at all. She came across as very shallow and dumb. 

So. I know I'm not usually so harsh on books I review, but this one was just too much.  This is escapism on a high level, if you can overlook the shallow characters. The only thing I got out of this was a desire to see St. Bart's sometime. Sounds like a beautiful place. 

Rating:  2/6 for poorly developed characters who didn't appreciate what they had, made excuses for bad behavior, and were just, ugh. If you want to read a pure fantasy summer read, this is it. But if you're like me, your eyes will roll. 

Available in paperback and ebook. 

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The Push and Pull of Leadership

Ugh…I love this quote so much from “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“:

Look at the weaknesses of others with compassion, not accusation. It’s not what they’re not doing or should be doing that’s the issue. The issue is your own chosen response to the situation and what you should be doing. If you start to think the problem is “out there,” stop yourself. That thought is the problem.

This reminded me of a conversation I had years ago with a principal who was complaining about their teachers not coming along. As he complained, I asked, “If you are the leader and they are not moving forward, could the issue be with you and not with them?”

The comment was not to lay blame but to remind the principal that leadership was about leading.  How good of a leader can one be if no one is ready to follow?

Instead of laying blame on others on why they won’t move forward, ask questions, get to know where they are coming from, and go to them.  Leadership is both push and pull.  It is not about getting someone to jump from A to Z, but finding out where the point A is, what that looks like, and sometimes walking beside them to help them build confidence and competence along the way to get to that point B.  After that, point C doesn’t seem so bad.

Of course, this is not to say the individual doesn’t have a responsibility for their growth either.  But understand, you cannot change anyone. You can only create the conditions where change is more likely to happen.

Just remember that the next time you get frustrated with someone seemingly not moving forward, don’t try to figure out what is wrong with them or their attitude. Figure out what you can do to support them on their journey.  Complaining about what is wrong will never make it right.

• November 1, 2017 A Cadence of Accountability to One Another
• January 19, 2016 Why Your Best People Leave and Why That Can Be Okay
• February 15, 2015 5 Ideas for Conversations on Change
• April 9, 2018 Focusing on 3 Layers of Education
• March 21, 2016 The Message and the Messenger

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Subprime Car Loan: A Second Chance for Drivers with Bad Credit

A subprime car loan is one that caters specifically to people who have bad credit or limited credit history. If you have a less than ideal credit score and you need a loan to buy a vehicle, here’s what you should know:

Who needs a subprime car loan

Your credit report is one of the main things lenders use to determine whether or not you are a subprime borrower. This report contains your personal financial data such as information about every loan you’ve taken in the last six years, the credit limit on each account, how much you owe, and other information. Your credit score is a numerical value that is used to represent your level of creditworthiness based on analysis of your credit files.

In most instances, lenders consider anything less than 630 on a credit report to be subprime territory. If you do not already know your credit score, you should obtain a credit report. In Canada, there are two national credit bureaus: TransUnion Canada and Equifax Canada. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of them, every 12 months. So, request a report from both.

Other reasons you may be classified as a subprime borrower

While you might not have outstanding debt or a history of late payments, inability to keep a stable job might cause you to be classified as a subprime borrower, regardless of your credit score. This is so as you will need to have a steady income to make payments. When evaluating your employment for stability, most lenders will look at the last two years of your work history.

If you have acceptable credit but have filed for bankruptcy in the past, you may still need to consider a subprime car loan; especially if a car loan was part of the reason you had to file for bankruptcy. Additionally, if you have ever had a car repossessed, a subprime car loan might be your only option.

Subprime car loans can improve your credit

One of the steps you can take to fix a bad credit score is by maintaining healthy credit accounts. But how can you do that if lenders are hesitant to give you a loan because of your credit mistakes in the past? You will not likely face rejection from a subprime lender as they specialize in bad credit loans.

As with any other loan, activities on a subprime car loan are reported to credit reporting bureaus. This presents you with an opportunity to prove your creditworthiness. By consistently making on-time payments (at least the minimum amount) you can improve bad credit. This is also a great way to build credit if you have limited or no credit history.

In addition to maintaining current credit accounts, you should make an effort to clear any outstanding debt if you want to fix bad credit.

Interest rates are rarely renegotiated

Because a lender is taking a higher risk with a subprime car loan, it is a given that interest rates will be higher than if you had a prime auto loan. You might think you can renegotiate the interest rate after making regular payments for some time. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Usually, you are only able to renegotiate your interest rate if you are refinancing to get a new vehicle.

Looking for a subprime car loan?

If you need a subprime car loan to purchase a vehicle, contact Credit Now today. Let us help you get the car you want.

The post Subprime Car Loan: A Second Chance for Drivers with Bad Credit appeared first on Credit Now | Auto Loan Financing.

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PMP:114 Reflections on Your Learning: What’s on Your Playlist?

My mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s. The condition began about ten years ago when we thought she was simply becoming more forgetful. But as her short-term memory declined, we realized she wasn’t just suffering from old age. Over the years, she has lost the ability to recognize her own children and grandchildren, and she forgets whether or […]

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PMP:114 Reflections on Your Learning: What’s on Your Playlist?

My mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s. The condition began about ten years ago when we thought she was simply becoming more forgetful. But as her short-term memory declined, we realized she wasn’t just suffering from old age. Over the years, she has lost the ability to recognize her own children and grandchildren, and she forgets whether or […]

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Instant Pot Cheesecake

Instant Pot Cheesecake couldn’t be easier or more delicious. Serve it up with pie filling, fresh fruit, or chocolate ganache for the perfect dessert.

This recipe is sponsored by Challenge Dairy, but all thoughts are my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make My Baking Addiction possible.

Guys, it’s been a little while, but I am back from what felt like months of travel. If you follow me over on Instagram Stories, you know that I was in Detroit for work, then headed to Florida for a couple of weeks for vacation, and then a quick work trip to Utah.

I don’t know about you, but travel seriously takes a lot out of me.

(more…)

The post Instant Pot Cheesecake appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

        

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Plaid and Plagiarism: The Highland Bookshop Mystery Series, Book 1 by Molly MacRae

I had high hopes for this mystery series, but unfortunately I was disappointed. 

Set in the Scottish town of Inversgail, four women have purchased the local bookstore Yon Bonnie Books, with additional plans to open a tea shop next door, and have rooms upstairs for overnight guests.  Janet and her daughter, Tallie, have moved from Illinois. Janet's tie to Inversgail is a vacation home she and her now ex-husband bought and used for years before their divorce. It will now be Janet's permanent home. Janet's friend Christine, and Tallie's friend Summer have also moved to Inversgail to help run the tea shop and bookstore.  It's a fresh start for all the women--but murder and mayhem quickly make an appearance. 

The local advice columnist and reporter is found murdered in the shed behind Janet's home. An unpleasant woman, Una is the local font of all gossip, and sticks her nose in everyone's business, while remaining secretive about hers. There are a number of suspects in Una's death. But who had the biggest motive?

I completely expected to fall in love with this series, the characters, the town, and, of course, the bookstore. I didn't.  The story felt clunky; the supporting cast of characters felt one dimensional; Janet--who I thought for sure I'd love, given her previous job as a librarian and lover of all things books--well, Janet and Christine, along with Tallie and Summer, felt wooden to me. I didn't get the vibe of a warm, long friendship with Janet and Christine. Usually when I read a cozy mystery, the author spends some time building up the characters, and the setting, inviting you in to stay awhile. I didn't get that from this mystery. I always felt like I was missing part of the story.  

There is a second book in the series: Scones and Scoundrels,which takes place four months after Plaid and Plagiarism.  I may read it, and see if I change my mind. The person I suspected as the murderer was correct; the motive behind Una's murder was the only interesting part of the plot. But otherwise, I felt like I had to wade through a lot of disjointed story before I got to the big reveal. 

Rating: 2/6 for a mystery that could have been so much more.  I felt completely disconnected to the four main characters; the town didn't feel very cozy, and overall, the mystery just wasn't that interesting. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook. 




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Controlling the Solution

In “Learner-Centred Innovation,” Katie Martin shares the following:

Just think how you might begin to make the changes and the impact you desire in school if instead of statements like, “If they would have, . . .” you started asking, “How might I…?” This is what is referred to by psychologists as the locus of control or the extent to which people believe they have power to influence events in their lives. A person with an internal locus of control believes that he or she can influence events and outcomes. These individuals might notice that students are not meeting the desired outcomes and decide to take some risks, try new strategies, or design an authentic project to meet the needs of learners. Someone with an external locus of control instead blames outside forces for everything.

I thought about this quote in a recent conversation I had with a few administrators. There were focused on some of the ideas being shared were things that would happen in larger organizations, not necessarily ones in divisions with smaller student populations.

If you want to find a problem, you can see a problem.  Solutions are findable as well.

Working with two school districts in the same day, one had shared that although there were “1 to 1” with devices for students, the teachers felt they needed more professional learning. The other had shared that they were ready to go, but that they didn’t have the devices.  Two opposite situations, both seen as issues.

Flip it around.

One organization could have seen that although they had devices for every student and more professional learning would be needed; this is an excellent opportunity to model learning alongside students and reshaping what the classroom could look like.  The other organization could have seen the opportunity to focus more on the learning of the staff before they provided devices so that they would feel ready to offer solutions to students from a place of experience in their learning.

Barriers and opportunities are around where you look at them, but the biggest barrier is often our own thinking. As Katie reminds us, we control a lot more than we give ourselves credit. We can be the problem but hopefully, the solution.

• February 6, 2018 Learner-Centred Innovation – New Book From @KatieMartinEDU
• February 13, 2018 The Next “You”
• September 8, 2016 The #InnovatorsMindset MOOC Starting Soon! #IMMOOC
• October 15, 2017 Thinking About Research, Innovation, Test-Scores, and Creativity
• November 27, 2016 “Telling will never be as effective as experiencing.”

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PMP:113 Building Positive School Communities – Interview with Principal Mike Crase

When I drove into the parking lot at East Central High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I was greeted by bright yellow arrows on the parking lot, pointing the direction for incoming and outgoing traffic. A beautiful flower bed had been built in front of the school. A friendly security staff person met me at the […]

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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: A DNF that I Finally Finished

May has been a month where I've skipped the fun and frothy books and instead dove straight into the tough reads. I can't lie; reading too many in a short time frame tends to bring me down. 

That is part of the reason why I tried reading Homegoing before, and just couldn't do it. I definitely believe in books not only reflecting your mood, but affecting your mood. Homegoing was a tough read for me; I picked it for my book group's May read because it would push me to read it. We meet on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to the discussion we'll have about this thought provoking novel. 

Homegoing  is about eight generations of people who come from two half-sisters who don't realize the other exists. One sister, Effia, stays in Ghana and is married to a white British officer there to help with the slave trade in the late 1700's--when British interests in acquiring and selling slaves was huge. Unbeknownst to Effia for most of her young life, she has a half-sister, Esi, who was also raised in Ghana, but in a different village and a different tribe. The cruelty of slavery and tribal affiliations begin early with Effia and Esi, as Esi is captured by raiders and sent to the dungeons at the Castle, the very place where Effia is living with her British husband. Esi is shipped off to the United States, to become a slave and begin the chain of events that will shape her descendants into the 20th century. 

Effia doesn't have it all good, either. Despised by her step-mother, caught between two worlds, unhappy with her life, her descendants remain in Ghana for generations, until Yaw, disfigured by an accident as a baby, moves to the United States to teach. Finally, the two branches meet in San Francisco as Yaw's daughter Marjorie and Esi's great-great-great-great-great (I think?!) grandson Marcus travel back to Ghana in a very moving final chapter. 

There are so many stories, and each is heartbreaking. No one in this novel has a happy life. The issue of slavery is so prevalent for both sides that it is soaked into the fiber of their being. Seeing the chain of generations, and reading their stories, it is very clear why, even today, events that took place hundreds of years ago keep thundering through our lives and our nation.  The women in this novel are extraordinary; fierce, strong, and survivors of enormously horrible situations. Sprinkled through the generations, there are also men who stand out. 

The story that I most connected to was H's story. Born into slavery (his mother's story is so sad I can't even think about it!), freed after the Civil War, and sent to work in coal mines as punishment for not being able to pay bail, H is such a strong character through every trial that comes his way. His journey was probably my favorite part of the novel. So, so good. 

Homegoing is a very emotional novel, and that is what makes it hard to read quickly, or in one sitting. You have to sit with it, think about each generation as they tell their story, and follow the chain of history down through the generations. Family history, world history, magic, spiritual belief, ancestor respect-all are a part of this novel, along with the all too often whims of fate.  People sometimes don't understand how something that happened 200 years ago can affect our present day; this novel shows that very thing over and over again, and for that, this is a novel that everyone should read. High schoolers and college age students should read this and discuss it together. 

I am very glad I returned to this DNF and finished it. Not many books have the power to deeply move me; Yaa Gyasi's astounding novel joins that list. 

Rating:  5/6 for a novel that is not an easy read-not because of writing style, or plot, but because of the powerful characters who live, love, dream, and survive tragedy after tragedy through the generations. I highly recommend this for book groups, high school and college students, and anyone interested in history. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio.

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Thriving Through Adversity

One of my favorite blogs is “Barking Up the Wrong Tree.” It is funny but always pushes my thinking and provides strategies for personal growth.  In the most recent post, “4 Secrets From Stoicism“, it shared some advice that kind of threw me for a loop:

Many of the greats embraced the concept of “Amor Fati.” To not only accept everything that life brings you, good or bad, but to love it. To embrace it. To revel in it. Every single bit of your life. Yes, even the truly horrible, awful, regrettable, don’t-ever-want-to-think-about-it-again moments.

To which I initially responded with a big honking:  Huh? Seriously?

Easier said than done, right?

I encourage you to read the whole post, but here is an excellent little summary:

Here’s how Amor Fati can make you happy:

• Amor Fati: Merely “accepting” life is not enough. You need the Platinum Pro package. Love every bit of life, good, bad, and ugly. (Yes, that includes traffic.)
• Denial And Complaining Are The Enemy: Whatever it is, you will accept it eventually. So sooner is better. And whining is wasted energy. The universe doesn’t check its Complaint Box.
• Flash Forward To The Future: Will this still bother you in a month? A year? Then don’t let it bother you now.
• Treat Life As A Game: It’s no fun if it’s easy. If your personal story has no conflict, please do me a favor: don’t tell me your story. It’s boring. Do you want a boring life?
• Feel Gratitude. For The Good And The Bad: You don’t know what, in the end, will be good or bad. So be grateful for it all. And then work to make the short term bad turn into long term good.

This line; “And then work to make the short-term bad turn into long-term good.”

Negatives last as long as you don’t learn from them. From every situation, good and bad, there are things that we can learn from, but if we let the negative linger, it will loom over you.

I always think about why people love superhero movies.  The most significant reason is not that they thrive, but because they succeed through dealing with adversity.

Negatives will happen. Embracing it as part of life is not only part of the challenge, it is an integral part of the journey, and in the end, can make you better. Ultimately, that is up to ourselves.

Turn your wounds into wisdom. -Oprah Winfrey

• March 8, 2016 Finding the Good Problems
• November 26, 2017 2 Ways to Brighten Your Day
• December 10, 2017 Moving From Obstacle to Advantage
• January 21, 2018 The One Answer to All Questions in Education
• February 3, 2015 They Will Follow Your Lead

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PMP:112 Reflections for Education Leaders – How Are You Tending Your Body?

When I was little, I loved to stand in the garden as my grandparents tilled soil and put out spring tomatoes. The smell of freshly tilled dirt, the sun beating down on my back, the brush of the ground with hoes and rakes—all these memories come back to me each spring. My grandparents didn’t just […]

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Hardscrabble by Sandra Dallas

After reading In Cold Blood and The Hazel Wood, I needed something a little lighter! Enter Sandra Dallas' Hardscrabble, a children's novel about homesteading in 1910 Colorado.  Sandra is one of my favorite authors, and her new adult novel, The Patchwork Bride, is due out in early June.  I simply can't wait!

Here's what I love about Sandra Dallas.  She writes about pioneers, homesteaders, and folks who lived hard lives in the settling of the West and Mid-West. Her main characters are always women, and they're women you would love to know. Strong, loyal, hardworking women who just want the best life they can manage--often times, at the end of a long, rough road.  

Hardscrabble is no different, but it's softened for a younger audience. It centers on the Martin family, who travel to Mingo, Colorado after their farm fails in Iowa.  Belle, her mother and six siblings meet her father at the train station, and soon approach their new home: a sod house.  It's a long way from the beautiful farmhouse they left in Iowa, but they're starting over on a homestead. Neighbors include Lizzie, a single woman living on her own claim, determined to prove up and have her own farm. Two characters from Dallas' adult novel The Diary of Mattie Spencer also live nearby, and I was happy to see them all these years later, thriving and enjoying the rewards of their hard work.  

The novel moves through nearly a year on the homestead, and of course life is not easy, and filled with bad weather, threats to crops, and tragedy. It's nothing we haven't read about in other novels set in the homesteading years of the United States, but Dallas writes from Belle's viewpoint, and that makes it all simply told, with a bit of sass and humor thrown in-just as a young girl would be today.  Certainly fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder will eat this one up.  

This was a quick read, but a lovely, quiet one. It helped reset my internal reading clock a bit.  If I read too many dark themed novels in a row, I get bummed out.  While not everything is smooth sailing for the Martin family, the obvious love in the family, the cheerful attitudes, and the strong presence of Beck Martin, their father, help keep things moving along and light even in sad times. Lizzie's presence as a strong woman on her own, fixing wagons, planting crops, baking, and raising chickens is a bright spot, and a glimpse at the changing world in 1910.  She doesn't want to get married and have to give up her homestead before it's proven to be hers, and she can own it free and clear. 

All in all, a delightful, quick read on one of my favorite subjects: pioneering.  

Rating:  4/6 for a sweet story about the Martin family starting all over again in Mingo, Colorado in 1910. Good times and bad make this a novel about sticking together, working through problems, and loving each other. 

Available in hardcover and ebook. 

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The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

After reading In Cold Blood, I wanted something completely different; something "fairy tale-ish".  Well, I got fairy tales, just not the light, fluffy tales I was looking for to brighten my reading mood.

I bought this book a few months ago after hearing the buzz about it. The cover, of course, was a big push towards picking up the book.  The cover art is great. I can pick out parts of the story looking at that cover. I am, however, still a bit puzzled as to what exactly I read, and my slight feelings of disappointment/perplextion haven't lessened in the hours since I turned the last page.

Short synopsis: Alice and her mother, Ella, have never stayed in one place for long, in all her seventeen years. Constantly on the move, it seems that bad luck follows them everywhere they go. Finally settling in New York City, Ella does the unthinkable: she gets married. Alice's grandmother, the famous, reclusive author of a book of dark fairy tales, has died, and Ella thinks they are finally free.

But they aren't. Ella is kidnapped--by creatures who populate those dark fairy tales. Those tales aren't tales at all, but in actuality, a place called the Hinterland, and the Hazel Wood is the estate where Alice's grandmother secluded herself and raised Ella. Ella's warning words of never going to the Hazel Wood are ignored by Alice, who sees it as the only chance to find her mother. Alone in the world, she takes a chance and befriends a fellow student, Ellery Finch, who has not only has read the fairy tales, but is an avid fan. As Alice and Ellery realize the Hinterland is bleeding into modern day New York City, the two worlds become more and more entangled, and the line between what is real and what is fairy tale is blurred. 

Alice is a tough character; she's rude, distrustful, and pretty angry. I would be, too, if I never had the chance to settle and have a normal life. Part of her anger stems from feeling rejected by the grandmother she never met, and now never will. The bad luck that seems to follow Alice and her mother is never ending. Ella's unwillingness to discuss her mother, the fairy tales, or the Hazel Wood have left Alice with a lot of dead ends and unanswered questions that can only be answered if she finds Hazel Wood. Is it a real place, or a fairy tale place? Are the fairy tales: dark, cruel, and, quite frankly, murderous, real? 

I was pretty interested in this tale for about 3/4 of the novel. The sense of always being watched; seeing odd ball characters, strange portents that come out of nowhere; these kept me reading. I loved the building of tension, and the wondering, along with Alice of just what the hell was going on. But once Alice arrives at the Hazel Wood, it seemed like a mishmash of absolute nonsense and wild feverish imaginings. I felt like I was wading through, looking for anything to make sense. I couldn't figure out if the Hinterland was trying to kill Alice, or welcome her. And Ellery, well, you'll just have to visit the Hinterland to see where his story goes. 

It's a good book, but I felt it was disjointed, and maybe the author wanted the reader to feel all topsy-turvy and confused. I myself am not a fan of that-especially when I leave the fun house and am still wondering just what the heck that was all about. 

Rating:  2/6 for a novel about very dark fairy tales, and what happens when you mess with them. Also a novel about a young girl who has to grow up, become stronger than she imagines she can be, and finding her place in the world.

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.






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Win an autographed copy of Shake Up Learning…and EVERYone wins!

I’ve long been a fan of Kasey Bell and her laid-back approach to #allthethings google. We’ve planned together, we’re brainstormed together, and flat out learned from each other. I call her my #digitalbestie because if there is a question I’ve had in regards to PD, Google training, or regional support from her “real job”, she is […]

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Keep Your Head Up and Keep Creating

You know that session you led at that conference recently with the 99% positive reviews?  Which review do you remember the most?  The 99 that were awesome or the one that was a bit mean?

I was having this conversation recently with a colleague of mine, and we were discussing this phenomenon of being so fixated on the negative “shot” at you, while there are a plethora of positive words coming your way. I suffer from this as well. I seem like I feel weird about compliments, but I sure can take an insult to heart.

Feedback is great and helps us grow, but that is not what I am referring to. I am talking about the comment that is neither helpful or positive.

I have been thinking about this lots in connection with students that want to start things like YouTube channels.  As I was talking to a parent about this, wanting to be honest, I told them that if their child were terrible at it, they would receive negative comments, but if they were good at it, they would also receive negative comments.  They would just come from different places.  Some out of feedback, some out of nastiness, and some out of straight-up jealousy.  I have asked educators to challenge me on this statement, and not one has; no matter how good you are at your job, someone dislikes you.

Cripes…as I am writing this, it feels so depressing. Let’s turn this around.

So what to do?

1. Ask for feedback from people that you trust to not just “fill your bucket” but to challenge you to grow.  We do not grow from receiving accolades only, but surrounding yourself with people that will challenge you while supporting, is a great way to grow.
2. When you get a compliment, take it in.  Stop and appreciate the growth you have already made.
3. Finally (easy to say, harder to do), when you get a negative comment that provides no feedback but is just a shot, stop, evaluate your work, think about the positives, redirect.

There are two reasons why finding positive ways to deal with this are essential.

1. It is good for you to find the positives when negatives are seemingly abundant in your head (they aren’t as bad as you make them out to be though!).
2. It helps you help students who will deal with the same.

All I know is that I have tremendous respect for people who are creators, makers, and doers, who put themselves out there, open to criticism, and still move forward.  Dealing with self-doubt is already hard enough, but they proceed to receive outside (harsh) criticism as well. No matter who you are, if you have created something, you know exactly what I am referring to.

Keep making. Keep producing. Keep learning and growing.  Just remember that work is making a difference.

• December 24, 2017 3 Ideas for Staying Positive
• June 28, 2013 The Prophets In Your Land
• April 17, 2015 The Opportunity To Further Bring Parents Into the Learning
• September 8, 2016 The #InnovatorsMindset MOOC Starting Soon! #IMMOOC
• February 7, 2015 Questioning the Data

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Shift by Aragon on Vancouver’s Westside

Shift by Aragon Properties is a new 6 storey condo development located on Quebec street and 35th Avenue on Vancouver’s Westside. This project will offer 43 1-3 bedroom condominiums. Bordered by Queen Elizabeth Park one block West, and Main Street one block East, Shift will join an already thriving neighborhood.

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Lily Terrace by Lanstone in Langley

Lily Terrace by Lanstone Homes is a new 3-storey condo development located in the heart of Fort Langley. This project will have an exclusive collection of 24 modern signature residences. These exclusive residences marry the best of both worlds—a contemporary vision is thoughtfully executed with the care and attention of traditional craftsmanship. Pitched rooflines and paned windows evoke the grace of an earlier era. The cornerstone of a thriving heritage conservation area.

The post Lily Terrace by Lanstone in Langley appeared first on Vancouver New Condos.

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Hudson Place One in downtown Victoria

Hudson Place One by Townline is a new modern 25-storey development located at 777 Herald Street in downtown Victoria. This project will offer 176 luxury intelligently-designed 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom condominiums.The Hudson District is a vibrant, amenity-rich, pedestrian-friendly village with doorstep access to a unique mix of artisan shops, daily conveniences, services, and leisure and wellness activities that are the heart and soul of the community. Its central location in beautiful downtown Victoria provides easy access to transit.

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Reading a Classic: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

I've realized for me, reading classics pretty much came to a halt after college. So many new titles to read, I just didn't have time for "the old stuff". Twenty-four years later, I still don't read classics. Shame on me. While high school was full of the usual suspects: The Scarlet Letter, Huck Finn, Pride & Prejudice, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451; college added a few: Frankenstein, Beloved...it seemed to be more of a movement away from older classics and a move towards new writers and what at the time weren't classics, but now after 20 odd years, are classics. I just didn't get to read everything I should have, and would have liked to read. 

I hope to change that going forward, and make more of an effort to look back at what I've missed and add a classic into my reading choices every once in awhile. In Cold Blood is in this month's read simply because I had to read a novel that was written the year I was born for a book group.  It was a toss up between this and Valley of the Dolls.  I did buy both, and I plan on reading VOD this summer. I was born in the middle of the 1960's; when Vietnam was raging, the Beatles were famous, and people were either protesting or, like my parents, raising kids and living a very middle class life in the burbs. I don't remember any of it, and only vaguely recall Nixon as President. I was busy playing outside and looking at National Geographic magazines at  home (I think pretty much every middle-class family had a subscription to Nat Geo!).  Loved the pictures, couldn't read just yet. 

So onto In Cold Blood. It's a book I handled hundreds of times while I worked at the bookstore; shelving it, putting it on summer reading tables; finding it for customers. I knew the basic story, but it was always "one day I'll get to it". Never intrigued enough to actually read it. 

My first night starting the book, I was hearing Truman Capote in my head. As I got closer to the night of the murders, I put it down and went to bed. Up again in the wee hours of the morning, I had to search the internet and find more about the Clutter family and why Capote wrote the novel. It is, after all, a true crime story; so why not a non-fiction book?  Simply because, while it is based on a true incident, there are enough speculative conversations and what is clearly a fictional scene at the end to make it fiction.  So if you're looking for this book in a bookstore, or in a library, it will be in fiction. 

What I found in my short spurt of research made the book that much more interesting to me.  Capote spent years on this, interviewing everyone in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas; interviewing the two suspects: Richard "Dick" Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, and even spending time in the Clutter home. It became an obsession for him, and caused a sensation when it was published.  

Here are the bones of the story: On November 15, 1959, the Clutter family: Herb, his wife Bonnie, and his teenage children Nancy and Kenyon were bound, gagged, and brutally shot to death in their home. Herb, a rancher, had not only been shot, but his throat slit. An outstanding community member, Herb had no enemies and no one could figure out why anyone would harm the Clutter family. The phone line had been cut, and it looked like robbery was the motive. Everyone in Holcomb knew Herb never had cash on him; he paid for everything with checks. A prosperous rancher, he put everything back in to the ranch, and lived simply. 

The only clues left were bootprints-one in Herb's blood. Police had little to go on, and it looked like this might end up being an unsolvable murder. It's hard to remember this was a time before the advances in forensics we have today, so I had to cringe when folks burned the blood stained mattresses and couch ONE DAY AFTER THE MURDERS. What?!

Dick and Perry, however, take up most of the novel. Leaving Holcomb, they end up driving to Mexico, and then wind their way back through Miami, Kansas, and Las Vegas in the six weeks after the murders. The two of them are ex-cons, out on parole. You don't know what exactly happened that night until both men are arrested in Las Vegas, and Perry confesses on the ride back to Kansas. Four people murdered, for $40, a radio, and binoculars. But who did the shooting? Perry confesses to killing Herb and Kenyon, but claims Dick shot Nancy and Bonnie. They had heard about the Clutter ranch, and that Herb kept $10,000 in a safe at home, and decided they were going to rob it, and leave no witnesses. They came prepared to kill. The complete lack of emotion and regret is astounding. Yet while reading about these two criminals, I was struck by Capote's attempts to make them pitiful and sympathetic. They became the focus of the novel, and the Clutters, I felt, were quickly relegated to the background.  We never get to know the Clutter family much at all; and for that reason, I can see why the two surviving Clutter daughters (neither lived at home) were so upset by this work, and to this day, have not granted interviews and do not discuss their family tragedy. 

Capote's writing is, however, masterful. His spare, unemotional writing reflects the coldness of the murderers, and the Kansas winter; wind sweeping over the plains, and cold, quiet nights. He sees the unwinding of a small town, as people move away, become less trustful, and absorb the enormity of the murders. 

I'm interesting in watching the movie Capote, which takes place during the In Cold Blood years. There is a new documentary about the Clutter murders, produced in 2017 called Cold Blooded: The Clutter Family Murders.  I haven't been able to find it to watch it, but I will! 

So, what did I really think of this novel? It took me over a week to read it, because I was filled with dread in the first 25 pages.  I just didn't want to read about the murders. I put it down, then picked it up again and read it through. Dick and Perry are cold blooded, unfeeling killers, and no bad childhood or mental diagnosis will ever make me feel differently about them. It was an interesting crime novel, and I'm glad I read it. I loved Capote's writing style, and now I understand just what lies in between the covers of a book I've held in my hands so many times.  I think it would make a good book group discussion, and I'm sure it has, many times. For crime fiction or non-fiction crime fans, this is considered the first fictional non-fiction crime novel, and set a standard for the genre. 

Rating:  4/6 for the suspense of the novel, and the writing of Truman Capote. I felt the Clutter family were mostly ignored, and Capote's obsession with the two killers was foremost in the novel. I'm not telling you how the two were finally caught and arrested. Read it and see. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 




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Top 4 Log Home Building Trends 2018

Over the last few years, we have started to see a shift in home design and functionality. More and more people are looking to maximize space instead of adding more square footage; they want more flexibility instead of more rooms, more functionality instead of more work around the home, top-of-the-line finishes and state-of-the-art appliances, but less power and water as well. It can be said that 2018 promises to be a year in which less really is more when it comes to home design. Thanks to new materials and technologies, combined with open design and sleek innovations, we have put together our list of the top 4 home building trends in 2018.

Greening Your Home

Having a home with that creates the smallest environmental footprint is a big focus for many homebuilders. These days, savvy buyers are willing to invest a little more in the beginning in order to have cost savings in the future. They are able to benefit from energy-saving strategies from the ground up, thanks to many recent advances in construction techniques and components.

The use of highly reflective shingles can enable a roof to stay more than 10 degrees cooler, which in turn helps you to conserve energy by not having to use air conditioning as often, as well as extending the life of the roof.

Additional features include the installation of Energy Star appliances, furnaces and air conditioners, LED or compact fluorescent lighting and dual flush, low-flow toilets. It is clear that green is the way to go in 2018 for log houses and homes.

Log and timber homes can be the most energy-efficient and have the lowest carbon footprint of any home design. Wood is the only major building material that is renewable and sustainable over the long term, while also being superior to steel and cement in nearly every environmental impact category. As such, log and timber homes are one of the most sustainable forms of construction, lasting substantially longer than conventional homes, and using almost four times less fossil fuels in manufacturing than a conventionally framed home. They are among the most energy-efficient homes built today. We have put together a detailed article titled “Green Building: Understanding the carbon footprint of a log home”

Making Your Home White and Bright

Last year we saw pops of color as the trend; in 2018 whites are making a huge comeback with white cabinets remaining the top pick in various rooms throughout the home. This is particularly so in bathrooms, as a result of white-tile decks and surrounds (not familiar with this word – maybe surroundings?), white porcelain soaking tubs, white-tiled floors and crisp white trim. Such a sharp-focus ambiance is beautifully complemented by bright and shiny chrome.

Another way to brighten up your home is to incorporate more windows. The trend toward bright, light spaces can also be further realized with the use of multiple skylights, huge room-width glass doors and floor to ceiling windows. Even smaller spaces can feel new and spacious through the use of crisper, brighter finishes and natural light.

Creating More Compact with More Flow at the Same Time

The trend towards smaller homes will continue to grow strong throughout 2018, especially since millennials are coming of age and are bringing their own aesthetic into play. Simultaneously, there is a need to create more open spaces in these smaller homes. This means that home design will be characterized by flow first and foremost in 2018, with site lines extending through multiple rooms and perhaps even to outdoor spaces.

One particular challenge will be catering to the growing desire for interior spaces that cascade into outdoor spaces both visually and functionally. Then again, huge expanses of windows and doors are possible thanks to advances in glass technology, all without having to sacrifice energy efficiency or comfort.

Home Automation

Today, automation is one of the fastest growing trends and automating your home is no exception. Not only can home systems be activated with the touch of a button, they can also be controlled remotely and can even learn from people’s habits and behaviours. This is something that is expected to continue in 2018 as well, especially since there have been huge leaps in the technology in just the past few years.

Examples of this include smart thermostats like iComfort and Nest, which can adjust your home’s temperature when you’re home and when you’re away just by using sensors and the location of your smartphone. These new devices keep track of various information based on your behaviour and learn to adapt to it. This includes remembering everything from what temperature you desire when eating breakfast on a winter morning to what time you wake up.

2018 aims to be a year of less is more, creating comfortable spaces that make your house a home. A place that is functional and inviting, an area for friends and family to feel welcome. It’s great to be inspired by fades and trends but don’t forget they come and go. What’s most important is finding or building a home that you love and suits your needs. Take some of these trends into consideration, but at the end of the day your home should reflect your needs.

Looking for more inspiration? Visit our log home and timber galleries.

 

 

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PMP:111 Reflections for Education Leaders & Wearing Your Air Mask

I’m a frequent flyer. The more I fly, the harder I find it is to stay focused when flight attendants are reviewing safety procedures. They could be standing right in front of me with the safety cards in hand, but I’ve heard it so many times, I usually think about something else. On the other […]

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Strawberry Cheesecake Fluff

Strawberry Cheesecake Fluff comes together in less than 10 minutes and is the perfect dessert, or side dish for any occasion.

This recipe is sponsored by Campfire® Marshmallows, but all thoughts are my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make My Baking Addiction possible.

The weather in Ohio has had me all kinds of confused. The calendar has me craving things like lemon lime cupcakes and this strawberry cream cheese tart, but the weather has been calling for pumpkin bread and caramel apple blondies.

I mean, it is May 1st today, so I’m hopeful that snow flurries and cold snaps are officially going to be a thing of the past.

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