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We've just been named by the Garden Centre Association (GCA) as Best Outdoor Living Retailers in the south Thames regional awards. Garsons of Esher also scooped Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer while Garsons of Titchfield has been awarded for Best for Customer Service.
Both of our sites had to undergo a rigorous inspection before being named best in Outdoor Living, Customer Service and Indoor Lifestyle out of 50 garden centres in the south Thames region. The GCA inspectors arrived unannounced at our stores over the spring and early summer months to evaluate the garden centre offer and observe staff in action.
In the report, the inspector noted that our staff were "extremely professional and portrayed a very positive image" and the garden centre had an "excellent display and merchandising which is among the best I have ever seen this season".
Garsons director Ben Thompson said: "I am immensely proud of these awards. It is very satisfying to know that what we are offering is among the best it can be, and reflects the dedication of the team here at Garsons who provide a wide choice and be of a high standard - consistently."
The GCA represents around 180 garden centres across the UK and each one is inspected annually. GCA chief executive, Iain Wylie, said: "To be the best in a category recognises a lot of hard work and an ongoing commitment to improvement in retailing standard and customer expectation".
This celebrated news comes shortly after being awarded with a Retas "Best Garden Centre Retailer of Greeting Cards" Award – it's a turning out to be a summer to remember.
Proud winners at Garsons Esher. Top left to right: Gordon Emslie, GCA Inspector. Christian Darby, Garsons Supervisor for the Outdoor Leisure department. Mike Lind, GCA Chairman. Gary Carvosso, GCA South Thames Area Chairman. Bottom left to right: Tarsha Wenban, Garsons Gifts Sales Assistant. Kerry Ford, Garsons Gifts Sales Assistant. Nikki Macey, Garsons Garden Centre Assistant Manager.
Proud winners at Garsons Titchfield. Top back left to right: Gordon Emslie, GCA Inspector. Mike Lind, GCA Chairman. Middle left to right: Tommy Longhurst, Garsons Garden Care Sales Assistant. Simon Gregg, Garsons Garden Care Supervisor. Callum Hartley, Garsons Planteria Sales Assistant. Gary Carvosso, GCA South Thames Area Chairman. Bottom left to right: Clare James, Garsons Director. Clark Lambert, Garsons Seasonal Sales Assistant. Gemma Albury, Garsons Gifts Sales Assistant.


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RAW Rolling Tray - Daze of The Week
RAW Daze of the Week Rolling Tray
The thick metal is resistant to bending and warping and the smooth, curved edges stop any stray tobacco or herbs from escaping the tray or getting stuck in corners or creases. The tray features various sizes of RAW cones for every day of the week.
Size: 11" x 14"
Head Candy has the best selection of RAW apparel, cones, rolling papers, trays and accessories. Ships from Vancouver, BC, Canada.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ice Cream Social!
Who doesn't love ice cream?!? Last week, we enjoyed ice cream sundaes with all the toppings you could imagine in hopes to help us beat the heat!
New Team Members 8.14.14
This week we welcomed Jessica Moreno to the assembly team & Britton Cantrell, Chris Martinez and Chad Gregory to the weld team!
Happy Birthday July Birthdays!
Morrison Industries escape room team building exercise!
Morrison Industries Accounting and IT team members enjoy their afternoon going to Murfreesboro Locked escape room. They managed to pass the test in the 60 minute escape room with 8:59 to spare!
July Employee of the Month
Congratulations to David Kelley for receiving the Employee of the Month award for July 2017! We appreciate your dedication and hard work!


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Charles Eisenstein - on ECO-rhetoric (ideology) and fear [1]
"I am afraid that, in adopting climate as their keystone narrative, environmentalists have made a bargain with the Devil.... The premises of the [environmental] conversation shifted away from love of nature and toward fear of our survival [fear of Nature]." - C. Eisenstein (2018, p. 131) [2]
When we confront the environmental and ecological issues of the day, we are also confronted with an overwhelming (if not distracting) rhetoric (ideology) of the dominant climate crisis narrative. I and others are challenging the implications of this narrative, even though we don't deny it is important. The question we have is how important is it? So, I'll introduce you to one of the critics, an environmentalist himself--and specifically I suggest his recent video "Am I a Climate Alarmist or a Climate Denier?" which lays out a lot of important issues, and ends in the video with a really good challenge to "fear" vs. "love" as the motivational source which will be most effective to bring to our grand environmental problems in the next decades. Unfortunately, he says nothing about fearlessness and/or fearism etc. in offering solutions. Anyways, I commented (see below) on his Youtube video channel the following:
ALSO, see my series of two videos on The Greta Effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kHozXgPS7Y which look at similar dilemmas that Eisenstein is pointing to, albeit, he doesn't name names like I do. And see alternative views of young Swede's (other than Greta Thunberg, for e.g.) who are sick n' tired of the "prophet of panic" and "climate cults" from Leftists and their continued pc binary thinking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZCCXZz5Esw
Equally, a great short talk on becoming a critical level-headed "climate thinker" (not propagandist) see Alex Epstein's work: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwDrvCQvDhZMvSdxBQlDFfKhsnM?projector=1
I like what wise elder and death-grief expert Stephen Jenkinson said recently:
"There are people walking up my path, one-third my age. Their hands are full," spiritual activist and author Stephen Jenkinson told The Vancouver Observer a recent fundraiser for Wakan Tanka, a film about environmental elders engaging youth on climate change. "One hand is full of a blistering hatred of anybody my age—the other is full of despair, something I've come to call principled anxiety...They say to me, 'have you got anything?'"
ALSO, on the back cover of Eisenstein's new book and critique see Climate: A New Story (2018):
"Flipping the script on climate change, Eisenstein makes a case for a wholesale reimagining of the framing, tactics, and goals we employ in our journey to heal from ecological destruction. With research and insight, Charles Eisenstein details how the quantification [statistic obsession] of the natural world leads to a lack of [empathetic] integration and [reinforces] our 'fight' [and 'flight'] [fear-based] mentality."
This latter point of exacerbating a battle of who's facts are right, re: climate change activists vs. the deniers, is fear-based in structuration, which is something I also have seen for many decades when it comes to making cases to 'save the environment' (or the world). The passions of fight-flight, our primal brain reflexes on survival get triggered and grow and out race the higher cognitive functions of which are needed to look at the situation and problems we have to face more collaboratively. Digitial media and social networks in the past decade have exacerbated fight-flight divisiveness on top of the quantification battles and in the end the subtleties of really listening and connecting to our hearts, souls, and our holistic nature of perception are diminished. David Abrams, cultural ecologist, geophilosopher, and author of Becoming Animal and The Spell of the Sensuous endorses Eisenstein's critique calling Eisenstein's latest book "a blast of sanity!... he writes from within an uncannily woke worldview... that discerns and feels into the complex entanglement of our lives.... This book is visionary and prophetic...".
I think with Eisenstein's work here we have the possibility of moving from fear to fearlessness in the entire eco-problematique. I still am in the early stages of analyzing Eisenstein's work and especially from a fearological lens. So the "New Story" he speaks to is basically, as his book (back cover) says:
"This refocusing away from impending catastrophe [as primary fear-based motivator to care for Nature] and our inevitable doom cultivates meaningful emotional and psychological connections [love] and provides real, actionable steps to caring for the earth. Freeing ourselves from a war mentality and seeing the bigger picture...".
The book (according to Brock Doman, Water Institute Director) is "A clarion call to reconnect through love with our living earth... to collectively move past divisive reductionism [fear-based patterning], betwixt false Prophets of doom and false prophets of denial, towards a revitalization of reverential relations."
2. This shift is super important to recognize and analyze (see Note 1 also)--it is part of an emergency paradigm regarding time and risk--and the fear of failure at an unprecedented scale--thus, it is a way to motivate people and institutions to change by 'force' of fear rather than love--which is the basic foundational strategy of what is called "negative" politics/environmentalism relative and in contrast to "positive" politics/environmentalism.


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What Is a Gift of Equity?
A gift of equity involves the sale of a residence to a family member or someone with whom the seller has a close relationship, at a price below the current market value. The difference between the actual sales price and the market value of the home is the actual gift of equity. The process derives its name from the fact that the sales price is so much lower than the real market price of the home. The transfer counts as a present or giveaway due to the difference in value, but no physical money changes hands.
How a Gift of Equity Works
A gift of equity requires a gift of equity letter, which is a letter stating the facts of the sale and is signed by both the seller and the buyer. Most lenders allow the gift to count as a down payment on the home. The residence may be either a primary residence or a second home. Along with the letter, other considerations must be met.
- The seller must have an official, paid appraisal completed on the home
- Appraisals must note the appraised value of the residence
- The appraisal includes the price the gift of equity home will sell for
- Paperwork must include the difference between the appraised value and the gift sale price
At closing, a second letter will note the gift of equity.
Key Takeaways
- A gift of equity involves the sale of a residence at a price below its current market value.
- A gift of equity usually involves family members—typically, parents selling their home to a child.
- Most lenders allow the gift to count as or toward a down payment on the home.
Gift of Equity Pros and Cons
A common gift of equity occurs when a married couple wishes to sell their home to their children for a favorable price. Families or interested parties may use this avenue instead of going through a real estate office that would demand a commission on the sale. The parents would name a price that they agreed on and "sell" the house to their children for that amount, even though the house could be worth more on the open market.
Gifts of equity help the buyer reduce or eliminate down payment requirements, making it easier for the recipient to secure a home mortgage.
The gift may also help the new owner avoid the expense of private mortgage insurance (PMI). The process allows family members to gift an asset and avoid the IRS gift and capital gains taxes. According to The Wall Street Journal, this fee averages around 5.5% of the home's value.
Gifts of equity do not avoid closing costs or other necessary expenses when transferring the title of the property. The gift will impact the property's cost basis causing capital gains to be larger when the recipient sells the home in the future. A gift of equity will also affect the local real estate market by recording a sale of a property at below market value. Further, the home cannot have a current mortgage owing.
Lower or no down payment for buyer
No real estate agent commissions
Favor to family member
Potential triggering of gift tax
Impact on home's cost basis
Legal fees to draw up contract
Real-World Example of a Gift of Equity
A gift of equity might also happen if the individual or persons selling a home want to help the buyer complete the sale by lowering the price of the home allowing the buyer to reach the lender's down payment requirements. A lender can consider the gift of equity as all or part of the cash payment required to qualify for a mortgage.
For example, say a bank requires 20% down (the standard amount needed in most conventional loans, to avoid mortgage insurance). The gift of equity the seller makes equals 10% of the home's value. The buyer now only needs to make a down payment of 10% of the property's price tag.
In the case of a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan, a gift of equity loan is allowed from family or "friends from a previous relationship," the FHA states, 500to help cover closing costs. Or, borrowers can accept a gift of equity credit, which involves the seller drastically dropping the price of the home below its appraised value. The FHA requires buyers to cover a 3.5% down payment. According to the FHA, "the seller is basically paying the down payment for the buyer."
Special Considerations
A gift of equity can have tax consequences for both the giver and the receiver of the gift. The home's value can impact the asset's cost basis for the new homeowner and have capital gains implications for the seller. Also, if not executed properly, a gift of equity could trigger an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gift tax. The sellers must follow IRS guidelines for gifts of monetary value, up to $28,000 per couple or $14,000 for an individual per year.
Additionally, a considerable sale can affect the local real estate market. If a house sells for considerably less than others with comparable features, it may negatively impact other home sales in that price point or area. However, it may be possible for the transaction to be done privately or off-market to avoid that complication.


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December 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment |
"Street artist JR made a wish in 2011: Join me in a worldwide photo project to show the world its true face. Now, a year after his TED Prize wish, he shows how giant posters of human faces, pasted in public, are connecting communities, making change, and turning the world inside out. You can join in atinsideoutproject.net
With a camera, a dedicated wheatpasting crew and the help of whole villages and favelas, 2011 TED Prize winner JR shows the world its true face."
Watch more creativity videos here.
Category: Video - Artists
Tags: art, crowdsourcing, JR, Photography, posters, public art, TED, Video
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26 Aug The Lipstick Junkie Subscription Box !!
Hello All,
For just $18, Lipstick Junkie delivers the boldest and brightest colours that will feed your lipstick addiction. It is a great way to fall in love with fun and new indie brands that your lips will love! Lip care products like lip scrub and lip masks are also often included.
Let me review the August 2018 Lipstick Junkie box I received:
True to their claims, I received three full-size lip products plus a cute bonus item. They add an information card that shows which month and explains each product well. The Lipstick Junkie subscription box came in a bubble mailer and all items were safe. The packaging comes in a simple purple cardboard box. The package also shipped really fast.
Sorme Metallic Lip & Eyeliner: This shade is Palladium which is a shiny silver. This liner could be used for both lip and eyes. It has a waterproof formula and is gel based. The pigmentation is crazy. It doesn't smudge and is long lasting! It is both Paraben and cruelty-free! Price: $14
Kiss Me Honey Exfoliating Lip Polish: I have tried Kiss Me Honey Organic Lip Balm before. So, this brand is not new to me. I am in love with their products and glad that Kiss Me Honey made an appearance in my box. It came in a pink drawstring pouch with a spatula as well that added a wow factor. The flavour is Strawberry. The ingredients include a mix of cane sugar, honey, beeswax, coconut oil and shea butter. It is a natural product. It makes your lips feel smooth. The consistency is like sugar. I accidentally swallowed a bit, but it tastes sweet and gives a feeling that there are no chemicals! Price: $15.99
Lip Gloss from SheBelieves Cosmetics by Jas B: The colour I received is rose gold. The shade is which is nice as it is more toned down. It is glossy but not sticky. The applicator brush is handy. I am happy to give this a try. I will be using it every day. Price: $9.50
Sorme Tasty Tubes (Bonus Item): I was really surprised to see a bonus item in my box that too another Sorme product. This product is a sheer gloss. The shade Magnetic is a light shimmery pink. The gloss has a squeeze applicator. This conditioning lip shine is formulated to add shine and sparkle while keeping lips soft and smooth. It's thick to add lasting shine but doesn't feel heavy or greasy on the lips. I love this pigmented pink shade. Value $11.99
Every Lipstick-Lover should sign up for this Subscription Box.
DISCLAIMER: All opinions that I express in my blog posts are always my own, and 100% honest. I do not accept money in exchange for positive reviews. The box featured above is a Press Sample in partnership with Lipstick Junkie.


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Monday, August 10, 2009
SLOB by Ellen Potter
The abstract is hidden because it may contain spoilers. If you would like to read the full summary, simply use your cursor to highlight the next few lines and it will magically appear.
Abstract: Picked on, overweight genius Owen tries to invent a television that can see the past to find out what happened the day his parents were killed.
Publisher: Philomel Books; 199 pages
Posted by Mary at 6:01 PM
2 comments:
- Stephanie said...
Wow. This was totally not what I expected. It was good, but not my favorite book this year. I liked the development of the story and how you don't feel stupid as you learn things throughout the book. The title was confusing to me until the last couple of chapters and I wished it made sense earlier. It was Nice but (in my opinion) Not Newbery.
- August 29, 2009 at 6:21 PM
- Unknown said...
This was a very good book. A little slow to start, but Owen is a fantastic character to follow through the book. The story gradually reveals itself, almost as if it were a very good mystery. The ending leaves the reader positive and feeling empowered, regardless of their own situation. It might not be a true contender, but a terrific read, nonetheless.
- September 3, 2009 at 9:30 AM
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04 Jul 2018
Marcel Heijnen has made it his life's work to document the shop cats of Hong Kong, functional felines there to repel mice and rats and act as companions to weary shopkeepers.
Marcel, who lives in the city, publishes images of the cats on his Instagram @chinesewhiskers, but here is a selection of the best from his book, Hong Kong Shop Cats.
All photos by Marcel Heijnen. Prints and books can be ordered from Blue Lotus Gallery (bluelotus-gallery.com).
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Oman 1st Quarter 2015: Toyota Hilux sovereign in market down 12%
* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title *
After years of record sales, the Omani new car market hits on the brakes in 2015: down 12% year-on-year over the first Quarter to just 47.894 registrations. Toyota still obliterates the sales charts with a 54.4% market share and monopolises the Top 6 models ranking. Nissan (11%), Hyundai (8%) and Kia (4.9%) follow. The Toyota Hilux remains the best-selling vehicle in Oman by a large margin, selling more than any other manufacturer as a whole, and despite sales down 9% to 5.646 units or 11.8% share. The Toyota Land Cruiser (-14%) passes the Land Cruiser Pick-up (-24%) and Prado (-17%) to claim the 2nd spot overall while the Corolla (-1%) overtakes the Hiace (-21%) to rank 5th. The Nissan Patrol at #7 (+6%) and Toyota RAV4 at #10 (+60%) are the only nameplates in the Top 10 managing to gain ground year-on-year.
Contact us for more info and analysis.
Previous post: Oman Full Year 2014: Toyota Hilux resists Land Cruiser Pick-up assault
One year ago: Oman March 2014: Toyota Land Cruiser Pick-up challenges Hilux
Full Q1 2015 Top 10 models Ranking Table below.


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The word xanthines uses 9 letters:aehinnstx.
XANTHINES is playable in:
xanthines is a valid word in this word list.
Direct anagrams of xanthines
Words found within xanthines through unscramble
Words formed by adding one letter
Adding one letter to xanthines does not form any other word in Words With Friends word list.
Use our Word Unscrambler or our Anagram Solver
List all words that start with Q, adjectives that start with Q or find all 5 letter words starting with Q
List all words by word length, browse all words in the list, explore all combinations of letters or find all Adjectives with starting the letter
Words with all letters different - Letter pairs and double letters - Hook Word Lists


text: Chloe Madeley is a Level 2 Gym Instructor and Level 3 Personal Trainer with an Active IQ nutrition qualification. She has been an active personal trainer since 2013, helping both men and women achieve their body transformation goals in London gyms, parks and even online. She is the author of the popular health and fitness blog FitnessFondue.com and has two best-selling apps (15 Minute Fat Loss and Weights 4 Women) and is the best-selling author of The 4-Week Body Blitz and The Fat-Loss Blitz.


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Interests: ACM Distinguished Educator, 2014.
Kevin Wayne, the Phillip Y. Goldman Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, has been teaching at Princeton since 1998. He has codeveloped (with professor Robert Sedgewick) two of the most popular courses at Princeton: COS 126 (General Computer Science) and COS 226 (Algorithms and Data Structures), and two of the most popular MOOCs on the Coursera platform: Algorithms Part I and II. He has been named a Distinguished Educator by the ACM and has won several teaching awards at Princeton, including the SEAS Distinguished Teacher Award and the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award. He is a graduate of Yale University and received his master's and doctorate from Cornell University. His research interests include the design, analysis, and implementation of algorithms, especially for graphs and discrete optimization.
[1] https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~wayne


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**First Place Winner from CWW and CIAN in the 5000 words Contest; Speculative Fiction Division.**
First Officer Mimsy B'Groves never expected her life to be anything but ordinary. In the wake of a major disaster aboard The Corandria Station, Mimsy must solve the mystery surrounding the place she once called home. The planet below her now holds her only chance for answers – if she can survive without revealing her deepest secret. Can a lone, witty, sentient feline overcome the obstacles placed before her?
This story is short, sweet, quirky, fun and imaginative. I was a little nervous about having a cat as a main character, but I found myself growing quite fond of Mimsy. Although you can read this story in one sitting, I think the message will last for a lifetime. Beauty is not found on the outside, but on the inside. Something we can all be reminded of time and again.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Carol E. Keen enjoys fresh coffee, hot tea, and a good book. She was published for several years in FAMA magazine (Freshwater And Marine Aquarium) as a contributing editor. She published her first book on CD, called Simply Seahorses. She now resides in Alabama with her husband and family and spends her time writing, reading, working in photography, and being with her much loved critters.
Book Bub link: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carol-e-keen
Amazon: http://amazon.com/Carol-E.-Keen/e/B011N0L4NM/
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