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Landscape Tips From Early American History

February 10th, 2010 No comments

Fruits and flowering trees and shrubs grow side by side in this little garden just off the Duke of Gloucester Street at Colonial Williamsburg. There are also flowers for cutting and grapes for eating. At one time, perhaps, the lawn was given over to neat vegetable rows.

Gardening space behind modest colonial town houses was scarce, and the colonists wasted none of it. In this garden, for example, which covers about 1600 square feet, over 1100 square feet are tilled. The beds are separated by brick paths for strolling, a favorite pastime for TV-less colonists. The geometric plan was in vogue in the eighteenth century and outdoor living was an unknown concept.

Today home grounds require a large terrace or patio, a place for automobiles and space in which to play. After these are provided, even suburban properties have space left for gardening, and in making use of this space we can take a tip from the colonists.

Rather than ineffectual beds and borders, hit or miss about a lawn, the colonial garden shows us how effective an organized concentration of plants can be. We can combine our rose beds, a strawberry patch, borders of iris and drifts of day-lilies into an important landscape unit, and depend upon trees, shrubs, hedges and fences to do such things as screen utility areas, outline the patio or reduce the apparent size of a parking space. Confined in a garden of their own, flowers perform to best advantage.

It is still a smart idea to locate a garden so it can be seen from the house, and provide it with either a visual or actual enclosure. Fences in great variety kept animals out of Williamsburg plantings, and today, while the animals are no longer present, one of the reasons we like Williamsburg’s gardens so much is that they have the definition that only an enclosure can give-definition too often lacking in many contemporary American back yards.

Find out more as Kent Higgins shares his experiences on landscaping, house plants, lawn and garden at www.plant-care.com. For more details on the topic of best apartment plants.

Vinyl Flooring for Home or Office

February 10th, 2010 No comments

In 1954, the editor of Modern Plastics magazine, Hiram McCann, wrote in an article titled “Surfacing and Decorative uses of Plastics in Building” that the first vinyl flooring ever installed occurred twenty years earlier in 1933. Hiram McCann informed the reader that vinyl flooring made its debut at the Bakelite Company’s booth at the Chicago World’s Fair, and that it was “tramped on” by almost twenty million visitors. That historical vinyl flooring installation was eventually removed and reinstalled at the Bakelite Laboratory in New Jersey.

“Today, 20 years later, that tile is almost as good as new,” McCann wrote.

One may consider the term “vinyl” as a sort of nickname for “polyvinyl chloride”, also commonly referred to by the acronym “PVC”. Vinyl was discovered in 1926 accidentally (as so many “inventions” were) by research chemist Dr. Waldo Semon during the course of various lab experiments. Dr. Semon was attempting to produce an adhesive that will bond rubber to metal when the curious substance had formed.

Because vinyl is an inexpensive synthetic product, is incredibly durable, and highly resilient to liquids and grease, its many uses were eventually offered for the commercial market. It is why vinyl flooring is still, to this date, the most popular choice for bathrooms and kitchens, and second in sales after carpeting for use throughout the rest of homes and office space.

It may be the diverseness of vinyl flooring, more than anything else, which makes it so worthwhile. Vinyl flooring is available in what would seem to be an infinite variety of designs and colors. Whatever a person’s taste, there is a good possibility that a vinyl flooring exists to his or her liking. And even if it doesn’t, a custom order can be requested from a number of vinyl flooring manufacturers, such as that of a vinyl tiled formation of a company’s logo.

A somewhat puzzling, yet very agreeable characteristic of vinyl flooring is how one can, by choosing the correct shades and colors, make a room look bigger or smaller than its actual size, or make a room look brighter or darker, depending, again, on one’s taste. Vinyl flooring is also a sound-resilient type flooring, meaning that it absorbs much of the sounds of common foot traffic.

Not only is it possible to have an entire room look stunningly beautiful by covering the surface with vinyl flooring, it is one of the least expensive floorings on the market. A selection of square foot vinyl tiles can often be found at neighborhood dollar stores for 99 cents per tile. It is also one of the simplest floorings to install, especially since many styles of square foot vinyl tiles are typically “peel-and-stick”.

In a process similar to putting on a Band-Aid, the paper backing of a vinyl flooring tile is peeled off, exposing the adhesive on bottom of tile; the installer then sticks the tile to the room’s surface. It is very important, however, to be certain that the surface is very clean. Even the smallest particle will show as a dotted bump in the installed tile if the base floor was not cleaned and wiped thoroughly.

One of the drawbacks of some vinyl floorings (especially low quality tiles, such as the ones sold in dollar stores) is the setting heavy furniture.

Over a period of time, the weight of furniture may leave indentations in tiles that are especially obvious when furniture is removed or moved to another spot. Other than that, with some very simple cleaning and maintenance, a vinyl floor can continue to look as good as new for many years to come.

Mira Floors and Interiors is Greater Vancouver’s premiere floor and window covering specialist for both home owners and commercial spaces. Mr. James Alisch and his team can assist in all aspects of floor installations, carpet, hardwood, laminate, vinyl and tile. For further information about your flooring options go to Mira Floors and Interiors

Why the First Holy Communion Is an Important Occasion

February 10th, 2010 No comments

Having your child’s first Holy Communion? This not only calls for a celebration but also signifies the rite to passage in the body of the church. In other words, it emphasizes the fact that your child is old enough to take active part in the church services. Kids love their first communion since they get to dress in elegant white gowns topped with their first communion jewelery, whereas the boys get to look handsome in their cute suits.

When such occasions are to be planned a lot of things need to be taken into consideration like how the first communion invitations will look like, venue, time and the guest list. Communion invitations have to be sent on in advance after scheduling the date of the communion with the priest. You can either make your own invites or have them ordered from any online party supply stores. To make it more special for your kid, you can add graphics or a photo of theirs on the invitations.

Now, depending on your budget and the list of guests, your venue can be selected. Some people may prefer lavish parties arranged at hotels or rent houses, whereas some would prefer in their homes or backyards. You might also want to add a feel to the party by decorating the venue with bright and vibrant colors.

You can make use of personalized banners that can be acquired from many first communion party supplies stores. You might even want to add a floral accent with cracked ice roses and a rose and ivy bud garland. Red balloons are also a great touch to the dcor. To make it more unique, you can even create balloon bunches in odd numbers and have them hung in the corners of the venue or the lamp post.

Thinking what snack or food to offer to the guests? There are a lot of options you can choose from. You can either go in for buffet services or order light snacks like chips, cookies, pastries etc. the food tables can be given a sophisticated look by covering them with white cloths and having candlesticks or rose bouquets placed in vases. You might not want to forget the cake of your child’s first communion.

No party is complete without party favors. Similar to party favors for other occasions and events, there are many stores that even sell first communion favors to the customers. You might even want to add your own items to the lists like bible, photo frames, candies, cookies, rosary beads and many more.

Since this is your child’s first holy communion, you will definitely want to make their day special by giving them a memento they will cherish throughout their lives. Boys can be given medals, whereas girls can be given first communion jewelery to mark this special day.

Along with the party, you must also make your child realize that he/she has entered a new phase in their lives. They must understand that a first communion is not only about regular bread, but it signifies that this was the bread where Christ had given his soul and blood for. Prior to this ceremony, every child needs to get baptized and required to give their first confession. If you are looking at making the first communion party a huge success, you can have special logos or wordings made on the gifts like the first communion invitations.

With essential First Holy Communion supplies from firstcommunionsupplies.com, you can begin preparations for the special day by sending out First Holy Communion Invitations.