Comments(1)

A STAFFORDSHIRE family were forced to flee their home after finding hundreds of potentially deadly spiders in a bunch of bananas.

Father-of-two Jamie Roberts, 31, spotted white patches on the fruit, but assumed it was mould.

But upon closer inspection he realised the fruit was infested with a spider nest.

He rang pest control who advised his family to leave their home immediately.

The spiders have not been officially identified but the family believe they could have been the worlds most poisonous Brazilian Wandering Spider.

Pest controllers spent 24 hours fumigating their Hednesford home.

Mr Roberts said: "It was terrifying - especially for me because I have a phobia of spiders. We bought the bananas from the local shop and there were in a fruit bowl on the window sill in the kitchen.

"One day I picked one up because it looked mouldy because it had patches of white on it.

"I knew something was wrong because then I noticed the white patches were all over the window sill and the curtains and I could see tiny legs and realised they were spiders.

Read more:
Deadly spider nest found in bananas bought in Staffordshire

171 Heather Hill Avenue Graiguecullen Carlow
This superb 4 bed detached home has spacious living accommodation including a stunning living room and sunroom opening to an attractive decking area and beau...

By: KehoeAuctioneers

Original post:
171 Heather Hill Avenue Graiguecullen Carlow - Video

Delray Beach Paint Contractors
http://www.FLSPainting.com | Looking to paint the interior or exterior of your home in Delray Beach, Florida? FLS Painting Contractors is a local paint compa...

By: FLS Painting Contractors

Read the original post:
Delray Beach Paint Contractors - Video

Highland Beach Paint Contractors
http://www.FLSPainting.com | Since 2006, Frank and his dedicated team of painters have been providing the Highland Beach residential community with interior ...

By: FLS Painting Contractors

See the article here:
Highland Beach Paint Contractors - Video

Using Glaze To Highlight Cabinets
The process of using a glaze after lacquering to give an old or antiqued look to cabinets, doors, or woodwork. Using Sherwood glaze on knotty alder cabinets ...

By: B K Painting

More here:
Using Glaze To Highlight Cabinets - Video

The clean-cut good looks and welcoming smiles of the NZ Army Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) gave no hint of what the next two days on the Burnham Military Camp would be like for the visiting Lincoln University Sports Scholarship students.

The 18 students were there as part of the Universitys Sports Scholarship programme which every year sends its second-year students to the camp to test their physical and mental stamina.

According to Lincoln Universitys Recreation Centre and Sport Scholarship Manager, Peter Magson, the aim is to expose these young athletes to an unfamiliar and extended training environment that draws out of them individual resourcefulness, and an inclination towards teamwork relative to the strengths and weaknesses of each member.

A Sports Scholarship at Lincoln is more than just free tuition and skills, strength and conditioning training relative to ones code. We want to develop athletes with substance and character that they can apply to any aspect of their lives. Sending our second-year scholarship students to Burnham for two days is a core part of this development, says Peter.

The group were divided into two teams and the gloriously hot day started well enough with a relatively low-key team building exercise on the lawn. However, although still sporting an affable disposition, the lead PTIs opening address left no one in any doubt as to who would be calling the shots for the next two days.

The exercise complete and with no time for reflection, a quick warm-up march around the camp saw the group commence with the Armys standard Required Fitness Level (RFL) exercises: something which entails a sub-12 minute 2.4km run, and as many curl-up ab crunches and push ups as one can stand. Some rules learnt along the way included keeping your shirt on This is no time to show off your tattoo! barked the PTI to one student and no hands on hips, ever.

The RFL complete, the students were given 30 seconds to swiftly locate themselves into the Army gymnasium in preparation for the bane of any sportspersons performance assessment: the beep test. Encroaching on earlier facial expressions suggesting being merely somewhat puffed came grimaces, and a retreat from the front of the eyes that alluded to the arrival of a new kind of sensation pain.

The students performed admirably. Sadly, however, not admirably enough as far as the PTIs were concerned; and so, after being made to muster as many chin-ups as possible, and partaking in a prolonged sprint exercise known as the Lincoln Test (no relation), the students were made to repeat the beep test all over again. Pain was now married to a kind of shock. One could almost hear the students thoughts expressing a kind of disbelief at what was currently transpiring and a dread at what might still be to come.

Any reward and encouragement from the PTIs upon completion of the punishment beep test extended about as far as granting a two minute break and a remark that We wont have to do that again if you maintain a sense of urgency.

Two minutes up. Time for rope drills and chin-ups; and, then, a miracle a fifteen minute break! Considering the last two hours, it feels like a holiday, remarked Jack Stratton, one of the Sports Scholarship students.

See original here:
Scholarship students get military treatment

J. T. Dickerson rakes leaves in the yard of his home near Ooltewah.

Raking leaves and mowing the lawn are common chores for homeowners and often ones we dread doing. But take heart: Not only are you sprucing up the yard, you are burning calories.

In fact, you burn 96 calories every 15 minutes you spend raking leaves. Shoveling snow is an even better workout, eating up 144 calories per quarter hour. This winter notwithstanding, snow isn't something we have to deal with a lot, so how about pushing a lawn mower? It will burn 108 calories in that time frame, and a full hour behind the wheels, so to speak, will burn about 400 calories for a 190-pound man.

Bryan Clayton is the founder of Greenpal, a Nashville-based service that matches homeowners with lawn-care services. He's also a fitness buff and computer tinkerer who has a blog where he likes to merge all of his interests.

"I'm also that guy who will go to the gym to work out and drive around the parking lot four times looking for a spot closer to the door," he says. "Or that guy who will spend an hour on the treadmill and then pay somebody to mow his lawn."

When Clayton went looking for data on the benefits of doing common home maintenance projects, he could find it, but not all in one place. So he spent some time gathering the info and then compiled it into one easy-to-read chart, which he posted on his website yourgreenpal.com.

He is quick to point out that all of the tasks on his chart are things most of us dread, but thinks maybe if we tell ourselves we are also exercising, it might help psychologically.

"Yeah, all of it sucks," he says. "Cleaning gutters is my least favorite, and you only burn 75 calories every 15 minutes."

Kevin Fairris, fitness director at the Cleveland YMCA, says he often encourages clients to think of common household chores as exercise.

"We definitely encourage people to just stay active whether here at the gym or just around the house," he says.

Continued here:
More than a chore: Rake leaves, mow the lawn, burn the calories

Boston, MA (PRWEB) March 10, 2014

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum today announced Michael Ezban as the 2014 Maeder-York Family Fellow in Landscape Studies for his proposal Landscapes of Aquaculture. Ezban will be in residence at the Museum for three months from June to August 2014, with a monthly stipend and an apartment/studio space in the Renzo Piano-designed new wing of the Gardner Museum. Ezban will be welcomed to the Museum on the evening of June 12, 2014, in Conversation with Charles Waldheim.

We are thrilled that Michael Ezban will join us in June, said Charles Waldheim, Ruettgers Consulting Curator of Landscape at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Landscapes of Aquaculture will attempt to develop a theoretical and historical framework for the fish farm as a landscape typology, engaging artists, historians, designers, theorists, and the general public in a dialogue on aesthetic perceptions of agricultural space, productive urban landscapes, waste management strategies, and ecological infrastructure.

Ezban is a landscape designer, registered architect, and educator. His writing and design work explores cultures of waste -- economies and ecologies entangled with waste landscapes. He holds a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture with distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design where he received the 2013 Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship. He also holds a Masters Degree in Architecture with distinction from the University of Michigan. Ezban is a principal at VanderGoot Ezban Studio, a research and design practice based in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he teaches architecture at the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

The support and resources that the Maeder-York Family Fellowship offers will be invaluable as I explore histories and futures of aquaculture landscapes in Boston, Ezban said. I am honored to have been selected as the 2014 Fellow, and I am looking forward to productive summer months at the museum.

The Maeder-York Family Fellowship in Landscape Studies at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was created in 2012 to recognize emerging design talent across disciplines dealing with landscape and support experimentation, research, and achievement in design through landscape. In addition, with each selection the committee aims to identify work embodying landscape as a medium of design for the public realm and grow disciplinary and professional capacity within landscape architecture.

Applications were received from around the world and were reviewed by a fellowship jury led by Charles Waldheim including:

Alan Berger, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Anita Berrizbeitia, Harvard University Julia Czerniak, Syracuse University Teresa Gal Izard, University of Virginia Richard Weller, University of Pennsylvania

The jury met to interview five finalists in early February. In addition to Mr. Ezban, Fionn Byrne of Toronto, Canada has been recognized as the first runner up for the Fellowship.

For tickets to Michael Ezban in Conversation with Charles Waldheim on June 12, 2014, or for more information about the Maeder-York Fellowship in Landscape Studies at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, please visit http://www.gardnermuseum.org/landscape.

See original here:
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Announces Michael Ezban as 2014 Maeder-York Family Fellow in Landscape Studies

With a buried car park, 7,000 trees, and jogging and bicycle trails, the iPhone maker's new headquarters will take on Steve Jobs' vision to be more like a town park than an office park.

Apple plans to turn a "sea of asphalt" into a green space.

Stanford University's campus has a large central quad full of plants, flowers, trees, and pedestrian walkways -- this was Apple late co-founder Steve Jobs' vision for the design of the company's upcoming futuristic spaceship-like campus.

Architecture firm Foster + Partners is heading the project -- which is slated to be done in 2016 -- and the firm's founder, Norman Foster, recently spoke to Architectural Record about the thinking behind the new headquarters.

Jobs laid out plans for the campus in 2011. The facility is expected to have four stories and span a whopping 2.8 million square feet. Apple said in 2011 that it hopes to have 12,000 people on the campus -- up from about 2,800 in its current headquarters.

Before Apple took over the land, Hewlett-Packard had offices there. According to Foster, "the Apple building will occupy the site much more tightly than what was there." This means there will be far more open space for plants and trees. In fact, Apple has said that the headquarters will be 80 percent landscape with more than 7,000 trees.

The headquarters was first referred as a "spaceship" by Jobs himself, who said that it'll look "a bit like a spaceship landed." The round building is meant to emulate a town square with buildings encircling a park. Foster said that his firm did a series of planning studies for creating such a structure.

"These studies finally morphed into a circular building that would enclose the private space in the middle -- essentially a park that would replicate the original California landscape, and parts of it would also recapture the orchards of the past," he said. "The car would visually be banished, and tarmac would be replaced by greenery, and car parks by jogging and bicycle trails."

This isn't to say there won't be cars at Apple's new campus -- they'll just be hidden from view in a buried car park. That way, "you won't look out of your window and see row after row of parked cars," Foster said.

View post:
Apple's 'spaceship' campus architect dishes details

Greenville, South Carolina (PRWEB) March 11, 2014

It's a challenge to capture the beauty of the landscapes in Western South Carolina through art. However, Baby Boomers living in the Lake Keowee neighborhoods enjoy incredible beauty 24/7 and can see how landscape artists transform it into timeless pieces at a new art exhibit this spring.

From March 3 -April 30, the latest and greatest Landscape Art Exhibit will be showcased at The Reserve at Lake Keowee, an award winning Western South Carolina lake community centered around golf and boating. Talented artists like Laura Buxo, Pat Grills, Robert Decker and David Waldrop will be featuring their stunning masterpieces for the community to admire. All of these artists are guests, and possibly their creative abilities will land them a spot in the annual Artist in Residence Program at The Reserve at Lake Keowee, a lifelong experience in the neighborhood. The community are the judges and the exhibit and anticipated Landscape Artist Reception are the exciting opportunities to see what these artists can do.

Members of the community can mingle and learn more about the inspiration of these artists. Residents in and around the Lake Keowee neighborhoods will know more about Laura Buxos plein air painting techniques and Pat Grills education in art history and teaching. Robert Decker may share more about his passion of art and David Waldrop could talk about his photography abilities in detail. Visitors to The Reserve at Lake Keowee are in for an amazing night and a lifetime opportunity to learn more about art and culture in the neighborhood.

The community is deeply involved in art and culture and it has become a way of life at the Reserve at Lake Keowee. The Artist in Residence Program was introduced to the Western South Carolina lake community several years ago, and the members have embraced new hobbies, interests and creativity with open arms. In past years, photographers like John Smith and guitarists like John akers have graced their presence in the community. Pianist Martha Beaudrot spent 2011 with the Reserve at Lake Keowee, while carpenter, Matt Hanewald wowed people with his amazing knack for creating beautiful handmade furniture in 2013. These are only a few artists that have dedicated their time and become part of this gated community lifestyle, but each year comes new artists.

Art is an intricate part of the Reserve at Lake Keowee and the surrounding Lake Keowee neighborhoods, but there is more for Baby Boomers to do and enjoy when living here. The lakefront gated community is approximately 2,900 acres of luxury mountain homes and lakefront properties, amenities and natural landscapes in Western South Carolina. A state-of-the-art fitness center, Har-Tru tennis courts, championship golf course and clubhouse, resort-style lakefront pool and 5 miles of natural walking trails complete this already perfect master-planned community. A Village Market and Founders Hall are convenient venues for shopping and community events. There are 200 boat slips and a private marina. The Reserve at Lake Keowee is a two time winner of Real Estate Scorecard's Bliss Award as Best Lake Community of the Year.

It's hard to describe the beauty of this community or express it on a painted canvas. The best way is to see it in person.

Buyers searching for the best places to retire in Western South Carolina, should contact The Reserve at Lake Keowee directly to schedule at tour 877.922.5253.

About Real Estate Scorecard:

Real Estate Scorecard writes unbiased real estate reviews providing in-depth information about popular gated communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, all in an effort to help people discover where to retire in the Southeast.

View post:
The Reserve at Lake Keowee Landscape Artist Reception Kick Off Series in Western South Carolina