Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

European Champions Cup Pool 2 Leinster v Castres Today: RDS, 5.30pm TV: Sky Sports 2

Chances are that some tired old cliches will be trotted out about 5.30pm today when Castres go about fulfilling their obligations against a Leinster side expected to amass at least four tries and five points.

Bad travellers. Disinterested in Europe. Both observations are true, even if they havent given the entire first-team the weekend off, but they are accusations that shouldnt be swept over the wider French landscape anymore.

Only Castres and Montpellier, both of whom lie bottom of their respective pools, approach round five of the inaugural rugby Champions Cup with the air of dead men walking. That leaves four of their compatriots very much in the mix.

Toulon, Clermont and Toulouse all sit at the summits of their respective piles while a Racing Metro side devoid of Jonathan Sextons services for now sit one point behind Northampton, but hardly for long, given they face Treviso at home tomorrow.

That European form is mirrored at home, where Castres sit second from bottom in the Top 14. Montpellier lie mid-table knowing they could also find themselves immersed in a relegation battle every bit as quick as a push for the play-offs.

So, going AWOL in Europe may be distasteful but emptying their ammo on such manoeuvres would be grounds for court martial given their circumstances and Leinster coach Matt OConnor doesnt believe that is in any way devaluing the competition.

Not really, he explained. Its the reality and the dynamics that are at play. There is no point wasting your resources when the stakes are so high in your domestic league and then youve got to make sure that you stay in the Top 14.

What is surprising about all this is that a Castres side that was good enough to win the Top 14 two seasons ago, and which lost the final to Toulon last summer, should find itself wallowing in the basement halfway into the season.

The departure of some key players has played its part in blunting their spears and undermining the foundations of success at a club that lacks the financial firepower, stadium capacity and population base of the big guns.

Visit link:
OConnor pushing for a complete performance

Charleston, W.Va. A few snowflakes drift down on our hills this morning from an overcast sky that seems to promise more snow. The air is still, but very cold and the landscape seems oddly deserted. Even the cardinals have left the bird feeder and gone to roost, possibly in a warmer spot. It is a true winter day, and we also burrow back in our homes after doing the outside chores in a hasty fashion.

However, it is still a day, which the Lord hath made, and we need to rejoice and be glad in it. We have a warm home, food on the table (and sometimes under it!) and plenty of clothes to protect us from the cold. We need these winter days. When would we make the huge kettles of vegetable soup, update the family picture albums or sort out the cluttered desk drawers if we didnt have winter?

How else could we fully appreciate the miracle of spring, bringing alive again a cold, dead earth? Also, the pure, new-fallen snow, stretching across the fields in undulating waves, is lovely in its cold, austere fashion. Winter has its own beauty, with crystal, jagged icicles that form on the rock cliffs and pool into ice puddles along the ditch line.

We, as human beings, could not have sunshine in our lives all the time. What shallow, superficial people we would be! It takes adverse conditions and storms of life to build character. We are not immune to this worlds ills; its griefs and heartaches. It is in facing these things with faith in God and courage in our soul, that we grow into stronger men and women.

We would never know the depth of Gods tender compassion if we never had heartaches in this life. Without grief, we would never experience the sweet comfort and consolation that God extends to us. If our life were all sunshine, we would never have the ability or understanding to offer a helping hand to others who are suffering human woes and trials.

Just as the earth needs the different seasons, we too need the seasons of the heart to make us increase and abound in love one toward another. (1 Thessalonians 3:12) Only someone who has walked the same path can tell another person, I know exactly how you feel. I am thankful for the stormy seasons that we go through that create compassion for others who are suffering.

Mom used to tell me that when she was a kid the winters were much more severe. She said after the first snows came, the ground remained snow-covered all winter. Big Laurel Creek would freeze over with thick ice and remain that way until the spring thaw. Then the ice would break up and go out with a thundering, crunching noise that let them know that winter was on its way out. Im afraid these milder winters have spoiled us to the place where a blast of arctic air and the accompanying snowflakes are almost more than we can tolerate.

Those old-time winters produced a tough, self-reliant people who learned early how to weather lifes storms. Moms family, like many other families in those early times, has been a perfect example of hard work, honesty and integrity. People who live close to the earth seem to know the essential things of life love of God and family, their need of one another, and the ability to stand tall through the changing seasons.

***

We had a request from Frances Woods of Charleston, who is looking for the recipe for Brown Cake. Unless some older person knows of it, she says that the recipe is so old it cant be found. She would be very happy if someone has it.

View original post here:
Alyce Faye Bragg column: Winter teaches us to weather life's storms

Sometimes, trying to return to sleep in those unsettling hours before dawn, I'll walk my mind through vanished sports landscapes.

The mental exercise required to dredge up details of once-familiar locales can induce sleep as effectively as any pill.

I might enter Connie Mack Stadium beneath the 21st and Lehigh portico, and walk through the clacking turnstiles and down the dank concourse, passing program vendors and dimly lit concession stands, until finally I am climbing a ramp to the lonely left-field bleachers.

Other times I'll exit a car in the vast parking lot at Brandywine Raceway, enter that busy clubhouse where the ever-hopeful chatter of prerace handicappers is as thick as the smoke and move on to a spot at the rail to watch the trotters and the glorious sunsets.

On other nights, the venue might be the Arena; Municipal Stadium; Convention Hall; or the cramped, linoleum-floored gymnasium at the bottom of that steep hill behind St. Pius X school in Broomall.

Sadly, since sports is no less immune to time's fickle nature than newspapers or malls, there's no shortage of stops on these nocturnal tours.

The drill leaves me wondering what now-popular landmarks, what games and traditions will exist only in the mind's eye a half-century from now.

Can Franklin Field endure many more decades as an outdated, little-used facility that sits on increasingly valuable real estate?

Will historic area clubs - and the game itself - survive the steep decline in golf interest? Will the paucity of U.S. stars kill tennis in America? What does the future look like for the Penn Relays, the Dad Vail Regatta?

View post:
Giving 'Em Fitz: The vanishing local-sports landscape

Tree Removal, land Clearing, and Tree Service in Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234
Chestnut Run Excavating and Tree Service performing tree removal and land clearing in Egg Harbor Township (EHT) NJ 08234. Need tree removal or lot clearing i...

By: Chestnut Run Excavating and Tree Service

Read more from the original source:
Tree Removal, land Clearing, and Tree Service in Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234 - Video

Survival Cabin Build - Land Clearing
We have found the land, selected the area for our homestead and have started the clearing. The land we chose is remote, easily accessible with 4WD and has a ...

By: Brad Riley

See more here:
Survival Cabin Build - Land Clearing - Video

Mortise And Tenon Interior Designer Bangalore
Mortise and Tenon Interior Designer is also known as Top 10 interior designers in Bangalore, No. 1 interior designer in Bangalore, interior designers in Bang...

By: Mortise And Tenon

Read more:
Mortise And Tenon Interior Designer Bangalore - Video

The Formex design show in Stockholm. Photo: TT

Swedish interiors are world famous and this weekend the largest design fair in the Nordics, Formex, is taking place in Stockholm. Interior Designer and blogger Angeline Eriksson has had a preview of the top home trends it is showcasing in 2015.

Nordic and Neat are the two buzz words you need to know in 2015.

But while Nordic Neat appears to be the most popular trend, there is also a heavy influence of bold, refreshing colours that is not typically associated with Scandinavian design, and an overall feeling of cheerful 1950s optimism.

Materials are a key focus as sustainability is no longer a futuristic concept but a reality of our times. Traditional Nordic handicrafts are re-imagined using new techniques and colour.

These ideas are realised in three other trends: Nordic Essence, Nordic Motion and Nordic Folk. Here are a few examples of each future fashion.

Read the original here:
Four Swedish home design trends for spring

Denver, CO (PRWEB) January 16, 2015

StrucSure Home Warranty, one of the nations leading new home warranty providers and a member of StrucSure Risk Management Group, announced at the beginning of this month the addition of Gayle Schoonover as their new V.P. of Sales in the Midwest region.

We are excited to add Gayle to our sales network and feel she will be a valuable asset to the Midwest region given her industry experience and understanding of the marketplace, said Chris Macaulay, President of StrucSure Home Warranty. Gayles personal sales approach backed by her proven competency and dedication to the builder community will bring added value to our current and prospective member base in that region.

Im eager to reach out to builders with StrucSures risk management solutions and look forward to being a solid and proven resource to the homebuilding industry in the Midwest, said Schoonover.

With over 11 years in the new home warranty industry, Gayle truly understands builders needs and how to help protect them again construction defects, claims, litigation, and all of the risks and threats that builders face on a daily basis, said Jerry Thompson, CEO. As the building industry continues to thrive in the Midwest, Gayle positions us to provide hands-on risk management products and services in that area.

About StrucSure Home Warranty For more than 17 years, StrucSure Home Warranty has been providing builders, remodelers, and contractors with warranty products that deliver peace of mind. Our warranties protect our clients from expensive claims, liabilities, and legal fees and offers their clients peace of mind through third-party, insurance-backed warranty protection. Just like any risk management product, the hope is that you'll never need it, but when a problem emerges, you're glad you're covered!

About StrucSure Risk Management Group StrucSure Risk Management Group provides risk management products and services to businesses in various construction-related industries. Our family of companies includes StrucSure Home Warranty, LLC, StrucSure Insurance Services, Inc., Golden Insurance Company, RRG, and Four Points Re, SPC, Ltd. Together, these companies offer sophisticated financial and risk management services, including warranty programs, competitive insurance programs, insurance backing, and reinsurance and alternative financing vehicles.

Contact Adria Ellerbrock, Vice President of Marketing at (303) 806-8688 or visit http://www.strucsure.com and http://www.s-rmg.com for more information.

Link:
StrucSure Home Warranty Hires Gayle Schoonover as V.P. of Sales, Midwest Region

If you're trying to sell your home in a hurry, your first instinct might be to cut the price in hopes of enticing more buyers. But this could be a misstep. It sounds counterintuitive, but especially in a competitive market, you may actually be able to sell your home faster by pricing it slightly higher than other homes in the area.

A study published in 2013 in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization found that homes listed for 10% to 20% more than comparable properties sold for slightly more. The study looked at 14,000 real estate transactions with an average sales price of $234,000. It found that homes sold between 0.05% to 0.07% higher, on average, for every 10% increase in asking price.

"Pricing a home 10 percent to 20 percent lower than comparable homes led to a ... decrease in the expected price," the study authors wrote.

Curious why? Here are a few reasons, along with tips for how you can make this strategy work for your listing.

The power of perceived value As marketers well know, consumers see the price of a good or service as more than just a number; they view it as a direct reflection of the value of the item.

When you walk into a department store and see a pair of sneakers for $79 and another for $19, you assume the $79 pair has to be "better" -- perhaps it has advanced technology, offers extra comfort features, or will last much longer. You have no idea how much the sneakers actually cost to make, so you rely on their retail price as an indication of their worth.

This perceived-value principle also applies to home sales. When buyers come across two similar listings -- same number of bedrooms, same location, same square footage -- with different prices, they suspect that either the more expensive home is overpriced (more on that in a minute) or it has some features that make it more valuable than its comp.

This can cause a higher-priced home to be snapped up faster, and for more money, for a number of reasons:

How to get more for your home A price increase can help get buyers in the door and looking for ways to interpret your home as more valuable -- but you still need to back those impressions with solid justifications for the price, or else they'll walk away thinking you've simply overpriced it.

What sort of things make buyers feel a price is "worth it"?

See the article here:
Need to Sell Faster? Price Higher

CES 2015: Novi is Redefining Smart Home Security
The folks at Novi Security aspire to be the world #39;s simplest, most accessible home security system. With its DIY platform, the team is redefining traditional...

By: Atmel

More:
CES 2015: Novi is Redefining Smart Home Security - Video