Talking About Health, Mental Health & Recovery

June 2009Monthly Archives

Are New Blinds worth it?

Money is tight nowadays and everyone is cutting back more than ever. So if you are looking around your house right now at the many improvements you wish you were making at the moment it may seem like you will never get them done, because you just do not have the budget that you once did.

A good idea is to make a list of all the things you wish you could do in yoru home at the moment. Perhaps getting a new roof is just simply out of the question right now, but what about installing some shelves or replacing those old blinds?

Yes, window treatment can be expensive and picking them out can be an exhaustive process. But there are place now, like Next Day Blinds Columbia Maryland that will allow you to pick out your blinds one day and have them installed the very next day.

Next Day Blinds and services like it really do work with the modern schedule of today’s working America. We are all just so busy that there never seems like there is time to do the little things that we do around the house.

With any kind of home improvement it of course helps to comparison shop. Try websites like those with Next Day blinds services and see where the best deal lies. Sometimes what you thought would be expensive is actually quite affordable.

No matter what you decide to do just remember do something that will be within your budget and make you happy. It may be easier that you think to make your home renovation dreams come alive, and just taking baby steps will save you and your wallet tons of stress.

Now go forth and conquer your dreams of home improvement. Oh, and start from the top! And stay positive!

Lisa
June 1, 2009
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The Kirstenbosch Garden of South Africa

The first director of the botanical garden in Cape Town, the Kirstenbosch Garden, was Harold Pearson.  Pearson is buried in what is one of the most famous reserves of the world, surrounded by the indigenous fauna and flora of Table Mountain. There is a grave marker in the shape of a Celtic cross that reads…”If you see his monument, look around”…which is poetry inscribed in granite.  The garden was founded and constructed in 1913, and is filled with trees and plants native to the country, with water from the Liesbeek River flowing throughout.  The natural forests are on either side of the slopes of the mountain range, leaving the area just about half cultivated and half natural reserve.  Just outside of the gardens, many Cape Town five star hotels offer tours and maps of and for the gardens, and throughout the year this remains one of the top tourist destinations in the country.

The garden is a live display that features more that four thousand of the twenty thousand species of flora that is indigenous to the country.  This makes up fifty percent of the flora for the entire Peninsula.  In the central part of the garden, the cultivated flora and fauna are set up in a pattern similar to that of the spokes of a wheel.  This is sectioned off with various themes, such as the Cycad Amphitheater.  The Cycad hosts the fossils of the living South African world.  Many famous species such the silver trees in the Protea Garden, exist here growing up and on the sides of the mountain slopes.  Part of the “spokes” include a rock garden, named for the garden’s first curator JV Mathews, which is also the grounds for the various succulents that grow throughout the country and are so indigenous to all desert environments.  While traveling throughout the city of Cape Town, this is a day trip that is so well worth, for the beauty and for the education and understanding of the natural culture of this incredible country.

Lisa
June 1, 2009
Entertainment, Science, Travel
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The Wine Regions of Cape Town

The vineyards of South Africa are abundant in Cape Town. Luxury hotel accommodations are located throughout each region and create opportunities for very nice holidays spent wandering through the wineries all day, and relaxing in the restaurants of the hotels at night. Just outside of the city of Cape Town is the small village of Paarl. This is a site that is rich with culture, architectural history and heritage, charm and incredible scenery. Along with the vineyards located here, there are other fruit farms up and down Main Street. For those wanting a bit of the outdoors, the nature hikes and bicycle paths are among the most beautiful in the world. Paarl Mountain is one of the attractions here, as it is one of the world’s biggest solid rock formations.

Franschhoek is just a bit further from the city, and is known throughout South Africa for the many fine dining restaurants and the spa resorts that bath one in luxury after a long day spent tasting wine and lingering about through the many galleries, antiques shops and artist boutiques. Here one will also find the Company Gardens of South Africa, as well as the South African Museum. The museums houses works of the painting masters of France, Holland, England, and Africa. This is one of the most incredible and beautiful collections to be found anywhere. The first exhibition at the museum occurred in 1871 and consisted of more than forty-five paintings by the master from Manchester, England, Thomas Butterworth Bayley. Now the collection and the exhibitions have grown. The museum holds stature internationally as one of the best of African and Western European museums.

The town of Stellenbosch is the second oldest in South Africa after Cape Town. This town is preserved historically and is one of the scenic wonders of the country. Stellenbosch is located in the valley of a mountain range and the climate is ideal. This is one of the best places to travel to in search of the tastes of the Winelands and there are many options for tourists to choose from. Wellington is close by, and offers a variety of dried fruit stands and farmers markets. The beautiful estates offer not only wine tastings, but olive and cheese tastings as well. All of these towns are perfect for day trips when one is traveling through Cape Town, South Africa.

Lisa
June 1, 2009
Entertainment, Travel
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