I wore this last weekend for dinner out with the family.  We went to a hip new restaurant in our neighborhood, Ella’s.  The food was amazingly good, and the atmosphere was gorgeous.  We are on their outdoor porch under some beautiful old oak trees.  I highly recommend going there if you’re in the area.

This purse is too small to be practical most days, but it’s perfect for going out to dinner.  It has just enough room for a wallet, cell phone, and a few other necessary trinkets.  It’s like having a clutch, only with handles.

Blouse: L8ter (thrifted)
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Jeans: Express Stella
Boots: Dansko Nena
Purse: Heiress (Vintage)
Necklace: Garage Sale
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Up On The Roof

What a magical time it was when I lived in Venice, CA, in the 1980’s.  This self-portrait photo is of my sisters and my mom:  Roxanne, Keely, Barbara (Mom), Eleni and me. We were up on the roof of my Venice loft on Venice Way.  I love my family so much and they were always very gracious photo subjects.

I usually shy away from matching too many elements in an outfit.  But for this outfit, it just felt right.  Every other color of purse I tried felt out of place, and this was perfect.  There’s no such thing as hard and fast style rules in my book.

The theme at my school for this day was “Fall Colors”  However, most fall colors don’t really look good on me (at least when they’re all together).  I chose to make it simple and wear brown and brick red, with denim and black to keep the ensemble from being too warm in tone.

Oh and of course, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  And Happy Thursday to those not in the States!

Tank: Ann Taylor (garage sale)
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Jeans: Express
Boots: Born Biddy
Purse: Morelle Truffle
Pearls: Garage Sale
Earrings: Efy Tal

Wir wurden jetzt schon häufiger gefragt, ob es sich bei den Wohnungen, die im Gebäudeflügel an der Franz-Mehring-Straße entstehen, um eine der Denkmalschutzimmobilien handelt, mit denen man Steuern spart. Das ist sie und wir möchten hier einmal ein Rechenbeispiel nennen. Allerdings ist eine ganz zuverlässige Rechnung nur mit Ihren individuellen Daten möglich. Falls Sie einen Termin mit einem Fachberater wünschen, der das mit Ihnen zusammen durchrechnet, dann schreiben Sie uns doch eine kurze Email oder rufen Sie uns an. Wir vermitteln dann ein Treffen.

Email: verwaltung@altefabrik.de
Telefon: 03447 / 595-0
Fax: 08441 / 479 091-9

Kauf einer 3-Zimmer Wohnung mit ca. 70m²  -   Kaufpreis 139.000,00 Euro

Kaufpreis                                                     139.000,00 €

zzgl. Kaufnebenkosten                                    13.000,00 €
(Notar, Grunderwerbsteuer etc.)

zu finanzierender Betrag                                152.000,00 €

Eigenkapital                                                             0,00 €

KfW und Bankdarlehen                                  152.000,00 €

dafür Zinsen pro Monat                                      – 590,00 €

Mieteinnahmen (Kaltmiete)                                 + 400,00 €

Nebenkosten                                                    –    58,00 €
(Full-Service, Verwaltung, Rücklagen)

Jährlicher Steuerfreibetrag 15.000,00 €

daraus Steuervorteile pro Monat                          + 426,00 €

Überschuss pro Monat                                       = 178,00 €

Tilgung 1 % pro Monat                                        - 126,70 €

Überschuss nach Tilgung pro Monat                          51,30 €

Grundlagen: zu versteuerndes Jahreseinkommen 60.000,00 € nach Splittingtabelle (verheiratet, 8% KST)

Die Kaufpreise der Wohnungen in der Alten Fabrik Altenburg liegen zwischen 52.000,00 Euro und 283.000,00 Euro (Preise inkl. MwSt.) Bei Interesse stehen wir Ihnen für Rückfragen sehr gern zur Verfügung.

Beispielgrundriss - Alle Grundrisse sehen Sie mit Klick aufs Bild...

Estoy segura que para muchos de vosotros es una magnífica noticia. Hace años que esperábamos en España la distribución de dos de las obras claves en la filmografía de Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Loft (2005) y Séance (2000), ambas consideradas continuacines de la magistral estela de terror iniciada con Cure (1997). Hace unos meses solo era un sueño, pero hoy ya puedo anunciaros a todos los incondicionales fans del prestigioso director japonés que es una realidad: desde esta misma semana ya están disponibles en DVD ambas obras y todo gracias al acuerdo al que ha sido capaz de llegar Mediatres Estudio con la productora coreana Mirovisión.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

No confundir, por favor, con el legendario Akira Kurosawa (ambos solo coinciden en el apellido). Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Kobe, 1955) es, desde que en 1997 su película Cure (1997) circulara por el circuito de festivales, uno de los directores orientales de moda. Este director nipón ha sido protagonista en los últimos años de retrospectivas y homenajes que llevan desde su propio continente asiático (Hong Kong) al continente americano (L.A., Nueva York, Toronto), pasando por Europa (París, Sitges por partida doble), además de convertirse en otro más de los fijos en los festivales de cine grandes (Venecia, Cannes, Berlín, Toronto).

Sus películas llegan a nuestras manos como cuentagotas. Y eso lo demuestra el tiempo que hemos tenido que esperar para que fuesen distribuidas en nuestro país películas tan significativas como Loft y Séance. Ambas magníficos ejemplos del género que tanto ha hecho triunfar a Kurosawa: el TERROR.

Loft está protagonizada por Etsushi Toyokawa (Hula Girls) y Miki Nakatani (Ring), y cuenta la historia de Reiko, una escritora que se traslada a una casa en las afueras en la que espera poder acabar la novela romántica que le ha encargado su editor. En su nuevo hogar se pondrá en contacto con un profesor de arqueología, una momia milenaria y toda suerte de enigmáticos sucesos. Congelando todavía más su tempo habitual, Kurosawa vuelve a penetrar en los terrores de la existencia y la incertidumbre que crea la muerte con un thriller sobrenatural, abrupto y fragmentado, que resume buena parte de sus ambiciones artísticas y narrativas.

Por su parte, Séance está protagonizada por Koji Yakusho (Cure), actor fetiche de Kurosawa, y nos presenta a Koji y Junco, un matrimonio en apariencia normal; él es técnico de sonido, y ella… tiene poderes extrasensoriales. Un día en que Koji va al bosque a grabar unos sonidos, una niña que huye de un secuestrador se esconde en su maleta sin que él se de cuenta. La policía acude a Junco para que use sus poderes para descubrir dónde está la niña, pero Junco presiente que la niña se encuentra en el maletín, en su propia casa, así que decide ocultarlo temiendo que les acusen a ellos por el secuestro. No obstante, la ambición de Junco la llevará a idear un plan maquiavélico para distraer a la policía y atribuirse el descubrimiento del paradero de la niña sin que ellos se vean involucrados en el crimen.

I have to admitt, i immediately went hard while looking at this glitterious Soho crash pad, who said that Porn was necessary to get aroused ?Obviously, I only need a 6000 SF duplex Penthouse condo loft. It has been newly redesigned and renovated with no expense spared to create the most luxurious and important property in Soho and in all of downtown Manhattan.But the price just pissed me off : 14,995,000 $ ! Jesus Heaven Christ, for that amount you can have a mad crazy place in Central Park + another mad crazy home in the Hamptons or Miami…

]]> http://accessmagazine.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/downtown-amusement/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:32:26 +0000 accessmagazine http://accessmagazine.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/downtown-amusement/

            SJSU students more than likely realized early on that it’s situated right in the heart of the downtown area. All within walking distance of campus, students can break from the sobriety of class work—tests, papers, annoying teachers and occupy themselves with a little fun.

            Located just blocks away on Market St. is the San Jose Museum of Art. If you need some quit time, this is definitely the place to visit. Full of contemporary and modern art, the museum currently has Ansel Adams’ work on display, photography depicting a naturalist state of mind, which is actually kind of ideal considering the closest thing to nature in the area is the ivy overgrowth stretched across the side of the building.

            The downtown night-life has its high points as well. One of my favorite places to go is the Loft on 2^nd St. It’s a bar and a bistro—meaning you can get absolutely tossed and then order some food without ever having to worry about arguing with your drunk friends as to who wants to eat where. Both the first and second floors have a bar area, and the music, for the most part is pretty varied.

            There’s so much to do around campus, and these are just a few of the things I like to do when school drives me crazy. Students should take advantage of the close proximity of campus. There’s no reason why we can’t make the best of semester long redundancy.

Angelo Scrofani

- Student Voices Editor

I’m still debating about whether or not to keep my orange Fluevog Fiorenzas (I just really don’t like the color orange anymore).  But one thing is definitely for sure, my goldenrod Malibrans aren’t going anywhere.  I adore these shoes.  They were my first real style investment, and they were worth every penny.  I may feel fickle about orange, but I love goldenrod for an accent color.

See how much more boring this outfit looks when you can’t see the shoes?  My Malibrans really make this outfit shine.

Oh, and these shoes are very popular with the kindergartners at my school.  They love the bright color.

Dress: Lush
Cami (under dress) Gap
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Belt: Vintage
Tights: Target
Shoes: Fluevog Malibrans
Purse: Thrifted and re-conned
Necklace: Chocolate Cake Jewels

Blocul din imagine este opera lui Le Corbusier … cine este la Arhitectura … stie ca acest nume este cumva sfant intre cunostintele de baza ale arhitectului de astazi. in imaginea de mai jos avem Unite d’Habitacion si reprezinta un concept de locuire … hai s aii zicem : un bloc de locuinte/ de apartamente … care in afara de functiunea de locuire cu 337 apartamente … mai are si alte cateva functiuni ca un hotel, magazine, scoala, sala de sport si o piscina. cu alte cuvinte un mini orasel in acelasi loc.

apartamentul din imagini apartiune unui decorator … care a ales sa isi vopseasca peretii o culoare inchisa … care creaza un contrast aproape dramatic cu restul casei si lumina. estetica acestui spatiu se doreste a aduce , in mod poetic, un omagiu arhitectului, lui Le Corbusier … si cumva, cred ca reuseste!

interiorul mi se pare deosibit de ingenios aranjat …  si pare sa se foloseasca de tot spatiul existent, fara sa fie banal …

mi se pare interesant … ca dupa multi ani de la realizarea acestui tip de proiecte, ele fiind mai multe : Nantes-RezéBerlin 1957, Briey 1963 si Firminy 1965, si dupa ce au existat cateva probleme de ordin social, semnalate de-a lungul timpului (lipsa de socializare fata de restul orasului, oamenii aveau tendinta sa stea numai in aceasta zona) … care au dus la incetarea proiectului … vad, in prezent nenumarate astfel de proiecte rezidentiale, cu acelasi concept: acela de a reuni functiunile necesare traiului decent, toate cele mentionate mai sus, intr-un singur loc. mi se pare un pic bizara revenirea asta. poate nu ma inteles eu tocmai bine … se poate!

Among its many fine qualities, I think I like this packaging’s enthusiasm the most:

Taken at face value, “Easy & Surprise” will no doubt both prove to be extremely accurate.

Loft Conversion

It has never been a better time to make the most of the space you have in your existing home – and converting the loft is the best way to do it. At its most basic, a loft conversion can be a quiet place to set up your model railway, with a flip-down ladder for access and simple Velux windows installed. A temporary loft staircase means it won’t count as extra living space in loft when you come to sell, so generally it’s a mistake to do it on the cheap. Getting a specialist company or an architect on board will give you the best end result, whether you want the space to flow seamlessly on from the rest of the house or you just want to make a statement with a light-filled studio.

Some people consider having an additional bathroom up in loft conversion. For free bathroom quotes search online.

If the last time you looked in your loft was to bung in a few surplus boxes when you first moved in, it’s time to grab a torch and find out what you’ve got. You must be realistic about the possibilities. Take a tape measure and note the ceiling height – it needs to be no less than 2.3 metres to give enough headroom.

Search for the right loft conversion quotes online and Dulwich loft conversion companies, builders in Greenwich or Enfield loft conversion specialists.

So as promised I’m actually sharing a sneak peek at the tablescape BEFORE Thanksgiving.  Amazing, I know.  Anyway, I happened to spend at least an hour in Home Goods the other day, in search of something to adorn my table.

The husband and I actually spent about half an hour there the day before (how I managed THAT I don’t really know), and left without purchasing anything.  We had picked out some interesting pieces, but didn’t want to spend a lot, nor were we totally convinced.  He made a valid point that we didn’t want things that were too tall and would make it hard to see the people across the table from you.

So I came home with these candlestick holders (the fact that I got enough matching ones is a miracle in itself).

They are delightfully rustic seeming, and with candlesticks in them they’re not too tall or hard to see around.  I also found some fun candles to put in them, sparkly and red, to go with my red napkins and the whole Thanksgiving-fall-holiday theme.

All in all I spent around $56 on 5 candle holders, and 3 sets of candles.  Not too shabby for a Thanksgiving tablescape, and one that I can keep up for much of the year.  Especially since everywhere else I looked was much more expensive.  I have a few other things to add before it’s done, and unfortunately you’re going to have to wait until AFTER Thanksgiving to see how it all looks.  But I’m hoping to actually take pictures of the finished product.  I feel like I need to, since it’s my first Thanksgiving in my new place, with my pretty new table.

It’s going to be a busy week in RL and also SL! We have turkey day and then Black Friday – the most craziest shopping day of the year. So, we best get to that decorating mood for both occasions. Friends and family coming over and all that good stuff (most of the time). Here to help, I have put together two dining rooms that I hope inspire you to create your own. One room is a Thanksgiving festive room for us Americans and the other is just a classy eating area.

dangerous dish

Well, I only call this room “dangerous dish” because it’s pretty risky putting modern, vintage, and very vintage things together. The chairs being modern, the room divider being just 70’s vintage and then the dresser being very vintage. However, when you put together matching colors and adjusting pieces just right, you might surprise yourself on what can go with what.

*Chandelier; 3 prims – MIASNOW Lamp – MOD Chandelier

*Build; 25 prims – Made by me

*Chairs; 3 prims each – Construct – Gwen I Office Chair

*Pillows and blanket; 1 prim each – (From /artilleri/ Glasgow couch *teal*)

*Table; 2 prims – [ARIA] Eden dining table

*Rug; 1 prim – m.fox (FT) Rug (No longer available)

*Trunks; 8 prims – The LOFT – Allana Trunks

*Tea pot; 4 prims – (iTuTu)enamel  tea pot

*Coffee; 6 prims – The LOFT – Coffee Combo

*Water; 7 prims – BP* ice water2/ rez (No longer available as far as I know)

*Toast on plate; 4 prims – *atmosphere works* Bacon eggs on Toast

*Apple; 1 prim – green apple (Made by robita Jawetz via HUG)

*Jam; 2 prims – *yumyum kitchen* blueberry jam

*Ashtray; 11 prims – /artilleri/ Birger ashtray (Not released yet)

*Room divider; 6 prims -  -Corduroy- screen blue beads (No longer available)

*Dresser; 15 prims – +mudshake – new birdie chest / touch to open/close drawers

*Plant; 5 prims – d-lab-cp-01-01

*Antlers; 4 prims – some antlers (Put together by me, free antlers by Kermit Rutkowski via xstreet)

*Fireplace; 8 prims – [ARIA] Lilian firepalce

*Books; 1 prim each – jr. four books (assorted2) & jr. six books (novels1)

*Candles; 3 prims each – [ HUG ] candle yellow & blue

*Plant; 3 prims – dahaus-vase with flowers-tan w/ green rings

*Photo; 3 prims – Made by me (From google)

traditional thanksgiving

Give thanks to The Loft this holiday season for these tables are great for every occasion! Ohohoho. Anyway, they really are! The white table and the console table add a great touch for really low prim use and look fantastic with many different accesories. Don’t forget to pick one up or you won’t be satisfying your guests without one.

*Chandelier; 6 prims + chain – *LOTTA_Chandelier-mini(bz)

*Build; 19 prims – Made by me

*Table; 8 prims – The Loft – Tyler Dining Table White

*Chairs; 10 prims each – GRANDMA!**ROMANTIC-CHAIR NORMAL

*Placemats; 12 prims each – [ARIA] Emilia Placemat

*Food; 38 prims all together – From -RC- Foodies Feast (boxed)

*Rug; 1 prim – Shag rug (Made by me from urbanoutfitters)

*Lamp; 5 prims – lamp.redberry (Made by Jordan Giant)

*Console table; 8 prims – The LOFT – Core Console Table

*Side table; 9 prims – claire side table (Made by Elle Kirshner via Second Spaces)

*Wine cooler; 2 prims – ++LP2++ wine cooler

*Potholders; 3 prims – The Loft – Potholders

*Plant; 3 prims + shadow – d-lab cp19-01

*Pots; 2 prims each – (iTuTu) enamel pan(s)

*Leaves decor; 1 prim – -RC- Leafy Rake Leaf Mess (m/t)

*Candle; 2 prims – +mudshake – candle with rusty holder

*Acorn decor; 1 prim each – Kinokoko – Small Acorn 1, 2, & 3

*Pumpkins; 1 prim each – Kinokoko – Orange Pumpkin 1 & 2

*Clock; 6 prims – Belle Belle Wall Clock Chickin (Free via Lucky Board)

Well, there you have it everyone. I hope you have a very safe and happy week ahead of you. Lots more decor coming your way so keep a look out as usual. Happy SLing everyone! <3

-Trash

This loft/duplex is located métro Abbesses, probably the best location in Paris, a 1min walk from the famous Amélie Poulain café. Near all cafés, restaurants and shops. But in a very quiet small street.

View Larger Map

The other day I was doing my network thingy with another stylist trying to get any kind of work in this “suck ass” economy.  I arrive to this sweet as candy loft in Williamsburg, which happens to be the home of the talented, Leila Shams!

Iranian American, Leila Shams has designed for DKNY Jeans and most recently Express until the economy took its toll…  All is well though, considering the creative output that I witnessed!  I have a distinct feeling that Express may at some point regret that move!

Leila is so cutesy and as nice as your mother’s cooking on a warm Sunday afternoon. That’s saying a lot because its sadly the opposite with some New Yorker’s that I’ve had the pleasure of coming across.  Anyway, I notice her sketches and an inspiration wall with pictures of objects that influenced her Spring 2010 collection.  The wall instantly intrigued me.  Before arriving at her home that day, I had no idea of the location.  How fitting was it that I landed here at this talented designer’s loft.

The embellished tees with gems, feathers and cat eyes (yes, the beads look like cat eyes) were the business.  I’m so the t-shirt girl that immediately I fell in love.  She told me her inspiration for the Spring 2010 collection was “scary things”.  She executed that well even with the color hues of rich purples, gold, turquoise and greens.  I totally got it!  Some may say she’s a little over the top, but I bag to differ.

As she walk around, all 5′2″ of her in heels clicking around in this large loft that seems to swallow her up, we talk about her departure from Express.  Her current title as CEO seems better suited, and is probably the best thing she could have ever done.  I think this whole recession thing is forcing ppl to do what they are truly meant to do.  Yay!

I can’t wait to see what she will do next, but I plan to keep you guys up to par on her progress and upcoming Fall line.  I got a peek, but I’m not talking .  I’m lying I have no idea!  I guess we all have to stay tuned..

Team Leila….

www.leilashams.com

You may not know this now, but at some point I think you will understand my love for Graffiti!

Throughout the 70’s & 80’s, many of these artists threw up tags and bombed on trains and walls all over the world.  Now, they have evolved into incredible talents in fine art.  One of these cool dudes is Eric Haze or “Haze” as he’s famously known. What’s pretty freaking awesome about Mr. Haze is that he had a huge solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Hong Kong.  Nice, right?!  I had the pleasure of going to the opening of his exhibit at the Level 2 Gallery in downtown NYC recently.

First of all, I got there late.  Anybody that knows me understands how awful I am with time.  Whatever, love me or leave me!  I get there and head upstairs to the gallery and I walk into the room, and its totally rocking.  The ambiance was on full tilt.  The people, the music, and the lofty venue with to die for huge windows set the scene.  The place was packed with the “downtown” likes and hipsters while DJ A-Trak and DJ Neil Armstrong spun the adrenaline.

Screw the art at this moment.  I can’t see a thing because there is too much activity and heat clouding my view.  Now, I’m sweating bullets!  I need a “free.99″ cocktail and one of those gi-normous windows to catch a breeze for a minute.  Not only did I find all of the above, but I also caught the aromas of the leaf (if you know what I mean).  Let’s get focused, I think to myself, and check out the art.  While doing so, I’m told KAWS and Jose Parla were there.  Check out these artists as well…Quality!

As an observer, his style is that of a minimalist that focus on lines and graphic shapes.  I did enjoy his black & white monochromatic pieces.  Don’t think I’ve ever seen art interpreted that way.  That felt good!  Overall, not really the type of art that I gravitate towards, but he’s certainly talented.  You have seen his work before even if you don’t know it.  His roster reads like a scroll from the old ass days..Public Enemy, Def Jam, Hip Hop logos, G-Shock etc..  You get the point.  If you don’t know him, then get to know him because he’s legendary!

www.interhaze.com

The winter is really setting in now and a decision still has not been made about the loft insulation. It looks like InsulationUK will be installing it.
This will probably be a regrettable decision…

Jaguar, the fastest supercomputer ever built has been put to work to solve climate change. Find out more here…

Greetings ravers.

As the pioneers of the Ultraviolet Parties in Kenya, 6:AM proudly presents this year’s U.V light party!

The DJs are out in full force this time round with an unstoppable night of the finest electronic music, the most beautiful party people and the most mind blowing themed party this month.

DJs DRAZEN, BARNEY BARROW & MIKHAIL KUZI are on the decks belting out tune after tune of the finest House, Minimal, Techno, Trance and Progressive music.

Entry is just 500 kshs for a momentous evening of debaucherous dancing and trancing!

The dress code is WHITE / UV COSTUME so remember to be creative with your party gear on the night. Get out some old eighties neon spandex or come dressed in a toga… As long as it’s white or fluorescent.

Strictly over 18 only.

Widowhood, Natural Pigeon Racing, by Robert Mihaila

For a long time I get many questions from the English speaking fanciers around the world to do an article about widowhood. As a system practised by myself for about 25 years did not reveal any secrets for myself, I could not see any reason to put my method on paper for the fancy. But the fancy “said” when you win the 1st Semi-National Championship three times in four years and flying 60 kms to the back, your system must be something special if you can motivate your team a whole the season long and to achieve such great results. And that’s the most important part of my method: motivation!

The loft set-up

In almost any loft you can fly the widowhoodsystem. However there are some points that matter to me personally:
The boxes should be on one side of the loft. This to keep the cock’s quiet on the loft. When they can see each other constantly they are all day busy watching, while they should be sleeping lying on one wing. I would prefer to have all boxes at the backside of the loft. From the training or from the race the cock can fly straight into his box or returning from the race, sitting on the windowbench, he can see his hen right in front of him closed in the box. Any box suits as long as you are able to shut the hen in when the cock returns from the race. There are quite some types of nestboxes, however I prefer the type were they are the closest together. It’ll give you quite some problems in the mating period and getting them used to the box, but later on you’ll notice why it is better so.

The windows should be big in order to let them fly in and out easily while training. In this way they can practise the landing and trapping and won’t be so easily scared in the beginning. If you have much time to get the widowers used to yourself you can trap them in their own box. However I prefer to clock them outside the loft in a kind of a stall-trap because this is quicker. And there is no catching and running around inside the loft that will make them loose time returning from the next race.
Important is to keep the cocks as quiet as possible on the day. This means that the fancier should keep himself far from the loft on the day, except from his normal routine coming and going. You’ll notice how easy you can disturb them and how long it takes them to be quiet again. Important is that you can darken the windows so much that they cannot look out. I just put some white removable paint on the windows. To make the loft totally dark is old fashioned. I have glass tiles in the roof giving the sun the possibility to shine straight into the nestboxes and to make the temperature more comfortable.

The winter time

Myself I separate the sexes half November. Till that time they train once a day, after the separation only once a week on Saturday. From half December till the birds are sitting on their first eggs again they don?t come outside for a training at all. I think there is no need to train your birds hard in winter time. Better it is to slow the training down so you can build it quietly up again.

Half December I move the old cocks to the youngbird loft and I put the young cocks on the widowhood loft were they can choose free out of the remaining nestboxes without being chased away by the old cocks. Doing so helps the young cocks building up their personality and the old cocks will have quite some problem defending their own box from the attacks of the young cocks later on! Take care that the young cocks cannot take another resting place than only a nestbox.

Important is that you sort the cocks without almost any personality out. When you have room for 10 young cocks put 11 in and the one with the least personality gets no box and I select those out no matter how good his results were as a youngster. Later on you have to get track of the troublemakers in order to get peace and quiet in the racing season. When I spot a troublemaker I just put him in another section till they all are happy and no one is being chased after because one cock hates the other.

Mating time

Depends totally from the time racing season starts and from the way you want to start! Raising youngsters or not. To put them on widowhood from eggs or feeding a youngster for a couple of weeks. Dry widowhood or just normal. When you have made your choice how to do it, just figure out back in time(28 days feeding a youngster; 17 days sitting on eggs; 12 days chasing to get eggs in the nest) when you have to mate them up. The ways of how to put the cocks on widowhood will be explained later on.

Preparation for mating

As soon as the birds aren?t training anymore in wintertime they get 2/3 moulting mixture and 1/3 barley once a day and what is left over is removed. When they are going to be mated, prior 4 days to that date, I change to 1/1 breeding mixture. But they get that much so all is eaten the next day. Feeding is in the boxes till all are sitting on eggs.

Important is to give them extra light from 16.30 o’clock(sundown) till 19.00 o’clock. The extra light time is put till 20.00 o’clock 2 weeks before mating. This really helps the pairs to “click” right away. When mated the lights are on till 21.00 o’clock and in the morning from 06.00 o’clock till 09.00 o’clock. When all pairs are with eggs the lights in the mor-ning are off again; the same moment the lights in the evening are off again at 19.30 o’clock. The lights are totally off when the youngsters are about 2 weeks old.

With widowers I feel that love for the partner is of highest importance. When I see that there is some dislike I immediately change partners. What I further do is that birds stay in their old nestbox, this to avoid fighting as much as possible.

Some cocks really are heavy fighters and you can see they even like it and keep on doing that. In regard to such cocks I have for you a small trick: to fight well a cock needs to put his feet well and wide on the ground in order to push hard. Just attach both his feet to each other with a piece of plastic wire or a thread that keeps his feet at a distance of 4, 5 cms from each other. In this way he can move around but has much trouble to fight. You’ll see it really works! After a few days remove the wire or thread and all is back to normal.

How do we put our cock’s on widowhood?

As mentioned before there are quite some different methods how to put the cock’s on widowhood:
Do you want to have youngsters from the racers or not.
Does your racing season starts early or late.
Give climate conditions possibility to mate early or not.
Those things matter most for us.
Myself I mate early and I wait for a period when it is warmer so the birds have less trouble getting eggs and I adapt the system because I only raise youngsters from the breeders.

The classical way

The classical way to put the cock’s on widowhood is raising 1 or 2 youngsters and after sitting 10 days on the second round of eggs it is so far. The cocks are put in the basket for a training toss and when they return the hens are removed and put in the widowhen compartment. The cock’s are let out for a training around the loft and before they are let in the nest and eggs have been removed, the nestbowl has been cleaned and turned around. Now they are on the widowhood system. The best time to do this is 2 weeks before the first race. You’ll find the cock’s the first week a little bit difficult to handle, because they react the first week quite nervous. The second week, after having seen the hens once, all is going better.

The half classical way

When you have less time to follow the above system you can put all hens with the youngsters at age of 17-21 days in the youngbird section. The hens now feed the youngsters and are put in the widowhen compartment when the youngsters are about 4 weeks old. This system is about 2, 3 weeks shorter in time than the classical way, which I prefer to this. Feeding a youngster is loosing energy and I like the cock to get some extra weight again before the racing season starts.

Flying from a youngster

You can let the cock feed the youngster till it is 4 weeks old and is put on the youngbird loft. This system certainly costs the cock energy. Once I tried this system in 1 section one time, but in relation to the other team’s results it was worth nothing so I never tried it again. A possibility is when you can store the hens next-door and let them twice a day feed the youngsters while the cock’s are training. In this way feeding the youngster and training twice a day costs less energy.

Dry widowhood

This is the system I personally like best. My experience is when you follow this system the results of the cock’s stay good for about 5, 6 weeks. When you follow the classical way the results are getting worse after 3, 4 weeks. This may be because of a less quality birds problem, but normally it is a more a natural problem. When the cock finds his hen after the race their is only one thought: he wants to keep her and chase her on eggs again. And when the fancier removes his hen each time after a short while, the cock easily gets disappointed and that is translated in the results.

That problem is solved following:

They can get used to the system and find after 2 training tosses their hen in the nestbox. After 2 weeks they can keep their hen, get eggs again and after 10 days sitting on eggs the real widowhood season starts. To my experience following this system the cock’s have better results for a longer period than normal. When you feel the “dip” comes moving in you have to start using tricks. About the tricks later.

The loft-training system

As already mentioned my birds do not train at all in winter. I want to bring the flying condition back so I get later on the possibility to build it up again. The training starts when all pairs are sitting for about 5 days on eggs. During the week only the cock’s are let out at about 16.00 o’clock and in the weekend the hen’s at about 14.00 o?clock. First I have to get them instead from entering the youngbird loft into the old bird loft. When this is done the hen’s are let out by my wife each day at 14.00 o’clock and I let the cock’s out at 16.00 o’clock and all are chased up in order to fly.

When the youngsters are about 5, 7 days old, they are fed twice a day with some picking stone and pressed corn. From that moment on there is only 1 training a day. Around 16.00 o’clock I put hens and cock’s out and by then it should be clear for the fancier how the situation is:
they should train easily for at least 1 full hour! When the youngsters are about 17 days old this is getting a little bit less when they get interested to start a new nest again.

When they are sitting on eggs again both sexes are trained separately again. Till the point of 10 days is reached and the birds are put on the widowhood system. The first week of the widowhood everything is done quietly in order to get no nervous cock’s that stay out for a night or when trained twice a day they don?t fly the whole day and ruin their condition for a couple of weeks. The second week there are morning training?s also and the third week it is getting to how it should be. They have seen the hens again and are more attached to the loft and their nestbox than the first two weeks.

After the third week the morning training is easy, not forced. The cock’s are let out and may enter and find themselves not free to go out again. In the evening it is different. The windows of the loft are open for 1 hour and they may fly free in and out again. After a full hour they all are chased out again and when they enter again they to stay in and are fed.

The road-training schedule

When you fly the widowhood system instead of the natural system you’ll find the widowhood cock’s train easily 2,5 hour a day. By these training times I do not think it to be necessary to train my birds on the road daily. I only use the road-training as a way to refresh their attitude when I see less interest in flying or fear a “dip”.

Before the season starts I train them 4,5 times up to 60 kms when the weather is okay and not too cold. It has happened I put them without any toss straight into the first 90 kms race and found the results satisfying enough.

However when you want to do a road-training I prefer to do it that afternoon when the barley is exchanged for the “good” food, so they can deal with the extra sprinting they have done. Of course in the middle of the week no hens are shown to the cock’s ever!

The curing system

Because of my work for the Medical University of Amsterdam (AMC) I’m often considered to be a man who knows all about of medicine. How wrong however is it to give your birds all the products advertised in the magazines! The moment there is trouble be sure you are in trouble! You’ll find only the most strong product to work and when you work with that type regularly, when it is really needed, nothing will help your birds to get better again!

Sometimes I make use of medicines, but only when it is needed or when they are because of circumstances close to a “dip” and then be sure it helps.

When you have excellent results over many years you’ll almost never get the compliment of having such good birds. No, they talk in groups in the street what you could possibly give to your pigeons! Believe me there are only a few things you can believe in pigeon sport:

-good birds;
-a healthy loft;
-special methods;
-a fancier willing to learn all about the above mentioned three points, sees all what happens in the loft and can think like a pigeon!

My well meant advice:

Good strong birds keep the sicknesses out easier. Work on this point! Once you have good strong birds, look for constantly for better and if you find them, buy them! Problems with the respiratory system are always a matter of a bad ventilation. Work on this point! Once you have a good loft: never change it!
Further work on your methods: that means reading, studying, thinking and using your eyes on the loft of a successful fancier. Never change your method totally but pick out the good points from somebody else’s method!
And last: don’t get lazy!

After the mating in case of not many fights I do not cure for cancer. When they are sitting on their first eggs they get two cures each for a week long: one with tea of herbs and the other with a half cut in bulb of garlic. That cleans the blood and makes it thin, both needed when you start training again.

When they are in the period of sitting on eggs close before they are put on widowhood I cure them for 5 days with Emtryl for cancer. You can only treat with Emtryl when you keep the birds home for a week and be sure to follow the guidelines going with this product! When you do this you keep your birds clean for 4, 5 weeks from cancer. Then use another product on rhonidazol basis for 4 days starting the day of the return. This you can use without doing any harm, and even overdose, between 2 races. When you go into a race over 400 kms when the birds spend more nights in the basket, then race every 2 weeks and you can repeat the Emtryl cure. However do not cure for cancer more than once a month.

When the weather starts getting warmer then you should think about a cure regarding the respiratory system. When it is getting dry in the air pigeons can get slime and a small light cure with a product for ornithosis mostly solves the problem.

And when you have a serious problem: visit a vet specialised in pigeons. For the rest use your common sense and try to be your own vet as much as possible!

“Cures” during the week

Saturday on the return: electrolytes + pure vitamin c.
Saturday evening: propolis.
Sunday: tea of herbs.
Tuesday: propolis.
Thursday: vitamin c.
Friday: when it is hot electrolytes.

That’s it. Pigeons themselves can make almost all vitamins out of the food they get. Good food solves the vitamin problem. Giving lots of vitamins in fact is throwing away money. Only vitamin c they cannot make it themselves, so I give that separately.

Propolis is a product coming from bees and is considered a strong natural antibiotic; 12 drops on 2 litters of water keeps them healthy without destroying the good bugs inside.
Do you see any secrets?

The feeding system

First of all: buy good quality food! Understand the best corn is always used for human consumption. So the corn used in pigeon mixture is not the very best otherwise prices would be too expensive for us. But were we can choose from there is much difference in quality and I want you to think: why sometimes is a certain mixture so cheap? I give you two examples:

1. The La Plata maize comes from Argentina and is transported in a ship to our distributing firm. That takes quite some time and cert-ain chemicals are used to keep the “merchandise” in “good condition”. When the harvest in Argentina was bad there is much La Plata maize offer for pigeon mixtures. You understand why I pay some more in order to have a kind of maize in my mixture that didn?t travel such a long time?
2. Most of the barley offered for pigeons or in diet mixtures is European grown. Our own climate sometimes is very wet in the time the barley is harvested and has to be stored on a time it is not yet ripe and with a lot of water in it. To keep it well again chemicals are used.
Fact is the best quality is used for brewing beer. You understand why I buy brewers quality barley?

I hope I have given you reason enough when you decide to buy food for your birds and above all to use your common sense because for a lower price there is a reason!

In my feeding system is Saturday the day of returning from a race and Friday(or Thursday) day of basking.
Saturday on return: some small seeds.
When the hens have been removed: peanuts and enough!
Later on: some picking stone(salt!).
Saturday evening till Tuesday afternoon: hopper fed barley.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday evening: a mixture of racing & breeding of different firms and more than enough so they can choose! After half an hour the leftovers all are removed. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning for each 5 widowers 1 handful of small seeds. So they feel hungry again in the evening. It is important you decide when they eat! Is Friday day of basking the hour when you give them the last meal depends on the length of the race, the wind and the weather forecast. What I give as last meal is a mixture of small seeds and the racing/breeding mix. Around 17.00 o’clock some small seeds so they drink again.
When Thursday is day of basking I start with the breeding & racing mixture the Monday evening. Thursday morning only a little bit and Thursday afternoon enough, followed at around by some small seeds.

The motivating system of trics

To keep your widowers going full speed from the beginning of April till the end of July is a period of 16 weeks. To do that successfully you can understand your widowers get bored soon when you follow every week the same schedule. So you have to change your methods regularly to keep them going for the top. Some important guidelines:

The training is very important: keep them going. A bigger team is best. 40 widowers enjoy the training more than 10. Don’t kill the bad ones! Just don’t race them, but keep them to keep the others going on the training?s!

The feeding too is very important: never hopper feed the good food! One time just a little and the other time a lot to choose from. Above system keeps them on time hungry and going!

Because I like to keep my racing team young, it means you have to teach them the system and each tric is new to them!
Before the first race, the evening before basking I give them a short 5km toss. They get their training and feeding as normal. Direct after the feeding the nestbowls are turned around and I release the hen from the widowhoodhen section. After a short while they enter the loft and they have a get together for a minute. Then the cock’s are put in the basket and tossed at a distance of 5 kms. They hurry home and may approach the hen through the bars of their box. The ones that understand the system enter quickly and the others(feeling the food in their stomach) keep flying around for a while. Those cock’s we better not poole for the money or put them on top of the race sheet for the nominated championship. The second week we can repeat this short toss. And when we feel very sure about them entering quickly and about a quick race at high average speed the next day, we can do the short toss the Friday afternoon. This can be used in the middle of the season as well to awake the team from falling into a “dip”.

Important is that I explain to you what I do after the race. When your widowers race well you should not have the time to let them join the hen right away. I do this first when almost all cock’s are home. When I go to the clubhouse with the clocks I let them out all together free on the loft. This is to give them the idea that they can chase the hen again for eggs. Important is that they get a good chance to make love to the hen; this fact too keeps them sharp because they will be watching each other.

When the 2nd race was fast and all cock’s were home quickly, it is good to let all cock’s and hens out together fly free around the loft. This too keeps them awake and give them the impression they may keep the hen and build a nest.

I remove the hens when I return from the club and when the beer was good that sometimes may take a while. I never have thought or felt it was too bad to leave them together for such a long time.

When they understand what we want from them and what they can expect in return for it, the 3rd, 4th and 5th race we can only turn around the nestbowl without showing the hens.

The 6th race in our combine already is one of almost 400 kms and then you can expect the 1st “dip”, too because of the distance. Therefore you have to motivate them now for the first time. Around 17.00 o’clock you turn around the nestbowls and release the hens from the hen section. They may do what they want and stay free in the loft for about one hour. Then the cock’s are basked and the hens shut up in their boxes.

Another good trick is to let them out the Friday morning for their normal training around the loft. Coming in they find their nestbowl turned around and the hens join them shortly afterwards. They may stay together for an hour. Then the hens are removed and they are fed around 12.00 o’clock. Too you can give them a bath inside the loft. This is a good system to follow when you expect the next day a headwind race and you want them to go in it well fed and quietly.

The 7th race is in our combine a race of 475 kms and that means Thursday evening basking night. That day I’m home around 13.00 o?clock and the widowers go out for an hour. Then they are called in and the nestbowls are turned around. The hens join them a short time later and they stay free in the loft for an hour and a half. After that the hens are removed and the nestbowls turned around again. An hour later when they are quiet again, they get only peanuts and as much as they like. You’ll notice how good they will eat. Around 17.30 o’clock they get some small seeds, so they drink again. An hour later they are put in the basket and I’m off for the club.

The above I repeat on every following day race. I believe when you fly the distance nr. 1 is the quality of the bird that can fly the distance. Up to 400km with only 1 night in the basket it is the fancier with his system the has the biggest influence on the results over the 400 km it is definitely the bird. Important is therefore to have the quality birds and to bring them with the right feeding- and training methods to the race.

A good trick to do later on in the season is following: the Thursday afternoon the widowers go out for a training around 13.00 o’clock followed by their hens half an hour later. This you can understand is a big party for all of them! When all are in again you follow the system as described above under race 7.

Sometimes when I see they are getting into a “dip” I give them the Monday afternoon instead of a training around the loft a 40km training toss without showing the hen. This too sharpens them up again.

I have chosen for the program of races for the Semi-National Championship and that are for the old birds: 475km, 540km, 605km, 685km, 655km in the autumn followed by their last race over 475km(sitting on a week old youngster). The youngbirds fly 330km and 540km all together 7 races with an interval of 2 weeks. After race 7 I have no races shorter than 400 km. That means also that I have from time to time a free weekend to spend with my family doing other things than just pigeons. However the free Saturday morning early I give them a toss of 60km, to keep them sharp, and they may stay a short while together which leaves the rest of the day free for doing one time other things.

Taking care of the hens

Is very important!!! Understand they do not go in a race and do not spend any energy. When you are too nice for them, they will start being nice for each other and start laying eggs. When this happens you are in big trouble. The hen should only pay attention to the cock and when he doesn?t get that he will not surprise you with good results. So don’t be sweet for your hens and treat them hard! Do not have too much room for them; let them fight for a resting place. Sometimes after a race shut only the cock’s up in the nestbox and let the hens go free around the loft. Take care that they start hating each other! Another good weapon is hunger! On raceday they get like the cock only a bit of small seeds. Separated in their own section they get a picking stone, that’s it. The next day they get 1/2 grit, 1/2 barley. Monday, Tuesday only barley. Wednesday 1/2 barley, 1/2 youngbird mixture, Thursday breeding mixture. Only once a day and in quantity and quality going up towards the end of the week. If you have time and room you can let them out for a training around the loft so they spend energy. But in order not to disturb the cock’s I don’t let them out during the week.

Widowhood, Natural Pigeon Racing by Robert Mihaila

Learn the champions secret winning pigeon racing formula! Click here to learn more

Your guide to pigeon racing and racing pigeons.

The barn with most of her vines and brambles removed and just before her makeover begins

On my first post of November 15, I mentioned that I would share some photos of our converted barn that I am hopeful will convey my personal view of  “Rustic Chic”.   The “after” interior photos were taken by that terrific photographer John Bessler for Traditional Home magazine. 

We were fortunate enough and thrilled that the super folks at Traditional Home ran these shots in the October 2009 issue of their magazine (“Barn Again”)!!   Special thanks to editor-in-chief Ann Maine, and to Jenny Bradley, senior design and lifestyle editor for all their support and enthusiasm.  They couldn’t have been nicer to us or more accommodating.

We were also very pleased that they chose to feature it in their October 2009 issue since there’s just something about barns that say “fall”.   I guess it’s the color-morphing foliage, the softening of the sunlight, thoughts of harvest time and so on that happen at this time of year.   I’ve included a few of the “before” shots of the interiors (photos NOT by John!) for you to view. 

I hope you enjoy seeing these.

The Great Room "before". This pretty much defies description.

The “before” picture above is rustic, yes.  But chic?  Not yet.  Below is John’s “after” shot which appeared in the magazine.

Great Room after reconstruction

Here are a few more photos from Trad Home’s shoot with a few of our “before” pix. 

Great Room "before"

Great Room "after" with the reclaimed antique center pedestal table

Kitchen "before"

Kitchen "after"

Family Room "before"

Family Room "after"

Here are some more images that appeared in Traditional Home.

Breakfast Room

Kitchen server shot with Paisley supervising the shoot

Reading loft in the Great Room

This is my favorite part in the barn.  It’s a loft area that overlooks the Great Room and where we read a good deal.  It’s very peaceful here.

Master Bedroom

Originally part of the hayloft, this section of the barn now houses the master bedroom.  We reused as much of the original rafter timbers as possible here.  This shot had to be cropped for the magazine page and it lost a good deal of the rafter detailing.  In John’s original shot here, you can see the peak of the 14′ ceiling.

Master Bath vanity

What’s the secret behind the genius of Wilco? Most would say Jeff Tweedy. Some would say the rare combination of gifted personalities. But there’s another very important component to Wilco’s creative brilliance that’s often overlooked—in fact, it remains literally hidden from the public.

Their studio space.

Check it out. The loft has, over time, transformed into space that is as experimental, evolving, and incredible as their music. A vast collection of rare instruments. A stairwell, elevator, and bathroom utilized for specific sounds (a flushing toilet immediately comes to mind—I can’t help it). Bunk beds for catnaps. Time to experiment—no recording fees means no unnecessary pressure. Spacious. Organized. Functional.

Smart.

And for all us creatives out there—something to emulate.

Brilliance is rarely left to chance. And creativity doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Studio space can change one’s entire creative process on a day to day basis. We know. That’s why we moved into this space last year. And we love it! The view of the bay, the warm brick tones, the Nelson Lamps, the—um—heating ducts that work. But, it’s still evolving into our vision. We’d like it to be a haven of creativity and inspiration. We’d like to have a quiet room and some bulletin walls for pinning up our work. We’d like to take the fluorescent light in the conference room and throw it out the two-story window.

But of course we wouldn’t do that. Well, maybe Eric would, in a fit of rage. He’s been known to throw phones. It’s true!

We will get there, eventually. With a little patience and perspiration. And inspiration. Oh and maybe some coin.

And conference room lighting that doesn’t emit an incessant electronic buzzing reminiscent of a clinical institution.

Normally, I tend to shy away from trends.  I usually prefer classic styles, and trends come and go so quickly, that it seems pointless to spend too much time worrying about them.  However, sometimes a certain trend will really resonate with me.  When that happens, I will wear, even after it’s gone out of fashion.  Today’s outfit embraces two current trends: belted cardigans and layered chain necklaces.

I. loved. this. outfit. so. much.  I felt amazing all day.  The combination of wearing my new favorite belt, my beautiful new necklace, and my pencil skirt which always looks awesome, was the perfect storm.  Not to mention my beautiful new $2 Ann Taylor tank.

All this has made me realize something.  I MUST buy more pencil skirts.  In good fabrics with quality tailoring.  I think I will be spending my Christmas money next month at J. Crew.

Tank: Ann Taylor (garage sale)
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Belt: Anthropologie
Skirt: Semantiks (Nordstroms)
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Necklace: from a local boutique
Purse: Easy Spirit Outlet
Watch: Target

Viele haben bereits bei uns angefragt und jetzt gibt es endlich auch schon eine ganze Menge Informationen online. Wer Interesse daran hat, kann sich die Grundrisse, Baubeschreibung und vieles mehr jetzt auf einer separaten Webseite anschauen und über diese Seite auch direkt Kontakt zum Projektbetreiber aufnehmen, der bei Rückfragen jederzeit gern zur Verfügung steht.

Hier entstehen schon bald sehr attraktive Wohnungen mit Balkon oder Wintergarten, die Sie kaufen (besonders interessant für Anleger als Steuersparmaßnahme durch Denkmalschutzabschreibung) oder Mieten können. Foto Ansicht: Franz-Mehring-Straße

Ein Auszug der Meldung: “Sie sind auf der Suche nach anspruchsvollem seniorengerechten Wohnkomfort in Altenburg? – Dann sind Sie hier richtig! Schon in kurzer Zeit wird, wie schon aus dem angrenzenden Teil der „Seniorenresidenz“ den die Michels Gruppe erfolgreich umbaut, auch aus dem Gebäudeteil entlang der Franz Mehring Straße eine ansprechende Fassade mit vor allem aber traumhaft schönen Wohnungen, wie sie in Altenburg gar nicht so oft zu finden sind.” Lesen Sie hier mehr…

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