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Diane S. (rvdreamin) - Reviews

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100 Keys to Great Calligraphy
100 Keys to Great Calligraphy
Author: Judy Kastin
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 3/20/2010


This is a wonderful little book, packed with very practical information. I love the parts where it shows you how to make your own brushes and pens, especially for large scale work. It has all sorts of tips and tricks to practice, wonderful color photos and examples, and great ideas.

From the covers: "From practicing to finished pieces, from correcting mistakes to decorative touches, this at-a-glance guide is packed with tips and advice to make calligraphy easy. Wit the help of 100 Keys to Great Calligraphy, find out how to: Select suitable lettering tools, inks, colors and papers. Achieve better pen control and learn how to check spaces within the text. Plan a layout and introduce color into your work. Lift your calligraphy out of the ordinary and turn it into something striking and original. Packed with step-by-step exercises an stunning finished examples."


2000 Reasons to Hate the Millennium: A 21st-Century Survival Guide
Review Date: 11/21/2010


I had thought this book would have a fun, creative approach to the now historic y2k scare. Turns out creative was not the word. The words that come to mind are dirt, smut, rated R, etc. Not what I was expecting. Our copy went into the trash can instead of re-posting to pbs. It's a shame, these guys have great talent for humor, just misdirected.


AAA Kentucky & Tennessee TourBook 2009
AAA Kentucky & Tennessee TourBook 2009
Author: AAA
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 2/13/2010


AAA tourbooks are always a wonderful way to explore a new area. They have hotels with ratings, restaurants, all the sites to see described with handy details such as times of operation, contact numbers, high points, and often even small city maps. Can't miss, no matter what state the book covers.


Adventure at Black Rock Cave
Adventure at Black Rock Cave
Author: Patricia Lauber
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 8/13/2010


I loved this book as a kid. Just a thin book, but wonderful black and white illustrations. The most memorable, I thought, is the one of the kids peeking out from under their turned over row boat where they had been hiding.


Alaska at Your Own Pace: Traveling by RV Caravan
Alaska at Your Own Pace: Traveling by RV Caravan
Author: Bernice Beard
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 6/28/2009


This is a fun, readable book. She makes you feel like you are really there in the RV caravan with her.

From the cover:
Have you always dreamed of visiting Alaska? Alaska at Your Own Pace: Traveling by RV Caravan is your chance to join author Bernice Beard and her husband, Paul, as they explore this great land. Diascover that our forty -ninth state is much more than polar bears, prospectors, and snowy tundra. Drive the exhilarating Top of the World Highway, dip your fingers in the Arctic Ocean, shop in Barrow (the northernmost city in the world), explore old settlements, face huge glaciers, and gaze in awe at magnificent Mount McKinley.

You'll learn what it's like to travel in a group, make new friends, and tour with a "wagonmaster" and "tailgunner." You'll see breathtaking vistas and interesting people, through photographs and vivid descriptions, and enjoy campfires, shows depicting the gold rush era, and rafting on the Nenana River.


Allen and Mike's Really Cool Backpackin' Book: Traveling  camping skills for a wilderness environment
Review Date: 11/28/2011


This book is a lot of fun. The great cartoon illustrations that describe new information are very entertaining. The text is to the point and not boring. I liked the cooking and packing sections best. Seemed to cover all aspects of a primitive backpacking trip that I could think of - even how to use the bathroom without environmental impact.


Annison's Risk (Passages, Bk 3)
Annison's Risk (Passages, Bk 3)
Author: Paul McCusker
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 11/15/2008


Maddy is sure she's found the perfect hiding place. But the closer she inches toward a strange glow of light under the porch, the farther she gets from everything familiar in Odyssey. Suddenly, Maddy finds herself in a strange new land called Marus where a conquering king is about to marry a princess, but not everyone is rejoicing. The king's most trusted advisor is hatching an evil plot to stamp out the followers of the "Old Faith" forever. Maddy overhears his wicked scheme, but to reveal it may mean her death sentence. Will her life be required in order for a kingdom to be saved?

Parallel worlds, universal truths. What if history repeated itself - with you in it? "Passages" takes familiar stories and retells them from a kid's perspective. Loosely based on the popular "Adventures in Odyssey" series, "Passages" books begin in Odyssey and take you to a fantasyland, where true belief becomes the adventure of a lifetime!


Arin's Judgment (Passages, Bk 2)
Arin's Judgment (Passages, Bk 2)
Author: Paul McCusker
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 5
Review Date: 11/15/2008


"My final gesture... I'm going to blow this place to smithereens!" One minute, Wade Mullins had been in Odyssey...attempting to burn his friend's top-secret drawings for the atomic bomb. The next he knew, he was staring at a man he didn't know, from an alternate world. This strange prophet says Wade is the final sign - an end-times omen of a culture on the verge of annihilation. But a power-mad tyrant sees opportunity in the boy; Wade will usher in a new age of power, thanks to his bomb-making capabilities. But only when innocent people begin to die does Wade understand how deceived he's been. It's do-or-die time. Can Wade stop the madman's reign of terror his bomb will surely bring? Or is destruction inevitable as these people reap what they've sown?

Parallel worlds, universal truths. What if history repeated itself - with you in it? "Passages" takes familiar stories and retells them from a kid's perspective. Loosely based on the popular "Adventures in Odyssey" series, "Passages" books begin in Odyssey and take you to a fantasyland, where true belief becomes the adventure of a lifetime!


Art and Craft of Hand Weaving including Fabric Design
Art and Craft of Hand Weaving including Fabric Design
Author: Lili Blumenau
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 8/17/2014


Hardcover. Here's what Amazon reviewers have to say:

Ms. Blumenau taught weaving in the Teachers College at Columbia University and at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She was the Curator of Textiles at the Cooper Union Museum, now the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. She traveled the world over to get a handle on all that is hand woven throughout history to modern times. She explains that weaving, or the interlacing of fibers, started in the Neolithic Age, about 11,000 years ago. In Greece, Egypt and Peru, there are woven textile fragments from 2 millenia ago. She discusses the evolution of fibers and looms from all over the world. There's a photo of a big Merino sheep from Australia so you get an idea why Merino wool is so valuable. Photos of silk moths emerging from their cocoons or silk being produced in Japan by one woman. In addition to these and other animal fibers, there is also flax, wood and cotton. There are share croppers picking cotton in the hot fields of the South on one hand, and on the other are the many synthetic fibers like rayon, the first one, which was invented around 1900. She also covers looms, warp & weft, spindles, staffs, shuttles, baskets and has an entire section of detailed weaving patterns with their charts, in this extremely detailed book. There are many, many photos of every kind of loom throughout history.

This book has detailed instructions on weaving, including a brief history of the craft. The book also shows sample weaves, explains the procedure of fabric design, and gives information on types of yarns.

Sections include:
part 1: evolution, looms, weaving procedure with glossary
part 2: fibers, natural and synthetic, yarns including count and dyeing
part 3: weaves, drafting symbols, draws, types of weaves, twill and variations, satin, basket, rib, honeycomb, lace, backfilling, double cloth
part 4: design

an excellent reference and introductory book to weaving

136 pages including index, first published in 1955, Illustrated with black/white photos, line drawings by Martin Norman, and diagrams.


Behold Your God
Behold Your God
Author: Myrna Alexander, Ralph Alexander
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 6
Review Date: 1/17/2009


Studies on the attributes of God. Behold Your God is a Bible study workbook in which Myrna Alexander helps us study God's character and person. The author emphasizes that what once was appropriate for only the seminary student or theologian is essential to the faith of all believers. Behold Your God includes an introduction to Scripture verses and themes, questions with space for answers at the end of each chapter, and helps for study group leaders. "To consistently lean on God alone, we must know Him," and "To know Him, we must know what He is like." Each lesson in Behold Your God studies a particular truth about the character of God: - Love - Supreme and Sovereign - All-powerful - Good - Omniscient - All-wise - Omnipresent - Immutable - Faithful - Holy - Just - To be praised -- Behold Your God helps readers understand what God is really like and encourages practical application of this knowledge to daily living. Addressing contemporary and biblical issues, the Woman's Workshop series and the Workshop series for men and women are ideal for group or individual Bible study.


Better Homes & Gardens Bread Cook Book
Better Homes & Gardens Bread Cook Book
Author: Better Homes & Gardens
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 8/12/2011


This little cookbook is wonderfully informative. The first several pages have instructions for baking bread, how to tell when it's risen enough, etc. I've been baking bread for years, but didn't know some of these tips. Great recipes, nice variety. Got one for my daughter also, so we can both enjoy.


Better Homes and Gardens Christmas-Time Cook Book
Better Homes and Gardens Christmas-Time Cook Book
Author: Better Homes and Gardens
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.8/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 12/18/2010


The best recipes from each area in the US. One whole chapter on cookies, and one on homemade bread, and one on Christmas Food Gifts. Wonderful retro photos of food full of the browns, gold, and red of the '70's. A section on Thanksgiving, one on New Year's. Lots of exciting dishes, old favorites, and winter comfort food.


A Bite of Independence Through Self-Sufficiency: Learn How to Feed a Family of Four for As Low As $10 Per Week
Review Date: 2/6/2009


From the back cover: This book teaches you how to make your own - baby foods, breakfast cereals, pasta and tofu, meat from wheat, cheese and yogurt, vinegars and soupbase, even shampoos, soaps, cosmetics, and perfumes! You'll learn how to - butcher your own additive-free meats, raise fresh untainted fish for your table, produce your own honey, grow your own fresh produce and put up your surplus through canning, freezing, pickling, meat curing, and dehydrating. By combining time-proven old methods with today's new technology, they show you how to save not $10, not $50, but $100's each month!

The book is filled with wonderful recipes. It makes you hungry just to read them.


The Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer
Author: John Wallace Suter (Custodian)
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 3/24/2018


This book is from The Episcopal Church of the United States. John Wallace Suter was not the author, he was only the "Custodian" of the book at that time. This 1945 edition is especially nice since it contains not only the prayers, but many wonderful Bible verses.


Bread & Scripture on Wheels: Trailer Books Favorite Recipes, Chapter and Verse
Review Date: 9/25/2013


This is a very friendly book full of easy quick breads, desserts, meal ideas with breads and more. All the recipes are either Annie's or given to her by her huge number of friends in the RV world she's a part of. Here are the chapters:

- Trailer Folks Favorite Quick Breads
- Trailer Folks Favorite Biscuits, Muffins, and Popovers
- Trailer Folks Favorite Store-bought Breads (it covers using bread in recipes without actually making the bread itself)
- Trailer Folks Favorite Spoon Breads
- Trailer Folks Favorite Sweet Breads


Called: Becoming Who You Were Born to Be
Review Date: 6/30/2008


Dr. Kary Oberbrunner is founder of Redeem the Day ministries, and he is the author of The Journey Towards Relevance. He has degrees in counseling and transformational leadership.


Complete Guide to Full-Time Rving: Life on the Open Road
Complete Guide to Full-Time Rving: Life on the Open Road
Author: Bill Moeller, Jan Moeller
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 14
Review Date: 8/26/2009


This book is one of the most instructional books on RVing that I've read yet - and I've read many! I'm especially enjoying the section on storage. The author has many descriptions of things they've done to their RV to increase storage capacity and accessibility that have stood the test of time for them.


The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook
The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook
Author: Karen Brooks
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 6/17/2009


From the cover: Vegetarian Cuisine with gourmet flair - rich in nutrition and flavor! Whether you eat meat or abstain from it entirely, the recipes in this unusual cookbook will save you money while adding well balanced nutrition and sumptuous taste to your meals. Marvelous recipes include delicious breads and cakes, new ideas for soups, salads, desserts, beverages, and superb main dishes. The author also includes a list of the protein content in more than one hundred non-meat foods. Follow the absolutely clear, easy to do instructions - and you're on your way to the best food you ever ate! Library Journal says, "The author's charts make it easy to balance the essential amino acids without using animal protein ... Brooks' recipes are much more appealing (than those in Diet for a Small Planet)."


The Complete Walt Disney World 2015: The Definitive Disney Handbook
Review Date: 4/6/2017


This was the best of the two Walt Disney World books that we brought on vacation. There was a full page description of each ride (with a photo), as well as summary pages for rides and restaurants. Wonderfully honest and humorous, complete and informative. Great guide.


Computer chess
Computer chess
Author: David E Welsh
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 1/18/2010


Covers programming techniques, history, style and rules for the novice as well as expert. Contains 89 annotated games from the major 1982 computer chess events.

The author in a review of this book says: "My first published book is a bit dated now, but there is information in it that can be found nowhere else in the literature.

Written from the perspective of a competitive chess player who is also a computer programmer, this book is nearly unique, and conveys useful insights into the playing strengths and weaknesses of chess playing computers. These remain valid today: although the programs are stronger now, the advances have nearly all been in increasing search depth, not in making the programs better at evaluating poaitions.

There is also considerable historical and technical information about computer chess programs up to 1983, which today would primarily be of interest to the chess programming specialist. "


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