Crime is a perpetuating industry. It never goes away and continues to grow. Our society believes in “innocence until proven guilty” and is against “cruel and unusual punishment”. It would rather see a guilty party go free than to punish an innocent party unjustly. I am not suggesting this is wrong, but just the way it is. These “rules” of our society create an environment that makes it impossible for law enforcement to totally protect us. We must therefore learn how to protect ourselves.

Crime is a career alternative that requires no education or experience and is low risk. For those who have nothing, crime is an easy career choice. The risks are minimal and rewards far exceed the alternative. Even if caught, there is free legal advice, low odds of going to prison, and if sent to prison, free room and board. Unless we change our society, we cannot reduce crime politically. We therefore must change the risk factor of crime.

Potential victims need to increase the odds against being violated. They must protect themselves. If criminals think there may be a high risk of personal injury or getting caught, their chosen career may not seem so attractive. They may know how to avoid law enforcement, but what if the odds were increased they may be shot, “tazed”, clubbed or recorded on video or audio tape by their potential victims. It is a win/win situation for the good guys; protection if violated and deterrence to be violated.

There are not many “self protection” stores in the neighborhood, but many are on-line. Surf the net for personal and property protection products. There are many to choose from including safetyzoneprotection.com www.safetyzoneprotection.com.

Delicate fabrics are particularly time consuming to work with. Fabric such as lace, silk, organza, etc are difficult to maneuver and make sewing a tedious job.

Garments and other projects designed to be made out of delicate materials such as lace or thin cotton can present problems for the beginner who doesn’t have much experience.

Some other fabrics that may belong to this category are:

- Wearable art is very hard to work with and can certainly be considered a delicate fabric.

- Heirlooms of silk and lace should never be handled or repaired by a novice. Heirlooms should always be treated like the delicate fabric they are.

- Wool can be challenging to sew because of the thickness. In particular if the material has delicate beaded or embroidered designs on it.

- Fabrics with embellishments are hard to work with at times which is another reason training in sewing is necessary.

If you want to sew with a delicate fabric or you are unsure of your sewing abilities practice sewing on sample pieces first. Practice until the material feels comfortable in your hands to work with and your patience will be rewarded with a piece of work to be proud of.

When sewing a thin delicate fabric on a sewing machine it may help to use some tissue paper underneath the material. This supports the material and prevents stretching. Once you have sewn the pieces together remove the tissue paper – it will tear of easily. To prevent puckering be sure you hold the material firm in front and back of the needle.

Whether you sew by hand or with a sewing machine make sure you use a correct size and sharp needle for thin delicate fabrics. It is recommended that you use a needle size 10/60, 10/70 or 11/75 for machine stitching.

Beginners will find sewing delicate fabrics challenging, however with some practice you may soon be recognized for your work by family and friends, or even in your local area. A good first project which is easy to work with is lace doilies used together with a cotton fabric to make pillows, serviettes or tablecloths.

Tablecloths and placemats along with table runners are beautiful on a well decorated table which offers delicate place settings with the simplicity of delicate fabrics sewn to perfection. A dining table which is elegantly showcasing some of the most delicate features of the dining room including lovely lace napkins and unique patterns in a tablecloth are divine for special occasions and for everyday dining.

Sewing delicate fabrics offers you and your family the chance to have many different and unusual fabrics and upholstery in your home. Tablecloths and dining room essentials are easy to make. Curtains and bed coverings are enhanced by the personal touches of someone who knows how to sew delicate fabrics.

It is very special when a person takes the time to make something special for everyone to enjoy.

For more information about sewing visit homesewingprojects.com www.homeswingprojects.com

In the hot and dry Southwestern United States, landscaping takes on an entire different significance than in other regions. As water is so precious here, conservation is a major concern of both home owners and city officials. But desert home owners don’t have to sacrifice beauty because of the lack of water. Dry landscaping is an excellent way to make a landscape unusual and eye-catching, while using minimum water resources.

Natural rocks and stone are perfect ways to make a home’s landscape blend into the native environment. Rocks bring out the beauty and diversity of nature. Natural rocks can be obtained in many different sizes, shapes, and even colors. From black lava rock, to gray granite, to white limestone, your choice won’t be an easy one.

One of the wonderful things about enhancing your landscaping with natural rocks is the fact that real stones are absolutely solid and will never wither and fade like plants. They will always stay bright and vibrant. Rock gardens really can be breathtaking when done the right way.

Drought-resistant plants compliment dry rock landscaping well. The native southwestern plants are generally sun-loving and water-wise. Careful research will reveal low maintenance and low water use plants perfect for this type of landscape. Many of the cactus varieties are good choices, as are juniper, lamb’s ear, and other perennial plants that can withstand year after year with little water.

Large areas of turf aren’t very viable for water conservation in the southwest. There are certain grass varieties that need large quantities of water to survive in heat. However, do your research and if you do desire a lawn area, choose one of the drought-tolerant grass species.

One cost-effective method of landscaping extensive can be to spread a layer of decorative crushed rock areas making it look finished and maintained. Some ornamental gravel types can be very beautiful, displaying mixed colors of yellow, purple, red, and white.

The fact of the matter is, even in hot and dry desert-like areas, landscapes can still be designed to be attractive yet conservative. And often a lush garden can hardly compare to the charm and creativity found in dry landscaping.

Copyright 2004 Goodwork Construction, Inc. All rights reserved. Republished with permission from author.

Goodwork Construction, Inc. is an excavation company located in Southern Utah. They are skilled in constructing dry-stack retaining walls built of natural, native rocks. They take great satisfaction in their work, doing a professional job step of the way. Visit their website at: goodworkconstruction.com goodworkconstruction.com

**Publishing guidelines:
Publication is permitted so long as the article is unchanged and the resource information at the end of the article remains intact, and links are live and intact with no redirect.

I often encounter people who believe that carpenters were born carpenters and plumbers were born plumbers. Regardless of my encouragement, there are many folks who don’t think they have the ability to build their own home.

I always give them all the same talk. We as human beings have the ability to learn new things and expand our horizons. If this weren’t true, none of us would be able to walk, talk, drive a car, or even tie our shoes.

As a parent, I have helped my children through some of the most repetitious acts of learning. As a teacher and a mentor, I have taught people how to ride horses, program computers, speak Spanish, build houses, peak satellites, hold a newborn baby, raise a garden, the list goes on and on.

My point is that I have watched every type of person learn in different ways. I have noticed that we all have different levels of intellect. Some people are sharp as a tack and others are really quite thick. The truth that I have learned about most things in life is that a person with average intelligence has everything he or she needs to get by and even succeed with flying colors. Even those with fairly low intelligence have adequate learning abilities to do just fine.

So when people tell me that they aren’t smart enough to build their own house, I just have to remind them that they are probably smart enough to do much more than just build houses. Some of the most intimidating projects in building a new house can be figured out with a little concentration. Electricity and Plumbing scare some homeowners into hiring the work done, when in truth, anybody can do those things.

I see all around me, examples of able-bodied people that choose to hire contractors to do work for them. This is just fine if the people have more money than time. If however, they have more time than money, they could really benefit from doing their own labor and saving thousands of dollars. In most cases the money saved by doing ones own labor translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That’s worth learning how to do something new. Anything in this world that will save us so much money and time over the long run is definitely something valuable to know.

Unfortunately, the majority of homeowners don’t see it that way at all. To them it’s acceptable to pay someone else to do all the work even if it means they will end up working almost a decade of their work life to make nothing but mortgage interest payments.

To me it’s simple, work for three hours a day after work for one year to build my own house, or work for eight hours a day at a job for ten years to pay the interest on hired labor. If more of us could see the reality of hired labor, we would be more likely to make better choices.

I strongly believe that we are intelligent beings made in the likeness of fully intelligent beings. We have power to learn and overcome so that we can find happiness. Sometimes we all need to be reminded of that.

Larry Angell is the author of Sweat Equity, building a house at half cost. He runs an instructional website about how to build homes that are strong financial tools, not financial burdens. He counsels low-income families how to obtain affordable housing and reach goals of home ownership.

make-my-own-house.com make-my-own-house.com