Parka Jacket That Flatters

Parka Jacket That Flatters

When you hear the word 'parka' do you think bulky and unflattering? If so, this list of fabulously feminine designs in parka jacket is worth viewing this winter season. These hot looks in a parka jacket will not only keep you warm, but also will accentuate your figure and keep your style quotient up!The Soia & Kyo Dora jacket is a great choice for $220.00.

This jacket is a parka with a duffle front toggle closure. The faux fur trims the removable hood and the side snap pockets keep your personal items safely stowed. The channel quilting on the hem adds to the design detail that went into the construction of this coast while the fully lined material will keep you extra warm as the temperature continues to drop. Offered in down and down alternative linings, this jacket is built for your customization.

The only downside to this jacket is that it must be dry-cleaned.For a sporty, yet chic, look in jackets, pick up The North Face Menlo jacket for $279.00. This standard fit parka features a snap-off, insulated, adjustable hood. The center front zipper features a snap-down flat over closure with two patch cargo pockets and side entry hand pockets.

The removable, adjustable self belt and internal media pocket are great features for the urban woman on the go. This jacket features a 550 fill in goose down for that hard to replicate warmth. Go from your warm bed to this jacket and barely notice the difference!

Embrace the cold weather with this fabulous design!The Marc Ecko Posey jacket is a great choice for the woman who seeks a slightly roomier design that still provides the utmost in warmth. This satin jacket features a faux fur hood and zip-front with toggle button closure wind flap to lock out the cold. With a multitude of pockets, patches, and a plaid lining, this jacket is constructed in 100% nylon with acetate lining and cotton yarn dyed flannel hood lining.

All in all, this jacket is an incredible steal for some major style. Your boyfriend or husband will find themselves wishing they could fit into this great design!For a rustic and military inspired choice, pick up the Golden Goose Long Parka. This distressed canvas jacket features a snap-off hood.

The seven-snap and zip closures at front and drawstring at back are really amazing features that add some femininity to this otherwise masculine design. The zip and snap flap pockets are incredibly innovative and will keep all your personal items safely stowed without fear. The 11' zip off panel allows this jacket to be a shorter choice that hits right at your hip.

All in all, this jacket also features an insulated lining that can be worn as a separate puffer jacket. What an incredible design! Everyone will be envious of this beautiful look.For a simple parka that will be perfect for work, pick up the Cole Haan Parka. This jacket is a packable parka, so this is a great choice to bring along with you on those business trips to not so desirable climates. With a built-in recycled eco tote bag, this jacket also features a hidden zip and snap front closure with a funnel collar and removable hood.

The side pockets have a flap detail while the belted cuff detail creates a fabulously tailored look that will blend great with your sheath dresses and pencil skirts. Keep yourself warm in this 100% recycled polyester and wool blended material, but remember to dry clean this choice only!

Your professional wardrobe will remain intact, even in the freezing weather this winter!

2009 cotton season

2009 cotton season

The 2009 crop season was one to forget for cotton producers, but it’s unlikely that many will — at least not any time soon. With that, here’s one more look at the mostly ugly 2009 growing season, from Tennessee Extension Cotton Specialist Chris Main, speaking at the 2010 Beltwide Cotton Conferences in New Orleans.

Southeast
Cotton acreage increased for Virginia, Georgia and Florida in 2009, acres while in the Carolinas and Alabama declined. Southeast yields were very similar to Mid-South yields in that yields increased from south to north, according to Main. “Most of this is due to the weather we saw across the southern portion of the country. In Georgia, they had late planting, a lot of wet weather at harvest and a lot of immature bolls in the top of the plant that they were not able to harvest.”

Throughout the Southeast, Palmer pigweed resistance to herbicides “is becoming more and more of an issue every year and is beginning to move into other parts of the Cotton Belt.
On the sandy Coastal Plains soils, “Georgia is beginning to see more problems with leaf spot diseases due to nutrient deficiencies, particularly potassium,” Main said.
Another challenge in the Southeast is identifying new cotton varieties for 2010-11 and beyond. “Over the past two years, over 82 percent of the acres in Georgia have been planted to DP 555 BG/RR. With that variety exiting after this year, there are in the neighborhood of 700,000 to 800,000 acres in Georgia up for grabs. Over the last two years, no other variety has had more than a 3 percent market share in that state.”

Alabama Extension Cotton Specialist Dale Monks summed up the cotton situation in the state in one sentence, “It rained a lot, then it didn’t, then it rained a lot, and it’s still raining.”
Cotton acreage is expected to rise in Florida, where cotton acres had risen to 85,000 acres in 2009. “That is with the caveat that they can get the 2009 crop out of the field, because a lot of it was still there in early January,” Main said.

Mid-South
Cotton plantings decreased for Arkansas, Mississippi and Missouri and increased slightly in Louisiana and Tennessee in 2009. Like in the Southeast, yields increased as you moved from south to north, Main said.
“The Mid-South suffered through a very wet spring. We planted late, and had a cooler and wetter than average summer for the most part. What made it strange was that we had August weather in June and June weather in August.”

Despite the less than ideal start, almost every state “had extraordinary crop potential on Sept. 1. Then beginning Sept. 12, it started raining, and it didn’t stop until the first week of November. There were intermittent periods when it stopped raining where we tried to harvest corn and soybeans and get defoliant on our cotton. We had very little sunshine during this period, and it dramatically impacted our cotton crop.”

Main noted that even early cotton was penalized by the weather. “It didn’t matter if we planted early or had an early-maturing variety, we lost a substantial amount of cotton to hard lock.
“On our late-planted cotton, many producers didn’t get planted until the first week of June. We had a lot of immature bolls due to wet weather at the end of harvest season.”
Weed resistance also hit the region with a vengeance. “You’d be lucky to find a field from Clarksdale, Miss., north that did not have Palmer pigweed in it.”
Main says in many fields, 350 pounds to 400 pounds of cotton never made it into the picker due to hard lock, boll rot and immature bolls. “Then when the sun did come out, the seed sprouted which hurt our fiber quality.”

Arkansas cotton yields regressed to “levels of the mid-1980s” Main said. “Louisiana losses in cotton amounted to $81 million. They’re growing 23 percent of their acreage high from the mid-1990s.”
Main said another concern is the potential for loss of cotton infrastructure as cotton acres decline. “If cotton does make a comeback, we’re going to have a hard time getting that infrastructure back after a few years.”

Southwest
Cotton yields in the Southwest “were fairly good, considering some of the challenges they saw in 2009,” Main said. “J.C. Banks (Oklahoma cotton Extension specialist) says the state ‘had a strong summer, but a weak finish. In both irrigated cotton and dryland, there were a lot of immature bolls that never filled out.’
“In the Texas High Plains, conditions were very similar. They had a cool September, with early freezes in many areas. As they continue to gin, they’re finding that micronaire values are declining and bark contamination is trending higher.”
In south Texas, cotton producers faced extremely dry conditions early, then weather turned wet late in the year, Main said. “They’ve continued to have problems with volunteer crops coming up where they were growing cotton in rotations.
“In the south-central area, the Coastal Bend and the Upper Coast took a dramatic hit on yield and bale production in 2009.”

West
In the West, Arizona cotton acres increased slightly in 2009, while Upland and Pima acreage declined. “What amazes me is the yield they were able to get, a 1,700 pound estimated average for California and 1,450 pounds for Arizona,” Main said. “They make a lot of cotton and a lot of quality cotton.
“Arizona had excellent conditions for getting crops in the ground, a cool beginning to summer, but then, heat returned with a vengeance. They ended the year with higher than average yields and quality.”
Main said declines in dairy and forage crops could mean a lot of that acreage shifting back to cotton in Arizona.
California cotton producers “continue to be plagued by water issues. The cities want the water, and they’re trying as hard as they can to take it away from farmers. But California is expecting a little bit of an increase in cotton acres in 2010.”

Main said that a high point in 2009 has been the steady increase in cotton prices. “World demand is increasing, and mills are starting to buy more cotton. World production was lower in 2009 because there were weather problems in the rest of the world.

STORING YOUR YARN

STORING YOUR YARN

When you begin a crafting addiction, you never expect it to take over like it does. However, one skein of yarn turns into ten. Pretty soon ten morphs into a pile that fills a bin and the bin joins others on a shelf. Before you know it, you need a dedicated room for all your yarn! While you're not exactly sure how that happens, you suspect that they are actually breeding behind your back.

However it is that all that yarn got there, the odds are that you're not going to get to all your projects right away and you'll need to store it somehow.If you're like most fiber aficionados, you use several yarn suppliers to pad your stash. It's likely that you are not only shopping at your local craft, fabric and fiber store, but also ordering from your favorite online shops. You need a quick and accurate way to sort and store each purchase.

First, you need to know what the fiber content is. Wool yarns have different properties than cottons, for example. It is best to store each type together. You also may want to further distinguish between color families or planned projects if your stash of yarn is that extensive. It's also a good idea to put your most used yarns in the most accessible part of your storage system.There are several different ways to store yarn. The ideal will depend on your craft area and even your own preferences.

The main concern is to keep your skeins out of direct light and away from moisture. You also need protection from pests. Moths love wool and mice can easily chew an entire skein of cotton yarn. If you don't indulge in your fiber hobby frequently, you will probably want to use a type of covered storage like bins. Keep them in a cool dark place, definitely not your garage. If you do knit or crochet frequently, you will probably be okay with a more accessible system like shelving or racks. You can easily see what is available and also keep an eye on potential damage.

When it comes to storing your supplies, there's really no right or wrong way. As you progress in your hobby, you'll get a feel for the most convenient method for your own needs. In fact, you'll likely change systems as your craft evolves. Your yarn suppliers should clearly list fiber content, so keep an eye on that and try to put like items together. Other than that, have fun and happy crafting!

TEXAS COTTON

TEXAS COTTON

West Texas cotton farmers likely will maintain or increase acreage this year, but many will adjust production routines to take better advantage of diminishing water supplies and to increase efficiency.

Several summed up the 2009 season and discussed 2010 plans during a Deltapine new variety rollout in Charleston, S.C.

“Cotton acreage will be up and corn acreage will be down this year,” said Ryan Williams, Farwell, Texas. “We’ll probably plant 1,000 more acres of cotton and 1,000 less acres of corn. Cotton looks like a better option than corn.”

Williams, who farms with his father, Mark, also has wheat planted for grazing and grain. The rotation is an important part of the operation. “We rotate to help manage water, which is our No. 1 limiting factor. We graze wheat, cut some for grain and fallow wheat ground in the summer. We strip-till cotton into wheat stubble the next year. We plant very little wheat that we don’t follow with cotton.”

He and Mark have strip-tilled cotton for five or six years. “We like it. We always get a uniform seedbed and every field is the same. We set the planter and we know what the field conditions will be like.

“We also save a lot of trips across the field with strip-till.” They also save water. “With strip-till or minimum-till, if we get a heavy rain the wheat stubble soaks it up like a sponge. Strip-till has changed the way we farm and allows us to farm more acreage. Roundup Flex also has been a big advantage.”

They’re irrigating about as efficiently as they can, too. They considered subsurface drip irrigation but say early May conditions are often too dry to provide adequate moisture to germinate cotton seed. “It’s hard to get the crop up,” Williams said. “And we’re at 4,100 feet elevation so we have to get the crop planted and get it up fast.”

They use low energy precision application (LEPA) irrigation. “With drag hoses, we’re 95 percent to 96 percent efficient and it’s cheaper.”

Efficient water use has become more critical over the last few years. “Just five years ago, we had wells pumping 400 gallons a minute. Now, some of those are at 50 gallons. We still have good water in areas, but the distribution of good water is getting narrower.”
Some areas, he said, may revert to “just cattle water.”

They’re watching weed problems. “Marestail is getting harder to kill. We have to get out early with Dicamba or 2, 4-D. We also use residual herbicides, Treflan or Prowl, maybe Dual, Direx or Diuron.”

They hope cotton markets remain strong into the season and like the option of contracting some cotton at 8 cents above loan value. “That looks like a good option,” Williams said. “Last year our loan value was 53 cents a pound and we hope to see 70 cent cotton in 2010.”

He said another advantage to production efficiency has been adding GPS equipment. “Since we started using GPS we can’t stand to be even 8 inches off,” he said.
Ryan and Mark each have separate operations. “We own our own equipment, but we farm together.”

Steve Chapman, Lorenzo, Texas, will keep cotton acreage about the same in 2010, as will Bret Hogue, who farms near Brownfield, Texas.
“We have a rotation program in place so we are pretty much locked in,” Hogue said.
“We may reduce irrigated acreage,” Chapman said. “Water levels are low.”
“We’ve already reduced irrigated acreage by 50 percent,” Hogue said.
They said bankers and landlords might not always agree, but concentrating water on their best fields makes economic sense.

Hogue plants half cotton and half wheat, but is looking to switch to milo and cotton as a less expensive combination. “It’s less expensive to grow milo than it is to grow wheat,” he said. “And a late freeze always seems to hurt the wheat crop.”

He’s also using a no-till system. “We run over our cotton stubble before we plant wheat.”
Chapman has been using no-till since 2003 and says he’s beginning to see some weed problems, especially marestail. “We’re not using a yellow herbicide, but it wouldn’t help. Marestail is a winter weed. This may be the biggest disadvantage of no-till.”

“We’re also seeing some other problem weeds,” Hogue said. “We may need to do some tillage, perhaps run a chisel plow prior to planting wheat.”

Chapman is considering zone tillage. “We may rip and strip till and then run a minimum till cultivator in the summer. We could take out volunteer cotton, too. But we have to have moisture to plow.”
They hope a new herbicide from BASF, Sharpen, will help control marestail. “It’s worth looking at,” Chapman said.

Chapman puts most of his cotton in a marketing pool.
“There have been some pretty good contracts available,” Hogue said. “I haven’t signed anything yet.”
Chapman said his 2009 crop was “above average, but I spent a lot of money on it, mostly to irrigate. It was dry early and we had to water a lot. And our water is going down.”
He said 114 acres of drip irrigation may not make what he’d like. “It was hailed out and we had to replant. That hurt it.”

DYED YARN WITH KOOL AID

DYED YARN WITH KOOL AID

The yarn you choose can be thick or thin, natural or dyed. If you choose a previously dyed yarn, you should select one in a fairly light shade, since you want the Kool-aid color to show up. Overdyes often result in a more subtle, sophisticated color effect. For example, you could place light blue yarn into a yellow dye bath, and the resulting green will be different than if you simply placed natural white yarn in a green dye bath.

You should choose enough yarn to complete the project you have in mind, since it will be fairly difficult to duplicate the results exactly. If you think you might want to repeat a color in the future, then you’ll need to make notes regarding exact quantities, times, and temperatures of everything you do.

If your yarn comes in a center-pull skein, you’ll need to rewind it into a twisted skein or big loop. This allows the dye to come into contact will all parts of the yarn. (It’s amazing how protected the yarn at the center of a ball can be!) You’ll be handling the yarn a fair amount at rinse time, so tie the skein in several places to avoid having a snarled mess when you’re done.

Pre-wet the yarn by soaking it in cool water for about 20 minutes, then squeezing it out. This allows for quicker, more even dye penetration. If you want to try for a mottled look, you can skip this step and start with dry yarn, but it will take longer for the dye to saturate the wool.
Choosing and Mixing the Dye

You’ll also need some packets of unsweetened Kool-aid or other brand drink mix. The colors are fairly predictable – for red, try strawberry or cherry. For purple or blue, try grape or blue raspberry. For orange, try orange or tangerine. For green, try lemon-lime. For yellow, try lemonade. For other colors, try mixing different flavors together. Feel free to experiment with whatever flavors you can find – that’s part of the fun. Some colors are harder to come by than others, and you may have to substitute or supplement with the kind of food coloring you can buy in the spice section at the market.

How many packets you need is largely a function of how much yarn you want to dye and how dark you want to dye it. For a sock or scarf-size amount of wool and a light to medium color, one or two packets should suffice. It’s difficult to give exact formulas for the dyes, since so many variables besides amount of dye can affect the final result. The entire process is subject to a fair amount of trial-and-error, but that’s where the fun is.

Remember that in almost all cases, you will be mixing the flavors in a much stronger concentration than you would to drink them. If you still can’t get a color you like, try adding a few drops of food coloring. In general, when you mix the dye you want to have enough liquid to cover the yarn. If the yarn isn’t completely immersed, the results will be mottled (a nice look, too), and having an excessive amount of liquid will dilute the color and waste the dye.
Finally, for best results, add about ¼ cup of white distilled vinegar per quart of water to make the pH of the solution acidic. This step isn’t necessary, but wool accepts dye better under acidic conditions.

Baggie Method
So, let’s get started. I like to do this in my kitchen, but I do put down a layer of newspaper, plastic, paper towels, or whatever on the counter to minimize messes. Kool-aid may also stain fingers, mouths, and clothing, so wear clothes you don’t care about.

The easiest, most child-friendly method is to empty a packet of Kool-aid into a large zip lock baggie, add about a quart of cold water, put in the yarn (enough for a scarf or socks), and seal the bag. You can then squeeze it around until it’s well mixed and place it in the sun for several hours or all day if possible. The reason for placing it in the sun is that heat will help to set the dye, but it’s not so hot that little fingers will get burned.

Allow the bag to cool as much as possible before taking the yarn out and rinsing it in cool water until the water runs clear. The reason for this is to avoid temperature shocking the yarn, which could result in some unwanted felting or shrinkage. Squeeze out the excess water and hang the yarn up to dry, out of direct sunlight if possible. This method will result in a single-color yarn, possibly with some variation in color saturation.

If you’re not happy with the color, you can re-dye it with the same or another color, or use the dip-dye technique described below.
Stovetop Method
Cooking the mixture on the stovetop will set the dye better and more quickly than letting the sun cook it in a baggie. Simply place the dye mixture in a saucepan and add the yarn before turning on the heat. Heat the mixture to a gentle boil for 5 to 10 minutes, squeezing the yarn with a spoon or other implement to saturate it with dye. Be careful not to slosh the hot liquid on yourself.

Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before removing the yarn and rinsing with cool water until it runs clear. As before, hang the yarn to dry.

Dip-Dye Method
The dip-dye method will allow you use two or more colors on the yarn. Keep in mind when you select your colors that they will overlap and form a third color for a short area. So, if you choose blue and yellow, you will also have a section of green where these two dyes blend.
Use a separate bowl or jar of the same height for each dye color. Add the dye, place the jars right next to each other, and put half the yarn in each jar. If the section of yarn that’s out of the dye remains uncolored, you can “rotate” it part way through the process. Allow the yarn to sit in the dye for several hours, or until the dye is “exhausted.” The dye bath is exhausted if all the dye adheres to the yarn, leaving virtually clear water behind.

If you like the color after only a short time, by all means remove the yarn from the dye and finish processing it. Remember that some of the color will rinse out, and the remaining color will probably dry a shade or two lighter.

After the dye bath, you can simply rinse the yarn in cool water and dry as before, or you can “cook” it to further set the color. To do this, place the yarn in a baking pan in the oven at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. After removing the yarn from the oven, allow it to cool to room temperature before rinsing in cool water and drying.

Rising cotton prices to buy a million acres

Recent strength in cotton prices could result in an increase in U.S. acreage in 2010, including California and Arizona, according to Jarral Neeper, president of Calcot, speaking at the Ag Market Network’s December teleconference.

“This year, California planted 190,000 acres, and it’s completely within reason that we could get close to 300,000 acres in 2010. It could be more if we get adequate water. We also could see an increase in Arizona cotton acreage, perhaps to as high as 200,000 acres.”

Neeper says that total U.S. cotton acreage “could be up by as much as a million acres this year, maybe more depending on where prices go in the spring. But I don’t think we’ve seen prices get high enough yet.”

A million-acre increase in cotton acres with modest abandonment and a 1.4 bale yield on the additional acres, “would give us an additional 1.4 million bales of cotton and a crop approaching 14 million to 15 million bales.

“Fifteen million bales combined with an expected carryover of 4.5 million bales comes to 19.5 million bales, which won’t be terribly excessive for the 2010 crop year.”

On pricing, Neeper says growers “have a little time to wait before they do anything. The nearby contract is going to stay high enough to keep new crop elevated. If we go into the early part of 2010, and the nearby contract – March or May – continues to 79 cents to the low 80s, it’s going to help bring new crop up with it.”

Mike Stevens, with Swiss Financial Services, says this bull move is different from the one in 2008. “Fundamentals continue to follow the market up. Investors and speculators are comforted that they are not buying into a bubble that will pop like it did in the 2008 debacle.

“Then again, you can’t discount the track record of (hedge funds). Most days, we’re not trading old fashioned supply and demand fundamentals, but the flow of money seeking a return against a reasonable risk.”

Stevens said Deutsche Bank, a major international bank, “released a report Dec. 11 called, ‘Ten Reasons to Go Long Agriculture.’ The report included a chart valuing commodities in real terms. They listed 20 commodities from expensive to cheap in relation to their prices in 1972. Guess what they rated the cheapest in real terms, you guessed it, cotton.

“Speculators, investors, fund managers all take note of this kind of research, and they’re the ones driving this boat. From my perspective, cotton prices seem stretched out and a bit overbought, but yesterday (Dec. 14, when prices spiked higher) showed me wrong. The market has some room to move to the upside. It would be foolhardy to not realize that it could stay in an overbought condition for a long while.”

The market has an upward bias, added Carl Anderson, Extension economist, Texas A&M University. “I would be cautious about fixing a price for your entire crop. Right now, I’m comfortable with these prices, and I’m not really pushing to fix prices beyond 15 percent to 20 percent of the crop.”

Anderson says that new crop futures prices would likely have to exceed 80 cents per pound to entice Delta farmers to plant more cotton in 2010, “unless the price of soybeans falls sharply. I think March will have to buy some acres, so in several months, I think we could see the mid-80s or possibly the high-80s if the speculators jump on board.”

Stevens feels that the potential for increased cotton acreage in China will pressure December 2010 prices. “But I think it will be pulled up close to 80 cents.

Meanwhile, the nearby market still has a lot of breathing room on the upside, according to Stevens. “Much to the chagrin of the mills, they’re going to have to do something. The speculators are continuing to take it up – 78 cents to 82 cents is a very reasonable target.”

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

We are one ...... you are Me..... and I AM you. You (We) are perfect because of our eternal oneness.

You cannot be separated from yourself (from Me).

But you can "seem" to be separated , because as a man believes, so it "seems" to him.

As you understand our oneness - knowing that you are Me, you will Love Me more and more - and actually love yourself more and more - for We are One and the same.

Don't think of yourself as a mere creation of Mine or an example of Me.

Really and Truly - You ARE Me - Both from and to eternity.

Only We exist. You are as Holy, Divine, Righteous and Perfect as I (Jesus) Am, for you Are Me.

Stop trying to become more like Me....... you already Are Me.

I, Jesus Am both the giver and the receiver. I Am both the Child in the manger receiving gifts, and I Am the Three wise men giving gifts. I Am both Giver of all things and Receiver of all things. Only I (We) exist.

Actually this means, You (We) are both giver and receiver of all things.

When I see you.... I see Myself, and when you see me, you should see Yourself.
For this is the Truth.