Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Valheim, like many survival and crafting games, prefers to let players work things out on their own rather than telling them exactly what to do. But when it comes to little things like how to repair tools, weapons, and building parts, that's the kind of useful little thing that everyone ought to know from the start. Learn how to do each of those things with our quick Valheim repair guide below!

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In Valheim, tools such as axes, hoes, and even your weapons have a durability meter which is lowered every time it's used. If it reaches zero durability, the item will break. It won't disappear from your inventory, but it will be unusable until you repair it at a Workbench.

Here's how to repair tools in Valheim:

That's right - as long as you have a usable Workbench nearby, you can repair your tools for free whenever you like. They don't have to be fully broken either: you can repair any tool that doesn't have a full durability meter.

If you're having trouble covering a Workbench properly, you'd best check out our handy Valheim Workbench guide!

Repairing buildings in Valheim is even easier than repairing tools. All you need to do is equip your Hammer, right-click to open up the building menu and select the Hammer tool icon in the top-left corner.

Now that the Hammer is set to repair mode, just walk up to the building part that needs repairing (you'll know if it's damaged because a little bar will appear next to your reticule denoting its health, or durability), and left-click to repair it. As with repairing tools, this costs you no materials at all, so you can do it as much as you like.

It's worth taking a look at the health of each of the parts of your home every so often. Wooden building parts in particular can get damaged over time without you realising, because whenever it rains any wooden part that isn't covered with a roof tile will have its health slowly stripped away until it is destroyed. So keep that Hammer handy!

That's it for this Valheim repair guide. Now why not head over to our guide on setting up your very own Valheim server so you can play with friends?

Read the original:
Valheim: how to repair tools and items - Rock Paper Shotgun

Ah, the conveyor belt. Such a reliable staple of the factory-building game genre, and Dyson Sphere Program is no different. The belt's function is pretty clear, but there's a lot of useful information to know about how to use them properly. This Dyson Sphere Program belts guide will explain how belts work and how to use them effectively, along with useful tips and information on Splitters, ratios, throughputs, and much more.

On this page:

If you've played more than a couple of minutes of Dyson Sphere Program, you'll likely have come across Conveyor Belts. These belts are an essential logistic cog in your ever-expanding factory, and required for you to move from manual construction to automation.

The function of the belt is extremely simple: it transports items from one place to another. Most buildings which mine or harvest raw materials, such as Mining Machines, Oil Extractors, and Water Pumps, can be directly connected to a belt, so that whatever the building produces will automatically be placed on its attached belt. But for other buildings that produce intermediate and complex component items - such as Smelters, Assembling Machines, and so on - you'll need to attach them to belts using Sorters, because they can't connect directly to a belt.

To place a belt, you need to click on a tile corner (or a building) where you want the belt to start, and then click where you want the belt to deliver items towards. A belt can be as long as you like, it can turn as many corners as you want, and you can even raise or lower its elevation, allowing you to pass over or under other belts or obstacles. If you want some handy tips on belt placement, then check our tips section below.

There are three types of belt in Dyson Sphere Program. There's the Mk1 belt (yellow), the Mk2 belt (green), and the Mk3 belt (blue). Each one is more expensive than the last, but transports items at much greater speeds.

If you want to master the use of belts in Dyson Sphere Program, you'll need to know things like how many items it can transport per second, how many buildings and sorters it takes to empty or fill a belt, and so on.

Here's the throughput of each Dyson Sphere Program belt:

Knowing these three values allows us to make some useful deductions. For example, because a Mining Machine produces 30 ore per minute per covered node, we know that it takes 2 Mining Machines, each covering 6 ore nodes, to completely fill a Mk1 belt to maximum capacity.

Likewise, you'll need 6 Smelters to empty a Mk1 belt of, say, Iron Ore, and fill another Mk1 belt with Iron Ingots.

4 Mk1 Sorters can empty a Mk1 belt of materials, as long as all the Sorters only cover a 1-tile gap.

Knowing the throughput of each tier of belt will enable you to place down exactly the right number of buildings, sorters, and so on. No wasting of materials on unnecessary buildings.

It's worth talking about Splitters here as well, because they're an incredibly useful tool for manipulating belts in Dyson Sphere Program. Splitters have four points where you can attach a belt. By default, a Splitter will take in all items offered to it through the input belts, and evenly distribute them between its output belts.

If you click on a Splitter, you can also set priority input and output belts, which becomes useful for routing materials to exactly where they're needed. I use priorities with Splitters in my Hydrogen and Oil Cracking build, to make sure the build keeps supplying itself with enough Hydrogen to continue working, before sending the remaining Hydrogen off to where it's next needed.

While placing a Splitter, you can hit "Tab" to cycle between different Splitter layouts, each of which is very useful for different situations. You can also stack Splitters, which makes for a useful (and aesthetically pleasing) tool for elevating belts.

Let's finish up with some useful and practical tips and tricks when it comes to using belts in Dyson Sphere Program:

That's probably enough belt talk to be getting on with, and no doubt you'll want to get back to your factories now. I certainly do. But might I suggest first you take a look at our in-depth page on Dyson Sphere Program Logistics Stations? They're like belts, but bigger and more interstellar-y.

Original post:
Dyson Sphere Program Belts: how Belts and Splitters work, correct ratios, useful tips, and more - Rock Paper Shotgun

Smallhold, which opened in a shipping container in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in 2017, has seen the sudden interest in fungi firsthand; in three years, the company has grown to 25 employees from two, and is still hiring. Thats likely linked, in part, to an expanding interest in eating mushroom varieties beyond the kind found in grocery stores: For decades, the only mushrooms the average consumer in the United States had access to were button, portobello or cremini varieties.

All three are actually the same species, just at different stages of growth. Its an illusion of diversity, Mr. McInnis said. In a kingdom that contains more than a hundred thousand known species (the total number is likely to be several million), of which some 3,000 are edible, this amounts to a monoculture, not unlike our overreliance on just a few varieties of grains and vegetables.

The sudden interest in at-home mycology, specifically, seems to have a particular resonance with our times. In our ruined global moment, watching something busily transform trash into fleshy, sculptural, delicious fruit is a comfort, so its little wonder theyve become popular in a pandemic.

In my apartment, once the cycle began, it didnt stop for weeks. Every five or six days, one of my six mushroom kits would disgorge a pile of fleshy appendages, always faster than seemed reasonable. Each time I was newly shocked.

Six kits for two people quickly proved an outrageous excess. We had pounds and pounds of mushrooms to consume. I cooked oyster mushroom bourguignon, mushroom tacos, mushroom pastas. I sliced the bulbous lions mane into thick steaks and seared them in butter. When a few mushrooms sat out too long and shriveled, I boiled them into a mushroom stock for ramen. It was incredible. Still, we could barely keep up.

Read the original post:
Mushroom Grow Kits: Yes, They Work - The New York Times

Size: 3,600 square feet

Price per square foot: $149

Indoors: The front door, topped by a fanlight and set in the middle of a classical-style portico, opens to a graceful reception room with original hardwood floors that continue throughout the house. To the right is a sunken living room with a wood-burning fireplace and a wall of built-in bookshelves. To the left is a formal dining room with a bay window, a white wainscot topped by blue walls and a crystal-bead chandelier. Both rooms have sash windows that rise almost to the 10-foot ceilings.

The kitchen has been refurbished with white cabinets, a farmhouse sink, a mobile island and Viking and Sub-Zero appliances. A cushioned bench under a bay window serves as seating in a breakfast nook.

The primary bedroom is on the second floor. It has an en suite bathroom a converted walk-in closet with a large, glass-enclosed shower faced in subway tile and a soaking tub with treetop views. A second bedroom suite includes a bathroom with vintage gray tile with a blue border. There is a vintage hall bathroom that pairs with the third bedroom; it has mint-green tile and a streamlined tub with a shower head. A windowed niche at the top of the staircase could be used as a work space.

A bright lower level has half of the area of the first two floors. It was recently used as an art studio with an exercise space. A laundry room and storage room are there, as well.

Outdoor space: The house is set at least 500 feet off the road and is partially screened by mature pines. The property, about half meadow and half forested, includes a kitchen herb garden, an elegant breezeway, a detached two-car garage, a barn, a chicken coop and an equipment shed whose contents (mowers, tractor with front loader) are negotiable. Artifacts, including a gazebo, lamppost and dinner bell, are distributed around the house.

Taxes: $2,573 (2019, although a homestead exemption would result in a significant reduction)

Contact: Chuck Paulk, Cabin & Creek Real Estate, 601-810-2104; cabinandcreekproperties.com

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.

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$550,000 Homes in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Mississippi - The New York Times

By J.O. Haselhoef

The open-air room buzzed with activity, while the instructor made notes on this first practical exam. One team of vocational school students strung lines to define the 25-by-25-foot area they would tile. Another mixed mortar, adding sand that his colleague shook through a wire screen.

A young woman, one of only three in the class, added water from a gardening can. Her teammates gave her feedback Ase, enough; Yon ti kras plis, a little more. The look on her face suggested that she would stop when she, and not the others, thought it was the right amount.

This scene, in 2018, at LEcole Vocationelle de Duchity is typical of the many employment-oriented schools in Haiti. Today, classes are popular and well-attended during positive economic times but less so with crop devastation after recent hurricanes and the work slowdown amid the pandemic.

The efforts of these schools are impressive. They determine appropriate classes, line up qualified teachers, fund scholarships, recruit capable students, teach the trade and put qualified workers into the job market. Yet, the availability of trained graduates doesnt always correlate directly with jobs in Haiti. Too often, the primed and energetic new worker cannot find employment.

Vocational schools in Haiti developed in the 1920s and 30s under the American occupation. The focused approach appeared to be the best way to help nonacademic students secure employment. Maurice Dartigue, a Haitian-born international education professional and the nations first education minister, reformed the system in the 1940s so that Haitians replaced American teachers and administrators and approached education in a way that was relevant to the country.

The Bernard Reform of 1982 first developed a language policy for teaching in Haiti. It also offered sixth-grade students the opportunity to move into a vocational tract.After the earthquake in 2010, many nongovernmental organizations introduced training schools. Haitis National Institute of Vocational Training, by 2016, had registered 190 vocational schools 1,010 more existed without that official recognition.

HAPITech opened its vocational school in 2018

HAPITech, in Mizak near LaValle-de-Jacmel, is part of the larger U.S.-based Haitian Assets for Peace International (HAPI), founded in 2007 as a womens artist collective. It has since established a successful medical clinic, maternal care program and, for the last five years, its vocational school, which caters to students 15 years and older.

One of HAPIs founders, Valerie Celestin-Mossman, cited the founders desire to build capacity a phrase used in the nonprofit world that reflects the effort to improve effectiveness and future sustainability through better business practices. HAPI staff recognized that after the earthquake in 2010, little or no money went to Haitian-run organizations. HAPI wanted to create the potential for future connections. They offered English as a second language and computer literacy (Word, Excel and the skills to build a website) in addition to computer trouble-shooting, ceramic tiling (like LEcole in Duchity) and electrical training.

Community surveys help keep their curriculum current with local needs. Theyre considering a plumbing program, though Celestin-Mossman worries that the subject will not attract women in an equal number to men an important objective within their student population of 135. She remembered HAPIs research in 2011, which determined that Mizaks young women, if not married or working, were considered a burden in their community.

The vocational school in Mizak maintains a high bar for student success, requiring students reach the 75th percentile to pass (many schools require 60 percent). Staff also knows their students rely on them to deliver training. Participants in last semesters English class spoke weekly to students at the University of Michigan over the internet. When WiFi service failed in Mizak, HAPITech loaded the entire class on the back of motorcycles to finish the class in Jacmel, where it could find a strong signal.

HAPITech enrolled 25 students its first year. Enrollment increased when staff changed its enrollment model to focus on skilled trades and connect graduates to jobs. They expected 50 enrollees the second year but cut off at 105 applicants. From the point of view of Mario Demas, HAPITech Coordinator, if you have a well-run, effective school, people will come. HAPITech could handle 500 students. He said that once he finds additional resources to keep the students supported, I can make it happen.

Vocational training continues in Duchity

Back in Duchity, Jn D. Felix began LEcole Vocationelle de Duchity in 2014. He grew up in the community and partnered with the Vermont Haiti Project (VHP), which had established a medical clinic and primary school some years prior in the same location.

LEcole became, more or less, financially independent from VHP last year. The center fights local perceptions that, if an American organization is involved, a student doesnt pay tuition. Many students have had financial difficulties these last few years. Recently, the center asked its agronomy students to pay fees that would help buy materials for the class. Unable to pay, one-third dropped from the program, Felix said.

The center, depending on student demand for these programs, has the capacity to offer English, computer sciences, and ceramic tiling as well as construction, welding and agronomy.

Before Felix and VHP began to design their program at LEcole, Felix went to the U.S. He returned to Haiti excited about including auto mechanics, a trade for which he was trained, in the new curriculum. He looked at the many cars and expensive equipment required as well as the difficulty to find and afford a teacher with the right skills. He decided it wasnt the right fit for the program at LEcole. Felix hears positive feedback from the many students in the area who have other skills thanks to the school and said, I have no regrets.

Are Haitis vocational schools meeting the need?

If the need in Haiti is to train workers, these two schools are fine examples: They offer classes to meet the perceived needs of the job market and graduate students, adding to the number of trained people in Haiti.

If the need, however, is to immediately employ graduated students in their field of training, success is difficult to evaluate. No central source nationwide, such as a bureau for labor statistics, collects the data that could help match vocational training to the jobs market nationwide. And job opportunities are scarce as the Haitian economy shrank in 2020 and foreign investors continue to shy away because of poor infrastructure and other difficulties for conducting business.

When asked about employment for HAPITechs graduates, Celestin-Mossman said, Its too early to tell. She acknowledges that job opportunities for graduates vary by year and program focus, though the English tract continues to be popular.

Coordinator Demas recognized many of those graduating from the programs computer literacy section were teachers. They used their skills, he said, to help their own students understand computers.

Some courses of study at LEcole in Duchity are more effective than others. All the agronomists who attended the center for at least two years have work, said Felix. Every one of last years construction students were employed upon graduation. And most built houses for their families. Unfortunately, the employment rate has been less in areas like computer technology.

Should vocational schools continue to train students if many are unsuccessful in finding jobs? By doing so, Haiti has a trained workforce. And, as Felix pointed out, Any kind of skill improves employability.

HAPITech staff may have the logical next step towards improving employability. It wants to offer business classes, hoping its students will begin the new ventures that hire other students. However longthat process may take, it moves the thinking, and the learning, in the right direction.

A young woman, one of only three in the class, added water from a gardening can. Her teammates gave her feedback Ase, enough; Yon ti kras plis, a little more. The look on her face suggested that she would stop when she, and not the others, thought it was the right amount.

This scene, in 2018, at LEcole Vocationelle de Duchity is typical of the many employment-oriented schools in Haiti. Today, classes are popular and well-attended during positive economic times but less so with crop devastation after recent hurricanes and the work slowdown amid the pandemic.

The efforts of these schools are impressive. They determine appropriate classes, line up qualified teachers, fund scholarships, recruit capable students, teach the trade and put qualified workers into the job market. Yet, the availability of trained graduates doesnt always correlate directly with jobs in Haiti. Too often, the primed and energetic new worker cannot find employment.

Vocational schools in Haiti developed in the 1920s and 30s under the American occupation. The focused approach appeared to be the best way to help nonacademic students secure employment. Maurice Dartigue, a Haitian-born international education professional and the nations first education minister, reformed the system in the 1940s so that Haitians replaced American teachers and administrators and approached education in a way that was relevant to the country.

The Bernard Reform of 1982 first developed a language policy for teaching in Haiti. It also offered sixth-grade students the opportunity to move into a vocational tract.After the earthquake in 2010, many nongovernmental organizations introduced training schools. Haitis National Institute of Vocational Training, by 2016, had registered 190 vocational schools 1,010 more existed without that official recognition.

HAPITech opened its vocational school in 2018

HAPITech, in Mizak near LaValle-de-Jacmel, is part of the larger U.S.-based Haitian Assets for Peace International (HAPI), founded in 2007 as a womens artist collective. It has since established a successful medical clinic, maternal care program and, for the last five years, its vocational school, which caters to students 15 years and older.

One of HAPIs founders, Valerie Celestin-Mossman, cited the founders desire to build capacity a phrase used in the nonprofit world that reflects the effort to improve effectiveness and future sustainability through better business practices. HAPI staff recognized that after the earthquake in 2010, little or no money went to Haitian-run organizations. HAPI wanted to create the potential for future connections. They offered English as a second language and computer literacy (Word, Excel and the skills to build a website) in addition to computer trouble-shooting, ceramic tiling (like LEcole in Duchity) and electrical training.

Community surveys help keep their curriculum current with local needs. Theyre considering a plumbing program, though Celestin-Mossman worries that the subject will not attract women in an equal number to men an important objective within their student population of 135. She remembered HAPIs research in 2011, which determined that Mizaks young women, if not married or working, were considered a burden in their community.

The vocational school in Mizak maintains a high bar for student success, requiring students reach the 75th percentile to pass (many schools require 60 percent). Staff also knows their students rely on them to deliver training. Participants in last semesters English class spoke weekly to students at the University of Michigan over the internet. When WiFi service failed in Mizak, HAPITech loaded the entire class on the back of motorcycles to finish the class in Jacmel, where it could find a strong signal.

HAPITech enrolled 25 students its first year. Enrollment increased when staff changed its enrollment model to focus on skilled trades and connect graduates to jobs. They expected 50 enrollees the second year but cut off at 105 applicants. From the point of view of Mario Demas, HAPITech Coordinator, if you have a well-run, effective school, people will come. HAPITech could handle 500 students. He said that once he finds additional resources to keep the students supported, I can make it happen.

Vocational training continues in Duchity

Back in Duchity, Jn D. Felix began LEcole Vocationelle de Duchity in 2014. He grew up in the community and partnered with the Vermont Haiti Project (VHP), which had established a medical clinic and primary school some years prior in the same location.

LEcole became, more or less, financially independent from VHP last year. The center fights local perceptions that, if an American organization is involved, a student doesnt pay tuition. Many students have had financial difficulties these last few years. Recently, the center asked its agronomy students to pay fees that would help buy materials for the class. Unable to pay, one-third dropped from the program, Felix said.

The center, depending on student demand for these programs, has the capacity to offer English, computer sciences, and ceramic tiling as well as construction, welding and agronomy.

Before Felix and VHP began to design their program at LEcole, Felix went to the U.S. He returned to Haiti excited about including auto mechanics, a trade for which he was trained, in the new curriculum. He looked at the many cars and expensive equipment required as well as the difficulty to find and afford a teacher with the right skills. He decided it wasnt the right fit for the program at LEcole. Felix hears positive feedback from the many students in the area who have other skills thanks to the school and said, I have no regrets.

Are Haitis vocational schools meeting the need?

If the need in Haiti is to train workers, these two schools are fine examples: They offer classes to meet the perceived needs of the job market and graduate students, adding to the number of trained people in Haiti.

If the need, however, is to immediately employ graduated students in their field of training, success is difficult to evaluate. No central source nationwide, such as a bureau for labor statistics, collects the data that could help match vocational training to the jobs market nationwide. And job opportunities are scarce as the Haitian economy shrank in 2020 and foreign investors continue to shy away because of poor infrastructure and other difficulties for conducting business.

When asked about employment for HAPITechs graduates, Celestin-Mossman said, Its too early to tell. She acknowledges that job opportunities for graduates vary by year and program focus, though the English tract continues to be popular.

Coordinator Demas recognized many of those graduating from the programs computer literacy section were teachers. They used their skills, he said, to help their own students understand computers.

Some courses of study at LEcole in Duchity are more effective than others. All the agronomists who attended the center for at least two years have work, said Felix. Every one of last years construction students were employed upon graduation. And most built houses for their families. Unfortunately, the employment rate has been less in areas like computer technology.

Should vocational schools continue to train students if many are unsuccessful in finding jobs? By doing so, Haiti has a trained workforce. And, as Felix pointed out, Any kind of skill improves employability.

HAPITech staff may have the logical next step towards improving employability. It wants to offer business classes, hoping its students will begin the new ventures that hire other students. However longthat process may take, it moves the thinking, and the learning, in the right direction.

J.O. Haselhoef is the author of Give & Take: Doing Our Damnedest NOT to be Another Charity in Haiti. She co-founded "Yonn Ede Lot" (One Helping Another), a nonprofit that worked with volunteer groups in La Montagne ("Lamontay"), Haiti from 2007-2013, when Haselhoef wrote many of these stories. Shelives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Read the original:
What Vocational Schools Are Accomplishing in Haiti The Haitian Times - Haitian Times

Floor Heating Provider Sees Strong Demand as Activities Move into Homes | 2021-02-09 | ACHR News This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more. This Website Uses CookiesBy closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn MoreThis website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.

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Floor Heating Provider Sees Strong Demand as Activities Move into Homes - ACHR NEWS

Janet and Lawrence Rosman had a dream starting their own business and eventually retiring comfortably.

Then Lawrence died unexpectedly at 51, the victim of a tragic accident and complications that followed.

"At that point, I didn't know what I was doing," Janet, now 50, said.

That was over a year ago.

Today, Janet has fulfilled their dream by owning and operating a mobile floor covering business based in Wellford.

Called Floor Coverings International, Janet says she grieved the loss of her husband of 30 years, and then decided to move forward.

"He was my biggest cheerleader and always had more confidence in me than what I had," she said. "He loved to make everyone laugh, but he'd make you work. The thing I missed most was always knowing he was there."

Janet, a graduate of Dorman High School, met Lawrence, a Chapman High graduate when she was 18 and he was 20. They soon married, and then had two children, a daughter who is now 16 and son who is 19.

He worked for many years at Milliken & Company and later with BMW Manufacturing for 25 years.

Janet worked part-time jobs while Lawrence helped put her through college. She studied psychology at the University of South Carolina Upstate then earned an associate degree in accounting at Spartanburg Community College.

She went to work for Copac Global Packaging in Spartanburg, then Electric City Print Company in Anderson.

In 2001, she went to work at Grace Management Group in Spartanburg, a locally owned company that makes, sells and markets fragrances worldwide.

Her responsibilities included marketing and product development, and she flew to different cities in the U.S. and around the world to set up marketing teams.

Then in early 2019, she decided she was ready for a career change.

"I was sitting back and thought, what am I doing?" she said.

Lawrence, meanwhile, was happy with his job in the body shop at BMW, but both began talking about venturing out on their own.

They explored various franchise businesses and looked hard at a flooring franchise opportunity.

At that point, they already had been in their home in Campobello and began to look ahead to their eventual retirement.

After visits to Floor Coverings International headquarters in Georgia, they learned they could obtain the franchise for Greenville and Spartanburg counties, build it up, then sell it for a profit.

"In the grand scheme of things, that sounded like a great thing," Janet said.

Norcross, Georgia.-based Floor Coverings International has been ranked as the top mobile flooring franchise in North America by Entrepreneur Magazine, with nearly 200 franchisees.

One day in September 2019, Lawrence was trimming a limb on a large oak tree outside their home when a strong gust of wind knocked the limb onto the ladder, and he fell on his back, breaking five ribs and puncturing a lung, she said.

He was taken to the hospital emergency room, treated, then sent home.

Within a couple of days, he began having a hard time breathing and had no appetite. He returned to the hospital, was placed on a ventilator,then told he was paralyzed, she said.

She said it was later determined he suffered post-traumatic Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body's immune system attacks its nerves, eventually causing paralysis.

He died on Nov. 16, 2019, surrounded by his family. And he was not without friends.

"Everybody that met him loved him to death," Janet said. "At his service in November, there were over 1,000 people. We are all humbled, holding tears back, that he had made such an impact on everybody."

A couple of months passed, and the executives at Floor Coverings contacted Janet to see if she was still interested in obtaining the franchise.

She said she wasn't yet ready and decided to take a long-awaited vacation to Europe with her children.

"They held the territory for me until I was ready," she said of Floor Coverings. "That went a long way with me. I chose to start up in September (2020)."

She has since worked hard to build up the business, meeting with homeowners and builders, insurance and real estate companies, to provide for their flooring needs from hardwood and luxury vinyl to carpet, tile and even backsplashes.

"I have a mobile showroom," she said. "All samples are in a Ford transit van. I'm able to meet the customer at their place. My job is to realize what they're trying to put into their home or business."

She orders the floor coverings from a manufacturer, hauls away the old flooring, and then installs the new flooring.

"Business is going well," she said. "It's a little overwhelming getting started, but they (the home office) help guides you.

Kristen Kelley, who previously worked for Janet at Grace Management Group, is now office and project manager for Janet.

"I honestly would work for her anywhere," she said. "She is one of the best examples of just a hard worker, to the point where you want to try the best you can to be like her. She leads by example. She's hustling just as hard as you are."

Kelley said she offered support to Janet after Lawrence's accident and again after he died.

"Opening this company here is what she and her husband wanted to do together," Kelley said. "When he passed, that was obviously devastating.

"It has showedhow nothing can slow her down in the sense of meeting her dreams, her responsibility for the kids, and wanting a good life for them. She wants to succeed to make him proud."

Longtime friend Bryan Lawson said Janet helped set up the office at his business,Lawson Contracting and Construction. She also helped him with the recent startup of a cabinet company, C2C Cabinets (Concept to Completion).

She's highly motivated and determined that when she sets her mind to something, it's going to get done," Lawson said. "She's a very unique individual. She rises to the occasion.

"She took what was a tragic situation and started a new chapter in her life. She did it with a relentless attitude and work ethic. She's a definite inspiration."

Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com

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Spartanburg woman overcomes tragic death of husband to launch dream business they planned - Spartanburg Herald Journal

A nearly 100-year-old New York mansion that once belonged to Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees was listed last week for $12.9 million.

Located in the Long Island village of Lloyd Harbor, the seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom home has views of Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor, 500 feet of water frontage and a 200-foot pier with a deep dock, according to listing agent Bonnie Williamson of Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty. She shares the listing with Lauryn Koke, also of Sothebys.

It has always been a very special house, Ms. Williamson said. Its name, Kenjockety is an American Indian name for far from noise, which gives you a sense of the privacy that you have there.

In addition, the red brick, ivy-covered home has been meticulously restored over the last several years. About $7.5 million was spent in the process, according to Sothebys.

Everything was done over the top, Ms. Williamson said, adding that keeping the integrity of the house was a key element of the renovation. The work was done to make it last another 100 years.

Updates include a newly installed mahogany coffered ceiling which matches the original woodwork, custom mahogany closets, Venetian plaster wall treatments and new tilework throughout, according to the listing.

Radiant floor heating has also been added, Ms. Williamson noted, and the plumbing and electrical systems have been replaced. The kitchen received an overhaul as well, and now features all-new Wolf and SubZero appliances, custom cabinetry with granite counters and a new breakfast room overlooking the water.

The breakfast room that was added on to the kitchen is all window walls, so that definitely makes the kitchen nice and bright, Ms. Williamson explained.

A winter garden room allows guests and residents to soak up the light among the indoor plants, listing photos show. Outside, the manicured grounds include two greenhouses, mature gardens and a Gunite pool. The pier has been restored and the concrete seawall was rebuilt, Ms. Williamson noted.

Theres also a separate one-bedroom cottage and a four-car garage.

The home was listed in early December, according to records. It was removed from the market on Jan. 14 and relisted at the end of January. It last traded in 2011 for $7.8 million, property records show. The current owner was unavailable for comment.

Built by architect Bertram G. Goodhue in 1926, the mansion has only had six owners over the years. Gibb, one of the three brothers in the Bee Gees, which thrived in the disco era, owned the property until around 1983, according to a 2006 New York Times article. The musician died in 2012.

The Long Island Press first reported the listing.

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Long Island, New York, Home With 200-Foot Pier Listed for $12.9 Million - Mansion Global

Louise Meire Dunn had a good answer for an IRS employee asking about a nonprofit organization she was creating to promote the legacy of her artist mother.

Louise told him anyone living in Washington, D.C., who needs a drivers license has to go to the Municipal Center, where theyll see an 80-foot-long outdoor frieze designed by Hildreth Meire, a mural painter, architectural decorator and Dunns mother.

She noted Meires artistic work also is prominently displayed at the National Cathedral and National Academy of Sciences in Washington.

The organizations application for nonprofit designation was soon approved. I will never forget that phone call, Louise said.

The Stamford-based International Hildreth Meire Association, formed in 2005, highlights Meieres accomplishments through a website, lectures, articles, social media, written and photographic archives, preservation support and other activities. A future goal is to make a one-hour documentary about Meire.

Louise serves as the groups president, while her daughter, Hildreth Meire Dunn, known as Hilly, is vice president. Both live in Stamford. A board of directors and an advisory board provide guidance.

Meire, who lived from 1892 to 1961, is perhaps best known for the three Dance, Drama, Song circular relief sculptures on the 50th Street facade of Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.

She completed more than 100 commissions in her lifetime for government entities, businesses, universities, museums, Catholic churches, other religious institutions and private residences. They appear on building walls and ceilings throughout the United States.

The Nebraska State Capitol and St. Bartholomews Church, Temple Emanu-El and One Wall Street bank building, all in New York City, feature some of her more prominent compositions. So do Rockefeller Center and St. Patricks Cathedral. She did designs for buildings at the 1939 Worlds Fair.

Her most noted work in Connecticut is a lobby wall mosaic at the Travelers Insurance Co. headquarters in Hartford. She completed altarpieces, murals and sculptures for churches including Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Assumption in Westport, Episcopal of St. Paul and St. James in New Haven, as well as St. Josephs in Canaan and St. Anthony of Padua in Litchfield.

Fairfield University hosted a 2019 exhibit on Meires work focusing on her corporate commissions in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Previously, she was the subject of a major show at St. Bonaventure University that then moved to Washington, D.C., and New York City.

Meire primarily lived in New York, working out of a midtown Manhattan studio. She owned a weekend and summer home on Erskine Road in North Stamford in her later years.

According to the association, Meire pioneered a modern approach to murals that broke away from academic tradition, blending varied influences and demonstrating a willingness to explore new materials.

A 2014 book, The Art Deco Murals of Hildreth Meire, called her an unsung hero of Art Deco art and architecture, whose work helped revolutionize 20th century architectural decoration art.

One of the books co-authors, art and architectural historian Kathleen Skolnik, said Meire was extremely versatile in style and subject matter. She worked in many mediums including glass and marble mosaic, tile, terra cotta, tapestry, leather, wood, metal and paint and collaborated well with clients.

Louise first decided to form the nonprofit association to highlight her mother after being urged to do so by someone who heard her speak about Meires accomplishments at a 2003 conference.

A few years later, Louise gave another talk on her mom at an Art Deco Society conference. Audience members werent familiar with Meire.

Skolnik was in the audience that day and had just seen Meires glazed tile frieze at the Washington Municipal Center during a pre-conference tour, but still knew little about her.

I felt this woman was calling to me and that she needs to have more recognition, she said of Meire. Skolniks interest led her to write her book on Meires career.

Meire also was a female pioneer in a male-dominated field, although she wasnt one to emphasize her gender. She knew the challenges women faced because she faced them herself, Skolnik said.

She worked well with male architects, contractors and craftsmen. She often was the only woman on a project, said great-granddaughter and association board member Anna Kupik.

Hilly said Meire was sure to always credit the craftsmen who turned her designs into reality.

Kupik said Meire had the ability to adjust projects due to economic circumstances, client wishes or other reasons, and didnt promote herself to achieve fame.

She did the work because she wanted to be part of buildings in perpetuity, she said.

Meire served as a Naval architectural draftsman during World War I, acquiring many technical skills, and directed an artists committee supporting World War II efforts.

Considered an astute businessperson, she was active with many professional, academic and arts organizations. She founded and led the Liturgical Arts Society, headed the Mural Painters Society and was the first woman appointed to the New York City Art Commission.

She obtained a leadership position at the Architectural League of New York three years after it began allowing women as members. Many commissions were secured through her Architectural League involvement.

Despite her achievements, Meire isnt a household name primarily because architects and buildings usually receive the most attention. Plus, Skolnik said, architectural styles changed to emphasize minimalism rather than ornamental design.

For more information, visit hildrethmeiere.org.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Anna Kupiks name.

Brad Durrell is a freelance writer.

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Radio City Music Hall shares a surprising connection with Stamford artist - CT Insider

I am perfectly still. I can't make a sound. My back is in spasm. I huddle with three others behind a bathroom door. Locked inside a Capitol office suite. We are hiding from the source of the roar filtering through the walls. The voices of thousands who want to hurt me.

As a journalist, I've been behind the lens for too many mass casualty events. Am I going to be in one now? Sitting on the floor with my back leaning against the toilet, tile cool through my clothes. Lights are switched off and there are blinds on the window, but even in the cold, overcast day it's bright enough to see.

A colleague gingerly leans over the sill to catch a glimpse of the mob three floors down on the Capitol plaza. He twists the blinds shut with a delicate touch. Quietly. Gasps from a colleague shift my attention. She presses three fingers to her forehead, eyes squeezing shut, a grimace on her face. Crying, but no tears.

Slam. Slam. "Let's f---ing do this"! They're at the door. This. Is. It.

The walls don't feel like protection. They might as well be made of paper. It sounds like these people are in the room with us. They scream and curse. It's deafening. We hear people trying to burst through the door and enter the office suite.

I hear my producer. "Oh God." The adrenaline surge leaves my muscles heavy. My heart beats in my ears. A knot in my stomach holds me down.

I feel like I am finally in the shoes of any number of shooting survivors I've interviewed over the years. Their faces, their experiences blur in my mind. This type of fear is something I never understood as a journalist; to fully grasp it, it must be experienced.

Time stands still.

I think of Parkland. I was there, under the Sawgrass Expressway for weeks -- working, then, for another news organization -- after 17 were shot dead at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. I talked to the survivors. I got to know parents and friends of the teens whose young lives were cut short. Now, I'm in their place. Those kids hiding in a bathroom, praying that the footsteps would move away.

I see their tears. I hear their sobs. I think of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting in 2016. The call came in the middle of the night. I remember speeding up the Florida turnpike to a place where I used to work in college. Those caught in the nightclub hid in a cramped bathroom too. The horror bubbles over now, it seeps out my eyes, down my cheeks.

The day -- January 6 -- started like any other. The commute to work normal (except for so many Trump flags): 395 to D street to lot 16. The wheels on my cart, loaded with TV gear in bulky black cases, squeak on my push up the steep grade to the Dirksen Senate Office Building. I text my producer, asking if I'll have to get close to the Trump protesters today. I was assigned as "chase crew."

"Nope. We're indoor cats today." A relief. As I push down the tunnel toward the Capitol building, colleagues chatter about the influx of Trump protesters, mainly mask-less. I'll be happy to avoid getting breathed on during Covid -- only will be racing after senators for comment as they proceed in certifying Joe Biden's electoral victory.

I emerge from the tunnel and receive a text. My producer. I need a live shot out any window I can find. I look out from the 3rd floor behind the Senate gallery and see a large sea of red -- clothes, hats, flags. I see a thin bike rack barely holding a mass of people back from the east front plaza.

OK. This is something.

I point my camera out the window as the dam breaks. A flood of people swells and swarms over a barricade and toward the building. It's like a sea of fish escaping a net -- or an invasion.

My fingers can't call the assignment desk fast enough. I get through to the DC line, they tell me I have to call Atlanta. I call CNN headquarters in Atlanta ...Ok. Atlanta sees it. My boss is calling. They need this, NOW.

Other journalists join me looking out the window. There's talk of being evacuated from the third floor hallway to inside the chamber "if they get in." I can hear my producer screaming down the hall. "They've breached!"

Suddenly, a normal day on the Hill is anything but. Police scanner radios in the hallway squawk, "Stay away from exterior windows and doors." I'm defiant, not moving. I keep my eye focused on the crowd from above. I sense running and movement behind me.

My producer is pacing and swearing. My best guess: She's torn between the increasing danger and attempting to organize reporting. My focus is outside. The roar builds.

"Josh?... Josh! ... JOSH!" My producer pleads with me, she peers around the corner.

"What?" I have the shot. I don't understand.

Is this happening? I freeze for what seems like an eternity. I grab my camera off the window and sprint toward her voice. Tunnel vision. It's quiet. I can feel my Nikes grip the old carpet as I round the corner. I see a man at the end of the hall waving me in a door. Jolt, click. We're locked inside.

I often come back to this next moment in my dreams. The sound of shoulders slamming repeatedly into the door. Crash. Bang. "Let's f---ing do this!"

What would it be like to be taken? Would I fight? Would I go passive? Would they kill me? What does it feel like to be beaten and trampled? What does it feel like to have a bullet go through my head? I wrestle with this in my sleep. Sometimes I dream my children are with me and I have to protect them.

The door held. Time seemed to pass. Hours seemed like seconds. It got quiet.

Police came to escort us out. On the trip through the Capitol basement, I smelled tear gas. Hallways normally filled with business suits were now the front lines of war, a staging area for soldiers. Not the Capitol I recognize.

I've focused my lens on any number of terrible news situations over the years. In those moments, the lens protects me. It's work. Not this time. This time I felt the fear so many have tried to explain to me.

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Is this how I die? - CNN