Family Camping Vacations

For getting WAY out there a horse is the finest vehicle on earth. Now I'm not talking dude ranch chaperoned vacations. I'm talking about climbing into the saddle and heading into deep country. A good horse can take you into canyons that helicopters can't explore. I've seen palm trees in the desert, I've seen caves run out in washes with burial pots still full, and I've camped in the middle of moaning ghosts in communities long dead, gone now, under water and a landslide of mud but marked on the map of my soul so I could dive right to them. You can find your own treasures from the back of a horse and if you're good enough to take care of yourself then taking your family along is not entirely out of the question. The less gear you need to take the more miles you can cover and the more fun you can have. The flowers you see, the animals that trust themselves to your view, will be all the more beautiful for yours being the only eye that on them lit this year.

Imagine showing your children waterfalls no other eye has seen, clouds so heavy with dripping snow they can't lift off the mountain cap. Where is land left with this rare legacy? Much of it can be found in famous places like Yellowstone, Tetons, the Black Hills, though it is disappearing fast, but some of the land out west is emptying too as progress calls man to commerce ports. And, all around the world there are clarion calls of nature so broad and wild as they were centuries ago. Destinations like Africa, Asia, Europe and South America offer a wonderful variety of adventure tours on horseback.

Though comparatively little known to Americans, the British and particularly the French have highly developed the riding tour concept in many parts of the world. In many locations in the United States rights-of-way for horses have been lost, but many still exist in other countries. This kind of vacation is not for everyone, but if your heart has missed a beat as you thought of mountains crunching into skies so blue they were black then you really do need to click on the title, and explore this concept more thoroughly.

Christmas Customs From The Past

Christmas Customs
From The Past

Written By
William Francis Dawson

Set For the web by
Lin Stone

ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED!

In the third quarter of the nineteenth century,
it fell to my lot to write an article on Christmas,
its customs and festivities.

And, although I sought in vain for a chronological account of the festival, I discovered many interesting details of its observances
dispersed in the works of various authors; and, while I found that some of its greater celebrations marked important epochs in our national history,
I saw, also, that the successive celebrations of Christmas during nineteen centuries were important links in the chain of historical Christian evidences.

I became enamoured of the subject,
for, in addition to historical interest,
there is the charm of its legendary lore,
its picturesque customs,
and popular games.

It seemed to me that the origin and hallowed associations of Christmas, its ancient customs and festivities, and the important part it has played in history combine to make it a most fascinating subject.

I resolved, therefore,
to collect materials for a larger work on Christmas.

Henceforth,
I became a snapper-up of everything relating to Christmastide, utilised every opportunity of searching libraries,
bookstalls,
and catalogues of books
in different parts of the country,
and, subsequently,
as a Reader of the British Museum Library,
had access to that vast storehouse
of literary and historical treasures.

Soon after commencing the work,
I realised that I had entered
a very spacious field of research,
and that,
having to deal with the accumulated materials
of nineteen centuries,
a large amount of labour would be involved,
and some years must elapse before,
even if circumstances proved favourable,
I could hope to see the end of my task.

Still, I went on with the work,
for I felt that a complete account of Christmas,
ancient and modern,
at home and abroad,
would prove generally acceptable,
for while the historical events and legendary lore
would interest students and antiquaries,
the holiday sports and popular celebrations
would be no less attractive to general readers.

At home,
at sea,
in many distant lands,
This Kingly Feast
Without a rival stands!

The love of story-telling seems to be ingrained in human nature. Travellers tell of vari-coloured races sitting round their watch fires reciting deeds of the past; and letters from colonists show how, even amidst forest-clearing, they have beguiled their evening hours by telling or reading stories as they sat in the glow of their camp fires.

And in old England there is the same love of tales and stories. One of the chief delights of Christmastide is to sit in the united family circle and hear, tell, or read about the quaint habits and picturesque customs of Christmas in the olden time; and one of the purposes of CHRISTMAS is to furnish the retailer of Christmas wares with suitable things for re-filling his pack.

From the vast store of materials collected it is not possible to do more than make a selection. How far I have succeeded in setting forth the subject in a way suited to the diversity of tastes among readers I must leave to their judgment and indulgence; but I have this satisfaction, that the gems of literature it contains are very rich indeed; and I acknowledge my great indebtedness to numerous writers of different periods whose references to Christmas and its time-honoured customs are quoted.

I have to acknowledge the courtesy of Mr. Henry Jewitt, Mr. E. Wiseman, Messrs. Harper, and Messrs. Cassell & Co., in allowing their illustrations to appear in this work.
My aim is neither critical nor apologetic, but historical and pictorial: it is not to say what might or ought to have been, but to set forth from extant records what has actually taken place: to give an account of the origin and hallowed associations of Christmas, and to depict, by pen and pencil, the important historical events and interesting festivities of Christmastide during nineteen centuries.

With materials collected from different parts of the world, and from writings both ancient and modern, I have endeavoured to give in the present work a chronological account of the celebrations and observances of Christmas from the birth of Christ to the end of the nineteenth century; but, in a few instances, the subject-matter has been allowed to take precedence of the chronological arrangement.

Here will be found accounts of primitive celebrations of the Nativity, ecclesiastical decisions fixing the date of Christmas, the connection of Christmas with the festivals of the ancients, Christmas in times of persecution, early celebrations in Britain, stately Christmas meetings of the Saxon, Danish, and Norman kings of England; Christmas during the wars of the Roses, Royal Christmases under the Tudors, the Stuarts and the Kings and Queens of Modern England; Christmas at the Colleges and the Inns of Court; Entertainments of the nobility and gentry, and popular festivities; accounts of Christmas celebrations in different parts of Europe, in America and Canada, in the sultry lands of Africa and the ice-bound Arctic coasts, in India and China, at the Antipodes, in Australia and New Zealand, and in the Islands of the Pacific; in short, throughout the civilised world.

In looking at the celebrations of Christmas, at different periods and in different places, I have observed that, whatever views men hold respecting Christ, they all agree that His Advent is to be hailed with joy, and the nearer the forms of festivity have approximated to the teaching of Him who is celebrated the more real has been the joy of those who have taken part in the celebrations.

The descriptions of the festivities and customs of different periods are given, as far as possible, on the authority of contemporary authors, or writers who have special knowledge of those periods, and the most reliable authorities have been consulted for facts and dates, great care being taken to make the work as accurate and trustworthy as possible. I sincerely wish that all who read it may find as much pleasure in its perusal as I have had in its compilation.

William Francis Dawson.

Come read the Christmas Customs From The Past.
Click on the title.

Write A Whole Book, Even If You Can't Write A Word

THREE ways to write a whole book when you can't write a word. All three ways are legal! Let's start out with the way Isaac Asimov did it – you can be the EDITOR, and publish the book under your name. Now, that isn't the ONLY way that Issac produced his constant stream of books. But the fact remains, he did use this method and it did work. Editor,, that means you collect the writings of two or more writers and assemble them into a new work.

Anthologies are a good example of this, like THE BEST TOLD TALES OF TASD -- by Whomver U. Are. Science Fiction anthologies and short stories anthologies are the best known models but you can also do something like BEST CARTOONS OF 2007, or whatever. If you are assembling current work into an anthology you MUST contact the authors and writers and ask their permission to include their work.

However, if the work you are assembling is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN you don't even have to contact the author, writer or artist. All you need is a good title that will UNIFY the work so that the reader will know what to expect when opening up Your Book. #2,, You can also use current, FREE articles to assemble a book under your name. We are talking thousands and thousands of articles with the authors BEGGING YOU to use them.

Where do you find them? That part is easy too. Go to http://www.talewins.com/poster.htm and take your pick. The producer even tells you which sources are the best. All you have to do is pick out a topic, then pick out the best articles to fit inside your book. Will there be any readers? Actually, yes. LOTS of them. Unfortunately, there is a sticking point. THESE AUTHORS don't want you to SELL your book, they want you to give it away.

Why do they care? Because they are smart enough to know a free book gets more distribution!

Distribution is exactly what they are after.

So, is there a way YOU make money handing out a FREE BOOK?

Actually, that is pretty easy to do. All you need to do is insert ADVERTISING inside the book in appropriate places. What is appropriate?

NICE. UNCROWDED, CUTE maybe?

Let's say your book is centered on the topic of working at home and you want to use an ad for The New Age Work at Home Plan. You can put the ad (that kind of looks like a book cover) on the right hand side – or the left – and when readers click on the book cover they are taken to the sales page for that book. When sales are made you earn up to $50

Another way I insert the advertising so it looks nice is to sandwich it between two pieces, or in natural breaks. Not only does this make your advertising visible, it also breaks up the pattern of the page and makes it easier to read as it gives the new owner a chance to stop for a breath or two before traveling on.

This whole book is yours for free. The download site is:

http://www.talewins.com/Browzer/without.pdf

Download the book to your desktop so you can find it again, and again. Pass it on to your friends, family, and customers.

Thank you.

The Lords of the Wild

An Adventure story from French Indian War Era. This version is only for PC owners. The pages turn, like in a real book. It always reopens right to the page you stopped on. Be sure to pass on a copy to all your friends. Click HERE to download.

SPIDERS
As Exotic Pets

by Lin Stone
Author of Going Exotic

Spiders can be really be amusing to observe. Back when I was a young cowboy all dressed in white linen – I was lying in a line shack and staring at the ceiling, wishing I had a good book to read.

Suddenly a fly zoomed past my nose and flew into a spider web over my head. For a few seconds the fly struggled to escape. Then here came the spider trailing clouds of shimmering glory in my flickering lamp light as the spider web bounced and jounced in tune with the antagonists.

Spiders have eight legs and they can use their feet just like we use our hands.

My spider spun strands of web and s/he used all eight legs to hogtie that fly. Within 60 seconds that fly was wrapped up like a mummy; there was no way on earth that fly would ever escape. Over and over again that spider bounced out to make his hogtying exhibition for me that night.

Later I learned that not only do spiders keep the populations of flies from flying off the charts, they also keep scorpions from ranging at will. For some strange reason scorpions love to climb up a wall, then explore the ceiling. That wouldn't be so bad, but inevitably scorpions will lose touch with reality and drop off the ceiling. Quite often they don't hit the floor, they hit the bed. Scorpions make strange bedfellows and I prefer to sleep with cuddlier companions. So, that's the reason I prefer to let sleeping spiders lie and protect their webs in my home rather than strike them down.
Click HERE for the complete article.