Having a well-decorated and functional home is a priority for most people, and a new study has found that the average American homeowner spends a little over $9,000 a year on home improvement projects to improve their abode. Renovating or redecorating your home means having to go out to shop for supplies and materials to revamp your space, but sometimes certain situations may make it impossible for us to leave our homes. If you’re unable to go out, are pressed for time, or have limited funds to transform your living space, don’t fret. Here’s how you can revamp your home without having to ever set foot outside your house.
Shop Your Closet for Decorating Supplies
To find materials to beautify your space, look no further than your closet as some accessories and pieces of clothing that you already own can be used to decorate your home. For instance, if you have a few wraps and shawls, you can use your evening wear staples to add flair to an old couch or table. A warm pashmina can be used as a throw to give a couch a cozy feel, while a beaded wrap can serve as a table runner in a pinch. If you have braided leather belts or bangles, consider using them as curtain ties. Meanwhile, if you want a new piece of art without having to make it yourself, take a pretty scarf, frame it, hang it on the wall, and there you have it — instant art at zero cost.
Rearrange Your Shelves
If you have a built-in cabinet in the living room or a bookshelf, chances are that it’s been a while since you’ve rearranged the things displayed there. Rearranging your shelves will take a bit of effort, but it’s worth it once you see how it changes the look of the entire room. Create a color scheme for your shelves — a three-color motif is the most attractive. For instance, if you decide to go with a green, yellow, and white motif, try displaying books, vases, and other knick-knacks in these colors.
Move the items around, then step back to see the full effect and figure out if you need to relocate or remove a few things.
Recycle and Create Something Decorative
Take a look around your home and see if there are some items that you can recycle to turn into something that can spruce up your space. An old mason jar can be filled with a string of LED lights and turned into a mini lamp, while fabric scraps can be laminated and turned into coasters. You can also decoupage a vase using old magazines, or string together old CDs to make a hanging ornament.
Repurpose Existing Items
Chances are, there are some items in your home that can be used in new ways. An old ladder can serve as a towel rack — just sand it and paint it in white, then lean it against the wall outside the bathroom. A vintage suitcase can serve as a coffee table or a side table if you place it on a luggage rack. Meanwhile, chipped teacups can be used as planters for mini succulents. Be creative and see what else you can find to decorate your home in a quirky way.
Decorating with items that you already have allows you to beautify your favorite rooms without having to leave your home. Try these tips and see how easy it is to give your home a fresh and fun look.
‘Twas late in ‘19 when the virus began
Bringing chaos and fear to all people, each land.
People were sick, hospitals full,
Doctors overwhelmed, no one in school.
As winter gave way to the promise of spring,
The virus raged on, touching peasant and king.
People hid in their homes from the enemy unseen.
They YouTubed and Zoomed, social-distanced, and cleaned.
April approached and churches were closed.
“There won’t be an Easter,” the world supposed.
“There won’t be church services, and egg hunts are out.
No reason for new dresses when we can’t go about.”
Holy Week started, as bleak as the rest.
The world was focused on masks and on tests.
“Easter can’t happen this year,” it proclaimed.
“Online and at home, it just won’t be the same.”
MONDAY, Thursday, Good Friday, the days came and went.
The virus pressed on; it just would not relent.
The world woke Sunday and nothing had changed.
The virus still menaced, the people, estranged.
“Pooh pooh to the saints,” the world was grumbling.
“They’re finding out now that no Easter is coming.
“They’re just waking up! We know just what they’ll do!
Their mouths will hang open a minute or two,
And then the saints will all cry boo-hoo.
“That noise,” said the world, “will be something to hear.”
So it paused and the world put a hand to its ear.
And it did hear a sound coming through all the skies.
It started down low, then it started to rise.
But the sound wasn’t depressed.
Why, this sound was triumphant!
It couldn’t be so!
But it grew with abundance!
The world stared around, popping its eyes.
Then it shook! What it saw was a shocking surprise!
Every saint in every nation, the tall and the small,
Was celebrating Jesus in spite of it all!
It hadn’t stopped Easter from coming! It came!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
And the world with its life quite stuck in quarantine
Stood puzzling and puzzling.
“Just how can it be?”
“It came without bonnets, it came without bunnies,
It came without egg hunts, cantatas, or money.”
Then the world thought of something it hadn’t before.
“Maybe Easter,” it thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Easter, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
And what happened then?
Well….the story’s not done.
What will YOU do?
Will you share with that one
Or two or more people needing hope in this night?
Will you share the source of your life in this fight?
The churches are empty – but so is the tomb,
And Jesus is victor over death, doom, and gloom.
So this year at Easter, let this be our prayer,
As the virus still rages all around, everywhere.
May the world see hope when it looks at God’s people.
May the world see the church is not a building or steeple.
May the world find Faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection,
May the world find Joy in a time of dejection.
May 2020 be known as the year of survival,
But not only that –
Let it start a revival.
This is the third in a series about the Mob. Pictured are Tony Spilotro and Oscar Goodman. Oscar represented Tony and many of the mob figures for years. He became the Mayor of Las Vegas and has done wonders for the city over the years with his flamboyant style.
I was fortunate to first meet him around 1973 flying from San Diego to Las Vegas as we both did on a regular basis—I was in the tour and travel business. Oscar retired as Mayor seven years ago; his wife is now our mayor and he works for the Las Vegas Convention Center doing a fantastic job.
This is the second in a series of great mob videos to entertain you during this homebound time. See a great documentary on the life of Tony Spilotro and Frank Culotta.
I met Tony at the Hacienda in Las Vegas around 1972 when I was bringing in junkets. I met Frank about 15 years ago when he started running Mob Tours in Las Vegas. Yes, that’s right, he was the narrator on a bus that took you to various mob related places in Las Vegas. The tours were two hours long and quite informative. Frank is still around and still writing books.
As we are looking for things to do, immerse yourself in this video and the ones in the following days compiled from Las Vegas. I had met Spilotro and Rosenthal in the past, as I have lived in Las Vegas for the last 40 years and am quite close to Sam Giancana’s daughter Antoinette, who I talked to this morning. I hope you all enjoy.
This certainly is an unprecedented and challenging time. It’s something that we have never experienced in our entire lives. With the coronavirus, most people are stuck in their homes. The term everyone is using is “social distancing.” Social distancing is very difficult because as human beings, we are designed to have social interaction with one another.
For those of you that know me, I challenge myself and others to look for positive in what may seem like a negative situation. So while most people are hanging out at home, unfortunately, this leads to a lot of idle time. How do we take this time and turn it into a positive? What do we learn from all this and how can we improve ourselves? Keep in mind, life happens to us both good and bad, we get to decide how to RESPOND to it. This applies not only to what we are going through right now, it applies to everyday living. Here are some good positive choices to make.
1). Look at the Big Picture
I’ve always been a ‘big picture’ thinker. Let me encourage you to do the same. You will find that it puts everything into perspective. Focus on the solution, not the problem. Every time you’re feeling pessimistic or hopeless, take out your big, wide angle lens and look beyond this difficult time.
What we all are going through right now will soon pass. We will look back and truly be thankful that we got through it. It’s important to keep this frame of mind.
2) Take This Time to Take Care of You
At the beginning of this year, most of us made New Year’s resolutions. Now is the time to look back at them and make a commitment to follow through. Schedule some time each day to exercise. Make sure you are eating healthy. Before you go to bed each evening, have five minutes of gratitude time. Take a hot bath. If you have access to a pool, go for a swim. The weather is starting to get warmer, spend some time laying in the sun. Take care of yourself, you are worth it.
3) Do the Things You Said You Never Had Time for
Now, we can all relate to this. How many of you have said this, “I would love to do ‘such and such,’ if I only had the time”? Well, here you go, your time has come. Perhaps for a long time, you have thought of playing a musical instrument or picking up that instrument again. It could also be writing a book, taking on a new task, learning a new hobby, or learning a new skill. This is the perfect time to do any one of those things.
4) Develop the Knowledge and Skills to Become Better at Your Current Occupation
None of us have arrived, and we all have areas that we can improve on in our current profession. Look for ways to gain more knowledge. Study your craft. Take this time to find people who are in life where you want to be, reach out to them and learn as much as you possibly can. Choose to become better through all of this.
5) Look at the Positive
The worst thing that you can possibly do at this point is watch news around the clock. The only thing that you are going to find there is constant negativity. If you notice, it’s breaking negative news all day long. All this does is cause fear and panic.
Start focusing on the positive things. Yes, people have contracted the virus, but most people will get better. You will not hear that on the news. Throughout all of this, there are a lot of positive stories. Let’s talk about all the wonderful work that everyone in the medical field is doing along with the hard work that’s being done by our first responders, truck drivers, and grocery store workers. There are a lot of wonderful stories out there that will keep you uplifted.
6) Always Be Thankful
No matter what we go through, there is always something to be thankful for. This is a time to count your blessings. I’m talking about all the things that you may have overlooked, forgotten, or even taken for granted.
Make a list of the many things you are thankful for. Be grateful for the people in your lives, the places you have been, and the things that have filled your life with comfort and joy.
We will get through this stronger and better than ever. Keep in mind, we are all truly blessed. During this time, reach out to others, help those who need it, and encourage one another. Focus on the positive at all times and have an amazing day!
Florida State Representative and Veteran Surgeon Dr. Ralph Masullo Jr. talks Hemp and COVID19 with Florida Night Train and Everywhere Eddy
If you are anything like me, when your freedom starts to be threatened or infringed upon, a brewing starts in the pit of your stomach and wells up to the point of a boiling rebellion when the only thing that makes sense is to buck the system. But, I don’t want to cave into that.Rather, I set out to learn from reliable sources who know more than I do. That’s where Dr. Ralph Massullo Jr. comes in, and that’s why I met with him to discuss hempbill HB333 and COVID19.My good buddy, Everywhere Eddy, joined the party too.
Dr. Ralph Massullo Jr. has been a physician and business owner for more than 26 years.He was elected into the Florida House of Representatives in 2016, representing Citrus County and the Northwest portion of Hernando County.His legislative priorities include: Education Reform, Healthcare Reform and Environmental Conservation.Dr. Massullo currently serves on the Appropriations Committee, Education Committee, Health Market Reform Subcommittee, PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, Public Integrity & Ethics Committee, and is Chair of the PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee.
COVID19’s birth in China showed up on social media and I, like a multitude of others, did not take it seriously. How could you?We’ve seen it before, a common cold or flu gone bad but not like this. I figured it would go away like so many other baseless, impeachable, nonsensical things out there.So when push comes to shove and we want to demystify what has become a social reality, the journalist in me had the privilege to speak to Dr. Ralph Massullo Jr.In my interview with him and Everywhere Eddy, it quickly became evident that social media is definitely not helping here at all.If you are not one to read and would rather get the full interview on video between Dr. Massullo, Everywhere Eddy and I, go toFlorida Full Throttle Magazine or Bikers Post Facebook pages.In the interview we speak about hemp bill HB333, what is COVID19, symptoms to look for, potential drugs, business stimulus package qualifications procedures, etc.
Everyone now it seems is an expert in medical matters, has an opinion and has the best sources with the best credentials, right?Heck, I have family members now living in fear, hating certain political views because they trust their son-in-law’s expertise about USA politics and medicine more than their own judgement. The irony of this is, their son-in-law never worked in politics or the medical field and does not even live in the USA.He, like a multitude of USA critics, never lived in the USA yet seems to know all about our beloved America and how it should be run. Lots of those out there.Now, a common trip to the grocery store that you would expect to be filled with displays of friendliness and kindness is met with outright fear. Families argue, friends fight, and the “tragedy” is they unfriend each other on social media, pouting because their differences of opinion aren’t validated.
According to Dr. Massullo, like any other virus when it unexpectedly comes out, there is no vaccine of any sort for COVID19.Unlike any other virus, COVID19 spreads more rapidly than any others and has caused many more deaths than we all would expect.Understandably, that is a bit scary.Indeed, the “unknown” creates serious fears in the human heart.Mix that fear with social media, ill-informed masses and political opportunists of all breeds, you will have something equally if not more potent than the virus itself; fear.
I remember the days when HIV/AIDS came out.People had an extremely deep fear just to breathe air outside their own home!I would have hated social media to exist then.There was no vaccine and no one knew what to think.Did humanity conquer it?Not 100%, but today’s life expectancy of AIDS-inflicted individuals is almost back to normal and the virus can now be controlled to some degree.
In the case of COVID19 we need to stay calm here and as Dr. Massullo states, we will handle this enemy as we handled all others—with some good old, solid American resilience.I agree with Dr. Massullo.We need to take heart, stay calm, and use our common sense to let a stronger head prevail.
During the 2018-2019 season, the CDC estimated 16.5 million people went to a health care provider for the flu and more than 34,000 people died in the U.S. The prior season saw 61,000 deaths. When I interviewed Dr. Massullo on March 28, 2020 in his office, USA had 85,356 COVID19 cases and 1,246 deaths.Sadly, by the time this will be published, these numbers will have likely worsened.
68% of the 70,237 U.S. drug overdose deaths involved an opioid.
Influenza and pneumonia: 55,672 (+5.9%)
The swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus that appeared in 2009 became a pandemic.It was six months later in October, that then-President Obama’s administration declared a public health emergency on what was already a pandemic. By that time, the disease had infected “millions” of Americans, 20,000 were hospitalized and more than 1,000+ people had died in the U.S.
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 50,633 (-0.8%)
Intentional self-harm (suicide): 47,173 (+3.7%)
890,000 abortions took place in the United States in 2016 – According to the Guttmacher Institute
The differentiators here are the apparent “unknown” factor and the “speed” at which the virus spreads says Dr. Massullo.Thing is, in my humble opinion (yes I have an opinion too), is that there is still a lot we don’t know about in heart disease, cancer, suicide, Alzheimer, influenza, etc., but no one is panicking or raising hell on social media over it.The difference here in the above stats from CDC still to this day and for each item have an unknown factor to them, yes, but we now have a fair degree of knowledge about each and we also can control each to some level.Our unsettling fear of COVID19, I believe, stems from the speed at which it contaminates humans.Fair.
Still, we must take heart here and stay calm.Folks, we are all going to face death one way or another.Some will face it in fear and some, fearlessly.The difference is that those who will die fearlessly will die fulfilled and happy.We have no control over death whatsoever, so choose your path wisely.American resilience and fearlessness is what will lead us all to defeat this invisible enemy.
Something else dawned on me about this COVID19 virus and it gave me a renewed hope in the good faith of the human race; pretty much the entire globe right now is going through self-imposed isolation so that a minority of the race at greater risks can have better life-expectancy and beat this virus.A very large majority of us all will beat COVID19 because we are healthy and strong.We are, however, looking after the ones who are in the greatest need across the globe without even knowing it. While governments work to contain us, one has to ask at what economic cost does the focus of the spread of COVID19 mean for our future.We do not know what that will mean but I can tell you one thing and I believe it to be true, this will be life altering.
While you can look at the apparent despair this virus has caused, there is a silver lining that is naked to the eye.When you get out there to do your essential stuff, look and observe carefully.You will see families in their yards doing things together, you hear laughter in the air, people are walking and courteous.Tell me the last time you saw that.
Perhaps a lesson learned, too, is to value time and spend it with those we love doing the simple things because that is what matters most.We’ve heard that so many times but now COVID19 is making this reality quite obvious.People, despite the 6-foot distance rule, have now become more courteous to each other, more polite and smiling more.I sense a real peace out there that you can see and feel if you really pay attention.It feels frankly like we are all coming back to the basics of life that really do matter: relationships, communication, and family.This virus took away a massive part of our freedom and things we took for granted.Things I too took for granted.Now people are on high alert it seems and truly valuing what matters. Fear has turned into care and lack of time has turned into value for time.
Let’s unite and not divide.Let’s use our common sense and be bigger than our opinions, politics, or financial agendas.This is our opportunity to shine together. I have asked myself what is the price of freedom?It’s different today than it was just two weeks ago…the price is staying home for now, limiting my interactions and if it is called, taking less income so that others can share in what financial stability can be offered to the masses.This is such a small sacrifice when you look at the gain.COVID19 too shall pass my friends and it is just a matter of time.We just need to stay calm, wash our hands, only purchase what we truly need, ask for help if and when we do need it, and reach out to offer help to someone who, in these moments, becomes much more visible to you today than that of yesterday as a passerby on the street.
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” –C.S. Lewis
I’ve heard it said that these crimes were a freakish occurrence that could never happen again. I am not so sure. The Manson Murders embody revolutionary and utopian obsessions past and present.
