Every child loves receiving presents, whatever the occasion may be. There is nothing quite like the excitement of opening your presents on your birthday or on Christmas Morning and finding just what you wished for. To find your own name on one of them makes it even more special, because it shows that the person buying it has really thought about it. It’s not just something hurriedly picked of a shelf at the last minute, but a carefully considered gift especially for you. But it’s not only that, it’s also the fact that it’s yours and yours alone. Although children should obviously be taught to share, every now and then they need something they can consider their own, something they can treasure and don’t have to share with anyone. Something that tells them that they are special.

Childrens personalised gifts are available in many shapes and sizes. From mugs to pencil cases, from clocks to teddy bears, from jigsaw puzzles to garden swings and from books, jewellery and t-shirts to bed covers, there is something for everyone. Some may feature favourite characters from books, films or TV; while others may feature a favourite football team or pop group. What makes all of them special is your child’s name on them, whether it is printed, painted, stitched or engraved. My grandmother bought me a bracelet with my name on it for my 8th birthday and I treasured it for years as a keepsake from her. Losing it while moving house at the age of 23 almost broke my heart.

Many stores have a variety of childrens personalised gifts readily available. However, not only is the range of possible names usually quite restricted (for instance, you could never find anything with less known names on it), it is also not always possible to find the right item combined with the right name. However, there is no need to fear. There are hundreds of brilliant sites on the internet, offering a huge range of merchandise available to be personalised. The process is usually quite simple: you pick the item you wish to purchase, you add the child’s name (Do beware of typing errors. There are so many unusual names around, a wrongly spelled name may not be questioned) you pay and before you know it you have one very happy child. Like with any other online purchase, make sure you use only reputable online sites and do your research before sending them any money.

Whether you are getting a present for your own child, a grandchild, nephews and nieces or the child of a friend; whether it’s for their birthday, for Christmas or just because you want to give them a treat, childrens personalised gifts will show them how much you care for them and make them feel very special and loved. A gift with their name on it will be something they can call their very own and don’t have to share. It will also give them with a keepsake they can treasure and remember you by for many years.

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The term “Old West”
The American frontier moved gradually westward decades after the settlement of the first white immigrants on the Eastern seaboard in the 1600s. The “West” was always the area beyond that boundary. Scholars, however, sometimes refer to the “Old West” as the region of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys during the 18th century, when the frontier was being contested by Britain, France, and the American colonies. Most often, however, the “American Old West”, the “Old West” or “the Great West” is used to describe the area west of the Mississippi River during the 19th century.

Acquiring the Frontier
Advancing frontier and the Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson  Third President of the United States
During European settlement of North America in the seventeenth century, the western frontier was the crest of the Appalachian Mountains, the initial geographical impediment to expansion. While the eastern seaboard was being tamed, the area west of these mountains received little concern and speculation. After the Revolutionary War, the conflict among European powers over the vast American continent and its riches gave way to the new nation of the United States. With peace came an impetus for westward expansion, as veterans returned to areas seen during the war, and land hungry settlers traveled to newly available lands in New York and across the Appalachians.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the American frontier was approximately along the Mississippi River, which bisects the continental United States north-to-south from just west of the Great Lakes to the delta near New Orleans. St. Louis, Missouri was the largest town on the frontier, the gateway for travel westward, and a principal trading center for Mississippi River traffic and inland commerce.
The new nation began to exercise some power in domestic and foreign affairs. The British had been driven out of the East after the American Revolutionary War but remained in Canada and threatened to expand into the Northwest. The French had left the Ohio Valley but still owned the Louisiana Territory from the Mississippi River west to the Rockies, including the strategic port of New Orleans. Spain’s dominion (New Spain) included Florida and the territories from present-day Texas to California along the southern tier and up to what later would be Utah and Colorado.
With a stroke of the pen, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States (elected in 1800), more than doubled the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 which acquired land France had acquired from Spain just three years earlier. Napoleon Bonaparte had begun to consider it a liability, since the slave rebellion in Haiti and tropical disease undermined his Caribbean adventures. Robert R. Livingston, American ambassador to France, negotiated the sale with French foreign minister Talleyrand, who stated, “You have made a noble bargain for yourselves, and I suppose you will make the most of it”.
The price was $23 million (about $0.04 per acre), including the cost of settling all claims against France by American citizens. The purchase was controversial. Many of the Federalist Party, the dominant political party in New England, thought that the territory was “a vast wilderness world which will… prove worse than useless to us” and spread the population across an ungovernable land, weakening federal power to the detriment of New England and the Northeast. But the Jeffersonians thought the territory would help maintain their vision of the ideal republican society, based on agricultural commerce, governed lightly and promoting self-reliance and virtue.
Jefferson quickly ordered exploration and documentation of the vast territory. He charged Lewis and Clark to lead an expedition, starting in 1804, to “explore the Missouri river, and such principal stream of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean; whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado or any other river may offer the most direct and practicable communication across the continent for the purposes of commerce”. Jefferson also instructed the expedition to study the region’s native tribes (including their morals, language, and culture), weather, soil, rivers, commercial trading,animal and plant life.
The principal commercial goal was to find an efficient route to connect American goods and natural resources with Asian markets, and perhaps to find a means of blocking the growth of British fur trading companies into the Oregon Country. Asian merchants were already buying sea otter pelts from Pacific coast traders for Chinese customers. An expansion of inland fur trading was also anticipated. With news spreading of the expedition’s findings, entrepreneurs like John Jacob Astor immediately seized the opportunity and expanded fur trading operations into the Pacific Northwest. Astor’s “Fort Astoria” (later Fort George), at the mouth of the Columbia River, became the first permanent white settlement in that area. However, during the War of 1812, the rival North West Company (a British-Canadian company) bought the camp from Astor’s agents as they feared the British would destroy an American camp. For a while, Astor’s fur business suffered. But he rebounded by 1820, took over independent traders to create a powerful monopoly, and left the business as a multi-millionaire in 1834, reinvesting his money in Manhattan real estate.
Fur trade
The quest for furs was the primary commercial reason for the exploration and colonizing of North America by the Dutch, French, and English. The Hudson’s Bay Company, promoting British interests, often competed with French traders who had arrived earlier and had been already trading with indigenous tribes in the northern border region of the colonies. This competition was one of the contributing factors to the French and Indian War in 1763. British victory in the war led to the expulsion of the French from the American colonies. French trading continued, however, based in Montreal. Astor’s move into the Northwest was a major American attempt to compete with the established French and English traders.
As the frontier moved westward, trappers and hunters moved ahead of settlers, searching out new supplies of beaver and other skins for shipment to Europe. The hunters preceded and followed Lewis and Clark to the Upper Missouri and the Oregon territory; they formed the first working relationships with the Native Americans in the West. They also added extensive knowledge of the Northwest terrain, including the important South Pass through the central Rocky Mountains. Discovered about 1812, it later became a major route for settlers to Oregon and Washington.
Map of part of Lewis and Clark expedition
The War of 1812 did little to change the boundaries of the United States and British territories, but its conclusion led to the nations’ agreement to make the Great Lakes neutral waters to both navies. Furthermore, competing commercial claims by England and the U.S. led to the Anglo-American Convention of 1818. This resulted in their sharing the Oregon territory until a decades later resolution. By 1820, with the fur trade depressed, distances to supply increasing, and conflicts with native tribes rising, the trading system was overhauled by Donald Mackenzie of the North West Company and by William H. Ashley. Previously, Indians caught the animals, skinned them, and brought the furs to trading posts such as Fort Lisa and Fontenelle’s Post, where trappers sent the goods down river to St. Louis. In exchange for the furs, Indians typically received calico cloth, knives, tomahawks, awls, beads, rifles, ammunition, animal traps, rum, whiskey, and salt pork.
The new “brigade-rendezvous” system, however, sent company men in “brigades” cross-country on long expeditions, bypassing Maya tribes. It also encouraged “free trappers” to explore new regions on their own. At the end of the gathering season, the trappers would “rendezvous” and turn in their goods for pay at river ports along the Green River, the Upper Missouri, and the Upper Mississippi. St. Louis was the largest of the rendezvous towns. An early chronicle described the gathering as “one continued scene of drunkenness, gambling, and brawling and fighting, as long as the money and the credit of the trappers last.” Trappers competed in wrestling and shooting matches. When they would gamble away all their furs, horses, and their equipment, they would lament, “There goes hos and beaver.” By 1830, however, fashions changed in Europe and beaver hats were replaced by silk hats, sharply reducing the need for American furs. Thus ended the era of the “Mountain men”, trappers and scouts such as Jedediah Smith (who had traveled through more unexplored western land than any non-Indian and was the first American to reach California overland). The trade in beaver fur virtually ceased by 1845.
Settling the West
Federal government and the West
While the profit motive dominated the movement westward, the Federal government played a vital role in securing land and maintaining law and order, which allowed the expansion to proceed. Despite the Jeffersonian aversion and mistrust of federal power, it bore more heavily in the West than any other region, and made possible the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny. Since local governments were often absent or weak, Westerners, though they grumbled about it, depended on the federal government to protect them and their rights, and displayed little of the outright antipathy of some Easterners to Federalism.
The federal government established a sequence of actions related to control over western lands. First, it acquired western territory from other nations or native tribes by treaty, then it sent surveyors and explorers to map and document the land, next it ordered federal troops to clear out and subdue the resisting natives, and finally, it had bureaucracies manage the land, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Land Office, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Forest Service. The process was not a smooth one. Indian resistance, sectionalism, and racism forced some pauses in the process of westward settlement. Nonetheless, by the end of the 19th century, in the process of conquering and managing the West, the federal government amassed great size, power, and influence in national affairs.
Early scientific exploration and surveys
Plate from Birds of America
A major role of the federal government was sending out surveyors, naturalists, and artists into the West to discover its potential. Following the Lewis and Clark expeditions, Zebulon Pike led a party in 1805-6, under the orders of General James Wilkinson, commander of the western American army. Their mission was to find the head waters of the Mississippi (which turned out to be Lake Itasca, and not Leech Lake as Pike concluded). Later, on other journeys, Pike explored the Red and Arkansas Rivers in Spanish territory, eventually reaching the Rio Grande. On his return, Pike sighted the peak named after him, was captured by the Spanish and released after a long overland journey. Unfortunately, his documents were confiscated to protect territorial secrets and his later recollections were rambling and not of high quality. Major Stephen H. Long led the Yellowstone and Missouri expeditions of 1819-1820, but his categorizing of the Great Plains as arid and useless led to the region getting a bad reputation as the “Great American Desert”, which discouraged settlement in that area for several decades.
In 1811, naturalists Thomas Nuttall and John Bradbury traveled up the Missouri River with the Astoria expedition, documenting and drawing plant and animal life. Later, Nuthall explored the Indian Territory (Oklahoma), the Oregon Trail, and even Hawaii. His book A Journal of Travels into the Arkansas Territory was an important account of frontier life. Although Nuthall was the most traveled Western naturalist before 1840, unfortunately most of his documentation and specimens were lost. Artist George Catlin traveled up the Missouri as far as present-day North Dakota, producing accurate paintings of Native American culture. He was supplemented by Karl Bodmer, who accompanied the Prince Maximilian expedition, and made compelling landscapes and portraits. In 1820, John James Audubon traveled about the Mississippi Basin collecting specimens and making sketches for his monumental books Birds of America and The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, classic works of naturalist art. By 1840, the discoveries of explorers, naturalists, and mountain men had produced maps showing the rough outlines of the entire West to the Pacific Ocean.
Mexican rule and Texas independence
Criollo and mestizo settlers of New Spain declared their independence in 1810 (finally obtaining it in 1821), crumbling American colonial empire in the America (the continent was not yet divided in North, Central and South America), forming the new nation of Mexico which included the New Mexico territory at its north. A hoped for result of Mexico’s independence was more open trade and better relations with the United States where previously Spain had enforced its border strictly and had arrested American traders who ventured into the region. After Mexico’s independence, large caravans began delivering goods to Santa Fe along the Santa Fe Trail, over the 870-mile (1,400 km) journey which took 48 days from Kansas City, Missouri (then known as Westport). Santa Fe was also the trailhead for the “El Camino Real” (the King’s Highway), a major trade route which carried American manufactured goods southward deep into Mexico and returned silver, furs, and mules northward (not to be confused with another “Camino Real” which connected the missions in California). A branch also ran eastward near the Gulf (also called the Old San Antonio Road). Santa Fe also connected to California via the Old Spanish Trail.
The Mexican government began to attract Americans to the Texas area with generous terms. Stephen F. Austin became an “empresario,” receiving contracts from the Mexican officials to bring in immigrants. In doing so, he also became the de facto political and military commander of the area. Tensions rose, however, after an abortive attempt to establish the independent nation of Fredonia in 1826. William Travis, leading the “war party,” advocated for independence from Mexico, while the “peace party” led by Austin attempted to get more autonomy within the current relationship. When Mexican president Santa Anna shifted alliances and joined the conservative Centralist party, he declared himself dictator and ordered soldiers into Texas to curtail new immigration and unrest. However, immigration continued and 30,000 Americans with 3,000 slaves arrived in 1835. A series of battles, including at the Alamo, at Goliad, and at the San Jacinto River, led to independence and the establishment of the Republic of Texas in 1836. The U.S. Congress, however, refused to annex Texas, stalemated by contentious arguments over slavery and regional power. Texas remained an independent country, led by Sam Houston, until it became the 28th state in 1845. Mexico, however, viewed the establishment of the statehood of Texas as a hostile act, helping to precipitate the Mexican War.
The Trail of Tears
The expansion of migration into the Southeast in the 1820s and 1830′s forced the federal government to deal with the “Indian question.” By 1837 the “Indian Removal policy” began, to implement the act of Congress signed by Andrew Jackson in 1830. The forced march of about twenty Native American tribes included the “Five Civilized Tribes” (Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole). They were pushed beyond the frontier and into the “Indian Territory” (which later became Oklahoma). Of the approximate 70,000 Indians removed, about 20% died from disease, starvation, and exposure on the route. This exodus has become known as The Trail of Tears (in Cherokee “Nunna dual Tsuny,” “The Trail Where they Cried”). The impact of the removals was severe. Sometimes the transplanted tribes clashed with the tribes native to the area. In addition, the Smallpox Epidemic of 1837 decimated the tribes of the Upper Missouri, weakening them, and allowing immigrants easier access to those lands.
The Indian removals were justified by two prevailing philosophies. The “superior race” theory contended that “inferior” peoples (i.e., natives) held land in trust until a “superior race” came along which would be a more productive steward of the land. Humanitarians espoused a second theory stating that the removal of natives would take them away from the contaminating influences of the frontier and help preserve their culture. Neither theory showed any understanding of the natives’ intimate connection with their land nor the deadly effect of social and physical uprooting. For example, tribes were dependent on local animals and plants for their food and their medicinal and cultural purposes, which were often unavailable after moving.
President Andrew Jackson
In 1827, the Cherokee, on the basis of earlier treaties, declared themselves a sovereign nation within the boundaries of Georgia. When the Georgia state government ignored the declaration and annexed the land, the Cherokee took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled Georgia’s laws null and void in the Cherokee nation, but the state ignored the ruling. The court also ruled that the tribes were “domestic dependent nations” and could not make treaties with other nations. Furthermore, it was up to the federal government to protect those rights, making the tribes, in effect, wards of the federal government. President Jackson, having just signed the Indian Removal Act, failed to enforce the court ruling, illegally abdicating to the states the right to make policy regarding the tribes. In effect, Jackson refused to honor the federal government’s commitment to protect the southern tribes and to act in its proper role in dealing with the tribes as sovereign, though dependent, nations. Jackson justified his actions by stating that Indians had “neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvements.”
The only way for a Native American to avoid removal was to accept the federal offer of 640 acres (2.6 km2) or more of land (depending on family size) in exchange for leaving the tribe and becoming a U.S. citizen subject to state law and federal law. However, many natives who took the offer were defrauded by “ravenous speculators” who stole their claims and sold their land to whites. In Mississippi alone, fraudulent claims reached 3,800,000 acres (15,400 km2). Some of those who refused to move or take the offer found sanctuary for a while in remote areas. To motivate natives reluctant to move, the federal government also promised rifles, blankets, tobacco, and cash. Of the five tribes

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Every child needs to learn how to tell time at some point. Learning the order of numbers and being able to count by fives will help immensely when a child is being taught to tell time and the arithmetic skills involved will put them ahead of their peers. To teach your child this important skill, you need a way to make them interested in the skill and show them that it’s something they’ll be able to use every day.

Younger children are usually easier to teach because they have a stronger desire to learn and want to demonstrate that they can do the same things as the adults around them. If you take the time to teach your child how to count properly, then telling time is the next natural step to take.

Children can have a fun time when they are being taught to tell time. Begin by pointing out the two hands on the clock and explain that one is for hours and one is for minutes; you’ll also have to explain to them what a minute is and what an hour is. Once they’ve worked out hours and minutes, show them that each big number on the clock represents a five minute interval. Purchasing a clock (from just about any store) where you can move the hands will be helpful. You can even count by fives on a clock that you or your child has drawn out on a sheet of paper or poster board.

Learning with enticements is an effective way to teach your child to tell time. So you could tell your child that if he lets you know when the clock reaches 2:30 p.m. and he’s correct, then you’ll take him out for ice cream or some other spot that he really enjoys.

Children learn best when they are able to work with adults who make the time to work with them on a one-on-one basis. Don’t forget the power of the Internet to assist you in teaching your child how to tell time. You can rely a little bit on DVDs, websites and games for your PC that focus on helping your child learn to tell time.

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Another fun yet educational product you might want to consider for your preschooler is the Teach Me Time clock. Childrens alarm clocks are a terrific way to help your child learn how to tell time and know when it’s appropriate to get up in the morning.

Timeworks Clocks have almost become a must have in today’s home. A few years ago we had no idea what a antique reproduction clock was not to mention the Timeworks label. Today people use these colorful creations in many areas. Here are 5 specific ideas where these timepieces can be used.

Family Room / Living Room – Tall ceilings are all the rage in today’s modern homes. The result is that you have very large walls to decorate. One of the most popular ideas for decorating those mammoth walls is the use of a large wall clock. Timeworks is a master of creating large wall clocks. These clocks really grab your attention when you enter the space. Most of the more popular designs are a full 27-31 inches in diameter. They provide a great start when decorating large spaces. The D. Robertson clock for example is a good choice for a good sized family room or living room. This clock has a subtle tan coloration that can work well with many colors. The Dupont clock is another very popular style that has a very rich dark red or burgundy color scheme.

Kitchen Wall Clock – Picture this. Granite counter tops, travertine floors and custom cabinetry designed in a slightly old world flare. This setting really calls for a reproduction antique clock. Take a look at the small metal framed designs like the Hotel Pasquier or the Hotel Grand. Also don’t miss any of the petite collection. All of these choices look just like they were taken from a old European museum. Kitchen clocks can be different sizes from 6-12 inches usually. The stores that I have worked for in the past sell many of these smaller clocks around the holidays. They make such great gifts for your mom, sister or wife. They are packaged so well for gift giving. The box alone is nice enough to bring a smile.

Childrens Bedrooms and Nurseries – The Storytime Collection from Timeworks offers 20-30 styles that have young children in mind. Baseball, football time pieces for the young sports fans and Carousel Horse, Fire truck, Rocket Boy, or Little Princess to capture the imagination of the rest. These are great functional decorations to fall to sleep with. They also provide great opportunities to help your children learn to tell time. These can be great gifts for the toddler or baby. The mother will enjoy them as much as the child.

For the Office – Like many other rooms in our house offices are meticulously decorated. How many times have you seen a beautiful painting or a nautical timepiece behind the office desk? I see pictures in magazines all the time of this traditional setting. The large nautical timepieces the Timeworks Ships Clocks are well suited for this. Another style that goes well in an office is the station or railway collection like the Station Victor Hugo or the Station Richmond. These large pieces add a strong masculine feeling to the room.

Decorating the Bistro – Some of us are lucky enough to own a restaurant or small deli. Old world charm is the name of the game in many of these Italian style delis or bistros. Hanging meats and cheeses adorning the town’s favorite deli is as old fashion as you can get. A clock with old world charm fits so nicely in that atmosphere. You can find a chalkboard incorporated with a small clock. What better way to show the daily special. Examples of this can be found in the merchant signs category. Other choices can be much the same as discussed before. Many restaurants display large wall clocks in their entry or above their billboard menu.

You will soon come to the conclusion that these clocks, not unlike paintings can fit really well in almost any setting. Color really is key. The color you choose will bring out the similar colors in the room. Shopping online can often help in your selection because you can see the colors of all of the choices on one or two pages.

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You can find the home decor items that I described in my article by going here Timeworks Clocks . Many choices so have fun shopping.

A wall clock camera can be one of the most important investments for your home or business security you can make. These clocks, with a camera inside, can give you video proof when you need it most.

Just imagine, your first full week of vacation in years has come along and you have decided to take your family to a resort on the coast. You plan to rest and relax. Your family is packed and ready to go, excited about the upcoming trip.

The only thing left to do is to find someone to take care of your dog and watch the house for you. You ask a trusted neighbor and he excitedly agrees to help you out. You and your family leave, never once worrying about your home, because you know it is being taken care of by your neighbor.

A week later your family returns. Nothing looks amiss. Your dog is healthy and the house looks the same as you left it. A couple weeks go by and you’re back to a normal life: work days, school days, car pools and bills to pay.

As you sit down with your monthly stack of bills you notice something amiss. There have been unauthorized charges on three of your credit cards. How did that happen?

You immediately call the credit companies and they tell you that the purchases started on the same day you went out of town on vacation. How could that be? Now you have to cancel all of your credit cards and have new ones issued. You need to change your banking information and hope that whoever found this information doesn’t also have your social security number. What a headache!

This headache could have been avoided by using a wall clock with hidden camera! If you had a spy camera wall clock you would have quickly seen that your “trusted” neighbor had snooped through all of your personal documents looking for your credit information. If used properly, clock cameras or clock camcorders are legal, and give you the proof you need for police and insurance claims.

Clock security cameras can be used in any room. Wall clock cameras are now available to match the decor in any room and never look out of place. Since most people have a habit of looking at the time, a hidden camera in a clock is perfect for getting solid evidence of misdeeds on video. You will get crystal clear shots, each and every time, of the person that has invaded your personal space.

Clock spy cameras are not just for home use though. Buy one for your office and keep an eye on your employees’ productivity. Have one next to your cash register in your retail shop and catch dishonest employees as they try to steal your hard earned money. Place a hidden clock camera in your bar. The next time your bartender decides his friends shouldn’t have to pay, you will not only know the truth but you will have proof on video too. That evidence could come in very handy fighting a possible unemployment claim.

A simple hidden clock camera can give you the ability to see the “real truth” in ways standard surveillance systems do not. You can easily use clock cameras to safeguard your childrens’ lives, personal property at home, and business assets.

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Protect your home, office or place of business. Buy a wall clock camera today and let the time be your eyes!

David English is the owner of the Marshall Self Defense online store. A one stop shop for your protection and surveillance needs.

For more information visit http://www.marshallselfdefense.com/wall-clock-hidden-camera-info.htm