Here in Minnesota, summers are much too short (someone once said, “Nine months of winter and three months of poor sledding conditions”) so we’re especially keen on making the most of it. We don’t want a little rain, too-hot sun or - the official state bird - the mosquito, to limit our enjoyment of summer. The Summer Bliss gazebo is perfect protection from all three. Uniquely designed with SIX support legs (lesser gazebos have only four) which increases structural stability. Polyester-canvas canopy is 100% colorfast and treated to resist mildew and fire. Mosquito curtains glide on rails and fully cover all sides, top to bottom (even the two-tier top has mosquito netting); six full-length zipper entrances/exits. Overall dimensions: 12′ length x 10′ width, height to curtain rail 80″, total height approximately 100″ (8-1/2′); 42 lbs. Galvanized-steel frame with durable Mocha powder-coat finish that matches any decor. All assembly hardware and clear, easy-to-follow instructions with diagrams included; initial two-person assembly takes about 40 minutes - no tools needed. Ships UPS. One-year warranty against manufacturing/material defects and Jack’s Tool Shed worry-free Satisfaction Guarantee.

:  Get more enjoyment from your summer with you and your guests protected from sun, rain and bugs!, Large 12-foot x 10-foot gazebo provides 120 sq ft covered area for entertaining, dining or relaxing, Full-surround mosquito curtains with 6 full-length entrance zippers; tie-back when not in use, Excellent design-quality for quick assembly/take-down without tools, Six-leg steel frame for more support, two-tier canopy improves ventilation with charm & character
Company: BH 
List Price: $279.99
Amazon Price: $189.99

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Easy to grow and lasts for years! Learn about the healing properties of aloe, hyssop, and eucalyptus. Contains healing aromatic plants. Grow your own healing garden with three powerful healing plants, decorative sensory stones and more. The complete kit includes: aloe mix seed pack, eucalyptus mix pack, hyssop pack, planting mixture, natural gravel, decorative sensory stones, and instructions and information sheet. Ages 4+

Toy:  Grow exotic plants from around the world in beautiful windowsill greenhouses. All varieties sprout readily and will grow for years., by Dunecraft
Company: DuneCraft 
List Price: $14.99
Amazon Price: $11.79

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The Big Squeeze takes a fresh, probing, and often shocking look at the stresses and strains faced by tens of millions of American workers as wages have stagnated, health and pension benefits have grown stingier, and job security has shriveled.

Going behind the scenes, Steven Greenhouse tells the stories of software engineers in Seattle, hotel housekeepers in Chicago, call center workers in New York, and janitors in Houston, as he explores why, in the world’s most affluent nation, so many corporations are intent on squeezing their workers dry. We meet all kinds of workers: white collar and blue collar, high tech and low tech, middle income and low income; employees who stock shelves during a hurricane while locked inside their store, get fired after suffering debilitating injuries on the job, face egregious sexual harassment, and get laid off when their companies move high-tech operations abroad. We also meet young workers having a hard time starting out and seventy-year-old workers with too little money saved up to retire.

The book explains how economic, business, political, and social trends—among them globalization, the influx of immigrants, and the Wal-Mart effect—have fueled the squeeze. We see how the social contract between employers and employees, guaranteeing steady work and good pensions, has eroded over the last three decades, damaged by massive layoffs of factory and office workers and Wall Street’s demands for ever-higher profits. In short, the post–World War II social contract that helped build the world’s largest and most prosperous middle class has been replaced by a startling contradiction: corporate profits, economic growth, and worker productivity have grown strongly while worker pay has languished and Americans face ever-greater pressures to work harder and longer.

Greenhouse also examines companies that are generous to their workers and can serve as models for all of corporate America: Costco, Patagonia, and the casino-hotels of Las Vegas among them. Finally, he presents a series of pragmatic, ready-to-be-implemented suggestions on what government, business, and labor should do to alleviate the squeeze.

A balanced, consistently revealing exploration of a major American crisis.

Author: Steven Greenhouse
Hardcover:  384 pages
Company: Knopf  (2008-04-15) (2008-04-15)
ISBN: 1400044898
List Price: $25.95
Amazon Price: $11.80
Used Price: $11.97

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