Reviews by mqmystic

mqmystic says "A hands on museum tracing Hispanic History in Texas." about Casa Navarro State Historic Site - San Antonio, TX

mqmystic — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:41:36 GMT

I had a chance on June 27, 2009 to visit the Casa Navarro State Historic Site museum while they were sponsoring local artists between noon to 4pm. I was surprised to find this jewel right in the middle of downtown San Antonio. The artists from the San Antonio Art Meetup group painted live with a theme at the event while a fun blues/rock band Bekka Blue played. The museum was free to tour during this event and is schduling more of these art events through December. It was fun and laid back in their shady court yard.

A little history about the Casa Navarro:

he Casa Navarro State Historic Site is the half-acre site restored home of Tejano patriot José Antonio Navarro (1795–1871). Today, visitors can tour Navarro's adobe home furnished with period antiques, read copies of his writing, and discuss questions of history with informed interpreters.

The original house complex consisted of three limestone, caliche block, and adobe structures, built about 1848. Casa Navarro is the only...

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mqmystic says "Clover Valley Non Dairy Creamer a good buy." about Clover Valley Non Dairy Creamer

mqmystic — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:05:27 GMT

With the economy the way it is in the USA I am trying more store brands than I previously used. Some have failed the taste test I must say.

I drink coffee often. I like to put can milk or creamer in my coffee, sometimes with sugar, but most times without. I was looking for a creamer that tasted good without all the cost so I started trying store brands.

One of the better tasting brands I found was at the Dollar General store near my home put out by Clover. Clover Coffee Creamer has a fairly rich taste and desolved really well in coffee. The price was $1 cheaper than the grocery store brand and almost $2 cheaper than the name brands in the same size.

With as much coffee as I drink that is a big savings in the long run which makes it affordable to have what I like in my coffee.

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mqmystic says "Arrow Electro-matic electric staple & nail gun is hard working." about Arrow Electro-natic Electic Staple & Nail Gun

mqmystic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:54:03 GMT

I recieved an Arrow Electro-matic Electric Staple & Nail Gun as a gift and have been using it regularly since.

It is the most handy little tool for small projects I have used. Since I am a Fine Artist I have many pieces that need to be framed and this little hard working staple gun sure does the job even with hard woods. I used to struggle with the manual stapler but it isn't a problem anymore. The great part is that this baby will shoot small finishing nails too. All the better for making my frames.

Of course some of you might want to try it for small home projects. I haven't had the chance to do that since I am mostly working on art shows this time of year. I save the home projects for the cooler months.

This electric stapler will take 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 1/2', 17/32", 9/16" staples and 5/8" nails. I can do everything from tacking screening, tacking upholstery, insulation, carpets, to installing ceiling tile and with the nail I can do molding, make frames, etc...

This is a......

mqmystic says "Charming Victorian Bed and Breakfast right on the Riverwalk." about Inn on the Riverwalk - San Antonio, TX

mqmystic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:23:01 GMT

The Inn on the Riverwalk is a charming Victorian bed and breakfast downtown right on the San Antonio Riverwalk. With only a 5-10 minutes walking distance to the commercial part of The Riverwalk, The Alamo, The Rivercenter Mall, King William Historic District, over 65 restaurants, The Convention Center, The Market Square, La Villita, and The Towers of Americas. There is only a 10-30 minutes drive to The Missions, Airport, Sea World, Fiesta Texas, and New Braunfels.

The rooms are very comfortable and all rooms have at least one window that faces the riverwalk. The Inn is comprised of two Victorian homes. Both homes have large porches and one has several balconies facing the river.

The street that the inn is on is a dead in at the river walk. It makes the area seem very private and more like a court yard than a street.

The Inn Keeper Johanna Gardner and her staff are very friendly and make you feel very welcome. The inn has a kitchen area. The inn provides complimentary parking, wireless......

mqmystic says "Pledge Multi Surface wipes work really well on many surfaces." about Pledge Multi Surface Wipes

mqmystic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:19:18 GMT

I was given Pledge Multi Surface wipes by a friend to try. She loved them so I was interested in the product.

I started using them in my kitchen on the microwave, stove, and small appliances that streak with most cleaners. I find that the Pledge Muliti Surface wipes really do a good job and leaves virtually no streaks on the surfaces in my kitchen.

Next I tried it in the bathroom for the sink and mirror. I wasn't as pleased with the mirror as I was with the surfaces in the kitchen but it did a wonderful job on the sink. For some reason the mirror still did a little streaking with the wipe and I had to go over it with a newspaper to get it totally streak free.

The computer room was a good place for this product. It cleaned all the computer sufaces without leaving too much scent and residue everywhere. My keyboard hasn't looked this good since I bought it.

When I used it on the television in the livingroom and bedroom it did a great job. I wasn't as pleased with how it cleaned......

mqmystic says "Frito Lay Sun Chips Original multigrain chips taste good." about Frito Lay - Sun Chips Original Flavor Multigrain Snacks

mqmystic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:47:14 GMT

I wanted something different to go with my sandwich so I was wandering throught the chip isles when I spotted Frito Lay Sun Chips Original multigrain chips. I read the nitrition facts on nearly everything and this was not an acception.

First thing that caught my attention was that it contains less than 30% fat than regular potato chips. It had no trans fat and no cholestorol. Of course it is laden with sodium, can't seem to get away from that in most processed foods.

To me ithe taste is light and crisp with a slight salty taste. I like it really well. It goes great with most meat and cheese sandwiches. I feel these chips are pretty good for those of us who want something a little more healthy.

I don't think I would eat them often because of the salt content, but they are very tasty with a sandwich, dips or soup once in a while.
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mqmystic says "Smoth finish and superior white color." about Wausau Papers Cardstock Paper, 65 Lb., 8 1/2"x11", 100/PK, White

mqmystic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:26:51 GMT

I purchased the Wausau Papers Cardstock Paper, 65 Lb., 8 1/2"x11", 75 pk, Bright White to try out.

I needed a quality cardstock to print fliers for an upcoming art show I am in. This was a last minute purchase at Target. They were priced at $3.98 for 75 sheets and seemed like a great price to try this brand.

I printed up 50 pages with 100 fliers on them. The prints turned out extremely nice. The paper printed very sharp and looked very professional. The bright white was a great choice since the fliers were colorful. Target only had the bright white.

I liked the fact that this cardstock is acid free. This product can be used with lazer, inkjet, offset and copiers. That makes the Wausau Papers Cardstock very versatile.

I am looking forward to trying more colors in this brand for other fliers and projects that I have coming up soon.

I am very pleased with the outcome.
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mqmystic says "Writes smooth on fairly rough papers." about Unison Rubber Grip Gel Pens

mqmystic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:08:16 GMT

Today I want to rave about an inexpensive gel pen that really does a good job. I picked up these gel pens to try out since I love drawing with ink. The Unison Rubber Grip Gel pens were only a couple dollars for 10 at a local dollar type store. A real bargain for something that worked so well.

I took several pens with me to draw some of the missions for an art project I am doing. Turns out these pens work well on my art pad which has a bit of a texture to it. I drew several drawings and found the pen very smooth on the rough paper and the rubber grip was very comfortable in my hand.

The pens have a medium point and write equally well on stationary as it did on the drawing pad. I ran out of ink with the first pen 3 days after I bought it. I used it for 12/9x12" drawings of the 5 local missions in great detail and did 24 sketches of people during my travels the past 3 days with the same pen. All were on a 9x12" drawing pad and finally ran out of ink last night when I wrote to my sister.......

mqmystic says "Holds really well and dries clear." about Aleene's Original Tacky Glue

mqmystic — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:58:37 GMT

While out at Micheal's Arts and Craft store a couple days ago I picked up Aleene's Original Tacky Glue to use in an art project.

I needed something that could hold shells to a painting I did of a mermaid in acrylic paints on a 16.20" canvas and would dry clear and stay flexible. I applied the shells and some fish tank rocks to the canvas with the Aleene's Tacky Glue and let it dry for 2 days.

The first day the glue became a bit tacky and cloudy looking but on the second day the shells and fish tank rocks were glued to the canvas and the glue was clear. I am getting some wonderful comments about the art piece and will show the piece in my next art show in July.

Since I paint on several canvas at the same time with pieces in various stages of completion I know I will be using this glue in other works to hold various piece to my canvas. I have an abstract floral which will be next.

I am adding a photo of the mermaid piece I did so you can see the results.

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mqmystic says "The operating system is inferior" about Microsoft Vista Home Premium

mqmystic — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:36:16 GMT

Several of my tech friends told me I should upgrade from my Microsoft Me which is on one of my computers to Microsoft Vista Home. So I bought the Microsoft Vista Home and upgraded.

I found several problems with the Vista operating system.

1. It makes my computer sluggish because it takes up more hard drive and more memory to run efficiently.

2. It doesn't run some of my older programs efficiently if at all even though they are Microsoft programs.

3. It has too many bugs which needed patches applied which means more work.

Now I don't know all that much about operating systems, but Vista Home really isn't worth the money. I decided to get rid of it and put Microsoft XP on instead. More money out of pocket for this lesson. But at least my old programs work and my computer doesn't run slow like it did with Microsoft Vista Home. Microsoft Vista Home operating system should have been tested more before being offered to the public.

I won't buy a new computer off...

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mqmystic says "Good quality at a fair price" about Office Depot CD-R Spindle 700mb/80min. 50/pk - Model 678120 Media

mqmystic — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:50:29 GMT

I submit my art to local galleries when they have open calls. Most galleries ask that the art be submitted on CD. Quality CDs are important for this purpose.

While browsing Office Depot with the intentions of purchasing my usual brand of CD-Rs, I came across a sale on Office Depot brand CD-Rs. I usually buy name brands when purchasing CDs because I need good quality to submit to art galleries.

At just under $10 for a 100 pack, it seemed inexpensive enough to try them so I purchased it. Thinking if I couldn't use them for my submissions to the galleries I would be able to use them to back up my written documents. No huge money loss.

I was a bit sketical about the quality of Office Depot's brand CDs at the time I purchased them. I put some of my art on the Office Depot CD and found the quality was very good. I can use them to submit my art to galleries and I am very pleased to find a way to save money.

I will purchase the Office Depot brand CDs again.

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mqmystic says "Not worth the effort." about emusic

mqmystic — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:24:07 GMT

I recently received a card for 50 free songs from Emusic by purchasing another product. You would think that would mean free and not "give me your credit card number and you can cancel later". I don't like giving my credit card number out and there are those who don't have credit cards.

If a company buys the music from Emusic and includes it in with an item you purchase then Emusic should honor that even without a credit card. If they want some control over how many times you go on-line to get the free music they should put a code on the original cards sold.

This company is suspicious in my mind and only want to stick it to their customers. Seems like a very shady company. Since I refuse to give a credit card number Emusic will gain the money for the 50 songs that is already paid for and not have to give any service for it. The company that purchased the card looses money and Emusic looses a potential customer. I don't feel I should have to fight with Emusic customer...

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mqmystic says "Great quality to print on for fliers and book covers" about Xerox 67# Vellum Cover

mqmystic — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:01:26 GMT

Recently I became a Volunteer Organizer for the San Antonio Artist Meetup Group. Which I promptly started organizing art shows for July and September. With every art show a flier and post cards are usually printed up for the events to hand out and mail.

I was responsible for printing the fliers on my computer which needed to be delivered immediately for a promotional event. I wanted something that would print up nice and have some weight to give the flyer some stability and quality. So out I went looking at many brands and weights of paper.

I found that Xerox had the weight and quality I wanted so I picked up the package of 250 67# Vellum Cover at about $15. Fairly inexpensive for good quality paper at that weight.

I used a photo quality printer and printed at a high quality setting and ended up with beautiful copies of the flyer. I printed two to a 8 1/2x11" sheet. This made for an attactive inexpensive flyer.

I liked it so well I will be using this product to put a catalog...

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mqmystic says "Beautiful quality machine embroidery of local artist works" about Volant Embroidery Gallery - San Antonio, TX

mqmystic — Sun, 25 May 2008 14:38:31 GMT

In my travels around the fair city of San Antonio I came across and interesting Gallery in the downtown area. The Volant Embroidery Gallery. The gallery is in an older restored building and has a beautiful appearance both outside and inside.

The owner was there the day I went and he demostrated the technique used to embroider. There are two machines at the front of the open spaced gallery. One large and one smaller. It was facinating. Questions I had were answered promptly and the atmosphere very friendly.

The gallery has on display many art pieces from local Artists. The Artists represented by the gallery have pieces which can be ordered as embroidered art. I may be submitting pieces in the near future to the gallery for review to become one of the Artist represented at the gallery.

The gallery supports local Artists with art openings and shows on a regular basis. The Volant Embroidery Gallery had a lengthy write up in the San Antonio Express News this month.

I checked...

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mqmystic says "Helps reduce dry eye symptoms" about Refresh Dry Eye Therapy

mqmystic — Sun, 25 May 2008 14:07:54 GMT

I suffer from Dry Eye disease which is moderate to severe depending on what season we are in. Prescription eye relief is very expensive and who isn't trying to cut costs with the economy the way it is here in the states.

I was looking for something over the counter that would be less expensive and work to help keep my dry eye symptoms at bay. I tried several product which did ok but not good enough. Just before my birthday last month I came across a sample of the Refresh Dry Eye Therapy at my local Walgreen store. I bought it.

I used the sample till it ran out with great success so I purchased the full size bottle. This product works well. My eyes are very sensitive and I had no side effects from using this product. It is reasonably priced and I haven't had to use it more than a couple times a day.

I plan to try the tears formula next for those days I get dust or other foreign products in my eyes while working outside.

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mqmystic says "Simple to use, nice design, and holds lots of music." about Element Electronics - MP3 Player with FM Radio

mqmystic — Sun, 25 May 2008 13:46:46 GMT

In the past year I looked at many of the MP3 players in the low to medium price ranges but didn't purchase any. Last month someone gave me the Element Electronics 1 GB MP3 player with FM radio. I know that is it has a mid to low price range even though I don't know how much was paid for the device.

It holds about 500 songs depending on file size and loads very easily with a USB. You just plug it into your computer and it prompts you to do everything you need to add music. It is a very simple device that would be perfect for those who love music but aren't very tech driven. That isf up to around 10 hours.

The design of this MP3 player was very convienent for me. It has two buttons on one side for switching songs and sound and a lock on the other side. It is a smooth black design about 4" long and 2" wide.

It came with head phones which put out pretty good quality sound and fit my ears really well. They are fairly comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

The instructions...

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mqmystic says "Glides on smooth, attracts bees." about Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm

mqmystic — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:49:51 GMT

I have been trying new products lately and had the occassion to try Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm while working outdoors this week. It has been very nice weather with lots of sun which causes my lips chap.

The balm glided on smoothly and had a mild honey smell which was pleasant. At least the bees really thought it pleasant. I have never attracted so many bees. Luckily none of the bees were very agressive. I didn't realize at first it was the lip balm that attracted them to me. I don't wear scented deoderants or perfume of any kind when working outdoors because it attacts bees.

It dawned on me that the bees were concentrating on my lip area. So I went to a rest room and washed the balm off my lips. No more bees came around.

The balm was very good at keeping my lips soft and mosturized which I liked really well. But I don't suggest wearing it outdoors for long periods of time. Bees think you are tasty when you wear this product.

Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm is a natural...

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mqmystic says "Small enough to carry & efectively cleans hands." about Bath and Body Just for Kids Anti-Bacterial Instant Hand Foam

mqmystic — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:59:48 GMT

I am away from home quite often during the week, mostly without a place to wash my hands. I use anti-bacterials all the time to keep my hands clean which dries my hands till they hurt sometimes. I needed an anti-bacterial that would not be so harsh to my think skin hands and came across Bath and Body Just for Kids Anti-Bacterial Instant Hand Foam.

Last weekend I was window shopping at the local mall when a young woman approached me with a sample which I proptly tried. The scent was Awesome Apple. A very refreshing scent to have left on your hands. This product is very gentle. It is a foam which lets you use much less than the other types of hand sanitizers and therefore saves you money in the long run.

After trying this product sample I decided to purchase it. The bottle I bought is fairly small, holds 1.7oz. I thought it was a little pricy but worth the extra money to keep my hands from drying out so much when I use it.

I keep it with me when ever I...

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mqmystic says "Wonderful full flavor." about Nescafe Tasters Choice, Regular Coffee, 12 Oz 340g (180cups)

mqmystic — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:21:53 GMT

I was in a hurry and left my house without my morning pot of coffee and I needed a cup of coffee really bad to get me going one day this week. A friend and myself were running late for a meeting. My friend suggested I take one of her single serve coffee packets and make an instant cup of coffee to take with me. So I took one of her Nescafe Taster's Choice Hazelnut flavored single packet coffee to try. She carries them around with her all the time.

After heating the cup of water in the microwave I added the coffee to my cup. It desolved instantly. Heating the water only took two minutes. I fixed the cup as I would always do so and took a sip as we were walking out the door to the car. I was pleasantly surprised at the rich coffee taste from an instant. The taste of the hazelnut was just right for my taste, not over powering.

The next day I picked up a multi pack of the single serve Nescafe to keep around for those days I am in too much a hurry to wait for the coffee...

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mqmystic says "Traditional Mexican food" about Don Pedro Mexican Restaurant - San Antonio, TX

mqmystic — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:13:47 GMT

Don Pedro's Mexican Resturant used to be one of my favorite mid-priced resturants in San Antonio when I want Mexican food. It is located on a main street on the southside off HWY 35.

Don Pedro's has many traditional Mexican has changed their food and it is not the quality if was when I first wrote a review about this resturant. I was disappointed the last couple times I went to this resturant.

This resturant iwas not terribly busy when I went the last time, the waiter was not very attentive. It no longer has a smoking section.

This resturant still has a nice bar for those who like a little libation with their dinner or lunch. They have added large screen televisions to the premise.

I am not as happy with Don Pedro's Mexican Resturant and do not recommend it to anyone wanting an excellent eating experience while in San Antonio, Tx.

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