To practice this basic stitch, move the shuttle in your right hand through the loop in your left hand. Bring it over and back through the loop to make the first knot. Then, pull the shuttle to your right to tighten the knot. Finish the double stitch by moving the shuttle over the loop and pulling it down through the center to make the second knot. If you're reading a tatting pattern, the double stitch is abbreviated as DS. Once you're comfortable making double stitches, work at least 7 or 8 of them. Hold the stitches in your left hand and use the hand with the shuttle to pull tightly on the thread between the stitches and the shuttle. Keep pulling until the stitches curl in on themselves and form a tight ring. To make a large ring, work with thicker thread or make at least a dozen stitches before pulling the thread. If you can make a double stitch, you already have the skills to make a picot. Work the first half of the double stitch, but don't pull the first knot tightly towards your left hand. Leave a gap in the knot and hold it while you finish the double stitch. Then, you can slide the picot toward the other stitches near your left hand. Try making picots in a variety of sizes by leaving larger or smaller gaps. Get out 2 shuttles and tie the ends of the thread together. Hold the knot between the fingers of your left hand and wrap the thread from 1 shuttle over your fingers and around your pinky. Let that shuttle fall down to your work surface. Then, take the other shuttle and begin working double stitches into the thread of your left hand.

Summary: Learn how to make a double stitch. Practice making rings. Make picots for a decorative touch. Create a chain of stitches instead of a ring.

Excessive seriousness can sometimes come from trying too hard to live life in a particular way. Say you are highly focused on the goal of eating well, preparing only gluten-free, super-food meals for yourself. Chances are good that if somebody offers you some cake at a birthday party, you'll get stern, uncomfortable, and give a long-winded explanation about your diet. Imagine what the person who offered you the cake is thinking: "Geez, it's just a piece of cake. What's the big deal?" While goals are great, pursuing them with such fervor can make tiny setbacks seem like enormous hurdles, causing the things that you take seriously to become more and more minute. Research actually exposes that perfectionism is linked with less success and productivity because it often comes along with procrastination. Sometimes seriousness happens when we see everything as evidence of our abilities and value as people. Remember that student who acts like every tiny assignment is as important as the final exam? Even one bad grade signals that he is a bad student, on track to fail. When everything feels like a performance of your worth, even trivial tasks or errands become moments where you need to prove yourself. Also try to pick up on whether or not vulnerability is difficult for you. At work and at home, we are subtly asked to put up strong fronts of high, expert functioning where all facets of life are concerned. The result is that we become reluctant to show any signs of uncertainty or emotional reactions to stress. This can be even more pronounced if you have high expectations put upon you, or if those in your life already see you as high achieving. Are you trying to maintain your reputation of being a do-all hard worker? With capitalist society's great focus on efficiency and productivity, being able to set and reach goals is esteemed to the utmost. It is easy to lose sight of the fact that this is just one tactic that is particularly good for business. When it is applied to all areas of our lives, we get convinced that we know exactly what we need to do and how to get it done. Being a product of your culture is a wonderful thing, but being aware of where this attitude comes from can help you use it more responsibly rather than compulsively. This attitude can severely limit you ability to be a good student of the world and take what life throws at you with ease and the delight of pleasant surprises. A major source of seriousness is a heightened sense of danger. After all, it's impossible to relax and take anything lightly if you're caught up assuming that you may need to defend yourself from the threat of harm. Try to ease seriousness by looking for the positive aspects in what you encounter and considering how you stand to benefit by encountering new things. Many people are encouraged to develop a sort of overactive conscience by their parents. Even when parents' intentions are good, constant warnings of potential danger and the importance of being careful can make you see (and focus on) the serious and threatening side of everything. One of the main drawbacks of having a serious attitude all the time is that taking chances and thinking outside the box are severely limited. An overemphasis on seriousness lends itself to a narrow way of understanding what's worth your time and what isn't. When you ignore things that intrigue your or make you feel good in some immeasurable way, you stand to lose some of your natural ability to expand your horizons. Ironically, being too serious can also make you even less productive by making you so nervous about one thing in particular. When we walk around with the mindset that the sky will fall if, say, dinner isn't ready at 7p.m. sharp, we rush and neglect the joys of cooking that really motivate you to make your dishes more challenging and original. Being serious can also impact your connections with others, making you more likely to judge and criticize what you see around you. You might love someone's laugh, but a serious attitude will force you to realize that a nice laugh will not pay medical bills if someone gets into an accident.

Summary: Reflect on the pursuit of perfection. Question if you're trying to prove yourself. Consider that our culture rewards goal-orientation. Notice when seriousness becomes defensive. Learn the effects of excessive seriousness.

These pens, usually holding around 20 to 50 cattle in each, are such that they separate the various grades and even coat color of cattle that have to go through the slaughter facility. This is so that it makes it easier for the personnel in the slaughter plant to grade various carcasses that go through. The pens are also a way for them to undergo ante-mortem (before death) inspection by licensed veterinarians. This is to detect any evidence of disease or any abnormal condition that would indicate a particular animal is diseased. If any such animal is found, a metal ear-tag is placed so as to give special postmortem scrutiny. If there is definite and conclusive evidence that, in the antemortem examination, the animal is not fit for human consumption, it is condemned and no postmortem exam is necessary. The halves, after slaughtering is complete, are sent to a cooler room where they are kept at a temperature of around 34 degrees Fahrenheit for a minimum of 24 hours. Often carcasses are left in the cooler for two to three weeks to allow the meat to cure before it is cut up or "ribbed" into various cuts of beef. Once the carcasses have cured, butchering will commence. Please the How to Butcher Cattle page for more information.

Summary: Cattle are herded off the cattle liners and herded through a race or chute to be weighed then put into holding pens. Sending the halves to the coolers. Next phase.

Whether you make an invoice on the computer or use an invoice book, write the name of your company at the top. Include the following information about your company just below the company name: The complete address The phone number The email or any other pertinent contact information It's always important to you and your clients to know the date of the invoice. That's because payment is usually due within a certain number of days of the date on the invoice. You'll number the invoice sequentially according to how many transactions you've had with the client. For example, if you've sold cakes to the same client on three different occasions, the invoice for the third sale should be #3. If you're using invoice slips that you purchased at an office supply store, the invoices will already be numbered. If you're using accounting software or PayPal, the invoice will also be automatically numbered. Include the customer or client's name or company name. If you performed services for the client as a contractor, you should also include the company address and phone number.
Summary: Include your company's information. Provide the date. Number the invoice, if necessary. Write the client's information.