(BPT) – What your home is worth to you is one thing; what it’s worth to someone else may be totally different. If you want to boost the value of your home for yourself and in the eyes of others, one of the best ways to do that in today’s real estate market is to make green home improvements.

Going green can mean a lot of things, and it’s easy to start with small changes like switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs and unplugging appliances when they’re not in use. Not only will you be doing good for the environment, you might end up saving on utility bills and, ultimately, increasing your home’s value when the time comes to sell. 

Green projects aren’t all necessarily in the do-it-yourself category, and making an investment to have the bigger jobs done right will pay off in the long run.

“It’s important for homeowners to consider cost-saving efficiency projects as part of their overall home renovation plans,” says RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly. “And a trained real estate agent will be able to identify the projects that cut current expenses and pay potential dividends when you’re ready to sell.”

Getting started now – even if that just means planning – is a good idea, particularly if you’re thinking about selling in a few months’ time. Talk to a real estate agent about what improvements are popular among potential homebuyers, and consider these ideas:

* Insulation: Regulating the hot air your home lets in during the summer and lets out in the winter can have a short-term impact on your heating and cooling bills. To find out whether you need additional insulation in your attic or walls, order an energy audit. Perhaps you could benefit from adding blown-in insulation to your walls. If your attic is unfinished, it’s particularly important to make sure that it’s appropriately insulated to avoid wasting energy.

 * Windows: Caulking and putting up energy-saving window film is a great start, but a more dramatic change might make a world of difference if you want to make a sale. Replacing your existing windows with high-efficiency versions can be an expensive proposition, but the return on your investment can be dramatic, particularly if you’re hoping to attract buyers.

* Landscaping: While planting isn’t always possible in the coldest months of the year, putting together a plan for energy-conscious plantings is a great idea. Consider adding trees that will bring shade to the sunniest spots, like the west side of your home, to cut summertime electric bills. Trees that lose their leaves in the fall will let light in during the winter, as opposed to evergreens which will block it throughout the year.

* Water: Take the first step by turning down the temperature setting on your water heater. For more savings, consider replacing older heaters with energy-efficient models or even solar water heaters. Adding insulation to your pipes can also make a difference in how much energy is used to heat water.

Most homeowners put a lot of effort into making their homes attractive, welcoming spaces. With green updates, you can make your home not only more comfortable and more energy-efficient, but also more appealing to buyers. Add the potential energy savings and the possible boost in home value and you have even more reasons to bring your home into the green age.

For recommendations about making your home green, talk to a knowledgeable real estate agent. Green agents at RE/MAX have a commitment to sustainability and specialized knowledge that you can tap into when making improvements. To learn more or to find an agent in your area, visit www.remax.com.

A little over five years ago, Alison and Doug Kirk held their 9-year-old daughter’s hand as she lay on a futon in their Nashville living room, told her they loved her, and watched her take her last breath.

The Kirks had known for a long time that their little girl, Caroline, would die. In her last weeks, she was under hospice care, lived off an oxygen machine, was fed through a tube, and spoke only in small murmurs. It was the normal course for a child born with Niemann-Pick, a terminal disease that gradually leads to the breakdown of the nervous system, brain and lungs.

What happened after Caroline’s death was anything but typical.

Alison and Doug carried Caroline upstairs to the bathtub, where they washed her skin and hair, dried her limp, 45-pound body with a towel and placed her head on a pillow on the bed in her old room. Alison slipped a white communion dress on Caroline, turned up the air-conditioning and put ice packs by her daughter’s sides. She put pink lipstick on the child’s paling lips, and covered up Caroline’s toes and fingers, which were turning blue at the nails, with the family quilt.

Caroline stayed in her bedroom for 36 hours for her final goodbyes. There was no traditional funeral home service, and no coroner or medical examiner was on hand. Caroline’s death was largely a home affair, with a short cemetery burial that followed.

“We had taken care of Caroline her whole life,” recalls Alison, whose other daughter, Kate, has the same disease and will also have a home funeral. “Why would we give her to someone else once she died?”

Each year, 2.5 million Americans die. For the majority, about 70 percent, deaths happen in a hospital, nursing home or long-term care facility. What happens afterwards is nearly always the same, with few exceptions for religious traditions: A doctor or nurse will sign a death certificate and the body will be whisked to the funeral home, where it’s washed, embalmed, dressed, and prepared for a viewing and burial. A family usually sees the dead only a few times: when they die, if there’s an open-casket viewing and in the rare case when a casket is opened during burial.

But a small and growing group of Americans are returning to a more hands-on, no-frills experience of death. In the world of “do it yourself” funerals, freezer packs are used in lieu of embalming, unvarnished wooden boxes replace ornate caskets, viewings are in living rooms and, in some cases, burials happen in backyards.

Nobody keeps track of the number of home funerals and advocacy groups, but home funeral organizations have won battles in recent years in states such as Minnesota and Utah that have attempted to ban the practice. Most states have nearly eliminated any requirements that professionals play a role in funerals. It’s now legal in all but eight states to care for one’s own after death. And the growth of community-based, nonprofit home funeral groups and burial grounds that are friendly to the cause point to an increasing demand.

The reasons vary from the economic to the psychological and cultural. The average funeral costs $6,560, while a home funeral can cost close to nothing. In a society where seeing death and speaking of it is often taboo, home funeral advocates are challenging the notion that traditional funerals are anything but a natural end to life. Instead, they assert, death and mourning should be seen, smelled, touched and experienced.

“There are people who get it and think it’s a great idea. And there are people who have been so indoctrinated to think a different way, a less hands-on way, that they can’t imagine anything else,” says Elizabeth Knox, the founder of Crossings, a Maryland-based home funeral resource organization and the vice president of the National Home Funeral Alliance. Knox travels across the nation to run trainings on do-it-yourself funerals and her book on her daughter’s home funeral is what inspired the Kirks to do their own. Her group is one of several that have seen interest grow in recent years. They include Final Passages (California), Natural Transitions (Colorado) and Undertaken with Love (Texas). There are 61 organizations that are members of the NHFA, many of which are run by just one person.

“A lot of people don’t want to do anything with touching dead bodies,” says Knox. “They consider it creepy. But it can actually be the first step to healing and acceptance of death. Slowing down the process allows all involved to absorb the loss at their own pace. It’s an organic emotional and spiritual healing not available from limited calling hours at a remote location.”

***

Caroline died at noon on a Tuesday. Through Thursday morning, her body stayed in her childhood home, surrounded by old dolls, stuffed animals and her favorite books. Friends and family came in and out to say goodbye. Some would get on the bed beside her body, stroking her face and hair. Others would sit across from her in a rocking chair.

“In the morning, I spent time with Caroline. At night, I spent time with Caroline. I would tell her goodnight. It was very calming to sit next to her. I touched her. I kissed her. And I felt like this is where she was supposed to be,” says Alison. “I told her things that were happening. I said there had been suffering in the last few days, but it was a relief that she was not suffering anymore.”

A few dozen visitors came to the house throughout Wednesday. There was a guestbook in the downstairs hallway, and people would gather to chat on the porch. “Caroline is in her room, and if you want to say goodbye to her, you can do that,” Alison would tell each guest. Most went upstairs for private visits in her bedroom. At least one couple decided not to visit her there.

In Tennessee, where the Kirks live, the laws on home funerals are relatively lax. After getting a death certificate — Alison and Doug had Caroline’s pediatrician sign off on one — a family is free to do what it wants with a dead body within a reasonable amount of time. Alison had a funeral director, who was friendly to her ideas, on-call for urgent needs like figuring out how to patch up a leaking hole in Caroline’s stomach once a feeding tube was removed. She also had him bring a hearse with a casket to her home.

“I did look into if we could bury Caroline at our own house. We could have,” says Alison. “But it’s not like we are on some ancestral ground that has been passed for generations.” She opted for a cemetery. Mount Hope, about 20 miles south of Nashville in Franklin, fit her needs. It’s small, with a “country feel,” she says. “No big landscaping, and not this big uniform place.”

On Thursday morning, the family carried Caroline back downstairs. They lifted her into a casket that was a simple, pine box. Alison put The Little Engine That Could next to her daughter. Doug put in a small, leather keychain shaped like a vintage ink jar that he had used since college (“It was a continuity of presence,” he says. “I pretty much had it on me or nearby for 26 years … It was irreplaceable even though it meant nothing to anyone else but me”).

He rode in the hearse with his daughter, and before the body was lowered into the ground, the hospice chaplain read “The Circle of Days,” an adaptation of a prayer by Saint Francis of Assisi that honors God’s creation of the elements, animals and the heavens. Doug sang Caroline’s favorite song, one that would always soothe her in times of pain: “Big Rock Candy Mountain.” It tells the story of a hobo’s idea of paradise.

Afterwards, there was a memorial service at Vanderbilt University, where both parents first met. Religion in any formal sense was absent.

“We wanted a simple funeral because her life was simple,” says Alison. “It was short and simple.”

She also considers it one of the best decisions she has ever made.

***

It’s not always as easy as the Kirks found it to be.

Richard Bentley, a 70-year-old retiree who lives in Tupper Lake in upstate New York, has tried twice to take care of his loved ones when they died. His dad died in 2008 of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, and, 13 years before that, his mother died of an aortic dissection.

New York is one of the few states that requires a funeral director to be present or to sign off on nearly every part of after-death care. Medical examiners and coroners have to turn over bodies to funeral directors, and the law says an undertaker has to personally oversee each funeral. (The other states with similarly restrictive laws are Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska and New Jersey).

For his father, Bentley says the process was unnecessarily intrusive. He wanted a cremation, which would usually require a death certificate, transport of the body and a cremation fee in most states, but he had to meet with his hospice nurse, the town clerk and the local funeral director to arrange all the paperwork necessary. The total cost: $940. He reluctantly obliged.

“One doesn’t wish to think about things like cost and comparison shopping at the time of a loved one’s death,” says Bentley. “At the same time, I do not believe, and my father before his passing did not believe, that some stranger should be entitled to walk off with a week’s wages or more in return for a few hours of work at the expense of the loved one’s spouse and children.”

Because his mother was airlifted to a hospital in Vermont to have her heart condition treated, Bentley says he had a much easier time with her. She died in the hospital, and he was able to take her body — stored in a box — from the morgue to his car. He drove her to a chapel for a prearranged viewing, then to a crematorium near the Vermont-New York border (it would have been illegal to transport the body in New York state). He returned home for a memorial at his house with her ashes. It all happened within a day.

“We would like to see New York state change its funeral law to allow family to handle such matters as filing death certificates, home viewing and preliminary care of the deceased, and transportation of the deceased without the intervention of a licensed funeral director as prescribed by current law,” says Bentley, who’s on the board of the Memorial Society of the Hudson-Mohawk Region, a group that monitors New York funeral laws and counsels families interested in home funerals. “There is no public need that is satisfied by such laws.”

The public need for funeral homes — there are 19,680 in the U.S. today — is relatively new.

Until the Civil War, death was largely a home matter and home funerals were the norm. It was common at the time for unembalmed bodies to be put in simple caskets and buried in cemeteries that weren’t treated with pesticides. (It’s a growing trend today, known as “green burial.”) Historians say that our culture’s approach to death in the pre-Civil War years had much to be praised.

“Death was much more ingrained into daily life and cultural life. People were rural-living, mortality rates were higher. Most people died at home,” says Gary Laderman, a professor of religious studies at Emory University and author of Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America. It was a time before modern hospitals, “a kind of mediator between the living and the dying,” he says.

But the war and the need to transport bodies from the South to the North led to widespread embalming. The practice was even more popularized after Abraham Lincoln’s embalmed body was taken on a 13-city tour after his assassination in 1865. Mourners gawked at how well it was preserved, according to Laderman.

“The most common thing used to be hands-on family involvement. We Americans have completely forgotten that there is nothing universal about calling the mortuary at 3 in the morning,” says Josh Slocum, executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance and co-author of Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death.

Slocum thinks there are two reasons that home funerals haven’t taken off: “people not knowing they have the option and the ways laws in many places are written to favor the funeral home industry.”

It’s nearly impossible to do a home funeral in some places, but the funeral homes and home funerals can often coordinate activities to get around that hurdle. Like the Kirks in Nashville who hired a funeral director to guide them on how to take care of Caroline’s body and used the funeral home’s hearse, there’s been an uptick in families who want to use only select services of a funeral home. Just as hospice care for the dying gradually became mainstream over the decades, newer generations of less traditional funeral directors are more likely to be interested in helping make arrangements for home services, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.

“I don’t think there is a funeral director who is opposed to a family being more intimately involved as long as it better meets the needs of a family, but this is an evolving process,” says Pat Patton, the co-owner of Patton-Schad Funeral Cremation Services in Sauk Center, Minn., and a board member of the NFDA. In his 34 years in the business, he’s been asked to help arrange one home funeral. “If you don’t want what we usually provide, how do we know what you do want? How do we make it work for both of us? Funeral directors are certainly willing to help families take care of their dead at home, but because it’s new and different and outside what would be normal for our business, it takes time.”

He also isn’t sure home funerals are always the right choice.

“In general, deaths at home and a person caring for everything is fine. But we know that, depending on the cause of death, things can go badly in a hurry,” says Patton. “Sometimes there can be rapid decomposition, blistering on the skins or fluids leaking from the body, things that a family may not be able to deal with. Our concern related to home funerals is that people may just not be ready.”

In a culture where talk of death is avoided, direct experiences like home funerals have benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, seeing and sitting with a dead loved one can help a mourner accept death, says Sue Wintz, who is a consultant and managing editor at New York-based HealthCare Chaplaincy. “That action is part of the healing,” says Wintz, who was a hospital and hospice chaplain for 30 years.

But Wintz says that home funerals require “a lot of support and help from your community or family. You can get mentally and physically exhausted.”

***

Alison admits that Caroline’s funeral was tiring.

Growing up as the youngest sibling in a big Southern Baptist family in Louisiana, she had seen lots of death and had been to plenty of traditional funerals. But even though they were physically easier than services for her daughter, she found them to be emotionally incomplete events (especially so when her parents died).

“My father died from bladder cancer when I was 16. And I just didn’t know what I needed at the time to grieve for him,” she says. “And when my mother died — the same year I was pregnant with Caroline — it was just this huge social event.”

Her mother’s funeral was held back home in Shreveport at a large church designed to seat a few thousand, with a reception before, a reception after, and lots of talking among hundreds of guests in between.

“There were so many family friends I hadn’t seen in years. People just kept on coming to say, ‘Hi,’ and, ‘You’ve got to see this cousin and that cousin.’ I just wanted to be in the sanctuary with my mom with her open casket,” she remembers. “I wanted to have a little last time to be in her presence. I wanted to talk to her.”

Alison was alone with her mother only for a few minutes. “I was self-conscious because people kept on coming in. But I got to touch her hand briefly. She was very cold. And it was a reminder that it was only her body.”

So when Caroline died, Alison spoke to her every day, sometimes every hour.

She wrote entries in an online journal to remember how Caroline’s death felt and to explain her decision to family and friends: “I told Caroline that if she knew what a froufrou outfit I had her in she’d be giving me the business. We compromised in that I let her stay barefoot under her big skirt. The girl never liked shoes … There were a few changes in Caroline’s body over the next two days, not many, and they served to remind us that this was only her body, that her spirit had been released. Everyone had time to sit with her, read to her … I frequently found myself running into her room to tell her what I was doing, and it felt so natural.”

Before Caroline left the house, the parents took her sister, Kate, into the room where she was held. “We’re saying bye to Caroline’s body,” they told her. “But she will always be your sister and she will always love you.”

Kate was 5, and she, too, was already showing signs of Niemann-Pick disease.

Kate is now 11 and in a wheelchair. She was pulled out of fourth grade a few months ago, and has been under home hospice care. She can breathe on her own, but is fed through a tube and has frequent seizures. She’s awake for only a few hours each day.

Her condition isn’t as complicated as Caroline’s. Her decline is almost entirely neurological, and her death will be akin to that of someone dying of Alzheimer’s. She could live for a few years or she could have a sudden seizure that would end her life.

The Kirks have purchased a plot next to Caroline’s grave for Kate, but have otherwise made few concrete plans for her death. They don’t know what she will wear or how she will look. It’s not time to plan for that. She’s still alive. They do know that she’ll die at home in the hands of her parents, hearing the same “I love yous” her sister last heard. There will be no funeral home taking her covered body away, and no wake in a room she’s never seen.

“It’s a hard thing to have to say the final goodbye to your child,” says Alison. “But with Caroline, we made it as good as it could be. I wouldn’t change a thing when Kate’s time comes.”

Loading Slideshow

• Catholic Prayer For The Dead

  Eternal rest, grant unto him (her) O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him (her).

  May he (she) rest in peace (Amen) May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

  Amen.

• Jewish Prayer For The Dead – Mourners Kaddish

  Exalted and hallowed be His great Name. (Cong: “Amen.”)
  Throughout the world which He has created according to His Will. May He establish His kingship, bring forth His redemption and hasten the coming of His Moshiach. (Cong: “Amen.”)
  In your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon, and say, Amen.
  (Cong: “Amen. May His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternity, blessed.”)
  May His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified, exalted and extolled, honored, adored and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He. (Cong: “Amen.”)
  Beyond all the blessings, hymns, praises and consolations that are uttered in the world; and say, Amen. (Cong: “Amen.”)
  May there be abundant peace from heaven, and a good life for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. (Cong: “Amen.”)
  He Who makes peace in His heavens, may He make peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. (Cong: “Amen.”)

• Bahai Prayer For The Dead

  O my God! This is Thy servant and the son of Thy servant who hath believed in Thee and in Thy signs, and set his face towards Thee, wholly detached from all except Thee. Thou art, verily, of those who show mercy the most merciful.
  Deal with him, O Thou Who forgivest the sins of men and concealest their faults, as beseemeth the heaven of Thy bounty and the ocean of Thy grace. Grant him admission within the precincts of Thy transcendent mercy that was before the foundation of earth and heaven. There is no God but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

• Muslim Prayer Al-Fatiha

  “In the name of God, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
  All praise and thanks is for to God, [The] Creator, Owner, Sustainer of the Worlds.
  The Entirely Merciful, The Especially Merciful.
  Owner of the Day of Recompense.
  You alone do we worship and You alone we seek for help.
  Guide us to the Straight Path.
  The path of those whom Your blessings are upon, Not of those who You have cursed nor of those who have gone astray.”

• Hindu Prayer For The Dead

  The wise have said that Atman is immortal: And that the phenomenon of death is merely the separation of the astral body from the physical body. The five elements of which the body is composed return to their source. Our scriptures teach us that as pilgrims unite and separate at a public inn, so also fathers, mothers, sons, brothers, wives, relations unite and separate in this world. He who thus understands the nature of the body and all human relationships based upon it will derive strength to bear the loss of our dear ones. In Divine plan, one day each union must end with separation.

• Anglican Prayer For the Dead

  O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our
  prayers on behalf of thy servant N., and grant him an
  entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of
  thy saints; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth
  and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, on God, now
  and for ever. Amen.

• Words For Parting

  He is made one with Nature; there is heard
  His voice in all her music, from the moan
  Of thunder, to the song of night’s sweet bird;
  He is a presence to be felt and known
  In darkness and in light, from herb and stone…
  He is a portion of the loveliness
  Which once he made more lovely.

  Words for Parting: 2
  The courage of the early morning’s dawning,
  And the strength of the eternal hill,
  And the peace of the evening’s ending,
  And the love of God, be in our hearts.

  Words for Parting: 3
  Farewell!
  The world is better for your having lived,
  We are better for having known you.
  We loved you living- we love you now.
  Farewell!

  Words for Parting: 4
  Farewell, traveler.
  We do not know your destination but our love and gratitude go with you.
  Rest now- in peace- and in the love we bear you.

Earlier on HuffPost:

1. Home Show at Tropicana Field

At Tropicana Field this weekend, the Tampa Bay Home Show will feature hundreds of area home specialists. Featuring furniture, decorating ideas to landscaping to remodeling to interior design, and the list goes on. See the latest in kitchen design and the hottest fashions in window coverings and flooring. The home show is Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission and parking are free. 

2. Benefit Concert for Cassie Andonian

Last weekend,Ferg’s Sports Bar hosted a benefit for one of its own at its Central Avenue location. This weekend, Quaker Steak Lube is stepping up to the plate and hosting another benefit for Cassie and 5-year-old daughter. All donations of $1 or more will receive a Commemorative Black Bracelet celebrating the Event. The Greg Billings Band will provide the entertainment. The benefit starts at 7 p.m. at Quaker Steak Lube, 10400 49th St. N in Clearwater. 

3. The Lynx Docks in St. Pete

Through Jan. 30 hop aboard this replica War of 1812 privateer ship as it docks in St. Pete. You can purchase tickets to ‘sailaway’ on the Lynx or just tour the ship. It will be docked at Harborage Marina at Bayboro. Sailaway trips are $65 for adults and $35 for children 4-12. It is $6 to tour the ship. 

4. Jackyl at State Theatre

Heavy metal fans, head to State Theatre Friday night to rock out to Jackyl. Formed in 1990, Jackyl released its debut album in 1992 and has released such hits at  “Down On Me,” “When Will It Rain,” “I Stand Alone” and “The Lumberjack. The doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are $17. Opening acts include Luvdogz, Relentless and Drive 31. 

5. ‘The Piano Lesson’ at American Stage

August Wilson’s masterpiece, ‘The Piano Lesson’ is at American Stage Theater this weekend. Friday and Saturday evening curtain is at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinee curtain is at 3 p.m. Tickets are $39 for the matinees and $49 for the evening shows. 

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1/24/2013 – West Side Leader
     

By Ariel Hakim

The Dream Basement’s home theater, which will be on display at the Great Big Home + Garden Show Feb. 2-10, will feature 15 leather power-reclining seats.

This year’s Great Big Home + Garden Show will feature a 4,000-square-foot Tuscan-styled Idea Home that attendees can tour.
Photos courtesy of Marketplace Events

CLEVELAND — The Great Big Home + Garden Show will return to Cleveland’s I-X Center Feb. 2-10 for the fourth year with more than 650 exhibitors, new home improvement features, appearances by home and garden celebrities and returning favorites from the 2012 show.

This year’s event will showcase home improvement contractors, lawn and garden equipment, home décor and products and services, offering attendees ideas and inspiration to transform homes and gardens, according to show officials.

One new feature this year will be a fully constructed 4,000-square-foot “Idea Home” built by Perrino Builders. In business in the Cleveland area for more than 25 years, Perrino Builders won the 2012 “Best Overall Custom Home and Best Merchandising” by the Home Builders Association of Greater Cleveland, according to event officials.

According to event officials, the Idea Home will offer ways to plan and create a dream house from concept to completion. The Tuscan-styled ranch will feature an island that seats eight, walk-in butler’s pantry, dining room overlooking a wine cellar and large dinette area. Visitors also will be able to explore the rest of the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home. Other rooms include a mudroom with a walk-in closet and lockers, three-car garage, laundry room, large front porch and home office.

Landscaping surrounding the Idea Home will be provided by Columbia Station’s Morton’s Landscaping, with a focus on low-maintenance design and color, according to event officials. The entrance will have raised flowerbeds, with a foyer built with Belgard pavers and decorative gravel. Azaleas, astilbes and bulbs will surround the outdoor entertaining area behind the house, with a fence of evergreens.

Another new offering is the 2,000-square-foot “Dream Basement,” built by Chagrin Falls-based Custom Remodeling and Design, according to event officials. The Dream Basement will include a wet bar, wine cellar, game room, exercise room and bath with a steam shower. Guests can sit back and relax in one of 15 leather, power-reclining home theater seats and experience live demonstrations in Xtend Technologies’ Home Theater.

Also new this year, show attendees can dine among the Garden Showcase in the Cambria Bistro, a full-service, white-tablecloth restaurant, according to event officials.

The Main Stage and Loretta Paganini Cooking Stage are combining this year. With appearances by home improvement experts, local chefs and celebrities, the Main Stage and Loretta Paganini Cooking Stage will offer attendees home and garden tips and food demonstrations, according to event officials.

“The Good Life” is the theme of the daily cooking sessions presented by local chefs and instructors of the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking. Demonstrations will include adding gourmet touches such as truffle oil to mashed potatoes, whole grain cooking and “Farm Proud” sessions. In addition, consumers will be able to tour the kitchen stage and vignette between stage presentations, which will feature the latest appliances, cabinetry and flooring, designed and built by Pepperwood Signature Homes Remodeling and Little Mountain Homes, according to event officials.

A returning favorite from 2012 is the 17 U.S. landmarks designed by area landscapers in the Garden Showcase located in the South Hall, according to event officials. Visitors will be able to vote for their favorite garden in the People’s Choice Awards.

Also, on Feb. 2 at 2 p.m., Architectural Justice, a full-service design and remodeling center, will host a fashion show on the Main Stage. With architecturally inspired pieces designed by the fashion and interior design students at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design in Lakewood, the show will be hosted by WKYC’s Hollie Strano.

Other offerings at the Great Big Home + Garden Show include:

• celebrity designer rooms custom-designed by Northeast Ohio design businesses and exhibitors, with the help of local radio and TV personalities;

• daily gardening seminars on landscape design, flora and furnishing outdoor rooms at the Petitti Gardening Stage. The Petitti Floral Mart also will feature outdoor furniture and plants to purchase;

• a plant sale, which will begin after the show closes Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m., with deals on the products and plant material on display in the gardens; and

• Playground World’s KidsZone, which features slides, swings, basketball hoops and a fully enclosed Springfree™ Trampoline.

Home improvement and culinary celebrity appearances will be made by Peter Walsh from the TLC show “Clean Sweep” (Main Stage, Feb. 2); Ohio-native Chris Crary, a season nine participant from Bravo’s “Top Chef” (Main Stage, Feb. 9); Matt Fish, owner and chef of Melt Bar and Grilled (Main Stage, Feb. 2-3, 8-10); and Matt Fox, creator and co-host of HGTV’s “Room by Room,” who will serve as the Main Stage’s emcee and make special presentations Feb. 2, 3 and 5.

Show dates and times are Feb. 2 and 9 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Feb. 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Feb. 4-8 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Feb. 10 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Admission for visitors ages 13 to 64 is $14 at the Box Office; $11 online, at Home Depot and AAA locations; $10 for seniors 65 and older with identification (Monday through Thursday only, with tickets purchased at the show Box Office); $5 for children ages 6-12 and free for children 5 and younger. Single tickets are valid for one day of the show, and a group rate is available for $9 each for a minimum of 20 tickets.

The latest show information is available at www.greatbighomeandgarden.com, the Home and Garden Events Facebook page and @Great BigHome on Twitter.

     

Frankfort’s mayor and village trustees brought their ideas to the table on Tuesday evening in a discussion about village priorities for the upcoming fiscal year during the annual meeting of the Committee of the Whole.

Mayor Jim Holland suggested that the village consider a one percent sales tax increase with a residential rebate based on property tax paid.

The increase, which would require a referendum, would alleviate the tax burden off of residents and transfer it onto people who shop in the village.

“It will be controversial, simply because of the fact that it’s, one way or another, adding tax,” said Trustee Kevin Egan.

Holland felt that it wouldn’t be practical for the village to take action on the increase for at least a year.

If the board moves forward with the increase, the village would spend the next several months informing residents about the proposal, before putting the issue to a vote of the people in the March 2014 primary election.

The committee also discussed the possibility of improving the village hall. Multiple trustees mentioned that the board currently meets in the basement of the police department building and that the village could benefit from the addition of a boardroom.

“We need to get out of this bomb shelter,” said Trustee Dick Trevarthan.

The committee determined that a discussion of village hall improvements should be added to a committee meeting agenda in the near future.

Trustees Trevarthan and Todd Morgan both addressed the need for landscaping improvements in Frankfort.

Trevarthan cited a need to upgrade maintenance on Old Plank Road Trail and to implement a landscaping plan for Route 30.

Morgan said he would like to see the village tear out the landscaping in downtown Frankfort.

He also suggested that the committee prioritize the acquisition of additional property downtown and look into organizing more events in the area that could create a strong community identity.

“We really need to take a fresh approach,” Morgan said. “I think we can do more.”

The committee discussed the possibility of changing residential building codes to improve the appearance of Frankfort’s homes and streetscapes as well.

Trustee Cindy Heath said she would like to see the community develop an elegant, unique appearance, with gazebos and walking paths.

“We’re not trying to make homes more expensive,” said Holland. “We’re just trying to make them more appealing.”

Get news alerts and Facebook updates from these Lincoln-Way Patch sites:

• New Lenox newsletter and New Lenox Patch Facebook

• Frankfort newsletter and Frankfort Patch Facebook

• Mokena newsletter and Mokena Patch Facebook

Eagle file photo by Stuart Villanueva

Bryan golf course

James Lindsey, 8, hits from a rubber tee while participating in a golf clinic at the Travis B. Bryan Municipal Golf Course in June 2012.

Posted: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 12:00 am
|


Updated: 9:41 am, Wed Jan 23, 2013.

Bryan City Council considers reducing size of municipal golf course

By ALLEN REED
allen.reed@theeagle.com

The Eagle

|
6 comments

The Bryan City Council wants staff and board members to look into reducing the size of the municipal golf course.

The council, led by Mayor Jason Bienski, on Tuesday instructed staff to postpone moving forward with the Travis B. Bryan Golf Course strategic plan that was introduced in September and instead have the parks and recreation advisory board examine other recreational options for the land. Bienski floated the idea of reducing the number of holes from 18 to nine and using the other space for youth baseball fields.

“If rounds are down throughout this United States and fewer people are playing and have time to play it — I love the idea of a nine-hole course. I could probably play that,” Bienski said.

The mayor proposed similar ideas in 2011, after voters overwhelmingly rejected the idea of revoking the course’s parkland designation. City officials had negotiated to sell the land, which is on highly sought-after real estate.

Council examined the future for the golf course during its workshop, which mainly consisted of a financial update from staff and proposals for how to improve the course.

The staff proposals, which council decided not to move forward with, included constructing new bathrooms, improving lighting, renovating the changing rooms, general landscaping improvements and renovating the 10th fairway visible from Villa Maria Road.

City staff is entertaining a request for proposals for a contractor to operate a restaurant and grill at the golf course. Deputy City Manager Hugh Walker said those plans would still move forward.

The last year the golf course made a profit, according to staff reports, was 2009. The city spent $948,000 and took in $664,000 from the golf course in 2012. That gap is projected to widen to $1.2 million in expenses and $736,000 in revenues in 2013.

Still, Bienski said the golf course was a quality-of-life issue and not a revenue generator.

That sentiment was shared by Hugh Seale, a lifelong Bryan resident and golfer at the course. Seale, who was part of the 72 percent of residents who voted to keep the golf course in a 2011 citywide referendum, would like to see the course stay at 18 holes.

“That would be like saying we don’t want a 100-yard football field,” Seale said. “It would be like shutting half the library off.”

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013 12:00 am.

Updated: 9:41 am.

When turning your house into a dream home, remember not to overlook the exterior. Improving landscaping not only adds value to a property but also makes a house more welcoming when you come home each day.

The Third Annual Sugar Land Home and Garden Show will offer a number of new ideas for turning your yard into an oasis. The event will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26 and 27 at the Stafford Centre,10505 Cash Road, Stafford.

Of the show’s lineup of speakers and more than 200 exhibitors, several will focus on landscaping tips and outdoor products, Tony Wood, president of Texwood Shows, Inc., said.“In Texas, we can use our gardens and patios almost year-round,” Wood said. “They become additional rooms in our homes, and there are several ways to improve those outdoor-living spaces.”

Crenshaw Landscapes is one of the featured exhibitors. The local company has served greater Houston for the past 30 years. The entire booth will be covered in an aluminum shade structure from area contractor, Made In The Shade. The structure is virtually maintenance free, is hurricane rated and comes in several colors to complement the home.“We will showcase several affordable and high-quality residential lighting options,” owner Scott Johnson said.

Big Tex Trees will also exhibit at the Sugar Land Home and Garden show, offering design assistance for homeowners — whether they need only a few trees or enough plants to fill an entire landscape.

Enchanted Nurseries and Landscapes Garden Center will bring assorted fruit trees, plants with seasonal color and custom containers.

The show will feature expert speakers Randy Lemmon, host of KTRH 740’s GardenLine show; and Brenda Beust Smith, author of the Houston Chronicle’s “The Lazy Gardner” blog and recipient of numerous journalism awards.

Boone Holladay, Fort Bend Master Gardener, will discuss ways to decrease a lawn’s demand for water in his presentation, “Landscape Water Conservation: simple steps to make a big change.” Holladay is the horticulture extension agent with the Texas AM AgriLife Extension Service in Fort Bend County.

“We have a great lineup of speakers who are true experts in gardening, plus professionals offering great ideas and products for outdoor living.” Wood said.

Parking free. Tickets are $9 for adults, $7 for seniors, and children 12 years and younger can attend for free. Only cash is accepted.

Visit www.SugarLandHomeAndGarden.com for more information about speakers, products and exhibitors. Print out an online discount coupon for $2 off admission and a chance to win terrific giveaways. Check out exhibitors’ special offers for show attendees.

For more show information, including speaker schedules, exhibitor list, and discounts, visit www.SugarLandHomeAndGarden.com

Short URL: http://www.fortbendstar.com/?p=27295

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By STEPHANIE A. JAMES

Staff Writer

Could Downtown Pamplin have more visitors?

Well it could be possible after adding signs leading to Main Street and making other changes.

Drawings reflecting possible changes that aim to make a difference in the make-up of the entryways to downtown will be presented next Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 6 p.m. at the Pamplin Depot located 115 Main St. There will be light refreshments served at the meeting, which is open to the public.

Elizabeth Gilboy, director of the Virginia Tech Design Assistance Center, and other representatives, will present on Tuesday ideas for signs that will direct people into the town.

Gilboy particularly noted that in order to get into Main Street people need to make a sharp left turn.

Signage and other ideas will be presented at a meeting.

“We tried to reflect the character of Downtown Pamplin,” said Gilboy,

Tuesday’s presentation is a follow-up to previous meeting held last January where those in attendance provided their ideas on scenery and other suggestions that encourage growth to revive Main Street.

Gilboy expects Tuesday’s meeting to last an hour with the presentation being about 30 minutes and the second half of the meeting for questions.

One of the last places that the Center did such entryway design work was Chatham.

Gilboy said that with some places they keep in touch and some report that they have implemented some of the changes.

“It would be great to stay in touch with Pamplin,” said Gilboy.

Gilboy said that they like to hear success stories from communities that they have done work for.

The Center typical posts success stories in their newsletter and on their Facebook page.

In January 2012, Virginia Tech’s Community Design Assistance Center representatives solicited input on ideas that would encourage growth on Main Street.

Presently, Main Street has minimal business and features only the Pamplin Depot, a wood yard, a seasonal antique store and vacant storefront buildings.

At that earlier meeting, among ideas voiced citizens stated that they would like to have a train station and assisted living facility on Main Street. In addition scenery ideas included landscaping the area with dogwood trees and butterfly scapes.

In the summer of 2011, through a partnership with the Virginia Department of Forestry, the Design Center offered a Virginia Department of Forestry’s Urban and Community Forestry $5,000 matching grant to develop a conceptual design for each of the two entrance areas into downtown Pamplin.

With the funds, Virginia Tech representatives were able to complete design work for the project.

The grant offer subsequently came after a book co-authored by an employee of Virginia Tech entitled Lost Communities of Virginia was published, which features historical information about Pamplin and other small communities.

23 Today

South County Speaker’s Bureau Master Gardener Talks: Find out how to select, fertilize and care for citrus trees in the home landscape. Register online. 2 p.m. Free. Garden Club of St. Petersburg, 500 Sunset Drive S. (727) 582-2603. pinellas.ifas.ufl.edu.

What’s New at the Dalí Museum: This public forum hosted by Dr. Hank Hine, director of the Dalí Museum, talks about the new events taking place at the museum. 4 p.m. Free. Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 864-8834.

An Intimate Collaboration: All The World’s a Stage: The Florida Orchestra explores Shakespeare’s influence on music, spoken word and more in a multifaceted artistic collaboration. Vocalists from the USF School of Music’s Chamber Singers highlight Shakespeare’s words in song. 7 p.m. $10. Studio@620, 620 First Ave. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 895-6620.

Emilie Autumn Concert: The “Victoriandustrial” artist has a flair for the gothic and theatrical, including her acting and musical appearance in The Devil’s Carnival. 7 p.m. $16. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 895-3045. statetheatreconcerts.com.

Torah Studies : Facilitated by Rabbi Alter Korf of the Chabad Jewish Center of Greater St. Petersburg, the weekly classes explore contemporary issues through a Torah perspective and are designed to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge. Optional textbook cost $36. 7:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Chabad of St. Petersburg, 4010 Park St. N. (727) 344-4900.

China National Symphony Orchestra Concert: The professional symphony orchestra is made up of a team of award-winning Chinese instrumentalists. 8 p.m. $39.50-$59.50. Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 892-5798. mahaffeytheater.com.

The Piano Lesson: After arriving in Pittsburgh from the South, Boy Willie decides to sell an old piano that has been in his family for generations for some quick cash. 8 p.m. $29 previews and Wed. matinees; $39 Tuesday-Thursday nights and Saturday-Sunday matinees; $49 Friday-Saturday nights; $20 student advance, $10 student rush. American Stage Theatre Company at Raymond James Theater, 163 Third St. N, St. Petersburg. (727) 823-7529. americanstage.org.

24 Thursday

Rain Harvesting: Learn how to collect rainwater in a recycled plastic rain barrel for your flower, herb or vegetable gardens, and save money on water bills. Rain barrel-building workshop. Register by phone or online. 9-10:30 a.m. $25, includes rain barrel, spigot, booklet. Weedon Island Preserve, 1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg. (727) 582-2108. pce-lawnandgarden.eventbrite.com.

Household Budgeting Seminar: Designed for people who want to learn to live better on less while saving to buy a home. Sponsored by the Community Service Foundation. 6-9 p.m. Free. Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N, St. Petersburg. (727) 461-0618, ext. 3. csfhome.org.

Environmental Film Series: Munch on popcorn while you learn about sea turtles and their habits. 6:30-7:30 p.m. $3, $1.50 children. Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, 1101 Country Club Way S, St. Petersburg. (727) 893-7326.

The Helio Sequence: In a very Seattle-centered show, the Helio Sequence plays alongside Seattle hip-hop collective Shabazz Palaces. 7 p.m. $13. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 895-3045. www.statetheatreconcerts.com.

An Evening of Orchids and Scandal: Author Craig Pittman will discuss his latest work, The Scent of Scandal: Greed, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Beautiful Orchid. 7 p.m. Free. Gulfport Public Library, 5501 28th Ave. S. (727) 893-1074.

Sordid Lives: This self-described “black comedy about white trash,” tells the story of a Texas family coming together in the aftermath of the matriarch’s death. Performed by the Gulfport community players. 8 p.m. $15. Catherine Hickman Theatre, 5501 27th Ave. S. (727) 322-0316. gulfportcommunityplayers.org.

25 Friday

Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet: The Florida Orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous music inspired by three Shakespeare plays: Hamlet: Fantasy-Overture after Shakespeare; The Tempest: Fantasy-Overture; and Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy. In collaboration with American Stage Theater Company, actors will present a brief scene from each play as a prelude to the music. 10 a.m. $15-$45. Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 892-5798. mahaffeytheater.com.

Tampa Bay Times Home Show: The largest home show on Florida’s west coast brings the area’s top home improvement experts, along with more than 600 exhibits with everything related to Florida homes, home improvement, home entertainment and landscaping. Also includes entertainment, seminars, demonstrations, giveaways and do-it-yourself ideas from experts. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg. (727) 893-8523.

500 years of La Florida: USF St. Petersburg professor J. Michael Francis will discuss the 500th anniversary of Juan Ponce de Leon’s arrival in a talk entitled “Imagining La Florida: History, Myth and Commemoration.” The discussion will explore the historical legacies of Spain’s colonization of the land Ponce de Leon named La Florida and the interactions among Europeans, Africans and Indians that helped shape modern Florida. 11:30 a.m. $20. Harbor Hall Gallery, 1000 Third St S, St. Petersburg. (727) 873-4519.

Fourth Friday Food Truck Festival and Karaoke: The street festival brings a lineup of food trucks, accompanied by music and local merchants open late. 5-9 p.m. Corey Avenue Area, St. Pete Beach. (727) 498-8778.

Tampa Bay Celebration of Life Rally: The nondenominational, two-day event features music, national speakers, youth activities, exhibits and workshops. 6:30-9 p.m. Free. Suncoast Cathedral, 2300 62nd Ave. N., St. Petersburg. (813) 246-6916.

Jackyl: Metal heads from the 1990s who don’t shy away from blunt lyrics, Jackyl’s latest album, When Moonshine and Dynamite Collide, came out in 2010. 7 p.m. $17. State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 895-3045. statetheatreconcerts.com.

An Empty Plate in the Cafe du Grand Boeuf: When Victor, the owner and sole patron of the finest restaurant in Paris, announces one day that he wishes to die of starvation, the staff proposes a compromise: They will cook one final meal and leave it in the kitchen, describing each course over a series of empty plates. This play celebrates food and the collected works of Ernest Hemingway. Through Feb. 17. 8 p.m. $37-$44. Freefall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 498-5205. freefalltheatre.com.

9 to 5 the Musical: Feisty Fun comes to the stage with the opening of 9 to 5, the Musical. With over a dozen new songs. 8 p.m. $24. St. Petersburg City Theatre, 4025 31st St. S. (727) 866-1973. spcitytheatre.org.

26 Saturday

Shorebird Classes: Learn to identify the birds scurrying along the beach. Bring binoculars, hat and water. 8-11:30 a.m. $15 per class. North Shore Park Beach, 1120 North Shore Drive NE, St. Petersburg. (727) 577-0448.

Art Festival Beth-El: This annual fine art exhibit and sale features more than 150 local and international artists, signed limited edition prints from Syd Entel Galleries, selected works by emerging student artists from Pinellas County schools, a large outdoor sculpture garden featuring unusual pieces for outdoor spaces, offices or large buildings and a boutique gallery with fine art for sale. 7-10 p.m. $25 at the door Saturday. Free Sunday and Monday. Temple Beth-El, 400 Pasadena Ave. S, St. Petersburg. (727) 347-6136.

Azalea Community Fresh Market: This market in St. Petersburg’s Tyrone area offers produce, local and handcrafted foods, local artists’ crafts and entertainment. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.. Science Center of Pinellas County, 7701 22nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg. (727) 600-4223.

St. Pete Beach Corey Area Art and Craft Festival: A full spectrum of craft/art media will be on display and for sale including folk art, pottery, handmade jewelry, paintings, personalized gift items, soaps and body products. A green market will offer exotic plants and gourmet items. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Corey Avenue Area, St. Pete Beach. (561) 746-6615.

Westward Ho! Historic Kenwood Tour: The tour departs from the Craftsman House Gallery to explore the Historic Kenwood neighborhood. 10 a.m. $5. Craftsman House, 2955 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. (727) 824-7802.

Film Screening: Romeo + Juliet:Shakespeare’s classic retains its original dialogue in an “old wine in new bottles” setting in the modern suburb of Verona. Free. 1 p.m. Dalí Museum, 1 Dali Blvd., St. Petersburg. (727) 823-3767.

She Picked Me Book Signing: Sherry Sacino, author of She Picked Me, The Rescue of Fortunato, is on hand to sign copies of her children’s book. 1-3 p.m. Books, food for purchase. Animal House, 950 34th St. N, St. Petersburg. (727) 328-0503.