Susan Neal, Fair Oaks CA Real Estate Broker

This weekend is one that my husband and I look forward to, because we love Sasuma mandarin oranges! It is time for the annual Mountain Mandarin Festival in nearby Auburn, California. Ths festival is held annually the weekend before Thanksgiving, and it celebrates the harvest of the Owari Satsuma Mandarin oranges that are grown in Placer County, right next door to Sacramento County.

In addition to the great taste of these delicious little fruits, the USDA has extolled the wonderful health benefits of them. If you will be within an hour's drive of this great celebration, I recommend you come on by. It is a lot of fun. And if you spot me there, stop and say hello. I'll be bouncing from vendor to vendor, and sampling the wares of the dozen or so orchards that will be represented, checking out the crafts, and picking up so new recipes that include Mandarins.

There is something for all ages, including for everyone, some great cooking demonstrations by professional chefs (and sampling of the food prepared), a cooking contest, and booths, booths, booths!

Proceeds from the Festival fund three scholarships presented each year by the Newcastle Area Business Association. Crowds have grown from 1,500 in 1993 to 40,000 in 2008. Don’t miss the opportunity to attend this major agriculture festival.


November 20, 21 and 22, 2009
Gold Country Fairgrounds, 1273 High St., Auburn, CA

Admission: $5, Seniors $3, children under 12 free.

Saturday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sunday: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
For more information: (916) 663-1918

************

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

It’s time again to get ready for Christmas in the Village of Fair Oaks, California. This year the celebration will be on Saturday, December 5^th, and it is a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season.

Festivities begin at 1:00 pm with Santa and Mrs. Claus on hand for children to visit. They will be available until about 3:30. Meanwhile, from 1:00 – 2:00 and again from 3:00 – 4:00, there will be holiday music filling the area.

And don’t forget to check all of the vendors of arts and crafts, holiday decorations and gifts and some business services. Those booths will be open from 1:00 until dusk. A good place to do some of your Christmas shopping.

The Village Amphitheater will be putting on a production of “Winnie the Pooh” beginning at 2:00. Admission is FREE with a can of food, which will be donated to the needy.

At 4:00 the parade begins for more great fun, followed by the announcement of the award winners in the merchants’ decorating contest.

Then comes the grand finale at 5:00 – the tree lighting ceremony and singing of Christmas carols.

This is great fun for the whole family, and something that those of us living in our “small town” look forward to every year. And admission to everything is completely free. All events will go on, rain or shine, so make your way to the Fair Oaks Village and join us in Plaza Park for Christmas in the Village of Fair Oaks, California!

Directions: From Sunrise Blvd, go east on Winding Way one block and the park is just south of you, at Fair Oaks Blvd and California Avenue. The street to the park will be blocked off, as the vendor booths and other activities will be both in the park and in the street. There is free street parking on surrounding streets.

For more information, call (916) 967-2903.

************

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

When you run out to get that last minute bag of candy for the trick-or-treaters, pick up a few batteries too!

Halloween night is the night to turn the clocks back an hour, and it is also the best time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. I had someone ask me why the batteries should be changed on the specific days that the clocks are changed forward and backward.

There really is no reason to do it on those days, except that we change the clocks every 6 months, and you should change your batteries every 6 months. Changing the clocks is easy to remember (or if you forget, you will have an unpleasant surprise when you show up an hour late or an hour eary for church or an appointment the next day).

It is harder to remember to change your smoke detector batteries, yet that could be a matter of life and death, so why not tie it to something you will remember?

Please don't ignore this - the family you save will be your own.

And Happy Halloween!

************

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

Are we headed into a climate change that will escalate through the years? Many top scientists think that conclusion is inescapable. One major contributor to the progress of a climate change that could be catastrophic over time is the increase of greenhouse gases that are burning away the ozone layer protecting us from deadly rays.

What can each of us do to slow that catastrophe? There are many simple things that we can do to reduce the greenhouse gases we emit into the atmosphere. Some of the easiest and most effective are:

• Change your lightbulbs to those with the Energy Star. According to the EPA, changing just 5 bulbs in your home will prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to removing nearly 10 million cars from the road. And ... you will save money on your energy bills!

• When buying appliances and other products, look for the Energy Star logo. There are Energy Star products in more than 50 product categories. And again ... you will save money.

• Insulate your home, including ducts in attics and crawlspaces, and seal all air leaks. Check for drafts around windows and doors, seal ducts that might have gaps. If you can seal off any drafts, you will use less energy to heat and cool your home. If you have older windows and using weatherstripping is not enough, you may want to replace you windows with those that are Energy Star qualified. You can schedule a home energy audit with a professional auditor or conduct your own audit. This can tell you where you need to focus your efforts.

• Reduce, reuse and recycle. You can recycle newspapers, other paper, drink containers and probably other categories of items that you might be discarding. You can also look for recycled products and/or those in recycled packaging. Consider repairing products rather than discarding them and buying replacements. Reducing, reusing, and recycling in your home helps conserve energy and reduces pollution and greenhouse gases from resource extraction, manufacturing, and disposal.

• Recycle used electronics because they contain substances that should be disposed of properly, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. In addition, electronics contain other valuable materials that can be recovered during recycling process (such as glass and plastics). Recovering these materials through recycling, rather than manufacturing new materials, conserves natural resources and avoids the pollution caused by manufacturing virgin materials. Go to Earth 911 to find where to recycle electronics in your community. In our area a local television station sponsors an electronics cleanup day. Nothing could be easier - you simply drive up and pop your car trunk open. They will come to your car and take your electronic equipment. You don't even have to unload it.

• Clean air filters regularly - a good rule of thumb is to change them at the beginning of air conditioning season and at the beginning of heating season. Your heating and cooling systems operate more efficiently with clean filters, saving energy. Your system should also be checked annually and serviced if necessary. If it becomes necessary to replace your old equipment, choose a high efficiency model.

• Saving water around the home is simple. Look for products with EPA's WaterSense label; these products save water and perform as well or better than their less efficient counterparts. There are also simple actions you can take to save water: When irrigating your landscape, water only when needed and do it during the coolest part of the day. Turn the water off while shaving or brushing teeth. Do not use your toilet as a waste basket - water is wasted with each flush. Repair all toilet and faucet leaks right away. A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water a day. You can also find more details on the Fuel Economy Guide Web site.

Some other places to look for helpful information:

Kids' site about climate, climate change and the greenhouse effect: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html

List of Energy Star items you can buy to get a Federal Tax Credit while you help the environment: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index

Information about home energy audits:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_audits

For more on Blog Action Day:

www.blogactionday.org

There are many other things you can do to reduce greenhouse gases and thereby protect the earth, but those I have listed are simple, inexpensive for the most part, and you can start immeditately.

************

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

Window kitty at 2138 Bates Circle, El Dorado Hills CA

Looking for Open House guests?

This home is one I'm holding open today from 1-4 pm (kitty has moved out - sorry).

For more photos of the house, see my post announcing it as being back on the market.

************

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.