Susan Pomerantz

There's just something about a historic home that makes people want to buy them and bring them back to life. In fact, retaining the authentic appearance is a passion for owners who look far and wide to find genuine or replica period fixtures, doors and windows, hardware, copies of original woodwork and other interior details.

Whether it's a small cottage or a rambling Victorian, renovating old houses is one of the best things homeowners can do for the environment. If you are going to remodel you're in a position to have the best of both worlds: a sense of history and a sensibility toward the environment. The principles of sustainable building are easily adapted to period-renovation projects. This applies whether a structure is sixty years old or several hundred years old.

In the end, the choice to reuse an existing structure instead of demolishing and building new is at the heart of determining a structure's "sustainable" impact. Plus you have the satisfaction of knowing that a historic home has been given both the attention and the chance to stand for another century.

Historic preservation is both one of the most inherently "green" professions and one that provides many benefits to towns. While some see efforts at historic preservation merely as exercises in nostalgia and an infringement on property rights, historic preservation can create jobs and strengthen communities.

The following are several sustainable reasons (other than wanting to retain beautiful buildings) for being a supporter of historic preservation.

* Front and rear porches served dual heat-related purposes for homeowners before the introduction of air conditioning.

In addition, porches provided a sheltered space to sit out of the sun while enjoying the breezes.

* Windows in older homes were always operable to allow cooling air to enter the home.

* Screen doors were installed on all exterior doors, again to capture breezes into enter the home.

* Most doors typically had covered overhangs when not already sheltered by a porch, protecting from rain as well as sheltering the house from the sun.

These methods are still effective since they take advantage of the inherent good design found in our historic homes.

Central to the discussion of older and historic buildings is the subject of weatherization Since most historic homes need needed some restoration, care must be taken protect the integrity of the historic building while updating aspects of the structure that will provide a comfortable and healthy living space for occupants.

Increasing your home's energy efficiency does not have to break the bank. There have been a variety of federal- and state-level options available to the owners of older and historic homes and buildings who are looking for financial incentives to undertake larger weatherization and/or rehabilitation projects. Unfortunately in early February, President Obama released his FY 2011 budget request to eliminate funding for Save America's Treasures and Preserve America, and cut funding for National Heritage Areas by 50%. Assistance continues to be part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program. Every state is now administering over $5 billion in stimulus funds for this program, which was created in 1976 in response to the nation's first energy emergency.

Many Delaware cities and towns have guidelines in place for renovating older homes located their historic district and Lewes and Milton are two good examples. To address these requirements, homeowners can employ the expertise of local artisans, builders, historians and designers who have extensive experience with remodeling, restoring and adding onto historic properties.

It takes a unique person to appreciate life in an old house since it means entering into a partnership with both the house and the community. It does, however, offer a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy an irreplaceable piece of history, a home that has long been part of the fabric of a town.

www.thegreenroadhsow.com

We have started a new chapter of Green Drinks for the Southern Delaware Peninsula. We had our first event at the Buttery in Lewes and they couldn't have been nicer. We had about 60 excited ecofriendly people and professionals.

Next green drinks is on the 7th of July at Dogfish Head in Rehoboth at 330 Rehoboth Avenue. It is from 5-8, you buy your own drinks and make lots of new friends.

We have no charge but are collecting for the Food Bank (money or food). Susan

See you there-Susan

The Green Roadshow came about when three of us (a green realtor, a green builder and an energy auditor) decided to put on a series of free seminars to help people save energy in their existing homes and build or remodel green. This is synergy at it's best.

We then started up a Green Drinks in Southern Delaware at the suggestion of friends from GREEN TV.

The first one was in Lewes, DE at the Buttery Restaurant and we had a great time and an excellent turnout.
Plus there were some great networking benefits for some people
Our next GreenDrinks is at Dogfish Head Restaurant on July 7 from 5 to 8....Buy your drink and join the fun.

The Green Roashow is now working on a joint venture style website. It will be here soon.

Forf those of you who enjoy obscure lists....here is one I made of movies costarring food...amny of which I actually saw....actually this cound be scream cuisine.

SCREEN CUISINE
Sometimes, the use of food in films is marginal, little more than a prop or set piece. The meal depicted simply as an ordered social ritual set the stage for the real story line. In others, it plays a more hidden role, subtly illustrating a particular age or social gathering. Alternatively, food can become ‘the star of the show' like Big Night or La Grande Bouffe.
Some of my favorites include:
A Big Swallow
Made in 1901 this film shows a gentleman infuriated to find himself being photographed, who advances on the camera, opens his mouth as wide as the screen and swallows both camera and operator whole.
Babette's Feast
On the desolate coast of Denmark, two elderly, religious women take in a young woman to be their housekeeper and cook, not knowing she is a superb French chef. When the chef, Babette, wins a large sum of money, she decides to spend it all creating a magnificent meal for the simple villagers.
Big Night
Directed by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott.
The story of two brothers whose Italian restaurant is on the brink of bankruptcy. Their only chance for success is to risk everything they own on an extravagant feast for bandleader Louis Prima.
Chocolat
A lovely story set in a quiet little village in the French countryside where a single mother and her six-year-old daughter move to rural France and open a chocolate shop and shock the neighbors.
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
An all-star French cast assembles for an elegant dinner party, but whenever they try to eat, something happens to interrupt them. A satire directed by Luis Bunuel
Eating Raoul
Paul and Mary Bland dream of owning a restaurant but can't pony up the $20,000 down payment that will make it a reality. The couple decides to lure sex-seekers to their home via a classified ad, kill them and take their money. Plus, the "tasty" cadavers enliven some of the sauces featured on the menu!
Eat, Drink, Man, Woman
Senior Master Chef Chu lives in a large house in Taipei with his three unmarried daughters,. Life in the house revolves around the ritual of an elaborate dinner each Sunday, and the love lives of all the family members.
The Exterminating Angel
The guests at a dinner party are held prisoner for several days without food, water or other essentials in a room in their host's house. Directed by Luis Bunuel.
Like Water for Chocolate
Taken from the novel, this story blends food, sex, mysticism and history into a compelling yarn and retains many of the magical realist elements found in the book. It keeps the food motif central with many truly mouth-watering dishes, incredible feasts and inspiring cooking.
Le Grande Bouffe
Four world-weary middle-aged men decide to gorge themselves to death in one final orgiastic weekend full of gourmet food and sex.
Mostly Martha
A film about a woman who could cook but never enjoyed eating. The food scenes reveal her failure to communicate with both her staff and her family." Martha is the chef who fusses and obsesses over each dish before it leaves the kitchen. The demands of her job and her natural shyness keep her from meeting new people.
Tampopo
A celebration of the role of food in Japanese culture, acclaimed director dubbed the first "noodle western" for its delightful parody of American Westerns and Japanese samurai films.
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
Food, sex, murder, torture and cannibalism are the exotic fare in this beautifully filmed but brutally uncompromising modern fable.
The Gold Rush
The Gold Rush features one of the most memorable food scenes in movie history: "Inside the cabin meanwhile, hungry and desperate, the Tramp and Big Jim celebrate "Thanksgiving Dinner," in a famous, classic feast/meal scene.
The Last Supper
A group of West Coast sophisticates decide to better the world by passing judgment on their influential dinner guests. Say the wrong thing and you wind up as compost for the tomatoes. While very little is shown of food preparation this is definitely a food film.
The Wedding Banquet
To satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand when they insist upon an elaborate banquet, resulting in several complications.
Tortilla Soup
A heartwarming comedy that's all about food, family and a certain kind of magic that only happens at the dinner table. Martin is the culinary genius behind a successful restaurant and the widowed father of three daughters.
Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?
A fast-food tycoon, his ex-wife and a gourmet magazine publisher are involved in a fast and funny murder mystery.
What's Cooking?
Rather than limit herself to one family's deluge of dysfunctional dialogue at Thanksgiving we are introduced to the Jewish family with the lesbian daughter and her lover, the Hispanic family with the philandering husband and newly liberated wife, the cross-generational Vietnamese family's struggle with old traditions vs. new realities, and the successful yet fractured African American family.

DOCUMENTARIES
Fast Food Nation
Richard Linklater's critique of the junk-food juggernaut that's arguably responsible for America's alarming obesity rates.
The Future of Food
Before compiling your next grocery list, you might want to watch this eye-opening documentary, which sheds light on a shadowy relationship between agriculture, big business and government.
The Meaning of Food So many cultural and religious celebrations center on food, but how did this come to be? Discover the rich and varied history of American dining in this three-episode series that has filmmakers raving.
Bad Seed
The truth about our food. Sixty percent of the food Americans eat has been genetically altered or engineered, and the jury is out on whether this could harm the population.
An Inconvenient Truth
Director-producer Davis Guggenheim captures former Vice President Al Gore in the midst of waging a passionate campaign -- not for the White House, but for the environment. Laying out the facts of global warming without getting political, Gore makes a sobering impression on the audiences who hear his message, urging them to act "boldly, quickly and wisely" ... before it's too late to act at all. Plus it won an Academy Award for the best documentary!