My goal is sustainability; So, what does that really mean? I found information about a very interesting organization called The Natural Step, a group who’s soul purpose is to help corporations, organization, and ultimately individuals, understand their role within the sustainability movement and how they “can reduce their impact on the environment while enhancing their overall efficiency and effectiveness”.
It is amazingly easy to work towards sustainability in Charlottesville.
I found the following program, taking place FREE at the public library...
GOING LOCAL : GARDENING 101
February 1, 6:30 pm
James Madison Regional Library, Northside Library
Learn about the many options for cultivating your own food and discover how easy it is to grow certain vegetables in your yard or in containers. Pick up tips abut composting and non-chemical care of your garden. Presented by Laura Glassow, founder of “Home for Dinner”.
Over the past year, I've tried to find a community niche for myself and for my business. By that I mean that I really want to find an area of need to which I can make a contribution. Of course, there are any number of options out there, any number of people and organizations that can use assistance. I've been involved in various community efforts over the years, from arts groups (Second Street Gallery, Piedmont Council for the Arts, and The Very Special Arts Festival) to Habitat for Humanity. At some point along the line, though, I moved away from active involement in the community (except the checkbook type, which we've continued, of course), and now that I've been away from it for awhile, I'm missing it. So, it's time again... It's time to put myself out there, and I've spent the last year thinking about things, attending programs, reading/watching/paying attention.
I've developed an interest in the LOCAL movement, whether it's about food, about protecting our environment, or taking the time to discover all the great opportunities we have here locally. Not only does this fit beautifully with my LOCAL real estate business, but it also happens to be something for which my husband, Stephen, is developing a passion as well.
My first order of business? I am focusing on sustainability. How can Stephen and I begin reducing our effect on the environment. Well, a little bit of research and couple of phone calls later, and we are the proud owners of a FREE fifty gallon barrel that we will be converting to a rain barrel. Once we've gotten the first one up and going, our plan is to hook several together and use them for watering our gardens.
My goal? As we, two busy salespeople, find our way along this path, I will be sharing our efforts. At some point, I would love to create a way to assist others in following a similar path. In the meantime, I immediately have one group to thank...
The Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Virginia is incredibly generous, providing these barrels for FREE. In fact, they provide all of the barrels for the City of Charlottesville's Rain-Barrel-Making workshops.
There is some work involved in making one of these barrels rain-ready, and you need to purchase some parts to put it all together. Both the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County offer rebates which defray a portion of the cost of your rain barrels. More on that in a future post...
When people talk about how great it is to live in Charlottesville, they will almost always add a sentence or two about the great food we have here in Charlottesville. Where else would you find so many wonderful grocery stores... from the Krogers-Harris Teeters-Giants to the Whole Foods-Carriage House - Foods of All Nations. And there are more in between. Then, there are the specialty markets... Mexican, Italian, Chinese, and more! Chocolate - we have hand-made chocolate. Restaurants! Really great restaurants... But what about cooking at home? Well, there's a lot of special at-home cooking that goes on every day, of course. When you're ready to venture into something new for your own kitchen, there's the Charlottesville Cooking School. I am bringing it to your attention today, because we are but days away from the beginning of the Holiday Season, and the Charlottesville Cooking School is offering a 3.5 hours class on holiday side dishes this coming Friday. Take a look at the many offerings for holiday cooking over the next several weeks, and COOK & EAT WELL!
Virginia plays Duke this weekend...
But, did you know that you could begin your day at The Gordon Avenue Book Sale?
The last sale raised over $90,000 for the library, and the selection of books and tapes is fantastic!
Fabulous books, recordings, ephemera of all types will be available for an extended period of time within an expanded sales area. As in past years, the public is invited to Jump Start Your Holiday Shopping, with a wide selection of Great Books at Great Prices for a Great Cause.
Gordon Avenue Library, University area
Proceeds benefit programs and services of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library.
List of Valuable and Attractive Books
A few weeks ago, I drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see about getting some photographs to use on my website and blog. The color was disappointing this year, but I managed to get one or two pretty photographs...
This weekend, while working on our own property in Earlysville, taking care of Fall clean-up, I was stopped in my tracks by the beauty of our surroundings.
I have to say, however, that there's no color quite as stunning as the color we get from the Bradford Pears which line Bleak House Road. They bring joy to all of us who live and walk along this beautiful road.
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