Bellevilles Garden Spot: Couples Backyard Has The Personal Touch

Steven and didn’t know they had until they moved to Garden Boulevard.

Maybe driving by the street sign every day had a psychological effect. Maybe their gingerbread-style cried out for an enchanted forest.

Whatever the reason, the Webers have spent the past planting rose bushes, ivy, ornamental , hostas, perennial flowers and brilliantly colored impatiens.

Steven also has displayed many of his handmade and .

“It’s less housework I’ve got to do,” he joked last week. “No, really, I enjoy it.”

The Weber yard is one of six Belleville properties open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday for Gardens in Bloom, a self-guided tour sponsored by St. Clair County Extension and Education Foundation. Admission is $8 in advance or $10 that day (maps come with tickets).

University of Illinois Extension also will hold a plant sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at .

A committee of selected properties for this year’s tour. All are residential.

“They’re all in a close geographical area, and we’ve learned that that’s what people prefer,” said , county director of Madison-St. Clair Extension Unit. “Some are in walking distance of each other.”

Growing hobby

is a retired U.S. Air Force who works as a military archivist. Mary is a legal assistant. They have two grown sons.

The Webers moved to Belleville from Georgia in 1995 because they wanted to be closer to family in Galena but also near an Air Force base.

Mary fell in love with the Edison Place neighborhood, which includes Garden Boulevard.

“All the houses are different or unique,” she said. “They’re not all the same like you have in some subdivisions.”

The Webers didn’t on landscaping. Their property came with towering oak and , boxwood shrubs, , spirea and azalea , a and a non-bearing cherry tree.

Steven was a woodworking enthusiast, but he warmed up to the role of gardener-in-chief.

“He loves to play in the dirt,” Mary said. “He does most of the planting and transplanting. He just comes to me for guidance. He’ll say, ‘What do you think about putting this here?’ or ‘What do you think about putting it there?’”

One of the couple’s first projects was converting a child’s playground into a raised bed in the . They planted hostas, coral bells, hellebore, sedum, phloxes and mums.

Steven mounted on the oak tree and centered the bed with a red and black “chew, chew” that’s shaped like a steam locomotive. A large glass “engine” holds ears of corn.

“The neighbors like to harass me because I bring all the squirrels in the summer,” Steven said. “They’re always finding corn cobs in their yards.”

Creative gardening

The Webers increased backyard privacy by installing a wooden fence on one side, but they broke up the monotony with black, metal-grid inserts that serve as trellises for climbing ivy.

Steven hung some of his decorative bird houses on the . One is sided with twigs and pebbles. Another is patterned off a stop light with red, yellow and green circles.

The is connected to a small arbor over a walkway with round, concrete stepping stones. Eventually, the wooden slats will be covered with clematis vines.

“You have to wait a few years for (ivy on the ) to grow, but I think it’s worth it,” Mary said. “It’s better than a solid wall.”

More originality can be seen in Steven’s vertical planters along the screened-in patio. He drilled staggered holes in plastic plumbing pipes, painted the pipes brown, installed them upright like posts and planted impatiens.

“They look really nice when they’re full,” said Steven, who used the same pipe to make flower boxes for his narrow windowsills.

Mary also has added creative touches to the yard. She turned a cup and saucer into a flower pot and a small potato sack into a hanging planter. She lined a green wagon with gift bags full of impatiens.

Other Weber “yard art” includes a concrete fountain with a boy and girl under an umbrella; a bird “mansion” with several entrances; an old-fashioned street light and four French solar lanterns; a green wrought-iron table and chairs with a matching birdbath; a butterfly box, rain gauge and Dragonfly thermometer; and several ceramic statues and metal sculptures.

Last, but not least, is Steven’s red, white and blue Chicago Cubs flag, which hangs next to the back door. It’s probably about as popular in the neighborhood as his squirrels.

Tickets for Gardens in Bloom are available through May 31 at Sandy’s Back Porch, Eckert’s Country Store and Garden Center, Effinger’s Garden Center and Hometown Ace Hardware in Belleville, University of Illinois Extension offices in Belleville and Edwardsville and Full Circle Services and Supplies in O’Fallon; and on May 31 only at .

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Monday, May 26th, 2008

Landscaping No Comments

Habermehls Celebrate Three Milestones With One Project

The Reverend Habermehl will have his May 17. His wife Marta had hers October 23. And this October they are celebrating their 55th anniversary.

There’s a lot of celebration in the cards, so the couple decided to have one big party on Saturday. And to make it a celebration for everyone, they are asking that, in lieu of gifts, well-wishers make donations to Services For Women for the monument to be erected in in memory of women who lost their lives to .

“We both agree about that,” the Reverend Habermehl said.

The Anti- () has secured a site in , which he considered a major victory. Fundraising for the monument was taken over by the For Women, and is now being done by the chapter of the the Reverend Habermehl set up locally.

“They have experience, and people know them, so they have credibility,” he said.

The cost is estimated to be at least $50,000, but he says fundraising is going pretty well.

“There seems to be a rule that, if you have a quarter of your budget, you can put out a call for artists - and we have that,” he said.

The actual call probably won’t go out until fall, giving the committee time to consider guidelines and criteria. All that is known for sure right now is that they want a artist.

The Habermehls came to Cobourg from in 1985, when the Reverend Habermehl got a call to co-ordinate chaplaincy in the Region of . They could live anywhere in the region, which stretched from to and north as far as .

He had been a minister in for previously, but his wife was all for settling down someplace new.

“It’s like starting all over again, a whole in your life,” she said.

Mrs. Habermehl had been an activation co-ordinator in a seniors’ home in , and she took similar positions at Legion Village and D’ Place before being hired as activation director at Sidbrook Private Hospital. By the time that facility that closed in 2000, her husband had retired.

Mrs. Habermehl’s years with the Cobourg Garden Club have stood her in good stead in landscaping the rolling terrain of their home. And the Reverend Habermehl took on his own project in 2001 - the Interfaith Coalition, whose members represent every faith from Aboriginal and Muslim to Baha’i and what are termed Free Spirits (a group that includes atheists).

It’s a thriving group that has begun such activities as interfaith explorations - taking a topic and looking it from the different faith perspectives.

“The means are different, the terms are different, but it’s basically the same spirituality,” the minister said. “Religion meets our basic needs, our emotional needs, our spiritual needs. We complement each other.”

The Habermehls’ daughter in Victoria, B.C., will not be able to make the party on Saturday, but their daughters in Cold Springs and will be there, with some of their seven grown grandchildren.

It’s an open-house celebration, so everyone is welcome to drop in between 2 and 4 p.m. at Trinity United Church, 15 Chapel Street, Cobourg.

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Saturday, May 17th, 2008

Landscaping No Comments

Police crack down on egg chuckers

There was a flurry of egg throwing across the city between dozens of senior pupils from four city high schools late last year, with pedestrians and cars also targeted.
Police stopped %26quot;heaps and heaps%26quot; of pupils cars and confiscated 150 raw eggs from the vehicles, Constable Rosie Marchant, of Invercargill, said.
Ms Marchant, who has been interviewing some of the alleged egg-throwing pupils said paint was damaged on several cars, car panels were dented and innocent pedestrians and motorists were targeted by flying eggs.
A Verdon College pupil said egg throwing was a tradition for seniors and was harmless fun.
Ms Marchant disagreed: %26quot;I think there are other fun things they can do that dont involve innocent people having their cars damaged. Some kids were actually throwing eggs at pedestrians as well. It could injure someone if they were thrown really hard at the head.%26quot; Ms Marchant said she had spoken to three pupils and was to interview one of those students again last night. But due to lack of proof it was likely investigations would be ceased.
The parent of a senior pupil at Verdon College said she was dismayed a complaint had been lodged with police. %26quot;Its a wee bit of a culture for these kids and no harm has been done.%26quot; An Invercargill man whose new car was hit by flying eggs said he was annoyed because his vehicle received paint damage and needed repainting.
Ms Marchant said the egg throwers were predominantly from James Hargest College and Southland Boys High School, with some also from Southland Girls High School and Verdon College.
Southland Boys High School principal Ian Baldwin said the egg throwing had been a tradition among senior pupils at Invercargill secondary schools for about and was totally unacceptable.
A few of his pupils had been involved, he said.
Future egg throwers from Boys High faced, among other penalties, the possibility the school would refuse to allow them to access their leaving certificates, references and testimonials, Mr Baldwin said.

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Friday, March 7th, 2008

Garden Landscaping No Comments

After 113 years time runs out for local gem

Carroll’s Fine Jewelry, a downtown Seattle landmark known for its green-marble storefront and hand-painted street clock, survived the Great Depression, the Boeing bust, even the dot-com bust.

But the 113-year-old business can’t abide the prospect of a move. Carroll’s will close for good March 31 as the Joshua Green Building, its home on Fourth Avenue for 95 years, prepares for renovation. Carroll family members, who run the business, say starting over in another location just isn’t possible.

“A lot of people tell us that being in Carroll’s is like stepping back into time,” said Shawna Cruver, a 24-year-old great-great-granddaughter of founder Thomas J. Carroll, pointing to the wood-trimmed display cases and crystal chandeliers. “The charm you definitely can’t fake it.”

Carroll’s sells everything from a $35 sterling-silver bracelet charm shaped like a coffee bean to a $125,000 sapphire-and-diamond ring.

It opened for business in Pioneer Square in 1895. Eighteen years later, it became the first retailer in a 10-story building developed by Joshua Green, a leader in the region’s shipping and banking industry.

During World War II, Thomas J. Carroll decided there was too much hate in the world, so he handed out 3,800 gold crosses. In the mid-1970s, Virginia Carroll Ream and Marie Carroll King, granddaughters of Thomas, bought a Rolls-Royce and promised newlyweds a free ride in it with the purchase of a wedding-ring set. Carroll’s is where Kurt Cobain bought Courtney Love’s engagement ring in 1994.

But it’s perhaps best known for its four-sided, green-and-gold street clock.

“People have called us up to tell us they were late for work because our clock was too slow,” said Cynthia Carroll Ridgeway, a fourth-generation family member who helps run the store, a duty that includes winding the clock weekly. She noted that the family has yet to decide what it will do with the clock after the store closes.

Sarah Sodt, downtown coordinator for the Landmarks Preservation Board, said the clock is a designated historic landmark and cannot be removed.

As for its longtime landlord, Joshua Green Corp., the Carroll family has no hard feelings.

“I think it’s nice they’re going to renovate the building,” Ridgeway said. Reopening in the building isn’t possible, she added, because the ground floor will be redone with one large tenant in mind. “We’ve had such a lovely experience, and that’s how we want people to remember us.”

This past week, Gwen Ellison, a customer for many years, stopped by the store for what could be her last time. “It’s just so sad. A piece of history is being let go,” said Ellison, wearing a ring her husband bought her at Carroll’s. “They’re like family.”

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or %26#97;%26#109;%26#97;%26#114;%26#116;%26#105;%26#110;%26#101;%26#122;%26#64;%26#115;%26#101;%26#97;%26#116;%26#116;%26#108;%26#101;%26#116;%26#105;%26#109;%26#101;%26#115;%26#46;%26#99;%26#111;%26#109;

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Sunday, February 17th, 2008

Landscaping Rock No Comments

Will Powell be all dried up by 2021

PHOENIX %26#151; Climate change and a growing demand for water could drain two of the nation’s largest man-made reservoirs within , depriving several Southwestern states of key , scientists warn.

Researchers at San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography said Wednesday that there’s a 50 percent chance that lakes Mead and Powell will dry up by 2021 and a 10 percent chance the lakes will run out of usable water by 2013.

“We were surprised that it was so soon,” said climate scientist David Pierce, co-author of the institution’s study that detailed the findings.

The study, which was released Tuesday, found that if current conditions persist, there’s a 50 percent chance the reservoirs will no longer be able to generate hydropower by 2017.

Lake Mead, on the Arizona-Nevada border and the West’s largest storage reservoir, and Lake Powell, on the Arizona-Utah border, have been hit hard by a regional drought and are half full. Both lakes were created by dams built on the Colorado River, which provides water for about 27 million people in seven states.

Researchers said that if Lake Mead water levels drop below 1,000 feet, Nevada would lose access to all its river allocation, Arizona would lose much of the water that flows through the Central Arizona Project Canal, and power production would cease before the lake level reached bottom.
Story continues below

Larry Dozier, deputy general manager at the Central Arizona Project, which supplies Colorado River water to the Phoenix and Tucson areas, called the Scripps study “absurd.”

“I think they must have made some pretty outrageous assumptions to come up with some outrageous conclusions,” he said. He said his agency’s own study of the water levels in the two lakes showed they were in no danger of drying up.

“You can’t get there from here,” he said. “You can’t make it go dry in that situation using any rational set of assumptions.”

Pierce said the conclusions in the Scripps study are based partially on an estimated reduction in runoff of 20 percent over the next 50 years. He said that figure was used because it split the difference between the 10 percent to 30 percent decrease in runoff the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts will occur over the next 50 years.

Scott Huntley, a spokesman for the regional Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas, said 90 percent of the region’s water comes from the Colorado River and that government officials are committed to not letting the Lake Mead reservoir dry up.

He pointed to an agreement signed in December by the seven states and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to conserve and share scarce water if the Colorado River continues.

“Really, the main underpinning of this is not just supply side, but also demand side,” Huntley said.

“First, we continue to monitor the lake levels to determine if states need to come back together for more dramatic and drastic measures,” he said. “Second, we diversify our . Third, of course, is continuing our community’s efforts to conserve.”

The December agreement established triggers that would reduce river water deliveries to states if Lake Mead’s water level falls to 1,075 feet above sea level. It also calls for states to create agreements for further restrictions if the level drops to 1,025 feet. The current lake level is 1,117 feet.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said that while the Scripps findings differ from the Central Arizona Project’s, she agrees with the fundamental point made by Scripps, “which is to say that as our population grows, sustainability is going to require action with respect to water.”

“We’re still the second-fastest growing state in the country and we still have to be planning on that in terms of sustainability, which is a good concept,” Napolitano said. “Water needs to be a part of that, obviously.”

Launce Rake, a spokesman for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada in Las Vegas, said the issues of water usage and population growth are often overlooked in a rush to meet the needs of the influential building and development industry.

“Developers have an inordinate amount of clout with our elected leaders,” he said. “They have dictated our growth patterns and our for years. That’s got to end.”

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Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Backyard Landscaping No Comments

UW study Rules add 200000 to Seattle house price

Backed by studies showing that middle-class Seattle residents can no longer afford the city’s middle-class homes, consensus is growing that prices are too darned high. But why are they so high?

An intriguing new analysis by a University of Washington economics professor argues that home prices have, perhaps inadvertently, been driven up $200,000 by good intentions.

Between 1989 and 2006, the median inflation-adjusted price of a Seattle house rose from $221,000 to $447,800. Fully $200,000 of that increase was the result of land-use regulations, says Theo Eicher twice the financial impact that regulation has had on other major U.S. cities.

“In a nationwide study, it can be shown that Seattle is one of the most regulated cities and a city whose housing prices are profoundly influenced by regulations,” he says.

A key regulation is the state’s Growth Management Act, enacted in 1990 in response to widespread public concern that sprawl could destroy the area’s unique character. To preserve it, the act promoted restrictions on where housing can be built. The result is artificial density that has driven up home prices by limiting supply, Eicher says.

Long building-permit approval times and municipal land-use restrictions upheld by courts also have played significant roles in increasing Seattle’s housing costs, he adds.

(While his data reflect owner-occupied homes within the city of Seattle only, Eicher thinks the same basic findings may apply to surrounding cities.)

Eicher’s $200,000 conclusion doesn’t surprise Kriss Sjoblom, staff economist for the Washington Research Council, a nonpartisan organization that examines public-policy issues.

“It’s actually pleasing,” Sjoblom says, “that we finally have data that allows us to show things we thought were there all the time.”

A UW professor for , Eicher is also the founding director of the UW’s Economic Policy Research Center. Its goal is to provide analysis that will inform regional policy debates.

Eicher says the research center long wanted to analyze the impact of regulation on housing prices, and found a way when researchers at the University of Pennsylvania developed the Wharton Residential Land Use Regulatory Index. Based on a survey of more than 2,500 U.S. municipalities, it provided the first nationwide analysis and comparison of the effects of land-use regulation.

Eicher requested Seattle’s data from the Wharton Index and analyzed it further. That led him to put a price tag on local land-use regulations.

He received no outside funding for the project and stresses he makes no value judgments about whether regulation is good, bad or needs to change.

Rather, Eicher wants the public to “understand the impact of their choices. There’s always a cost associated with the cityscape. Who wants to have no parks in the city? Or, a 10-story high-rise in Blue Ridge? But there’s a cost to that.”

Compared with 250 major U.S. cities, he says, Seattle:

%26#8226; Is first in terms of the impact of state political involvement in land issues.

%26#8226; Is in the top 3 percent for approval delays for new construction.

%26#8226; Is in the top 10 percent in local political pressure influencing land use.

As an example of how this plays out, Eicher explains that “the statewide growth-management plan gave King County few options but to require that landowners in rural areas that haven’t already cleared their land to keep 50 to 65 percent of their property in its ‘natural state.’ This forced greater density in Seattle.”

Then a King County referendum to repeal some of the county’s land-use restrictions was judged illegal in 2006 by the state Supreme Court because it violated the state’s Growth Management Act.

“The state is intervening to restrict supply. It’s not that there’s no land at all,” Eicher says.

Economists hold that housing costs are driven by supply and demand, and say those factors have certainly influenced the cost of Seattle’s housing.

But Eicher argues that “demand does not need to drive up housing prices.”

Cities such as Houston and Atlanta, which have few growth restrictions, have shown that. They’ve been able to add enough housing to meet demand, so their home prices have risen more moderately than heavily regulated San Francisco and Boston, which have a harder time increasing housing.

According to the Wharton study, cities such as Seattle that have high median incomes, high home prices and a large percentage of college-educated workers tend to have the most land-use regulations.

Sjoblom says that makes sense: “People with higher incomes want the kind of amenities that regulation provides,” he says. “If you’re a homeowner and growth controls are imposed and housing prices shoot up, you’re grandfathered because you own the place. In theory people will say it’s [rising prices] a bad thing, but in practice it’s not hurting them.”

Sjoblom says that’s why making the changes that would foster affordability are so hard to get past the public, some 68 percent of whom are homeowners. “When you bring up specific things, like allowing multifamily housing in their neighborhood, they have misgivings.”

That frustrates renters, who suspect they’re being priced out. And they’re right, according to a housing-affordability index created by the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University.

Last summer, King County’s potential first-time buyers earning the median family income ($75,143) had just 37 percent of the financial wherewithal to buy the median-priced single-family house ($477,000) at the prevailing interest rate (6.47 percent).

Five years earlier, when King County’s median-priced house cost $282,500, median-income, first-time buyers possessed 72 percent of the income needed.

(No breakout statistics are available for Seattle.)

But various make it challenging to add more affordable housing, notes Sam Anderson. He’s executive officer of the Master Builders Association of King %26amp; Snohomish Counties, which has pushed government to rethink some of the regulations.

Anderson estimates that regulatory costs comprise up to 30 percent of the total cost of building a new house (land costs included). The laundry list of fees and requirements can run to 30 or more, depending on where the house is built.

Among them, Anderson says, are transportation, school and park impact fees, stormwater management fees, critical-areas mitigation and monitoring, pavement requirements and rockery permits.

And then there’s the dollar cost of the process itself.

Building in Seattle can be very time-consuming compared with nearby cities, because of Seattle’s neighborhood-based design-review process, says Linda Stalzer, project development director for the Dwelling Company, an Eastside homebuilder.

Design-review committees, composed of citizens interested in architecture and development, are located throughout Seattle; their job is to review commercial and multifamily housing designs before they’re approved.

“Depending on how complicated your project is, it might take you three or four times to get through it,” Stalzer says.

Add together all the various review and comment periods, and it can take 12 to 18 months to get to the point of applying for a , she says.

On a 25-unit Capitol Hill town-house project now under way, Stalzer estimated the various fees (including consulting and mitigation costs, but not building permits or land prices) have totaled about $650,000.

“I think there’s value in going through the process because we’re building things that have an impact on communities,” Stalzer says. “The difficult part is the process isn’t very efficient.”

In the final analysis, Eicher believes Seattle’s regulatory climate exists because its residents want it. “My sense is land-use restrictions are imposed to generate socially desirable outcomes,” he says. “We all love parks and green spaces. But we must also be informed about the costs. It’s very easy to vote for a park if you think the cost is free.”

Elizabeth Rhodes: %26#101;%26#114;%26#104;%26#111;%26#100;%26#101;%26#115;%26#64;%26#115;%26#101;%26#97;%26#116;%26#116;%26#108;%26#101;%26#116;%26#105;%26#109;%26#101;%26#115;%26#46;%26#99;%26#111;%26#109;

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Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Landscaping Rock No Comments

Expat workforce in corporate sector posing challenge to desi talent

NEW

DELHI: A new study suggests that the superior competencies of a rapidly

multiplying expat workforce in the Indian corporate sector are posing a

disturbing challenge to desi talent, especially in key leadership roles.

Research firm, Credence

Research and Analytics (CRA) findings suggest that expatriate managers are not

only the wind beneath the wings of the Indian corporate sector but also the real

messiahs of cultural harmony and innovations in new-age workplaces.

According to the study, there

are roughly 40,000 expats working in India at present, of which 15% are in top

leadership roles. However, in contrast , Ramesh Bajpai, executive director of

the American Chamber of Commerce, India’s largest international business

association, says, “In the last 10 years, while membership has grown from

140 companies to 420, the percentage of expats in leadership roles has declined

from 35% to as little as 5%.

Called Expat~Fluence, the

study examines the influence of expatriates since the opening of the economy,

drawing from inputs from HR managers , functional heads and executives at all

levels in major industry sectors like BPO, retail , aviation, hospitality,

tourism and energy.

Also

read

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care while firing employees

Differently-abled

employees

How to

equip oneself for a bigger role

Chevron to

recruit from India for global operations

The

study credits expatriate managers with above par adaptability and empathy for

cultural variances with evidence of them displaying more patience with their

peers than Indian managers. Expat managers show demonstrably higher levels of

transparency, risk taking and individual accountability. Expat managers are also

more vocal and practice what they preach. The study illustrates with an example

of expat managers in GE’s office walking faster than others to demonstrate

energy and commitment to corporate goals.

However, the head of a search

firm is quick to point out that GE Money has had to sell its business in India

despite successes in other geographies and the onus of this rests squarely on

the shoulders of an expat leadership.

Agrees an Indian MD of a large

MNC. “MNCs sending expats to India in leadership roles in today’s

day and age exhibits poor understanding of the Indian market and talent pool. It

is a vastly inferior choice,” he

says.

Malvinder Singh, Ranbaxy’s MD

%26amp; CEO offers a more balanced view. Ranbaxy employs people from over 50

different nationalities and Singh has himself served under expat CEO, Brian

Tempest, who worked with Ranbaxy for 12-.

“A leader is a leader.

Global businesses need the right man for the job and nationality becomes

irrelevant during this search,” he says. However, he believes Indian

leadership is globally recognized for passion, commitment, risk taking and the

ability to deal with diverse situations.

“Indians remain the

first choice for top leadership positions, though there is demand for expats in

specialized areas. Indians understand the country’s complex environment

better, which helps in effective decision-making. Longevity is also an issue,

since expats are unwilling to stay on beyond three to four years,” says

Uday Chawla, managing partner, Transearch.

Preety Kumar of Amrop echoes

this view. “For expertise roles with a strong technical orientation,

expats may work well, but where there is interface with operating and functional

heads, expats successes are often mixed because of cultural challenges,”

she says.

There is unanimity

that heavily regulated sectors, which require considerable government interface

are least suited to expat intervention.

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Sunday, February 10th, 2008

Yard Landscaping No Comments

HOME GARDEN A distinctive team for a Europeaninspired home

Don’t worry if you begin to experience deja vu as you wander through the Eagle home that belongs to David and Veronique Waldron.There’s something familiar about the diamond pattern in the iron railing upstairs. The gray and cranberry-colored walls in the kitchen seem to say, “I’ve been here before.”And you have.Veronique, an interior designer who owns Fleur-de-lis Design, carried different variations on the diamond/gray/cranberry theme throughout the house. But it started in the kitchen, with a tile backsplash Veronique chose and loved enough to repeat in different ways that are barely perceptible; a gentle whisper that seems to softly say, “Remember me?”"Whatever I do has a story, and it all floats,” Veronique says.David and Veronique played double roles when building and designing their home. They were both clients and employees. David is an architect with 40 years of experience. Veronique has lived in the United States for about 28 years but was raised in Belgium and began her design training in Europe. The Waldrons decided to build their home in the Corrente Bello development located off Floating Feather Road after David did some work for the developers. His designs include the grand-entry bell tower, a building near the pool and common area, the and one of the homes. Together, the Waldrons created a 4,500-square-foot home that reflects their personal style and interests. They moved into their new home in August. But first, it was business as usual as the team worked to create something they would both love to call home.”When I make initial drawings, I treat her like a client,” David says. “I present them to her. She does the same for me.”From Veronique’s beloved Dutch door to David’s European-inspired long hallway, it is a team effort with distinctive results.”There’s a real evolution to it,” David says. “It doesn’t fall out of the sky. We critique each other back and forth until we get it just how we want it.”FOLLOW YOUR HEARTVeronique believes in a playful approach to interior design. She avoids duplicating material in each room of the house, so you won’t find matching , tile, or other features in multiple rooms. What you will find is symmetry. Colors and patterns correspond, and even cabinet and door hardware has a connection. Veronique says she fell in love with the tile she uses as an accent in the kitchen, and its impact on the home is far-reaching. Diamond-shaped with cranberry accents dangle from a modern chandelier in the kitchen. Cabinet doors have a subtle diamond pattern. Walls painted gray or cranberry continue the theme. These connections won’t hit you over the head, but if you pay close attention, you’ll see the common elements. For Veronique, that’s all part of the fun. “Life’s too short,” she says. “Let’s play and have fun with what’s out there.”The Waldrons love wine, so their home includes a wine cellar and also bears a wine-appropriate name: “Vino Veritas,” part of a Latin phrase that means, “There is truth in wine.” Pear-shaped hardware is found on the cabinets in one room to reflect Veronique’s love of pears.In a way, wine brought David and Veronique together. Veronique owned a wine bar in Portland and was looking for a larger location for her business. David, who grew up in Iowa, owned a building in a historic section of downtown Portland. The building wasn’t quite what Veronique was looking for, but there was a connection between the two just the same. They’ve been together about 20 years and married for 16, and most of that time has been spent in Idaho. They moved to Sun Valley after going there for a vacation. They fell in love with Sun Valley’s beauty and decided to make it their home for . The Waldrons have been in Boise for seven years, and it was in Boise where Veronique launched her design company.IT FEELS LIKE HOMEChildhood memories and features common in European homes influence Veronique’s work. She designed the tile pattern in the to echo one that reminds her of her childhood in Belgium.”It reminds me of my grandmother’s brick pattern in her ,” she says.Little reminders of home are everywhere, from the grand wood-burning fireplaces (located in three rooms) to the authentic French stove in the kitchen.Walls in the main hallway have a muted look, thanks to a faux finish created by Anthony Pinkston of Faux Haus Design. Veronique wanted to stay away from a shiny finish because the muted walls seem more authentic and true to Tuscan style. That muted look will be even more pronounced in the future as the home ages.”I like to see wear over the years because it makes me feel at home,” Veronique says.The home has a Tuscan theme, inspired by the couple’s numerous trips to Europe, and David aimed to make their home as authentic as possible. A long main hallway is located off the main entrance to the home. The long hallway, which is common in Tuscan homes, leads to several rooms of the house including a living room, dining room and the master bedroom. Other European influences include exposed beams and wider hallways. “Our main intent here was to make this house comfortable,” David says.But comfort can still be fun, as Veronique proves with her playful approach to design. She used that favorite kitchen tile as a springboard for design accents throughout the home, in unexpected places like iron railing and light fixtures. And she added fun accents from Fine, an architectural hardware store in Downtown Boise. The hardware featured in the Waldrons’ home comes from this innovative shop, and Fine owner Jill Morse worked embraced Veronique’s “life is short, have fun” approach when choosing accents for her home. In fact, it’s a philosophy Morse encourages with her other clients, too.”Anything goes, as long as they like it,” Morse says. “Be creative, have fun.”Chereen Langrill writes for Treasure Magazine and the Idaho Statesman. To offer story ideas or comments, contact her at cdlangrill@idahostatesman.com or 672-6733.

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Friday, February 8th, 2008

Equipment Landscaping No Comments

Serious steaks New Paso restaurant offers classic cuisine

I cant count how many times Ive been asked, %26#8220;Where can I get a good steak in this town?%26#8221;

Usually I ramble off a few places: F. McLintocks, Tanner Jacks and a few fine-dining restaurants that carry a steak or two on their menus.

But I now have a better answer: Bernicks in Paso Robles.

The contemporary restaurant opened its doors in downtown Paso Robles last month with a big city-style steakhouse menu.

Steaks are prime grade and dry-aged to enrich the flavor. Side dishes are offered a la carte rather than with the steak.

For example, if you want creamed spinach with your steak, its an additional $6. The a la carte concept is popular at nationally renowned steak houses such as Mortons or Ruths Chris, but is still new to the Central Coast.

A la carte items quickly add up on a bill, but they also offer freedom and a chance to share the dishes because they are large enough for two.

Bernicks is a block north of downtown City Park in a long and narrow building that formerly housed a retail store.

The design is classic for a steakhouse, with its wall of aged bricks, deep cherry wood tables, black leather chairs, high ceilings and a 30-foot-long bar.

The ambience was alluring, but it wasnt quite the relaxing, dimly lit atmosphere I hoped for. It was bustling with customers dining at the bar or at the bistro-style tables throughout the restaurant.

Getting started

The menu at Bernicks is straightforward and simple. Enticing appetizers include beef carpaccio, waffle fries with Gorgonzola cream sauce and Provoleta a la Plancha, a

cast-iron skillet filled with melted provolone cheese and crusty grilled slices of french bread. The Provoleta ($9) came out simmering and was a delicious %26#8212; albeit filling %26#8212; start to our dinner.

For salads, there are four choices: classic Caesar, the house (mixed ), an iceberg wedge and blue cheese, or a tomato and onion salad. I chose the wedge ($8) and was delighted by its artful display of lettuce halves, tangle of balsamic-glazed onions, chopped tomatoes and sliced carrots.

The blue cheese dressing was dense and pungent, one of the most delicious Ive tried.

Beef is king

Bernicks serves more than steaks, but why order other choices at a steakhouse? (There is a half-roasted chicken and a daily fresh catch.) Carnivores to the core, my husband, Seth, and I ordered the bone-in rib-eye ($35) and the baseball-cut sirloin ($25).

The presentation is all about the steak %26#8212; our plump and simmering steaks were starkly served on white plates with no garnish. Our plates were also simmering, a nice touch to keep the steak hot throughout the meal.

Steaks are served with a choice of three sauces: chimichurri, b%26#233;arnaise and a house sauce (similar to a homemade A1 sauce).

Seth pronounced the rib-eye one of the best hes ever tasted. Its certainly one of the best hes eaten on the Central Coast, where hes lived for . Served medium-rare (this means steakhouse medium-rare or bright pink), the rib-eye was cooked exactly as he wanted it.

My baseball-cut sirloin was tall and round, also a perfect medium-rare. Although not quite as tasty as the rib-eye cut, it was delicious, juicy and flavorful for such a lean cut of beef.

Side orders

The sides of creamed spinach and asparagus were nearly as appealing. The creamed spinach was a sort of California version %26#8212; rather than the usual chopped spinach drenched in cream, baby spinach was saut%26#233;ed and lightly drizzled with a creamy butter sauce.

The delicate asparagus spears were perfectly grilled and sprinkled with orange zest, salt and pepper.

Because this was a meal of indulgence, making dessert a necessity, we chose the chocolate mousse cake %26#8212; a rich, dense slice of chocolate heaven.

Bernicks wine list is extensive and thoughtfully created, offering an array of strong reds from the Central Coast, France and Italy to pair with the delectable steaks.

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Friday, February 8th, 2008

Landscaping Stone No Comments

Local Flavors At the Honeymoon Cafe theyre keeping it real

When they took over the Honeymoon Cafe last fall, Tara Jones and Christi Rivera vowed to feature local, organic and sustainable products on their menu, and its a promise theyve kept.

The lineup of locals includes Windrose Farms, Hearst Ranch Beef, Sweet Earth Organic Chocolate, SLO Grown Produce, Coastal Peaks Coffee Roasters, The Secret Garden, SLO Chai and the list continues to grow.

Jones and Rivera met while working at The Park Restaurant in San Luis Obispo.

Teaming up

Discovering their shared passion for sustainable food, they started tossing around the idea of opening their own place, a concept which burst into reality when Jones happened to visit the Honeymoon Cafe one weekend and casually asked the owner if he wanted to sell.

He took her up on it, and in mid-September, %26#8220;we started painting.%26#8221; By mid-October, the cafe had reopened with a new look and an expanded, ever-changing, seasonal menu.

An evolving menu

Morning options at the cafe still include basics such as coffee drinks, muffins and oatmeal, but now theres fare such as a breakfast burrito with organic black beans and scrambled eggs, and the %26#8220;Green Eggs and Ham%26#8221; flatbread breakfast pizza.

Lunch items include Tuscan Orange and Fennel Salad, Tuna Panini, Carnitas Street Tacos, Ciabatta Burger and daily soups and pot pies.

On weekends, Jones and Rivera escape the cafes tiny kitchen and cook both their regular menu and a pancake breakfast on the outdoor grill.

Jones and Rivera already have plans to expand their kitchen (in part to accommodate their growing catering business), and they are within several weeks of being able to offer organic beer and wine.

Tapas are also on the horizon, as well as opening for dinner a couple of nights a week.

But whatever the future holds, assured Rivera, %26#8220;Were going to do the local theme, keep it real, and keep it fresh.%26#8221;

Katy Budge is a freelance writer from Atascadero. If you have a favorite %26#8220;Local Flavor%26#8221; youd like to see featured, e-mail your suggestions to ktbudge@sbcglobal.net.

I cant count how many times Ive been asked, %26#8220;Where can I get a good steak in this town?%26#8221;

Usually I ramble off a few places: F. McLintocks, Tanner Jacks and a few fine-dining restaurants that carry a steak or two on their menus.

But I now have a better answer: Bernicks in Paso Robles.

The contemporary restaurant opened its doors in downtown Paso Robles last month with a big city-style steakhouse menu.

Steaks are prime grade and dry-aged to enrich the flavor. Side dishes are offered a la carte rather than with the steak.

For example, if you want creamed spinach with your steak, its an additional $6. The a la carte concept is popular at nationally renowned steak houses such as Mortons or Ruths Chris, but is still new to the Central Coast.

A la carte items quickly add up on a bill, but they also offer freedom and a chance to share the dishes because they are large enough for two.

Bernicks is a block north of downtown City Park in a long and narrow building that formerly housed a retail store.

The design is classic for a steakhouse, with its wall of aged bricks, deep cherry wood tables, black leather chairs, high ceilings and a 30-foot-long bar.

The ambience was alluring, but it wasnt quite the relaxing, dimly lit atmosphere I hoped for. It was bustling with customers dining at the bar or at the bistro-style tables throughout the restaurant.

Getting started

The menu at Bernicks is straightforward and simple. Enticing appetizers include beef carpaccio, waffle fries with Gorgonzola cream sauce and Provoleta a la Plancha, a

cast-iron skillet filled with melted provolone cheese and crusty grilled slices of french bread. The Provoleta ($9) came out simmering and was a delicious %26#8212; albeit filling %26#8212; start to our dinner.

For salads, there are four choices: classic Caesar, the house (mixed ), an iceberg wedge and blue cheese, or a tomato and onion salad. I chose the wedge ($8) and was delighted by its artful display of lettuce halves, tangle of balsamic-glazed onions, chopped tomatoes and sliced carrots.

The blue cheese dressing was dense and pungent, one of the most delicious Ive tried.

Beef is king

Bernicks serves more than steaks, but why order other choices at a steakhouse? (There is a half-roasted chicken and a daily fresh catch.) Carnivores to the core, my husband, Seth, and I ordered the bone-in rib-eye ($35) and the baseball-cut sirloin ($25).

The presentation is all about the steak %26#8212; our plump and simmering steaks were starkly served on white plates with no garnish. Our plates were also simmering, a nice touch to keep the steak hot throughout the meal.

Steaks are served with a choice of three sauces: chimichurri, b%26#233;arnaise and a house sauce (similar to a homemade A1 sauce).

Seth pronounced the rib-eye one of the best hes ever tasted. Its certainly one of the best hes eaten on the Central Coast, where hes lived for . Served medium-rare (this means steakhouse medium-rare or bright pink), the rib-eye was cooked exactly as he wanted it.

My baseball-cut sirloin was tall and round, also a perfect medium-rare. Although not quite as tasty as the rib-eye cut, it was delicious, juicy and flavorful for such a lean cut of beef.

Side orders

The sides of creamed spinach and asparagus were nearly as appealing. The creamed spinach was a sort of California version %26#8212; rather than the usual chopped spinach drenched in cream, baby spinach was saut%26#233;ed and lightly drizzled with a creamy butter sauce.

The delicate asparagus spears were perfectly grilled and sprinkled with orange zest, salt and pepper.

Because this was a meal of indulgence, making dessert a necessity, we chose the chocolate mousse cake %26#8212; a rich, dense slice of chocolate heaven.

Bernicks wine list is extensive and thoughtfully created, offering an array of strong reds from the Central Coast, France and Italy to pair with the delectable steaks.

Tags: , , , , , ,
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Friday, February 8th, 2008

Landscaping Stone No Comments

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