Master Landscaping
http://www.masterlandscaping.net

A pool is one of the most calming and soothing design elements you can add to your home. A pool provides pleasure, a fun setting for children to play and splash, and an opportunity to entertain poolside and share a beautiful setting with friends and family. The sound of water is always inviting and today’s pools ensure there will be a water feature – a fountain, a waterfall – in almost every new pool.

While there are still many traditional rectangular pools in this area, particularly in older, established homes, the newest trend is to mimic the landscape and create pools in all sizes and curving shapes that present a softer look, surrounded by decks, patios, gazebos, even temple-like structures that serve as a sheltered area for poolside relaxing, dining and entertaining.

Many of the pools being built today are more than just a pool. They are an extension of the back of the home, featuring outdoor cooking, entertaining and dining areas and lush landscaping, appropriate to the region where the family lives with their pool.

These settings are an elaborate and functional addition to one’s back lawn. People are creating, with the help of pool builders, exterior designers and landscapers, their own island of nature’s paradise.

Creating a regal look

Beto Garcia moved to Oklahoma City from San Antonio 24 years ago to join Blue Haven Pools, which was established in 1954. As general manager of the company, he has designed and built more pools than he can remember. Today, he is very attuned to the changing trends in pools and the landscaping, the outdoor cooking and living areas and special water features, which people want today in and around their pools.

“People are now wanting natural looking pools or ponds – something that can give you that outdoorsy feeling like a spa or a retreat,” Garcia says.

He cites a new look in different interior finishes in pools and a new technology. “In the old days, we put colored dye into the final interior finish,” he says.

Now, Blue Haven and other companies are achieving a spectacular effect that involves miniscule glass beads or glass tiles that come in a range of nature’s water colors,” Garcia says, “These beads or tiles are not affected by the water chemistry or the sunlight, which often gives an iridescent glow when the sun hits them,” he says.

“Whatever color you have chosen to dress your pool will give you either absorbing (black) or refracting (white) light.

This magnificent color lets homeowners imagine they are in the Caribbean, the South Pacific or Mexico,” Garcia says,

A year-round pool

Caleb McCaleb is president of McCaleb Homes, a second generation company founded by his father, Neal. Caleb’s home, which backs up to Lake Arcadia, has one of the most spectacular pools in the area.

“We wanted to create a graceful flow of water and designed a waterfall at the top that flows into the pool, which has a free-flowing shape. The back of the pool has an infinity edge that flows into a lower pool area, which also has an infinity edge, which is one of the latest trends in pools. When McCaleb Homes hosted its Dream Home Tour last year, he said nine of the homes featured had an infinity-edge pool.

The McCalebs also added a creek so it looks like the water is coming through the creek into the pool. They also added a salt water filtration system – another trend – in place of the traditional chlorine. “It’s soft, like a comfortable bath and doesn’t burn your skin or eyes like chlorine,” McCaleb says.

Today’s pools are using more natural materials, especially a lot of flagstone around the edge of the pool, where people like to sit. His beach-entry pool also features a tiny rock from Australia – pebbletech – that is mixed in the plaster. It’s not a loose sand material, but rather a plaster for finishing the pool. A lot of stamped or stained concrete is also being used around today’s pools, he says.

Two years ago, the McCalebs added a fire pit on the back side near the pool and also added more evergreens and a lot of cypress trees. “We wanted a northwest style of landscaping to complement the pool, he says.

McCaleb never closes his pool, “I think pools are eyesores in the lawn when they are closed down and tarped over. I use my pool all year long. The pool is the focal point of the back lawn, along with the outdoor kitchen and comfortable seating and I like a year-round landscaping look around the pool.”.

Antonio Aparicio, owner of Aquascape Pools, designed the McCalebs’ pool. Aparicio’s forte is designing pools that are unusual and he always complements the setting nature has provided. He likes to give each custom pool “its own special touch.”

New pool cleaning devices

Guy Shipley of Cardinal Architect Pools has been building custom pools since 1959, so he’s seen many changes in pool design and construction. He likes the look of the new free-form pools, the popular water features and the endless look of the infinity or vanishing edge.

Creating unusual looks for pools is one of the favorite things he likes about the business. “Every pool we build also has an automatic-style cleaner. A lot of the people who have automatic cleaners wouldn’t even know how to vacuum. The old pool sweeps have definitely gone by the wayside,” Shipley says.

Tags: 24 years, amp, blue haven pools, decks, design elements, dye, exterior designers, focal point, functional addition, gazebo, greens, interior finishes, landscape, landscaper, landscapers, Landscaping, minis, new pool, oklahoma city, outdoor cooking, outdoor kitchen, pool, pool builders, poolside, rectangular pools, rta, sound of water, tiles, water feature, water features, waterfall
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Sue will never forget their first kiss. Bob, on the other hand, forgot it almost as soon as it happened.

They were high school sweethearts. In the backseat of his dad’s ‘56 Chevy. On a dirt road. In the fall of 1957. Hormones were flying that night and apparently cancelled out Bob’s brain cells.

But he will never forget their “secondfirst” kiss: This time they were senior citizens. Standing in a parking garage. At the open door of a Cadillac. On a spring night. Nearly 50 years later.

Bob and Sue became an item in the ninth grade back in their hometown of Bayport, Minn. They swayed to Johnny Mathis at The Canteen, went to drive-in movies (with Sue’s little brother Craig crunching popcorn and slurping sodas in the backseat) and practiced kissing - for four years straight. By 1961, Bob was tired of just kissing. “Marry me,” he asked Sue.

But Sue thought they were much too young; adventures surely awaited them. So they threw their graduation caps into the air and said a tearful, heartsick goodbye. Sue left for the University of Minnesota and Bob left for the Army.

It was just puppy love, their parents promised.

As the years passed, Bob found a wife. And Sue found a husband. They built careers and raised kids. Bob wound up retired in San Clemente, Calif. Sue wound up retired in Iowa.

And that might have been how this story ended. Except that in early 2003, Sue’s cousin Maureen Paulson tracked Bob down through Classmates.com. She had some bad news: Mike Kilkelly, Maureen’s high school sweetheart and Bob’s old buddy, had been killed in a car wreck. Maureen and Mike used to double date with Bob and Sue.

Bob sent an e-mail back, confiding that his wife of 24 years, Lucie, had died of cancer a few months before. In fact he was heading back to Bayport in a few weekends to find some comfort in a visit with his sister and 97-year-old mother. Maybe they could meet for lunch?

Well, isn’t that interesting, Maureen e-mailed back. Her cousin Sue happened to be swooping in from Iowa the very same weekend for a quick visit. She was going through a divorce after 37 years of marriage and needed a break. A plan was made to meet for dinner.

It was a spring night. Bob slipped into a Navy sport coat, borrowed his sister’s Cadillac and set out for Maureen’s house. “I was kinda shakin’ in my boots,” he says. The James Dean curl that had hung down his forehead the last time he saw Sue was long gone, replaced by a neat white comb over. “I didn’t know where her mind was, or even where my mind was.”

Maureen greeted him at the door. “I walked in, and there was my girl standing on the other side of the room,” Bob says. She looked just like he remembered her, only her long dark hair was short and blond now and her girlish figure was just a little curvier. “Ooooo, I get a chill when I think about that,” Bob says, reliving the moment. “I tell you, when our eyes met, it was `Wow.’”

Maureen bowed out of dinner. Taking her cousin aside, Sue told Maureen she didn’t think she should go alone with Bob because her divorce wasn’t final. “And Maureen was like, `Oh get with it; it’s the 21st century.’”

The car ride was 30 minutes of nervous small talk. When they arrived at the parking garage of the restaurant they had reservations at in St. Paul, Minn., Bob got out of the car and ran around to open Sue’s door.

“And as she stood up we found ourselves very close. And with that, I gave her a kiss. And with that, she gave me a kiss. And then I knew, ya know, there was still love there. I just had to find out how much.”

That kiss, which later became known as their “secondfirst” kiss, took Sue’s breath away. “It wasn’t a French kiss or anything like that,” she says. “It was just a kiss. But…I thought, ‘Man, I can’t believe this.’ It was magic.”

In the restaurant a man was playing guitar and singing Neil Diamond songs, the slow ones, songs like “September Morn.” “His name was Lucky, believe it or not,” Bob says. “And there was a small, little dance floor. But we used every bit of it.”

As they gabbed, “the 40 years that had interrupted our lives together was gone,” Sue says. “It was back when we were in love in high school.”

The next day, Bob flew back to California and Sue flew back to Iowa. She didn’t have e-mail at home, so Bob sent e-mails to her cousin who then read them to Sue over the phone. In one, he confessed he still loved her. She called him on the phone. They began talking nightly, and laughing, sometimes for hours.

“Marry me,” Bob said one day in June, for the second time in nearly half a century. They wed the next month. Sue packed up her house in Iowa and moved to Bob’s house in San Clemente (where a convertible T-bird awaited her - a 60th birthday present). Hanging on a wall in their hallway are framed photos she had kept all these years from their high school formals, Bob wearing white sport coats with pink carnations.

Sometimes they wonder what it would have been like if the “giddy, goofy in-love teenagers” Sue says they once were hadn’t taken a 46-year detour; but they have no regrets. Each has two grown children they wouldn’t trade for the world. And Bob says his marriage to Lucie was a good one - even if thoughts of Sue often slipped in.

It’s the way she looks, Bob says. The way she smiles. The way she is always up for going out dancing. “Her sexiness,” he says, cracking Sue up.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says. “That’s what I like about him: He looks at me and sees the girl I was years ago and I’m not that girl at all.”

At 64, both Bob and Sue are retired, he from sales and she from property management. They spend their days puttering around the yard, driving into town for a coffee at Starbucks and walking along the beach.

“We just find wonderful things in the simplest things,” she says, like “practicing” kissing. “You have to do it again, ’til you get it right.”

Tags: 24 years, advent, second time, senior citizens
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Q: I love my girlfriend very much. We are even planning to buy a place together. However, I am beginning to worry about how I will cope sleeping in a bed every night with two dogs. When I’m at her place, some nights I can’t fall asleep as I await the inevitable tousling of covers, trot across the bedroom floor, slurping of water or bouncing in mid-air to be let outside at 3 a.m. My gal is used to this and has no problem sleeping. I’ve never had a dog. While I try to be sympathetic, I don’t quite see the benefit of having pets in bed. We’ve put the dogs in a basement pen a few times, but she feels guilty. Problem is, I get up well before dawn for work, and I need my rest. We’ve talked about it, and I’ve expressed my unease, but we haven’t found a solution. Any ideas?

Steve: Sleeping with a woman and two dogs is a great way to save on heating bills, especially if she’s on the chubby side. Mo’ Nique and a couple of English sheepdogs would be perfect. Turn the furnace way down at night. Sex could be a problem though. Seriously, your gal needs to choose between the dogs and you when it comes to bedtime. Tell her that if she really wants to live with you, the dogs must have their own bed.

Mia: There are lots of lovely dog beds available now, with fuzzy covers and cushioning and everything. Buy a couple of those and put them in the basement. Your girlfriend should come around when she knows this is the only option.

Q: I’m 24 years old and was living with a woman for eight years until we broke up seven months ago. We’ve been trying to patch things up lately, but there’s a problem. I got an invitation to attend a family member’s wedding in the Caribbean. I wasn’t going to tell her about it, hoping to use it as a vacation. But she found the invitation and invited herself, saying she’d pay for both of us to attend. I agreed. Now it’s time to book the trip, and all of a sudden she doesn’t want to pay my way anymore. Was this her way of getting over on me?

Mia: You were living together for eight years? So you moved in with a girlfriend when you were 16? First off, that’s completely weird. You should spend some time apart as adults. As for your question, you shouldn’t consider patching it up with an ex over financial gifts. Stick to your original plan of going alone and using the trip as a vacation.

Steve: I’m not sure if she’s pulling a fast one, but there are deeper problems here, such as trust and your desire to be away from her. I also suggest spending time apart.

Q: You two are a funny duo. Especially Steve. You’re funny, too, Mia, but in a more straight-thinking way. I’m in jail because of a mistake I made. My longtime girlfriend has left me. I didn’t expect her to give up her life while I’m in jail, but I’d like her to at least be my friend. Now she just dropped me. I’m not the only guy in here going through this. Mia, are all women this cold-hearted?

Mia: Well, most women like a boyfriend who’s able to take them out to dinner and a movie. But it does sound pretty cold that she doesn’t even want to be friends. My guess, though, is that this is a hard situation for your ex also. I bet she’s pulling away to try and get over you. Give her some time to adjust to the way things are and then reach out again.

Steve: Doing time is tough for everyone. I suggest staying focused on improving your education and job skills, so you are in better shape to have a normal life once you’re out. Keep your eye on the prize and don’t let anything distract you.

Tags: 24 years
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The revival of Hidden Valley Four Seasons Resort in Somerset County has been an exciting experience for the new owners, their employees, home-owners and guests.

The Buncher Co., which bought the 1,500-acre resort for $12.4 million on Aug. 31, has done what it promised to do to upgrade the resort.

On-mountain improvements include 30 new automated snowmaking machines that have earned their keep by generating enough snow to cover most of the resort’s 28 slopes and trails, and two new snowgrooming machines that transform the snow into a corduroy-style surface that makes for easy turning by skiers and snowboarders.

The company also has installed cushioned seats on the side-by-side triple chairlifts that serve the slopes and trails on what is known as the “valley” side of the resort. It also improved the other lifts — a quad that serves the North Summit area and three doubles and two handle tows on the valley side.

More information

Information, go to myhiddenvalleyresort.com or call 1-814-443-8000.

It also bought new rental equipment — Elan skis, Atomic snowboards and Solomon boots, bindings and poles.

And it hired Mike Demao to operate a new full-service ski and snowboard shop on the ground level of the Clock Tower Building. Mr. Demao operated Center Ski %26amp; Snowboard near Boyce Park for 24 years. Whether the improvements have brought more skiers to the resort than in past years is unknown because “we never got accurate numbers from the former owners,” Ed Very, vice president of the Buncher Resort %26amp; Hospitality Group, said last week.

“But, based on the positive feedback we’re getting from former guests who have returned because of all the improvements we’ve made, we’re going in the right direction,” he said.

When Buncher purchased the resort after years of neglect and sagging attendance, the company predicted it would take three to five years to restore the resort to its “glory days as a premier family resort.”

Tom Balestrieri, Buncher’s president and chief executive officer, declined to disclose how much the company has spent to improve the resort already or how much it intends to spend in the future.

The company did slightly increase some rates over the 2006 season, however. Adult weekday lift tickets were raised by $6 to $36 this season and group lessons went from $18 last season to $25 this season. The cost of the weekend passes remained the same.

Among other major improvements at the base facilities, Buncher has:

%26#149; Installed new roofs on four major buildings, refurbished restrooms, installed carpet and painted the interior and exterior of the ski/snowboard lodge, Clock Tower building, Conference Center and Sports Center. It also upgraded the Outback building at the base of the snow-tubing park along Route 31.

%26#149; Opened new restaurants: John Harvard’s Brewhouse in the Outback building, John Harvard’s Express in the ski/snowboard lodge and a cafe in the plaza.

%26#149; Painted all Four Seasons Condominium units and refurnished 38 rooms.

%26#149; Paved several roads: Parke Drive, Craighead Drive, Ski Area Drive and Outback Park, and regraded the parking lots.

“The changes have been quite remarkable in such a short period of time,” said David Smail of Southwest, near Mount Pleasant. The new snowguns and the new grooming equipment “have really made a tremendous difference in the quality of the snow.

“The Web site now includes two live Web cams, the current conditions are updated on a daily basis, and in general, the Web site is very professional. Also, unlike the other local resort, lift lines are minimal on weekends.”

Mr. Smail, 44, a part owner and software developer for SiGenix in Monroeville, said he and his wife, Denise, a quality analyst and patient safety officer for ExcelaHealth, both veteran skiers, also have been impressed with the friendly and helpful employees.

The employees are led by Mr. Very, 62, of Jefferson Hills, and Bill Doring, 27, of Whitehall, the controller of the Buncher Resort %26amp; Hospitality Group.

In addition to their “normal” duties, they can be seen helping guests in the parking lot with their bags and equipment, checking on the food service in the ski lodge or encouraging skiers and snowboarders to “triple up” as they line up to ride the triple chairlifts at the base of the Stingray slope.

When a lift that serves the beginners’ area broke down recently, Mr. Very and Mr. Doring helped carry hot chocolate and candy to children waiting for the lift to be repaired. They and several other employees then carried the children’s’ skis and poles back up the hill and gave mini-lessons to the children as they came back down.

“It was a beautiful sunny day, and we wanted them to enjoy it,” Mr. Very said. “And it was good exercise for all of us.”

Brown baggers, who bring their own lunches, are still welcome at Hidden Valley, Mr. Very said. “I was walking through the Alpine room the other day and a woman had a crock pot and toaster oven plugged into the wall.”

Mr. Balestrieri, Buncher’s president, said plans for next season include a new four-person chairlift to replace a pair of two-person chairlifts, more automated snowmaking equipment and new slopes and trails above and beside the snowtubing park. Two more four-person chairs are planned for the 2009-10 season.

Preliminary work already has begun for the Village, a 200,000-square-foot base lodge/condominium complex that will be built near the bottom of the slopes. The new building, designed by architect Jack Johnson’s company based in Park City, Utah, is expected to be completed in three years.

H. William Doring, Buncher’s vice president and treasurer and father of Bill Doring, acknowledged all the progress that has been made at Hidden Valley in five months, but said there’s always room for improvement.

“We’re not there yet,” he said.

Lawrence Walsh can be reached at lwalsh@post-gazette.com and 412-263-1488.

Tags: 24 years, amp, chocola, daily basis, neglect
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The revival of Hidden Valley Four Seasons Resort in Somerset County has been an exciting experience for the new owners, their employees, home-owners and guests.

The Buncher Co., which bought the 1,500-acre resort for $12.4 million on Aug. 31, has done what it promised to do to upgrade the resort.

On-mountain improvements include 30 new automated snowmaking machines that have earned their keep by generating enough snow to cover most of the resort’s 28 slopes and trails, and two new snowgrooming machines that transform the snow into a corduroy-style surface that makes for easy turning by skiers and snowboarders.

The company also has installed cushioned seats on the side-by-side triple chairlifts that serve the slopes and trails on what is known as the “valley” side of the resort. It also improved the other lifts — a quad that serves the North Summit area and three doubles and two handle tows on the valley side.

More information

Information, go to myhiddenvalleyresort.com or call 1-814-443-8000.

It also bought new rental equipment — Elan skis, Atomic snowboards and Solomon boots, bindings and poles.

And it hired Mike Demao to operate a new full-service ski and snowboard shop on the ground level of the Clock Tower Building. Mr. Demao operated Center Ski %26amp; Snowboard near Boyce Park for 24 years. Whether the improvements have brought more skiers to the resort than in past years is unknown because “we never got accurate numbers from the former owners,” Ed Very, vice president of the Buncher Resort %26amp; Hospitality Group, said last week.

“But, based on the positive feedback we’re getting from former guests who have returned because of all the improvements we’ve made, we’re going in the right direction,” he said.

When Buncher purchased the resort after years of neglect and sagging attendance, the company predicted it would take three to five years to restore the resort to its “glory days as a premier family resort.”

Tom Balestrieri, Buncher’s president and chief executive officer, declined to disclose how much the company has spent to improve the resort already or how much it intends to spend in the future.

The company did slightly increase some rates over the 2006 season, however. Adult weekday lift tickets were raised by $6 to $36 this season and group lessons went from $18 last season to $25 this season. The cost of the weekend passes remained the same.

Among other major improvements at the base facilities, Buncher has:

%26#149; Installed new roofs on four major buildings, refurbished restrooms, installed carpet and painted the interior and exterior of the ski/snowboard lodge, Clock Tower building, Conference Center and Sports Center. It also upgraded the Outback building at the base of the snow-tubing park along Route 31.

%26#149; Opened new restaurants: John Harvard’s Brewhouse in the Outback building, John Harvard’s Express in the ski/snowboard lodge and a cafe in the plaza.

%26#149; Painted all Four Seasons Condominium units and refurnished 38 rooms.

%26#149; Paved several roads: Parke Drive, Craighead Drive, Ski Area Drive and Outback Park, and regraded the parking lots.

“The changes have been quite remarkable in such a short period of time,” said David Smail of Southwest, near Mount Pleasant. The new snowguns and the new grooming equipment “have really made a tremendous difference in the quality of the snow.

“The Web site now includes two live Web cams, the current conditions are updated on a daily basis, and in general, the Web site is very professional. Also, unlike the other local resort, lift lines are minimal on weekends.”

Mr. Smail, 44, a part owner and software developer for SiGenix in Monroeville, said he and his wife, Denise, a quality analyst and patient safety officer for ExcelaHealth, both veteran skiers, also have been impressed with the friendly and helpful employees.

The employees are led by Mr. Very, 62, of Jefferson Hills, and Bill Doring, 27, of Whitehall, the controller of the Buncher Resort %26amp; Hospitality Group.

In addition to their “normal” duties, they can be seen helping guests in the parking lot with their bags and equipment, checking on the food service in the ski lodge or encouraging skiers and snowboarders to “triple up” as they line up to ride the triple chairlifts at the base of the Stingray slope.

When a lift that serves the beginners’ area broke down recently, Mr. Very and Mr. Doring helped carry hot chocolate and candy to children waiting for the lift to be repaired. They and several other employees then carried the children’s’ skis and poles back up the hill and gave mini-lessons to the children as they came back down.

“It was a beautiful sunny day, and we wanted them to enjoy it,” Mr. Very said. “And it was good exercise for all of us.”

Brown baggers, who bring their own lunches, are still welcome at Hidden Valley, Mr. Very said. “I was walking through the Alpine room the other day and a woman had a crock pot and toaster oven plugged into the wall.”

Mr. Balestrieri, Buncher’s president, said plans for next season include a new four-person chairlift to replace a pair of two-person chairlifts, more automated snowmaking equipment and new slopes and trails above and beside the snowtubing park. Two more four-person chairs are planned for the 2009-10 season.

Preliminary work already has begun for the Village, a 200,000-square-foot base lodge/condominium complex that will be built near the bottom of the slopes. The new building, designed by architect Jack Johnson’s company based in Park City, Utah, is expected to be completed in three years.

H. William Doring, Buncher’s vice president and treasurer and father of Bill Doring, acknowledged all the progress that has been made at Hidden Valley in five months, but said there’s always room for improvement.

“We’re not there yet,” he said.

Lawrence Walsh can be reached at lwalsh@post-gazette.com and 412-263-1488.

Tags: 24 years, amp, chocola, daily basis, neglect
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Developer Martin Selig plans to build a luxury apartment building that would rise 14 stories along a northern edge of Seattle’s new Olympic Sculpture Park, dramatically altering the backdrop to the park’s amphitheater and one of its signature artworks.

The building would go up where a two-story parking garage is now, just beyond the terraced amphitheater and the sunken courtyard where Richard Serra’s “Wake” is installed.

Several condominiums have popped up along the fringes of the $85 million waterfront park, which opened last year to international fanfare. But unlike those buildings, which are across the street, the Selig development would border the sculpture park, being situated just 15 feet from the property line.

“We’re very, very sensitive to the integration of this luxury apartment building to the sculpture park,” Selig said.

Officials of the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), which manages the park, are choosing their words cautiously when asked about impact the 78-unit building could have on the park’s open feel.

“Members of SAM’s senior staff have met with Martin Selig about the design of his proposed building on the north corner of the Olympic Sculpture Park,” Mimi Gardner Gates, SAM’s director, said in a prepared statement. “We will continue to work with him as the design process and review moves forward.”

SAM spokeswoman Erika Lindsay added that museum officials are resigned to the fact that the building will be built, and have shared their concerns with Selig.

“We just want to make sure it’s done in a sensitive way,” Lindsay said. “At this point, we think it will be, but since our conversations with Mr. Selig are ongoing, we’re not comfortable making much comment. He knows what we want.”

Selig, who has owned the garage property for 24 years, said museum officials never talked to him during the development of the park about possibly obtaining the land as a buffer for the park, or about limiting his development on it.

He said concerns of museum officials have been incorporated into the preliminary designs of the building, and that both he and they are satisfied with the results.

“This is a big love fest,” he said. “Everybody is happy.”

Well, not everybody. Don Hussong is an ocean mapper whose office is at Pier 69, near the park. Since the park opened, he has considered it a world-class landmark for Seattle. He now fears it will be overwhelmed by a clumsy, bulky neighbor.

Tags: 24 years, amp, apartment, rta, sculpture park
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Here’s a heads-up on a few important fundraising events that just might need a big red circle on your calendar. RING IN THE CUREWHEN: Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m.WHERE: Hoff Building, 8th and Bannock TICKETS: $150/person, $250/couple; call Jessie Gillingham at 343-4609, or e-mail her at ringinthecure@gmail.com.WHAT: The American Cancer Society hopes this new masquerade ball will be its annual high-end event of the year.”We’ve been trying to find our niche, and we hope we have found it in our New Year’s Eve event,” District Executive Director Kathy Sewell said.Costumes or formal wear will be accepted, and old-fashioned Venetian masks will be available for purchase for $15-$30. The fun will spill out over three floors at the Hoff Building with buffet tables and live music by Super Curve and Brianne Bower and the Camden Hughes Trio. There will also be about 10 live auction events and 20 silent auction events that include a cocktail party, spa getaways and original artwork. The society hopes to raise about $75,000.”It’s the best place to be on New Year’s Eve,” Sewell said. “You’re not only having a good time, but you’re helping to cure cancer.”CHOCOLATE AND DIAMONDSWHEN: Friday, Feb. 1WHERE: Discovery Center of IdahoTICKETS: $50 individuals, $750 table for 10; call 343-9895WHAT: While this Discovery Center of Idaho event - the fifth annual - bills itself as “a wonderfully decadent evening,” keep in mind it’s the good kind of decadent - music, chocolate, drinks, chocolate, hors d’oeuvres, chocolate, maybe even some more chocolate, and a chance to win a diamond donated by Ben Bridge Jeweler. Diamond raffle tickets are $25. It’s also a chance for local chefs to compete in a chocolatier contest, and you’d better believe they go all out for this. Sweeeeeet.There will also be live and silent auctions and live music by Mobius Trip. And remember, whether it’s costume or real, feel free to don all your flashy jewelry at this event - it’s a Chocolate and Diamondstradition. About half of the Discovery Center’s funds come from donations and this event.Sponsors are Hewlett Packard, Idaho Trust National Bank, Albertsons, Holland %26 Hart and Ben Bridge.LEARNING LAB’S LUNCH FOR LITERACY 2008WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 7, noon; silent auction begins at 11 a.m.WHERE: Boise Centre on The GroveTICKETS: $50/person, $500/table of 10, $750/corporate tableWHAT: More than 750 guests will be there to support the Learning Lab while having lunch and listening to award-winning author Pam Houston. Houston has written several books, including “Cowboys Are My Weakness” and “Waltzing the Cat.” She is also the director of creative writing at the University of California, Davis, and works summer writers’ conferences around the world. There’s a silent auction with about 150 autographed books and several book-themed “baskets,” as well as a drawing for a variety of nonliterary prizes.Lunch for Literacy, presented by Key Bank, benefits literacy education programs at the Lab, which is a nonprofit adult and family literacy center. The Learning Lab helps functionally illiterate adults and their children learn basic skills such as reading, writing, math and English language learning, which improves every corner of their lives. There’s always a waiting list, so the need for this organization is obvious. Last school year, the lab helped 249 people - including 65 families with 80 children. For tickets, call Learning Lab Development Director Stephanie “SAM” McCurdy at 344-1335, Ext. 101. Online tickets are expected to be available in mid-December at www.learninglabinc.org.THE WISHING STAR FOUNDATION WINE TASTING EXTRAVAGANZAWHEN: Friday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m.WHERE: Hilton Garden Inn on Spectrum Street in BoiseTICKETS: $25/person, $200/table of 10; call Tracy Shaw at 345-3008 or 870-2089.WHAT: When you wish upon a wine glass, someone’s dreams just may come true. Besides helping to raise money to grant wishes for children with serious illnesses, you’ll get a chance to taste about two dozen wines from around Idaho at this third annual event. There will also be live music, provided by the Bitterbrush Blues Band.Wishing Star has granted 1,100 wishes in the past 24 years and will grant nine this year. The average wish costs $1,500.”We’re beyond the wish - we don’t just grant the wish,” Regional Director Tracy Shaw said. “We offer ongoing support for the families.”ST. VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACREWHEN: Friday, Feb. 8, 6 p.m.WHERE: Boise Centre on The GroveTICKETS: $125 for individuals, $1,200 for a table of 10; dinner plus pre-dinner private reception with guest of honor and autographed book is $250; call 344-4340.WHAT: Where else are you going to find Paul Revere, Phil Batt, Harmon Killebrew and Velma Morrison on the same list? This is it, and it’s one of the Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho’s biggest fundraisers of the year. Last year, it raised $73,000 for programs ranging from education to support groups.The guest speaker will be Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea,” which chronicles his efforts to build schools in some of the most dangerous regions in the world - Pakistan and Afghanistan. The impetus of Mortenson’s efforts in Central Asia was to honor the memory of his sister, who had epilepsy and died at age 23. There will be dinner, live music, a live auction with high-ticket items, silent auction items and a good-time roast of the annual honorees (that’s the massacre part) at this 25th annual event. Twenty-five years?!”It’s been going on so long, it’s taken on a life of its own,” Executive Director David Blackwell said. “Twenty-five years for a special event is a pretty long time.”And for this silver anniversary, this roast will be more like a buffet, because all the past honorees will be re-roasted - I mean recognized. The Fool Squad - you know them from the Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s Green Show - will get to throw the zingers around. Past honorees include: Harmon Killebrew, Velma Morrison, Butch Otter, Dirk %26 Patricia Kempthorne, Gene %26 Janie Harris, Keith %26 Catherine Stein, Cecil D. %26 Carol Andrus, Bethine Church, Perry %26 Nicky Swisher, Phil %26 Jacque Batt, Robert E. Kruger, Pete %26 Freda Cenarrusa, Robert %26 Merlyn Hendren, Jim %26 Linda Everett, John %26 Lola Evans, Lisa Uhlmann, Ana Maria Schachtell, Cherie Buckner-Webb, Carolyn Terteling-Payne, Royanne %26 Alan Minskoff, Julie %26 Tim Olson, Paul %26 Sydney Revere, Milford %26 Grace Terrell, Dick %26 Yvonne Lierz and St. Luke’s (Boise).

Tags: 24 years, chocola, money, rta
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Q: I am writing to prevent other bird owners from experiencing the heartbreak I experienced. I purchased an oven liner/drip guard made of a nonstick coating and fiberglass.

In a nutshell, the fumes from this product ended up killing my two Indian ringneck parakeets - Kashmir, whom I had for 24 years, and Shiva, whom I had for eight.

I was devastated and beyond consolation when I realized what happened. I just lost my father so this loss sent me nearly over the edge.

- J.G., Stow, Ohio

A: There is little comfort for a loss as tragic as yours. Only time will heal.

In the meanwhile, readers must be careful about the products they use. This means carpet cleaners, air fresheners, waxes and polishes, soaps, paints, degreasers, antifreeze and the like. When in doubt, don’t use it.

Keep all products carefully locked away and post the 24-hour ASPCA Animal Poison Control number handy, 888-426-4435.

Tags: 24 years
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Since we can’t garden outside, now’s the time to concentrate on making the indoor garden a little more successful.

For some advice, I contacted Craig Aston, a horticulture instructor for Utah State University. Aston grew up on an Idaho dairy farm but decided against that as his career.

“Going into horticulture was the smartest thing I ever did,” he said. “I think dairy farmers are masochists.”

Aston was in the first horticulture class to graduate from Ricks College (now BYU Idaho) and later received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Utah State University, where he’s taught numerous classes for the past 24 years.

Aston said plant choice inside the home is important because “the plants in your home are slowly starving to death. One thing I really like to emphasize is that food to a plant is light. Always look for plants that are going to stay looking good, even when they don’t have the best conditions.

“One of the problems is that most growers no longer acclimate their plants. They grow them as quickly as possible inside their greenhouses by pouring on the water and the fertilizer. When these make it to your home, they crash pretty hard inside,” he said.
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I asked him to share some of the plants that do well inside the home and would be easy for readers to grow. He derived his list at a nursery growers’ convention in Portland a few years ago, where he attended a seminar given by the owner of an interior plant-maintenance business.

“He gave his list of plants that he likes to use in his business, which places plants in office buildings, malls and other businesses,” Aston said. “The reasons he selected these plants is that they grow well in very low light situations and tolerate the low humidity. These plants are also ones that should do well inside a home.”

First on Aston’s list is the anglaonema plant, or Chinese evergreen. There are many kinds, but Silver Queen is a popular type. The plant has lance-shaped leaves on multiple stalks and grows 1-2 feet tall with a similar width. It tolerates low light and humidity and does not need too much water.

Second on the list are dracaenas. The dracaena family includes the corn plant, Janet Craig dracaena and others. They tolerate low light, but watch the water. Overwatering often causes brown tips on the ends of the leaves.

Benjamin figs can get large and have a treelike form. They tolerate low humidity and do not like to be overwatered. Once you find a place that the plant likes, leave it alone.

Spathyphillum, or peace lily, is one of the few plants that might bloom inside the home %26#151; the white, lilylike flowers are an added bonus. The plant can wilt dramatically if not watered, but it usually recovers once you give it a good drink.

Next comes palms. “The best palm for inside the home is the kentia palm,” Aston said. “It holds up well indoors. Unfortunately, it is a slow-growing plant, so growers are not as likely to offer it for sale.”

Aspidistra, or cast-iron plants, are the next choice. Aston said the plant is well-named because it is one of the toughest plants around. It does OK in low-light conditions and tolerates drafts and temperature changes well.

The Hawaiian, or dwarf schefflera, is a better choice than the Australian schefflera because the plant and leaves are smaller and are more tolerant of low light. It does well when the soil is allowed to dry slightly between waterings, but it likes more humidity.

Aston adds two hanging plants to round out his list. The pothos, or devil’s ivy, is a low-light, nearly indestructible plant. It gets the name devil’s ivy because the sap can cause a severe itching in many individuals.

Aston’s final choice is the heart-leafed philodendron. This trailing vine is a staple in many interiors. It grows well under many conditions and seems to find its niche almost anywhere it grows. It is also easy to propagate.

Tags: 24 years, plants, rta, soil
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TALLAHASSEE - Alan Crotzer is working at a landscaping company, hoping one day to be compensated for the 24 years he spent in prison for a rape he didn’t commit.

Florida lawmakers have failed to pass a bill to pay him — and he’s again asking the Legislature for $1.25 million for the two decades of freedom he gave up.

Several states have automatic compensation for people who have been wrongfully imprisoned and then released — something that is happening more and more because of increasing use of DNA to prove innocence.

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