When it comes to fires, there are no guarantees and no fire prevention methods that are 100% effective, but there are certainly things you can do to prevent a fire from destroying your home. Making certain that your home is fire resistant will do more to prevent the unthinkable and it will give you a well-maintained property

If you are considering buying a home or if you’ve already bought a home, you can call the local fire department to get a fire hazard rating for the area.

You don’t have to leave things up to chance: you can plan the vegetation that surrounds you home so that flammable vegetation s further away from your house. If you don’t feel knowledgeable enough, get the advice of a landscaper or other expert.

Be sure to remover dead plants and leaves from your yard on a regular basis. Keep plants and shrubs trimmed.

Keep up with watering your lawn and vegetation so it is more fire resistant. Don’t let the plant life around your home become too dry because that will put you and your family at risk.

In continuation from Monday’s post.

Of course we all know that 2008 is a leap year.  If you look at the calendar, you will see five Friday’s in the month.  The month begins and ends on a Friday.  From 1904 and 2096, leap years that have the same day of the week for each date will only repeat only every 28 years.  Our last leap year like this was in 1980 and our next will be in 2036.

We need leap years in order to keep our calendar in alignment with the earth’s revolutions around the sun.

In ancient times, there were leap months every two or three years.  These were used to align the calendar with seasons.  Some countries in Asia still do this.

The Gregorian calendar was adopted by England and America in September 1752.  The calendar allowed for realignment with the equinox, but a number of days had to be eliminated once the change was made.  Eleven days were dropped off of the calendar at that time.

A person born on February 29th may be called a “leaper” or a “leapling”.  Leap Year babies must decide which day they want to celebrate their birthday on, February 28th or March 1st.

Chosen as a clever way of keeping him young, Superman’s birthday is February 29th.
 

Do you sit at home watching cooking shows and salivating over the food you see being prepared? Do you know even know how to boil water?  Or are you cooking skills just average, so that you are ready to kick it up a notch?

No matter what your skill level, you can learn how to cook like a pro at the three day Spring cook classes being held at Erna’s Elderberry House Restaurant. These classes don’t require advanced knowledge, or even basic knowledge. All they ask is that you wear shoes you’ll want to stand in for a while and that you come ready to have a good time.

There is a session this week (March 5-7) and another next week (March 12-14). Class is in session from 8:30am-4:00pm each day.

Participants will get a recipe book, hands-on training, learn about how to combine food and wine, plus a lunch and a six course dinner each day.

To learn more contact Christina Overbraugh at 559-683-6800.

Erna’s Elderberry House Restaurant in the kitchen
48688 Victoria Lane
Oakhurst, CA 93644

A leap year is when one day has been added to the end of February.   Here is some interesting information for you.

All other years are called common years.

A leap year consists of 366 days.

The calendar used by most modern countries is called the Gregorian calendar.  There are three criteria used to determine which years will be leap years….

Every year that can be divisible by four is a leap year.

Of those years, if the year it can be divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year….unless

The year is divisible by 400.  Then it is a leap year.

That means that the years 2000, and 2400, are leap years.  The years 1800, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are not leap years.

No calendar is perfect.  They are off by days, hours, minutes or seconds.  The Gregorian calendar will need to be adjusted in the next few 1000 years.

Didn’t we all think that leap years were always every four years?  Since certain criteria must be met to be a leap year, this is not always the case.  The longest time between two leap years is eight years.  It last occurred between 1896 and 1904.  The next time it will appear is between 2096 and 2104.

Please check back on Wednesday for the conclusion to this post.

Some consider it public art, others think it is a nuisance. Graffiti has been with us for a long time. There are examples dating back to the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Perhaps even those cave drawings that people are not so excited to find were considered to be graffiti in another age. If someone came into my home and drew on the walls, I’d certainly be upset.

Did you know that the singular of graffiti is graffito? Probably not. And if you are bothered by graffiti you are probably uninterested in the various forms of the word.

If you are bothered by graffiti you’ve seen recently in Madera County, there is something you can do about it. You can contact the County Planning Department online or by phone at 559-675-7821. The county’s Graffiti Abatement Mission Statement is “
Promoting a graffiti-free way of life for residents of Madera County.” And to make good on this statement, they will remove graffiti for free.

If you go online and fill out the form at the planning department’s website, please know that your information will only be used in an effort to locate the graffiti. On that site, you’ll also find a map of the Madera County Graffiti Abatement Zone showing the area’s where the department will assist with graffiti removal.

For graffiti found within the Madera city limits, you must call the City of Madera Revitalization Office at 559-661-5119.

Can I ever buy a million dollar home? Years ago I would have never even entertained the thought of owning a million dollar home. But, in today’s market I may be closer than I ever thought. That’s because nationwide, homeowners are slashing asking prices, often by significant margins, making million-dollar properties much more palatable then ever before.Its been reported that in Los Angeles a million dollars will buy a four-bedroom, tract type home with a few upgrades. In New York it might get you a one to two bedroom apartment. On the West Coast, like the Bay Area a million dollars doesn’t seem wildly excessive: The median home price in San Francisco is over $800,000.00. These prices are the result of concentrated wealth in the local economy, high regulatory and business costs for builders that are passed along to buyers, and a very small, confined geographic space that allows for little new development.If you are willing to move out of those confined geographic areas and into suburbs, your million dollars can get you into a modest 1,500-square-foot house with three bedrooms and a good-sized yard. If you’re willing to move out further into the foothills your money can get you a 3,000 plus square foot home on several acres with views, shops and other amenities.In Central California, check out Coarsegold, Oakhurst, Mariposa and Sonora. You will be surprised what your million dollars can buy, and you’ll get change.Again, its location, location, location. While home sales nationwide are at a historic low, those at or above the $1 million mark can be yours for less.

The five stages of grief as outlined by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swedish doctor and pioneer in the studying grief are as follows:

1. Denial and Isolation
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

Dr. Kubler-Ross came up with these stages as she was dealing with patients who had terminal illnesses. She helped to take away some of the stigma associated with having a terminal illness and advocated that such patients be treated with compassion, rather than being belittled or ignored by the medical establishment. Her work has had lasting effects.

Some have found that these stages of grief apply to a variety of situations. Death is not the only loss we experience. People also grieve when they lose jobs, end relationships, and close various chapters in their lives.

If you are grieving and need help coping, consider attending the free group sessions at Hind Hospice that will begin on Wednesday, February 27 and last until May 21. During those 12 weeks the group will meet every Wednesday from 1-2 pm. Counselor Emily Susann will facilitate and the sessions, which are sponsored by the Hospice’s Center for Grief and Loss, are open to anyone who is going through bereavement and wants help.

Sometimes one man’s trash is another man’s treasure…but at other times, one person’s trash is of no use to anyone. This especially true when it comes to getting rid of chemicals and other possibly dangerous substances.

If you are a reside or run a business in Madera County and have hazardous waste that you do not know how to dispose of, the county has made provisions for you. The Madera County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility is there to get rid of things that cannot go out with regular trash.

These items include things that you may not consider to be hazardous. Some of them are common household cleaners that you may often throw away without thinking. These include antifreeze, brake fluid, grease, batteries, motor oil, cleaners containing ammonia, drain cleaners, deodorizers, aerosol cans, spot removers, oven cleaners, moth balls, chemicals used for photography, art supplies, paint removers, paint, solvents, insect spray, weed killers, pool cleaning chemicals, pesticides, and wood preservatives.

They ask that you only bring 15 gallons worth of liquids or 125 pounds of solids each time you come.

They also ask that you not bring the following items because they cannot accept them: medical wastes, radioactive waste, and large compressed gas cylinders.

The facility is located at Fairmead Landfill, 21739 Road 19 Chowchilla, CA 93610, and is open from 9 am-1 pm on Saturdays, with the exception of major holidays.
Individuals can call 559-665-3099 for more information, while business can call 805-481-9213.

The Greeting Card Association has found that Valentine’s Day is only second to Christmas in the number of cards sent each year.

There are many reasons why a card is the communication of choice. (Or, perhaps I should say, why it has been the communication of choice—perhaps everyone wil soon be sending text valentines…)

More people used to send hand-written notes and letters, until postage became much more affordable. By the time the 18th century rolled around there were more options because printed cards were more readily available. The first mass-produced valentines came out in the 1840s.

Some people lament the lack of personal touch that comes from sending a pre-printed message, but they haven’t taken into account the culture at the time these pre-printed cards hit the market. It was not necessarily laziness or callousness that lead to people’s willingness to use an already printed message; it may have been out a desire to say things that they would not normally say. Even now when people are free to say just about anything, some people hold back. In the 1800 and 1900s people were not at liberty to say all that was on their minds, so cards made it possible. Plus, even when writing handwritten notes, people often quoted poetry or literature.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY TO YOU AND YOURS

Good things really do come in small packages.

The North Fork Women’s club will have their yearly Valentine mini sale on February 14 from 10 am to 2 pm. The sale will be right in front of the North Fork Post Office. This year the emphasis will be on a certain color. Can you guess what it is? That’s right, it’s red. Although they are known as the ladies in purple, they are going to be offering up all sorts of good things in the color of amour.

The ladies will be on hand to offer a variety of red edibles and collectibles. On the edible side there will be cookies, cakes, pies, fudge and breads (all miniature of course). Turning the collectible side of things there will be pot holders, doilies, scarves and other handmade crafts, along with plants.

Does your sweetheart like to read? They will also be selling bags of books—for the low, low price of $1 each.  You can’t beat that.

While you’re there shopping for your family and friends, you can enter a raffle for a $100 bill. Nothing says love like a crisp, green bill in your pocket. Of course, no one can tell you who or what to spend it on…maybe a fancy dinner with your sweetheart…or maybe you can get something fancy for yourself.