LIKE A PRO
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11/18/10
5:43 PM
Page 1
HOME-SELLING TIP
Home
Don’t ignore the garage When staging your home for an open house, the garage is valuable square footage that needs to be properly displayed, not neglected. First, clean dirt, leaves, debris, dead insects and oil stains. Then, get rid of clutter and don't use the garage for storage. Finally, organize so everything is neat — EnergizedSeller.com
DID YOU KNOW? The National Association of Realtors reported a slight dip in pending home sales for October and is predicting an "uneven recovery entering 2011."
HOME HELP
BLOW ARA
HOW TO
LIKE A PRO
Pick the style of leaf blower that’s best for your yard
Prepare a deck for winter
BY ASHLEE FAIREY Bill Smith of Stewart's Power Equipment in Holbrook, Mass., shows some hand-held leaf blowers. GREG DERR/GHNS
Remove all dirt and debris. If old deck coating is peeling, you should remove it using stain stripper. Before staining, apply wood deck cleaner liberally and allow to stand for five to 10 minutes. (You may have to scrub hard-to-remove stains.) Rinse with a hose and lightly sand the surface after it has dried (recommended 24 hours after rinsing), removing dust before applying stain. If using a solid color, apply two coats of stain. If using a clear or semi-transparent stain, one coat will suffice. Always "back brush" for optimum penetration and uniformity. Avoid staining in direct sunlight or on hot surfaces. Be sure to stain the edges and sides of the wood for optimum protection. — ARA
STOCK.XCHNG
MONEY-SAVING TIP
Find the best car-rental prices Giving up your car, especially if you live in a city with tight spaces, can save you money on parking, insurance, maintenance and more. When you do need a car, renting can be as little as $15 a day, if you do a proper search. To ensure the best price, avoid car rentals at airports because many charge an extra fee. Try using a nameyour-own-price travel website instead of websites that simply compare prices. Finally, check to see if your credit card offers any insurance coverage if you use it to pay for the rental. — SavingAdvice.com
GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
s fallen leaves start to pile up, you may find yourself in need of a leaf blower. If so, make sure to pick the style that's right for you. Handheld blowers are the most popular type for residential use, said Mark Heyd, sales manager at Morrison's Power Equipment in Plymouth, Mass. "They're great for very small yards or blowing leaves off sidewalks,'' he said. Handheld blowers typically weigh about 5 pounds and can cost between $150 and $330, said Bill Smith, manager at Stewart's Power Equipment in Holbrook, Mass. Some leaf You can find both blowers are also electric and gas handblowers. Electric blower-vacuums, held styles must be plugged which suck up in to operate, which and shred dried limits the user's range of movement. leaves. "Electric blowers are good for very small yards,” Heyd said, "but it's a lot of effort to roll up 100 feet of extension cord afterward.” If you're looking for something a bit more powerful, the blower will most likely be a heavier, backpack-style blower. Backpack blowers can weigh around 25 pounds and cost between $300 and $550, Smith said. They can blow at 125 mph to 210 mph. The nozzle's diameter also has a significant impact on a blower's effectiveness, Heyd said. Then there's the push blower, which can range from $600 to $2,200, Smith said, depending on the horsepower. A blower should have a minimum of 8 horsepower. "We sell less and less of (the push blowers) every year,'' Heyd said. "It's hard to get around the bushes, but they're good if you have 300 feet of driveway.'' Some leaf blowers are also blower-vacuums, which suck up and shred dried leaves. Heyd estimated that a blower-vacuum could condense 12 bags of leaves into one bag of shredded leaves. When selecting a blower-vacuum, it is important to consider how many filters it has — two filters is better than one — and what material the rotor blade is made out of, Smith said. Metal blades won't dent as easily as plastic when objects other than leaves are sucked up. If you do buy plastic — and most are made from plastic — it's best to buy a machine with a thick blade.
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Autumn night sky a panorama of amazing sights STOCK.XCHNG
DECORATING TIP
Use room dividers to spice it up Room dividers, or privacy screens, can offer a lot of both fashion and function. Choose from Old World antique, Asian-inspired rice paper or modern-day designs. Use dividers to define areas in mutli-purpose rooms, provide private changing areas in kids' rooms or to hide storage or entertainment systems in the living room. — HomeDecorators.com
utumn's evening sky holds many delights as the Earth in its course takes us to new vistas of the starry realm. The constellations of the west slowly shift out of sight from night to night; in another month you'll see a big difference if you look at the same hour. It is like staring out the rear window in your car (assuming you’re not the driver!) as you move down the highway. The scenery keeps falling away as you move along. Looking out your car's windshield, you see scenery coming at you as you drive ahead. In the same way, looking east at night shows an oncoming parade of constellations, as the Earth hurtles around in its orbit. Our rear-window view on No-
A
PETER BECKER vember evenings shows what's left of summer's glorious skies. Reminisce about those warm, lazy days of summer as you take a look at the departing stars of Cygnus the Swan and its brightest star Deneb, Lyra the Harp and its brilliant star Vega and Aquilia the Eagle, with its bright star Altair marking its eye. Cygnus the Swan is also known
as the Northern Cross, and when positioned in the west, you will note how it is descending to an upright position, as you would expect the cross to look. In mid-November, if you wait till about 11:30 p.m. or so, the Northern Cross will be most upright, and about to set below the horizon. If you'd rather see this in early evening, you'll have to wait till about Christmas. When the Northern Cross is nearly upright low in the west, our planet's oncoming view in the east will show us the brilliant stars of winter heralding their season is on its way. The brightest star of the night sky, blue-white Sirius, just clears the east-southeast horizon in mid-November, close to 11 p.m. If you wait up till
after midnight, Sirius will be much higher and easier to see. Above Sirius is the grand constellation Orion, with its famous "belt" of three stars in a row, and its brilliant red star Betelgeuse and blue-white Rigel. Looking south, or in our analogy out the passenger windows of our Earth-car, we see the stars that came up in the east now moving across and heading west. In mid-November this includes the four stars of the huge Great Square of Pegasus. This year, you also see the brilliant and unmistakable planet Jupiter. Peter Becker writes the Looking Up column for the Hawley (Pa.) News-Eagle. Contact him at [email protected].
11/18/10
5:43 PM
Page 1
HOME-SELLING TIP
Home
Don’t ignore the garage When staging your home for an open house, the garage is valuable square footage that needs to be properly displayed, not neglected. First, clean dirt, leaves, debris, dead insects and oil stains. Then, get rid of clutter and don't use the garage for storage. Finally, organize so everything is neat — EnergizedSeller.com
DID YOU KNOW? The National Association of Realtors reported a slight dip in pending home sales for October and is predicting an "uneven recovery entering 2011."
HOME HELP
BLOW ARA
HOW TO
LIKE A PRO
Pick the style of leaf blower that’s best for your yard
Prepare a deck for winter
BY ASHLEE FAIREY Bill Smith of Stewart's Power Equipment in Holbrook, Mass., shows some hand-held leaf blowers. GREG DERR/GHNS
Remove all dirt and debris. If old deck coating is peeling, you should remove it using stain stripper. Before staining, apply wood deck cleaner liberally and allow to stand for five to 10 minutes. (You may have to scrub hard-to-remove stains.) Rinse with a hose and lightly sand the surface after it has dried (recommended 24 hours after rinsing), removing dust before applying stain. If using a solid color, apply two coats of stain. If using a clear or semi-transparent stain, one coat will suffice. Always "back brush" for optimum penetration and uniformity. Avoid staining in direct sunlight or on hot surfaces. Be sure to stain the edges and sides of the wood for optimum protection. — ARA
STOCK.XCHNG
MONEY-SAVING TIP
Find the best car-rental prices Giving up your car, especially if you live in a city with tight spaces, can save you money on parking, insurance, maintenance and more. When you do need a car, renting can be as little as $15 a day, if you do a proper search. To ensure the best price, avoid car rentals at airports because many charge an extra fee. Try using a nameyour-own-price travel website instead of websites that simply compare prices. Finally, check to see if your credit card offers any insurance coverage if you use it to pay for the rental. — SavingAdvice.com
GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
s fallen leaves start to pile up, you may find yourself in need of a leaf blower. If so, make sure to pick the style that's right for you. Handheld blowers are the most popular type for residential use, said Mark Heyd, sales manager at Morrison's Power Equipment in Plymouth, Mass. "They're great for very small yards or blowing leaves off sidewalks,'' he said. Handheld blowers typically weigh about 5 pounds and can cost between $150 and $330, said Bill Smith, manager at Stewart's Power Equipment in Holbrook, Mass. Some leaf You can find both blowers are also electric and gas handblowers. Electric blower-vacuums, held styles must be plugged which suck up in to operate, which and shred dried limits the user's range of movement. leaves. "Electric blowers are good for very small yards,” Heyd said, "but it's a lot of effort to roll up 100 feet of extension cord afterward.” If you're looking for something a bit more powerful, the blower will most likely be a heavier, backpack-style blower. Backpack blowers can weigh around 25 pounds and cost between $300 and $550, Smith said. They can blow at 125 mph to 210 mph. The nozzle's diameter also has a significant impact on a blower's effectiveness, Heyd said. Then there's the push blower, which can range from $600 to $2,200, Smith said, depending on the horsepower. A blower should have a minimum of 8 horsepower. "We sell less and less of (the push blowers) every year,'' Heyd said. "It's hard to get around the bushes, but they're good if you have 300 feet of driveway.'' Some leaf blowers are also blower-vacuums, which suck up and shred dried leaves. Heyd estimated that a blower-vacuum could condense 12 bags of leaves into one bag of shredded leaves. When selecting a blower-vacuum, it is important to consider how many filters it has — two filters is better than one — and what material the rotor blade is made out of, Smith said. Metal blades won't dent as easily as plastic when objects other than leaves are sucked up. If you do buy plastic — and most are made from plastic — it's best to buy a machine with a thick blade.
A
Autumn night sky a panorama of amazing sights STOCK.XCHNG
DECORATING TIP
Use room dividers to spice it up Room dividers, or privacy screens, can offer a lot of both fashion and function. Choose from Old World antique, Asian-inspired rice paper or modern-day designs. Use dividers to define areas in mutli-purpose rooms, provide private changing areas in kids' rooms or to hide storage or entertainment systems in the living room. — HomeDecorators.com
utumn's evening sky holds many delights as the Earth in its course takes us to new vistas of the starry realm. The constellations of the west slowly shift out of sight from night to night; in another month you'll see a big difference if you look at the same hour. It is like staring out the rear window in your car (assuming you’re not the driver!) as you move down the highway. The scenery keeps falling away as you move along. Looking out your car's windshield, you see scenery coming at you as you drive ahead. In the same way, looking east at night shows an oncoming parade of constellations, as the Earth hurtles around in its orbit. Our rear-window view on No-
A
PETER BECKER vember evenings shows what's left of summer's glorious skies. Reminisce about those warm, lazy days of summer as you take a look at the departing stars of Cygnus the Swan and its brightest star Deneb, Lyra the Harp and its brilliant star Vega and Aquilia the Eagle, with its bright star Altair marking its eye. Cygnus the Swan is also known
as the Northern Cross, and when positioned in the west, you will note how it is descending to an upright position, as you would expect the cross to look. In mid-November, if you wait till about 11:30 p.m. or so, the Northern Cross will be most upright, and about to set below the horizon. If you'd rather see this in early evening, you'll have to wait till about Christmas. When the Northern Cross is nearly upright low in the west, our planet's oncoming view in the east will show us the brilliant stars of winter heralding their season is on its way. The brightest star of the night sky, blue-white Sirius, just clears the east-southeast horizon in mid-November, close to 11 p.m. If you wait up till
after midnight, Sirius will be much higher and easier to see. Above Sirius is the grand constellation Orion, with its famous "belt" of three stars in a row, and its brilliant red star Betelgeuse and blue-white Rigel. Looking south, or in our analogy out the passenger windows of our Earth-car, we see the stars that came up in the east now moving across and heading west. In mid-November this includes the four stars of the huge Great Square of Pegasus. This year, you also see the brilliant and unmistakable planet Jupiter. Peter Becker writes the Looking Up column for the Hawley (Pa.) News-Eagle. Contact him at [email protected].
