Architectural Salvage Yard-Spokane

Overhauser's Outlet-Doors, Windows, Stuff and also a links to the antiques and cast iron stoves. Windows and Doors new and old from many of the prominant manufactures.

Spokane Green Store

Checkout Eco Depot Inc. for earth friendly products. I like the denatured alchol fireplaces.

PV Solar Panels

Start using clean green solar power without the huge intial investment and maintenance. Ed Begley, Jr., Actor and Green Advocate explains, the Citizenre solution. Citizenre pays for, installs and maintains the PV Solar system. You use the clean solar energy and pay only for the power you use at the rate you pay for electricity now for twenty years. Find a Citizenre Associate and reserve your system now. Go to Citizenre Website

The emotional life of colors

Blue is peaceful. More people like the color blue than any other. No wonder, we all enjoy watch waves and clouds in the sky. Time seems to pass more quickly. Blue is also a good color for bedrooms. Too much blue could give you the blues.

Green signifies life. We enjoy green trees and grassy meadows. Growth, renewal, health, and freshness are associated with green. Greens dark side is envy. Green is a restful like blue. Time moves faster in a green room too.

Red is hot. We blush or get red whether it is love or war. Red is stimulanting and heightens enjoyment. It increases the heart rate and blood pressure. Red is also thought to have developmental benefits in babies. Black and white for 0-3 month to develop rational thinking. Then, red to stimulate raw brain power for 3-9 months. Primary colors are good in the preschool years.

Yellow is full of energy and cheerful. It is a warm color signifing happiness, hope and joy. Yellow is the most intense color and graps attention.

Orange is vibrant. It shares yellow and red's energy and warmth. The redish-orange is associated with change, like autumn leaves. Yellowish-orange is the freshness of citrus fruit. Use it to get people thinking or to get them talking.

Purple is color of royalty or spirituality. Purple is a mix of the coolest cool and the warmest warm. A purple room can boost imagination or creativity. Too much purple could result in moodiness.


Click here for more on the emotion of color

Heart of Traditional Neighborhood

Like many of you, I grew up in a neighborhood with a corner store. My memory is of the "Little Store in Forest Lake." It had groceries and a lunch counter. That means trips for ice cream, pop and baseball cards, errands for milk and even Mom's cigerettes. A little note, some cash a phone number was all it took. Try that now. I think we lost an opportunity to grow up as a trustworthy individuals in our neighborhood.

All good things must come to an end. The "Little Store" burned to the ground not to be rebuilt. It was rumured a 7-Eleven would take its place it never did. I am sure 7-Eleven would oriented the front of the store to the busy road, not the park and local tavern across the street. Our community lost an important piece of ourselves when the "Little Store" burned.

The "Tavern" carried on. We learned to slip in to the small arcade room unnoticed. A mechanical road rolled towards you on the race game. No fancy video screen. As I grew up I remember getting Tombstone pizza and polish dogs in the main room of the "Tavern." The bar across the room was still off limits. The "Tavern" as good as it was and 7-Eleven never could replace the "Little Store."

Carl Nolte's article below struck a cord with me.

Beloved Telegraph Hill market seeks new owners
Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, February 18, 2008

Time is running out for Speedy's New Union Market, the little corner store that is an institution on San Francisco's fabled Telegraph Hill.

Brian Leonard, one of the store owners, is seriously ill. Pierre Houle, his partner who mans the counter nearly every day, loves the place but is tired of the long hours.

As a result, there is a discreet sign in the window: "Grocery Store For Sale. Inquire Within."

The lease is up March 31, and unless somebody steps in, April Fool's Day will be the end of Speedy's, which has been doing business at the corner of Union and Montgomery streets for almost 93 years.

Speedy's is more than a store: It's an anachronism.

It still offers home delivery to old customers, allows others to run up tabs, lends books for free, offers wine, beer, milk and cookies, cereal and soap, all the usual stuff of life. There is also a tiny delicatessen, with sandwiches made to order and assorted dinner dishes, like pork chops with Dijon sauce, and gourmet salads.

Speedy's maintains a community bulletin board said to be the only place to find Telegraph Hill apartments for rent. In the old days, say 30 years ago, Speedy's was famous for listing the rarest of San Francisco treasures: a Telegraph Hill apartment with a view, low rent, and a kindly landlady who liked starving artists.

If a neighborhood resident is not home to accept a package delivery, FedEx and UPS drivers know to leave it at Speedy's. People used to leave a spare set of house keys there in case they forgot them. The neighborhood dogs get a free drink at a dish outside. And if an old and valued customer dies, Speedy's puts up a picture in memoriam.

"It's the hub of the neighborhood," said Jon Engdahl, an artist who is showing his paintings of the famous wild parrots of Telegraph Hill at Speedy's.

"It's the best place in the whole city," said Dan Songer, a mortgage broker and regular customer.

"It's a great traditional corner store," said Ed Joy, an attorney. "It's like shopping with your friends."

The clerks always find time to talk to customers, and neighbors meet at Speedy's to share talk of the hill.

"It's a gossip exchange post," said Ken Maley, a consultant who lives nearby. "An institution."

This is what a "New Traditional Neighborhood" tries to recreate. A walkable community that is connected by interaction between neighbors. I am not writting this to say everyone needs to go design a "New Traditional Neighborhood." Maybe there are some that will be inspired to become the fabric of the community and open a "Little Store."

Ask the expert a home design question

Erik has experience in home design, building inspection and construction. So this is your chance to ask that question you are struggling with. Whether is is about building codes, kitchen layout or stampcrete Erik can come up with an answer. All free answers may or may not be right. Right answers a little bit more. I don't know is from my point of view a right answer. ;)

Color Theory

The color wheel is the begining of understand of how to use color. The first element of color is hue. Primary colors of red, yellow and blue are the purest colors. As a kid in art you mix red and yellow to get orange. Orange, green and purple are the secondary colors. Mixing secondary colors with primary yields tertiary color. Mixing colors can create any pure hues in the color spectrum.

Colors hues have emotional temperatures-warm and cool. The next post is the emotional life of colors..