Patreecia Spaulding’s Blog

On my walk in my neighborhood this morning I saw a Smart car! I was so excited I nearly walked into the ditch! Wow! it was so cute! ( sorry about all the exclaimation marks - you get the point - I was beside myself with excitement.) I first heard about one of these ages ago. One of my kids told me. He really thought they were going to be the future of local transportation.

It’s a tiny car - just seats two. They call it the Smart ForTwo. It has lots of safety features, which is practical in such a tiny car. It almost doesn’t look legal - but it is and it’s here.

I went right home and checked it out on line. Actually, I googled “best milage vehicles” and ended up on a site called autobytel.com . It has a very long url, so I hope it works.

And guess what - Toyota Prius is still number one - and it seats five! (whoops, sorry about the excitement.) I was so disappointed. I thought for sure the Smart would get at least 60 mph. But, no. Actually the site listed the Honda (Civic Hybrid) as number one, but it gets 45 mph/highway and just 40 mph/city. The Prius gets 45 mph/highway and 48 mph/city - #1! The Smart was #3 at 41 mph/highway and 33/city. If I”m going to give up all that room, I would hope to have better fuel effiency than that. The forth car was a model of Mini Cooper, another cutie, at 40/highway and 32/city.

Okay, that’s about it for now. Drive less. Live green!

So, who’s Sarah Susanka? She’s the author of The Not So Big House and, in case you hadn’t heard, another great book called The Not So Big Life! She has really popularized the concept of smaller being better. In designing a home it means very careful planning.

It’s an important concept. In the past we’ve been very careless in home design. If we wanted to live “better”, we just built bigger and bigger. I just noticed some homes on the market in Western North Carolina over 10,000 square feet. Why? It wastes resources in building materials as well as maintenance and utilities. And I sure wouldn’t want to try to keep a house like that clean and neat! Building small is a challenge, but it can make life more meaningful.

That’s how the other book came about. Living purposefully and simply can help you focus on the present and appreciate life more. Check out her site on The Not So Big Life. There are opportunities to network with others who are interested in the personal journey.

What I wanted to tell you about is Sarah Susanka will be at the second annual Mountain Green Conference at Warren Wilson College in June. I attended the conference last year. You need to register right away. They can only take a certain number of people. Last year they had to turn people away. You won’t want to miss this! More info is below.

Mountain Green: Sustainable Development Conference

WHERE: Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC

WHEN: Wednesday, June 25th from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm

Keynote speaker: Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House and The Not So Big Life.

COST: TBA

REGISTER AND MORE INFO:
Contact Warren Wilson:
ph. 828.771.3781 or
email: http://mailto:pgibson@warren-wilson.edu

I hate this. I could go on and on here about the mess our whole country is in right now, but probably shouldn’t. What do you think? Should I start another blog? ugh…

Anyway, part of what upsets me is the media. You can’t have a democracy without good media coverage to keep the people informed about what is really happening - not just trying to entertain us, keep our business, make the corporations happy and all that. We need good investigative journalism and we simply don’t get it in the mainstream media. The quality of writing is often non-existant and the genuine research minimal and superficial. No one wants to upset the advertisers.

Well, thanks for letting me vent that little peeve.

Last Sunday the front page of the Asheville Citizen-Times pictured a home with the red word FORECLOSED stamped across it. Going for the sensational. Striking a cord of fear. Taking a toll on consumer confidence. Yet another shallow attempt to make people at least read the front page headlines and photo captions. Was there any real news there?

Okay, here are the facts that were stated. First of all, Western North Carolina doesn’t have it as bad as many other parts of the country, but it appears to be getting worse. Then there were some statistics taken from a California company called RealtyTrac that charges to give information on homes for sale that are either in danger of being forclosed, auctioned, owned by a bank, or they are for sale by owner or just regular resale homes.

In 2007, they tell us just over three per 1000 (3.19) homes in WNC were in foreclosure. That was about a third of NC’s rate of 9.5 per 1000. The national rate was 17.7 per 1000. Then we learn that in the first quarter of 2008, foreclosures in WNC were up to 20.3 percent over the first quarter of 2007.

You need to be sure you understand that they are saying the rate is up BY 20.3%, NOT that it’s up TO 20.3%. That’s a little tricky. I’m no math whiz, but I do know there’s a big difference there. I think you multiply .203 times 3.19 and get .64757. Then you add that to 3.19 to get 3.83757. Is that right? So the number of foreclosures per 1000 in WNC has gone from 3.19 to about 3.84. That sure doesn’t sound as scary as 20.3.

When I looked at RealtyTrac, they had 44 properties listed as bank-owned and 107 as pre-foreclosure in WNC. There are about 17,693 active listed properties in the WNC MLS at this moment. That’s not too bad, I’d say. It may not be completely accurate, but I’ll bet it isn’t too far off.

So, be wise. Don’t get tricked into getting a loan you can’t afford. You don’t want to be a slave to any big company. You don’t want to live in fear of losing your home. Yes, foreclosure sucks. It’s bad for the home-loser; it’s bad for the neighborhood (property values may go down). But the situation we’re now in is bad for the country - or rather, it is a symptom of our country’s condition. It’s time we wake up and get wise. It’s time we start demanding more of this great country that’s going downhill.

Did I tell you I walk just about every morning? Well, I do. I try to get out there as soon as I can. I walk in my neighborhood, which is all hills. There are several roads and all are dead ends - or should I say they have “no outlet” :>) It’s up and down and up and down - a very good work out. Plus, it’s great to see what’s happening in nature.

The spring flowers have been wonderful. But the frost fear has also been quite interesting. Today is April 30th and I was bundled up with hat, scarf, gloves and all! Just a few days ago I was in shorts, sleeveless t-shirt and was wishing I’d worn a sweatband because the salty perspiration was trickling into my eyes!

Last year we learned about how cruel Mother Nature can be in the spring when we had frost in April and all the baby leaves and flowers froze. It was devistating - especially for farmers. The apple and blueberry crops were almost completely lost.

This year we’ve had a few close calls. It was in the low 30s this morning, but things around here look okay. I have noticed some of the nieighbors had trees, shrubs and flowers covered and one had long extension cords with lights clamped to a tree.

In a couple more days I’ll be out there with my sweatband again and wishing there was a way to trap some of the coolness that’s making my cold fingers type more slowly this morning!

April is perhaps my favorite month. For one thing, I was born in April! I love birthdays, don’t you? My special day was this past Saturday. I woke up to balloons and rhododendrums. It was a fun day to live in Asheville. After agonizing over the decision of which wonderful restaurant to go to, we had a wonderful lunch downtown at Chorizo, one of the great places at the Grove Arcade. Yum! I couldn’t eat it all, so they were nice enough to let me keep my leftovers in their refrigerator while we bopped around town - one of my favorite things to do!

We went to Asheville’s famous beer store, Bruisin’ Ales to choose a few from Asheville’s largest selection. Then we went to a shop called Gaea where they sell “gifts for the soul.”  They have lots of chimes and we found one that we liked, that we could also afford :>) We did a little window shopping and ended up at the Blue Spiral Gallery. No trip downtown is complete without checking out their latest exhibit. I always feel inspired after a Blue Spiral visit.

On the way home we got some sea food to make for my birthday supper and a video to watch. What a fun day!

Another reason I love April is Earth Day, which seems like Earth Month this year. I remember the first Earth Day when I took a bus to D.C. to take part in the celebration of our planet. That was so long ago and back then it wasn’t a mainstream kind-of-thing to do. But now, everyone is into it, it seems. Even Home Depot had a special Eco Options sale paper and offered various “green” clinics on topics like water conservation and organic gardening. You can check out their Eco Options online.

There were all kinds of special activities all around Asheville having to do with Earth Day, including a concert at the Orange Peel, a popular local music venue. I “personed” a table at one of the events at a local park that was sponsored by GreenLife. The weather was beautiful - it was great to be outside. The table was to give information about our local Asheville Board of REALTORS’ Environmental Consultants and green building options in general. It was fun talking with people and making new friends.

I’m hopeful that the spirit of Earth Day continues throughout the year - and with various reminders of our responsibility to our planet, such as rising fuel and food prices - I think it will. Let me know what you think.

Last summer it got pretty dry around here. That makes gardening, among other things, difficult. Plus, I’ll bet more people are going to want to try their hand at growing some of their own food. With rising fuel prices, everything is getting more expensive, including food. And who wants to spend all that money on food that has to be shipped in from all over.

So, the latest buzz is rain barrels. With just a 1/2 inch rainfall, you can have a full barrel of water to use for gardening, washing your car, or whatever. I can’t wait to put one in! You can buy used barrels near here for $12 to $15 dollars and make your own using a $20 kit available at the Cooperative Extension office at 94 Coxe Avenue in downtown Asheville. Or you can purchase the whole thing, an 80-gallon barrel made specifically for catching water. I’ve seen them locally from about $110 to $180 and they come with all the fittings.

If you do try making your own, don’t forget you need an overflow of some sort so that when it gets full, it doesn’t just dump water all around. It needs to flow away from you house. Also, it needs to be covered so you don’t breed mosquitos.

Have a go at it and let me know how you do!

Is that a strange title or what! Well, it’s been a very busy week. Real estate in general has been picking up lately. I guess it’s the spring thing. Real estate just does better in the spring. So, I’ve been busy helping people. By the way, I don’t know if any other kind of consultant who works so many hours and doesn’t get paid anything. That’s a whole other blog!

I love what I do, but I still need to pay my bills. There must be another way.

Yesterday I got out the vinegar and washed some, not all, of the windows before putting the screens back on the east and northeast side of our house. We still have a 180 degree view of the mountains, but soon the leaves will be out and we will be in a green cave!

Vinegar! Its so much better than some of the other chemical smells that clean your windows! Use the vinegar. About eight to one with water - just a bit of vinegar - and you can have lovely, clear windows, and no yucky chemical fumes. You can also use old newspaper to do the wiping. Try it! You’ll love it!

I’m going to see an organic farm that’s for sale this weekend. I’ll let you know what it’s like. Cheers!

Hey, you still haven’t checked out Gaia?! What are you waiting for? This place is going to be so great! Just 3/4 mile from downtown West Asheville. I’d call that walkable. Plus it’s near the park, just off the bus line and very convenient to the interstate, too - yet quiet. Lots of tall trees. A creek flowing around the edge.

They will be HealthyBuilt homes grouped around a central courtyard - parking off to the side. A shared organic garden and meditation garden. All kinds of wonderful opportunities for community. The homes will have solar panels for hot water and radiant floor heat. The designs are wonderful for all the homes and the prices are affordable - all under $290,000!

Let me know if you want more info.

There’s been so much in the news about fuel prices rising - including diesel and biodiesel. In the last three years diesel prices have doubled accourding to Scott Barnwell, general manager of Blue Ridge Biofuels in Asheville, NC. He had a letter to the editor in today’s paper in response to an article that ran in the March 25 issue of the Asheville Citizen-Times about Biodiesel prices soaring in WNC.

The interesting thing is the biofuels from Blue Ridge Biofuels have only increased in price by 25 percent in the last three years, according to Scott. Asheville actually has some of the lowest priced biodiesel in the country! Yay! Good work.

I know at least a couple of people who bought diesel vehicles in the last few years and I’ve been sorry for them as the fuel has risen. But, Scott also wanted us to know that we need to remember diesel engines are 30-35 percent more efficient than gas engines. They give more power and better acceleration. They also last longer and have lower maintenace costs.

That’s diesel in general. When it comes to biodiesel, it’s a premium fuel. It has higher cetane than diesel. Sorry, I don’t know what that means, but you can google it :>) Biodiesel provides better lubricity for engines - I know what that means and it’s a good thing! When you get those parts constantly wearing against each other, better lubrication is important. In the long run, the engine will last longer. Emissions are also lower with biodiesel and that is also a big deal. We all want to do what we can to protect the Earth.

Concerning the availability of local biofuel, Scott reminds us that it’s better to keep our resources here in WNC than investing in the economies of oil producing countries. It’s a great all-around solution for a variety of things. Local restaurants have a great way to get rid of their used oil. Fewer fuel trucks are on the road from all over to bring fuel here.

Blue Ridge Biofuels is run by a great group of people and they are committed to providing sustainable fuel at the lowest prices they possibly can. Asheville is a better place because of Blue Ridge Biofuels! Thanks Scott, Brian, Melita, Woodrow, Mitch, Mac, Micah and Jason!

Hey, I thought this blog was about Asheville! Well, it is, but I just got back from a couple of days in Savannah - a great coastal place to go from Asheville for a few days. As it turned out, the B&B where we stayed is for sale!

The people who own it did a great job restoring the gorgeous Victorian home. It has six bedrooms and six and a half baths - each room has a full bath and there’s a half bath on the ground floor as well. You could buy it fully furnished and own your own business. Just move right in. It’s immaculate and ready to go.

There are private porches for each guest room, a huge first floor veranda and a relaxing veranda and patio courtyard in the back. The innkeepers have spacious, private quarters as well.

As you walk into the front foyer, there’s a large office to the left, parlor to the right. Further down the hall to the right is the dining room and the large gourmet kitchen is at the back.

We were able to walk all over Historical Downtown Savannah from the B&B, which is located in another historical area just south of the main one.

The price is just $850,000! That’s right! Amazing! The innkeepers would be happy to train the new owners in how to conduct the business. They’ve been in this kind of business for quite a while and are just ready to do something else. They aren’t in a huge hurry to sell, but if a buyer comes along, they are ready to pass it on.

Ever been to Savannah? Well, if you love the sea and history, you may love Savannah. Let me know if you want more information. tree@kw.com.