Why I Love Harris Teeter

Harris Teeter Double coupon week is in full swing.  I had just left the store with my savings of $50.00 and was strolling down the Barracks Road parking lot "hill" and I completely forgot about the 12 pack of LaCroix Grapefruit Sparkling Water in the bottom of my cart. 

Because of the slope of the parking lot, the entire box shot out of my cart and cans exploded and rolled down the hill in all sorts of directions.  Shoppers began chasing my cans and politely asked if I wanted the exploding cans thrown away.  Very soon a Teeter manager ran down the lot in the 98 degree heat and told me to just keep what was left and he would grab me a new box.

He quickly trotted inside and did just that.  I ended up with a new box and was able to give a few of the "intact" cans to some of the remaining kids that had helped.

I love my Teeter and now even more!  Great deals, tidy store, nice staff and managers.

THANKS TEETER for making my day... and Thanks to the kind shoppers for helping.

-Rebecca

Great Gardener Deal

Osmocote is an easy and good plant fertilizer that works.  Check out their $10.00 rebate!

This is a great deal and only a limited number of rebates available - http://plantersplace.com/rebate.

-Rebecca

A Local Healthy Deal

DO IT - DO IT - DO IT - says my Mockingbird.

Last week I decided to finally drop by the new Charlottesville City operated Smith Aquatic and Fitness Center.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover not only a great pool but a gym and exercise class offerings.  I was allowed to look around and was given a few free passes to test the waters - literally!

What I like about the center is that you can sign up for a month at at time, there is an annual pass option but it seems staying with a gym program is never easy so go for the one month initially.  You can also buy a day pass but this is the least cost effective method.

Of course a great deal is what actually got me in gear to go check it out.  There is currently a buy one month get one month free deal.  It's even sweeter if you live in the City of Charlottesville or if you get a friend or family to join with you.  This deal expires on SUNDAY - February 12th so don't procrastinate!

U C H I C K E N ?  cluck cluck - says Little Moltie.

I checked out the 29N ACAC but the pool water was frigid but they did have a jacuzzi (which was wonderful).  That is the only con about the Smith Center - no jacuzzi (darn it) but they have the water temperature set perfectly and it is very clean. 

I really enjoyed the beginners Yoga and they also offer Water Aerobics for various health and experience levels, and Pilates.  I love Pilates using an exercise band - it gives you resistance that you do not get from swimming laps in a pool.  I've been swimming now for 10 years.  It really makes a difference in how you feel!

Get off your can and just GO FOR IT.  If you don't swim, there are plenty of other options - weights and classes.

If you are currently not a member of any local health club, this is a great trial deal.

-Rebecca

Year End Wrap Up

Husband installing the Chimney Liner - not for the timid.

2011 was a year of refining my quest to save dollars while earning a little on the side.  Couponing and deal searching saved me $2,700.00.  It's often hard to keep track of each penny so I can estimate that my savings were probably closer to $3,000.  Toss in several do-it-yourself projects (we installed our own flexible chimney liner and built a Chicken Coop) and we saved $1,000 more.  My Etsy business grew last year and I've gotten the hang of selling.  I sold nearly 100 pairs of vintage eyewear that previously belonged to my father and nearly 50 other vintage items.  This little side business is my way of trying to preserve what little savings I have remaining from years of employment.

Amazing Ginko at the UVA Rotunda.

Last year was also a time to take blogging seriously and I made it through an entire year and 101 posts!  I almost reached 10,000 readers checking out my Forsythia Hill Finds blog!   I also started a separate blog on tumblr to create a visual log of some of my photography.  I have nearly 3,500 followers.

Next year I will continue couponing even though I am finding it a bit harder to get those super deals of early 2011.  Grocery stores have somewhat changed their strategy to make it more difficult to super save.  I'm going to have to do a better job of stocking up - not stockpiling - but stocking up essentials so I don't have to ever pay full price.  I did a good job last year of not buying non-essentials.  My goals are to continue selling items I no longer use and of course to discover and sell vintage.  I'll be seriously clearing out my parents belongings so interesting vintage will pop up in my etsy store.

Pretty sky over Forsythia Hill.

Our biggest expenses are fuel and food.  My mother taught me the Kroger savings trick of buying gift cards for places I shop (like Target) when Krogers offers 4X the fuel points.  This will give you FREE greater fuel savings at the pump. We have a wood stove and chop our own wood to help reduce our electric bill.  I also don't drive the car everyday and combine shopping tasks - always making several stops to save gas.  My husband works from home one day a week which saves a little on fuel.  It's going to be hard to shave the fuel bill down any more.  Hopefully we'll see some food savings this year due to my improved couponing skills - practice really does help concerning nailing down couponing.

Our sweet shy yellow tabby Cesar.

We were relieved to not have any pet deaths in 2011 given the prior year we lost 2 dear pets.  We acquired our six hens that are so fun to have around.  This will be our third Spring on Forsythia Hill and I am eager to transplant some perennial plants now that they have grown a bit and put them in more permanent spots.  There is nothing like a dark cold winter to get your gardening blood moving.  Little Red Kale plants are coming along and by early Spring I'll be harvesting!  Fingers crossed that the Muscadine Grape plant that I purchased this Winter survives.

See you on "the other side" --- HAPPY NEW YEAR!

-Rebecca

Save the UVA Rotunda Magnolias

It is estimated that for 100 years eight Southern Magnolia have flanked the 1826 UVA Rotunda that originally housed the campus library.  Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda is the pride of the University and has been undergoing renovation for years and will continue to be hammered upon for years to come.  Part of Jefferson's original Academical Village included lovely garden spaces.  The Magnolias were planted well after Jefferson's death (he would be nearly 270 years old if still alive today) and were not part of his original plan (he designed the hard scape and intended the Pavilion residents to design and maintain their own landscapes).  Aside from that, the local trend when it comes to Jefferson tends to be a complete restoration of his vision and that includes his plantings.  Given that Thomas Jefferson was a man of reason, constant invention, and change, I do not believe that he would expect the garden plantings to not be altered over a 200 year period!

The Board of Visitors has decided that the Magnolias must go because scaffolding must be erected (here we go again) to replace the roof.  Work on the Rotunda seems to be a constant theme, the interior was restored in 1976 and the columns have been falling apart for years and have finally been covered with boots to protect what remains. 

Students have created an online petition to save the trees.  I was absolutely thrilled to see that students are interested in campaigning to save trees!  I felt helpless when I read the news of the trees, as if campus can do whatever they want and is above any citizen outcry.  A student revolt is a totally different beast and should not be taken lightly.  Unlike the Obama appointed Super Committee failed attempt at compromise, I hope the Board of Visitors will listen to the students and alter their original plan so no one will chain themselves to a grand Magnolia (boy have I been tempted in the past to do just that).

Seems a little shaping up is in order

I visited the Rotunda two days ago to see for myself the positioning and size of the trees.  The Board of Visitors was quoted as saying the trees had to go because of scaffolding, which is ridiculous.  If the roofers can't erect scaffolding without harming the trees they need to go back to scaffolding 101 school.  Another often used excuse when cutting down older trees is that they have reached the end of their expected life.  Bah humbug.  There is something to be said for light cast inside the Rotunda.  Also mentioned is that the trees are massive and they might damage the Rotunda in a storm.  Anything is possible but historically it appears that the only damage incurred during a storm was to two of the eight Magnolia, not to the Rotunda (the most pressing damage it seems to me for the Rotunda is pollution from cars and coal).  The Magnolias are not even as tall as the Rotunda dome and are in desperate need of pruning.  I was a bit taken aback at the lack of pruning,, especially on the sides.  Given the structure is so large, the Magnolia actually flank the Rotunda quite nicely.  There is one particular Magnolia that is a lovely specimen and there is no reason to remove it.  It easily can be pruned to not overhang a walkway and is not directly beside the Rotunda.

 

Ground level with the magnificent Magnolia

Living among the trees for 20 years in my family home, I shudder at the thought of any tree being cut down.  One of my grandmothers favorite trees was her beloved Southern Magnolia and also on the "park like" property is an assortment of 75 year old trees; Maples, Chestnuts, Apples, Catalpa, Walnut, and Holly.  When we first moved into our family home there were two HUGE yews that I absolutely loved but they were literally growing into the house.  They were planted 2' from the house and were twice as tall as the house! After 10 years, I finally got the courage to cut down the trees when my mother told me that my Grandmother had said, those trees were planted way to close to the house and that she always regretted that decision.  Last year my mother had a 150' leaning Blue Spruce cut down that was also planted way too close to the house.  Both decisions were horrifying to make but were the correct ones.  The house was being gobbled up by the trees so much that you could not see it and the roof was being horribly damaged.  On the flip side, I watched my idiot neighbors hire jack legs to cut down 20 hardwood trees that were NOT up against their house.  I cried watching the destruction and hearing the chain saws for months on end.  I begged them to not do this but they continued (having some drop on our fence).  Our home place has just been sold and I have no desire to go back and possibly see the destruction of the majestic trees on the property for reasons such as... oh I don't like leaves, or we need to let more sun in, or that tree is so messy, or that tree is OLD.

So grand it would bring TJ to tears

Online it has been suggested that the Magnolias be relocated to another site on campus. When I headed to campus the other day, I was ready to battle to save the Magnolias.   I still am but my view has changed.   If judicious pruning doesn't improve the situation and you must remove then instead relocate, keep one where it stands, and make commemorative bowls out of the two storm injured trees (apparently "the thing" to do with felled TJ trees).

The main point in all this is that people young and old care about the nature that abounds on campus and don't want to see it destroyed just because it is convenient to do so.

2013 UPDATE:  The Magnolia are still standing as a consequence of the protests by students!  2021 UPDATE: Magnolia's were axed.

-Rebecca