The 5th Annual Tomato Art Fest takes place on Saturday, August 9t, 2008 and promises to be another year of produce fun! This smashing festival is located in the heart of Historic East Nashville in and around the Five Points area at the corner of Woodland St. and S. 11th St.
This Red Tomato Event draws bigger crowds each year for a very good reason; the celebration of everything tomato! (Other fruits and vegetables are allowed at their own risk)
Join the second-line parade, children’s carnivals, Bloody Mary competitions, recipe contests, the Tomato King and Queen Pageant, music, and more! All of these tomato-fabulous events as well as the YMCA East Nashville Tomato 5k, the Children’s Tomato Art Show and the ever popular Tomato Haiku Competition will bring you a day of laughter and celebration.
Mark those calendars today and don’t miss one of the best fests in Nashville today! By the way, it’s FREE!
Note to be whispered: Caution -this event is costume-friendly so be prepared to look and to be looked at.
If you are one of those people who want to spruce up your house with a fresh coat of paint this summer, but don’t look forward to the mess, I totally understand. As difficult as some of the trim can be, there are several new trim tools you can buy that make it a lot easier than it once was. I suggest you visit your local hardware store and take a look.
However, there has always been one thing that has always been somewhat of a pain to paint; doors! If you paint them while they are hanging you risk painting the floor, the trim and getting paint all over the hardware. But now I have discovered a trick from a friend of mine that has recently renovated his house.
My friend has shown me two methods for painting doors. The first one is for those big projects where you need to paint more than a couple of doors and can be done with a brush, roller or sprayer. You simply nail or screw a 1” x 2” x 1’ board into the bottom and the top of the doors and stack them as you paint.
Let them dry on one side and pick them up and turn them over one by one and paint the other side. David painted over 20 doors in one afternoon using this method with no runs! Of course you will need to remove any hardware on the doors.
The second is for one or two doors and you will need a couple of long (3”) wood screws per door and a pair of sawhorses. You screw one screw into the top of the door and another into the bottom about 1” into the wood. Pick up the door and sit the screws on the sawhorses and you will see how the door will swivel. You paint the one side and swivel the door to the other side and paint it. Let it dry and it’s good to go.
Two very easy and affective ways to paint doors for you home. If you know of any other ways to paint a door, please let me know. I’m always looking for the best and easiest ways to do things and would love to pass it along for others to try. Good luck and happy painting!
Most people know that lenders use your credit score to determine your interest rate and whether you can qualify for a loan or not. What most people don’t realize is your score is also used:
- To determine your insurance rates by many insurance companies
- Determines your rate on your credit cards, and most surprisingly
- Is being used by perspective employers in hiring decisions
Basically, a low credit score will mean that you will pay an additional finance charge on credit cards of $105.00 per year. If everyone who had a less than perfect credit rating would raise their scores by just 30 points, the savings would be in the $20 billion dollar range.
You can get a free report without the score at www.myfreecreditreport.com or www.annualcreditreport.com but it is important to know your score as well. To get your score you will have to pay for it. One of the best resources is www.myFICO.com. You have the option of getting one report from one of the credit reporting agencies or a report from all three. Of course, they will cost you accordingly but worth doing at least once a year.
Do yourself a favor and get your report and credit score today. It will save you money in the long run to make sure you pay your bills on time and keep up with your credit report.
It happened again this week. A package arrived and after the excitement of opening it up and digging to find what was hidden deep inside; you have to figure out what to do with those pesky packing peanuts!
After doing a little research I found out that you cannot recycle these puffy little creatures, but, most pack and ship places will take them off your hands. I would advise you to call ahead, before hauling your bags of peanuts down, to make sure they will take and use your used packing material.
Then I saw an article in The Tennessean this past Sunday about “Puffy Stuff”, a biodegradable packing peanut that is made right here in Nashville. It melts away when exposed to water and costs the same as these other critters that are not as “earth” friendly. I think this is a win-win!
They are made of the same material as the outside of gel-caps and simply dissolve. The other polystyrene peanuts are a petroleum-based product that is expected to go up in price as oil prices increase. So if you are looking for packing material go to your nearest and dearest pack & ship store and ask for Puffy Stuff. It’s an easy way to help the environment and keep those packages coming and going and what a great product if you’re moving!
The past week or so we have been hearing about the dropping Dow Jones Industrials and the rising oil prices. While these are definitely things to be concerned about, there was some good news that no one heard about; existing home sales edged up in May.
The National Association of Realtor’s reported in late June for the second time in the last 10 months existing home sales were up. This coupled with the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged is very good news on the real estate front.
Though this news was overshadowed by the Dow and oil prices, it is important to know and hear that there is good news on the economic front as well. With many housing choices on the market and interest rates that continue to stay down many people are realizing that it is indeed a good time to buy a home.
You may be thinking that if you don’t have money to put down on a house that you are out of luck. However, there is one place that you have always been able to count on for a 100% loan and it is still available! It’s through FHA or the Federal Housing Administration.
With a FHA loan, you can negotiate for the seller to pay up to 3% of your closing costs as well as an additional 3% for your down payment assistance. Down Payment assistance comes from non-profit agencies that have been approved through FHA and require the seller to also pay a small fee.
If you are interested in this type of a loan, contact your local loan officer and they can take you through the process to see if you qualify with your credit score, loan to value and debt to income. Once you know you are approved, contact your realtor and find that home you have always dreamed of!
It looks like there is a good chance for rain on July 4th in the Middle Tennessee Area. If you would like to “jump start” your July Fourth Celebration and 3-day Vacation, come to the Freedom Festival, Thursday, July 3rd at Drake’s Creek Park.
There will be a wide variety of activities, food, music (Ronnie McDowell, Kelly Lang & T. G. Sheperd, to name a few) & fun! Admission is free and donations will be accepted to benefit the Chamber Foundation School Improvement Program and Scholarships.
The fun starts 2:00 pm with the big bang celebration of Independence Day starting at 9:30 pm. You can make it a day long celebration with family and friends. By the way, don’t forget the lawn chairs!
I’m proud to be a part of a company that gives back to their community. RE/MAX Choice Properties is proud to sponsor the fireworks.
