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Life Animal Rescue in Agoura Hills

Bindi Su. Jake. Teddy. Willow. Trevor. Bianca, Buddy. Peaches. Frankie. Lucas.

By: Sher Hann

What do these names have in common?

At one time all were shelter pets. They have since been adopted and are now the poster children for a new series of stamps that will go on sale on 4/30/2010. The new 44-cent was designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, D,C., with photography by Sally Andersen-Bruce. Bindi Su, Jake Teddy and the other models are from the photographer’s home in New Milford, CT. All have found homes. With these 10 stamp designs, the U.S. Postal Service hopes to raise awareness of the need to adopt shelter pets.

During the campaign, Stamps to the Rescue, along with Conejo Valley property owner Ellen DeGeneres and Halo: Purely for Pets, will give shelter pets around the country a “First-Class Meal,” donating a million meals to animal shelters around the country. (DeGeneres is a co-owner of Halo).

To pre-order your stamps, visit your local post office next week, or preorder now. To find adorable pets like the authors, go to your local animal shelter.

About the authors: Walter Landen wa adopted from Life Animal Rescue, Agoura Hills.

Tang-Tang came from the animal shelter in Agoura Hills.

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Tags: Agoura Hills, LIfe animal rescue, Sher Hann

Getting a Bead on Benevolence

By: Sher Hann

Every time I wear my “LOVE” beads, someone comments on them. What they don’t realize until I tell them is that those beads support an AIDS mission in South Africa. They are also quite inexpensive!

The beaded jewelry, along with beaded animals and crafts, leather work and artwork, are made by families infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The Lily of the Valley bead ministry purchases the crafts at local market value and then sells them at events throughout the Conejo Valley. The LOVE beads and crafts are also available on e-Bay. All proceeds go to support Lily of the Valley Orphanages in Kwazulu, South Africa.

For more information, see www.LilyValleyUSA.org. The next big event where the beads will be on sale locally is LOVEFEST on June 13, 2010, at Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks.

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Tags: HIV in South Africa, Love beads, Sher Hann

The Emperor’s New Clothes

The power of branding

By: Sher Hann

Nowadays, we hear a lot about branding – not of cattle but of companies, service providers and the like. Now Thousand Oaks is buying a new brand for its publications and website.

The new look is not without controversy, primarily because it has cost money from public funds. After the City Council rejected an $89,000 bid from a Nashville firm, which included extensive community research about updating the city’s visual brand, the public information office decided to allot funds from its own budget. At a trimmed down cost of $25,000, a local company, Mustang Marketing, designed a new logo for the city’s publications, signs and website.

The city plans to start using its new look in April.

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Tags: Sher Hann, thousand oaks logo

Open Your Doors to an Energy Tax Credit

This energy tax credit could be just what you need

By: Sher Hann

So it rained and rained and rained. And my Cal Classic French door, installed after the 1994 earthquake, leaked and leaked and leaked. We hadn’t planned on replacing it soon, but Mother Nature intervened. Within a few weeks we will be the proud owners of two new Energy Star French doors.

Yes, two doors, because the Cal Classic in the kitchen is dog-ravaged. The only silver lining here, other than having nice new doors, is that a federal tax credit is available on our purchase (not installation and finishing though).

With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, homeowners  who purchase “qualifying products” are eligible for a tax credit equal to 30 percent of the product cost. Installation is not included. For windows, doors and skylights, homeowners must obtain a manufacturer certification statement to be for the tax credit; the maximum tax credit for the current year for all improvements combined is $1,500  (including roofing, insulation, HVAC, and water heaters).

Remember: A tax credit is generally more valuable than a tax deduction or tax allowance of the same amount because a tax credit reduces tax directly, whereas a deduction or allowance only reduces taxable income.

For more information, visit  www.Energarstar.gov,  the ENERGY STAR Rebate Finder, www.MyEnergyTax.com or a recent blog by my colleague, Rob Jordan – “Tax Credits for Replacing Heating and Cooling Systems.”

By the time our days are sunny and warm, with nary a cloud in the sky, our new doors should arrive. Meanwhile, let the old doors leak away and be scratching post for our dogs. And since the  tax credit on the two new doors doesn’t quite add up to $1,500, let’s see what else we could fix ….

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Tags: Energy Star, Energy Tax Credit, oak park homes for sale, Sher Hann

Lake Tahoe

Rolling on the Slopes

View of Lake Tahoe from the top of the Eastridge trail on Mt. Pluto, NorthStar.

By: Sher Hann

“Roll  . . . roll . . . roll . . . roll.” This is my mantra on the slopes. I was not born to skiing. In fact, growing up in Pennsylvania, I was not born to any sport. I grew up in the house.  I hated the cold and, for that matter, I wasn’t thrilled with summer heat either. So the house it was.

And yet, here I am, on my second week of skiing at Lake Tahoe (the first was earlier in the season – I would never make it 14 days in a row). It’s a miracle – a testament to perseverance and Fossamax.

My first downhill skiing adventure was many years ago at Killington, in Vermont. The first syllable says it all for me. I was supposed to go with two friends, both of whom got the flu, so off I went on my own. The highlight of the trip was skiing into the top of my class, lined up down the hill, thus reaffirming both gravity and the domino theory. I met a ski bum at the lodge who had broken his leg and we spent a couple evenings talking.  A safe bet.

These days my family and I ski at NorthStar, on the north side of the Lake Tahoe. Mammoth, it seems, is not a get-away; it’s simply Southern Californians transplanted to a winter location and driving on skis. The north side of lake is less hectic, almost rural.

A ski trip takes you away – from home, from routine, and frankly, from your right mind. Call it high-altitude goofiness. If you’ve ever wondered why skiers have two of everything, it’s because they are always forgetting one of them. This trip I bought new gloves. In another goofy move, I spent all Tuesday afternoon, wondering how I was going to tell my husband I had locked us out of the condo – after we had made a second key to prevent this situation. I tried not to think about it on the slopes. At the end of the day, after we stored our skis, I confessed. “Oh,” he said, “I have the extra key in the car.”

We are back at the condo now for après-ski: a glass of wine, two Motrin, reading and snoring. There are three TVs here with VCRs but no cable TV, and we can’t get the VCRs to work.  So we read a lot and listen to music on the radio. We even heard the President’s State of the Union message on the radio.

I am thinking about the day on the slopes. Skiing, strangely, is kind of like politics: the end justifies the means. You look not where you are going but where you want to go. You focus on that downhill spot and roll right, left, right . . . .  Whatever happens in between goes up (or down) in a cloud of snow.

Tomorrow we will hit the slopes again, face downhill and roll . . . roll . . . roll.

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Tags: Rolling on the SLopes, Sher Hann

Confessions of a Print-aholic

There is something about holding a paper

By: Sher Hann

It has been raining all day, and I am finally at home, sitting in front of the fire, a glass a wine in hand, reading, of all things, the newspaper.  Ink on the fingers, for many years a bane, is now a badge of honor.

I use a computer all day long: reading e-mail, check the MLS, surfing the net, visiting Facebook, reading the headlines on my Google homepage. And I’ll admit that many a morning begins still in bed, with a cup of coffee and my Blackberry in hand, as I scan CNN headlines on my phone. Yet, before I dash out, I am not happy if I cannot hold the Wall Street Journal and, at the very least, read the front-page capsules. A tech column Walter Mossberg, for example, would be a special treat, and I want to read about in the paper, not peruse the Wall Street Journal online.

There is something about holding a newspaper, book or magazine that a screen cannot satisfy. A screen does not bend to the touch. It doesn’t flutter closed as I jump up to pull my little dog, Walter, from the edge of the fire (where he looks like just another log on the hearth) and holding a laptop is not comfortable when I lounge on the sofa.  Not even a Nook can do this (although I do admire the Kate Spade Nook covers at Barnes & Noble).

Tomorrow I will most likely succumb to the urge to buy a book, I am sure. Two things drive me to read a book: bad weather or being sick. I will brave the rain to check into Barnes & Noble, where I will buy a cappuccino, peruse the latest mysteries and select some very cheap entertainment: a book, to be touched, read, savored and remembered in a way that instant articles never can be.  I will take my new book home, enjoy a warm fire, pluck little Walter from its edge, and read … and read … and read.

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Tags: Real Estate Agent Sher Hann, Sher Hann