Interest Rates Fell To 6%!

Big News!

Nationally, fixed-rate mortgages fell this week to the lowest level since September 2005!

Read more at BankRate.com:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/bank/Dec0607_interest_rate_roundupa1.asp?s=2#tab

Karen
www.move2va.com

Featured Home This Week - 1925 Historic Home in Downtown Charlottesville

• Enjoy restoring this historic home in the city
  
• Eat-in kitchen has been re-done with oak cabinets
  
• Nice large rear yard
  
• Front porch
  
• Rear deck
  

Karen
http://www.move2va.com/

Spring Creek Golf Club Wins Top Honor!

Congratulations to Spring Creek Golf Club, at Zion Crossroads in Louisa County, which just won "Best New Public Course Under $75" from Golf Digest!

Read more at Golf Digest's website:

http://www.golfdigest.com/rankings/courses/new/2008/bestnewcourses

Here's an article about the award from the Daily Progress:

http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP/MGArticle/CDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173353739019&path=

Here's a link to the Spring Creek Golf Club website: http://www.springcreekgolfclub.com/

The Spring Creek Golf Club is built adjacent to the new Spring Creek development. It's conveniently located on Route 15, only 1 mile from I-64, only 15 minutes from Charlottesville and UVA, and only 45 minutes from Richmond. When it's complete it will have 1200 homes. Along with the semi-private 18-hole championship golf course, the community also offers Sports Club with pools, a fitness room, lighted tennis courts and more. Here's the website for the community: http://www.springcreekforsale.com/

Karen
www.move2va.com

Events in Charlottesville & Central Virginia This Weekend (Dec. 6-9, 2007)

Toy Lift 2007 is Friday, December 7th at Fashion Square Mall from 7:00am-9:00pm. Bring a new unwrapped toy (or a cash donation) for a needy child. Due to the numerous toy recalls recently, no used toys will be accepted. There will be entertainment all day starting at 10:30am. There will also be crafters selling their wares. Toy Lift began in 1988 when founder Tom Powell decided to perch himself eighty feet up in a bucket truck. He stayed there until people donated 1,000 toys, which he then distributed to local children. Nineteen years later, Toy Lift has grown into a huge annual community event with food, entertainment, and media coverage, raising over 17,000 toys.

Here's more fun I found at the AlbemarleFamily calendar:

- Artisans' Bazaar at UVA, Newcomb Hall Ballroom, Thursday and Friday, 10am to 6pm. Over two dozen local artisans will be selling handcrafted goods made locally.

- Michie Tavern-Candlelit Original Tavern, Friday & Saturday, 5pm-9:30pm. Sing traditional carols with our Tavern musicians. Mr. Michie's apprentice will serve tankard drinks from the original tap bar. Living history interpreters and story-tellers will be available to entertain guests. Period refreshments will be served from the 18th-century tap bar. Admission is free to the original Tavern.

- Join Rudolf and the gang to celebrate the Christmas holiday. Santa will be there for pictures, and to make final Christmas requests, but you better be good because he will have his list!! Arts & Crafts and cookie decorating are some of the fun activities you can expect. Charlottesville Carver Center, downstairs gym. Saturday 1:30pm to 4:00pm.

- A gala holiday ice skating show presented by the Charlottesville Figure Skating Club! The approximately two-hour long show will feature holiday costumes and props, including trees! Tickets may be purchased at the Ice Park or from skating club members. Charlottesville Ice Park. Sunday at 4pm.

- Head kitchen and craft interpreter Martha Bar will direct a Gingerbread and lace ornament workshop at Ash Lawn-Highland. Make three Victorian inspired tree decorations; Sunday.

- Green Valley Book Fair, huge selection of children's books at 60%-90% off retail prices on new, over-run or irregular books. 2192 Green Valley Ln., Mt. Crawford (in Shenandoah Valley btwn Harrisonburg and Staunton). 9am to 7pm daily, now through Dec. 9.

- The Paramount Theater's Family Flicks will feature the films "A Christmas Story" on Saturday and "White Christmas" on Sunday. At the Charlottesville Downtown Mall. $6; $4 for kids 18 and younger.

Karen
www.move2va.com

Say Thanks To The Troops This Christmas

Xerox has setup a website where you can send a free printed postcard to U.S. military personnel stationed overseas.

- Go to this website: http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html

- Select one of the postcards at the top or click "View all designs".

- Type in a message, your name, and town.

- Click "Send".

It couldn't be easier! So let's say thanks to the troops for all they've sacrificed to protect and serve our nation.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Karen
www.move2va.com

Deal of the Week: Goody's Printable Coupon

$5 Off in-store purchases of $10 or more

Expires 12/31/07

http://www.goodysonline.com/email/coupon799/

Karen
www.move2va.com

Stanardsville Is Getting A Makeover

Greene County is waking up and becoming the place to live, with Four Seasons, Greenecroft and more.

Main Street in Stanardsville is getting a big makeover with new professional buildings, a hotel, boutiques, stores and a new look, which are most welcome.

Read more about the changes in this article that was posted on the Greene County Record website http://www.greene-news.com/ on 11-8-07:

Town of Stanardsville: in the midst of a makeover

BY SUSAN GIBBS
Record Reporter
November 08, 2007

It looks as if Stanardsville's Main Street is getting a facelift. The Lamb family has converted some of its rental properties on the south side of Main Street between Ford Avenue and Celt Road from residential to commercial, and is sprucing them up.

A family by the name of Morris has opened a new flower shop in one of the Lamb buildings. Lillian Baird, who opened the Little Shop On Main Street early this year is moving to larger quarters in one of the others.

On other parts of Main Street, Sandy Johnston has opened a salon and Sim Neely, a professional woodworker who does architectural millwork and ornaments in addition to custom furniture and built-ins, has opened a showroom. ReMax is in town and Alan Pyles, owner of the Lafayette Inn, has expanded his holdings to include the Town Centre, where he is offering space for lease.

Don Pamenter, president of Stanardsville Revitalization, or *STAR*, has been talking about bringing the Town back to life for years.

Early last year he followed that talk with applications for grants, and *STAR* started winning them.

A professional planner started to help show *STAR* the way a la the Virginia Main Street program, designed to help localities revitalize the economic vitality of hometown commercial districts.

John Pluta and Holly Horan invested in putting their Noon Whistle Pottery's name on the Virginia Department of Transportation sign just east of the Route 33 business exit and traffic started to flow into Town. Now, it's as though Stanardsville is on a roll.

"We're doing a general upgrading of our Main Street properties in keeping with the *STAR* program," says Larry Lamb, speaking for the Lamb family. Linda Morris, speaking for the Morris family that is leasing one of Lamb's properties, worked for University florists in Charlottesville before she - and others of her family - invested in Stargazer Florists Etc.

"We do all the traditional arrangements, but we also love to be creative," says Morris. Stargazer also does gift baskets - either already made up or by special order, and caters to walk-ins.

Baird says it is because "people have been really supportive and want to see more change on Main Street" that she is moving her Little Shop On Main Street from the corner of Main and Celt into one of the Lambs' new commercial rentals.

"It's got hardwood floors and three fireplaces, one in each room," says Baird, who will be selling antique and vintage goods as well as some reproductions when her new store opens, at the latest, on December 1.

Johnston set up her salon called Signature in the Victorian that houses ReMax, across from the Lafayette. Her new puppy, a Dandie Dinmont Terrier "will be a shop dog, keeping my clients amused," says Johnston. Neely opened Riverdale Fine Woodworking. His work, he says, has included "Craftsman furniture, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired entertainment center and a Japanese-style writing desk. I also made the sign outside my shop and do Christmas decorations turned with a lathe. They are wooden balls you can see through."

Neely does his actual work in his home, and uses his tiny Main Street shop "for appointments and slide shows."

And the Town Centre?

Suffice it to say Pyles, who is the president of the Greene County Chamber of commerce, believes in Stanardsville.

"What you're seeing now is the beginning of the reality of the revitalization that's been talked about behind the scenes for three years," says Pyles. "It's been a lot of work … a lot of paperwork done by people who have a lot of patience. They have made our ongoing efforts so much easier because people can now see what they're buying into."

Karen
http://www.move2va.com/

Funny Of The Week: Santa Goofed

Karen
www.move2va.com

Today is "Roof Over Your Head Day"!

Here are some roof care tips to help you take care of that roof over your head:

- Keep your roof as free of debris as possible, which is critical to the integrity of any roof system.

- Only walk on your roof when it is absolutely necessary to perform maintenance such as cleaning the gutters, skylights or the roof itself.

- Inspect your roof annually, to help identify most roof problems. View your roof from several vantage points.

- Stand at a distance from your roofline so that you can see the entire structure. Pay special attention to the ridge and rakes, since this is where roofing material detaches from first.

- If you see any problems, get up on the roof and look for: loose or popped nails, loose or missing flashing around vent pipes, chimneys or wall junctions, cracks or gaps in caulked areas, holes in the valleys, rotting (test the pliability of material at theeaves using a putty knife. You should be able to push in a screwdriver's tip no more than one-half inch.)

- Inspect your roof from the inside. Enter your attic and inspect the underside of the structure. (You should do this even if you have not witnessed leaks in your living quarters; there could easily be undetected leaks in the attic that will cause problems down the road.) Look for the obvious signs of water damage: stains, matted or crusted insulation, etc.

- Even if your inspection (or, if the leak found you instead of vice versa, your interior downpour) reveals leak problems, it does not necessarily mean that obtaining a new roof is imminent. The age of the roof and the signs of deterioration ultimately determine if repairs are a viable option or if you will require complete roof replacement.

- The signs of deterioration on any type of roof system can be attributed to a combination of abuse from the sun's ultraviolet rays, storms, insects and temperature change adjustments. (Ultraviolet rays are probably most damaging, so it is quite common for one area of your roof–that which receives the most intense sun for longest length of time each day–to suffer more severe deterioration than others.) Damage caused by termites, hail, wind, rotting or settling of the house structure or chimney is frequently hidden from view.

- If a leak surfaces, carefully inspect the roof as described previously. Denote with spray paint any holes that you find. Also look for obstructions in the roof's valleys. (They can hold water and cause it to backup under the shingles.)

- Inspect and clean your gutters regularly. Water can intrude into your home from poorly functioning gutters. In addition you may want to consider having gutter guards installed which will prevent this from happening.

- If, after a thorough external inspection, you are unable to locate any obvious sources of the leak, it's time to do an internal examination. Enter your attic on a bright, sunny day. Then turn off any lights and cover any windows in the attic to darken the space. Any light then seen shining through will reveal cracks or holes from which your leak may surely stem. Be sure to also inspect the areas around vent pipes, chimneys and skylights; these are places that have had the roof decking cut and resealed, so they are often culprits for broken seals or flashing. Should all else fail, you may need to flood the suspect area of the roof with your garden hose while someone in the attic watches for the drip to appear.

- Because shingles are small, self-contained units, they are easily replaced without disrupting the rest of the roof. Your tools of the trade for this task will include spare shingles, nails, roofing cement and caulk. If, upon closer scrutiny, you find that the entire roof is badly worn or that the damage is more extensive than you had estimated, you will likely need to replace the entire roof.
- It is best to have a professional roofing company do any major roofing job; expert assistance, in this instance, is well worth the expense if, for nothing else, the headaches and hassles that it can save you. Also, deciding to make replacing your roof do-it yourself project and then calling in last-minute help from professional roofers can end up costing you as much-and perhaps even more-than gaining well-planned professional for assistance to complete the entire job.

Find more tips at http://www.roofing-shingles-contractor.com/.

If you need a recommendation on a good local roofer, I'll be glad to provide one for you.

Karen
www.move2va.com

Quote of the Week: Live In The Present

"Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day's work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition."

-- William Osler

Great advice... just take it one day at a time!

Sir William Osler (1849-1919) exercised more constructive influence on modern medicine than anyone ever has. He developed the system professors use to teach medicine. He did more than anyone else to integrate pathology and pathophysiology into the understanding of disease while integrating the symptoms of patients into their treatment. He was also very charismatic, gracious, charming, had great integrity and a strong work ethic.

Karen
www.move2va.com

Interest Rates Down to 6.17%

Fixed-rate mortgage interest rate dropped to 6.17%. This is a continuation of a trend for the past 3 weeks; 30-year and 15-year mortgages fell and the avg jumbo 30-year fixed mortgages rose.

Read more at BankRate.com:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/bank/Nov2907_interest_rate_roundupa1.asp?s=2#tab

Karen
www.move2va.com

Featured Home - 6+ Acres Albemarle - Horses Welcome!

• Room for all: 4 bedrooms including first-floor master suite
• Gourmet kitchen with Corian countertops, custom cabinetry, open to great room
• Gourgeous two-story stone fireplace
• Pool for summer fun!

Karen
www.move2va.com

Proposals For Albemarle / Charlottesville Eastern Connector

Here are four of the proposals for the Eastern Connector

(click each one to go to the original PDF file):

Learn more at the official Eastern Connector website at Albemarle.org:

http://www.albemarle.org/department.asp?department=planning&relpage=9606

Which plan do you think is best?

Karen
www.move2va.com

Events in Charlottesville & Central Virginia This Weekend (Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2007)

I found these items at The Hook's calendar:

- The Old Michie Theatre presents a puppet show version of The Three Bears. Original hand-sculpted marionette puppets perform in a fairytale stage setting with audience participation, lighting effects, and not-too-scary bears. Saturday at 11am, 2 and 4pm. $5. Reservations recommended.

- Crafty little elves ages 4 and up can create their own holiday house with edible materials at the Virginia Discovery Museum. Saturday 10:30am-11:15am. $8/members; $10/nonmembers. Registration required.

- Starting Saturday, families are invited to cut their own Christmas trees from Ash Lawn-Highland's fields of Virginia pine and cedar. This is not a tree farm, so choppers may have to do some hiking, and the trees are growing naturally, not shaped. Check in at the Gift Shop for directions to the cutting fields. Bring a saw and a rope to tie the tree to vehicle. Daily 11am-4pm.

- Monticello holiday tour: hour-long, small-group house tours, which include the Dome Room, offer visitors an intimate look at how the holidays were celebrated in Jefferson's time, plus the rare opportunity to experience Monticello after dark. $40. Saturday 5:30pm and 5:45pm. Reserved tickets required.

- Photos with Santa Paws by portrait artist Kevin Blackburn at The Animal Connection. Santa hats, elf hats, and holiday dog wear will be available on site. No reservation necessary, first come first served. All pets should be well behaved and must be on leash. Sunday 1-4pm.

Yesterday the WINA website had these event listed:

- The Charlottesville Energy Fair will be held Friday at the Charlottesville Pavilion on the Downtown Mall.

- Tech Challenge State Championship (Robotics): Come see 48 High School Teams including the Monticello Mustangs compete at University Hall. Learn about First Robotics, a fun, hand on, team way to make meaningful connections with science, math, engineering and technology. Free Admission. Saturday 8:30am-6:00pm

- The Annual Piedmont Virginia Community College Pottery Club Sale will be held at PVCC's Dickinson Building Commons. Featured will be unique, handmade, high fired stoneware, priced to fit your holiday shopping budget. Free drawing for door prize. Cash sales only, please. Saturday 9am-12pm.

- Join the Outdoor Adventure Social Club for a Dog Friendly Hike, Sunday 10am-2pm. Meet at Fontaine Research Park. Cost is $5, plus membership.

- The Charlottesville High School Band presents their 67th Annual Winter Concert at Charlottesville High School. Free and Open to the public, Sunday 2pm-4pm.

- The Piedmont Virginia Community College chorus will perform its annual holiday concert on the main stage of the V. Earl Dickinson Building. Admission is free and open to the public. Sunday 3pm-5pm.

Here's more fun I found at AlbemarleFamily's calendar:

- The 3rd Annual Timo's Memorial 5K, in scenic Pleasant Grove in Fluvanna. Proceeds will be donated to Lake Monticello Fire Rescue and Palmyra Fire in memory of Timo Husted Wright. Saturday at 10am.

- Drop & Shop: Bring your children to the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA to help decorate the facility decorating kennels, making ornaments, hanging stockings and other holiday fun. The SPCA will provide all craft needs, adult supervision and seasonal beverages and treats for a fun-filled afternoon. Saturday 10am to 2pm. $25 minium donation.

- Annual Holiday Bazaar at Waldorf School, children's activities, lunch, and entertainment. Saturday

- Brownsville Arts & Crafts Fair Saturday from 9am-1pm at Brownsville Elementary School.

- The Virginia Consort with The Virginia Consort Youth Chorale: Christmas music with organ, candlelight and decorations, and brass quintet. This concert is most appropriate for children school age and older. First Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville, Saturday 4pm and 7pm. $20, or $10 for students.

- Pancake breakfast and craft fair at Red Hill Elementary School in North Garden. Come enjoy breakfast, win a door prize and large selection of local crafters. Saturday 8am to 12pm.

- Victorian Christmas at Maymont Park in Richmond. Enjoy an old-fashioned Victorian Christmas: tea with Father Christmas, as well as storytelling, musical performances and living history demonstrations. Festive horse-drawn carriage rides and tours of the lavishly decorated Maymont House Museum, complete with a 12-foot Christmas tree. The festive afternoon concludes with an old-fashioned carol sing to fill you with good cheer and Christmas spirit. Sunday 12pm to 4pm.

- Charlotte's Web musical by The Black Box Players,over 75 adult and children actors. Burnley Moran School Auditorium. Friday & Saturday 7pm. Sunday 3pm. $8 reserved seating.

- The Charlottesville and University Symphony Orchestra and the University Singers, under the direction of Conductor Michael Slon, will present its Family Holiday Concert. UVA's Cabell Hall Auditorium. Saturday 8pm, Sunday 3:30pm. $11-$25.

- UVa Women's basketball team takes on Fairleigh Dickinson! Free scoops of Ben & Jerry's ice cream to fans before tip-off courtesy of Albemarle Family. Stop by the AlbemarleFamily booth to meet our mascot Bumble and enter to win a prize! John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Sunday at noon.

- UVA Wind Ensemble holiday concert. They will explore new literature as well as perform the masterworks of the wind band era. Old Cabell Hall, UVA, Sunday at 8pm. $10 General /$5 Students /5ARTS$.

I found this event at the Louisa Arts Center's calendar:

- 'Tis The Season ~ Celebrating the Season. Festivities begin at 7 pm Saturday with the Tree Lighting, followed by caroling and a special performance by The Spirits to follow in the Center. Visit the gallery exhibit, the Children's Christmas Tree, enjoy refreshments. Free.

Lots of holiday music and shopping this weekend! Enjoy!

Karen
www.move2va.com

Learn More About The Charlottesville Eastern Connector

Come out either tonight or tomorrow night and learn more about the three possible locations for an eastern connector that will connect the Pantops area with the 29 North corridor. The agenda items will be the same at both meetings:

- Tonight, Wednesday, 11/28/07 at 7pm in the Baker-Butler Elementary School cafeteria at 2740 Proffit Road, Charlottesville.

- Or tomorrow, Thursday, 11/29/07 at 7pm in the County Office Building at 401 McIntire Road, in the 2nd floor lobby.

We are growing and we all need to learn more about the possibilities for improved transportation, especially an eastern connector which is much needed.

Read more about the Charlottesville/Albemarle eastern connector at the CharlottesvilleTomorrow blog:

http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2007/11/easter_connecto.html

Karen
www.move2va.com