June 2009 Southern Home 1June 2009 Southern Home 1

Southern HomeMagazine

Homes, Yards and Gardens of Lake Norman

number 1, issue 5Complimentary

Cedar Grove House178 years of local history

Attracting ThoseBeautiful Singers

New Foundationfor Women & Kids

Getting the Basics is Easy

BackyardBirds

OrganicGardening

HopeHouse

2 Southern Home June 2009

R e c r e a t i n g H o m e s . R e d e f i n i n g L i v e s .

w w w . u r b a n b u i l d i n g g r o u p . c o m

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R e c r e a t i n g H o m e s . R e d e f i n i n g L i v e s .

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Residential Design/Build Specialists

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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OFTHE REMODELING INDUSTRY

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Southern HomeMagazine

Bethany Hauf

Clyde Owens

Clyde Owens

Justine DiMauroMarta CarlsonKristi LinauerClyde OwensJoe Kaestner

Lori Dalton

Dennis RosselloKathy Bryan

Wendy Valdivieso

We welcome your comments, questions, article ideas, or any suggestions to make Southern Home Magazine even better.

Write us at 20111 Washam StreetCornelius, NC 28031 or email to

comments@southernhomemag.comTo contact any associate you mayemail them directly by typing theirfirst name@southernhomemag.comor call 843-453-4556 and speak

with a live representative.

Number 1, Issue 5

This magazine is published by Southern HomeMagazine LLC. and distributed twelve times ayear to selected households in the Lake Nor-man area. All rights are reserved and no partof this publication may be reproduced withoutwritten consent by the publisher. SouthernHome Magazine does not necessarily endorsethe views or perceptions of contributors or ad-vertisers. Southern Home Magazine has theright to refuse any content based on the pub-lisher’s sole discretion. Our office is located at20915 E. Catawba Ave. Cornelius NC 28031Publisher Southern Home Magazine LLC

6

8

Attracting Seed Eaters 6beautiful backyard birds

Organic Gardening 8understanding the basics

Organic Dan 12organic goes local

Energy Efficiency 14and the tax savings it brings

Cedar Grove House 16Huntersville’s 178 year old home

“Walk About” 21save thousands on your home

Hope House 24new hope for women & children

5 food mysteries 32solving myths

1612

24

Southern Home 5

6 Southern Home

ackyard birds can be dividedinto three basic categoriesbased on their primary food

source: seed eaters, insect eaters, andbirds of prey. This month, I’d like totalk about a few of the more popularspecies of seed eaters here in the LakeNorman Area and how to attract themto your yard.

A common favorite of most backyardbirders, is the Northern Cardinal.North Carolina designated the cardinalas the official state bird in 1943. Malecardinals are a brilliant scarlet red, fe-males a buffy brown with reddishwings. Both have a jet-black mask,pronounced crest, and a heavy bill.After reaching adulthood, cardinalsmaintain their coloring throughout theyear. Cardinals do not migrate, so wecan enjoy them year-round.

Unlike many of our backyard song-birds, female cardinals will join themales in singing. Cardinals sing fre-quently during the months of Februarythrough August, and only intermit-

tently the rest of the year. A male car-dinal will aggressively defend his ter-ritory and many have been seenattacking small red objects, mistakenas other males, or even their own re-flections.

Cardinals love sunflower and safflowerseeds. An open tray feeder or a seedtube feeder that has a tray added tothe bottom will be the best way to feedcardinals. They love to eat facing for-ward and, therefore, don’t adapt toowell to small perches on bird feeders.

Another favorite feeder visitor is theCarolina Chickadee. These preco-cious, acrobatic little marvels providehours of entertainment to backyard

bird watchers. Chickadees are highlyenergetic. So much so, that it is re-markable that they don’t expend moreenergy in their eating habits than theirfood intake can supply. Chickadeeswill fly to a feeder, grab a single seed(often after weighing several to findone that seems heavy enough), and zipback up into tree, where it will hold the

attracting seed eatersBackyard Nature

ByJoe Kaestner,OwnerWild Birds Unlimitedof Huntersville

B

Southern Home 7

seed in its feet and peck it open to un-cover the nutritional nut meat inside.This seems to me to be a bit like mo-toring into a fast-food drive-thru, order-ing one French fry, pulling into aparking space to eat it, and then re-peating the process.

Chickadees can often be seen hangingupside down from a tree branch, some-times while eating, but often for no ap-parent reason. They are also highlyadaptable to the humans around them.My chickadees will often visit my feed-ers even if I am standing only a fewfeet away. They will bounce aroundthe feeders, find a suitable seed, andfly off without an apparent secondthought about my presence.

Chickadees love to eat sunflowerseeds, and are especially fond of theversion of these seeds where the shellhas been removed, often referred to assunflower chips or hearts.Another highly regarded, but often elu-

sive, feeder visitor is the IndigoBunting. There is no mistaking themale Indigo Bunting in spring andsummer with its bright blue plumage.However, the blue appearance is reallya trick of nature, as their feathers con-tain no blue pigment. It is an interest-ing quality of most “blue” birds thatthey merely reflect light in a way tomake us think they are blue. Whenviewed with back-lighting only, a maleIndigo Bunting will appear black ordark gray.

The female Indigo Bunting is a nonde-script brown, a little darker on theupper parts and a little lighter below.In fall and winter, the male will molt tomostly brown, but will maintain someblue on its back and wings.

If you’re lucky enough to have them inyour backyard, Indigo Buntings willgladly come to a tube feeder filled withmillet, which is a tiny, round, light yel-low seed. However, you may want toavoid using a seed blend that containsmillet because most other birds willtoss the millet on to the ground, whereit will grow into a grassy weed. It isbest to offer millet by itself in a feeder.

Other popular seed eaters are HouseFinches, American Goldfinches, TuftedTitmice, Purple Finches, Northern Jun-cos, Pine Siskins, and various types ofnative sparrows. Next month, we’lllook at some insect-eating birds andhow to attract them to yourbackyard.n

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I imagine some people may stillhave certain preconceived notionsabout organic gardeners—that weare a bunch of tree-hugging, ex-hip-pies that attend protest rallies andeat tofu (not that I think these arebad things, by the way!). In reality,organic gardening has becomemuch more mainstream and for avariety of very valid reasons. Somegardeners are concerned about pes-ticide residues on their foods, othersworry about using potent toxins inthe same yard in which their chil-dren and pets play and still othersmight want to garden in a mannerthat safely attracts birds and butter-flies, utilizes native plants and con-serves water. Whatever the reason,organic gardening is becomingmore widespread as people become

more concerned about theirhealth, the safety and pro-

tecting the environment.

So What Is Or-ganic Gardening?Strictly defined, or-

ganic gardening is a hor-ticultural practice that does notimplement the use of any synthetic(man made) pesticides or fertilizers.However, there is much more to itthan just that-- organic gardeningembodies the concept that yourplants are part of a whole ecosys-tem that begins with the soil andincludes the water supply, nativeplant and wildlife species, insectpopulations, climate and even peo-

organicgardening

ByChristine M.Lisiewskiof Dearness Gardensin Huntersville.

Southern Home 9

ple. It is about working in harmonywith the natural processes in theenvironment while conserving andreplenishing the resources your gar-den consumes. So how does onebegin gardening organically? Ex-cellent question.

Building the SoilThe place to begin your journey isbuilding healthy soil. The unfortu-nate practice of commercialbuilders removing the topsoil(decades worth of organic matter!)when the land is cleared for devel-opment poses a challenge for the or-ganic gardener, but nothing thatcannot be overcome. Organic mat-ter must be added to the soil in theform of manures, amendments (e.g.bone meal, dried blood, kelp meal)and, of course, compost. The build-ing blocks of compost are easily ob-tained around your home in theform of grass clippings, fallenleaves, shredded newspaper andkitchen vegetable scraps. A simplecompost pile can be created usingchicken wire to form a 3’x3’ enclo-sure where you will then layer“brown” (dry leaves, newspaper,straw) with “green” (grass clippings,veggie scraps) in roughly a 3:1 ratio.Add a little soil to the layers, keepthe pile moist and turn it every fewweeks with a shovel or pitchfork.Soon you will have dark, crumbly,rich, sweet-smelling compost crawl-ing with earthworms—the ideal soiladditive. Celebrate this milestoneby throwing out all your MiracleGrow products—they are harsh andunnecessary in healthy amendedsoil.

Right Plant, Right LocationThe concept of plant selection andsite location may seem intuitive, butoften this is the first mistake madeby new organic gardeners. Since we

are trying to work in harmony withthe environment, it is imperativethat we choose plants that do wellin our climate (hot, humid summers,mild winters, zone 7b) and thenchoose an appropriate site for thoseplants. For example, a sun-and-moisture-loving Weeping Willowwill require very little maintenancewhen planted in a sunny, low spot

in the yard that collects water. Thesame tree planted in a dry andshady part of the yard will requiresupplemental water and cause thetree unwanted stress that can leadto disease and insect infestation.Often native plants are used in theorganic garden because they are al-ready adapted to our climate andsoil. However, even native plantsmust be located in the appropriatesite in the landscape—do some re-search on your selections so youknow whether your plantsprefer sun/shade/moist/dryareas and also keep in mind

their maximum adult size. Ever seea full grown Southern Wax Myrtleplanted two feet from the side of ahouse? That is some bad site loca-tion, my friends. Also consider pur-chasing heirloom plants (especiallyvegetables) which are old varietiesthat have been passed downthrough the generations and tend tobe unusual, prolific and flavorful.

What About All Those Bugs?First of all, not all “bugs” are bad (re-peat that to yourself several timesuntil it feels comfortable). Ladybugsand praying mantises are easy toidentify and are your loyal allies inthe garden. Lesser known are thelacewings—take the time to Googlethem so you can identify the adultsand larvae—who will happily de-vour any soft-bodied insect thatdares to cross their path. Also take

the time to learn the differ-ence between the “badworms” (e.g. tomato horn-worm) and butterfly larvae

(e.g. Swallowtails and Monarchs).I’ll never forget the time a customerat the nursery brought me a hand-ful of “worms” that she picked offour parsley plants thinking she wasdoing us a favor. Imagine my horrorwhen I realized she had plucked allthe Swallowtail Butterfly larvaethat we had watched hatch fromtiny eggs and had been patientlystudying for days, watching theirmetamorphosis into adults!

Now granted, some insects docause trouble but not all of them re-quire chemical intervention.Aphids can be blasted off with astrong spray of water, and manybad buggers can be controlled witha homemade insecticidal soap (1-2tablespoons mild soap, a few dropsof canola oil and some cayennepepper in a gallon of water). If youhave to resort to chemical controls,look for the OMRI (Organic Materi-

als Review Institute) designationon the label. This means the prod-uct is suitable for organic garden-ing and had passed a rigorousreview for safety and efficacy. Manyof these products are multi-usesuch as Neem oil, which can beused as an insecticide, miticide,and fungicide.

A Few More TidbitsDon’t forget to mulch the garden! 2-3 inches of mulch will help lock inmoisture, prevent weeds and helpstop the spread of fungal sporesthat cause dis-eases like blackspot. Naturalmulch also hasan added bene-fit; it slowlybreaks down,adding organicmatter to makehealthier, richer

soil. Try companion planting, theancient practice of inter-plantingherbs and flowers in the vegetablegarden to attract beneficial insectswhile repelling less desirable crit-ters. Sweet basil is the quintessen-tial companion plant, especiallywith tomatoes. Finally, hang upbird houses, bird feeders and add abird bath. Songbirds are only toohappy to patrol your garden for de-lectable worms and beetles--theyare fun to watch and they work forfree (well, for seed anyway).n

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12 Southern Home

Daniel Austinhas created quite a gar-den for himself. The impression whenyou come upon the West Huntersvillefarmhouse is that of a working farm,but Daniel told me “It was a dairyfarm, but we are out of that businessnow. Along Jim Kidd Road the familyhad 700+ acres. The farm has beendivided among family, I have kin upand down this road.” says Dan. AndDaniel’s garden is actually located onhis sister’s farm.

Daniel’s family has always had gar-dens, and it was natural for him tohave one as an adult. He visited

Thomas Jeffer-son’s Montecello in

Charlottesville. VA withits raised, organized beds a couple ofyears back, and that sparked the ideaof creating his own organic garden.Daniel is in the construction business,but after he laid out the diagrams andplans for his garden, he hired a profes-sional garden installer. “I didn’t wantto have it take years for me to get itdone.” says Dan.

The raised beds are quite extensive-about a dozen raised beds, framed inwith pressure-treated 6 x 6” wood.The soil in amended with rich humussoil and compost. “I can get a wholelot more per square foot in a raised

bed,” Daniel tells me. “The raised bedsallow for easy access for planting,weeding, watering, etc.” And that’s agood thing-during our conversationDaniel was stepping into beds to pulla weed here, strip some yellowingleaves there, or dead-heading flowers.

Another nice feature of the garden isthat it is sodded in the wide paths be-tween the raised beds and has peb-bles layered into the narrower pathsof beds, It has an unusually organizedand manicured feel for a working gar-den. The garden is not only for vegeta-bles, but also flowers. Some flowersare mixed among the vegetables,while other beds are designated solelyfor flowers. “We grow a variety of flow-

organicdan

Huntersville native creates an pesticide freegarden of abundance for his family,

friends and neighborsPhotos and article by

Clyde Owens

ers suitable for cutting and I bring some home, but giveaway a lot. Daniel rotates all the flowers and vegetables tokeep from depleting the soil. He keeps a journal of whatworks and what didn’t, so he can make good decisionswhen planning for the next season.

Dan’s garden is pesticide free. He uses basic prod-ucts, plus homemade recipes and remedies. “It takes a littlemore work, but it’s worth it. We eat a lot of vegetablesstraight out of the garden, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, andI wanted it to be all natural,” says Daniel. But all organicdoes not mean pale or small yields for Daniel. “We havegotten way more than expected from these beds. I giveaway lots of vegetables and flowers. I love the sharing withfriends and family. I’m getting phone calls now askingwhen the tomatoes, squash and okra will be ready.” he sayswith a smile.

Some of Dan’s Favorite Garden Solutions:

Tomato Blight: 1-tbsp baking soda, 1-tbsp of horticulture oil, 1-gal of water. Mix ingredients and use in a sprayer.Daniel also notes that you need to keep the yellow leavesthat start at the bottom of tomato plants stripped in orderto keep the blight from “running up the plant”

Manure Tea Fertilizer: In a cloth bag, hang the manure (Dan gets it from thefield-you can get dehydrated manure from a supply store)in a plastic trash can in a corner of the garden. “Let cure”You can use the brown solution for watering plants, onleaves or a transplant solution. Make sure if applying onleaves that it is adequately diluted.

Diatomaceous Earth:Diatomaceous earth is a remarkable, all-natural productmade from tiny fossilized water plants. To insects DE is alethal dust with microscopic razor sharp edges. Thesesharp edges cut through the insect's protective coveringdrying it out and killing them when they are eitherdusted. Diatomaceous Earth may be used as a barrier tocontrol adult flea beetles, sawfly, coddling moth, twigborer, thrips, mites, cockroach, slugs, snails and manyother insects such as:Aphids, thrips, earwigs, silverfish, and ants. Can be usedfor bedbugs, cabbage root flies, carrot root flies, fleas, pill-bugs, ticks and is helpful in dealing with fungus gnats

Tomato Leaf Tonic:Keeps flea beetles away...2 cups of tomato leaves, chopped

We have gotten way morethan expected from these beds. Igive away lots of vegetables and flowers.

“”

continued page 20

14 Southern Home

he 2009 ARRA (American Recovery & ReinvestmentAct) was signed into law in February of 2009. It offers avariety of tax credits to promote energy efficiency. Asyou consider making improvements or remodeling yourhome, consider which improvements can also providea tax credit.

As you read through the legislation there are multipleconditions, stipulations, and requirements for each cat-egory of improvement. Before you move forward youneed to read through all the information provided at theDepartment of Energy website.

Some of the credits listed below have very particularproduct requirements related to the level of the prod-ucts energy efficiency, so be sure to read through theinformation on the websites provided before you makean investment. The improvement must also be com-pleted in 2009.

The following products carry a tax credit of 30% ofthe cost, up to $1,500• Insulation• Energy Efficient Exterior Windows, Doors• Metal/Asphalt Roofs• Central AC• Some Heat Pumps• Gas/Propane/Oil Furnaces

• Gas/Propane Water Heaters• Biomass Stove

The following products have atax credit of up to 30% of theimprovement cost, with nolimit.• Solar Water Heating• Solar Electrical System• Wind Turbines• Geothermal heat pump

Other products or services withvarying tax credits• Fuel Cell (Home/Auto)• Hybrid/Electric Cars

It is important to get started this fall so time doesn’t runout on completing your project during the current taxyear.

TAX Note: Contact your tax professional to determine your actualbenefit. Generally a tax credit is better than a tax deduction be-cause it comes straight off your tax liability versus figured withinyour tax liability formula, along with other more common deduc-tions. For more info see: www.energy.gov/recovery/taxbreaks.htm n

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Cedar Grove House

At 178 years old, this Huntersvillegem is one of the finest examples of

piedmont plantations in North Carolina

article & photos by

Clyde Owens

Southern Home 17

he charm started from the minutethe door opened to the beautiful178-year-old home on Gilead Road,Huntersville. As Mrs. Belle Banksanswers, she is explaining she does-n’t wear shoes much in the summer,so you find her mostly barefoot fromMay to September. Her husbandRichard Banks passed about 10years ago. But the house is still herprivate home and is kept by herself,a son, and daughter.

We sit down, including her dog Mil-lie, and hear the story of how she

came to be there. Mrs. Banks ex-plains, “ The house was in my hus-band’s family. We arrived inCharlotte when Richard was dis-charged from the military afterWorld War Two. So many soldierswere coming home, there was noplace for them all. So, like manycouples, we stayed in barracks con-verted to apartments. Richard toldme his family had a farm house inHuntersville. Charlotte toHuntersville, at that time, was aworld away. I was a city girl andknew nothing about country living.There was no close grocery andneighbors, although great, were few

and far between”.

Mrs. Banks recalls her first look;“When Richard brought me out herefor the first time it was in horribleshape. Sharecroppers tending thefarm had occupied it. The familyhad not thought the tenants wouldloot the furniture and valuableslocked in the third-story attic rooms,but that’s exactly what happened.Most the furniture and all the smallvaluables like china and silver weregone. The house had deteriorated into an awful state, with holes in thewalls, plaster and wall paper fallingdown, just a sad mess. I thought itwas an impossible task.”

In 1948 the Banks moved in with noelectricity, plumbing, or central heator air; and still no central air today.Mrs. Banks remembers, “for the firstwinter we lived here, I had to haveall four fire places burning at alltimes to keep the house warm.Richard worked for the CharlotteObserver as the culture critic, andhe would rise early to chop enoughwood in the morning before headingto Charlotte, and I would go fromroom to room all day stoking andfeeding the fires. It wasn’t until the

next spring we could afford to havea furnace installed. But we havenever felt the need for central air,the house had good ventilation andis just never uncomfortable duringthe summer.”

For the next few years Richard andBelle worked on Cedar Grove andpainstakingly resorted it room-by-room. “We would be a sight on theweekends,’ Belle smiled, “Richard inbib overalls and no shirt and melooking like the hired help. Oncethree ladies came up on a Sundayafternoon dressed in their best.

T

18 Southern Home

They thought, as folks sometimesdo, that the house was open to thepublic for tours. When I opened thedoor, they ask if the lady-of-the-house was at home. Their expres-sions were priceless when I toldthem, paint on my face, that wouldbe me!

Mrs. Banks today still enjoys thefruits of all the years of labor at herCedar Grove home, is still activewith friends and community, and anactive member of the historical so-ciety.

ABOUT THE HOUSEThe story actually begins with theproperty directly to the right of theCedar Grove home. There standsthe original house and store (1806-1825), built by Hugh Torance, and isstill the oldest standing store inNorth Carolina (see photo nextpage). Between 1831 and 1833, hisson James built the Cedar Grove,considered one of the finest pied-mont plantation examples in NorthCarolina. The store’s trade wassome of the basis for the way land

was accumulated. While somegoods were sold directly, a lot ofgoods were paid with barters, in-cluding land. By the time of HughTorrance’s death, he had accumu-lated a plantation of 1,400 acres. Hisson James extended his father’ssuccess and by his death had accu-mulated a plantation of 3200 acresof land in Mecklenburg County andanother 3800 in Tennessee. RichardBanks inherited the house as a di-rect descendant of Hugh Torance.

The house is a Federal style struc-ture. It has a symmetrically bal-anced facade, two stories, tworooms deep and a large hall downthe center. It had upgraded touchesfor a plantation house of the areawith locally quarried, hand cutgranite for the windowsills, en-trance steps and bases for thecolumns.

James Torance planned ahead forbuilding the house. 20,000 brickswent in to making of the home andwere all hand-fired on the site. Hehad 12,000 of the bricks ready before

construction began. The house itselfis perched on a significant hill andis aligned on the compass, with thefloorboards running from north tosouth. The columns in front are alsobrick, but covered in stucco. Theback of the house is very similar tothe front keeping the house not onlysymmetric, but making no absolutefront or back. The interior grand hallhas a signature suspended staircasegoing all the way into the 3rd storyattic. The basement buried halfbelow ground is dirt floored and wasa cool place for meals in earliertimes. Today, it houses the mechan-ical systems for the house. The atticis full of family mementos, includingthe famous wooden legs from a fam-

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ily member in the Civil War. The out-side shutters are original hingedshutters of cedar.

Cedar Grove House stands as one ofthe best examples of Federal styleplantations homes in North Car-olina. The original house and storestand to the right of the propertyand have a state marker. You canwalk the property and tours can bearranged. Cedar Grove house itselfremains a private residence andpublic tours are not available.

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1 qt. of water1/2 tsp. of dishwashing liquid

Put the tomato leaves and water in a pan and bring to aboil. Turn off heat and let cool. Strain leaves and add dish-washing liquid to the water. Pour the solution into asprayer, and spritz your plants from top to bottom. Thispotion repels whiteflies, asparagus beetles, and cabbageworms. Reapply after each rain.

Slug Jugs:Instead of the “old way” of placing a pan of beer on theground for slugs to climb into try this.Bury a glass or plastic jar with a 1-3 in mouth into theground about 1/2 inch above the soil level. Pour beer intothe container. The smaller hole slows evaporation andpets from getting into it. And the container in the groundcreates the dark environment slugs love!

General Fungicide/Pesticide:Daniel uses “Neem Oil “ as a favorite catch all. It’s a natu-ral seed extract that is diluted with water and sprayed.Usually available at home and garden supply stores. Usedfor aphids, spidermites, cucumber beatles, fungal dis-ease,; not harmful to all bugs, the harmful ones eat theplant and die.n

from page 13

Southern Home 21

efore the autumn leaves drift byyour window, before you get too

comfy in that recliner watching col-lege football on the big screen televi-sion, there’s one last chore to tackle.Spend a few minutes doing your ownhome inspection, or Walk About, andyou may save yourself thousands ofdollars in the future.

Me, a Home Inspector?You may be thinking, what do I knowabout home inspection? As dauntingas it sounds, simply making this partof your regular maintenance routinewill help you identify damage that re-sults from your home’s worst enemy:water. Left untreated, water prob-lems can cause fungi, mold, founda-tion damage, or roof leaks.

Common causes of water damage:•Clogged, dirty gutters anddown- spouts.•Water and condensationin your crawl space•Roof leaks•Negative drainage aroundyour foundation

The Walk About is re-ally three inspections:Gutters and Roof; Exte-rior Surfaces; andCrawlspace. You willwalk around your home

three times. Each walk fo-cuses on a different section ofthe home. Finding problems

early means you can fix them, hope-fully before they have damaged yourhome.

Walk About One: Roof and GuttersLook for common signs of potentialdamage:•Loose or curling shingles•Leaves and debris in the gutters•Staining or damage on fascia be-hind gutter•Wear on vent pipe boots•Proper sealing on flashing

Walk About Two: Exterior Walls andGradingYou want to ensure you’re not lettingin the outdoors. Inspect siding, bricks,all exterior wood. This includes woodaround doors and windows. Look forcommon signs that water (or some-thing else) is getting in where it

shouldn’t: •Siding damage including loosecaulking•Mortar cracks•Unsealed holes on exterior•Signs of rot and decay(soft wood)around doors and windows, and atthe corners of the wood joints •Torn or damaged crawl space vents •Grades sloping toward the house(the grade should drop away from thehome one inch per foot)

Walk About Three: Crawlspace Take a break for now. Next month,we’ll tackle the last frontier, the crawl-space.

The FixRemember, the reason you are doingthe inspection is to find problems sothey can be corrected. Your WalkAbout may not reveal any problems.But, no home is perfect, so you willprobably find something that needsto be fixed. If it’s something simple,you may want to do it yourself or hirea handyman. If the problems seemtoo daunting, call a home inspector,who can evaluate the severity andrecommend a course of action for re-pairs.

And, don’t forget to schedule anotherWalk About a few months from now,about the time football season is over.

About the author: Jeff Forsha is a CertifiedHome Inspector, Owner of A-ProAdvantageInspection Services,www.AProAdvantage.com n

a “Walk About” your homesave thousands with

B

by Jeff Forsha, Professional Home Inspector

22 Southern Home

well-designed outdoor livingspace can maximize your

home’s potential by providing anatural extension of your indoorarea for dining, relaxation, and en-tertainment. Whatever the size ofyour space or your budget, theseconsiderations will help you makethe most of your space, providingatmosphere and amenities thattruly enhance your family’slifestyle.

How and When Will You Use Your Outdoor SpaceEvaluate how your family will usethe space – dining, cooking, enter-taining, lounging, a play area foryour children? Consider how muchspace is needed for the activity,how much shade/sun is required,time of day, sun angle and time ofyear you will use it. Incorporating

covered areas, ceiling fans, misters,and propane heaters you can com-fortably enjoy your outdoor spaceall year round. An open-air veranda can be a greatalternative to an enclosed, screenporch. It provides an open view andbetter circulation to the yard. Youcan keep maintenance low byusing a natural, sustainable mate-rial such as brick in place of deck-ing. Locating an outdoor fireplacewithin the veranda can add a pointfor family and friends to migrate to.

Flow with Your HomeWe asked John Morgan of UrbanBuilding Group what are somecommon mistakes people makewhen creating an outdoor livingspace? He replied, “When you thinkof what you want in your backyard,your initial thoughts can often drift

indoors outOutdoor Living Spaces

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to a structure too far from the core of the house. If you act tooquickly and don’t take the time to consider your unique needs,you end up creating a space that doesn’t get used nearly asmuch as it could. Keep your space easily accessible, and you’lluse it as much as you do your indoor social spaces.”Outdoor food preparation and dining areas should be locatednear your kitchen to reduce trips back and forth. Converting awindow to a set of French or sliding doors can provide func-tional and a visual flow between the inside and outside. If you are building a detached structure such as a pool house,consider incorporating full amenities for convenience at the lo-cation of the structure.

BudgetA small budget doesn’t have to mean minor impact. You canstart with a small patio for dining, and add more expensive fea-tures such as a pergola, outdoor kitchen, television lounge, fire-place, landscaping and lighting. By thinking ahead and having a well thought out plan, you cancreate a space that meets your needs for many years to come.

By creating a master plan for your project you can carve outphases and take on projects as time and money permit. Whilelarger projects requiring building permits are usually best leftto the pros there are less complicated improvements you canmake to your outdoor living space that are perfect for the week-end warrior. n

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24 Southern Home

By Tom Gardner and Fran Mathay

n a quiet Huntersville neighbor-hood off of I-77 is an ordinary-look-ing ranch house on four acres ofland surrounded by trees. However,looks can be deceiving since thisunpretentious exterior has an ex-traordinary purpose and name –Hope House. For the past three years, HopeHouse has been a hub of construc-tion activity. The Lake NormanHome Builders Association mem-bers and many other communityvolunteers have provided countlesshours of labor and materials to theproject. Hope House is symbolic of a com-munity who joined together to buildthe first transitional home in theLake Norman area to support themission of helping displaced

women and women with their chil-dren in this community who need ahand up, not a hand out. When a resident is referred and ad-mitted into the 4,000-square foothouse, she becomes a member of ahome that has a personal actionplan. During her stay of no morethan six months, she and her chil-dren will live in a clean, safe andcomfortable environment in whichevery resident is responsible formaintaining. During her stay, per-sonal goals will be set and meas-ured. In addition, she will receiveemployment and educational sup-port and a variety of services tolaunch her on a personal path to-ward self-sufficiency. The BeginningsDr. Lee Beth Lindquist, a familymedicine physician at LakesideFamily Physicians in Cornelius,N.C, founded Hope House Founda-tion with loyal, volunteer assis-tance from Don King who has beenaffiliated with Hope House from its

earliest beginnings to now. InMarch 2004, the Hope House Foun-dation gained its official non-profitstatus.Dr. Lindquist and Don King bothsaw a need in the affluent LakeNorman community for woman indire straits without a roof over theirheads. “They needed a safe placethat provided supportive services toget them back on their feet again,”explained Dr. Lindquist, “a place forthem to regroup and gain back in-dependence and confidence.”Close to her Huntersville residence,Dr. Lindquist noticed a modest-looking brick ranch house for sale.On closer investigation, she real-ized the house’s footprint could beconverted into a group home. “Itwas easy to see that with renova-tion, this house could fulfill our im-mediate goal with the possibility offuture cottage expansion.” After the purchase, the Hope HouseFoundation was established as a501-(c)-3 non-profit to be run by a

Hope HouseFoundation

making a house a homeA Community Puts Out a Welcome MatFor Homeless Women and Children in Lake Norman Area

I

Southern Home 25

carefully, appointed Board of Direc-tors with Dr. Lindquist serving aschair. The current Foundation’sboard members are Chris Anthony,Owner of Chris Anthony Real Es-tate/Allen Tate, Geoff Bowen, Co-Owner of EFC Builders, PamBoileau, President of The MarketingConsortium, Bob McIntosh, Presi-dent of McIntosh Law Firm andKandi Ranson, Accountant andPartner of Ladd & McCall. The board adopted the Foundation’smission: “To nurture the well-being,independence and faith of womenand their children by providing shel-ter, services and support.” Then,their daunting task began tochange a 1975, single-familyranch house into a two-level, up-to-code. grouphome for displacedwomen and children.Love turns HopeHouse into homeThe property had tobe rezoned from sin-gle-family into atransitional grouphome that could accom-modate up to 12 adults.The Foundation learned tonavigate complicated local, stateand federal regulations, which wasnot for the faint of heart. However, they persevered trans-forming this former private resi-dence into a mission-driven homefor women and their childrenthrough the generous support of nu-merous community donors, volun-teers, faith-based congregations,non-profits and foundations. The renovation entailed extensivesite work, paving, drainage andlandscaping. Within the house,there has been structural, electricaland mechanical changes to accom-modate the new configuration fortwo kitchens, two living rooms,

ample dining space, six bedrooms,four bathrooms, carpet and flooringreplacement, painting and drywallas well as complying with theAmericans with Disabilities Act toprovide ramps, bedroom, living anddining, access to the Learning Cen-ter and a bathroom/shower for thedisabled, two commercial-gradelaundry rooms, an indoor children’splay area and an outdoor play-ground and picnic area.Through a. generous grant fromAT&T Foundation, one of the mostdramatic changes to this house wasturning a large storage area on the

lower

l e v e linto a virtual classroom for adultsand children. This classroom andassembly room has state-of-the-artcomputers and software for bothadults and children to pursue andfocus upon educational and employ-ment opportunities. The AT&TLearning Center is their “fishingpole” toward building confidenceand self-sufficiency.Another important benefactor,whose contributions are feltthroughout the house, has beenfrom the Sisters of Mercy of NorthCarolina Foundation. They gener-ously furnished the house with

beds, mattresses, bed linens, pil-lows, towels, blinds, closet shelvingand commercial washers and driers,as well as other necessary house-hold appliances and safety systems.The Next StepHope House volunteers are nowputting on the finishing touches infurnishing the house and beginningthe staffing process. Even with thehouse at 99% completion, volun-teers’ contributions are now neededto run the house. “We now needsupport to maintain this gift to ourcommunity,” said Dr. Lindquist. Sheadded, “We anticipate within ourfirst year of operation, Hope Housewill accommodate approximately 60to 80 women and children.”

A social worker from a part-nering, non-profit will ini-tially screen candidates toqualify a new resident.Once accepted intoHope House by its staff,residents are required toearn their keep andshare in the responsibil-ity of maintaining a clean

and orderly home environ-ment for everyone. In addition,

residents must fulfill personalgoals set by their social worker andthe Hope House staff, which willhelp them to become independent -- one of the core reasons this housewas started. A house can be almost any shelterwith walls and a roof; but it is peo-ple who make a house a home. ForHope House, it has been the com-munity that has put out the new“Welcome Mat.”To learn more about Hope Houseand become a friend to its mission,v i s i twww.hopehousefoundation.org,contact info@hopehousefounda-tion.org or call the Foundation at704-992-1902. n

26 Southern Home

5Food Mysteries 5Food Mysteries Solved

True or False? Eating garlicwards off mosquitoes

False. Mosquito "re-p e l l e n t "works byblockingm o s -

quito’s’ability tosmell things thatotherwise would at-tract them, so they ignore you. Inthe case of mosquitoes, the primaryattractants that have been identi-fied are CO2 and lactic acid,though there are other factors. Theidea behind eating garlic to wardthem off is that the smell covers upthe CO2 and Lactic Acid. The trou-ble is, if you ate so much garlic toaccomplish this, you would wardoff more than just mosquitoes. Thebest substance yet found to blockmosquitoes' powers of detection isDEET, and while a few repellentsare equal over a short term, nothing

even comes close in terms of resid-ual repellency. DEET's effects can

last for several hours, whereaseven the best alternative repel-lents last at most about 2

hours, maybe 3, if you'relucky and the condi-

tions are right. Gar-lic is only one of alist of plant com-

pounds with similar"repellent" effects, including

citronella, cedar, verbena, gera-nium, lavender, pine, cinnamon,rosemary, basil, thyme, allspice,and peppermint. Again,these substances havea very limited efficacy,in terms of duration,and if you are going tobe exposed to mos-quitoes for morethan an hour ortwo, you shouldget a good DEET-based spray or lo-tion and stick with it.Researchers at the University ofConnecticut tested the theory and

concluded that eating garlic didn'twork.

True or False? Watermelon isn'tvery nutritious; it's all water!

False.Watermelon is mostly water, 92 per-cent, but it also has its share of nu-trients. One cup of watermelonprovides good amounts of vitaminC and red watermelon contains ly-copene, an antioxidant that's asso-ciated with reduced risk for certaintypes of cancer.

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True or False? Licking ice creamis more satisfying than eating itwith a spoon.

True. According toKay McMath,

a food technol-ogist for NewZealand's MasseyUniversity, "Flavorin ice cream is re-leased when the fat,

which carries the flavor, is warmedto at least body temperature.”When you lick ice cream, it coatsthe tongue and fully warms thefrozen treat. A spoon, on the otherhand, insulates the ice cream.There is also the psychological as-pect of savoring the treat moreslowly -- you just cannot lick icecream as fast as you can spoon it.

True or False? A piña colada canhave as many calories as acheeseburger.

True. Both have about 400 calories.Some of summer's most populardrinks can boost your daily calorietally substantially. A margarita hasabout as manyc a l o r i e s

(367) as ahot dogw i t hc h e e s eand chili

(375). More-over, from acalorie perspec-tive, drinking awine cooler islike eating agenerous scoopof potato salad.

True or False? The antioxidants in raspberrieshelp keep your heart healthy.

True. Two antioxidants found in raspber-ries -- anthocyanins (where rasp-berries get their red) and ellagicacid -- are associated with in-creased levels of "good" HDL cho-lesterol and lowered bloodpressure, two positives when itcomes to heart health. The yummyberries are also loaded with vitaminC and are high in fiber.

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