Byrd House Market Tomorrow

From email announcement:

4th Tuesday in July…
still warm after all these weeks. Yes. But isn’t it nice to know we can count on all the vendors who sell cold stuff!! Limeade and Lemonade, Iced Coffee, naturally flavored Fruit Ices, chilled Aloe Vera Juice, frozen grass fed meats and poultry, cool cheeses, naturally cool and delicious peaches and berries, cucumbers and crispy salad greens and herbs, and the yummiest of deserts. Everything you need to make cool summer dishes, creamy refreshing smoothies – feeling good, and so good for you! Gotta be there! byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com – Market Map and Product Search under “For Market Goers” tab…

We have a Bike Rack
Thanks to “Richmond Rides” we have a bike rack located near the uphill entrance to the market. Matthew picked it up and set it in place over the weekend. Parking good.

And WE HAD A FABULOUS Cooking as a 2nd Language Class – 15 sous chefs to Elicet’s mastery – Tamales con Pollo – so smooth, savory, delicious and the perfect large group activity. It felt like a big family tradition right before our eyes… Soon to come… Ethiopian, English, Korean, more from Central and South America – it’s all coming. 5 of the 15 were from one family visiting from out of town. What a great way to spend a Saturday morning. All ages welcome. Pictures and recipe will be posted on EatGoodGrowGreat.blogspot.com soon.

Sierra Club
Encouraging energy alternatives that will help us preserve what mother earth is made of, representatives of the Sierra Club will be at the market this week. www.sierraclub.org

Raffles
A $1 raffle ticket gets you a shot at $33.83 in Byrd Farm goodies and supports Byrd House Market! Every week all season long! We have had a happy winner every week – it’s a great deal and your pantry will love you for it.

& Massage????
For every $10 you spend at the featured vendor of the week, you get 1 minute of chair massage with Robin Raver! Different vendor every week! Check the chalkboard for this week’s vendor. (Last week Robin tore into the boulders in my neck and shoulder blade muscles so hard she made me wish I could cry in front of everyone. She said “you may not like me now, but in a couple days I will be your goddess! Lucky for us both as soon as I stood up I wanted to fall to my knees and a week later the boulders are pebbles and I can turn my head!) So since you’re going to spend $20-30 anyway, go get a massage. Or not. I’m just sayin…

Visit the Farmlet
Tomatos are coming in, peppers abound, cucumbers cavorting, bees may beard this week, herbs bloomin, greenhouse growin. Visit the food “we feed our community” every Monday and Thursday during Food Pantry distribution. Special thanks to Victory Farm for providing weekly gleanings from their gorgeous harvest.

This Week and Every Week ! with You !
Facepainting by Nadine and Jodie, Storytelling by Beth from Richmond Public Library,
Great Food (by everyone!), Great Shade by the Mulberry, Great Nutrition (all over the place),
Great People (start blushing)!

____________________

Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org / 804.643.2717 ext.306

Richmond’s Newest Indoor Sport …Drip…Drip…

Forget about preparations for the Summer Olympics (and speaking of conservation), right now City Council is interacting with the City of Richmond utility department over water rates. An editorial and an online petition has Richmonders taking part in the latest local internet craze- finding and comparing minimum water rate charges from across the country.

Keep in mind, according to census data there are 83,498 occupied housing units in Richmond. If each unit is paying the minimum service charge of $49.40/month, that is $4,124,801 generated monthly from the minimum water/sewer service charge, or $49,497,614 annually.

You see, this issue is generating a lot of email, and rather than dealing with actual water rate reform (which to be fair, might have to involve the Virginia General Assembly), City officials are scrambling to find a way to dispute the citizens’ complaint.

Anyway, for comparison…drip…drip..

Minimum monthly charge for residential water/sewer service:
Richmond: $49.40 [includes no water/sewer volume]
Henrico: $16.27
Chesterfield: $22.16
Norfolk: $1.00
Charlottesville: $8.00
Petersburg: $13.90
Hopewell: $25.39
Alexandria: $18.20
Roanoke: $20.75
Washington DC: $3.86 Continue reading

Win $10,000 in Richmond’s First Home Energy Makeover Contest

Regular readers know that I have brought up energy conservation measures again and again. Now you can enter a contest to win $ towards such measures-

Everyone has a To-Do List for their house. Where does energy efficiency fall on your list? Unfortunately for many of us it’s not at the top. The Richmond Region Energy Alliance wants to help you bump energy efficiency up the list with a chance to win a $10,000 Home Energy Makeover.

With record breaking heat here in Richmond, energy efficiency can save you money. Enter the contest here.

If you:

Pay too much on your energy bills
Struggle to stay comfortable in your home
Avoid certain rooms in the summer or the winter
…then take the 4 minute online energy assessment by August 26 and enter to win Richmond’s first Home Energy Makeover.

One lucky Richmond area homeowner will win a Home Energy Makeover valued at up to $10,000. Home energy improvements range from small to large solutions and often include air and duct sealing, HVAC upgrades, insulation, sealing and/or replacing windows and doors, and lighting. With these upgrades, homeowners can enjoy lower energy bills, increased comfort and higher home values.

Take control of your home energy costs. Enter the contest today.

Early Reviews for “Oregon Hill”

From The Permanent Press blog:

LibraryThing Early Reviewers have favorably praised Howard Owen’s newest novel Oregon Hill

“This is pure classic noir in the best possible way…The plot moves along quickly with some interesting twists…to make every character three dimensional and to create a feel for the streets of Richmond.”

“Owen creates a story that is both suspenseful and rich in character development and the feeling of small town life…I am left with the desire to read the past works of Howard Owen.”

“Oregon Hill by Howard Owen is a character-driven mystery enhanced by the first-person observations of the very self-aware narrator, Willie Mays Black…It all makes for an entertaining and colorful mix of character, plot and setting.”

Hopefully, there will be more news on this novel soon. I hope there will be an interview soon on WRIR’s Wordy Birds.