Maybe twenty years ago, we laid ceramic tiles on our kitchen and bathroom floors, and foolishly put them on our counters. Foolishly because ceramic isn’t like granite. It is porous and stuff gets inside. Our floors and counters looked awful. It was impossible to clean them, and the grout was dirty as well. I called Grout & Carpet Wizards. I had done a business article on them years … [Read more...]

  When you don’t know a carburetor from a gas cap, you are at the mercy of whoever it is that works on your car. Many auto repair shops, especially those at the major dealerships, work on set fees and commissions, so it’s in their interest to find things wrong with your car, or things that might go wrong. There is only one shop I trust implicitly when my car needs attention, and that’s … [Read more...]

Cooking for a couple families, I am in one of our grocery stores almost every day. Kroger’s is across the street, so I visit them frequently. I like Wal-Mart because their prices are super low. I also push a cart up and down the aisles of Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Whole Foods, and Sam’s Club. Charlottesville has a relatively new grocery store, Aldi, and at first, I wasn’t impressed. I saw their … [Read more...]

  Yep, and a candlestick maker. The three main characters in an old nursery rhyme. Butchers, however, seem to be a dying breed, especially at the major grocery store chains. Kroger’s, for example, no longer has butchers. They have “Putter Outers” – folks that “put out” the prepackaged meats on the counters. It is much more efficient to have meats trimmed and butchered at a central … [Read more...]

  My kids gave me an electric mower last summer. My old gas mower was wobbling along on 3 wheels. Sometimes it started, sometimes it didn’t. The new mower was mouse-like quiet, light at as hair spray and did a great job. Except, it was a push mower and I have a heavy stand of zoysia grass in my front yard and pushing even that light mower was like pulling a red wagon through a 6-inch … [Read more...]

Knife sharpening is not one of my skills. My Daddy could sharpen knives. About once a month, he’d go to the kitchen sink, get out his worn-down whetstone with a red handle and methodically sharpen each knife in our kitchen drawer to a scalpel-grade edge. If you reached in the knife drawer and weren’t paying attention, you’d come out with a handful of blood. He could sharpen knives. I can’t - … [Read more...]

  I shop at Harris Teeter on occasion, but not regularly. It’s not as convenient for me, and the prices seem higher. But I went there last week to check out their seafood. They often have great Argentine Shrimp and fresh flounder. The flounder looked good, so I bought it, then saw some breakfast sausage in their custom meat counter and bought a pound. Over in their hamburger display I … [Read more...]

  Just five years ago, even if it snowed, I got my morning paper. My long-time friend and neighbor, Bob Branch, made the paper rounds. He had a Jeep and delivered the Daily Progress and Richmond Times Dispatch come rain or shine. Ten-inches of snow? It made no difference, Bob came. Likewise, my Trash Service – Time Disposal. They even came on Christmas Day if it fell on a Monday. But no … [Read more...]

I had an I-Phone picture that I wanted to turn into a framed gift for Christmas. Some people can do this themselves, but not me. I can barely take pictures with my phone. I sometimes take pictures of my own eyeball and very few want prints of that. I understand that there are a jillion on-line place for making prints from digital photos, but I had a better plan. I called my longtime friend, Alan … [Read more...]

  I love to go to the grocery store. I think it’s a birth defect of some sort – probably in the birth canal too long, but I really enjoy pushing a cart up and down the aisles of Kroger’s, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or any store that sells groceries. I cannot fathom having someone pick out my groceries for me, and having to wait outside in one of those designated spots for pick-up … [Read more...]