The 2011 US Figure Skating Championships are going to be held at the Greensboro Coliseum and that's already led to work for some local agencies:
Annese Public Relations of Winston-Salem is handling the PR for the championships.
Second Harvest is in dire need of food and financial donations. Check out Life in Forsyth for some info, as well as WXII's story on the record shortage that Second Harvest is enduring.
At the day job we've been running a food drive for a while now and it all culminates at our monthly dinner meeting next Tuesday. We're hoping to gather the equivalent of 50,000 cans of food and as you can see from the stories Second Harvest can use every one.
If you have donations you'd like to make, but for whatever reason aren't able to get them to Second Harvest, just let me know and I'll be happy to collect it and add it to the box we have in the office. Money also helps greatly so you can visit Second Harvest's website or give them a call to make donations.
We seem to have gone directly from severe drought last year directly to over saturation here in the Triad. We had some wicked storms in Lewisville last night, but apparently it was even worse just a few miles south in Clemmons. In fact they had to shut down Tanglewood Park for the day today in order to clean up.
As for our humble abode, the rain meant I didn't have to water my newly seeded lawn, but it also pointed out that I need to clean our gutters…badly.
My friends, if you manage to make it through this weekend in Winston-Salem without gaining, like, 20 pounds, you're made of better stuff than me. To wit:
Edible Evenings weekend being hosted by Smitty's Notes this weekend. Here's a description from Smitty's email:
"So, in the spirit of Smitty's Notes, which has developed a tradition of networking and gathering people for dinner and see what cooks up has teamed with The Stocked Pot Cooking School to host three cooking events for friends with Chef Don McMillian and Andrew McMillian. That's right! You get to cook your own gourmet meal.
On two nights – Friday, June 12th and Saturday, June 13th at 6:30 p.m. Chef Don has put together a great menu and Andrew has selected the perfect wines, all that is missing is you. Sign up today and join the fun, all proceeds go to The Meals On Wheels program right here in the Triad.
Chef Don will demonstrate recipes from one of his most popular classes, International Chicken dishes, as you will prepare and enjoy, Chicken Saltimboca, Risotto with wild mushrooms and Eggplant and Peaches flamed in Brandy will complete the meal, Andrew has chosen the perfect wine to compliment our evening's offerings. Cost is $49.00 per person. Class is limited to 30 students. Proceeds will be donated to Meals on Wheels. Sign up today
That's not all! On Saturday, June 13th there is a Chef and Child Lunch class. Chef Don teaches Chef and Child classes every summer in North Carolina counties. Eager minds quickly pick up cooking techniques when it is taught with fun. Nutritious foods is the real reason for educating our offspring’s in the art of cooking. This hands-on class covers lunch favorites that are sure to please every young palate. Check out this menu, Easy Bake Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Fresh Fruit Carvings, Fruit Juice spritzers, Oatmeal cookies. Yes the students will prepare, and EAT the meal. Cost is $29.00 per person. Class is limited to 20 students. Proceeds will be donated to Meals on Wheels. Sign up today
I love positive thinking, especially the variety that goes something like this: "Yes, you lost your foot in that freak bicycle accident but on the positive side you still have your leg!" Thus you'll understand why I really like this story from the Winston-Salem Journal titled Existing-Home Sales Up for Fourth Month and this excerpt in particular:
The Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors said yesterday that 324 homes were sold last month, up 3.8 percent from the 312 sold in March.
"While it is not uncommon for sales to increase month over month for the first half of the year, it is encouraging in this climate that we are returning to more normal home-buying patterns in our community," said Phillip Rector with Mundy Realty and the president of the association.
Still, April home sales were down 34.8 percent from April 2008, when 497 homes were sold. The average sales price was $157,000 last month, down 11.3 percent from $177,000 for the same period a year ago
I think a better gauge of how good this news is (or isn't) would be to compare the growth from March-April in 2008 with March-April of this year. While this story tells us that home sales were up 3.8% from March to April of 2009 we don't know what the increase from March to April of 2008 was, which means we don't know if we have better or worse growth than last year. If housing sales actually declined this time last year then it makes the fact that April sales this year were down 35% from last year not so bad, because last year sales were sliding from month-to-month and this year they're on the rise. But if March-April sales last year were actually an increase of 7% then that means that not only are the year-to-year comparisons bad, but the seasonal growth in sales this year is also worse than last year, which makes the news really bad.
Long story short: I really hope the news is good, but the data given in this story doesn't really tell us if it is or not.
WXII headlines are proving to be the gifts that keep on giving. Today's special:
I think today must be "show the world how many people in your family are more talented than you" on the blog day. Actually that would be damning my relatives with faint praise since I set an exceptionally low bar in terms of talent. Whatever. My last post I shared one of my daughter's poems, and with this post I'm going to share my cousin Jeff's new local band, Sonic Shakedown. I've posted one of their videos below and you can check out their Myspace page here. BTW, Jeff's the bass player.
Over in Guilford County, where I now spend my days toiling, they have some, uh, interesting politics. That's why it doesn't go un-noticed when the local Democrats or Republicans announce their party leaders, and that's also why I noticed when Fec wrote the following in reference to the Guilford Republicans' choice of Tony Wilkins as their leader: "I particularly like that he isn’t illiterate, pompous and beating us over the head with Jesus."
Truliant Federal Credit Union surveyed its members to see how the recession has affected their behavior and over 3,000 shared their thoughts. Some of the results are highlighted in this press release. Anyone who's seen all the restaurants shuttered recently won't be surprised by this one:
Q: If you have cut back on spending, what areas are most affected?
73% – Dining Out
70% – Entertainment
64% – Travel, vacations
59% – Clothing
55% – Home Electronics
45% – Auto (buying/leasing a new vehicle, repairs)
35% – Home Appliances
22% – Cell Phones and/or calling plans
5% – Other
From the “other” category, popular items that were mentioned include groceries, medications, food and club memberships. Another trend that the “other” category highlighted is that more of Truliant’s member-owners are starting to purchase generic products to help them save money.
Most of us in the Winston-Salem area know about the burgeoning wine business in the Yadkin Valley. Heck, Westbend Vineyards, one of the oldest wineries in the state is just down the road from me in Lewisville. Well there's now a new official American Viticulture Area to our east in the Haw River Valley. Here's a press release about the announcement and here's a link to the Haw River Wine Trail brochure. Looks like there's an event called Art on the Haw River on May 2-3 that could be interesting too.
Befuddled 