Today's Feature

Holiday Homes Tour Approaches.

The Carthage Historic Preservation will present a Holiday historic Tour, "Upstairs Downtown" on Saturday, December 8, 2007 from 10:00am -3:00pm. The tour will be held rain or shine.

This self-guided tour features 6 downtown private residences decorated for the holiday season, the historic Phelps House, an apartment and the restored lobby in the Drake Hotel and the Jasper County Courthouse. This tour is unique in that the homes are above buildings on the Carthage square and its downtown area. The tour promotes Carthage’s rich history and its varied architecture. It also demonstrates how preservation of historic structures may involve re-purposed uses of these buildings, from commercial space to residential space. The courthouse will also be open on Saturday, a rare occurrence, so that visitors can see the Davis mural.

Tour goers will enjoy live holiday music at most locations and complimentary refreshments at Phelps House, as well as a holiday boutique.

Tickets are $10 each advance purchase at ticket outlets, $12 each the day of the tour

Tickets are available in Carthage at All Thing Grand, artCentral, A Little More Pizzazz, Carthage Hardware, Colonial House, Hometown Bank, SMB, or the day of the tour at the Historic Phelps House, 1146 Grand.

The Carthage Historic Preservation maintains and operates the historic Phelps House. Proceeds from this tour will benefit the Phelps House roof fund. The event is partially funded by a grant from Carthage Convention and Visitors Bureau and by Carthage Historic Preservation.

For more information, call Judy Hill at 417-358-9688, Karen Herzog 237-0723 or Judy Goff 358-8875.

We didn’t think much of the fact that there were only a couple a paved streets in town. Most folks felt like they were doin’ pretty good if they had a little concrete on the drive and a tinhorn to let the water through when it rained.

I suppose those who feel that the curb and gutter type of street is a necessity will always purchase homes in those neighborhoods that have ‘em.

The bad part is, it makes it hard to locate that particular stone when ya happen to be in a throwin’ mood. Maybe that’s why some folks like that gravel rock in the garden.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

This Is A Hammer
By Samantha Mazzotta

Housekeeping Mega Source

Q: You recently featured a question by a reader whose daughter did not keep her apartment up to her mother’s standards. While you were right to explain that the daughter needed to find her own housecleaning methods, perhaps I can share a resource that will help both mother and daughter resolve the issue.

I recently discovered The Housekeeping Channel online (www.housekeepingchannel.com). This Web site is a wonderful repository of housekeeping data. It’s answered many questions I’ve had about stubborn cleaning problems -- such as water-stained shower doors -- and has also provided some very helpful organizing and motivational tips. Can you pass this Web site along to them? -- Jane in San Francisco

A: You’ve got it, Jane, and I liked the site so much that I’m passing it along to all of my readers as well.

The Housekeeping Channel is a well-organized, one-stop resource for housecleaning questions. I especially like its focus on safety and on environmentally friendly methods and products. Cleaning hints and tips abound, as well as product reviews. You can search for housekeeping topics through their HC-pedia engine.

Articles are sorted by topic, allowing you to browse through several of them to pick up as much information available on cleaning tips. You also can subscribe to RSS feeds that will let you know when new content is available on the site.

I recommend bookmarking this Web site and referring to it as an informative resource for all your housekeeping questions.

HOME TIP: To reduce time spent searching for home-improvement Web sites you want to revisit, create a folder within a browser’s bookmarks (or "Favorites") listing and save your favorite Web sites in it.