SanLuisObispo.com: Living

Pet Tales: Brothers need a loving family

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:20 PDT

By Jennifer VanderSmith -- �Summer�s a time of change for many people. At the San Luis Obispo County Animal Shelter, this means we get more owner-surrendered dogs and cats than at any other time of the year. July and August are our most difficult months for over-crowding.

�Two dogs that find themselves left behind when life has changed are Scooby and Sultan.

�Scooby and Sultan are charming neutered shepherd mix brothers that seem to know that life is good, even if they�re living at the shelter. These boys are affable � they like everyone. They�re easy-going and housebroken and seem to bring the sunshine with them.

Linda Lewis Griffith: Cooling off a heated dispute

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:35 PDT

By Linda Lewis Griffith -- I�ve been deeply troubled by the murder of Dr. George Tiller. Whatever one�s views on abortion, killing a doctor who performs them is never an appropriate response.

Disagreements are a fact of life. Whether we disagree about politics, a property line between two houses or the color of towels for the guest bathroom we�re constantly in situations that pit our opinions against another person�s.

Disagreements seldom create problems if both parties conduct their interactions in calm and respectful tones. Participants can rationally assess the problem and explore the best options for a workable resolution.

Arroyo Grande couple's home is a place where exotic treasures come to rest

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:12 PDT

By Rebecca Juretic -- David and Carrie Porter lived in China for 5-1/2 years while David worked for Ford Motor Co. When they returned to the states, they brought with them two 40-foot containers full of furniture, art and artifacts.

The pieces infused elegance into the nearly 6,000-square-foot traditional-style home that Carrie, an interior designer, designed for the couple and their four children in Granite Bay, near Sacramento. The family lived there for four years.

By 2004, David was retired, the children were grown and gone, and the couple�s dream home seemed much too large for their needs. They visited Santa Barbara to look at homes and, on their way, made an overnight stop in San Luis Obispo. That short layover turned into a three-night visit.

Design Notebook: Saving water with sedge lawns

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:15 PDT

By Rebecca Juretic -- This year, summer brings with it mandatory water conservation for several local communities. But even where rationing isn�t compulsory, water-efficient landscaping can be good for the environment, as well as for the pocketbook.

Rick Mathews, owner of Atascadero�s Madrone Landscapes, has been touting the benefits of sustainable gardening since 1977, when he named his newly minted company after the native Madrone tree.

So, what�s the most wasteful component of most landscapes? You guessed it � lawns. According to Mathews, the thick patches of fescue seen in most San Luis Obispo County neighborhoods are an unnecessary and unaffordable strain on our water resources.

Identifying cucumber beetles versus lady bugs

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:17 PDT

By Ann Dozier -- Q: Something is eating holes in the leaves of my squash. Is it the yellow lady bugs I see on the plants?

�Daniel Cocagne, San Luis Obispo

A: What you found on your squash plants are probably cucumber beetles. They do resemble yellow lady bugs but are actually not closely related to the helpful aphid-eating lady bug (symbol of good luck in many countries.)

Linda Lewis Griffith: Where do you draw the line?

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:33 PDT

By Linda Lewis Griffith -- Boundaries are personal rules we establish for others in our relationships. They may be expressed verbally, such as telling a co-worker that you don�t appreciate overhearing details of his latest sexual escapade. Or they may remain unspoken, as when you back away from a person who is standing too close to you at a cocktail party.

Some boundaries are culturally determined. For instance, it is generally believed in our culture that both partners will remain monogamous if they are involved in a committed relationship. Failure to follow this rule may constitute grounds for terminating the union.

Other boundaries are strictly individual. A woman may want guests to remove their shoes when they enter her home. A man may drink only a certain brand of vodka and bring his own bottle when invited out.

HOME: Atascadero couple's home garden is also their hobby

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:44 PDT

By Connie Pillsbury -- When Jack Scott arrived to teach agricultural business at Cal Poly in 1967, a colleague told him, �Make your home your hobby.�

Jack and his wife Bonne did just that, one garden at a time, on their five acres of bare, flat land in south Atascadero.

The little box house on the property expanded along with their family of four sons, as did vegetable gardens, fruit trees, ponds, landscaping, animals and prolific beds of irises and daylilies.

Master Gardener: Early detection key to fighting powdery mildew

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:45 PDT

Q: Large white spots seem to be forming and covering some of the leaves of my zucchini plant. What might they be and what should I do about it?

�Daniel Cocagne, San Luis Obispo

A: To nongardeners the expression �zucchini pests� refers to well-meaning neighbors who set bags of their excess summer squash by your front door when you�re not home. I mean, everyone can grow zucchini, right?

Design Notebook: See quilts by acclaimed textile artist at The Cotton Ball in Morro Bay

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:51 PDT

By Rebecca Juretic -- When he was 7, Rob Appell walked into his mother�s sewing room and pleaded for new clothes for his G. I. Joe doll. Sensing an opportunity, his mom, Judi, handed him a needle, thread and a scrap bag of fabric, then talked him through his first stitches.

As it turns out, that initial sewing lesson paid off. Today, Rob is now a highly acclaimed textile artist who lectures at quilt shows nationwide and has appeared on the HGTV and DIY television networks.

When he�s not at his sewing machine or traveling to shows, Rob helps Judi manage her Morro Bay fabric store, The Cotton Ball. The shop, which opened in 1969 and has been owned by Judi since 1996, sells sewing machines, fabrics and supplies for quilting, fashion and home d�cor.

Linda Lewis Griffith: The selfish reward of acting selflessly

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:22 PDT

By Linda Lewis Griffith -- I was recently the recipient of an extra special gift.

As I was preparing to enter a local supermarket, I noticed a small black purse in the shopping cart I was about to take inside the store. I glanced around me, making sure its owner wasn�t nearby. Then I took it to my car, discovered who it belonged to and made arrangements to take it to her home.

The entire process, including doing my own shopping and driving out to Los Osos to drop off the purse, took about an hour. But during those 60 minutes I was filled with an amazing sense of gratitude.

A guide to SLO County's best beaches

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:40 PDT

By Sarah Linn -- Here on the sun-soaked Central Coast, summer means one thing: It�s time to hit the beach.

Beaches represent the perfect combination of sun, sand and surf.

They blend natural splendor with man-made amenities. Most importantly, they offer cool, immediate relief when the mercury starts climbing.

Design Notebook: Bringing the vegetable plot inside with hydroponics

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:52 PDT

By Rebecca Juretic -- I n the back room of Central Coast Hydrogarden there sits a modest 3-by-3-foot fiberboard closet — the kind you might store your winter coats in. This one, however, is home to six thriving tomato plants, their crimson fruit ripening under the glare of a grow light.

This, according to shop owner Larry Harp, illustrates the superb adaptability of hydroponics.

Last July, Harp purchased the San Luis Obispo shop, which has been selling hydroponics supplies

A real fixer-upper, all fixed up

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:51 PDT

By Rebecca Juretic -- In 2002, Jim and Jeanette Furman were Bay Area residents looking to retire on a nice piece of land near the coast. So they were ecstatic to find a reasonably priced 10-acre parcel in Los Osos.

But they soon learned the basis for their bargain. The home on the property was a run-down and outdated structure built in 1979.

The house was certainly unique — it was built using the plans of a North Carolina Victorian farmhouse. But because of poor grading and structural issues, it had suffered extensive water damage.

UC Master Gardeners: Preventive measures for healthy tomato plants

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:51 PDT

By Mary Giambalvo -- Q: How do I find out what is wrong with my tomato plant?

— Justin Scott, Paso Robles

A: It’s a good thing that tomatoes are worth the effort to grow because the list of potential ailments can make even a veteran gardener blanch. More than 30 diseases, pests or environmental factors that attack tomatoes have been identified in California.

Linda Lewis Griffith: Green families

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:44 PDT

By Linda Lewis Griffith -- It may have been difficult for Kermit to be green. But for the rest of us it�s incredibly easy. There is a Priusful of steps every household can take that minimize our impact on the environment. Most of these activities are embarrassingly simple. They�re fun to do with our children. They put money back into our wallets, and we become terrific role models for our families and others. If that�s not the ultimate greenery, I don�t know what is.

Some tips have already been drummed into our psyches. Turn off the lights when we�re not in the room. Replace standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. Recycle all bottles, cans and plastics. Walk whenever we can. Carpool to work. Unplug our computers at night. Eat locally grown food.

Others are a matter of the choices we make on a daily basis, such as how we prepare our food, what gifts we give to our friends or what products we use for cleaning the kitchen countertops.

Los Osos home is dream setting for a seaside wedding

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:04 PDT

By Sharon Crawford -- Although they lived in the San Francisco Bay area, Robert and Marilyn Wills had always enjoyed the Central Coast. They had friends there and fond memories of overnights in Pismo Beach on family trips.

In 1998, they bought a house in Los Osos with a view of Morro Rock and a colorful garden designed by Lance Cornwall. A vacant lot next door gave them privacy and an unimpeded view of the sunrise; they bought it a year later, leaving it undeveloped.

Then, in 2007, their son announced he was planning to remarry and wanted a garden wedding. They agreed to host the wedding, aware it would require a larger deck and a patio. They contracted Casey Johnston to build the deck, and landscape architect Jeffrey Gordon Smith to extend their garden into the empty lot. Sage Ecological Landscapes did the garden installation.

For a garden full of brilliant blooms try dahlias

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:06 PDT

By Maggie King -- Q: Have you a suggestion for a relatively easy to grow, colorful bloom that will also serve well as a cut flower?

� �Bear� Bettner, San Luis Obispo

A: For �knock your socks off� garden gorgeousness, dahlias are hard to beat. Relatively easy to grow from seed, tubers or rooted cuttings, they provide a long season of blooms in wonderfully varied colors and forms. They bring beauty and drama to indoor arrangements.

Cambria store offers a casual, come-as-you-are approach to decorating

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:10 PDT

By Rebecca Juretic -- Tina Cleaveland likes to sum up her Cambria furniture and home accents store, Home Arts, with one word: unstuffy.

�I don�t like galleries or home design stores that feel uptight and pretentious. I wanted the store to be very casual�not that the look is casual, but the store�s personality.�

Cleaveland, who has a background in fine arts, opened the shop in 1995 to showcase the work of artists and artisans. Around three-quarters of her wares, which include furniture, accessories, art and textiles, is handmade. Her style is eclectic, encompassing contemporary, mid-century modern, Danish modern and cottage.

Linda Lewis Griffith: The importance of male role models

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:01 PDT

By Linda Lewis Griffith -- What do northern spotted owls, California condors, short-tailed albatrosses and positive male role models have in common? They�re all in danger of extinction.

Nearly one-fourth of America�s children live in mothers-only families. When dads are in the home they average less than 10 minutes per day with each child.

Schools do little to provide male role models for their students. According to the National Education Association, 76 percent of all teachers are women.

Home goes from country to contemporary in Cambria

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:03 PDT

By Rebecca Juretic -- The words �beach house� may conjure images of wicker furniture and seashell prints. But Peter and Kathy Charbonneau had quite a different vision when they renovated their coastal Cambria home.

When they purchased the house in 2000, the Moorpark couple used it as a vacation home. By 2006, Peter, who was retired from law enforcement and Kathy, a semi-retired registered nurse, were ready to permanently relocate to the Central Coast.

The 1988 home, which sits a block from ocean bluffs, was sufficient for weekend getaways, but needed a major overhaul to function as a full-time residence. The Charbonneaus collaborated with Cambria�s James Glitch, who served as both their general contractor and designer.