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Tri-Valley Tips: Saving Money the DIY Way

This Old House recently put together an article containing 50 Nifty Tricks for Big DIY Savings.  There are great tips in this article that are especially useful and poignant right now when everyone around the Tri-Valley is looking to shave costs and be smart about money.  From shortening your dryer-vent hose to signing up for your utility’s time-of-use plan, this article really does cover the gamut of ways to save money around your home.

If you read the comments, and there are many (both useful and ridiculous), there are some out there in the blogosphere that disagree with some of This Old House’s recommended “tricks.”  As I read through the comments, two of the “tricks” stuck out in my mind and I wanted to do a little more research on them.

1.  This Old House Trick #7 – Turn Down the Thermostat on Your Water Heater

The DIY article recommends turning down your water heater thermostat to 120 or even 110 degrees. One “commentor” mentions that they had heard that you should never Read more

The Underpants

I get a kick out of Steve Martin.  I’ve seen his movies, watched him on Saturday Night Live (recently read that he was never a cast member, could have sworn he was), and now I can’t wait to see a play he has adapted.  A great thing about the chance we’ve been given is that the play is located quite in our own Tri-Valley backyard, at a quaint theater in Danville.

A public peek at a young wife’s undergarments is the scandal that lies at the heart of Steve Martin’s adaptation of a Carl Sternheim’s 1910 comedic play.  The fallout that this incident has on the woman in question, her husband, their marriage and their reputation makes up the rest. 

Sue Trigg directs this Role Players Ensemble’s production of The Underpants at the Village Theatre in Danville.  The remaining dates are Thursday – Sunday January 22-25 and Thursday – Sunday, January 29-1.  Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances are at 8PM and Sundays are at 2PM.

Dublin, San Ramon, Danville, Pleasanton, and Livermore’s End of December Real Estate Update

This graph consists of real time inventory numbers for Danville, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon and Pleasanton. Here are the active real estate housing stats for the Tri-Valley cities for the end of December.

Let’s discuss inventory numbers.  Previous year trends have usually shown a significant drop in inventory for the month of December.  This year was no different, however the drop in inventory was not as extreme as in past years.  I predicted this trend months ago in some of my articles.  I feel the central reason why we didn’t see as significant of a drop in inventory is that there are still people who are in such a financial predicament that they must sell.  These individuals can’t afford to pull their home off the market and wait until a “better” time to sell. Traditionally for most, the better time is after the first of the year.   With this being said, I also do expect to see more inventory coming on the market during the second half of January and into February. 

 

A Day at the New California Academy of Sciences

On a recent stormy Saturday, my family and I met up with my uncle and cousin to explore the newly reopened California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.  We were all very excited and had read up on the many awe-inspiring experiences the new Academy has to offer.  Here are a few that we were looking forward to:

• The world’s deepest living coral reef exhibit
• A four-story rainforest
• A 20 member African penguin colony
• A 21^st Century planetarium
• A reinvented natural history museum
• The living roof

My uncle had heard that the museum gets very crowded (and may even sell out) and to buy our tickets online before we got there.  This route is highly recommended!  It is so easy and really saved the day for us.  The line to purchase tickets was pretty long (even the parking garage was extremely crowded that day), but we simply went up to the employee standing at a podium who was able to print our tickets for us at the steps.  We didn’t have to wait in line at all and just walked right up to the ticket-taker. 

The museum was so full, but we managed our way through a lot of their amazing exhibits.  The kids very much enjoyed the Philippine Coral Reef and the many smaller free-standing exhibits, including Altered State: Climate Change in California.  A big-time hit with both my daughter and son was Read more