Author: Carrie

What to do on a blustery winter day if you are minding the children…

| Carrie

The Plymouth-Canton, Northville area has a lot to offer families, but it takes awhile for things to take hold around here.

One event that has is on its 2nd or 3rd year is the “Saturdays at the Penn” musical/variety shows at the historic PENN Theater on Kellogg Park in Downtown Plymouth.  Sponsored by the Plymouth-Canton Arts Council (PCAC), The Wilcox Foundation and some other sponsors who care about the arts, it is a great way to spend a couple of hours with the kids taking in some entertainment for all ages.  Many a child will be found dancing in the aisles or even getting called to participate on the stage.  Jugglers, children-oriented bands, magicians, classical Instrument Demos, and all kinds of acts have performed at this event.

This event was intended to act as an indoor continuation of the Concerts in the Park that happen throughout the summers on Wednesdays.  The next concert is on Saturday, February 5th.  Doors open at 11:05am and the show begins at 11:30am.  You can arrive late if you wish, as it is a casual atmosphere.  Tickets are $5 per person.  Also available for purchase are popcorn, candy and beverages.

The February 6th concert will be hosted by the ever-popular musician Guy Louis, with featured performances by funny-man juggler Joel Tacey and a special performance of Peter and the Wolf by members of the Celebration Youth Orchestra and Plymouth Uptown Players.

This is also a fun event for Brownie, Girl or Boy Scout Troops and Birthday Parties.  Call about group discounts!  For advance tickets, call 734-416-4278 or purchase tickets at the door.

Snow and Culture: See the Plymouth Symphony Chamber Ensemble this Sunday, January 16th, 2011 for Sunday Soiree

| Carrie

Now that you’ve dug out from beneath our latest snow storm, why not spend a delightful Sunday afternoon with the Symphony Chamber Ensemble featuring Harp, Strings & Flute?  The program includes a multitude of small, spectacular works from past to present and around the world.  Featured will be Danses Sacree et Profane,  a lush, beautiful piece by Claude DeBussy written for Harp and Chamber orchestra to be performed by Symphony Harpist, Maurice Draughn

The PSO is one of our community’s valuable cultural assets and worthy of your support. “Sunday Soiree” takes place on January 16, 2011 at 2:00 pm, First Methodist Church – Plymouth. To further enhance your day out, High Tea will be served afterwards for an additional fee and please note: reservations are required.

For tickets and information please call 734 451-2112 or online www.plymouthsymphony.com

The Everlasting Mid-Century Tile Bathroom

| Carrie

If you’ve ever owned or searched for a mid-century era home, you probably have seen the ubiquitous tile bathroom I’m referring to.  A recent New York Times article: Bathrooms: Pretty in Pink, Again, discusses the virtues of these classic tile bathrooms from the 50’s and 60’s. Instead of demolishing them, homeowners are now seeing the beauty of the craftsmanship and the color. These tile bathrooms were also built very well and often require not just tile removal, but wall removal – so replacing them is not an easy nor low-cost job. 

According to the article, “Ceramic tile work done before the 1970s was usually of very high quality, according to architects and architectural historians. The tiles themselves were often more substantial and less prone to crack and the so-called mud job, or the way tiles are set in place, was more careful and adhesive.”

“The tiles back then were laid in real mortar, which is why so many of the pink and other wild-colored bathrooms survived,” said Jane Powell, a restoration consultant in Oakland, Calif., and the author of “Bungalow Bathrooms” (2001). “It’s extremely labor intensive and expensive to get rid of them.”

 Many were pink, beige, blue and green. For those of you who might have a pink example of the genre – there’s even a blog for you: www.savethepinkbathrooms.com.

While colors come and go with the season, one thing that never goes out of style is quality . So if you are lucky enough to have one of these bathrooms, think twice before renovating and look at the value in the tile work you have. Try changing different aspects of your bathroom while keeping the tile. You can also try painting or glazing the tile, but results can be mixed in terms of the final finish. Sometimes it’s best to just love the tile you have!

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Neighbors

| Carrie

An important part of homeownership, or home renting, is being a neighbor.  We might not give much thought to this in our daily life, but it will either contribute or take away from our well being and quality of life.

If you think you could use a neighborhood makeover, the first place to start is probably with yourself.  Maybe you don’t know the neighbors, or you might know them only when they complain about your dog wandering over the property line to do his business.  Or maybe you have block parties and ‘hood dynamics akin to those on Desperate Housewives.  Whatever the case, it’s always good to ask oneself “what could I do to be a better neighbor”.  If you are like me, there is always room for improvement.

There is one neighbor in my hood that has a long-standing tradition of buying a selection of assorted breads from the local artisan bakery for a neighbor.  He knocks on a different neighbor’s door every Friday to gift them the bread as a neighborly gesture.  When he knocked on our door, months ago now, I was surprised and touched.  How wonderful was that!  That was extreme neighborhood friendliness.  Not to mention delicious and good for the local bakers.

Maybe a weekly bread delivery is a bit more than you would like to get into, but there are lots of good ‘hood behaviors to adopt and I firmly believe that what goes around comes around. And it can’t hurt property values either, right!?  

Offering to bring in mail or tend flowers when a neighbor is away on a vacation, bringing a meal for a family who just had a baby, lending a table for a garage sale, removing trash that might collect on the neighbor’s lawn, shoveling a little bit further along the sidewalk…what good neighborhood behaviors do you suggest?  Post your ideas !  Let’s spread some good hood karma.