Behind closed doors Cleanin’ out the closet is more than a now-sort-of-passé Eminem song. The yearly act of actually purging one’s closet hasn’t gone anywhere, and now—with outdoor tasks at a minimum—is the time to do it. Wouldn’t it be nice to see some empty hangers in the closet? Daunted? If you begin with a […]
Behind closed doors Cleanin’ out the closet is more than a now-sort-of-passé Eminem song. The yearly act of actually purging one’s closet hasn’t gone anywhere, and now—with outdoor tasks at a minimum—is the time to do it. Wouldn’t it be nice to see some empty hangers in the closet? Daunted? If you begin with a […]
Natural walls, from Japan to home As if there wasn’t enough to worry about, the EPA recently concluded that, due to chemicals in our homes, indoor environments are potentially up to 100 times more polluted than outdoors. Hence the proliferation of greener, nontoxic materials, including the so-called earth plasters—clay-based materials troweled onto walls to create […]
Out on a limb Apples are an edible expression of regional climate and adaptability, and there are thousands of varieties to taste! Thanks to cider-loving colonists, Mr. Jefferson’s enthusiasm, and modern day Central Virginia fruit growers, we can enjoy distinctive heritage varieties such as Gold Rush, Razor Russet, Stayman Winesap, Virginia Gold, and Ashmead’s Kernel. […]
Winter work February begins the quest for that hopeful time of year memorialized on innumerable seed packets: “when the ground can be worked.” A shovel full of rich Virginia clay faithfully amended with leaf mold and compost will crumble like cake when the moisture’s just right, but wet soil with meager organic matter renders mud […]
Off the table Question for Gordon Latter at Kane’s Furniture: How can I protect my wooden dining room table when my kids use it for arts and crafts? Answer: Latter tells us there are two main tactics for keeping glues, paints, inks and all manner of liquids from marring the centerpiece of your dining room. […]
We see hundreds of them every day. Houses are everywhere, just like cars. Yet most of us are better at identifying Subarus and Chevys than we are at figuring out whether that place on the corner is a bungalow or a Cape. Which is ironic, since it’s the houses we live in, not the cars. […]
The new year is here, and with it comes the arrival of certain yearly items for which we each give a shout of joy. Usually, real estate assessments aren’t of this particular group. But for those of us wishing, hoping, trying (and, depending on your faith and/or desperation, praying) to sell our houses in this […]
Jackson-Via Elementary School was the last of the city’s elementary schools to be built. Named after two eminent educators, Nannie Cox Jackson and Betty Davis Via, the school off Harris Street in southern Charlottesville opened in 1970. Like most of the city’s elementary schools, it is the centerpiece of its small neighborhood—in this case, one […]
Modest at first glance, this little cottage off Rugby Road charms us more the longer we look: There’s that organic-looking stone wall and the big boulder in the driveway, lived with rather than excavated, which connect the house to its site. There’s the sheltered entrance a little below street level, and the classy standing-seam roof. […]
The Downtown Mall conjures up an eerie atmosphere on Monday nights. With most restaurants and bars closed, you’ll find few souls traversing the diagonal bricks.