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My daring and creative husband, Bob, just spent the last four days at a seminar on decorative painting.  While this is his specialty, there's always more to learn.  Years ago he took a course in South Carolina to learn the art of wood-graining.  There's a steel staircase in Crouse Hall on the Syracuse University campus that looks like wood.  You wouldn't know which one, because it looks like every other wooden staircase. When he saw a course offered by Golden Paints to be taught by the world-renowned painter, Pierre Finkelstein, he immediately signed up.  The great news was that Golden Paints, the company hosting the seminar, is in New Berlin, about 80 miles away from our home.  It turned out he was one of the closest students - others flew in from all over the country to take the class. They worked solid for three days learning the techniques, about the brushes (badger hair), and using the superb paints manufactured and sold by the decades-old company.  Go to http://Golden

On the 23rd, I took another course:  Environmental Issues with Steve Selig.  His class was contact-packed - I took five pages of notes and we rolled through short breaks and lunch, frankly, I thought, eager to get back to learning what he had to teach.  A complex person - attorney, environmental activist, home inspector and remediation expert, knowledgeable in what seemed like everything related to the environment. The areas he covered were mold, radon, carbon monoxide, water, buried oil tanks,lead, asbestos, and septic systems.  The most amount of time was spent on mold - what it is, what the dangers are, and why it's become a leading concern in the real estate field, both with new construction and resale.  The short video he played was terrifying.  A family had neurological damage from living in a house - huge and expensive - that would never be able to be re-habbed.  The brain damage in the father and son was permanent also. Very simply put, mold grows where the humidity is ab

Good morning! Hope you have enjoyed my series, Bloggers Beautiful Abodes...I know I have so enjoyed getting to see all my talented blogging friend's gorgeous homes and learning what goes on during their own creative processes. I have walked away with a wealth of knowledge so thanks again ladies!   I had many requests for me to do one so here I am. Figured it would be a fun way to close out this series. So....I will spare you a sappy introduction and delve right in, ready? Let's go.......   1. How long have you been in your present home?  Is this it for the long haul? Anything you would care to change if you could ?     Just a little over a year, hard to believe! And though I like to take things day by day and not think too far into the future,  I think we will be here for a long time....would love to have an engagement or wedding here! (not that I am putting any pressure on my oldest son- he has plenty of time). At this point honestly no there is nothing I would change, we ar