December 2001 Newsletter

1. About Us & Our Holiday Hours
2. Choosing, Caring, Keeping Your Tree
3. Winter Household Money Saving Tips
4. Our Contractors' Promotional Specials
5. Our Affiliates
6. The monthly funny! :)

1. About Us & Our Holiday Hours

Home-Work Contractor Referral offers a Valuable Service to help home
and business owners find screened, reliable contractors for any type of
renovation or construction project. Contact Home-Work for your next
project and we will handle all the legwork for you. You describe your
project to us and we will find you a suitable and available, reliable
company. You will also receive a complete, detailed profile on each
company. We save you time, hassle, and stress.  Home-Work will be
closed for the holidays between December 24th - January 1st. 
However, we will be checking our messages and our emails so
please feel free to say Hi or register any upcoming projects you
may have.

2. Choosing, Caring, Keeping Your Tree

Choosing:
1. Step back 5 to 8 feet and check the tree from several angles.
Look for a densely branched tree with good shape, color and
fragrance. The trunk should be straight (or nearly so) and should
not be visible through the foliage.
2.Bend a branch slightly, it should bend easily and not crack or
break. Another sign of a fresh tree is sticky sap on the trunk.
3.Grab a handful of needles and pull gently. Few, if any, needles
should come loose. Shake the tree and avoid a tree that drops
a lot of needles.
4.If choosing a tree to plant later: buy from a reputable dealer
and check that the variety will thrive in our climate. (also plan on
keeping the tree indoors no longer than 7 days.

 Caring for a Cut Tree
To keep your tree looking good -- and prevent it from drying out and turning
into a fire hazard -- follow these simple steps.
1. Remove bottom branches that keep the trunk from sliding into its stand.
Prune ragged or protruding branch tips. Scrub the stand and rinse with a
diluted bleach solution.
2. Using a sharp saw, cut an inch off the trunk base to remove the sappy
seal that formed over the previous cut. A fresh cut is crucial to your
tree's water uptake and longevity.
3. Insert the tree into the stand, straighten, and secure. Fill the
reservoir with warm water. Trees drink heavily at first. Replenish as
needed, keeping the water level high.

Keeping Your Tree Safely In Your Home:
1. Location, location, location: Place the tree well away from heat sources
like radiators, fireplaces, wood stoves and hot air vents.
2. Use only approved lights. Look for the UL seal on all Christmas lights.
Never allow candles near a tree.
3. Recheck for dryness.  On a daily basis check for excessive needle drop.
If your tree is dropping excess amounts, it is dry and has become a fire hazard.
4. Keep cords at bay. To avoid a tripping hazard, stow extension cords out
of traffic lanes near the tree. (BHG Magazine)

 3. Winter Household Money Saving Tips

Turbines on the roof let out summer heat. Cover them in winter.
Insulating the attic pays for itself in 3- 4 years, insulating the walls
does in l0 years.
Turn down the temperature on the water heater. Insulating the tank saves
$55/yr.
Insulate the pipes.
Instant water heaters claim to save 20-50% on gas.
Carpet and padding cut down on heat loss.
Turn off the stove's pilot light and light the stove with a lighter (on the
low setting to keep from getting singed).
Hook up the washer only to cold water. This saves 90% of the cost of
washing. Wash only full loads. Dry only full, consecutive loads. Keep
filters clean.
Low-flow shower heads claim to save families up to $250/yr.
Turn down the water pressure for bathroom and kitchen faucets.
Use an electronic thermostat which turns the heat down when you're sleeping.
Close up to l/4th of the vents outside the bedrooms.

4. Our Contractor Promotional Specials

Home-Work Contractors understand that right now the Christmas
Crunch is on and money is tight.  They also understand that you
still need to get your projects done.  Right now our contractors are
offering a variety of specials...
Through the months of January and February on any drywalling, or
texturing projects one of our valued contractors is offering NO GST
, as well as an additional 5% off any projects located in the S.W.
Save money getting your trees pruned, from now until April 1st get
10% off .
Experienced painter offering 10% off any painting projects from now
until March 15, 2002.
CALL HOME-WORK FOR MORE DETAILS.....

5. A New Tub Right Over Your Old One

Have your walls surrounding your bath seen better days?
We now have a company that can install beautiful
new custom-molded tubs and walls right over existing fixtures. Their
products systems come in a variety of colors and patterns and have been tested proven in thousands of residential and commercial installations.  They
also accept Visa and MasterCard. Call Home-Work for more details.

6. Affiliate Program & Our Sponsors

We currently also have quality, reliable that help promote our service.
Please find out more about them at:
http://www.homeworkcanada.com/sponsors.htm
Pillar to Post Home Inspection,Re/Max First, Remax House of Real Estate,
AmeriSpec Home Inspection Services, Informative Home Inspections,
Keaco Services, Chesney's Home Hardware, Gunther's Building Supply,
Verda Tech Inc.,High Security Lock Co., Home Alyze, Chesney's Home
Hardware, Revy Home & Garden, Homelife Realty, Banbury Lane,
Calgary Seniors Society, Coldwell Banker, Gunthers Bldg. Supply, Royal
LePage, BenchMark Real Estate, Diamond Fireplaces, Sure Look Home
Inspection,Maxwell South Star Realty, Century 21, Bell Davidson
Insurance.

6. The Monthly Funny! :)

Martha Stewart's Christmas Letter To Erma Bombeck... and Her Response
 "Hi Erma, This perfectly delightful note is being sent on paper I made
myself to tell you what I have been up to. Since it snowed last night, I got
up early and made a wonderful Christmas sled with old weathered barn wood
and a glue gun. I hand painted it in beautiful gold leaf, got out my loom,
and made a soft, woolly blanket in peaches and mauves. Then to make the
Christmas sled complete, I made a sturdy white horse to pull it, from DNA
that I had just sitting around in my craft room. By then, it was time to
start making the place mats and napkins for my 20 breakfast guests. I'm
serving the old standard Stewart twelve-course breakfast, but I'll let you
in on a little secret: I didn't have time to make the tables and chairs this
morning, so I used the ones I had on hand! Before I moved the table into the
dining room, I decided to add just a touch of the holidays. So I repainted
the room in pinks and stenciled sparkly gold stars on the ceiling. Then,
while the homemade bread was rising, I took antique candle molds and made
the dishes (exactly the same shade of pink) to use for breakfast. These were
made from Hungarian clay, which you can get at almost any Hungarian craft
store. Well, I must run. I need to finish the buttonholes on the dress I'm
wearing for breakfast. I'll get out the sled and drive this note to the post
office as soon as the glue dries on the envelope I'll be making. Hope my
breakfast guests don't stay too long, I have 40,000 cranberries to string
with bay leaves before my speaking engagement at noon." Love, Martha Stewart
P.S. "When I made the ribbon for this typewriter, I used 1/8-inch gold gauze.
I soaked the gauze in a mixture of white grapes and blackberries which I
grew, picked, and crushed last week just for fun. -----"
RESPONSE FROM ERMA:
"Dear Martha, I'm writing this on the back of an old shopping list, pay no
attention to the coffee and jelly stains. I'm 20 minutes late getting my
daughter up for school, packing a lunch with one hand, on the phone with the
dog pound, seems old Ruff needs bailing out, again. Burnt my arm on the
curling iron when I was trying to make those cute curly fries, how DO they
do that? Still can't find the scissors to cut out some snowflakes, tried
using an old disposable razor... trashed the tablecloth. Tried that
cranberry thing, frozen cranberries mushed up after I defrosted them in the
microwave. Oh, and don't use Fruity Pebbles as a substitute in that Rice
Krispies snowball recipe, unless you happen to like a disgusting shade that
resembles puke! The smoke alarm is going off, talk to ya later." Love, Erma

 * If you enjoy this newsletter please forward it to friends! They can then
e-mail us to receive it each month and be entered for the draw. Thank You!

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