A family is picking-up the pieces after a fire sparked in its Watervliet home, killing a recently adopted rescue dog.

The blaze broke out around 3:30 p.m. Friday in the 400 block of W. Pleasant St., that's about two blocks from the Watervliet Volunteer Fire Department.

A neighbor tells NewsCenter 16 she surfing the Internet inside her home when she heard a loud "pop." When she turned around, a plume of thick black smoke was pouring from the house next door.

Homeowners Dale and Laurie Lesauskis were inside the house at the time. Eyewitnesses say Laurie grabbed a water hose as Dale dialed 911.

The scorcher proved to be a challenge for firefighters who spent nearly four hours fighting the blaze, which kept re-igniting and eventually spread to the attic.

Although an investigation is still ongoing, a neighbor says the husband and wife had been working on a remodeling project in the front porch of the home moments before the "pop" was heard and the fire seen.

Although Vic, a male German Shepherd Corgi mix, made it out alive, the couple could not get to its rescue dog Kale in time.

The home is expected to be a total loss.

Read more:
Fire destroys Watervliet home, kills family rescue dog

MainStreet America is a year-round showcase of homes where people will be inspired, informed and empowered to build or remodel their home. Positioned as a truly innovative concept in shopping for new homes and related services, MainStreet America premiers this Fall as the only venue of its kind in the country with dining, retail, entertainment and educational opportunities added to the blend of activities. Opening at a time of national economic uncertainty, MainStreet America is located in Houston, Texas, one of the nations healthiest housing markets, a leader in job growth and rising consumer confidence. That makes Houston perhaps the perfect locale for unveiling a new beacon of hope symbolic of the promise that the American dream is alive and well.

Houston, Texas (PRWEB) September 28, 2012

This innovative shopping venue can best be described as an inspiring world of discovery built around empowering educational technology and the home. MainStreet America will be a powerful influence on consumer spending and will soon redefine how people shop for home products and services.

MSA is the culmination of years of study and research by owners Michael and Barbara Feigin. MainStreet America will be open year-round, seven days a week the only perpetual showcase of homes of its kind in the country, says founder/CEO, Michael Feigin. MainStreet America is more than a showcase of new homes its an educational, shopping and entertainment destination centered on the home.

Twelve dynamic model homes, along with a two-story, 45,000 square foot Guest Center have been under construction for the past 15 months and are now slated for opening early November. From Old World Mediterranean to Contemporary Modern, the Park will feature a wide range of architectural styles, interior dcor and square footages. In addition, each home is designed to operate as a retail furniture showroom. For the first time, consumers will be able shop for home furnishings within the full context of a completely decorated and functional home. Its all about shopping at your own pace in a realistic home setting, and learning about home products and furnishings in a relaxing and inspiring environment, says Feigin

Visitors to MainStreet America will begin their experience at the Guest Center where they can engage in a number of activities. From there they can embark on a self-guided tour of each showcase home, participate in a how-to workshop, or enjoy one of the many planned family and seasonal events. While in the Park, visitors can also access a complete list of home services -- all under one roof. On site is a custom home builder, a full-service remodeling company, a mortgage company, interior design studio and a residential architectural firm.

One of the unique highlights of the park is that guests can access instant information on desired products in each showcase home through their use of our specially designed, hand-held Technological Education Device we call TED, states Feigin. The TED experience can best be described as online browsing combined with in-store shopping taken to a whole new level.

Utilizing the latest in scanning technology, the TED device will allow users to wave over a programmed product tag to initiate audio and/or visual feedback. If youre interested in a specific brick exterior, swimming pool accessory, surround sound system component, kitchen appliance, or even the radiant barrier found inside an attic TED will access its brand name, list of features, provide buying information and create a virtual shopping list.

At MainStreet America, there will be something going on every day and every season Christmas on MainStreet, with winter holiday lights and strolling carolers; a Fall Festival, providing a safe place for Halloween trick-or-treaters; Spring flower tours with Easter egg hunts; and Summer nights featuring wine tasting events and art gallery showings. Areas of the Park can also be rented for private functions, football block parties, corporate events, and any number of special occasions.

This is a wonderful opportunity for us to also provide a venue for a number of charities we support, including Texas Childrens Hospital, says Feigin. Well have a continual rotation of home products, activities, and themes to ensure that guests will want to return again and again to see whats new on MainStreet.

Read more:
Nation’s First Home Product Theme Park, MainStreet America®, a True Game Changer for the Consumer

Anyone in need of a roof would be best served by contacting Pacific Homeworks, Inc.

San Diego, California (PRWEB) September 28, 2012

A home remodeling company based in Southern California, Pacific Homeworks has a history of serving more than 20,000 satisfied customers. As a full-service company, Pacific Homeworks specializes in the installation of Energy Star windows, complete roofing and ventilation systems, and exterior stucco and paint. During its years of operation, the company has installed a whopping 25,176,300 square feet of quality roofing -- or enough roofing to cover every NFL stadium 17 times over.

As a small business, Pacific Homeworks is proud of the fact that it is owned and operated by the people who founded it. Its owners are still active in the day-to-day operations of the business and are available every day. From a grassroots beginning with just a handful of employees, Pacific Homeworks has grown to a network of four offices and a staff of 250. The company has made Qualified Remodeler Magazine's top 500 list four separate times, ranking an impressive 24th in the year 2012.

Pacific Homeworks prides itself on its use of ridge vents, weather lock flex material, and Deck Defense -- an underlayment which protects a roof from water and UV damage. Pacific Homeworks uses only the highest quality materials, including a 50 year shingle that is also backed by an impressive 50 year labor guarantee. Homeowners will not find a better warranty anywhere.

The people at Pacific Homeworks recognize that the roof is the most important feature of any home. If it is structurally sound and in good repair, it will protect every other part of the house. An old or leaking roof can cause literally thousands of dollars of damage to a home's interior - destroying walls, ceilings, structural features and even causing dangerous mold. A well-maintained roof is essential to a home's continuing good health.

And a roof is a much more complex system than most people realize. A healthy roof is not just intact shingles. It includes proper ventilation to prevent build up of heat and moisture, a high-quality underlayment, hip and ridge shingles and even attic insulation.

When conducting a remodel, Pacific Homeworks, Inc. works with homeowners to ensure that every home repair is done right the very first time. Anyone in need of a roof would be best served by contacting Pacific Homeworks, Inc.

Matt Edwards pachomesales@gmail.com 858-874-0736 Email Information

Here is the original post:
Pacific Homeworks Is Happy To Announce the Addition of the Owens Corning Roofing System to Its Stellar Line of ...

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- An early morning fire ripped through a Cape Coral home, destroying the building. Ithappened at 814 El Dorado Parkway East.

Neighbors credit the quick thinking of a newspaper delivery woman for saving nearby homes from also going up in flames.

Brandy Ferguson says it was a normal morning at work delivering the News-Press, when she noticed something was wrong.

"Isaw black smoke billowing from the house across the street," she said.

The house was engulfed in flames and black smoke, and she couldn't reach the door. She says she frantically woke the neighbors.

"We heard a big bang on the door and hollered and she said the house is on fire!" said neighbor Laura Caldwell.

Rita Sieber's brother Donald Chappelear and his partner are seasonal residents who live here. They weren't home at the time of the fire. The past four years, she says, they poured their savings into remodeling the property.

"Totally devastated. These two have done such extensive remodeling this was going to be their retirement home," said Chappelear's mother Frances Wolford.

The fire marshalsays the house is a complete loss, suffering about $200,000 worth of damages from smoke and water.

Neighbors are calling Ferguson a hero for her quick thinking. "She saved my house, and unfortunately couldn't save the other one but saved us," said Caldwell.

Read the original here:
Newspaper delivery woman alerts Cape neighbors to house fire

The historic farmhouse provided much over the years.

Its well cooled Union soldiers marching to Gettysburg. Its kitchen was raided by Confederates, the tables and chairs burned as firewood.

Decades later, the lawn was used by crews filming the movie "Gettysburg." Thousands have tramped the grounds for battle re-enactments.

But the famous farmhouse kept secrets, too.

A collection of historic artifacts remained hidden beneath the attic floorboards for decades.

Only recently did construction workers discover letters from the 1880s. In one letter, the writer complains in elegant script of a $3 bill for a doctor's visit and the $1 expense for medicine.

A rusty straight-razor was pulled from beneath the floorboards. A tin of witch hazel, used to treat sores and blisters during the Civil War, also was found during the remodeling work.

Construction workers discovered more - a red canister of "mild mustard plasters," which promised to cure everything from earaches to asthma. They found half-a-dozen glass bottles, once containing salves and ointments, and with the tell-tale brown glass and wide opening of 19th Century medicines.

The most curious find, perhaps, was the negative of a glass-plate photograph.

It shows a fat pig, clearly the prize of the farm. A lab analysis dated the image to the 1880s.

Read more:
Gettysburg farmhouse yields relics

Advice

Mock-up design of what Roger's kitchen should look like when completed.

The DIY addiction

World-Herald reporter Roger Buddenberg and his wife are embarking on a major home remodeling project. He'll blog about the ups and downs, delays and accomplishments at omaha.com/living

* * *

The DIY

June 6

After you swab a paintbrush back and forth for a few hours, it's hard not to ponder how DIY got into your DNA. And why it's still there after all these years, an impulse that ignores the body parts moaning oilcan! oiiiilcaaan! like the Tin Woodsman. Why do you still do this? you mumble to yourself.

It was a question from the start of our kitchen remodel. We chose a contractor partly because he was willing to let us do some of the project ourselves, working around him not an easy decision for contractors to make. No doubt they all can tell horror stories about homeowners who thought they could tackle the world because they watched This Old House once.

Continue reading here:
The DIY addiction

Amy Suardi recently started growing some of her familys food. On many days, she can be found with her children in the front yard of her home in Washington, tending their edible garden. Later, the family might make pizzas (using herbs theyve grown), tidy up the house (with cleaning supplies theyve made), watch a DVD (TV programs are not permitted) or play games the children invented.

While Suardi, 42, has fashioned a lifestyle for her family that is reminiscent of a slower, less stressful era, she is also decidedly 21st century: She blogs about her life, and gets paid for it.

I dont make a lot of money, but the trade-off is that I can be home with the kids, she says. I can also make dinner every night and take care of the house.

For Suardi, thrifty living is at the heart of the life she craves. On her blog, Frugal Mama, she shares her experiences, offering insight on creating a high-quality life on a small budget.

Her expertise, she says, is based on learning to live on a shoestring since college, first as a single young woman in New York, then as the wife of a doctor in training.

My philosophy, she says, is about finding the fun in saving and keeping life simple so we have time for whats important.

With her husband, Enrico, now working full time after recently

completing his medical training, and with Suardi earning money by writing, the couple has more income than ever before. However, they are also both in their mid-40s, have four children (ages 10, 8, 4 and 1), almost no money in retirement and a 100-year-old house that needs work.

For Suardi to remain an at-home working mother while they bulk up their retirement savings, the family cuts corners wherever possible: The children attend public schools and co-ops and wear secondhand clothing. The adults drive used cars and use pay-as-you-go cellphones. They clean their own home, shop at thrift stores, dont have cable, walk instead of drive when they can and eat most of their meals at home.

We live frugally out of necessity, but I would continue to do so even if I had a lot of money, says Suardi. Being frugal has led me on interesting paths and made us a better, closer family.

Read this article:
Thrifty and thriving

Amy Suardi recently started growing some of her familys food. On many days, she can be found with her children in the front yard of her home in Washington, tending their edible garden. Later, the family might make pizzas (using herbs theyve grown), tidy up the house (with cleaning supplies theyve made), watch a DVD (TV programs are not permitted) or play games the children invented.While Suardi, 42, has fashioned a lifestyle for her family that is reminiscent of a slower, less stressful era, she is also decidedly 21st century: She blogs about her life, and gets paid for it.

I dont make a lot of money, but the trade-off is that I can be home with the kids, she says. I can also make dinner every night and take care of the house.

For Suardi, thrifty living is at the heart of the life she craves. On her blog, Frugal Mama, she shares her experiences, offering insight on creating a high-quality life on a small budget.

Her expertise, she says, is based on learning to live on a shoestring since college, first as a single young woman in New York, then as the wife of a doctor in training.

My philosophy, she says, is about finding the fun in saving and keeping life simple so we have time for whats important.

With her husband, Enrico, now working full time after recently completing his medical training, and with Suardi earning money by writing, the couple has more income than ever before. However, they are also both in their mid-40s, have four children (ages 10, 8, 4 and 1), almost no money in retirement and a 100-year-old house that needs work.

For Suardi to remain an at-home working mother while they bulk up their retirement savings, the family cuts corners wherever possible: The children attend public schools and co-ops and wear secondhand clothing. The adults drive used cars and use pay-as-you-go cellphones. They clean their own home, shop at thrift stores, dont have cable, walk instead of drive when they can and eat most of their meals at home.

We live frugally out of necessity, but I would continue to do so even if I had a lot of money, says Suardi. Being frugal has led me on interesting paths and made us a better, closer family.

Money problems

It all started out of conflict.

Read more:
Freeing cash for splurges

Walking away from my mortgage was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. The decision still haunts me to this day. Like everyone who has walked away from their mortgages, I had my reasons.

Underwater

Like many people, my home was worth less than what I owed on it when I decided to walk away from my mortgage. It was not worth that much less than the amount owed on it but it was enough to make it impossible to sell. The only way it could have been sold is to have done a short sale on it or to have come to the closing table with a significant amount of money. I attempted to sell it two different times and both times the house stayed on the market for months with little interest.

Repairs Needed

The home was aging and in need of many repairs. It needed to be painted inside and out, the carpeting needed to be replaced, the windows needed to be replaced, the exterior of the home needed to be repaired in places, and the bathrooms were in need of remodeling. These repairs would have cost well over $10,000. It seemed pointless to sink more and more money into a home that was already not worth what was owed on it. I had already spent quite a bit of money on getting squirrels out of the attic and getting the roof replaced on it in an effort to try to help it sell.

Difficult Bank

I had a first and second mortgage on my home and had already saved it from foreclosure once. I knew from my dealings with my banks during that process that the company that had the second mortgage on my home was difficult to work with. They lost my paperwork and even lost money that I sent to them. Before walking away from my mortgage, I sent in paperwork twice to them to try to get my loan modified. They ignored it both times without even bothering to call me. In the end, it was easier to walk away than to try to deal with that bank.

My situation was also complicated by the fact that my ex-husband and I had problems coming to an agreement about the house so these were not the only reasons why I walked away from my mortgage. But at the end of the day, I chose to walk away and I am the one who has to live with the consequences of that decision.

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.

Originally posted here:
First Person: The 3 Reasons Why I Walked Away From My Mortgage

Bruce and Kay Chambers.

Kay Chambers always seems to get more than what she has bargained for.

Just looking for a dance partner at a nightclub in 1986, she ended up meeting Bruce McCann, her future husband.

Then in 1993, when she and Bruce as newlyweds bought a rundown Victorian home in Crescent Hill, she expected a few minor renovations. But she hadnt imagined the 17-year overhaul that would follow.

Kay presumed the house, which was originally a duplex, would remain that way. So when Bruce destroyed it to turn it into a single-family home, and Kay found it in shambles, she was shocked to say the least.

I grew up in old homes and wanted a project, said Bruce. I probably looked like a kid in a candy store with a sledgehammer.

The home was habitable after six months of intense renovation, a feat Bruce undertook himself with the help of contractor Andre Faget and Barry Hunt of Hunt Remodeling. But there was still much work to be done.

I was over here morning and night, said Bruce. Sometimes, Id be here 13 to 14 hours a day.

Kay gave Bruce full license to restore the home as he wished. So he demolished everything, apart from a few lighting and plumbing fixtures, the windows and main staircase.

He even stripped the walls of their Victorian-style, patterned wallpaper. But it wasnt until last year that Bruce and Kay had them painted. They were reluctant to do so because they felt the patchiness of the walls added a sort of whimsical charm to the home.

Here is the original post:
The Museum of Bruce and Kay