Check your home's energy efficiency
If your family is like mine, the area's first freeze made you light a fire to chase away the chill. It also made us turn an eye toward shoring up drafts. This is prime time to evaluate your home's insulation needs. Act now and you can take advantage of federal tax credits for energy efficiency, which are set to expire Dec. 31. Adding insulation is one of the best options for improving the energy efficiency of a home, say the folks at Angie's List, a consumer services ratings company. If you're not sure how to go about it, consider calling your local utility company to request a home energy audit. You can also check around the edges of your windows to feel for any air coming in that should not be. Or walk around with lit incense to check for drafts, which will pull the smoke in that direction.
Make holiday cleanup easier
The holiday entertaining season is upon us, and although many people enjoy preparing and serving delicious meals, cleanup is often a time-consuming chore. Enter My Drap, washable and reusable napkins and placemats.
The colorful, thin, 100 percent cotton drapes are perfect for entertaining on the fly or in mass. Simply unfurl a roll of place mats for dinner, tear along the perforated edge and set the table for company. You can do the same with a roll of cocktail or dinner napkins. Coordinate in matching solid colors or pick an accent color to complement your theme and table.
When done, toss them in the trash or wash and use again. They're biodegradable and recyclable, too. The napkins, runners and place mats come in three sizes and more than 20 colors, ranging from $29 to $39. We had a chance to toss them on the table before company arrived recently. They gave a decidedly upscale look to our casual dinner table, and it was nice not to have a pile of paper napkins adding to my nightly trash. They held up nicely in the wash, too. Order now to ensure holiday delivery. Learn more at www.casansamydrap.com/
Get a jump on gifts
The Sarah P. Duke Gardens' volunteer Garden Guild will hold a holiday craft sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. Guild members have been busily preparing stationery, ornaments, jewelry, knitted pieces and other nature-inspired goods for sale. Proceeds from the sale go to Duke Gardens. Admission to the fair is free and parking is free until 1 p.m. The gardens are at 420 Anderson St. in Durham. Call 684-3698 or go to gardens.duke.edu for more information.
Design your own landscape
Have you been hoping to add a little oomph to your landscape, but have been running short on ideas? Jan Little, Duke Garden's director of education and public programs, is coming to the rescue. She'll lead a class series on designing your personalized home landscape, including tips on identifying and working with your yard's current conditions, cultivating ideas and completing bed outlines. The class is $110 ($90 for Gardens Friends). The four-part class runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 18 and Dec. 2, 9 and 16 and will be held at the garden, 420 Anderson St., Durham. For more information, call 668-5309.
See handmade jewelry
Art enthusiasts will have lots to cheer this month at The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. The museum's Nature Art Gallery is showcasing the work of the N.C. Society of Goldsmiths through Nov. 28. More than 90 one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry will be on display in "Handcrafted Adornments." The museum is at 11 W. Jones St., Raleigh. General admission is free. Visit naturalsciences.org for hours and additional information.
