“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with.” Noel Langley, The Wizard of Oz
“There’s no place like home.” Our domiciles, our personal habitat and space. In this issue, we’ve compiled a plethora of home and garden-related stories, and present them right here in our annual special issue.
Our long-time advertiser Perfection Home Systems commences our Home and Garden issue on page 2 with information on ductless Heat Pumps, which save energy, keep you comfortable and even end up saving you some green. Helping keep the Earth green has always been the goal of Earth Day since its inception in 1970, and 2021’s focus will be reducing climate change. Details on how you can observe the holiday, as well as make changes to help the Earth are on page 5.
Wind Youth Services is helping enhance the lives of multiple young people in Sacramento who are experiencing homelessness. Read about their services on page 6.
“We love each other, we love our children, and what was best for all of us was to stay close,” Judah Joslyn describes his “unapologetically liberated ” home life on page 8.
Though COVID-19 has put financial distress on many households, Wells Fargo is offering aid with its “Open for Business” Fund designed specifically to help Minority, Women, Veteran and LGBTQIA+ owned businesses recover (page 10).
Trans Visibility Day (March 31st) has passed, but Alexis Sanchez shares the good news that comes from visibility, how support for the TGI community is growing, and what you can do to become an ally on page 12.
Learn about protecting your real estate from reassessment upon death (page 13), and on page 14 read about Bonney Plumbing’s Feel the Love event. Feel like sprucing up your surroundings? Pick up an upcycled item from the Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore (page 15) or find anything you need to make your garden grow at The Secret Garden on page 16.
If home makeovers interest you, check out the brick&batten home design trend on page 17. Make your house more environmentally friendly with a few simple upgrades (page 18). Know the home décor to look out for in 2021 (page 19), save on kitchen cabinets (page 20), and maintain your lawn and garden with the tips on page 23.
Some good news on this year’s Academy Awards kicks off our entertainment section (page 26), as well as a review of the movie we never knew we needed in our lives: Godzilla vs. King Kong. There’s a Cher sighting (yes, THAT Cher) on page 27, the latest on the virtual theatre stage (page 30), info on brand new exhibits at the de Young and The Crocker museums (page 32), and a book review that comes straight to you from the bathroom on page 33.
“You’ve always had the power, my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”
We hope this issue “flushed” you with knowledge and inspired to tackle a home project. We “bidet” you adieu.
