Home&Real Estate
OPEN HOME GUIDE 50
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Home Front CITYWIDE YARD SALE ... Reused treasures will be available all over town on Saturday, June 4, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. during Palo Alto’s biennial Citywide Yard Sale. Tips for smart shoppers (including bring plenty of small bills and don’t be afraid to bargain) are available on the city’s website. Information: 650-496-5910 or www.zerowastepaloalto.org/yardsale DITCH HAZARDOUS WASTE ... Palo Alto residents can drop off their toxic household products — including paints, pool chemicals, pesticides and fluorescent lights — on Saturday, June 4, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, 2501 Embarcadero Way, Palo Alto. Pharmaceuticals and thermometers can be dropped off Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments can also be made for off-weekend drop-offs. Information: 650-496-6980 for appointments; www.cleanbay.org
CELEBRATE, UH HUH ... Sunset Magazine will present Celebration Weekend 2011: “Make It Your Own� on Saturday, June 4, and Sunday, June 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the seven-acre campus at 80 Willow Road, Menlo Park. The 14th annual event includes demonstrations of food, wine, garden, home and design, as well as an Etsy Marketplace and Cooking Stages. This year’s “Cargotecture� idea house features a cottage converted from a shipping container. Tickets are $16 general admission, $12 for seniors (60+), with $1 discount if one bikes or parks at Facebook headquarters, 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, and takes (continued on page 46)
Capturing the power of the
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UNDERSTANDING REBATE PROGRAMS ... Korin Crawford, along with Randy Potter from Earth Bound Construction and Michele Brown from Build It Green, will talk about “Understanding Energy Efficiency and Green Building Rebate Programs — Energy Upgrade California and Beyond� at a Build It Green-sponsored event on Tuesday, June 7, at 5 p.m. at Harrell Remodeling, Inc., 1954 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View. Cost is $15. Information: 650-230-2900 or www.builditgreen.org
Don Larson wants to popularize solar cooking to save energy
Juliana Lee & Jeff Keller
ho wouldn’t want to eat a tasty, sun-cooked meal? That is the question that Don Larson, assistant manager at Common Ground, a local garden store, is asking. Larson got his start in solar cooking when he was in high school. “I wanted to show my parents a different way of cooking,� he said. But, at first he wasn’t all too successful. He struggled to build an efficient oven that worked to cook food properly. It wasn’t until six years after college that he started to really take advan- Top, Don Larson prepares to make a meal with his solar oven. tage of solar cooking when he Above, fresh artichokes in a ceramic pot can be cooked using was taught how to build and use sun power. energy-effective solar ovens. He now uses solar ovens at home to do pretty much anything a normal stove does. He story by Aaron Guggenheim enjoys cooking vegetables, photographs by Veronica Weber meat and rice as well as baking bread and cookies in his oven at home. And now that’s he’s mastered solar cooking, he’ll be passing on his knowledge in a class at Common Ground on June 11. (continued on page 45)
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