Workshop to target first-time home buyers

Workshop to targetfirst-time home buyers
YOUNGSTOWN -- Family Financial Education Services, a program of Family Service Agency, will sponsor a first-time home-buyer workshop from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the agency, 535 Marmion Ave.
The free workshop will cover basic home-buying information such as determining affordability, budgeting, credit problems and the loan application process.
Participants will receive a certificate of attendance that will satisfy the education requirements for some mortgage programs.
Reservations are required by calling (330) 782-5664. No reservations will be taken the day of the program.
Device 'watches' gas level on most gas grills
No more running out of propane before the burgers are ready. TVL International makes a gas-level indicator that connects between the propane cylinder and the grill regulator and tells you when the tank is running low.
The indicator, called GasWatch, also serves as a leak detector and an emergency shutoff device that stops the flow of propane in case of a major leak. It is compatible with the QCC-1 valves found on almost all gas grills in use.
GasWatch is carried by some propane dealers and hardware stores and can also be purchased online at Amazon.com or the company's Web site, www.tvlintl.com. The suggested retail price is $19.95.
hFloral photo galleries in bloom and in print
Over the past 75 years, Cleveland Botanical Garden has blossomed from a place to house gardening books into a center of gardening education and inspiration. That growth is celebrated in a new book, "A Paradise in the City: Cleveland Botanical Garden."
The book recounts the garden's founding in 1930 -- when six members of the Garden Club of Cleveland decided to establish a civic garden center in a boathouse on Wade Lagoon as a repository for some donated gardening books -- and outlines the center's subsequent growth.
The majority of the book, however, focuses on the garden's present state -- its gardens, its glasshouse and its educational programs. Photos by Ian Adams and architectural photographer Jennie Jones capture the beauty of the urban garden and support Diana Tittle's text.
"A Paradise in the City," published by Orange Frazer Press, sells for $39.95 in hardcover.
Sunbrella fabric indoors
Sunbrella fabric -- stain-proof, fade-proof and virtually indestructible -- has long dominated the market for outdoor umbrellas and seat cushions, and has been easing into playrooms, kids' rooms and kitchen banquettes.
Take a look at the competition from Waverly, a SunN Shade collection with vibrant floral and stripe patterns for summer at about $35 a yard. (Sunbrella ranges from about $20 to $60 a yard.)
For stores, click on www.waverly.com or call (800) 523-1200.
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