For those of you at Smith Mountain Lake unfamiliar with the Gaither Vocal Band, they are one of the more excellent gospel groups around. Many of us middle aged folks have been listening to them for years. You can enjoy them for yourself on Friday, Feb. 12th at 7pm. at the Roanoke Civic Center.

For the younger crowd there is the Winter Jam Concert each year also at the Roanoke Civic Center. This is a combination of contemporary Christian music bands and singers that the younger generation (and all ages) loves. You can join the crowd of Christian music lovers for Winter Jam featuring “Firelight” on Thursday, Feb. 18th at 6:20pm.

I love Valentine’s Day and Smith Mountain Lake has everything I could possibly need to make it a special time for my sweetheart.

Whether you have a sweetheart or not, everyone has someone they could choose to honor with a loving note or gift. Share the flowers and other colorful and bright icons of the holiday with your Mom, sister, brother, friend, etc. and take advantage of one of the opportunities offered below.

Casa DiAmici – Wine Pairing Dinner
Will be serving 7 gourmet courses perfectly paired with 9 delicious wines.
Reservations are required. For info. Call 540-296-1329 or sparrish@celebrationsquareproperties.com
February 8, 2010 at 6:30 PM - 09:30 PM
http://www.casadamicisml.com

Tax season is never entirely pleasant when it comes to preparing the paperwork. Many of you at Smith Mountain Lake have regular yearly preparers, but for those who may not have established help at hand, you will appreciate the following information.

Many people greatly value the free filing options and the free forms and helpful detailed info. necessary for getting this chore accomplished. If you are looking for tax help, check out some of the websites below for what you need to file your 2009’s taxes.

For finding tax tips, forms and other pertinent info. go to: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=133019,00.html 
or
http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/

For free help in preparing your tax return by local volunteers try: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=107626,00.html

For free online tax filing there are several options:
http://www.irs.gov/efile/index.html
or
http://www.taxact.com/

The Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce will be at the Southwest Virginia Boat Show February 26, 27, & 28 this year, with a specific purpose in mind. They want to help the growth of your business and our Smith Mountain Lake community.

At their table in the boat show, SML Chamber can aid your business by distributing your literature/advertising along with other SML businesses. All you need to do is simply bring your coupons, flyers or small advertising specialties (i.e. key chains, pens, etc.) to the SML Visitor Center. They will then bag and distribute them at the Boat Show, FREE of charge. 

All they ask is that you bring a minimum of 500 pieces to distribute and no large specialty items. Only bring small items easy to pass along to visitors. The deadline to bring your items is Feb. 19th. Volunteers will be needed to help bag literature, etc. For more information contact Jim Shauberger at 540-721-1203.

Oh, and don’t forget to have a good time at the boat show!

The Smith Mountain Lake Women’s Club will be sponsoring a blood drive this Friday, Feb. 5th. If you have never had a loved one in need of a blood transfusion, then you may be unaware of how very important it is that the blood banks have plenty of blood (and of a variety of blood types) on hand.

Certain illnesses where the body cannot produce sufficient blood, internal bleeding, accident victims, and several other health conditions can make the need for blood a matter of life and death. Please consider donating blood, especially if you have a rare type.

 Give blood from Noon to 6 p.m. at the Trinity Ecumenical Parish, 40 Lakemount Drive, Moneta. Positive ID. will be required. Call for more info. 1-800-448-3543 or visit www.redcrossblood.org.

Personally I have always thought the idea of a singing Valentine was a bit silly and could even be embarrassing. But the Smith Mountain Lake Harmeneers have come up with an idea that is a great deal more creative and fun in my humble estimation.

This singing quartet offers a gift package that your Valentine won’t soon forget. The Smith Mountain Lake Harmeneers will serenade your loved one by delivering not one, but two love songs on February 12 – 14. Even better still your sweetheart will also receive a silk rose and a picture as part of the gift package. 

Honestly it would be hard to beat this combination for effect and making memories. The best part is that you get the whole deal for only $50.00!! Call 540-297-9231 for a reservation!

Our family shops at several different health food stores near Smith Mountain Lake for a variety of supplements. During the winter in particular we stock up on immune builders, which have been very effective at keeping our family from getting colds and flus that we’re exposed to.

If you ask the folks at your favorite health food store what herbs and vitamins sell the best this time of year as I did, they will give you a list something like this:

Garlic, ginger and Oregano – These herbs fly off the store shelves for sinus infections, flu and virus, as well as stomach flu, arthritis and inflammation, just to name a few.

Vitamin C with bioflavonoids – One lady told me she uses Vitamin C for allergies, colds, arthritis, viral infections and even a mouthwash. Apparently she isn’t the only one, since the cashier sold 2 more bottles of it while I was standing there.

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Have you ever dreamed of owning your own island? While owning an island is a dream that may never become a reality for most of us, at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia you can enjoy your own island for a day.

Some of us are already thinking and planning for this summers vacation and may not realize that Smith Mountain Lake offers all we could imagine. Smith Mountain Lake is a showcase for a variety of uninhabited islands. These old mountaintops spring up all over the place, and most are not privately owned.

Imagine tying off your boat and wandering ashore on a private sandy beach. Don’t forget your picnic basket! Your kids can disperse into the woods to play hide-n-seek or search for buried treasure, while you enjoy the warm summer sun and the sound of waves lapping against your boat. You will swim, fish and dream that it’s yours for awhile.

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It may not seem like the best time to enjoy Smith Mountain Lake’s water activities in the dead of winter, but there are other ways to enjoy the water in cold weather. The article below from the Lake Channel, by Lori Wolak, brings up one of those ways that you can stay warm and still enjoy the waves.

Hot Fun In The Wintertime
By Lori Wolak

When we first got our hot tub, we didn’t even think about  whether we would use it year round. The cost of the tub was such that we were concerned about getting the best return on our investment. This is especially true since the tub is at the lake house, and we are only there part time.  So it was clear we would use it year-round.

Four seasons of enjoyment

On a chilly winter’s night when our toes have been numb for hours, nothing beats a hot soak in the tub! If there’s snow on the ground, it only adds to the enjoyment as the steam rises off the warm water, and we look out at the beauty of the snow-covered landscape. For many of us, the pleasure of winter hot tubbing is eagerly anticipated every year. So, before you decide to winterize your tub, think about enjoying it all winter.

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Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy and Lake Christian Ministries have put together a Grand Winter Gala Charity Art Show and Auction for March 6th, 2010. This creative benefit for the two local ministries promises to be a ton of fun, with a gourmet chef dinner, live entertainment and a very unique auction.

Grand Home Furnishings will be furnishing 12 small bare wood chairs for 12 different artists to paint in their own unique style. The artistically painted chairs will then be auctioned off on March 6, 2010 at The Grand Winter Gala and all profits will be donated to the above listed charities.

The Grand Winter Gala will be held at the Waters Edge Ball Room on March 6th from 7pm. to 11pm. You can purchase tickets in person from Grand Home Furnishings Westlake, Lynchburg, Valley View and Tanglewood, or fill out an online order form to receive your tickets in the mail. Individuals are $60 and couples are $100.