Adorable dogs and cats for adoption at the Bedford Humane Society!  Visit  www.bedfordhumanesociety.petfinder.com  or e-mail them at thebedfordhumanesociety@msn.com.  They use foster homes for their animals and they are healthy, socialized and ready to become a part of your family! Call 540-586-6100 for more info.

The Franklin County Humane Societyis located just outside Rocky Mount, Virginia. You can visit them at 18401 Virgil Goode Highway, Rocky Mount, Virginia. Or call at 540-489-3491. Email: plannedpethoodrockymount@yahoo.com. Website: www.petfinder.org/shelters/VA29.html.

Pittsylvania County Humane Societyis located at 996 South Boston Road in Danville, Virginia. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 3352, Danville, Virginia 24543
You can also contact them by phone at (434) 799-0843, or by email at dahsinc@yahoo.com. Visit their website at http://www.dahsinc.com/dnn/.

Westlake Wash, LLC specializes in those hard to get to windows on your lake home. They have all the right equipment & take greatest care in their work, respecting your home in the process.  We can clean out those gutters too!  Many references available!  Call 540-797-9117 for a quote.

Leonard Lucas Contracting can take care of any remodeling, deck building, landscaping, roofing and just about anything else you may need in the contracting realm. For a free estimate and work that is 100% Guaranteed, call 540-484-1177. You can also visit their website and see pictures of their work at www.leonardlucascontracting.com.

You will fall in love with SUPERIOR WALLS.  The only certified Green building concrete wall system on the market.  SUPERIOR WALLS are the Best foundation or above-grade walls you can build with. Build dry, warm and smart with SUPERIOR WALLS.  Call Today 1-866-350-9255 or visit www.superiorwallsva.com.

Let CLEARVIEW RAILING give you a clear view for spring. They offer an all aluminum, maintenance free, tempered glass deck railing system.  Theirproduct comes in 7 standard colors and can be also used for balconies and stairs inside and outside your home.  Go to www.excellrailing.com or call Butch Traylor  for a free estimate at 540-761-8058.

I doubt there is a single soul who is not looking forward to warm weather this year considering the extra cold winter we have had. And it is not too soon to start thinking about weekends off and vacation time and how we will enjoy the water this summer.

One excellent way to enjoy the summer is by taking advantage of Smith Mountain Lake boat rentals. At the lake you can find houseboats, fishing boats, pontoon boats, etc. that you can rent by the hour, day or week. What a fabulous way to spend the day! Just writing about it makes me eager for the day when I can get out on the water.

Some of us do not have boats of our own of course, and that is where the Smith Mountain Lake boat rentals come in handy. If you would like to know where to rent a boat there are a few listings below. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but gives you a place to start.

Parrot Cove - Smith Mountain Lake houseboat rentals as well as a full line of pontoon boats, runabouts, fishing boats, and Wave Runners.

Smith Mountain Lake State Park - Boat rentals (canoes, kayaks, hydrobikes, paddleboats, pontoon boats, ski boats and jet skis) are available at the park from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The park concessionaire also rents boats offsite the rest of the year.

Bridgwater Plaza - Shopping, entertainment, SML boat rentals and much more.

Adventures on Houseboats - Explore the natural beauty of Smith Mountain Lake Virginia aboard one of our floating hotels.

If you said yes to those two questions then you have likely also found that it is difficult to find good care for the elderly without paying an entire fortune. I don’t know how many people in the past few years I have heard saying how hard it was to get help with their parents that they could trust.

For those who just need someone to come to the older persons home and help out you may want to check out Home Instead Senior Care. They provide non-medical companionship and personal care services to seniors helping them to maintain their independence at home.  Services include meal preparation, light housekeeping, medication reminders, incidental transportation and more.  You can contact them for more info. at 434-385-0321.

If you need someone to actually keep the aging person and be a home for them where they are lovingly cared for and have someone there all the time there is a sweet and caring family in our area you can contact for those kind of services as well. Melissa and George Barker can be reached at 276-650-2878.

FABER CPA FIRM, LLC  looks forward to preparing your 2009 income tax returns.  Now is your opportunity to get your financial documents organized so that you don’t pay too much to Uncle Sam. We focus on your financial life, not just your taxes.  To see what we can do for you please visit  www.LAKECPA.com.

TAP, Total Action Against Poverty is offering free tax help from well-trained, volunteer tax professionals. TAP officials say if residents earned less than $49,000 in 2009, they may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. TAP does not do any itemizing or any pensions, only basic 1040 or 1040ez. They do offer direct deposit of your refund if that’s what you’d like which will allow you to receive your refund in 7-10 days. You will need to contact TAP to make an appointment. The number to call in Roanoke is 540-345-6781 extension 4405.

Kembel Tax Service provides sound tax advice and services to thousands of people throughout Southwest Virginia including Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake and Lynchburg. David Kembel, owner of Kembel Tax Service, offers professional service at a reasonable price. Phone (540) 343-4006 or email at info@KembelTax.com.

Complete Small Business Solutions with Robert Barnes, CPA brings 25 years of experience to small business owners including tax services to Roanoke, Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake, Rocky Mount and Bedford. Phone: (540) 777-1314
Fax: (540) 777-1318 or visit www.rbarnescpa.com.

If any of our readers are aware of good tax preparers we have not mentioned, please leave us a comment.

But besides giving thanks for the fact that our Maker is still Sovereign, those of us who garden can appreciate the snow for the fact that it will improve the health of our soil and the resulting produce later this summer.

According to Ross Penhallegon, horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, snow is an excellent insulator and can protect both plants and soil from the detrimental effects of freezing and thawing over and over. The melting snow also feeds the soil, carrying nutrients and moisture to plants and trees that will lose moisture through their branches (both evergreens and bare trees), through the cold months.

Interestingly, as the snowflakes pile up, the soil temperature increases. How much? By about 2 degrees for every inch of accumulation, says the Purdue University extension service. Think of snow as winter mulch. It greatly helps to insulate the plants that you would like to survive the winter.

In fact when you are shoveling snow out of the path, you can pile the snow you move into areas around plants where the snow never fell. This will help to protect those plants from the cold and damaging winds which tend to dry them out.

The ground never freezes during winters when a deep snow falls near the beginning of winter and sticks around. Though much of a plant goes dormant in the late fall, roots continue to grow whenever temperatures are not too cold. Earthworms and soil microbes also stay busy as long as they are not below freezing temps. 

So take heart, the snow and cold will come to an end in a few short weeks, and in the meantime, it is doing your garden a world of good.

Sometimes home-made gifts are the very best, such as a coupon book designed especially for the love of your life. For a man you could include, home cooked dinner of his choice, foot rubs, taking him to his kind of movie, help on his pick of projects, etc. For a woman you could offer coupons for back rubs, babysitting for her day out, dinner cooked by you, a day together doing her bidding, etc.

Need a creative gift in a hurry? Buy a package of strawberries, melt some chocolate, dip the strawberries and let cool. Then you can take a valentine card, a candle and a plate full of chocolate strawberries to your lover. Since you designed it yourself it will be all the more special.

Whether you are gifting a male or female, food in some form is a fantastic and romantic idea. If you are female you can make him a candlelight dinner complete with his favorite music and food. If you are male, you can take her to the most romantic restaurant you can find and be sure they bring flowers to the table for her.

Valentine gifts need not be expensive. You can write a poem for the one you love and read it to him or her while you serve them breakfast in bed on Valentine’s Day morning. Combine it with a hand made card and you have won their heart all over again.

Gift baskets are always wonderful gifts, as you can fill them with whatever small and sweet and delightful gifts your Valentine would enjoy. Simply decorate your basket with hearts and glitter and ribbons, fill it with candy, music, love notes, and whatever else you think would make their day special.

If you are a particularly thoughtful couple, offer your mate a day doing whatever service, ministry, or charity work that he/she has a special interest in. Have lunch together and then spend the day helping to make Valentine’s Day a warm and wonderful experience for others.

That’s why the upcoming FREE Small Business Tax Update Seminar on February 16th will be of great value to our local business community. The seminar will be held at the Westlake Library from 3-5pm on that Tuesday.

Bring your questions and join the discussion with tax expert, Ken Copeland, CPA.Ken is Director of Economic Development for Longwood University and Adjunct Professor of Accounting in the College of Business and Economics. Learn about recent tax changes, as well as cautionary tips, that may benefit your business.

Limited seating is available so please register by e-mailing Annette Stamus at annette@visitsmithmountainlake.com.

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

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/