Lifestyle

0 Have your say Scotland’s property market has soared to an 11-year high ahead of Brexit, research indicates. Property transactions worth more than £8 billion were recorded between January and June this year, the best for this six-month period since 2008, according to Aberdein Considine’s quarterly property monitor. High sales in the second quarter, from April to June, have been credited with driving the trend.A total of 25,806 sales concluded in these three months, up just under 1,000 – or four per cent – on the same period last year. The additional activity pushed the average price of a Scottish home up 1.6 per cent to £172,189, despite the market stalling elsewhere in the UK.Edinburgh remains the most expensive place in Scotland to buy a home, with the average cost at £264,943.The capital is followed by East Lothian, where prices have risen by 15.2 per cent to £260,399 – the largest increase … [Read more...] about Scotland’s property market reaches 11-year high ahead of Brexit

In Colorado’s outdoors, it’s always good to have a plan. But at Waterton Canyon, you don’t necessarily need one, and that’s what makes the recreation area so popular for Denverites and tourists alike. However short on time, one can lace up the running shoes or hop on a bike and snag satisfying exercise and scenery. Others enter the South Platte River-carved canyon with waders and fly rods. A wide, dirt road parallels the stream — a busy thoroughfare indeed, suitable for families with strollers, too.Denver Water trucks also occasionally join the road, which spans a mostly flat 6 1/2 miles to the Strontia Springs Dam. The end sight is the cascade falling 243 feet to a hard-to-access reservoir. But even if you have to turn back before then — we did on this trip, due to weather — you’ll still be spoiled by glorious granite and refreshing stops along the river. You might even be treated, as we were, with bighorn sheep.From the parking lot, … [Read more...] about Happy Trails: Waterton Canyon a Denver hub of adventure

Steamboat Springs resident Julie Hagenbuch was in Los Angeles when she came by what looked to be a parking meter — except it wasn’t. It was taking donations for the homeless.Hagenbuch’s mind went to her beloved natural places back home. She went to Helen Beall, the community impact manager for the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, which had launched an endowment to meet northwest Colorado’s demand for trail maintenance.How about “trail meters?”“I kept coming up with, ‘we can’t do this, because of the capacity of the foundation,’” Beall recalled.The foundation couldn’t keep emptying change. So the idea was hatched for a credit card-only operation, taking a minimum $5 donation.A local company offered to install the meters for free, a trail runner working as a designer offered to come up with an attractive look, the City Council gave the OK. And since the end of June, 10 meters have been posted around Steamboat, … [Read more...] about Could more ‘trail meters’ take root in Colorado’s outdoors?

Music/Stage/ArtTHROUGH SATURDAY”How Do You See God?” Exhibit — Academy Art & Frame Co., 7560 N. Academy Blvd.; tinyurl.com/y3ng6432.SEPT. 7Ravi Zacharias and Dennis Prager — Hosted by Summit Ministries, 7 p.m., Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave., $10-$60; pikespeakcenter.com.SEPT. 15”Once Upon a Castle” Organ Spectacular — With the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, 2:30-4:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 420 N. Nevada Ave., $10-$30; chamberorchestraofthesprings.org.Classes/WorkshopSEPT. 29Woman’s Story Program — The Ladder of the Beatitudes Rung by Rung, 1:30-3:30 p.m., St. Francis of Assisi Parish Ministry Center, 2650 Parish View. Registration: 1-808-223-7214.Conferences/RetreatsOCT. 14-16The First New Testament: Paul and the Earliest Gospel Traditions — La Foret Conference Center, 6145 Shoup Road, $150-$290. Registration: laforet.org/events.MiscellaneousSEPT. 8115th Anniversary Historic Celebration — … [Read more...] about Colorado Springs area religious events starting Aug. 25

Home & Garden CalendarSEPT. 7Rose Show — 1-5 p.m., The Peel House, 1515 N. Cascade Ave., free; pikespeakrosesociety.org.SEPT. 9Children’s Garden Ribbon Cutting — 10-11 a.m., Monument Valley Park, HAS Demonstration Garden, 222 Mesa Road; hasgardens.org.SEPT. 13-14Horticultural Art Society Allium and Daffodil Bulb Sale — 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 13, HAS Cottage, 224 Mesa Road, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 14, Heritage Garden, 1117 Glen Ave.; hasgardens.org.SEPT. 20-22Fall Home Show — Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St., Denver, $8-$10; coloradogarden foundation.org.Email information at least two weeks in advance: [email protected] … [Read more...] about Colorado Springs area home and garden events starting Aug. 24