Last summer I heard the first rumor about a Target store opening up close by. Then in September we were stopping in Plattsburgh and came across the proposed site. Target has won over designers like Isaac Mizrahi, Mossimo, Erin Featherson and Victoria Hagan to create especially for them at budget prices. So those of you who love shopping there – it’s kind of like a trendier K-mart or Zellers – or those who have always wanted to, it will be only about an hour and a half away….

However, I cannot get anyone at Target to give me any indication of this. They normally open stores in March, July and October and this one is not on the March or July list as of yet. If anyone knows anything about this let me know so I can pass it on.

Headline: 73% of the fire deaths in Canada happened in residential fires

My interest in this came about after I talked to Michel Blanchard, owner of Air Elite, about dryer fires. I don’t use my dryer much and I make sure to clean the lint after each load. So I was feeling smug when he insisted on coming over to take mine apart to show me what accumulates. Imagine my surprise when he pulled out a lot of lint, and even a few pieces of burnt lint, from its innards.

The dryer had been less effective recently, and I found I had to put it on longer and longer to dry things, so I was thinking about getting a new one. After all, it had lasted twenty years. After his clean up, the dryer was good as new.

For safety’s sake, new Maytag dryers now have it written in their instruction booklet that you should have your dryers cleaned once a year. Besides fire prevention, cleaning the lint out of dryers will cause less overheating and thus less wear and tear on the motor, so they will last longer. Your clothing will also have less wear and tear if you have shorter drying times. Saving money is another reason to get your dryer cleaned out, as you will spend less on electricity if your machine runs for less time. Dryers are one of the costliest appliances in terms of electrical usage, because they heat up for a long time.

Blanchard said, “an easy way to tell if your dryer is running too hot is to put your hand in the middle of the top of your dryer while it is on.” The spot should not be hot. You should not have to run jeans through two cycles to get them dry either.
Besides, cleaning out dryers, this family has been in the installation business for 35 years, and does a great job on installing dishwashers, fridges, dryers, washers, air conditioners and vents. For the dryer cleaning service they suck the lint out of your dryer and the flexible hose and check the outside caps to make sure they are venting properly.
Phone: 450-689-8667

If you ever need some brain food, Poisonnerie La Mer, has a huge variety of fresh fish. This would be a good time of the year to try to evoke the sunshine and the sea. Head over for some well-priced fresh slurpy oysters. For here you can choose from a variety of at least twenty kinds and have some sort of a taste-off with your friends. Not in the mood for that? Pick some dry scallops, rock shrimp, abalone, razor clams, sea urchins, Dungeness crab or Canadian caviar. Hey,they smoke their own salmon.

Location: 1840 Rene Levesque Blvd. at Papineau Blvd.
Phone: 514-522-3003
Hours: Monday to Friday 9 am to 7 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 5 pm

Carpeting is made out of petroleum products and when we toss it out, it stays in landfills for decades. Shaw Industries has come out with recyclable carpeting called N-6 Evergreen Nylon by Anso. They stamp a phone number on the backing of the product. When you are ready to redecorate, you call them, they pick it up wherever you live in North America and ship it back to a plant in Georgia where it is recycled into pellets and made into new carpeting. One of the places in Montreal you can buy it is at the 70-year-old third generation company, Million Tapis et Tuiles. If you shop there, look for the many ends of rolls and ends-of-lines of regular carpeting and their prices are usually discounted.

Location: 15 Bernard Ave. East at Blvd. St. Laurent
Phone: 514-273-9983
For shop at home call 514-273-9983
Other locations: Laval, 175 Blvd. de la Concorde East (450-663-9870); Ville St-Pierre, 170 St. Jacques St. (514-365-1652). www.millioncarpets.com

Okay, the jig is up. I can finally tell you the best deal I have found for having your wedding – or any other major affair that might be coming up. There is a fairly new boutique-style hotel, Hotel Mortagne, in Boucherville which is oriented towards conventions – actually has a side wing for them. The hotel reception area and restaurant decor is very slick and zen-like done in black, white and taupe with red accents. There is an indoor restaurant with circular booths and a covered outdoor eating area with fireplace, bar and visible indoor pool.
They have started to court the wedding market as they have another elegant ballroom (besides the banquet wing) which could open or close sections depending on the number of guests or divide off a chunk if you are having the ceremony there too. There is a wow pie-shaped small reception room (called Pierre Boucher) with curved floor-to-ceiling glass which is perfect for a ceremony or a very small reception. You could also use the entire length of the banquet wing for a ceremony if you want a long long aisle to glide down.
The Wedding menu which includes an alcoholic punch, 3 courses and 2 glasses of wine starts at $45 INCLUDING taxes and tip!! There is a Menu 2 (4 courses) at $49, Menu 3 at $69 (5 courses including STEAK and the cutting of the cake) and Menu 4 at $89 (appetizers with the punch, a sparkling toast, 5 courses and 3 glasses of wine). The bride and groom are also given a spa-whirlpool room for their wedding night. Tell Annie I sent you.
Location: 1228 Nobel St, Boucherville
Phone: 450-655-8981 X 4114, ask for Annie Frappier or afrappier@hotelmortagne.com
www.hotelmortagne.com

The West Island must be shimming and shaking a lot because the 40-year old Danz store from midtown decided to set up shop there and calls it Movimento. It is one of the oldest and biggest dance supply houses in town. You can find it all here, whether it’s for ballet, flamenco, ballroom, hip hop, highland, yoga, aerobics or whatever. There’s shoes, bodywear, tights, leotards, point shoes in names you know: Danskin, Mirilla, Capezio, Mondar, Bloch, Sancha, Angelo Luzio, Bodywrappers, Harmony, etc. The staff has background in dance and are good at fitting. Other location: Danz (If you’re lucky, you might bump into a dancer from Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ballet Jazz or Ecole National de Ballet here), 920 Jean-Talon East. (514-271-6512)
Location: Movimento, 4307 Blvd. St-Jean
Phone (514-696-1212)
Hours: Regular

As it gets cooler, you it’s time to head indoors for flea market bargains. Boutiques Marcado has an easily laid out grid with about 200 vendors selling what these kind of markets offer: sox & undies, jeans, advertising signs, DVD’s, coats, games of chance, sunglasses, linens, jewelry & watches, kitchenware, sacs, dried flowers, wigs, shoes, audio/video. Sometimes there are door prizes or a clown for the kids.

Location: Brossard, 3565 boul. Taschereau
Corner: Charles
Tel: 514-875-5500 or 450-462-9792
Hours: Open all year, Thurs and Fri 10-9, Sat and Sun 9-5 p.m. marcado.ca

Just like those commercials of the Maytag repairman sitting and twiddling their thumbs because they have less work to do, this month and February is the slow season for service people. You can get a better deal on interior painting, floor sanding, window cleaning, and wall washing, etc. right now because they need the work. You can also negotiate great discounts on renovating kitchens and bathrooms or carpet and and upholstery cleaning. The best part of using these handy people now is that you won’t have to share them with others. You will get your whole job done without them running from customer to customer trying to keep everyone happy.

Online, from Fashiontribes Daily on Podcaster News by Lesley Scott I learned of near-religious fanaticism about a kind of denim – selvedge or selvage – which is quite expensive and seems to have originally been made in Japan. Also that die hard denim freaks never wash their jeans – they just sprinkle some baking soda on them then store the jeans in the freezer until they are fresh again. This way, you never have to worry about your favorites being in the wash.

I looked into selvage which refers to denim that has been woven on a shuttle loom. The fabric produced on a shuttle loom is significantly narrower than a projectile (wide) loom and it requires more cotton to make and more time too. The narrow looms produces fading patterns unique to each pair of jeans and the denim is regarded by some fanatics as superior in terms of durability and texture. In selvage jeans, you will see the actual edge of the fabric where the weaving stops and is finished by the loom, as opposed to denim woven on a projectile loom, where the fabric has been cut off at the ends. Others say that selvage has no effect on durability, nor texture which is determined by weight and weave. Perhaps it is simply the way the denim fabric is finished at the edge with a coloured yarn on the loom that makes a stitch-like look that perhaps adds to the cool factor.

Biltmore, www.biltmore.com is in my book because you can order made-to-measure couches here. The couch can also hide a bed inside it. This time through though, I found (actually didn’’t find as it was hidden), that they have invented a long hassock (so comfy to put your feet up on when you watch a movie or TV) which when flipped open has a double or queen size bed inside. If you are expecting company this year, maybe this is a perfect space-saving, useful decorating idea for you. They also make slip covers to save your couch from those wine and food spills at a party.
Location: 4419 Boul. St-Laurent at Marie Anne St.
Phone: 514-288-SOFA
Hours: Regular plus Sunday 12-5.