Those who replied gave me uplifting comments that told me they like what I am doing. Of course, if there was no reply, I don't know if it's because you don't read my blog, if you felt you had nothing to complain about, or if you just didn't have time to reply.
So, let me state again -- your comments, critiques and criticisms are always welcome!
Fall seems to have arrived very quickly. As I write this, it is raining, but the sun is also shining. There should be a rainbow out there somewhere. It's kind of like that in the real estate market. There aren't as many sales as we would like to see, and lots of listings on the market, but there are people out there looking, and even making decisions to buy.
And why wouldn't they? Prices have come down a bit, interest rates are still incredibly good (e.g. 3.79% fixed rate, 5 year term) and there is a good selection of homes to choose from.
I'll have the quarterly statistics available next month.
Do You Know A Buyer For This Home?
This is a beautiful family home, with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, family room and office. It also has the most amazing "hobby room" on the basement level, with an almost unbelievable collection. Check out additional photos and full details on the web-site at: Feature Home This is an executive style home, priced at $685,000.
Many of you know that every September I help to organize a bike ride through our church. This ride takes place over 2 days, and covers 224 kilometers (140 miles). Here I am on Saturday, just outside of Kaslo. You can tell that it's not very warm, but at least on Saturday we didn't get wet. That was not the case on Sunday, but still we all had a great time, and everyone returned home safely. Thanks go out to the many volunteers who look after us on the ride, and make it possible for this to occur each year!
After a long day's ride we gathered in the park at New Denver for dinner and an evening presentation. Sometimes, this includes me singing (except on those years when we can convince someone good to come along).
Since most of the riders on this journey are from the U.S., when I am in charge of the entertainment, I try to add some Canadian culture to the evening. This year, since we finished dinner early, I had opportunity to do two songs (some people may have regretted that, but most were very polite). The first one is called Canada's Really Big by the Arrogant Worms.
The second song I chose is by a Canadian legend, named Ian Tyson. I chose this song specifically because Ian was going to be in Nelson the next weekend, and, in fact, Dorothy and I attended his concert at the Capitol Theatre last Friday evening. He is older now, not too steady on his feet, and has arthritis in his hands. Still, he tells a great story, and has written many popular ballads. We enjoyed the concert thoroughly, and he closed his set with Four Strong Winds.
To The Rescue!
One dark night outside a small town, a fire started inside the local chemical plant. Before long it exploded into flames and an alarm went out to fire departments from miles around. After fighting the fire for over an hour, the chemical company president approached the fire chief and said, "All of our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of the plant. They must be saved! I will give $50,000 to the engine company that brings them out safely!"
As soon as the chief heard this, he ordered the firemen to strengthen their attack on the blaze. After two more hours of attacking the fire, president of the company offered $100,000 to the engine company that could bring out the company's secret files. From the distance a long siren was heard as another fire truck came into sight. It was a local volunteer fire company composed entirely of men over 65. To everyone's amazement the little fire engine raced through the chemical plant gates and drove straight into the middle of the inferno. In the distance the other firemen watched as the old timers hopped off of their rig and began to fight the fire with an effort that they had never seen before.
After an hour of intense fighting the volunteer company had extinguished the fire and saved the secret formulas. Joyous the chemical company president announced that he would double the reward to $200,000 and walked over to personally thank each of the volunteers. After thanking each of the old men individually the president asked the group what they intended to do with the reward money. The fire truck driver looked him right in the eye and said, "The first thing we're going to do is fix the stupid brakes on that truck!"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for This Joke*
Last month I spoke about doing a different type of blog, and doing it more frequently. Most who replied said that they enjoyed reading what I sent out, and I certainly appreciate that. So, this "newsletter" style of blog will continue. However, I have also begun writing a weekly blog, through a new network in the Nelson area called "inthekoots.com". In it, I cover a specific topic. If you're interested you can check that one out at http://nelsonrealestate.inthekoots.com/ Once again, you need to have a google account to post comments on line, but I will be pleased to receive them by e-mail if you prefer to communicate that way. If you have suggestions for topics, I'm happy to hear about them. There have been 4 different articles written to date. You can also "subscribe" to this blog, and be notified when there is a new post.
Thanks for reading!
Lorne & Drew
