Hot August Nights

Well, the days have been nice and warm, but we haven't had hot temperatures overnight, which is quite pleasant. Once the sun goes down, the heat dissipates.

Our rhododendron was late to bloom this year, but when it did it was spectacular.

We got the tent trailer out and went on a short road trip last month. We attended a family reunion at Oliver. Dorothy's family is of Mennonite background, so we always have a shared meal during these events. Here is a shot taken just before we devoured this table-full of delicious food. Lots of eating, lots of stories told and lots of games played (yes, Mennonites sometimes even play cards!)


Of course, since this was occurring on the Canada Day weekend, we had to show our national pride. My daughter, Yvonne, provided the "tattoos" that we all sported.



There is so much going on in our community that you just can't do it all. As you may know, one of my passions is bicycling. For the past 6 years I have helped out with a fund-raising ride, with the proceeds going to the Our Daily Bread hot meal program in Nelson. This year there were about 40 of us who participated in a 1 day ride, where we were transported west along Highway 3. We were dropped off just east of the Paulson Bridge, traveled down the Paulson Detour Road to where it intersects with the old Canadian Pacific line, which is now a recreational trail. Where we join the trail is close to the summit, so there is very little uphill riding, and what there is is a rail grade. From the summit we head down the line to Castlegar. There are tunnels, trestles and incredible scenery to enjoy. It is about 53 kilometres from start to finish.
This shot was taken near the end of the ride. Our youngest rider, along with her family, had ridden the entire trip. She is 9 years old!
The Miracle of Life! At the top of one of the columns on our front porch we noticed that a pair of birds had built a nest. Before long they were being very protective of that area, as their chicks had hatched. I took this photo on the 30th of July. If you look closely you'll see 3 chicks packed into this little nest. Within a few more days they had flown away (we didn't see that event) and now the nest is abandoned.


I know that it has been a while since I last posted a newsletter. This is supposed to be a monthly letter, not quarterly! However, if you are looking for statistics on Nelson Real Estate sales for this year, I invite you to check out our "other" blog site at: Nelson Real Estate In The Koots.


Do You Know a Buyer For This Home?

Located on a compact lot, close to downtown, this 2 bedroom home is neat as a pin, and has a fantastic garden.
If you thought that home ownership was not within your grasp, give us a call for assistance in qualifying for a mortgage. This home makes great sense for a single person, a couple starting out, or even as a retirement home (there are a few stairs to access the home). Further details can be found at out web-site 2 bedroom starter home. Priced at $239,000


Can I interest you in a 2 day bike ride? We leave Nelson on September 10th, travel to Kaslo for lunch, then over to New Denver where we'll spend the night. Day 2 will bring us back to Nelson via Highway 6, the Slocan Valley highway, following the Slocan River and then along the Kootenay River back into Nelson. There's lots of support along the way, wonderful scenic views, encouragement and new friends to be found. You can find out more here. Oh, yes, we'll feed you, too.

We can't end this newsletter without at least a little humour. This one came from a friend in Kelowna and it certainly made me smile:

FAMILY TREE OF VINCENT VAN GOGH


His dizzy aunt ----------------------------------------------- Verti Gogh

The brother who ate prunes------------------------------- Gotta Gogh

The brother who worked at a convenience store ------ Stop N Gogh

The grandfather from Yugoslavia ----------------------------- U Gogh

His magician uncle -------------------------------- Where-diddy Gogh

His Mexican cousin ---------------------------------------- A Mee Gogh

The Mexican cousin's American half-brother ------------ Gring Gogh

The nephew who drove a stage coach --------------- Wells-far Gogh

The constipated uncle ------------------------------------- Can't Gogh

The ballroom dancing aunt -------------------------------- Tang Gogh

The bird lover uncle -------------------------------------- Flamin Gogh

The fruit- loving cousin -------------------------------------- Man Gogh

An aunt who taught positive thinking ------------------ Way-to-Gogh

The little bouncy nephew ----------------------------------- Poe Gogh

A sister who loved disco -------------------------------------- Go Gogh

And his niece who travels the country in an RV --- Winnie Bay Gogh


I saw you smiling . . . there ya Gogh!

Are you on Facebook? If so, this article, also provided to me by a Realtor friend in the Fraser Valley (thanks, Bob!) may interest you. If you don't have a Facebook account, I suggest you just skip over this article:

With over 750 million active users, Facebook is the communication medium of today. I came across this article about protecting your email address from third party apps on Facebook and thought that I would share it with you. Also, this would be great to share with your clients as well as I am sure that they are concerned about the security of their e-mail address as well.

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Protect Your Email Address from Facebook Apps
Here's a tip to help protect your privacy on Facebook.

Ever wondered what's happening with your email address when you share it with 3rd party applications on Facebook? Can you trust them with it? Will you get more spam?

Little do most people know, you can actually prevent third party applications from using your real email address with a little help from Facebook.

According to this brief piece from LifeHacker, "If you'd like to keep your email private, you can actually have Facebook create a temporary forwarding email just for apps."

Instructions for how to change the setting are available here:

(Even if you're not concerned about it personally, this little tip can be shared with your clients to show them you're looking out for their interests.)

One last scenery shot that I want to share with you. Last Sunday morning (July 31st) I was part of the team that went out to sweep the edge of the highway in preparation for the triathlon that day. It's really not that big a job - a sweeper had passed over the road surface in the days before the event, but it gets one up early enough to enjoy the sunrise. This was taken at 6 Mile along the North Shore.


I'm not certain, but I think that is a beaver swimming at the front of the photo.

Your comments and feedback are always welcome. Thanks for reading.

Lorne & Drew