Less Than 40 Shopping Days Left . . . .

I know you didn't want to hear that, but it's true! So, now we're asking "where did 2011 go?" I have a theory about why time seems to go much faster now, and it has nothing to do with technology. It's simply a matter of age. When you were 4 years old the time elapsed from one Christmas to the next was a quarter of your life. That's 25%. If you are 50, that time is reduced to only 2%. That is less than 1/10th of the time from when you were 4. The bad news is that the older we get, the faster these intervals will come around. That's a good thing if you love Christmas (or Valentine's Day, or Easter, or summer vacations, or Thanksgiving, or . . . . ), but not so good when it comes to paying income tax, renewing car insurance or getting an annual physical checkup!

Now that I have dared to mention Christmas, here is a link to a Realtor's blog post on marketing your home during the holiday season. 10 Reasons By the way, the author of the highlighted post is a RE/MAX Realtor in Garden Ridge, Texas.

Do You Know A Buyer For This Home?
This is an outstanding offering, over 24 acres of privacy with this delightful 2 bedroom log cabin. Also includes a 24 x 36 workshop. This serenity is offered at $399,900 and is located in the north end of the Slocan Valley. Check out additional photos, video and details here.

Please check out this short post by my associate, Russ Baillie, who sells for RE/MAX in the Chilliwack area. Canadian Real Estate on Solid Ground.

I have been busy sorting out calendars to deliver or mail out within the next few weeks. If you are reading this and would like to have a Norman Rockwell wall calendar, just send me an e-mail or phone me and I will be sure to get one out to you.

I'm very happy to report that I have received suggestions by 2 readers this month, both of whom are new contributors. I am happy to include both of these, and encourage you to keep these thoughts and ideas coming.

British Newspaper Article about Canada

This is a truly amazing article by Kevin Myers The Sunday Telegraph (London). Please share.

British newspaper salutes Canada . . . this is a good read. It is funny how it took someone in England to put it into words..... Salute to a brave and modest nation - Kevin Myers , 'The Sunday Telegraph' LONDON : Until the deaths of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan , probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops are deployed in the region. And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the rest of the world, as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does.. It seems that Canada 's historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored. Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again. That is the price Canada pays for sharing the North American continent with the United States , and for being a selfless friend of Britain in two global conflicts. For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions: It seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude it deserved. Yet its purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom in two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10% of Canada 's entire population of seven million people served in the armed forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle. Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect, it's unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular memory as somehow or other the work of the 'British.' The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone. Canada finished the war with the third-largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it had the previous time. Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign in which the United States had clearly not participated - a touching scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate Canadian identity. So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are Canadian. Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter, Mike Weir, Jim Carrey, Dan Aykroyd, etc. have, in the popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer, British. It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite unable to find any takers. Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided 10% of the world's peacekeeping forces. Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest peacekeepers on Earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia. Yet the only foreign engagement that has entered the popular non-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia , in which out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators.. Their regiment was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of self-abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no international credit. So who today in the United States knows about the stoic and selfless friendship its northern neighbour has given it in Afghanistan ? Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac , Canada repeatedly does honourable things for honourable motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost. This past year more grieving Canadian families knew that cost all too tragically well. Lest we forget. ********************* Please pass this on to any of your friends or relatives who served in the Canadian Forces or anyone who is proud to be Canadian; it is a wonderful tribute to those who choose to serve their country and the world in our quiet Canadian way.

And now for something completely different:

This seems appropriate at this time of year. And, apologies to all blondes. Football and the Blonde Of all the blonde jokes, this one has to be the best -- because it makes football make sense! A guy took his blonde girlfriend to her first football game. They had great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked it. "Oh, I really liked it," she replied, "especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents." Dumbfounded, her boyfriend asked, "What do you mean?" "Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept screaming was... 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!' I'm like...Helloooooo? It's only 25 cents!!!!"

So, with the Grey Cup football game happening in less than 2 weeks I hope you can smile at this, and cheer for our B.C. Lions!

This Saturday, November 19th is election day throughout British Columbia. Municipal, Regional District and School Board candidates are working hard to earn your vote. In Nelson there are all candidate meetings both tonight and tomorrow. Be informed. Be involved. Get out and vote on Saturday.

Wow. When I started this newsletter, I didn't know what I was going to say or include. It seems that I have come up with lots of info to share. If you would like more real estate information, please check out my business blog

Thanks for reading.

Happy Shopping.

Lorne & Drew