Just for fun…

Ready for a little chuckle?  This guy redefines “pushy real estate agent.”
(I promise this won’t happen when we go looking!)

Well, maybe that is a big first step.  But it is true indeed that one persons junk is another persons’ treasure.
A few years ago, we had a yard sale and among other things, there was an old iron bed headboard.  The lady who bought it told me she was going to give it a fresh coat of black paint and it would become a garden gate.  What a great idea!

Now, I am the least creative person I know when it comes to decorating ideas.  If it weren’t for my friends, I can’t imagine what our home might look like.  But somehow over the years, we’ve been able to create a nest that we think is cozy and beautiful without spending much.  Believe it or not, after over 30 years of home ownership, we don’t own any new furniture.  Even our bed was a wedding gift!  Recently it occurred to be that the golden pine cannonballs were very “retro” now but in need of some updating.  Rather than buy our first bed, we shipped it off for refinishing (with VOC-free paint of course) and voila – the now linen-cream coloured posts and frame look new and chic.

We had an old chair that was SOOOO comfy but sadly, the stuffing didn’t survive our kids teen years.  Rather than cart if off to become land-fill, we had it recovered and it’s gorgeous if I say so myself.  We splurged on exquisite quality upholstery when Three Herons had a sale on downtown and now, it sits proudly in our living room as a focal point of the room.

We have a lamp made out of an old knitting spool.  In one house I sold, the headboard of their frameless bed was made of a piece of driftwood with small glass vases affixed for dried flowers.  I’ve seen framed children’s art that look like gallery pieces.

When it comes to home decorating, I’m trying harder to see what I can alter, reclaim, adapt and reuse before rushing out to buy new.  How about you?

I was reading a column in the local paper written by Canadas most decorated citizen,  Richard Rohmer.   He does a wonderful job of summarizing why Collingwood is THE finest community perhaps in all of Ontario.  Please read it, it gives a great snapshot of what’s happening in our fair town.

Anyway, I then got thinking about the number of famous people who live or have lived in South Georgian Bay.  People like hockey legend  Jason Arnott, and  Susan Clark from the TV show,  Webster.  We sadly just lost Opera Singer and Actor, Jan Rubes.   For Better or For Worse cartoonist,  Lynn Johnston was born here.  Add to the list, world figure skating champion and motivational speaker, Barbara Underhill and, musician and Juno winner Kim Mitchell  (Some time I’ll have to tell you the story about walking in on him by accident).  Of course we are also home to now famous, Canadian Idol finalist Drew Wright and Juno nominees, Midway State.

There are countless other musicians, celebrities, sports figures, business tycoons, senators and politicians who call South Georgian Bay their home or second home. You’d be stunned by some of the world figures who are currently looking for property in the area.   I think Mr. Rohmer has it right when he says, “This is some great place to live.”

Through another blog site  that I participate in, I’ve had the good fortune of getting to know a number of other REALTORS® from across the country.  One of those is Kathy Clulow from RE/MAX Scugog Realty in Uxbridge, Ontario. 

Kathy and her hubby, Barrie vacation in the Collingwood – Blue Mountain area each year and recently made time for lunch with yours truly.  I always learn something from our conversations and very much enjoy the time spent together.

Kathy shared a few photo’s with me from their recent trip.  The first was taken at Northwinds Beach in Craigleith which is known as the home of board sailing.  She captured a kite boarder in mid-flight:

The second shot here is a remarkable capture of the Inukshuk at Sunset Point Park in Collingwood at sunset:

Isn’t it awesome!  Thanks Kathy and I look forward to seeing you both again soon.

The view from the air is so different than what we sense on the ground.

I recall flying over the Georgian Triangle in a small plane a few years ago and being simply amazed at what I saw.  The shoreline looks like something you’d see in a travel brochure.  There is FAR more undeveloped land than I realized before and, many inland waterways I had never really noticed.  Since I can’t take you up on a flight at the moment, here’s a photo taken by one of Chris’s relatives this spring from the top of Blue:

I once had a client who, after six months of living in South Georgian Bay, told me that her biggest problem was that there was too much fun stuff to do!
 
It’s true.  There is nary a day that goes by that there is not something interesting to participate in or enjoy.  While I could never keep up with sharing all the opportunities, a few upcoming events did catch my eye.

March 31st

My friend Harry from Zencha Tea Bar is now in charge of Tuesday night events for the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts.  He sent an email today to let me know about an awesome event tomorrow night:

Just a quick shout out to let you know of a terrific event happening on Tuesday, March 31, starting at 7:30 p.m.. YOUNG AND ROCKIN is a celebration of our young musical talents. Four handpicked musicians high school age and younger will each be performing at this free event, to take place at the BMFA Arts Centre, 163 Hurontario Street (across from zencha tea bar).  These young up-and-comers are being asked to both educate and entertain, to talk about their relationship to music and to a career in music, and to regale the audience with their musical prowess.  Please come out and help support our young talent!

April 1st
According to the folks at Espresso Post,  spring WILL absolutely begin in Collingwood on April 1st.  Here’s an email I got from them the other day:

To all friends of Espresso Post…

Rain  Shine  Snow  Sleet  Hail
When it’s April 1st we all know what:

THE PATIO IS OPEN!  SPRING-TIME IS NEAR!

Join in on the official kickoff to spring in Collingwood on the front patio of Espresso Post on Wednesday April 1st.  We will be offering free espresso shots from 10am – noon.

The Town Crier will be making the official announcement at 10:30am sharp directly followed by three cheers and an espresso toast!  Feel free to bring musical instruments, grass skirts, funny shirts, wool sweaters, snowmobile suits (you never know what the temperature will be).

If you can’t make it for the Town Crier at 10:30 am, we are accepting full-size cardboard cutouts if you have one handy.

So, you can see why I can’t resist sharing this.  Besides, they have the BEST coffee, bar none, in Collingwood.

April 29th and 30th
Our own Canadian Idol, Drew Wright, will be performing at the Gayety Theatre in downtown Collingwood on April 29th and 30th. He will be playing with his new band called Fall and Divide. Ticket prices are $29.99 for the show or, $44.99 if you’d like to stay for a meet and greet afterwards.  Every ticket holder get’s a free 5 song demo CD from the band that will be ready for pick up at the show.  Collingwood has shown Drew much love and you can join in too.  Tickets are available at Gabriele Photography at 133 Hurontario Street in downtown Collingwood.

May 16th and 30th
Thirdly, there are two events coming up in may that I just can’t wait to attend!  On Saturday, May 16th, you can enjoy an evening of song and dialogue celebrating our Planet Earth. As part of the Georgian Triangle Earth Days Celebrations, this event will feature The Nylons and Green party Leader, Elizabeth May.  On May 30th, the same group will feature Author, Thomas Homer-Dixon who wrote such books as The Carbon Shift, The Ingenuity Gap and one of my favourites of all time – The Upside of Down.  Personally, I wish everyone in the world would read these three books.  Details of these events can be found here.

So this post has nothing to do with real estate really. 
It’s about my son and about the internet.  Hey, it’s my day off so I figure I can divert a little, can’t I?

My wee boy is 20 years old now and he has to bend down to kiss me.  Despite his young age, he’s a business whiz specializing in internet marketing.  He has his own company and among other things, like going to school full-time, he also writes a blog like his Mommy.

Well, I was shocked yesterday to read his latest post in which he reveals just how limited my internet skills are!  If I didn’t subscribe to his posts, I fear I would never have known. 

Do me a favour if you will.  Go visit his blog  and tell him he’s right – he should always listen to his mother.  Thanks.

We interrupt his blog to bring you a little shameless self-promotion.

First, let us say that we love most of our fellow REALTORS® around here.  They are a good bunch.  But this is not about them (sorry guys).

For a few years now, we’ve been working hard to keep you in-the-know about everything to do with Collingwood and Blue Mountain real estate or otherwise.  We’ve gone on ad nauseam about why you should use a REALTOR®. 

Now, we present to you more reasons why you should use us, Marg and Chris, as your REALTORS® of choice in the Collingwood and Blue Mountain area.

o Professionally speaking, we have more than 35 years of real estate business experience under our stylish, but tasteful belts.

o We’re not one-trick ponies:  we’ve both enjoyed other careers in social work, banking, exporting, manufacturing, investments, administration and health.

o We do our homework:  we read, we listen, we absorb, we go to class, we research and we share.  Oh, and we save everything!

o We’ve been through recessions, downturns, being laid off or having quit; been turned down, and we’ve been approved; we’ve seen success, and worried about failure, invested and lost, and invested and won!

o We google, oodle, twitter, blog, text, feed and kijiji.  Can you digg it?

o We’re chatty in many languages:  English, German, a little French, a little Spanish, pig-Latin and lots of Real-Estate-Lingo are spoken in our office. 

o We’ve lived to tell the tale… between us, we’ve lived through marriage, separation, divorce, being single; being a Mom, a Dad, a sister, an aunt and a cousin, being gifted, acting stupid; being jilted, being broke, sending kids to college and university; losing parents and close family members, losing on the stock market, having accidents in cars and in our pants, being embarrassed and being proud, yelled too much, yelled too little, praised when we shouldn’t have, gained weight, lost weight, survived heart attacks and breast surgery and loved with all of our hearts (which are located deep inside our bodies.)

What we’re trying to say is, we’ve been through a lot between the two of us, so we can commiserate, empathize, sympathize and help, whenever you need our advice or expertise.  No matter what the event, it’s very likely that we’ve been there too, so you don’t have to feel alone when you’re dealing with life’s ups and downs.

Nuff said. 

Related Posts:

REALTOR® Code of Ethics 
How Do You Chose a Real Estate Agent?

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!