Thoughts and Reflections on Coexistence, Gratitude, and Thanksgiving

A few fun thoughts and a few reflections for your consideration and enjoyment.

·       Coexistence:  what the farmer does with the turkey - until Thanksgiving. ~ Mike Connolly

·         As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

·         An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. ~Irv Kupcinet

·         Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ~Theodore Roosevelt

·      Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way. ~Native American Saying

·         He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."  ~ Epictetus

·         Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty.  ~Michael Dresser

·         A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. ~Cicero

·         To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. ~Johannes A. Gaertner

·         Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting. ~ Author Unknown

·         Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday.  People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year.  And then discover once a year is way too often. ~Johnny Carson

Thanks for your partnership, support and kindness. 

Dwell in the possibilities of thanks and gratitude.

Cindy

Roadside Treasures and a Rattlesnake

Recently, Walt and I took a trip to Angel Fire, New Mexico for rest and relaxation.  We met our goal and spent a lot of time napping, reading and enjoying the beautiful surroundings.  This trip also had its share of adventures and good stories, one of which is today’s subjec

Driving back from Angel Fire, I noticed lots of tumbleweeds blowing across the road.  Being from the Texas Panhandle, I’ve been around tumbleweeds all my life and I have always found them interesting

Since I am always looking for “out of the box” materials to use in my work, I decided to brave the 50 mph winds and pick up a few.  While gathering tumbleweeds, we noticed the dried yucca plumes that dotted the roadside.  Their substantial wood stalks and pods would make great winter arrangements.  So, I was back out there picking the pods.

We had a few spare inches of room in our SUV as we drove away.  We found another patch of really pretty dried yucca pods and decided to stop for a few more.

As I exited the car, I heard a noise at my feet.  After a few seconds, I realized it was a rattlesnake – recoiling and ready to strike.  I ran up the road out of harm’s way and Walt picked me up.  We drove back and took the attached picture of the snake that continued to rattle and threaten. 

I was extremely lucky to avoid a dangerous snakebite as well as to gather great staging and decorating finds.  Once again, I found possibilities in unusual places.

Dwell in possibilities but watch out for the snakes!!

Cindy

Weekend Treat – Tulsa’s AARP Award, Cave Painting, Instant Karma, Six Tips for Faking It and More

Our weekend treat includes some interesting news and information, tips and quotes that I discovered along the way this week.  I thought you might enjoy them and maybe even learn something.  The possibilities are endless!!

·       Tulsa was selected by AARP as one of this year’s 10 Affordable Cities for Retirement.  “Tulsans delight in how their city surprises outsiders — it's a small-city jewel, with an impressive art deco district downtown, first-rate art museums and plentiful green spaces.”  Read more about why Tulsa was selected as well as what they liked about the other nine cities (such as Winchester, VA, Portland, ME, and Gainesville, GA) at http://www.aarp.org/home-garden/livable-communities/info-07-2011/affordable-cities.html

·        The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces. (Will Rogers)

·         In any two days, human beings create as much information online as it took our species to create in 30,000 years between the dawn of cave painting and the year 2003.  In another 10 years, that same amount of information will be generated in less than one hour.  (Reuters.com)

·        Instant karma, after Victor Giesbrecht, 61, stopped on a Wisconsin highway to help a stranger, Sara Berg, change a tire. After he drove off, Giesbrecht suffered a heart attack; Berg then stopped her car, and saved his life by performing CPR. (The Week)

·        We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. (Cynthia Ozick)

·        Forget a Name? Six Tips for Faking It – Gretchen Rubin has trouble remembering names.  “So I've developed some strategies for coping with the fact that I'm not able to pull up a person's name right away. Of course, you can always just say politely, "I'm sorry, I don't recall your name," but if you'd rather try to disguise your forgetfulness.”  To learn more about her tips, check out Gretchen’s article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gretchen-rubin/remembering-names-tricks_b_1097518.html?ref=healthy-living

Remember to dwell in possibilities but be sure to have fun doing so!!

Cindy

Make It Look Like a Million Dollars!

Regular readers of “to be continued” as well as each and every one of my Realtor partners know that I love a good challenge.  A good challenge fuels my creativity.  It kick starts my desire to overachieve and over-deliver.  It also requires teamwork with the home owners, Realtor and home stager. 

Today’s “to be continued” Feature Home had the perfect challenge from my Realtor partner with this 87^th and Harvard area listing.  “I want this house to look like a million dollars after it is staged!”  Some challenges involve transforming frumpy into fresh but not in this case. I was challenged with giving energy and flow to a wonderful house and location.

After my initial consultation with the home owners, I left them “homework” to complete before our staging date.  This professional couple earned an “A” for their assignment.  For example, Ms. Home Owner purchased absolutely luscious new bedding for the Master Bedroom! 

Then, the fun began.  Working mostly with their lovely furniture and exquisite accessories, we spent the day staging our vision to show off this wonderful house.  We brought in some key pieces of furniture and accessories and worked on the flow and focal points of this wonderful house.   As you can see from the accompanying photos, we succeeded in turning our “million dollar” vision into a reality.

A challenge of home staging is that the home owner does not always buy into the stager’s and/or Realtor’s vision.  As we have stated many times in this blog, putting your house on the market is a very emotional experience.

Typically, I hear from the home owner client the same day after staging their house.  In this instance, I did not hear from my professional couple clients before going to bed – so I began to worry that they did not like what I did to their house.

Imagine my surprise and delight (and pride) the next morning when I received the following late night email note.

Cindy

Our house is beautiful . . . . I arrived home from work just before 10pm & have spent the last hour saying "wow" and taking a million pictures, so that I might recreate this every day! I will speak with you tomorrow about details, but I love the house. Thank you so much! I know it will sell now, and I am going to entertain until it does! Who knows, perhaps I'll help us generate more interest!

Fondly,

Ms. Homeowner

PS. Mr. Homeowner loves it as well!

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Blueprint for a New American Home

Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an interesting article, Blueprint for a New American Home, about home buyers and home owners shifting attitudes toward “more practical features and away from the aspirational”. 

The author points out that “the new styles are showing up in the relatively few new homes under construction as well as in the remodeling of older homes. More people are renovating as they stay put longer.”

The shift in attitudes and possibilities includes:

·         Grand Foyer to “Drop Zones”

·         Breakfast Nook to Outdoor Living Space

·         Dad’s Office to Lifestyle Center

·         Formal Living Rooms to Open Family Rooms

Read the full WSJ article Blueprint for a New American Home at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204644504576651152960249150.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews   Make sure to check out the accompanying slide show photos for examples of the shifting attitudes and possibilities.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy