About North, AB

Silent Auction and Benefit for Daniel



On Christmas night 2008, Daniel was flown by air ambulance to the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton. Just 14 years old, Daniel was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). The current treatment protocol for children with ALL involves chemotherapy and several different drugs or combinations of drugs delivered over three years. It also involves ongoing testing and evaluation at the Stollery.

Daniel is the oldest of three children. His parents are currently going through a divorce and his mother is the primary custodial parent. She is a freelance writer.

The family is enduring the enormous stress of coming to terms with a childhood cancer. The emotional and logistical burden is heavy, and is compounded by huge financial stress. Because they have to travel to and from the city and take up residence in Edmonton during this initial course of treatment, their out-of-pocket expenses are very high.

Friends and family in the hometown of Beaverlodge are coming together, preparing a Benefit Dance and Silent Auction in Daniel's honour. It is our hope that by easing the financial stress, we can give this family one less thing to worry about. We hope it will allow them to focus more clearly on the most important factor of all - Daniel's wellness.

This beautiful quilt will be donated to the Silent Auction by Matt and Bradie Sparrow. Their creative genius and hours of hard work are very much appreciated by Daniel and his family.

The Benefit and Silent Auction will take place in Beaverlodge on Saturday, March 13. For more information or to make a donation, please call Sandy Arndt at 780-429-5214.

This information was reprinted with permission from my friend Bradie Sparrow for the benefit of Daniel.

Low-Cost Tips to Get your Home Ready for the Holidays
It's that time of the year again and even though getting your home ready for the holidays can seem like a chore, it doesn't have to be. Fortunately, it doesn't even have to take up much time or money, either. You can do it in a few easy steps. Just get in the mood to be creative.

Add colour and texture
Simply displaying some richly coloured pillows or throws in any room can give the room a different feel. Choose warm and spicy colors, or maybe something with mirror work to catch the light and add to the glowing effect and sparkle of the holiday season.

Neutrals, metallic and peacock shades are the hot holiday hues of 2008, so don't feel like you have to stick with the traditional red, green and white schemes.

Artwork, throws and mirrors can also add a new splash to the walls.

Spread some warmth
Changing the shades on your lamps to warm coloured ones can make the light appear richer. By lighting candles in holiday scents - ensuring, of course, they're displayed in safe areas away from flammable objects - your room can take on a warm glow.

Revamping or creatively using what you already own can also create lush looks in leaner economic times. For instance, filling a clear glass bowl or vase with ornaments of a single bright colour can make for an eye-catching display.

Another trick that makes for a pleasing display that is kind to the wallet involves bringing in some evergreen cuttings and using ribbon or other household items to dress them up. And you can make old wreaths look new by attaching fake berries, sprigs or pine cones.

You can also refresh your old decorations by dressing them up with paint or glitter.

Make it cozy
There's no better time than the present to get started on your holiday cleaning. If you rid your rooms of clutter, especially those catch-all coffee tables and kitchen counters, your home will seem much more inviting.

Piles of junk mail, unfiled bills and magazines not only look messy, but can also interfere with your cleaning efforts. It's much easier, and faster, to dust a clear surface than to clean around three months' worth of the latest decorating magazines and some early Christmas cards.

To eliminate - and prevent - clutter, everything should have a designated space. Magazines, for instance, can be placed in a bin under the coffee table, while children's art can be stored in a chest or accordion-style folder.

And to encourage an even more inviting atmosphere, think about arranging your furniture in conversation groups. You have to move the furniture anyway in order to get rid of those dust bunnies, so why not try arranging them in a fresh, new manner?

We have gone from listing and selling within a week or two, to actually having some inventory for the Buyers to look at. For the last six months the number of listing has grown. The largest increase in the number of homes has come in the month of October with over 181 new listings. The Average price for a family home in Fort McMurray, Alberta has remain stable at $650,000 through most of the summer and fall.

Timberlea Fort McMurray remain the hottest Real Estate area in Fort McMurray with over 825 listings to date this year and sales of 512 units. Timberlea is the fastest growing new area in the city. Timberlea has a mix of starter and move up homes ranging in price from $520,000 to $1.5 Million. Timberlea also has a great mix of multi-family units ranging in price from $400,000 to $650,000.

For complete up to date market information in the Fort McMurray area please visit www.mcmurraysbesthomes.com or call Patrick Dardis at 780 215 7355

A friend Gary Tagg sent me this report.

With the election now in the past, the big news headlines are all about the economy. Terms such as "credit crunch" have been coined to try and describe what the international financial sector has been experiencing.

We thought we would spend a few minutes and go over how this credit crunch has affected the mortgage markets.

1. Existing Adjustable Rate Mortgages

If you are fortunate enough to be in a floating interest rate mortgage, you have probably noticed your payments decrease over the past several months. You will also notice in November that your payments will have gone down again.

Prime, which your mortgage rate is floating against has gone from 6.25% all the way down to 4.0%. For many of our clients, that means an interest rate less than 3.5% on your mortgage. These current rates are likely to stay low (or even up to 0.75% lower still) until 2010.

The Bank of Canada released a statement on Tuesday indicating that we are still likely to see a few more rate cuts saying "some further monetary stimulus will likely be required" and has indicated that inflation in 2009 will be close to 0.60%, much lower than the ideal 2.0%.

2. New Adjustable Rate Mortgages (and Home Equity Lines of Credit)

While we used to offer rates as low as Prime LESS 0.90% on Adjustable Rate Mortgages, those rates have slowing edged their way up. In the last 4 weeks, we have seen two trends with this type of mortgage offering:

1. Rates have gone from being LESS than Prime to being MORE than Prime. Today, our lowest Adjustable Rate Mortgage is at Prime PLUS 0.75%.

2. Some lenders have stopped offering floating rate products altogether. For a few days even CIBC stopped offering them, but brought them back (albeit at a much higher rate) a few days later.

3. Fixed Rate Mortgages

We have recently seen rates on Fixed Rate Mortgages go up, but they haven't yet increased beyond levels we have seen in the last year. If you are currently in a Fixed Rate Mortgage, you can rest assured that your payments will not change until your mortgage comes up for renewal.

4. Mortgage Renewals

If your mortgage is coming up for renewal, there are many factors to consider. Please give us a call at 1-877-241-8934 or visit http://www.albertahomemortgages.com before signing any renewal papers!

Once you know that you are ready to purchase a home in Fort McMurray, please visit www.McMurraysBestHomes.com or call Patrick Dardis of Royal LePage True North Realty at 780 715-1382