Minot, ND

This has been a beautiful evening with a full harvest moon. Up here in North Dakota the leaves have been falling and we have had a couple of frosty nights. Tonight my bride and I raked leaves with the help of our little ones (Tina 8 & Timmothy 7). It was nice to get the most out of our short evenings as the sun is now down by 7PM. Timmothy wasn't a lot of help tonight as early on he stepped in some dog do-do and then whined about it for half an hour. Burning leaves in our Fire Department approved fire pit is one thing I look forward to every fall, just love the smell. I mention the Fire Department approved fire pit because one of my neighbors who obviously doesn't care for the smell always calls the Fire Department every time I light it. I actually look forward to greeting my Fire Department friends several times in the fall. They are always very friendly to me and it's fun to hear them lecture my neighbor and question his IQ. Tonight was no different. After five years of lectures from the Fire Department you would think he would catch on but then again he does have a Barrack Obama sign in his front yard (I had to throw that in). Sincerely it was a very nice evening. To top it off another neighbor just came home from pheasant hunting and gave us a couple of birds, he even cleaned them for us. Best yet, and very unusual in North Dakota it was an absolutely calm night, not the slightest breeze. It was a perfect night for burning leaves, visiting with my pheasant hunting neighbor and my Fire Department friends. All is well in Minot North Dakota tonight.

Bob Timm, Minot ND

Yes it gets cold up here but for heavens sake it's not cold year around. I'm sure no matter where you live you get some pretty crazy questions. Most often I'm asked if it ever warms up in North Dakota. The answer is of course, YES! Our springs are a little slow to come around, like late April to early May. My birthday is in mid May and it is highly unusual for things NOT to be budding and turning green. One big plus with our late spring is we hardly ever see any misquetoes until late June or July. As of today we have not seen a frost yet but it will be coming soon. That however does not mean the end of nice days. Although the temp dipped into the 30's this morning it regained nicely to about 80. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids enjoying the "Splash Pad" at Oak Park this weekend.

Every website, every blog, and every agent out there is going to tell you how wonderful they are and ask you to "consider" them. I want you to "consider" this: If you want to list a house make sure you have made up your mind as to if you want to sell or if you want to stay. If you are looking for a home make sure you have made the decision to buy. I know my time is valuable and so is the time of my clients. If you want to sell your house and you want to list it with me then it will be priced properly or you can list with a liar who will inflate the price and your hopes and you will stay. If you are just looking at houses and not serious about buying then call another Realtor, I don't want you! I'd rather spend my time with real buyers, my family, my Church family, or about anywhere that I am truly needed. Now a word about cutting commissions: NO! I have integrity and I am worth what I charge for my service, are you? What do you think of people willing to do your job for a fraction of what you are paid to do it for? Again, do you want someone working for you with integrity or a marshmallow who caves in on there principals to you as well as to the people they are dealing with on your behalf? Think about that.

This weekend I had the good fortune to meet the beautiful and gracious Alayne Okland, Executive Director of The 2nd Story Club. I met Alayne like I've met a whole lot of people, at a rummage sale.

I almost passed up this rummage sale because it was a downtown address in the heart of the business section of Minot ND. I'm sure glad I didn't. The rummage sale was being held by The 2nd Story Club of Minot which is a social club for adults with developmental disabilities. I like that their literature says "For Exceptional Persons", I certainly could feel that as I was there. The club was started 33 years ago and they receive NO State or Federal funding.

Alayne and her assistant run the show with a lot of wonderful volunteers. The facility includes a reception area, TV room (see the picture below), large activity room with a stage, kitchen, game room, and staff area. You can check out their website at http://www.secondstoryclub.com and if you wish to contribute that would be great to!

2nd Story is a wonderful opportunity operated by wonderful people. Visit their website and give them your encouragement, they certainly deserve it. Do me a favor and tell Alayne that Bob sent you.