Frances Sanderson

Has anyone heard this news yet?

'The World Health Organization announced that they have established a new limit for indoor radon gas. The new maximum radon level is 2.7. This is a 32% reduction from the previously accepted "action level" of 4.0.'

If you are still unsure of what RADON is, 'Radon is a radioactive gas that emanates from rocks and soils and tends to concentrate in enclosed spaces like underground mines or houses.' The fact that homes have become more insulated (a tighter envelope) is causing the gas to remain in the home and as a result, has been proven to increase the risk of lung cancer.

I checked to see if I could find more information on this and I was able to find the new World Health Organization Handbook and this WordPress post, which actually states that WHO recommends that the acceptable levels of indoor radon be reduced to 1/10th of what is currently considered acceptable. If this can not be achieved, then the minimum recommendation is below 300 becquerals per cubic meter.

I repeat... it is only a recommendation at this point.

So, what are your thoughts about this???

Frances Sanderson, Franklin, NH REALTOR®, Certified EcoBroker^®

I live in New England and I have been hearing that it is going to be a long winter this year. I am curious as to who determines this, because as I look around my yard, I see squirrels burying acorns in my leach field and hornets that have made their nests in trees. These are not signs of a harsh winter, at least not the signs I've come to look for.

While my research has been brief, I haven't learned who made the statement referenced above, but I did learn this: According to our virtual U.S. Weather Bible, The Farmer's Almanac, 'Old Man Winter doesn't want to give up his frigid hold just yet, but his hold will mostly be in the middle of the country'. The frigid forecast we have been hearing about is targeting the midwest, not the NorthEast. This map on the Farmer's Almanac website shows their winter predictions:

As good as Farmer's Almanac is however at giving us our yearly winter predictions, I find that weather forecasting is still not an accurate science. I have included a story that I think illustrates this point with humor. Read and Enjoy!

It was October and the Indians on a remote reservation asked their new Chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Chief in a modern society he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared. But being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?" "It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold," the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared. A week later he called the National Weather Service again. "Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?" "Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "it's going to be a very cold winter."

The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find. Two weeks later the Chief called the National Weather Service again. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?" "Absolutely," the man replied. "It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters ever."

"How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked. The weatherman replied, "The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy."

Author Unknown

Frances Sanderson, Franklin, NH REALTOR®, Certified EcoBroker^®

Last October, I wrote about my first experience going to the Grass Drags in Fremont New Hampshire where one can see snowmobiles and ATVs compete on land and on water! Well, it's that time of year again, only this time they are touting this as THE largest event of its kind in the country.

October 9, 10 and 11, 2009, the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association will be holding their annual Grass Drags and Water Crossing event @ Peterson's Brookvale Farm in Fremont, New Hampshire. Admission is $15 per day or $30 per person for a three day ticket. Watch ATV stunts in the air...

And snowmobiles on the water...

It doesn't get any more exciting than this. Event hours are: Friday 10-9; Saturday 10-6, and Sunday 10-6.

For more information and directions, click here. Hope to see you there!

Frances Sanderson, Franklin, NH REALTOR®, Certified EcoBroker^®

New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association is holding its annual Green Building Open House Tour. This Saturday, October 3, 2009, is your chance to tour over 75 "Green" homes and businesses in New Hampshire. You can check out anything from straw bale construction in walls, insulated concrete forms, passive solar and active solar installations, geothermal installation and cellulose roofing.

To see a full listing of New Hampshire properties available to tour, click here. To find out more about New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association, click here.

Feel free to comment here about any of the homes you visited.

Frances Sanderson, Franklin, NH REALTOR®, Certified EcoBroker^®

Well, I'll tell you what I did when my husband had a heart attack on August 23^rd, 2009, and ended up at Mass General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. I put together a visual tour of a place that helped me get through the first two weeks of this ordeal. It is my hope that this blog post and visual tour may help someone else get through a similar crisis, with a little more ease and a lot less stress.

The day my husband passed out on the living room floor and was sent to the hospital was the scariest day of my life. He didn't complain about a pain in the chest or numbness of the arm. Instead, he said that he was feeling flu-like symptoms, a headache and sore throat. Apparently, these are the symptoms of a heart attack, as well, but most of us don't know this. Fortunately for him, as soon as he started feeling unwell (two days prior), he started taking aspirin. I truly believe that this helped save my husband. That, and the fact that all of the EMS team and hospital staff he was sent to, acted quickly and correctly. I can never thank them enough!

When I was told that he would definitely die without the surgery and that he very well could die with the surgery, I imagined the worst. I began replaying all of the moments in our 35 years together. Disappointingly, I was having difficulty pulling those great memories to the forefront of my thoughts. Instead, I found myself thinking of how lonely I would be without him. I had to keep reminding myself that I am an independent woman and that I would survive, no matter what happened. "Remember, you're never given more than you can handle," I kept telling myself.

I did find that I could be strong. I can't begin to tell you how much support I received from friends and family, but suffice it to say, I drew most of my strength from them. (By the way, to those of you who feel the need to help someone in this situation, text messaging is just as supportive as a phone call and believe me, there are a lot of phone calls that need to be made.)

What helped me the most however was continuously talking to other family members at the hospital and assisting them in finding discounted housing; giving them tips on where to eat; giving them hope and basically, comforting them as best I could.

One of the tips I fixated on was the discounted housing. There is a Holiday Inn one block away from the Mass General Hospital. It costs $200 a night to stay there! That might be fine for one night, but who can afford this when your loved one has to stay for an indeterminate amount of time.

There are two options for discounted stays with Mass General Hospital.

I first learned about the discounted housing options from "Kitty". Kitty is employed in the Social Services Department of the hospital. I found her to be a sympathetic and calming influence in a sea of chaos.

Option One:  Mass General Hospital leases one whole floor in La Quinta, (it's like a Day's Inn), located off of Exit 29, in Somerville, and costs $79 a night.

Option Two:  MGH also leases the second floor of the Beacon House on Myrtle Street on Beacon Hill in Boston. The cost for a 2 bed suite, which is what I had, is $69 a night. If you can't afford this, there is one other option in the Beacon House: The Annex. It has 4 single bedrooms which share 1 bathroom. It is a ‘pay as you can' setup.

I loved the room I had in the Beacon House and its proximity to the Mass General Hospital. (It is only 10 minutes to walk to the hospital.) I began taking photos of the Beacon House and the surrounding area when it occurred to me that I had a skill that could get the word out about the Beacon House much sooner than the 48 hours it took for me to find out. I put my Visual Tour software and my fondness for photography to work.

What follows is the result of my passion. It has also been my catharsis, so to speak. Enjoy :-)

P.S. At this writing, my husband is still at Mass General. He is improving day by day and we hope to have him in a rehab facility within the week. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Contact person for the Beacon House is Sharon Scott. You can e-mail her at slscott@partners.org

Here's to a better year for all of us!

Frances Sanderson, Franklin, NH REALTOR®, Certified EcoBroker^®