Kathy Clulow ASP® SRES®

Dress For The Ditch

Winter road trips often offer unique challenges to the most experienced driver. Heavy winds combined with blowing snow, freezing rain, or ice are just some of the more severe weather conditions you may encounter.

Country driving requires a different mindset than urban driving. In town if you happen to have an accident help is always close by. In the country that is not always so, in the event of an accident you may not be able to get out of your car, or reach your cell phone, and you may not be visible to other vehicles passing by.

Living in the country as a teenager my mother used to insist that we "dressed" for the ditch.

With the first early warning signs of the upcoming winter season behind us now is the time to be sure you and your vehicle are "dressed for the ditch"

• Make sure you are dressed warmly - you never know how long you may have to wait for help to arrive
• Make sure your emergency kit is properly stocked:
  • blanket
  • booster cables
  • candle, matches and small tin can
  • extra clothing and footwear
  • flashlight
  • fire extinguisher
  • first aid kit
  • gas line antifreeze
  • ice scrapper / snow brush
  • road flares or warning lights
  • non perishable energy foods chocolate, granola bars, juice, soup, bottled water
  • sand or other traction aid
  • shovel
  • small tool kit
  • tow rope or chain

Some Helpful Links

• TRAVELLERS' ROAD INFORMATION PORTAL
• COMPASS Traffic Cameras
• When visibility turns bad ...driving in blowing snow and whiteouts
• Winter Road Condition Reports

Demographics - Our Aging Population

Demographics play a major role in the housing market

Changes in new housing styles and size over the years have been driven by many factors. Currently the major driving force is our aging population. As our population ages the need for new nursing homes and seniors residences continue to grow, but what about the empty nesters who are not ready for that yet.

Today's young seniors are being draw to senior communities, with homes built for their active lifestyle. some are built around golf courses while others are built in areas that had traditionally been cottage country being located on or near our numerous lakes. Often these homes are bungalow in design but unlike the older smaller utilitarian style bungalows of the past they are much larger and more open concept. They are built for a generation that grew up in smaller homes, got married, had families of their own and moved into larger homes. Homes that had 4 and five bedrooms, family rooms, eat in kitchens or great rooms. Homes that had fireplaces, double or triple car garages, multiple bathrooms and much more.

Now it is time to down size, they no longer need four and five bedrooms and all the other features that came with their 2,000 plus square foot homes. Unwilling to give up many of the other features that came with that home they start looking for a newer bigger version of the home they grew up in "The Bungalow".

The bungalow is making comeback, it is the same in name only. Today's bungalows have all the features of those large family homes, but they are 2 to 3 times the size of the bungalows the past generation enjoyed. Open concept is the new norm with spacious principal rooms and light airy interiors, featuring large windows with mulitple walkouts outs to bring the outside in. Luxury appointments with hardwood throughout, gourmet kitchens and the latest in bathrooms give these new bungalows a luxury resort feel.

A Visual Demonstration of our Changing Demographics

You often read about our changing demographics and how our population is getting older but have you ever been able to visualize the change.

David Foot of Footworks Consulting has an animated pyramid that visually demonstrates how the makeup of our population has changed over the years and will continue to change in the future.

David K. Foot is a professor of economics at the University of Toronto, and co-author of the Boom, Bust and Echo books.

For those who like to see the hard numbers:

• Canadian figures you can visit Statistics Canada's Population Projections for Canada, Provinces and Territories
• United States figures visit US Census Population Projections

For Seniors Friendly Housing In The Communities of Uxbridge,Port Perry/Scugog Whitchurch Stouffville, Balantrae, Georgina and Brock. Just Give Me A Call Check Out The Listings On My Listing Web Site Let Me Find You A Home To learn more about what housing options Uxbridge has to offer; be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities, country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or THE BEST WAY TO CONTACT ME I will respond ASAP However I do not answer when driving or when with Clients

Uxbridge Remembers Those Who Gave All ...

... with a Remembrance Day parade November 11th starting at 10.40 and Service at the Cenotaph afterward. This is but one way of paying tribute the more than 100,000 men and women who have given their all.

Our local papers paid tribute and remembrance to those who served with articles about why it is important that we do remember and the part Canada and Canadians played in the wars. In one article the author Roger Varley tells a story about Cyril Allison, who later became a resident of Uxbridge, being the first person to have read the poem "In Flanders fields" right after it was written by John McCrae.

Local Author and Journalist Ted Barris,provided further insights utilizing excerpts from his new book "Breaking the Silence". He talks about Local resident Steve Bell's escape from a German POW camp only to be thrown into a forced march as a "prisoner" of the Russians and his ultimate escape. Barris also related a part of an interview he had in Uxbridge with one of the survivors , Cpl. Brian Decaire, of the "friendly fire incident" in Afghanistan.

"To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high."

from the poem
In Flanders fields.
- Lt.-Col. John McCrae -

Canadian Students are picking up the torch

Canadian students have had an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of those who went before, with a number of tours over the years They have been given an opportunity to see the places where the events actually took place, to hear the stories. ... To walk through history, to learn an appreciation for those who paid the ultimate price and to remember; today, tomorrow, even years from now so that they will to be able to pass it on to the next generation.

Students at Uxbridge Secondary School are preparing for a history lesson like no other. An educational field trip in May that is tied in with the 65th anniversary commemorating"Victory in Europe".

Students Raising Funds For The Tour At The Uxbridge Fall Fair

The National student tour coordinator is Dave Robinson, a recently retired teacher who taught at Port Perry High School, he has organized several educational tours over the last few years. In 2004 he coordinated a group of 150 teachers and students who attended the D-Day anniversary at Juno Beach. Other tours included France in April of 2007 for the 90th anniversary of the battle of Vimey Ridge; Hong Kong to commemorate the Canadian Soldiers who gave it all in 1941; and a walk in the footsteps of Canadian Soldiers through the streets of Ortona and the Liri Valley.

For some of the students the tour will be following in the footsteps of their grandfathers and great grandfathers who participated in the liberation of the Netherlands. They will remember.

Matthew House - A Place At The End Of The Refugee Highway

Come and enjoy stories, photos, and music that captures the heartbeat of Matthew House including former resident Josiane Aboungono 2008 and 2009 Canada Running Series Champion.

Silent Auction -Fundraiser
Novotel Hotel - Gibson Ballroom
7:00 pm - November 26th 2009

Space is limited so please register today to attend

Phone 416.364.8287

Matthew House is a small shelter in central Toronto that welcomes and assists newly arrived refugee claimants who have come to the end of a long journey on the refugee highway. Matthew House believes that God's call to "welcome the stranger" includes refugee claimants from all nations, irrespective of ethnicity.

Since opening as a permanent home in August 1998, Matthew House has provided shelter and assistance for hundreds of newly arrived refugees who would otherwise have been homeless in Toronto. They have come from more than 75 different countries including: Albania, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Angola, Burundi, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Liberia, North Korea, Rwanda, Somalia, Turkey and Zimbabwe.

Without ever advertising its existence, Matthew House continually must turn away more than four times the number of refugees it welcomes due to lack of space. As a result, one of Matthew House's vision is that of encouraging, inspiring and assisting other groups in establishing their own shelters and ministries to refugees. To date, shelters in Fr. Erie, Windsor, Hamilton, Cambridge and Vancouver have been opened based on the Matthew House model. Currently other groups in places such as Ottawa and Montreal are also exploring the prospect of opening shelters for refugees.

As the vision is spreading, and the need for appropriate shelter continues, Matthew House Toronto has recently opened a second more long term, "transitional home" nearby and hopes to expand its current space even more to effectively carry out its programs.

Please Remember
Space is limited so please register today to attend

Phone 416.364.8287

Just 10 Days Away - The Annual Uxbridge Christmas Home Tour

The Annual Christmas Home Tour on Saturday November 14th 2009

Once again this year the recipient of the monies raised is Precious Minds a local organization that provides support to families of children with learning barriers.

Tickets can be purchased in Uxbridge at Canadian Tire, Blue Heron Books, Presents Presents, Perry Ann's in Port Perry and Inside Out in Stouffville. Tickets purchased prior to Nov 09th are eligible for an "Early Bird Draw" with the wining tickets posted at each home the day of the tour.

Tickets are $20.00 and include coupons from local merchants. Come out and enjoy an opportunity to support a local worthy cause and pick up some nice ideas for getting your home ready for the holidays.

Also remember to drop off your Zehrs tapes at Precious Minds