Amy Steele

Good morning world.

After taking off as much time as I could the last couple of weeks of the year for family that was in town and Christmas, I got my well deserved rest. I looked back on this year, glad it was over, glad that it happened, glad for all of the people I met, the clients i served, the folks I've shown homes to up here in paradise. The Lord has blessed us this year, and I don't mean financially. We've had some additions to our family's next generation, with a n and two nephews. I've had tons of friends get pregnant or have kids, and I think children truly are a blessing. My husband and I have been able to begin remodeling our home(aesthetically for now, nothing major, but hopefully if kids are in the picture for us this year we will add on some rooms).

A few thoughts on some things that have happened.

• Foreclosure crisis: Why are banks being bailed out when they aren't doing anything to keep people in their homes? Wouldn't this cause the assets to not be devalued as severe as they are? I think it would be better to keep people in their homes, have the bank take a tiny hit on some interest in the long run rather than a huge hit in the value of the home now. I've talked to many asset managers trying to get short sales done. On one home, we had an offer a week and a half before going to the auction block and the asset manager, despite my comps and attempts at getting her bank to accept the offer(from a qualified school teacher)they took the property back and now have it listed for $40,000 less than what we had the offer for. Do the banks do this on purpose so they can get the bailout money? It no longer affects them, so who cares?
• Auto bailout: I am not going to buy a car that isn't satisfying what I feel should be the goals of buying a new car. Financial responsibility, environmental responsibility. Car companies are not building cars that people need and that our earth wants. Also, when people can't afford their home and food and medicine, why would they buy a new car? They wouldn't, and they aren't but with that industry being so bloated(as many are with the profits staying at the top and the top not wanting to conduct a lifestyle change) the industry will fail.
• Economic stimulus: How about if the government combined the bailout money and gave it to every tax-paying CITIZEN of the United States? We've all been programmed to consume, and this boon of money to each citizen would go right back into all economies: auto, home, insurance, banks, retailers, and etc. People would be able to BUY and CONSUME again, which is why our economy is failing. We can't afford to keep our economy afloat because we're losing everything. Why should a few industries get millions of dollars to sink down what has become a HUGE black hole from which nothing returns, when you would get millions of returns from the citizens of the U.S? Why is our government not investing in their own citizens? Shouldn't that be the best investment?
• The War: We are no longer in a position of being able to save the world. We are broke and we are going into debt to every country out there so that we can try and save them all. What sense does that make? Yes there is good that has come out of the war. I have a friend who has been a marine for 30 years. He is a sergeant major, which is a pretty darn high rank. The Marines are forcing him to retire this year, I guess they do that with all career Marines at 30 years. I don't know if that really makes sense to me either: if he is that experienced and wants to serve, should he be allowed to? I say Bert for Senator! He sends us updates about what his little spot of Iraq is doing and etc and there are some heartwarming and heart-wrenching stories. But we are financing a country now with our tax dollars and not getting anything back from it except super high gas prices and more debt.

Despite the worry and heartache that has occurred, I think we truly need to remember that when one door closes, the Lord opens another. I have had things happen to me where I just couldn't understand, but it always turned out to be for the best because I have faith. In a time when people are losing their faith in record numbers, and trying to push God out of everything no wonder we are turning to the wrong people to try to fix our woes, or worse yet, turning to things to fix our lives(drugs, alcohol, etc).

I truly pray that each of you, your families, your businesses, your communities are blessed this year, and that you continually pray for those open doors to find you, because THEY WILL.

God bless you,

Amy

Fall has come to Crestline again...and it's just beautiful up here! Yesterday the sunset made the whole village have a yellow-pink glow, and the clouds made for a spectacular show! Living up here is a real treat, particularly when I'm driving along the Rim highway and seeing the San Bernardino valley down below, seeing the buildings and knowing about all of the cars and people and concrete. From the Rim highway, you can see all the way to the ocean on a SUPER clear day, but also nearly down to Temecula.

I don't know what kind of tree this is, but it's in full fall color right now. I took a better picture of it, but that one's for sale ;)

The clouds were heavy, and we had little rain overnight on Sunday. I enjoy seeing the fog play with the tops of the trees. Very light dusting of snow much higher up in the mountains, but there was some frost on the ground. Doesn't Lake Gregory look cold? It is too, not that our dogs care, they still want to jump in and play!

Fall flags at the Oak Trunk store. I just thought they looked pretty and colorful with the sun behind them. I truly love love love! living in this small town. I enjoy the four seasons, though I think fall and winter are my favorites after living down the hill in So Cal my whole life and having spring and summer and rain for seasons.

View of San Bernardino from the Rim of the World Highway at the Lake Gregory dr turnoff. The colors continued to get more pink and orange and bathed the valley with soft pink light. I like this picture because of the three "horizons:" the clouds, the actual horizon, and the hills in front of the mountain. My camera had just enough juice left in the batteries to get about 20 pictures before dying, but I think I got some good ones!

Hope you enjoy my pictures, as much as I've enjoyed taking them. Hope you can come up here for a visit soon!

Take care,

Amy

I have been slightly remiss in posting recently, but this is to show the world how Halloween works in our small corner.
Because we live in the mountains, and homes are spaced far apart or there's just too many stairs to climb to get to people's front doors, the merchants in the village of Crestline provide the candy for our town's children(and adults who still like to dress up, as well as the occassional dog!) My husband and I went to the Lake Gregory Coffee Company for their famous Alfresco Friday and watched the excitement.

The Lake Gregory Yacht Club, Entertaining Angels Unaware, and Saville 1300 had free hot dogs, carnival style games, and plenty of candy on hand for trick or treaters. This part of town was clogged with people! Who doesn't like free fun?

Lots of cars and lots of people!

This little guy had a wonderful time! He got tons of attention throughout town because he was so cute!

This cute little cowgirl paused to make sure she was getting the best pieces out of the new Look Tantastic Tanning and Salon candy bowl.

Cinderella and a motorcyle dude wondering why adults were taking the candy meant for them!

Just wanna be a gangster...

Some adults at the Coffee Co. had a marshmallow gun and were pelting the kids and parents with tiny marshmallows. The weather was beautiful that evening, very slight chill to the air but was still warm until dark. This is one of the reasons we live here. Small community where we all come out to do these fun things as a community, visiting, relaxing, enjoying nature and the fresh air with a good cup of coffee.

Our dog Kona in costume enjoying the ice cold water in the beer bucket. I saw this costume at Petco and zeroed in on it immediately! I knew it was the one she was supposed to have, and it was just perfect on her!

Thanks mom for the flash...

So we hope to see you up here in Crestline next year for Halloween, because it's a lot of fun!

Take care!

WOW! For October, we had a lot of sales. As many of you can see, there were 7 cabins sold that were under $100,000. The homes under $100,000 sold rather quickly. Many of them I had clients for that put in a bid and were quickly overbid. Some simply waited too long and lost the opportunity for the sale. Many of those were older cabins that needed some work or updating to them. We are still having a good market for buyers of all kinds, whether you are looking for a cabin or a home, for full time or part time. Winter time is coming, and prices tend to drop just a little if homeowners are looking to sell before the snow hits. It has been crips and cool up here during the days, and nighttime temps are seeing high 30s and low 40s. Crestline is a great village to enjoy a peaceful walk around the lake, fishing, shopping and dining.

If you have any questions about our small town, please call or email me!

Take care,

AMY STEELE
(951) 378-4570
www.HomesForSaleInCrestline.com

www.CrestlineForeclosures.com

www.LakeArrowheadVillas.com

www.TheLakeArrowheadWoods.com

This weekend, September 27 and 28 is National Public lands day. What does this mean to all of you? Free access to the Southern California National Forests (as well as nationally on the last Saturday of September) without having to buy a Forest Adventure Pass. Crestline and Lake Arrowhead are areas that have many great trails for hiking as well as the Heaps Peak arboretum and other picnic grounds to enjoy.

The day is geared towards raising awareness of our forested areas, which is home to animals and humans alike and keeping them in great condition. There are great communities that are nestled within California's National Forests, and we appreciate those from "down the hill" who come up and utilize our businesses and enjoy the forests that we call home, and then leave them better than they found them (read:don't throw your trash out of the window, don't SMOKE UP HERE FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE,and leaving trails and campgrounds in pristine condition).

The four Southern California national forests also recognize National Trails Day on the first Saturday of June and Veterans Day on November 11, offering free access to areas.

Wouldn't you love to come up this weekend and enjoy the fresh air that Crestline and Lake Arrowhead have to offer, along with some beautiful fall foliage that is beginning to show itself? Think about taking a respite from the heat down the hill(we're 20 degrees cooler) and relaxing?

Take care and happy trails,

Amy