Brookville, NY

Here is the story of a man's quest for that pot of gold and he found it by selling real estate.

In 1956, 17 year old Thomas Laffey arrived in New York from Ireland looking for his pot of gold. He settled in Long Island and decided to sell real estate. Through hard work, he was able to open his First Residential Real Estate Office in Long Island in 1974. Over the next decade, Tom's sons joined the company and successfully opened 10 branch offices across Nassau and Queen Counties.

In 1997, Laffey Associates made a big move and joined the Cendant Organization through Century 21's Fine Homes and Estate division.

Today, Century 21 Laffey Associates, now run by Tom's sons: Philip Laffey, President, Emmett Laffey, CEO, and Mark Laffey, COO, has grown to the No. 1 post in The Tri-State Area among all Century 21 firms.

Currently The Laffey Organization has 872 listings available and 351 listings under contract. In the last 68 days, Century 21 Laffey Associates closed 166 sides with a sales volume of $86 million. Contract signed in the last 68 days is worth $125 million in sales revenue on 152 sides.

Persistence, hard work, quality of service were traits Tom Laffey empowered himself and it worked then and still working today. Through team work, excellent customer service and the leader in technology, the Laffey Organization continues its quest for more pots of gold. I'm happy to be a member of that team.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO ALL!!!

Copyright © 2009. By Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady". All rights reserved.. *AN IRISH MAN'S SEARCH FOR GOLD*

If you are interested in selling or buying a home in East Norwich, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Brookville, Muttontown, Syosset, Laurel Hollow, Bayville, Centre Island and Mill Neck, please contact Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady".

Ph - 516-385-0584

Email - linda@rosalindamorgan.com

Website - www.rosalindamorgan.com

As the weather warms up in our area, there are various tasks ahead of us. So is your garden ready?

You can't go digging in the garden as yet. It is too wet and soggy. If you dare do some digging now, the ground will become compacted. Better hold off for a few more weeks. The only thing I do now is to scatter some Epsom salt into the garden beds. Why Epsom salt ? If you read the label on the box, it says Magnesium Sulfate. Magnesium Sulfate is a trace element that plants need to encourage new growth, promote greener leaf and bloom better.

Once the ground is workable, check the pH of your soil. Gather 1 cup of soil from 4 different areas in your garden. Put them in separate sandwich bags, label them where you get them and take them to Cornell Cooperative Extension Service and have the soil tested. Follow the recommendation of the Master Gardeners.

Now is also the time for equipment maintenance. If you did not clean up your tools last fall, now is the perfect time to clean up, oil and sharpen them. Then armed with your pruner, take a stroll through the garden. Check for plant damage and then prune broken branches and winter kill. That's about all the pruning you can do for now.

Clean the garden of debris, broken twigs, and weeds. Don't let the weeds go to seeds. Keep the chickweed out of your garden beds. It grows and seeds during the cold months and seeds now are future weeds. So get rid of them before they proliferate. Clear mulch off the bed before the spring bulbs start to come up.

While you are out there in the garden, cut some stems of spring flowerings shrubs for forcing indoor. Think spring!!!

Copyright © 2009. By Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady". All rights reserved.. *SPRING IS ALMOST HERE. IS YOUR GARDEN READY?*

If you are interested in selling or buying a home in East Norwich, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Brookville, Muttontown, Syosset, Laurel Hollow, Bayville, Centre Island and Mill Neck, please contact Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady".

Ph - 516-385-0584

Email - linda@rosalindamorgan.com

Website - www.rosalindamorgan.com

School Districts on the North Shore of Long Island are a bit confusing for some buyers. There are areas where school districts overlap. For instance, in Muttontown, some areas are in Jericho schools, some are in Syosset schools and some are in Oyster Bay-East Norwich schools. Likewise in Brookville, kids go to different school districts - Jericho or Locust Valley. Upper Brookville kids go to school either in Oyster Bay-East Norwich or Locust Valley school system. These incorporated villages are so close to each other that sometimes it gets too complicated. In Oyster Bay Cove, on some streets close to the water, you can have a choice of sending your kids to either Oyster Bay-East Norwich, or Syosset. Not only are the school districts overlap, numbering is also a bit confusing because same numbers are given to two school districts and sometimes three school districts. For buyers who are looking for a particular school district, here is a list that might help you navigate the labyrinth of towns you want to look for homes.

LONG ISLAND NORTH SHORE SCHOOL DISTRICTS

School District #1 - Westbury School

Old Westbury

Westbury

School District # 1 - North Shore

Old Brookville

Glen Head

Glenwood Landing

Parts of Roslyn Harbor

Parts of Glen Cove

School District #2 - Syosset

Syosset

Parts of Muttontown

Parts of Oyster Bay Cove

Part of Laurel Hollow

Woodbury

Parts of Jericho (East Birchwood)

School District #2 - Cold Spring Harbor

Parts of Laurel Hollow

Cold Spring Harbor

Cold Spring Hill

School District #2 - East Williston (Wheatley)

Parts of Westbury

Parts of Roslyn Heights

Parts of East Hills

School District #3 - Locust Valley

Parts of Brookville

Lattingtown

Matinecock

Parts of Upper Brookville

Locust Valley

Bayville

Parts of Mill Neck

Parts of Muttontown

School District #3 - Roslyn

Roslyn

Parts of Roslyn Heights

Parts of Roslyn Harbor

Parts of East Hills

School District #6 - Oyster Bay-East Norwich

East Norwich

Oyster Bay

Parts of Muttontown

Parts of Oyster Bay Cove

Parts of Upper Brookville

Parts of Mill Neck

Parts of Laurel Hollow

Cove Neck

Center Island

School District # 15 - Jericho

Parts of Brookville

Parts of Muttontown

Parts of Old Westbury

Jericho

Copyright © 2009. By Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady". All rights reserved.. *LONG ISLAND NORTH SHORE SCHOOL DISTRICTS*

If you are interested in selling or buying a home in East Norwich, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Brookville, Muttontown, Syosset, Laurel Hollow, Bayville, Centre Island and Mill Neck, please contact Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady".

Ph - 516-385-0584

Email - linda@rosalindamorgan.com

Website - www.rosalindamorgan.com

Can we hear something better these days besides news that are gloom and doom? You'll get so depressed listening to the news day in and day out. If you're smart, there is another way of looking at things the way they are now. Find a way to make the economic downturn in your favor. It could not be that bad unless you invested in Madoff. We know we have to cut back on things to survive this downturn. When the economy was great, we indulged on luxury items. A few days ago, one of the news channels said now is not the time to cut back on gym activities. I think he meant you do not have to cut back on physical activities. Gym fees are expensive. You don't have to go to the gym to get exercise.

Gardening and housework are valid forms of physical activities. Every bit of extra movement counts. Gardening is a great physical activity. With the spring on the horizon, it is time to think of things to do outdoors. Why hire someone to do your lawn? DIY - Do it yourself. Mowing your lawn, cleaning up the garden debris, raking leaves and weeding are great forms of exercise. Look at all the money you'll save if you do it yourself. Plant some vegetables. Homegrown vegetables taste much better. You save some money on grocery bills and eat healthy at the same time. Planting flowers can cheer you up when they are in bloom. Flowers at the florist or even at the grocery stores are expensive. Plant some annuals. They're terrific bloomers. Better still, see some friends who have a garden. Chances are they'll divide some of their plants and give you some to start your garden. Gardeners are noted for sharing their plants. Digging up a new flower bed is an exhilarating work. Pushing up the wheelbarrow loaded with potting soil and compost work up your upper body and your legs. You'll be surprised of the positive effect gardening has on your physical and mental well being. Plant some roses. Unlike perennials and shrubs, they bloom all season if you prune the spent blooms. Perennials and shrubs only bloom once.

Housework is another area that most people try to avoid. These days, you might want to let go of your cleaning people. Vacuuming the house is a great form of exercise. Going up and down the stairs to fetch things upstairs is another form of exercise. Every household work counts. When I was in college, I was heavy. I considered myself obese. I'm only 5 ft tall and 130 pounds was a lot of weight for me then. I read on some magazine that household chores count in losing weight. As I remember, it listed the housework and the amount of calories burned by each items. I kept track of what I did at home and little by little I started losing weight and I never gain it back. Early in my marriage, my husband used to tell people that I weighed 90 pounds soaking wet. Not true at all.

When shopping, park your car farther away from the mall or supermarket. Increase the distance between you and where you are going. Have you watched cars going round and round looking for a parking spot near the door of the store? Not only did they not get the exercise they need, they wasted gas in the process. Find a spot farther away. You'll have less chance of getting bumped by another car.

Copyright © 2009. By Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady". All rights reserved.. *HOW TO STAY HEALTHY AND SAVE MONEY IN THIS ECONOMIC DOWNTURN*

If you are interested in selling or buying a home in Brookville, Muttontown, Oyster Bay, East Norwich, Oyster Bay Cove, Syosset, Laurel Hollow, Bayville, Centre Island and Mill Neck, please contact Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady".

Ph - 516-385-0584

Email - linda@rosalindamorgan.com

Website - www.rosalindamorgan.com

Nowadays, majority wants to live green to save the planet for future generation. Are you one of them?

Reblog from Steve Miller, Realtor of Keller Williams Realty - Coeur d'Alene, North Idaho.

Just the other day I was at our local Realtor Association taking a CE course on Green Housing. This is a subject that I would naturally gravitate toward, regardless of the need for hours. Now, I have always figured that when attending any training event IF I come away with ONE PEARL, it was worth going. And, while this ‘overview' of the subject was very informative, one blessed pearl came to light that I didn't expect.

We had a discussion about the hypothetical ‘needs and wants' as they pertain to housing of the usual generational groups... you know, the Baby boomers, Generation X and Y. This yielded the usual... location, size, efficiency etc. Then, just at the end of our class, the instructor revealed this new dynamic. The light bulb was blinking in my head regarding this sub-group I had never heard of called "Cultural Creatives". These people want the 'real thing' when it comes to Living Green, not all the trendy stuff.

Here are some typical attributes...

1.) Cultural Creatives are not typified by generational grouping.

2.) CC's are a Psychographic group based on values and behavior.

3.) Cultural Creatives are seriously concerned about the health of our planet.

4.) They tend toward holistic approaches, ie. health care, food, sustainability.

5.) These folks would prefer to buy green (not just the shade of) ie. Green homes

6.) There is a general rejection of 'overt' displays of materialism and status.

7.) They express dissatisfaction with large institutions and partisan politics.

8.) CC's are generally committed to spiritual and psychological development.

Do you tend to be an idealist? Are you someone who wants to put your values into action? Do you ever volunteer? Do you have a special appreciation for authenticity and tend toward it yourself? Are you a BIG PICTURE kind of person?

If you feel aligned with many of these attributes, you may just be a 'Cultural Creative' yourself and you're not alone. It is estimated that there are approximately 50 million adults of a like mind. Curiously, I felt like I never fit any of the generational labels nor am I inclined to ‘be' labeled. Yet, to my surprise, in this niche, I fit. What about you?

For more information, check out Cultural Creative's Website.

If you are interested in selling or buying a home in Brookville, Muttontown, Oyster Bay, East Norwich, Oyster Bay Cove, Syosset, Laurel Hollow, Bayville, Centre Island and Mill Neck, please contact Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady".

Ph - 516-385-0584

Email - linda@rosalindamorgan.com

Website - www.rosalindamorgan.com