Kingston, ON

It was an unbelievably gorgeous day today: freezing cold but sunny and bright. I was thankful that there was not a winter storm warning in effect as I had to travel a fair bit to show a farm today to a couple who was travelling 3.5 hours one way to view it.

I knew there were plenty of outbuildings/barns etc including a turkey coop (I have never seen one of these) and that there would be cows and horses. 'The driveway was more than 2 miles long and when I finally got to the house it was so disappointing; it was more of a tear-down than anything else. The sellers must have invested in the animals quarters more so than their own.

The funny part was that a small brown dog who looked part cocker spaniel and part terrier, just kept underfoot, and wouldn't leave us alone. He was old and sad looking. When we opened the door to the house, the dog just entered with us and went straight to a big bowl of water and had a few laps and then proceeded to this oversized dog bed in front of the wood stove, curled up into a tiny ball and went to sleep.

As we were getting ready to leave, it was quite obvious that this dog had no intention of leaving to go back out into the cold. Fine - I didn't blame him, I didn't want to go back outside either! I left him alone figuring he shouldn't have been left out in the cold by himself in the first place. (well below zero, maybe -18)

When I arrived home, the listing agent called looking for feedback on the home, which I provided. I then asked him to pass on my apology to the Sellers for not putting the wee dog back outside and he asks sounding surprised, "The Rottweiler?" I laughed and said "no, the wee brown one." He says, "What brown one?", sounding very confused. He then said they didn't have a little dog, only the Rottweiler!

Well, they have one now and he seemed quite content to stay!!! And how was your day?

We find as people age today, they chase their children and grandchildren around the country. Not too long ago, families lived in the same place from birth to death. Today, this is an unusual phenomenon. When children leave the nest today, they don't move to the next twig or branch anymore, they move to a whole new tree and more often a whole forest away.

Every holiday is a travelling exercise or a non-event because the kids are too far apart. Your son has set you up with an internet account and a computer and another account on some website so you can see pictures of your grandchildren and keep up to date on the changes in your family's life. It is cool, but foreign to what you know as "family experience". You see online photos and online movies of your grandchildren growing up without their grandparents. You are happy to see your children doing well in the far off places they have chosen to live, but sad you are unable to be with them.

Often it takes a spouse to die before there is a lasting family reunion and the remaining spouse (most often mom) moves nearby to be with whichever child they are closest with or who has the most and youngest grandchildren or who is likely to be the best care giver in an aging environment as the family comes to terms with an aging parent or parents. (By the way, this is usually a daughter).

If we had advice to give as a company that serves seniors downsizing and sees and experiences a lot of situations, it would be this: If you are going to chase your children, do it while you are still a couple and do it together. You'll enjoy it more together. You will be "used" by your children to take care of the kids and you'll enjoy it. Moving is always a bit scary and an emotional time regardless of your life stage, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming or complicated if you have professional help that makes it easy.

Don't wait until it is too late to be with your family, do it when you can enjoy the experience together as a couple of grandparents. 1,000's of grandparents in Canada (and around the world) chase their children every year and although it is a new and foreign concept, it is a good trend that serves all of the family well.

Don't procrastinate your family life away. We can help you sell your home while dealing with and taking charge of all the seemingly overwhelming transition and moving details in flash. Really!

Happy child chasing!

I am tired of hearing how bad the market is.

I am tired of hearing how bad it is going to get.

I am tired of hearing that there is going to be a huge 'fall out' of agents over the next year.

I am tired of hearing that there is going to be a huge 'fall out' of home inspectors over the next year.

I am tired of reading in the Toronto Star and the Sub Standard that we are headed down the economic toilet.

I am tired.

You know Goebels ( Hitler's P.R. flack) taught us one lesson. If you say something long enough and loud enough people will believe you. And now, true or not, that is all we hear on the TV news, in the papers even in meetings and lunches. This is just making a bad situation worse. It's called a self fulfilling prophesy and all that is happening is that the people who are already scared ar now terrified.

Of course, now that the regime has changed in Washington we can expect to see all that talk moderate. And in Canada, we can expect the press to redouble it's efforts to paint the economy in as bad a condition as possible to aid the Liberals in their quest for power.

Jaded. I know.

Kingston Ontario has an anti-idling bylaw. The aim of this bylaw is to prevent vehicles from excessive idling. So, when you are waiting for your Wife to emerge from the grocery store on a cold winter night, you may idle your car for three minutes to maintain the heat. After that start piling on the blankets or a cat or two, because you have to wait an hour before you can start up that heater again!

It seems that the 'city fathers' have decided that even in the dead of winter it is more important to fight 'global warming' ( a dubious theory at best and despite the last ten years of planetary cooling) than it is to survive winter in Eastern Ontairo. This brave stand by the 'P.C.Police' has armed the local parking authority with the ability to ticket you if they feel that you have idled for longer than the precious three minutes. Of course their word in court carries more weight than yours, so protestations that you only just arrived at the parking spot and hadn't had time to shut the motor off will fall on deaf ears.

And why is it that the citizen who accosts you for idling and poluting the atmosphere, always seems to be doing so with a cigarette hanging out of his / her mouth?

Worse, it has empowered every citizen ( see description above) in the city to turn in their friends and foes alike. If your neighbour doesn't like you, you are a call away from a ticket for excessive idling. If you offend someone by actually signaling a turn (God forbid!) , in goes the call. And out comes the ticket. In these days of reduced income to both the citizenry and the municipality who will be surprised when the 'powers' recognize this as a new income stream?

Now, buried in the bylaw somewhere is a provision for 'work vehicles'. These are vehicles that must run to operate equipment, or to maintain the temperature inside the vehicle to protect equipment. Now one would think that a van loaded with computer equipment ( lap tops, PDA's, test equipment etc) such as the van operated by your author) would fall under this provision.

Well here we are, months into the winter and I cannot get anyone at city hall to rule on this issue. Further more, if they do decide that my van is a 'service vehicle' there is, apparently, no method of indicating that to the Parking Police or to the do-gooder busy bodies who want to exercise a little power over someone else. It appears that the city wants someone to go to court, contest a ticket, and have a judge make that ruling for them.

If that is what they want then, as Rooster Cogburn said "FILL YOUR HANDS YOU SON OF A . . . . . . . . !"

See you in court.

At Century 21 Champ Ltd here in Kingston, we offer our buyers & sellers the Century 21 Gold Standard in service. Century 21 has long been known for their high standards and this is true with us as well. As a representative from Century 21 Champ Ltd, I pride myself in providing exceptional, detailed & attentive service to my clients. Whether buying or selling, I am here to help.

Plus as a bonus to my clients, you can receive AIR MILES for buying and selling with me. Century 21 is the only company that offers this program, so why not take these extra points and turn them into something for your new home! Curious about how to take advantage of receiving AIR MILES when you work with me, well it’s easy! Whenever myself and my partner Greg Enright represent you for the purchase or sale of your home, we’ll provide you with AIR MILES upon the successful close. If you Buy & Sell with us, you’ll get even more points - points for buying and points for selling! Now that’s something to get excited about!

As your Kingston Area Real Estate Agents, we are looking forward to helping you with your real estate needs. Call Greg Enright & Jenn Molleson today!