Stormagedon
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Ok, it wipped us out, well almost. No power, snowet piled up and no way to get out. Internet out and I'm still trying to recover. It's been a real mountain experience!
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Weekly Inspiration
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."
~ Henry David Thoreau
BUILD YOUR OWN!
"Follow the yellow brick road," sang Dorothy and her unusual entourage in The Wizard of Oz, as they marched toward the Emerald City. The road was clear and their direction set. What they didn't know was that the good witch and the joyful munchkins had sent them down a road leading to a wanna-be fake wizard behind a curtain.
Have you ever had friends or family direct you to take a "yellow brick road" of their imagining? If you blindly followed their advice, you may have ended up in your own Emerald City of disappointment. The truth is that you have the power to create and follow a yellow brick road of your own, one that leads to the realization of your dreams.
The hard part is that YOU must also lay the paving stones of that road. You must first decide on a destination, and then be certain that each brick faces in that direction. Along the way, you may be distracted by winged monkeys or a wicked witch of your own making. If you succumb to those distractions, you may look back to find that your paving stones are uneven and lead in the wrong direction.
Only by having your destination clearly in mind will you arrive unscathed by life's many dead-ends and hairpin twists and turns. You must also be committed to the work involved - choosing only the right bricks, having the patience and perseverance to lay them straight, and the strength to avoid life's temptations as you work.
In the words of Thoreau - "If you have built castles in the air . . . "
Mt. Hood Manufactured Homeowners
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Attention manufactured homeowners in the Mt. Hood area from Rhododendron, Brightwood, and Welches! I have been notified from a mortgage broker that manufactured home financing may be going away because the secondary market investors are backing away from these loans even though they are FHA and VA approved.
If you currently own a manufactured home there could be serious consequences for you if you need to sell! I'll keep you posted if I hear any other additional information on this issue.
Morning Coffee
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
Today's true story is all the inspiration you will need!
Small World!
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry to reopen a church in urban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.
They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc. and on Dec. 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sunk when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 6 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.
The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in.
One of the items was a beautiful, hand-made, ivory colored, crochet table cloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers etc. to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "Where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.
The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home - that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to the one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a concentration camp. He never saw his wife or his home again for all the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door, and saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.
A true story
COLD FRONT!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Put another log on the fire. Government Camp, Rhododendron, Welches and Brightwood are COLD! We are screamin cold here in Welches at 19 degrees. Could be an interesting week here on the mountain with the coldest temps we've seen in 10 years. I remember the massive damages in vacant homes (occupied too)as the temperatures thawed in the warm up.
And just to get you ready....here is the forcast for the beginning of the week below, and a few of the plumbers listed in the local phone book:
Apex Plumbing at 503-622-5929
Gardner Plumbing at 503-668-6565
Big Country Plumbing at 971-235-7688
Cobra Drain Service at 503-668-6746
(I am not recommending any specific plumbers but you may want their numbers handy)
November Mt. Hood Sales
Saturday, December 13, 2008
The numbers are in for sales in the Mt. Hood area from Government Camp, Welches, Brightwood and Rhododendron.
As you can see, as the stock market crunched downward this fall, the number of sales are reflected in November sales totaling five.
Lots of investors across the country have pulled money out of the stock market and are investing their cash in real estate. We are not seeing as much of that trend here locally but it is happening in other parts of the country. Baby boomers are helping their kids get their first homes and vacation homes are also in the mix.
We are looking forward to this trend to hit our area soon!
Cold I s Coming!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
It's coming soon so get prepared for colder weather on the mountain. Take precautions now so your garage doesn't look like this.
For information on how to prevent frozen pipes and to get ready for winter storms, click here to visit the Red Cross page.
What Today's Lower Rates Mean
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Rates are incredible right now! If there ever was a time to take advantage of low interest rates, this is it. A 30 year fixed at under 5.5% is historic. Yes, this is incredibly GOOD NEWS!
Now we are somewhat lucky on the mountain because we don't have THAT many foreclosures and sub-prime loans. The larger picture in the country paints a different picture though. Tightening underwriting standards and a larger increase in homeowners who are "underwater" in their homes has presented a problem. About half of the people who need to take advantage of these low rates can't due to the standards and plummeting home values mostly in Arizona, California, Nevada and Florida.
How many are in this pickle? According to Zandi of Moody's Economy.com there are around 12 million homeowners in trouble. Step back to the end of 2007 and only 6.6 million were in trouble and at the end of 2006, only 3 million! Things happen quickly as we know.
To qualify for a $400,000 30 year fixed loan you would need a credit score of 680, a downpayment of 10% and a debt to income ratio of 45% or less. Jumbo rates are still high at around 8% interest per annum.
So, if your house hasn't dropped 40% in value recently and you have a good credit score and a job, you are in good shape and you may very well be able to take advantage of these incredible interest rates!
Price reductions on the mountain are coming in by the bushel full so call today to make that investment in rental property, primary homes or second homes!
Morning Coffee for Inspiration
Monday, December 8, 2008
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer,
but rather what they miss."
but rather what they miss."
~ Thomas Carlyle
TAKE A SIESTA!
When setting goals and planning our future, we sometimes fail to look far enough ahead. Consider the following story:
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs." The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, then stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life."
The banker scoffed, "I'm a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. You would eventually open your own cannery and control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then?" asked the fisherman. The banker laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions? And then what?" The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos." (!!!)
So . . . what are you working for? The IPO or the good life? Stop working toward "someday," and appreciate your success on this day. Take time to enjoy the siesta!
Morning Coffee for Inspiration
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"The manner in which it is given is worth more than the gift."
~Pierre Corneille (1606-1684)
JOIN THE VOLUNTEER BRIGADE!
Back in the '70s, CB radios became popular, especially among the nation's truckers. You could tune in Channel 19 and listen to a constant chatter among truckers and others with radios. If you were traveling on an interstate highway, you could get info on traffic, weather, wreck scenes to avoid, radar traps, and other useful tidbits. It was like there was a whole other world of activity going on around you IF you had a CB radio. Those who didn't were oblivious to the activity - yet it was still there.
The same is true of the volunteer brigade - those who offer their time and talents to worthy causes without reward. In any given community, there is a work force that operates 24/7 without any expectation of reward. If you're not one of them, you are probably oblivious to their daily actions to serve the community - but they are out there working whether or not you know it.
There are many ways to make a life-altering contribution to others as a volunteer. Most are not as glamorous as saving a life, yet all contribute to the many unmet needs of community members. Each of us has talents that can be put to use for those in need. A little self-examination will help identify your potential contribution. With all the blessings we enjoy in this country, each of us should make an effort to reach out to others. Why not join the volunteer brigade today?
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