To they will start coming by the droves. Our little town of 8,000 will swell to 30-40 thousand people. Officially it starts tomorrow night with the pageant and ends Sunday with the Parade. In between there will be a 5 and 10k run, car show, car cruise, gun show and many vendors.

One of my favorites is the Elks chicken BBQ held Saturday and Sunday. Sometimes on Saturday night I enter the car cruise in my 1960 Corvette pictured on my website. The weather is forecast for sun so come on down! If you need a Hotel, forget it!

This dilemma comes up more than just Mothers Day. We are going to a fancy Mothers Day brunch with friends. Two out of 4 are Diabetics.  the rates for the buffet meal are pricey as this is a special day and a lot more effort will be out in the menu. Now comes the question, Some diabetics aren't seniors or children and looking at them they don't qualify for the small price. They will eat a very small portion of this food but want to join the festivities with all. How does one go about getting a fair deal? Have restaurants thought of this? Your Thoughts?

I didn't drop her! I am speaking of my Active Rain friend Donne Knudsen. She is is someone I subscribe too and use to do a post the first part of the week "What the Active Rain gods missed". She would list an few post from the week before that she felt should have been featured. Most of them she mentioned I had read.She always brought out a couple of great ones that I had missed.

She went missing a few months back and I had done a post asking about her status and also emailed her. Someone answered the post saying she was making a major change and was extremely busy, they thought in time she would be back. Over the weekend, she came back!

WELCOME BACK! I'm glad I didn't drop you!

Yep, that's right, I don't do bathrooms anymore. I have always taken pictures of bathrooms for the MLS in the past. Most are too small to get a good picture. I will still take bathroom pictures if it is a high end home.

A high end bathroom is bigger than the average persons front room and has lots of bells and whistles. Usually stone counter tops. tile floor, tile showers with 4 heads and a spa tub that needs a diving board and a life preserve ring attached.

Sheila Anderson wrote a blog "Don't drink and do business". This caused me to think how "business practices" have changed over the last 30 years that I have been in, one type or another.

In my early years it was 3 martini lunches or some kind of alcohol when having a business lunch to now, where its now a big NO NO.

Dress code has waffled back and forth over causul dress Friday or not.

Jokes and business conduct that was funny in the 80's will get you fired and may even land you in court today. What can you add to the list?

Oregon's new E licensing went into effect March 5th of this year. What is E licensing? Your license can be changed, renewed, upgraded, down graded, or activated online. You can even change Brokerages on line. Within moments you can transfer to a brokerage and the former one is notified by email that you have left. This is a cost cutting measure and a move to the new century.

You can print out your license and it is no longer required by the State to have it hanging at the firm where you work. Everything can be verified online. Soon you or your boss will be able to track your education credit hours online to see how you are doing for compliance. Oregon is moving out front!

When it comes to old habits, time will rat you out. Today after I loaded groceries in my car after shopping, I was putting the cart away. It came to me for an instant that there are two kinds of people, "those who put cats away and those who don't".

I reflected back 25 years ago when my first was born and how I select parking close to a cart return area. When you are shopping alone with small kids, you don't take chances that they will stay put. Fast forward to today my last one will be headed to college at the end of summer. She reminded me when she was 14 that I could quit cutting up her meat when I fixed the plates to serve. My shock when it was only yesterday that she was 2 and now she is close to 19. What habits have you been ratted out on?

I have a few times. Once I bought a camp trailer that would sleep up to 5. We were a family of 5. After the first weekend it was back on the market. It was tight for 5 and I had growing kids.

Last year I bought a new desktop computer and a mini laptop for traveling. I decided to go with the XP system as I wasn't ready to learn Windows 7. I had to hurry with the purchase as no more XP's would be produced. Availability was, inventory at hand. I have been fine with my purchase but now question, Why did I buy backwards?? What have you done? Your thoughts?

Today we were given instructions on how we could post listings to YouTube. My question is for those that have tried it, Does it score you business? Is the effort worth it? I have never thought of shopping on YouTube, so I find it hard to thing others would do that instead of MLS searches or the syndicates. Your thoughts?

Years ago we were the perfect family of 4 and then it was necessary for us to take on one more, and what a joy she added to the family! Bac"k then in the early 1990's I remember a KFC add. The "family meal deal", you get so many pieces of chicken, 2 large sides and "FOUR, countem "FOUR" corn muffins. I'm sure the TV did"n't raise the volume on the word "FOUR", but that's what I heard. I could ramble on all day about cars perfect for a family of "FOUR and many other products.

What brought all this on, is that soon we will be "empty nesters" and the world in alot of cases is still built for the perfect family of FOUR. Yes when we go to KFC we can take it home for another meal. I was questioning the large warehouse grocery stores that sell it in massive packages that 2 people could never inhale it in time before it goe3s bad. Give me some insight to my future, What say you?

Have you ever been "one more thinged" to death? Of course you have, we all have.

The solution to it is the hard part. I have had jobs in other fields of work that the boss added one more thing and one more thing. Six months later you wake up and realize you are really out in "left field" from where the job and job description started. I believe the last few years as company's tried to survive, many where assigned a bigger load to keep from needing more staff. Sometimes this came in the form of slowly adding one more thing, then one more thing, This has proven the point of "less is more" and set an unfortunate precedent.

Originally this blog was going to be about a buyer that "one more thinged" everyone involved, but as they say. "thats a whole another show" How have you handled one more thingers?

There have been some blogs about habits and forming new habits latlely. I was wondering the difference of a habit and being in a rut? Thinking over the last several years I see patterns that I change for awhile and then moved on to something else.

When I first moved here over a dozen years ago, I found a group of local guys that drank coffee every morning at 5 a.m. at a certain coffee shop table. I soon fit in telling whoppers and seeing who could tell a bigger one. It was fun and a also a way to keep an ear to the ground. After a few years I was bored and now only show uo monthly to keep in touch.

I switched to going to the gym at 5 a.m. and met a different group there. That lasted for a few years, now its a different time with a different group. I could keep rambling on about different times and places in my life.

So back to the question, when is it a habit and when is it a rut?

Tell your agent when you will be away on vacation or what ever, if you don't it can cost you a deal. I got a new to me listing last year that had been on the market for a couple years with a different firm.

The seller went out of state on a mini vacation and a CASH offer for more than his bottom line came in. The problem was he didn't tell me he was leaving. His response was ' I didn't think it would ever sell".

 Fast forward to now. I have an offer coming in and I am the third agent to have this listing. Recently he lower the price to real reasonable and we have an offer coming in. The problem is no one knows where he is. He is gone from work and will return in a few weeks. This will kill the deal he has been looking for for a long time. What say you?

The definition of an excuse is: Just the skin of a reason filled with a lie.

The definition of an excuse is the skin of a reason filled with Bull Sxxt. Either way you get the picture.

Roger Mucci wrote a blog today about Hating Mondays, people commented about past excuses to not work Mondays. As a former business owner they did not set well with me. A few times when I knew it was bogus I called them out on it. The shoe was on the other foot last week when I let my straight "A" daughter enjoy a sunny spring day off from school. The school called me, I told them the truth. She was suffering from "springitus"!

Yesterday I blogged about"Oil doesn't tasted good", referring to how food prices have shot up in the last couple weeks. Actually ALL goods have taken a price increase. 

Now the worry is, if Oil prices go down , how many prices on goods won't? I remember many years ago Coffee was a dime in restaurants and there was a freeze or something that caused a major shortage. Coffee shot up to 50 cents a cup and never went back down. When was the last time you got a cup for 50 cents?

I think when Oil goes down in price that food and other good WON"T. Why? Because they learned we will pay it. This is referred to as the "sticking price". Your thoughts?

A few days ago I did the major grocery buy for the family. I do a major buy about every 3 weeks and do light fill in shopping as needed. I buy fresh meat, veggies and milk a little more often.

I was in "sticker shock" There were items that had been 3.69  a few weeks ago that were 4.29. I'm sure high fuel prices have a lot to do with this as food doesn't get to the store by its self. Did I mention Oil doesn't taste very good?

Unusual surprise in Florence Oregon last night. We got 5 inches of snow. In my 12+ years year it has only snowed a couple times of an inch or so, closing schools for a day. The surprise is that nothing was said on the 6pm TV weather report about snow. About 9pm or so I heard a lot of rain and went to bed about 10 pm. Around midnight my wife came home from work and asked my assistance in getting the car in the garage as it would not do the drive way.

I used some one syllable words when the cold snow went over the tops of my slippers and I determineed I was going to be shoveling snow, Not something I have ever had to do in Florence Oregon on the coast!

This is a question I have pondered for some time. I don't have the answer. Back when boomers were born, there where alot of large family's. Now we hear of the perfect 2.3 kids per family. I'm not sure what a .3 is, but that is a whole different post.

If there really will be less population won't there once again be a glut of homes on the market for sale? What will it be like to be a Realtor 30-40 years from now? I won,t still be here by then, but I still wonder. Your Thoughts?

Ixtapa family Mexican restaurant has opened another store in Florence Oregon. They are located at 1015 hwy 101 in Florence Oregon. To the locals this means the former Aztlan building. They are featuring lunch specials at $5.75 and Dinner specials starting at $7.75 the phone # is 541-997-4499.

I have been happy with meals at another store they have in Veneta Oregon, so I knew this should be good. They have been open a week at this time, and I have been there twice, and later today will make three times. As of yesterday (3-9-2012)  they did not have their liquor license. I'm not a drinker but those wanting a Margarita will need to wait a few more days. Give them a try and tell them, Rob Shepherd from Coldwell Banker Coast Real Estate sent you!

Yesterday became an unexpected "ME" day. I had just came off of two of the nastiest days at the office in my almost 9 years. I had blocked of yesterday and the day before to help my wife prepare out tax info for out CPA. Tues was a bad day that taking it off wasn't an option.

Yesterday we had an unseasonably warm spring day! I suggested we go out to the community garden area in our gated community and turn over the dirt in our 2 boxes.  While out there I took time to notice the fruit trees were budding out! Then came the idea to have a family lunch on a deck at a riverfront restaurant "Travelers Cove" Florence Oregon.

Now back to the grind, NOPE.I decided to take my wife on a cruise up the coast to Yachats Oregon 25 miles away in my 1960 Corvette pictured on my website, to check a flyer box on an ocean front listing, the HAYHURST. From ther3e it was a coffee and cookie at the Village Bean coffee stand in Yachats Oregon and a return trip in time for supper.

About today, anyone free to come help me sort tax papers and receipts? I didn't think so.

When I go to a listing presentation and they inform they are interviewing others, it makes no difference to me. When they don't inform me of that, I assume they will anyway. I am with one of the "big three" in our town. It has been common for years that they will interview one from each.

Seldom I lose and when I do its usually a relief for one reason or another. Quite often when I am selected they tell my why.

Why is usually because I am the only one that walked them thru what to expect with fees and procedures. What has been your experience with this?

I was invited to a listing presentation last year that several others including a few from my office where scheduled for. When I showed up to home I was met at the door by one owner, one yappy dog and a large dog that kept its nose in my crotch the whole time.

The place was a veiw home that was filthy inside anf the wife had gone shopping. I have a problem when I go to an appointment and ALL decision makers are NOT present.

The appointment went down hill in a hurry from there, with numerous problems that the property had, that were not legal and a price expectation that was in outer space.

I walked away thinking, this is how showings will be, A filthy house and dogs that make you uncomfortable. What are these sellers thinking?

When did "your welcome" become "no problem"?  The other day I said "thank you" to a gas attendant. His response was "your welcome"  it caught me by surprise! It sounded wonderful! Then I reflected back and can't remember the last time I heard "your welcome". More embarrassingly. I don't remember when I used "your welcome" instead of "no problem".

So when did "your welcome" become "no problem"?

Recently I was doing some errands in the Portland Oregon area about 7-8 hours round trip from my yard in Florence Oregon. I felt from getting to know Cindy thru Active Rain that she would be the best person to answer some questions that I had.

I called ahead and found out she was going to be really busy that day and it might not happen. As it turned out her day was running behind and so was mine. At the time she called I had just freed up to. We were able to meet up and go over some concerns I had about business. She did mention she would like to concentrate on doing more business in the Tualatin- West Linn area south of Portland

Cindy Westfall is a wonderful person that I feel I can trust my referrals to for that area. If you need someone there, look her up! Isn't Active Rain a great place to meet colleagues that you can trust?

Cindy's Blog About Portland Real Estate & Stuff