As we here in Denver are preparing for the Democratic National Convention, I got to thinking about poor Senator Barack Obama. This man is running for President of the United States. Why would I be feeling bad for him?

1. He has to live in Washington D. C. I know Washington D. C. is a beautiful city, as a matter of fact, I’ve visited a couple of times and would love to go back. But, it is not Denver. (Here is where the disclosure comes in. I’m a Colorado native so I may be a bit biased.)

2. If Mr. Obama ends up living in the White House, he has an amazing lawn and will host large picnics, but it still isn’t Washington Park. Denver has a number of premier parks, but Washington Park has always been one of my favorites with it’s diverse and fun-loving crowd of people. Up for a volleyball game? I’m not sure they host volleyball games on the White House Lawn. Just let us know Mr. Obama if you’d like us to hold you a spot in one of our games.

3. While we’ve been having a warmer summer than usual this year, our weather has still been fantastic. We have more than 300 days of sunshine that melt away the snow usually within 24 hours. I’m sure with the White House driveway, someone has to be ready with the shovel when the first snowflake hits. Here, we check the next day’s weather to decide whether to shovel or not. It gives us more time for skiing instead of shoveling. How many ski slopes are within driving distance of Washington D. C.? I’m betting we have lots more.

4. No 14ers. Colorado has 54 peaks that are more than 14,000 feet in elevation. Talk about places to clear your head. These are good spots to contemplate the energy crisis, health care, social security and other key issues impacting our country. I wonder if the key leaders of our country would benefit from having to debate issues while in hiking boots at the top of mountains? Since there isn’t quite as much oxygen, it might require using fewer and more focused words to get your point across. Regardless, I know there aren’t 14ers in the Washington D. C. area. Let us know if we can schedule a trip for you while you are in town, Senator Obama. It will change your perspective.

5. You can never be alone. It is too bad in this day and age that our highest leaders require constant security. Here in Colorado, we value our solitude. There is nothing like sitting on a rock in the middle of one of our Colorado streams just enjoying the scenery. The rush of water, the mountain wildflowers and the amazing wildlife keep us balanced when life gets crazy. We have some fabulous wildflower drives if your black vehicles are 4WD.  I will  insist, though, that you open the windows so you can enjoy the view during the drive. I’ll even bring the picnic and a wonderful bottle of Colorado wine.

I’m sorry Senator Obama that you can’t just pick up and move to Colorado. We’d love to have you visit more of our beautiful state beyond just the Pepsi Center and Invesco Field at Mile High. They are definitely both wonderful Colorado venues, but you’ll still be missing the bigger Colorado picture. Give me a call after things get settled in November. I’m sure we could arrange at least a taste of what Colorado has to offer and if you are looking for a “western” White House, I’m your gal. By the way, Senator McCain, ditto!

Don’t forget to vote.

Tonight before I go to bed, I need to remember to set my clocks forward an hour. It’s time to “spring forward”.

What has me really confused is that we just moved the clocks back an hour a couple months ago. I think someone out there is laughing as we turn up to church at the wrong time twice a year. Are we saving fuel?

At least the clocks change on Sundays. Pastors, Rabbis and Priests are probably a little more forgiving than some of the bosses out there.

The other good news is that the changing time announces the coming spring. Boy, am I ready!

I’m not usually a big one for birthday celebrations, however, 50 is one of those milestones and certainly deserves a good party. All of you are invited to my 50th birthday party which will be held January 2, 2009 on the Ocean Nova ship as it crosses the Drake Passage on its way to Antarctica.

I’ve always wanted to travel to Antarctica and when a full color enticing travel advertisement arrived in my mail a few months ago, I just couldn’t resist. It’s another one of those things on my “bucket list”. We leave the tip of Argentina on December 30th and head across the ocean to the Antarctica peninsula where we’ll see seals, penguins and lots of arctic birds. I’m also hoping to see a whale or two on the way over. I understand that the Drake Passage can be pretty rough and since I am a wimp on boats, I’ll be searching for the holy grail of anti-nauseau medications.

For a summary of the cruise, Click Here.

To check out the boat, Click Here.

I’m joined by my adventurous travel buddy, Delia, who is a retired school principal. I’d love to have you join us. Just tell Joy you want to celebrate Jennifer Steck’s birthday.

Joy Martinello

ExpeditionTrips
6553 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98136-1863
Toll-Free: 877 412-8527
Tel: 206 547-0700
Fax: 206 634-9104
www.expeditiontrips.com

I am very excited and have already started my travel journal. So, I hope you can make it, but if not, you can count on seeing my photos when I return.

I’ve been in therapy since early January. I meet with my therapists every Saturday morning for an hour. The cost adds up, but it has been well worth the six dollars a session. I highly recommend these therapists. There is Princess the lab mix, Busby and Arnold the golden retriever brothers, Bailey the australian shepherd mix, Otis the bulldog, etc. I can’t remember all their names, but these guys are memorable and will make even the grumpiest person leave with a smile on their face.

These are my puppy therapists.

As most of you know, I adopted Olive, a mixed English Pointer, just before Christmas. She has been a wonderful addition to the family. She attends classes at the Denver Dumb Friends League including Puppy Preschool and Elementary Puppy. Every Saturday morning, all the puppies get together to play. The session is focused on socializing the pups with a little obedience thrown in for good measure. Watching puppies play is the most wonderful experience. They leap, run, tackle, chew, bark and totally give in to play. They are a joy to watch and function as my Saturday therapy. I think everyone needs puppy therapy.

I’m not sure the training staff will let you watch, so you may need to adopt a puppy so you can get admitted into the best therapy yet.

Now, my only concern is where will I go for therapy when Olive grows up?

Thank goodness it’s not about the turkey. My family members will tell you that I’m turkey challenged. The last turkey I cooked a number of years ago was still raw inside and inedible. They don’t trust me with the turkey.

My contribution to the family feast is barbecued brisket. I know it is unusual to have brisket at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it is my speciality. The only other items they will allow me to bring to family events are those already cooked and packaged at the grocery store.

Thanksgiving is about taking time out of our busy lives to pause and consider all of the people and opportunities that make our hard work worthwhile. It is our time to sit down with special people, usually over a wonderful feast, and thank them for the difference they have made in our lives.

What am I thankful for?

The soldiers around the world who are keeping us safe so we can celebrate our Thanksgiving in peace.

The families of our military personnel who sacrifice to support them.

The first responders who will be working around the clock to keep my local community safe while I carve the brisket, and first responder families who miss out on Thanksgiving with their loved one.

My family and friends who support, encourage and occasionally correct me when my feet have strayed off the path.

While the turkey someone else in my family will cook for safety reasons, it is just a very small part.

I wish you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

What are you thankful for this year?

If you’ve visited my blog anytime in the last few weeks, you may have noticed that I’ve been remiss in my blogging duties. It wasn’t because I no longer want to write or have joined the mass exodus of agents from the world of real estate, it is because fall has traditionally been a busy time of year for me and this year is no exception.

With several homes under contract and a couple of new listings just in the last few weeks, I’ve been doing what I love to do. Helping people sell their homes and buy great new ones. There is nothing better than assisting clients with selling their current house so they can move on to a fabulous new home that better fits their lifestyle. I am lucky to be active in an industry that brings such great joy.

I apologize for being MIA for a few weeks, but I’m back with lots of story ideas and renewed energy.

The Mortgage Porter featured this video in one of her posts. It is funny and just points out that police officers don’t just write tickets, respond when they are called and work when most people are home sleeping, they also do their best to help in unusual circumstances.

Talk about multi-tasking. They serve, protect and tutor kids in math.

Enjoy!

There is something about kids and water…

A child can be having the worst day where the world seems to be ending and a flow of water makes it immediately all better.

As I’ve grown out of my kid phase, it’s been easy for me to forget some of those simple pleasures.

When the day gets long, the paperwork pile seems to get higher every time I turn my back and the phone calls come one after another with people wanting things, I need to remember that there is a sprinkler outside just waiting for me to run through it.

There is something about kids and water…thank goodness.

I was one of those kids that when I found a good book, I couldn’t put it down until I finished, and that usually meant a flashlight under the covers so my mother wouldn’t find out.

These days, I find myself in the middle of the night typing away on my laptop while I am still snuggled in bed. (Thank goodness for wireless.) It’s one of those “wake up with idea” kind of thing that means you won’t sleep until you put it down on paper, or in this case, on the screen. It happens more to me in the winter when it’s cold out there and I’d rather stay warm and cuddly. With spring here and the temperatures heating up, it isn’t so bad climbing out of bed and heading over to the computer.

I wonder if the experts have identified this as some kind of disease or addiction. All I can tell you is sometimes my best ideas occur when writing in bed. So, I guess I am a bit addicted. While I’m up and at ‘em this morning and upright, I’m glad I’m not on video cam. It’s not pretty picture. I guess I’ll go brush my teeth now.

As I pulled up to the house, I noticed the seller and his two sons standing out in front. When I walked up I was told that the Denver Fire Department was on the way since the house was on fire.

“What?” I thought maybe I hadn’t heard things correctly.

The owner repeated that the house was on fire. The sound of sirens in the background confirmed the situation. Several fire engines pulled up and four or five firefighters with axes in hand hurried in the front door. I’m not normally speechless as many of you may guess, but this was one of those times. There was no visible smoke and everyone had safely made it out of the house.

This was the day that the inspector was coming to go through the house to confirm whether or not the house had any significant issues. We were already under contract and anticipated closing in a couple of weeks. I’m thinking a fire is a significant issue. I’m sure the seller, getting ready to move, was not too happy about the situation either.

I called my buyers. Scott answered the phone and just laughed. Now I was really confused. I wasn’t too sure that this was funny yet.

About that time, the firefighters came out of the house. They’d made sure the fire was out and had opened all the windows. It would be safe to go inside in about fifteen minutes after the fumes had dispersed. The trucks pulled away and there we stood.

Shortly thereafter, my buyers and the inspector arrived, disappointed that they had missed the firefighters.

We went inside and viewed the area where the fire had started. A pipe had frozen while the owner was out of town and he was trying to warm up the area when the drywall and insulation caught on fire. With the pipes frozen, they had no water to put it out. Thankfully, there was only minor damage.

When I asked Scott why he laughed when I told him about the fire, he said it had just been one of those days and somehow, a fire in their soon to be new home, was not unexpected.

The inspection was completed, the damage was repaired, the seller moved and my clients closed on a wonderful home with a great story included.

These kinds of things happen in New York, too. Anthony DiMattia, a Realtor in Rochester, NY, talks about it in his blog Seller Fell Through the Ground at Home Inspection. Anthony inspired this post.