The festival was kicked off with a 5K run.  Leslie Reschly came in third in her age group.  Suzanne Tulsey once again came in 1st!  Brooke Rudd was heard to say that she was glad Suzanne was bumped up to an older group this year. 06/27/2009

Wow...It seems like to long since I have had a Saturday off.  I am going to take it today. In g etting ready for the 4th, which will be not stop-- for the next week..I really needed a break. Today, there is a fireman's competition.  This is where the neighboring fire departments come together and do a competition.  There will bea winning department at the  end of the day.  All the little ones love seeing the firemen dressed out in their fire fighting uniforms. Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July too.   Ginger Harper 06/27/2009

And Summer is here. Around our town of Southport, we are preparing for the 4th of July festivites that will start on Saturday (tomorrow). WE will have the 5K race and then the fireman's competition.  What a fun time for us that are watching.  The firemen are suited up and get very hot from the competition.  But water .....does cool...them down. Come and join us. Ginger of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty~Southport NC 06/26/2009

I have started a new group...I am saddened about his death.  He was so young and gifted. Go to the Group:  Michael Jackson    and post to it please if you are a Jackson fan. He was such a talented person.  I loved his music. Send me your favorite Michael Jackson song?  They will  all come  back to me. Ginger  of Southport 06/25/2009

As a young person, our family would watch TV on Saturday and Sunday evenings....Mama would pop ..popcorn and we would sit around and watch the Ed Sullivan Show.  We would see the new performers enter into the entertainment arena.  I remember seeing Stevie Wonder doing the finger poppin thing and also the Jackson 5. What talented these folks had. WE will miss the talent of Michael Jackson. Ginger   06/25/2009

I know that in some areas of the country that the 4th is just another day. Here is Southport NC...it is the best day possible.  We have about 60,000 folks to come here and be a part of a fantastic celebration for the 4th.  The events go on for about a week.  So there is singing and dancing, Arts and Crafts, Games, Bands, Beauty Queens and fireworks on the 4th... If you have not been here for this celebration, you may want to consider coming on down and enjoying what our Southport~Oak Island area has to offer. Come on down! Ginger 06/24/2009

The waterfront market, at the Garrison House lawn, which overlooks the Cape Fear River on West Bay Street will be open on Wednesday, June 24th, from 8am until 1pm.  I'm looking forward to buying local produce and home baked goods.  This is just one of the many projects, successful ones, that Downtown Southport, Inc., has initiated.  A lot of volunteer energy has been expended to share the assets of our small town of Southport with visitors and locals alike. 06/23/2009

We have Boost every Monday morning at 9:30.  It is a meeting in which we meet with our Broker in Charge and go over the statics of our local market.  We analyze the figures from our MLS and the subdivisions that we do right much business in. WE are finding that our market is off over 50 % of the highs in the 2005 time period.  Much adjusting needs to take place with our inventory,. Ginger of Southport 06/22/2009

Sunday is a very special day around here.  It is a day that we are able to have our family around us. First thing I do on Sunday morning is to get up and start preparing our Sunday Dinner. Today was Roast beef, Corn, Butter beans,  Stewed Apples, homemade biscuits, and fresh blueberry cobbles (from our blueberries that a grandson, Jonah and I picked yesterday afternoon. The berries were very ripe and about the size of large marbles. My recipe for Blueberry Cobbler is: Melt 1 stick of butter  in a 8x8 dish Put 1 cup of berries in the butter Mix 1 cup of flour, (self rising) 1 cup of Sugar and 1 cup of milk and just mix it up. Pour that mixture over the berries and butter and bake at 350 degrees for  about 30 minutes. So good...top with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy.. Ginger of Southport 06/21/2009

    Listing # 636453 888 Batton Rd Boiling Spring Lakes, NC 28461 Listing Price: $259,900   County: Brunswick See Map   Prop Type Single Family Prop Subtype(s) Site Built Area Boiling Spring Lakes Subdivision None     Beds 3 Approx Htd SF 2001 Baths(FH) 2 (2 0)     Year Built 2004 Lot Sq Ft (approx) 10890 ((Tax Data)) PID 157GF036 Lot Acres (approx) 0.250 DOM/CDOM 99/99 See Additional Pictures School District Brunswick ELEM Bolivia JRHI South Brunswick HIGH South Brunswick   Directions  From Hwy. 87/133 to left onto Fifty Lakes Drive, right onto Eden, left onto Trevino, right onto Palmer and then turn right onto Batton Road. # 888 Marketing Remark  Like new located in Boiling Spring Lakes. This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home offers hardwood flooring, ceramic tile, appliances, livingroom w/gas ... 06/20/2009

I just want to tell you a bit about the 4th of July in Southport NC. WE have the priviledge of hosting the offical 4th of July Parade right here....in our small quaint community of Southport. This community of about 5,000 folks becomes a metropolis of about 85,000 folks.  There are food vendors on the streets, selling anything you would ever want to think of eating. There is live entertainment in the park and The Embers are always a favorite...There is always Dancin' in the Streets. I will try to get you a schedule when they come out. Lovely time to come and see the excitement. Ginger of Southport 06/17/2009

Waterfront Market - Every Wednesday Fort Johnston Garrison Lawn Bay Street, Southport, NC Contact: Peggy McDonald 910/279-4616 Admission/Fees: Free Event of Downtown Southport Inc.   June 2, 2009 - 10:00 AM New Bald Head Island Mainland Ferry Terminal Open Bald Head Island Limited announces that Deep Point Marina, the new mainland ferry terminal for Bald Head Island, will open to the public on Tuesday, June 2nd. Ferry operations from Indigo Plantation & Marina, the current embarkation point for Bald Head Island, will be suspended permanently at that time. Deep Point Marina 1301 Ferry Road, Southport 910/ Deep Point Marina is located at 1301 Ferry Road in Southport, just before the state operated Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry landing. Ferry schedule can be downloaded from www.ferrytobhi.c... 06/16/2009

I do.  I am trying to do everything that I can and learn as much as I can in order to be a better Realtor and AR member. I have learned so much from all of you.  Wish that we could have some kind of a forum to share ideas with.  I know that giving ideas of what works for one Realtor, may just possibly work of another Realtor.  We have to take the good with the bad. So share your ideas with me.  I want to in return give you something back. Best that I have to offer today is that if you are a listing agent, which I am...List the property right based of factual information from your MLS.   Happy Selling! Ginger of Southport 06/14/2009

Today is graduation day for the seniors at South Brunswick High School.  It is so good to see the babies that you loved 18 years ago, be at this turning point in their lives.  I am so proud  of these young folks that are taking a big step  forward into adulthood. Many of these graduates are going off to college to get an education.  Hopefully, some of them will come back to Brunswick County and join our work force here.  I am so proud of them.. Special Congratulations to Will Rainwater...Go NC State! Ginger of Southport 06/13/2009

I am finding myself in uncharted waters when it comes to closing a transaction right now.  Banks are giving buyers a harder time it seems.  Are you seeing it?  Hidden fees that you are not familiar with? It seems like everyone is having a harder time so therefore trying to make up deficient with additional fees.  I have just been wondering if it is the lenders, originators, attorneys, inspectors that I am working with or not. Share your thought with me please. Business is picking up right now. Ginger of Southport 06/10/2009

I am thinking about having an Open House on one of my oceanfront Cottages toward the end of the month. Historically, Open Houses do not work and I am asking for you to email me some ideas that you use that have worked in your area. Here, we have to feed the agents and public, and offer money...$100 for a drawing.  How many of those agents run right back to the office and email out to all there investors that they have seen a house that is right for them.  (Wish that were so.) Anyway, Please send me some tips that might make my Open House more appealing. Thanks in advance for any help. Ginger Harper of Southport NC   06/10/2009

I drove by Potters Market this morning and they have a chalk message on a blackboard mounted outside on their wall, that they don't have any shrimp yet because the shrimp aren't here yet.  Potters market is the one directly on the Old Yacht Basin and its painted yellow.  I'm looking forward to seeing the sign that the shrimnp are there! In the sixties I remember watching the shrimp boats unloading and watching the ladies quickly head the shrimp and fill their buckets.  I also remember watching the Idle On charter boats come in at the Old Yacht Basin, where they would display their catch on boards for photos with the anglers to testify to a good day fishing.  The old Yacht Basin has always been a working waterfront, and over the years I've sold many boat slips there.   One quirk of that ... 06/08/2009

  Last Week in Review           "IT'S A RECESSION WHEN YOUR NEIGHBOR LOSES HIS JOB; IT'S A DEPRESSION WHEN YOU LOSE YOURS." Harry S. Truman. The big headlines of the week had everything to do with job losses...and some surprising twists within the monthly Jobs Report that arrived on Friday, and caused home loan rates to worsen yet once again. Despite their efforts to improve early in the week, Bonds and rates ended the week .375% to .5% worse than where they began. Friday's Jobs Report showed that 345,000 jobs were lost in May, far better than expectations for 520,000 jobs lost. And adding to the positive tone were revisions to the two prior months, showing 82,000 fewer jobs lost than previously reported. So all in all, about 260,000 fewer jobs lost than had been forecast. But let's ta... 06/08/2009

Today our church, roasted our Pastor Skip Williams tonight.  He has been our minister for 7 years.  Our church, Trinity United Methodist Church in Southport NC was Blessed to have Skip with us. He started many different ministries here.  I can not possibly name them all but I do want to mention a few.  The Stephens Ministries, The Prayer Shaw Angels, Kiros Cookie Prison Ministry were very active in our church. Many folks have benefitted so much with the work of this fine man.  He will be moving to Raleigh NC to pastor a church there. God Bless YOU.. Ginger of  Southport NC 06/07/2009

I lived on a 28' Chris Craft from June 30, 1970 until May 1, 1971, in Southport, and also traveled the Intracoastal Waterway from Southport to Washington, DC and South to Riviera Beach, Florida.   Captain Len Lowrey from Reedville, Virginia, had a 42' Yacht under the covered dock and he lived aboard when fishing in this area.  Captain Len had given up alcohol and he said it changed his life, thus the name of his yacht "The Menopause".  I always knew when someone saw that name for the first time, because of the laughter from the tourists and transient boat owners that walked by. At that time there were 3 old wooden minesweepers converted to fishing vessels that fished out of Southport in search of menhaden or "pogies".  These fish were processed at the Fish Factory and the product was ei... 06/06/2009