From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in United States and Canada on February 2. In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, or marmot emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If on the other hand, it is sunny and the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for 6 more weeks.                     The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania; crowds of around 20,000 to 40,000 have gathered to celebrate the holiday. (Candlemas is usually the same day, and has similar beliefs about the coming weather)   Groundhog Day 2005 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA.          ... 02/01/2009

RE/MAX Riverview Realty Ltd, Brokerage, Gananoque, Ont is pleased to announce Susan Emo, Sales Representative , has received her accreditation from The National Association of Green Agents and Brokers (NAGAB). As a "Green Agent", Susan is available to Home Owners in the Greater Gananoque area and Kingston, advising them on how to make their homes more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. This creates added value and can make them more saleable. There are also great benefits to Home Buyers hiring Susan Emo in their search to find an energy efficient home, that she'll be happy to share with you. Ms Emo, the 1st qualified "Green Agent" in the Kingston/Gananoque/1000 Islands Area, is pleased to provide you with a no-obligation Home Consultation or a FREE Energy Conservation Kit so... 01/29/2009

One winter morning in Gananoque, Ontario a couple was listening to the radio while eating breakfast. They heard the announcer say, "We are going to have 8 to 10 inches of snow today. You must park your car on the even-numbered side of the street, so the snow plows can get through." Norman's wife went out and moved her car. A week later while they were again eating breakfast, the radio announcer said, "We are expecting 10 to 12 inches of snow today. You must park your car on the odd-numbered side of the street, so the snow plows can get through."Norman's wife went out and moved her car again.The next week they were again having breakfast, when the radio announcer said, "We are expecting 12 to 14 inches of snow today. You must park ......"    Then the electric power went off.Norman's wife... 01/29/2009

HOME OWNERSHIP MADE AFFORDABLE! Available on a first come, first approved basis so get your skates on! The Home Ownership Program provides down payment assistance to households currently renting within the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, or the separated municipalities of the City of Brockville, Town of Prescott, and Town of Gananoque.  Down payment assistance of up to 5 percent of the purchase price of an eligible home, to a maximum of $7500, is provided to eligible applicants in the form of a 20 year forgivable interest free loan. To qualify, applicants must be at least 18 years old, have a combine gross household income of $56,100 or less, and have access to mortgage financing.  The home must have a purchase price of $186,000 or less and be located within the above mentioned ... 01/25/2009

Yes please, may I have more?   The Federal Government is providing grants up to $5000 and the Provincial Governement is matching the amount -  Isn't that cool?!?!?    All for simply saving energy which in fact is actually saving money so we're being given up to $10,000 for saving money -  again, how cool is that?! I hope that you remember my excitement with being a part of the National Association of Green Agents and Brokers awhile ago?  Well as part and parcel of this new focus of mine, I had a Reporter pay a call to me this week wanting to write his feature on little old me .   Now, I never want to give anyone the wrong idea about me so I was quick to set the tone of the interview letting the reporter know that I wasn't a 'tree hugger'  etc  but that my mission is to save home owners ... 01/25/2009

This was shared with me by a friend this morning - author unknown. A young woman struggling in the Real Estate business, went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.  Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.  In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and ... 01/18/2009

According to a report in our local paper, The Greater Kingston Area is in better condition economically then we were led to believe. Annual employment grew eight times national rate - Employment growth in Kingston was clocked at 4.8% - compared to just 0.6% nationally.  According to Statistics Canada, Kingston's job market jumped by 3,700 full-and part-time positions from December 2007 to December 2008. Perhaps reflecting that trend, this week a Kingston business announced the acquisition of majority shares in Zoom Airlines, a transaction that will bring about two dozen jobs to Kingston. Also noted, the area is proud to have 12 new doctors added to the city's family health teams. Intercall, a call centre business based in Edmonton, made the biggest announcement of 2008 when it brought 1... 01/15/2009

Hmmmm . . .  My "thanks" to Lara for tagging me for this latest MEME , called the Real Me.  The rules are: Create a blog post with a link to the person who so happily tagged you. See above! 1. List all of these rules in the post. Feel free to cut and paste this. 2. Share seven things that others may not know about you. Do or have, or did you have, a life outside of real estate? Gosh, something other than real estate after the year we have just had? Ha! 3. Identify seven friends, contacts or near enemies in which to adorn this MEME. Tag them at the end of the post and give a link to their blog (hey, it's super easy. Even, I figured it out - I cut and paste it :) 4. Contact each of the tagged members and let them know that you were indeed fast enough to catch them and that you did indeed ... 01/11/2009

"The world economy is going down the drain because of some repossessed, boarded up, unsellable homes in Cleveland." But how does that bring down a 60 or 70 trillion dollar world economy is a whole other story! I thought you might be interested in the following article that was in our REALTOR® EDGE newsletter this morning . . . ***************************************************** If you believe a lot of what you hear and read in the financial media, that's what you'd think, according Jeff Rubin, Chief Economist, Chief Strategist and Managing Director CIBC World Markets, speaking at the Real Estate Forum in Toronto in December. "We all understand how those mortgages were securitized" said Rubin, "and we all understand that when people send in the keys instead of a mortgage cheque those (... 01/10/2009

Real Estate Statistics for Gananoque Real Estate in 2008 as per the year end MLS figures:  In 2008, of the 218 Residential Properties that were listed for sale in the Town of Gananoque,    98 have actually SOLD That equals 45% SOLD and 55% which did not. The average sale price in 2008 was $191,883 as compared to 2007 where the average sales price was $173,285 (a difference of +7.44%)  Of the 45% of  homes that sold in Gananoque,  82 days was the average number of days on the market. Average list price in 2008 was $225,955  as compared to an average sale price of $191,883 (85%) I'm excited about 2009 and I want everyone to know it is a GREAT time to Buy Real Estate!!! 01/08/2009

"Amusing" quotes from the past 8 years as quoted by the BBC !!! The 'misunderestimated' president?   All politicians are prone to make slips of the tongue in the heat of the moment - and President George W Bush has made more than most. The word "Bushism" has been coined to label his occasional verbal lapses during eight years in office, which come to an end on 20 January. Here are some of his most memorable pronouncements. ON HIMSELF "They misunderestimated me."Bentonville, Arkansas, 6 November, 2000   ''I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe - I believe what I believe is right." Rome, 22 July, 2001 "There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me... 01/08/2009

2009 is upon us!  You were warned it was coming and it has -  Thank Goodness for many!!!   With the new year comes new energy, new enthusiasm and new excitement.  I believe in changing my email signature and my voicemail messages on a regular basis but most importantly in the new year. Over the holiday period I jokingly had a message that said, "Hi, you've reached Susan Emo.  I can't take your call right now so please leave your credit card number and I'll get back to you!"     That cracked up alot of people and provided me with some very funny messages.    I have now changed it to say: "This Susan Emo and it's a GREAT time to Buy and Sell Real Estate!  Let me make your day today! " I have had several people already leave me a message thanking me for putting out such an upbeat and posit... 01/02/2009

From the book, The Damp Squid the University of Oxford's "10 Most Irritating Phrases." 1. "At the end of the day"2. "Fairly unique"3. "I personally"4. "At this moment in time"5. "With all due respect"6. "Absolutely"7. "It's a nightmare"8. "Shouldn't of"9. "24/7"10. "It's not rocket science" I have added to the list, the one that get's me screaming everytime:  "If I'm being perfectly honest" !!!!    What the #$%*@  have you been doing the rest of the time??!! Let us know what gets your goat.  What phrase or word irritates the #$%@ out of you?  Please feel free to add several if need be :0)     12/03/2008

Here's Day 23 already . . .  looking forward to attending a Christmas concert this evening put on by Dreams in Motion Performing and Fine Arts School , a not-for-profit local organization that promotes artistic endeavours for all ages.  This is a group that I support because of what they bring to the children of this community - the chance to dream big and enjoy themselves.   They survive on donations alone and times are tough in this community with factories closing and the tourist trade not what it once was.  If anyone reading this would care to donate, please click on the link above - it would be most appreciated! I decided to share a laugh with a joke I found funny and was touched to have our very own Bo Hussung write this comment: Susan, I am going to accept this post as your gift ... 11/28/2008

>             Okay, here we go with Day 5 of my 29 Days of Giving . . . Our office is not filled with tech savvy Realtors by any stretch of the imagination and more than 7/8 of them do not have a website nor do they know how one would work.  We have a new colleague who I think is going to be fantastic with a little bit of direction & training.  Like most of us when we started, she is being bombarded with ideas and marketing schemes; some good, some not so good. My advice to anyone starting out or even some of the more seasoned people, is to focus on your circle of influence.  ASK everyone you know "Who do you know who may be interested in Buying or Selling in the next few months?"   That is a no-brainer.  However, this particular agent is becoming overwhelmed with all the decisions tha... 11/10/2008

A lovely quiet and peaceful Sunday - one of the things I enjoy most.  My husband happily enjoying golf on TV.  My good book in front of a cozy fire.  The tantalizing smells wafting in from the kitchen teasing me with what will come in a few hours at the dining room table.  The dogs sleeping at my feet after being thoroughly brushed to perfection.  I couldn't get over just how fortunate I am!  My mind has been racing with the endless possibilities with these 29 days of giving.  I'm a giving person by nature but I want these 29 days to be more focused.  Yes, I want the spontaneity to be there instead of it having to be just one more thing on my to do list but I don't want to miss any opportunity to give in a more concentrated manner.  Does this make sense? Then it came to me:  The Heart ... 11/09/2008

W0W -  Day 3 and oh what a feeling . . . I'm dancing on the ceiling!    After a busy day showing very bad low income apartment buildings, I was able to end the day on a high.   I wasn't looking forward to these showings but my client was wanting to buy this type of building so off we went.   I was absolutely disgusted with how some people choose to live.  I'm convinced that if they were living in the penthouse in Trump Tower they would still have kept filthy dirty apartments.   Please don't get me wrong, I do not believe they were living in squalor because they were down on their luck.   Some of the tenants had very few possessions but what they had was clean and in good repair.  You could see they had respect for themselves and for their surroundings.   That maybe this was just a temp... 11/08/2008

                I am just jazzed and it is only 3:30 in the afternoon!   Today, for my 2nd Day of 29 Days of Giving I gave testimony in court for a client and we WON!!!    My client is so happy her cheeks are hurting from grinning! We spent 5 long hours in court to be rewarded in the end with a Case Dismissed!  Without going into a long song and dance about it, this case was introduced by a Buyer who chose to have a family member perform her Building Inspection instead of hiring a professional.   Months after closing, she had some issues that most likely would have been identified by a pro and felt that the Seller should pay for these. We felt so badly towards the Buyer but felt that if anyone was responsible it was her family member who was advising her all along, not the Seller (anot... 11/07/2008

Thank you to AR for bringing this wonderful concept to my attention.  I cannot remember which member invited us all to participate but I'm sure someone will share (please).   This movement appealed to me immediately and I want to share my 29 day journey with you. I woke up this morning excited about what would be Day 1 of giving a gift . . .  my mind was whirling with possibilities.  I then read a message from Veronica Deschambault about her experience that stopped me in my tracks -  she shared: "In the beginning I think I was a bit too regimented in my giving: thinking, planning, doing with my head more than my heart. I consciously shifted my approach about a third of the way through and tried to let my giving be more organic in its origins. This kept it from becoming another task to a... 11/06/2008

  I am challenging myself this week and would love to have you join me . . . I'm sure by now, all of you know about the "Six Degrees of Separation"?   From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is an average of six "steps" away from each person on Earth. With this theory in mind, I am challenging myself to select 5 people I want to meet or connect with and, using my existing database, arrange a meeting or phone call by the weekend!  It may be for a quick coffee, Lunch or even Dinner, who knows?  The important part of this is that I am going to meet 5 wonderful new people this week!!!   For t... 11/03/2008