Brainerd Lakes Real Estate News

This is for all the Active Rain members who live in warm sunny states and are really missing out on what Minnesota has to offer in the winter.  I know some of you used to live here, but for one reason or another (surely not the weather) moved on to other places.  Some of you live here in the summer, but then escape well before the first snowflake softly floats down from the sky. Some would call you snowbirds, others call you chicken.

Meanwhile, as we live and work and breathe here in the frosty wilderness - there are moments to reflect upon why we stay. 

    When it's Christmas in Minnesota,
         And the gentle breezes blow,
         About seventy miles an hour
         And its fifty-two below,
         You can tell you're in Minnesota
        'Cause the snow's up to your butt.                                                    ~photo by Zanastardust
        You take a breath of Christmas air
        And your nostrils both freeze shut.
        The weather here is wonderful,
        So I guess I'll hang around,
        I could never leave Minnesota--
        My feet are frozen to the ground!
              ----Unknown

    When Jesus entered the world as a tiny newborn in Bethlehem - it was nighttime in many ways.

• Politically, it was night for the Jews as they suffered under the rule of several world powers and their people struggled under the domination of Roman government. 
  
• Spiritually, the nation of Israel had not heard from any prophets in 400 hundred years and were in a spiritual drought.
  
• Physically, the sun set, just as it had since the dawn of creation and darkness descended on the land and the little town of Bethlehem.
  

    "The time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son"  Luke 2:6.  This was a holy night, born was the king of Israel, angels brought the shepherds good news of great joy.  This was the night that God sent his Son into the world to be the Light and Savior of all who come to accept Him as their Savior and Lord.                                                           photo by Nina

    "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us"  John 1:14.  "In Him was life and that life was the light of men."  John 1:4.

    We still experience nights of fear, failure, loneliness, and loss and Jesus is there bringing comfort, forgiveness, joy and peace.

    Someday there will be no more night of any kind, "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp.....there will be no night there." Revelation 21: 23-25

     The Christmas season can be very stressful and many people get depressed as the bills pile up and  one starts to consider what they don't have that others do have. Let me give you some things to reflect on:

• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes to wear, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
• If you wake up tomorrow with relatively good health, you are more fortunate that the million who won't be living this time next year.
• If you have some money in the bank , in your wallet or purse and spare change on the dresser, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
  
• If you can attend church without fear of persecution, harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are more blessed that three billion people in the world.
• If your parents are still alive and still married, you are very rare!
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle unfolding all around you. the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
• If you have ever used a telephone, you have done something that 80% of the world's people will never do.
  
• If you can read this blog, you are more blessed that over two billion people in the world who can not read at all.

Count your blessings!  Remember the greatest story ever told, the story of a Savior born as a baby, his birth foretold in Genesis 3:15  to the serpent..."And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."                                                                                                                  photo by telethon

Even after Adam and Eve sinned,  God gave them a glimpse of his plan of Salvation.

Classic Country Christmas

Your family tends to make all of your holiday decorations from scratch, and everyone pitches in while stringing the popcorn(day old is best) and cranberries to go around your oversized Christmas tree. This year, take your homemade decorating a step further and transform your home into a festive country cottage. Hang pinecone garland, bought or homemade, along your staircase to bring the outdoors inside. For an added country touch, add plaid red and white ribbons to your garland. Hanging greenery on your mantel is always a classic touch, and this year you can take it a step further by sprinkling fake snow on the greenery to give your home a cozy feeling.Wal-Mart sells a fluffy sprinkling snow that we use in our decorating business.

Modern Holiday

The thought of hanging red and green patterned stockings from your fireplace makes you nauseous. You prefer to celebrate the holidays in a minimalist way. You would love to bring the merriment of the holidays indoors without overdoing it, so what can you do? Instead of hanging wreaths on your wall, try placing small  living pine or cedar wreaths on your dining room table  with votive candles in the center.   They will not only smell good but be low enough to easily talk over. Topiaries  in containers with clean lines or some paper white narcissus  on the mantel will add the right touch.   White with gold should be to your liking or maybe just a cool shiny blue with loads of silver accents. Tall sleek silver candlesticks with a white taper will look elegant and give some height to your vignette.

Nautical & Nice 

Does the sea call your name even for the holidays?  You may want to sink a votive in some sand and set shells in a circle. Sea gulls in a tree - why not? Dried moss, driftwood and tumbled glass add more fun  to your decorating style.

Retro Revival

If the smell of eggnog, "The Christmas Story" movie, and footed flannel pajamas take you back to the tinsel and brightly colored glass ornaments of your youth, you might be longing for a retro holiday. Bring back those feelings by breaking out your old boxes of ornaments and even making some of your own with old photos and retro patterned fabric. Keep your table centerpieces simple by running your table with red, orange and yellow candles set among fresh smelling evergreen. Retro kitchen serving utensils with painted wooden handles can be hung from the tree as  reminders of the past. Tuck an old  kitchen scale or coffee grinder into your pine on the mantel.

Over The Top

What ever the latest style is - that is what you have.  Not only you have it , but you have lots of it.  Whether it be glitz and glam or feathers and fou fou - it is everywhere.  Skip the traditional anything - there are lime greens, hot pinks and more colors than a rainbow.  It is fun and crazy and  way over the top. Just like your celebrations will be.

• how to get a listing

• the State laws concerning selling & buying

• contracts

• determining a listing price

• marketing

• closing the deal
  

• Assess the outside and inside of a property

• accentuate architectural details                                                                     photo by dcJohn
  

• create good traffic flow in rooms

• neutralize a lived in space

• let the light in

• create ambiance

• use accessories to detail a space's perceived use

• prepare a property according to the market

• use a variety of styles - from retro to contemporary - to appeal to the widest audience

• shop for owners, usually with discounts

• maintain an inventory of accessories, many stagers have  furniture also

• apply the latest color trends
  

Can you imaging what a force we could be working together as a team to get a house sold!

Why don't we all do what we do best?

For help preparing property to be sold and to stand out from the rest of the pack contact Re$ale Design and Home Staging  in the beautiful Brainerd Lakes area of Minnesota

If you live in a different area - check out the stagers on Active Rain for your state

 PS - If I missed something that you do,  feel free to add it in the comments

The Brainerd,  Minnesota School Board voted last Monday to mandate the administration to make $5.5 million in budget reductions.  The decisions need to be made by June 30, 2007 and will apply to the 2008-2009 school year.

The following are the divisions: 

• Transportation $180,000
• Closure of schools $500,000
• Athletics and activities $860,000
• Use of school facilities $300,000
• Class size and programs #3,660,000

The closure of Whittier and Lincoln elementary schools has already been decided.  Lincoln will then be housing the Minnesota Learning Center, now in the former Brainerd State Hospital.  Whittier's future is uncertain.

                                                                                                               photo by Conspirator
 

Open enrollment for the Brainerd School District will also close for the remainder of this year and possibly for next year as well. 

     Those who were fortunate enough to see the lighting of the National Christmas Tree may not have realized that there was something different about the 20,280 lights this year.  When the President flicked the switch, glowing energy-efficient light emitting diodes started their dance, instead of the traditional filament burning incandescents.  The Morman Temple has already replaced more than three fourths of its half a million lights for the Festival of Lights with LED lights. I don't deal with quite that number, but as a seasonal decorator, as well as a home stager, our Re$ale Design & Home Staging company is gradually switching as well.  We are also encouraging our customers to hit the after Christmas sales and pick up Commercial grade LED lights for next year.

     The LEDs come in a rainbow of colors and shine brighter that the filament burning incandescent bulbs.

     If one of your favorite holiday traditions is to decorate the Christmas tree, plug in the lights and then redecorate when you find a strand or part of a strand of lights is out, you definitely should not get on the LED bandwagon. Your fun will be ruined.  The LEDs are almost  indestructible and last much longer, up to 10 years longer.

      Even if all you decorate is your own home, LEDs will save you money and lessen the decorating stress.

• 125 watts to power 25 incandescent Christmas lights

• 2.3 watts to power 26 LEDs

     If you need help with your decorating or event planning in the Brainerd Lakes area of Minnesota -  call Re$ale Design & Home Staging at 218-829-4664.

  ~From floral arrangements, to table settings, to outdoor wonderland scenes - Re$ale Design delivers ~

"Do not give people a taste of your greatness, only to recede back into mediocrity." IttyBiz

photo by Flipper 

  Mediocre - of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance : ordinary, so-so

Ricardo Bueno, AR California Mortgage posted a blog on how great the Apple  company is on service is &  how  we should do likewise.

I  then went to the IttyBiz blog which is by Naomi Dunford and about Tiger Woods and paint - not really, but it is humorous, especially for home stagers. 

•      The above quote he posted got me thinking about service and how I depend on others to deliver.  When the repairman is coming and I have to spend the morning at home waiting for him and explaining the problem (i.e. I opened the washer door and my laundry room flooded). It would be good if he shows up in the morning. It is  noon now and I don't see his smiling face.  He is very nice and very good, when he comes. He is never on time!!!!  At least, he is consistent.

•      Do we do some jobs well and then not deliver on others?  Are some clients given special service because their homes are worth more and therefore there may be a greater pay off for my company?  Some clients are certainly easier to work with than others and may become our "favs". Is this to the detriment of our  more difficult clients?

•      Do we return phone calls quickly and respond to questions with grace and tact? How do we  tell people that their taste is just not what the public wants? "Your collection of  human skulls will only appeal to a limited market and probably not to many of the young families that may have an interest in this area -but is certainly interesting. Would you consider donating it to a museum?"
  

•      If I am over booked - do I just  quickly move by rote through a home moving furniture and  fluffing (ok, not fluffing, maybe re-arranging)?  We work within the limits that we are given -but do we deliver within those limits? Do we always WOW or do we sometimes  just do?

•  It’s a Wonderful Life - 1946

RKO Radio Pictures Frank Capra's magical tale of a man who's allowed to see what his family, his friends and his community would have been like if he had never been born. A flop when it came out, repeated television airings built its following over the years and it became one of the most-loved holiday films. With Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore as a despicable villain, it's a little dark, but always moving, even when you’ve seen it dozens of times.

•  Miracle on 34th Street - 1947

20th Century Fox The charming tale of a department-store Santa who believes he really is Kris Kringle . Jolly Edmund Gwenn helps thaw the practical hearts of a young Natalie Wood and her single mom, Maureen O'Hara, in a tale that kicks off with the Macy's Day parade, just like the actual holiday season. The courtroom battle to establish Kris' sanity and the real identity of Santa Claus is a treat.

•  White Christmas - 1954

Paramount Pictures The song "White Christmas" was a long-established holiday hit by the time they built this fluffy, sweet-natured holiday movie around it. A light romantic comedy, the film is an excuse to show off Bing Crosby's pipes, Danny Kaye's comic chops, Rosemary Clooney's lovely voice and Vera-Ellen's dancing (did she ever eat?), along with a series of great sets and costumes. The rest of the tunes are hummable, and the whole enterprise is sweet and peppy as a candy cane.

•  The Bishop’s Wife - 1947

RKO Radio Pictures The diverting tale of Cary Grant come to earth as an angel, to help a beleaguered bishop who's trying to build a cathedral and has lost his true vision. With lovely Loretta Young as the bishop's wife and David Niven as her harried husband, Grant makes for an urbane, well-dressed heavenly visitor who finds himself tempted by earthly joys, and the bishop's wife. Don't miss the hilarious figure skating scene where the skating doubles look nothing like the actors.

•  A Christmas Carol - 1951

Renown Pictures Corp. Dickens' classic moral fable has been adapted an animated for stage, screen, radio and television, and the story of the miserable miser has been played by everyone from Mr. Magoo to the Jetsons. This black and white British version where Alastair Sim's Scrooge is visited by the Christmas Eve ghosts is generally considered among the best. We all have met a Scroogle of our own at some time.

• 6A Christmas Carol - 1984

CBS Television With George C. Scott, the movie was lushly produced for TV, faithful to the book, utterly sumptuous, and sometimes chilling in its depictions of the ghosts. Scott is masterful in the role, with a sympathetic David Warner as Bob Cratchit and Susannah York as his fetching missus. It's an evocation of the glories and the miseries of Victorian England that spurred Dickens to write the tale.

•  A Christmas Story - 1983

MGM/UA  This is a must see every year for the Lordbock family. I remember those snowsuits and being able to barely move, once dressed. Hilarious and sweet, this picture of Christmas and family life in 1940-50s small-town America is hard to beat. The infamous "leg lamp," the kid who sticks his tongue to a frozen lamppost, the pink bunny pajamas, the terrifying trip to a department store Santa and Ralphie's vivid imagination will make anybody but a true Grinch remember the fun of the holidays. Jean Shepherd's storytelling at its best, with a terrific cast. The movie house is now a museum  -  leg lamp and all. PS -I stuck my tongue on the revolving door handle in Dayton's. After about 3 trips around, I peeled off.

•  Christmas in Connecticut - 1945

Warner Brothers Barbara Stanwyck as a Martha-Stewart type who writes a column about her idyllic life with her husband and baby in perfect Connecticut, always with a lip-smacking recipe. Trouble is, there's no husband, no baby, and she can't cook. Of course, circumstance requires her to mount an elaborate hoax, and romantic comedy ensues. A frothy bit of harmless holiday fun.

•  Babes in Toyland -1961

Walt Disney Productions