Staging New Hampshire

I just read my favorite ActiveRain comment of the day...probably of the week, and maybe the year.

I would like to present my Award for

 Agent Who Gets It

 to Bob "RealMan" Timm for his comment:

Debbie, I'd like to find the original Realtor who came up with the whole "allowance" thing and slap some sense into him/her. This may make some AR's cringe but I'm at the point where if I tell a client they need to replace flooring and they respond with "allowance" I'm walking away.

Bob, you made me smile and you give me hope!

Bob's comment (#29) is on a post written by Debbie Gartner who asks the question

 "should she refinish her floors to sell her home?" 

 Debbie was looking for advice regarding a seller and whether or not refinishing floors is necessary to get a house sold. 

Debbie's post was featured and she received lots of great comments, but Bob's really stood out for me.

Allowances for maintenance issues may have worked in the past, but it's a different story today.  In most cases, you will sell faster and make more money if you take care of maintenance issues prior to listing.

My professional opinion on the subject, as stated in my comment to Debbie:

"Sounds to me like the seller wants it both ways...she wants to sell yesterday, but doesn't want the inconvenience and expense of properly preparing it for sale.

  Not doing the floors is equal to hanging a sign on the front door stating the house has not been properly maintained over the years. 

Bad floors is a red flag, raising questions as to electrical maintenace, plumbing, and everything else.  She should ask herself why a buyer would want to deal with the inconvenience when she doesn't want to deal with it.  Buyers want move in ready, they don't want the headache of waiting for the floors to be refinished before they can move in, and they don't want the possible headache associated with dealing with a contractor."

Have you upgraded to the new Profile Page on facebook yet?  Instead of having only a profile photo, the new profile page has five additional photos across the top.

The photos across the top are your five most recently tagged pictures.  If you want to remove any of these photos, roll over them and click the "x" in the top right corner.  These photos are only visible to the people selected in your "Photos and videos you're tagged in" privacy setting.

People who are not allowed to view your tagged photos see photos from your profile picture album instead. People who are not allowed to see either your tagged photos or your profile picture album don't see any photos at the top of your profile.

Thanks to Photojojo, I found a fun way to creatively use the new Profile format and I've had several people ask me how I did it.   

With a free template from Pic Scatter you can choose one photo to fill all six photo spots on your profile.  This template allows you to control what will be in those boxes, instead of photos you're tagged in being put there automatically.

The template is very easy to use.   

1.   Click  "Create a Profile Picture"

2.   Click  "Upload Picture"

3.   Drag picture to position it.  Use plus and minus signs to change picture size.

4.   Use plus and minus signs to enter number of lines of text.   (this determines the position of the five small pictures) See my photo above - there are three lines of text under my name, so I entered 3.  If you want the row of pictures higher or lower, just change the number.

5.  Click "Publish to facebook"  

To return to displaying tagged photos - simply check the box  "Remove old scatters" and then click "Publish to facebook.

There are so many ways to have fun with this template! 

NOTE:  You must upgrade to the new profile before the template will work.

I don't know about you, but I love my Christmas tree, and I take Christmas tree selection very seriously, as well as decoration and choice of lights.

Over the years my tree has evolved from large colored lights with tinsel to small white lights with dried flowers.   

For fun, here is a photo evolution of just a few of my past Christmas trees.

The Sixties - I'm not sure what they were thinking when my parents chose this tree, but it makes me laugh everytime I see this picture.  Maybe they felt sorry for it, afraid no other family would take it home.  Looks like a drunk monkey decorated it...

A fun Christmas tree trend of the sixties was the aluminum tree.  If you were really cool, you had the color wheel under it making it change colors....

 The seventies...the tinsel years!  Our first tree as a married couple.

  Obviously I still had a lot to learn...

Can't forget the "country" years...lots of hearts and geese, apples and bows...

 I'm really loving this year's tree, and looking forward to keeping it around for a couple more weeks.

 I would love to see your favorite or funniest Christmas tree picture...

care to share?

If you are planning a cruise, choosing shore excursions is not always easy.  Descriptions are limited, and the excursions tend to be expensive and many times disappointing.  I just returned from a Celebrity  Southern Caribbean cruise and there are three excursions that I would highly recommend.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas  -  Magens Bay Beach Getaway 

Magens Bay, named one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world, is a great place to spend a day while in St. Thomas. 

 Magens Bay offers crystal clear water, a white sand beach for sunbathers and plenty of palm trees to provide shade for those who want to limit sun exposure. 

There are chairs for rent, an impressive snack bar,  and a bath house with showers. 

Instead of purchasing the $29 excursion (which only allows for two hours at the beach)  I recommend taking a taxi for $12, paying the $4 entry fee, and having the freedom to stay for a much longer time period.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten  -  St. Martin Beach Rendezvous

One of my favorite Caribbean destinations is St. Maarten and/or St. Martin.  This was my second time taking this excursion to Orient Beach.

Included in this $58 excursion:  3 1/2 hours at Orient beach, a welcome rum or fruit juice drink, reserved lounge chair with cushion and choice of three entrees for lunch. 

Double umbrellas are available for a $3 fee.  There is a bar and bathrooms are available. 

Warning:  There is nudity on this beach.

The beach is beautiful and the waves are quite impressive.  Lunch was excellent.  Our tour guide, Vilma, was very friendly and helpful.

If you are interested in having your hair braided, make sure to agree on a price before, and understand that the price is usually per braid.

Bridgetown, Barbados  -  4 x 4 Safari and Green Monkey Encounter

This excursion was awesome!  Cost is $72  

You are driven by open air tour vehicle through the Barbados countryside to a wildlife reserve, where monkeys and other animals are free roaming. 

The tour is timed to visit the reserve during the feeding of the animals.

We began with a drive through an elite resort area, where the rich and famous spend thousands of dollars per night to stay.

Then we stopped to visit with some monkeys in the wild.  We were given food to hand feed them.

Next we visited the wildlife reserve.  Unlike a zoo, the animals here are not in cages.  Every day at 2:00 food is put out in one location and all the animals eat together.  It's like a scene from a Disney movie.

We met an animal we had never heard of before....a mara.  It has a rabbit like head and deer like body.

Our 3 1/2 hour tour concluded with a drive along the rugged East coast and a stop at Bathsheba.

 For more information and other people's reviews on cruises and cruise excursions visit

 Cruise Critic   or   Trip Advisor.

Last week Rick and I spent seven nights sailing the Carribean. 

For six days we were pampered and spoiled and, with no cell phone or internet service, completely removed from the outside world.

On the seventh day, when Rick used the ship's internet service to print our boarding passes, a quick check of email brought our "fantasy island" experience to a crashing halt.

The death of a life long friend was our return to reality.

Dick was on life support when we left, but there had been signs of improvement and we were very hopeful. 

Rick has known Dick Bournival his whole life...Dick and Rick's brother Bob were best friends.

When Rick and I got married in 1978, Rick started working as a mechanic at Dick's car dealership.

Over the years one dealership became four, and the mechanic became head of Service for all of them.

I also worked at the dealerships for many years. 

My children have all worked for "Uncle Dick" and two of them still do.  

Rick was more than Dick's right hand man, he was his brother, and we were family. 

Dick Bournival was a war hero, receiving the Purple Heart twice and the Bronze Star.  He was a driven man who hated weakness and a generous man who rewarded greatness.  His leadership style intimidated many...he did not accept "no" and expected 100% effort from everyone.  His rewards were legendary...usually including extravagant trips. 

We shared very painful times...the loss of three of Dick's four children, the loss of Dick's dad, the loss of Rick's parents and the loss of Rick's brother, Bob.  

We shared very happy times...birthdays, weddings, extravagant parties and too many fabulous trips to mention.  The trip I am most grateful for is when Dick took not only Rick and I, but also our three grown children on a Carribean cruise.  We never could have afforded that experience on our own.

The "Bournival Group family" is a very unique (and disfunctional) group.  We share a collective experience like no other.  We have often said someone should be writing a book or movie.  So many crazy and incredible stories.  No one would believe half of it...even those of us who have lived it have a hard time believing most of it.  The man may be gone, but the memories will live forever.

You really had to be there to understand.

It's the life that has made me who I am today and now that Dick Bournival is gone, life won't ever be the same.

Richard D. Bournival

June 18, 1950  -  December 9, 2010

I love what my daughter, Ashley, wrote on Facebook:   "Fly on proud bird, you're free at last"    

My favorite way to update a piece of furniture is to paint it black and add new hardware.  This isn't the first post I've written on the subject, and it probably won't be the last.  Every so often I find a new piece to transform. 

When my daughter bought her first home, she updated her Nana's bedroom set to make it her own.

When my other daughter had her son, she updated the bedroom furniture that I got as a wedding gift to use for the baby's nursery.

I've recently updated a piece with great sentimental value.

My parents bought this cabinet in the 60's when my siblings and I were children.

In the 80's we had children and the cabinet became my mother's place to keep her grandchildren's toys.

  Today this cabinet is at my house and it now holds the toys for my grandchildren.

My "transforming furniture" paint of choice is Ben Moore Satin Impervo

The cabinet isn't the only thing in that 1960's picture that has changed it's appearance: