Continue reading »]]> It’s Tuesday and isn’t it great?  Yes, all the other days are wonderful too, but today is my favorite.

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day and that you celebrated how YOU wanted to.

Me?  Well, we went to Fenway to watch a great game and it was the first time my youngest had ever been to the park and he watched them win, score a homerun AND walk the park after the game to touch the “Green Monster”.  Being at Fenway for the 100 year celebration this year is just amazing.  On the big screen they show short video clips of past athletes, present ball players, monumental winning games and also bloopers.  Here is a timeline of some of Fenway’s greatest moments through the years.  Fenway is the oldest and most beloved ball park and I hope they continue to preserve the stadium so we have 100 more years.  for Mother’s Day they honored a couple of players from days of old, heroes of today from the Armed Services, women that have beaten cancer and a 100 year old fan!  I had more fun watching the boys have a great time.  The wonder of it all for Zach was a great mother’s day gift in and of itself.  Here are some photos we took of my mother’s day and walk around Fenway.

Wishing you all a great Tuesday!

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Continue reading »]]> It’s Thankful Thursday and today I am thankful for a drive to Lowell, a beautiful building and a true friend.

Tuesday (yes my favorite day of the week), I drove to Lowell Memorial Auditorium with my wonderful and amazing friend Diane Guercio to see the show “Burn the Floor” which is ballroom dance only with attitude.  We are called the “Diane’s” at the office or when we are introduced together…at least it’s easy to remember right?  Well, I know it’s seems ordinary to drive to Lowell, but for me it’s a big step outside my comfort zone and to share that with a friend who will encourage me to take that leap is a gift and not one to be taken for granted.  Diane and I met on Facebook a couple of years ago and then I went to work with her at Towne and Country and now RE/MAX.  There are so many reasons to like Diane, but the best reason is how she is ALWAYS smiling and it spreads like wildfire.  She is witty, smart, giving, caring and incredibly talented and she encourages you to be the best you can be.  It’s never an ordinary day with Diane and for that I am grateful to call her friend and not just a co-worker.

I know, it’s a building, but it’s not just ANY building it’s the Lowell Memorial Auditorium and it holds so much history and heritage I wish the walls could talk as much as the building spoke to me. It’s is the key to enter the historical downtown Lowell and it’s stands proud and tall to say WELCOME with a salute to all that come to visit.  The outer walls of the building are carved with the names of well known battles of the United States and Lowell.  It’s a fitting tribute to all that have served and they are proudly honored inside and outside the building.  There is the Hall of Flags and I was just in awe at the sight…made me just stand there and want to salute or say a prayer for all the fallen.  Click on Lowell Memorial Auditorium for more about the history of this building and grounds.  It’s a building that if the walls could speak I know they would be saying thank you for your service, God Bless you for what you have sacrificed for all of us, they would be telling stories of the battles and of the lives of the soldiers that served, they would be talking about the great entertainers that have walked through those doors and gave so much joy in a time of sadness and they would be saying well done and bravo.  Yes, it’s just a building, but it inspires so much thought for this Realtor and history lover ~ it’s never just a building for me. I am thankful to have been touched by this place.

The show was fast paced and energetic at many points with Jive, Swing, Boogie and Jazz and then the pace would slow in between with the most beautiful and graceful ballroom dancing that you felt like you were floating with them.  I have to say it was so much fun to watch and be caught up in the rhythm of the music and the expressions of the dancers you were a part of the scene.  At the end of the first act Diane and I looked at each other and just said WOW at the same time.  It honestly left you breathless.  It is an experience I won’t soon forget and it was so awesome to share it with a friend that appreciated all those awe struck moments with you.

I took several pictures with my iPhone and put them together in this short clip to share the beauty of the key to Lowell’s downtown.  I hope you will check out all the great events the Auditorium holds throughout the year and take in a show to see this great place!  Enjoy Tuesday Girl’s short show!

What are you thankful for today?

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Continue reading »]]> What a Monday and what an election day here in Templeton!

Tuesday Girl worked the polls today and I must say I had a great time getting to know some new folks and also seeing all my great neighbors!

Today was very much anticipated here with the tensions high due to the recent turnover in the recall election and how the town feels they have not been heard since those changes took place.  Well, today the town was heard and Julie Farrell was re-elected to a seat on the Board of Selectman that she was recalled from just a few months before.  Here is a link to the article in the Telegram written by George Barnes about this race and other results of these elections.  I will not say that I was for or against Mrs. Farrell or Mr. Columbus, only that I was happy to see a great turnout of voters at the polls wanted to speak and be heard.

I will congratulate everyone that ran and everyone that was re-elected and newly elected.  I will also say what a great day it is here that we have the freedom to vote and our voice was heard.  It does not matter how we voted.  It mattered THAT we voted!  Our choice. Our voice.  It’s a democracy and not a dictatorship and we should all be so thankful for that privilege and honor.

I hope that we have all learned some valuable lessons throughout these trying times here in our town.  The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  People make mistakes and if we could just work things out in a civil manner perhaps more could be accomplished.  We want to be heard.  We want to speak.  We are the town, we are the people, we are the voice and we need to come together for the greater good.  We need to ask the questions and demand the answers.  We need a better forum for learning more about the issues and having the time to ask the questions and get our answers and to be satisfied with those answers.  Our choice, Our voice.  (seems to be my mantra lately)

I believe we need to learn to agree to disagree and treat one another with more respect.  Perhaps this is a pollyanna way of thinking, but it suits me just fine.  I believe in this town, this body of local government and this people.  We will forge ahead and move through these trials and become a stronger body and more importantly neighbors.  Let’s begin with trying to use the Golden Rule and also the rule that our parents taught us “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” or at least take a deep breath and think before we speak and write things we cannot take back.

How this all turns out still remains to be seen as the days ahead unfold. We also have annual and special town meeting on May 15th which has already been scheduled out for 3 nights.  Many people are apprehensive as to how that will be handled and if tensions will still be high and if they will be able to speak and be heard.  I say let’s keep coming to meetings and being involved so that we can all move our town forward into the future for our children and work together for the greater good.  Your voice was heard today and you should be proud of that.  I am.

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Continue reading »]]> It’s Thankful Thursday and I am thankful for the growing up years!

My family is a blended family, but you wouldn’t know it if you didn’t know us or even ask us.  I am one to ask if you have kids, so naturally folks will ask me back and when I say I have 5….well, the responses I get range from WOW to oh my gosh you don’t look like you could have that many to utter silence.  I have many responses for the next question which is always “how old are they?”  My answers through the years have gone like this:

• they range from driving to diapers
• they range from high school to kindergarten
• they are 15 years apart from oldest to youngest
• I know, what was I thinking…
• I am on the 4th child learning to drive ~ that’s what the grey hair is from
• one is getting married and the last one still thinks girls have cooties  AND…
• I gave birth to 4 and one was acquired in a merger and we call her the “rental”

•  when we moved to Templeton from an apartment the size of a shoe box to a house where they could have all the room they needed … I would wake up in the morning to find them all in the girls room together sleeping peacefully.
• we bought a trampoline and at 6am ALL of them were outside on it playing together
• the dinner table wasn’t just food, it was an adventure and we made sure we ate together ~ to this day when we are all gathered around the table I just sit back and listen to the stories and I laugh and cry at the same time because they made it together that adventure and that time of laughter and bonding
• I have 12 years of Christmas photos of the 5 of them together and although they hate that whole picture scenario, they love to swap war stories about how the picture came out and how they pissed Mom off in the process
• Andy (the oldest) and Sarah (the rental) can just look at each other and laugh and no one knows why, it just happens like spontaneous combustion and then the rest of them together begin and it’s not a dull roar
• Elijah and Sarah are the middle kids and have spent the most time together as step siblings over the years and as such are the closest and they have their own language and scheming capabilities.  Sarah wishes that everyone would stop assuming he is the older one though.
• Sarah was the truthful one and we called her the “rat” because she would never tell a lie and would rat out the other kids (only if asked by the parents) ,but she is now the biggest advocate for them all together and has stood by them in trials and triumphs.  What more could a step parent ask for?
• Britt is the “big kitty” of the family and is fierce in her protection of them all and is the closest to Zach (little kitty), the youngest, and with such a large age difference that also has been a huge blessing.
• The condo right behind our house remained vacant for the longest time in the 55+ section and we always laughed ~ remember the trampoline with 5 of them together?
• do you see the one common thread among all the memories?  yes, TOGETHER

I know parents are supposed to teach their children lessons, but honestly, I have to say that each of them individually and all of them collectively have taught me the most about love, learning to cope and making the most of the hand you are dealt.  I will attest to the fact that family is not always what you are born into.  It’s the people that stand by you and surround you with love and honor and respect even though they may not have to; they CHOOSE to.  For these 5 kids it’s not been a “yours, mine and ours” it’s been a together ~ what more could love be?

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated the “middle kid’s” birthdays ~ 16 and 18 ~ yes, Sarah is the older one (see note above).  I went through 12 years of pictures and put together this clip for them.  Browsing through them, I realized how many I had of the two of them together along with so many of them as a group.  One can’t help but think just how special these moments were.  The only words that kept going through my head were “what a blessing to watch them grow up” and “how lucky they are to have one another.”  Since this video was for my middle kids, the first photo in the video was of the first months we were together and the last photo of Sarah and Elijah is 12 years later this past Christmas.  It’s been a special time to watch all my kids grow together through these years and I hope they know just how much they have shared, learned and loved as a family…I know I do.

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Continue reading »]]> I know this is wordless Wednesday, but I have to have words and share “A Great Team”.  

This moment is one of many to come in the new office I have moved to.  This moment was one that I will treasure as a “first”.   My first lunch at RE/MAX Property Promotions with our new team.  I know, you are shaking your head and saying “what’s so special about lunch?”…well, it was casual and we didn’t talk about plans for the team or real estate ~ we took the time to talk to one another about things we were interested in and how great is was for all of us to be together and about our pets and our routine and we LAUGHED and just relaxed.  This photo moment came up as we were talking a bit about social media and how it has affected us and Diane asked me to show Anne how FourSquare works ~ so I gave the whole tour and “click” came this photo.

I believe I am in the right place, with the right people at the right time and I think the smiles show just how much we all feel the same way.  What better moment to have on a first day of a new opportunity with our careers?  I am thrilled I captured this moment and I am even more over the top about being a part of such a wonderful group ~ The HomesJustForYou Team ~ check it out!

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Continue reading »]]> The John LeClerc Wind Turbine. Majestic. Proud. A Legacy.

This photograph was taken almost right under the wind turbine. What an amazing sight it is to behold no matter what angle you look at it from. The power of the wind captured and utilized because of one man’s dream realized. This happened in my lifetime and my children’s and right in our home town of Templeton. I get to see this amazing sight every single day I drop the kids off at school or come home from work and it never gets old. I like to see it moving and when the sun sets behind it or when we are at the football field at a game or when there is a storm brewing from that direction ~ it’s really a sight you have to see to really appreciate all it’s majestic splendor.

Really Tuesday Girl? It’s just a large fan. Well, it’s not. It’s a piece of a dream that one person had in his soul and then sparked that ember in others and then it became a flame and then a full fire that is now standing proud and tall in our back yard. How can it just be a fan when all that time and effort went into getting it here and having it work and making a difference in our lives. Green Energy.

What a gift we have and what a story to tell. What a legacy that John has left us and it still moves my heart to know John has left us to go home to Heaven. When that turbine is moving I know there is a whisper in the wind that is telling us he is still here and to keep moving forward and making a difference in other people’s lives. John made a remarkable impact on so many lives here….it’s a legacy that lives on in the wind.

Here is just a small video I took one day of an approaching storm. This is a part of our history that we were here to witness and tell our children’s children about. Send up a small thank you to Heaven for the gift of a dream that John still brings to others.

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Continue reading »]]> Templeton was born 250 years ago and Tuesday Girl was just 8 years old when our worlds collided and we moved into the Zoo. (click on the word Zoo)

Templeton, what it must have been like when the soldiers were given land here and had to clear it all and forge new ground to house their families, grow crops, fight the wild and begin a whole new life.  Imagine being a pioneer 250 years ago coming to the middle of this land and saying into the woods ~ ” Narragansett No. 6, I am hereby declaring you and from the cutting of this tree we will begin a new partnership with these fine folks that have come together and we will call you Templetown.”.  And so it begins… and this will not be an accurate historical account ~ remember I am a storyteller ….

The trees were cleared and up went the first log homes and then the first frame house yonder on the South Road and all the people would gather there on Sunday’s for services and to discuss plans to keep moving ahead.  There was a sawmill and still more homes were built and together as a community there were barn raisings.  Crops were grown and shared amongst the village along with supplies and tools.  The church, general store, grange hall, the tinsmith and blacksmith, a school, the clock maker, the painters, the inventors, the peddlers and then they spread out to the other sections of the land.  So, what’s my point here?  Well, imagine what it was like to be a kid in these days.  What would their life be like and what might their memories be of growing up here. This is what I think.

They helped with the chores and they went to the one room schoolhouse.  During their recess they would play, hide and seek, stickball, running races to see who was faster the girls or the boys.  There were stories to be told of the moaning at Princess Rock. If they could get away long enough and not be caught, they would dare someone to go out and sit upon the rock.  Many years later they would tell stories of the Greatest Load.   The excitement would be uncontainable when the Peddler came to town with his wares and they would run home to get pennies to purchase some small treasure.  Homework was done by candlelight and after dinner was finished then they would read in the common room before retiring to bed.  They would whisper with their siblings into the night about what it would be like to ride a horse beyond the woods of Templetown and what they would see.  They would invite folks that were traveling through town into their homes for dinner and then around the fireplace would ask them to share what it was like in their part of the woods.  Games involved sticks and stones and a great imagination.  So, let’s fast forward

Over the next 211 years many things evolved and changed and enter the era of the 60′s and 70′s and that’s when Tuesday Girl enters the town of Templeton, the town name was changed some time after 1762.  The houses were not as close together here (I moved from Gahdnah by the way) and I moved into THE ugliest house in town.  A, it was the zoo and B, it was decorated with every gaudy kind of wallpaper imaginable.  I digress…as I shared above what I thought the memories of the olden days would be, now I will share the memories of my Templeton youth.

I went to school at Templeton Center, Otter River, Baldwinville and then Narragansett beginning in the 7th grade.  My neighbors were anyone that lived within 5 miles and my friends and I rode our bikes EVERYWHERE.  Indoors was not an option unless we were doing homework or chores.  We could not leave the house until those were done, but the second they were we were off to hang out with our friends.  Cows were found wandering in our yard or across the street and we would have to call Paul to come and get them.  We built forts in the trees and anywhere else we could dream up.  We played baseball, kickball, bike races, hide and seek, kick the can and we would lay in the grass and make up stories about the Church of the Wildwood.  All the neighborhood kids came to hang out in each other’s yards to play.  We looked at the clouds and dreamed of what it was like to live in the city.  We knew to be home for dinner at 5  and all the parents were YOUR parents.  We bought penny candy at the Country Store and went out in our pj’s at night to the Ice Cream Barn.  It was tradition to go to Lee’s Hot Dog Stand every summer.  There was tea at the historical society and when we served, you dressed in the era of the time gone by.   Everyone knew your name … and your parents too.

So, why am I writing this post?  Well, Mimi Foster inspired me.  It’s not unusual for Mimi to spark some idea flying in my head or soothe a weary soul and even make me laugh out loud just because I needed it.  She is also a great writer, storyteller AND she loves real estate as much as I do. Mimi believes walls can talk.  Today, we took a stroll down memory lane about what things were like when we were kids and this post began forming, so I had to write it  down.  Thank you Mimi for the wonderful trip into my youth and into the youth of my hometown.

This year we celebrate Templeton’s 250th birthday.  Look how far we have come.  Look how many memories we have made.  Look how many more there are to be and to share with the future generations.  Take some time and write down some of your memories in the comment section below.  Let’s say Happy Birthday to Templeton by keeping our memories of old alive in the kids of today that hold the key to our tomorrow ~ pass on the stories, they need to hear them.

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Continue reading »]]> It’s Thankful Thursday and today is brought to you by the letter “R”.

Why you ask?  It’s just a letter you say?  What is there to be grateful for in a letter?  Well, let me answer by saying there is a lot to be thankful for in a letter and they go something like this:

R-espect ~ I am thankful that my parents did a great job in teaching me exactly what this word means and how to apply it in EVERY situation.  There is not a circumstance I can think of in any given day where respect is not needed. When it’s early in the morning and your coffee is not made the way you like it, don’t be rude~be respectful and just ask for a new one.  Maybe that person behind the counter has a heavy burden to bear and they are trying hard to keep it all together because they need this job.   Say thank you when they give you the new cup and look them in the eye and say “have a nice day” and mean it.  This might make a large difference in the rest of that persons day.  RESPECT. When someone speaks harshly to you, don’t respond with the same curt tone ~ put on a smile, be respectful and provide the answer or give what they are asking for and then maybe you could ask if something is wrong and could you help in any way.  You attract more bees with honey and to simmer a tense situation down, respect is what is called for.  Remember, this also applies to what we write and not just words out of our lips.  RESPECT.

R-ealtor® ~ I am thankful that over 20 years ago I was given a chance in a job I knew NOTHING about in a lending environment and my love for this business just kept growing to where I am today.  I am still friends and business partners with that person who gave me the opportunity to learn something new, had the patience to answer all my questions and recognized my potential and kept that passion in me going.  I started as a loan processor, became an underwriter, then a department manager, and then to the corporate world with the head of lending and then on to homebuyer counseling and yes, it just kept going from there.  I became a Realtor® 5 years ago because I didn’t want to be behind the scenes any longer assisting buyers and sellers. I am now with them in person from the first showing to holding the keys in their hand after the closing. This job is not just a job; it’s relationship building and I am so lucky that they become friends and neighbors.  Thank you Lisa Arcangeli for the beginning of a wonderful friendship and a great career!

R-elationships ~ I am thankful to my family, friends and community for teaching me that it’s all about how we connect and build real~ationships.  I think relationships are a destination, just like life~it takes time to build and nurture and it doesn’t just happen.  We learn to take care of, trust, share, and work with one another.  Isn’t it great when you go to your local coffee shop and you don’t have to tell them what you want~they just know?  Isn’t it nice when when you go to the local bank and you are a name and not a number?  How about when your family just surprises you with your favorite flower or a night off from cooking?  When a friend calls because they want to just hang out for the day having some fun.  I am grateful my family and I are part of such a wonderful community of neighbors, friends and businesses that try very hard to start with a great foundation and build lasting relationships from there.

R-eal Estate ~ This is the brick, mortar, sticks, stones, nails, hinges, doors, floors, walls, paint and paper that make each house unique.  It’s the rush I get when a new buyer calls looking to find their dream home, whether it be their first or their last.  It’s the fun of getting together to initially talk about all their wants in home and getting busy trying to help them find it.  It’s the excitement when you step over the threshold of THAT house and see the look on their faces and listen as they walk around talking about how their furniture would fit, the pictures they would hang, where the kids could play, how they could make a garden and I just smile as I know we will be making an offer soon.  But, it’s not the offer or even getting to the closing table that I am thankful for ~ it’s the family, like the one below, filling it with love that make it a HOME because without them, it’s just brick and mortar.

What are you thankful for today?

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