Saturday, April 09, 2011
Friday, April 08, 2011
Documenting the Family Home for Posterity-By Sarah Hill
WorldVitalRecords.com is a service of FamilyLink.com, Inc
When my grandpa passed away a couple years following my grandma, my mom and her siblings knew they would have to sell their childhood home. It was inevitable, but still sad. In a way, my mom was mourning the loss of her home along with mourning her parents. Wanting to somehow preserve the physical as well as the memories, my mom embarked upon a little project that became priceless.
Before cleaning out the closets and dividing up those things of sentimental value, my mom went around the house with her camera. She took pictures of everything: the furniture that was so outdated it was almost back in style; the vintage wallpaper; the stuffed animals now balding, the bookcases filled with Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Anne Shirley and Louis L'Amour.; the height chart to which we always went, even years past we had quit growing, to see where we had been and where we were in comparison to our cousins; the avocado and citrus trees my grandpa painstakingly cared for; the rose bushes that were my grandma's pride. My mom photographed every corner of that home.
Then she enlisted each of the 27 grandchildren to write about a memory they had of going to my grandparents' home. Some wrote several paragraphs and most wrote a page or two. There were often similar memories, whether it was my grandpa's waffles with a "surprise" ingredient (spoiler: blackberries turn them purple) or having my grandma correct your hand position at the piano or grandpa's whiskers or grandma's ability to beat anyone at Rack-O. The underlying themes of the stories were the feelings we had in that home–something you couldn't photograph.
With the photographs and the stories, my mom compiled them all using an online publisher. She worked tirelessly on it, and the results justify that. Now, each of my siblings and I have a beautiful, professionally-printed hardbound book of pictures and stories about my grandparents' home that I can share with my children and my children's children. This project has inspired me to take pictures and document the smaller things that we often overlook. It took just a few days to put together, but I will cherish it forever–especially the picture of the wallpaper.
When my grandpa passed away a couple years following my grandma, my mom and her siblings knew they would have to sell their childhood home. It was inevitable, but still sad. In a way, my mom was mourning the loss of her home along with mourning her parents. Wanting to somehow preserve the physical as well as the memories, my mom embarked upon a little project that became priceless.
Before cleaning out the closets and dividing up those things of sentimental value, my mom went around the house with her camera. She took pictures of everything: the furniture that was so outdated it was almost back in style; the vintage wallpaper; the stuffed animals now balding, the bookcases filled with Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Anne Shirley and Louis L'Amour.; the height chart to which we always went, even years past we had quit growing, to see where we had been and where we were in comparison to our cousins; the avocado and citrus trees my grandpa painstakingly cared for; the rose bushes that were my grandma's pride. My mom photographed every corner of that home.
Then she enlisted each of the 27 grandchildren to write about a memory they had of going to my grandparents' home. Some wrote several paragraphs and most wrote a page or two. There were often similar memories, whether it was my grandpa's waffles with a "surprise" ingredient (spoiler: blackberries turn them purple) or having my grandma correct your hand position at the piano or grandpa's whiskers or grandma's ability to beat anyone at Rack-O. The underlying themes of the stories were the feelings we had in that home–something you couldn't photograph.
With the photographs and the stories, my mom compiled them all using an online publisher. She worked tirelessly on it, and the results justify that. Now, each of my siblings and I have a beautiful, professionally-printed hardbound book of pictures and stories about my grandparents' home that I can share with my children and my children's children. This project has inspired me to take pictures and document the smaller things that we often overlook. It took just a few days to put together, but I will cherish it forever–especially the picture of the wallpaper.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Resale homes sold more quickly in February
Courtesy of the Ottawa Real Estate Board
Ottawa, March, 2011 :Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 936 residential properties in February through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,030 in February 2010, a decrease of 9.1 per cent. Of those sales, 213 were in the condominium property class, while 723 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.
"Once again we're seeing sales numbers very close to the five-year average for February, which is 962 sales. It's important to note that the homes that sold last month did so far morequickly than in January, spending an average of just 33 days on the market. As well, prices rose slightly more than they had in the previous two months which indicate we still have a very steady market here in Ottawa," said Board President Joanne Tibbles. "This tells us that there is a demand for resale homes in Ottawa, and that when buyers see the home they want, they're going after it, perhaps even going up against other bidders," Tibbles added. "Our market remains balanced, with no significant advantage towards either buyers or sellers, so it's fair game for everyone," she added.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in February in the Ottawa area was $338,408, an increase of 6.7% per cent over February 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $260,112, an increase of 6 per cent over February 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $361,475, an increase of 6.9 per cent over February 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of 2,600 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Trademarks are owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA (REALTOR®) and/or the quality of services they provide (MLS®).
Ottawa, March, 2011 :Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 936 residential properties in February through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,030 in February 2010, a decrease of 9.1 per cent. Of those sales, 213 were in the condominium property class, while 723 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.
"Once again we're seeing sales numbers very close to the five-year average for February, which is 962 sales. It's important to note that the homes that sold last month did so far morequickly than in January, spending an average of just 33 days on the market. As well, prices rose slightly more than they had in the previous two months which indicate we still have a very steady market here in Ottawa," said Board President Joanne Tibbles. "This tells us that there is a demand for resale homes in Ottawa, and that when buyers see the home they want, they're going after it, perhaps even going up against other bidders," Tibbles added. "Our market remains balanced, with no significant advantage towards either buyers or sellers, so it's fair game for everyone," she added.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in February in the Ottawa area was $338,408, an increase of 6.7% per cent over February 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $260,112, an increase of 6 per cent over February 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $361,475, an increase of 6.9 per cent over February 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of 2,600 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Trademarks are owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA (REALTOR®) and/or the quality of services they provide (MLS®).
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Roughing it no more
It used to be that the cottage life was a step above camping.Roughing it no more
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)