I Stand Before YouI stand before you all todayBut not one eye can see my wayMy time arrived, to leave this earthA fact so planned, to every birthIt happened where I had to goMy torch for life was so aglowI transferred while in uniformProtecting freedom, through a stormShould I resent I died for youNot on my life, red white and bluePlease help my family through each dayTell all my friends, try not to strayAnd of the country I did loveDo think of me, through God aboveYour memories, brought forth this daySend love to us, who could not stay©2001Roger J. Robicheau 05/26/2012

Nantucket Island, the insiders look. It is so sad to hear the announcement of the closing of the Nantucket Island only animal Care facility. The MSPCA has decided to close the doors of the Animal hospital. I for one don't know what the financial arrangement was with the the MSPCA but, we need some type of help here. Most of the us here on the island are animal lovers and most of us have an animal or two. We will be left with so few choice and no emergency care of those times of need.     An open letter to the Nantucket communityFrom Carter Luke, President, MSPCA-Angell After operating on Nantucket for over 60 years, the MSPCA-Angell has made the difficult decision to close our Nantucket facility effective December 31, 2011. The MSPCA-Angell’s Nantucket operation has faced serious ch... 10/07/2011

Nantucket Island, the insiders look. It is so sad to hear the announcement  from the offices Angell Memorial hospital of the closing of the Nantucket Island only animal care facility. The MSPCA has decided to close the doors after years of rumors that there were financial problems.I for one don't know what the financial arrangement was with the  MSPCA, but the classic over building might have been one of the problems from the start. Most of the us here on the island are animal lovers and most of us have an animal or two. We will be left with so few choice and no emergency care of those we love. But has there have always been some type of rumors that there were financial problems. Back in 2005 they stop sending large animal vets which left all the horse owners zero options short of findi... 10/05/2011

  Nantucket Island is at its best, now that the fall season has arrived! And how wonderful! Nantucket Island’s summer population jumps to 50,000 from our off season numbers of about 10,000. Now the crowds have gone; the air and water are still warm.  The golf courses are wide open to enjoy, and the beaches are empty. Here on Nantucket Island we look forward to the fall months maybe even more than the incredible summer months. We have all the best and without the crowds. We have many great events that take place here on the island this time of year.   All of the restaurants are still all open and very eager to serve their tasty and creative dishes, and all without the wait or the need for reservations. During this past week we had restaurant week which is a big hit with everyone. The isl... 10/04/2011

Lately, whenever I head out of town without the kids, I end up in a graveyard.  It's never planned.  Just happens.  Recently I took a trip to Nantucket.  My friend Rosie grew up across the street from a graveyard.  She said it was great for hide-n-go-seek. Benjamin Franklin's mother is buried here.  The first photo is part of an ornate gate where only portions remain.  I think the second photo is perfectly set with the spirit at the top of the gravestone contrasted with the gloomy background.  09/28/2011

Recent Nantucket Real Estate Transactions Nantucket's real estate market changes quickly. With an average of more than 450 properties changing hands each year over the past 5 years and a short selling season it's important to track recent Nantucket real estate transactions to  stay abreast of changes in the market. Through July 31, 2011 the number of Nantucket real estate transactions (the total of all residential, commercial and land sales) is up 11.39% over the same period in 2010. The 176 Nantucket real estate transactions represent 48.35% of the 364 property sales that took place in 2010. The numebr of Nantucket real estate transactions in July 2011 was slightly higher than in July 2010. There were 19 sales this year compared with 18 last season. The value of the Nantucket real esta... 08/12/2011

I was thrilled to visit friends in Nantucket last week, just wish I could have stayed longer (don't we always?!).   Here are some pictures from my trip: This is one of their two collections of buoys on the front of the house.   And this is the second set.     They Hydrangeas were simply gorgeous! I could not believe they were still blooming, as my trip this year was a month later than last year; in my mind, they bloomed in June!   And of course I had to include at least one surf shot!   Hope you enjoyed- 07/30/2011

I clammed when my family vacationed on Block Island years ago, and it was something you did with your feet then; my parents would go barefoot, but I could not stand the feel of the bottom, so I would wear sneakers, you know, old school Keds. Apparently, there have been improvements in the casual/recreational clamming world. Here is the high tech clamming bucket you use to keep your catch: I have no idea what we did, I'm thinking it was a bag or your pockets. Here is the potato rake my friends use to "rake" the bottom for clams:   Here is where we clammed, not far from their house:   And, here is our catch of clams: Which was a pretty good catch for four of us to yield. It was enough for linguine with clams & sauce for dinner AND stuffed clams this AM! This was what we did after the rain... 07/24/2011

Yes, you read that correctly. Now, why, on an island, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and fish, would I write about Nantucket beef? Because, as we sliced our sirloin for the beach yesterday, this little gem appeared: And, here is a map of Nantucket....so, we FOUND THE IMAGE OF NANTUCKET IN OUR BEEF!   Wonder what we will find today....another great day at the beach shaping up!       07/22/2011

The weather this morning was not beach weather, not at all, so we had to tweak our plans just a bit. We had two more people join us, so off to the ferry for a 9am arrival, scooped them up, then back to the house. In anticipation of making blueberry vodka, we needed fresh, wild blueberries that grow on the property - an easy enough task, although they are SMALL.   There was no way we could fill up our buckets Of course part of making excellent blueberry vodka is to use LOCAL vodka, Triple 8 Vodka And, the finished product: I think we will be tasting more today :-) 07/21/2011

Visiting friends in Nantucket this week, and both of the family woofs ended up going to the vet yesterday. Now, they are brothers, and when Sam got to go first, Orly REALLY thought he was "missing" out on something....if he only knew.... Here is Sam sporting his new cone: In this one, he reminded me of the RCA dog..... Poor guy, he was missing his brother, Orly, who had now gone to the vet...the cone was supposed to help a hot spot on his tail heal, but we discovered, it wasn't really big enough to prevent him from getting to that spot.....     07/21/2011

Yesterday, after a hearty breakfast at the Even Keel Cafe, we did some random shopping along Nantucket (window shopping really) we then commenced to full vacation mode, and headed to the beach. Nantucket Candy Store Below is the Jared Coffin house, which is a ship captain's house (or was) in the heart of downtown Nantucket. Ship captains' like to show their wealth by using heavier (=costlier to build) building supplies, such as brick. Jared Coffin House Now, I live about a mile from the beach in Jacksonville Beach, on the long side, so when I go to the beach with friends down there, it's a low key event. You bike, bring a chair and a towel, and something to read. We can't legally drink on the beach, to there are few to no coolers. Oh, and you can drive on the beach in St. Augustine, how... 07/21/2011

I'm on vacation (yes!) in Nantucket, on my (hopefully) annual trip. Three years in row must mean something, right??? I flew yesterday from Jacksonville, FL to Washington, DC, and had a 3 hour layover in DC, which really isn't bad. I had purchased the US Air Lounge pass for $30 while I booked my ticket, and that gave me a nice place to make the most of my 3 hours.  Complimentary breakfast, coffee, free Internet, and when the bar opened they are actually doing complimentary beverages though the end of July. Nice touch! Having not really been a lounge person before, what really struck me as nice was that I could actually go to the restroom and leave my laptop, phone, and luggage where they were, and not have to worry about someone else taking them! That peace of mind alone was worth the pr... 07/19/2011

http://www.bainmortgage.com/RateSheet How to Shop for a Mortgage Loan. & Annual Percentage Rate, what is APR? The annual percentage rate (APR) is an interest rate that is different from the note rate. It is commonly used to compare loan programs from different lenders. The Federal Truth in Lending law requires that mortgage companies disclose the APR when they advertise a rate. Typically the APR is found next to the rate. Example: 30-year fixed 4.500% 1 point 4.586% APR   The APR does NOT affect your monthly payments. Your monthly payments are a function of the interest rate and the length of the loan. The APR is a very confusing number. Even Loan Officers admit it is confusing. The APR is designed to measure the "true cost of a loan" and is supposed to create a level playing field. The... 07/11/2011

 http://www.bainmortgage.com/MortgageMarketWeekInReview http://www.bainmortgage.com/DailyRateLockAdvisory Today's Rates:  http://www.bainmortgage.com/RateSheet   Newsletter-June 27th, 2011 Provided by Dana Bain  &  Robin Dunbar Bain Dana BainPremiere Mortgage Services11 Malvern Hill RoadSterling, MA 01564Phone: (978) 422-2311Fax: (978) 422-2313E-Mail: dana@bainmortgage.com     Market CommentMortgage bond prices rose last week pushing mortgage interest rates lower. Bond trading remained volatile with large swings throughout the week. Trading was tied to news from Europe on the ongoing Greek debt crisis and stocks. The debt crisis in the Euro Zone will continue to drive trade for the foreseeable future. Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, acknowledged in his press conference that the ... 06/29/2011

Nantucket Restaurant Scene, Summer 2011 In this second Nantucket Restaurant Scene write up, we go off the path of giving the overviews of just the newest and hottest spots on the island. After just one write up, I had to write about one of the best places on Nantucket, it just is too specail not to be written about .This is a testament to how hard it is to break the old habits and loves of the past. Last week, during the wine festival, trying to step off that merry-go-round for a night, I found myself drawn to one of my old favorites “The Le Languedoc”. It is located right down the street from my office at Jordan Real Estate.  In the real world, we are always looking for new and different, but in this case no. It was great to find everything as it was last year and the twenty some odd ... 06/03/2011

 http://www.bainmortgage.com/MortgageMarketWeekInReview http://www.bainmortgage.com/DailyRateLockAdvisory   Newsletter-May 23rd, 2011 Provided by Dana Bain & Robin Dunbar Bain Dana BainPremiere Mortgage Services11 Malvern Hill RoadSterling, MA 01564Phone: (978) 422-2311Fax: (978) 422-2313E-Mail: dana@bainmortgage.com     Market CommentMortgage bond prices rose last week pushing mortgage interest rates slightly lower. We started the week positive while stocks struggled. Housing starts, industrial production, and capacity use data all were weaker than expected which helped rates improve Tuesday. Lower than expected weekly jobless claims caused rates to initially spike higher Thursday morning. Fortunately the leading economics indicators data and decent 10Y TIPS auction helped stem that we... 05/23/2011

Trust me when I tell you that I am no expert when it comes to the rules of trade associations and there members but I saw this interesting story on how hud was being sued by AARP and I ask myself the question: Can they do that? Well, it has been a long time since I took a civil procedure class or remember my strange constitutional law professor educating us soon to be lawyers on standing but I am not sure how they can sue HUD. If I remember correctly, the named plaintiff must show, among other things, an immediate and irreparable harm and I don't know how AARP can show this on behalf of themselves. Before I continue writing this article, I am going to pull the actual case to make sure that the story and the named parties are correct. Stay tune for more information. 03/09/2011

http://www.bainmortgage.com/MortgageMarketWeekInReview Newsletter-June 28th, 2010 Provided by Dana & Robin Bain Dana BainPremiere Mortgage Serviceswww.BainMortgage.com 11 Malvern Hill RoadSterling, MA 01564Phone: (978) 422-2311Fax: (978) 422-2313E-Mail: dana@bainmortgage.com     Market CommentMortgage bond prices rose last week applying downward pressure on mortgage rates. Volatility in both the stock and bond markets remained high with broad swings occurring on a daily basis. Mortgage rates moved lower following the release of weak housing data. The improvements seen earlier in the week were reversed following a weak 5-year Treasury auction on Wednesday. The volatility seen this week is expected to continue until the future of the economy becomes clear. Rates fell by about 3/8 of a dis... 06/30/2010

October on Nantucket is truly a delight with multi-colored foliage lining Main Street, thousands of plump cranberries floating in the Milestone bogs and golden windswept grasses nearly everywhere you look. This year, even the October real estate market was a surprising delight.  With nearly $90 million in October property sales, representing the best sales month so far this year, the fourth quarter started off with a bang. Through October 31, 2009, a total of 223 transactions brought in cumulative sales of $329 million, down 8 percent and 32 percent respectively from the same period in 2008.  While a year-to-date comparison shows 2009 still trailing prior years, monthly sales volume for October was nearly double the volume seen in October 2008 and approximates levels seen in 2006 and 20... 12/10/2009