It's that time of the year again when most of us are reluctantly starting to think about Christmas, or more accurately, Christmas shopping. I'm sure that everybody has people who are difficult to shop for on their Christmas list. There are also people who we feel that we are obliged to buy presents for even though they probably don't need whatever it is we are going to end up buying for them. Personally, I don't need all the booze that gets given to me during the Christmas season. I couldn't possibly drink it all. I also am the proud owner of two nose hair trimmers. I suppose that I'm set for life in that department as well. One Christmas idea that I have really made use of over the last few years is the World Vision Gift Catalogue. I really like the idea because these gifts are valued ... 11/15/2011

It has been a rather gloomy Saturday so far, so I have been browsing around on the internet looking for a bit of inspiration. I found a rather newsworthy story that I think will do the trick. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon is being held tomorrow. It's an important marathon, it's a qualifier for the Boston Marathon (the granddaddy of all marathons), there's $150,000 worth of prize money up for grabs, and the Olympic commitees of quite a few nations are using this marathon to determine who will be on their national teams in London next summer. Needless to say, there will be quite a few high profile runners competing tomorrow. The runner who has grabbed my attention though, will not be finishing near the front of the pack and will not be chosen to compete for his nation at the ... 10/15/2011

I guess I should pay more attention to my surroundings. I have worked in this office for a few months now and never noticed the picture in the lobby of the Belleville McFarlands. The Belleville McFarlands are a local senior hockey team, and back in the days when there were only 6 NHL teams they would have been considered one step below the NHL. They still do compete for the Allan Cup, which is Canada's senior hockey championship, but in this day and age of "professional" sports, few people pay much attention to it. It wasn't always so, The Allan cup has been around since 1909, and it used to be a huge deal in Canada. It was such an honour to win the cup that the winning team was sent overseas to represent Canada in the World championships every year. I never had a clue that the agent si... 06/22/2011

Yesterday was a pretty busy day. I'm getting two deals together and they are both reaching the final stages. There's been quite a bit of back and forth and I'm pretty sure that by the end of the day I'll have them both in the bag. I'm also just starting the paperwork for a third deal which will hopefully be relatively quick, willing buyers, willing sellers and all that jazz. I suppose that this is what being a real estate agent is all about. One of the things that has really been obvious is the amount of paper on my desk. Piles of it. From the initial stages of a home search where I print out the MLS sheets for all the houses that we're going to see, to the initial agreement of purchase and sale and all the versions thereof every time there's a counter, to all the ancilliary documentati... 06/09/2011

The Quinte area is a great place to enjoy all the water that surrounds us. However, in the winter months it can get a tad nippy. I might have a solution for those of you who like to play in the water during those long cold winter months. St. Maarten is a wonderful place to enjoy a few months out of every year. I happen to know of a place for sale there. For the modest sum of  3.5 million U.S., this 5 bedroom, 51/2 bathroom home could be yours. The island is divided into two jurisdictions, one of them French and one of them Dutch.  The island is the smallest landmass in the world to be shared by two different countries.  The French side is called St. Martin, and the Dutch side is called Sint Maarten.  Whatever you wish to call it, it's one great place to be, especially from November unti... 04/27/2011

I live in the beautiful Quinte Region in Southern Ontario, Canada, but when I need to get the lastest news about what is happening in Libya, at a convenient time, I must admit that I am tuning in to CNN more often than I am to our own news services. There are more important things involved in this conflict than giving credit to all of the nations involved, but I do find that the Canadian contribution to this effort to this action is seldom mentioned, and, with a son and daughter-in-law both serving in our armed forces, that does sadden me.With some hesitation, I am going to offer a reprint here (forwarded from a friend) that says something about about the contribition that our country makes, often lost in comparison to the efforts of larger nations. Thank you to my son, my daughter-in-l... 04/01/2011

Jeepers, it didn't take very long to figure out how hooked I am to the internet. Our office lost our wireless connection, and it was absolute mayhem. Agents and administration staff were wandering around aimlessly. I felt powerless. I couldn't access the MLS to look things up, I couldn't print or scan anything (our printer and fax is controlled wirelessly), and boy oh boy it was frustrating. Just about everyone in the office unplugged and replugged the router hoping to fix it. Bell Canada is our service provider, so they were called, (sarcasm on)and every Canadian knows just how sensitive to the needs of their clients they are and just how fast they respond (sarcasm off). Good thing I had my iphone and was able to keep up with the emails that way.Horrors of horrors, everybody in the of... 03/31/2011

I attended my very first "tweet up" in Belleville last week. I was invited by fellow Century 21 agent from nearby Picton Jason Young . I was very curious to learn more about this phenomenon. For those of you don't know what a "tweet up" is, the concept is pretty simple. It's a gathering of all the local twitter users in one place. I was very glad that Jason would be there and I was also very happy that this event was being held in a pub, The Winchester Arms. I was half-way expecting this event to be like some sort of Star-Trek convention, except maybe geekier. If worst came to worst I could hide behind Jason, have a couple of Guinnesses and then leave. Alas, they serve no Guinness at the Winchester Arms, however, I enjoyed myself tremendously, and I was glad I went. I learned a lot abo... 03/17/2011

Remember me? I was sitting at the table right behind yours at the Century 21 Kickoff event at the Congress Centre in Toronto yesterday. You were sitting with a group of agents from your brokerage. I'm not sure what number your table was, but mine was 95. You looked like a prosperous bunch. That was an excellent meal, the salad was particularly nice, wasn't it? Everthing was so well presented. It must have taken quite a bit of organizing to pull a meal like that off for about (I'm guesstimating now) 1000 agents. The award ceremony was quite nice too. I was just along for the ride at that poin,t as I wasn't going to win any awards, definitely not for my sales figures anyway. At three weeks in with Century 21, I certainly don't qualify for a lifetime achievement award or anything like that... 03/04/2011

Congratulaions are due to Dave Toycen, the hard working CEO of World Vision Canada. Tomorrow he will be recognized for his lifetime of hard work and compassion by being appointed to the Order of Ontario. The ceremony will be taking place at Queen's Park (the parliament of Ontario) at 1 pm on January 27th. The award is Ontario's highest honour and is bestowed upon people who have made an outstanding contribution to society. Dave has worked for World Vision for the 35 years, the past 14 as President and CEO. In the last 14 years, with him at the helm, Canadian sponsorship of children around the world has gone from 187,000 to a staggering 500,000. Being the President and CEO of World Vision Canada is a very high profile position. While he is in contact with government leaders around the wo... 01/26/2011

There once was a whistleblower from Australia who had some trouble with his prophylactic paraphernalia We have learned that Swedish laws can be doozies and thanks to two scorned Swedish floozies he should not have exposed his wiki-genitalia 12/07/2010

I'm taking a page out of my friend Pam McInnes' book today.  It's her blog that gave me this idea, she's devoted to finding good homes for animals in her corner of Ontario. I have clients who will be moving out of their home due to health reasons. They will be moving into an apartment in Belleville where they will be closer to their doctors and public transport. Unfortunately they will not be allowed to bring Willy with them. Willy is a friendly soul, only 4 years old, and we're trying to get him into a good home before this time comes. Because I'm a big softie, I have agreed to take him home with me should no other solution be found, but I'm not likely to be the ideal owner for this gentle little fellow. He's very quiet and loves to sit with his owners and watch television in the even... 11/12/2010

I came across this very innovative video that explains the U.S. - China currency situation in a manner that the average North American kid will be able to understand. I think it's brilliant. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it. Don't be afraid to shake your flip flops off and tap your toes to the beat. 11/10/2010

As a Real Estate Agent in Ontario I have to continue to take classes. Because I'm in the first two years of my career, I don't really have many choices about the classes I am required to take. Next week I'll be taking my Commercial Real Estate course at the Rexall Centre in Toronto. I could have taken the online study classes, but I took the Real Property Law class online and found that it was difficult to set work aside and concentrate on the classes. I think it's best to take the plunge and do it in a classroom environment.Real Estate agents have to continually upgrade their knowledge. So many things change every year that it's difficult to stay on top of everything without taking these classes and programs. Laws change, environmental standards change, building codes change, and somet... 10/15/2010

The U.S. mint first issued the Sacagawea Golden Dollar Coin in 2000. The reverse side depicts a Native American woman tending to her crops. The coin is commonly refered to as the Native American $1 Coin, and is a tribute to the Shoshone woman Sacagawea, who was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The crops that are shown on the coin were known to Native Americans across the length and breadth of this continent as the three sisters. They consist of corn, squash and beans, and were the staples of the Native American diet for centuries. These three crops are intertwined in a most interesting way, and were planted and harvested in a consistent manner by all of the Native Americans who recognized their benefits and their importance. The spread of crops over the Americas happened very... 10/09/2010

I'm as sentimental as the next guy and I do enjoy inspirational quotes every now and then. The internet has, however, watered it down to the point where I'm inundated with inspiration and advice on how to lead my life. Frankly I'm tired of circulated emails that advise me to "live, love and laugh more". There seems to be a variety of ways to express the same few cloying sentiments. I was rather dissapointed to recieve an email from someone whom I regard as sufficiently embittered enough to be a good friend of mine that contained a slideshow that had inspirational music accompanying a farewell letter written by the author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Apparently a few years back he had been diagnosed with cancer, and had decided to mail his friends a missive as some sort of farewell gesture. I... 08/15/2010

PT LOT 30 P2 BELL BLVD Commercial Building Lot, High Traffic Area PROPERTY DETAILS $149,900 LISTING INFORMATION MLS: 2104800Bedrooms: -1.00Baths: -1Sq ft: 0Lot Size: 207 X 201Taxes: $0.00 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION Large Commercial Building Lot on Bell Boulevard in Belleville. Are you looking for a great high traffic lot for your commercial development? This Large (very close to one acre) building lot has become available. This area is undergoing incredible expansion. For more information on this Commercial Property in Belleville click this link for Belleville commercial real estate or call Malcolm at 1800 567 0776. CONTACT INFORMATION Malcolm JohnstonRE/MAX Trent Valley Realty LTD., Brokerage447 Dundas St. WTrenton ON K8V3S4Office: 613.392.6594613.394.3394malcolmjohnston@mail.comhttp://www.... 07/30/2010

Belleville Waterfront and Ethnic Festival July 8, 9, 10th and 11, 2010 Schedule of Attractions & Main Stage Entertainment (all attractions & entertainment are free unless specified) JULY 8th to 11TH, W. Zwick's Park - FREE ADMISSION - PARKING $2 FREE SHUTTLE BUSES SPONSORED BY THE CITY OF BELLEVILLE     THURSDAY, JULY 8th 5:00-11:00pm World's Finest Shows - Midway  Sponsors: Rock 107, Mix 97 & CJBQ 5:00-11:00pm World's Finest Shows - Midway FRIDAY, JULY 9th  : Belleville Waterfront and Ethnic Festival   Sponsors: Rock 107, Mix 97 & CJBQ   6:00-10:00pm Ethnic Food Village (The Caribbean, China, Greece, Italy, Korea, Poland, Portugal, Tibet) 6:00-11:00pm Licensed Beverage Area beginning at 6pm Vendor Expo (jewelry, clothing, toys, art & much more!) 6:00-8:30pm Ethnic Food Challenge ... tr... 07/05/2010

Canada Day Activities in Belleville, Ontario   THURSDAY, JULY 1st, 2010 - WEST ZWICKS PARK, BELLEVILLE Canada Day Music sponsored by: Quinte Broadcasting, Mix 97, ROCK 107, and CJBQ Radio Information Courtesy of: Buy Locally Owned   Events Schedule: 5km Fun Run & 1km Fun Run with Belleville Runners Club Registration $7.00 (Register between 9:00 - 9:30. Run starts at 10:00) Canada Day Tent - stop by to grab balloons, bookmarks, pins and more (11 - 5pm) Belleville Art Association (11 - 5pm) Belleville Fire Department Smoke House (11 - 5pm) Belleville Weavers and Spinners Guild (11 - 5pm) Ten Acre Car and Bike Show (11 - 5pm) Carson Cross Fire Truck and Waterslide (11 - 5pm) China Toss (11 - 5pm) Hastings County Historical Society, Glanmore National (11 - 5pm) Histo... 06/29/2010

There is a lot of attention focused on Toronto and the surrounding area right now due to the G20 summit. The leaders of the largest and most influential economies in the world are gathered to discuss the major issues of the day. There's a lot to discuss these days. With all the problems we are having in our own countries it might be easy to forget our promises that we made to those less fortunate than ourselvesFor centuries we have exploited the developing nations. We have a fantastic standard of living, and it's in large part because we were able to plunder their resources for so long. We still do. The system of "aid" we have in place is an outrage. The majority of aid that Canada gives to the developing world is "tied aid", where we can crow about how many billions in aid we are givin... 06/25/2010