Support a local business this Holiday Season

Hi all,

Seems there is a local business in Wayne which needs our support. The predicament of the Readers Forum on N. Wayne Ave may not be unique to Wayne or to independent small businesses, but our response of support can be. I would like to see the Wayne business district remain a vibrant-diverse collections of business which draws people from around the area to support our local economy. To me Wayne and it's character are important. By supporting the Readers Forum in Wayne when we buy or order books we as local consumers can make a difference to the survival of a small business in our community. The situation was brought to my attention by some friends who were kind enough to include me on their e-mail. Below is e-mail chain which was the catalyst for you receiving this note from me. Thank you for your attention.

Sent: Thu, 13 Nov 2008 9:19 pm Subject: Re: Readers Forum in Wayne
Books make such wonderful holiday gifts...hostess gifts...teachers...mail carriers...
Why don't we brainstorm this next week at our meeting for other ideas? I so agree with the sentiment in the email below.
Christi

On Nov 13, 2008, at 5:41 PM, name withheld wrote:
Please pass along- I'm wondering if there is anything That Book Club could do...

And the original message
Sent: Thu, 13 Nov 2008 2:27 pmSubject: Fwd: [Fwd: Fwd: Readers Forum in Wayne]


I stopped by yesterday to pick up a book and was distressed to see the shelves=2 0looking a little bare. Ed, one of the two staff members who is always there, mentioned that things were a little touch and go financially. How sad to see not only a Wayne icon on shaky ground – but one of the few independent bookstores still left perhaps in its last days. So of course I bought two books and luckily had enough cash so that I didn't need to use plastic. (More profit for them). This is just a simple plea, that if Wayne is convenient for you and you will be purchasing books in the near future, that you give your business to Readers Forum on North Wayne Avenue – right In the hub of town…..walking distance to the movies or a number of good places to eat. If you feel even remotely as strongly as I do about this, will you please spread the word.

Halloween Parade was Great

There was a bit of a competition for parade space. In Philadelphia there were approximately two million people trying to get a view of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Back on the Main line in Wayne parents were stacked two or three deep craning to get a look at their child as he/she paraded around the oval in front of the school. What a great day!! Laughs, sighs and there were some awesome costumes too. I think the parents around the oval had the better idea. Here is a link to the album of shots

415 First Avenue, Newtown Square 19073--Price reduced by $9000

The owners of 415 First Avenue in Newtown Square want to move. They have just reduced/adjusted the price of their house by another $9000 down to $265,900. Please check this link pictures of 415 First Avenue to see more pictures of this wonderful value.

410 Oak Lane Wayne Pa 19087 Open house 10-26-08

There will be an Open House at my 410 Oak Lane listing this Sunday 10-26-08 from 11:00 am till 1:00 pm. I look forward to seeing you there.

Tom Lowy Awarded a 2008- 2009 Pennsylvania REALTORS Education Foundation (PREF) Scholarship

PREF Scholarship Winners Announced
The Association would like to congratulate the following members on their award of a 2008- 2009 Pennsylvania REALTORS Education Foundation (PREF) Scholarship:
Terry Kirkwood
Thomas Lowy
Carol Martin
Barbara Mastronardo
These four recipients were selected on the basis of their REALTOR activities, real estate courses, community activities, business accomplishments, and statements of scholarship value. The scholarship will provide each recipient up to $500 which can be used for tuition to any REALTOR designation or Broker course. Congratulations again to the recipients!

How big is your carbon footprint

Many of the items posted here have to do with Real Estate as that is my profession and my passion. I do have other passions as well and from time to time something interesting pops up that I like to pas on. I was reading this morning with my coffee next to me when I came upon a link I would like to share - a calculator by UC Berkley for estimating your carbon footprint. I did not have all of the information handy at first, but will be going back to fill in the rest. See how you do. Go to http://bie.berkeley.edu/calculator.html - Good luck. This is one time having a small foot is good. On my end, my inefficient home heating is something I need to work on.

Apples to pick near Wayne Pa

I sent out a list of Apple picking places in Pa. One of the recipients of the e-mail responded that too many of the places were too far away. He also clued me in on two other fun things to do which are nearby

"On Fri, we had an interesting time picking apples at Hopewell Furnace Nat’l Hist Site (fascinating if you’ve never been – I often find the closest things are the things I’ve never seen) – they have ~40 varieties on ~200 apple trees, up to 100 years old – some real heritage varieties. The apples are $1 a pound.

We rented a cabin in French Creek State Park for the a recent fall Holiday (Weds nite, Thurs, Thurs nite + Fri). $50 a nite! ! It slept 6 in two rooms. Electric stove + fridge, plus flush toilet + hot water showers, all in the cabin. And only a gallon (or two) away! "

Maybe these two places will help you create some great Fall 2008 memories

Regards,

Bill Gardiner- Wayne PA

Bird Habitat created at Wayne Elementary in Wayne PA

Thank you to the Audubon Pennsylvania, The Radnor Conservancy, The WES PTO, and all the teachers, children and parent volunteers who worked this past Saturday October 4th to create an experimental classroom/ native plant bird sanctuary and a separate bulb garden for the kids.

A big thank you to Ginny Kreitler from the Radnor Conservancy, Steve Saffier from the Audubon PA, to Heather Reilly and Helen McGrane from the WES PTO and to all the parents and kids who volunteered to spend their Saturday for all of their support.

Here is a list of the native plants donated by the conservancy
Large Circles =Small Trees Eastern red cedar (1), Pitch Pine(1), FloweringDogwood (1)
Row 2 – Large Shrubs Staghorn sumac(2), Red Chokecherry(2), Inkberry(2)
Row 3 – Medium or Slow growing Shrubs New Jersey Tea(3), Coralberry(2), Arrowwood viburnum (1)

Also worked on this day was the revitalization of the outdoor classroom and and the schools bulb garden located between the other second grade class rooms and the cafeteria. Teachers who helped here and on the other projects were Mrs Kniffen and Mr Gray. Here are a few shots of the Bulb Garden. Just wait till spring!!!!!

This corner will be an area where many students will get their little hands in the dirt!!!

Mortgage Rate Links

If you are interested in current Mortgage Rate links here is one source. I am working on more.

http://www.acqhomeloans.com/MortgageRates.aspx Link to Acquisition Home Mortgage

Open house at 27 Pine Street Newtown Square

The owners of 27 Pine Street in Newtown Square are have their house open to the public on Sunday September 27th from 2pm till 4pm. This is a home where seeing is believing. The owners have upgraded the floors the windows, the porch, the deck, the appliances, the closets and the bathrooms, kitchen and bed rooms. Refreshments will be served.

415 First Ave, Newtown Square $10,000 Price Adjustment

The Owners of 415 First Ave have reduced the price of their home by from $284,000 down to $274,000. That is a $10,000 reduction or more than 3%. They are ready to move.
Are you ready to move in and take advantage of low mortgage rates. Here are some more pictures of the house

410 Oak Lane Wayne Pa 19087 Beautiful Victorian Home for Sale - New listing

Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2 1/2
Style: Victorian
Garage: 1 car Attached
Basement: Full, Unfinished
Age: 120+/ -
Zoning: Residential
Township: Radnor
Construction Stone /Frame
Water/sewer: Public
Heat: Oil, Steam
Hot Water : Gas
Cool: window units
Assessment: $ 278,740
Taxes: $7266+/-
Lot : 60 x 225 .31 acres

At 410 Oak Lane you will be living in the heart of Wayne. This lovely North Wayne home is located on a quiet tree lined street, a pleasant 7-minute walk from the Wayne train station and the center of Wayne. This classic Victorian home features bright, airy well-lit rooms, hardwood floors throughout and some original leaded glass windows. Quality craftsmanship and interesting detail can be found throughout this vintage home. The back yard is partially fenced and includes a creek. Its convenient location provides easy access to major highways, rail transit, and is within walking distance to many local parks and the Radnor Trail.

27 Pine Street

I have never seen so many peaches on one tree check out this tree!!!

27 Pine Street long view

Just a wee bit closer!

Check out the 2x4 holding up the branch!

For more information about 27 Pine Street

one of my current listings of homes for sale

house click here

To see the 27 Pine Street Blog

See the 27 Pine Street Realtor.com page

Philadelphia Fringe Festival

Hi you all-

I asked a friend of mine which performances would be appropriate for my daughters Susanna (12) and Natasha (9) and here are the ones he suggested. The Philly Live Arts and Fring Festival is something unique to Philly. It is modeled after the Edinburgh Scotland Festival

Fringe is just insanity, but a couple more weeks and it’ll be over. Some things you and the girls might enjoy –

Wandering Alice, Bethany’s in this one:
http://www.livearts-fringe.org/2008/details.cfm?id=2888
Tickets are really scarce, was sold out, but they just released a few, so buy them as soon as you can if you want to see it.

Karen Getz – should be a really fun and funny dance show,
http://www.livearts-fringe.org/2008/details.cfm?id=2873

Sebastienne Mundheim – visual puppetry dance theater, generally she’s really witty and accessible to kids and adults, this is a new piece
http://www.livearts-fringe.org/2008/details.cfm?id=2882

Tania Isaac – could be intense, but she’s a pretty smart modern choreographer
http://www.livearts-fringe.org/2008/details.cfm?id=2883

Leah Stein – improve dance with a 100 person choir, should sound spectacular and be beautiful
http://www.livearts-fringe.org/2008/details.cfm?id=3136

Car Wash for a good Cause

On my way home from my listing at 27 Pine Street I came across a bake sale / free car wash. As it turns out there was a member of the staff of the community in the Newtown Square Community Center (home of the Marple Newtown Players) who had died of Cancer. The car wash was free, but after the effort the local kids showed and the quality of the job they did I felt compelled to donate. By the way my car was very very clean. Here is a short clip of the event.

Vacation and Volunteer in Africa

I was having dinner at a friend's house the other night. His daughter who lives in South Africa was in for a visit. She is involved with an organization which combines vacations and volunteering for South Africa.. It is called Volunteer Africa 32 degrees south . This link goes to the home page.

Volunteer Africa 32˚ south (VA32) was formed in 2005 in response to the need to consolidate and expand on various humanitarian outreach initiatives, conservation drives and social development projects in the southern Wild Coast area of South Africa. Under the leadership of Sean Price and Michael Denison of African Heartland Journeys cc, an eco-tourism business specializing on the Wild Coast and involved in rural community tourism initiatives and small business empowerment projects, VA32 was introduced to the market. VA32 provides the vehicle through which the above initiatives continue to grow by accessing the international volunteering market. This market provides the much needed human resources and skills bank for the attainment of our stated objectives.

To answer some frequently asked questions click here The biggest question is why pay to volunteer. I remember when I was younger paying to volunteer to work on a very old hotel in Cape May, The Chalfonte. We were helping the owners get the hotel ready, keeping an historic structure in shape and in business and having fun as well as learning about life in the process. A multiple win situation for sure.

With VA32 it will be the same thing - learn about life, yourself and help others. Good luck.

New Listing 415 First Avenue in Newtonw Square

What a great little home. Three bedrooms two up one down with a full bath on each floor. This home has a double lot. In point of fact it is two separately deeded lots both of them are 50ft by 140 ft in depth. Not sure if you could build another home, you would need to check with the township on that, but you sure have a big yard. The back is fenced and it has a nice deck out back as well as a private front porch. Here is the Link

If you would like to see a whole lot of pictures of the place click here

Summer Camp Visiting Day

It has been a quiet two weeks with both girls off at summer camp. We are lucky enough to be able to send them to a sleep away camp. The camp had a visiting day on Sunday the 27th. Here is a link to the pictures from the day which included fried oreo cookies from a road side stand, put put golf, and a wonderful lunch providedby the camp. Grand ma and Grand pa also were in attendance. The camp is Camp Timber Tops located in Greeley PA Just north of Buskill falls and east of Lake Wallenpaupack

Playing Volleyball for a good cause

The WILLOWDALE STEEPLECHASE GROUNDS were the site this past weekend where this author dusted of his grass volleyball skills for a full day playing 4's. The best result was there was no trip to the emergency room. That is victory in itself. It was nice to see a tournament for a good cause - this was he 17th Annual Ball Hog Volleyball Tournament & Family Picnic - this benefit event continues to support the Child Abuse Prevention and Youth Programs of the Turks Head Exchange Club of West Chester. The combination of competitive play, picnic atmosphere and beautiful scenery makes this tournament one of the most unique in
the country. We had a lot of fun, good competition, and a beautiful day. One side note you as a player did not go hungry because the tournament provided the "picnic" - all the pulled pork, hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob and watermelon we could eat. The site was the steeplechase grounds near Landalf Pa. There turned out to be more than 30 nets. With 4 or 5 teams on each net. That is a lot of volleyball for one day. Skill levels ranged from recreational 6 people per side, to just below professional (AA) using 4 people per side (same size court). . Form is good here. There were folks from a wide range of backgrounds all brought together in the name of fun and sport.

Kitchen and Bath Association Web Site

Hi - I have not yet taken on the task of remodeling our home's kitchen. It is a project we were going to do when we moved into our home 13 years ago. Someday. I did find today a website for the National Kitchen and Bath association which I found interesting. I thought well why not share the link. Lots of people remodel their kitchens and baths and why not look at the associations web site to see what issues they have and what is new and coming soon.