For all of her adult life, one of my mother's favorite hobbies has been moving furniture - as in rearranging furniture. She can't stop.  Chances are, when you visit the house it will look different than the last time you were there.

My father grew up in an unchanging household.  Furniture was in the same place and position for decades and decades. Not so in the house he shares with my mother.

One of the oft told stories in our family shows the downside of a furniture moving obsession. 

Years ago, when my brother was a baby, my father, still dressed in his suit and tie from work, took him upstairs to put him to bed.  Unbeknownst to him, my mother had decided to put a chair in the hall outside my brother's room.  My father tripped over the chair in the hall and went sliding across the hardwood floor of the bedroom on his knees.  He managed to keep baby Andy safely cradled in his arms the entire time but wore holes in the knees of his pants from the slide.

I didn't inherit my mother's fascination with moving furniture.  My house stays pretty much as-is. In fact, I've been known to keep items for years in the exact place they were dropped (with no thought or intention) during the initial move-in.  I just don't have the moving furniture fever.

Today I discovered that the moving furniture gene is alive and well - it's just skipped a generation.

Recently a local store had cat beds on sale.  I picked up one for Champ figuring it would be an improvement on the blanket-covered box I had made for him.

I thought the knee-hole in my office desk was a perfect spot for a bed.  There's a radiator in the kneehole and he would be close by while I worked.  Champ and I call the radiators "furnaces" - and he loves to lie next to one when I turn up the heat.  He needs to warm his chilly paws in this old, drafty house.

Champ checked out the bed in the afternoon and went off elsewhere.  Later, I was at my desk and noticed that he was lying in his new bed.

I ran an errand and later was back at my desk in my office.  My cell phone rang in the kitchen and I jumped up to get it.

When I got to the hall there was Champ.  In his bed.  In the hall. 

I'm still stunned by it.  Champ had taken his new bed from the office and brought it to the spot he preferred, next to his favorite "furnace" in the hall.

Yup - it seems Champ has inherited his Nan's furniture moving hobby. Who knew?!

Do you spend too much time at your desk?

I know I do.  Ever since I started blogging and my online world expanded, I spend hours and hours and hours at my desk.  Many nights it seems the only time I get up is to grab a snack before finally signing off in the wee hours of the morning.

Not good.

Shortly after reading an article about the health consequences of sitting for too many hours  I came across an adjustable desk in a condo which we were touring.

With the flick of a switch the desk could be transformed from traditional sit-to-work height to the right height for you to stand. That desk immediately went on my must-buy list.

Stand-up desks are the new thing - and for good reason.  Between office jobs and hours online at home many of us spend way too much time sitting down.  For me, the hours I spend at night added to time in the car and at my desk at the office add up an unacceptable amount of sit-down time.

You'll find loads of posts about and photos of homemade standing desks online.  I'm opting for the adjustable version so I can alternate standing with sitting.

Switching to an adjustable desk is definitely on my to-do list for 2012.

Photo courtesy of nicksieger.

A winter storm warning?

How can that be?

I snapped the photo at right of my father's iris in bloom two weeks ago - and the other bud opened after that. 

Today Massachusetts may get several inches of snow - wet heavy snow.  At least that's what the forecasters are predicting.  If the predictions come true it will be the largest snowfall recorded in October in our area.

While I'm not ready for winter - and convinced that any snow will soon vanish - that's not the half of it.

The problem is that the leaves are still on many trees - all the trees near me in fact.

The heavy wet snow that's forecast will be horrible for trees that are not made to carry the weight of snow on their leaves. Branches and trees will come down everywhere.

What a disaster!  Trees have had a really tough time of it lately in our area - many have died or are dying from last year's drought, many fell during the hurricane/tropical storm that came through a month or two ago, and invasions of non-native pests like the Wooly Adelgid and the Longhorn Asian Beetle are taking a toll.

Climate change is a bear!

A number of times lately - real estate related and otherwise - I've been taken aback and irritated by the people I see with coffee cups glued to their hands. 

We're not in Dunkin' Donuts, or Starbucks, or a restaurant.

No, we're at the local antiques mall and the aisles are filled with browsers holding on (barely) to their large cups of joe.  This, despite the No Food or Drink sign on the front door.

Or we're at an open house - my open house - and customers and even agents show up with a large to go cup of coffee in hand.

What are people thinking?  I'm as hooked on coffee as the next guy but I would never dream of bringing my cup of coffee with me into a store or a stranger's home.

What further stymies me is that the norm in the US is to have about a half a dozen cup holders in cars nowadays.  These people have a place to stash their cup - there's no need to bring it along.

I asked the guy behind the counter at the antiques shop about the coffee drinkers.  They've apparently given up and have ceded to the mindlessly entitled coffee drinkers. 

Me?  I'm not going to give up.  I greet people at the door and ask them to leave the cup outside.  Maybe they'll think twice next time.  Maybe not.

Does this happen where you are?  Do you bring your coffee with you wherever you go?  What do you think?

It's been a fairly busy spring market this year.

Too many days (nights!) I came home to this. 

Or worse - Champ would be in the window as I pulled out the driveway.

Home alone for another long day.

The guilt!  It kills me.

I'm doing my darndest to spend some quality time with him this weekend.

Hope you get some time off this holiday weekend to enjoy a bit of R and R and quality time with your loved ones - be they feline, canine and/or human.

A day in the life - Winter 2011

It's a challenging season for Massachusetts real estate agents. We won't soon forget the winter of 2011.

8:30 am:  Leave the house for work. Realize that you can't leave since the front door is frozen shut.

9:30 am: Actually leave the house for work having successfully opened the door after wedging it open wide enough to throw ice salt on the stoop and hammering at the ice pile repeatedly - for an hour.

9:45 am: Arrive at the office.

9:45 to 10:15 am: Circle the block - over and over again - trying to score a parking space.

10:15 am: Bingo! Nab a parking spot at a meter in front of the office.  So what if you're parked five feet from the curb? So's everybody else.  Fold your mirror in - you're lucky you still have one. No need to fish for quarters - the meter's buried.

11:00 am: Boots back on - it's time to head out on tour. Bummer - that means you've got to vacate your hard earned parking space.

11:10 - 11:30 am: Good thing you allowed for extra time - there's nary a parking space to be found. Finally move a chair out of a shoveled space two blocks away - hopefully you'll be back before the owner of the chair comes home.

11:30 - 11:40 am: After clambering through snow banks and walking in the street  - while dodging cars that don't have a full lane to drive in - you arrive at the property with your buyers. Boots off, quick run through, boots back on.

11:40 - noon: The next stop is just five minutes away but sitting behind a recycling truck takes up an extra 15 minutes.

Noon - 12:10 pm: Arrive at the second property on your tour.  Boots off, quick run through, boots back on.

Repeat. Ad nauseum.

4 pm: Leave work early in time to hit the hardware stores.  Rumor has it that one store is getting a shipment of ice melt. You're too late.  Third store is taking deposits for future shipment.  Sign up for two bags - the maximum per customer.

6 pm:  Arrive home.  Park at end of driveway - there's a big storm in the forecast. Boots off one last time today.

10 pm: Head off to bed. Dream of spring.

It dawned on me in the midst of today's five hour shoveling marathon that real estate may be picking up in Florida this year.

Here in chilly Massachusetts we're on track to break records for snowfall. 

We are buried.  There simply isn't anywhere else to put snow. And it's only January.  And the seven day forecast shows snow on two days.

Lately I keep hearing more and more about Florida:

• My coworker went to Florida at Christmas - for a week - and has yet to return.
  
  
• My client bought two properties in Florida recently.
  
  
• My brother just got back from a week in Florida and spent a good part of his vacation daydreaming about Florida real estate opportunities.
  
  
• Even my parents - diehard New Englanders and winter weather enthusiasts - have started to talk about how nice it would be to be warm with no snow.

I think a winter like we're experiencing this year has the potential to convince plenty of people that a warm weather property is just the ticket.

Better get ready Florida agents - the snowbirds are coming!

While wrapping the stocking stuffers and presents I bought yesterday I had to acknowledge - I was deep in the throes of "last minute frenzy' as I shopped yesterday.

I'll make the assumption that my family won't have time to read my blog today and list some of the tell-tale purchases:

• A Barack Obama action figure
• Sticky arrows (like the "sign here" ones we use on P & Ss) that say "F* this", "F* that", etc (spelled out of course)
• Mammoth bags of kitty litter

The first two are stocking stuffers and while I'm not convinced I would have bought them a month ago they do tickle my funny bone - which is in large part the point of the mammoth stockings we do each year.  We're all adults - still getting stockings - so no need to keep things clean for little kids

Kitty litter though? 

In my family we make lists so we get what we want.

Sure enough one of my brothers put kitty litter on his list (budgets are tight and keeping two cats in litter adds up). Chalk it up to last minute frenzy that I didn't think twice about it and suggested it as an idea for my other brother when he happened to call while I was at the pet store.

As luck would have it, second brother's kitty litter brand was only carried by another store two towns away.  Again - only the desperation of December 23rd explains why I never flinched as I sat in traffic on my kitty litter quest.

It was only as I wrapped it up last night that the oddity of putting kitty litter under the tree finally sunk in.  Chalk it up to the desperation of the final days of Christmas shopping. I'm out the door for my final laps so who knows what will end up under the tree later today.

Merry Christmas!!

On Sunday, Dec 12, 2010 stop by 14 Holton Street in Medford MA for an open house from noon to 1 pm.

Set on the top floor of a handsome six-unit building, the condo is an appealing mix of modern upgrades and original architectural details including transom windows, exposed brick, wood floors, high ceilings and beautiful golden oak woodwork in the entry foyer.

If you work at home or just need space for an office you'll appreciate the flexible floor plan.  Previously used as a three bedroom, the third bedroom has been opened up and is a spacious office. There's also a small den off the living room and a built-in desk in the former pantry adjacent to the kitchen.

The sunny and spacious eat-in kitchen opens to a private deck.  There are granite counters, stylish cabinets and washer /dryer - no need to lug the laundry downstairs!

14 Holton Street is just two blocks from the heart of West Medford Square.  Hop on the train - the next stop is North Station in Boston.  There's a variety of shops and restaurants in West Medford and even more if you head in the other direction towards Tufts.  Whole Foods is down the street and you'll have no problem grabbing your morning coffee - both Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks are in the neighborhood.

Commuters will have lots of options from this convenient location.  In addition to the commuter rail the bus stops just outside your door and takes you to Davis Square, Lechmere Station or Arlington. Zipcars can be picked up nearby. There's quick and easy access to routes 2, 3, 93, 95 and 128.  By bike Teele Square or Davis Square aren't far.

14 Holton Street is listed for $299,000.  If you can't make the open house on Sunday I'd be happy to set up a time for you to come by.  If you'd like to see additional photos and get more information about the West Medford neighborhood check out the website for 14 Holton St Medford MA.

When I spotted this vintage metal bank in an antiques store on Friday I had to have it. 

It's a water heater! 

How cool is that? How could a home inspector or real estate agent resist?

This vintage metal miniature Rex water heater bank is from the Cleveland Heater Co. of Cleveland, Ohio.  It's about seven inches tall not counting the metal valves on top.

Turns out I'm not the only one intrigued by this miniature copy of an appliance - I found a closed auction online for a Rex water heater bank that sold for more than $450 recently. 

The bank was a splurge for me but I feel a lot better about the price after seeing that sale.