Damaged In Flight - 08/30/09 11:36 PM
Today started out cool and wet. I think this little guy was knocked out of a branch somewhere by the winds this morning. Mike found him lying on the porch with more than one cat preparing to feast on his little wings. We were pretty surprised when he was more than willing to perch on Mike's finger. Little guy stayed on Mike's finger, shoulder and chest for about three hours before finally taking flight again in the afternoon.

… (21 comments)

Perfect End to the Perfect Week - 08/30/09 06:17 PM
Five out of 8 of my grandchildren live with in 40 minutes of my house. Actually two live about three minutes away, two live 20 minutes away and one lives 30-40 minutes away.
This week it played out over and over again. Grandchildren everywhere, it was great. Had them all long enough to enjoy them, not long enough to be tired out and drained. I played catch baseball with my 11- year- old grandson who's on a local team, read with the 3 and the 5 year old, watched Disney movies with all and had a great time.
Not too sure about … (13 comments)

Home Inspections In The Pocono’s: The Series Part 4 – Inspecting The Exterior - 08/22/09 06:49 PM
Welcome to Home Inspections In The Pocono's: The Series Part 4 - Inspecting The Exterior.
During the exterior portion of the home inspection the inspector will thoroughly inspected and report on various aspects of the structure. These include all the components attached to the house as well as all those surrounding the house.
Trim and Eaves are evaluated for decay or insect infestation. Most of the time this is done using a ladder and if needed a moisture meter and other probing devices. If any damage is found it is reported and recommendations are made with regards to repair or replacement. … (8 comments)

Colin Baker is missing! Please help and please pray! - 08/22/09 11:13 AM
I very seldom re-blog, but this one is very important and needs to be kept going. My very dear AR friend Tammy Lankford needs our help. Her step-son Colin Baker has gone missing some where in the San Diego LeMesa area.
Guys, if anyone down it that area has seen or thinks they've seen Colin please call the numbers on Tammy's post. To the rest of my AR family and friends I ask that you say a prayer for Tammy and her family during this great time of need. Thanks
 

Via Tammy Lankford/Broker (Lane Realty) Lake Sinclair :
If you are … (11 comments)

Home Inspections In The Pocono's: The Series Part 3 – Inspecting The Roof. - 08/20/09 07:47 PM
Welcome to Home Inspections In The Pocono's: The Series Part 3 - Inspecting The Roof.
Inspecting the roof is one of the most important and crucial part of the home inspection. When buying a home the roof is one of the biggest concerns for the buyer. The roof protects the home from the elements and is perceived to be both expensive and complicated to repair. Plus it cannot generally be seen from the ground making it one of the most important components to inspect. So, lets discuss what we inspect during the course of the roof inspection:
First we determine and report … (8 comments)

Left or Right ... It Doesn't Matter - 08/20/09 09:29 AM
I don’t think it matters what side of the health insurance reform act you’re on. Given the lack of real information and the amount of misinformation we should all try to tune in to the President’s forum for health care reform. I for one am still struggling to decide where I stand on this issue. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford health insurance. I’m self-employed so I’m not in danger of having my insurer changed by my employer. For the most part I suppose I can say that I don’t need this program and that the 40% of … (23 comments)

Who Really Cares? - 08/19/09 09:38 AM
All day long on TV News and Talk News the headlines have been carrying on about Michelle Obama wearing shorts. Here we are in the middle of a recession, real estate sales are down, cars are just starting to sell again, we're involved in two wars, immigration reform is some where on the presidential agenda and Obama is still trying to control the fall out over the health care insurance reform act.
One would think that these are the things the media would be focusing on, but no ... they're all debating whether or not it was proper for the First … (32 comments)

Home Inspections In The Pocono’s: The Series Part 2 – What Is Included In A Home Inspection - 08/18/09 09:06 PM
Welcome to Home Inspections In The Pocono's: The Series Part 2 - What Is Included In A Home Inspection
During the course of a home inspection the house is evaluated from the roof to the basement. The typical inspection covers the:
The Roof The exterior Basement, Foundation, Crawlspace & Structure Heating Cooling Plumbing Electrical Fireplace Attic & Insulation Doors, Windows & Interior Property surrounding the house In addition to the structural inspection there may additional inspections and test that may also be needed. Most of the times these are available through the same inspector that is performing you're structural inspection. These … (3 comments)

China Pearl Restaurant in Blakeslee Pa. - 08/16/09 09:44 PM

 
If you are in the mood for Chinese food visit the China Pearl Restaurant in Blakeslee Pa. The China Pearl offers a wide variety of delicious Mandarin, Szechuan, Hunan and Cantonese dished. You have a choice of eating in their spacious dinning room or if you prefer you can order to go. The China Pearl is open 7 days a week and is located in the Aharts Plaza Shopping center on Rts. 940 or 115.
 
JTHIS-Professional Home Inspection TeamServing the Pocono's and the surrounding areawww.jthis.com                      (570) 262-7551
… (4 comments)

The Chat-N-Chew Café in Blakeslee Pa. - 08/16/09 09:09 PM
So you just got up, it's barely 7am in the morning and your starving for a real hot breakfast. Then you remember it's 7 am and you don't know you're way around. So what's a hungry guy to do at a time like this? Well, get dressed, jump in your car and drive down to the Chat-N-Chew Café in Blakeslee Pa.

 
The Chat-N-Chew serves up about anything you can expect in a breakfast. The portions are generous, the food is great, the coffee just keeps coming and the service is warm and friendly. But wait, now that you drove … (1 comments)

Nature and Marketing Contest - 08/16/09 06:52 PM
                                     My entry for the Nature and Marketing contest.

Despite all the reminders I almost forgot the contest ends tonight. It's been a really busy week. Nothing like waiting to the last minute to get things done.
JTHIS-Professional Home Inspection TeamServing the Pocono's and the surrounding areas.www.jthis,com(570) 262-7551
 
… (9 comments)

Meet the Rest of The JTHIS Professional Home Inspection Team - 08/16/09 05:22 PM
Some of you may have already met this guy.             Mike finds that the fireplace mantle is no longer attached to it's supports.
This is my husband Michael. Mike is a certified home inspector and a contractor ... all though he is never both at the same time. Even though Mike is an AR member he seldom blogs, but we're going to work on that this week as we play hooky from work to stay home with our newest grand-daughter who is scheduled to come home from the hospital this evening.
Then there's this guy that again some of you have met.                     … (9 comments)

Home Inspections In The Pocono’s: The Series Part 1 – What Is A Home Inspection - 08/16/09 02:46 PM
Welcome to Home Inspections In The Pocono's: The Series Part 1 - What Is A home inspection.
This is the first part in an on going series explaining what a home inspection is and is not, how they are performed and what it means to the buyer, the seller and the Realtor. In part 1 I am going to discuss what a home inspection is and what it is not.
Simply put, a home inspection is a visual evaluation of the structure of the home and it's components. The purpose of the inspection is to determine if the home is … (4 comments)

Pocono Mountains: A View From 30 Feet Up - 08/14/09 07:50 PM
Once is a while my job comes along with a perk or two and today was one of those days. The weather up here in the Pocono's has been very unstable over the past couple of weeks. Torrential rains at night and early morning, followed by sunshine, only to turn back into rain again. Today we had to inspect an REO out in Towamensing Trails. It was a 2700 square-foot house 3 stories high and cosmetically rough both inside and out. All three of us went out on this one. Imagine the shock we got when we climbed up the ladders, stepped … (6 comments)

We Finally Got Our Lives Back - 08/10/09 05:47 PM
Yesterday I wrote about a fallen tree blocking our path to the outside world. Here's the link in case you missed it I've Fallen For You. This morning my husband and I went out to assess the situation. Things always look so different in the light of day and after the storm. Turns out our tree wasn't really a tree, it was a branch off the tree. The tree is still standing and in some serious need of TLC, which will have to wait till tomorrow.Here's a view of what we were looking at this morning:
Here this monstrous branch still … (22 comments)

The United States, Mexico and Canada Come Together On The Issues - 08/09/09 09:47 PM
President Barack Obama, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harder are in day one of the three-way summit, which spans over Sunday and Monday. So what are these three men talking about and why do we care? Well, how about the fact that the US shares its borders with Mexico and Canada. What happens here affects them and what happens there affects us.
I suspect that swine flu, immigration, gun control, the war on drugs and free trade between our three countries is at the top of the discussions. Some say these discussions are a waste of time … (25 comments)

I've Fallen For You - 08/09/09 07:40 PM

This is the view outside my house right now. About an hour ago there was a pretty nasty passing storm. The skies got really dark and it seemed as though the heavens had opened up. It was a torrential down pour the likes of which were unreal.
There were many loud thumps; I figured it was thunder in the distance. Then almost as quickly as it started it was all over. When I went outside to see what there was to see, I was greeted with this awesome view. This is the only way in or out of here.
That … (15 comments)

Can You Tell Me What Henry Allingham, Harry Patch, and Walter Breuning Have In Common? - 08/09/09 06:01 PM
        Henry Allingham
Harry Patch
Walter Breuning           
 
These three men all have one very important thing in common. These men all lived past their One Hundredth Birthday.
Henry Allingham dies recently at the age of 113.  Harry Patch recently passed away at the age 111.  Walter Breuning is alive and well as of the time of this post and living in Great Falls Montana. Walter is 112 years old. I plan to write a follow up post on these three men as I find some of their background to be as colorful as they admirable.
… (11 comments)

Active Rain Still Brings In The Juice - 08/09/09 04:58 PM
I have to say that I am very surprised to see how much search engine juice Active Rain really delivers. A search for home inspectors in my area using the following keywords "home inspection services in Pocono pa" yielded the following results:
Google - page 1 Yahoo  - page 1 Bing - page 2 Four months ago I was lucky to come up on page 4 and 5. The only thing I'm doing differently now as opposed to before is blogging on AR. So I guess if you still have doubts, you're just going to have to try it for yourself.
… (5 comments)

The Sun Came Out and So Did I - 08/09/09 03:34 PM
It's been dark cloudy and outright raining cats and dogs for most of the day. The Sun came out if only for 45 minutes and out I went for my walk along the river and my visit to the Falls. I don't think I will ever grow tired of this beautiful view. I took a few pictures to share with you, hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

 


… (11 comments)

Are Local Posts Boring and Meaningless? - 08/09/09 11:58 AM
I've noticed that posts about local areas and business do not attract any where near the amount of comments as other posts do. Is this because they are less interesting and therefore boring? Is it because there's a lack of interest in information of this type? Is it because we're just not all that interested in things that do not directly affect us?
There was a rise on Localism posts when AR's Bob Stewart created the 1000 point challenge, but other than that these posts are few and rare and seldom do they attract comments. I did a few localism posts … (17 comments)

Dr. Stephen M. Lawrence DMD ... Painless Dentistry | Forty Fort, Pa - 08/09/09 11:16 AM
Since I've been on the suject of health care lately I'd like to take a few moments to tell everyone about Dr. Stephen M. Lawrence DMD. Dr. Lawrence's office is located on Wyoming Avenue in Forty Fort Pa.  Let me post a link to his Website in case anyone's interested in taking a look for themselves.  http://www.excelldent.com
I found the good doctor on the Internet after I ran search on Google for emergency dental care. I called his office and was surprised that his recording gave out his cell phone number for those calling after hours and in pain. I called back at … (2 comments)

Have You All Lost Your Minds? - 08/08/09 09:26 AM
Great did I get your attention ... good, since that was the intentions behind such a crude and obnoxious title? So now that I got your attention, I'd like to ask you all a question. When did discussion over such an important issue like Health Care Reform turn into Us against You? When did it become an issue of Republican vs. Democrats?
Health Care Reform will affect Democrat, Republican, Socialist, Communist and Wacko Nut Job exactly the same. So why can't we just learn to get along? Why can't we have some meaningful discussion? Why can't we stop the mudslinging? Is … (44 comments)

Health Care Reform – Explained - 08/07/09 07:05 PM
Yesterday I read a post by Jay-Paul Lowry. I've included a link to his blog. Jay is taking the time to read the proposed Health Care Reform Plan and is doing a series of post on the subject. He provides his opinions as well as the page and line he is referring to in his opinions.
Take a read for yourself and form your own conclusions. Here's a link to the first post from last night: First 5 Problems With Obama Care and here's a link to today's post: Next 4 Problems With Obama Care. If you want, leave Jay a … (8 comments)

Morgan Gallery of Fine Arts | Rt. 940, Blakeslee, Pa - 08/02/09 07:59 PM
The Morgan Gallery of Fine Arts is located on Route 940,in Blakeslee Pa, just minutes away from Pocono Pines. The Morgan Gallery of Fine Arts is the oldest art gallery in the Pocono's and hosts an incredible variety of artists and art styles.


 
 
 
 
 
 

Gallery director James Morgan is an artist himself. Mr. Morgan is quite talented with the camera and has mastered the art of capturing the perfect landscape portrait.
 
 
 
The gallery also is host to the watercolor paintings of Ed Havas; an artist from Bethlehem, Pa. Morgan refers … (3 comments)

9 Hours In The Heat and Sun - 08/02/09 02:20 PM
Yesterday was the first time we took a space at our local Farmer Market. Although it is billed as a Farmer market they really allow you to sell almost anything and we've gotten some pretty good deals ourselves from time to time. They charge 10.00 for a parking space and you're assigned two spaces for that price. That is given that you use the space in the rear to park your vehicle and the front space to sell your items.
Since we have a small discount pet supply business as well as a computer supply, sales and service business we elected … (12 comments)

What Constitutes Proper Blogging Etiquette - 08/02/09 09:41 AM
What is acceptable and expected behavior when blogging within a social network?
For me the main reason to blog is the interaction that I enjoy with the rest of the community. I love to comment and receive comments. That is one of several ways that I expand my wealth of information and of course get to meet more and more people.
So would it be logical to conclude that it would be correct behavior to respond to the comments left on our blogs? Would another appropriate conclusion be that it would be correct to visit the blog of the person who … (15 comments)

Pocono 500: Facing a Grim Outlook - 08/02/09 09:05 AM
The Pocono 500 is facing a pretty grim outlook today. The weather just isn't going to allow the Race to go on. The race is held every year at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond Pa. and is a huge source of revenue for local hotels, restaurants, pubs, bars, gas stations, convenient stores, vendors and just about anyone and everyone within the entertainment and hospitality business.
15 miles away from the Pocono Raceway is my home. I'm currently sitting on my porch watching what I can only categorize as a torrential downpour. The river in my backyard is definitely rising, thunder … (5 comments)