ar challenges: Post-surgery Kindness
- 12/20/23 05:11 PM
My wife had back surgery on December 11 and we have been the recipients of much kindness since that time. It’s been a blessing due to her significant pain and limited mobility.
Our neighbors across the street showed up a couple days before the big day with a walker. My wife had been asking around in case it was something she needed post-surgery. They didn’t have one but put the word out on Nextdoor and quickly found a walker that had barely been used. It was so thoughtful, and it came to good use in the first few days after the surgery.
When … (38 comments)
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ar challenges: Our Christmas Tree and an Act of Kindness
- 12/02/23 12:22 PM
A Christmas Tree Act of Kindness
This is my 1st entry for the December Kindness Challenge co-hosted by Kathleen Daniels and Dr. Paula McDonald.
Kindness is around us everywhere…we just have to watch for it happening, or for the opportunity for us to be kind to someone. The possibilities are endless.
We have been buying our Christmas trees at The Home Depot in Oceanside for the last several years. The quality is pretty good as are the prices, and buying our 2023 tree was on the list of To Dos this week. Yesterday was the day.
We spent some time picking out the tree we wanted … (33 comments)
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ar challenges: Thankful for Living in Carlsbad
- 11/30/23 05:29 PM
Grateful to Live in Carlsbad
This is my 4th entry for the November Gratitude Challenge hosted by Debe Maxwell, CRS.
We moved to Carlsbad in April 2005 from Boston, and I am very thankful that we did.
It was a tough decision to leave the Boston area after living there for 20+ years in multiple homes and communities. We loved the Boston area, other than the winter cold, snow and ice, and left behind lots of friends and family in New England and the northeast. Photo is from the winter before we moved, in Harvard Square (Cambridge) near where we last lived before relocating.
We … (24 comments)
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ar challenges: Always Grateful for our Cookie-Making Tradition
- 11/25/23 04:20 PM
Thankful for our Cookie-Making Tradition
We have a long-standing cookie-making tradition at Thanksgiving. It’s been going on for decades, and I have shared it before. After all, it’s a tradition!
In 2022 both daughters and their families were with us for Thanksgiving, and this year was supposed to be a repeat. Alas, that did not happen. We heard Wednesday night our younger daughter’s older daughter was quite sick and had a fever, and the younger one was not well either, so they would not be joining us.
Early Thanksgiving morning we learned our daughter had to take our granddaughter to the ER around 6 … (33 comments)
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ar challenges: Grateful for My Home
- 11/19/23 11:11 AM
I'm Thankful for my Home
This is my second entry for the November Gratitude Challenge hosted by Debe Maxwell, CRS.
Those 4 simple words in the title mean ever so much to me, and no doubt for others who own their homes. Indeed, it goes beyond owning a home but would include a rental. But for this post, the focus is on my gratitude for home ownership.
I’m in my 10th primary house (there have been a couple vacation homes, too) that I have owned – perhaps not a lot compared to many others, but the number doesn’t matter. This is all about the … (24 comments)
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ar challenges: Grateful for Vacation and Some Lessons Learned
- 11/09/23 12:21 PM
Grateful for Vacation and Some Lessons Learned
I recently returned from a 10-day vacation to Kaua’i in Hawai’i – 10 days away from life in Carlsbad and day to day business issues. I’ve been fortunate to have taken plenty of vacations over the years – South America, Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, and in many states across the US and always appreciate having the time away.
I was looking at some of my Kaua’i photos and it got me thinking about how important vacations really are to our emotional and physical health. And while I think my thoughts about vacations have pretty much been … (29 comments)
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ar challenges: ActiveRain No Tricks but Lots of Treats
- 10/31/23 11:07 AM
ActiveRain No Tricks but Lots of Treats
First off many thanks to Leanne Smith and Endre Barath, Jr. for hosting the October Challenge.
This was a tough one for me to write. And as you can see it took until nearly the deadline to put my thoughts to keyboard. The reason? Not that the premise of the Challenge was that hard, but choosing the treats to write about when there are so many wonderful options made this…dare I say…a Challenge. Pun intended.
After much pondering I made my decision so here goes, for what it’s worth. Treats ahead.
I owe an incredible debt of gratitude … (34 comments)
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ar challenges: Reasons to Love Living in Carlsbad CA – The Arts Part 2
- 09/13/23 03:13 PM
Reasons to Love Living in Carlsbad CA
~ The Arts - Part 2 ~
In Part 1 of this 3-part series on the Arts in Carlsbad we talked about theater and film/outdoor movies.
In Part 2 we’ll focus on music in all its various forms in Carlsbad.
The arts are just one of multiple reasons to love living in Carlsbad or visiting. And there are lots of popular options where music is concerned. The following is just a sampling of the music options throughout the year in Carlsbad.
MUSIC
TGIF CONCERTS IN THE PARKS
The TGIF Concerts offer a variety of different live bands, performing on consecutive … (21 comments)
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ar challenges: Reasons to Love Living in Carlsbad CA – The Arts Part 1
- 09/13/23 11:31 AM
Reasons to Love Living in Carlsbad CA
~ The Arts - Part 1 ~
There are plenty of reasons to love living in Carlsbad CA, the arts just being one of them. As an art lover and collector (and former art gallery owner), it’s a topic I enjoy talking about and sharing with others who may be like-minded and enjoy the arts. And I keep learning about new things in Carlsbad, too!
Certainly, there is a broad range of art available in Carlsbad, depending on your passion and preference. You’ll find performing arts (theater, live music), visual arts (galleries, arts and craft fairs), … (25 comments)
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ar challenges: Marching to a Solution – An Important Inspection
- 03/17/23 02:55 PM
Marching to a Solution
The Value of a Fire Sprinkler Inspection
I was working with a buyer a few years ago who was looking for a second home. It was important that there be a big lot, and that the home did not need a lot of upgrades. There also needed to be room on the property to park a good size RV, which is not easy to find!
We found a home that met the criteria, including price range, and an offer was made. After a bit of negotiation agreement was reached and it was time for the home inspection. As it turned … (15 comments)
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ar challenges: Thank You for the December 2022 Challenge
- 01/03/23 08:11 PM
Thank You for the December 2022 Challenge
In December AR members were challenged to provide tips on blogging – things to do and things not to do. And they responded generously with their wisdom and advice.
Thank you to the 37 bloggers who submitted posts, as well to everyone who read these posts and commented. Over 60 posts were shared with a wealth of advice from those who know about blogging…our ActiveRain Members. It’s essentially a book about blogging tips based on years of experience and success!
Here’s just a SMALL taste of the advice about what to do:
Just get started – stop putting … (33 comments)
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ar challenges: December 2022 Challenge Reminder – An AR Guide to Successful Blogging
- 12/21/22 04:37 PM
December 2022 Challenge Reminder
~ Tips for Successful Blogging ~
Thanks to all the ActiveRain members – over 30 so far – who have responded heartily to the December Challenge and shared loads of great tips on how create success in our blogging. And there is some terrific advice on what we should probably avoid doing so we don't chase readers away.
Brian England and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all your posts, and I bet you have too! Plus a number of these posts have also been featured!
Many of our members have shared their posts in the ActiveRain Challenges group which is … (15 comments)
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ar challenges: December 2022 Challenge - A Guide for Blogging Success
- 11/30/22 05:11 PM
The ActiveRain Members Guide to Blogging Success
~ Do's and Don'ts ~
Brian England and I are co-hosting the December 2022, and we want to know - are you ready to share your opinions and knowledge?
Of course you are. That’s never been a problem in our community as long as I’ve been a member.
And it’s even better when you can earn bonus points for sharing what you think and know, help others, plus gain some recognition!
We had a wonderful Challenge in October where AR members were asked to share their blogging success stories. What a terrific collection of successes from blogging! Thank you … (83 comments)
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ar challenges: Grateful for our Carlsbad Beaches
- 11/29/22 01:24 PM
I’m so Thankful for our Beaches
The November 2022 Gratitude Challenge has all been about being thankful. We’ve had the entire month to share up to 4 posts about what we are grateful for, which no doubt is pretty easy to do. It’s been fun to participate, but even better to read so many wonderful posts about gratitude and being thankful!
For my last post, I wanted to share my gratitude for our Carlsbad beaches. I am thankful in so many ways! I have spent the majority of my life near beaches, or within an hour or so, on both the east … (14 comments)
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ar challenges: Thankful for our Annual Christmas Cookie Tradition
- 11/23/22 08:14 PM
Thankful for our Christmas Cookie Tradition
My wife and I have a long-standing cookie-making tradition at Thanksgiving. In realty it’s been going on for decades!
For years we made these German Honey Lebkuchen all in one day (I make the dough the day before so it has time to chill), but in recent years we sometimes have stretched the timing out. My wife and I make some at home in Carlsbad, and then take the dough and everything else needed up to LA to make cookies with our 2 daughters and their families now that the 4 grandkids are older and want to … (16 comments)
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ar challenges: I’m Grateful for Laughter
- 11/20/22 12:13 PM
Thankful for Laughter
For the November AR Challenge Debe Maxwell, CRS asked us to write about those things we are grateful for. No doubt the gratitude list is long for each of us, and can easily exceed the 1 post per week that’s allowed.
So how does one decide?!
I wanted to write about something a little different, and not a topic I’ve written about before…so here it is.
I really like to laugh. Whether it’s something that I see, or hear, or read, or something from me personally, it makes me feel good. No, great! How about you?! I’m thankful for a good laugh…any … (18 comments)
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ar challenges: Blogging Success Comes in Different Forms
- 10/06/22 05:46 PM
The Many Forms of Blogging Success
The October Challenge, hosted by Carol Williams , Aura Alex , and Leanne Smith , is all about sharing success stories from our blogging. While there are some who claim that blogging doesn’t work, there are plenty of AR Members who have a variety of success stories they can share.
Blogging success stories come in many forms, real estate-related and otherwise. They can result from a post we wrote, the general information we share on AR that creates a significant online presence for us, or even our AR Profiles.
You might set a blogging goal for yourself and … (41 comments)
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ar challenges: My ActiveRain Point Store Offering – Fun Galore in Carlsbad CA
- 07/29/22 10:44 AM
Fun in Carlsbad
~ An ActiveRain Point Store Offering ~
The ActiveRain Point Store was open for business for July 2022. There are a number of wonderful offerings requiring a range of points from AR members in case you didn’t see them. Picking 1 offering was tough but it was a fun post to write. And it’s been entertaining to read what others selected and why.
As a second option we can offer our own special deal in the AR Point Store. Here’s mine.
It’s a special trip to my corner of the world on the Left Coast.
And it's yours for 35,000 AR points. … (22 comments)
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ar challenges: I’m Off to Paris! Bon Voyage.
- 07/09/22 08:31 PM
I’m Off to Paris...but in My Dreams!
The ActiveRain Point Store certainly offers a wealth of cool stuff to buy with all those points you’ve been saving up. Not only are the options diverse but in the point world they seem well priced. Unless you are miserly about your points and want to hoard them. But that's no fun when you can spend 'em.
I took some time reading and found it pretty tough to decide. Quite honestly I would have preferred to simply enjoy 1 of each, but that seems kinda greedy. And since the rules for the July Challenge say to … (30 comments)
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ar challenges: Curiouser and Curiouser – Down the Internet Rabbit Hole
- 01/11/22 10:42 AM
Curiouser and Curiouser
~ Down the Internet Rabbit Hole We Go ~
Is there anyone who hasn’t read Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?” Probably not too many of us.
Or perhaps you’ve seen one of the movie versions.
Have you been down the Internet rabbit hole? My bet is you have…on many occasions, like me. I know when it’s happening but sometimes it’s hard to stop it from occurring, despite my best intentions. Do you find that, too, sometimes?!
The Internet, confound it, offers us plentiful opportunities to venture down the rabbit hole, for hours if we aren’t careful...taking us away from other business or … (23 comments)
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My wife had back surgery on December 11 and we have been the recipients of much kindness since that time. It’s been a blessing due to her significant pain and limited mobility.
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