Living in The East Valley » There’s No Place Like Home

Gorgeous Home for Sale in Chandler Arizona – Tons of Updates!

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:01:17 +0000

Realty Times – The Joys of Homeownership

admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:26:08 +0000

Realty Times – The Joys of Homeownership.

Superstition Wilderness of Tonto National Forest

patmonahan — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:10:31 +0000

Just an hour east of Phoenix is the Superstition Wilderness area. The Superstition Mountains can be seen anywhere in the East Valley. It’s jagged walls rise almost 90 degrees from the city of Apache Junction. On top and behind those walls lie some of the best hiking trails in the Sonoran Desert.

On the second Sunday in October, Amy and I decided to hike the Peralta Trail. No not all of it, but a few miles up near the Freemont Saddle. The trail rises gently to get to the saddle. At the saddle you can take a side trip to a scenic overlook of Weaver’s Needle, visit Geronimo’s Cave or you can go further into the wilderness area. Weaver’s Needle is well know as being near the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine. Find it and you’ll be set for life.

You could spend the rest of your life exploring the Superstition Wilderness and never hike the same trail twice. Dozens of trails lead to the south side of the range and just as many on the north side along the Apache Trail. There’s at least a half dozen trail heads with parking on each side as well.

Safety, it’s a good thing.

admin — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:39:00 +0000

I received this email from a good client of mine. Thanks for sharing Pauline.

PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT

Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents your Dr. office, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across.Put your car keys beside your bed at night If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, a nd the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.
This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:It’s a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break in your house, odds are the burglar rapist won’t stick around… after a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won’t want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there …… This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.P.S. I am sending this to everyone I know because I think it is fantastic. Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can’t reach a phone.

Tips to Protect Your Home While You Are Away

admin — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:17:00 +0000

I just read this tip sheet provided by Liberty Mutual on things to do before you leave home on vacation or a business trip. A few tips include: asking a neighbor to keep an eye out for packages and leaflets left at your door, setting an automatic timer on some lights for the home, and turning off water to your washing machine so there is no danger of a hose bursting and flooding your house. To read the complete list, click on the link below.

Tips To Help You Protect Your Home When Traveling

Fireplace Memories

admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:12:00 +0000

Certain events can stir memories of different places in the home. For me, Christmas always brings up the image of the fireplace in the house where I grew up. It was brick that was painted white and it had a walnut mantel. We always rigged a string just under the mantel to hang our stockings on. That way we didn’t have to put nail holes or some other fastener into the mantel. We frequently set out the Christmas greeting cards we had received across the mantel. We always had a fire in the fireplace on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning when we were opening our presents.
One of my favorite types of fireplace is the see through kind. We lived in a home for about a year and a half that had a fireplace in the wall between the family room and the living room. If there was a fire going, it could be enjoyed from either room. Pretty cool!
If you are wondering, yes many homes in Arizona do have fireplaces. It does get cold enough in the winter to have a fire in the evening. Also, many people chose to have outdoor fireplaces, either chimneias or fire pits.
Do you have a memory of a great fireplace? Share it with us by clicking on “comment” below.

Date Pinwheel Cookies

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:53:00 +0000

Yesterday I made date pinwheel cookies. I had never made them before and they took some time as the dough had to be refrigerated at two different times. They turned out great. I decided to make them because The Baker’s Catalogue e-letter included the recipe. My grandmother used to send us a box of cookies every year at Christmas time and these cookies were always in the box. It is amazing how much a certain type of food can trigger memories of people and places.

The editor who submitted the recipe had similar memories about the cookies. She wrote … (just click on her note below to read her whole story and get the recipe)

“My own memories include the soft brown dough, the dates bubbling on the stove, the tricky process of rolling the filling inside the dough, and the magical way the refrigerator would make the sticky mass solid and sliceable. And the taste! …

There’s No Place Like Home

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:40:00 +0000

Watching Tin Man last night made me think that there is no better place to start a real estate blog than with thoughts of home. What do you think of when you hear the word home? Is it the house you grew up in, the place you live now, the place your parents live now, or someplace else? Is it more than just a building, perhaps a neighborhood or a city? Maybe it is all those things. I think that the cliched “Home is where the heart is” may be one of the best definitions of home. That is certainly what Dorothy learned in the original movie.

So what about Tin Man? Tin Man is a mini-series that just premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel. It is not The Wizard of Oz redone (like The Wiz) or a musical. It is a new story from the Land of Oz that tips it hat to the original stories. For those of you who don’t know, there are many books about Oz written by L. Frank Baum not just the first book which was turned into the movie. This is more a separate story as is Wicked written by Gregory Maquire. There is not as much of Baum’s punny humor as in the book or the original movie but there is at least a tip of the hat there with the reference to the “scarecrow” as a “head case”. I don’t want to say much more and give away to much in case some of you are still planning to watch it. I believe it is on again this weekend.