The Woodlands Township Awarded Clean Air Championship Award

Click on the link for the full story.

http://woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=44273

 

Oktoberfest in The Woodlands – Be Sure to Attend!

Visit the website below for more details on the event.

http://oktoberfestthewoodlands.com/

 

BACK AFTER A LONG ABSENCE

Well, my intentions were great for keeping up the Blog and then the busy season in real estate started and priorities took over to “make hay while the sun shines”.  So, I did and must say I have had a tremendous first half of 2010 – I am very blessed and thankful.  Along the way I did have a few adventures.  In April my daughter came from Scotland with her three children and I treated them to an all expense paid trip to Costa Rica to see my son.  Well, that may sound exciting until you actually make the death-defying trip yourself and travel down dirt roads with potholes as big as the small car you usually lease.  You hope and pray it isn’t rainy season because then the holes are mud traps where most cars get stuck if they don’t have four wheel drive.  You will actually see Oxen  pulling a plow with a Costa Rican farmer holding the reins and the plow handles behind the Oxen.

You see, my prince of a son chooses to live in the natural forest, eat natural food, meditate and practice Yoga – oh yes, and SURF!!  He thinks his parents are a little nutty to work so hard but you see someone has to support he and his wife and so we seem to be it!  I have spent the past couple of years investing a fortune in the “Zen Cafe” in hopes of making it a platform for him to launch a successful career.  Well, Bill Gates or Michael Dell he is not and I still love him regardless of the fact that The Zen is a money eater – not a money maker.

This time our arrival in Liberia, Costa Rica is graced by the Prince coming to meet us – a first for him but mostly because we had four large containers and suitcases full of supplies for them (not counted in the fortune we have spent over the years).  We had to of course rent a huge 12 passenger van due to having seven of us riding around the dirt roads and the luggage with all the supplies into Nosara which was two hours away.   Taking a bouncing van over those road conditions was even a worse experience than the small cars we had previously.

The good thing about the trip was the food from the Zen Cafe.  Talent is not something the Prince and Princess are missing in cooking as well as massage therapy, yoga training and just general knowledge.  Actually, super talented and brilliant which makes it all that much harder that motivated is not a word you can use to describe them.  The bad things about the trip while too numerous to mention in full were, the heat, the bugs, the lack of civilization, a rented house where the landlord was a maniac and tyrant and of course THE ROADS.  Oh, yes, and the driver of the van (the prince) drove like he was competing in the Indy 500.  At one point after driving across the worst of the roads we arrived at a natural spring.  The Springs were too muddy to dive into due to the heavy rains so my son decided we would take a long steep hill ride in the van down to see the Springs and Falls from the road.  As my voice was trailing off saying – DON’T GO DOWN THIS HILL……. he did and promptly got us stuck in mud up to the doors of the van with no way out.  After four hours of this and some amazing Costa Ricans that happened to be working there we did miraculously escape but to what extent the van was damaged after being hauled out with a rope tied around the main frame – I have no idea.  That is until later on finally getting to a paved road when the whole car began to shake and shimmy as if the bottom was falling out.  The Prince decided it would hobble back to the rental place so we gracefully marched onward hoping we could get on the plane and leave town before they came after us with clubs for ruining their van.

After four times visiting Costa Rica and the prince I had the same comments to make to the rest of the family “I will never come back here again”.  Well, I have taken several family members with me who have said (and meant it I might add) “Well, not with me anyway, I’m FINISHED”.  So, basically I am running out of family to drag down to visit these laid back, beautiful people who love their remote, laid-back life there.  Although I wonder if maybe they wouldn’t come back to our great United States of America if their money supply was cut off???????

Stay tuned for other adventures including my first annual CAMP BEBE (Bebe is the name my grandchildren call me)

 

MY KIDS

 

While I realize this blog was intended to tell perhaps humorous but informing stories of my real estate life, I tend to have more memories of my family stories as my family members are some of the most hilariously entertaining people I know.  And although many of my clients have created some really interesting and funny stories to tell, I have to temper them a bit so as to not insult or totally alienate the character I am writing about at the time.  As my youngest daughter recently told me “Mom, you are writing those stories too much in the present and are going to have someone read it and realize it is about them”.  Hmmm, well, better save the few I have so far for a later date when memories fade. Instead, I ask you to excuse me while I write about my favorite subject – my kids.

I hear grandparents say all the time “Isn’t it great to have grandkids so that you can enjoy them unlike when you were raising their parents – you can just love them so much more.”  Okay, I do sort of understand the thoughts back to the rocks stuck up the nose and the trip to the hospital to get it out, the days of cloth diapers you had to rinse out and wash as soon as you got a load to keep from smelling up the house and the nights rocking a crying baby with an earache.  Oh yes, and later the tears when they didn’t make cheerleader, the speeding tickets, and the tragedies when they broke up with the love of their lives. 

I absolutely adore my grandchildren – all nine of them.  I look forward to seeing them since none of them live in Houston and three are as far away as Scotland.  There are funny stories every day about one or the other of them as they have carried the family trait of being hilarious children and mischievous.  The last two are twins who are about to be three and while they are not identical, I cannot tell them apart.  Those boys look like Dennis the Menace with their  full heads of white hair and have that twin-like quality of being naughty together.  The grandchildren call me Bebe which is a name I decided on before our first grandchild was born.  I told my family that if they ever called me Grand it had better just be one syllable as it brought visions of gray hair, arthritis and retirement (all of which I fight daily with my village of people who keep me fit and those who try to hide the inevitable age thing).  My husband Bob, decided to be called just Bob to avoid the same but they do call him GrandBob which is acceptable to him.

Here is the point I am trying to make- I actually still adore my children all grown up and find them as enjoyable and entertaining and still as funny and enjoyable as the grandkids.  A day without a phone call from one of my three girls puts me in a panic that something is terribly wrong.  Usually the calls begin with one who later talks to the other two then we have to talk again like a round robin of phone calls around the world.  Sometimes we all get on a conference call to prevent having one talked about amongst the others.  The only problem with the conference call is everyone talks at once.  I also light up when I hear from my wayward baby son (31 years old) once or twice a week from his home in Costa Rica. 

It seems sometimes as if it was yesterday that I stared into the eyes of my first child only a few minutes old who looked up at me as if she was saying “I guess you are going to be the one taking care of me?”  A baby myself at nineteen I said “girlfriend, we will have to just work it out together”.  And while there were normal problems as I said before, we were always a happy, close knit family whose best friends were right there amongst ourselves.  Even their friends wanted to come to our house as they always had a good time and enjoyed the home cooking – especially Bob’s Sunday breakfasts.  As they transitioned from life at home to lives on their own we shared the joy of choosing the right college, planning weddings and having the privilege of standing opposite husbands in the labor rooms cheering them on as they gave birth to their babies.  And the circle of life became clear as I stood there holding their tiny little creatures who would hopefully benefit from the great family ties and lessons that their parents had learned from us growing up.  These days when we can all gather at our ranch outside of Round Top Texas, there are 19 of us counting grandkids and spouses.  Those are the best days of my life when I have them all at “Reunion Ranch” as we laugh until we cry recapping past experiences. And the highlight of my days are when one of my four children call and start out with “Hey Mom, I need your advice on something …………  I hope and pray that will never end and that they will always remember how much I love them.

 

MY MOM

 

Even if the groundhog sees his shadow, right before Spring I feel the need to do my “Spring Cleaning” which entails not only heavy duty cleaning of the surfaces but also going through all the closets, cabinets and drawers and tossing things.  The problem is that when you hit the memorabilia cabinet it takes forever because you have this “walk down memory lane” while sorting out the precious items you find such as pictures, letters, old recital programs, and lovely drawings which were early signs of artistic genius created by the grandkids. 

Today I came across some old files of my Mother who passed away in 2000 at the age of 85.  My Mom and I didn’t always get along especially since I was  “Daddy’s little girl” and could do no wrong which didn’t always go along with my Mom’s plans to discipline me.  I did love her though and after my Dad died when I was 19 I realized that she was indeed the pillar of the family with her strength, tenacity and fortitude.

When I was six years old my mother had to have her left leg amputated due to cancer.  It was a traumatic event for her and the rest of us.  But as catastrophic as it was, she woke up from the surgery and asked her surgeon in the recovery room “Will I still be able to swim” to which he replied “of course”.  She then said “Good, because I couldn’t before”.  Since she had been a high school physical education teacher prior to the surgery, she decided that she would not just go into classroom teaching but rather go back to college for her Masters Degree and become a guidance counselor.  She was 39 years old at the time and worked at the school named after my family in Knoxville, Tennessee until she was 72 years old.

That should provide a little of the background on my Mom who was a fighter until the very end of her life and was one of the most clever, innovative and hilarious women I have ever known- not to mention the strongest and bravest.   So, while looking at the files she kept in organized folders, I ran across letters she had written to some friends who after her death gave to me.  Here are some excerpts from those letters:

She, like all of us hated getting old and told us all she would go “kicking and screaming” which she did by the way.  In the letter she said, “Even the preacher is making me uneasy.”  Recently he asked me “Ruth, do you believe in the hereafter” to which I replied “I surely do. Each time I go into another room I think, now what did I come in here after?”

On phone calls she said “I don’t resent telephone calls.  Answering the phone provides my daily physical and mental exercise.  The phone rings and I go into action; pull the lever to release foot rest on the recliner, bend and pick up crutches, push with arms to get out of chair, a balancing act to get crutches properly placed, a mad rush to reach the phone before it goes silent.  I’m working on improving the speed of this action as my best time is picking up the phone on the 6^th ring.”

“Along with my favorite mental exercise (jumping to conclusions) I give my mind a workout trying to come up with a snappy answer to the dumb questions I get from the people who make these phone calls”. An example of a phone call:

“Hello”

“Mrs. Hilton”

“Yes”

With excitement and enthusiasm in their voice – “You have won five free dance lessons at our dance studio”. 

“Well, my dear, you are faced with quite a challenge as the one dance I may be able to do with only one leg is the Bunny Hop”.

A moment of dead silence and then the click of the telephone receiver being replaced.

Another example:

“Mrs. Hilton, this is Miller’s department store and we have men’s shirts on sale and wondered if you would like to take advantage of this sale”

“Do you furnish a man for those shirts?”

“No”

“Then count me out – no man, no shirt”

 

ANYONE ELSE WANT TO THROW DAGGERS?

 

First of all, for those of you who read my funnier blogs, this is not as funny as it pertains to my real estate business.  I just thought I should throw one in every now and then about that since I have the blog on my web site and not everyone wants to know about my hilarious and perfect personal life!

Okay, so thank goodness every day isn’t like yesterday or I wouldn’t stay in this business but become instead one of the senior greeters at Walmart. However, I guess there are days for those poor souls where people come in and shoot daggers at them with their eyes.  Well, today in my business with the internet, text messaging and cell phones we don’t usually see someone “shooting daggers” with their eyes but trust me we feel it – DEEPLY. 

A short version of yesterday begins with being deep within the 30^th day of an ongoing extension for a closing due to the wonderful new guidelines set up by the government for mortgage companies and banks loaning money.  The sellers who admittedly have been gracious to extend the contract (although if the truth was known are LUCKY as can be to have a contract on their very “Homespun” house)  had to do nothing to try and get this done except of course wait.  I on the other hand have had to take the “bull by the horns” and take over the responsibility of the buyer and getting him a loan who had been turned down by almost every other lender around.  His buyer’s agent was incapable of doing anything but call me every few hours to tell me he REALLY needed grocery money for the week and why wasn’t I getting this done.  Well, because he had chosen a mortgage broker who lead us down the primrose path but couldn’t get the loan through and now I had to beg, plead and promise all my business to someone who could.  So, now I have the responsibility of the seller, the buyer, and his agent depending on me for groceries.  And the seller tells me no one has a “sense of urgency” to get the deal done.  Biting the hand that feeds not just you but everyone SIR????  Thank goodness this was on the phone or I would have had a real sense of urgency!

Next I speak to the agent who has waited until the last day of an option period to get me the request for repairs.  And while the appraisal was suppose to be in – well it isn’t.  Even after I walked the very nice, talkative appraiser through the house for hours, the appraisal still didn’t get in until days after the sellers needed to make decisions on future housing – and whose fault is it – Yes, you guessed it – MINE!

All this time while I am in my study,  my house is becoming a fortress as I have this paranoia that I am going to be killed by one of these maniac sellers and have the security company putting in every extra alarm known to man while the locksmiths are there installing all the latest and greatest super duper devices so that no one can break in.  I am about to become a hermit, have my gun with me at all times and sit in my house waiting for someone to come and get me – I’ll show them!

Well, what was that next email to bounce into my inbox – oh, yes, another last minute, last day request due back the next day on another home asking for $13,000 worth of repairs.  No problem to try and work that out and get bids in and negotiate it out. Looking at my phone I am on my 42nd phone call of the day with 10 text messages and now 58 important emails.  Anyone need me to stop and give them a pedicure or something?

Oh, a break, with two of my nine year old grandchildren emailing me – “Bebe (the name they call me as I always told them I would never respond to anything starting with Grand unless they just said I was GRAND) I have skype now, want to get on?  Not now I said and next email from my little guy in Scotland reporting snow now fallen up to a grown-up’s knees.  Gosh I hope he has gotten taller since the last time I saw him.

By now I actually see myself in a circus act standing up against a wall with my body drawn on it like in the movies where someone has died in that spot.  I see some of my clients taking turns throwing huge daggers at me luckily missing any really critical organs.  I question why I do this to myself since this has to be one of the most stressful jobs in the world holding such awesome responsibility for people’s lives.  Then I remember, it is because most of the time I still love what I do as much as I did from the beginning 28 years ago.  I still have the passion and the tenacity to walk through the “fires” of today and come out unscathed and meet all of the LOVELY people I work with most of the time who I truly care for.  The ones that continuously refer business to me, become my best friends, are always saying nice things about me, and are there whenever I need a lift – thank God MOST of the people around me are those for whom I feel blessed to be able to represent and call my friends.

 

I stole this one

Okay, my grandchildren are so very funny and perhaps the funniest and quirkiest who we all adore is our Kayleigh Ryan O’Grady.  She is the six year old daughter of my middle daughter Courtney. Kayleigh  lives in Scotland with her British father, mother and two older brothers, Spencer 10 1/2 and John Patrick, 9.  She is always good for a story and the one my daughter wrote on her blog Saturday is no exception so I am just copying it for you so since I could never tell it as well as Kayleigh’s Mom does.  So, here goes:

Csfogrady’s Blog

• Front Page
• About

Fundraising

February 20, 2010 · Leave a Comment

My six-year old daughter is fundraising.  Not for Girl Scouts or Ballet Club or for her school.  She’s fundraising for herself – for a four-poster bed to be precise.  Too many princess movies?  To be sure.  Maybe partially my fault, as well.  As a parent you try to instill some work ethic in a child, tell them set yourself a target, work hard, save up for it, and then you’ll appreciate it so much more knowing you paid for it yourself.  Just another parenting tactic that comes back to bite you in the ass.

Because this kid is for real, and she’s not going to let me rest until she’s sleeping like a princess.  This was the precise conversation we had when I picked her up from school yesterday:

Her:  Mom, how many kids am I allowed to have over to the house at the same time?
Me:  Why?
Her:  Because I need to have at least five over so we can practice.  I’m making a band.
Me:  A band?
Her:  You know, like a rock band.  So we can raise money for my four-poster bed.
Me:  Uh-huh.  And have you guys booked any gigs yet?
Her:  No.  We have to practice first.
Me:  Maybe I could help you think of some other ways to raise money?
Her:  Well I’ve thought of some other ways.  Like maybe I can stand under the tree in the front yard and sing.  And I’ll put a bucket beside me so people can give me money.
Me:  Honey, we live in the country.  We’ve got a mountain on one side and sheep on the other, I don’t think you’re going to get a lot of passing trade.
Her:  Well, I’ve also made a swear jar.  You and the boys have to give me 10 pence every time you say a swear word.
Me:  Now that might actually be a good little earner…

And so it went, until we finally agreed on a few, slightly more realistic, things she can do this weekend to raise some money.  I will now spend more time today than it would take me to build a four-poster bed from scratch baking cupcakes, making greeting cards, and putting price tags on every item in her bedroom.  I just hope that our friends and neighbors are feeling generous.

So go the lessons of parenthood – we have set a target, worked out how to achieve it, and will work tirelessly until we do so (well she will, anyway).  Now for another lesson of parenthood – how do you tell your child that there isn’t a room in your house big enough to accommodate the bed she has chosen as her target?

 

HOW TO CURE YOURSELF WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

 

 Okay, so my husband had a cold for a week and I was so proud that it didn’t attack me until on Sunday I began to feel a bit congested.  Pouring down lots of orange juice I still kept it pretty much at bay except for a slight cough until Wednesday when I WENT DOWN.  I felt horrible, coughed, had a huge headache and sinus pressure.  Okay, time for some major defensive measures so I mixed up a great smoothie my son recommended with orange juice, goji berries, bee pollen, flax seed, maco powder, cacao nibs and hemp seeds (not to worry, it’s legal).  Immediately after downing that “delicious” concoction I felt better – for about 10 minutes until I had to take a nap on the sofa.  I managed to sit up and watch American Idol and turned in early – those kids are really talented this year on American Idol!

Today I woke up feeling (and looking) like I had just washed up on shore after a hurricane.  I decided to take a trip to the doctor which luckily I got an appointment with.  I had first thought about grabbing the tamiflu pills I have had on hand for over two years in the event that there had been an outbreak and a shortage of pills.  I realize this may seem like something a hypochondriac would do but really, why not be prepared for everything.  Actually now that brings to mind the fact that my dear friend gave me a book for Christmas entitled “ A Book For Hypochondriacs” – now do you think she meant something by that?  No, surely not but anyway I called my medical encyclopedia daughter who is a pharmaceutical rep and she said “Try the doctor first Mom” .  So, I did.

Well, I go to the doctor and first thing they always want to do is weigh you – now why is that?  I convinced them that my shoes and socks were REALLY heavy and truly I still weighed the same I did before Christmas and the foot surgery where I laid around eating all day.  They fell for it and wrote that down on my chart.  Next they ALWAYS ask what medications you are on.  Why do they ask you this when they have a record of it anyway.  I named off around five and she kept saying “What about this” and “What about that” to which I had to respond that yes, indeed I was still partaking of that one too.

Next the doc comes in and he looks and sounds like he has what I had only worse.  This makes him have little sympathy for me which is definitely something a sick person needs.  After he announces that it is probably the same miserable virus everyone else has had and there is nothing you can do for it I start bringing out all my ancient Chinese herb medications so that hopefully I can at least help him get over his case of this misery.  He politely declines but I figure he will run right out and buy them after I leave.  He says just rest and drink lots of fluids and take Advil. 

After getting in the car a jingle I learned as a child kept going through my mind “Starve a fever and feed a cold”.  Or is it “Starve a cold and feed a fever”?  I can never remember but decided to go with the first since I had no fever and definitely cold-like symptoms.  And since I had only had orange juice and a crème puff pastry for breakfast I decided to drive through Culvers for a Butter Burger with Cheese and Fries. 

Feeling much better after knowing I didn’t have the H1N1 flu and after my great snack at Culvers I ventured home.  I kept that great feeling for an hour or so while I made some business calls and enjoyed having everyone say “Oh dear, you sound terrible”.  I love sympathy when I am sick.  Soon I went down again and repeating the jingle decided to have some leftover Chinese food to boost my energy along with a nice glass of orange juice (Vitamin C I know is good for colds)  I got an email from my daughter’s friend recommending ginger ale and saltines for this virus and decided to hold off on that while I downed a few Triscuits with cheese slices instead.  More calls, a little rest, and then had to polish off what was left of the crème pastries with a swig of milk.  Took an Advil while I had a little food in my stomach.

Made it until around 5 when I had to eat something to help with the acid indigestion I had so thought a nice piece of toast with butter and jam would help – and of course a Rolaid or two.  My daughter called to check on me around 5:30 and I  proudly told her of my cure for this rampant virus going around – EAT ALL YOU CAN IN A SHORT SPAN OF TIME!!  Being a good daughter she said that yes, Mother, you have surely surpassed any previous attempts at a cure for an untreatable virus and that perhaps it would win a place in a medical journal.  So, I am proudly sharing this amazing discovery with all of you so that you won’t have to suffer through another incurable sickness without knowing “Beth’s Magic Cure”. 

Got to go now and enjoy a lovely dinner my husband has prepared featuring my favorite lamb chops, rice and fresh salad.  I am sure I will be completely well in the morning and ready to get back to real estate for any of you who are clients reading this and may need me!

 

MY FAVORITE SATURDAY EMAIL

 

The best part about Saturday is getting out of bed and sitting at the computer to find my brother’s weekly email.  As sure as the earth is round, I can expect an email to be in my box from my brother.  I can also outline pretty much what it contains. First he covers the weather for his area and mine – always good to know the current weather report for the week and I do count on it as he use to be a corporate pilot and is good at tracking the weather.  Next he covers his exercise regime for the week at 68 taking in at least 5-6 hours of activity each day.  This includes hiking up steep terrain and riding this weird looking contraption called a Trikke.  This is a three wheel  manual scooter  that you propel with your body movement.  Next he covers all of the minor aches and pains he has some as graphic as the gross condition of his infected toe, consistent itching on his upper arm (strangely I have the same rare ailment), throat clearing (yep, here too) and all sorts of other aches and pains relating to old age.  Amazingly this man is very healthy and eats very little while exercising half of the day.  You might think this would cause me stress and feel inadequate with my infrequent exercise regime and small, stocky body – but I really look so much better and not as old being a little fuller in my face.

My brother is my only sibling and was an only child for 7 years before I took over as the attention getter in the family.  Adored by my father who thought I could do no wrong, my brother found me more of a pain and basically ignored me until we reached middle age and he was going through a divorce (still single years later).  It seems my brother just couldn’t do anything much to please Dad.  On the other hand, even an accident at 17 I had rear-ending an Edsel while driving with a coke in one hand and a burger in the other was excused by Daddy.  His comment to my furious mother was “They shouldn’t make Edsels anyway!”   Mother adored my brother but I was always trying to be sure she loved me most.  Days before she died 10 years ago, my brother and I were standing by her bed when I asked her “Mom, who do you love the best?”  She simply smiled a weak smile and tightened her grip on both of our hands.

 

DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS

       

 Do you ever take note of how different people are?  Even your own kids are sometimes like night and day from one to the other.  Well, the same can be said for sellers and buyers.  For example, I have in particular this nutty, wonderfully sweet client who has her house decked out for each and every showing.  She makes cookies, she arranges flowers all over the house and has the lights on – enough to warm your heart!  Then on the other hand there is the bachelor who has his dirty underwear in plain sight along with his year’s supply of Viagra!!  Please, don’t paint us a picture we don ‘t want to know – too much information for sure!

Another example of differences in people is how long it takes them to state what they have called about.   Some are very business oriented and organized and their conversations are precise and to the point.  They only say something once and you understand and take note right away.  These truthfully are my very favorites.  Then there are those who can’t seem to stop telling you the same thing over and over as if you either have a severe hearing impairment or you are stupid.  Each time you politely agree with them as they say “you know what I mean” over and over and over.  These, obviously are not the ones I prefer to spend my time talking to.

Yet another difference that comes to mind are those who are high-tech and will use the email instead of the phone – definitely my favorite as to cut down some on the average 30 calls I receive each day.  The only thing that does irritate me are text messages – not always, just sometimes.  The ones that get so detailed that you wonder why the heck they just don’t call you or at least email you instead of making you sit and peck away at those tiny keys trying to respond. 

A blatant difference in personalities are those who are passive and very cooperative hanging onto every word you say as if it came from the heavens above – gotta love them huh?  Or on the opposite end of the spectrum the argumentative one, always challenging, always questioning with some bordering on narcissism.  Gotta hate them right?  Well, you may be surprised to know that many times these have become my favorites and end up being long time friends – once you win them over.  Take for example my former client and now a best friend who swung into my life in a permanent whirlwind of information, challenges and hyperactivity.  A man whose large brain was out of proportion to his smaller frame.  He  had a way of either making people fall into line quickly with his charm or could anger a saintly person with some of his rhetoric and sometimes overpowering mannerisms.  Above all though one of the brightest human beings I have ever known – and great to have on your side as he was and still is one of the best attorneys in the country.  We will call him James for the purpose of protecting him – and me!

James will probably appear from time to time in my blogs as will my family and other close friends – mostly because he is so darn funny.  One incident I recall is when he “blew” into town on his private plane (a self-made millionaire who had “retired” at the age of 40) to check on the progress of his home under construction.  A builder himself (jack of all trades actually who even went to Paris one summer to attend the Cordon Bleu Professional Culinary Academy) he had a running battle with the contractor of his home and rightfully I might add challenged almost everything that was done to the house.  Well, on this day before Christmas, I met him at the house and he came charging into the home with a satchel in one hand and a big Christmas basket in the other.  The basket was for me – how sweet.  The other was like a big container of magic tricks.  First he had the poor little carpenter working on the weekend about to run for his life as James had him redoing the hardware on the door.  The guy was definitely overwhelmed with James and also couldn’t find the proper tool to accommodate James’s brisk orders.  Amazingly, James brings one of many tools from his satchel he had brought on his plane.  The little carpenter proceeded to make the changes requested.  This went on through several exercises until it came to something up towards the ceiling of the dining room which required a ladder and the young worker reminded us he had no ladder.  THEN, to my utter shock my James brought out a FOLDING ladder, sat it down and proceeded up to the top rung to take care of it himself with one of his multitude of specialized tools.  At that point I decided that no matter what else happened and no matter how annoying James could be – I HAD TO HAVE HIM AS MY BFF!  With friends like that who have your back you WON’T have any enemies (that can win a lawsuit against you anyway).  I truly LOVE James!