Guide to Home Selling - Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks - Week 48

This week for the 48th week of the Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge, I read The National Association of Realtors Guide to Home Selling.

There were some tips in it that my brother, sister, and I found useful back when we were preparing our parents' home for sell after my mom died in August.

One of the sections was on staging. It said, "You should spend money that is only going to make you money, make your house sell faster, and get multiple bids, if possible."

Some minor staging expenses that we did that were listed in the book were:
- fresh paint in a trendy color
- powerwashing windows and doors

Medium expenses that we did included:
- new carpet
- fresh paint throughout, inside and out (we did this in two bedrooms and in the storage room)

We chose not to do any major expenses since the new owners will - most likely - have the discretionary income to update the home to fit their needs and preferences.

The author noted that everyone wants a clean home. Your home must:
- appear clean
- smell clean
- feel clean

Some basic tips included:
- get rid of stale orders by opening windows, putting boxes of baking soda in the refrigerator, and put real charcoal in areas that absorb smells such as garages and kitchens. Be careful of perfumes, potpourri, wall-plug scents, or other masking products that could offend people with allergies.
- clean fireplaces thoroughly.
- keep countertops and table tops as clutter free as possible.
-  put away family photos and other personal memorabilia

There was a section in the book about how to get the most money for your home. This is more for thinking about my own home rather than my parents' home. To achieve the best asking price:
- don't use your home as an ATM. If you take money out of your home in the form of a loan, make sure you make improvements to the home that keep it current by today's market standards.
- keep your home in top condition. All homes show signs of wear, but keeping your home in good repair means you can sell at a moment's notice without a make-ready period, and fetch top dollar for your home.

There were some suggestions about how to speed up the home sale:
- Price it right. Set a price at the lower end of your property's realistic price range.
- Get your house market-ready for at least two weeks before you begin showing it.
- Be ready or the offers. Decide in advance what price and terms you'll find acceptable.
- Don't refuse to drop the price. If your home has been on the market for more than 30 days without an offer, be prepare to lower your asking price.

There were suggestions about ways to make your home irresistible at an open house. We did some of things listed like:
- Add new guest soaps to every bath.
- Buy a fresh doormat with a clever saying. (Ours just said, "Welcome." Nothing clever...but a pleasant message.)
- Take one or two major pieces of furniture out of every room to create a sense of spaciousness. (We did more than this. Some rooms are completely empty except for lamps.
- Depersonalize the rooms by putting away family photos, mementos, and distinctive artwork.

What is an acceptable offer?
- Is the offer at or near the asking price? Is the offer above the asking price?
- Has the buyer accepted the asking price or something close? Has the buyer then buried thousands of dollars in discounts and seller costs within tiny clauses and contract additions?

As a side note, we did have a purchase agreement presented to us within a month of my mom dying and before we had fully prepared the home for sale. Both these conditions noted above in terms of what an acceptable offer is were not met. It almost bordered on an offensive offer - one that was aimed at taking advantage of people who were grieving. As our current realtor said, "It sounds slimy." And it did. We're happy that we didn't accept the offer the buyers were proposing.

The book said, "If the buyer seems to be demanding too much, or asking for repairs or replacements that you don't feel the price of your home justifies, you should think carefully about your need to sell to this buyer."

One thing I didn't know was that at closing we each need to receive a HUD-1 statement, which itemizes all the costs associated with closing. We will need this statement for income tax purposes and for any taxes owed when we sell the home. I'm not quite sure how this works with an inherited home...so it's something that will need to be determined when taxes are done next year.

There was a list of six items to have on hand for the new owners:
- owner's manuals for items left in the home.
- warranties for any items left in the home.
- a list of local service providers - the best dry cleaner, yard service, and so on.
- garage door opener.
- extra sets of house keys.
- code to burglar alarm and phone number of monitoring service if not discontinued.

When closing out the home, we need to:
- contact gas, electric, oil, water supplies; telephone, cable TV, or satellite TV; an trash collection companies for service disconnection. Also ask for final readings.
- request refunds on unused homeowner's insurance.
- notify the gardener, snow removal service, and mowing service.

Guide to Home Selling was a useful book and had many practical ideas - from preparing for the sale to closing out a home.

Sell Your Home in Any Market - Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks - Week 47

Since mid-August, my sister, brother, and I have been getting our parents' home ready to sell. After an intense eight weeks of clearing out almost every item in the home from August through October, it went on the market on October 15th...ironically two months after my mom died.

The reason for the rush was that the real estate agent wanted to get as many open houses in during the late-fall when the colors were still changing and the weather was nice. Sales of homes generally go down in the winter - especially in Minnesota - so these nice, warm days are essential to us in terms of getting people to see the home.

I checked out some books from the library about selling homes. One book, Sell Your Home in Any Market by Jim Remley had some helpful ideas. Most of the information in the first part of the book seemed written for an agent or someone wanting more technical information about selling. I was looking for more practical advice for what home sellers can do.

There was a list of 20 last-minute things to do just before a showing including:
- mini-mop-ups
- dust the furniture
- clean off counters
- beds made
- garbage cans empty
- carpets vacuumed
- lights on
- load the dishwasher
- load the washer
- pick up every room
- turn on soft music
- set the temperature between 68 and 72
- freshen it up by putting a drop of vanilla on a lightbulb in each room of the house
- clean out the entry
- pick up the front yard
- move extra vehicles
- open all rooms
- turn on fireplace (this applies to a gas fireplace)
- display photos (ones of the home different seasons)
- display flyers

Since this is an estate sale, not all the items applied. We did and do what applies in our case.

There were ten reasons to list your home during the winter (which may happen in our case):
- fewer showings
- less competition
- homes show better during the holidays
- January is the biggest transfer month
- timing (this applies to the seller needing to meet moving goals more easily which doesn't apply in our case)
- more time to get top dollar
- great time to shop (again, geared to a seller who needs to find another home)
- more advertising
- more attention (from agents since they don't have as much inventory)
- the market (meant for sellers who are looking to buy a new home...so this doesn't apply to us)

Ultimately, the author said, "The best time to list your home is when you're ready to sell." Honestly, that would be never. I don't want to sell the home. However, my brother, sister, or I aren't in a position to hold onto the home or buy one another out of our portion of it. It would be nice if we could...but that's not the reality of our lives.

The other section that was helpful was the five essential "must haves" you need before accepting any offer:

- a substantial earnest money deposit
- a preapproved loan
- time limits for condition and contingency removed (e.g., disclosure review, financing and appraisal, pest and dry rot inspection, whole house inspection, title approval)
- clearly understood terms of sale
- progress benchmarks (e.g., buyer must submit a loan application by a specific deadline; buyer must approve inspections or reports by a specific date)

When thinking about a counter offer, reflect on Is it really worth a counteroffer? In other words, is it worth losing a sale over? Perhaps an extra five days to move is worth a counteroffer, or perhaps not - the key is to understand the risk versus the reward.

Once the home sells and is closed on, the author suggested that the seller leaves the buyers a housewarming gift. This could be as simple as a plant, a bottle of wine, or a dinner for two at a local restaurant. "Be creative, the buyers will love it!"

I don't remember any seller doing this for us. However, I remember an agent giving me a pie to celebrate the purchase of land in Grand Marais (which I have since sold). That was a nice way touch.

The author also said that once a year he and his wife take a home tour. They don't look at new homes. They look at their old ones - the homes that they have owned over the years. For them, it is fun to look at their life in the context of homes that they have owned.

101 Days of Summer Fun - Update #9

This week we didn't quite follow the original plan for the 101 Days of Summer Fun that I had hoped we would do. The reality of life and home repairs definitely interfered with what we were able to do. Yet each day was full of things we did - both fun and practical things that are part of real life.

Saturday, July 19 - Since Olivia loves rock climbing, she and I went to Taylors Falls and did the I Can Climb! program that's offered through the DNR. She wanted to do a climb that she tried last year but wasn't able to reach the top. This year she was determined to climb the entire way up.

She stuck with the climb and made it to the very top!

She did another even more ambitious climb that involved climbing around a tree and adjusting the rope around sections of rock that protruded above her.

She did a great job with that climb as well and made it to the top. Rock climbing is definitely her sport!

Sunday, July 20 - Last week when we came back from the trip up north, we noticed a rather significant water stain on the ceiling below the bathroom. The stain on the right is right by the bathtub and the little hole to the left  is below a section of the drain where there's a PVC elbow.

The stain has increased in size and on Monday the bathroom will be gutted and reconstructed.

Until then, we have a quart jar on the dining room table collecting water that is dripping through the ceiling every time someone takes a shower or bath. This can't be good.

Paige took the girls to pick up their projects at the county fair. It was very hot and humid, so although it was fun to see the animals (like the rabbits), it was also nice to get back home to air conditioning.

Monday, July 21 - Today Sophia, Olivia, and I went to the nursing home and helped the seniors play "big bowling." The seniors have a lot of fun doing this, and we are happy to help make this activity happen there.

Although everything is large - the bowling ball and pins - it is still is challenging to get the pins down.

After the seniors were done playing, they wanted to see Sophia, Olivia, Tia (the volunteer director), and I play as well. It was fun...no wonder they enjoy this activity so much!

Tuesday, July 22 - Olivia had an appointment with the orthodontist. This is a follow-up to having braces a couple of years ago and then needing to finish the work once all her adult teeth came in.

We went to the library for a bit, and then came back home. Construction on the bathroom continued.

The walls are being removed, part of the floor, the bathtub, and the tiling on the floor and walls. It's a complete tear-out. It seems like the more that is removed, the more bad things are discovered. At least things will be fixed and up to code once everything is done.

Wednesday, July 23 - In the morning, we attended a funeral for one of  the seniors whom we enjoyed visiting at the nursing home: John Jackson. The girls each wrote a memory they had of John on a card and attached it to a hydrangea from our garden.

One of the employees from the funeral home had the girls place their flowers right up front with the beautiful big bouquets of flowers. He was touched by the fact that they wrote memories of John and said that the family will enjoy reading them.

The girls spent some time in the afternoon with their friend, Mary B. She wanted to see and hear about their projects that they submitted to the fair.

After Mary left, we went to the Scandia Farmers Market today and enjoyed seeing Joanne (a volunteer with the Ann Bancroft Foundation), Pam Arnold, and Ann Bancroft.

We bought a lot of delicious fresh produce that Pam and other farmers grew. It was Wellness Wednesday at the market, so there were samples to taste, music, and activities. Lots of fun!

Thursday, July 24 - This was Aspen's last day of puppy obedience training. She did very well.

She's always so alert at class and is getting more comfortable with the different dogs, people, and activities.

This week there were some basic agility activities for the puppies to try. Plus some different things to do - like putting an item of clothing around the puppy's neck and taking it to a hoop to sit.

The bathroom is coming alone, but we still don't have use of the bathtub yet. However, we are one step closer! The bathtub is in place with its lovely bright blue protective color.

This is a soaking tub so it is taller than the last tub we had, plus has an angled back and arm rests.

Friday, July 25 - Sophia and Olivia worked on their projects for the county fair after we did a cat therapy visit in the morning at the nursing home.

Harp and Choral Performance - Countdown to Christmas - Day 23

Today there was "A Service of Lessons and Carols" at church. It is the annual service that is filled with an incredible amount of music by a variety of musicians (harpists, organist, violinists, cellist, violist) and vocalists (soloists and choirs - adult and children). 

Sophia and her harp teacher opened up both services by playing a number of pieces with the organist. 

Sophia and Denise playing the harp, 

accompanied by Bob.

Prior to the service, Sophia had an opportunity to play the organ as her instructor needed to hear the notes on the organ to make sure her harp and Sophia's harp matched the organ's sounds.

Sophia was able to play the organ 

to help Denise tune the harps.

After the prelude, the children's choir waited in the fellowship hall before they sang This Christmastide (also known as Jessye's Carol) with the adult choir. This year is the second time I have heard it and is was equally as moving this year as it was last year.

Burning off a bit of energy prior to singing.

To hear the children's and adults' voices in unison accompanied by the harp, organ, two violins, viola, and cello was beautiful and moving. 

All lined up and ready to go inside to sing.

In the early evening, we got in the car with the dogs and looked at how people decorated their homes this year. 

One of my favorite homes has the front porch lit 

with poinsettias in the front window and 

evergreen swags with red bows out front. 

Montague enjoyed the ride, while Gretel - for some reason - wanted everyone in the car and by the homes we passed that she was not enthusiastic about the ride or looking at Christmas lights.

This house lined the roof lines with lights.

So, we didn't look at as many lights as we wanted to thanks to Gretel. But, at least we saw some which was fun.

Fitness Hurdles + Positive Actions to Take

As part of the 100 Days to a Better Me challenge, I'm part of a supportive and encouraging group of women called Strong.Fit.Fab.

Every week there is a question to think about. This week, the question is: What are your biggest hurdles in health and fitness? What are your excuses?

Here are my hurdles:

1. Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD). DDD is when the intervertebral disc of the spine degenerates. While disc degeneration is a normal part of aging and for most people is not a problem, for certain individuals a degenerated disc can cause severe constant chronic pain.

Back in November 2007, I was experiencing quite a bit of pain in my lower back. I couldn't figure out why I was having so much trouble after doing things that had come easily (e.g., vacuuming, standing for long periods of time, driving for more than an hour).

So, I had an MRI done and it showed that two "cushions" (or gel-filled discs that act like shock absorbers) between three vertebrae in my lower back are literally gone. There is nothing there. In addition, two more discs on top of and below the vertebrae were showing signs of degeneration as well. Needless to say,  it's painful.

I also have arthritis of the lumbar spine which causes stiffness and pain in my low back. Often my back is especially stiff in the early morning after getting out of bed. However, with stretching and movement throughout the day, it can loosen up a bit. That being said, if I do prolonged or strenuous activity, I can be guaranteed an uncomfortable level of pain.

Challenge: Find exercise and activities that don't cause additional pain; and help keep my lower back mobile and flexible.

Recommendations: I have heard of many things that can be good for people who have DDD including: yoga, stretching exercises, swimming in a warm-water pool, water therapy, physical therapy, massage, time in an infra-red sauna, inversion therapy, decompression therapy, chiropractic adjustments, and qigong. Of course, medications also are recommended to help with pain and inflammation.

The pool at a hotel in Boston where

Sophia, Olivia, and I stayed.

Wouldn't this be nice to have in the backyard

for year-round use?

(Taken on September 10, 2011.)

Realistic Course of Action: Doing yoga and stretching exercises would be affordable (since I can check out videos from the library) and something I could do at home. I visit the chiropractor and take medications as needed.

The rest of the recommendations would be wonderful to do. However, financial limitations and distance from where they are offered are barriers at this time.

2. Weather (especially high heat and humidity) and Asthma. Higher levels of humidity cause higher levels of asthma-inducing agents. According to an article on high humidity and asthma, "When humidity levels go above 50%, the number of dust mites in the air increases.

Some of my medicine and inhaler.

The clear vial is albuterol for the nebulizer

if I am having a lot of trouble breathing.

(Taken on January 27, 2012.)

"Furthermore, the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology found that high levels of humidity also tend to promote the growth of fungus and molds. Asthmatics' symptoms are bothered and heightened by the presence of these two agents."

When exercising or even doing chores outside, I need to be careful if there's high heat and/or humidity. Stek.org described why, "Very often extreme humidity and heat tend to make asthma worse and trigger the asthma attacks. This is because heat tends to increase the body temperature of the individual and also the metabolic rate, which results in the body using more oxygen. The need for the additional oxygen tends to result in deeper or faster breathing, which is a problem for asthmatics."

Walking the Dogs at William O'Brien State Park.

(Taken on April 7, 2011.)

Challenge: Find alternatives to exercising outdoors when the weather isn't favorable (e.g., high heat, high humidity, raining, below zero). Create a healthier environment indoors to address water damage issues.

Recommendations: Invest in some videos or check some out from the library that focus on exercising and stretching when going outside isn't an option. Measure the amount of humidity in the air in the home by using a hygrometer. Get dehumidifiers to address the high level of humidity throughout the home.

Realistic Course of Action: During the past 1 1/2 weeks, I bought and started operating three dehumidifiers in the home (basement, first floor, second floor) and three hygrometers. The humidity level was very high throughout the home due to water damage (95% in the basement and 70% on both levels of the home).

By removing the excess moisture from the home, it will make the indoor environment healthier and better to exercise in.

Gutters also will be installed within the next two weeks to get the water moving away from the home rather than affecting the basement and foundation of the home (which ultimately has affected the entire home).

Also, take advantage of the days when the temperature is lower, humidity is lower, and adverse conditions aren't present outdoors.

Walking at William O'Brien State Park.

(Taken on December 9, 2011.)

Get back to taking the dogs for a walk in the morning when the weather is the best for me.

Creating a Bucket List

Today's focus on the Summer Blog Challenge is to create a bucket list. I've been meaning to do this for some  time now, and as Fall approaches, it seems like a good time to set some goals - both short- and long-term.

Why should you have a bucket list? One of the main reasons is that the whirlwind of day-to-day activities can consume one's time if there aren't personal goals and plans in place.

Without plans, days can pass by and there's not that sense of accomplishment or working towards a goal (or goals). Having a bucket list reminds you of what’s truly important so you can act on them.

The purpose of a bucket list is to maximize every moment of our existence and live our life to the fullest. It is a way to help remind us about the things we want to achieve during our life, so that instead of wasting our time in pointless activities, we are directing it toward what matters to us.

The list below is grouped by category (e.g., travel, hobbies). I've put the categories in alphabetical order only because it is easier for me to find it at a later point.

So, at this point in my life, these are things I still would like to do:
(Note: Items that I am no longer interested in were crossed off on February 19, 2020.)

Air/Flight Activities
- Go in a hot air balloon.
- Go paragliding.
- Try tandem sky diving.
- Go on a canopy tour (traverse between trees on a zip line). (DONE: July 10, 2014)
- Travel by seaplane.

Animals
- Help save a species from extinction - particularly livestock.
- Mush a dog sled. (DONE: February 24-25, 2014)
- Watch sea turtles hatch and help them to the ocean. Volunteer through Sea Turtle, Inc. in South Padre Island, Texas.

Appearance
- Get a complete makeover once I do the fourth hair donation. (DONE: January 2015)
- Take make-up lessons with a make-up specialist given that my skin is not the same as it was when I was in my teens or twenties. (DONE: January 2015)
- Revamp my wardrobe by donating clothes that I no longer wear, and getting clothes that fit well and that I enjoy wearing.

Entertainment
- Watch American Film Institute's Top 100 Funny Movies.
- Watch all the movies that have received an Academy Award for Best Picture since 1928.


Family Life
- Witness and be present at significant moments of Sophia's and Olivia's lives.
- Be a foster parent once the girls graduate from high school. Focus on teens who are "aging out" of the foster care system who need the guidance about how to live on their own.
- Create a home with an inviting, joyous, comfortable, loving atmosphere.
- Meet my grandchildren.
- Write a letter to Sophia and Olivia telling them what I want them to know about my life and the lessons I've learned.
- Read The Complete Life's Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown Jr. (This book contains the advice that a dad wrote down to give to his son when the son was going away to college. It can be used as inspiration to create an advice list for Sophia and Olivia as well as their children).

Financial
- Get out of debt completely so all expenses are paid with cash.
- Create a source of passive income.
- Create trust funds for Sophia and Olivia.
- Add to the college funds that have been established for Sophia and Olivia.
- Build retirement accounts.
- Have all of the insurance that is needed (e.g., disability, life, car, home, long-term health care).

Health
- Determine how to effectively deal with degenerative disk disease - look at and try an inversion table, therapeutic massage, and an infrared sauna as options.
- Find a good, non-painful way of exercising with degenerative disk disease.
- Do a 5K race (walking...not running....because of my back). (DONE: May 2014 - Walk for the Animals; September 28, 2014 - Women Run the Cities; October 25, 2014 - Halloween Fearless; and November 9, 2014 - Veterans  Day Race.)

Hobbies
- Build an outdoor oven; and bake bread and pizza in it.
- Grow African violets. (DONE: January 5, 2013.)
- Construct one piece of furniture.
- Do chip carving (a form of wood working).
- Make a stained glass window.
- Learn glassblowing.
- Try at least one new recipe per week.
- Grow a Bonsai tree. (DONE: July 2013.)
- Learn Spencerian handwriting.
- Learn how to make earrings.
- Make memory quilts (ones that have the girls' clothes when they were babies and toddlers; one that has some of Dad's clothes).
- Plant a flower cutting garden. (DONE: October 2014 - planted tulips, crocuses, and other spring-blooming flowers.)
- Take an inventory of all the trees that are growing at the farm. Then plant other varieties of trees so that there are at least 25 different types of trees here.
- Have the gardens all "fixed" so they are at a good starting point where I can more easily maintain them.
- Write in my nature journal at least once a week.
- Continue keeping some form of a daily/weekly journal.
- Learn to knit.
- Learn more crochet stitches.

Homeschooling
- Create engaging lessons and activities that inspire Sophia and Olivia to want to learn. (PARTIALLY DONE: With Sophia - May 2019. Still homeschooling Olivia.)
- Continue homeschooling Sophia and Olivia until they graduate from high school. (PARTIALLY DONE: With Sophia - May 2019. Still homeschooling Olivia.)

Housing
- Implement the ideas for improving the home (that was built in 1890) to deal with water/air quality issues with the hope that it resolves asthma and allergy issues:
=> Get a dehumidifier for the basement. (DONE: September 2012.)
=> Remove wood shelf from the basement and all old paint cans. (DONE: May 31, 2014. Did the paint cans, but left the wood shelf.)
=> Re-grade around the entire house (hopefully correcting the problem so drain tiling and/or gutters aren't needed). (Didn't do this because we put gutters on the home. Summer 2014: after continual flooding, we now have to do drain-tiling which is a more costly process.)
=> Re-plant all the shrubs and flowers around the house to other locations.
=> Address plumbing issues under the kitchen sink. (DONE: February 2014.)
=> Re-plaster small area in closet.
=> New windows in Sophia's room, upstairs bathroom, family room, and dining room. (DONE: June 2016.)
=> New windows in master bedroom, downstairs bathroom, and living room by TV.
=> Re-tile the upstairs bathroom floor. (DONE: August 15, 2014. Also gutted the entire bathtub area and had it re-tiled because of extensive water damage.)
=> Use a dehumidifier temporarily in the upstairs bathroom. (DONE: September 2012.)
=> Re-do all caulking in the bathtub/shower area.(DONE: August 15 and again on October 8, 2014)
- Get a sauna to help with muscle issues and degenerative disk disease.
- Get a warm-water pool - either in-ground or the kind where you can do laps and low-impact exercise.
- Build a pond in the backyard with a little stream.
- Have a cabin in the woods and/or on a lake.

Language
- Learn Latin and Greek root words.
- Re-learn American Sign Language and have a signing "vocabulary" of at least 400 signs (not including finger spelling).

Music
- Sit among the orchestra and listen to a piece (or more) of my choosing that the orchestra would play.
- Play in a handbell choir.
- Be in drum group at the Women's Drum Center and/or take family classes there.
- See Robert Robinson perform.

Out of Curiosity...
- Get my palms read.
- See a psychic.
- Get a tarot card reading.
- Have a specialist read my aura.
- Get an astrological chart made.


Personal Development (Ongoing - most are not one-time, finite activities)
- Discover my life purpose.
- Develop greater self-esteem and self-confidence.
- Kick negative habits (e.g., drinking pop). (DONE: December 2012.)
- Improve time management skills.

Spiritual
- Do the year-long Wellspring program. (DONE: June 2013.)
- Join the Spiritual Cinema Circle and watch a movie once a week. Perhaps start a group of like-minded individuals to come over to my home, and watch and discuss the movie with me.
- Walk on as many labyrinths as I am old.
- Travel to some of the places that Dad visited that he found spiritually-enriching (e.g., St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican, where Jesus walked and lived).
- Spend a week at a silent retreat.
- Visit the Herbert Hoover National Park in Iowa and see the statue of Isis who is the Egyptian goddess of life. (Herbert Hoover was a Quaker who was given this Belgian-made sculpture by the children, refugees, and soldiers of Belgium in gratitude for his famine relief efforts on their behalf during the First World War.)
- Celebrate the Hindu Holi festival of colors in Spanish Fork, Utah.
- Continue learning more about St. Francis and the life he led.

Sports/Physical Activities
- Go on a horseback riding day or multi-day trip. (DONE: July 8-13, 2014)
- Go rock climbing on the North Shore. (DONE: July 12, 2014)
- Go kayaking. (DONE: June 2013 and sea kayaking on Lake Superior on July 12, 2014.)
- Drive a speedboat. (Done: July 8-13, 2014.)
- Learn and practice yoga.
- Go on the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route. The Adventure Cycling Association developed this route from Mobile, Alabama, to Owen Sound, Ontario, to honor the bravery of slaves trying to reach freedom and those who helped them. There are five segments, adding up to a total distance of 2,057 miles (3,310 kilometers). Sites along the way highlight the route’s history, from former slave markets to museums dedicated to African-American history.
- Go zorbing.

Take a 365-Day Challenge
- Do some form of prayer for 20 minutes a day, every day for a year.
- Write in my journal every day for a year. (DONE: During 2013.)
- Write down 5 things that I'm grateful for every day, for a year. (DONE: June 29, 2014. Modified it to be write 1,000 things I'm grateful for by my birthday.)
- Learn a new word every day, for a year.
- Read for 20 minutes every day for a year.
- Put three dollars away every single day for a year. At the end of the year, invest the money in the stock market or buy bonds.

Travel - Domestic
- See all 50 states. Ones I have left include: Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Ohio. (PARTIALLY DONE: Saw Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana in March 2015.)
- Take an RV across half the country to retrace Lewis and Clarke's journey.
- Drive the entire US Route 66 - from Chicago to Los Angeles.
- Go to the Apostle Islands.
- Go back to Grand Marais at least every other year. Take at least one canoe trip using a map that Dad used. See if I can figure out the routes he took. (DONE: June 2013 and July 2014.)
- See the Grand Canyon in Arizona. (DONE: July 2017.)
- Take a tour of the White House.
- See the sand dunes on southern shores of Lake Michigan in Indiana.
- Go to the tulip festival in Holland, Michigan.
- Got to the Taste of Home headquarters and see the test kitchens there.
- Visit all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder museums and historic sites.
- See Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills again.
- Stand at Four Corners (where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico meet).
- Go to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

Travel - International (the likelihood of seeing these places is slim. However, they are still places I would love to see)
- Travel to all 7 continents. The two that are left that I haven't been to yet are Africa and Antarctica.
- Go to Banff National Park in Canada. It's Canada's oldest national park.
- Go hiking in a rainforest in Costa Rica.
- Go to Italy and see Assisi, ride in a gondola, see Mt. Vesuvius, go to the ruins of Pompeii, see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and go to the Colisseum in Rome.
- See Victoria Falls (between Zambia and Zimbabwe).
- Travel the Silk Route which is a network of trade routes across the Asian continent. It connected Asia with Europe and Africa. The route has been used for almost 3,000 years; and gets its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).
- Visit Bhutan which is supposed to be one of the happiest countries on Earth. Nestled in the Himalayas, it is a small, landlocked nation between India and Chinese-occupied Tibet.
- Go to the Galapagos Islands.
- See Mout Fuji in Japan.
- See The Parthenon and Acropolis in Greece.
- See the Statues of Easter Island in Chile.
- See the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
- Go to Stonehenge in the United Kingdom.
- Explore Machu Picchu in Peru.
- Travel to France to see the Eiffel Tower.
- See the Panama Canal.
- Try on a costume that was used during Carnival in Rio and/or have one made just for me.
- Travel to Brazil again.
- Travel to China again, and take the girls to the cities where they were born; visit the orphanages where they lives for almost the first year of their lives; and volunteer to work with the pandas.

Volunteer
- Complete the 12 in 12 project that Sophia, Olivia, and I are doing in 2012. (DONE: December 2012.)
- Create a library in Lesotho, Africa through the African Library Project. (DONE: December 2012.)
- Determine and do a year-long volunteer project that Sophia, Olivia, and I can do together in 2013. (DONE: January-December 2013 - volunteer at a nearby nursing home. Continued in 2014 and 2015.)
- Continue doing yearly volunteer projects with the girls until they graduate from high school. (IN PROGRESS: 2014- nursing home. 2015 - nursing home and Northwoods Humane Society.)
- Help build a Habitat for Humanity Home.
- Make loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries through http://www.kiva.com. (DONE: Made two loans during June 2014.)
- Volunteer at a homeless shelter.
- Volunteer time at an animal shelter. (DONE: On November 29, 2014, Sophia played the harp and I pet dogs and cats at Northwoods. It was interesting to see the impact that the combination of music and human touch had on the animals in terms of relaxing them and lowering their anxiety levels. We continued doing this in 2015 and will volunteer in 2016 each month.)
- Join a disaster relief effort.
- Make a difference in someone’s life. (DONE: During 2013-2014. I was told by one of the residents at the nursing home that he considers Sophia, Olivia, and me his family.)
- Perform a kind deed to at least 10 strangers without expecting anything in return. (DONE: During June 2014 I did 48 Acts of Kindness for my 48th birthday; and reached more than 10 strangers with acts of kindness.)
- Read and then implement some of the ideas in: The Difference a Day Makes: 365 Ways to Change Your World in Just 24 Hours by Karen M. Jones. (DONE: January 2013 - most were things that we already do.)

Writing
- Write and publish a book.
- Write about food (e.g., a cookbook).
- Publish a book of poetry.
- Write a memoir.

3 in 30 - March Update - Week #3

I am continuing with the 3 in 30 challenge, and have made the following progress during the past week:

1. Do "Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff...for Lent." As with last week, there are some things that were easy to do, others that I wasn't able to do completely, and others that didn't apply.

For example, a couple of days there were some activities that didn't take long to do:

- Throw away all notices and announcements for past events and events that I have no intention of attending. Generally, I put the information right into my calendar so I don't have loose papers laying around. I'm also more likely to remember the event if it's in my calendar. I did have a couple of flyers and advertisements that were from the newspaper that I copied into my calendar so I could recycle those papers.

- Get rid of or repair broken furniture. The covers on the two couches had seen much better days. So, on Monday I purchased new covers for both of them. I threw away the ripped and damaged covers; and replaced them with the new ones. What a change! It looks like the furniture is brand-new now which is wonderful. I should have done this a long time ago.

One activity I wasn't able to do completely:

- Throw away all broken appliances. Give away or sell those that work but you no longer use.  I have a microwave that broke in January and a scanner that no longer works. Both appliances are in the hobby shed waiting for the local heavy metal + applicance recycling day in May.

I found a juicer and yogurt maker that I no longer use. These were donated to the local second-hand store.

Some activities didn't apply:

- Take all the address labels and notes, enter the information into an address book and throw away the originals. I do this each Christmas when I receive cards. Also, I updated and/or added people to my online label file (I don't have an address book) when I received cards in January after my dad died.

- Toss curtains you have replaced because they were ugly, faded, or worn. I only have curtains in one room. At this point they are fine to keep up.

2. Finish taxes; and determine a budget for homeschooling curricula and supplies for April. 

The taxes are done and electronically submitted! Although there is some money to owe to the federal government, the state is giving a refund. Now, I know what kind of budget I'm working with for the homeschool conference and curricula and supplies.

A good percentage of the refund will, unfortunately, pay for hotel lodging and conference fees. So, as I did for this school year, I plan to continue to use as many materials as I can that I already have on hand and limit what I need to purchase.

I have a list of resources that I'd like to use next year (in an ideal world). It may come down to getting the instructor guides and using free books available at the library. I'm going to be working more on this project this weekend.

3. Trim trees before spring. Another week passed and I didn't do this task. Last week there were no buds on the trees. This week, there are buds and small leaves. Some of the trees and bushes are flowering.

It's been a crazy week in terms of weather - hot on some days, rainy on others. Everything looks like May - not March.

At this point, I question whether I should monkey around with the apple trees since they are starting to bud. The trees in the pasture are fine to trim. Only a week left to accomplish this goal!

Additional Goals Met:

1. Wash walls in master bedroom. This was a goal that I had back in January. I finally did this yesterday along with washing the window on the west side of the room, dusting the room, and cleaning the ceiling fan.

2. Re-paint Sophia's room. Sophia wanted to paint her room purple (her favorite color). Before she was adopted, a friend beautifully painted the walls in multiple layers so the lower part looked like a grassy meadow and the top looked like clouds and the sky. It was lovely.

Throughout the years, the walls took a beating with furniture being moved, Sophia picking at the drywall (she did this when she was a toddler), and the sheets of drywall separating from one another (due to the house shifting each spring and fall with the freeze and thaw). In pictures, the walls still looked nice, but up close they were starting to look neglected.

So, after re-painting Olivia's room last week, Sophia was very motivated to have her room re-painted. Since the room is larger than Olivia's, I wanted to start early in the morning because I knew the job would take a longer time.

The girls and I were able to paint the room in one day. I still need to do some touch-ups and put the covers on outlets, but for the most part the job is done. Sophia is thrilled with the walls, and feels they more reflect her personality and preference in terms of color.

This is a look east...

Sophia's room before (above) and after (below).

 Then to the south...

Sophia's room before (above) and after (below).

A look to the west...

Sophia's room before (top) and after (below).

The north side of Sophia's room...

Sophia's room before (above) and after (below).

T is for Talking - ABCs of Homeschooling

On 5 Kids and a Dog, there's a series called the ABCs of Homeschooling.  This week's letter is "T." 

...is for Talking.

Although there are plenty of quiet times with homeschooling when the girls are busy with their schoolwork and reading, a good percentage of the time is spent talking at home and in public.

Some of the ways that the girls talk; communicate with others; and share their skills and knowledge include:

PERFORMING IN PLAYS

Both Sophia and Olivia have acted in many plays through classes at the homeschool co-op as well as in community theater.


Olivia in her first community theater play. She was 6 years old. She had 50 lines and many songs that she memorized for the play.

They've acted in several American Girl plays though the homeschool co-op which was a wonderful way to bring historical fiction stories to life.


Sophia performing in an American Girl play at Barnes and Noble for a special event.

GIVING SPEECHES

One of the things that I want the girls to learn and be comfortable with is giving speeches. Growing up in the public school system, I did not have to make a single presentation or speech until junior high school.

Since I had never had to talk by myself in front of a group of people, I was terrified. I did not want the girls to have that same fear. So, I began encouraging them (a.k.a. requiring) them to do speeches for classes I taught at the homeschool co-op.


Sophia making a presentation during home ec class.

The girls also did their first demonstrations for their 4-H club and at the County Fair. These were great experiences for sharing their knowledge with a wider audience beyond their peers. The girls did their demonstrations in front of other children, teens, and adults.


Olivia doing a demonstration about how to make a puzzle sandwich.

INTERVIEWING

As part of showing projects through 4-H at the county fair, the children talk with different judges for each of their projects. The girls have been involved with 4-H now for two years, and have had the opportunity to talk with many judges about a range of projects and subjects.


Sophia meeting with one of the 4-h judges at the county fair.

Being interviewed as a child helps them think of appropriate answers and be able to easily converse with an adult about a variety of interests they have or skills they have gained. In the long-term, being comfortable in the interviewing process will help them as they seek a job or are ever in the position of interviewing others for a job.

THERAPEUTIC SPEECH

When Olivia was adopted, she was said to be a healthy child with no special needs. However, initial doctor appointments revealed a host of developmental delays and physical challenges.

During the 2010-2011 school year, I had her tested further since she continued to experience difficulties with speech and learning.

She qualified to receive weekly speech therapy appointments as well as special education to assist with learning disabilities and auditory processing issues.

One of Olivia's favorite ways to practice her speech and talk was through two therapeutic horseback riding programs she did for five years.


Olivia enjoying time on horseback while practicing her speech/communication skills.

Therapeutic horseback riding helped move her from saying only one-word sentences and using American Sign Language at 3 years old to being an almost-constant talking 8 year old.

NARRATION

This year the adding will be adding narration to their ways of communication.

Narration is something that educator Charlotte Mason advocated that children do. With the amount of reading that we'll be doing this year, adding the skill of narration and the ability to summarize and re-word what has been heard will be something good to work on.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Talking is such an important part of homeschooling for us, and a skill that continues to unfold and develop with each passing year.


This article was written by Harvest Moon by Hand.