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2 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • February 08 2010 12:54PMIt's RED SHIRT FRIDAY- Please wear RED in support of our troopsl
Marchel Peterson wrote an excellent blog on sending care packages to the troops serving overseas:
It is hard for out troops being away from friends and family during the holiday season. This makes it an ideal time to send them a flat rate package. Last year at this time our son was in the middle of his second tour of Iraq and he loved getting goodies from home. With him doing two tours I learned the ins and outs of sending him flat rate packages. On our son's first tour he was based at a town called Hit just northwest of Ramadi; the base was so small they really didn't even have a PX to speak of. For 6 months of his tour he was on the graveyard shift so if we didn't send food he was pretty much stuck eating MRE's. Needless to say I became an expert at sending care packages so I am going to pass my knowledge forward as I know there are many other soldiers like him who would love some extra care packages.
If you don't know a soldier but would like to help a soldier you can adopt a soldier through Soldiers Angels. You adopt them for the duration of their tour though, it is not just a one time thing. Our son told me there are a lot of soldiers that are alienated from families for one reason or another and don't receive much. Soldier's Angels sounds like the remedy for that problem.
Figuring out how to send these packages was a learning experience. The first time I sent one I arrived at the post office with this big heavy box and spent something like $30 in shipping. I happened upon a really nice postal worker. He saw I was shipping to an APO in Iraq and turned me on to Flat rate shipping provided by our USPS. He told me that I could send several of the flat rate boxes for less than it would cost me to send the one big box.
When I sent him boxes on his first tour there were only two sizes available but there are now four different sizes of flat rate boxes. The two smaller boxes hold about the same amount but are made totally different. One is long and narrow and the other is short and squatty. The new larger box holds about 50% more and since I found out about it I have used it exclusively. It cost me $10.95 to ship using this box and I can make it as heavy as I want to. Normally this flat rate box cost $12.95 but the postal service gives a $2.00 discount when you ship to an APO. To be quite honest I'm not even sure what the current charge is on the smaller box as I now only use the large one. Any amount of material may be en
closed as long as the box is not modified and the contents fit inside. .
These boxes are provided to us free from our USPS and you can pick them up at most post offices prior to shipping. The only time I had trouble finding them was the Christmas season as the post office was having problems keeping them in stock. At the same time you pick the flat rate boxes up you will also want to pick up some "Customs Declaration and Dispatch Notices" and some priority mail address labels. You will need to fill out the Customs Declaration and you are going to need to put in a description of what you are sending. It says detailed but you can just write things like 6 cans of soup, 2 packages of crackers, candy, 3 cans of tuna etc. That will suffice for detailed. You will need to put in a value and I always marked treat as abandoned. You will then need to date and sign the form. You have to press hard as there are 6 copies to go through. I always filled out an address label also and put it on the box. I had a postal worker tell me to fill both out just in case the customs declaration came off.
I am sorry but there are no short cuts to standing in line. YOU CAN NOT USE THE SPEEDY CHECK OUT MACHINE. My neighbor did that the first time she sent a package to her son and it came back to her because she had not added the customs declaration page.
The soldiers love getting useful stuff. Our daughter is a flight attendant for a charter company that moves our troops and she told me that someone sent some marines off with lei's which they proceeded to give to the flight attendants. The thought was nice but I think they would have preferred something that was useful to them. I sent things like soup, tuna, crackers, summer sausage, non-perishable cheese, candy. You get the idea anything that is non-perishable. At Christmas I always sent homemade cookies and candy to our son. He isn't that crazy about sweets but he always shared them. You can be assured that if the soldier you are sending to doesn't like what you sent they will pass it on to someone that does.
So should you hear about someone that is stationed over in Iraq or Afghanistan you now know how to mail them a box of goodies using these wonderful flat rate boxes provided to us by our postal service.
Amazingly I found these packages typically got to their destination in less than a week. Whether I was sending them to Germany (as that was where our son was first stationed) or Iraq they always arrived. One time I sent the package to his old Germany APO address and the package went back to Fort Hood and then on to Iraq (it took about a month but it arrived safe and sound). About the only time I did not us the flat rate boxes was when I sent Ramon noodles or the time I sent an air mattress bed as it didn't fit.
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If you are buying or relocating to Spring Texas and need help from a professional REALTOR®, Marchel can be reached at Marchel@AgentwithResults.com or by phone at 832-721-8332.
If you would like information about Spring TX please visit my websites at www.AgentwithResults.com and at www.ResultsRealtytx.com. The AgentwithResults site is rich in Content about Spring and the surrounding areas of Tomball, The Woodlands and Magnolia. If you prefer pictures with your content then visit my ResultsRealtyTX site.
Want to find out about new Spring TX properties immediately as they come on the market, then click here to sign up for a free automatic notification of new listings.
Click the button to the left to search our local MLS.
Copyright © 2009 Marchel Peterson, All Rights Reserved. *How to send flat rate packages to our troops!!*
4 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • December 04 2009 03:01PM
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Lake Vista Residents: Enjoy Refreshments and Christmas Cheer by the cozy fire at the Annual Lake Vista Christmas Open House. Held at the Lake Vista Centre (200 Lake vista Drive) this coming Sunday, December 6, 2009 from 2-4PM. There will be a balloon artist, face painting and Christmas music to enjoy.
Santa will be stopping by to say hello to all the good boys and girls!
2 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • December 02 2009 05:15PMGingerbread People Recipe
Baking is one of my holiday traditions and making Gingerbread People is one of my favorite things to do this time of year. I've been making these wonderful cookies every Christmas season for over 25 years. It's a fun project for the kids, they love to cut out the shapes and decorate. I make a lot of mini gingerbread people- when you add the frosting they can be on the sweet side. The cookies store well; you can bake and freeze or freeze some of the dough to bake a fresh batch at your convenience.
1 1/2 cups dark molassas
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup cold water
1/4 cup shortening
7 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
Mix the molassas, brown sugar water and shortening in one bowl. I mix the rest of the dry ingredients together then add to the molassas mix. Cover and refrigerate for two hours.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Flour your countertop and roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut cookies with your favorite cookie cutters and place about 2" apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes. Frost with an icing made from powdered sugar and water.
Don't forget to enjoy your creations with a cup of tea or hot chocolate with your little men and women.
Merry Christmas!
8 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • December 02 2009 11:10AM
"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" -Colonel William Prescot
The Bunker Hill Monument commemorates the first major battle between the American colonists and British soldiers. The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775 in Charlestown, Boston, MA. On the Freedom Trail, Bunker Hill Monument is 221 feet tall and made of granite. Operated by the National Parks Service, admission is free.
3 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • December 02 2009 08:16AMDale Baker, Home Inspector, has written an excellent post on Fire Safety. This is Part 12 of his series:
Home Fire Safety For First Time Home Buyers Part 12 of 12 A Checklist, if your a First Time Home Buyer or a Move up Home Buyer, fire safety sure should be a major concern to you, and your family.
The U.S. has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world. Home fires sure can endup causen death and injury. Last year in the United States.
There were 3,320 folks that lost their lives as a result of fires.
There were 16,705 folks injured as the result of a fire.
There were 118 firefighters killed while on duty.
Fire killed more Americans than all natural disasters combined.
Eighty four percent of the deaths occurred in homes.
An estimated 1.5 million fires occurred in 2008.
Many fires are caused by misuse or poor maintenance of electrical devices, careless use of candles, smoking in bed and kids playing with matches and lighters.
Home Fire Safety For First Time Home Buyers Part 12 of 12 A Checklist, all areas of your home:
Its a good idea to cover unused electrical outlets.
Arrange electrical cords so that they don't dangle loosely or entagle with one another.
If your home has radiators, the covers should be made of a non-heat absorbent material.
Wood stoves and fireplaces should have screens to prevent sparks from reaching flammable materials.
Chimneys should be cleaned and inspected by a reputable professional every year.
There should be a smoke detector installed on every level of your home, in the hallways leading to the bedrooms. For an extra precaution, you should have them installed in every bedroom or sleeping areas.
Set the thermostat on water heaters between 130 to 135 degrees fahrenheit.
You sould formulate an escape plan for every room in your home, with an alternate plan in case the first escape route is blocked by fire. Be sure to practice these escapes until every member of your family can perfom them in their sleep.
Only use space heaters on non-combustible surfaces and least three feet from the furniture and walls.
Store all flammable and combustible products in a cool, well ventilated area and locked securely out of the reach of kids.
Your basement and garage:
Flammable liquids such as fuels should not be kept in your home.
Keep paints thinners and all other combustible chemicals out of the reach of kids. Ideally, these materials really should be kept in a locked metal cabinet, away from all heat sources.
Keep dirty rags in a metal can and dispose of them, by following the same disposal directions of the products they were used with.
When not in use, lawn mowers and all gas powered equipment should be stored empty.
Keep electrical outlets covered and do not leave anything plugged in, when not in use.
Store gasoline only in approved containers.
Home Fire Safety For First Time Home Buyers Part 12 of 12 A Checklist, your kitchen:
Turn pot handles in while using burners on your stove.
Store cleansers and other chemicals out of the reach of kids, preferably in a locked cabinst.
Make sure that kids are in a safe location when your cooking with hot liquids.
Keep cookies and all sweets away from your stove.
Make sure electrical cords are not hanging over the counters and appliances are unplugged when not in use.
Keep a fire extinguisher near the farthest exit from the stove.
Never use water to douse a flaming pot. Smother with a cove or a baking sheet, or use a fire extinguisher.
Your bedroom:
Keep your bedroom doors closed while sleeping.
The use of candles in a bedroom is the most common fire source of a residential fire.
Be prepared to exit a bedroom in case os a fire. If at all possible, have an alternative route than the bedroom door to exit a bedroom, like the window if required. Have a emergency window ladder in the bedroom, in an accessible location in any bedroom thats on a second or higher floor of your home.
Post 626 - 23 Nov. 2009
By the time we complete the Inspection, you will know the Home or Commercial Property better than the owner does!
God Bless America, The Land We Love
A home inspection from Baker Home Commercial Properties Inspections and Consulting, will give you peace of mind, so you and your family can enjoy the things you like to do!
Knowledge is Your Power For The Freedom of a Worry- Free Home!
When buying, renting a Home or Commercial Properties when Relocating in or to Sullivan County, New Hampshire, Windsor County, Vermont, or nearby Counties. When "Good Enough" Isn't, call Baker Home Commercial Properties Inspections and Consulting to schedule, Your New Hampshire and Vermont Home or Commercial Property Inspections!
Phone: 603-826-4207
Mobile: 603-477-8072Posted at: Localism.com/neighbor/bakerhome all links open in a new window!
Links Home Buyers, Home Owners, and Real Esate Agents will want to visit:
Life Expectancy of Home Componts New Hampshire and Vermont
A Home's Oil Furnace The Series Windsor County Vermont Home Buyers Part 1
A Home's Oil Furnace The Series Windsor County Vermont Home Buyers Part 2
A Home's Oil Furnace The Series Windsor County Vermont Home Buyers Part 3
A Home's Oil Furnace The Series Windsor County Vermont Home Buyers Accompany Series Post 1
A Home's Oil Furnace The Series Windsor County Vermont Home Buyers Accompany Series Post 2
A Home's Oil Furnace The Series Windsor County Vermont Home Buyers Accompany Series Post 3
The following blog post link, is a four part series - there are links to each part on the posts:
Coal Firing Furnaces-New Hampshire and Vermont Series Part one
Acheivement Posts
First New Hampshire Real Estate Professional to Reach 400,000 on ActiveRain
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3 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • November 23 2009 04:04PM
Replica of the Susan Constant, one of the three ships the Engish Virginia Company sent to start a colony in the New World in Jamestown, VA. Approximately a 3 hour drive from Lynchburg, VA.
4 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • November 22 2009 08:14AM
I wanted to clean the cabinet under the kitchen sink. I just wasn't planning on doing it today.
My Friend Murphy decided to pay me a visit this morning- I was about to make coffee when I saw the puddle of water on the kitchen floor. I was hoping it was from a melted ice cube but no such luck. I opened the cabinet under the sink to find the TINY TITAN compact hot water heater hissing and the floor of the cabinet soaking wet. This little heater only holds 2 1/2 gallons of water but this morning it's seemed like 100.
Things like this always happen when my husband's out of town, so the first thing I did was unplug the unit. One surprise a day is enough of a shock. My husband installed several shut off valves so I was able to cut the source of water going to the tank. I've also turned the dishwasher on several times to empty the tank faster- in theory. (Home inspectors, anything else I should be doing?)
We built the house on a slab and our kitchen is a good 50 feet from the hot water heater. It was taking forever to get hot water to the kitchen sink so my husband installed the compact hot water heater. It has different temperature settings, is a reliable source of hot water and for six years it's worked well. It's a great solution for our home and we'll get a replacement. And I'll check with the manufacturer regarding their warranty. For a repairman's opinion of hot water heaters, click the link HOT WATER HEATERS .
I'm fortunate to have been home to catch this. Remember to turn your water main off when you leave on vacation or if you're going out of town for the holidays. Now I need to go find the fan- we don't want mold issues too. Keep smilin'.
10 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • November 20 2009 09:26AM
Let's Say Thanks- And WEAR RED ON FRIDAY!!!!
Will Rogers said We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by.
I appreciate the men and women who have and are serving our country! An easy way to show your support for those currently serving overseas is with the Let's Say Thanks program. Sponsored by the Xerox Corporation it allows you to send a free postcard to an active member of the military. There are many different hand drawn post card designs and sentiments to choose from. With the holidays coming up, I think of all the husbands, wives and children who are separated from their loved ones who are serving. It's a simple gesture and one I'm sure is very much appreciated.
Don't forget RED SHIRT FRIDAYS and wear red in support our troops on Fridays!
5 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • November 19 2009 09:23PM
Phil gives us some important dates to remember - the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit will expire sooner than we think:
As of today, April 30th is 164 days away. April 30th is the last day that a Purchase and Sales Agreement may be signed by all parties to take advantage of the federal tax credit for home buyers.
Out of those 164 days we need to subtract out days that most of us do not work - Let's see what is ahead of us:
Thanksgiving
Christmas
New Years Day
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Presidents Day
Super Bowl Sunday
March Madness
Start adding in school vacations, days off, sick days, St. Patricks Day, Valentines Day, etc. and all of a sudden the 164 days is shrinking fast. Can you think of any I have missed?
Let's get moving on spreading the word about the tax credit for home buyers. What are you doing to get the word out?
2 comments • Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA • November 19 2009 06:21PMContent © 2009 'Frequent Contributors'. Design © 2009 ActiveRain Corp.
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