Despite our marketing materials, which I think makes it clear, I get rent 2 own applications from people with very little or nothing available for a deposit. I respond by explaining to them that we cannot assist people without a deposit. Often, the response is to...

I’ve been thinking . . . Making 15 trips back-and-forth from Abbotsford to the Shuswap every summer really cuts into one’s time for writing. But not for thinking. (For those of you who don’t know, I have a houseboat that gets rented out once or twice a week from its...

There might be a silver lining to this Covid crisis we are gradually emerging from but is still very much a part of our lives. It’s giving us an excuse for everything. “My partner and I have never fought so much in our lives. Blame it on Covid!” “Sorry, I forgot to...

Saturday night’s multi-faceted show that aired worldwide, including both on CBC and CTV, had me somewhat confused at first. Was it a show about anti-racism?--perhaps an attempt to “balance the ledger,” given the preponderance of blacks? Or was it a show about the...

It happened again last night! I chafed at the rules . . . yet again! We’ve become a rules-driven society. And, in my opinion, it’s often hurting us. It may be our only option most of the time. But those other times when we get to live by principles, not rules, it’s so...

More upheaval in the housing market! We expected the Covid19 economic shut-down would affect the housing market; we just didn’t know exactly how and exactly when. The first effect was that everyone backed off on their buying or selling plans. The Greater Vancouver...

I finally went back hiking last Saturday and  . . . Wow! I’ve never seen Elk Mountain so full of hikers. (And I’ve hiked it probably a hundred times.) Trails finally open, a lot of pent-up demand was being released! It was many small groups and, of course, most...

Random thought #1: The notion in the above headline is misleading. We’re just starting toward normal with a few baby steps. And what’s normal, anyway? We can only guess what the “new normal” will be. RT #2: The acceleration of our move to an online world, brought on...

With COVID-19 messing up our world economically and personally, it’s right to wonder what’s happening with real estate in this situation. The answer: nothing. Well, not quite, but almost. There has been a huge pull-back in the market, as everyone backs off to take a...

Saturday night! In the world that was, I would, more often than not, be out dancing. I love dancing, usually with a group of like-minded friends. Seven weeks into this clamp-down, it’s something I really miss. But it’s likely one of the very last activities that will...