It's the most wonderful time of the year!

All I could think today in the pouring rain, was "what if this were snow?!"  Boy would we have some snow!  We are feverishly finishing the last of the projects and busy coodinating projects for the upcoming year.  We know that you have a lot on your plate this time of year, but if you are organized and your gifts are purchased and your decorations are out- we have time for you!

It is actually a really relaxing time of year for you to come in, from our perspective.  We have heat in our model homes so it will be comfortable to visit, and there aren't the distractions from the phones and walk- in clients are there is at other times of the year.

So by all means, come in!  We are excited to show you homes on clearance as well as the design for the new cape chalet model.

After the wind storm today, I hope our beautiful decorations are still up.  And if they fare well, I will post pictures of are hard work tomorrow!  Not quite "Christmas Vacation" quality decorations but I still think it looks nice!

Speaking of "Christmas Vacation" we have started our annual Christmas movie extravaganza at home with the boys.  We vote and watch "Elf," "A Christmas Story" and others- some even on VHS tapes we've had them that long!

We hope that you have a relaxing holiday season surrounded by your family and friends.  Our best from our home to yours!

A time to give thanks

We are enjoying a couple of days in Saratoga with Eric's sister and her family.  Carlin is now just over a year and it is fun to watch the boys dote on her, and then she just beams in delight.  She is now in love with her cats and her books which is great as they were all the books the boys grew up with- now we get to enjoy them all over again with her.

So we have much to be thankful this year- a great family, a rewarding career, and we are looking forward to see what the new year brings.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

A blast from the past

I was tying up a few last loose ends after this years Halloween Festival today.  I got all the last checks that came in over to the Ronald McDonald House today.  Everyone who commited to help this year paid, woo hoo!  It is always uncomfortable to make that call after the fact.  Is  wrote our "letter to the editor" and boxed the last of the goodies up for next year.  As I was putting away my notes from this year, I looked through my files from past years and found some fun old articles.

So we are offically at over $37,500- not too bad for a small business and small staff but with BIG heart and ambition!  All that money was sure to do some good and I have been humbled by all the stories I have heard of families using the House.  Glad we can do our part to help.

This year, both my boths helped with the event.  They helped blow up balloons and other things before hand at our house in the evenings, but this year they staffed a house for me as well.  Actually it was an RV as we were down a couple of models- apparently, they now want to buy it :)  It was a thing of beauty.  I'm just not sure I want to commit to camping every weekend- that's a blog for another day.

But after a long day, we were in the car on the way home and I said to the boys, "Thanks again for your help today.  I really appreciated all your help."  I was half expecting to hear, "Oh yeah?  Then run me through Starbucks..." But instead Jacob said, "You're welcome, Mom.  I had a great time."  That warmed my heart.  I hope that I am instilling in them the importance of community service and helping those who are less fortunate then ourselves.

In closing, attached is the photo from the paper written the first year of the event.  Jacob is just a baby and Josh was in preschool.  Not sure what was up with my hair, but I'm going to pretend it was windy out.   Wow-blink your eye and 11 years pass!

Ghosts and goblins welcome

We are working at a fever pitch to get ready for this weekend's Halloween Festival.  For those of you who don't know the history, we started the event 11 years ago when our sons were 4 and an infant.  There were no events for little kids in the area and given the community like setting of our sales center, it seemed to be a perfect fit to host a halloween party.

So that's the humble beginning.  It was going to be us and a few of our closest vendors and a small trick-or-treat fest at our sales center.  Our office is off the street and so parents wouldn't need to worry where the candy came from or having their kids run into traffic.  And then the call came... Jackie Mitchell was a neighbor of Eric's from VT and she had Audrey Magram call to see if we would be interested in doing some fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House in VT.  She went on to explain that they got little support from our side of the lake, and many of the families that use their facility are from our three counties.

So, I started to think.  I had just started planning this little party- and maybe the two ideas can do hand in hand.  The first years were pretty modest, and we were humbled by the support of the community and our vendors and companies we do business with.  When Della Honda moved next door, we asked for their help and as a good neighbor they offered us their service waiting area  for the magic show and service bays for the car seat checks.  The Adirondack Safe Kids Coalition no longer has the trouble they used to to get staff for the event now that it is indoors and out of the rain and cold.

We had commited to the event for ten years which has now come and gone.  There are other events in the area around Halloween, so I was thinking that there wasn't really the need for the event anymore.  But then in early September we started getting calls from past supporters and families asking if we were having it again.  So... here we go again!

This year we expect to surpass the $35,000 mark for donations we have sent over to the Ronald McDonald House Charities and their support of families in need.  I have heard how families have been touched by this facility and others like it and I feel blessed that I have only seen the house from afar.

Our staff has shrunk a bit since home buiding is off somewhat these days, and my home responsibilities with two growing boys have certainly grown, but it is an event near and dear to my heart so I will continue to be a one man band and plug away a bit each day starting in August and working up to the Saturday before Halloween.  Much of the planning is now complete- what can be done is now done.  All that there is left to do is....  THINK SUN!!!

A peek at history

We found the blueprints for my Dad's family camp recently.  Growing up, we would travel to Chateaugay Lake and camp, but the great camp was long since gone.  I remember seeing the foundation but that was all that was left of this magnificent camp.

There is something magical about the lake.  I still am drawn to it all these years later, and time moves a little slower at camp- something we could all use a little more of these days.

I grew up seeing pictures of the camp.  The management at Republic Steel used the camp to entertain out-of-town executives.  There were massive parties in the dining room that could seat 30-40 people and had this incredible floor to ceiling stone fireplace.

My Dad said today that the library in the camp was larger than his first home.

It's funny, how similar log cabins are today.  These prints could be from now versus the 1930s.   And I just wonder how much it would cost to rebuild today!

An inside look

This weekend, I am headed to the Bill Lake Home Show in Sprakers, NY.  We are lucky to have them so close as our customers can easily get an inside look into how modular homes are constructed.

Not only does our manufacturer allow customers to come tour his facility- he encourages you to- and even bribes you.  You will get a $750 discount for attending the show or during a time that better suits your need.  And if that weren't good enough, you actually could win up to $12,000 off your new home.

Over the years PHO has been lucky- we have had a $6,000 winner from Champlain two years ago, which allowed them a couple of extra luxuries they might have decided to forgo.

So if you are considering building a new home, come join me on Saturday and you will be convinced- having your home built indoors and with professional supervision is the way to go!

Out with the old

And in with the new!

This was an exciting week, as our cape cod was dismantled from its temporary place at our sales center and moved to its forever home in Hogansburg!

The transition went very smoothly.  Monday we scored the drywall that had been finished inside the home and took down the siding.  Tuesday the crane and (un) set crew arrived and within two hours, the home was on the carriers, dormers off, and roof down! 

We then shrink wrapped the two halves for transportation.

Day three- Wednesday- back up again!

And now we will get busy finalizing the order for our new model!  It is a beautiful chalet design that we will have some nice craftsman accents on the exterior.  In all the trade magazines, this has been a new trend and everyone I have spoken to about it, seems to think it will be a good fit for either a permanent home or camp!

And...it's only Wednesday!