Frank Steinhausen, Broker
FSteinhausen@REMAX.net
RE/MAX Rouge River Realty Ltd., Brokerage
Phone 905-428-6533
Fax 905-668-1850
Categories
- Real Estate News
- Home staging
- Neighbourhood fun
- Green Building
- Pickering Village
- Real Estate
- Real estate investment
- Buying real estate
- Selling real estate
- Ajax
- Pickering
- Whitby
- Oshawa
- Durham Region
- Area interest
- Mortgage
Archives
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
Blogroll
Realosophy - Pickering Schools, Home Prices and Neighbourhood PhotosRealosophy - Ajax Schools, Home Prices and Neighbourhood Photos
Realosophy - Whitby Schools, Home Prices and Neighbourhood Photos
Realosophy - Oshawa Schools, Home Prices and Neighbourhood Photos
Archive for the 'Area interest' Category
GTA Resale Housing Prices Up, Sales Down
July 19th, 2008 Categories: Area interest, Buying real estate, Selling real estate
TORONTO, July 17, 2008 — Moderate activity and strong prices continued to characterize the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) resale housing market during the first half of July, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today.
“The average price in the GTA during the first half of July was $379,072, which is a one per cent increase from the $374,254 recorded in the first two weeks of July 2007 and a nine per cent increase from $346,267 recorded during the same period in July 2006,” said Ms. O’Neill.
In the 416 area, the average price was $419,199, up one per cent from the $414,321 recorded during first half of July 2007 and up 14 per cent from the $367,541 recorded during the same period two years ago.
At $353,257 the 905 region’s average price was up two per cent from $345,741 recorded in the first half of July 2007 and up six per cent from $332,733 recorded during the same period in July 2006.
“Continued strength in house prices throughout the GTA indicates that consumers continue to recognize the value of real estate as a long-term investment,” said Ms. O’Neill.
Sales activity remained moderate in the first half of July, with 3,497 homes changing hands in the GTA. This is a decrease of 11 per cent from the 3,947 properties sold in the same period in 2007 but an eight per cent increase from the 3,251 transactions recorded in the first two weeks of July 2006. Sales in the first two weeks of July 2007 saw a 21 per cent increase from mid-July 2006.
In the 416 area there were 1,369 sales, down 17 per cent from the 1,641 recorded during the first two weeks of July 2007 but up eight per cent from the 1,264 sales recorded in the same period in July 2006. Before the Land Transfer Tax went into effect, sales increased 30 per cent in the first half of July 2007 compared to the same period in July 2006.
Sales in the 905 region came in at 2,128 in the first half of the month, down eight per cent from the 2,306 recorded during the same period last year but up seven per cent from the 1,987 sales recorded during the first half of July 2006. Sales in the first two weeks of July 2007 saw a 16 per cent increase over mid-July 2006.
Activity in certain areas increased in the first half of this month.
Bowmanville (E17) saw a 12 per cent overall increase in sales due to an increase in detached home transactions.
Brampton (W24) sales increased 18 per cent, driven primarily by a significant increase in semi-detached home transactions.
The Annex (C02) experienced a 70 per cent increase in sales largely due to an increase in detached home transactions.
“Although the number of available properties has increased 25 per cent compared to a year ago, from 21,777 to 27,317 listings, the number of days on market remains the same at 32, which is a positive sign,” said Ms. O’Neill.
Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board. Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com.
| Currently No Comments »
Can Ajax Spearhead the Greening of the GTA?
July 15th, 2008 Categories: Ajax, Area interest
The municipality of Ajax has already taken initiatives to keep Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area green. They have expanded water pollution control along Duffins Creek Marsh. They are working on waste water management and water conservation.
These are all great initiatives.
When I reviewed the Greening Greater Toronto report, I noticed one aspect of the greening that seems to go against some of the decisions that the Ajax council has made recently, like approving another 1500 homes for north Ajax.
The Greening Report looks at “sustainable land use and expanded green space.” This group is hoping to reduce the dependence on personal vehicles and keep the trees.
I am curious to see how the new home developments that are sprouting up all over the Durham Region are going to keep Durham green.
| Currently No Comments »
Lack of Planning, Doesn’t Constitute a New Home Development Emergency
July 13th, 2008 Categories: Area interest, Buying real estate
Lack of planning on Mattamy’s part, doesn’t constitute an emergency on 
the city council’s part.
At a recent city council meeting, Mattamy Homes tried to speed up the approval process by asking Pickering city councillors to allow them to start grading for their new home subdivision in Seaton.
Denied.
It seems that Mattamy Homes asked to jump over a couple of planning by-laws in order to get a jump on building. City council actually said “no” to a big developer.
It is not that the development is not going to happen. It will. It looks like the council is trying to avoid any chaining of protesters to trees or bulldozers by making sure that all the papers are filed in the right order.
It looks good on you, council.
We will keep you posted.
| Currently No Comments »
Canadians Don’t Have An Umbrella: Rainy Day Funds Fall Short For Most Home Owners
May 28th, 2008 Categories: Area interest, Pickering Village, Real Estate News
The National Post reported recently that Canadians are not very well prepared for rainy days, like an economic slowdown. Despite a lot of press being given to the economy inching towards the “”R-word,” most Canadians only have about one month of expenses covered. I heard it suggested that we are in a virtual recession, which is like being virtually pregnant, I’ll bet.
According the an RBC report, Canadians should be paying themselves first:
“The message we’d like to really emphasize is that it’s important to put
away money first because you never know when an economy turns and we would hope we’ve got some emergency funds put away to get us through those times,” says Mr. Ratanshi. “The reasons why people are saving less vary from person to person, but there are a lot of individuals who may have the income but don’t have good savings habits.”
A key finding was that most Canadians do not believe they are good savers, RBC said, noting that 83% worry they don’t have enough money saved, and 86% that they can’t save as much as they would like.
“Many Canadians are also not prepared to cope with an unexpected long-term emergency or sudden life-changing event,” it said.
Only 49% have a rainy-day account set up, and of those that do, 55% have only enough saved to cover one month’s worth of expenses, while just 24% have three months’ worth of expenses covered.
“Surprisingly” two-thirds consider their line of credit and credit cards to be their backup in case of an emergency, it said. Meanwhile, 60% of the more than one million Canadians who keep $1,000 or more in their bank account each month, consider that money to be their safety net.
While the survey found that being financially prepared for an emergency is a priority for many Canadians, it is one of many priorities and a lower priority than saving for retirement, paying down debt, paying down one’s mortgage faster and saving for children’s education.
| Currently No Comments »
Ontarians Get To Air Their Laundry
May 21st, 2008 Categories: Area interest
Although I am sitting by the computer today with wool socks and a 
sweater on (because I don’t want to turn my heat back on), I am looking forward to the fresh smell that summer-air-dried laundry can have. I am not looking forward to how stiff my jeans will be. Maybe I can put them away soon and bring out my sandals and shorts.
Here’s the word from Premier Dalton McGuinty:
This summer, Ontarians will have the choice to dry their laundry on an outdoor clothesline.
Premier Dalton McGuinty said the province is putting an end to some restrictions that prevent people from using outdoor clotheslines. This includes agreements between home builders and buyers in some towns and cities in Ontario.
Using outdoor clotheslines instead of electric dryers can:
- Save consumers $30 per year when they reduce their dryer use by 25 per cent.
- Cut greenhouse gas emissions.
- Reduce demand on the power grid — home dryers use about 900 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.
QUOTES
“There’s a whole generation of kids growing up today who think a clothesline is a wrestling move. We want parents to have the choice to use the wind and the sun to dry their clothes for free,” said Premier McGuinty.
“We want every Ontario family to have the tools they need to save energy and save money. Just using a clothesline instead of a dryer can make a significant difference to your pocketbook, reduce demand on the electricity grid, and help keep our air clean,” said Energy Minister Gerry Phillips.
QUICK FACTS
- Florida, Utah and Hawaii have laws in place that ensure people can use clotheslines. Similar legislation is being considered in Vermont.
- Electric clothes dryers use about six per cent of electricity in the home — as much as a refrigerator running 24-7.
- Over the course of a year, five clothes dryers could result in roughly the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as an average-size car.
http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/news/Product.asp?ProductID=2153
| Currently No Comments »
New Homes: Top 10 Energy-Efficient Remodeling Projects for 2008
April 30th, 2008 Categories: Area interest, Green Building, Real Estate
by Dena Kouremetis
PATH (The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing) recently released its annual recommendations on the top remodeling technologies to make existing homes more durable, stronger and more resource efficient.
The top 10 technologies include:
1. Air Sealing: which include non-fiberglass batts, sprayed foam insulation, and sprayed fiber insulation are recommended because they improve the thermal resistance of exterior walls.
2. Smartvent Ventilation: This new mechanical ventilator system measures the moisture content of outdoor and crawlspace air and only provides ventilation when the outdoor air is drier than crawlspace air.
3. HVAC Sizing (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning): estimating heating and air conditioning loads more accurately so properly sized HVAC systems are installed to ensure energy efficiency.
4. High Efficiency Toilets: Designed for water conservation, high efficiency toilets have been defined by the plumbing industry and the EPA as those that use an average of 20% less water per flush than the industry standard of 1.6 gallons. A high efficiency unit toilet can save up to 8,760 gallons of water each year for a family of four.
5. Compact Fluorescent Lighting: Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), are simply miniature versions of full-size fluorescent lights, but four times more efficient and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
6. High Performance Windows: Window technology has evolved over the years to the point where windows can be selected not only for their aesthetic qualities, but also for their performance abilities.
7. Wireless Lighting and Thermostats: These controls can be set on timers or using a variety of sensors with wireless systems to increase home efficiency without sacrificing home owner comfort.
8. Solar Hot Water: Solar water heaters come in a variety of configurations but each differs in design, cost, performance and level of complexity. Most systems have back-up water heating such as electricity or gas.
9. Recycled/Renewable Flooring: The two types of environmentally-conscious flooring that lead the market are recycled flooring from old structures and renewable flooring from fast-growing trees, such as bamboo.
10. Tubular Skylights: Tubular skylights use the sun for lighting interiors without the drawbacks associated with conventional skylights. They are generally easier to install than typical skylights and, from the home’s interior, resemble conventional lighting fixtures.
For more information, visit the PATH website at pathnet.org.
| Currently No Comments »
What We Can Learn From the U.S. Mortgage Fallout
April 25th, 2008 Categories: Area interest, Durham Region, Mortgage, Real Estate, Real Estate News
U.S. President George Bush recently announced a stop-gap (albeit limited) 
measure that may assist many U.S. homeowners from experiencing what millions already have – losing their homes. In light of the dilemma south of the border, what can we Canadians learn from all this, and how can we be better prepared to avoid similar devastating effects?
A brief history of U.S. home lending practices: it all started when credit was provided early in the 20th century after the Great Depression. Lenders first offered simple interest 80/20 short-term loans; 80 per cent down and 20 per cent financing. Then some ingenious private entrepreneurs and banks decided they could charge more interest by providing 50/50 loans over longer periods. They saw the opportunity to really make large returns on their investments. 50/50 soon became 80/20, with 20 per cent down and 80 per cent financed. After lobbyists pressed Congress, they eventually passed a law approving compound interest, not long after the Second World War when all the vets returned home.
Amortization schedules and pay-off times went from five and 10 years to 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 years and more. The banks capitalized enormously on these lending practices. Compound interest extended for as long as the gullible public would bear, and made the banks astronomically profitable. Initially they weren’t even sure if they could convince the general public to contract such huge long-term debt commitments. But untethered capitalism and the desire for “more than one could really afford” reigned supreme. Communities like Levittown (America’s first planned “assembly-line” subdivision in Long Island, N.Y.) were enormously successful. The groundwork for today’s real estate and mortgage template was cast.
People who really couldn’t afford the credit they desired were given loans at higher rates to counter balance higher gross-debt-ratios. Even those who didn’t qualify under normal circumstance could also live beyond their means through creative and exotic loans like
Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) and 40- or 50-year amortization periods. Therein lies the core-formula for millions of Americans losing what used to be their most valued and protected asset, their homes. The formula was to over-extend ourselves, live beyond our means or buy more than we could really afford, with funding provided by a lending system that understood high-risk, high-return and gladly participated. Lenders became ‘enablers’ for a public who acted like dope-crazed addicts, never able to satisfy their need for more of this euphoric drug – extended credit.
As long as equity in their investments continued to grow, they were safe. But when over-inflated house values soon began to deflate, they could no longer tap into the reservoir of ‘savings’ built into their homes.
After extending themselves even further with home equity loans, thus adding another monthly payment, the American public was trapped. They became unable and/or unwilling to continue to pay for homes that were worth less than what they owed on them, especially if it crimped their salacious appetite for a lifestyle they could no longer afford. The fallout became apparent to the lending institutions and they quickly lobbied Congress to make it harder for people to bail out through bankruptcy. To nobody’s surprise, the law was passed.
To date, Canada and Canadians have been spared, for the most part from the major fallout experienced in the U.S. Why? We have yet to lower our standards to the point of our neighbours to the south. But will we continue to hold higher standards – and for how long?
That’s the key.
So as a dual citizen who has lived and worked for equal years in the U.S. and Canada, I say, take heed. Be cautious. Real estate, though cyclical, is being influenced by new parameters that have to be weighed in the balance – including demographics and preferences of aging baby boomers, the economic impact of ever-increasing oil prices and the like. How can we protect ourselves? We can try to avoid extended amortization periods, exotic loans and creative financing; but most importantly, simply live within our means – an unpopular idea, but the undeniable truth.
Frank Kirschner, MBA has been licensed in real estate since 1982. He has held a variety of executive positions in the industry, including vice-president and director of operations for Prudential Real Estate Affiliates/Canada; broker/owner of Atlanta Buckhead Realty and executive vice-president, Prudential Sadie Moranis Realty. Email frank@atlantabuckheadrealty.com
| Currently No Comments »
Calling Their Fluff: 6 Tips to Spot the Stagers’ Tricks
April 22nd, 2008 Categories: Area interest, Buying real estate, Home staging
When Derek and Angela Chezzi go house hunting in downtown Toronto, they’re struck by a disturbing similarity in what they see. The furniture at many resale homes looks suspiciously fresh and new, the art hanging on the walls seems all-too-familiar and the rooms are just soooo squeaky clean. After looking at dozens of houses, the Chezzis recognize the signs that a home stager has been at work. “Let’s face it, how many of us have furniture that matches perfectly?” asks Derek, 32, who works as a website manager. “You can tell as soon as you walk into a staged home that this is something that belongs in an interior design shop, not your average family’s home.”
Remember: no matter how beautifully decorated a home may be, its true value hinges on practical considerations — how much space it offers, the neighborhood it’s in, how many bedrooms and bathrooms it has. Here’s how to make sure you don’t get taken in by a stager’s tricks:
1. Beware of old panes
The best tipoff that a home stager has been at work is a beautifully decorated home with old windows. Why? Because a complete set of new windows is expensive — think $10,000 or so — and most stagers won’t bother to put them in. But if the windows are old, you have to wonder what other secrets the house may be hiding.
2. Measure, measure
Stagers are notorious for making small rooms look larger by renting undersized couches, tables and chairs. “I staged a house in Rosedale that had a great third-floor master bedroom,” says Toronto home stager Debra Gould, “but it was awkward because the stairwell and entrance to the room were really small.” She ended up renting dressers from a kids’ furniture store because she couldn’t get adult-sized dressers up the stairs. Imagine the shock the new owners must have felt when they tried to move in their own furniture. To make sure you don’t have a nasty surprise, pack a tape measure and write down the dimensions of all key rooms.
3. Avoid showrooms
The showrooms in many new condo developments use pint-sized furniture, large mirrors and other space-expanding tricks to make the units appear larger than they are. “If you’re looking at something in a new complex,” says Feisal Panjwani, a senior mortgage consultant with Invis Inc. of Vancouver, “ask to look at another suite that hasn’t been done up. You’ll get a feel for what the home will look like with regular furniture and appliances.”
4. View it live
Most real estate agents insist that viewing the house when it’s empty gives
you time to examine it at leisure. But the Chezzis have found a better option is to view it around suppertime when the owners are present. “When someone’s in the place,” notes Derek Chezzi,”you get a better sense of the house. Is there enough counter space for the dinner dishes? Does the kitchen feel spacious with two or three people in it? You can imagine what it would be like to live there yourself.”
5. Come out of the closet
Stagers often empty out closets to make them look larger than they really are and give the illusion of plentiful storage space. Be aware of the trick and make sure you know exactly how much storage space you’re getting. “I often wonder where all the jackets, shoes and coats are in the homes we see because they certainly aren’t in the closets,” says Derek Chezzi. “I always ask to see other storage areas.”
6. Tune out the noise
Any good stager tries to create a relaxed, elegant mood. Jazz on the stereo, a roaring fire in the hearth, fresh flowers and homey scents are just some of the tricks you’ll encounter. The only defense? Close your eyes and imagine the same room with kids yelling and yesterday’s newspaper spread out on the floor. Reality may not be as pretty as the staged version, but it’s a much better guide to value.
By Julie Cazzin
From the April/May 2005 issue of MoneySense magazine
| Currently No Comments »
Winning the Real Estate War: 10 Tips From Home Stagers
April 21st, 2008 Categories: Area interest, Home staging, Selling real estate
Home staging has become a staple in getting your home ready for the buyers. Here are 10 tips that can get you started and it could be the difference between selling and not selling, in today’s market:
1.Make an impression
Prospective buyers make up their minds about your house even before they get out of the car. To ensure they have the right idea, clean up your yard, rake the leaves, shovel the snow, and sweep driveways and porches. Get out the rags and cleanser and spend 30 minutes scouring your front door, porch, railings and steps. Then tuck away all your recycling cans and bins at the back of the house.
Debra Gould, who owns the Six Elements home-staging firm in Toronto, says it’s important to avoid planting negative associations in buyers’ minds. When attending an open house she had to climb several steps to get to the front door. “I couldn’t help but think that this could be a nuisance with groceries,” says Gould. “Then, when I finally got to the top, the recycling bins were sitting right there on the porch. I immediately told myself, ‘Imagine carrying one of those bins full of newspapers, cans down several slippery steps.’ I couldn’t see myself doing that, so I left, knowing it wasn’t the house for me.”
2. Unclutter
Clutter eats equity, say stagers. So purge your closets, empty cupboards,
box up small appliances. Rent a storage locker to keep what you want, then toss the rest. “I give storage boxes to my clients and tell them to edit, edit, edit,” says Theodore Babiak, a Toronto real estate agent with Royal LePage. “I suggest they take some of their books off the shelves, reduce the number of CDs or DVDs, pare everything down.”
The stager’s motto? Be ruthless. When Tamara Roberts was selling her Vancouver condo last year, she paid $150 for a one-hour consultation with home stager Carter, who gave her a detailed to-do list that included instructions to leave only one thing on the kitchen counter(a bowl of crisp green apples)and to remove fridge magnets and small area rugs. “Everyone knows to unclutter,” says Roberts, “but John brought it down to specifics. He even had me keep a storage container under the bed so I could throw my pajamas and bedtime reading in there so buyers wouldn’t see it.” The payoff? Her condo sold in one day for $6,000 more than her asking price of $339,000.
3. Impersonal works
You want buyers to imagine themselves living in your home, not to feel like a guest in it. So stash anything connected to your family or personal interests. Hide your son’s hockey trophies, store family photos, remove all traces of day-to-day life. “If someone goes into the bathroom,” says home stager Gould, “and the rim of the tub is covered with shampoo bottles while people’s toothbrushes are lying around the sink, it’s hard for that person to imagine that this could be his or her bathroom. The buyer becomes very conscious of being in someone else’s environment. That won’t get you an offer.”
4. Keep it fresh
Barb Schwarz, president of StagedHomes.com of Concord, Calif., has been staging homes for 30 years and she says a disturbing number of home sellers don’t realize that their home … um, smells. “There’s nothing worse than stepping into a house that smells of smoke and pet odors,” says Schwarz. The easy solution is to keep your windows open for 10 minutes a day. This strategy works better than deodorizers, says Schwarz, since a lot of people have allergies to artificial room fresheners. The oldest trick of all? Leave chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. Yes, it’s hokey, but the smell does do wonders to help buyers bond with your home.
5. Declare war on grime
Cleanliness helps put a buyer’s mind at ease since it suggests that you’ve probably taken good care of your residence in other ways as well. So clean everything: walls, door handles, light fixtures and pantry cupboards. At Carter’s suggestion, Jim Thompson, the Vancouver home seller, hired a professional cleaner to scour the inside of his home and a contractor to powerwash windows, walkways, eavestroughs and pathways.
Toronto home stager Gould recommends you pay special attention to the furnace room since every home buyer wonders what shape the furnace is in. “If the furnace looks clean, it looks newer,” says Gould. That goes for the fuse box and electrical panel, too.
6. Hire a handyman
Dripping faucets, cracked tiles and mouldy caulking around the bathtub can knock thousands of dollars off the price of your home. “I have a lot of clients who say, ‘Well, that’s a little problem, the buyer can deal with it,’ says Gould, who makes a practice of walking through sellers’ homes and compiling a list of what needs to be fixed. “And I say, ‘No, if it’s a little thing, then we should deal with it.’ ”
7. Color it up
Your single best investment may be a fresh coat of paint in key areas of your home. “Paint your front door and put some urns with brightly colored flowers on your front step or just inside the entryway,” says Jane Hall, a Toronto designer and owner of The Voice of Color in Toronto. “Those things make a house seem cared for, different and important.”
8. Reduce furniture
An easy way to create a sense of space is to get rid of some furniture. Moving a sofa and end tables into storage can give a small room some much-needed breathing space. So too can storing the table and chairs that normally sit in your kitchen, piled high with mail, magazines, books and groceries.
If your furniture dates from the Mulroney era, consider packing it away and renting a few modern, stylish pieces or borrowing a couple of well-chosen pieces of wall art. “Keep it clean and simple,” says Carter, “like a hotel room or the show room for a new house.”
9. Light me up
The brighter and sunnier a space, the easier it is to sell. Start by investing in a good window-cleaning service. Stagers say clean windows let in as much as 30% more light than grimy ones. Then thoroughly clean the shades on your light fixtures, change light bulbs and add floor lamps if an area seems dim. Dump those energy-saving 60-watt bulbs and go with higher wattage lights for maximum illumination. Finally, when it comes time to show your home, make sure all the lights are on. “Hallways especially should be lit,” says home stager Hall. “When those are dark, it gets depressing for buyers going from room to room.”
10. Add a touch of humanity
A couple of planters on your front porch, a vase of flowers on your dining room table, even a simple rose in a bud vase can warm up a room. This is where you can let some of your creativity show through. “You want to get away from making rooms feel dull and sterile,” says the home stager Gould. “Flowers and plants are good for that.” Candles help, too.
Apply all these tips and the final results can be stunning. “I could never have achieved anything as effective on my own,” says Thompson, the Vancouver home seller. “The stagers helped me turn it into a show home. And even though this might sound silly, all the changes made it so attractive that it sort of made me want to stay.”
Such feelings are common. Stagers say a few homeowners actually change their plans and take their residences off the market once they see how good their old places can look. Many decide to stage not just their old homes, but their new ones as well. “Home sellers will often ask me to come to their new home and work some of my magic there because they don’t want to go back to their old way of living,” says home stager Schwarz, who’s prepped more than 2,000 homes in the U.S. and Canada. In fact, Schwarz notes that a lot of home sellers don’t even want to see any of the stuff they’ve put into storage because they discover they’ve never missed it. “They want to live fresh, clean and clutter-free. It’s a wonderful thing. Because staging is, above all, a cleansing experience.”
By Julie Cazzin
From the April/May 2005 issue of MoneySense magazine
| Currently No Comments »
Add a Little Sunshine and Dirt: Let The Summer Sport Season Begin in Durham Region
April 15th, 2008 Categories: Area interest, Neighbourhood fun
The hockey playoff are on television. Hockey playoffs are off for my kid’s teams. And soccer practice has started. I hear football for the Pickering Dolphins has started also.
With the sun out this week and the grass drying and greening, I came across this video that reminds us why, as parents, drive all over Durham Region for our teams:
| Currently No Comments »