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Last week Kristin, Reagan, and I spent 5 days away from work, our computers, smart phones...everything. We stayed at a beautiful little house on a beautiful little river. The rushing water, forest, fields, birds...you get the picture. Here's the take away. For me, it's incredibly important to have beautiful scenery. When Kristin and I move in the future, it is a real goal of ours to improve the view, every time. We already have a beautiful 1 acre piece of property. But I don't think that I can ever have enough of this good thing.

Looking for something to do this weekend? The Showcase of Remodeled Homes is a home tour of 19 recently remodeled homes, open to the public. Home #5 was remodeled by yours truly, Thompson Remodeling, Inc. A classic example of moving vs. remodeling, we did a whole house renovation and amenities upgrade so be sure to stop by and get ideas!

Green Remodeling is the response to our disatisfaction with our homes' lack of: 1) energy & resource efficiency, 2) health (IAQ - Indoor Air Quality), 3) comfort, 4) durability, and ultimately its contribution to a sustainable housing stock.

The event at Meijer Garden tonight went very well. 75 of Paul C. Spoelstra's clients attended the event. Visit Paul's Site: http://www.paulcspoelstra.com/ as well as visit: http://thompsonremodeling.com If you attended the event and would like a copy of the presentation "Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?" feel free to email me: Ben@ThompsonRemodeling.com and I'd be happy to send you a .pdf of the presentation.

Walk-off Mat: (def.) - 1) A mat that you put at all entrances to your home to wipe your feet and trap dirt. 2) The most effective way to maintain your hardwood floors, keep them clean, and reduce allergens in the home.

Ben will be presenting "Myths & Magic of Green Remodeling" at the Great Lakes Green Conference at the Devos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, August 22nd, 2009.

Ben will be speaking at Frederick Meijer Botanical Gardens at a private event in honor of the clients of Paul C. Spoelstra, Certified Financial Planner. 60+ people are expected to come out for an evening of enjoying the gardens, butterfly display, a fabulous meal, and time spent with Paul C. Spoelstra.

I am not a garage sale guy. Not surprising...not too many guys ARE in the first place. But it did walk through our basement today and recognize our recurring problem; clutter. We're due for our annual basement clean out and donation event. I did my section of our closet about a month ago. Kristin did her [larger] section of our closet two weeks ago. It feels so good to do this and it feels even better when we take on the basement.

What is your favorite room of your home? For those of you whose answers came easy enjoy that luxury. You love parts of your home. Let me say it again, "YOU LOVE PARTS OF YOUR HOME!" For those of you who struggle with your home not fitting your expectations don't worry. It's okay. You attack this problem in two ways:

I used to hate our living room. It was all things 1960s - dingy orange wood paneled ceiling (and end walls), dark beams, a hideous front door, angular bookshelves, no light, and this silly step at the front door some architect thought would appeal to our mamalian den-dwelling need for security. You get the point, it was a weird room.