Fall and Winter

GOOD NEIGHBORS

Winning Big in Real Estate this Fall and Winter

EMILY MERKLEY chief executive officer, Cache Valley Association of Realtors

WITH LOCAL REAL ESTATE markets seeing huge traffic and all-time low mortgage rates, it’s a perfect time to make the move if you’ve been considering buying or selling a home. The idea of saving on agent fees and buying/selling your own home can seem enticing, but it’s important to go into the situation with a basic education and understanding of the benefits that come from working with an experienced REALTOR®.

Although the market might be hot, people are still very unsure as they try to navigate these challenging and uncertain times as best they can. In this situation, the experience and guidance of a REALTOR® can make all the difference for a successful transaction. If you’ve decided to try and sell or buy a home on your own, there are some important factors to consider:

Legal Vulnerability: The process of buying and selling a home has evolved over the last 20 years, and real estate has seen increases in required documentation, disclosures, and regulations. Using the services of a REALTOR® gives the buyer/seller a thirdparty cushion and protection through the legal processes of a transaction. Online Marketing: An experienced REALTOR® has well-developed online platforms to help list and find homes. They are the first to know of the hottest new listings, and they have access to online media that receive exponentially more traffic than a single, private listing. Searching online has historically been where most buyers begin, and since COVID-19, that number has skyrocketed from 44% to 93%. Having a developed, accessible platform with heavy traffic is crucial to finding and selling homes. Safety: You can expect heavy foot traffic during showings if you are selling your home, and must evaluate if you have the ability to follow protocols that will protect you, your family, and those viewing your home. If you are buying a home ‘For Sale by Owner,’ are you able to ensure that the home has been sanitized during and after showings? In contrast, a REALTOR® can facilitate virtual tours, regulate crowds, and see that current industry standards are being followed. Negotiating: The decision to navigate a real estate transaction on your own means understanding that you will be working and negotiating with several individuals in many roles. A REALTOR® is trained to negotiate with inspection companies and employees, appraisers, lenders, buyers, and buyer agents. Emotions can run high during these situations and keeping a level head is crucial. Finding the Qualified Buyers: Just as important as finding somebody to buy your home is making sure they can afford it. With a rapidly evolving mortgage market that deals with families out of work and mortgage forbearance, most buyers aren’t privy to the position of potential buyers. With the frequent fluctuation of available loan programs, REALTORS® are trained to ask the correct questions and can find information regarding buyers’ mortgage commitments. It’s exhausting to ride the high of offers that never make it to closing.

In the end, attempting to save money by selling or buying on your own can potentially cost you more in the long run. On average, an agentlisted home sells for 6% more due to more effective exposure and less time on the market. Greater exposure means more bids to drive up the price of the home for a seller. Enlist the help of a local REALTOR® to discuss your options, and to find the best solution for managing the transaction process from start to finish.

GET YOURh iday dinn CATERED

traditional turkey breast dinner

5 lb. sliced turkey breast 5 lb. mashed potatoes 64 oz. roasted turkey gravy 2 lb. stuffing 16 oz. whole cranberry sauce 3 lbs. candied yams $130 Lee’s signature 9” pie 1 dozen Lee’s signature butterflake rolls & butter chips

heat & serve • serves 5-6 • please give 48 hours notice

individual turkey breast dinner

8 oz sliced turkey breast • 3 oz stuffing • 3 oz mashed potatoes • 2 oz candied yams • whole cranberry sauce 1 Lee’s signature butterflake roll & 2 butter chips • Lee’s signature pie wedge heat & serve • serves 1 • please give 48 hours notice

$12

traditional ham dinner

8 lb. spiral sliced ham 4 lb. red cheddar potatoes 3 lb. malibu vegetable blend 32 oz. harvest apple sauce $115 Lee’s signature 9” pie 1 dozen Lee’s signature butterflake rolls & butter chips

heat & serve • serves 6-8 • please give 48 hours notice

individual ham dinner

8 oz. sliced ham • 3 oz. red cheddar potatoes • 3 oz. malibu vegetable blend • 2 oz. harvest apple sauce 1 Lee’s signature butterflake roll & 2 butter chips • Lee’s signature pie wedge heat & serve • serves 1 • please give 48 hours notice

$12

traditional prime rib dinner

5 lb prime rib roast 4 lb red cheddar potatoes 50 oz garden salad 3 lb malibu vegetable blend cranberry horseradish sauce $149 Lee’s signature 9” pie 1 dozen Lee’s signature butterflake rolls & butter chips

Holiday Meal Preparations Made Easy (and Delicious!)

EMILY BUCKLEY editor in chief

WHEN IT COMES to the holidays many of the best memories are made in the kitchen, or around the table. Maybe your family is like mine? We like to prepare lots of delicious food leading up to the big day to ensure there are plenty of leftovers to get us through the holiday weekend.

I love to spend time baking, but when the rest of my family disappears to play a game, watch a movie, or try new toys, sometimes I regret my big plans in the kitchen.

Here are three ways you can make things simpler this holiday season:

Plan ahead Many people make recipes during the holidays they don’t prepare any other time of year. Many of these call for staple ingredients you may, or may not, have on hand. Check your continued on next page…

continued from previous page… refrigerator and pantry ahead of time to ensure you have enough butter, eggs, flour, sugar, spices, and seasonings to get you through your meal and holiday treat preparation. Double check your list so you don’t have to make multiple trips to the grocery store.

Special order One way to ensure you have plenty of delicious food, and that you don’t miss out on family time spent doing other things, is to take advantage of pre-made dishes or even complete meals offered by local businesses.

Lee’s Marketplace is one great resource for such meals. They offer complete holiday dinners (including turkey, prime rib, and ham dinners with all the fixings) that only need to be heated before serving. Their options include meals to feed a large family or smaller portions for individuals or couples.

If you don’t want to forgo favorite family recipes on your holiday table, you can also, of course, purchase individual parts of the meal like rolls or pies, or a cheeseball or veggie tray to serve as an appetizer. All parts of the meal at Lee's Marketplace, from potatoes that are cut right in the store to Lee’s signature pies, are made from scratch, so everything will taste as fresh as if it were made in your own kitchen.

“We are living in a weird world where we may have to have smaller gatherings or social distance, even at the holidays,” Tim Rigby, Lee’s Marketplace marketing director, said. “We have options that will work for every size group.”

Give up some of the work You can save some time and effort by purchasing unfrosted, holiday-shaped sugar cookies from your favorite bakery. Lee’s Marketplace, for example, also sells portions of colored frosting separately so your family can enjoy decorating cookies for Santa without quite as much preparation or mess.

“These ideas may seem like shortcuts,” Tim said, “but when you finally have time off from work, school, or other responsibilities, it can be nice to simply enjoy the extra time with your family. This is one way to relieve the ‘preparing the perfect meal’ part of holiday stress.”

Check out these other favorite local vendors for delicious additions to your holiday meal or gift basket that will make your preparations easier than ever:

CRUMB BROTHERS BAKERY offers delicious European-style pastries, crusty breads, croissants, scratch soups, and sandwiches.

GREAT HARVEST BREAD CO. offers simple, delicious breads, cookies, cinnamon rolls, scones, and more that are perfect for serving your family or gifting to neighbors or friends.

SWEETLY DIVINE offers delicious jalapeño jellies that we love to add to charcuterie trays.

ROCKHILL CHEESE produces hand-crafted cheese made from the milk of six Brown Swiss cows on a historic farm in Richmond.

BLUEBIRD CANDY’S hand-dipped chocolates make a lovely addition to a table setting, charcuterie, or gift basket.

OLD GRIST MILL’S bread is delicious for turkey sandwich leftovers. Get a quart of soup for quick meal on a cold night.

FACT CHECK

Holidays: The Melting Pot of Tradition

KATE NEELEY

FROM CARVING JACK-O-LANTERNS to driving past glittering trees, or savoring the scent of your favorite pie baking in the oven to caroling and beyond, holidays are a vehicle to express yourself in endless ways. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you do certain things every year? Where do these traditions come from?

Barbara Williams, creative genius and author of the blog bitsofivory.com, is a self-made expert in traditions and says that in their essence, “traditions really are a powerful way of learning … the more senses you involve, the more they become a part of who you are.”

Think of that. What are the sounds of the season? What sights take you to Halloween night, what scent immediately draws your mind to Christmas contributing writer day? What do you gain from those sensory experiences?

For Barb, her travels in Italy at Christmastime in young adulthood sparked something big inside her heart as she experienced some of the Italian people’s traditions at that time of the year. Italy is known for its deeply Christian roots, and she noticed that many of the people had entire rooms inside their homes dedicated to what you might call Nativity scenes, but are known in Italy as il presepe. Barb was touched by something different about these scenes she hadn’t seen in America. Not only did the Italians include familiar Christian symbols such as Mary the mother of Jesus and shepherds, but they included entire villages. “You might see a woman hanging wash on the line in their manger scenes,” Barb explained.

It spoke something to her, that for these people, their observance of a holiday to remember an important event in their religion included them, and essentially, the whole village or human family in it. It wasn’t just something that happened in a distant place long ago. It meant something bigger and more personal to them.

When you look at any family, chances are they have their own combination of holidays and traditions to go along with them. That is because there can be any number of backgrounds and experiences in any mix, and that really is the beauty of holiday traditions.

For United States Air Force Pilot and Historian Ian Bertram, his worldwide travel has often landed him in places right in the middle of certain holidays or festivals that were new and

different to him, but deeply rooted in the people of those countries.

One August, Ian found himself in the streets of Nepal, which was a sea of rich red saris, all being worn by women who were out celebrating a Hindu Women’s Festival called Teej. Ian described it this way: “It felt like Christmas, with a mutual sense of goodwill.”

The men Ian had been in contact with in the country told him they would all be busy on the festival days taking care of the duties typically performed by females in their culture so the women could go out and sing, dance, and pray together during the celebration.

Holidays have ties to religion, family, and history.

An Italian nativity scene known there as il presepe.

Halloween has an intriguing background. What has become a modern-day mesh of treats, spooky movies, costumes, and a sort of intoxicating magic goes back at least 2,000 years to a Celtic Holiday called Samhain (Sow-win). The evening of October 31 begins the Celtic New Year, which is the third harvest and begins the darkest time of the year.

Yoga instructor Clytie Ames has done extensive research into the Celtic Tradition, and has adopted some of the beautiful aspects of it in her life and family. “The Celtic people valued the dark,” she said. “But not in the sense of evil or terror. The darkness is a place of rebirth, regeneration, and healing.” At the end of summer and harvest season, the plants and the earth enter a phase like this: The trees go into

dormancy, the seeds under the ground rest, and people spend more time inside.

Many familiar Halloween symbols come from Celtic Samhain, and you may be surprised to know what they originally represented. At the center of these would probably be the witch. In the original Celtic tradition, witches were revered, wise old women, known for their strength. Called “Hags” or “Crones,” these women were anything but evil in the way many today see witches.

The witch’s broom was known as a “besom,” or means for sweeping away negativity. Jacko-lanterns were lit as a way to ward off evil spirits and to guide the path of deceased loved ones to paradise. Black and orange are colors to represent death and rebirth. Trick-or-treat likely comes from the custom of leaving food out for the kindred dead to eat on their way to the afterlife, and the “tricking comes as a result of the prankster energy of Samhain, the spirit of laughter. This is to remind people to not take it all so seriously,” Clytie said.

All in all, the familiar traditions you enjoy throughout the year are a rich reminder of where you came from: a family, a religion, a culture. Throughout history, traditions have become one of the most powerful tools to teach, enliven, and connect as humanity. Take a look at what you do every year. Do the things that fill you and give you and your family joy.

For more tradition ideas, visit Barb Williams’ blog bitsofivory.com or Instagram @bitsofivory.