Dianne Goode's Blog

We all remember what happened when Goldilocks sat down to try the three bears' porridge.  The first one she tasted was too hot!  The second one she tasted was too cold!  But the third was  "Just right!" and she ate it all up. Here in the Triangle area of North Carolina, we have a Baby Bear Clima...

I've been blogging regularly for almost two years now, and it has had an unexpected side effect. I've gotten quicker at organizing my thoughts and getting them posted.  I'd have expected that. I've become more aware of potential blog topics that appear in my environment.  A new business, a commu...

Some years ago, when my son Lance was much younger, I picked up one of those gingerbread-house kits in the supermarket, and a tradition was born.  The next year we bought a gingerbread house how-to book with recipes for dough and icing and struck out on our own.  Eventually, Lance went off to co...

Who doesn't love gingerbread houses?  This year the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary is hosting its 10th Annual Gingerbread Benefit on November 29th. Top local chefs create exquisite, themed, gingerbread houses for a good cause.   The gingerbread houses are displayed in the hotel's ballroom where t...

I recently read a small but provocative book called The Cow in the Parking Lot.  It's not about anger management; it's about choosing not to be angry at all.  Just .. don't. The title comes from a modern-day parable.  Suppose it's Christmas shopping time at the mall and you've been waiting for s...

Today I stood in line for almost an hour at one of Raleigh's early voting sites.  It was a beautiful sunny day for standing in line, about 65 degrees with a hint of fall in the air.  No one seemed impatient or rushed.  The young woman in front of me read a book on her Kindle.  Someone in back of...

During the recent presidential campaign season, there has been a lot of negative talk about the economy.  Nevertheless, crunching 3rd Quarter 2012 housing data here in the Raleigh/Wake County area yeilds some pretty postive results.            ~ The number of expired listings decreased 42% and t...

A recemt visit to the North Carolina State Farmer's Market made me realize that pumpkins aren't the simple Halloween gourds they used to be. These strangely colored greenish ones looked especially scary! Do you like your pumpkins traditional, or would you prefer something with a bit more panache...

It's October, and in Raleigh that means the North Carolina State Fair is in town!  The fair is always the same, but always surprising.  This year in the garden display section I stumbled into an amazing display of yard art. The artist had taken found objects like pot lids, welded them together i...

      Accordidng to RealEstate.com, the housing market lost $9 trillion dollars in value during the recession, and now has gained about 1/3 of it back. Here is an explanation of their methodology: We calculated the total value of the housing market for three separate months – the peak (March of 2...