As we express gratitude for the light in our lives this Thanksgiving, perhaps we should also take a page from the Japanese viewpoint that finds joy in imperfection and send a little nod to the beauty within our own flawed corner of the world.

This aesthetic ideal is known as wabi-sabi and it dates back centuries, emerging as a reaction to tea ceremonies that had become ridiculously drawn out and ostentatious. Some decided to return these communal get-togethers to their roots as simpler, quieter occasions that employed local materials and artisans.

The Japanese have embraced the attitude of wabi-sabi for years, finding beauty in a world that is imperfect, simple, rustic, impermanent and old. Wabi-sabi is not just a style of design but more of a way of life, explains Robyn Griggs Lawrence, who was instrumental in introducing North America to the concept through her two books, The Wabi-Sabi House and Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House.

“It’s not going out and buying hot-house flowers from Brazil but finding native plants from right where you are,” she explained recently from her home in Colorado. “It’s about practicing and developing your sense of gratitude and contentment for what is right there.”

Lawrence believes those who embrace wabi-sabi will naturally learn to become more appreciative of their lives and have more free-flowing gratitude. She believes it can help people to accept and embrace their homes as sacred, nurturing spaces.

“Wabi-sabi is everything that today’s sleek, mass-produced, technology-saturated culture isn’t,” she says in The Wabi-Sabi House. “It’s flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not Pergo; rice paper, not glass. Wabi-sabi celebrates cracks and crevices and rot and all the other marks that time and weather and use leave behind.”

“Wabi-sabi is all about clearing away the clutter and dreck so that we can appreciate our homes as beautiful, just the way they are,” she says.

Lawrence’s books are laid out in a type of 12-step pattern in which the reader is taken on a journey that covers topics large and small. You learn tips for slowing down, choosing local artisans or handmade items over imports, the art of silence and meditation, the importance of getting rid of clutter and how to offer your hospitality.

“It’s not how to be Martha Stewart and impress the hell out of your guests. There’s a whole piece on soul in the book.”

In an effort to embrace wabi-sabi, you need to accept the imperfection of your home, a move Lawrence says will prove wonderful and freeing because we all know “that to-do list can make you unhappy in your own home.”

Here are some simple steps from Lawrence’s book for incorporating wabi-sabi into your life right now:

• One day a week, wash the dinner dishes by hand. Taking on this task alone allows you quiet, uninterrupted time to think—or not think.
• Pay attention to your daily bread. Is the food you’re eating in season, and is it available locally? Through the meals you choose and prepare, you can connect with the earth’s cycles and with the place where you live—and live a healthier life. Buy food from your local farmers’ markets and ask the produce manager at your grocery store where different items came from.
• Next time you sweep the floor, consider it a meditation. Opt for the broom over the Dirt Devil whenever possible.
• When you’re invited to someone’s house or even just to a meeting, bring a small gift—nothing extravagant, just a small gesture (a jar of homemade jam, apples from your tree or a luxurious bar of soap) that lets them know they’re appreciated.
• Offer everyone who comes to visit a cup of tea. Serve it in pretty cups with a little something sweet. If no one comes by, enjoy a cup of tea by yourself in the late afternoon.
• Keep one vase in your home filled with seasonal flowers.
• Take a walk every day. Let this be your opportunity to open up your senses and to experience the changing seasons.
• Learn to knit or crochet.
• Next time you buy something, stop and ask questions. Who made it? How was it made? Where does it come from?

Who knows? Slowing down a little may give us the presence of mind to appreciate more.

The National Association of Green Agents and Brokers (NAGAB) provide a Greenbroker and Greenagent certification program to Realtors across Canada. To get more information or to sign up for a course, visit www.nagab.org. Elden Freeman M.E.S., AGB, broker is the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization. 1-877-524-9494 Email elden@nagab.org.

Freeman Real Estate hosted a very successful moth night in Vermont Square Park on July 31 2014. This was the fourth year sponsoring this event. We thank world famous moth scholar and expert David Beadle for making lots of big and small kids happy!

When most other girls were oohing and aahing over teen heartthrobs or the latest runway fashions Halina Bucchino was drooling over the pages of Architectural Digest and House & Home.

Something about those interior designs, those artful transformations and inexpensive yet impressive D-I-Y projects captivated Bucchino to the point that she became transfixed, her mind examining lines and shapes, devouring colours and patterns. Clearly, she was an anomaly among her teenage friends.

Some 20 years later and those friends have caught up to her. Bucchino’s interest in design never wavered and today she earns a living in a profession in which design has become increasingly important. All those hours flipping the glossy pages of home design publications served her well.

“When most girls were reading Teen Vogue I was reading interior design magazines,” says the recently hired Freeman realtor who is also the mother of twin girls. “I always say to my husband that in my next life I would like to be a furniture designer.”

But in this life, Bucchino plans to hone her real estate practice to encompass Riverdale, the neighbourhood in which she resides with her 12-year-old daughters and husband, and her main focus is investment real estate.

Bucchino immigrated to Canada from Poland with her family when she was six. The family lived in Hamilton and then Mississauga. A former fitness freak, Bucchino obtained an honour’s degree in physical education and went on to work as a personal trainer and to teach various fitness classes.

Family life is important to Bucchino, who loves the flexibility she gets from working in real estate. Her daughters, Bianca and Melody, factor most prominently.

“I love spending time with them,” she says. “They keep me young and remind me not to take simple things for granted.”

Prior to getting her real estate license two years ago, Bucchino assisted her husband with the day-to-day operations of a real estate investment firm. As a result, property management, leasing, purchasing and selling are matters she knows well. In fact, it’s thanks to her time there that Bucchino has built a solid network of investors and consultants, who send referrals her way.

Before joining Freeman, Bucchino worked with a boutique brokerage in Vaughan. But the pull to work downtown was strong and that’s when she found Freeman. Bucchino knew Freeman was the firm for her based an office environment that she describes as calm, comfortable and laid back.

“I love their branding,” she says. “The fact that they are a family-run business and that there are no egos in the office – I love that. I like their simplicity and that they’re not over-the-top. I think people recognize
the quality that Freeman brings to sellers and buyers.”

Given the extreme weather we’ve been having – from floods and ice storms to reports of tornadoes – it’s difficult to know what September has in store as I write this in early August.

Will the weather gods smile down and give us a month filled with balmy Indian-summer days?

Or will September feel winter’s looming grip just around the corner? Either way, September is the perfect time to start getting your outdoors ready for the big chill.

Begin by putting together an attractive autumn planter using the best of the fall season –ornamental cabbages and kales, mums, cora bells, verbena and sedum. Hopefully this may inspire you to continue with garden jobs that are less immediately rewarding.

Collect seeds for next spring and harvest herbs for drying and other ripened vegetables.

If your hostas are the size of Mini Coopers now is the time to divide and conquer. Overgrown perennials can flower poorly and become floppy. Fall is the best time to divide perennials and share them with neighbours or to plant elsewhere. Water the plant well a day or two before digging it up. Try to divide on a cloudy day as hot sun will stress plants.

Now is the time to plant spring and summer flowering perennials as well as new trees and shrubs allowing six to eight weeks for roots to form before winter’s frost sets in. Be sure to add compost or manure to your garden beds.

While this is easy to neglect, watering trees and shrubs until the ground freezes is an important task as it helps them better weather the ravages of winter.

Don’t let fall leaves go to waste. Shred collected leaves and bag them to be used as winter mulch.

Pull weeds before they go to seed to reduce the amount of weeds your lawn and garden will have next year.

Don’t forget to turn off your outside water taps. Store hoses and sprinklers. Clean and store or cover bird feeders, gardening tools, water features. Empty and clean clay containers. Bring them indoors to protect them from cracking.

If you’re a big fan of the ‘Stinking Rose’ otherwise known as garlic then you will want to find a sunny spot to plants your cloves. Plant cloves eight centimetres deep and 15 centimetres apart. Expect to harvest the following July.

Root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips can be harvested all winter. Remove top foliage from the plants and cover them with a 15-centimetre-thick mulch of leaves or straw. Throw an old piece of carpeting on top and let the snow fall as it may. Lift the coverings to dig out veggies as needed.

Feed your lawn with organic lawn fertilizer in the fall. Typically, these fertilizers while more expensive up front are cost effective in the long run as they require fewer applications in addition to decreasing the need for pest controls and promoting better growing conditions. Or you can try making some with your very own compost. Fill a bucket or container one-quarter full with compost and top up with water. Leave for three days and then strain the mixture. Dilute the compost tea with water before spraying your lawn. Also, remember to aerate your lawn as well.

While none of these suggestions will ward off winter’s arrival, know that your lawn and gardens will be better off for making the effort come spring.

The National Association of Green Agents and Brokers (NAGAB) provide a Greenbroker and Greenagent certification program to Realtors across Canada. To get more information or to sign up for a course, visit www.nagab.org. Elden Freeman M.E.S., AGB, broker is the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization. 1-877-524-9494 Email elden@nagab.org.

July can be a busy month in the garden, whether you’re tending to flowers, vegetables or fruit or a mishmash of all three.

Whether you have an avid green thumb or are just starting out in the garden consider the following pointers to keep your garden pretty and perky throughout the month of July and beyond:

Flower Power

Remove old blossoms on roses, perennials and annuals so that blooms will continue with a strong showing. Because many annuals such as petunias get leggy with long leaf-less stems by this time, you’re best to cut them back to encourage new growth and flowering.

Frequent pruning will keep most annuals full. Consider pruning back to a set of leaves on one stem per week per plant. Or prune all stems by one third which will leave you without flowers for a few weeks.

Don’t forget to pinch mums to encourage a full, colorful fall flower display. Give late-blooming perennials, such as sedum and aster a quick trim by cutting plants back by one-third.

Early-season bloomers, like delphinium, daisy, and campanula should be trimmed by one-half to one-third. You may be rewarded with a second blooming.

Be sure to keep an eye each day on the water needs of your containers as they tend to dry out sooner than flowers and plants in the ground.

Let it Flow

If you can, replace your sprinkler with a soaker hose or drip tube system as these do a better job of bringing water directly to the soil.

Keep an eye on your water. Watch automatic irrigation systems while they’re doing their job. You want to ensure that you’re not wasting water by watering sidewalks or driveways.

Rain barrels are great because they catch water runoff from your roof. Make sure yours has a cover to avoid little ones and animals from falling in.

Consider using a timer on sprinklers and automatic irrigation systems. Buy one with a rainfall shut-off device. These newer gizmos actually adjust watering frequency based on weather intel gathered from the local weather observation stations.

Edgy Veggies

Your vegetable garden should be thoroughly watered during the hot dry weather July often brings. Try not to water in the later afternoon or evening. Avoid wetting the undergrowth of plants, especially those that are disease prone such as tomatoes and squash.

If your veggies and fruit has rotted and fallen to the ground, pick them up and toss in your composter as rotting vegetables and fruit attracts pests and can encourage disease.

Control your weeds otherwise they will take over your plants and use up space, nutrients and water from your plants. Don’t add weeds to your compost. Try to mulch between your rows of plants. Try to mow away from your garden so that seeds don’t get a chance to invade your garden.

Think about extending our short garden season by preserving food. Root vegetables, potatoes and onions can be stored in a cool, dry spot. Try canning or drying.

July can be a busy month in your garden. If you’re not up to it, you can always try hammock gardening, the low-maintenance kind for lazy gardeners. More on that next month.

Known as the city of neighbourhoods, Toronto today could easily be dubbed the city of farmers’ markets.

From Willowdale to Liberty Village and Etobicoke to Scarborough, the city is dotted with an assortment of farmer’s markets that cover off each day of the week with a wide variety of locally produced seasonal products.

Summer is the time of year when we swarm outdoors because, well frankly, everything is better in the fresh warm summer air. Farmers’ markets allow us to indulge two of our favourite pastimes, shopping and eating, in an al fresco setting.

Let’s take a look at a few:

The Stop’s Farmers’ Market at Wychwood Barns offers sustainable organic products along with great music, community information booths and a café where shoppers can stop for a sandwich or bowl of soup. Open every Saturday from 8 to noon, this market was named the city’s best by NOW readers.

The Trinity Bellwoods Farmers’ Market runs from 3 to 7 pm every Tuesday in Trinity Bellwoods Park at Shaw and Dundas. This food-only market supports local food producers and there is very little turnover among vendors.

The Dufferin Grove Farmers’ Market is on rain or shine every Thursday from 3 to 7 pm at Dufferin Grove Park across from Dufferin Mall. From fish to sheep’s milk, from native plants to VQA wineries this market has something for even the fussiest foodie.

The Bloor/Borden Farmers’ Market, located in the parking lot at Bloor and Lippincott is going full force every Wednesday from 3pm-7pm. This market has been running since 2008.

Liberty Village Farmers’ Market runs each Sunday from 9 to 2 until October. This market is one of five certified markets featuring real farmers selling their wares. Bloor Borden, North York, East Lynn Park and CityPlace are the other four.

Sorauren Farmers’ Market is a one-stop shop in Sorauren Park on Mondays from 3 to 7 pm. Artisanal bakers, cheese makers and organic growers are on hand to sell their products and spread the word on sustainable eating.

The Junction Farmers’ Market goes from 9 to 1 on Saturdays at 2960 Dundas St. W. This small cozy market has everything you need from produce and pulled-pork sandwiches to preserves.

The Evergreen Brick Works Farmers Market 65 to 85 vendors at its Saturday market which runs from 8 am to 1 pm. On-site parking is available for a fee but free shuttle buses are offered regularly. See www.evergreen.ca for more info.

For more on the city’s farmers’ markets visit www.tfmn.ca, a website of the Toronto Farmers’ Market Network.

To say real estate is in Kate Hobson’s DNA might be overstating it a bit.

But just a wee bit.

The Toronto native grew up surrounded by stories of land development and real estate thanks to her father, a successful land speculator. Her older brother is an architect and her younger brother is a successful realtor in the city.

Given that lineage it’s no surprise that the 39-year-old chose to land on Real Estate Avenue two years ago after stints in advertising, home and office renovations, and her most challenging assignment of all, motherhood.

“I’m just coming out of the woods,” jokes Kate when speaking of her five-year-old son and six-year-old daughter. “But really, I’d been thinking about going into real estate for years.”

In her early career, Kate worked in advertising for a few Toronto agencies in production  and client services. She loved the fast-paced, cutting edge atmosphere of the ad biz but left it behind in favour of an opportunity to work on a land speculation project with her father. The work would lead to other project management opportunities such as overseeing residential and commercial renovation projects.

Project management allowed Kate to work from home, which was ideal when her children were very young. But real estate beckoned.

Kate had heard about Freeman Real Estate thanks to her father, who years ago had dealt with the firm’s founder Barry Freeman. She interviewed with five or six brokerages because she was determined to find that right fit. Confident that career success would come quickly, Kate wanted to ensure that she signed on with a brokerage that was willing to offer a fair bit of support. At Freeman, she found what she was looking for.

“Not to sound corny, but the office environment here was unexpected and  it’s pretty amazing” she says. “People are willing to offer advice and help each other out. At other offices they’re  both physically and culturally more closed and everyone has their little pod.  Here, people don’t necessarily have to come in to the office, but they do for the camaraderie.”

Besides many of the pluses of working for a small, family-owned boutique realtor, Kate also enjoys the office’s dog-friendly policy. Her new pup, a Welsh spaniel named Birdie accompanies her into the office and rather enjoys the interaction with other Freeman dogs.

Kate was awarded two prestigious Freeman awards last year, the President’s Club Award in recognition of sales achievement and the Dare to Soar Award for record-breaking achievement for a new salesperson.  This year she was awarded the Freeman Real Estate Ltd. Award of Excellence – Platinum Level 2013,  for grossing +$10 Million in Sales over the last 3 years.  Not bad, considering 2013 was only her second year in the business.

If you’re selling a home in Toronto, you’re lucky. A sale likely won’t take that long in today’s red-hot market so putting up with the inconvenience of having strangers parade through your bedroom shouldn’t last too terribly long.

There are ways to make the showing more productive for all involved. And remember what worked years ago, may be somewhat redundant today. For example, hanging around your house while a prospect is being shown through is not going to win you any prizes no matter how excellent the hor d’oeuvres and cabernet.

Curiosity can get the best of us, but you are best to corral up the residents in your home and head to the nearest coffee shop to wait out the viewing. Prospects never feel fully at ease knowing that the seller is lurking around the corner. They’re not as apt to express interest or apathy about a certain feature if they think you can overhear them and as a result they are likely to sweep quickly through your home without giving it the proper time and attention it deserves.

If you have to be home during a showing, be as inconspicuous as possible. If the weather is nicer, perhaps you can wait outside. No matter how winning the prospects are don’t follow them from room to room. Since house hunting is time consuming work, you don’t want to get engaged in drawn-out conversations about the pluses and minuses of the neighbourhood – that’s the realtor’s job.

In fact, if there are certain traits about your street – perhaps Peter Mansbridge lives three doors down – tell your realtor and he or she can pass on the info. Engaging in too much chit chat with a client is unwise as you could end up saying the wrong thing without even knowing it.

There are other rules to follow that will help you sell your house. When it comes to smells watch out. Yes, you can bake bread or muffins before a showing. This lends a homey atmosphere to your kitchen, but given the rash of allergies people suffer today you might want to do so with restraint. Plenty of people have gluten sensitivities and that could affect their olfactory glands, too. Freshening your home with deodorizers and other fragrances can also offend prospects that prefer a scent-free atmosphere. Try not to cook anything too terribly aromatic or spicy just before a showing.

If pet smells are an issue try to air out your space well before the scheduled showing. In addition, be sure to clean up after your pets by wiping the dog slobber off the screen door and emptying the kitty litter box. If you can, try to take your pets with you. Prospects don’t easily warm to your yappy cocker spaniel no matter how cute and cuddly.

Though time is tight try to tidy up. Make your beds as this always makes a room so much more inviting. Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink. Hide them in your dishwasher and if you don’t have one, gather them into a bin and place them inside your oven – just don’t forget about them later.

Keep lights on both inside and outside your house as this lends a happy and welcoming vibe. Open your curtains and blinds unless, of course, your view is an eyesore. If you have a gas fireplace, light it. Play soft music.

All of these guidelines contribute to setting a mood in your house. The more welcoming and cheery, the quicker the sale. It’s as simple as that.

Ask Martyn Balsky why he’s working in real estate and he’ll tell you it’s because he enjoys helping people.

Dig a little deeper and you’ll learn that all his experience have led to this career, beginning in his early days at a family business that manufactured menswear to working as a commercial real estate agent and recently in the remediation business.

In one form or another – from residential and commercial real estate to land development and remediation related to brownfields — he’s been putting together deals, scoping out sites and trying to find value for his clients.

The difference between what he’s done and what he’s doing is that now his energies are directed at finding the right fit for clients within an increasingly feverish real estate market.

“To be good at real estate you need to be a bartender, a wet nurse, a psychiatrist,” says the 51-year-old married father who is one of Freeman Real Estate’s newest agents. “You need to listen really well and to read between the lines as to what people really want. Sometimes clients can’t articulate their wants and needs. Our job is to ferret it out through profound questioning. You have to be able to articulate what most people can’t visualize.”

The Toronto native is skilled at reading people thanks in part to a vast and varied educational background that started with a philosophy degree from the University of Toronto, followed by a business degree program in management and administration (CIM), and a diploma in construction engineering.

What clients can expect with Balsky is a cool head, experience and a deep understanding of the dynamics of the real estate marketplace.

“I’m brutally honest if someone asks me for their opinion,” he says. “I will tell them what I think regardless of how gung-ho they might be. I think candour and truthfulness and integrity are values my clients appreciate and eventually warm to. This business is often fuelled by a lot of emotion and not a lot of reality. You need to have a clear head and a clear mind.”

Because his name and reputation are of paramount importance, Balsky rolls in a way that might be considered different than his colleagues. He worries that people are over leveraging themselves by buying houses that are over inflated. “People are buying on fairy dust they are so over leveraged.” If there is a significant correction it will be because those buyers who chose to purchase with mostly borrowed funds, could pull the market downwards.

A vocal critic of multiple offers for his clients, Balsky is the first to tell clients to steer clear whenever possible and have a maximum in mind that they are willing to pay regardless of the amount of offers.

“I always tell my clients it’s not preferable to engage in bidding-war scenarios,” he says. “It’s too emotionally charged and precarious and I think at the end of the day people may be over paying. I’m in this for the long run and I don’t want my clients to get burned.”