New Listing in Brookwood High School Cluster!

1252 Killian Way, Lilburn, Georgia.  Offered at $169,900.  One level living in 2,212 Square Feet (Gwinnett tax record).    This is an excellent value in Killian Woods, a sidewalk community in one of Gwinnett County's best school clusters. Killian Woods is conveniently located to Stone Mountain Park, Ronald Reagan Park and Dog Walk, and Mountain Park Park and Aquatic Centers.  It's an easy commute to Atlanta and the CDC.

The home features vaulted ceilings in the Living Room and Family Room, a banquet size Dining Room, and spacious kitchen with center island, breakfast bar, built in desk, and Jenn-Air downdraft cook top and grill. You'll love the luxurious master bedroom suite with two walk-in closets, whirlpool garden tub, and his and her vanities!

Enjoy morning coffee and summer evenings on the private courtyard patio.  The expansive back yard is fully fenced.

Take the full tour at http://www.patsabin.com/1252.html .

February 23rd Sunset

This was a stunning sunset on a warm, windy evening. To the east, the clouds were pink against a blue sky. This was looking west from the entrance of Evergreen Lakes subdivision in Lilburn.

Looking Up and Down

I love my nature walks, and this afternoon at the Mountain Park Aquatic Center was a reminder that we don't always need to be forging ahead. Sometimes, we need to look up, down, and around.

The first photograph is one I took on the walking trail. Of course, it's just a small branch with what's left of two little pine cones (after a squirrel had enjoyed the rest)....but doesn't it look a lot like a dragon fly? The other is one of many I took of the same afternoon of a stunning winter sunset.

Happy New Year In Oak Valley

I'm afraid that I've been negligent in posting regularly here, and I'll try to do better in 2012. I so enjoy my HO scale miniature winter town year around, I created a blog for it this holiday season to share photographs (you can link to it by clicking on the title of this post, or go to http://www.mytinypeople.wordpress.com/. It's given me a chance to become well acquainted with my new camera and actually see the street scenes and people at ground level! I've met quite a lot of nice people around the world who have enjoyed the daily views of Oak Valley.

For me, the allure of towns and cities goes back to a kid of the 50s and 60s growing up in the suburbs. When we moved from the Columbus GA area to metro Atlanta, we rented briefly in the "Great Lakes" area of the City of Decatur. My sisters and I named our little cottage style 1930s house "The Witch's Cottage." For the first time, we could ride our bikes to Woolworth's in downtown Decatur!

I've always been fascinated with historic towns and cities and that fascination has led me to collect and restore vintage postcards, host history and genealogy web sites, and learn about 19th century architects.

Enjoy!

5 BR, 3 BA Home for Sale Parkview HS Cluster

This is a gorgeous executive brick home in the popular Parkview High School cluster in Lilburn. Priced at only $239,500, this home features a fully updated gourmet kitchen with granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, and upgrade lighting and plumbing fixtures. The large bedroom suite on the main level could be a second master. The private fenced back yard is a slice of paradise, and optional membership is available in the Cedar Creek Swim & Racquet Club. The basement offers a huge 2.5 car garage, and extra space for a rec room or exercise room, home office/hobby room, and a large shelf-lined room for storage.

Click on the blog title above or go to http://www.patsabin.com to see more photographs, read more about this home, and take the multi-media tour. Call your agent to see this home today!

September 11, 2001 Anniversary

Remembering the 2,693 innocent people who died on that day, the fire fighters and police officers who have died or suffered since then because of their selfless work in the rescue and clean-up, the loved ones of those who died who still suffer the loss every day. God bless the United States of America.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001:

8:46 a.m.
New York, New York
First World Trade tower was hit by American Airlines Flight 11

9:03 a.m.
New York, New York
Second World Trade tower was hit by United Airline Flight 175

9:37 a.m.
Washington, D. C.
Pentagon was hit by American Airline Flight 77

9:59 a.m.
New York
South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses

10:03 a.m.
Shanksville, Pennsylvania
United Airline Flight 93 crashes near Shanksville, PA, after passengers rush the cockpit and overtake hijackers headed for Washington, D.C.

10:28 a.m
New York
North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses

September 11, 2011
Memorials have opened in New York City and Shanksville, Pennsysvania, and at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

Preserving Our Family History

Like everyone else in this country, I remember exactly where I was when I heard about the first plane hitting the south tower of the World Trade Center. We were just starting a sales meeting at the Northeast Atlanta Metro Association of REALTORS(R) when an agent arrived late and breathless. He had heard the report on the radio as he was driving to the meeting. The initial reports indicated that it probably was a small commuter plane. Not long after, we were informed that a second plane had hit, and we knew that it was a terrorist attack.

When I finally got home and could watch the full reports on television, I knew that life as we knew it was over. An avid family and community historian, I had the fleeting thought that it didn't really matter how our ancestors had lived, or thought, or looked, or where they were buried. In fifty years, would anyone care?

Ironically, I had just launched an ambitious project of scanning old family photographs. We had a substantial collection of old photographs in Atlanta, and I offered to scan and save them to a CD for any cousins who wanted one. As an afterthought, I threw this out, "If you have any old photographs that you feel are special, please e-mail or snail mail them to me."

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, with Christmas fast approaching, I was bombarded with the most delightful images from cousins all over the country. We had a gorgeous 3/4 length portrait of our great-great-grandmother, circa 1860, and a cousin sent a full length portrait taken the same day! The portrait above is a great-grandfather holding our aunt. Another cousin sent one taken the same day of the old man holding our uncle. It told such a sweet story, and I could imagine my grandmother telling her father, "Just stay right there and hold still," while she handed him another baby!

Now, at least one cousin in every family group has every old family photograph. I keep an extra copy on a flash drive and a CD in my safe deposit box at the bank. (By the way, I do the same thing with my home inventory, including photographs and receipts). Whenever I discover an old family photograph, a letter, or any other family memorabila, my first thought is to preserve and distribute as many copies as possible.

We Americans are resilient. This photo project which encouraged friendly communication among far flung cousins while honoring our ancestors and their families and communities made me to feel hopeful about the future.