This month Mark Don McInnes, Sandpoint-Idaho and Endre Barath, Jr. are hosting what is the most patriotic ActiveRain Challenge I can remember ActiveRain having.   The titled of this month's challenge is  'Ole Glory Coast to Coast' - June ActiveRain Challenge.  For this challenge Mark and Endre are asking us to post photos of different local flags and tell a little bit about them.For my first entry I choose two flags which fly at the two most prominent building in my town, Middletown, CT.  The first is at our City Hall and the second was our County Superior Court House.   My second entry into this month's challenge, was of the flag flying at the front of my my home, which I am proud to fly the American Flag at our home year round. My third bonus entry is of a farm adjacent to the subdivi... 06/29/2022

This month Mark Don McInnes, Sandpoint-Idaho and Endre Barath, Jr. are hosting what is the most patriotic ActiveRain Challenge I can remember ActiveRain having.   The titled of this month's challenge is  'Ole Glory Coast to Coast' - June ActiveRain Challenge.  For this challenge Mark and Endre are asking us to post photos of different local flags and tell a little bit about them.For my first entry I choose two flags which fly at the two most prominent building in my town, Middletown, CT.  The first is at our City Hall and the second was our County Superior Court House. For my second entry into this month's challenge, I am chosing my home.   The Souto household has many reasons to be proud of our flag, and we are proud to fly the American Flag at our home year round. As many of you know ... 06/14/2022

This month Mark Don McInnes, Sandpoint-Idaho and Endre Barath, Jr. are hosting what is the most patriotic ActiveRain Challenge I can remember ActiveRain having.   The titled of this month's challenge is  'Ole Glory Coast to Coast' - June ActiveRain Challenge.  For this challenge Mark and Endre are asking us to post photos of different local flags and tell a little bit about them.For my first blog I have chosen two flags which fly at the two most prominent building in my town, Middletown, CT.  The first is at our City Hall, and our proud American Flag is flying along with three other flags such as the POW-MIA flag, and our state flag.  Also along side it is a replica of the Liberty Bell.The second photo shows our proud American Flag flying at our Superior Court House, and it is flying al... 06/10/2022

Today is 2022 Memorial Day In Middletown, CT.  Memorial Day is a day our Country has set aside to honor the fallen men and women who have served in our Armed Forces, and put their lives on the line to ensure the freedoms we have.Memorial Day has also become a time in past years, where families get together for parades, picnics, and family fun. These gatherings were limited last couple of years, and the customary local parades were canceled because of the COVID-19 Virus.  However, this year all the customary activities will be going on again, and hopefully there will be a lot of participation.  I for one will enjoy marching in our local Memorial Day Parade, and later spend time with family.My message this year is one I request every year.  Whatever you do today I hope a part of your day ... 05/30/2022

This month Kathy Streib and Carol Williams are hosting the  "May ActiveRain Challenge; Getting to Know You." For this challenge we are asked to answer 21 questions which Kathy and Carol have put together. This challenge looked like a fun, so I have decided to participate, and provide a little more information about me. So here goes. 1. What was your first job and what did you learn from it?I worked in a factory while in High School making plastic tubing large as for a plastic hose, to as small as plastic tubes used for infusions. The equipment that extruded the plastic tubes produced a lot of heat, and there was no air-conditioning. Room I worded in got very, very hot in the Summer.2. How long have you been in the real estate or related service industry? 18 Years3. What is your biggest ... 05/30/2022

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, and l would like to wish all mothers a very Happy 2022 Mother's Day.  On Mother's Day we always try to do something special for the Mother's at our Church.  So several years ago we started what has become a tradition of serving breakfast to our mother's and expecting mother's to be on Mother's Day.My youngest youngest son Brandon and his wife have coordinated the breakfast, and done most of the cooking the last few years.  Brandon loves to cook, and he and his wife Leah do an excellent job hosting this event, and will probably be in charge of the Mother's Day Breakfast for several more years to come. After breakfast all the men pitch in cleaning up, and preparing for our Sunday morning Worship Service.  After service my wife and I, and my son and his wife head ... 05/07/2022

Happy Easter Sunday 2022.  Today is a special day my family and I look forward to each year.  The day started out with all of us going to Church.  Once Church Services, and Bible Class was over we all headed to my house for a special lunch/dinner.However, the last few years our family time has been a little bit different since my oldest son Matthew, his wife Ashley, and my gorgeous granddaughter Elizabeth moved to WA.  So after lunch/dinner we FaceTimed with them, and watched my granddaughter Elizabeth open up the gifts and candy we sent her.I always enjoy the special meal my wife so lovingly puts together, but it is the time we spend together as a family that truly makes this day an extra special day for me.  Even though the family together time the few years has been via FaceTime, it ... 04/17/2022

This month Debe Maxwell and Margaret Rome are hosting the ActiveRain April Challenge "What Does ActiveRain Mean to You?  April 2022 Challenge".  For this challenge we are to create a collage telling what ActiveRain means to us.  After reading some of the blogs already posted for this challenge, I decided I would focus on an part of ActiveRain different than what had already been addressed by others.  However, my friend Grant Schneider must of had similar thoughts to mine and beat me to it.I have been a Member of ActiveRain from almost the very beginning of this site,  and the one thing I have appreciated most about ActiveRain is not only the friendships I have made on this site, but the opportunity to make in person connections I would have never have made if it were not for ActiveRain.... 04/14/2022

Yesterday I posted a blog on updating my blog signature, titled "It Is Time To Update My Blog Signature!!!"  In the blog I mentioned I was open to suggestion on how to make my new blog signature even better.  Well Craig Daniels really took that request to heart, and went over and above anything I had expected.  Craig took what I had, and made it a hundred times better.Below are what my original blog signature looked like, what the new blog signature I did looked like, and the amazing blog signature Craig created for me. This is a great example of how members on this platform give of themself unselfishly.  I am very grateful to Craig for taking it upon himself to do for me, and will be proudly using this blog signature going forward.   However, I hope this blog does not create a bunch of... 03/25/2022

Craig Daniels and Eileen Burns are challenging us to refresh/update our blog signatures in this months ActiveRain Challenge.  I did not think I was going to have time to participate in this challenge, BUT as you will see below, my blog signature was in SERIOUS need of being redone.In Craig's blog announcing this challenge, Craig provides both written instructions, and video instructions.  I choose the video instructions, because I could see what he was doing as I followed along.  Craig's instructions are so easy that even I was able create a new blog signature without much effort.  In other words, it was very easy.  What took me the longest was playing around with my new blog signature to get it to look the way I wanted.  I have not completely accomplished that yet, and will continue to... 03/24/2022

Happy St Patrick's Day 2022.  I hope all of you had a very special and enjoyable day today, and had an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends.  St. Patrick's Day is one of the more festive days of the year, and we all can use a little more fun in our lives.Hope everyone keeps safe and do not partake of TO MUCH GREEN of anything!!!AndMay your pot always be filled with GOLD!!!  03/17/2022

This month Carol Williams and Anna Banana Kruchten are co-hosting the February 2022 ActiveRain Contest titled "What's Your Story".  It has been a while since I blogged anything about my past, so this seemed like a good time to share some of my personal and professional life story.My first entry was about my personal life titled "Our Life Experiences Shape Who We Are".  This second blog is about how my life experiences have shaped my professional life.I have been in sales for 46 years, and during that time I have had three different careers in sales.  The shortest was my first sales experience working for John Hancock Life Insurance, selling life insurance, casualty insurance (home & auto), and mutual funds.  I did this for about 3 years, and I was what was referred to as a Debit Salesma... 02/25/2022

This month Carol Williams and Anna Banana Kruchten  are co-hosting the February 2022 ActiveRain Contests titled "What's Your Story".  It has been a while since I blogged anything about my past, so this seemed like a good time to share some of my life story with you. I was born in Portugal on a very small Island in the Azores called Santa Maria.  Santa Maria is about 5 miles wide and 9 miles long.  You could walk from one end of the island to the other in about 3 hours, no real need for a car, and to this day very few people living on the island have a car. To the left is the house I was born in.  Back then you were born in houses not hospitals, and a mid-wife performed the delivery. This house is not very big, and it is even smaller when you realize it is a duplex.  My family occupied ... 02/23/2022

Happy Presidents Day 2022!!! Today is Presidents Day, and for most workers in the U.S. a day off from work.  Presidents Day was not always known as Presidents Day, in fact up until 1968 there was no Presidents Day.Presidents Day was originally known as Washington's Birthday, and established in 1885 by President Chester Arthur.  Later many states decided that Abraham Lincoln was equally a great President, and started to celebrate his birthday as well.In 1968 Congress decided that both days should be combined into one Holiday, celebrated on the third Monday of February, and call it Presidents Day.  Today few remember the two separate celebrations in honor of Washington and Lincoln, and think that it is in honor of all Presidents, and special Sales Promotions.Today will be a work day for m... 02/21/2022

Happy Valentine's Day 2022 To All My ActiveRain Friends!!!  This is wishing all my friends here on ActiveRain a Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow.  I hope everyone takes the time today to tell everyone who is special to you how you feel about them, and spent quality time with them.Today my wife and I will have a special lunch at one of our local restaurants.  After 47 years of marriage it is no longer about what her and I do to celebrate Valentine's Day, it is about celebrating and enjoying the day together, and enjoying what is most important to us.   Happy Valentine's Day 2022!!!  02/14/2022

Martin Luther King, Jr. Worthy Of Our Respect And Honor.  Martin Luther King, Jr. deserves this honor and much, much more.  Some may argue that his dream has not been fulfilled, but I would argue otherwise.  However, this is not the blog to make that argument, this blog is to honor a man who saw beyond color, and focused on equality for all.Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream not for himself but for all mankind.  A dream of equality, freedom, and justice.  Nothing Martin Luther King, Jr. did centered on himself, it all centered on others.  His life was one of service to others unconditionally.As a young boy from a different country, Martin Luther King, Jr. taught me a major life lesson, one that I learned very early in my life.  He taught me not only to dream, but to fully expect the dr... 01/17/2022

2022 New Year Dinner At The Souto House.  We had our New Year's Day traditional Dinner yesterday, and once again it was worth the wait.  We started this tradition over 30 years ago, and hope to continue it for many more years.  However, we did have to change things up a little bit this year, because of COVID supply interference.In the past the highlight of our dinner has been a jumbo lobster per couple, which weigh between 7 to 8 pounds (see picture to the right).  Some may think the meat from these HUGE lobsters would be tougher than the smaller lobsters, but it is just as tender.  However, this year jumbo lobsters were not available, so we had to scale down to the next biggest size available, which was a 3 pound lobster per person (see picture to the left).Along with the lobsters, whi... 01/02/2022

I just want to take this opportunity to say Happy New Year 2022 to all my friends here on ActiveRain.  I have been blessed to know several of you for many years, and have been blessed with new ActiveRain friends this year as well.  I am all set to kick off 2022, and leave 2021 behind.  I have completed all of my licensing requirements for the six states I am licensed in (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Florida), and all the licenses have been renewed for 2022.  After all the challenges COVID-19 has brought us over the last two years, I am looking forward to a banner year in 2022, and hope the same for everyone of you. Life is to short to waist a precious minute of it.  Be thankful for what you have, and enjoy every minute of it. I look forward to re... 12/31/2021

Merry Christmas To All My ActiveRain Friends In 2021.  Christmas has always been a day my wife and I have spent with our two son's, but now that my oldest son moved to Seattle, WA we have had to get a little more creative in celebrating Christmas.Also in the past my youngest son has alternated between spending Christmas with us, and his wife's parents.  However, this year both parents luck out. We will all be having Christmas at his house, so both my wife and I, and the in-laws will all be together.However, my wife and I will be coming to his house before the in-laws arrive, so we can FaceTime with my oldest son, and my gorgeous granddaughter, Elizabeth.  While FaceTiming we will open the Christmas present we sent each other.  This is not the same as all of us being together, but it is ... 12/24/2021

Happy Thanksgiving 2021!I hope that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving today.   Do not let the day go by without taking a few minutes to truly give thanks for all you have been blessed with, and if possible take the opportunity to be a blessing to someone else.  Today should not only be a day of giving thanks in word, but in deed as well. Happy Thanksgiving From My House To Yours. 11/25/2021