First the news: It has been a spectacular few years for North Coast Real Estate. There are very few listings available at the present. Prices are holding and/or rising. We see the 'over-heated' market coming to a gradual slow down this year, nothing to be alarmed about, this is all part of the regular real estate/business cycle. Keep in mind that people usually come here and spend twenty-five years or so before moving, so once that turnover occurs you have to wait for the next cycle to come around. Remember, there is always an opportunity out there!

The weather has been spectacular in this corner of Mendocino County this autumn. Even though a driving rainstorm sent many of the crimson and gold leaves of the dying grape vines to the ground early in October, there was an unprecedented display of fall color this year. Another bonus of the rain was that it almost magically ignited the hillsides with a burst of green, which lifts the spirits as you pass through the Anderson Valley. (The stunning vistas help you to forget the fruit flies that invade every year with the "crush" of the wine grapes and subsequent pressing. These diminutive pests are always in your wine glass or your orange juice this time of year. We rationalize them as "protein".) The ocean is lying down along the shore, frothing gently around the rocks and in the coves, waiting patiently for "real winter" to begin when it can show off its more spectacular side. Crab fishermen steam up and down the coast, hauling in huge pots of big, juicy Dungeness crabs -- spoiling us for anything but the freshest of seafood.

Every year at this time I send greetings out to the more than a thousand people I've met over the years who have been kind enough to share their addresses with me, most in hopes of one day living where I do, in this beautiful corner of the world which is lovingly and generically referred to as Mendocino. I want to thank my customers and clients past and present for their continued faith in me. Many of you were strangers when you tapped on the door at the office or sent me an email through my website, www.giorealtor.com. It is from such incidental contact that great friendships have been born!

For those of you still dreaming about the possibilities, the question I am most frequently asked about "Mendocino" is, "What is it like living here?" My answer is this: Mendocino is as much a state-of-mind as it is a feast for the senses and the psyche. It is the sum of its parts: the mountains, the rivers, the music and art, the food, the peace and quiet, the vineyards, the redwoods and, of course, the sea. But, most of all, it is the people. Like any big family you're bound to find someone who'll rub you the wrong way, yet, but like a big pack of siblings you can count on them being there when you need them. You will form deeper friendships than you have ever known. Come and try out our hospitality!

As this holy, happy season approaches, may you be blessed with abundant good health and success in your chosen field of endeavor. May your Christmas be Merry and your New Year be fruitful and...full of FUN!