Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Salesmanship
I was just running through the MLS listings again - not for me, you'll have to pry me out of here, but for the house down the street, another wretched little rent house was flipped and now its done and decidedly not wretched and I want to know what they are asking! They went with a firm that sells a lot of houses downtown and inside the beltline and the houses sell, sooner or later, but they do sell.
The firm however has a crap site and seems to takes it times getting its listings online. As far as I am concerned,, once that sign goes in the dirt, its lights, camera, action time. Its on MLS and the clock is ticking. If you aren't ready to sell that house to me in say, soulless corporate Cary, today, don't put the sign up CHELSEA REALITY. I shouldn't have to drive past the property to know its for sale - and then even if I do drive past the property, I should be able to either A) Get a info sheet on it or B) be able to contact the agent. Neither of which is possible with them, I know, I've tried.
This is the second house in the area they have listed and not gotten on their site or MLS as quickly as they should have. They seem very successful with sales around here but when I went online I found only negative reviews and bad experiences with them. I have noticed that once they have the house on the market and after the open house, they do seem to abandon the properties and have no interest in keeping them up in anyway. I understand that this is most likely the owners responsibility but if I was in charge of getting the property sold I would either demand the owner do their due diligence or I would at the owners expense, at the very least hire someone to keep the yard mowed.
I need to know what they plan on doing with my property values! I need to know! Since I do have a vested interest in the place I wish they had asked my opinion on paint colors - I liked green the first time I saw it, but now? this is like the third house in a row now and Green has fallen out of favor, they do get credit for not going with that green and using a slightly darker and less cloying shade and then pairing it with PURPLE - yes "that" purple , but still kudos for not going with white and black. But its going to take a very special buyer to fall in love with that paint scheme.
Instead of doing the seven minute work out I did the mile and a half round trip to the post office and picking up cans and bottles work out. I like it better.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Working Out
I'm hot. I'm sitting here hot and developing a fully rational hate for the plastic table cloth because it is touching me! Right now everything that is touching me is suspect.
Its hot outside the house, its hot inside the house, despite running the a/c and the ceiling fans and the liberal use of box fans - its still hot. I am actually sitting here topless because I thought, not very wisely, that I would "help". It is just putting more of me in contact with my new mortal enemy, the plastic table cloth!
I had to turn off Diners, Drive ins and Dives, not because of Guy but because Guy spends so much time in restaurant kitchens and the idea off all those ovens and stoves and heat producing appliance is just too much! Evening the dinning rooms look like they are too warm.
I am hoping I am able to draw on this experience in a few months when this place has reverted back into its native state as an ice box and I am freezing all the time. I doubt it, instead I'll just think what a giant whiner I am being about being warm and how much I would love just one moment of natural warmth as I snuggle further into my electric blanket and hope that the dog can hold it until spring.
Earlier while clearing suffering from some sort of heat sickness, I looked up The 7 minute work out , Broskey mentioned it and I thought that seven minutes sounds like about my limit for a work out so why not! Why Not indeed? I haven't done calisthenics since junior high gym class! Why not!
At first I was like 30 seconds each? I can do 30 seconds! and boy, I just flew through those jumping jacks! And then they wanted me to do 30 seconds of sit ups and then 30 seconds of getting on and off a chair and then 30 seconds of lunges and something called "planks" - which I was good at because I can just lay there like a champ and then on from one deeply off putting exercise to another exhausting bout of calisthenics and it was the longest 7 minutes of my life.
I think I'll just re-introduce jumping jacks into my life and start with that. Its so hot in here I can lose weight walking upstairs. I think I'll work up a sweat walking across the room to watch Frozen Planet.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Go Me
For someone who had decided by say, Tuesday that I was going to sleep all weekend, I got a lot done. Friday after work I finally got the back yard mowed, it took a week of labor to prepare it to get to that point and I was very happy to finally have my lawn back. Its not much to look at but at least when you are looking at it you know you are looking at someones yard verses someones abandoned lot.
I'm happier, the plants are happier and my super awesome, early birthday gift to myself, composter is happier because it got nummy yard clippings to feast on.
Isn't it adorable? I got it at Big Lots at a major discount because they are in the middle of inventory and it was the last one they had in the store and it was shop worn and they let me use my frequent buyers discount. I've had my eye on one of these babies since they hit the store floors last winter but were too expensive for me to buy - even at Big Lots. I could have had one of the box models but they sit on the ground and draw rats and bugs and I have enough problems with rats and bugs. I really wanted one of the roller models. Its beat up, but its a composter.
Saturday I had really no plans since I got the yard mowed Friday night. I did have an appointment for an oil change but that was in the afternoon. In the morningish as part of my plan to actually get some sort of work done while the animals are away, I finally returned Brosky and Alphagals dog crate and then I got the oil changed and then I discovered the Worlds Best Store - Ollies Bargain Store! So much crap and overstock! Such fun it makes Big Lots look like Nordstrom.
Post bargain hunting, I went to the grocery to get dinner, with an eye towards using up some of my tomatoes
They have taken over the whole garden! I don't have pepper plants anymore. Last year completely sucked as for tomatoes, this year the tomatoes have struck back. I have given away more than I produced all last year and there are plenty to come.
Saturday dinner was mac and cheese mixed with ground pork, left over onion and some tomatoes from my garden. It was delicious. Dinner tonight featured my last stuffed pepper ( store bought, sniff, sniff) covered with the tomato sauce I made today.
Yeah, I made my own. It was easy and I'll do it again I would imagine. Its not spaghetti sauce, its just tomatoes cooked down with basil and garlic. I didn't make much, but its just me and I used it as a learning experience. The first thing I learned is "strain the sauce or you will end up with a lot of seeds in the sauce", lesson learned.
Its really good, much better than it looks, but the next time I make it, it will be better.
Before I decided to go all Cooking Channel, I remembered something I had wanted to do while the animals were gone : The Attic Needs Attention. So I paid it some attention, not a lot of attention, but I got rid of some empty boxes and moved a few things around and generally made it easier to move around. I also threw away a lot of little stuff that should have never made it into the attic in the first place. I still need to do a real through job up there but I'll need help, I got what I could get done, done and I feel good about the job.
I'm happier, the plants are happier and my super awesome, early birthday gift to myself, composter is happier because it got nummy yard clippings to feast on.
Isn't it adorable? I got it at Big Lots at a major discount because they are in the middle of inventory and it was the last one they had in the store and it was shop worn and they let me use my frequent buyers discount. I've had my eye on one of these babies since they hit the store floors last winter but were too expensive for me to buy - even at Big Lots. I could have had one of the box models but they sit on the ground and draw rats and bugs and I have enough problems with rats and bugs. I really wanted one of the roller models. Its beat up, but its a composter.
Saturday I had really no plans since I got the yard mowed Friday night. I did have an appointment for an oil change but that was in the afternoon. In the morningish as part of my plan to actually get some sort of work done while the animals are away, I finally returned Brosky and Alphagals dog crate and then I got the oil changed and then I discovered the Worlds Best Store - Ollies Bargain Store! So much crap and overstock! Such fun it makes Big Lots look like Nordstrom.
Post bargain hunting, I went to the grocery to get dinner, with an eye towards using up some of my tomatoes
They have taken over the whole garden! I don't have pepper plants anymore. Last year completely sucked as for tomatoes, this year the tomatoes have struck back. I have given away more than I produced all last year and there are plenty to come.
Saturday dinner was mac and cheese mixed with ground pork, left over onion and some tomatoes from my garden. It was delicious. Dinner tonight featured my last stuffed pepper ( store bought, sniff, sniff) covered with the tomato sauce I made today.
Yeah, I made my own. It was easy and I'll do it again I would imagine. Its not spaghetti sauce, its just tomatoes cooked down with basil and garlic. I didn't make much, but its just me and I used it as a learning experience. The first thing I learned is "strain the sauce or you will end up with a lot of seeds in the sauce", lesson learned.
Its really good, much better than it looks, but the next time I make it, it will be better.
Before I decided to go all Cooking Channel, I remembered something I had wanted to do while the animals were gone : The Attic Needs Attention. So I paid it some attention, not a lot of attention, but I got rid of some empty boxes and moved a few things around and generally made it easier to move around. I also threw away a lot of little stuff that should have never made it into the attic in the first place. I still need to do a real through job up there but I'll need help, I got what I could get done, done and I feel good about the job.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Rocket in pictures
I looked at all the pictures from vacation and decided that he deserved his own Vacation Album .
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Life with out dog and kitty.
I took myself for a walk today. It felt like exercise. The same walk with the dog is stealth exercise, you don't notice it because you are "walking the dog", its not the same as "going for a walk".
Also "going for a walk" in an urban environment is not the same as "going for a walk" in the forest. There are fewer ticks though and I was not harassed by deer flies, horse flies or swarms of mosquito's that does count for something. There is also much less chance of seeing a deer, birds other than sparrows and the only running water was run off and it doesn't burble, it burps.
I am still running home every day after work and I don't know why. The house is completely empty. I could be running errands and being all wild and free after work but I haven't yet, I could perhaps today because I might be getting a very lovely composter and if so, I will take a chance and be wild and free and pick it up after work - provided they call me, the manager is supposed to call me and quote me a price for the slightly shop worn floor model, the last one of its kind in the store. They need it off their floor and I want it in my yard, so this should be a good deal for us both. Or it won't be and I'll be sad and will continue without a composter and I'll be mad at Big Lots.
Also "going for a walk" in an urban environment is not the same as "going for a walk" in the forest. There are fewer ticks though and I was not harassed by deer flies, horse flies or swarms of mosquito's that does count for something. There is also much less chance of seeing a deer, birds other than sparrows and the only running water was run off and it doesn't burble, it burps.
I am still running home every day after work and I don't know why. The house is completely empty. I could be running errands and being all wild and free after work but I haven't yet, I could perhaps today because I might be getting a very lovely composter and if so, I will take a chance and be wild and free and pick it up after work - provided they call me, the manager is supposed to call me and quote me a price for the slightly shop worn floor model, the last one of its kind in the store. They need it off their floor and I want it in my yard, so this should be a good deal for us both. Or it won't be and I'll be sad and will continue without a composter and I'll be mad at Big Lots.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Marquette Photoblogging Maddness
I have a few pictures that haven't for one reason or another not been posted elsewhere yet and so to cure that problem , here they are.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Garden Day 8
When I was planning on coming home, knowing that I would be coming home alone, I made some plans about how I was going to fill the petless void.
My plans included cleaning out my wretched attic, removing some loose stones from the driveway and cleaning out drawers and closets throughout the house. This in turn was going to lead to a much needed trip to Goodwill. I was going to fill whatever additional time I had with a membership at the indoor pool and a vow to ride my bike at lunch.
And then I got home and got a look around.
The backyard is a jungle! I could spend days just trying to get it back into some sort of order! There is no floor space! You can not walk without stepping on a watermelon vine - Vines I want to point out that are not supporting melons. I looked through the mess and found two very, very young melons. I planted six plants! This is not a good outcome. The melons are only a small part of the jungle.
The tomatoes. Last year was a terrible year for them, I got very few and so In response this year I planted the hell out of them this year hopeing that if I planted more I might actually get some sort of harvest this year. It turns out that this year is a very good year for tomatoes. An outstanding year. I am going to have so many that even after I have drowned in them I will have buckets to give away.
I also planted a lot of peppers. I use them in cooking all year, I really like peppers. This year is not going to be a good year for peppers. I have gotten a total of two and that looks like the sum of it. The tomato plants strangled my pepper plants and they are now gone, they no longer live in my garden.
The corn plants, stayed put and I came home to a single perfect ear. I'm pretty sure that those will be all I get off my plants this year but next year I will plant more and plant over time and I will have a better harvest. The fact that the plants produced at all made me incredibly happy and so they earned a place next year too. Growing corn successfully in a container blocks from downtown made me feel like a farmer.
The green beans were working in my absences as well. Working in vain, but working. The pole beans must have been fab while I was gone because I pulled off a huge amount of over ripe beans, this made me sad. The bush beans however, produced a few days later and I was able to harvest all of those, they did a wonderful job and I have to rethink my pole bean bias and maybe plant both kinds again, this time on purpose.
And in the meantime, I'm going to sit in the front if the TV and clean out my DVR.
My plans included cleaning out my wretched attic, removing some loose stones from the driveway and cleaning out drawers and closets throughout the house. This in turn was going to lead to a much needed trip to Goodwill. I was going to fill whatever additional time I had with a membership at the indoor pool and a vow to ride my bike at lunch.
And then I got home and got a look around.
The backyard is a jungle! I could spend days just trying to get it back into some sort of order! There is no floor space! You can not walk without stepping on a watermelon vine - Vines I want to point out that are not supporting melons. I looked through the mess and found two very, very young melons. I planted six plants! This is not a good outcome. The melons are only a small part of the jungle.
The tomatoes. Last year was a terrible year for them, I got very few and so In response this year I planted the hell out of them this year hopeing that if I planted more I might actually get some sort of harvest this year. It turns out that this year is a very good year for tomatoes. An outstanding year. I am going to have so many that even after I have drowned in them I will have buckets to give away.
I also planted a lot of peppers. I use them in cooking all year, I really like peppers. This year is not going to be a good year for peppers. I have gotten a total of two and that looks like the sum of it. The tomato plants strangled my pepper plants and they are now gone, they no longer live in my garden.
The corn plants, stayed put and I came home to a single perfect ear. I'm pretty sure that those will be all I get off my plants this year but next year I will plant more and plant over time and I will have a better harvest. The fact that the plants produced at all made me incredibly happy and so they earned a place next year too. Growing corn successfully in a container blocks from downtown made me feel like a farmer.
The green beans were working in my absences as well. Working in vain, but working. The pole beans must have been fab while I was gone because I pulled off a huge amount of over ripe beans, this made me sad. The bush beans however, produced a few days later and I was able to harvest all of those, they did a wonderful job and I have to rethink my pole bean bias and maybe plant both kinds again, this time on purpose.
And in the meantime, I'm going to sit in the front if the TV and clean out my DVR.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
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