In spite of it still being cold outdoors this morning, it sure started warming up nicely as the day rolled on. As much as the sun attempted to send down beams upon us, the cloud cover was just too great. Each time it would get past a thick clump, it was just as bright as could be, but unfortunately, short-lived.
Most of my morning was spent running errands and checking on a few vacant homes. One of them has been a problem child with furnace issues that’ve been troublesome for over a week, but according to the HVAC person, the issues with it were finally discovered, the parts replaced, and now running smoothly.
Since it’s been one thing after another with that contraption, I stopped twice today just to make sure it was working properly. So far so good, but I’ll likely be checking on it every day until I’m certain they did get it running properly. These high efficiency furnaces with all their electronic gadgets and circuit boards, create more opportunities for things to go wrong, and more sooner than later, they usually do.
I did go out early and place my public open house sign at the home I have listed at 1026 – 2nd St. NW, and later tomorrow morning, I’ll be placing my tent signs at the corners, just so there’ll be all the more drivers noticing it. Unfortunately, that home came on the market just before the holidays which is one of our “dead times” in real estate. Now that we’re getting farther into the month, the buyer activity should be picking up again.
I’m still not sure what the owner is going to do with that vintage spinet grand piano that’s in the living room of her home. For sure it would be quite the find for someone in one of our metro areas, but being out here in the hinterlands, I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to find someone wanting it.
When I looked at it more closely, I found it being in need of a good cleaning on the inside of its case, as well as the keys ivories calling for a re-furbishing, or even being replaced. Although it’s out of tune, it still has a good sound. When I did a little online research, that particular maker, “Decker Bros.”, was considered being on the quality level of a Steinway. It makes me exceptionally sad when finding all the fewer people showing any interest in playing piano or organ.
Just this past week, someone showed me a very old reed organ which was likely from the 1880’s. He thought it would be worth something, but after getting a good look at it, I turned to him and said, “Considering the amount of time, and especially money this instrument would need to make it even playable, I’d say the only value left in it, is its exterior solid walnut case.” He didn’t seem a bit surprised, because he likely asked my opinion for confirmation. He laughed when I told him that the last time I saw one like it, was one whenever I was in the living room of one of my childhood friends, and maybe twice in those years, his mother would seat herself down and play it. I believe the enjoyment of listening to one of them being played, has to be an acquired taste.
If I should happen to think about it, I’ll have to look on Youtube to see if there are any videos of someone playing one, and perhaps I will like it if the instrument is fully restored and very much in tune.
The young client whom I sat next to in church last Saturday night, stopped by my office this afternoon for a good chat since we’d not had time to visit in some months. Somehow we got on the subject of that church’s music, and wicked little me couldn’t help saying that in spite there being two people song leading, the only person in possession of a good voice, was the pastor himself. He actually agreed with me which dispelled the notion that I too often become overly-critical of vocalists.
I forgot to mention about yesterday, and the delightful conversation I had with a “newbie” to our City who recently moved here from eastern Iowa. When he started asking me about organic vegetables, and if there’s a market here in our City, we must’ve talked for nearly a half hour about the need for better foods, but when me mentioned something about raising goats, I couldn’t have been more delighted, because goats can be the most comical of barnyard animals. After I hung up from our conversation, I began thinking about how much more healthy our young families would be if they would focus on eating wholesome organically grown/raised foods. Believe me, it does make a healthy difference.
If he and his wife should decide to make North Iowa their home in the long-term, I wouldn’t be surprised if they purchase a small acreage and create a good income side-line by selling fruits, vegetables, and possibly goat cheese out of their homestead, because it sounded like he was raised on such an acreage. I wish them all the success.
Tonight’s one-liner is: A horse never runs so fast as when it has other horses to catch up and outpace.
