I certainly wasn’t expecting this morning’s rain along with this afternoon’s which threw a bit of a wrench in my plans for both morning and later afternoon. Hopefully it’ll be a rain-less Sunday where I can get out and get some much-needed yard work done. Those darned “best laid plans” seem to wither whenever Mother Nature gets involved.
Before heading to office, I stopped and placed open house signs at opposite corners of 36 S. Illinois, just so our early morning drivers would see them. On my way to office, I noticed some activity already going on over in Central Park which were likely those vendors getting themselves prepared for this morning’s farmer’s market. I happened to notice my “neighbor” next door already within and likely also preparing something to sell in Central Park. I hope the vendors did well considering the light rain we were getting.
There were calls that came in, as well as calls to be made, and once I had everything under control, I discovered I had a good three hours of free time to kill before my open house, so I sat myself down at piano and ran thru a number of practice pieces, and as always, I’d saved the longest and most difficult one for last.
After finishing my piano work-out, I looked at my wooden floors and said to myself, “It’s time to get them scrubbed.”, so off I went to fetch my bucket, mop and floor soap. I knew that by the time I’d have them cleaned, it would be just enough time to grab a quick bite and then head over to my open house, which is exactly how it ended. It’s too bad those floors can’t continue to glow like they were after I finished. It’s not by any means they were filthy, but rather dimmed by the sticky dust that gets tracked into my office on a daily basis. Considering how long they’ve remained in such good shape, I’m ever-thankful I spent extra hours on prepping them for their lasting coats of varnish.
I had a grand total of three different groups of people at my open house which had me engaged nearly the entire time. One of the groups was showing some very good interest, but unfortunately their home which they recently listed, has not yet sold. Considering where it’s located, I won’t be surprised if I get a call saying they sold it and ready to buy. Thank goodness there were people in attendance because nearly all the Realtors have given up on open houses due to the amount of activity they get on their new listings. Truth be told, I almost didn’t know how to act considering it’s been well over a year since I’ve hosted an open house and believe it or not, I can still remember the last one which I finally sold after many months of marketing. Considering the number of hours I spent on it, I was very thankful I managed to sell it myself.
With it beginning to rain again just after leaving my open house, I headed back to office and dropped off my signs and then proceeded to do a little more than a little non-real estate related research which had me so consumed, I lost all track of time until I just happened to glance at the clock. For goodness sake, I had my nose in that computer for well over an hour and a half, but at least I did find what I was looking for, and more.
On my way home, I stopped to take a look at what was “growing” in the temporary greenhouse garden they always have at the Hy-Vee Drug which is across the street from the hospital, and for some reason, I could swear they’re still trucking more plants in because they were offering more varieties than they had when I was there last. I did purchase several pots of ornamental grass which I’ve come to like, and since they’re the perennial type, I figured they’d be a good addition to my small flower bed. I’m still looking for the ornamental grass one of my clients has which surrounds the perimeter of their patio, and had me fully captivated by its beauty and size. If all else fails, I’ll have to take them up on their offer which would be taking a portion of their root clumps because they’re similar to the hosta which continues to expand outward where they can be quartered and not have much of any effect on the plant, so if you want to add more hostas to your garden, get to know those who have big circles of them growing, as I’m sure they’d let you have at least a quarter. There’d be many more beautiful hostas growing in our City if those evil deer we have running around, would stop eating them down to the ground.
While in conversation with one whom I’ve known for a good many years, we happened to land on the subject of the state of our public school systems in the United States. I shared some information I’d received recently from one who’s more in the know, and if what was told be true, I’d say there’s a huge discipline problem which is getting to the point of being un-heard of in modern times.
I’ll admit I’m truly a dinosaur when it comes to education because back in my day, if you even thought about sassing a teacher, you’d be immediately sent to the office where you’d be chastised, but the worst of it, was when parents were called. Ouch! As many in that era knew, it wasn’t the “yell” you had to pay at school, but rather the “hell” you’d be paying once you arrived home. Are school administrations to be fully blamed? Absolutely not because I believe discipline begins at home, and every time I hear of a parent going to battle with a school’s administration over something they deep-down “knew” their child had done wrong, that’s when I’d be standing my ground. It’s no wonder more parents are sending their home-disciplined children to private schools because they’re seeing what effects such environments are having on them. Did you know that back in the 1960’s and 70’s, there was a public school Physical Ed teacher who insisted all the boys were to go naked whenever there was a scheduled swimming class. Can you imagine what sort of extra mental stress was being placed on those boys, and especially if they came from religiously strict households? Such hundred and one percent craziness was going on even back then.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Where is the knowledge we lost with information?
