Backed In A Corner Rat

Just this morning I’ve noticed how quickly the Sugar Maple trees are now starting to turn, which has always been but one more reminder that we’ll soon be seeing all the branches of our trees, completely naked of greenery, and then having to wait more months than we’d like, to see them sending out new growth, which is why I’ve come to the conclusion we have only six months of green, and the remainder only fleeting memories of it all.

I had a relatively busy day at office with first of the month accounting, errands, and stop-overs to current listings. Since it was such a pleasant day, I began looking for excuses to be out in it. The weather channel mentioned we’re supposed to have a warmer than normal October, which will be just fine by me. I am hoping those overnight lows Friday will get rid of the remaining bugs we have flying about. There’s still enough of those annoying mosquitos, biting flies and gnats around, so maybe Friday will greatly reduce their numbers.

My second showing at Prairie Place on 1st went well to where I believe I’ll be getting a call from my buyer tomorrow asking to set a time to meet and make an offer on it. There was a friend who was accompanying the buyer today, and all the comments made, were on a positive note, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. I have no doubt the buyer will be a perfect fit for that unit, and fortunately one of the first owners was in the lobby, so we had a nice visit with her. I can’t believe it’s been five years since I sold one of the units to her, and she’s still loving it. One can tell she means every word she says.

Upon return to office, I busied myself with getting several little projects done in my office’s conference room. Since I didn’t have any scheduled appointments, I buried myself in them until they were completed. Whenever I’ve agreed to do something for a client or customer, it grinds on me until it’s finished, which is why I’ve learned the hard way that if it’s waiting for me, then it had better get completed more sooner than later, because the longer it hangs, the more annoyed I become with myself.

I thought I’d have time this week to take a few hours off to get some mowing done, but it looks like it’ll have to wait until this weekend because I don’t have any large time slots available, but at least it’s not growing as fast as it has been. I also have walnuts to pick up at an old clients home before the squirrels run off with them. Since I used nearly all the nuts I cracked last year, I’m gonna see if I can do a repeat by shelling, cleaning and cracking the 2,300ish I did last year. It really wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be, other than being very methodical.

A tree person is supposed to look at two trees tomorrow and give me a bid on them, and if I don’t hear from him, it’ll be one more example of how exceptionally annoying it’s become when finding people who say they’ll do something, but never show up. Just today I spoke with a person who works for a corporation who was saying the same thing about keeping help, because more often than not, they’re there for a short period, and the next thing you know, they’re handing in their resignations. We both have absolutely no idea where they’re getting funds to keep roofs over their heads, along with having enough to eat, let alone all the monthly bills that never seem to go away. Personally, I’ve never seen anything like it. It all started around the time the pandemic arrived, but I still find no correlation, because the government stimulus checks are long gone.

Thanks to hurricane Ian, we’re going to see building material prices on the climb again, which is going to put the brakes on home improvements. Hurricane season has just begun, and from the sounds of it, our coastal regions have yet to see the last of it, and all thanks to global warming. I’m hoping and praying we’ll not have tornados this Fall like we had in December of last year, because that was very scary.

The last of those San Marzano tomatoes I had laid out to ripen, are now red, so hopefully I’ll have time to get them converted to that delicious sugar-free catsup I made from a very old recipe. I’ll be tweaking the recipe a little bit more, just so it’s worthy of being called the best to be had.

Around lunchtime, I stopped at Kwik Trip to grab a hot dog, and for some reason, it didn’t taste as good as they normally do, which means they either switched brands, or my taste for them has changed. I think it’ll be a while before I buy one from them again. It still amazes me how many people frequent their mart on a daily basis. There’s an attraction which I personally still do to see.

When reading and listening to the news out of Ukraine today, it looks like the Ukrainian army is continuing to build momentum to where even Putin’s so-called “elites” are losing morale and turning-tail in opposite directions. The pundits are saying this is critical time for them to take back as much territory as possible, because when winter arrives, their ability to advance will be greatly slowed.

They claim Putin has sent a train bound for Ukraine which is carrying atomic weapons. They’ve also discovered his next-gen submarine carrying nuclear warheads is now in the Arctic ocean. He’s certainly trying to send everyone running out of fear over him pushing his nuclear buttons. Well, unless he’s gone completely mad and does it, he’ll for sure be putting the final nails in his coffin. Yes, he’s that backed in a corner rat from his youth he likes to talk about, so we will see.

Tonight’s One-liner is: If opportunity doesn’t knock, then build a door.

Joe Chodur

About the Author | Joe Chodur

First of all....Joe Chodur really doesn't like talking about himself but this is what we have found out about him. Joe Chodur began his real estate career in 1981 during the height of the savings and loan crisis. It's hard to imagine how difficult it was to sell homes when…

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