Having awakened another hour earlier, I readied myself and headed to the office, just so I could catch up on the news coming of Russia, and before heading off to get some additional stripping done, the last think I read, was the head of the Wagner Group, leaving Rostov and heading in the direction of Moscow with his private army where he was expecting to have a show-down with Putin’s cronies.
Since I was busy for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, I wasn’t plugged into anything other than the focusing on what I was doing, and in spite of my not wanting to start on another sub-project, I dug right in until it was finished. Today’s five hour job, was getting the many layers of varnish and paint splats removed from a vintage medicine cabinet which I’ve had in my possession for a very long time, and after seeing the finished product, I’m glad I hung onto it because it’s going to be a perfect fit for a fully restored bathroom. What I always liked about it, was how markedly wider and taller it is, than the ones we’d normally find in old houses. I’m almost certain it was something a part-time carpenter made because it contains clear pine, black walnut and hard maple. Of course with all that varnish on it, I couldn’t see the grain until it was fully stripped. The last thing I have to do, is get it varnished, have a new mirror cut, put the hardware back on, and then hang it above a lavatory. I can already see in my mind how well it’s going to fit in that room.
I made it back to office in time to get cleaned up and changed into my street clothes, and then headed over to my afternoon showing. I got there about ten minutes early, and glad I did because I couldn’t get the lockbox to open, so I had to call the listing agent to give me a code. Thank goodness I managed to get it unlocked because my buyer had in the meantime, already arrived.
The showing didn’t go well, which I was expecting, and only because I could already see in the photos how much work would be needed to make it presentable. Unfortunately, my buyer hasn’t the means or time to be dealing with a number of very time-consuming projects, but at least it was something to use as a comparison for other homes we’ll be looking at. Having known that home from years ago, I was a bit sad over its present condition, but of course we never know much a new homeowner is going to do and not do. Oh well, I’m sure somebody will have the time and talent to bring it back to its original glory.
When I arrived back at office, I went back to my computer, just to see what’s been happening in Russia today, and to my shock, I read where Lukashenko of Belarus brokered a deal with Putin and Prigozhin who’s the leader of the Wagner group, to halt his march towards Moscow, and return to their posts, but what really got me stirred, was reading where Lukashenko is allowing Prigozhin and his 25K strong army, to move to Belarus. Now won’t that make the people of Belarus happy when knowing they’re going to be hosting convicted criminals who’ve likely done every possible evil known to mankind. As far as I’m concerned, all three of those criminal minds need to be placed on a boat to nowhere. I couldn’t help agreeing with one of the commentators who said, “This marching on Moscow isn’t even close to being over.” What really gets me, is knowing all three of them are old with near-future expiration dates, yet they think they’re going to live forever. There’s no question Russia’s pendulum is now beginning to swing, so we’ll soon see in what direction it’s going to be moving.
Later last evening, I had a nice chat with a prospective seller who’s now willing to have me look at her home, and possibly get it listed. Of course, as almost always in these times, I’m questioning the value sellers believe their homes are worth, so we’ll see next week after I give it a good looking-over. I guess if nothing else, I’ll list it at her price and see what happens.
There was another article in the Globe Gazette today about Rob Sand and the Town Hall meeting he had here on Thursday. It was a more in-depth report on what was said, and what I was reminded of today, was the lawsuit a group calling for freedom of information, which was decided in their favor by the Iowa Supreme Court. Now the State of Iowa has to pay $175K towards the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees. I couldn’t help agreeing with Rob Sand when me mentioned it was still a slap in the face for the Citizens of Iowa, and only because that $175K bill could’ve been avoided if our Governor had released those records in a timely fashion, and likely due to her mindset of being non-responsive and non-transparent. His mantra is: I want our State’s governments to be filled with efficiency and transparency. I read today where Clear Lake’s government has asked for additional direction from his office regarding the making of their city government more efficient and transparent, but it looks like Mason City didn’t ask for any guidance, which comes as no surprise considering the millions they’ve already wasted on that ‘ghost hotel’, ‘bridge to nowhere’ and that arena which will be continually running in the red for years to come.
I was a little miffed when seeing our dear Mayor Schickel asking our City Council to increase our City Adminstrator’s salary to well over $200K, the council members to be raised to over $12K, and of course his to over $20K. What puzzles me the most, are those salaries for elected officials who’re supposed to be serving our public out of their desire to make our City strong and stable, rather than a part-time job similar to moonlighting. I’m sorry, I really don’t think our mayor who’s 72 years old, is anywhere close to being in financial straits, as I’m sure both he and his wife are doing quite well considering the retirement incomes they’ve been receiving. Of course, I have to keep remembering, I’m just another one of those hillbilly ‘natives’ nobody wants to listen to their suggestions filled with nothing more than common sense.
The welcome rain has arrived, but unfortunately we’ve already has several downpours instead of a light rain, which soaks-in, rather than running off during cloudbursts. I haven’t yet looked to see when it’s supposed to stop, but when just now looking outdoors, the streets are beginning to fill at their curb-sides. At least our browning grass will start greening-up again.
I officially picked my first cucumber today, which had me delighted because I’ve rarely ever had fresh home-grown cucumbers in June, which I’ll be adding to my this evening’s meal. From the looks of it, today’s was the beginning of many more to come. I’m still a little concerned over the growth of my green peppers, as they don’t seem to be growing as fast as they should, so perhaps after today’s rain, they’ll be taking off. I’m sure that long dry spell has had a lot to do with it.
Someone asked me yesterday what I meant when saying something about a Squirrel’s Club. Well, I had to laugh a little before responding that it all went back to a time many years ago when my grandmother was casually talking about one of our relatives, and during that conversation, she abruptly said, “Well don’t you know, she belongs to the Squirrel’s Club.” Of course ‘fresh off the farm me’ had to ask, “Grandmother, what’s a Squirrel’s Club,” She then gave me a wicked smile while whispering, “It’s a club where a woman uses her tail to get what’s on her back.” I was quite taken aback, but as the years rolled on, I’d appropriately slip it into a conversation from time to time. Isn’t it amazing how when young, our minds are like sponges where all gets sucked in and stored-away for future use. The person asking the question yesterday, definitely got an information over-load. Now let’s see if you can store that little zinger for future use. OK, I’ll stop being wicked for now.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Show me the person you honor, and I will know what kind of person you are.