Since I was up so early yesterday morning due to those irritating gnat bites, I was happy to find last night’s rest was far more enjoyable, but unfortunately I was wide awake an hour earlier than normal, so I got up and readied myself for another pre-dawn arrival at office.
Fortunately when I arrived, I discovered some requests in my office email which I proceeded to get taken care of, and after getting them sent out, I began wondering if the recipients of them are now of the belief that I’m an even earlier than early bird. Truth be told, I’d much rather get as much of my desk work done before the phones begin ringing.
Before heading down to my appointment at that acreage to meet a gentleman from our County Health Department to get a well water sample, I decided to make my very first visit to Hart Brothers gun shop, just to have a good look at what they have to offer, and you can rest assured I was completely amazed at the amount of work they’d done to that building since it was The Party Store. Wow!
As I was walking up and down their aisles, I was more than impressed by the number of hand guns and hunting rifles they had on hand, along with discovering they also sell used firearms. Besides there being a large inventory, I found they sell the entire spectrum of price ranges. I definitely fell in love with an Italian-made 12 gauge shotgun which prompted me to say to the salesperson, “You know, I think just carrying this around would create quite an impression.” For a number of years I was in possession of my grandfather’s 12 gauge double-barrel which I managed to become noticeably accurate whenever shooting it. I’ll never forget the time I shot two pheasants with one shot, which was definitely a stroke of luck, and back when we had a huge problem with rabbits, I was also able to line two of them up and pop the both of them off with a 22 caliber. You can imagine the conversation I had with my mother over being able to drop two with one bullet? The key to my success, was my having to get down and dirty. Yes, once upon a time in another life, I was an above average marksman.
I was a little disappointed with our overcast skies while driving to the Dougherty acreage, and only because I was hoping to get some good sight-seeing done, along with possibly taking a few photos, but that didn’t happen, so the trip was a quick down there and back. Of course just as I was pulling back into town, the cloud-cover vanished.
Since I’d driven in on the east side of town, I stopped at HyVee East and picked up a few groceries, and while there, I ran into a familiar face whom I’d not seen in months, so we stood there and had a good chat. Since the swellings from those gnat bites weren’t completely gone, I had to tell him what caused it all. From the sounds of it, he has several friends who’re also sensitive to their bites, which became a comfort when hearing others were similarly affected.
Before heading to office, I stopped to check on a kitchen project one of my clients is working on, which appeared to be turning out better than I was expecting, so I’ll have to be sure and stop by more often, just to see the transformation unfold. I assured him once it’s completed, his home’s market value will likely rise a good $20K. Yes, custom kitchen make-overs definitely add value as long as they’re well-planned, good materials are used, and special attention to detail is followed. Don’t even get me started on the number of cobbled-up kitchen remodels I’ve seen in my day. I distinctly remember seeing one which was a ‘custom’ that you couldn’t have dinner plates stored on the shelves of the upper cabinets, and only because the contractor didn’t make them deep enough so the doors would close properly. I would’ve been furious if I were the owners.
I had to place a call to one of my sellers and ask if they’d call the City about a neighbor having left an old sofa and some other household junk which laying in the alleyway right in plain sight from the back door of the home I have listed, and the craziest of it all, is that particular home is listed with one of my competitors and now under contract. My goodness! Seeing that terrible sight is just one more example of this rampant ‘all about me’ mentality that’s plaguing our country. I wouldn’t even think of doing something like that to a neighbor, especially when they have their home for sale, because it’s borders on giving your neighbor the middle finger.
We’re still getting activity on my new listings, so hopefully there’ll soon be offers coming in on them. I think now that it’s growing colder outdoors, people are thinking about getting settled into a new home before winter arrives. I’m now beginning to wonder what our winter market is going to be like, and only because there’s just not that much inventory to choose from.
My watermelons are now ripening, so I’ll be delivering six of them to various people who said they’d willingly take them. I called my dear friend and asked if she’d take one, so I’ll be dropping one off at her home early tomorrow morning. I have two varieties, and the bigger of them have become giants to where the largest one just weighed-in at 32 pounds. I’m glad the family I’ll be gifting that one, are died-hard watermelon lovers. In spite of it being a very dry growing season, I’ve had very good luck with the tomatoes, bell peppers and watermelons. I’m thinking my carrots are going to be better than average, so we’ll see when I start digging them before the hard frost. We must always remember, carrots get sweeter tasting the longer they’re left in the ground. I just noticed where tomorrow night it’s supposed to get down to 43 degrees, which means the tomatoes and peppers will stop flowering for the season. Now, let’s all pray for rain.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Ignorance ain’t not knowin’ stuff; ignorance is knowin’ stuff that AIN’T TRUE.