The blast of cold we got out of the north, definitely gave us our first taste of winter, and you can believe I was bundled up whenever out and about today. If only the wind wasn’t blowing, it would’ve been just another sunny late-Fall day. Speaking of the sun, have you noticed how low it’s now hanging? Well, it’ll continue to drag down until less than a month from now, and then it will begin its march back north again. Yeah! In just three more days, our moon will be full once more.
My morning was pretty much taken up with emails and phone calls I needed to make, and after getting all the information I needed, I began replying to those who were waiting for answers, so hopefully everything will be settled down by the end of this month. While on the phone with one particular person, I had to bite my tongue more than once, just to keep from railing on one who was trying to get me to believe something I was near-positive wasn’t true. It’s absolutely amazing how some think they can get others to believe everything that comes out of their mouths.
I wanted to make sure you all know that I just recently reduced 1012 N. Carolina a whopping $10K, just so we can get some renewed activity on it. Without a doubt, that home is well worth what they’re asking, and especially when considering all the recent upgrades which include newer thermal windows, a new furnace, permanent siding, updated bath with a stack washer/dryer hook-up, a newer double garage and a super-sized fenced yard which I would personally turn into an amazing organic vegetable garden. It’s now priced at $114,500, so help me git’er sold!
Now that our overnight temps are dropping down into the teens, I made sure to check on vacant homes, just to make sure their furnaces were working properly, and thank goodness all was well. With the advent of sophisticated high-energy efficient furnaces, there’ve been all the more furnaces going out, which is why I’ve been encouraging people to get their furnaces fully inspected before hard winter arrives. There’s no question planned obsolescence is being built right into today’s furnaces. Back when I was young, we never had an ounce of problems with our Montgomery Ward forced air furnace, and likely because it had a continuous-burning pilot light, no computer boards, and a motor that was six or more times the size of what’s in today’s furnaces. Yes, it’s all about building as cheaply as they can, just so they can make more money off our consumers.
While out checking on homes today, I just happened to notice the Egloff House which is located at 312 E. State St., and rather shocked when seeing how many more cracks there now are in its exterior stucco. My gosh! It reminded me of huge spider webs, and by the looks of it, I’m now wondering if anyone is living there.
I’m sure you all remember the big push there was to save that home because of it ‘International’ design, which was well and good, but when knowing the thousands upon thousands of dollars that went into moving it from its original location, creating a new foundation, and all the restoration involved in putting it back to its original form, I’d say someone in our city or whomever’s in charge of it now, had better be putting it to a good use instead of leaving it set there gathering dust.
If I’m not mistaken, I believe Robin Anderson who used to be the head of our Chamber of Commerce, had big plans for it to be used as a place where visiting artists and architects could live while doing their studies. Back when I read about it, I shrugged it off as another hair-brained idea that wouldn’t come to pass. Not long ago, I read something where they were looking for a live-in custodian, so perhaps they are putting it to some sort of use. For whatever reason, I do know there’s one heck of a big tax exemption on it as well. Believe it or not, I showed that home way back in time when it was on the market before the previous owners purchased it. The only thing I found remarkable about it, was its staircase leading to the second floor. With that home now facing south instead of north, I’m sure that 2nd floor family room gets hotter than ‘H’, and all due to that huge bank of glass block on its south-facing wall, and no trees to help block the sunlight. I can only imagine how bright it now is with our low-hanging sun. Talk about getting a sun bath!
I was bristling again today after seeing a back-packing biker stopping and peeking into my office mailbox, and for sure he must’ve been flying high because about five minutes later he was back again, and to make matters worse, I happened to hear something at the back door of my office, and by the time I looked out, there he was, scratching around in a small pile of gravel which was next to one of Alliant Energy’s transformers. Considering how noticeably tall and scruffy he appeared, I’ll wager he’s another ‘newbie’ to our city. Where in the heck are they coming from? I was hoping once it got good and cold outdoors, the numbers of those wanderers on bikes and on foot would diminish. So much for that wishful thinking.
About a half hour before closing time, I sat myself down at piano and ran thru what I’m to play at First Congregational Church this Sunday, and after that was done, I went back and grabbed a Christmas song book my long-deceased sister sent me almost 30 years ago, and on the inside cover she mentioned something about me learning one or two of them, just so I’d be ready to play them for her the next time she visited Mason City, so I sat down and started with the first one, and by the time I finished, I discovered I could easily play all fifty of them. I’m confident she was smiling down on me as I was running thru them, and yes, there’s likely not a day that goes without at least one touching thought of her.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Death is no more than passing from one room to another.
