With our City on a burn with its greening-up, I’m more fully understanding the affect its been having on our greenery by all the rain we’ve received when seeing how often people are mowing their lawns. It’s only been five days since my yard was mowed, and it already received another clipping today. Grass just loves grow all the faster when it’s cooler, along with being fed copious amounts of rain. At least our sump pumps aren’t dumping so much water out onto our City’s streets. Some day soon, we’re going to talk about modern-day cisterns.
Every time I hear someone putting down a very well built home that was originally sided with either redwood or cedar, I think to myself, “How crazy can you be?” I’m fully familiar with cedar and redwood, and if it’s painted with quality paint by a good painter, it’ll hold for many years. Not long ago someone actually had the idiocy of offering a deeply discounted amount on one of those homes, and referenced it as being the amount it would cost him in the future to side it with “permanent” siding.
All those so-called “permanent” sidings have color fades, vinyl crackings, and if there’s any damage done to one side, you’d just better figure on re-siding that side, and that’s if, and only if the lumber yards still carry those colors and/or designs. Now if you have redwood or cedar siding, it’s another story. If the lumberyard doesn’t have the style you need, a woodworking shop can make a piece or two which will fit perfectly. So instead of re-siding an entire side of a home, that’s all you’d have to do replace the damaged boards and re-paint that particular side.
You’re likely wondering why all the more people don’t side their homes with redwood or cedar. The major reason is the cost of today’s lumber. I personally prefer wood siding over metal or vinyl because I’m convinced it offers our homes the opportunities to “breathe” all the better. It’s amazing how preferences travel in circles. Nearly all older homes had hardwood floors and ceramic tiles, and then came carpet and vinyl, and here we are back again to the hardwoods and ceramics. I don’t even want to remember the times I’ve seen acceptable looking carpets being ripped up, and then having full view of what was lingering below. An old-time, and long term carpet installer once said, “There’s absolutely no way you can keep carpet completely dirt-free.”
Today, for the first time in my life, I actually saw a bluebird! I was so excited because I’ve only seen photos and videos of them. If I only had my camera with me so to share it with all of you. Many years ago while growing up, my mother had a print of one hanging on a wall, which was of a little girl seated outdoors and looking up at a bluebird in a tree. I’m not sure whatever happened to it, but I do remember it well. Mother used to refer to it as “The Bluebird of Happiness.”
It was my normal day for real estate with the fielding of calls and appointments. It looks like my appointment calendar is beginning to fill for the week. Our office is near the point of begging for more listings due to the number of sales we’ve had since the first of the year, so please put the word out.
As I was driving home, I began thinking about a little tug-of-war a couple I know that are arguing about an improvement the wife wants to make, while the husband for some reason, continues to resist. It certainly can’t be about money with them because they’re quite financially secure. I’m tempted to relay to the husband something a clever great aunt of mine said to her husband when “little me” overheard them squabbling about something that was home related. I laugh to myself whenever remembering her words being, “Just remember my good husband, when it comes to house and home, what’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is my own.” She most certainly was a woman before her time.
Tonight’s one-liner is: True freedom is frightful.
