A big part of my morning was spent showing a home along with running a few errands. I couldn’t believe how some dwellings still have water standing in their back yards. Just today a gentleman “in the know” mentioned how he’s been hearing from a number of seniors who’ve lived here all their lives, never having seen water like we had the day before yesterday. Our City workers even had their big gas-fired water pumps in various locations to help keep the sewers from filling up with water which helped to keep peoples’ sewers from backing up.
My public open house at 1141 – 14th St. SE was a success to where there were several couples showing interest in it. The more I’m in the home, the more I’m exceptionally impressed by its design and quality of construction. Anyone who purchases it will likely not have any repairs to make on it for years to come. That’s how well it was built as well as meticulously maintained. It just goes to show how contentiously built homes out-last the “specs” that are always built with cost-saving mentalities, which are quite normal with our builders. Just remember, the more they can cut corners, the more they’ll make when they’re sold.
I was in a Craftsman Style home today which was likely custom built for the original owners back in the 1920’s. I was most impressed by the unusually large living/dining area which was originally designed without those separating pillars, bookcases, or arches. Without a doubt, seeing that was a first for me. Whomever designed it was a bit ahead of their time with its open concept. Another impressive sight was seeing its “tiger” oak woodwork that had never been painted. From what I’ve read, that type of oak is created by the way in which an oak log is cut which of course makes it all the more expensive due the popularity of its appearance, along with the more labor intensive process of creating it.
The buyer was impressed until we reached the basement where there were little streams of water seeping up from cracks in the floor. Personally, it didn’t bother me considering how high our water tables are now, but she thought otherwise by saying, “I’m not interested in a home that gets water in its basement. We all know there are remedies for seepage, but some simply close their minds and refuse to have anything to do with them.
It was my roller-coaster of an afternoon once the rains started. My cell phone when off twice with weather alerts. The first one was a tornado warning for our area, and the next one was a of a possibility of flash flooding. I was still at the office when it started, and believe me, the rain was coming down in sheets. Even the storm sewers on Federal Ave. were nearly filled to the brim. When it finally let up, I closed up for the day and headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things.
While on my way home, I wasn’t surprised to find streets closed once again due to the heavy rain. The underpasses were closed, and some streets had water running over the curbs to where there was only one lane traffic. I’m sure everyone’s sump pumps are working near non-stop. The creeks and waterways were spilling over their banks and turning people’s yards into sloughs. I don’t even want to think what’s in store for us come next week’s predicted rain. If this continues, we’ll all be up our creeks without paddles.
The above photo is one I took of an over-flowing waterway from today’s storm.
Tonight’s one-liner is: Carefully planned obsolescence is our corporate world’s dark way of promoting all the more un-necessary consumerism.
As a footnote to this evening’s one-liner. Aren’t we all getting really tired of expensive items we own such as appliances, furnaces, hot water heaters, air conditioners, windows, computers, and just about any and everything you can think of, magically breaking down soon after their warranties have expired? But all the more angering discoveries we make, are the costs of their parts and labor being so high, that we’re again compelled to buy new with extended warranties. Do you now see what vicious circles corporate manufacturers have us trapped within?
