It was written a number of years ago about how global warming will create more radical weather patterns, and I think we’re seeing it today with not only having it so terribly cold earlier than normal, but also the arctic air masses that have arrived twice already. We haven’t even hit the official start date of Winter! I certainly got my workout with the shoveling this morning. I couldn’t be out in it very long due to the extremely cold wind trying to freeze my hands and feet. After hearing one of my clients tell me the wind chill is supposed to be -30 degrees tonight, I began worrying about people and animals. It never seems to fail when it’s so cold that there are furnaces going out and houses turning dangerously cold. Let’s all hope for once there’ll be no outages in North Iowa during this extreme cold spell.
My public open house at 507 – 4th St. SE was more of a success than I’d expected considering the weather. Everyone in attendance was surprised by all the updates. The kitchen is what I think is the real selling point. The half bath on the main floor is also a bonus since most turn-of-the-century homes only have water closets on their second floors. Every time I’m in the home, I get a warm and fuzzy feeling about it. I’m sure it’s because of all the light entering it as well as its room sizes. Of course the beautiful oak woodwork and floors are a bonus. It’ll get sold, but I do hope whomever purchases it takes as good care of it as it has been since it was built.
One of my clients sent me an e-mail today regarding a book he’s been reading. I thought the subject of his current read to be quite a coincidence since my words to you last night were about how reporters create discord by putting such nasty thoughts into the minds of their readers. The book he’s reading is called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. He speaks about how everything you say, hear, and do, makes and imprint on you, as well as other other people, and in the end, going out into the entire universe. We are supposed to already know it, but refuse to practice it all the time. Interesting concept don’t you think? I’ll have to do some of my own investigating on the author as well as his book.
Several of my customers stopped today to chat and during our conversation, his wife mentioned something about making dinner tonight. I asked, “What’s for dinner?” She said, “Lasagna.” Instead of just letting it go, I continued on by asking how she makes it, what ingredients she uses, and how it’s baked. The more we talked about it, the more I could see that aromatic lasagna in my mind to the point I could even smell it. After they left, I suddenly realized why the multiple questions. There’ve been numerous times when I’ve been invited to gatherings where lasagna was being served. Believe me, I’ve seen some pretty scary attempts being made at creating one of America’s favorite casserole meals. In remembering just a few, I’ve found the pasta overly dry from being in the oven too long. I’ve discovered it too mushy and soft to where it gets goopy and mushy. I’ve even seen it with so few ingredients, it looked like pasta shells with a jar of spaghetti sauce poured over it. Fortunately my visitor today makes everything from scratch with the exception of the pasta shells and meat. She and I both agreed that Italian sausage is the best of meats to use. Isn’t it funny how just the mention of a familiar meal like lasagna can invoke all our senses when talking about it? Do you think the Medici’s served lasagna at table?
I thought I’d share the above photo, so to remind us all what today’s weather was like when out sweltering under next summer’s sun.
With our extended snowfall today, it turned out to be a bit slow with walk-ins and phone calls. Those freed up hours allowed me to begin a daunting task of property research that’ll continue to keep me busy on and off over the weekend.
Here we are just about a week away from Christmas with snow on the ground, a more than crisp chill in the air, and above all, more white stuff on the way this weekend. It looks like we’re going to have weather that’s conducive for an Ole Fashioned Christmas, so lets make the best of it. I believe it was not too many years ago when we were getting snow nearly every weekend during that winter. I mentioned to a client this morning how well I remembered it because I thought I was going to go out of my mind with the endless shoveling of snow. I said, “By the time Spring arrived, I found I was becoming somewhat of a snow shoveling automaton to where if there was even the slightest dusting of snow, I was on it.” He laughed and said, “You must’ve been one of those old time spring-loaded shovelers with a hair trigger.” I believe he got my drift.
Well, after getting whacked on my head by my trunk lid not opening quick enough, I have myself brought back up to speed again regarding how the extreme cold can affect some of the simplest of mechanisms. I thought it went up to it’s normal height while opening until I went to get something out and got a good head bonking. The very same thing happened several winters ago. Ouch! Another lesson had to be re-learned.
It certainly was a bit of a hodgepodge day when finding myself the butcher, baker, and candlestick maker with the peripherals that always seem to be somehow connected to real estate sales. Since we’re in the midst of another bright winter full moon, I think the temperaments of many were a little on the hot side after hearing a story about an argument that got pretty heated with several workers. The amazing thing about some workers, is that they work harder at getting out of work rather than simply getting it done. I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve had to cajole people over the years into doing their jobs in a timely and professional manner. There always has to be something that has to shut down the assembly lines of progress. Many use the excuse of management vs worker differences being “generational”. “Hogwash” I say. When it comes to doing an agreed to job for a given per hour or monthly amount has absolutely nothing to do with any generation out of which they’ve been cast. It’s a flimsy excuse that’s unfortunately believed by many. I’ll scream if I hear of another impasse being generationally created.
Ouch! The cold today was exceptionally biting. It’s no wonder with it being minus 4 degrees when I pulled out of the garage this morning. I know there are some possessed people for whatever reason who like winter. Perhaps they created a different mindset in their younger years. Having grown up on a farm, it was the time of year I despised because there was no heat in the barns. Carrying pales of feed and water over snowbanks to outlying sheds was not fun. Yes, perhaps playing outside in the winter while being able to go inside whenever you’d feel the need to warm up, could possibly be why some enjoy winter.
In attempting to not be wimpy about the snow, I worked hard at keeping my chin up this morning when seeing how much snow we received. The snowplows must’ve been out very early when finding all the highways and streets plowed. With shovel in hand, I worked for about two hours getting the necessary shoveling done. I’m glad it was on a Sunday morning instead of a week day because there would’ve been more foot traffic on the sidewalks before I would’ve had it cleared off. I really don’t mind shoveling snow as long as it’s not too deep or too wet. I also don’t like when the wind is blowing and the temperatures are hovering around zero. I’ve had my share of dealing with sidewalks and driveways when it wasn’t fit for man nor beast outside.
Here it is December the 10th and we’ve received our first good helping of snowfall. With its arrival, I can’t be more vocal about everyone driving according to there weather conditions. I noticed a good number of people out slipping and sliding at the intersections Downtown this afternoon. The intersections that are the most dangerous, are those that have a small rises in the streets before getting to the corners. They’re always harder to come to a normal stop. The one culprit corner is at the intersection of South Monroe and 2nd St. SW—especially if you’re eastbound on 2nd Street SW near the railroad underpass. That is a tricky incline and decline. I wonder how many fender benders were caused over the years because of it.
Several really positive things happened today. The first is that even though it’s cold outside, the wind has finally dissipated. Thank goodness! One of the people who works in a building near my office stopped me this morning in the back alley for an early morning chat. He was also thankful the wind finally stopped since he has about a half hour drive to get to work. We townspeople really don’t realize how hazardous it can be for workers when having to drive from other towns to get here. Nearly every morning while driving to the office, I see Hancock County, Floyd, and even Kossuth County plates on some of those vehicles. Most of them must work at Mercy Hospital because those two corners are usually where they turn off. I pity those coming from Kossuth County because that’s certainly a very long winter stretch of Hwy 122.
Another colder and more gray day has passed here in North Iowa as we continue to huddle closer to the heat vents and wishing it was all over. I happened to loose my gloves yesterday, but fortunately they were returned by a client this morning after finding them where I suspected they’d been left. It’s all part of having to keep track of one or two more things during these winter months.