Real Estate Realities

     Unless you are a gypsy, you can't just pick up and move. You need a house to move into.  To get that, you probably first need to sell the house you are in.  To sell the house you are in, your buyers more than likely need to sell the house they are in.  And their buyers may also need to first sell their house.  How is it ever possible for anyone to move? 

      We had a house shopper coming Saturday, so first worked outside before it got too hot.  We moved temporary fencing from the front pasture to the round pen area.  I mowed where the fence would not reach and then we set it up for the cows to "mow" the rest. 

     With the drought, the back pasture is not growing and needs a rest.  And the horses have pretty well done in the back paddock.  Rain is so needed, then we could get our last cutting of hay and alfalfa, and turn the horses and cows out on the front and side pastures.

     By noon we were in from the heat and started cleaning for a late afternoon house showing.  Joe vacuumed while I dusted and mopped where needed.  At least picking things up is not a big chore, because we keep it well picked up.  To the right, Abbey has made herself blend in to part of my "jungle" theme.  The shopper's three children cracked me up.  They were so excited about country life, livestock, the yard, and the playground.  The two girls claimed Britney's room as theirs and even picked out who would get which bed. Ha ha ha.  The 6'3" dad noticed the shower heads were tall enough, but about got whacked by the ceiling fan in our bathroom.  oops.

     In the afternoon, I moved the cows back and gave the horses time in the temporary grazing pen.

     Come evening, it was cooling off outside and a cool breeze had blown in.  So, I decided to work and ride Roni, spending two hours messing with him.  He did very well for me the whole time.  I rode him around here

and over at Becks for a little over
an hour and was sad to think these great rides would one day come to an end.  I love Roni's responsiveness, get up an go, and willingness to try.  I wish he wasn't so jumpy, but this evening's ride went with, very little spooking on his part and we both were relaxed and enjoyed being out together.

     The struggles with Stew and keeping the water tub upright continued for a few days.

     I bought groceries and household supplies Sunday after working in the nursery and then going to church.  It appeared we had the day off from house hunters, so I spent the day doing some house shopping myself.  There is a lot of information you can
                                                           collect about a place through on-line
searches.  I love the satellite view and zooming in to get a close look at the property and neighborhood.  It is difficult to tell topography though.


     Joe was finally able to solve the water tub tipping problem. 

     We had Dan and Valencia for spaghetti dinner, but Daniel wasn't feeling so good, so the visit was low key and short.  I walked the dog after nightfall and still worked up a sweat. 
                                                                Monday I didn't make it to Water
Lilies.  Guess I was low on motivation and short on time.  But I did head outside around 8am to work in the flower beds and garden.  I discovered that the chickens had gotten into my mums, eating over half of the lavender mums and a few of the yellow flowers.

     I picked and fixed veggies and apples, making a Waldorf salad and a vegetable marinade salad for our evening's pot luck.   I also spent some time reading and relaxing.  

     I went out Tuesday morning, after my ritual of tea, peanut butter on toast, and a few cookies.  It was going to get hot so I started my planting project right away.  I was moving Day Lilies from out in the front pasture, to around the west and north side of our picnic shelter.  Notice the chicken near by hoping to help dig.

     Brother also tried to get in on the action.  Look at the claws on this guy.  He did manage to snag my leg once. 








     I was not finished after three hours, but was hot, sweaty, tired and hungry... so called it quits at noon.  This is what I had accomplished.

     I did a bunch of cleaning after lunch because we had two appointments to show the house.  The 4:00 never showed and I had to leave to give blood, so Joe, who was working at his computer from home, would have to show the house.  A random guy came up the drive before the 5:00 showing, so Joe showed him around.  And the contractor with his dad and two building buddies were still here when I got home at 6:30.  They were giving the house a good looking over, this being their second visit.  A window blind in the living room had gotten broken in the process, later taking me a half hour to fix.  The man seemed ready to put together an offer for us, so we waited to hear.

     At sunset there was a swarm of locus all around in the yard...

and nearly as many barn swallows swooping and diving trying to catch these large bugs.  The bird's flight would become very difficult and awkward while hauling their prey to a good landing pad... or they would just let go of their catch.

     Wednesday there were 21 Water Lilies and a group of 9 high school girls who came to join us in the pool.  The school has partnered with the park district and will be bringing PE classes to the Replex every day this week.  I had to leave early to get to a dentist appointment on time, and was glad I got out when I did, because all the girls were soon in the locker room too. 

     I didn't have any cavities so celebrated by going from the dentist, with my clean teeth, to McDonnalds for a hamburger and chocolate milk shake.  Then I went to Target where I spent a great deal of time swim-suit shopping.  They were 30% off, so I bought two. 

     The horses were ready to come into the barn when I got home just after noon.  The cows were out of water, having drank it all, (not spilling it).  In no time at all, I was a sweaty mess while out feeding and watering.  It was too hot to do anything else outside, and I really didn't want to do house cleaning, so I read and napped with Brother on the front porch.

     Thursday morning I woke up at 12:30 and could not get back to sleep, so came down stairs at 1am.  I sat here at my computer catching up on Facebook and then did more house shopping and comparing of homes, looking at all the pros and cons.  Part of me would love to get a newer, more elegant, more costly house, and part of me says be practical and thrifty.  I think house location/neighborhood is most important.  We want a little distance and privacy from our neighbors, to have some woods and if possible some water but we also want to be in the heart of Fairfield Glade... close to trails, pools and the workout center.  I finally got tired, and managed to sleep from about 3:30 to 6:30. 

                                                 I discovered this chicken the day after my
mums were attacked.  Her crop is way too full and she was having troubles swallowing.  So I started giving her oil, forcing it down with an eye dropper each day.  Once I took care of feeding and watering all the farm yard animals, I came in and started on this blog.  Then, when downloading a photo from the internet, my computer warned me of a virus and to download this program to remove the virus.  Well, when I did, I actually down loaded the virus and my computer locked up.  I tried everything I could think of, called Joe for some advice, and finally gave up and decided to go to Water Lilies, getting there a few minutes late.

     My computer was no better when I returned, so I headed outside to water everything and finish transplanting Day Lilies.  I added rock, sewed grass seed,  and fenced it all off to keep the chickens out. It felt great to finish this last planting project.  I couldn't get the riding mower started and had to bother Joe at work again.  Then while mowing, I ran out of gas.  I finally came in, mid-afternoon, to eat and give my computer another try, but it was hopeless.  I thought about calling Dan to come to the rescue, but decided to just wait for Joe. 

     Hercules has been molting.  Here he is with the last of his white tail feathers, bent and broken.  He has been laying low.

                                                                At 6pm, I headed to a new stable
with Courtney while Joe was messing around with my computer.  I got a tour of Country View Stables and loved what I saw.  It is going to make a great new home for Zorro, and will be fairly affordable for Courtney.  We stopped at LeRoy for groceries and Subway on the way home. Valencia and Dan were at the farm and he and Joe both agreed, the computer was "sick" and needed to go to the repair shop to rid it of the virus.  I was so mad at myself for downloading the virus and mad at whoever would do this to an innocent soul such as myself.  We all enjoyed subway before the kids departed for their homes.

     We finally got an offer on our house, although it was low.  Some terms needed to be clarified and put in the contract before trying to settle on a price.  That had me thinking that buying a home was becoming more doable and necessary, so our planned trip back to Fairfield Glade in Tennessee was well timed.  I was up late packing and preparing to be out of town.  Then at 11pm, I got a call from Daniel.  He accidentally crashed his car while he and Valencia were heading back to her house in Aurora.  Thinking he was on a different road, he tried to cross a railroad track in Towanda where the road had come to an abrupt stop.  The lighting was real bad so it looked like the road went over the tracks but it was not a railroad crossing.  Dan got his car stuck on the railroad tracks, damaging the wheels and under carriage, and it had to be towed.  Thank goodness the tracks were temporarily closed for repairs and no trains would be coming.  The police officer said this is the third time this has happened.  I woke up Joe and we took my car to Dan and didn't get home till 12:30 Thursday night. 

     Up early Friday and on the road at 9am, we drove to Tennessee.  Traffic near Nashville was bad and then we got a flat tire.  Seeing us struggling, this guy Jeff stopped to help us out.  Our jack didn't work well so we used his and then the tire was seized onto the hub and took great effort to get off.  This unexpected stop cost us an extra hour, so it was a little after 6pm by the time we got to the real estate office.  We looked at 9 houses which gave us plenty to consider during the night once we checked into the hotel.  I had no computer, and the battery on Joe's computer died before "lights out" and he had not packed his power cord, so we were not able to research much.

View of kudzu through window Joe had "washed." 

     Saturday morning we did some exploring at Fairfield Glade.  We dropped in on Roger, our new realtor and gave him some more houses to line up to look at.  Then we were off to have fun.  I dropped Joe and his clubs off at one of the golf courses and I headed down to Wildwood Riding Stables.  I arranged to eventually take Amiga there, only needing to give two weeks notice, and then went for a lovely trail ride.  After picking Joe back up, we went and looked at 8 houses, (4 of which were repeat viewings).  The "architect" house we looked at in July looked much better in sunlight.  The ranch house with cathedral ceilings throughout also appeared better during the day than the night before. The natural rock wall in back was so cool and the floor plan was really nice, with all of it being gorgeous.  We soon eliminated several houses we had been considering, and had narrowed it down to four or maybe five possibilities.

     Roger's car at real estate office.

     We left the real estate office and went to a golf course club house, having a drink while discussing our housing options.  We made a spread sheet and compared the three top choice houses to pick from.  Location, layout, size, newness, and price were all considered.  Finally deciding on the architect house and an offering price, Joe called Roger to give him the info, and then we went to dinner at a different golf course restaurant.  We proceeded from there to the community building to check out the possibility of going to a big band show for some ballroom dancing, but quickly decided we were under-dressed, under-experienced, and under-funded.  So we went for a lovely three mile walk instead, going by two house that were in our top three choices.

     Sleeping Saturday night was again difficult.  I kept second guessing our decision, wondering if we were rushing into buying the house.  Part of me was quite excited, and part of me was concerned.  I was hoping we could get a really good price, leaving us the money needed to do some repairs and upgrades.  I also questioned our decision of going after such a large home (2440 sq ft).  But it was a great location, a unique house, and one I could see us living in.  The house actually has 5 bedrooms, although three of them (which are on the second floor with a full bathroom) are quite small.  We plan to just close off the upstairs and not heat, cool, or clean up there unless we have overnight guests.  If  this house deal works out, we would love to have any and all of you any time you are up for the long drive to TN.  Fairfield Glade is a resort community, so there is plenty to do.  We will be able to give you a great rate on swimming, putt putt, 90 holes of "real" golf, horse back riding, boating, fishing, etc.etc.

     Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and went for a drive around Fairfield Glade, stopping in at the two marinas.  We had breakfast at a lake side park before meeting Roger at his office to sign all the papers and make our house offer official.  By 9:00 we were in the car and headed for home in Illinois, with lots on our mind.


     I do get anxious about selling the farm and buying a new home in Tennessee.  This also means moving Zorro to his new barn, Amiga to TN and selling Roni.  We have had a lot more house shoppers than horse shoppers, all whom have really liked our place.  The only two to inquire about dear Roni were not interested.  I know I need to just be patient and enjoy what I have for now... the time and place and horses.  I need to live in the here and now and not spend so much time dreaming and wishing.  The reality of real estate is that you just never know, and it isn't over until the closing.  C.S. Lewis said "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream."  So I won't let real estate realities discourage me.

     Lately, sleep has not come easy.  There is just so much on my mind. 
                                                           I can't wait to move back into town,
where all the action is and where I will have lots more walking options.  Farm life has been good and fun, but a lot of work.  Taking care of livestock is a huge responsibility, with many rewards and a few hardships.  It has definitely tied us down and wore us out.  So, I am looking forward to the next phase of our life... retirement resort living.

Intermission

     Carol and her two dogs got here shortly after noon on Friday, and I took a break from house "cleaning" to make tuna salad and eat a late lunch with her.  Kaysha and I met her new dog Meg.  After the short intermission, it was back to work.


     Carol helped me out with some decorating changes and then in the yard with our flower gardens.  They looked so much better after she dead-headed all the Geraniums, Day Lilies and Hosta.  She also gave everything a good drink.

     Ike tried to work it with the ball, knowing I was more likely to take the bait than Carol was.  We were ready for the 6:00 show (of our house) and took a few minutes to just hang out while we waited.  Meg is a super friendly, sweet dog.  She had jumped right up on the hammock with Joe.  (I missed getting that photo.)







     Once the house shoppers arrived, Carol took the dogs for a walk and I showed them around inside.  Then when Joe took them outside, I could get dinner cooking.  We had lamb stew and fresh green beans and corn on the cob.  Yum, yum, yum.  We took a walk to Brian's and back, and then were in bed fairly early. 

     We were on the road by 5:15 Saturday morning, bound for Chillicothe with two Border Collies in tow.  Carol and Ike competed fairly early in the morning, seen to the right waiting to start their run. 



 

     Carol and Ike did great, even getting the three sheep in the pen at the end of their run.  I enjoyed watching the different dogs and humans working together at the different levels of competition throughout much of the day.  It was nice sitting on the "side lines" talking with folks, soaking up some sun, and not having a care in the world to be concerned about.  What a nice intermission.

     Carol placed first in her class, being awarded a ribbon and some money.  Whoot whoot!
 
      Mid afternoon we left the trial and checked in at the hotel before going to the nearby park to hike in the woods.  Our first trail started out going straight up hill, and we both discovered how out of shape we are.


    
     This coral mushroom caught our eye so I took a photo of it.  It was so white and delicate looking. 

     We ate a picnic dinner back at the hotel and I was soon sound asleep. 

     Carol's class was first to run Sunday morning and she was first in the group to go, so we were back at the park before 6:30.  Here they are setting up the course as the sun is rising to the east.


     The fog was burning off the field during the handler's meeting.


     Then Carol and Ike's run began.  To the left he is bringing the sheep to Carol where they will be circled around the blue tub she is standing at.  Even though they were unable to get the sheep penned at the end of the run, they won first place again.

     We sat and watched more trials.  To the right, Meg is watching the sheep and dog work as if she were watching an exciting TV show.  She rarely took her eyes off the action and was happy to do this the whole time she sat with us.  We had an early lunch and packed up shortly after the awards had been handed out for the morning runs. 

     We took all three dogs for a walk at Becks when we got home, then Carol hit the road for Indiana.  Joe showed the house earlier in the day, and another couple came up the drive as he arrived home from the Replex.  My Intermission  was over.
 
     Shortly after the house shoppers left, Courtney picked me up and I went with her to look at a stable.  While there, Joe called to say that Amiga and Zorro had gotten out and were at Becks by the tracks eating grass, but would not let him get close enough to catch them.  So we cut our barn visit short while Joe waited out by the horses, keeping an eye on them.  (Maybe
he will be more careful about gates in
the future.)  Courtney parked her car blocking the lane, in case the escapees ran back to our yard and then tried to head out down the drive.  When she went out back with a lead rope, Zorro walked right up to her and she put the rope around his head and lead him back.  Amiga let me walk up to her, but Joe was distracting her with some grain.

     Finally having the scoundrels caught, we decided to work and ride them.  Zorro has lost so much weight that his girth could not be tighten enough to keep the saddle from slipping, so Courtney switched to her western saddle.



     I got Amiga tacked and ready to go and we joined Courtney in the round pen.  We also ventured out into the pasture a little bit.  I love how calm and willing Amiga is.


   
     Once done riding, I sat on the back paddock steps and watched the horses who came over to see what I was up to. 











     Missy kept a watchful eye on me.

     Monday morning the pool was cold and I was tireder than usual at Water Lilies, so when I got home, I had a hot cup of tea, laid out in the sun on a lounge chair, and promptly fell asleep, taking a 40 minute nap.

     I did, eventually, spend much of the day outside working around the yard.  Everything needed a good watering.  The temperature was rising, (of course it was the first day of school with students) getting near 90's... more like August.  Zorro likes to watch me work in the barn and Brother keeps tabs on both of us.

     When trimming some trees, I discovered this stash of eggs by the river birch in the paddock.  I wondered why the egg supply was so short lately.
  

     I weeded and picked produce from the garden before watering it.  All of the tomatoes went to Growth Group with me. 

     Tuesday started out leisurely, but I made a point to get outside early, to work before it got too hot.  I trimmed and thinned all the lilacs and sand cherry, getting this rather full wheel
                                                           barrow load.  The day was heating up
quickly and the cows had already come in off the back pasture seeking water and shade.

     During the heat of the day I came in and read, finally finishing the novel I had started while on vacation in July.  I also got Kaysha brushed well and her ears cleaned.


     Joe did some weed whacking when he first got home and then together we moved the fence that divides the paddock.  The horses have been scratching up their neck and faces (on the wood shed I believe) so I wanted to move fence so they can't get hurt. 


     Once done, they have a little more pasture, that will soon become dry lot, but only with this river birch fencing as an obstacle.  There is much less trouble for them to get into.

     However, the cows then needed to be kept on the back pasture while the horses are in the paddock.  Deciding to keep the horses out all night, I set up the water tub for the cows.  Stew knocked it over, spilling all its contents three times, before I could get it to stay put even as he tried to push it over.  I was very mad at him during the process and told Joe it was time to take Stew to market.





     Taking a break from hauling buckets of water to the black tub, I watched Roni graze as the sun set behind him.  Noticing some thistle going to seed I made a mental note to work on that later.  Always plenty to do around here.

     The sun set to the west...  as the moon rose to the east.  It was a blue moon, not the second this month, but the 4th this season (summer).











     Before bed, Joe told me about the architect house being dropped in price.  It is one of the properties I really like, in spite of it's drawbacks.  So I fell asleep with it on my mind and woke several times thinking about it.  Finally at 4am Wednesday I got up, worked here for a few hours and then took a one hour nap before Water Lilies.

     When I got home from the pool, I went straight outside to work more on trimming.  I took care of the three pine and the prairie willow in the paddock.  I also weeded out lots of thistle.

     The horses did fine outside all night, and when I brought them into the barn before noon, no one had new scratches.  They were ready for their late "breakfast" and the shade of the barn.  The cows were antsy and wanted shade and water so I herded them to the corn crib, moving one temporary fence post to keep them on the west side of the paddock where they could get to grass, the 100 gallon trough and the corn crib.

     My late lunch break was spent in the cool of the house (I turned on the air conditioning) watching a Love It or List It and folding laundry.  When Joe arrived home I worked on draining and cleaning the stock tank.  It is a two-man job to move it.  Once filled, it looked nice enough to jump in... but I resisted. 






     We ate an early, light super and then went  to the LeRoy Fall Festival to have ice cream, walk around and listen to the band.  There was no desire to ride any of the torture devices for thrills.




     The sun set as the gospel singers entertained us.  I had bumped into several Water Lilies, and realized how nice it is to have these friends.

     Thursday morning there was no need to get out to the barn early because no horses were in it.  It was misting or the heavy fog was dripping and I was hoping it would rain.  We really need precipitation.

     I worked most of the morning compiling a list of houses to look at over Labor Day weekend and questions to ask about each.  Our Fairfield Glade realtor retired so we have a new guy.  I e-mailed him to make sure we are all on the same page.  

     Just before noon, I went out to work with and ride Amiga.  Zorro and Roni watched us in the round pen from their stalls.  Amiga's stop and back still need a lot of practice, but her gaiting is very nice.
 

     I took her over to Beck's and we rode through some corn alleys and around on the grass paths.  She was calm and confident the whole time, but twice her back leg slipped or buckled or something... makes me a little concerned. 

     The wind picked up, temperature dropped and clouds rolled in.  Looked like a storm was coming, and it was time to head home anyway.





     After I had Amiga un-tacked, I tried to work on trailering.  She was not very willing.  I think with the wind and trailer rattling, it made her a little nervous.  After working to get her to walk up and look into the trailer, I rewarded her for putting her two front feet on and then took her to the barn.  It sprinkled for a minute, but never did rain.

     It was after 2:00 by the time I got done horsing around.  I watched TV while eating a late lunch... a rather large toss salad with plenty of fresh garden vegetables.

     Joe and I went back to the festival in LeRoy to eat dinner, a yummy pork chop sandwich, and listen to a show choir.  I took Kaysha for a long walk at Beck's before bed.  And I prayed for patience as I wait on God's timing for the buying and selling of our home and the sale of Roni. 


     Friday started out quite foggy.  Stew had not completely knocked over the water tub, but it was almost empty.  Maybe he knocked it around looking for more water.  And it looks like my camera lens has even more stuff on it now.  I am not sure what I want to do about either of these problems.

     The sun was quick to burn off the fog and it was already warming up as I headed to my 8:00 pool time.  I spent the bulk of my morning, after water exercising, doing more research on perspective homes.  I continued to battle with Stew over the issue of keeping the water tub upright.  And the rest of the day just zipped by. 

     Speaking of zipping by, this crop duster was really getting close, and appeared to be going quite fast at ground level.  With each passing day this week, it has been getting hotter and drier.  So I gave everything a good watering.  I let the sprinkler run gently by the chicken coop peach tree so that the peaches will get bigger and juicier as they ripen.  The robins where singing with delight... moist ground.

    Late in the day, Brother came to sit by me on a bench in the yard.  When Abbey came over too...  he got down and went to chill out by her.




    






     Hercules was quick to come over and intimidate Brother... and then when Brother came back over to me for protection, Hercules was in hot pursuit.





     We have had a long dry spell (five days off) on showing the house.  It has been a nice intermission but it will be back to work Saturday morning in preparation for an afternoon house showing.




     In the meantime, Joe is off at his monthly poker tournament and I am going to take Kaysha to LeRoy to walk and then sit at the festival to listen to another band.  And I may just buy me some more ice cream. :-)