After meeting a friend for lunch yesterday, then going grocery shopping, I came home and was putting away my groceries, when the phone rang.
It was the third party organization that makes phone calls to home sellers to alert them of impending showings.
There was to be a RE-viewing of my property by someone who had been here before!
Like a whirlwind, I tidied and cleaned and vacuumed. I had 45 minutes to prepare, and I only used 15, because I have been keeping the place as close to ready as possible, after THE ONE TIME I wasn't prepared, and there was a showing while I was out.
(incidentally, it was these people who came through on the "messy day" who were coming back for a second look!)
I put out the word for prayers and good vibes, and then vacated the premesis. (spell check will not let me spell that word ANY way ... so I hope this one is correct!).
I met a neighbor in the hallway who could not believe I was going out without a winter coat on!
I explained that I was not going out into the frigid winter weather, but instead, was headed down to the lobby. I was going there, with a book, to wait for a showing on my place.
She graciously invited me to wait in her place down the hall, instead of down in the lobby.
So, I sat in her home for an hour and 5 minutes, and we gossiped and watched the security cameras on her t.v. No one ever came.
Once back in my condo, I confirmed, no new business card.
No one came.
So, I sent an email to my realtor to ask her to find out why, and changed my focus to making dinner for a friend.
The friend arrived, we talked for a while, as I cooked, and we sat down to eat.
As we were eating, someone unlocked the door and came in! Two and a half hours LATE!!! But, they finally did come.
The realtor was going to leave, but I know how things like that turn out....they never, EVER come back....so I insisted she come in with her THREE clients.
She apologized profusely when she realized just how late they were. She apparently had NO idea....and they walked through.
We ate up our dinners in a flash in order to get out of the kitchen for them. We heard them opening the shower curtain, and the closet doors.
They browsed, and the woman who is considering the purchase dawdled and lingered, and wanted to look out of the patio door again. She really seemed to like the place.
So, we shall see!
I am trying not to get too hopeful, because every time I have allowed that to happen, I have been very disappointed.
Never having been through a process like this before (my first house sold in 4 days, and this has been going on for 10 months....), it has been exhausting for me, and highly stressful.
So, since the elderly woman considering this purchase seems to do everything very slowly, which was what the realtor blamed their lateness on, I don't suspect a quick decision....but at least, FINALLY, someone has come for a second look.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Treat
My long time friend and massage trading partner, Mike, took me out for a "date" today.
He has been recovering from abdominal surgery for several weeks, and is just now back at work.
After his long time of being home-bound, he was ready to go OUT and do something FUN, and somewhat extravagant, so he invited me to go see "Riverdance" with him!
For a tough guy with a thick Chicago accent, he has an appreciation for surprising things, like dance and music. (Well, and therapeutic massage, too, for that matter!)
He'd been to the original show, with Michael Flatley, and loved it, and was excited to see a new show coming around.
He couldn't think of anyone else he knows who would have enjoyed this more than me, so he treated me!
It was really sweet of him!
I loved the show. It's not just Irish step, there's also flamenco, Russian, and American tap. The dancers and musicians and singers were all really amazing.
I totally enjoyed the entire experience.
It brought me to ask my husband...."What if an opportunity like this were to come along, and I wanted to go? Would you go grudgingly, or would you enjoy it?"
He said he's never really been a fan of dance, but that he'd do his best to try to enjoy it.
Ah, the truth comes out....
Well, let's hope the boy learns to appreciate dance....a lot... and soon!! *smile*
He has been recovering from abdominal surgery for several weeks, and is just now back at work.
After his long time of being home-bound, he was ready to go OUT and do something FUN, and somewhat extravagant, so he invited me to go see "Riverdance" with him!
For a tough guy with a thick Chicago accent, he has an appreciation for surprising things, like dance and music. (Well, and therapeutic massage, too, for that matter!)
He'd been to the original show, with Michael Flatley, and loved it, and was excited to see a new show coming around.
He couldn't think of anyone else he knows who would have enjoyed this more than me, so he treated me!
It was really sweet of him!
I loved the show. It's not just Irish step, there's also flamenco, Russian, and American tap. The dancers and musicians and singers were all really amazing.
I totally enjoyed the entire experience.
It brought me to ask my husband...."What if an opportunity like this were to come along, and I wanted to go? Would you go grudgingly, or would you enjoy it?"
He said he's never really been a fan of dance, but that he'd do his best to try to enjoy it.
Ah, the truth comes out....
Well, let's hope the boy learns to appreciate dance....a lot... and soon!! *smile*
Monday, March 16, 2009
well...THAT was cool.....
On my commute, I pass by a pretty big nature preserve with a lake in it.
This morning, out of the corner of my eye, I saw some commotion on the water, but it was way back away from the road, and I couldn't just turn my head and look, since I was driving.
I saw white, but I could not tell what I was seeing, an egret, or several seagulls, or perhaps a heron that just LOOKED white in the morning sun.
All I could tell was that something was taking off from the surface of the water, and it was big.
But, since I couldn't get a clear view, I had to just forget about it, and move on.
After sitting at a red light, I made my way around the corner, and just as I was straightening the wheel to head south, two SWANS flew gracefully past, high enough to not be hit by traffic, but in perfect view, right in front of my car!
Mystery solved!
It was spectacular! I've seen wild swans, here and there, at the various ponds here abouts....but I had never seen them FLYING!
The sun light was on them, and they were HUGE, and pure white....it was SO COOL!
Then, after work, two great blue herons were flying along the roadway, one on each side of the road, heading in the opposite direction of the way I was driving. An interesting gauntlet, to be sure!
Spring has got to be close!!
p.s.
Oh, and yesterday? Cranes by the hundreds.....I had a FABULOUS day of crane spotting! And the robins are back, and I heard a redwing today!!!
This morning, out of the corner of my eye, I saw some commotion on the water, but it was way back away from the road, and I couldn't just turn my head and look, since I was driving.
I saw white, but I could not tell what I was seeing, an egret, or several seagulls, or perhaps a heron that just LOOKED white in the morning sun.
All I could tell was that something was taking off from the surface of the water, and it was big.
But, since I couldn't get a clear view, I had to just forget about it, and move on.
After sitting at a red light, I made my way around the corner, and just as I was straightening the wheel to head south, two SWANS flew gracefully past, high enough to not be hit by traffic, but in perfect view, right in front of my car!
Mystery solved!
It was spectacular! I've seen wild swans, here and there, at the various ponds here abouts....but I had never seen them FLYING!
The sun light was on them, and they were HUGE, and pure white....it was SO COOL!
Then, after work, two great blue herons were flying along the roadway, one on each side of the road, heading in the opposite direction of the way I was driving. An interesting gauntlet, to be sure!
Spring has got to be close!!
p.s.
Oh, and yesterday? Cranes by the hundreds.....I had a FABULOUS day of crane spotting! And the robins are back, and I heard a redwing today!!!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
CRANES!!
Dancing Sand Hill Cranesclick image to enlarge
photo courtesy National Geographic/public domain
I usually start watching and listening for the spring cranes on St. David's day, March 1.
I have not seen migratory wild cranes for a long, long time, spring OR fall.
I always consider them an omen of important things to come. Let's hope that's true again!
Today, as I stood in the parking lot here at home, with groceries in my car, I saw probably about 300 migrating cranes.
Spectacular, and awe inspiring as always, their cries fell from the sky, as they flew "tiny high," wings flashing silver in the sunlight.
Blessings are on the way, I can feel it!
I always consider them an omen of important things to come. Let's hope that's true again!
Today, as I stood in the parking lot here at home, with groceries in my car, I saw probably about 300 migrating cranes.
Spectacular, and awe inspiring as always, their cries fell from the sky, as they flew "tiny high," wings flashing silver in the sunlight.
Blessings are on the way, I can feel it!
Wake up call from nowhere
Sometimes, insomnia comes in the morning....waking hours after falling asleep, and hours before there's a need to waken.
It's especially frustrating on a Saturday!
I had a flu bug or something this past week. Fever, headache, body aches, sinus congestion, cough. Missed a day of work, and rested a lot.
It wasn't bad, though. I'm over it already. Others at work have been sicker for longer, so I figure I dodged the bullet.
This was nothing like that thing I had last year, around this same time, when I had a fever over 100 for 5 days (my body's normal temp is 97, so that was like 102 for someone who runs at 98.6). I missed 2 and a half days of work (that is unheard of for me!), and ended up having to drive myself to the urgent care on the weekend, because I was getting worse, and had started feeling faint.
THAT was an adventure. Almost passed out in the stairwell going down to my car. A neighbor found me sitting on the stairs with my head between my knees.
He helped me to my car, and asked me to call him when I got home. That was nice. (He also offered to drive me there, but I knew it would mean hours of waiting, and I didn't feel it was appropriate to ask this of a virtual stranger.)
Why didn't I call a family member or friend to help me? I have NO idea....used to taking care of myself, I guess. Thought I could tough it out, like usual....
Anyway, once there, I sat in the waiting area for 2 hours, on and off with my head between my knees to keep from passing out.
Finally saw the doctor, and he wrote me a scrip for antibiotics, even though he said it was probably a virus. He asked me why I hadn't gone to my doctor. I said, "I don't have a doctor anymore...she moved too far away."
He said I was faint probably because of the fever dehydrating me, despite my incessant consumption of water and tea.
After the first 2 antibiotic pills, I was better...so it must have been a combination of bacterial and viral.
All I know is that I was very, very sick, and it was scary to have to deal with it alone. Again.
Hopefully, that was the last time. Some day, maybe later this year, I hope to have a live-in husband!!
Anyway, where was I?
Oh yes, insomnia in the morning.
I had looked forward, with great relish, to being able to sleep for as long as I wanted to last night/this morning. I felt that it would be the extra "health insurance" I would need to regain my immunity.
My idiot neighbor, the king of disruption, was very quiet last night, and so the opportunity was there.
Yet, I woke many times in the night, and then, at 5 something this morning, my eyes popped open, and that was the end of it.
After tossing and turning for 2 hours, thinking about everything from how my dad looked while he was dying, to cat carriers and how best to relocate an elderly avian.....I admitted that it was futile, and got up to make coffee.
The sun is just now coming up.
It's going to be a long, lonely day.
It's especially frustrating on a Saturday!
I had a flu bug or something this past week. Fever, headache, body aches, sinus congestion, cough. Missed a day of work, and rested a lot.
It wasn't bad, though. I'm over it already. Others at work have been sicker for longer, so I figure I dodged the bullet.
This was nothing like that thing I had last year, around this same time, when I had a fever over 100 for 5 days (my body's normal temp is 97, so that was like 102 for someone who runs at 98.6). I missed 2 and a half days of work (that is unheard of for me!), and ended up having to drive myself to the urgent care on the weekend, because I was getting worse, and had started feeling faint.
THAT was an adventure. Almost passed out in the stairwell going down to my car. A neighbor found me sitting on the stairs with my head between my knees.
He helped me to my car, and asked me to call him when I got home. That was nice. (He also offered to drive me there, but I knew it would mean hours of waiting, and I didn't feel it was appropriate to ask this of a virtual stranger.)
Why didn't I call a family member or friend to help me? I have NO idea....used to taking care of myself, I guess. Thought I could tough it out, like usual....
Anyway, once there, I sat in the waiting area for 2 hours, on and off with my head between my knees to keep from passing out.
Finally saw the doctor, and he wrote me a scrip for antibiotics, even though he said it was probably a virus. He asked me why I hadn't gone to my doctor. I said, "I don't have a doctor anymore...she moved too far away."
He said I was faint probably because of the fever dehydrating me, despite my incessant consumption of water and tea.
After the first 2 antibiotic pills, I was better...so it must have been a combination of bacterial and viral.
All I know is that I was very, very sick, and it was scary to have to deal with it alone. Again.
Hopefully, that was the last time. Some day, maybe later this year, I hope to have a live-in husband!!
Anyway, where was I?
Oh yes, insomnia in the morning.
I had looked forward, with great relish, to being able to sleep for as long as I wanted to last night/this morning. I felt that it would be the extra "health insurance" I would need to regain my immunity.
My idiot neighbor, the king of disruption, was very quiet last night, and so the opportunity was there.
Yet, I woke many times in the night, and then, at 5 something this morning, my eyes popped open, and that was the end of it.
After tossing and turning for 2 hours, thinking about everything from how my dad looked while he was dying, to cat carriers and how best to relocate an elderly avian.....I admitted that it was futile, and got up to make coffee.
The sun is just now coming up.
It's going to be a long, lonely day.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Blah
It's been raining pretty much constantly since late last night. Kind of a blah, stay at home alone day.
My car should be clean by now, and I set up my patio furniture yesterday, and put it where the rain would wash it clean. Hopefully.
I had planned to do an errand or two today, but instead, I am doing a load of laundry, and staying in.
Went grocery shopping, and filled the gas tank yesterday. I am not out of fabric softener and toilet paper just yet, so K mart can wait.
I made myself a good beef dinner last night, and will be doing the same again tonight. I am very depleted and weak after my last...um...cycle.
It's getting to be so bad every month that I have to plan my life around it.
Keep trying to call a new doctor, and keep getting "Our office is now closed...."
Grrrr.
So, this weekend has been about feeding myself well, and resting, to regain some red blood cells!
Slept for 11 hours last night. There were thunder and pouring rain interruptions, but mostly, I just rolled over and went right back to sleep. Had long, involved, vivid dreams.
No calls on the property since Wednesday, and that showing never happened. Still don't know why.
That's ok. At least there were 3 calls in a weeks' time.
The second one was a showing that took place last Sunday, while I was out working. I was not prepared for that one. There were dirty dishes in the sink, laundry on the floor, piles of papers all over the kitchen table. It wasn't good.
No response, not unexpectedly, on that one.
My idiot neighbor, a.k.a. bam bam, cave man, ass hat....has taken on a new habit on Sundays.
He pounds on something in his kitchen, on the wall, or in the sink, or something, can't quite tell....repeatedly, constantly, and incessantly, for hours at a time.
Only on Sundays.
"bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam..." rest for a second..."bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam...." rest for a second....
Literally, for hours. Only on Sunday afternoons.
Effing IDIOT!
Between living here in this box on a shelf, and never really liking it, the mounting traffic and congestion, and growing less and less fond of my job....I am really starting to hate my life here! It's time to RELOCATE!!!
It has been for almost a year.....SOMEBODY UP THERE HAS TO HEAR MY CRIES EVENTUALLY!
Nothing else to report. Gonna make a wrap sandwich for lunch, with roasted chicken, bacon, spinach, roased peppers, and pesto. Yum!
My car should be clean by now, and I set up my patio furniture yesterday, and put it where the rain would wash it clean. Hopefully.
I had planned to do an errand or two today, but instead, I am doing a load of laundry, and staying in.
Went grocery shopping, and filled the gas tank yesterday. I am not out of fabric softener and toilet paper just yet, so K mart can wait.
I made myself a good beef dinner last night, and will be doing the same again tonight. I am very depleted and weak after my last...um...cycle.
It's getting to be so bad every month that I have to plan my life around it.
Keep trying to call a new doctor, and keep getting "Our office is now closed...."
Grrrr.
So, this weekend has been about feeding myself well, and resting, to regain some red blood cells!
Slept for 11 hours last night. There were thunder and pouring rain interruptions, but mostly, I just rolled over and went right back to sleep. Had long, involved, vivid dreams.
No calls on the property since Wednesday, and that showing never happened. Still don't know why.
That's ok. At least there were 3 calls in a weeks' time.
The second one was a showing that took place last Sunday, while I was out working. I was not prepared for that one. There were dirty dishes in the sink, laundry on the floor, piles of papers all over the kitchen table. It wasn't good.
No response, not unexpectedly, on that one.
My idiot neighbor, a.k.a. bam bam, cave man, ass hat....has taken on a new habit on Sundays.
He pounds on something in his kitchen, on the wall, or in the sink, or something, can't quite tell....repeatedly, constantly, and incessantly, for hours at a time.
Only on Sundays.
"bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam..." rest for a second..."bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam...." rest for a second....
Literally, for hours. Only on Sunday afternoons.
Effing IDIOT!
Between living here in this box on a shelf, and never really liking it, the mounting traffic and congestion, and growing less and less fond of my job....I am really starting to hate my life here! It's time to RELOCATE!!!
It has been for almost a year.....SOMEBODY UP THERE HAS TO HEAR MY CRIES EVENTUALLY!
Nothing else to report. Gonna make a wrap sandwich for lunch, with roasted chicken, bacon, spinach, roased peppers, and pesto. Yum!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Hints
I haven't actually SEEN a robin yet, but I have heard one, twice, in two completely different places. So I know they're back!
The doves are back here at home, too, as of yesterday. A dove cooing on my balcony woke me up 20 minutes before my alarm this morning.
Sigh...love it and loathe it!
The geese are also back by the thousands.
It was in the 60's yesterday and today. Another nice little hint that spring is coming. Eventually.
We know that we can get some of our worst storms in March, but we are hoping that we've been through enough already this winter, and that the weather will be merciful from here on out.
At lunchtime today, I strolled over to the pond that's near the office, to sit in the sun and enjoy this brief taste of spring.
The ice is melting on the water, and little "drifts" of ice chips are breaking away from the heavier ice, and floating into open water.
A pair of geese tranquilly swam past me as I sat in the sun, and they went through one of these "drifts" of ice chips.
The sound was HEAVENLY! It was like the most delicate of glass wind chimes from the 1920's. An amazingly beautiful sound. Tiny pieces of ice, tinkling as the geese passed through them.
It's supposed to be dark, colder, and rainy tomorrow.
A perfect day to stay in, and rest.
I need to do that.
The doves are back here at home, too, as of yesterday. A dove cooing on my balcony woke me up 20 minutes before my alarm this morning.
Sigh...love it and loathe it!
The geese are also back by the thousands.
It was in the 60's yesterday and today. Another nice little hint that spring is coming. Eventually.
We know that we can get some of our worst storms in March, but we are hoping that we've been through enough already this winter, and that the weather will be merciful from here on out.
At lunchtime today, I strolled over to the pond that's near the office, to sit in the sun and enjoy this brief taste of spring.
The ice is melting on the water, and little "drifts" of ice chips are breaking away from the heavier ice, and floating into open water.
A pair of geese tranquilly swam past me as I sat in the sun, and they went through one of these "drifts" of ice chips.
The sound was HEAVENLY! It was like the most delicate of glass wind chimes from the 1920's. An amazingly beautiful sound. Tiny pieces of ice, tinkling as the geese passed through them.
It's supposed to be dark, colder, and rainy tomorrow.
A perfect day to stay in, and rest.
I need to do that.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
un-freaking-believable
So, the showing apparently went very WELL....the realtor commented that the client loved the condo, and that she thought the lobby was nice (??).
The client's major issue, however, is that she would be "uncomfortable living on the top floor."
My guess is that she's afraid of heights.
So, next to the one who said "The kitchen is too white," this is the next funniest reason I have been given for people not buying my condo.
Given the fact that my price is now as low as I can go, this place is, really, a "steal." I am afraid of heights, too, to a point. I was uncomfortable being so high off of the ground, too, for my own reasons. (mainly, that I am an "earth mother" type, according to many friends)
But I got over it for the sake of a feeling of security. It would be nigh unto impossible for an intruder to break into my patio door, without being seen and caught before he got in!!
He'd have to either rope climb up, or use an extension ladder!
Anyway, another round of anticipation and hope, followed up with crashing disappointment.
I am getting sick of that, even though it's only happened 6 times now, in 9 months on the market.
Maybe March and April, as some of the pundits are saying, will bring a slight turn around.
So, I still don't know what my three hawk omen meant, except maybe that the first showing since the beginning of November is going to start things up again.
In other news, I had a really great day yesterday!
First, I found that my tax refund appeared in my bank account on Friday.
Then, I had two gift cards to spend, one for a gas station, and one for a grocery store.
I went to my regular grocery store, too, and the checker gave me $10 off my order, perhaps because the line had been moving slowly? She never did say, I just gave her an enthusiastic "Thank You!"
So, I got a free bag of groceries at one store, $18 off with coupons and the extra $10 at the other, and a free tank of gas!
THEN, I came home and made chicken soup for my cold, and did some laundry. There was enough time left on the dryer I used, so that I got my laundry load dried for free!
It's nice when things just seem to go RIGHT! That really should happen more often! For ALL OF US!
The client's major issue, however, is that she would be "uncomfortable living on the top floor."
My guess is that she's afraid of heights.
So, next to the one who said "The kitchen is too white," this is the next funniest reason I have been given for people not buying my condo.
Given the fact that my price is now as low as I can go, this place is, really, a "steal." I am afraid of heights, too, to a point. I was uncomfortable being so high off of the ground, too, for my own reasons. (mainly, that I am an "earth mother" type, according to many friends)
But I got over it for the sake of a feeling of security. It would be nigh unto impossible for an intruder to break into my patio door, without being seen and caught before he got in!!
He'd have to either rope climb up, or use an extension ladder!
Anyway, another round of anticipation and hope, followed up with crashing disappointment.
I am getting sick of that, even though it's only happened 6 times now, in 9 months on the market.
Maybe March and April, as some of the pundits are saying, will bring a slight turn around.
So, I still don't know what my three hawk omen meant, except maybe that the first showing since the beginning of November is going to start things up again.
In other news, I had a really great day yesterday!
First, I found that my tax refund appeared in my bank account on Friday.
Then, I had two gift cards to spend, one for a gas station, and one for a grocery store.
I went to my regular grocery store, too, and the checker gave me $10 off my order, perhaps because the line had been moving slowly? She never did say, I just gave her an enthusiastic "Thank You!"
So, I got a free bag of groceries at one store, $18 off with coupons and the extra $10 at the other, and a free tank of gas!
THEN, I came home and made chicken soup for my cold, and did some laundry. There was enough time left on the dryer I used, so that I got my laundry load dried for free!
It's nice when things just seem to go RIGHT! That really should happen more often! For ALL OF US!
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