10-28-04

Here I am at the office, taking my turn staffing. I was supposed to write an offer on a house I showed in Valley Springs yesterday, but as I was walking out of the house to the appointment, she called and cancelled. She'd thought about it overnight and changed her mind. Well, I was disappointed, but I could see her point. The place WAS a dump, but what do you expect for $39,900? So it goes. People need a place to live. Although I would live in a tent before I'd live in this place. People are so funny. Some houses are immaculate. Others are stys. Everybody wants to get their place sold but some people won't make the effort. And it is a lot of work to keep your house ready to show at all times, especially if you've got kids. So the real question is, do you really want to sell your house? Well, do ya?

Friday again?

Man, where did this week go? It seems they are all a blur, fall is racing by, next weekend is Halloween already. I remember the first year we moved to town from the acreage, 1991. We had only been in the house for a couple weeks, we were so excited for Halloween, finally we would get some trick-or-treaters at our house. Jeannie decorated, we bought tons of candy. The afternoon of the big day, it started to snow. Before it was over, we had over 12 inches of very wet, heavy snow. There were a few brave spooks, but not many. Of course I didn't have a snow-blower, at that time not even a real snow shovel, so I was outside all night shoveling with a grain scoop shovel, to not much avail. Needless to say, we had extra candy, I'm sure to Wyatt's dismay. My, how things have changed in 13 years! Today jeannie had 2 closings and I had one, so that is always a satisfying conclusion to the transaction. We can pay the bills for another month. Today was just a real strange day. VERY foggy, hot and humid, misty showers all day. It really feels like it could storm. I heard someone say there was a tornado watch, which only means conditions are favorable, but still, on Oct. 22??? Give me a break. This country has crazy weather. Kyla had an interview at US Bank and it sounded like that went well, so all in all, so far anyway, a good day. We have decided to have a Christmas party at the new house and you are all invited. There will be no rhyme or reason to the invitations, just an eclectic mix, which is a great demographic for an interesting party. Dec. 11, 2004. Mark your calenders now.

Last weekend

Ginger and Wyatt made it home, or at least to the Cities, and it was a fun day. We stopped in Mankato and picked up Allie and got there about 1 pm. We did lots of fun things, went to an art museum, went bowling,ect. Not the usual go to the mall of america, which was fine by me. It turned out to be a long day though, cause we decided not to stay overnight Sunday, so after a good meal at Old Chicago, we tied the last remnant of the twins' college days, Wyatt's bed, to the pickup and headed west. I walked in the door at 4:07 am. That might seem crazy but I don't have a problem driving at night. I guess I'm lucky. We were up shortly after 8 am and off to work, but I must admit I was weary Monday night. The Garretson house saga continues. I worked over there yesterday again. Just once in my life I would like to build a new house from the ground up, where everything is straight and true. I enjoy doing the remodeling but it is very time intensive. Every day there is one day closer to being done, I keep telling myself. Today Jeannie is home getting ready for the big shindig tonight. She is hosting a women for John Thune rally tonight. Unfortunately, Johnny himself is going to be at a pancake feed at the Garretson American Legion so they'll have to settle for Kimberly, his wife. Somebody was going to prank us and put a bunch of Daschle signs in our yard but somebody squealed so now I'll have to stand guard.

Rainy day Thursday

Hello,
After weeks of gorgeous weather we have a rainy day. This will slow down the harvest a little so hopefully it is short lived. There isn't much new in my life today. Tomorrow is our Homecoming parade. It is very strange that we don't have any high school kids in our family anymore. It certainly takes the fun out of things. But we will have fun once we get going I'm sure. Our realtors are all going to dress up in black and walk behind the 41 handing out candy. The theme is occupations, so we are FBI. I bought little black hats and mirrored sunglasses for everyone. We will make the signs in the morning. Tomorrow we are also having a going away party for the secretary Lu. There are lots of changes in the air.
Kyla is going to be moving home on Monday. I think it is a good decision and even though she is dreading it, I think it will be fun. I guess I remember moving home and going to VoTech before I got married. It was a little weird. It doesn't feel the same as it did before I left for college. I felt detached and unsettled. And I think that is a good thing because it is just part of a transition. So I plan to make the best of it and enjoy our time together. Hopefully Greg and Kyla feel the same way. It seems kind of strange that all the ammon girls feel adrift these days. Hopefully it will be fun when all 4 kids are together in St. Paul this weekend. Greg and I aren't going up to visit until Sunday. That will give them time to see their friends and spend some time together without the rents. I'm hoping that we can spend some fun time together, but with us that is never a guaranty. Usually someone gets feisty before the day is up. Well that is enough for today. Toot to lou.

what is it anyway?

I've just read the 3 girls blogs, and everybody seems to be feeling rather adrift these days. I wish I had the answer, but first I would have to know the question. Seriously, I don't remember having these problems. I admit to struggling with my future as a young married man with a family. I wanted so much to get out of the packing plant. I would anxiously wait until Sunday when I would pore over the jobs section of the want ads with a fine tooth comb, looking for the perfect job for me. We went through some hard times back then, but I always knew something better would come, and it always did. But not right away. In between the good jobs, there were many years of the tedious grind. Until I finally got the job I was always meant to do, sales. I was always amazed by the people in college who had their major picked as a freshman and were steadfast in their decision. I always thought, "what's wrong with me? How come I don't know what I want to do with my life?" But you know what? I think, really, most people are uncertain about their future and even about their goals. Heck, my goal was just to pay my bills each month for many years. Sounds dismal I know, but really, life is made up of many tiny victorys. Maybe paying your bills is the only one you'll get this month. It ain't all pretty or easy, but we just have to do the best we can every day, work hard every day, and good things will eventually come your way. Not overnight. Maybe not for years. But it will. When I worked at the car dealership I had a poster that hung over my fish tank. And eventually after many years, Bruce splashed water on it so many times that I had to throw it out. But I liked it and I read it many times. The title was "10 rules for a sucessful life". I don't remember any of the other rules but the first one. It said " Rule # 1- Marry the right person. 90 % of your happiness or unhappiness in life will be determined by your spouse". Maybe I was born lucky, but I think about that, and how lucky I was to find your mother.

Good morning

I'm up and at em early today. Ever since we started sleeping on our Nikken magnetic mattress pad I've been sleeping better and getting up earlier. So every morning I'm up with an hour to spare. Of course I don't use it to do anything constructive but it is nice to start the day unhurried. I had a great weekend at the Stitcher's Retreat at Lake Shetek. It was so beautiful, the leaves were all turning and it was really warm. It has been an incredible fall! I didn't get much accomplished but it was sure fun seeing everyone and spending some time with my best friend LeeAnn. It seems we just don't get to spend much time together these days and it was fun to talk and talk and talk. I think we did keep the women next door awake though, we got to laughing about the weekender clothes and how they use them in hundreds of different ways. Seriously, is it really ok to use the mini skirt as a cowl collar, or a bunched up belt at your waist? And then there is the tulip skirt, you can bring it up above your bust and use it for a dress? Never mind that the back hangs lower then the front, and the elastic cuts into your fat at the armpits and makes an attractive little ball of protruding cellulite. These clothes are versatile. WOW! We got to laughing so hard. At a recent style show they had 3 women stand in front and share clothes. They seriously had to change right in front of everyone. So Joslyn's jacket went to Diane, and Diane's skirt went to Linda and Linda's top went to Joslyn. This went on several changes each time the model struggling to keep her flesh from flashing. How embarrassing! I don't know if they warned the models that they would be required to make a spectacle of themselves or not. And seriously, some of the resulting outfits were atrocious! Poor Joslyn, you've just got to say no. Anyway, LeeAnn and I came up with a few more ideas for Weekenders Transformers at 3 in the morning and of course burst into giggling fits. Ex. Mini Skirt turban, Large woman can wear 2 small minis as leg warmers (think the 80's), and don't forget tube top tucked into tulip skirt.And when the skirt gets a little worn, you just cut out some leg holes and Fido has a new sweater. The uses are endless. So now the $70 skirt doesn't seem so overpriced does it? And if you want to sell it for yourself you can attend the big conference where 1000 other women are wearing the exact same clothes vying for the most original idea. I can only imagine the other ways you can use that mini. I hope Judy doesn't read our blog, I guess I really am mean and heartless like people say. Maybe having a blog isn't such a good idea after all. Well enough carrying on for one morning. Catch you later.

That's what you get

It's Saturday morning and I've just finished breakfast and am heading to my project of the day, tearing out wet sheetrock. Thursday, sometime during the day, the water heater burst on one of my rental houses. This particular house happens to be on the second level with garages below. Luckily, I stopped by the garages to get something. When I opened the walk door, water was raining from the ceiling, soaking all the furniture and other items that we and the tenants had stored there. Racing upstairs, I found water gushing like a geyser from the heater. After getting the water turned off, I was kind of in shock. Called my insurance man and found out if I turn in another claim on this property, I'll get dropped since I'd already turned in a claim from an electrical fire on the same property 10 months ago. So.......call the experts. I called Intek, they are the best and had them tear up all the carpet, throw out the wet pad and set up the fans and dehumidifiers upstairs. I have been standing on a ladder tearing down wet double 5/8 sheetrock firewall and insulation from the ceiling. Last night I was exhausted. But, so it goes. It was an accident, nobody got hurt, the tenants have been incredibly cool about the whole deal, even though they are spending the weekend in Sioux Falls because the noisy fans make it impossible to sleep. I'm off to finish the job this morning, hopefully. If anybody thinks rental properties are the easy way to wealth, take it from me. The path is long and hard, the payoffs are years in the future and then only if real estate doesn't tank. In between, you can look forward to chasing dead-beat tenants that won't pay, keeping an eye out for smuggled in dogs and cats, illegal drugs, loud parties, leaking roofs, painting, mowing, spraying, fertilizing, advertising, screening tenants, and repairing the door the SWAT team broke down on a drug raid tip. You'd better be handy at carpentry, plumbing, roofing, electical, marriage counseling, and debt collecting. You must also be non-discriminitory but be prepared for the court summons anyway, and it doesn't hurt to have a lawyer on retainer. OK, I've had a bad week and I'm done bitching now.

Finally........

I'm back. To paraphrase Kyla, Wyatt was right. It's easy to set up a blog, much harder to blog on a regular basis. I'm still fighting the feeling that no one is interested in what I'm thinking anyway, so what's the point? Maybe it'll seem more natural once I do it more often. At the risk of sounding like my dad, I have to report that it rained last night, and today is gray and gloomy, although the temp is mild. The soybean harvest is in full swing (until the rain) and the combines were going all over the country yesterday. I've been spending every spare minute lately working on the house in Garretson and things are progressing well. We've decided to keep this one so we're working on financing. It still comes as a blow to me when we talk about these things in relationship to my life span. I wanted to put it on a 30 yr. mortgage to keep the payments low. Jeannie lovingly reminded me I would be almost 79 yrs old before it was paid for. Wow. Even on a 15 yr mortgage, I'm still almost 64! Staggering! Where did my life go? It's been a great life, I just don't feel like I should be scheduling my mortgages to coincide with my retirement! Which may or may not happen at this point, I've learned not to take anything for granted. So, my philosophy for today at least, is plan for the future but live in the moment. Pretty original, huh? Sometimes I wonder if I've ever had an original thought in my life or if even my thoughts are somehow subconsiously lifted from something I've read or seen.

Today I had time to open my email, something I don't do on a daily basis and here were several emails from Wyatt, asking for help with a cancer fundraiser he's in charge of. Jeannie pledged some money from us. I feel kind of bad but it looks like it might be the bottom half of the 9th inning, I think it's scheduled for tonight. Not enough time to make any meaningful contacts, but here's the website- http:www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=unite. Good luck Wyatt. It's for an important cause. It seems like cancer touches everyone. My childhood neighbor on the farm, Ralph Lyman, passed on last week from cancer. He'd been fighting it for years. Although I've been gone from the Mitchell area since I was a kid, we kept in touch through my parents, and he bought a new pickup from me a few years ago. I feel real bad I wasn't able to make it for the funeral but we were in Rochester with Allie. Even though he had been sick for a while and his death wasn't a surprise, I still feel like I've lost a close friend.

Begging for comments

Ok, I know that there are a few people reading our new blog. I would love it if you would just post a tiny little message to let me know who you are. You don't have to comment or anything, just say Hi this is _______. Ok be a pal.

Today my imagination has gone wild. I have been trying to get hold of Kyla for 24 hours. I have left messages on her voicemail, I have emailed her, I have had Allison try to reach her in, case she is avoiding me, and now I have began to imagine all sorts of things that could have happened to her. And none of them is good. I'm sure she is fine and maybe her phone is lost or broken, and she hasn't checked her email. Who knows but I hate not being able to talk to her. So Kyla, if you read this, remember it is not ok to ignore your mother, it is cruel and unusual punishment. I don't even know where you live for crying out loud, how would I find you? Call home.

There isn't much for news. I am looking forward to a fun weekend at Shetek. I am going with LeeAnn to the Stitcher's Retreat. It is always so relaxing and a real get away. I feel like I need it.

Well Greg just came in and we are headed out to have some dinner. I'll write more later. Please comment.

Just sitting at a Realtor booth

Heeeelo,
I'm just wasting some time. We have an hour and a half before this Home Reduction sale ends here at the Golf Expo building in SFalls. It hasn't been so bad really. It is the first year for it so it wasn't too well attended, but it will be better next year. I did take a couple hours off and hit the nearby GoodWill. It is one of my favorite spots to shop. Seriously, I always find a treasure or two. Today was a good day for clothes and books. I love buying books there. For 50 cents you can get a good read and donate it back when you are done. And it is better than the library because you don't have to worry about returning it on time. I found a really cute outfit today too. You have to be willing to scrounge though the racks, but that is fun for me. I have decided it is my favorite hobby. And it really helped break up the day today.
Well about Mayo. We didn't find out anything new. Basically Allsion has Vocal Cord Disorder, they don't know what causes it and there is really no treatment for it. Allison was pretty discouraged by it all. It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't so exhausted all the time. I think she will have to try some alternative medicine. I brought her up a magnetic sleep system when we went to Mankato. I'm hopeing that it helps. And she needs to watch that she eats a healthy diet. She is scheduled to go back in November for more tests. Overall it was disappointing, but I guess it is good to know nothing is really wrong .