Just a short post to say I'll be AFK (away from keyboard) for a few days. In addition to issues with my computer, my cousin Deb passed away on Wednesday. My brother R and I will be travelling to our hometown for her memorial service on Monday.
I'll be back!
*comments off
Saturday, 21 September 2019
Monday, 16 September 2019
Joy in the valley
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| Starting out from the farm yard, looking across Qu'Appelle Valley |
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| Most of the color is yellow, but we do have some bushes that turn red. Can you spot my brother? |
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| He's pointing out a certain spot, I don't recall why |
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| Bird's nest or hornet's nest in the tree - we couldn't agree |
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| Welcome to Hidden Valley |
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| More Hidden Valley |
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Saskatoon berry bush in its fall glory 
Blogger is being a pain, every time I try to add a caption it deletes the photo. In any event, trees that you see below contain the trail that we took to climb up to the ridge.
Looking down towards the house (that's the roof), and towards the oxbow in the Qu'Appelle Valley.
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| Getting closer! I told R to go ahead of me, in case I fell I could land on him. |
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| The neighbour's dog, Gracie came along with us. |
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Still some flowers blooming  |
Before I left I took a few more photos in the yard.
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| The sunflowers are volunteer, from the bird seed my brother puts out. |
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| One last look up to the hills |
Instead to close out the post, here's the final photo of the day.
As I look at the photo, it brings back memories of my dad. He would have had a conniption over the crooked line of the swath. He was very particular, so much so that when mom was on the swather she was only permitted to cut parallel to the road, so no one could tell if she was driving in a straight line. I'm serious!
It was absolutely wonderful day, the weather was beautiful and despite pesky mosquitos, I did something I've never done before in climbing to the top of the valley. The best days are the ones of which memories are made, and this was definitely one.
Sunday, 15 September 2019
Life is a roller coaster
Well, this has been quite the week, with a number of ups and downs. Still no offer on the table, as the potential buyer has decided to hold off on making a decision until after the weekend. As I said to my agent, I suspect he's waiting to see if I will blink. In reality the ball is in his court as I can't make an offer to the buyers. We're currently about $10,000 apart which on a 25 year mortgage works out to approximately $35 a month (plus interest). Hopefully his agent will point this out to him...is he willing to give up a property that he and his wife like for such a relatively small amount? I should note too, that I'd be reducing the price an additional $5,000 to make this happen so if he needs a win, he'll have it. Oh well, life carries on.
For most of us anyway. On Wednesday, the day the first offer was received, I woke up with a migraine. I haven't had one for two years or more - once I was on this side of menopause they became much less frequent. It was a doozy and I spent almost the entire day in bed. I'd just gotten up and taken some meds and gone back to bed, when I got a message from one of my cousins. She was contacting me to let me know her sister, the oldest of six, had been recently diagnosed with late stage cancer. Deb has been given a prognosis of mere weeks to live and is currently at home. I won't be going to visit, as she's asked for only immediate family. All of her siblings have had a chance to spend some time with her, for which I am thankful.
It is devastating to the family, as they lost both their parents to this awful disease many years ago. My uncle Bob (my mother's brother) was only 44 when his life was cut short by lung cancer. His wife, Ardie was diagnosed shortly after he was with colon cancer. She told me once, she'd said to God, "I said give the cancer to me instead, not too!". She survived for five years after surgery and a colostomy but died when she was 49 of liver cancer. In so many ways, it seems so unfair; Deb was just 64 last May. Sadly, the last few times I've seen her, we were at funerals.
It rained most of the week, so I spent much of my time indoors. My friend C told me she had 2 1/2 inches of rain in her gauge over the week. Yikes! I used the time to be productive. I finished my afghan, worked on my cross-stitching project (just back stitching left to do), and sewed a Superman cape for Eli for Halloween. I have to cut it down as it's far too long, but I wasn't certain what length his mom wanted it to be. They'll be here later this week so I'll finish it off while they are at the house. I'm sure he'll get use out of the cape more than once - what small child doesn't like to play super hero?
We did have another showing, on Sunday afternoon. My agent was the showing agent, so feedback was immediate. They were a young couple, didn't mind the small yard, but this was the first house they've looked at. As he said, no one buys the first house they look at. :(
I decided I needed a break from everything, and my brother had let me know the fall colors were reaching their peak in the valley, so I left my son to wrangle the cats for the showing and I went for a drive. They were just sitting down to a late lunch so we chatted while they ate, and then R and I went for hike up the hill (using the deer trails he's cleared to reach the ridge). I'll just put a couple of photos in this post and will share more tomorrow. I only took 92 photos in total, so there are quite a few to post... I promise not all of them.
This is the road down to the valley. Just a couple of weeks ago it was green as can be.
The "red roofed" church, is an Anglican church rarely used any more, though there are several graves around it, some fairly recent.
Some couples use it in the summer for wedding photos. And of course, it is a landmark for everyone who lives nearby.
This is part of the trail before we headed in more brush. You can see where my brother has mowed. This was the easy part of the hike.
When I got home, I had a call from my agent (no, not an offer), that another agent was showing the house around the corner and wanted to know if they could come here. Of course I said yes, because every showing is a potential buyer. However, I said I'd just gotten home and I wasn't about to take the cats out of the house. Curtis said I could just step out of the house and let them see it. My son drove off in his car, and I sat out on the patio. They were in the house a good 15 minutes or so, but the feedback was the house wasn't for them, as they aren't handy and the house needs too much work. Oh well, maybe the next group.
However, Curtis is going to tell the agent from last week's agent that we've had some interest based on today's showing. I'm okay with a little white lie - it will either get the ball rolling again or they'll simply walk away. Either way, I'll have my answer.
Have a great week everyone!
It is devastating to the family, as they lost both their parents to this awful disease many years ago. My uncle Bob (my mother's brother) was only 44 when his life was cut short by lung cancer. His wife, Ardie was diagnosed shortly after he was with colon cancer. She told me once, she'd said to God, "I said give the cancer to me instead, not too!". She survived for five years after surgery and a colostomy but died when she was 49 of liver cancer. In so many ways, it seems so unfair; Deb was just 64 last May. Sadly, the last few times I've seen her, we were at funerals.
It rained most of the week, so I spent much of my time indoors. My friend C told me she had 2 1/2 inches of rain in her gauge over the week. Yikes! I used the time to be productive. I finished my afghan, worked on my cross-stitching project (just back stitching left to do), and sewed a Superman cape for Eli for Halloween. I have to cut it down as it's far too long, but I wasn't certain what length his mom wanted it to be. They'll be here later this week so I'll finish it off while they are at the house. I'm sure he'll get use out of the cape more than once - what small child doesn't like to play super hero?
We did have another showing, on Sunday afternoon. My agent was the showing agent, so feedback was immediate. They were a young couple, didn't mind the small yard, but this was the first house they've looked at. As he said, no one buys the first house they look at. :(
I decided I needed a break from everything, and my brother had let me know the fall colors were reaching their peak in the valley, so I left my son to wrangle the cats for the showing and I went for a drive. They were just sitting down to a late lunch so we chatted while they ate, and then R and I went for hike up the hill (using the deer trails he's cleared to reach the ridge). I'll just put a couple of photos in this post and will share more tomorrow. I only took 92 photos in total, so there are quite a few to post... I promise not all of them.
Some couples use it in the summer for wedding photos. And of course, it is a landmark for everyone who lives nearby.
When I got home, I had a call from my agent (no, not an offer), that another agent was showing the house around the corner and wanted to know if they could come here. Of course I said yes, because every showing is a potential buyer. However, I said I'd just gotten home and I wasn't about to take the cats out of the house. Curtis said I could just step out of the house and let them see it. My son drove off in his car, and I sat out on the patio. They were in the house a good 15 minutes or so, but the feedback was the house wasn't for them, as they aren't handy and the house needs too much work. Oh well, maybe the next group.
However, Curtis is going to tell the agent from last week's agent that we've had some interest based on today's showing. I'm okay with a little white lie - it will either get the ball rolling again or they'll simply walk away. Either way, I'll have my answer.
Have a great week everyone!
Thursday, 12 September 2019
The saga continues
No good news yet. An offer came in, a ridiculously low ball offer, nearly 15% below asking. I countered, with what I feel is a very reasonable number. My agent just called, and the buyer is saying no to that counter offer.
However, all is not lost as his agent agrees that the property value is close to what my counter was, and will be discussing it further with his client. It is expected that another offer will come (you can't counter a counter offer, who knew?), that will be a bit closer to my number. It will be up to me to decide whether I take that, counter it, or walk away from it.
I haven't decided what my response will be, though I anticipate it will be option b or c. If I counter, I won't reduce my price much more but just enough to make him think he's won the battle if not the war. I may take the third alternative and allow the offer to lapse. There's a bit of psychological warfare in that option as if this buyer is really, truly interested he may put forward another offer. If he doesn't I'm back to showing and hoping for another interested buyer - which to be honest isn't that attractive to me.
So I'm going to run the numbers one more time and decide what is worth more to me; several thousand dollars more or the chance to move on in my retirement to something different. There are pros and cons to both. Wish me luck!
However, all is not lost as his agent agrees that the property value is close to what my counter was, and will be discussing it further with his client. It is expected that another offer will come (you can't counter a counter offer, who knew?), that will be a bit closer to my number. It will be up to me to decide whether I take that, counter it, or walk away from it.
I haven't decided what my response will be, though I anticipate it will be option b or c. If I counter, I won't reduce my price much more but just enough to make him think he's won the battle if not the war. I may take the third alternative and allow the offer to lapse. There's a bit of psychological warfare in that option as if this buyer is really, truly interested he may put forward another offer. If he doesn't I'm back to showing and hoping for another interested buyer - which to be honest isn't that attractive to me.
So I'm going to run the numbers one more time and decide what is worth more to me; several thousand dollars more or the chance to move on in my retirement to something different. There are pros and cons to both. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, 10 September 2019
Getting my hopes up
If you would be so kind as to send some positive vibes my way today, it would be much appreciated.
We have a second showing booked for this evening - the group that went through last night are coming back. My agent called (rather than texting), and indicated their agent has hinted that they are planning to make an offer after the second look. Apparently they've been at this awhile and tend to make low ball offers. At this point in time, I'll look at any offer but it will truly depend on how low they go and whether they will move at all should I choose to counter.
I did this with the house my daughter lives in. The offer was significantly lower than the asking price because I knew the house had been listed for quite some time. The owner countered with an offer that I accepted that I felt was reasonable.
Guess what? They like the yard size and prefer the fact there is a sun room. They have teenagers and I suspect they can see the sun room and basement will make great hangout spaces for the kids.
So fingers crossed that an offer is in my hands by end of day tomorrow. I'll update this post when I know more.
We have a second showing booked for this evening - the group that went through last night are coming back. My agent called (rather than texting), and indicated their agent has hinted that they are planning to make an offer after the second look. Apparently they've been at this awhile and tend to make low ball offers. At this point in time, I'll look at any offer but it will truly depend on how low they go and whether they will move at all should I choose to counter.
I did this with the house my daughter lives in. The offer was significantly lower than the asking price because I knew the house had been listed for quite some time. The owner countered with an offer that I accepted that I felt was reasonable.
Guess what? They like the yard size and prefer the fact there is a sun room. They have teenagers and I suspect they can see the sun room and basement will make great hangout spaces for the kids.
So fingers crossed that an offer is in my hands by end of day tomorrow. I'll update this post when I know more.
Sunday, 8 September 2019
Ho hum - Aug 2-8
I may regret saying this, but this week was pretty much boring. Perhaps the word routine is more appropriate. I spent my time cleaning in case of a showing, did a bit of crafting, went to my Wednesday stitching group, and out for dinner with my friend C. The only change up was she had plans for Friday evening, so we met on Thursday instead.
In fact, I think Thursday was my busiest day of the week. I spent the morning doing some more cleaning. I hadn't thought to clean the indoor/outdoor carpet in the storage area in the basement and it dawned on me it might be part of the reason for some of the cat odor. I washed floors, cleaned the bathrooms, cleaned and washed the cat litter boxes, and just puttered around. It was good that I did, as my agent texted with a request for showing for Friday at 6, and a little later for one at 4:30 on Saturday.
Friday, my friend K dropped by as I'd asked to borrow her nose. Thursday evening, we'd been chatting about their most recent cruise (to Greenland!) and the fact my house still hasn't sold, and I asked if she'd be able to drop by and help me identify where the lingering cat odors might be. We walked through the house and all she smelled was cleaning products! So...either I've gotten rid of the odors (finally), or some folks are more sensitive to it. That's fair enough and I would say I've been in homes where certain odors seemed strong to me too.
In fact, when we got home after the showing on Friday evening, we noticed the aroma of a man's cologne. It wasn't my son's and the aroma was throughout the house. I suspect they would have not have smelled any cat odor...unless they've become nose blind (as the Febreeze adverts say). My son was parked where he could see the agent and an older couple; they were in the house for 25 minutes or so. No feedback as yet.
We had another showing on Saturday afternoon. Right in the middle of the Rider/Bombers game! I seriously thought about saying no, but I didn't and just paused my live TV so I could watch the end of the game when I got home. Though neither went as I would have liked. The viewers were in and out of the house in less than 20 minutes, and the Riders lost.
On Sunday morning, Eli came for a visit, while his mom did a bit of shopping on her own. They had come to the city on Friday, to house and dog sit for a friend of hers (and Eli's godmother). M, her partner and three boys were gifted tickets to the Rider/Bombers football game in Winnipeg, so she offered D $100 to come stay at their house for the weekend.
D sent me this photo, and I laughed so hard. I told her perhaps she needs to get Eli his very own cage. He certainly seems to be enjoying hanging out in theirs. Frankie is the German shepherd and Veena, the floppy eared dog (in front of Eli) is a foster. D says that he likes the dogs and they like him too, and every picture she took of the dogs to send to M, Eli was in the photo too.
We watched Paw Paw (Paw Patrol), listened to music, danced, read a book, and Eli brought out every toy in the house. He was gentle with Sasha, who tolerated a lot before he finally snapped at Eli to let him know he'd had enough (he didn't actually bite him). Eli was good and left him alone after that.
One of his little toys plays the ABC song, and I was surprised to hear him say g, j, lmnop, r, s, v, x, and z along with the song. I don't remember my kids learning their alphabet that early. It won't be long before he knows it all. He also pointed out the pumpkins I've put out. Best of all he told me when he needed to potty! Yep, he's almost fully potty trained. D says, he's had a couple of accidents in the past week but he's no longer wearing diapers even at night. He's just 2 1/2 years old! But oh my, is he growing up quickly. My brother said, if we only continued to learn at the same pace, we'd have been through high school by the age of eleven. Too true!
So while most of the week was pretty humdrum, the end of it has been anything but. I so enjoyed my time with my grandson; he always makes me smile. And when he's left, it's time to clean...which is what I'll be doing for the rest of the afternoon.
Have a great week everyone.
In fact, I think Thursday was my busiest day of the week. I spent the morning doing some more cleaning. I hadn't thought to clean the indoor/outdoor carpet in the storage area in the basement and it dawned on me it might be part of the reason for some of the cat odor. I washed floors, cleaned the bathrooms, cleaned and washed the cat litter boxes, and just puttered around. It was good that I did, as my agent texted with a request for showing for Friday at 6, and a little later for one at 4:30 on Saturday.
Friday, my friend K dropped by as I'd asked to borrow her nose. Thursday evening, we'd been chatting about their most recent cruise (to Greenland!) and the fact my house still hasn't sold, and I asked if she'd be able to drop by and help me identify where the lingering cat odors might be. We walked through the house and all she smelled was cleaning products! So...either I've gotten rid of the odors (finally), or some folks are more sensitive to it. That's fair enough and I would say I've been in homes where certain odors seemed strong to me too.
In fact, when we got home after the showing on Friday evening, we noticed the aroma of a man's cologne. It wasn't my son's and the aroma was throughout the house. I suspect they would have not have smelled any cat odor...unless they've become nose blind (as the Febreeze adverts say). My son was parked where he could see the agent and an older couple; they were in the house for 25 minutes or so. No feedback as yet.
We had another showing on Saturday afternoon. Right in the middle of the Rider/Bombers game! I seriously thought about saying no, but I didn't and just paused my live TV so I could watch the end of the game when I got home. Though neither went as I would have liked. The viewers were in and out of the house in less than 20 minutes, and the Riders lost.
On Sunday morning, Eli came for a visit, while his mom did a bit of shopping on her own. They had come to the city on Friday, to house and dog sit for a friend of hers (and Eli's godmother). M, her partner and three boys were gifted tickets to the Rider/Bombers football game in Winnipeg, so she offered D $100 to come stay at their house for the weekend. D sent me this photo, and I laughed so hard. I told her perhaps she needs to get Eli his very own cage. He certainly seems to be enjoying hanging out in theirs. Frankie is the German shepherd and Veena, the floppy eared dog (in front of Eli) is a foster. D says that he likes the dogs and they like him too, and every picture she took of the dogs to send to M, Eli was in the photo too.
We watched Paw Paw (Paw Patrol), listened to music, danced, read a book, and Eli brought out every toy in the house. He was gentle with Sasha, who tolerated a lot before he finally snapped at Eli to let him know he'd had enough (he didn't actually bite him). Eli was good and left him alone after that.
One of his little toys plays the ABC song, and I was surprised to hear him say g, j, lmnop, r, s, v, x, and z along with the song. I don't remember my kids learning their alphabet that early. It won't be long before he knows it all. He also pointed out the pumpkins I've put out. Best of all he told me when he needed to potty! Yep, he's almost fully potty trained. D says, he's had a couple of accidents in the past week but he's no longer wearing diapers even at night. He's just 2 1/2 years old! But oh my, is he growing up quickly. My brother said, if we only continued to learn at the same pace, we'd have been through high school by the age of eleven. Too true!
So while most of the week was pretty humdrum, the end of it has been anything but. I so enjoyed my time with my grandson; he always makes me smile. And when he's left, it's time to clean...which is what I'll be doing for the rest of the afternoon.
Have a great week everyone.
Tuesday, 3 September 2019
August's to do list
I definitely managed to complete more of the list this month. I did reduce the number for 20 from 30, which made it a bit easier. A lot were underway from last month too, so that helped! I do like having the list - I keep it on the side of the fridge and it's a good reminder to do the things I enjoy doing...in addition to all the cleaning for showings that seem to never end.
1. Count my blessings – daily - always
2. Send a letter or card to someone - J in England was the recipient, and I was totally amazed at how quickly it arrived.
3. Drive out to visit D and Eli - I made a trip this week overnight on Sunday to drop off some items and get a visit with my adorable grandson.
4. Invite guests over for a visit or dinner - still my Achilles heel...maybe next month
5. Attend stitch, make, and chat at the library
6. Make a gift - scarf for my SIL for Christmas
7. Sew or craft something/finish an ongoing project - finished another baby blanket and hemmed some jeans for my son
8. Go to the $$ or thrift store
9. Try a new recipe - sausage and peppers with rigatoni pasta. It was a hit with my son and I. A do-over for sure!
10. Read a book - Two in fact, "She wanted it All" by Kathryn Casey - true crime, and "Begonia Brown: A Philadelphia Story" by Julia Press Simmons - novel
11. Watch a movie - The Accountant. When it first started I wasn't that into it, but by the time it was finished I thought it was quite good.
12. Take a walk in the park
13. Repurpose/recycle something - I did find a pattern to make a cloth bag from an old t-shirt, and the t-shirt is sitting in the sewing room waiting for me get at it.
14. Bake something and and share it
15. Learn how to make something
16. Mow the lawn, sweep the deck weekly - I managed this about every 10 days due to rain which means it needs mowing badly right now!
17. Have coffee on the back deck or front patio
18. List something to sell on Varage sale
19. Volunteer - I did finish the weeding on the long weekend of August but I haven't been back. Again, rain and procrastination.
20. Listen to my Spanish CDs in the car - I finally remembered to do this, but only when I was about halfway to D's house. I got through the alphabet, though I'm sure I don't remember much of it.
Time to start a new list for September, and work on those on those items that just seem to never get done.
1. Count my blessings – daily - always
2. Send a letter or card to someone - J in England was the recipient, and I was totally amazed at how quickly it arrived.
3. Drive out to visit D and Eli - I made a trip this week overnight on Sunday to drop off some items and get a visit with my adorable grandson.4. Invite guests over for a visit or dinner - still my Achilles heel...maybe next month
5. Attend stitch, make, and chat at the library
6. Make a gift - scarf for my SIL for Christmas
7. Sew or craft something/finish an ongoing project - finished another baby blanket and hemmed some jeans for my son
8. Go to the $$ or thrift store
9. Try a new recipe - sausage and peppers with rigatoni pasta. It was a hit with my son and I. A do-over for sure!
10. Read a book - Two in fact, "She wanted it All" by Kathryn Casey - true crime, and "Begonia Brown: A Philadelphia Story" by Julia Press Simmons - novel
11. Watch a movie - The Accountant. When it first started I wasn't that into it, but by the time it was finished I thought it was quite good.
12. Take a walk in the park
13. Repurpose/recycle something - I did find a pattern to make a cloth bag from an old t-shirt, and the t-shirt is sitting in the sewing room waiting for me get at it.
14. Bake something and and share it
15. Learn how to make something
16. Mow the lawn, sweep the deck weekly - I managed this about every 10 days due to rain which means it needs mowing badly right now!
17. Have coffee on the back deck or front patio
18. List something to sell on Varage sale
19. Volunteer - I did finish the weeding on the long weekend of August but I haven't been back. Again, rain and procrastination.
20. Listen to my Spanish CDs in the car - I finally remembered to do this, but only when I was about halfway to D's house. I got through the alphabet, though I'm sure I don't remember much of it.
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