Another moderately lazy day. I got the ceiling fan installed and a load of stuff cleared out of the room. Next up I can think about measuring what baseboard material I need, finishing the electrics (which is just about cutting holes for the back boxes in the baseboards and poking wires into place), and then sanding and staining the floor.
Getting ready to put the house on the market. Getting out of this sprawling city/suburb and moving to the house in the mountains. Now what do I do with all this stuff?
Curious time to be trying to sell a house. Are realtors allowed to work where you live? Here they are doing virtual tours and getting some of the process done remotely but can't complete until the governor is gracious enough to let people go to work again.
Selling houses every day. No one here cares what the governor says. Most start on line, then if interested, the buyer comes to the house with just their realtor and my realtor (nothing changed there). After that, process is the same. Real estate closings still ongoing. Current inventory of houses on market is down 56%, so realtors are begging for listings in good shape since many of the existing listings are pieces o'crap that have been on the market too long already because of intrisinc defects. Pricing is very good and holding, and I want to get out before I go through another 60% drop like 2008-2009. My realtor had two listings last week. One sold in 3 days, one sold with 5 offers same day as listing, 4 of them sight unseen. It really is location, location, location. We're trying to hit the market just before May 1 when we anticipate Das Gubernor will release the inmates.
It looks like our knucklehead governor is still on top form. Apparently now you need a mask to visit any private business. So the local hardware store where I can often go in and be the only customer in there is sufficiently dangerous that I need to wear a mask. But you don't need a mask to ride public transport that is part of SEPTA, the transport authority of SE PA. You know, the bit where Philadelphia is. Philadelphia, the worst affected part of the entire state. So apparently mass transit is safe enough to ride without a mask but it's deadly dangerous enough to be Killed To Death to go inside a quiet local store with no other customers. Not to worry folks, our knucklehead governor has a Cunning Plan. It doesn't look like anybody knows what it is yet, and what little information there is consists of nothing more than lots of generic twaddle about how much he wants to get people back to work, and maybe he'll actually do something before there aren't any businesses left to work for. In unrelated news some of the liquor stores are opening but for curbside pickup only. Apparently that's suddenly safe now. Presumably they are missing the tax revenues.
In news that doesn't involve comparing the intellect of our governor to various piles of rotting unpleasantness, today's Very Fun Job is getting an elderly laptop up and running for my wife. All she needs it for is low-level document writing and web browsing so we got her a used one. Then we found the used one doesn't have the current service pack for Windows 7 so that's installing. Then I get to install the internet security suite and applications. It's a great way to spend a morning. Then after my walk around town for some fresh air I get to avoid breathing sawdust as I sand the floor some more. At least now the room is mostly empty so I'm not working around everything in sight.
Just remember. CyrusTheVirus(TM) is everywhere, and you probably aren't smart enough to know fresh air from VirusAir(TM). Remember to get a hall pass from Das Obenfuhrer prior to going outside, or your Comrades Neighbors might report you to the Stasi.
Local Forest service abatement project involves clearing and burning an assortment of bush, including juniper trees, releasing waves allergenic pollen. Sinus problems for those who suffer from allergies include inner-ear pressure, dizziness and vertigo, not to mention headaches. Antihistimines only add to the problems. One solution: pollen resistent facemasks, which are very hard to come by. Think I'll utilize my double painting respirator and start dressing like Darth Vader. ("Luke, Luke... don't be such a punk!)
I know officially hate my baby brother and his active army officer lifestyle and perks. He's using his VA loan benefits to buy some land for his primary residence when he retires. 75 acres, spring feed year round creek that flows OUT OF A FREAKING CAVE ON THE PROPERTY. 25 acres in hay. Yeah. I hate him. I hate him muchly.
My wife's laptop now has internet security. Along the way I had to upgrade all sorts of things but got there in the end. Now it's installing our preferred browser and email client, then I can get to installing other stuff she'll want. Miraculously, I managed to get some floor sanding done. Just taking a break now because the sander is getting rather warm.
There is plenty of hate to go around. I'm sharing him so that more people can hate him as much as I. Think of it as a hate pandemic, and I'm patient zero.
I often thought it would be cool to have a house built against a mountain, so that you could have some kind of secret door leading into a network of caves. Not only could you use it to age anything from wine to beer to cheeses but you'd also have a place to hide if society really turns in on itself and a big enough space to store enough to tide your family over for an extended period. Some years back I saw a place for sale in (I think) Tennessee that was just like that - a fairly big house (maybe 4000 square feet) that also came with something like 50,000 square feet of closed cave system.
Just made me think of the story of the visitor to Scotland who approached a boy and asked how long it had been raining. The boy said "I don't know, I'm only 12".
I want a cave. The hatred continues... In a mediation this morning by zoom teleconference Completely weird. But it works