Val's Lyin' Eyes

I might need new glasses. Or maybe just to wear my glasses while driving. Or maybe to stop casually chatting with The Pony while I'm driving.

We were headed home on Errand Day. Stopped at the 4-way stop sign with Subway on our right, Hick's apartments and the Senior Center across from it, a municipal parking lot on our left, and the old Roseland Theater across from it.

That movie theater is where I had my best viewing experience ever, while in high school, watching "Carrie," and the audience almost having a collective heart attack at the ending when Sue Snell was in Carrie's yard laying flowers. It's where we took little Genius to see his first movie, "Mouse Hunt," and had to leave in the middle because he would not stop talking out loud.

This theater has undergone several phases. It was turned into a two-plex. It stopped being a move theater. For a while it was some kind of church. And now it seems to host assorted events.

I was driving, you know. Stopped at the intersection. Watching the other three cars to make sure I took my proper turn. I glanced at the marquis of the theater.

"Huh. How can they put that up there? The 'Mexican Awards.'"

Let the record show that Sis-Town has Mexican residents. Some work at the local greenhouse. Some work at a produce company, loading and unloading trucks to distribute vegetables. When I lived in my $17,000 house, I would see them walking to work, carrying their lunch in Walmart bags. So it's not a stretch that I might think some entity was hosting a night of "Mexican Awards." Though these days, you'd think they could come up with a better title.

"Mom. I can't believe you said that! It says: 'Magician. D.J. Edwards.'"

Oh. Well. Nevermind...

The Deal is Done: Another Flip House, Coming Soon

The(flippin')Victorians bought another house on Thursday. The one I shall call Lap House, because it fell into Hick's lap without any search or real estate listing or sign in the yard. It was a call with an offer to sell, from an old guy referred to Hick by the old guy we bought the Double Hovel from.

In true Hick photography faux pas fashion, the picture is from the BACK of the house! 

Lap House is on The Pony's street. Three doors down. It's a nice wide street. This is a corner lot with a decent size back yard. That's the entrance to the partial basement. Much better than a crawlspace for flippers, because it's easy access for plumbing and electric and ductwork.

Across the street is an apartment building. It used to be an elementary school, which is pretty obvious to me from the windows. Next to Lap house is an old church. I don't think there is any activity there these days. I never see any cars or people. Whoever eventually buys Lap House will have better-than-average privacy, with a street on one side, an abandoned church on the other side, an alley in the back, and apartments across the street. I don't expect those residents will be hanging out in front, or complaining about goings-on.

More pictures as they become available.

Next Thing You Know, Hick Will be Blamed for the Downfall of Civilization

Here we go again. It's all Hick's fault...

Of course I am allowed to blame Hick for anything I see fit. That's my privilege. It's a perk that comes with putting up with him for the past 35-and-a-half years. Nobody else gets that privilege. Especially the fire chief over in Sis-Town!

Hick's boss brought a note to show him on Tuesday. It was the day after the inspection of the kitchen at the Senior Center, for which Hick had provided a cover for the four-foot fluorescent light. The note had nothing to do with the kitchen. It passed inspection just fine. 

The note was about the senior apartments. It had been given to the city manager, and the mayor. The mayor gave it to Hick's boss. Let the record show that there was no reason for the fire chief to go into the apartment section of the building. It's not necessary to leave the kitchen. It was not having an inspection.

Among the items in the note was: "I stepped out into the apartment building, and noticed what appeared to be a slight haze. It seemed to be coming from Apartment 2. For the safety of the residents, the apartment manager needs to make sure the residents are not smoking."

Of course Hick took issue with this. 

"So the fire chief was worried about the safety of the residents, but left the building with smoke coming out of an apartment? What kind of fire chief does that, without checking it out himself? What are we supposed to do? Be here 24 hours a day and sit in the hall waiting to see if somebody smokes? They KNOW it's against the rules. I'm tire of this nitpicking. I don't need this job!"

Hick's boss said he didn't, either. And that he was going to talk to the mayor and take care of it. Along with the other issues in the note. Like a bicycle and a plant in the way of making an emergence exit, and trash in the trash room.

Hick says one of the residents parks his bicycle in the entry area, but it's back away from the stairs, and not in front of the door. And that there's a plant, but it's also not in the path to the exit, nor on the stairs. As for the trash, it's supposed to be dumped every day by the lady who cleans. And Hick and Old Buddy sometimes dump it in the morning, if there's trash in it when they arrive.

"What are we supposed to do about the trash? Sit around and listen for when somebody drops a bag in, and take it out right then, and wait for the next one to drop?"

His boss said no, of course not. It's the trash room. That's why the building was made with a trash chute. It's getting taken out regularly, not accumulating.

I told Hick: "This guy is out to get you because he knows that you're onto him for not doing HIS job right!"

"That's probably got something to do with it."

Sounds like somebody has an ax to grind, and he'd better not be leaving the shavings in Hick's apartment building!

Surprise Reuben!

I knew that Reuben Day at the Senior Center was Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day. I made sure that Hick knew, too! He agreed to bring home Reubens for our supper. The menu said it would be:

Reuben

Colcannon (Irish Potatoes)

Honey Glazed Carrots

Pistachio Cake OR Fruit

I was a bit disappointed to see that there was no SLAW on the menu. Then again, when the menu DID list slaw, we didn't get it, because they substituted beets. I was curious to see what would actually be in our takeout containers.

The broccoli was a welcome surprise. I don't like glazed carrots. The colcannon looked okay. Like basic mashed potatoes. Maybe with bacon particles. I tried a bite, but they tasted like watery mashed potatoes with maybe some bacon and broccoli stems. No thank you. Hick can have mine.

Here's the thing: Hick brought home an extra Reuben! 

"One of them old ladies didn't want her sandwich, so they put it in a container for me."

That works out great. I only have half a Reuben, then the other half the next night. So Hick ate just the sandwich Tuesday evening, because he was still full from the meal at lunch. Wednesday night, I'll have my other half-Reuben, and Hick can have the second meal. Plus my colcannon. Of course, he will be eating another full meal for lunch, Wednesday's being:

Meatloaf

Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Roll

Peach Pie OR Fruit

Heh, heh! Hick LOVES meatloaf. I hope he's not getting leftover colcannon for the mashed potatoes, because he'll also be having a double serving for supper.

Anyhoo... the dessert looked okay:

I don't know if it was actually Pistachio Cake from the menu. Hick just said he had "green cake." I didn't try it, because I always give my desserts to Hick. Those little decoration things are a deal-breaker for me. Or should I say "tooth-breaker?" I don't like them on my cake, no matter what the flavor or color. Can you tell which piece they intended for Hick?

The Reuben was really good. The broccoli was okay. I'm trying to get Hick to bring me lunch next Tuesday... The menu calls for:

Ham & Beans

Spinach & Breaded Tom.

Cornbread

OR

Liver & Onions

Mashed Potatoes

Veg

Cornbread

Blueberry Pie OR Fruit

I would like to try their liver and onions. I like liver. Not sure what they can do to it. I for sure don't want spinach, or "breaded tom." (Which I hope is breaded tomATOES, but then again not, because they sound horrible. Though breaded TOM would be much worse!)

We'll see if Hick is too busy to bring me TWO meals in one month!

Hick Brings Hot Water Upon Himself

Hick is a schemer and a redeemer. It's tough to sneak a bargain past him. 

A year or two ago, Hick signed up for a Lowe's Pro account. It's for contractors, I think. Or anyone who plans to buy a lot of stuff at once, like a contractor would. I was against it, because the bill comes separately from the regular Lowe's credit card bill. And the itemization is very confusing, because apparently you can pay off a purchase separately, and wait to pay the rest. I don't need that kind of headache. One bill a month, paid in full. That's my routine to pay Lowe's and Menards for the flip house expenses. 

Anyhoo... in questioning one such itemized Lowe's Pro bill, Hick discovered that he can pay right there at the store. No need to wait on a confusing statement in the mail. Also, Hick gets points on his account that can be redeemed for future purchases. In fact, he cashed in $86 just before Christmas, he says, buying stuff for Bargain House.

Now comes the scheming. Two events that Hick could gleefully join together.

Hick has been upgrading one of the senior apartments. With approval from his boss, of course. It's getting new laminate flooring to replace the old carpet. Plus a new refrigerator, stove, and air conditioner.

Last week, while fiddling around in his basement workshop, Hick discovered that our water heater has a leak. He got it fixed up, but we need a new water heater. This doesn't surprise me. We've had this one since the boys were living here. A couple times, Hick hauled it out the basement door, and made them help him drain it and remove the lime deposits that had formed. So we've definitely gotten our use out of this water heater.

The scheme? To add our water heater to the Lowe's order for the apartments. It's a win-win, because there weren't enough apartment purchases to make the bill over $2000, which is required to get the discount prices. The cost of our water heater would put the total above $2000.

I'm not sure if Hick got his scheme approved ahead of time. But here's how it worked out. There was no specific percentage of discount like I had assumed. "They just had contractor discount prices on certain items. So you get whatever it is. They're all different amounts."

According to Hick, the total savings was $550. So the apartments saved $430 on their items, and we saved $120 on our water heater. Hick says the apartment savings is like them getting the flooring for free. Also, Hick got points worth $21 on his account for the order. 

The bookkeeper for Hick's apartment job gave him a check to pay when he picked up the order. I asked if he needed a check for $360.05 to give the bookkeeper for the cost of our water heater. He said no, she wanted it in cash. Which seems odd because she doesn't want Hick giving her the elderlies' rent in cash, but who am I to question an agency that helps old people?

Anyhoo... our water heater is paid for, the apartment appliances are paid for, the apartments saved money, we saved money, and Hick got $21 worth of points to redeem, plus a message that he can get 25% off a future order of $2000 or more.

That was a pretty good scheme.

Hick is a Mess, Thanks to The Universe

Now The Universe is getting physical! Poor Hick. He came home with a bloody lip!

"I fell. I was going in the Senior Center."

"Did you trip? Did anybody see you?"

"Nobody saw me. I was just walking across the floor, and lost my balance. Sometimes that happens, like I can't move my feet fast enough to recover."

"There's no money in THAT!"

"Heh, heh. Yeah. I had been out to the lumberyard to get a light cover for the gal who runs the kitchen. She's got an inspector comin', and her four-foot fluorescent don't have no cover on it. I just fell while I was walkin' through."

"You dropped a glove."

"That ain't no glove. That's my paper towel for my lip." Hick picked it up from the kitchen floor and dabbed at his lower right lip.

"Hey! That was on the floor! Where Pepper runs around!"

"It ain't gonna hurt me. Here's another one my toenail girl give me. She seen it when I was at the counter payin'."

"For supper, you're having boneless chicken wings. And I can make you mashed potatoes."

"I don't want nothing hard to chew."

"Boneless wings aren't hard to chew! OR mashed potatoes!"

"Yeah. I guess that'll be fine. I don't want nothin' salty. I was thinkin' about chips."

Hick grabbed a Diet Mountain Dew out of FRIG II. 

"What are you doing now, going to have some Chex Mix?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Um. Salty?"

"I can fit it in the other side of my mouth."

Good thing Hick can adapt to live with his injury.

The Universe Messes With Hick

Gotta say, I'm glad to be off The Universe's hook. It's Hick's turn to be messed with. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

Saturday evening, I was ready for Hick to be home at his usual time, around 5:00. With the recent time change, I thought he might show up later. An extra hour of daylight is nothing to sneeze at for a flea market business. I held off on starting his supper. It was going to be quite simple, anyway. Just a couple of hot dogs cooked in the oven, Ruffles potato chips, and baby carrots with dip. Ten minutes, tops, for preparation.

When Hick wasn't home by 5:25, I called. Just to get an idea of his ETA. Was it worth sitting down with my scratchers, or was his arrival imminent? His phone rang several times, but didn't go to voice mail. I thought maybe he was nearly here, and in the dead zone down by Mailbox Row. I usually get voice mail if he's at his SUS2.5, because he doesn't get good reception inside. From my phone, anyway, though he calls in to the FFL people to verify if customers can legally purchase his highly-regulated items.

I didn't send a text. I went to change into my scratcher-scratching clothes. Of course my phone rang. It was Hick, saying he had a customer, but would be leaving soon. I told him no big deal. I wouldn't be starting his supper until after 6:30. It takes Hick 30 minutes to drive home. And at least 15 minutes to put his wares inside, and lock up his units.

This timing would work out fine. I'd have Hick's supper ready for him to take to his recliner and watch the new season of Storage Wars that came on at 7:00. Hick loves that show! It's what got him started with his flea market business(s). And now it's back.

At 6:30, Hick arrived. I finished my current scratcher, and put his hot dogs in the oven while he went outside with little puppy Pepper, who has been LET LOOSE from his back-porch pen to live like a regular dog on the grounds of our hillbilly mansion. I got Hick's plate ready with the baby carrots. Set out the hot dog buns and chips and mustard. I was getting ready to spoon the dip onto the plate at 6:48 when Hick came in the kitchen door.

"I cain't remember nothin'! A guy from the storage units just called, and said I didn't close the door on my shop! I'm glad he called. I've got to go lock it up!"

"Well. Your supper will just sit here until you get back. You're going to miss your show."

"Yeah. There ain't nothin' I can do about that. I have to go."

Poor Hick. I had everything timed just right for his Saturday evening. The Universe thought otherwise. Hick got back home at 7:43.   

"Were you speeding? That's a pretty fast trip there and back!"

"No. I wasn't speeding. I just got to thinking, I have a buddy who lives five minutes from the flea market. I bet he would have drove over there and locked up for me. But it's done now. I'd been moving my stuff in, closing up, when a kid (actually a young adult, which Hick calls 'kids') come up wanting to buy somethin'. I went in with him, and a couple of my buddies carried my stuff in for me. That threw off my routine, and I didn't lock up like I usually do."

It was the big door, the outside pull-down garage type door that he'd left up. The regular front door in the wall of his storefront was locked. So nobody was going to walk in and help themselves. But you don't want your metal security door left open on a Saturday night. 

That's for sure!

Lucky for Hick, there were TWO episodes of the new season of Storage Wars. He got to see the end of the first, and all of the second. And all his wares were safe and secure.

Nothing Quite So Pleasant as SilverRedO with a Pheasant

Hick has been at it again, out rounding up bargains (and FREEbies) for his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5). This time they came from one of his favorite hangouts, a pawn shop on Main Street. One of his buddies runs it. Hick has been saying for a while that it's going out of business. Yet he was over there playing the fake slot machines when I met him in October for our yearly meeting with our financial advisor across the street.

Friday, I suppose it really WAS going out of business. Hick said he had to get over there to see what was left. Is it a bad sign or a good sign for the economy when a pawn shop goes out of business? Are people no longer needing to pawn things? Or have they run out of things to pawn?

Anyhoo... Hick had previously picked up some bargain merchandise that will be good for re-sale. While there, he had seen a pheasant. He really wanted that pheasant, but the buddy said it was not for sale. Who has a going-out-business sale at a pawn shop and then won't sell a pheasant? I really need a lot of questions answered about this experience!

Anyhoo... the buddy had apparently called Hick and told him there was good news and bad news. The bad being that he had another item he knew Hick would really want for his SUS2.5, thus costing Hick more money, so soon after he had made a trip to another pawn shop down in Casino Town, and traded a bunch of silver for the same kind of merchandise. But the good news was that the buddy was going to GIVE Hick the pheasant! For being such a good customer. A little bonus.

There it is, proudly posed on SilverRedO, under the carport. I asked Hick his plans for it.

"I'm going to put it in my shop!"

"Will you sell it?"

"I don't plan to. But if somebody offers me the right price, I will."

"What's your price?"

"At least $100."

"Where did it come from?"

"Somebody shot it, and had it stuffed."

"I KNOW that! But I wondered if there was a story with it. I don't know anybody hunting pheasants around here. It's quail."

"I don't know. Probably from out west somewhere. Maybe the Dakotas."

Hick's concept of "west" is a little different from mine. But technically, the Dakotas ARE west of Missouri.

We'll see how long Hick can hold onto his pheasant...

Val Is Thrust Kicking and Screaming into the 2026 Tax Season

I hate progress!!! Especially the electronical kind of progress. 

It's tax season, you know. I've always done our taxes. Even back in the dark ages when you got a packet of forms in the mail, and had to order (by mail!) any extra forms you couldn't find stocked at a post office or library. Then those forms stopped! You could still order them. But they were not delivered, nor readily available in town.

That's when I started using TurboTax. The disc you could buy at Walmart and slide into the tower of your desktop. It walked me through the items I needed. Then made a file of them in proper order. All I had to do was print them on my laser printer that sat beside my trusty desktop computer. I had adapted to progress!

But wait. My laser printer quit working. So I had to save my file on a thumb drive for Hick to take to town and get printed at the UPS store. The gals there really liked him for some reason. I swore I would get a new printer. By the time I did that, I was not going to the basement to my desktop. It was after my unfortunate HospitVALzation, and I wasn't making trips up and down those 13 rail-less basement stairs.

My new printer worked for one month. I might have used it twice. Even then, it didn't work well. It took The Pony a while to set it up and make it go. Because everything these days wants to run on those magical invisible signals floating around. My laptop HIPPIE was having none of that. Or perhaps it was the printer. HIPPIE would say he sent out the signals, but the printer in the living room didn't get them. 

Hick wasn't going to the UPS store any more. I figured I'd take a chance, and just save my tax forms on HIPPIE. He has several years worth. Luckily I didn't need to look up anything. Until NOW.

My tax life became a whole lot more difficult over the past few years. Walmart quit selling TurboTax in favor of H&R Block. But I could still get my TurboTax from Amazon. Until TurboTax quit making the CD version. So it had to be downloaded and somehow made usable on HIPPIE. The Pony did that for me. 

The second year, we couldn't remember my password, which was required to use my own laptop to utilize the software that I had already paid for. INTUIT was holding my account hostage! There was no way to say I forgot my password and reset it! After trying every imaginable version of my go-to password, with me in tears, and The Pony apologizing for not being able to find a way around that password... I suggested one little tweak to that password family, and it WORKED!

Well. This year, equipped with The Pony and a password, a new monkey wrench was tossed into my tax life. Like Adam Sandler in Big Daddy, tossing sticks into the path of roller-bladers in the park! TurboTax geniuses decided that this year's version could no longer run on Windows 10. Only Windows 11 or higher. Which meant I had to use a whole new laptop, as HIPPIE was not compatible. Too old and slow to run Windows 11. No simple upgrade.

Luckily I had a "new" laptop The Pony got me a couple Christmases ago. I call him LENNY, because he's a Lenovo. He works just fine. But he's NEW to me. The keys are a different spacing from very wide HIPPIE. So I have to look down and make a lot of corrections.

Oh, did I mention that I'm not good at using that little finger pad thingy instead of a mouse? And I only have one mouse. It works fine with LENNY. All I have to do is unplug a little thingy on the side of HIPPIE, and insert it in the (opposite of course) side of LENNY.

Here's the deal. With HIPPIE slowly dying, shutting down randomly from overheating, I had transferred my previous few tax year files from HIPPIE to LENNY. Just in case I might need them. Which I did, because of a dang lump-sum payment of SS when teachers were allowed to draw it on their spouses like every other profession or non-workers.

Yep. I had everything done. From the sale of three properties in 2025, to Hick's business, and his new non-employee contractor status due to his less (now more) than $300 a month job with the senior apartments. He got a 1099-NEC. But I got it figured out. Yet now it was my own income that tripped me up.

I needed to find the taxable amount of Hick's SS in 2024, because that's what my lump-sum payment was for: a few months in 2024, because they backdated the teacher claims for when the law was changed.

Anyhoo... the point of all this confusing stuff I forced you to read is that I HAD those 2024 tax forms for reference. I only needed two items. Hick's full amount of SS for that year, and the taxable amount. 

LENNY could not open my 2024 tax return! He needs some program to open it in. I will have to consult The Pony for that. But wait! I still have the file on HIPPIE. Sitting right there behind LENNY on the kitchen table. So all I needed was to open the file on HIPPIE to read the info to type into LENNY where I had TurboTax open.

Well. Did you forget that I have one mouse? So I had to unplug and replug and shuffle the guys around to get into HIPPIE and open that 2024 file. Then switch the mouse back to LENNY to type it in. Oh, I got it done. It took way longer than should have been necessary.

Back in the olden days, it was SO EASY to open last year's manilla folder and look at any tax forms you needed for reference.

That was my point...

Living in the Sticks

We were cautious on Thursday when Hick took me to my orthopedist appointment. He took an alternate route to avoid the low water bridge on the county blacktop road. We can tell by the height of our creek if that bridge will be underwater. We also took the alternate route on Monday when I had a follow-up appointment with my regular NP. The creek was probably down from the second batch of rain, but we figured there might be logs on the bridge.

Coming home, Hick took a chance, just to see if the bridge was clear for his trip back to town. We can always turn around at the top of the hill and take the alternate. It's just more time-consuming.

Anyhoo... the bridge itself was clear.

The creek had gone down. The county road crew had not yet been out to scrape all the dirt off the edge of the bridge. The other side has been cleaned off. Hick thinks the guy who lives at the first house over there sometimes does the dozing of debris. He's a contractor with heavy equipment.

You can see that traffic has been crossing. Most likely the first few were in pickup trucks anyway, with 4WD, in case they got stuck. This smashed ruts in the sandy soil for others to pass.

A-Cad has AWD, and had no problems easing through the dirt. I took the alternate later. T-Hoe would have no problems, but I prefer a less bumpy ride.

That dirt must have been pretty deep for the first couple of vehicles to pass.

Tuesday, Hick reported that the dirt had been cleared. Indeed, it was piled on the side, and a guy with a truck and trailer was shoveling some for personal use. The road had been skinned of the last two layers of blacktop. Flood water is a powerful force! T-Hoe climbed the "steps" from the bridge to road just fine.

We have a blacktop patch now that makes it pretty smooth. Until the next big rain.

Hick Goes Up on the Roof

Hick was up on the roof of the senior apartments Monday morning, looking for the source of a leak during our three inches of rain last week. It had caused a light to fall from the ceiling inside. He found it. The rubber coating on the roof had collapsed in one corner. It's not something Hick is qualified to fix, so he called a contractor.

 

There's a view across town at sunrise. Not very impressive. It's a small town that sprung up during the lead mining era. Hick's apartment building sits on Main Street. In the distance, you can see the store where I shop every Thursday. It will always be Country Mart to me, even though another chain has taken over. The brick building to the left of Hick's roof is the former Southwestern Bell Telephone building that my dad worked out of for many years. In the days before Bell was de-regulated into AT&T.

There's not much to see of Main Street from this view. That white building used to be a Western Auto store when I was a kid, but is now a Subway. The sandwich shop, not underground transit. The only thing underground in this town it the lead mine, now closed.

If you zoom in, you can see the back of the post office, the loading dock with all the vehicles parked. To the left of it, there's a brick building with two green awnings. That is now the city library, but it used to be the unemployment office, where I worked when Genius was born.

Getting back to the roof business... I asked Hick how much it would cost to replace the roof.

"It's like replacing a roof on a house. It will cost about $16,000."

"Does the association have enough money to do that?"

"Oh, yeah. Since I took over a year ago, it went from having a negative balance to over $60,000 in the bank."

"Will it be the same kind of roof? That tarpaper stuff? Or metal, like a house?"

"It's not tarpaper. It's EDPM. It will be the same kind of roof."

Good to know that Hick has filled the coffers of the association for the elderlies, what with getting all those apartments ready and rented. So they can afford to replace the roof. They're sure not wasting that money on Hick's salary!

Let the Long Horns Blow a (Muted) Fanfare!

BARGAIN HOUSE IS UNDER CONTRACT!

Of course there's more to the story. I've been holding out on you, waiting to see how things progress. Papers have been signed. The closing is scheduled for the first week of April. An inspector will tour Bargain House next week. Then we will be informed of any items that might need to be addressed. This is the buyer's inspector, for his loan. Bargain House has already passed the city inspection for occupancy.

Bargain House was officially put on the market by Realtor Guy on Thursday, February 19. By the weekend, it was being shown a couple times a day. When I dropped off The Pony after our Errand Day on Thursday, February 26, The Pony said, "I have a feeling we're going to get an offer on Bargain House this weekend."

Realtor Guy was communicating with Hick all along. Hick asked if there was anything the viewers mentioned. Anything we might be able to change. Realtor Guy said the only thing he heard was that some didn't like the location, which obviously can't be changed. Hick thought it might be because the city "bus barn" is across the side street, where they park all the city vehicles. Or maybe a house across the back alley with a yard that's a bit junky.

Anyhoo... Sunday night, March 1, Hick got a text from Realtor Guy with an offer for Bargain House. It was $17,400 under the listing price. We talked it over with The Pony, and Hick countered with a price that was $10.000 under the listing price. Essentially, we came down $10,000, and the prospective buyer would need to come up $7,400 from his offer. Which is more than fair to him. Better than if Hick played his "split the difference" game.

We didn't hear anything for a couple days. On Tuesday, March 3, Hick called Realtor Guy. Who said the prospective buyer had decided he wasn't interested. No skin off our collective noses. We're not giving it away!

The house showed through the week, days and evenings, with multiple weekend showings. Realtor Guy gave his viewers a short survey. Some said they wanted to look at other properties. One guy rated it a 4 out of 5, the only complaint being that he thought it was a bit overpriced. Well, that's on Realtor Guy, who told Hick his original price was too low! Anyhow, that's how houses are sold. You make an offer for what you're willing to pay. It apparently wasn't priced too high for that guy to ask for a viewing.

Saturday night, March 7, Hick went to bed at his normal time, around 8:30. On Sunday morning, checking his phone, he saw a text from Realtor Guy at 9:20 p.m.

"We have an offer on the house. That first guy will accept our counter-offer from before."

Hick signed the paperwork on his phone. The reason we are not over-the-moon excited is because of how the prospective buyer wants to do the deal. There's a name for it. According to Hick's explanation, the paperwork will somehow show that we're financing part of the buyer's down payment. I understand that although we will get our full amount from the counter-offer at closing, paperwork might show that the price is what that buyer first offered. Hick likened it to buying a car and getting trade-in value of a certain amount. Anyhoo... it will all be sorted out by the title company at closing, and we'll have our 1099-S form to show how to report it for tax purposes.

This buyer is getting a government loan, which I think is USDA, and Realtor Guy says they might require a vapor barrier under the crawl space. Hick knows a local guy who does that, but is not sure of the cost. He's thinking around $2500-3000, and says we'll do it if needed.

Anyhoo... BARGAIN HOUSE IS UNDER CONTRACT! After 16 days on the market, and for a price that is $10,000 higher than our pre-agreed-upon bottom line. We haven't popped any champagne corks just yet...

Ring Hick's Be-e-elll, Ring Hick's Bell

When Hick came home Friday afternoon from his Friday-afternoon-bull-shooting session with his cronies, he took little puppy Pepper out to the yard to play. Pepper looks forward to it, and is on high alert in his  porch-pen enclosure as the time grows near. After 30-60 minutes of tormenting our old dog Jack, Pepper trots through the kitchen behind Hick, ready for his supper back in his pen.

Pepper is growing up. He's nine weeks old now, almost ready to have free range of our 10 acres. His fur is getting coarser. He's not as bite-y when playing with humans. He will sometimes take off on a tangent to explore, but he always comes back to Hick.

Friday evening, Hick came in the house and started for the laundry room. "Come on, Pepper. Let's go get supper! Here, Pepper!"

Pepper was busy exploring the porch. He rounded the sticking-out part that is where the kitchen has the three windows. That brought him around to the other side of his pen wall, where Jack's water dish sits. Pepper was not responding to Hick's call. Hick came back through the kitchen to fetch Pepper. Who is still small enough to be tucked under an arm and easily carried.

Hick went around the corner and came back carrying Pepper. "I cain't just set him over into his pen. I left the laundry room door open, and he'd just run through the house."

GONG!!!

Hick had walked right into his decorative metal bell that's been hanging beside the kitchen door for over 25 years. Thankfully, he didn't drop Pepper!

It's colored green and yellow, like a John Deere tractor. That thing beside it is a ceramic gun holster. They are not connected, nor related. Here's an artsy view with the sunrise peeking through:

"Are you okay?"

"I hit my head on the bell!"

"I saw that. Do you have a concussion?"

"No. I'm blind in my left eye."

"Well, that bell HAS been there since right after we moved in. And you're the one who put it there."

"Yeah. But I didn't see it."

I'm really not one to be pointing out Hick's clumsiness. I still have a bruise on my forehead where I hit it on the laundry room doorknob, trying to stop Pepper from running back in when I put him out.

Hick Takes a Seat

Hick came home Wednesday afternoon proclaiming that he'd done a good deed. I didn't doubt him. Hick has a history of doing good deeds. He's a Do-Gooder. But this time, Hick hadn't consciously decided to perform a good deed. He was motivated by greed!

"I was comin' back from my store, and I saw three chairs along the highway. It was just off the entrance ramp. So I came back on to town and picked up Old Buddy. We went back to get them. It was three wooden chairs. 

When we got there, we seen that they was all skinned up and broken. We loaded them anyway. I brought them home, and when the rain clears up, I'll burn 'em on my burn pile. But that was a good deed. Because I picked up those chairs off the highway."

Yes. I would consider that a good deed, no matter what Hick's original motivation. He could have left the broken chairs there. He took his life (and Old Buddy's) in hand by stopping along a divided highway. Good-Deeders sometimes come to an unfortunate end when they stop to help a motorist.

Anyhoo... Hick has no FREE chairs to sell or use in a flip house. But he is proud that he cleaned up junk along the highway.

Hick Gets a Call From the Police (Again)

A while back, Hick got a call from the police. That time, it was because they found a wallet with Hick's "business" card in it. Not for his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5), but the one he uses for representing the senior apartments. His job for which he now receives a salary of just over $300 a month. The police wanted to return the wallet. That guy had not yet moved into the apartments, but Hick had his information, and was able to pass that along the next day when he got to his office.

Wednesday night, Hick got another call from the police. It was right after he went to bed. Since that was a little after 8:00, it was still within reason. Actually, it would probably have been considered within reason at any hour, because the police wanted to do a wellness check on a resident of the apartments. She had sent a text to a relative that concerned him, and he called the police.

Hick did not consider this call to be within reason. That's because he installed key boxes to enable emergency personnel to access every single apartment. He explained it at the monthly city meeting. The mayor herself said she would make sure that info was given to the police and the fire chief. There was even a kerfuffle later about the passing of this info, as to whom was responsible for the word of the key boxes not being spread to emergency personnel.

Hick told the policeman that there were two key boxes. One to get inside the building (which is locked at 7:00 p.m. to keep ne'er-do-wells out). And another inside the building, with two keys that will access EVERY DOOR. Hick gave the policeman the code numbers to open the lock boxes. He said he'd never been informed of them.

The policeman never called back. So Hick figures he was able to use the keys for entry.

Driving me home from my orthopedist appointment on Thursday morning, Hick used his phone programmed into A-Cad's radio to call his boss for the apartments. Hick explained that he'd gotten another call asking him to come unlock an apartment. He would have done it, if the policeman had not been able to get in. But the purpose of the key boxes was to alleviate this problem. Hick's boss said he would bring it up again with the police department.

Sometimes, I get the feeling that city personnel won't be satisfied until Hick makes himself a bed of rags in a cardboard box, and sleeps just inside the door to the apartment building.

Modem Day Hero

Thursday was problematic for Val. It was the day of my three-month-awaited appointment with an orthopedic surgeon about my knee. We had thunder and lightning and 3 INCHES OF RAIN all day Wednesday and through the night into Thursday morning. I was concerned the water might be up too much and prevent me from making the appointment.

I knew the creek would be over the low water bridge. But we have another way out in the other direction. Our bridge by the mailboxes doesn't flood, but water covers our gravel road that runs alongside the creek. Depending on how deep, we should not drive in it. Also, there's a tiny concrete bridge over a tributary wet-weather creek at the bottom of Hick and Buddy's Badly Blacktopped Hill. It has prevented crossing in the past.

Hick left home around 6:00, to check on the water situation, before our departure at 8:00. Because that's what Hicks do: they drive out into the water to see if the water is too deep. Hick found the tiny bridge with about a foot of water over it. Not recommended for driving, but it's only about five feet in length, and you can usually have either front or back tires on the unflooded ground while crossing. He went over it.

Down along the creek, before getting to Mailbox Row, Hick discovered a problem. The water, he said, was "only six inches deep." Again, not recommended for walking in, but Hick got out of SilverRedO to remove the problem: a big log in the road with water flowing around it. The road here is level, so the force of the water was spread out, not a swift current. Hick got the log off to the edge of the road, where there's usually a strip of ground with trees, holding the water in the creek.

We were able to get through to the county blacktop road, and were on time for the appointment. Thanks to Hick's advance planning. That wasn't his only act of heroism that day!

When I got home from the appointment at 10:30, I went about my usual morning routine of sitting down with HIPPIE at the kitchen table, enjoying some oatmeal and a banana and innernetting. But wait! Something was wrong! I had no internet service!!!

HIPPIE is cantankerous in his old age. I think he's almost 10! I tried all my usual fixes. Which include connecting and disconnecting from the internet. Then a couple of re-starts and shut downs. Fiddling with a couple of settings, turning them on and off. Waiting for 1 hour to elapse, which often sees my internet connection restored miraculously. I even gave up on HIPPIE, and fired up my "new" laptop that The Pony got me a couple Christmases ago. No internet on NEWBIE, either.

I even resorted to calling DISH NETWORK! That's our internet provider. Has its own satellite. I found the number in my phone, an old email telling me my bill was ready. About the only thing I discovered there was that my modem showed no power. Of course the gal wanted me to walk down those 13 rail-less basement steps to tell her the lights showing on the modem, and unplug and replug it, and me just having come from an orthopedist appointment for a gimpy knee!

Anyhoo... the DISH rep said that short power outages don't give the modem time to reset. They need a hard reset, unplugged for two minutes. I recalled that the previous evening, the power had gone off five times, but had come right back on. My internet was still working then. I guess the same thing happened again through the early morning hours, which is what temporarily killed the modem.

Well. You know whose job THAT is! Hick is the modem resuscitator. I called Hick, and while I was in town that afternoon, he came home and FIXED IT for me before taking little Pepper out to run around in the yard with Jack. At least we have grass, so they didn't get muddy. Hick's hero status was not sullied.

Don't Trust a Gift House in the Lap (Part 4)

When we last convened, Hick and Val were holding their respective breaths, waiting to see if Some Guy would indeed show up at the title office to sign paperwork to sell Lap House to us as per the verbal agreement. I don't like stringing you along like this, but to put ALL the details in one post would be quite unwieldy.

SOME GUY SIGNED THE PAPERS!

But before he did, he'd made several more calls to Hick. He was worried that his truck deal would be off. Hick promised that the truck deal was still on. "I'll give you the money tomorrow. $2000. It's fine. No problems there. I'll bring it to you."

Hick just opened a whole new can of worms! Or maybe it was the old worms, which Hick had tried to keep in the can, but kept crawling out until they demanded my attention. 

The way Hick had presented the truck information to me was that he was trading two guns from his shop to Some Guy for his old pickup truck. Which he would then sell to Old Buddy, to be paid for by physical labor. Old Buddy also helps Hick with maintenance of the senior apartments, out of Hick's pocket. That was not quite the truth! (Are you shocked? I think not. I will not be investing in smelling salts stock.)

My first truck clue came when Hick asked, 

"How are we getting the $2000 to buy the truck?"

"What do you mean? YOU are the one buying the truck. I thought you were making a trade."

"No. WE are buying the truck. And Old Buddy will pay us back by working on the house."

"You never told me that!"

"I did too. I sent you the text last night from the auction. So you knew."

Here's the text: "Got all papers signed and started i told him I'd by the truck tomorrow"

That's straight from the Hick's fingers. Nothing in there says that WE are buying a truck.

"I have enough money to pay him, but I have to have it back by tomorrow, because I'm going to Illinois to pick up an order."

"I didn't know this was part of the house deal. We might just as well have paid him what he asked for at first."

"Then we wouldn't have the truck."

"Where IS the truck? You're not going to license it, are you?"

"No. I'll get the title. Then Old Buddy gets it when he's worked it off. It's over behind the house. It don't run."

"You bought a truck that doesn't run, to give to somebody else, but we're paying for it. That will be really hard to keep track of on the flip house expenses. And what about Pony's part?"

"I'll write his hours down on my paper every month that I give you. It's just not actual money I paid him out of my pocket. So I won't get it back."

"The truck doesn't even run!"

"It was in a wreck. It has front end damage. And a safety switch that needs to be replaced."

"I don't know how Old Buddy is going to fix it up and get it off our new property, without you paying him so he has money to fix it up! The city will probably send you a nasty letter about a nuisance vehicle. You know how they love to find things wrong with your properties."

"It will be fine, Val. Old Buddy said he wanted the truck."

A call to The Pony with this revelation garnered the following response:

"I'M not buying a junk truck for Old Buddy!"

We're off on another adventure...

Don't Trust a Gift House in the Lap (Part 3)

On Monday at 11:00, Hick came home early to take little Pepper to his first puppy appointment at the vet. He had no sooner come in the door than his phone rang. It was Some Guy. I could hear the whole conversation.

Some Guy was expecting Hick to pay him cash TODAY for Lap House! He said, "Like we talked about yesterday." Hick reminded him that he'd said he'd have to ask me about the cash issue. And I said no! If Hick was my detective partner, he'd always be Good Cop, and I'd be Bad Cop.

Hick explained that we would only do a regular cashier's check to the title office, once the title cleared. Some Guy asked if we could give HIM the cashier's check. No. He would get one from the title company. Then he asked if Hick could do the deal for less at the title office, and pay him $10,000 in cash. Because he was worried about his taxes on the house.

Hick explained that we would only do the standard deal, for the amount agreed upon. That Some Guy would NOT be cheated out of any money. Once the papers were signed, we were legally responsible to pay him his money, as long at the house title was clean.

It took several calls, with Some Guy saying he needed to talk it over. Asking Hick about taxes. Hick said he was not a tax expert. That there's a tax guy with an office over by Casey's who does his business taxes and only charges him $10. Maybe Some Guy should go talk to him with tax questions.

The longer this went on, with me being Bad Cop every time Hick opened his mouth, the more I got a read on Some Guy.

"I don't think he's trying to weasel out, or cheat us. I think he just doesn't understand how this works, and he's nervous. He acts like he thinks the tax bill is due tomorrow. It will be on next year's taxes. He's not considering he'll have the house money to set some aside to pay it. He may not owe much.

Maybe you should tell him that you can reschedule that title office appointment later in the week. So he doesn't feel rushed. Maybe he can actually talk to a tax person before then. I'd even pay the $10 or $20 for him to get tax advice."

"Yeah. I'll call him back in a bit and tell him we don't have to rush into it today. Or maybe the gal at the title office can explain it to him."

Still waiting to see what happens this afternoon...

Don't Trust a Gift House in the Lap (Part 2)

On Sunday, Some Guy was back at Hick's SUS2.5. Not about the truck deal, but about the house. As if we need anything else to worry about.

"Some Guy was there again. He said a buddy told him that he'll have to pay taxes on the money he gets for the house. Maybe up to 30%. I told him yeah, he'll get taxed for what he makes off the house. I don't know how much. He asked if we could write the sale for less. For $15,000. And pay him the rest in cash. I told him I didn't think so. But I needed to talk it over with you."

"The point isn't if we are ABLE to do it. But if we WILL do it. That amount of sale will be recorded. It will look like we bought a $15,000 house. Then when WE sell it, that will look like a much bigger profit. WE are the ones who will get taxed on it then."

"He said if he had lived in it for two years, he wouldn't have to pay the taxes. I said that's right, too bad he couldn't do that, but he said his name wasn't on the title then."

"So he's particular about how he wants to cheat on the taxes, heh, heh! I don't like the idea of cash. It will be hard to get. The bank tracks every withdrawal over $1000. There will be a record that we took out a lot of cash. You'll probably have to ask for it ahead of time. It might set us up for a tax audit in the future."

"One of my buddies said he took out a lot of money to buy a car for cash. The teller asked him what it was for, and he said, 'None of your damn business! It's MY money!' So they have to give it to you."

"I'll call The Pony, since we're partners in this. Just to get another opinion."

The Pony heard the story, and said, "Sounds like tax fraud to me. But I don't care either way."

We have decided this is not an option for us. It's either done like a regular real estate deal, with a cashier's check, or we are out.

As of this writing, it's Sunday night. On Monday, Hick will tell Some Guy (if he shows up at the title office) that we expect a regular (legal) agreement and purchase, or he can sell to his other (higher offer) buyer. I seriously doubt that somebody else will hand over that much cash.

Don't Trust a Gift House in the Lap (Part 1)

On Thursday, Hick made a handshake deal with Some Guy to purchase Lap House. That's a flip house that fell into Hick's lap on Monday, a house inherited by Some Guy from a friend who passed away. They agreed to meet at the title office for an appointment the following Monday to draw up legal paperwork.

On Saturday, Hick came home from his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5) with a hope-dampening tale.

"Some Guy was at my unit today. I'd told him I'd trade him for a truck he has. He wanted a couple of my guns. He come in an picked out the most expensive one, and said, 'I'll take this one, and another one.' I told him, 'Well, I haven't had a chance to look at the truck yet. So it will have to wait.'"

"Oh, no! Now he'll be disgruntled, and might not go through with the house deal!"

"No. He also come in sayin' that another guy had offered him more for the house. Then he said, 'But I made a deal with you. So I'll stick to it.' I think he will. But we'll find out Monday if he shows up for the paperwork."

"Why are you trading for a truck? You don't need a truck! How are you gonna sell a truck?"

"Old Buddy wants the truck. I figure I can work the money out of him."

"Yeah, IF he shows up to work!"

Anyhoo... everything still seems to be go for the deal on Lap House. Right?

Tune in tomorrow for another episode of How the Gift House Drops.

Lap House Dance

Hick spent Monday and Tuesday evening talking about Lap House. With a gleam in his eye. I could tell it was his new love. So desirable. Bargain House was a fleeting memory. An old flame.

I couldn't really find any good reasons to reject Lap House, aside from cash flow. I'd talked to The Pony, who was on board with a new flip, given the understanding the money from the Bargain House sale was needed for investment. Hick kept emphasizing that he'd told Some Guy that he would need a couple days to think about it, and would let him know. So Wednesday night, I gave the okay.

Hick called Some Guy, and said he'd like another walk-through. That was on Thursday. On my way to pick up The Pony for our errand day, I heard a text come in. I was driving, and couldn't read it. My phone rang. It was Hick. I also shouldn't have answered, because that's illegal here now. But being a scofflaw for selective purposes, I did.

"Val. Some Guy wants more than we talked about. Three thousand more."

"Where are you?"

"I'm here now. At the house."

"Can he HEAR you???"

"Nah. There's some other guys here."

"I think we can come up with that. Since it's still lower than what he asked for. You couldn't even do your 'split the difference, split the difference' bargaining. 

No. I tried."

"Well. It's only $500 more than splitting the difference would have been. It should be fine."

"Okay. I'll tell him."

By then, I was only a few blocks from The Pony's house. We drove down that way to get a look. Hick and some guys were standing out back in the alley behind the house. We waved. The front looked decent enough. Lap House has good lines. Nothing sagging. Nothing falling off. Not an eyesore.

After going to the bank, and getting gas for T-Hoe, and shopping at Country Mart, I drove The Pony home.

"Let's go by Lap House, up the side street, to get a good look at the back. I can pull into the alley."

No. I couldn't. Because there was still a bunch of guys standing around behind the house! Hick was gone. I didn't want to look like a weirdo. But I was already going up the side street.

"YOU look, Pony. So they don't suspect anything."

The Pony reported that the back looked okay. We'll have to go by this Thursday if we want to stop. IF there's nobody hanging around then. Hick reported later that there were two other guys hanging out with Some Guy, and they were all drinking beer. A lot of beer.

Anyhoo... Hick accepted Some Guy's price. He called the title company and got an appointment for Monday afternoon for him and Some Guy to go fill out paperwork to start a title search.

You'd think we just bought ourselves another flip house. Or DID we...?

Lap House Specs

Hick went to look at Lap House on Monday afternoon. Since this opportunity fell into his lap, that's the name I have chosen for this potential flip. The house was not listed with a realtor. Just Some Guy wanting to sell it, who was a friend of the guy who sold us the Double Hovel flip house(s).

Some Guy was waiting to show Hick the property. It is TWO HOUSES DOWN FROM PONY HOUSE! Of all the places it might be, there it was. Almost a neighbor of The Pony. Some Guy inherited this house from a friend who died.

Anyhoo... it's on a corner lot. Across from it is an old elementary school that has been converted to apartments. Beside it is an old church that is not occupied. There's a gravel alley in back, and off-road parking. A back door on the church side, for easy entry from the alley parking. The roof is shingle, and in good shape. The house has vinyl siding, also in good shape. There's a basement with an outside entrance. Hick likes this, because it makes running plumbing and electric easier than with a crawlspace. Inside, it's 2 bed/1 bath. Hick said the kitchen is outdated and needs to be completely redone. The only way to the bathroom is through a bedroom. It needs new electric. There's a gas furnace, but no air conditioning besides a small window unit. 

Some Guy has painted some of the rooms. Has torn out all the carpets. Hick doesn't know if he was planning to flip it, or update it to live there. Some Guy quoted Hick a price. Hick said he would have to talk to me and The Pony, and would get back to him. Hick thinks that after fix-up costs, we could make a $20,000-30,000 profit on Lap House.

A House Falls Into Hick's Lap

Hick was driving to his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5) on Monday when he got a phone call. It was some guy he didn't know. He said that he heard Hick buys houses to flip. Turns out Some Guy knows the guy we bought the Double Hovel flip house(s) from. Who is the dad of Genius's elementary school teacher.

"I told him I'd come by and take a look at it later this afternoon."

Well. We haven't sold Bargain House yet. The Pony's money is tied up in that. So we'd have to front the money until The Pony gets his cut of the Bargain House sale, then recoup it. Not a problem, but something I'd rather not deal with. We could still come up with the asking price without getting a loan.

With nothing happening on the foreclosure house that's been stringing us along since last fall, Hick is getting antsy for another project. Hick has told Loan Officer that he will not pay one penny more for that foreclosure house than he had first offered and been approved for. We have no idea what will happen when it goes up for bids on the courthouse steps.

"Maybe this is what's supposed to happen. So if we would get this new house, we'd forget about that foreclosure?"

"Not necessarily..."

Well. I'm sure I'll have something to say about THAT. I'm pretty sure The Pony will share my concerns. More details about the "Lap House" tomorrow...

Reuben Was Here!

Hick did indeed bring home a Reuben sandwich for us on Tuesday. Of course I was giddy with anticipation. As giddy with an-ti-ci-paaaa-tion as a 1970s Heinz Ketchup commercial! I was really looking forward to the menu:

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Reuben Sandwich

Slaw

Cookies OR Fruit

Hick brought them home around noon, to stash in FRIG II, then watch an episode of Gunsmoke before leaving to go play at his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5). He unpacked the bag at the cutting block.

"Did you only get one dessert?"

"There's four cookies in it."

"Is there slaw?"

"No. No slaw this time."

"But the menu says SLAW!!!"

"They had beets."

"You brought BEETS?"

"Nah. I said we didn't want the beets."

That's good. Because we don't eat the beets, and all they do is leak their beety fluids onto the REUBEN. Here's what we got:

Soup and a sandwich. Which is fine. Better than no Reuben. I warmed Hick's Reuben in the oven later, to get the bread all nice and crispy. The Reubens were better than usual. Had plenty of sauerkraut, and just enough of the Russian/French dressing, whichever they use at the Senior Center. 

Hick didn't want his soup, so gave it to me. I saved it for the next day, with the other half of my Reuben. It might look like a lot of soup, but the bottom of that container is not flush with the table. It's got about an inch of rim under there, with the bottom of the inner part built up. So about a half-cup of soup. It was pretty good. I would have liked more, seeing as how I didn't get my SLAW. There was actually a little piece of broccoli in my soup, and a piece of cauliflower. Hick's had two little pieces of broccoli.

The cookies were chocolate chip. I gave mine to Hick. They looked pretty good. He ate all four that evening.

Now I have to start nagging Hick to bring home the March menu. I don't want to take a chance on missing the next Reuben.

Hopefully, We Will See Some Bargaining for Bargain House

Bargain House hit the market last Thursday. 

Saturday, Hick got a call from Realtor Guy saying that he had shown the house, and had another showing that afternoon, but it had just been rescheduled.

Monday, there was an afternoon showing, and one scheduled for 6:00.

Tuesday, a showing was scheduled for 4:30.

Realtor Guy told Hick that the couple who viewed Bargain House on Monday said they would be in touch. You never know if they will or won't. They may have other properties to look at, or they may be checking on a loan.

Hick wants to know if people say there's something they don't like about the house. Not that he would change it, but so in the future he will do things differently with another flip.

On Monday, there had been 447 views of the listing, and 14 saves. 

Hick said, "And it's only been listed for a week."

I replied, "You mean 4 days."

On Tuesday, there had been 479 views, and 14 saves.

On Wednesday at noon, it was 510 views, and 20 saves.

I figure the saves are people who are interested in viewing the house, actively looking to purchase property. They're probably waiting to see if the price gets reduced, and how many other people are looking. It's not flippers, because this house is done, and costs more than flippers want to invest. When we are looking for a flip house, we will save the listing and check back for price reductions.

According to Zillow, Bargain House is "Likely to sell faster than 89% nearby."

We are happy that people are showing an interest. We don't plan on dropping the price unless several months pass with no offers.

The Gift of the VAL-i

Hick bought dry food for our new puppy, Pepper. Pepper did not find it at all enticing. Not even with water Hick sprinkled on it to make it moist. So he went to town and got Pedigree Cycle for puppies, in a can. The can said to feed a 1-3 pound dog about 1/3 to 1/2 a can per day. Pepper liked it okay. Hick was feeding him morning and evening. He left a spoon stuck down in the can, and put a baggie down over the top.

Well. I discovered that Hick was using my GOOD plastic spoons! I like to eat with a plastic spoon. The plain white smooth kind of spoon. I only had four or five, and washed them with the regular silverware. But NOT one that was in dogfood! Of course Hick got an earful, and then switched to using a fork. But he used my GOOD plastic forks! The white smooth kind. Hick got the other earful. I showed him which plastic forks he was allowed to use.

Anyhoo... Hick had four cans of food. It was running out. I was afraid Pepper would go hungry because Hick kept delaying the purchase of more puppy food. I wanted to make sure he got the kind Pepper liked. Hick went back for more, but the feed store was out, and Walmart didn't have that kind. So he was going to try Tractor Supply, and Rural King.

Meanwhile, I was doing the regular shopping, and picked up some clear plastic spoons for Hick to use specifically for dishing out dogfood. 

Then I saw something else that would solve our problem, hanging from one of those annoying plastic strips.

Lids for pet food cans! Sure, they have cat pictures on top. Pepper's not gonna mind, and Hick can stop using baggies. He can cut a slit in one of the lids for the spoon handle to poke through, and throw away the spoon after that can is empty. Or just use a new spoon each feeding.

I was pretty pleased with myself, getting these items to make Hick's chore a little easier.

Hick was also buying something that day. Food that I had been harping about for Pepper. Imagine my surprise when Hick came home with this:

At least Pepper enjoys the pouches of puppy food. I daresay he'd also enjoy the spoons and lids, but those are not healthy things for a puppy to chew on.