norishouse.com

Terry’s been carting around the gearbox for our mixer trying to find a reasonable way to get the head off.  He ran it by our local tractor repair place on the theory they’ve seen more of these than anyone else and would have a clue.  They said to not try to get the head off.  More damage would be done to the gearbox seals, et al, trying to disassemble it.  They recommend cutting the arms off the head and drilling holes to attach the blade, so that’s what we’ll do.   I need to calculate how much arm I can retain and still have a reasonable sized hole in my mixer tank.

Someone on one of my member lists made a comment about good stuff being just for the “deserving rich”. The comment set me off and it was such a good rant I thought I’d share here. And without further ado . . .

There IS no such thing as ‘undeserving rich’. The rich got that way by either working hard, being smart of having ancestors who worked hard and/or were smart. I’m not saying they came by their riches honestly, but lottery winners aside, they worked for it. You can have whatever you’re willing to work for. You can sit back and whine about elitist rich or you can get off your ass and WORK . . . assuming your goal is to be wealthy.

Nothing pisses me off faster than the socialistic tendency to stick a taking hand into the pocket of the wealthy because they have more than anyone else. They have more than anyone else because they worked harder, were smarter or worked harder AND were smarter. Bill Gates is an excellent example. If being wealthy is what floats your boat, you’d better get crackin’.

What we (collectively) want to do is bitch about what we don’t have instead of work to have what we want. Stop wasting time bitching and get crackin’ if there’s something you want that you don’t have.

I don’t have a desire to be wealthy. I don’t think I’d be a very nice person if I were wealthy. I’m impatient, intolerant, not always polite. Wealth would amplify those less than meritable tendencies to a completely unpalatable level.

My preference is comfort without debt. I want to be warm and dry, healthy and well fed. I want to work at an interesting job to pay for the things I can’t make or barter. I want to have a little bit extra to invest wisely for troubled times. With all that and good health I will consider myself the wealthiest person around.

It’s important to plan for how we want to live. We want to be happy, and having the right house is important. Personally, I need lots of open space. Maybe not actual space, but the perception of space. Space used wisely! I know that’s a direct reflection of having grown up in a single bedroom home with 6 other people. Ugh. I spent a lot of time in the top of the cherry tree. Give me room! Plus I quilt, and that requires room. Room for my machines, room for a layout table, room for a display wall. I need room! Plus I work from home so I need an office. It doesn’t need to be big, but it can’t be claustrophobic. I take all this into account in planning my house. But that’s not all you have to look at.

It is equally important to build what others will buy. In planning our house, I’m planning what I want, but I’m also looking to what will sell well in our area. Terry and aren’t going to live forever. We probably won’t want to live where we are forever. Once we reach the stage where we’re less mobile, this place is going to be too much work and we’ll need to downsize. When that happens, it’s going to be vital that what we’ve built will sell easily and for a reasonable amount. When we get to that point we will need as much money out of our home as we can get. Toward that goal, I have to mesh what I need with what will sell. Where I may not need a full kitchen (and I don’t), the person looking at my home will undervalue it if there isn’t a full kitchen. Same with a full bath. Kitchens and baths are the areas where money must be spent to make money. To sell easily in my market it has to be a well constructed three bedroom 2 bath. That’s what sells well here.

The really irritating part of the real estate market is . . . the amount the selling price is reduced is in no proportion to the cost of replacing or upgrading appliances. A full sized fridge may be $900, but the price is going to be reduced by thousands, possibly 10’s of thousands if I don’t have one. Always makes me shake my head. It’s all perception. And a 3 bedroom house with a small kitchen and half sized fridge is going to take a big hit.

Handicapped access is a plus. You never know when you’re going to take a hit and spend time in a wheelchair. Or have handicapped visitors. Or have an elderly parent move in. I’ve always thought it was important to plan accordingly. If I end up on crutches (been there) or in a wheelchair (Terry’s done that), I don’t want to have to rent a place to live while one of us is healing. JMPO.