Well I am a little rough around the edges this morning, having gone out with some co-workers last night for a departmental happy hour -- which somehow turned into happy five hours. Everything was discussed, including Covid, Ukraine, the political situation of the world, you name it. (This was after a week in which we all underwent mandatory instruction in how to remain politically neutral and welcoming of all viewpoints in the classroom.) It was very fun and I haven't been out with everyone in months, so it felt long overdue.
We have a "no eating" rule in our library, and I am routinely busting kids for sneaking in snacks. Normally it's a bag of crisps (potato chips) or a sandwich or a pastry from one of the nearby coffee shops, and my radar-like ears can hear the crinkly wrappers when they open them. But yesterday two boys came in with take-away boxes from the cafeteria, sat down at a table, opened them up -- and they were full of whole boiled potatoes, which seemed like the most bizarre thing for teenage boys to eat as a mid-morning snack.
I went over and told them, "Guys, I've caught people eating a lot of different kinds of food, but this is the first time I've ever seen someone bring in boxes of potatoes."
One said, "BUT WE'RE HUNGRY!"
It struck me as funny, but maybe you had to be there. I sent them outside where presumably they ate their potatoes.
I found this little guy at the bus stop on my way home last night. He's surprisingly dense for such a small toy. Linda Sue, you're the felting expert -- this is felted, right? He has joined a shelf of other small stuffed creatures that I've picked up here and there.
Dave and I have signed our new lease, and we're now waiting for the landlords to sign. (I'm sure they will since they offered the extension.) It's nice to know we're secure living here for another year.
Oh, and speaking of housing, a "for sale" sign has gone up at the Mystery Mansion. (Or was it already up when I took my picture and I just wasn't paying attention? That seems hard to fathom.) In any case, I found the listing for the house. If you click that link and then "view photos," you can see pictures of what it looks like inside. It's not pretty, but they offer helpful CGI renderings of what it could look like with about a million pounds worth of renovations. (After you spend £5 million to buy the house itself.) The CGI also assumes someone spiffs up the boarded-up place next door, because that's not part of the listing.
(Top photo: Hostas in the garden on a rainy morning.)
That house definitely needs some care. It could be beautiful if you had the odd few million to spare! Perhaps that couple that won £184 million could buy it? I feel sorry for them actually. Apparently they have said that they will give a lot away to friends and family....that in itself will be fraught with problems. Who gets how much...arguments will happen....jealousy will rear its head, and it occurred to me that their kids could even be kidnapped. That is just the start of it!!
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend.
I hope that I am not being impertinent when I say that your ears are hardly radar-like... more chimpanzee-like. Just take a look in the mirror dude.
ReplyDeleteAmazing that the haunted house imagery includes pictures of what it could look like when modernised. I have never seen that before.
Glad you enjoyed your extended happy hour. It's been a while.
ReplyDeleteThe house listing is nuts. If you can afford that kind of price you can probably buy a ready made property and just move in.
What is that stuffed and felted critter you found? A goat?
ReplyDeleteEven with just a cosmetic tidy up that house could be quite nice. The renditions of what it could like amused me. I am also amused by the word 'unmodernised'.
The owner wants nearly £5 million. Maybe because of its location it is worth that.
We once had issues with a tenant not signing a new lease, although an agreement was in place. We realised that the lease and the agreed rent started from when the tenant signed the lease, which meant perhaps a two month extension to live there at the same rent. We were very cross with our real estate agent and gave them what for. We didn't call Hocking Stuart Shocking Stupid without good reason.
If you consider the inside of that house rough, I would be interested to know what adjective you would use to describe most of the houses I have looked at to buy over the years. To me it needed some paint and flooring and a kitchen update and would be good to go. Though I’m guessing the bathrooms needed updating as well.
ReplyDeleteI thought the very same. But we have never spent 5 million pounds on a house either. I also think that little dog is sweet.
DeleteA rather grand home. I just finished scratching Lottery tickets and sadly failed to make the money to purchase and renovate.
ReplyDeleteThe kitchen reminds me of a hunting camp kitchen. Yes. The place could use some work, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI love the little doggie. So dear.
Sweet little doggy! Who would want to spend so much money and end up living next to another boarded up house? Outrageous!
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of money to ask for a house that needs so much work. It'll be interesting to see how quickly it sells.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I wonder who lived in that house- meth cookers? What a total mess.
ReplyDeleteYes, the little dog has been needle felted, cute little stubby dog! Lucky find.
I love that top photo and the cute little felt animal. And, I enjoyed seeing the photos of the house. I can't imagine the amount of money it would take to make the place livable. That kitchen was pretty bad. It appears to have good bones though. Seeing this made me think of a Netflix show I watched two or three years ago that was all about renovating homes or building unusual homes in England. One of those brave people might take on a project like this. That is only if they still had some money left.
ReplyDeleteHaha... I was just wondering the other day (when you mentioned something about school ending soon) when you and your fellow librarians would have a champagne celebration! Was there champagne involved in your happy (five) hour(s) ?? Cheers!
ReplyDeleteHoly crap! That back yard is quite the project. It's always interesting to me - that was once a beautiful home, what train of events led to it deteriorating to that degree? The steel posts holding up a ceiling were un-nerving, as well.
ReplyDeleteThe felted dog is great. What a treasure. As for the house, not just a mess inside but completely stripped of any original grandeur. I love the idea of fixer uppers, but this is of no interest to me. And their fantasy improvements don’t make it any more enticing. The first photo is a visual delight.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your lease, nice to have that almost taken care of. The mystery mansion is quite the place, I love the comment that it is "unmodernized". :) The CGI renderings are most impressive.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't touch that place with a forty-foot pole - look at the posts and boards holding up the ceiling! Looks like a major structural issue to me. I suppose the right person with the right knowledge (or the right bank account to hire the person with the right knowledge) could take it on, but I wonder how the wiring and plumbing is, or if it needs a new roof or flues. It seems to be very open-concept, which is not my cup of tea either, but works for many folks. Very interesting, all in all!
ReplyDeleteYour photo of the hosta leaves is stunning, perhaps my favourite of all time here. And it doesn't even have Olga in it, so that's really saying something :D Love that little felted dog, too.
I love the little felted dogs! So cute. The extended happy hour probably did you good (mentally at least). And baked potatoes in the library? They must have honestly been hungry! Our cafeteria never serves baked potatoes...I wonder why? It seems like a food kids would enjoy.
ReplyDeleteLoving your felted dog. I have such trouble making legs on my felties. I'm much better with sleeping dogs, sitting cats and perched birds. Baked potatoes? Well done for them!
ReplyDeleteIt always seemed like the "no" rules were a great invitation to do the stuff. Like back in my day "No gum chewing". There are a million ways to chew gum and not get caught. However , this old boy rarely enforced the no gum chewing.
ReplyDeleteI wish our schools had politically neutral policies. Too much brainwashing of young minds. They are taught what to think not how to think.
ReplyDeleteThe wee felted beast is delightful.
Frances: As they say, "Money is the root of all evil!" I would never want to win the lottery, honestly. It destroys many people's lives.
ReplyDeleteYP: Can't they be radar-like and chimpanzee-like at the same time? I bet chimps have pretty good hearing.
Boud: But maybe not in our existing real estate market, which is red hot right now.
Andrew: I assume it's a dog, though I did fleetingly wonder if it's a donkey.
Ed: It's just hard to know. It looks to me like there could be some structural issues.
Bob: It certainly has potential, but like you, I won't be taking it on!
Ms Moon: I wonder who's been living there until recently?!
Ellen D: I KNOW! That's what I thought too! That's the disadvantage to the semi-detached style of building we see all over London. I wouldn't want to share a wall with a boarded-up, overgrown place.
Robin: It will be interesting. The market here is supposedly very hot so it might actually sell pretty promptly.
Linda Sue: It's the strangest thing, both this house and the one next door. I just don't get it.
Sharon: There's an architectural proposal elsewhere online for the house, basically recommending they tear down the back extension (which is not original) and do a heavy renovation.
Kelly: For me it was just beer!
Allison: Yeah, those posts gave me pause. There's definitely some sort of structural thing going on there. Did someone take out a load-bearing wall, I wonder?
Mitchell: It's true, the place has potential but all things considered it doesn't have much character.
Jim: "Unmodernized" is definitely a euphemism! LOL
Jenny-O: Yeah, I think you're right about those support posts. Something is going on there. The kind of people who could pay this much money might not mind spending another million on renovating it, though.
Debby: It's hard to imagine spending that much! I'm sure you can see it with an eye toward its faults and potential, given your own real estate experience.
Jennifer: They weren't even baked potatoes! They were boiled! Just a box of small, round, boiled potatoes. So weird.
Jeanie: I don't even really understand felting or how it works, but I can imagine that creating legs would be a challenge.
Red: We don't bother trying to stop gum-chewing.
Merlot: Rightly or wrongly, that's a common concern about schools in just about any country, I think.
I see a lot of water damage in the rooms, and there's that one where the ceiling is being supported. Anyone buying that would be well advised to fix the roof before anything else.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a lot of money for a fixer upper. The kitchen was awful and I noticed that there were no shots of the bathrooms. Even worse I'm guessing.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I do love boiled potatoes although they would need to have some kind of sauce or cheese on them.
ReplyDelete