Rose Cottage Ltd

Overcast day yesterday – warm and humid and typical for North Carolina in August. I was happy to see that adding the second hummingbird feeder seems to have attracted a bigger crowd. Now even the smallest hummingbird has a chance at one of the feeders.

I watched this little one trying to get a drink for about 30 minutes – while being “kamakazied” by several of the larger birds. He/she finally found a chance to drink – but was keeping an eye open for “incoming.”

This next month or so will be a busy time for hummingbirds as they shore up food and nutrients for their return flights south for our fall, winter, (and in NC) spring seasons. Keep the feeders full and fresh as you can – I know they appreciate!

In a real estate world of “bigger is better” there are still the few of us who keep fighting the trend. I don’t need several thousand square feet of living space to be happy and I can do without the $200,000+ mortgage that usually goes along with it.

Check out this site for some additional ideas for smaller footprint living. You might be amazed to find that the cozy little cottage pictured above was built for around $4,000 – with a bit of creative thinking and planning thrown in!

++ Zillow to Acquire Web Real Estate Site Trulia

++ Norway’s Arctic Circle Real-Estate Boom

++ Hydroponics Gardening Systems

++ Former Helmsley Estate In Greenwich Back On Market After Renovations

++ Million dollar homes: Most expensive house edition

++ Real estate brokers take digital trickery to new levels with virtual renovations

++ Odd pets bring their own challenges

++ Farmers, Ranchers Oppose EPA Water Grab

++ Garden.com – A Bird Sanctuary

++ House of the Week: Federal-era townhouse in Georgetown for $10.5M

NOTE: Some kids are already returning to school and many of the rest are out running around – burning off the last of summer vacation energy. Please drive carefully. And remember, leave no kids or pets in hot cars. Too many have died from heat exposure already this season…

Get more good info on natural remedies: Health Digest

Happy Friday!

I won’t say that this one plant has completely restored my faith in humanity, but it has been a pleasant surprise in the world of Poinsettias.

How many others out there have been told to do this or that with the Christmas Poinsettia only to find it dead in the pot by Valentine’s Day? Me too! But keeping the faith with this particular plant has paid off.

I spent $5.98 on this plant at Lowe’s in December 2013. I’ve made sure it got plenty of (mainly) filtered light and water – and BOOM! It lives!!!

With all the bad news in the world, thanks to this plant, I have something positive to focus on this morning…and I’ll take my little “wins” where I can get them!

Oh my – another Saturday with a world’s worth of not good news. And it’s a dreary rainy morning in North Carolina which doesn’t help my mood.

So, instead of talking about the potential small rise in interest rates which may topple the few areas of the real estate market that are still moving – let’s ignore it all for the morning and read something funny I found online a day or two ago.

I have been making a bit of fun of people shopping in the grocery store who are talking on their phone or somehow playing with the darn thing from the time they enter the store until the time they leave. To those of us who are just in there to buy food it can be quite entertaining. I’ve watched people run into store displays – and each other – since those of us who do NOT have our face in the phone have to constantly move around these people who are not aware of anything going on around them.

Just this week I was in line behind someone talking on their phone. Not only could everyone around them hear their side of the conversation, but the store’s checkout employee got not one word, nor a “thank you” or even eye contact during the entire checkout process. I use this store weekly and this particular employee is always pleasant: “Did you find everything you needed? Have a nice weekend” etc., etc. How rude people are these days and how self-centered to think everyone even WANTS to hear their business. I won’t even get into the safety issues of this activity. Personal details being advertised, not watching who’s watching you in the parking lot, etc. Not wise.

Anyway, here’s a (to me anyway) funny potential experience that might await those who just refuse to turn off the phone:

“I was in a public toilet and had just sat down when I heard a voice from the next cubicle that said, ‘Hi, how are you?’

The voice then said ‘Listen – I’ll have to call you back. There is some idiot in the next cubicle answering all my questions!”

Have a great weekend!

++ Top 10 Real Estate Investor Mistakes

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++ Mortgage Rates Remain in Holding Pattern

++ 5 DIY projects using wooden crates

++ Economist who predicted busted housing bubble says another recession is coming

++ 10 Luxury Homes With Slashed Prices

++ Luxury Real Estate: The Best Addresses in Europe’s Top Cities

++ Real estate agent and former tenant disputing with alleged squatters

We haven’t had a lot of problems with “squatters” so far in the US. For anyone who doesn’t know, squatters will move into a vacant property and then after some period of time – could be days, could be weeks, will attempt to claim “ownership” of the property. It’s too much to get into the details at the end of this post but I’ll be writing more about it next week. With the number of illegal aliens on the rise in the US – and many properties sitting vacant due to foreclosure – this is about to become a HUGE issue…

Sometimes, something that just tastes so good – needs it’s own special appreciation. On the sbject of bacon, one day just didn’t seem sufficient so…

I’m declaring August as American Bacon Appreciation Month and encouraging ALL fellow citizens to join in!

It’s not a “official” celebration, but when have we ever let that stop us???

This chart will not help my sister, who will never get close enough to a spider to make an ID of it – but it might prove helpful if you see one and need to know – poisonous, or not.

I had to reduce the chart a bit to fit the blog post width restrictions so placed a full size image here.

I was bitten by a spider once – on the face, since I happened to be walking through the woods on the way to school early morning and walked right through a spider web. It hurt, and there was some swelling involved, but since I’m here typing this it wasn’t fatal. If you can’t avoid them, they may bite. It’s not something I would put on my worry list though. Spider bites are truly a rarity…

Scrolling around the world this morning I found very little positive news and a LOT of negative things to worry about. So to ensure a quiet, peaceful Saturday and in honor of my nephew who turns 18 today, I suggest the following instead…

After the stress of a work week and with all the tragedy happening around the world, I’m going to spend some virtual time at this lake this weekend and take a bit of time off from “bad.”

Happy weekend!