Channeling Miss Marple As I Watch The Neighbor’s House Not Sell

June 7, 2016August 5, 2020 / Ally Bean / 54 Comments

Over the weekend I got nosy.

I morphed from my free-spirited pleasantly indifferent self into an observant Miss Marple, watching our neighbors try to make their home look SNAZZY for an open house.

They put their house on the market a few months ago, but are only now beginning to realize that their house lacks what today’s buyers expect. Other houses on the street have sold in days or weeks, while their house sits unwanted.

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I like our neighbors.

However they’ve done NO EXTERIOR IMPROVEMENTS in the 5, maybe 6, years they’ve lived here.

In and of itself I could care less what my neighbors do as long as they’re tidy + quiet + say “hi” once in a while, but on a street where almost everyone has…

replaced the original builder-grade drafty front doors with something bright & shiny and …
upgraded the 15-year-old original builder-grade landscaping with something modern & to scale and …
substituted the original cedar-colored deck with something less state park-ish…

… well, on a street like this one our neighbor’s house is UNDERWHELMING because it lacks curb appeal.

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I’m not alone in thinking this.

As it so happened on Sunday between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. I found myself outside crawling around in our front yard planting beds DOING IMPORTANT GARDENING THINGS while the open house went on next door.

I inadvertently overheard the open house visitor comments as they left.

“Nice place, but kind of blah on the outside,” said one woman talking to her realtor as they left.

“Oh, let’s not even bother to go in,” said a wife to her husband after they walked up to the front door, looked around, and then decided against going inside.

“Too much work out here,” said a woman to her friend after they’d looked at the inside of the house and were heading back to their car to leave.

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I’m sad about all of this.

Apparently our neighbors do not understand that you can’t live on a street with building lots still available and then rest on your laurels.

Your property has to attempt to keep up with the new houses being built, because potential buyers see those new properties, and suddenly your house looks WORNOUT AND TIRED.

Which means that it doesn’t sell anywhere near your asking price and that doesn’t help anyone on the street.

Now does it?

Ally, Ally, Quite Contrary…

May 5, 2016May 5, 2016 / Ally Bean / 44 Comments

How does your Spring garden grow?

Glad you asked. Here are few photos of the backyard.

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A maroon pansy, planted last fall, has returned and is looking pretty.

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The gray stone path on the hillside is happy to be the center of attention between salvia and boxwoods.

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A hosta and a catmint with tiny purple blooms stand side-by-side under the deck, thrilled with the wet + cool weather.

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The pachysandra patch directs your attention into the forest, which is amazingly green this Spring.

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And up on the deck, a potted orange gerbera daisy suggests that Summer is around the corner.

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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, everyone.

Make it a good one.

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W Is For Walnuts, Why Not?

April 27, 2016January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 43 Comments

“Walnuts and pears you plant for your heirs.”

This proverb, which I suspect has been around as long as the English language as allowed “pears” and “heirs” to rhyme, is a wonderful nod to the wisdom of days gone by.

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It’s an insight into how our ancestors approached the land. They used the land to grow food and planned ahead in a way that I admire, yet do not want to emulate.

Zen-Den and I, being the modern suburbanites that we are, have been attentive to the need to improve our land, in a 21st century way, since the first day we got here.

Except for The Big Dig Project when we purchased 110 tons of dirt to form a backyard, most of our gardening efforts have been modest, with visible results in a year or two.

We attempt to beautify.

Like today, for instance, when, with your permission my gentle readers, I’ll go busy myself outside with a bit of weeding. In the pretty garden. Where the only thing edible is dandelion greens!

Doing Nothing. Taking Names.

February 23, 2016February 23, 2016 / Ally Bean / 38 Comments

It’s difficult to keep a personal blog when there’s not much happening. ‘Ya know?

I can tell you things like I’m feeling well & walking more. Zen-Den is content with his life at the moment. We are happy, thinking about attempting to plan to go on vacation sometime, somewhere.

Projects around the house continue. Culling out what we don’t need anymore & giving it away. Painting one bedroom a new color. Waiting for the carpenter to be available to put crown molding in some rooms.

Weather is nicer, warmer, sunnier. Talked with landscaper about removing some overgrown shrubs, taking down a pathetic tree, adding some decorative grasses. Ordered more fancy stone for the path under the deck.

But you see, that’s all I have to share today on these hallowed blog pages. Not much happening at Chez Bean.

So I’ll leave it up to you, my gentle readers. Should you care to talk about the stuff in the photo above, OR have a question for me, OR want to tell me something about yourselves, please feel free to do so in the comment section below.

Heaven knows, I don’t have much to say today, so I’m hoping you do!