Weather, weekend plans, house hunting

We ended up getting just under three inches of rain yesterday. I had really expected it to be more based on the downpours we got off and on throughout the entire day, but we will take it and praise the Lord for every bit of it. We have already gotten more rain this year than in the past two years combined. It is a really good time for prospective buyers to come and look at the farm.

It is “unseasonably” cold this morning. When I got into the car the temperature reading on the dash was 61®F. For a morning in mid-July in northern Texas, that is truly cold. It will not last very long. The temperatures are predicted to soar back into the low one hundreds by next week but we will enjoy it while we have it.

This weekend I hope to start on the roof of the tall part of the shop. I ordered the metal for the repairs to the apartment roof – which held out all the rain yesterday, Praise the Lord – but it will not be in until next Thursday. So this Saturday I am getting the lumber to start on the porch roof repairs and extending the roof onto the tall part of the shop. I already have nine pieces of roofing for that part of the project.

I will not have all day to work on the repairs since Mama and I are supposed to meet with the seniors at the church tomorrow evening to go out to dinner at a place in Ft. Worth. I was unaware of the event until I was told yesterday evening, but I will make the trip if Mama wants to. It will be a pleasant break.

Mama continues to shop online for homes and property. Last night it was too wet to do anything outside and I still do not have the material to do much of the inside work so I suggested Mama and I go drive by a couple of the houses she had recently found in her searches; three to be exact. We took off a little after 5 pm.

All three were south of Decatur. All three were within twenty minutes of Decatur. Two of the three were at the very top of our price range. We easily found all three properties. The one I was most interested in was in a less than desirable setting. It is a very nice home on five acres but it is nestled in a sort of ghetto. All the properties around it are pretty rough looking. That always makes us feel uncomfortable.

One of the two is just off of Hwy 114; literally, just off the road. Mama is insisting we go see it but I was not overly impressed by the online pictures of the house, or the price tag attached to the house and property. Where it sits makes it even less appealing to me. But if she is determined to look it over with a realtor I will certainly keep her appointment.

The third was less impressive in every way but was adequate for what we are looking for going forward. It too was just off of Hwy 114 – albeit less exposed to the road. It was priced a little more honestly than the previous two we had just driven by. Mama and I are highly adaptable and together we can make the most of any home or property. That ability only serves to make the selection process a little more difficult.

We talked a good bit on the drive back to the farm. I am still drawn to the property on Hwy 730 near town. It too, is not impressive at first glance and the sellers are asking far more than I would pay, but what it lacks in curb appeal it more than makes up for in functionality. I told Mama I would like to eliminate that one first before we move on to anything else.

She agreed – maybe because it is such a long shot.