Houses - another 2 into contract. Library Work.
This is getting a little crazy.
8 houses under contract in Ulster County.
4 houses under contract in Sullivan County.
3 spec houses under construction that will be sold this year.
The hour and a half kick-starting the cataloging of thousands of old books started in earnest yesterday at Grey's Tower, and it was as spiritual and meditative as I had hoped. Literally picking up and holding (with my thin rubber gloves on) hundreds of books, originals mostly, from the the late 1800's across the fields of history, philosophy, humanities, ecology, many with notes handwritten on the inside cover, some with notes from the author to the Pinchot. Some had personal cards in them, newspaper article cut outs, etc... It was literally holding the past in my hand. I'm a big fan of the 1870's - 1925 historic period, encompassing the mature Industrial Revolution, the gilded age, the conservation movement, and the Jazz Age. Pinchot was a contemporary and friend of Teddy Roosevelt and the writiing of and about that man lay just one 'section' over. Grey's Tower is a national park service property, run by the nat'l Park Service. We made it through 3 shelves in Section 1 in the bright chilly morning before I had to head back into battle.
New owner our new micro-cottage - "CHUCK! The house is beautiful. We are completely stunned. Just wanted to send a massive thank you. My jaw was on the floor looking at the photos."
New owners at a new farmhouse - 'House looks beautiful. You've reach new heights in your craft.'
I haven't actually looked at the stats, but I'm wondering if the jan 2023 - feb 2024 time span hasn't produced more blog posts than any period in recent history.
I think a lot, really I do, I'm a thoughtful person, about the pros and cons of my blog and what I choose to write about. it may seem I'm reckless but that's the furtherest thing from the truth. It's sort of a very rare form of gorilla marketing where I just have faith that my clients and reader are smart, worldly, broadly perspectived enough to understand or at least reflect on all the different layers of communication happening with each post. I deal with humans, everyday, lots of them, in a wide range of activities - it's a fascinating journey, and while I always seem most motivated to write when things are messed up, it's still a fair record of the journey. Just the duration of the effort is legitimacy in and of itself. So many players have come and gone - many a lot better financed than me.
I'm doing a lot of time reflecting. I must be getting old. I can't decide if I'm in my prime or not - I know one thing for sure, I'm a lot more measured than I used to be. OMG, I can the laughing and guffawing from here.
It's true - my blog is a bit like pornography - everybody reads it but no one cares to admit it. That's fine. I'll take it, as well as the profits that seem to come with being real and trying hard.