Just a few notes before the day catches up with me and I am gone!
Monday is the deadline to comment about the truck situation in Skaneateles. If you want to add your two cents worth, just email truckregcomment@dot.state.ny.us.
Help needed! Syracuse Stage needs volunteers for several performances of "Little Women." The houses have been great, reports our friend Tammy who is in charge of the volunteers and a myriad of other things, but unlike other productions she needs ushers. When I called to offer her our services (and get to see the play for free) she told me of her plight. If you have some time over the holidays and would like to see a great musical adaptation of a great book for an hour of your time, just call and ask for Tammy: 443-3275.
A team that needs no help these days is Syracuse University's basketball team. If you missed the Florida (8-0 and ranked 10th) game last night you missed an opportunity to see SU in prime form. They won by 12 points, going away. This may be the year Jim Boeheim gets his second championship. They play like a team - unselfish, happy to be together, thrilled with what they can do. They are a pleasure to watch!
Lastly, just a simple comment. I showed houses last weekend - I won't say where or to whom - but during the three hours a theme developed, as it so often does. This was a sad one. In one house that had been emptied of all but a few dresses we found a wheel chair in a closet. In another it was obvious that a dog had been kept cooped up in a room - the hardwoods had obvious damage, the woodwork was shredded. A third had photos upon photos of the son in the family, including one showing that he had passed on as a young man. Another had all the furniture cleared out except in one room - the owner was ready to go, but until the house sold he was stuck there. My client is not going to buy any of these homes, not because of what we found but because they weren't the right home. But I left feeling so sad - and I can't help but wonder if the home evokes sadness how this must harm - even on a subliminal level - the response of the buyer.
Solutions: Clear out the house, paint and refinish where necessary, open the curtains and wash the windows, remove personal items/photos that are not joyous. I don't believe in making a house totally impersonal because I want it to be welcoming. Bright, warm and happy - there's a reason some agents bake chocolate chip cookies right before open houses! It's a process, as I've written before, of letting go, allowing someone else to start fresh in a house that he/she/they can make their own.
