8/16/2012

Jes' Lookin

Barb and I are scouting the used car pages and the for sale signs as we conduct our daily business.  Dave's car has about 150,000 miles on it and the head gasket on the Buick leaks some.  We are on the lookout for a good deal on a used car.  The bad news is that with the economy so poor, most people aren't selling their old cars, just driving them into the dirt. Barb has been pretty good in the past about finding good deals so we wait.

In Kansas City yesterday, my niece Carrie Craig, told us about the last car buying trip that her husband and son went on.  The looked and looked and found nothing that was anywhere near a bargain.  The finally wound up with a new Toyota for a couple of thousand more than a used one.  I ran into that same thing when I was looking for a tractor here at Rabbit Run.  The dealers said they were buying used tractors back from earlier customers and had to give as much or more on trade in than the customer paid for the tractor.   

Talking to Dan Craig, he is about to get his feet wet in the rental house business.  With the loan costs near 3.3%, he feels that now is the time to get in there and give it the old college try.  Even if he doesn't make a lot of money each month, he feels sure that in the long run the houses will pay for themselves.  That was our feeling and we did that years ago.  The really good news is that he has a Bank with a rental income management firm that will take care of the hassles.  I am the guy who shows up when the drains stop working for my rentals.  If the bank doesn't want to loan you the money for a rental, you get the loan out of the equity on your current house.  After a while the bank will loan you money on a second rental and you can daisy chain them together to build up a nice rental house base.  There are people that just can't buy a house for whatever reason.  I was blown away at the number of people that applied to rent our little house and the large amounts that were paying to rent their current home.

Dan and Carrie are adding on to their kitchen and right now things are torn up at their house.  The bad news is that starting next week it will really get worse.  The good news is that their last college student takes off for school tomorrow and they can eat salads out of the small fridge and there are many nearby eateries that serve great food.

Speaking of food, I am going to start working on a peanut butter and coconut milk sauce to put over grilled chicken and shrimp.  I had some for lunch that also had some red curry sauce with it that was wonderful.  I would have liked the curry sauce to be a little more spicy but understand that not everyone has my cast iron stomach.   I am seriously considering taking a grill when we go to the beach house in September.  I will also take a sack of my hickory wood.  I will probably buy charcoal and lighter there.  I have some ideas for grilled/smoked seafood.  Combined with my smoked chicken, we should be able to have one or two meals that just hit the spot.

The only time I have ever really had problems with my stomach was back in my drinking days.  I went to a restaurant in New Orleans, Copeland's was its name.  I had the blackened red fish and several scotches.  One or the other damned near ate the lining off my stomach and I had to eat Rolaids for about three months.  When things got back to normal, I find that if I can get the heat past my mouth, my stomach doesn't care. 

Better run.  I need to ride the bike but not sure if it is going to rain or not.  Goose poop has a slick component that just precludes traction on the bike paths.  Did I mention that recumbents don't always have fenders either?  

MUD

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