More Press and Lucas Upstate and at the Fair

I was up with Lucas in Saugerties over the weekend and we did a bunch of stuff, like go to the Ulster County Fair, and then the Woodstock Animal Sanctuary, which was an odd place of randomly rescued pigs, goats, turkeys and chickens. One chicken came over and unexpectedly pecked Lucas and then he went around for two days saying the 'chicken got him' (saying it over and over and over).

A funny guy picked up a story about us and his take on our business and our PR is pretty good. I don't know about all that money he thinks we are raking in, but it's good nevertheless and cool he thought we had something interesting enough to post about.

Realty Biz News

So I rented a cabin upstate so I had a home base while we are building a few houses up there. It's sort of like starting over, since when I started in Sullivan County my first abode was a tiny little modest thing too. This time, however, the modesty is more or less by choice - back then it was because I didn't have a pot to piss in, let alone much discretion in my housing - I bought that first Sullivan County house for $23,000, advanced from a credit card.



It's not easy furnishing a house, buying mattresses, going to the Target, the grocery store, etc... with a 2 1/2 yr old in tow. I mean, talk about doubling the effort. "I'm thirsty', "I'm hungry', "I'm tired", "I want my mommy", "toys, toys, Lightning McQueen" - and that's just my needs - Lucas has a whole set of his own.

I got a little carried away at Target and Lucas got the short end of the stick, getting crammed between his new race track and the toilet paper - some moms were giving me the evil eye dirty look thing but I gave it right back to them, commented on their big butts and double chins and mini-vans, and continued doing my thing.


The next day we had to come back for more.

It was pretty hilarious shopping for the cabin, because this house will not just be my headquarters, but it will also serve as sleeping and lounging quarters for my subs and trades and employees. So I was buying coffee and toilet paper and plates and silver ware and sugar and paper towels and soap, beer and soda, mattresses and linens. I caught myself more than once trying to picture what type of beer Rich the plumber would like, or how soft of toilet tissue do these guys really need, or imagining everyone smelling like Irish Spring, or cheaping out on the beer. Best was the mattress and linen selection - 'this 100 count sheet will do just fine, as will that $60 mattress' was the refrain heard from within my head most frequently.

Then off to the 150th Ulster County Fair. This was Lucas' first time at a fair so after we left the livestock we stumbled onto the neon lights of the rides. Here is a picture of him getting close to his co-rider - this was like one spin before he started crying and wanting to exit asap.


And this ice cream cone took him way way up, and left him perched for a really big fall, which happened in the indoor trampoline, when he just shut down and laid in the middle of a bunch of kids jumping - I had to go in and get him.

Some big swine at the Fair. I saw like 40 pigs over the weekend and they were always just laying around sleeping.


And Lucas at my Cabin with his train.

Then, a few weeks earlier, we went to Paws and Claws, some almost-ghetto zoo in the Poconos, the type of place PETA is lurking around every corner waiting for a miscue.

But they had everything - snakes, giraffes, tigers, lions, foxes, camels -

This snake was huge -


And this camel was really dry and humorless. Guess he doesn't look in the mirror much.

all for now. just landed a job to build a homestead type of thing - really about 5 of our houses in one, so that's never a bad thing.