Catskills - Sullivan County - Ulster County Real Estate -- Catskill Farms Journal

Great angles from the wide angle.

Spray foam insulation baby.  

With the spray foam, that little heater can heat the whole place.

So, one of the epiphanies I had after the Ecotech screwover by employee, customer, supplier and vendors (all of whom have suffered a combined loss of $200k-$300k when karma bit them in the ass) was that I need to adjust my thinking a little bit - what would save me from a lot of heartache and aggravation is to cease expecting people to behave a certain way, even if that certain way is the right way, the profitable way, the self-serving way, the intelligent way.  I need to just not preset my expectations of how someone, or how something, might transpire, or I am expecting someone to do something a certain way, to behave or react in a logical fashion - I should be equally ready for them not to do that, regardless of how strategically self-defeating it might be.

So, the lesson was to expect the unexpected, hope for but don't expect to be treated kindly, and definitely hope for but don't expect a personal or professional return on most personnel investments (though, like private equity, the investments that do pay off are roundly rewarding and make it worthwhile).

So, when I'm sitting in New Paltz, eating some shitty wings looking through the New Paltz Times and come across a Coldwell Banker Village Green Real Estate advertisement for a 'new old house' in Jewitt NY, for those who 'want an older home but don't want their entire lives caring for it' (lifted directly from our website) and who want 'seclusion without isolation', I really get to put this new approach to practice.

And you know, it works.  If the real estate company I paid over $100k in 2012 wants to encourage builders to 'do what Catskill Farms does', and directly plagiarize our website, and take what we privately divulged to them to help them represent our homes and hand it off to someone else in order to make a buck in grossest way possible, - you know, I'm not going to say I'm not surprised, but I'm going to say that it's perfectly understandable.

And like always, the house is such an interior design abortion that the builder will without a doubt lose his shirt (and get stuck with all that terrible furniture and fireplace knick-knacks).  I've seen this realtor mis-guidance at least 3 times over the last decade, where a naive contractor/builder/investor is encouraged to 'do what Catskill Farms does', 'builds what he builds' - I've never seen it succeed for anyone with any skin in the game, but typically the realtor can earn a few bucks out of selling land and eventually fire selling the property for the poor schmuck builder.  They could have talked to me with how slow our sales were while represented by CBVGR, though I love Joan and her team to death.

See for yourself -

Coldwell Banker Village Green New Old House in Jewitt.  You can tell it isn't selling because the cedar shake is aging, and you can bet the builder-realtor discussions are getting testy.

Take a good look at the interior, and I love those multiple driveway shots.

If only it was that easy…  To get it so wrong when our roadmap is so easy for all to see, really explains why people really struggle when they look for upstate homes, and why they end up with us.

But like I said, no harm no foul - the unseemliness of it just 'is what it is'.

And to come full circle to the beginning of this post - don't be surprised when you are surprised.  That's just how life is.  And you gotta roll with it, dawg.

I just bought a nice pair of Trask casual bison leather shoes that I like a lot but I think may be a little tight around the bridge of my foot.  However, it's a pretty good brand but I was astonished at the over-the-topness of their marketing that came with the card inside the shoe box- I don't disagree with the sentiment, but the lack of subtlety, nuance, and restrained couth caught me off guard.  In fact, I find it a bit embarrassing, and I think I'm going to need to send the shoes back.  (to get the real bang out of it, read it out loud in a deep tenor, and pump your right arm for emphasis at the right moments - and be sure to have an audience.)

" The story of a man who followed a river and found his dream.

We love the story about the man who followed a river and found his dream. Because it's true. Because it's not just the story of one man, it's the story of us. The story of America. A country build by people with the courage to dream and the conviction to make those dreams come true. By questioning the way it's always been done By wondering what if. And asking why not. And by knowing that there's another way. A higher road. A way that's right and real. By leading, not following. Making a mark and leaving not just footprints, but blueprints for something better.

It's a story that's still being written with bold strokes by people who are driven not by a paycheck, but by a passion for a life well lived. People who make their choices based not on simply what looks good, but on what feels right. Like Trask. Because like so many other things that are worth pursuing, they don't get old. They get better. And long after the others are relegated to the back of the closet, these are the ones you'll count on. Day by day. Year after year. A timeless style that's beyond trends, resistant to fads or fading away. An American icon that's earned its reputation one step at a time, one generation after another. It's our heritage and our story."

An American icon that's earned its reputation one step at a time…

Really?!  That's too much for me.  It's almost like it's tongue in cheek, but I think they're serious.

I left the day after a snow storm, and returned a day after a snow storm.

5:15 am, from Scranton with Lucas and Marcus, my 10 yr old nephew.

On the frickin freezin commuter plane.  They didn't even warm it up for us.   Take a look at how the early rising is catching up with Lucas.

But then at the swanky Mondrian, pool side.

In the pool too long.  That's my son's toe, not mine.

At the Seaquarium.

Water cannons at the 'shipwreck' at the aquarium.

3-D Walking with Dinosaurs.

My balcony, yacht-side.

Peanut butter and jelly for Marcus, cantaloupe for Lucas.

He was crowding him all week.

Talking to his Mom, next to our towel drying rack.

New Years Eve at the Fountaineblue.

We call this his party shirt.  Actually, he does.

Kid's Party at the Fountaineblue, with freeze dancing, Wii, Playstation, big lego setup and lots of cookies.

Literally made it back a few hours before the airports started closing, avoiding what seemed to be a real travel disaster.  Our flight attendants were literally rushing us on the plane so we could take off from Charlotte and land in Scranton before things got too hairy.

Then back to a new snowstorm that night and next day.

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