The Coffee House

[smoke665]

Thought about pitching some yeast in the sugar water

 

[snowbear118 49]

MLSIL has to have another procedure done before her surgery so I don’t know how long I’ll be in MD.

We had an oak tree cut down at the MD house. I had the crew leave a 20-foot (6.2 meters) or so part of the trunk there as I want the wood, primarily what looks like a burl. I plan on using it for a practice bowl. I finally got that section cut . I had to saw laterally from both sides of the trunk, and ultimately split it with a wedge and hand sledge. Now to cut up the rest of it into pieces I can actually lift.

 

[nerwin]

It was so cool to be standing on Route 66, a road I always wanted to see and never thought I would.

 

[webestang6413]

Route 66

Before I bought my house my apartment was just off old 66 so I drove on it everyday. I still drive on it a lot being it runs right through St. Louis county/city.
And of course we have Ted Drews on Chippewa St (Route 66) which I frequent often............. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

 

[terri36 7]

I'm free!

Free from work that is. I do not have to return until the 19th!

I am preparing to leave on a motorcycle ride with a fellow rider. We only have the first two days of our route planned and are going to play it by ear from there.

Those first two days will involve the Blue Ridge Parkway from around Roanoke south to Cherokee. From there, we will go to northern Georgia. After that, the road will guide us!

I am taking my camera and intend to take shots as much as I can.

View attachment 290094

Woo-hoo - road trip!! Have a great time! Careful on those twisty back roads. Looking forward to seeing the pics!

 

[jeffashman12 3]

Heya Folks! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. A front blew in last night and currently it is a chilly (to me) 64F and very wet. I'm hoping that it will dry up a bit between now and tomorrow so that I can mow, or I'm going to have to rent a brush-hog for the lawn, but I'm not very hopeful, because the front collided with the remnants of Lorena, so I'm guessing we'll get a lot more rain over the next 24H.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

The Economy (Canada?)
I'm not watching the economy closely. I'm peripherally aware of it. Yesterday a little after 12:00 PM, on a momentary choice I decided to visit Yorkdale Shopping Center. This is actually a historic location. Its Wikipedia page notes: "It opened in 1964 as the largest enclosed shopping mall in the world." In past years I had visited the plaza many times, but not recently. Yesterday, at a time when it should have been very busy (students returning to school in September) it was empty. That was good because I was mainly lost. I didn't recognize much of it, and I had to ask security guards for directions. But over the evening, I thought about how empty it had been. As I said, on that day, at that time, it should have been packed. I don't know what the management company is doing about it. That would be "Oxford Properties" and the "Alberta Investment Management Corporation." I would like to visit it again during this early September. I don't know if I will.

 

[jeffashman12 3]

The Economy (Canada?)
I'm not watching the economy closely. I'm peripherally aware of it. Yesterday a little after 12:00 PM, on a momentary choice I decided to visit Yorkdale Shopping Center. This is actually a historic location. Its Wikipedia page notes: "It opened in 1964 as the largest enclosed shopping mall in the world." In past years I had visited the plaza many times, but not recently. Yesterday, at a time when it should have been very busy (students returning to school in September) it was empty. That was good because I was mainly lost. I didn't recognize much of it, and I had to ask security guards for directions. But over the evening, I thought about how empty it had been. As I said, on that day, at that time, it should have been packed. I don't know what the management company is doing about it. That would be "Oxford Properties" and the "Alberta Investment Management Corporation." I would like to visit it again during this early September. I don't know if I will.

In my opinion this is the result of property management companies trying to squeeze too much profit out of the real estate, which chases away the smaller shops that are usually the main draw at a mall. We have some here that are closing, one that is converting the empty stores to apartments, one that thrives purely because of location, and one that is combining shopping with entertainment like an aquarium and one of my favorite places, Meow Wolf. But I think those successful malls are also charging less for rent. Meanwhile, strip malls and ground floor shops in residential buildings are booming.

 

[smoke665]

@jeffashman Malls in our state are fading away. Like you mentioned higher rent, but also Online sales are hurting them. I can order online from my recliner, get it next day free shipping AND returns, pay 2% less in sales tax, not have to fight traffic/crowds, find exactly what I want, and not have to stand in line at the checkout because there's only one register open in the store.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

"The Economy" (cont'd)
The situation makes me unhappy. I live close enough to Yorkdale that I know that it affects people who live around me. Also, I'm fairly sure that I know what needs to be done. The title of my first post is what sticks out in my mind. The current trend in the economy gives a clear direction to what changes the plaza needs to make. The leases in the mall should not all terminate in the same year. They should be staggered, and mapped so that blocks of stores can be looked at together by management. Last year, they should have seen an economic downturn coming and encouraged a change in a block of stores to attract more "bargain hunters". In effect, they need to target the markets that the mall originally attracted. Right now they are trying to be "ultra high brow." They are pricing themselves out of the range they need to attract. They need to support lecture theatres and social clubs. I didn't check out the variety of restaurants. There used to be a good selection, with fairly good dining support -- not seriously top end, but "not embarrasing". There was a gym. There was a service centre for cars. Looking at the economy and the near future, they have to re-invent "Sears".

 

[smoke665]

@VidThreeNorth Malls throughout the south here are fading away. They were once destinations, a place to go and spend a day/afternoon. Unfortunately that destination status also attracted tons of young people to hangout, then COVID hit, it decimated retail shopping. The convenience/savings of online shopping, and the rise in attacks at crowded places made people less willing to go back. As mentioned earlier I've also seen the rise in residential/retail developments. They seem to be doing well. Shopping habits, trends change, businesses that adjust accordingly survive.

 

[snowbear118 49]

It's part of "Smart Growth" with walkable communities, mixed use development, investment in public transportation and open spaces. Town Centers, rather than enclosed malls, seem to be part of it.

I'm going down to the other place today and try to finish clearing it out; someone coming in to do some plaster work and paint, and hopefully we can get it on the market in the next couple of weeks. I have a visit to the doctor tomorrow afternoon, so I doubt I'll get much done.

It rained yesterday and last night so I just hung arounf MLSIL's, streaming a couple things on Hulu and Netflix. After dinner, MLSIL and I watched a couple mystery / who-done-its she's been recording.

 

[smoke665]

Well unless we have some stragglers, I guess our hummers are gone till next year. We were gone for three days, came home to find the feeders still full.

 

[cgw118 144]

Mall post-mortems...Though strictly Canadian, malls got pulled down by the financial fortunes/follies of their anchors--The Bay, Sears, newcomer Nordstrom, Eatons, Zellers, failed Canadian Target adventure. Vulture Capitalists picked their bones clean, leaving smaller chain tenants adrift who were able/willing to abandon ship after traffic dwindled.
Malls thrived when old downtowns lost ground way last century as 'burbs grew and spread. That long swing trend petered out. Covid likely bought and installed the malls' tombstones. I buy local after a move to a smallish Ontario town 30min from Toronto but it has most of what I need, thanks to savvy national retailers--all keen students of demography--who put stores where the
$$$ are. All hail Amazon! It's different, sure, but I'll take retro only so far and say that late-game malls don't make it---RIP Yorkdale. Don't miss getting boozed-up to endure Boxing Day sales there(and parking horrors) back when-hah! Enjoyed my mall rat years greatly but now? Forget it...

 

[jeffashman12 3]

Spent the afternoon rearranging the chaos that is my back patio, but it is ready for sitting out and entertaining the mosquitoes. I’ll eventually put in a two-tier plant stand and reduce what is out there, but I have a place for the grill and a small table to enjoy a cuppa once temps get bearable.