Home, sweet home!

My last post was on the shortest day and this one is not far past the longest.  Much has happened in the past 6 plus months, and we do indeed have a new home and are happily settling in.

I had had every intention of blogging about our building experience, but to tell you the truth, it was so much more challenging than we expected. There were delays (rain…so much rain in October, February & March), frustrations, and surprises of all sorts.  Just getting through each week, each phase, was plenty without adding the burden of writing about it; or reliving it with the telling. Building our first home was so easy compared to this one.  If we could have a do-over, would we do some things differently? Yes, I think so. Are we happy with the results? Yes, yes, we are. It is all we envisioned and more, and it is so very good to be home and have space for friends and family to gather.

We moved from our cozy little trailer into the house in late March. It was so lovely to have room to stretch; to have more than 18 inches of counter space, plentiful hot water, and a hearth and fire. After making do comfortably in the trailer with so little for four months, Chris and I were both shocked and chagrined when all our belongings were moved out of storage.  We have so much, so much more than we use or need.  The decision was made to unpack slowly, just a few boxes at a time, and with care and thoughtfulness. Ideally, nothing is coming in that is not loved or useful.  There has been a great deal of decision making, paring and purging; it is not always easy and sometimes I am shamefully weak. (How many vases does one woman really need? How many teapots? Such a collector I have been.) It would be so nice to have breathing room, space for new possibilities, so I carry on. A box is always waiting in the mudroom; and once a week or so, I take a box to our local thrift store. Good things will move on to new homes and the dollars they garner will help stock the shelves of our local food bank. It is all good.

There is much remaining to be sorted through, but I’m taking a break.  After all, it is summer, and we should take time to enjoy this beautiful area we live in.

There are other things needing attention, too. My webshop, Green Willow, is back open and must be tended, my sweet little studio is calling to me along with new design software, and next weekend we bring home a tractor from my in-law’s farm in Oregon. Once the tractor is here we will start landscaping, and that will make this gardener very happy!