Well, the short sale finally finished up and we are the proud (tired?) owners of 18 lovely acres in the Kitsap County area of lovely Puget Sound! My grandparents lived just an hour away along Hood Canal for many years - from the time I was 8 until I was about 24, so in some ways it's like going home again. On clear, sunny days there are views of the rugged Olympic Mountains and many lovely glimpses of the Sound. Our acreage has a rustic 'tear-down' cabin on it and the previous owner was most definitely a hoarder....at least of outdoor building materials! Many many piles & stacks of old & decaying building materials that will take us much effort, time and dollars to dispose of.
We've already hauled several huge loads to the dump and have more piled and ready to go. The inside of our temporary abode is gutted and now ready for new everything - from electrical wiring and plumbing, to sheetrock, lights and bathroom & kitchen fixtures! Simultaneously, we are packing at the 'old' place and beginning to move our belongings to a 40' 'Dry Box' storage unit and painting the interior of our home in preparation to list it for sale in the next week or so. At this point, if we sit down...we fall asleep!
My rabbits are currently being bunny-sitted (bunny-sat?) at daughter's house and I've readied a new-to-me chicken coop for the birdies. Next, to figure out a shed & pasture for our 10 goats! Much to do!
Last trip up, I determined that we needed a comfy place to sit so that we could rest a bit on our breaks from our laboring so we headed to a couple of thrift shops. I confess to praying that perhaps the Lord could just find us a couple of recliners so that I wouldn't waste a lot of time shopping.....and voila! Found two just-right for us and cheap to boot!
While daughter, grandbaby and I were shopping, we had a wonderful experience with a good Samaritan! The Goodwill store had a huge set of retro red & white children's toy kitchen pieces up front. One part of the set was a red with chrome legs childrens table & chairs. I immediately decided to purchase it. Daughter & I looked at the fridge, stove, sink & stacked washer/dryer unit and wished we could buy it, but frugality prevailed.
A little bit later, I was approached by a stranger who asked if I was the one who purchased the table & chairs. He then asked why I didn't buy the rest of the set! I thought the questioning was rather odd, but he wasn't threatening and there were lots of people around, so I chatted with him. I told him I just couldn't afford the whole set. He asked if I'd like to have it. I repeated that, yes, I'd like it, but couldn't really afford it all. He told me that he had no grandchildren and would like to purchase it for mine!!! When I got to the checkout counter a bit later, he had indeed purchased the ENTIRE set (about $130!) for my grandbabies!
Yes, Virginia, there ARE good Samaritans (aka nice people) still out there. What a blessing! A lovely beginning to a huge move to a new neighborhood, for sure.
Well, I've had my coffee break and now I've got more boxes to fill, rooms to mask and paint and trips to make, so off I go! A couple more pictures and I'm signing off until next time....
Aliens in a foreign land, lol.....
(One of the main and compelling reasons to move from your home of 20-plus years and uproot your entire existence, put yourself through many hardships and difficulties....
This little charmer..to your right! Can't resist that sweet little smile and happy-to-see-us grins!)
Toodles!!! (No, his name is not Toodles....lol)
It's always great to see a new post from you. My daughter, the new elementary school principal, is in the processing of moving to a new (rented) place two hours away before July 1st. They placed their house on the market and received an offer higher than list price within 48 hours! Unlike you, she does not need to find a home for goats, but her sister-in-law is taking the cat. I commiserate from afar with you both. Hopefully it will all be in the rearview mirror soon.
ReplyDeleteYour grandson is a handsome, happy boy. In a few years the girls will be knocking down the doors. I will hold you up in prayer until then.
Thanks for stopping in! I appreciate your prayers for sure. A daunting task, moving a farm of 20-plus years. At the moment, while in the midst of it all, it seems that perhaps we will never finish. Not true, of course, but we are getting weary! Only a couple more months and our sweet grandboy will be joined by his baby sister! Such a blessing, grandkids!
DeleteWow I'm tired just reading all that you've done, been doing and have to do! The 18 acres sounds just beautiful and I bet the views are gorgeous. Will the "tear down cabin" be your permanent abode once it's fixed up, or will you have to have something new built? Looks like you've already done a ton of work on it! I can't even imagine packing up from your 40 acre homestead and trying to pare down. I do not envy you at all,,, but kind of envy your new adventure! And how wonderful to be close to your daughter and grandson. That is most important after all. Even at my age, I would still love to be moving to country acreage, even just a few acres, as I love the trees and privacy. I'll dream right along with you! Keep us posted! Marilyn
ReplyDeleteHi Marilyn! We have accomplished a lot, but boy oh boy have we got a ways to go! I feel exactly like you do - I'm enjoying the adventure, but oh the work of moving an entire farm! Plus, we're moving from our almost 3000 sq ft home to the fixer 800 sq ft cabin! Yikes! We're going to totally renovate it, and build an addition after our current house sells. Some days I wake up totally on board and other mornings I wonder what on earth we've done, lol! Thanks for stopping in - I always love hearing from you!
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