One Week In...

And, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a bit tense and anxious about things...particularly those things out of my control...

I admit it.  I am...and always have been...kinda "high-maintenance". (Don knew this, and, yet, he still pursued me...Unwise? Or just plain crazy?...You be the judge. 😜)

And, I'm not very patient or "long-suffering", either.




Have you seen those reality TV shows about folks who live in "tiny houses"?  Or, the gypsies who live in vans and campers full-time? They make it seem so marvelous...a simpler life, right?

Well, I'm here to tell ya'll, its not so simple and lovely...especially when it's chilly, pouring rain or windy...

...Or when your husband is a 6'1, 260-pound "larger than life" kind of man and you only have a full-size bed...and a tiny fridge...

...Or when you want all of your favorite clothes close at hand, but they won't all fit in the tiny cupboard and closet available...


...On Saturday, as a steady cold rain enveloped our entire day, I was thinking, "What the heck was I thinking agreeing to 4-6 months of living like this?  I don't think I can do it!"


In a moment...or rather, several hours...of weakness, I became overwhelmed by the reality of it all, and my thoughts dwelt on "If only..."



If only we had been able to take possession of the property two weeks before the girls and I moved down, so Don could've gotten things "ready", worked out the kinks...

If only we didn't have these darned horses...

If only our settlement hadn't been delayed 3 times...

If only we'd been able to get another five thousand for our house in NY or been able to save up another couple thousand dollars before this move, so finances weren't so tight...

If only it weren't so unseasonably cold and rainy all week!

On Sunday, the sun came out.

I meandered through the unruly, overgrown gardens and tall grass where another pasture will eventually be fenced.  I wandered into the quaint horse barn.  I sat in my red adirondack chair looking up at a gorgeous blue sky dotted with ivory clouds, and thought, "Ya know, this place is beautiful, and it's only going to get better from here!"

Don mowed a walking/riding path around he whole property for us.

Last Friday, the man from whom we purchased the property...who spent the first 18 years of his life growing up here...stopped by to meet us.  He's a jovial, friendly gentleman whom, I'm quite sure, we'll see again.

Unfortunately, Don wasn't home from work, yet, but Mr. M spoke with me for nearly two hours about the history of this property owned first by his grandparents, and then by his mother.

He told me that his grandparents, Philadelphia natives, bought this land in the 1940's as a country getaway for hunting and fishing.  It eventually became a permanent residence for his family.

 His grandfather finished building this stone grill/fire pit on Victory Day, 1945.  Sure enough, we found the inscription in the mortar, VD 1945!

Don plans to begin gutting the house this week, as his work schedule allows.  And, our goal...begin re-construction on or about June 1...will be here before we know it, especially if the weather stays pleasant for the next few weeks.

The girls need to re-focus on their schoolwork, since they have just a few weeks left.  The area of the barn that we plan to turn into a wash stall, eventually, serves as a handy storage space and laundry room at present, so my task this week is to clean it, then move some of our belongings from our horse trailer and the little borrowed trailer into that space.

I'm going to be doing "prom hair" for some young ladies we know this week, as well.





It is refreshing to be so much closer to family and friends.  My parents visited us this weekend, and we visited all of the Don's immediate family - only a 25-minute drive - for Mother's Day!

I'm grateful for the library.  My temporary "home-away-from-home" until we get our internet service connected later this month.  In my next post, I'll share some photos of the house before and in the early stage of demolition.

This is how we do dinner these days!