Six weeks in...

The good news?  We were only without electricity for three and half days...

The bad news?  We managed to spend over $1,400 between the generator purchase, then upgrading our woeful electrical system in that 72-hour period...OUCH!

We've been living in Berks County, PA for just over six weeks now... 😊

We've been "camping out" for over six weeks now... 😒  (I'm growing weary of this part.)


In my naive little mind, I had pictured something quite different from reality by our 6-week anniversary of this adventure...

...Sunny skies and 85 degrees almost everyday,

Hanging laundry at 7am, so it's sun-dried by noon,

Grilling spectacular meals every evening,

Visiting friends and family a couple days a week,

Exploring gorgeous parks and hiking destinations (swimming, too!) a few times a week.

My little herb and veggie garden would be planted and flourishing because we tore out all the overgrown vegetation and choking weeds from the sunniest side of the house.

Demolition would be 100 % complete by now.

We would have the financing in place to "have at it" on our remodel.

We would be perusing Lowe's and/or Home Depot many evenings for "the fun stuff": ordering supplies, choosing light fixtures, cabinets, toilets, countertops...

...Well, we have had many delish! grilled meals. We've visited with family and friends quite a bit...but, a couple days a week is very impractical given the nearly hour's drive to most of them.  The first few weeks, we explored our urban surroundings (malls and stores) extensively due to the weather, we've only just begun finding the hiking destinations.  We have explored Lowe's to "get ideas", as well as spending too much time on Pinterest looking at kitchens, bathrooms and flooring, but nothing beyond that, yet.

We've had so much rain in the last 6 weeks that I have spent more time than I ever expected at the laundromat!



There will be no gardens of any kind this year because we are still trying to tame the wild growing things on the property.




Demo is not 100% complete, yet, though another week should do it. 



And, we are still looking at alternative financing options because Don doesn't like the conditions of the loan offered by the bank.  The bank is a last resort, if these alternative options do not pan out in the next couple of weeks, because their conditions jack up the total costs of this adventure significantly.

I do not have the same "visionary" wiring as my husband.  Nor do I have ANY experience with remodeling an entire home...in fact, my experience is limited to the most basic remodel of a kitchen and a bathroom in our first house.  We had one-year old twins, so Don sent us to the beach with my parents, sparing me the messiest parts of that project.  

In fact, just the other day, when Don talked about "raising the roof" so we would have 9-foot ceilings, I thought he meant literally raising the roof with a crane or something. Imagine my surprise when he began DISASSEMBLING the roof!  He and the kids got quite a laugh out of that one!

Needless to say, looking at a drawing of my new house, and envisioning it in reality is quite a stretch for this concrete, detail-oriented, spatially-challenged brain of mine!  And, at this point, even the drawing is subject to change.   Just this morning we re-visited the cape cod plan because of some structural details in the existing footprint that Don discovered!

Sweet, old Sassy Anna is doing much better on our lusher PA pasture!

When we started this whole thing, I never could've predicted that I would suffer from such an obnoxious flare-up of gastro-intestinal issues and hormonal imbalance.  Those things, coupled with my longing for my own bed, a "non-camper" shower stall and a toilet that flushes normally without smelling like a porta-a-potty, and just...indoor SPACE...has made me rather difficult to live with some days, recently.  It's an excuse, I know. It's easy for me to be "Ms. Polly Positive" here on my blog and when visiting with friends and extended family for a few hours here and there, but...

...My dear daughters...one keeps her head down, finding ways to stay busy and avoid me on those "down days", the other, I fear, I've frustrated nearly to the point of unforgiveness.  And, Don.  He's trying so hard.  When it occurs to me...when I recognize the arduous challenge I've become... I sincerely apologize to them.

Why do we tend to do that to ones we love the most?  Is it because we feel so safe that we let our guard down completely and our proverbial "filter" shut off?...Let the beast within show itself, knowing they will still be there tomorrow whether it's because they choose to be or need to be?

But that's not good enough for me, anymore.  I know it's all about the condition of my heart...

...I'm going to make a greater effort to stay more positive with those closest to me.  I ask you all to pray with me on that one, cause I certainly can't do it alone!  I need the power of the Lord...that which is deep within this child of God and needs to be called forth for such a time as this!

 There's no turning back on this adventure, now!  We will keep moving forward, as a family!

In other news, we finally took a much closer look at our deed and discovered that we actually own just over 8 acres, rather than the 7.24 which was advertised by the real estate agent.  Now, we NEED to have the property surveyed sooner rather than later - before we permanently fence our pastures and seed our hay field - so we can optimize our space!






I have quite a few great photos I would love to share, but I don't want to squeeze them all into this blog post.  Keep watch for another post full of pictures, less prose, in a few days, Friends!