A New View

Research is not my strong suit. My daughter and my husband are very good researchers. Not me. I only research when I am really involved in an immediate, or need to know soon, situation. For instance, our dishwasher just died and now I need to get a new one. I will research that, because it is an immediate need. Larry is different. As soon as he gets an idea of something he may want to buy or a place he may want to go, he will hit the Google switch and start researching. Several years ago, he started focusing on retirement (which would happen this year). At least 3 years ago, he started house hunting. I went along grudgingly. I mean, really! Why are we looking at homes when we have no plans to buy one for another 3 years or so? It is time to admit, that although, I never would have done it his way, and as exasperated as I got, that 3 year research project probably worked for the best.

When we first started looking for a house in this area we were focused on View, Style, Room....but not too much room, and land. One of the first houses we found that we fell in love with was a chalet style home overlooking a vineyard at the edge of a national forest with a fantastic view of the mountains.

I envisioned breakfast on the deck in the morning and drinks on the deck in the afternoon, watching the deer and wild turkey roam below. I imagined the colors the sky would carry as the sun set over the mountains. However, Eden is a hard place to find and can be pretty remote. When I accepted reality, this is what I had to face up to. 1) It was a 30 minute drive from ANYTHING on a very winding road!!! I do mean anything. Gas, food, town. In order to start going anywhere you had a half hour drive before you got to town so you could start your journey. And coming home...once you made it to town it was a half hour winding tour back home to this peaceful abode. 2)...no cell phone signal, period, and no chance of getting one. It was at the edge of a national forest! For most people, it wouldn't have taken long to rule it out, but for me, it was tough. I loved that house, and that view. In the end the drive and the cell phone and internet service did us in.

Even so, I carried that house in my heart for months and measured it against every other home we looked at for years.

As we looked at other properties, I slowly readjusted my priorities.  Larry refined his. 2-3 acres of flat land turned into 2-3 car detached garage and a house with usable land. That's important because so many places are what I like to call, Cliff Hangers, houses that are built on the side of a steep mountainside, with a single car garage tucked underneath it. Master bedroom on the main floor, became a bedroom and bath on the main floor. And my desire for a room with a view, changed too. In the beginning we had a vision. In the end I think we got exactly what we were looking for.

When I look out my cabin window, what do I see? Mountains?  Not in the summer, but as soon as I leave the neighborhood and head down the highway, I can see them all around me. It makes every drive to town a treat. For those of you who like water, we have that too. The drive to Wal-Mart follows the lakeshore.

Trees? Ah, that's what I see! We are in the woods.
When I wake up in the morning I feel like I'm in a tree house.

View as I lay in bed

There is no vineyard to look out over, but we have a large yard behind the house that pushes the woods back and gives us a clearing.

Today we saw a fawn and her mother run along the fence line at the edge of the woods.

As I sit on the back porch hummingbirds buzz by me on their way to the feeders. If you can see the blurr just in front of the flower petal, that's my miracle shot. They take off as soon as they sense the camera. But my presence doesn't scare them. They fly so close by me, I can feel them.

Two bluebirds are raising their second family in the bird house out back.

They come and go all day long bringing food for the babies inside. When they leave a chorus of loud chirps follows them and then dies down as they wait for mom and pop to come back.

The biggest treat for me was watching them on the day they left the nest. It amazes me to think that a bird that has never flown can fly from their house to mine, and then up to the tree tops!

Birds can keep me occupied for hours. The other day a Carolina Wren sat on the rail ten feet from me and squawked loudly at its mate five feet away. And I love trying to identify a new species to the feeders. But sometimes they have a hard time getting to it.

This species I recognize. It can turn mild mannered me into a crazy woman as I charge down the porch steps flailing my arms and yelling. But sometimes I just watch and take pictures.


It is the view I always wanted. The distant, majestic one was exciting at first. But as time went on, I realized I wanted the closer, more intimate one. A place where I could watch life in action right outside my door.

I wanted this view.

A Slow Moving Process

It's no secret life has been a bit crazy lately. So much is going on I haven't had time to think. We've moved. That part is over! Now we are unpacking. And unpacking. And unpacking.... oh, did I mention? We are unpacking. Does it ever end??

Tonight, I sit here in my new house. It's a cabin, really. Very rustic. About 1/2 the size of the home we moved from. I'm trying to collect my thoughts. I've heard it said that Geniuses work well under chaotic conditions. They have so much going on in their heads that to work in an organized environment is very hard for them. Once again, I have proof that I am not a genius! I can't think when my environment is too far out of sync.

During the move, and over the last week lots of comparisons, thoughts, reminiscences have crossed my mind, but I was unable to stop what I was doing to write a post. It turns out, when there is a lot to be done, writing takes a back seat. At night, I collapse and look at my computer like a zombie. Even if I can think, I'm afraid to start writing for fear I will be up for the next 2 hours when I really need to go to bed.

So hear is the update. The good news is that most of the boxes have been unpacked. The better news is that my kitchen, which is about 1/3 the size of my last one, has been set up and is working very well! On the other hand, the yard sale pile is growing. We knew we had more to get rid of, but it was hard to do until we actually got here.

I've stated before, that I hate to move. I have to admit, I'm not sure exactly why I hate it. Truthfully, moving is an adventure. There are new people to meet, new places to see, an opportunity to reboot my life, or join new groups and participate in new activities. On the other hand, moving means saying goodbye to all those things I came to enjoy about my current home. And it is a total disruption to my life. The most obvious is moving away from friends and a home I love. Listing a house and having to keep it in pristine condition while working or raising kids isn't fun. Then there is the packing. That is a huge job, but over the years, we have had movers do the lion share of the packing for us. At the other end of moving is the unpacking. Right now, it is the part I hate most.

Unpacking is a mix of adventure, discovery, frustration and wonder....that moment when you just say "Huh?"

There is the satisfaction of unpacking a box and finding places for everything. There is the frustration of not being able to find something I know must be here, but which box? Then there is that AHA moment when it is finally found. This move it was the DVD player and all the remotes. We discovered them nicely tucked into the bedding from the master bedroom. We would have found it sooner, if we were using that room. Instead it was the VERY LAST box unpacked.

There is the wonder at unpacking something I can't imagine ever having kept, like an empty jar.

So far my favorite find is a tall, narrow 1 quart empty jar. I can see keeping a wide mouthed jar, but I have no idea why I ever held onto this jar!

Best of all, there is the surprise at unpacking something I forgot I had, like an old momento that had been tucked away. Unwrapping that suddenly brings back warm memories of an event long forgotten. Like this little photo album my dad kept of all of us as children, as well as his grandchildren.

That's me at ages 5 and 4

The best part of this move is that after nine times, Larry is by my side, working just as hard as I am. That is a first. Every other time we have moved, he would go to work and I would unpack the boxes, one at a time, one day at a time. This time it is a team effort. And I think we are winning.

One day at a time...one box at a time.