And the verdict is.....

 Have you felt the ups and down too? The back forth? The yes and no? Sweet Jesus, what a ride the past 5 years have been. Yes! We have owned the land for that long now. Remember that 5 year plan I had? HA! But a decision has been made, and we've had a whirlwind past 5 days. Are you ready to hear all about it? Let's go!

We decided to go out for dinner the night before his surgery, and as usual we were disappointed with the food, the drink, and the cost. I can't even say we had fun, he was tired after working all day, and the drink and food only made that worse. I was tired too. It seems like we are always tired and we are ready for some fun and r and r. I had some Irish Whiskey Kahlua drink. I only drank half of it. I ate a few bites of my food and then brought the rest home and gave it my son to eat.

 Woodchuck's surgery went well! I had to have him there at 9:30 and unfortunately, it took them nearly an hour and a half to finally get him back into surgery. In the meantime, we had hurricane force winds that, of course, started knocking out the power as soon as they started his surgery. It was Friday the 13th, but honestly, Woodchuck comes with his own set of curses 😂 The surgery went quick and they were able to finish it before having to cancel all other surgeries scheduled for the day because the power kept going out. We were both very grateful for decent travel weather though since the surgery center was an hour away.

Thankfully I had enough time in the morning to throw an Irish stew with bison and good Irish stout in the crockpot. It smelled SO good when we got home! I got him settled in, I showered, then made the homemade dumplings. Unfortunately, he couldn't taste it because his nose was plugged with stents. So I told him I would make it again when he can smell and taste better. I also have to double the stew recipe because this wasn't nearly enough for the three of us and then to provide leftovers.

True to form, he made an appointment for us the following day in Nappanee to look at some home models. He really was feeling well enough for that appointment, but of course, right after he made the appointment, the original contractor we hired for the custom house called him and said he wanted to meet us at the land with the septic guy to stake out the house. All of this time we have been sitting here waiting, being told "two more weeks" for months on end. In fact, he told us LAST YEAR in the Fall that he would be there in a couple of weeks to stake it out. And he still doesn't have the blue prints. And he still didn't go to the county and register himself, or get permits, etc. We knew this appointment to see the model homes we going to be a make it or break it thing. So I drove us an hour East from home (plus they are an hour ahead of us), and we got right to it. Show us the home. If we like what we see, show us the numbers.

Was this doggie that was waiting in the car for its owner going to be our good luck sign?

We liked what we saw, but I was still a bit iffy on numbers. We could likely remedy that with letting go of some upgrades, but some we weren't going to budge on and I swear that everything we like in life is considered an upgrade and therefore, costs more money. 😂So we spent some time there going over everything, picking out options--which were few and far in between. About three options for every category, but honestly? That was a nice change of pace from the MONTHS and NUMEROUS trips we made to four or five different home improvement stores trying to find every single aspect of a house from the ground up that we liked. And what we liked that would ensure a quality house for long-term ended up being our undoing on the custom house idea.

When we got home, Woodchuck called the contractor and asked if we could get the cost of the home lower? We got the usual initial answer of "I don't know". Woodchuck told him that after crunching more numbers, getting the appraisal for this house, and after both of us having surgery within the first 3 months of this year and having deductibles and medical bills to pay, we see that we aren't going to be able to afford the custom home at the price point quoted. So we asked if we change our mind on supplies and go with less expensive options, can the final price of EVERYTHING for the home--including the septic, well, etc. for no more than $250,000? We got a "probably not" and a statement that he wants to build a quality home that is going to last us and that we are going to be happy with. I appreciate that, I really do, but if we can't afford to live in it, then we can't move forward with it. So we cut ties with him. We are still on the hook for the cost of the blue prints, and never received a quote about those, so I hope we don't get sticker shock, especially since we aren't going to use them. There has been a lot of wasted time and money along the way of these 5 years, but it's water under the bridge and I can't get hung up on that.

We took the following day to rest. The weather was crap, he has limitations right now, and my hips were killing me. I was glad to see that he napped on and off for most of the day. Yesterday was his post-op. Yep! Just a couple of days after surgery! They were able to cut the stitch and pull the stents out and he was able to breathe! It was another hour drive West for that appointment and the weather was brutal. Slick roads, with cars sliding off all over the place, and random snow squalls. We talked on the way home about the quote the home place in Nappanee had sent us, things we forgot to ask, and what were we feeling like was the right thing to do? The sale price of the home was only good through yesterday, so if we wanted that price, we needed to make the decision fast. 

We decided to drive back out there. Yes, an hour East on slick roads and in snow squalls, to make the final decisions. We took the deposit with us that we would need to pay to lock in the sale price. One of the things I mentioned on the drive was how, we as humans, remove the option for so much joy from our lives. Take the conditions we were driving in. There really was no "have to", we could have transferred the money to them electronically. There was no rushing, we were able to take our sweet time, even if it took two hours to get there. But for the most part, most of us "have to". You have to get up and travel in the Winter weather to work instead of going for a walk in it, or being able to sit by a window with a book and cup of hot tea and watch the beauty. I am so lucky to be able, for the most part, partake in the joy of each day now.

The weather followed us out there, but was honestly on and off every place, all day. When we arrived to the business, it was wet outside, but sunny. Within moments, we were being pelted with ice pellets on high winds. The first order of business was to go back through the model home. The two windows on the far left would be the master bedroom, the two windows to the right of the door are the living room. Farther down the home there are two other windows, one for each bedroom. The stairs for any entry door are not included.

This is the kitchen in the model home. Though ours will look similar, there will be some differences, because again, nearly everything is an upgrade, lol. Our cabinets will be a different color (picture to follow), the counter tops will be a different color (initially I chose butcher block for the island until I saw the price and switched it back to Formica! 😵). I opted out of the "tiles" behind the stove, there will be a different microwave, which I won't even use anyway, so that's no big deal, and the stools are not included. The doorway to the left is one of two doors to the pantry. All appliances are Whirlpool, the European range hood is standard with the home design and it comes with a double basin stainless steel sink. The other side of the island has drawers and cabinets as well.

I had picked another counter top initially on Saturday. It reminded me of granite and the desert sandstone, but Woodchuck didn't like it--said it looked messy. After thinking about it, messes would not get seen on it and therefore not cleaned up by anyone else but me. So I went with this instead.

These are the cabinets. We didn't get hardware because I have some here that I purchased awhile back.

We had the option of carpet or linoleum flooring. It was the ONE thing that we could not agree on at our initial appointment on Saturday. We haven't had carpet in over 20 years due to allergies, and since I am the one that cleans, I know the downsides of having carpet. Dust collects under furniture and the only way to clean it, is to move the furniture. I LOVE being able to Swiffer underneath of things. The other thing is the cat throws up at least once a week, and the carpet would be ruined in no time. So we left it that he wanted carpet in the living room and bedrooms and linoleum would be in the rest of the house. After thinking on it though, he changed his mind to having all linoleum. It would be easier to clean, and if we ever wanted to change to something else, it could go right over it. Friends, I just dusted under our bed and I am SO glad that he changed his mind!

The siding very closely matches the original color we picked for the custom house. It's a bit more mossy green than this picture portrays.

We did not like the color options for metal roofing, so we went with shingle. I plan on bringing that back up to Woodchuck tonight to make sure that he is okay with that decision. I don't have to love the roof color, to be honest. If he feels like metal is the better option, I'm ok with that...though that will likely be a cost upgrade, lol. The singles are more brown than what they look like here, though they will vary from batch to batch.

I could give a rats ass about shutters, but eh, maybe it will provide habitat for the bats. The rep was a bit freaked out about that! Good thing it's me living in the house and not him! Bats are welcome on the property, just not inside of the house, lol. Sandstone will be the color those.

Since the house does not come with stairs or porches, we have to hire someone to do that. Woodchuck brought up doing them ourselves, but what was the rule, boys and girls? We don't do any of the work ourselves anymore! He said he wants to pay more upfront to go with cedar or redwood....we've had enough of pressure treated lumber over the years. I need to research a bit to see the pros and cons of each option. Have you had experience with either? I would love to hear your opinion and experiences! This diagram was on a poster in the office, so I snapped a shot of it. We were also standing out in the wind and ice getting measurements to decide how big of porches we wanted, lol.  

Speaking of, some of this may come back to bite us financially at the county office. We got the septic permit already....for a three bedroom, two bathroom home (2 bedrooms and one utility room), but this new home will be three bedrooms and two bathrooms, PLUS a utility room. So we will either have to put in for a new permit completely, or pay the difference for an amended one. We talked with the septic guy already and he said the system we were putting in anyway will work for this home as well. When we go next week to get the building permit, that only includes ONE porch. This house will need three. We have no idea the added cost for two more, and will need to come up with measurements before then (note to self, remind Woodchuck of that.)

So there you go! We are moving forward, just differently than we initially thought. I am daring to let myself feel a little excited without the fear of it all getting ripped out from under us or having it come crashing down financially. Because we are using the land as collateral, that prevents us from having to put 10% down like we were going to have to do initially. So many weights taken off of our shoulders.

The timeline gets bumped up though. This place will be ready in June/July, which means Woodchuck will have a much farther commute to work for awhile. The potholes in that county will break your tires and eat your car, so let's cross our fingers that that stuff will be fixed before he has to commute. But the cut in costs will make sure that we can ENJOY our retirement, have some fun, AND be able to continue fixing the pond and have a garden, etc. We also have the idea to build the shipping container into a kind of garden/potting shed. We will see if we can actually make that happen.

In the meantime, I have started really purging and organizing and packing since I have less of a timeline now to do it. Luckily we have the indoor rummage sale we are participating in at the beginning of April! That will help move things out of the house and get some cash. We still don't know if the youngest is moving with us or out on his own. He had appointments on Saturday to look at apartments and canceled them because he was running behind on other plans. That makes things a bit more sticky for me because I don't know yet if I will have one room that has to be a multi-purpose room, or if I have two rooms that can be utilized. That will get figured out. It feels good to be purging. Honestly, we have way too much stuff! 

I have one show that we signed up for in early June, so I am hoping that we will be able to stay with doing that. I could really use for the art that I have done to move into its forever homes. I will have to make hard decisions about supplies to let go of, just incase I don't have room at the new place. It's all good though...it was time to start living differently anyway. I hope that you are excited too! It feels good after five years to finally be able to take the next step!  😍

Throw it down and walk away

We have had some hard decisions to make recently. About the land, about retirement, about building a home. We are no closer to an answer, the right one at that. We even toyed with the idea of filling in the main pond, or selling the land and starting over. A quick online research of property for sale, with or without homes, showed me that that would be an asinine thing to do at this point, and it didn't take us 20 years to find this property because we had so many options to choose from! If we were to sell it, we would be back at the start with no other viable options for getting out of the this house and into nature and our forever home. So the obsessing and worrying continues.

As we continue the back and forth between Winter and Spring, and are finally in the woods of whatever hellish virus we caught, we continue to do the little bits that we can. I have spent more time than I should trying to finish these pumpkin earrings. I usually have to start over no less than three times. First one is done! Just need to trim the threads and put on the ear hook.

Although Woodchucks intentions were good, and goals lofty, he indeed did not meet the goal of getting our sons bathroom completely remodeled before his surgery (which I am taking him to in about an hour). Plus, with me not being there to see the little things, he didn't notice that some of the older plaster has mold on it. So that will all need to be torn out. Maybe he was going to tear it out anyway, but he seemed surprised when I sent the pictures of the mold.

Those are some wide boards! This is the area where the exhaust fan will go. Woodchuck said that there's still asphalt shingle-style siding on the house too!

They picked up the drywall already, so just a tad more demo to do, then wiring for the exhaust fan and some replacement wiring for other things that might not be up to code and are a fire hazard.

While the bathroom is on hold for now, we are making quick stops at the land. An important stop was to cage the front arborvitae that we planted last year and that have been stripped by the wildlife. I don't know that these cages will make a difference, but I had to try some thing.

We also got the chain unwrapped that the neighbor wrapped around a small tree. It took both of us to get it unwrapped.

I saw my first bluebird of the season out there! Not my picture, found this one online. I had to use it to help me decipher if it was a bluebird or blue bunting. I can never remember which is which.

I had a follow up with my GP for some lab and I was feeling freshly sick and thinking we had the flu. They tested me for the flu and Covid and both came back negative. He said that a lot of people were coming in thinking they had the flu and it ended up not being that, just some virus. Yeah well, the "just some virus" was a beast and kicked our butts. Back when I was growing up, you could tell if you had the flu or a cold. Now all of the lines are blurred.

On another trip to the land, we placed markers at the edge of the pond where about 4-6 inches of land is getting ready to slump in. I want visuals. I want proof that others can see that I am not making shit up, and this is not something to ignore. We have ONE WAY to get to other side of the property with the tractor, and we can't lose this land to slumping anymore. At some point I'm going to get tired of being ignored and treated like a stupid girl and I will take charge, but for right now, I am giving others the chance to step up and do the right thing.

With the "Spring" thaw and rains, water levels are high all over. It's a beautiful day though, with mirrored skies in the water.

My hips/legs/ankles were feeling well enough to finally walk the watershed and grab those trail cam SD cards and get eyes on the land. I am always amazed at how many Oothecas I find. On this trip it was three of them.

My eyes are constantly scanning. I'm afraid if I keep looking down too much, I will miss something higher up. These views, for instance.

The sandhill cranes are on the move into the area again, though we have never seen any at our land.

Hello, Mr. Blue Sky!

We thought we would also try and get over along the watershed pond too. I had to be really careful not to slip. These tractor tire marks are always here now, but I can see the watershed pond levels have nearly reached them.

Indeed, I was able to establish that the newest flooding issue we have is because the watershed pond overflowed on the lowest land side. That tree would normally be on dry land, and it is now an island and surrounded by water. We passed that information along to the company that is working to fix the main pond and the flooding to the side of it.

I am so grateful to have seen the pussy willows get their fuzzies! One of my favorite trees since I was a child, I thought I had missed them this year, but they were there waiting for me! 

We refer to this flooded area now as "the third pond", and the ducks are loving it.

The water meal already started back on the warmer days, with what looks like tree bud chafings mixed in.

We feel like we are in limbo right now, but I also feel like everything is happening as it should.

Satisfied that we could do all that we could on this trip, we headed home for showers and dinner. We made the last of the Pierogi up, and in case you ever wondered why we named our cat Pierogi, here's a picture for reference.

I have been itching to get back to creating. I decided to take advantage of the sunlight we get coming in through the East bedroom window! It was short-lived, but glorious.

I always love when we go to the land and hear ducks. After seeing a crane take off from the edge of the water, we could hear ducks (a male and female mallard)....but then also...

Geese. They are not our favorite to have there, but we understand the draw of the water to them. They don't stay long, and honestly, with so much mud, I don't know that they will try and nest again (so far, in five years, they have never had babies).

This was our last trip back to the land before Woodchucks sinus surgery, and the weather was once again beautiful. On this trip, things with the house idea were really coming to a head. A decision needed to be made, or I need out from under this weight. But not just any decision, the smartest one that we can make that will ensure our comfort in retirement, and ability to afford to live at the land. So we walked and talked. The flood waters continue to rise. Have I ever told you about the floods in Louisiana? When we lived there for a bit when I was in pre-K, we lived on a road that ran along the Amite River. And gator danger and contamination be damned, we swam in the flood waters! With the hips and ankles I have now, I am not even walking in this water! 😂

There's nothing quite like sunlight reflected on shimmering waters.

We decided to sit and watch and listen and dream and talk. Such a pivotal time it is! Still recovering from hip surgery, both of us still recovering from something viral, do we keep the land or sell it? Do we move forward with the original house plan, or change that? I know the answer is coming. I just need to keep my hands off and my wants out, while also being a voice of reason. It will all work out.

I could snuggle up and take a nap right here, but Woodchuck says I have to wait until we are living out there, and this bench is used by a squirrel for a dinner table. So, I guess that means that my relaxation time is over.

Between the virus and my autoimmune stuff, the sun is hurting my eyes. But I'm grateful that it's out!

We made a couple of trips to Bailey's Discount Center down in North Judson, for things for us and for our youngest who has been talking about moving out but still hasn't followed through with looking at places yet. The sandhill cranes LOVE that area! Fields and skies full of them!

While we are all grateful for the sun and slightly warmer temps, they fueled some intense storms. I can see the front moving in as we left the discount center to head home.

This is not my picture, but shows what a storm chaser caught. It hit about 20-30 minutes South of us, in the area that we had been shopping in. The lightening, winds, and pouring rain that we had here at home were INSANE. Tornado and severe weather sirens were going off, but we never lost power. I had a video for you to see that showed the intense lightening we had, but I couldn't get it to load.

Pierogi doesn't like storms, but was really brave this time! I could tell when it picked up in intensity because that's when she went and hid in the corner. Once the storm threat passed, she was exhausted and went face first into the blanket!

It took me awhile to type this up, and some decisions have been made about the land and housing! So stay tuned, the next post will updates about that stuff!