Living in the House

Since around January 1st we've been living in the house. It got too cold to use our pipes and Chris went away for two weeks to Vermont. We moved into my old bedroom in the house my parents built. I appreciate it much more now than when I was growing up. It's cliche, but I took so much for granted. 

The house is a cape with an extension out the back. It sits on almost five acres with barn and pasture. My mom and dad have really improved the land since it was given to them by my Nana. They tore down the existing house which belonged to Dad's Auntie Florence. They rebuilt as they could, cleared trees, put in a new driveway, built a garage, woodshop, and dog kennel, they bought adjoining land to expand the lot, they even had the brook dug out for a pond. Looking at pictures of the decades-long process makes me amazed at all the hard work they did.

I was able to have our horses at home, run barefoot amongst goose decoys in the front yard, ride a zip line into our pond, make hay forts in the loft, chase our dog Maggie when she got a green pepper from the garden,  and stand in the corner by the woodstove wrapped in a towel after getting out of the hottub. When I put it all down, I feel spoiled...and grateful.

Living in the house again has been great. During the days Lily and I are together all day taking walks, seeing Nana, reading, researching our cross country trip, and watching movies. When Muzzie and Popsie get home, one of us makes dinner while the others entertain Breezy the puppy and Lily. We wind down with a fire in the fireplace or watching HGTV shows with Muzzie.

Major differences between the camper and a house with a foundation? Extra freezer storage. Using a toaster instead of our gas oven to make toast. The ability to take a bath (not that I have yet). and TV which is a horrible distraction from the beautiful real world.

After two weeks without Chris, I'm ready to start our adventure and get back to the camper!