Archive for September 2012
Addendum Addressed
It is done. All of the issues that were identified by our buyer’s inspection of the EP house have now been addressed. We are ready to go. Well, only in respect to those details. There is still the issue of preparing the entirety of our possessions to be picked up by a moving company and transported to Wisconsin.
Yesterday, while I was stuck working at the day-job, Cyndie took on the massive effort to move all the things that had been stashed into the crawl space in the basement, out onto the floor of the finished section. She needed to make room for the worker installing a radon gas mitigation system. I hope the ugly contraption will give the new owners peace of mind.
There are boxes and furniture and 25 years of stuff filling the rest of the basement. All the things we stashed out of sight to stage the house for showing. I no longer need to live in the mode of “leave no trace” in my own home. Now I need to pull out every last thing and weigh the question of whether it is worth paying to move it in order to have with us at the farm.
The distance between the two locations is long enough that we won’t be making a variety of miscellaneous trips back and forth, where we could haul odds and ends on our own. We will be paying a moving company to carry most everything and load it into their truck for the single trip to the farm. Then we need to know where we want each piece to go, because they will carry it off again. My degenerating disks leave me limited in carrying capacity.
We will be taking the large flat-screen television and our computer equipment ourselves, and probably storing them with friends or family, until the time is available to move them to the new house. Maybe I should consider the probability I will be off-line for a spell in October.
For each item that gets addressed, two more pop up.
I welcome them all. Our destination makes the effort well worth it.
Feeling Fall
There is no denying the sense of a change of season around here. The hours of daylight are noticeably shrinking. The dew point temperature has dropped, adding a fresh feeling to the decline of summer’s heat. It is my favorite time of year. It ushers in my favorite season: winter. I am obviously excited about the prospect of spending it on our new farm.
I’m dashing off to spend this beautiful Saturday morning toiling away at the day-job. I loath the overtime that requires my precious weekend hours, but that job has new significance for us right now, in that it is what qualified us for the loan to purchase the farm. I am grateful for the employment. That doesn’t mean I have to like working Saturdays, though.
Did I point out that there are a lot of maple trees on the farm? The sellers mentioned that they used to be tapped for syrup. Would we? You never know.
Mental Exercise
I’m feeling a bit of withdrawal from not being able to visit the farm property for the last 4 days. It is really energizing to me when I am even in the vicinity where it is located. I miss it.
I forgot what it is like to find the place you want to buy, and then not be able to have it for weeks or months. I don’t actually recall how long we had to wait to close on our Eden Prairie property. That was 25 years ago.
The waiting for our move to Beldenville is going to be quite an exercise of discipline and patience.
Here are some peeks at the stables in the barn, and the tractor we are considering…
In Time
All things in good time. Last night we received notice of the second push-out for our closing date. I am not surprised, but it does knock you in the gut to have the target for such a big move get delayed. I have no doubt that we will be able to put that extra time to good use.
We are mulling over price quotes from moving companies, and contemplating the intricate detail of actually packing every thing we own. It is time to go beyond talking and writing about de-cluttering, we need to seriously begin culling our possessions. I gave away some big books last night! That’s a start.
The timing of our closing date will be impacting the cost of our move. If it pushes us to a weekend delivery, or storage of a full trailer, the dollars go up. All it takes is one person to have a conflict with the date, and we are back in negotiation for the next alternative. We were asked for a Friday, and pushed back, asking for a day earlier. I don’t envy this part of the realtor’s job.
I am wrestling with the decision about a tractor. The one we were offered to buy, which is currently on the property, is more tractor than I picture myself needing. Determining what I will need is a mental exercise in which I am not well-practiced. Some online research led me to Tractor Supply Co., which doesn’t sell tractors, but seems to offer everything else we could possibly need for our new place. I let myself wander through pages of merchandise and discovered items that triggered thoughts about a multitude of projects that likely lie ahead for us. It was sobering. But, it didn’t get me any closer to deciding what I want in a tractor.
Worrying about the wide variety of items to be purchased in the ongoing operation of our “farm” felt a little like putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. We don’t have a horse yet. We don’t even have the farm yet.
I hope we get the closing date figured out before the snow flies. I haven’t figured out what I will use to plow the driveway yet.
Worthwhile Commute
Yesterday was filled with a dizzying number of email exchanges between Cyndie & me, our realtor, the lender, and multiple contractors, as we strive to address the many inter-related issues being simultaneously addressed, to resolve concerns discovered during the two respective house inspections. As much of a hassle as this could be perceived to be, we are finding it easy to tolerate, because it is all related to acquiring that precious property of our dreams. The closing date has undergone its first adjustment, moving into October now. That came as no surprise to us.
We left my car parked next to the barn all weekend, and on Monday, on our way home from the lake, we once again had our impressions confirmed about how wonderful the location and environment are for us. It thrills us to the core to drive in this region and realize it will soon become our home base. Arriving at the property to pick up my car was a great hint of what it will be like to have that be our home destination when returning from the lake. The subsequent drive to our current home provided another glimpse of the commute that we will face for business in the Twin Cities, most importantly for me, my current day-job. There is no denying it will be extremely long, compared to what I am familiar with, but everything about the property and its location is making the long distance seem bearable for some period of transition.
Traffic congestion will be the key feature defining how irritating the drive can become. It will take some time to learn the nuances and timing of each of several optional routes, after which I hope to hone my skills of interpreting traffic maps to determine my daily choices. I will gain a whole new respect for the concerns of hazardous winter driving conditions. With my current short distance, and my 4-wheel drive Subaru, I barely glance at weather warnings for information on poor driving conditions. That will need to change this coming year.
Thinking about moving in October made me wonder how many trick-or-treat visitors we might expect to make the trek up our long driveway on a Wednesday night Halloween. If we get any, I will be very surprised. I will count that as one more perk making the long commute well worthwhile. That, and the fact that I will no longer suffer the sound of neighbors using their infernal leaf blowing machines! B’bye suburbs.
Dismantling Raftzilla
It is a challenge for me to follow yesterday’s fantastic contribution from Elysa, but the show must go on, and so I will type a few words and see what comes. I’m lucky to be typing anything at all, because I am so exhausted by a day filled with more chores than I imagined possible yesterday. We are up at the lake, tending to end of summer tasks, but I am feeling like it is just the beginning of a month of weekend days filled with similar kinds of exercise, with our impending move on the horizon.
The day started with cleaning out the garage and storage space under the little cabin. That involved pulling everything out and making a big mess in the driveway. There was a fair amount of stuff that was being stored for no logical reason, other than that no one had bothered to discard it yet. There were also some things that had just lost their luster, and deserved to be re-purposed.
We made multiple drives to the dumpster on the property; some in haste, to get things out of sight before a certain someone expressed sentimental value and tried to hang on to an item that otherwise deserved to go. Once the space was cleared out and cleaned, we had room to store the giant rafts that were about to be brought in from the swimming area.
When Cyndie and I arrived on Friday, we learned that her brother had contributed some additional floatation modules to the trampoline rafts that we anchor in the swimming area all summer long. His company makes the rafts, and there had been a business acquisition, so we were getting a little demonstration of the new product.
I heard the kids referring to the monstrosity as, “raftzilla.” It was said with affection, and the non-stop, day-long shrieks and giggles emanating from the lake –for three days straight– were testament to the level of satisfaction they held for the added pieces.
But they didn’t have to spend the entire afternoon getting it dismantled and prepared for winter storage.
In all fairness, the young ones that were capable, were enlisted to take a turn at scrubbing down the accumulations of mold and slime that grow on the surface of things in the lake. But their shifts were pretty short, especially compared to the effort put in by a handful of us adults. By the end of the day, my feet were complaining and the rest of me was just plain out of gas.
It’s a good thing that today is a holiday. I’m going to need a rest.
Happy Labor Day!
Another Perspective
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A guest post by Elysa Hays.
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I could feel the excitement in the air as soon as I got in the car. My parents are at the beginning of a great adventure. I am so grateful for the invitation to ride along. The drive went by quickly, as the farm is not all that far out from the Cities. We talked through some of the ups and downs of buying and selling homes, but most of all, we were bubbling with excitement at the chance to see the house and the land in all its potential. I was impressed with the scenery of the neighborhood as we got close. The rolling hills and forests of trees were drawing us in as we approached the mailbox. I didn’t even mind the smell of the deer in the ditch. “It’s all part of the cycle of life,” I said, as we turned up the long driveway.
We passed both the barn and the workshop building before arriving at the top of the driveway in front of the house. I can’t even find words to describe the feeling of awe that ran through me as we parked. It felt practically perfect. I joked with Dad, but I still can’t find anything wrong with the place (as a lifelong Minnesotan, I suppose I could crack a joke here about Wisconsin, but that’s all I’ve got). What kind of word(s) can describe such a dream place? I felt the energy of the universe smiling down on us. And it only got better from there.
The log cabin style architecture reminded me of our beloved Wildwood lake home. It was just stunning. The kitchen felt like it was designed for family gatherings. I can already picture us sitting around the island with the aromas of fresh baked breads and cookies filling up the whole floor and up to the loft. The funky spiral staircase made from large blocks of wood brings you from the kitchen up to the loft 
looking over the living room. It felt magical up there. A stained glass window glowed with the picture of a wolf under a full moon. I can feel Mom’s spirit there already.
I also loved the small side room off of the kitchen. The windows are wide and tall, opening up an encompassing view of nature. It is the perfect room for quiet mornings, afternoon naps and watching leaves and snow fall. The front door had a large stained glass window that was designed by the current owner and built by a local glass artist. The purple hues of the flowers seem to channel my energy, too. The place feels like home already. The land breathes like the living place it is, and I am overjoyed that my parents are ready to take on this adventure, right here, right now.
We met the family selling the property, which only added to our excitement. They were as happy as we were that it seemed to be the perfect fit for our family. I enjoyed hearing some of their stories as they showed us around and explained to us how they’d poured their love into crafting the place we saw before us. They told stories of the nice neighbors and the local wildlife we should expect to see. We even got a ride on their 4-wheeler to explore the woods along the edges of the property lines. The trails seemed perfect for future horse rides!
The place radiates with the energy of its history. It’s the perfect balancing part to my city life. I can’t wait for all the weekend retreats I’ll get to have on the farm with my folks. The boulders out front, the pond to the side, and the rock garden out back are all inviting, peaceful places for reflection (the rocks remind me of my dad – I can’t wait to see what he does with them). The inside of the home has many grand spaces for gathering and comfortable spots for solitary meditations. It feels like this place has been waiting for my parents to find it. Every turn I took brought me to another space brimming with potential energy. The house, the barn, the shed and the whole yard with its trails winding through prairie grasses all felt like it was, well, perfect. It’s perfectly suited for the great Hays adventure. I’m ready to see what happens next. The adventure awaits!
Dream Farm
When we picked up Elysa on Thursday, to take her to see the place for the first time, she told us that she had never heard the expression: “bought the farm.” She said she received some shocked reactions when she told people that her parents had bought the farm.
The log home sits on the highest point on the property, with the land sloping away on all sides. The entrance of the long driveway offers no view of the buildings and climbs upward for the first third of length, then drops down toward the level of the barn, then rises up to the house.
On the right is the view from the high point of the first third of the driveway.
Relative Something 