As of 9 am Wednesday, Pedro and I now own a new house in Tigard, Oregon. It’s a suburb of Portland. I’m going from the country into the city. I used to have a tag for my blog posts called “city girl vs. country girl,” when I was talking about new things to deal with when I moved out here eight years ago. I think I’ll find that tag convenient again, now that I’m moving back.
I have mentioned how sad I am to be leaving my beautiful property, but now I need to tell you how I am able to do it. It’s for some happy reasons. First of all, I am ready to join my household with Pedro’s. I have found the love of my life and after 2 1/2 years, we have reached the end of our tolerance for living an hour’s drive away from each other. I am very, so very, excited to share a home with him, and occasionally with his twin 18-year-old boys, when they come to stay. And Kellen and Cameron can join us too, whenever they get time off work in Albany.
Second, the new house is oh-my-gosh amazing. Oh. My. Gosh. Here are the RMLS photos I grabbed off of Redfin:
One of the best things is the large porch off the primary bedroom with a BED SWING, which I had never even heard of, and a gas fireplace for chilly mornings. You can also see part of the enormous greenhouse. 
Front room and dining room – not extraordinary by any means, but I thought you’d want to see. Another gas fireplace too, and beautiful floors. The ceiling moulding is a nice touch. 
No more open kitchen, which is sad, but this one is nice. Built-in wall appliances, granite countertops, on-demand hot water spigot, built in wine cooler, and more. 
There are TWO walk-in closets off the primary bedroom. This photo is of the Hers closet. Those wooden “beams” in the center actually pull out for full-length mirrors and hanging racks for necklaces or scarves or whatever I want. (Check out the LED shoe lighting, ha ha) 
Primary bathroom has a huge tub, a walk-in shower with three shower heads, and a SAUNA. Also, heated towel rack you can see, and his/hers double sinks that you cannot see.
Pedro and I had a couple of requirements when house shopping. Mine was that I insisted on a yard large enough to hold both a garden and a chicken pen. His was that there was either a shop, or room to build a shop. He likes to tinker and build and currently has no space to do that and he misses it. In our new home, there is already infrastructure for gardens, as the people we are buying from also gardened. They also managed gorgeous landscaping of trees, bushes, roses, and so much more.
It does not have a chicken pen, but Pedro is already brainstorming how to build what we need. He even has a plan for temporary chicken housing so we can bring them to us as soon as possible. It does not have a shop, but does have a concrete pad poured next to the garage that is the perfect size and place for a shop. Our first home improvement project once we are settled in will be to build an addition onto the garage to be used as a shop.
The other thing we really wanted was a separate space for us each to have an office. Pedro works at home and I am constantly on my computer for the various hobbies and volunteer work I do. We are both introverts and do not want to spend our work time side by side, as well as our free time. However, there just isn’t a logical space to separate us, so we will share one of the spare bedrooms as our joint office. When Pedro is in one of his many meetings, I’ll take my laptop to the fabulous bed swing. (I still can’t get over the bed swing) With a blanket and a cup of coffee, I think there is danger that I might live the rest of my life on the porch.
I have learned that it is much easier to give up a beautiful home for another beautiful home. I can’t even express how happy I am for this change in my life. There is no way to live a full life and not leave some things behind as you go. I am grateful that as I move along my path, I am able to have new good things in my world.
Racecar, the elderly feline, is not very happy with the changes in her world, but is making do. Worst of all, I removed the wonderful cat tree that was her favourite nap spot to be up high and keep an eye on me during the day, while looking out the window. It had to go into storage to make the place look all fancified for photos and for prospective buyers. I put the little cat nap quilt gift that Kellen made for her on the back of the loveseat, and it’s her new spot.
Speaking of Kellen, my kid just returned from a week in Oklahoma to get in touch with our Cherokee roots. Kellen had never been back “home” to Cherokee Nation and so it’s a pretty big deal for both of us. Cherokee Nation sponsors this week once a year for all At-Large registered citizens. Kellen was able to attend a Cherokee conference with talks on topics like history and art, then get tours of museums, historical sites, the immersion language center, and the Cherokee buffalo herd. (Longtime readers may recall when I did this same thing in 2017.) Kellen (and the other visiting Cherokees) learned much about the ongoing modernization efforts of Principal Chief Hoskin and is now a big fan of our current Cherokee Chief.
We’ve had a warm dry summer in these parts, and it’s my favourite time of year. I am unapologetic about my abiding love of very hot days (as long as it’s this nice, dry, Western US heat). It’s my last month in my country house, and I’m so glad I get to enjoy the summer one last time here. With the pond and the creek and the trees, it’s always cooler than everywhere else, but at least in the summer it still does get warm enough to make my cat and I contented.
In the summertime, the water level sinks at the pond. I have fish in there, some warm water perch and small-mouthed bass, but even though they can tolerate warmer water, I don’t want to torture them with actual warm water. Thus, I rig up a pump from the creek and run some power down the hill to power the pump, and voila! Fresh cold water that cools and aerates.
My home has been under contract for a week, with an expected close date of August 11. Things ramped up, and all the inspections began. I’ve had a home inspector come through, a radon test, the septic pumped and inspected, and more things are scheduled soon, like the well flow test and inspection. It’s a little nerve wracking, because I don’t want anything terrible to be found, that I didn’t know about. You know, I’m having all these nightmares about termites and cracks in the foundation, that are all a product of an overactive imagination.
We received bad news yesterday. The buyers of my house can only buy it if their house sells first. We were able to go into contract because they got an offer on their house. Yesterday, that offer backed out, and they are back to square one. They put their house back on the market yesterday. Fingers crossed that they get another offer soon, and that the new one sticks. My real estate agent told me to expect the August 11 date to be pushed back for sure. *sigh* I have been hoping for a quick turn around, because I had to steal money from my retirement fund to make the purchase of the new home, and if I get the money put back in 60 days I won’t pay a penalty. That other buyer that backed out of their agreement may very well turn out to be an expensive problem for me. But what can we do? Nothing. Just wait and see.
I need something to distract myself from worrying. Luckily, I have something.
We are counting down the days to the big relay race! I’m the captain of a team of all-women veterans who speed walk a two-day race from Portland to Seaside during the gigantic Hood to Coast event that happens here every August. The running teams run from Mt. Hood to Seaside, but the walking teams race from Portland to Seaside, because we’re slower. Everybody hits the beach at the same time. It’s a huge, exciting event with about 18,000 participants.
I need to make sure all my ladies are practicing their walking, have the time off work, know what they need to know about course length and conditions, and nighttime walking rules (it’s 24 hours a day for two days), and tips on hydration and food when there are no stores around, and sleeping plans for empty fields along the way, answering questions about what time to start and how it works and how to find your team at the end of a leg, and getting to know each other when some of us have never met and now we need to be a team….anyway, yeah…I have plenty to keep my brain occupied.
I hope you are well. Thanks for being in our world. Hugs ❤
Conscious Engagement 
Racecar will find a sunny spot on that big porch, and will wonder what all the fuss was about…and by the way where will the catnip plantation go?
I hope you are right, Lou. I have been worrying so much about her, because she’s an old lady and I don’t know if she will feel safe when we move her. But your perspective has made me feel so much better. If she can nap in a beam of sunshine, she might think all is well in the world, and not even care which porch she is on.
Oh and catnip! Excellent plan! I appreciate the suggestion and I’m sure Racecar will too, once I get some planted.
Crystal, just one additional thought. When we’ve moved with our cats we have kept them inside until they seem to have accepted the new location as home, not taking a chance that they might wander off looking for their old roosts.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Lou. Yes, I have done the same, because my Racecar is an inside/outside cat. I want her to develop a strong sense of home before I release her to explore outside. I completely agree with your strategy. How many cats do you have?
Her imperial highness Xenia just died three weeks ago at almost twenty years of age, so at the moment none. But there will probably a new cat sometime in the fall.
We’ve moved several times with cats and learned from experience that, while they may be homebodies, they do need to have a real ice oa where that food dish is located.
I am so sad to hear that Her Imperial Highness died. Hugs.
Gorgeous place. Looks like the perfect palette for painting thousands of new memories. I’d live in the tub, and on porch and bed-swing! Congratulations and enjoy!
The tub is GREAT! It’s one of our favourite things and not that many houses have big tubs. Most of the houses we toured have a combo shower/tub and the tub is too small for adult bodies, ha ha. All the beautiful cushions and pillows and such in the photos above are theirs, so I am wondering how much we will have to add to it. But it really doesn’t matter because I will make the swing part of my new life. (I already sprawled across and let it swing me back and forth for a while, when we toured the home for the first time. Shhh, don’t tell.)
I do hope all finally goes smoothly and I can say I am pleased for you all
Thank you much, Derrick. Things are so sketchy for the sale of my home right now…eek. But the good news is that there is activity on my home – which is better than no interest. Next we need to sell Pedro’s home, and things are looking challenging in his neighborhood. All will be well in the end…it’s just that getting to that point is going to take some strength. Thanks for your positive hopes.
It is indeed. The sale of Flo and Dillon’s home in Kentucky was problematic but has recently been completed
I’m glad to hear that.
What a beautiful property this is! Congrats and I hope the transactions go smoothly!
Thank you so much. Yes, it’s so beautiful. I feel so very fortunate. Thank you for your wishes. Our purchase is done, but now we need to sell two houses, and that’s two sources of anxiety. Fingers crossed.
I had to stop reading. I plan to come back and finish but Iay be a little too raw at the moment. I’m so very happy for you to find such a beautiful property to own! I’m not as blessed as I’ve been trying to find something for a year now around the Milwaukie area and, well, let’s just celebrate you! Congratulations on your new life together ❤️
Katie, I am so sad to hear you are struggling to find a home. It’s a hard time to be a buyer. Interest rates are so high, and the inventory on the market is so low. I don’t know anyone selling in Milwaukie, but I hope you find a place because it’s a really great place to live. Things aren’t going so smoothly for me anymore with the sale of my home, but I’m going to try to keep the positive vibes flowing.
*may
Oh wow! So many exciting and stressful things happening at the moment for you. Fingers crossed your prospective buyer will find a buyer for their property quickly. Also, congratulations to you and Pedro for finding this absolute gem of a house. I hope you will spend many happy years together there. Like you say, to live a fulfilled life, one always have to leave something behind.
Thank you and thank you! I remember attending some kind of workshop at one point in my life and it asked us to tally up stressors that were on our mind at the moment. To help us, it gave examples, which included negative things as well as positive things. It was my first introduction to the idea that even positive things like weddings, new pets, or moving in together might be a stressful event. But yes, all the changes are a lot to manage, and I look forward to the long, slow, dreary winter. That is a good way to describe it: the house is a gem. And for this particular real estate market, it was also a good price.
I had so much I wanted to say here that my mind melted and went away. Getting worried about it.
I love the new house and I loved the old one. How are the Hussy’s handling all the change. I know Racecar will eventually settle in with a little extra attention. I hope you get a solid offer to closing soon so you aren’t stressing anymore. The earrings are beautiful and I’m glad Kellen was able to make the trip. Promise me you will let go of the worry and trust the right thing to happen in the right time, if it hasn’t already. It will! Buying and selling a home is something I never want to do again. The stress can be brutal so I just had to let go and turn it into a fun game. Then it went so fast we almost couldn’t get out fast enough. I’m thinking of you daily and know you are overwhelmed. I’m sending good thoughts for a perfect outcome. Love and hugs.
So far the Hussies don’t know what is going to hit them, ha ha! Since I haven’t sold my old place yet, the girls are still happy out in Rainier. Pedro and I will build a new enclosure for them and bring them over some time this month.
I promise you I will do my best to let the worry sit to the side. We have a “tentative” close date of August 25th now, so things might be moving again. Fingers crossed. Pedro and I spent our first night at the new place Friday and it was great. All our kids came over the weekend, so we had a full house with the twins, Kellen, and Cameron. ❤ All is well so far.
I am worried with you about the "melting away." I am glad that your sharpness keeps coming back though. Hugs.
I think my bandwidth is coming back now that surgery is over and pathology says all is clear. Just time for healing and on to bigger and better things. A wall hanging needs to be finished before the 26th. Eve’s BD. Cut out but complicated. Sigh. Read your post on Nephew. Have a good and safe trip. Good luck with all the house swapping and looks like maybe cars too?? More later. Love and hugs. M
Congratulations on a beautiful new house and new life together! It will all fall into line, I’m sure, it just takes time, which is not to say it’s not stressful. You will have many years of enjoyment in your new place, and the transitions will fade in memory. And that greenhouse!
Thank you, Nancy. We spent our first night in the new place Friday. We are walking distance to Fanno Ck trail – how cool is that?! We are really looking forward to the years of enjoyment in our new place. And oh, that greenhouse…I am nearly beside myself. Just think of the peppers and tomatoes and tomatillos I can grow now, and I don’t have to dread the short season.