This year I become eligible for retirement. Wow! How in the world did that happen? Time has flown by. I will not be retiring this year, but the realization that I could retire is causing my husband and me to give some serious thought to our future. We are both healthy, active, and still full of dreams and plans. There are places we want to visit, things we want to learn, and goals we want to accomplish.
Our biggest decision for the past few years is where to live. We decided two years ago to move to a new school district and community. We know for sure that was a great decision, but at the same time we don’t plan on living in that community after retirement.
My husband and I met in college, and we weren’t from the same part of Texas. Neither of us feels a strong pull to our home towns. We both have friends where we grew up, I have family still in the city I grew up in, but it feels like I am visiting when we go back.
A lot of prayer and self reflection on our parts has helped us to know that our adopted weekend community is home for us.
I am positive that our sweet “near the lake” house, Star Hill, is not our forever home. A week or two is about as long as I can be confined here in the winter. I need a studio and workshop. My creative side cries out for a space to have projects out, to experiment, to think. I also would like to sell more furniture in my retirement. Hubby wants a tractor, a garden, woods to walk in, a pond and outdoor projects.
Star Hill
The Garagemahal
We believe we may have found just the place. 15 acres, with a workshop, a creek, a barn, wooded trails, very near our friends, a garden plot, a greenhouse, a small pond, and several other outbuildings that I would really enjoy doing some neat things with. I am not crazy about the house, but it is solid. well cared for and has a ton of potential. It will take work and money but it can become the house I see in my mind’s eye.
The barn and the pond.
The side yard. The garden plot is in the back of this cleared plot of land. Water is run to the garden area.
My favorite area. The shop is the small building and the outbuildings here will make a perfect paint and furniture area. both have wood burning stoves in them.
The house. The greenhouse is visible behind the house.
The outbuildings. There are some very interesting buildings that I could really have fun with.
The property will come on the market this spring. In order to purchase this property we will have to sell Star Hill. That means we will have to focus on getting all of those “one day” projects done. We will be making sure that this place we love is ready for her close up. We are already praying that a family will buy the place who can love this place as much as we do and will create new memories in this home.
Look for lots of projects that are focused on the house and the property in the next few months. We have things to learn like concrete work and more of Hubby’s favorite: plumbing. (Ha!)
We plan on keeping our home in the burbs for several more years until we both retire so even this new spot will be our weekend home for a while.
I have a few projects in the Garagemahal I have already either sold or promised to someone. Other than that we will be keeping furniture projects to a minimum as we focus on clearing out, fixing up, and moving forward.
We ask you to pray with us that if this property is meant to be ours, everything will work out. If not, that we will have peace and direction in our journey.
Thank you all for continuing with us on another chapter of our journey.
I hope you have a wonderful new year. I would love to hear from you.
Blessings,
Karen
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