Hello. Danni here. My first-ever blog entry and I'm struggling with how to start. What a dork.
So here goes...my thoughts today, 10/26/07, 12:13p.m....
I want to be - I belong - in a place where I have the space to enjoy many animals as my companions. I have known this about myself since I was a kid. I am calm and centered and happy when I have my critters around me. I love how they smell, I love how interesting they are to watch, I love caring for them, I love how they can just "be".
And so I find myself, after years of contemplating and wishing and planning and dreaming about moving to a place with a bit of land and a barn, on the verge of having this all come true. Will this truly finally happen? It sure seems that way.
With many of my friends referring to me as "Farm Girl" these days, the thought of actually now *becoming one* both thrills and terrifies me. What the hell do I know about living on a farm? I can't even tell you the difference between straw and hay!
Can I really let the city-girl trappings (high-tech job, strappy shoes, manicures, hi-speed internet, good neighbors 50 feet away in all directions, 10-minute access to downtown PDX, etc.) go and live in rural Oregon?
Yes. I think so.
I am drawn to the rural life. It seems like much of what I've been doing over the years has been slowly leading me to making this lifestyle change.
Without expecting to find anything, I went property hunting over the summer. I just wanted to investigate what was out there. I was fantasizing (again) about changing our lives. I was dreaming (again) of getting closer to the land, growing things, and slowing down our frantic, pressure-filled pace. I was dreaming (as always) of the animals. And then I found this place - this peaceful, sweet-smelling, gentle-aired, beautiful place.
It was different from what I had imagined initally: the house was too big, it wasn't the "traditional" farm (flat and treeless with lots of pasture), it was too much $$, it was too far away. But somehow, it was also perfect. I took pictures. I showed the pictures to people, lots of people. I kept talking about it. Finally, I took Jim to see it. He'll get this place out of my system with just a few quick words, I thought. Instead, and to my incredible surprise (how well I thought I knew this man), he loved it. So, we threw ourselves out there and decided to give it a shot: We made an offer on this house. The offer was accepted. The sale is contingent on the sale of our current home.
Our house went on the market on Wednesday evening. We've had two showings so far with another scheduled for this evening. I'm holding my breath, keeping my fingers crossed and doing all the other good luck things I can think of. This is the worst home-buying market in over a decade. I seem to have impeccable timing like that sometimes.
Even aside from the beauty of the property, the house we've found is lovely. It sits on 7 1/2 acres and is nestled among huge fir trees. It feels like a forest retreat. It will be an amazing place for my animals. It will be a wonderful place for sitting outside, slowing down, having friends over for the weekend, and just enjoying the simpler things (i.e., no speeding cars, aggressive, angry people, or buying tons of shit just because one can). Hmmm...that last thought, an unsubtle opinion, just jumped out of the dark recesses of my brain and onto this page. My apologies.
Life in the country. I do think I'm ready. But, wow - this is going to be a ton of work!....
To be continued.
:-)Farm Girl
