one tree down

We had a dead maple tree in the front yard. It is now cut down. Watching workmen cut down a large tree is one of the most entertaining activities we ever pay anyone to do on our property. And thanks to all that entertainment we have a beautiful pile of wood in the backyard (and we were able to share wood with our neighbors). It feels really good to have fuel available. Now we need to have a chimney guy come and make sure the fireplace/chimney is in good working order. I'm looking forward to having some fireplace meals this winter. I've never had a house where we could do that sort of thing. I realize that a cookstove makes a lot more sense as far as truly being able to heat the house, but we don't have a cookstove and we do have a fireplace.

air conditioning

Yesterday, after church, one of the brothers in the ward said to me, "You know how people told you it didn't get that hot in Minneapolis?" I nodded and finished his sentence, "They LIED."

The air-conditioning man is here attempting to fix our problem. Living simply has its limits. It is near 100 degrees and near 100% humidity. Pretty miserable. I could handle living through this (I'd stay in the basement all day and night) but the kids are really complaining.

LATER: I now have a new favorite human being-- the air-conditioning repair man! It's fixed.

stuff overload

Well, most of the house is unpacked. All this STUFF. Who in their right minds needs all this stuff? Yet, while we were living with all our stuff packed up, I was constantly looking for this and that. Now I can find scissors, forms, books, etc. We found the muffin pan and the scented oils and my yarns. I can find stuff,now.

the house is sold

We signed the papers to sell the house today. Such a relief!!!!! It's just a matter of paperwork at this point.

empty house

Just showing how empty the house is and how generic the backyard is. Front yard looks pretty much the same.

mid-may

The grass is all green and Frankie-Jeff the girl rabbit cannot eat it all, even though she tries. I can't remember the grass in the backyard ever being this green. I guess all that intensive fertilizing by the chickens has done wonders for the richness of the soil!

We've got the house ready to list. It feels like the count down is on.

musings

I know, I know, the blog needs more pictures. Words are easier for me than pictures. In order to do pictures I have to get the kids to help me take/download/post the pictures and lately I'm just not up to the hassle. I've tried to figure it out for myself and it just doesn't stick in my mind. If the least small thing changes I can't figure out how to do the new stuff and they seem to change their sites all the time. I used to be able to use my I-POD and ever since they changed the website I can't make heads or tails of it. The kids make fun of me for not being able to figure these things out, then don't exactly act helpful in teaching me how to use the new site. I claim that I DO figure out the rules, but as soon as I figure out the rules they change the rules. In so many ways I hate technology (I say as I type on my laptop to put an entry into my blog).

Anyways.... The house is getting emptied into the storage shed. The rooms here are starting to echo. I've got a Uhaul truck reserved for early June. I had an inspector come out and he told us what we need to do to be able to sell the house for someone to live in it (as opposed to "as is"). It isn't that bad. A whole bunch of little things and some railing on the back porch. That's about it. We've already done most of it.

The apple trees are blooming. Apple blossoms are my favorite flower. We had an apple tree in our backyard when we were kids and it was practically a member of the family. Us kids lived in that tree and ate from it (at ALL stages of greeness) and played around it constantly. I love apples, on lots of different levels.

The backyard has grass growing. It's green. Frankie-Jeff-the-girl-rabbit is eating the grass with enthusiasm but can't eat it all. I miss the chickens, they did a much more thorough job of destroying the grass (I miss the chickens but not the carpet of chicken poop).

first pictures of the new house

This is the kitchen and the kids are enthused over our first ever dishwasher!

new house

We're closing on a house here in Minnesota on Friday. I can't believe the amount of paperwork it takes to hand someone a big wad of money. As soon as I get a few pictures I'll post them. I'm already scheming about my garden. Hodgson's Homestead is moving north!

New House!

We are buying a house! I just found out that the seller accepted the bid we put in on a house in the Minneapolis area. I'm so happy! I really love this house.

updates

Things feel like they are moving along, as far as moving goes. We put a bid in on a house, but so did someone else, and their bid was picked, so I'll be back househunting this week. Our MUCH beloved cat Pippin has been missing for the past few weeks. We're still hopeful she'll return, but it's been three weeks. A co-worker of a friend is coming tomorrow to pick up the chickens. I love my chickens, but moving them to a new state seemed to be asking too much. They are going to a farm with lots of space to free-range. They'll be happy. Once the chickens are gone and it thaws up we can work on straightening up the back yard. My next door neighbor wants all the concrete blocks. As far as getting this house ready for sale we (mostly Chris) have been working very hard. The inside walls are all painted and the kitchen floor tile has been replaced. Those were the two main jobs that really needed to happen. I've been dejunking room by room and handing off the really good stuff to friends. I'm also donating quite a bit to the thrift store and (of course)throwing a lot away. It just feels like things are moving along a quick pace.

hodgson's homestead north

I think we've found a place to live in Minnesota. These decisions are best made when young and stupid. It's much harder to decide when you actually have a load of opinions. When we moved into this house (the one we're currently living in) I wanted to get out of an apartment so bad I would've said yes to anything. In spite of it being a fairly random pick, we did ok with this house. I've managed to turn it into a little farm and we raised all seven of our kids in here. They didn't have much room, but they all love each other and are good friends with each other. In fact Sunday, other then church, is spent hanging out with each other, either in person or via skype. So now, without really meaning to, I'm going to end up with a larger house when I don't have as many kids living in it! That isn't really what I was aiming for, but this house has so many more pluses then minuses that it just feels like the right thing to do. I'm sure we'll make it all work out ok, once again.

house hunting

I'm going house hunting this week up in Minnesota. I really want to have a new place for Hodgson's Homestead. Simple living is so important to me. It is just killing me to have to go back into debt. But I'm excited to be able to choose my new urban homestead. I was pretty stupid when I picked this house twenty years ago. I've got a longer list this time then I did that time. This time I want a fairly basic house with a big garden-able yard. I want to live close to church and Randall's work, so we don't need to waste time and money on gas. AND I want a garage. I can't believe I didn't realize how important a place to store bicycles is. The last thing the lady we bought our current house said to me (twenty years ago) was "I'm so excited. I'm buying a condominium with a garage!" That should've given me a clue.