Day 24: New adventures

In keeping up the tradition of never having a dull moment, Jeff and Sue are about to embark on a new adventure. Jeff had accepted a job in Eastern Oregon, about three hours away from our present home on a good day. More like four when the passes are snowed in. 

We have decided to buy a second home and do the weekend thing, with Jeff making the drive most of the time and me going over there at least one long weekend a month. We are excited and a little terrified, but the way things have worked out we feel like it is what was meant to be.

Jeff has been seriously job searching for a year, with little success. He is in his late 50's and at the top of his field, so in this economy it has been a tough sell. The company he is joining wanted him badly and has gone many extra miles to entice him, so we are grateful for this new adventure. 

We spent the weekend in Redmond, looking for a house. We have always wanted some property over in the eastern part of the state, where nature is abundant and land is cheap. We were thinking a few acres on which to camp, but this spurred us to think more extravagantly.

We ended up in a development that our first realtor termed "zesty" but we thought was full of character, so we fired her and found one that was more in line with our way of thinking. We spent a day driving around, checking out houses that we thought might fit our budget and lifestyle, and narrowed it down to about eight that we wanted to tour. As we began our drive, we both noticed a very cute yellow house sitting on a slight rise. "I would love that house," said Jeff, and I agreed. We passed it again on our way out and I yelled,"Jeff, there's a For Sale sign!"

We couldn't believe it. I t was a little above our budget, but we picked up a flier and went back to the agent to give her our list.

The first house we saw the next day was this one.

We loved the wrap-around porch.

Jeff was immediately rapt with the gazebo.

The kitchen is serviceable, but not large.

Lots of light in the living room, although we couldn't figure out why the air conditioners were still in the windows when it was only twenty degrees outside.

This little mezzanine will be a perfect sleeping loft for the grandkids.

We saw other houses that day, but had trouble getting past the cute factor and panoramic mountain view of the first house. Plus, it is on one-and-a-half acres and across from a park and an undeveloped area of public land. Deer and rabbits roam freely about and the very reasonably priced home owner's association supports a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, other sports fields, and the best golf course in central Oregon.

We optimistically made a fairly low offer on the house and 24 hours later, to our surprise, the offer was accepted. 

So, in about a month, if all goes well, we will inhabit this little bit of paradise. The house is small and the bedrooms are a bit narrow for my liking and the staircase takes up too much living room space, but Jeff can find no flaws with it and it will be his main residence, so I let him win. 

I am already giddy with happiness about getting rid of a lot of my surplus supplies and sending them to Vista House.

Yes, it has a name.

The progeny are already making prodigious plans for their visits to the wild side of the state.

We will be fifteen minutes from Smith Rock, a favourite spot for the athletically inclined amongst us.

I plan to hike that zig-zag as soon as the snow melts.

Life is charging along, and today I am enormously thankful for the challenge and adventure that awaits us.