I had a mini-revelation that I missed writing. I used to
journal through my adolescence, into my teens and even during my freshman year
of college. Pondering this, I decided to check in on my blog and realized that
I had not posted anything since December. I guess that is what happens when
life happens and there is little left at the end of the day but exhaustion!
To recap on the happenings since December 2014:
We made the decision to sell our townhouse that we have
called home for the past seven years, and build our dream home on acreage where
we can grow as a family* and stretch out a bit. Another deciding factor to make
the move was our ever-increasing list of outdoor activities mandating the need
for land, so northwest bound we went!
*family = another dog
and potential child sometime in the future.
We have centralized our desired location in northwestern
Minnesota, around Big Lake. This
location made the list for many reasons, but being that it was a place where
we:
A) Could afford some land
B) Could afford to build our dream
house
C) Wasn’t too far from one of our
jobs (Derick’s)
Our townhouse was listed on the public MLS market on
Thursday, April 23, 2015. Since listing, we have had five showings, with
another showing tonight.
Time spent before
listing was spent – almost every night after work and every weekend – packing items
to take to our two 10’x10’ storage units in Rogers, MN. The goal was to de-clutter
and pare down our items in the house in order to make it show the best and let prospective
new owners imagine their belongings
in the space. It was a slow, seemingly glacial process. I made the decision, as
the main packer, to just pack away the majority of things I had, with the
intention to go through everything once I would be getting settled into the new
place. My reasoning being – I am not sure exactly what things I will want to
bring over and use to decorate the new place with, and what things I will for
sure want to part with. I plan on making a large purge donation to
Goodwill sometime following the move-in to the new house. Now, I know that the
opposite reasoning works as well…why not just keep the things that you LOVE and
get rid of the rest. Well, see, I tend to “love” a lot of different things at different
times. And rather than spend lots of money I don’t need to, in order to
redecorate, I just tend to acquire different things and keep them all around.
Together.
The plan for the new house is to decorate more minimalistic,
focusing less on the material things around us and more on the experiences and
memories made there. I know – good theory, right. I have no doubt that it might be hard because
I have a wide variety of respect for many different kinds of decorating, art
and things. I am actually planning on having a couple of my girlfriends come
over after we move in, to help me pick out things that I already own to decorate
some of the main spaces of the house. I love their design aesthetic, and think
theirs will compliment mine well, and potentially show me ways to use some of
the things that I already have in new ways.
We had the flooring replaced in
the front entry way, through the dining room, kitchen and all the way to the
back bathroom and garage on the main level – a somewhat inexpensive lynoleum
wood grain floor covering that took the installer a solid three days to install
based on the cuts and arrangement of the space. It looks nice! I am almost sad
to leave…almost…
///
Valentine’s Day this year, Derick and I made it to the
Minneapolis Convention Center for our first ever RV Show! I know – talk about
your romantic adventures…
We walked in, out and around the many different makes and
models of RVs, campers, toy-haulers and pull-behind units, from the small
tear-drop shaped models with only room to sleep inside, to the big rigs on the
other end of the spectrum that felt like they needed their own velvet rope and
bouncer to be let into them! Derick had begun
looking at campers a couple of times when we had talked about potentially
getting one to take some awesome road-trip adventures down the (ahem) road. We
kept coming back to one of the Greywolf , (by Forest River) models that we both
really liked. The floorplan, layout, storage and use of space was awesome.
The one we liked best was the 24’ model, with a dinette
slide out and a retractable awning off the front. We ended up sitting in that
one to take a break from walking, before we left the show. We really thought
about purchasing that one right there on the spot, with the prices being so
great at the discounted show pricing, it was hard to walk away without any
concrete plan.
We went home that night, talked about it and whether or not
it would make sense to pull the trigger on this purchase, weighing the pros and
cons, and seeing if it would factor into our budget all while we were
considering building our new house.
Then we had a crazy idea…what if we bought this camper and
used it to LIVE in until our new home was ready for us to move into?! Could we
do it? Were we up for the challenge? How would Tucker do?
In the end, we decided that this seemingly crazy plan was
right up our alley and we DID end up purchasing this camper! Derick went to the
dealer in Anoka, MN the day after the show and asked if we would be able to
order one at the same discounted pricing but not pick it up until later in the spring.
The salesman agreed and that sealed the deal and we are the proud owners of
this 24’ Greywolf camper!
I fell in love with the large pantry (the largest
pantry/storage option on a camper that I had ever SEEN before) and the open
kitchen (go figure) and the flow of the space just made sense to both of us:
 |
| Similar to our exterior, to give you an idea. |
We picked up the camper, had our walk through of its
features and applications on Saturday, April 18, 2015. We took it right from
there to the RV lot in Otsego – Mississippi Riverwood RV Park, where we spent
the next day and a half unpacking items into it for Derick to move in! The camper
will be Derick and Tucker’s home until we have our new house built (late summer
2015). I will be joining them in the camper once the townhouse sells.
Meanwhile, I have been staying at the townhouse keeping it “show-ready,”
cleaning, and keeping the plants alive.
We were able to snag one of the last lots open for rent for
the season in the RV park (April – October 2015). Once we were unpacking things
into the camper, I was surprised with how much storage space there was! Not
really closet space – see the bedroom photo – that is all the hanging storage
space you have! 15” on each side. Looks like I will be needing to pare down my
closet when I move in once the townhouse sells.
///
Upon Derick and Tucker’s first week living at the RV park
out of the camper, the temperatures dipped to the very chilly side, and that is
when Derick and I discovered that the furnace was not fully-functional. Uhoh,
first hiccup of our adventure. Derick ended up having a tech from the RV place
call to troubleshoot, and actually pay a visit to our camper at the campground.
When the issue could not be resolved on-site, Derick had to pack up everything in
the camper that was loose and bring it back into the shop at the RV lot. Talk
about disappointing! But after talking with a couple of our RV enthusiast
friends, they reassured us that really, the first year owning a new RV or
camper is really about working out the kinks and finding any issues and
addressing them right away. In the end it was fixed, and the boys had heat
again.
Next was the water heater – which is still being considered
by Derick and the RV place. Derick realized after moving into the camper that
the need for shorter showers would be necessary. He just didn’t realize that
they would become two-minute showers before seemingly ice-cubes shot at him
from the shower nozzle!
But, other than those two things, both boys seem to be
getting used to camper living. I have gone there the past couple of weekends
and spent the weekend there with them. It kills a couple birds with one stone –
I get to see them both and spend time with them, and it keeps me out and away
from the townhouse while there are showings on the weekends! Win-win! I am
looking forward to being able to plant some of my flower seeds there this
weekend when it is nice out on Saturday!
Consider this a housing update for now, more on other happenings later!
-LD
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