The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

I have been caught in a whirlwind of exciting events. With the windows of heaven open so wide and the blessings being poured out too much to receive, I’ve neglected my blog. It’s like having ice cream in the freezer but not finding time to enjoy it. (We do have week old ice cream that is unopened) But I’m going to have a little moment to update.

We sold our home while we were in Spain. It was toward the end of the trip, so the timing was ideal. ‘Ideal’ is a word you’re going to get sick of in this post! We got a satisfactory price and the timing was IDEAL. We close on our home here in Oklahoma in about a week and a half.

The day after we got back from Europe, our 13th grandchild was born (Friday the 13th). We spent a few days packing like mad rats, loaded a 26 foot U-haul and drove more than half our stuff to a storage unit in Orem UT. We spent the week enjoying family and the newest member and sneaking out at nap time to meet our (fantastic) realtor, Karyn Gustafson to look at houses.

We saw several beautiful homes but either they didn’t have enough room for a large group to eat together, (we have a big family) or they were boring, or they had odd floor plans that made them seem unworkable. Mostly they simply didn’t feel like home.

We made a back up offer on a brand new home that the seller didn’t even bother to reply to, (no it wasn’t low-ball, but I think he wanted to give his first people more time.) The next day, Karyn made the list of houses to show instead of making the list ourselves. She had tuned in to the things we like so well that she saw good possibilities that we hadn’t noticed.

We found a house! Much bigger than we intended to buy and it isn’t perfect, but as soon as we walked in it felt like home. We got it for a good price and now have lots of projects. In fact some of the decor was quite outlandish. But it has no neighbors behind. Just open BLM land with a gate through the back fence. It has a good sized yard with sprinklers and some lawn, but no trees and almost nothing else. But it’s ideal for me: it’s a blank slate and I can hardly wait to get started.

The house has a lovely basement that the owner started to finish. It has the framing and the wiring. Another project!

There’s a bunch of stamped tin in the kitchen. The kitchen cabinets aren’t my first choice, but I don’t mind them. But they have a dozen different styles of knobs. It’s very eclectic and fun, but I bought some antique brass pulls that are different from anything I’ve ever seen that I think will look stunning. (Pictures to follow eventually).

I said it was bigger than we intended. It’s actually the biggest home we’ve ever owned if you count the basement. We’re going to finish it immediately, so we’ll have use of it. I guess that’s it. All the other homes we looked at were smaller than our current home, but most importantly, they didn’t feel big enough to welcome all those we want to gather there. I love having family land friends and neighbors in my home and here, I can.

We’re moving to Utah to be near more family. This home has room for everyone. With all it’s funny quirks and issues, it just feels right. And thanks Karyn Gustafson for knowing better than I what I was looking for. 

It’s in Saratoga Springs, UT, and it’s four years old. It has lake and mountain views from the front and desert, cultivated land and mountains from the back. For my gardening friends, the bush next to the garage is a white lilac and the other two mounding plants are Four O’Clocks.