Just when I thought my great adventures were over--well regular adventures, we do have a one-week trip planned for Bermuda in April--a new one has appeared. After looking at several houses in Winterhaven, we have decided to build a house on an empty lot in the community. A big undertaking! While we have bought (and sold) many houses in our 20-year marriage, we have never actually custom built a house from the ground up. We have owned land a couple of times, once in Klamath Falls and once in Sechelt, British Columbia, but each time circumstances changed and we sold the land without building.
This time, though, it looks very much like we will actually build. The houses we saw in Winterhaven needed a lot of remodeling. They were built between 1994 and 2004 and, apart from granite countertops here and there, have mainly remained untouched since then. And it is a seller's market here in Winterhaven right now so house prices are high. We figured that, for the price of buying an old house and then having to remodel it and still probably not getting a house that would fit today's new building codes, we can build a house that fits us exactly.
This will not be some fancy dream house. Neither of us are so into design and architecture (well, maybe Richard is but not in the style of those fancy homes you see in Phoenix magazines) that we will have a McMansion. We want a simple pueblo-style house, modern European with a touch here and there of the Med. To remind us of our trips to Spain, which hopefully aren't over (another reason why this house won't be a McMansion.)
I confess I will mainly be an interested observer to most of this. This is really Richard's area, something he loves to spend hours and hours at. Thankfully I think we have a sympathetic and patient builder. We do already have a conditional offer on the land; conditional on Winterhaven's agreeing our building plan. No point in buying land and then not being able to build a house that we can afford/like. So that was a huge blessing this week, getting that. The next step is now to submit our plan to the builder and get the drafting stage started.
I really hope this blog won't turn into "The Money Pit."
I still look back at last year's entries whilst I was in Ireland of course. My life here is somewhat different--no car buying adventure (so far), no tramping through cemeteries (although I transcribe other people's photographs still), and, right now, no museums or green scenery. We DID have rain this past week though! Two whole days!
Love rain in the desert!! And the great thing about having it rain steadily and not torrentially is that the moisture can actually sink into our hard ground instead of simply run off.
Apart from that I still do some substitute teaching but only to the point where I enjoy it (still working on letting go of my perfectionism.) Another blogger recently wrote "I like thinking of my life as a bit of an art project—full of energy and mess and beauty and always the most surprising and intriguing results." (https://www.finallytimeforthis.com/single-post/2018/02/12/Creativity-my-old-friend) I like that idea. Thinking about my life as an art project, trying new things every day but not feeling upset if I abandon that particular project or tweak it in a different way. Going down a path that might not be the traditional retirement fare but just feeling good about it. So let's see what this day has to offer!
This time, though, it looks very much like we will actually build. The houses we saw in Winterhaven needed a lot of remodeling. They were built between 1994 and 2004 and, apart from granite countertops here and there, have mainly remained untouched since then. And it is a seller's market here in Winterhaven right now so house prices are high. We figured that, for the price of buying an old house and then having to remodel it and still probably not getting a house that would fit today's new building codes, we can build a house that fits us exactly.
This will not be some fancy dream house. Neither of us are so into design and architecture (well, maybe Richard is but not in the style of those fancy homes you see in Phoenix magazines) that we will have a McMansion. We want a simple pueblo-style house, modern European with a touch here and there of the Med. To remind us of our trips to Spain, which hopefully aren't over (another reason why this house won't be a McMansion.)
I confess I will mainly be an interested observer to most of this. This is really Richard's area, something he loves to spend hours and hours at. Thankfully I think we have a sympathetic and patient builder. We do already have a conditional offer on the land; conditional on Winterhaven's agreeing our building plan. No point in buying land and then not being able to build a house that we can afford/like. So that was a huge blessing this week, getting that. The next step is now to submit our plan to the builder and get the drafting stage started.
I really hope this blog won't turn into "The Money Pit."
I still look back at last year's entries whilst I was in Ireland of course. My life here is somewhat different--no car buying adventure (so far), no tramping through cemeteries (although I transcribe other people's photographs still), and, right now, no museums or green scenery. We DID have rain this past week though! Two whole days!
Love rain in the desert!! And the great thing about having it rain steadily and not torrentially is that the moisture can actually sink into our hard ground instead of simply run off.
Apart from that I still do some substitute teaching but only to the point where I enjoy it (still working on letting go of my perfectionism.) Another blogger recently wrote "I like thinking of my life as a bit of an art project—full of energy and mess and beauty and always the most surprising and intriguing results." (https://www.finallytimeforthis.com/single-post/2018/02/12/Creativity-my-old-friend) I like that idea. Thinking about my life as an art project, trying new things every day but not feeling upset if I abandon that particular project or tweak it in a different way. Going down a path that might not be the traditional retirement fare but just feeling good about it. So let's see what this day has to offer!
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