Twenty Days

It has been twenty days since we made the move to the coast.  Well, three quarters of a move.  My wife is still finishing up her job at the University this month.  She has been doing the weekend commute like we used to.  Starting in September, we will all be here and just here.  One house and one church to serve in.  My assumption is that we will still be quite busy, but we will only be busy in one direction.

Moving in has been quite interesting.  First, we had to determine what we were going to bring over here and what we were going to put in storage.  Going from a four-bedroom house to a two-bedroom house had its challenges.  Downsizing.  Significant downsizing.  It is quite alarming to know how much “stuff” one has and, for all intents and purposes, one doesn’t need.

Our house here at the coast is a two-story house with one big area upstairs, which has become my son’s bedroom and play area.  Oh yeah, and the closets are upstairs as well.  My wife has one and I have the other.  They are both four feet wide by three feet deep.  Downstairs, there is our bedroom, which our full size bed fits nicely with about twenty inches to spare on each side.

 Our front room has enough space for a love seat and a chair.  And a little wood stove in the corner.  The kitchen is about eight feet by thirteen feet.  Bathroom small, but has a claw foot tub. Which sounds neat until you shower, and the curtain begins to close in on you.

There is a little deck on the outside and a small yard, and by small I mean smaller than one side of our old house.  Square footage for the entire house is 1200.  600 sq. feet upstairs and 600 sq. feet downstairs.  That footage also includes the little garage slash laundry room slash storage room.

Then we have the sun room.  Ah, the sun room.  Small and slanted, but housing the kitchen table, two sitting chairs and a plant table.  But the sun room was the selling point of the whole place.  That, and the natural lighting throughout the house.  Oh, and all of the flowers and foliage. 

Our house from the outside looks like a little barn or garage, but inside, it is becoming our home.  We are learning to make due with small and are trying to develop a simple lifestyle.  The town of 750 we are in has one grocery store, which is a bit expensive, so our main shopping trips are twenty-five miles away going either north or south. 

 

But, here we are.  And here is where we truly believe God wants us to be in this season of our lives.  we already miss our friends terribly, but soon our little cottage house here will be open for guests.  You just have to like being close, crowded, and cramped.  But here is home.  Welcome.