Sold the Farm
We answered an ad:
Straw Bale Gem on 6.78 quiet, private sunny acres. Inviting and artistic home, close to village shops and cafe, with great neighbours. New water system, additional potential building sites. Small workshop/shed and open shed, and a lovely cedar grove.
And then we fell in love and bought the house. For a time there I was all over the idea of moving to the closest town; primarlly I was stoked on the idea of Edie going to the Waldorf school and becoming a pedestrian again but after having an offer on a house fall through there we had a pause to realize that this special valley is our home and we're not ready for a return to a teeny tiny yard quite yet. I have sheep I intend to attempt to raise!
So the day evening before we were to leave here for our trip to Calgary I found the ad for this house and as luck would have it I visited back in the day I was pregnant when I was researching strawbale and hung out with the owner's now ex-wife (yikes. We have some serious smudging to do. The owners before who built the house met the same demise). I started my Horseshack oo-oo-oo (those of you who remember Welcome Back Karter) and getting really excited by myself (that sounds weird) because Craig just took off kayaking. I called the guy and I'm like, "don't sell your house, we'll be right there" and he's like, okay, freak, then I spent three hours at home wondering out loud where the *$^% Craig was - though I knew he was kayaking.
This house has everything on our check list. 1800 square feet (not too small, not too little), straw, four bedrooms (we only need two but both Craig and I need an office each), building potential (for Craig and my office each out of the house), lots of acres to play with permaculture design, a beautiful sunny spot, and, finally all this without the drama and stress of building. I might want to be nesting here pretty quick for Craiglette II you know?
And, in a funny piece of fate, the house was designed by the same architect we hired for the Horniman Hacienda. That's funny. So our trip to Calgary was delayed by a day and we ended up purchasing it pretty much over the phone in Calgary. Luckily I was the first person to answer the ad. The price was so right and inspection passed with flying colours. Our move comes just in time for the change in season.
Wow!!
Congrats! Been lurking for a long time now but the cat has finally let go of my tongue. I'm so happy for you. You must be really excited. Looking forward to reading posts from your new digs!!
Posted by: Natashia | August 22, 2007 at 01:37 PM
Wow, it looks great and I LOVE your quick response/jump. How exciting to leap on a new adventure!
Posted by: Chris | August 22, 2007 at 05:53 PM
Woo hoo! The place looks great! Congratulations! I wonder how long it will take you to paint some of those white walls?? ;)
Posted by: Robin | August 22, 2007 at 09:05 PM
Ha, Robin, you know me so well! I'm planning on hooking us up with a painter familiar with Lazure:
http://www.lazure.com/lazure.html
Love it!
Posted by: Tangerine Dreams | August 23, 2007 at 08:48 AM
holy toledo! gorgeous -- congratulations!
Posted by: patricia | August 23, 2007 at 10:51 AM
I am so glad that you got your strawbale home! It may not be the one you designed or built yourself but it sounds fabulous! I am excited for you!!
Posted by: Di | August 23, 2007 at 02:43 PM
Congrats! It sounds like this was meant to be and it will save you so much stress.
Posted by: Terra | August 25, 2007 at 11:03 AM
That is so FRIGGIN awesome. I am really happy for you and the family ... and the eventual craiglette2.
I am SO glad that the house all happened as you wanted it too!! I can't wait to see what you do with the space as time moves on ..
then again ... you can always do a bed and breakfast knitting retreat for your most favorite calgarians *g*
Posted by: Morgan | August 28, 2007 at 10:16 AM
Yay! I love when everything falls into place so nicely! I agree about the smudging, though. At the salon where I lease we just had an ownership change and I recommended to her that we clear the energy, too, as the last THREE owners broke their leases and had, um, personality issues while at work.
She bought a salt stone lamp to clear out negative ions and the first bulb exploded as soon as she turned it on! After that the walk-ins have been increasing and there's a great new vibe.
Have fun in the new house!
Posted by: GiGi | August 30, 2007 at 10:39 PM
Wow, what a whirlwind! Congratulations - the place looks amazing.
Posted by: sulu-design | September 02, 2007 at 09:44 PM