A little background

There is a point when you’re a midwesterner by choice, not by chance anymore. My husband (clever alias to be determined later) and I recently decided to find a place in the country for space, freedom and to give our two children (quirky and fitting aliases also to be determined) a not-suburban life.

Husband (ok I really need a good name for him) and I had done the ‘burb thing and we were eager for something different. We saw two options for our next home:

1) move to Florida and never see snow again

or 2) find land with a decent house on it and savor the seasons

So here we are. We just moved from a tiny apartment in a very congested area of the Columbus, Ohio suburbs to what I just named The Tenderfoot Homestead. I love that name!

The Tenderfoot Homestead is 7 rolling acres bordered mostly by corn fields as well as a neighbor who collects old red trucks and dogs. We have a simple-yet-lovely home and a barn. There is a picturesque creek that meanders along the property line. The previous owners planted most of the trees themselves, including a stunning grove of pines that separate two large green spaces. There are paver walking paths that extend from the patio on the back of the house and wind around, leading to nothing.

The home was custom-built for the parents of the brothers who sold it to us. Don’t be fooled by custom. It’s not CUSTOM-custom. In this instance, it means a house in the country with a long driveway and idiosyncrasies like bath rough-in in a bedroom closet and an overabundance of light switches! It’s great house though. It’s not so big that I’ll lose all my time to cleaning but it’s roomy and comfortable.

The selling brothers are exuberant and have been generous with stories about their folks and our new home while they’ve been clearing out the barn and we’ve been moving in. For instance, there is a three-foot gap in the trim in the dining room which hints that there might have been a door there originally. Yes! one brother bubbled Pop promised Mom he’d build her a screened-in porch. He had the door put in when the house was built but never got around to building it. The realtor suggested that we get rid of the door. Hey, if you ever get around to building a screened-in porch, let me know. I’d love to see that!  Wish they’d left the door there so it was more tempting. 

In the weeks leading up to the closing, Husband and I skimmed through a fun book called The Backyard Homestead with great interest. Gardens and, maybe someday honey and eggs will be at the end of those walking paths. Regardless, our family is going to have a rich and great life here!