We recently moved from the Queen Anne neighborhood in Seattle to our new house in Des Moines, WA. At times I really miss living in the city and its many benefits. Easy public transportation, nice neighborhood parks where you can almost always find kids playing during daylight hours, grocery stores within walking distance that don't require you to cross a major highway to get to, and lastly it was easy to be a one car family. The downside of living in an nice Seattle neighborhood - its impossible to buy a house big enough to accommodate the average size family - leaving you at the mercy of landlords and property managers who want to make more money; settling for old, small living spaces that desperately need to be remodeled into the current century; wondering when you will no longer be able to live your small hip neighborhood (either because you desperately need more space and will go insane without it or you get that dreaded notice from your property manager saying please move). Last July 28, 2014 our property manager notified us that our landlord would be jumping on the renovation bandwagon by raising our rent to an unaffordable amount --- if we were willing sign a 12 month lease and an astronomical amount if we wanted to just stay on a month to month basis -- because they wanted to renovate the unit we were living in. By the grace of God my husband and I were able to qualify for a home mortgage, find a decent
real estate agent, buy a house and move within sixty days. A huge thank you to our friends who helped us with moving in many different forms -- not just carrying boxes and furniture, but pushing strollers, taking care of our pets, packing, listening, playing with madeleine, cleaning, carrying boxes and furniture....you get the picture.
So this is supposed to be post about getting ready to garden and its turned into a rant about the housing market in Seattle. Onto the joys of home ownership...we were lucky to end up on neighborhood street where our new neighbors actually came out to meet us as the our moving truck pulled up in front of our house. I can't wait for summer time when weather improves and more people are willing to be outside for visits as we go about our daily activities... In preparation for summer, Paul and I have been slowly making some improvements around the outside of the house, digging up bushes, trimming tree limbs, moving compost bins etc. I'm looking forward to being able to have a garden that I don't have to drive to -- just walk out the door. Last week Madeleine and I planted seeds for our flower garden and hanging baskets. I need to make a return trip to
Lowes so I can buy a another
mini green house for my vegetable starts. Next weekend Paul and I will be moving a backyard item to our home for Madeleine and Cora to play on...Don't tell Madeleine its a surprise, you can tell Cora because her only words are mama and dada right now so she won't let the secret out of the bag.
My other outdoor projects are digging up the bushes in the front yard. My brother, graciously cut down the tree we had in the front yard at Thanksgiving. Its my mission to transform our front yard into a year round flower and vegetable garden. As Madeleine and Cora grow older it gets easier to work on projects inside and outside of the house... I remind myself that taking time to play is way more important than a clean, spotless house. I will find the balance some day.
Last night I carefully pulled the mini greenhouses off the shelves in our laundry room to show Madeleine some of the baby plants that had sprouted from the seeds we planted earlier this week. So far we have one tomato sprout, some zinnia, bachelor button, cosmos and geranium sprouts. I can't wait to get home to check for more sprouts today.
