welcome home

on june 9th, one year ago, staal and i spent our first night in our new home.  we had been living in my little room at the ranch since we were married in january---that was 6 months in -300 square ft, with two cats and one dog.  even in the cramped quarters we never argued, we cooked meals together in a cast iron skillet on a hot plate, spent days tending the garden and working to make the ranch easier to manage for the days when i would no longer be there.  and we searched for a place of our own.  
we had looked at a lot of houses but none were quite right.  in late april we were tipped to a place just out of mariposa.  it was a bit farther from family than the range we had been searching but when i saw the pictures on the internet something just sort of clicked.  i had to go see it.  we drove out to look at it that morning and when we got there and walked the property a little i knew for sure.  this place felt right.
it was a neglected little house on 6 acres, a foreclosure.  we had found it just in time to make an offer.  our first offer made it to the second round of bidding and we offered again (a nerve-wracking process---you don't know how much the other interested parties are offering).  
we got a call from the realtor we had been working with---our offer had been accepted---the place would be ours. 
next came a flood of papers to sign and the wait for escrow to close.  we got the keys on may 10th, a day after my birthday (a pretty nice gift).  
the house had been inhabited by a chainsmoker and the walls showed it.  we had some major cleaning and painting to do before we could move in.  the whole place smelled of tobacco and the walls ran brown as we scrubbed them.  i washed the walls, ceilings and cabinets and staal set to work priming them.  we picked out paint colors and got the place brightened up.  
after a month of work we were able to move in.  finally, a little place of our own.   it was a great feeling---coming home.
we've done a lot of work on the place over the last year and there is more planned but we both enjoy it---like they say---it's truly a labor of love.
it's nice to be home.