If we come, they'd better build it . . .
A quick gallery of our new home. More photos when we finish moving in. And then again in spring. And then again in fall.
Since moving to Rice Lake, Wisconsin in April 2012, we haven’t done a whole lot of traveling that we’ve written about. I’m going to try to make sure and write about our travels this month though in May 2013.
This month’s trip will take us out of the snow we just had on May 2 to a nice hot 100 in Arizona.
Goodbye snow!
We’re taking the month to eventually get the rest of our stuff out of storage in California. That will be near the end of the month. Here’s our basic itinerary:
Of course it’s all subject to change. I plan to take pictures and keep a written journal and hopefully post often here. Fiona may post at her website as well.
We plan on having a blast!
I know – it’s cliche! Six months ago today we drove away from New Jersey to head to our new home in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. It was the beginning of a new phase in our life – turning over a new leaf.
In two days we will have been in our new home for six months. I must say I’ve enjoyed living here and plan to do so for a while yet. Sometimes the itch to travel comes on and we have to take a long drive. It’s time for one now as a matter of fact. Maybe this weekend.
We have had beautiful weather the whole time and fall is now here. All the trees changed colors and then a couple of very windy days brought down most of the leaves on our trees. However, there are still some beautiful colors to be seen.
I wonder what winter will be like….? Will keep you posted. :)
Are we there yet? Have we reached our final destination? What is up with us you all wonder?
When we left California in 2010 to live a nomadic life, we had no idea how long it would last. Have we landed to put roots down, never to move again? I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter.
Life changes. Sometimes we can control the changes; most often we can’t. It’s a journey – one we are continuing to take.
Even though we have a ‘home’ now here in Rice Lake, Wisconsin – we will continue to explore new places. In fact, this coming week we’ll be spending three days in a city we’ve never visited before – Rochester, Minnesota.
I think our life is kind of like this fallen tree.
This evergreen in our front yard fell over in a storm a week or so ago. A tall tree that once fallen extended from the front yard to almost the back of the house. But the roots are still there – the core.
We sort of knocked our tree of life over on purpose back in 2010. But the roots – the core – are still there. They will grow again – though the tree may look different now.
So, what’s life like now here in Rice Lake?
Every day from my kitchen window I’m reminded of Ireland. What?! That’s right. The house next door has this moss growing on the roof and it reminds me of Ireland.
I get up every morning to here my little girl respond to my “How are you?” with “Happy!” just like she always has. Joel and I get to work together in our little office in the dining room with a view of trees, squirrels, birds and sometimes bunnies. My son, James, is with us. We have good friends and are able to do things for Joel’s mom who lives nearby.
Are we there yet? Where we’re supposed to be? For now, yes! Of course, that may change. So stay tuned…
I love it when I can make a title out of nothing but song titles.
Yes, the rumour is true: we’re moving to Wisconsin. (The reason you haven’t heard the rumour is because I’m starting it now.)
New Jersey is beautifully sunny. The friends we’ve made here are connected at our core.
But we just can’t afford it.
Moving into our own home would cost, between first month’s rent and security deposit (typically a month and a half’s rent) we’d be looking at $3,500 or so to move into a place, not counting utilities, internet, etc.
And then $1,000 minimum a month for a place that was a little too small, or an apartment (hard hard hard for me.)
In Rice Lake, where my Mom lives, we can get a 2 bedroom house, single family dwelling, not condo, duplex, whatever, with a garage and basement, for $525. One month deposit. Some places want a utilities deposit, so it’s about $1,400 total to move in. Yeah, utilities, etc. But internet can wait, ’cause the Rice Lake Library was our hangout for a month at a time when we’ve visited my Mom.
It’s been a wonderful (non)winter in Jersey. Just as when we left Montreal, Albuquerque, Denver, St. Paul, and Vancouver, there are people we’ll love and miss for the rest of our lives.
But it’s time to go.
If you’re between Philly and Madison and could bear 4 overnight guests during the 2nd week of April, please give us a shout.
If you’ve been considering some web work, writing a book, or getting some admin help, and just haven’t gotten around to it, we’ll need to earn about $1,000 in the next 3 weeks to make this trip and land on our feet without excess stress. Again, give us a shout.
And if you’re in Rice Lake and have a spare bed, book case, or chair you’d be willing to let us have or use, um, yeah, that; give us a shout.
Our visit here in Rice Lake is about to come to an end. Sunday morning we leave for St. Paul for our 3-week house sitting job. Fiona has enjoyed her visit with her grandma Mumsie, as we call Joel’s mom. She’s also loved coming back to The Rice Lake Public Library. Yesterday she had fun with the American Girls Book club here. She got to make a craft – a glass vase with colored sand glued to the outside. Not we have to find a safe way to transport it without it getting broken.
Last Monday Fiona and I went over to the lake and she got to wade in it quite a bit. Grandma came out in her electric wheelchair and we all stopped for a visit in the local book store. Yes, we’re a family of avid readers!
School has also started for Fiona. She’s now in second grade and the homeschool program through the school district here is great. We have lots of fun school work to keep us busy.
I’m really looking forward to our 3 weeks in St. Paul and then spending the winter back in New Jersey. More on that later…
Our time in Rice Lake Wisconsin is coming to an end for now. Joel’s mom can’t wait for us to return this September. Fiona’s new homeschool program through the local school district starts and we’ll be back to pick up her curriculum and spend a few weeks here. We’ve made some great new friends here and are looking forward to coming back and spending more time with all of them.
We were able to extend our stay for an additional five days thanks to new friends, Cliff and Karen. They have two extra bedrooms that aren’t being used and insisted we come stay with them. Fiona has her own room and loves playing with their little dog.
Last Saturday was a special day. For a few hours Joel and I were alone together, without Fiona. It’s the first time in many weeks. We love her dearly but she so needed time to play with a friend. And we so needed some time just the two of us to relax and visit.
We love working with local print shops. In Roseville California we worked with Avalon Graphics and they were always so friendly and helpful – and affordable.
We found ourselves in need of a print job for a client while here in Rice Lake. It just so happens that one block away from where Joel’s mom lives is a local print shop – Benchmark Printing.
Joel figured we’d drop the job off Thursday afternoon and pick it up early the following week. When we entered the shop, Paula told us she could have it done on Friday. However, as we started discussing exactly what we needed – the type of paper and comb binding – Paula printed the pages, found the clear cover, a nice back cover and the comb binding. Within about 15 minutes the job was done – to our delight! And at a very affordable cost.
Since the post office is just around the corner, we were even able to mail the print job off to the client immediately.
We’re so glad to have found a great local print shop to work with here in Rice Lake.
We’re working here at The Rice Lake Public Library while Fiona plays and reads. This morning I took a photo from grandma’s window showing the lump of snow still not completely melted and the lake in the background. It snowed this morning again. Not much. But it’s supposed to be spring!
I forgot to post when we left Colorado that Rita and Carl gave us some Tiramisu they brought from Prague. It was delicious! The rest stop just before we entered Nebraska was cool.
Hopefully the weather will warm up enough in May to walk along the lake and not feel like we’re freezing here in Rice Lake.
