Keys and Trees

On Friday I FINALLY closed on the "farmhouse." It seems like I waited 6 months to write those words...or 6 years depending on who you ask. It was really supposed to be typed with more elation, but this morning it's mainly just a bleary-eyed obligation to the record. Closing was fairly anti-climatic, mostly only raising my blood pressure after noticing I was being over-charged for homeowner's insurance. But the word 'homeowner' was enough to remind me of the blessing of the moment and signing stayed the course. With keys in hand I gave the house a quick drive-by on Friday night and headed to the airport to retrieve Rachel, one of my best friends from college.

Rachel came into town to run a 12 mile obstacle race we had been planning for nearly a year, but yesterday, on race morning, the excitement of the those keys trumped the anticipation of running 12 miles through the mud and woods. A few cups of coffee and a (shorter) jog over the Dunedin Causeway and I couldn't wait another minute to show her the property and start chopping trees. I have known from the first minute I saw the farmhouse (and the three hardwood trees growing into the roofline of the kitchen) that should I ever own the place, removing those trees would be the very first order of business.

An exhausting few hours later we had cut down (by hand and brute force) the three trees...and two more just because. By the way, you know you have a good friend when she is willing to fly all the way from Chicago only to forgo a major event for slave labor.

Best of all, you can now see the south side of the house and out the kitchen windows.

Never before seen south side

Making her own obstacle course

Notice the stumps

Notice the smile

It might even be a backyard one day...and Toshi (always a huge help)