Goodbye Country Home

Some amazing memories were made here!

Today we settle on our beautiful country home. We’ve absolutely loved living there, and it’s been truly heartbreaking to let it go, but our decision to sell has been for the right reasons. We are looking forward to having more time to focus on the next chapter in our lives, which is to put us in a position to work and do what we want to do versus what we HAVE to do to make a living. Also, we want to start focusing on where we want to eventually retire, and it might not be here in the NOVA/D.C. area.

Secondly, selling was a smart business decision being executed at the right time. The market is up, we got a great comp for a sale, and we seized the moment.

But we will truly miss our country beauty. We are thrilled with the young family that is buying the place and we know they will love living there as much as we have.

Goodbye country beauty; we will always love you.

In Life, A Person Will Come And Go From Many Homes

In one week from today, we will say goodbye to our lovely, country home.

I am here now, waiting on a contractor to "de squeak" some of the upstairs floorboards. I always considered the noise they made when you walked across them part of the charm of this house.  I tried to sell it to the new owners as a perk to know when their kids might sneak around past bedtime, but no.

An empty house makes many noises

So, a de-squeaking we will go.

I picked these peonies from the front yard this morning. It's the first time I had enough from all the small bushes to make a bouquet. A big bouquet of fresh peonies is one of my most favorite things in the world.

They are mostly heirloom "Primevere Peony" which smell heavenly like roses. Most peonies that you buy from the florist or store have no scent at all.  Someday, I hope to grow them again.

Primevere Peony

The new home we are in has it's issues...mostly with the state of some things the owners left for us to deal with. So, we haven't settled in yet and it will take time. Next week we are having most of the upstairs carpeting replaced there...seems like flooring is the hot ticket for this move.

But I HATE that feeling...being unsettled. Living in limbo.

Bittersweet Blooms

This is the last week we are here at the house. It is truly bittersweet. ALL of my bearded irises are blooming for me this year, some of which I've never seen bloom in the 4-5 years I've had them. They've been moved 2 or more times, recovered from iris borers 3 years ago, and finally I found a spot where they would be happy. Since they basically had to start over from naked rhizomes on more than one occasion, it's taken all this time to get them established so they'll bloom.

To make this even MORE of a tearjerker, I found my order sheet from when I ordered them while packing things away and I have the names for them!!! Since they've been moved so many times and never bloomed, I didn't know who-was-who, and which ones survived over the years.

It's almost as if they are giving me a goodbye kiss...

Iris bed in bloom

Dorothy Davenport

Highmaster

Voltaire's Cloak

Table For Two

Limonada

Even my False Indigo, which is notoriously finicky and has never bloomed since I got it 3 years ago, bloomed for me. I ended up sticking it in one of the garden beds to let it nurse it's way back...it seems to like it there.

False Indigo

Everything here is really, really taking off ...FINALLY. Even my black raspberries, which I've moved twice, will give a bumper crop this year.

I will miss all of this for sure, but it's easy to see things now when the weather is nice and everything is pretty, and there are no bugs...except ticks. But during the summer, when it's close to 100° and we haven't had rain for 6 weeks, and I'm struggling to keep up with keeping everyone watered and alive....well I won't miss that. 

Bittersweet...