KaBOOM

If I’ve been quiet on the blog lately, it’s because we very very busy with projects around the homestead. And that, in turn, is because we have prospective viewers coming out our ears.

Our homestead is for sale, as everyone knows. We took it off the market over the winter and re-listed it just as the coronavirus shutdowns started happening, which meant we had no one viewing the property for the longest time. We weren’t worried, since we’re not in a hurry to sell; and used the pause to continue making improvements and tackling outdoor projects as weather permitted. But we did notice our Zillow listing was beginning to get a large number of views, and especially a large number of saves.

Now suddenly, after weeks and months quiet, the phone is ringing off the hook. We’ve had two home showings so far, and potentially three more for this upcoming weekend. Yowza.

So – in addition to writing deadlines and a tankard production run we’re finishing up – we’ve been working on the house and property.

In some regards, this delay has been beneficial for us. Rural properties are suddenly hot as people realize city living has its drawbacks. (Apparently a Silicon Valley venture capitalist named Balaji Srinivasan summed it up in a pithy tweet: “Sell city, buy country.”) News articles confirm this (here, here, here, and here).

We’re situated in a fortunate position, on the edge of the wild but within commuting distance of two metro areas. Our Zillow listing keeps getting more and more “saves” every day.

The weather has been too cool and wet to plant anything in the garden yet (except peas and potatoes), but I’ve been prepping beds and trimming raspberry canes. My tomato and pepper seedlings are ready to be hardened off and planted as soon as the weather permits.

Don’s been doing a lot of weed-whacking, though the rain has prevented mowing and the lawn is shooting up.

I’ve been gathering up tangled fencing to bring to the metal recyclers.

Don’s been doing last-minute inside improvements, both big (kitchen cabinet frames and doors)…

…and small (trim work).

And of course, we’re trying to keep the house clean – floors vacuumed and mopped, laundry caught up, dishes washed. You know how it goes when you’re trying to sell.

The nice thing is we’re still not in a hurry. We haven’t found another place to buy – we’re not even looking yet – so we’re not stressed by trying to support two mortgages at the same time. If we don’t sell this year, no biggee – we’ll try again next year. (It’s astounding how this bit of information shuts down realtors who try to persuade us to abandon our For Sale By Owner listing and list with them instead.)

We’re confident that as more and more states open up, we’re going to see a lot more people ready to get out of dodge, especially because so many people are interested in becoming more self-reliant and aware of the fact that working from home is possible.

So anyway, I apologize for not posting more frequently. Busy busy busy!