Dreams Come True

A few months ago,

someone answered an ad I placed on a local social media site.

The ad simply stated that I was looking for opportunities 

to help neighbors with yard work or organizing projects.

Funny thing is, that I advertised only in my immediate neighborhood,

so I could still be close enough to home.

A neighbor called me and we worked together on a couple of projects.

She was kind enough to write up a complimentary review

and another referral came from that.

Since February, I've been blessed to work for the most wonderful couple.

They have allowed me to care for their property,

tending flower beds, filling numerous bird feeders,
even taking care of their beloved fur babies.

This is my workplace.

What a dream!

 Many of the plants have been established for some time.

Look at these amazing hydrangea bushes and hostas.

We've been astounded to witness so many different colors on the bush to the right.

Everything from white, to yellow, to pink and lavender.

 This beautyberry is enormous and starting to fill out with buds.

Soon, it will be covered in magenta berries for the birds to enjoy.

 With eight acres to explore,

around every corner is something new to discover.

 This fig tree was severely pruned just weeks ago,

and yet has come back gangbusters.

It has found its happy place.

Numerous perennials return each year,

with some surprises thrown in.

This recently popped up in one of the front beds.

The coneflowers and bee balm have had many visitors this season.

clematis

What a thrill to pull up each week

to observe what new beauty awaits.

These lilies recently started blooming.

We will be dividing them after they finish providing their show.

 I have learned so much from this gardener.

She has abundant experience and knowledge

and has been patient with me as I learn and grow.

This is truly a dream job.

Blessings come when you least expect it.

Just stay open.

The Wish List

Our home in Florida was on the market for quite some time.
It was frustrating at times,
when all we wanted to do was move and get on with our dreams.
It finally sold at the end of December,
and we are now living in the great state of North Carolina.
Mission accomplished.

One good thing that came out of all that waiting,
was that we developed a wish list for our new home.
With time to think about our ideal homestead,
this is what we came up with:

2-5 acres

No HOA

newer home (15 years or newer)

front or wrap-around porch

wood floors

2-car garage

outbuilding or barn

open concept

3-4 bedrooms

2 bathrooms

1800-2000 square feet

pond or stream on property

partially wooded

sun exposure for veggie garden

neighborhood feel but space between houses

near farmers' market/library (within 20 minutes)

It's obvious to us now that we've been looking,
 that we will not find most of what's on our list.
The idea of putting it in writing 
helps to  solidify in our minds what we want,
but it will have to be amended many times.
One very hard lesson we've learned since being here
is that the market is very different than even a few years ago.
We have found that the acreage will be right,
but the house is either too small or dilapidated.
The house might be fairly new and the right layout,
but it's in a neighborhood or only on 1/2  an acre.
We've come to the conclusion that we will most likely
have to be satisfied with 3/4 to 1 acre, at most.
Many properties here have no garage,
which is one of Big K's top priorities.

Our biggest obstacle is location.
We still don't really know where our ideal location is.
As Big K is only working a temp job,
our options are open.
That's a blessing and a curse.
Being near a busy city doesn't suit us.
The towns that we have preferred in the past
are now more populated than we like,
and sometimes out of our price range.
Another issue is that homes are being bought up
before we can even go look at them.
The market is very similar to the way it was
when we bought our Florida home in 2004.

It's a big task, finding a forever home.
So many things to consider.
I know it's out there.
I think it will have to find us.

"Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, 
all you have is all you need."
-Sarah Ban Breathnach

On the Way to New Dreams

As you are reading this,

we are readying ourselves for our move to North Carolina

to begin a new chapter in our lives.
The sale of our home in Florida has been quite the experience,
which I'll share at a later time. 

We will check in when we can

after the new year,

as we will be getting settled in later this week.

Here's hoping your holidays

are joyful and that you are surrounded by

love, light and laughter.
The best to you and yours in the coming year.

Thank you for your prayers and support

through this journey.

Blessings be...

~daisy

 

The House Blog

Today we are shamelessly promoting our home for sale.
Since we'd tried to sell it twice before with two different realtors,
we thought we'd give it a go ourselves.
It seems to be a good time to sell and the market is picking up a bit here.

The worst that can happen is that we don't get enough traffic
and end up having to list it again with our realtor of choice.
Without a listing on the MLS, buyers aren't able to see all of the homes available.
We found a way to (hopefully) get more exposure for our home.

When researching safety considerations when selling yourself,
I stumbled upon a blog by Andrea Dekker,
who created a blog for her home
and put it on Craig's List.
Brilliant!

So, that's what I've been working on for the past couple of weeks.
I'm asking everyone I know to put a link up on their Facebook account,
or any other type of social media,
as well as listing it on Craig's List ourselves.
We trust that the right buyer will find it
and be quite content here.

The next time you need to sell a home, 

consider creating a blog for it.

We hope that this endeavor 
will allow our dreams to move forward.
 Here's the link.
(The house blog was removed when we ended up 
listing with a realtor.) 

The Maple Hill Hop 74

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Please link back to Maple Hill 101.*

*******
Where in the world did March go?
We were surprised with a wonderfully cool weekend,
with temps in the low 70's during the day.
Perfect weather for our family project.

We painted our house.
It's been on the market off and on for a year,
first with 2 separate realtors,
and for the past week By Owner.
We had planned to paint it anyway,
and figured that it couldn't hurt with the recent upswing in home sales in our neighborhood. 

The transformation seems pretty significant to us.
We never really liked the gray on the house
and the black accents even less.

The subtle colors make it feel somehow more welcoming.
We're so glad we did it and
feel good knowing that whoever buys our home
won't have to paint for quite some time.
One less thing for new buyers to have to think about.

It was a glorious day to take pictures for our ad as well.
Blue sky in the background, no wind, 
the garden lookin' happy, perfect.

On Friday we'll share the new strategy for listing our home.
You know what they say,
"third time's the charm!"

What's goin' on outside where you are?
HOP on!

An InLinkz Link-up

Dreams Moving Forward

"All our dreams can come true, 
if we have the courage to pursue them."
-Walt Disney

If you've read daisy's dream just below our header,

you know that we've been itchin' to head for higher ground 
for some time.

We waited for a definitive sign.

Well, last week we got it.

Big K was up for a promotion at work.
He'd been doing the job already for a few months,
after his coworker retired.
We figured he had a good chance of getting it.
He already knew the job, and financially, it was a blessing.

 I had a feeling about it the day before we officially got the news.
Keeping in mind that we live in a deed-restricted HOA community,
ya know what happened?
On my morning walk, there was a chicken at the end of the block.
Yeah.
I'm not talkin' Perdue on a grill,
a real, live chicken mozying through one of my neighbor's front lawns.
That gave me a clue as to where we were headed.
I believe in signs...


He didn't get the promotion.
We've pondered why as he certainly deserved it
and proved that he could do the job.
He has a strong work ethic 
and always goes above and beyond to get the job done.
We considered fighting it,
but ultimately, we decided,
this was our chance to move on.

After years of talking about moving to North Carolina 

to start our homestead,

we finally have the ability to go for it.

So many times this intention has been written in my daily journal.

Our vision board is loaded with wishes, desires 

and hopes for the future.

Now we can get started on making them come true.

Although we have been talking about this plan for a while,

it didn't stop us from living our life.

To my way of thinking, God wants us to be happy,

no matter where we are.

We may not be in the location we yearn for,

but we can still make a good life as long as we're together.

That's what we've done.

Finding local pesticide-free produce 
and then being mentored by such an amazing couple of farmers
was preparing me to strike out on my own.
Starting this blog and learning so many helpful skills
will help us keep continuity in our lives during the changes.

One thing that's become apparent to me in the past few years,

is that the less you struggle with what comes your way,

the easier your life flows.

Once I realized this, so many things have gotten better.

Listen for God's whispers and do what feels right.

We are very excited to be able to begin this next phase of our lives.
We've never lived anywhere but Florida as a family,
and Big K and I have lived here most of our lives.
We know that it will be challenging,
especially for Lil' Guy, who has difficulty with change,
but overall, we feel strongly 
that this is the step we are destined to take.

I look forward to a more seasonal way of life,
enjoying the simple pleasures of a rural reality
while working on creating a superb quality of life for ourselves 
and helping others do the same.

Onward and upward!

What advice do you have 
for minimizing the daunting task of relocating?


"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge -- myth is more potent than history 
-- dreams are more powerful than facts -- hope always triumphs over experience --
 laughter is the cure for grief -- love is stronger than death."
-Robert Fulghum









Little Homestead on the Hill