GOING HOME

April 19, 2010

You are probably sick of hearing about our move ‘home’ to Livingston Montana; sorry if that’s the case, but the reality is the time gets closer each day. We actually have a count-down calendar primarily so we (mostly me) keep focused and on track. The major problem is I have lived in this house since 1990. 

We (my late husband Castwell and I) moved to Poulsbo, Washington from Big Fork, Montana to expand our business in 1988. We spent two years getting the business established and did take some time to look around and try and decide where we wanted to live. The choices were mind boggling. A friend called one spring evening and said a house in his neighborhood was for sale by owner. The next day Castwell drove out to take a look.

As it turned out, the owner was doing some work there and was willing to take Castwell through the house. The house wasn’t bad, (except for the blotchy yellow color) but the yard was a disaster. The best part was the price. The owners had gotten involved with a scheme where you buy property with no money down. The idea was to fix the houses up and sell them at a big profit. I suspect there was more to it than that, but whatever the deal was, the owners were about to lose the place. It took a little negotiating but the bottom line was we paid the owners ten grand and took over the mortgage of $72,000. Doesn’t seem like a lot of money now, but it was then.

There wasn’t any driveway, just a couple of mud ruts. We contacted a paving company and had a drive put in. The front, back and side yards were covered in blackberry, great big blackberry bushes. I asked at our local Cenex and they sold me a good pair of goatskin gloves. It took months of cutting, hacking, pulling and burning, but I got rid of the blackberry, plus a ton of junk including a car axel and several cases of beer bottles, what a mess. Little by little we dug through it and managed to produce a yard.

The first storm we weathered made it quite clear the huge pine tree in the front yard had to go. It swayed from side to side nearly 20 degrees. The next day I called a fly fishing friend who had a tree service. Bill took one look at the tree and said it was rotten. I don’t recall what it cost to have it done, but it came down that day...and it was really rotten. With the wind blowing in the right direction it would have not just put a dent in the house, but if it fell the house would have been destroyed.

Over the next couple of years we added a large deck/porch on the front of the house (we do have a view of Hood Canal) and a year later had the back deck built. I have had some back problems in the past and my doctor recommended a hot tub. It went on the back deck and really was a wonderful investment. I recommend it highly for relieving pain and just relaxing. We ate a lot of meals outdoors, we don’t have many mosquitoes (in fact most folks living out here don’t even bother with screens) so sitting outside in the evening is really lovely.

I’ve always been a lover of ponds and fish (duh) and at some point Castwell agreed to dig the holes for a couple fiberglass ponds. A tiny fountain and fish almost made it complete. I had to add some plants of course and water-lilies too. It became ritual to find the first frog eggs and then watch for the pollywogs in the spring. Usually the frogs which populate the ponds are the green tree frogs, really neat little guys with tiny pads on their fingers. One year I didn’t see any frogs so I put the word out to the local kids that I paid a buck for a live frog. I got frogs. Just didn’t want to miss the chorus frogs.

Some trees came down in back and a garden slowly took form. A lot of bulbs and as many natural looking plants as I could find. I didn’t want the garden to be or look phony. It truly has been a joy and a blessing. Fortunately my husband is also a gardener and has already begun planning for my pond at our home in Livingston.

We were a bit concerned about our ability to sell this house, the market is down and of course the economy stinks. We called a realtor who had sent us a flyer in the mail and he seemed quite positive (well of course, that’s his business) but we decided to use him and did the necessary paperwork. He did the listing and the house appeared on a computer listing on Sunday.  On Monday a young man stopped and talked to Trav who was doing some yard work. The next day the same young man showed up with his realtor and I walked them through the house. He made an offer the same day, meeting our asking price plus. I took it.

Life goes on and the new owners will put their own mark on this place and I can only hope it will be as much of a joy to them as it has been for me. There are memories I will cherish, and some I would rather forget. Isn’t that the way life is?

April 28th is the day. The truck is rented, a trailer for the little red car, and I will drive Trav’s Blazer with the cats and my canary. It is still winter at some higher elevations and we are a little concerned about a couple of passes. Trav said it’s sort of like Ma and Pa Kettle going on vacation. It will take us two days, but no doubt we’ll make it.

Cross your fingers and say a prayer for us, soon we’ll be on the other side of the mountains.

We’re going home.

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