Call It a Night

This photo was taken less than a month ago at Fiddle Ridge, before we ever named the property, before we ever dreamed we'd be living there. For anyone who has heard the story, this is, believe it or not, the first view we had of the house and the yard... never even knowing the acreage or seeing the inside of the house, we just knew there was something special here.
February 25th, Richard and I had been driving around, again, looking at land listings trying to imagine how we'd build a home that would reflect our lifestyle and have the space for the children to visit, and for friends & family to gather. We'd not found anything we were really interested in, but through the conversations while driving around we were learning a lot about each other and the 'picture' in our minds of where we might want to 'be' in a few years.
On Saturday the 25th of February, we were out in North Wayne, searching for a land listing (which we never found until a week or so later), and saw a realtor sign at the end of a dirt road. We drove in a ways and decided to turn around, because it was getting dark and we were on an unimproved dirt road with the Toyota... didn't want to get stuck in the woods with no cell phone coverage!
This is what we saw when we drove into the driveway to turn around. Not much to see, huh? I'm still amazed how this story unfolds. In the dim light of early evening, I said something like "this is the house I want us to build, something like this". Richard wasn't all that impressed with the style of the house, but was still interested in finding out more. Our research at home that evening revealed details about the house and the land, enough to pique our interest further and draw us back Sunday morning in the bright light of day... that's the second photo with Richard in front of the house.

The rest of the story is just as sweet. Not that the house is without flaws, because it is dated, and it has been vacant since last summer. Each time we have visited the property, we've felt more connected and more like this is our home. We haven't wavered from the ideals and goals we've set for ourselves, although having a mortgage does change some of the activities we'll be involved in financially. In many ways, I'm actually happy about that, because it encourages us to make responsible choices about what things are MOST important to us, rather than doing everything that sounds fun or interesting.
This afternoon, less than a month from that first evening, we'll sign papers and move our first load of 'stuff' out to Fiddle Ridge. With all the talk and activity surrounding the house and Richard's hand surgery, we haven't played as much music as we like. Last night we skipped out on the Pownal jam and had a quiet dinner at home, packed a few more boxes, and played through some of our sets... it helped us get re-focused on who we are and what we're about. We'll keep the fiddles handy today, and throughout the weekend, just to play a tune or two in the midst of the chaos of moving.
Call It a Night comes from the Waltz Book, Volume Three.