Week One {and three quarters}

I'm not even sure where to start.

I arrived in Tennessee around 10:30 at night on Monday, August 29th. My brother, Aaron, arrived the next day. The day after that, we started looking at properties and we are narrowing them down to a few- with two being the stand outs.

We aren't just looking for a nice house and some land. That land has to be somewhat flat for the greenhouses to sit on. The house has to be large enough for both of us to live in. Even though we don't plan on sharing a house for more than a year. The location shouldn't be too far from major highways, and the road to the land should not be rutted. The extras, if we can get them, are: a barn in good condition, natural gas, 3 Phase electric, extra land to dirt farm, and land to build a second or third small home on.

Anyway, two properties we have seen fit the bill really well. We will be checking out 3 more tomorrow morning and I will make appointments to go back to the ones we think have potential. Aaron will head back up to Ohio early next week and start the business of getting all our finances in order.

I'm still excited about this new life and I think that's a good sign. It's exhausting, all of the things that have to get done and remembered. But with two of us, it's actually quite easy. Our strengths and weaknesses complement each other.

So that's THAT part of the update.

I really like it here so far. It's slower and much less stressful. It's an easier life and I have to remind myself that I don't have to rush all the time. The weather is great and even when it's hot and humid it's never as bad as it is in NYC because it cools down at night. And it smells nicer... but there's a TON more bugs and it seems like spiderwebs are EVERYWHERE. It will take me a while to get used to that. The spider webs are actually great, except when you walk through one, because they catch a ton of bugs. Most of those bugs would otherwise be feasting on me, so I'm trying to learn to like the spiderwebs. They're very pretty- when I can see them. I just wish I could see them all the time so I don't walk through them.

Wiley is adjusting beautifully- he's a brand new dog! I can't believe how mellow he's become. He's in love with my parents and likes Aaron too, who honestly, barely tolerates him. Actually my brother and the cat treat Wiley just about the same. They look at him like they just can't understand what the fuss is, and then they retreat to the guest room. But Wiley won't give up on either of them and they are slowly warming up to him. I think he even got my brother to chuckle today.

So that's the story so far. I'm being kicked out of the room I'm in, so I'll sign off and write more another day.