No place like home

So, 2017 has been a pretty eventful year with another big change this fall...we bought a house!  Crazy to believe, but we have been transient for soo long and wanted to have our own place to fix up for however long that is.  Our house is located in the Village of Suamico (another one of the adjacent villages to Green Bay, pronounced SUE ah mick oh), about 8 miles north of where we rented in Howard.  We are little a bit further out of downtown Green Bay, with our own post office, trash pick up service, and well water, so it seems really rural even though it is not far at all from the heart of the city.  The house was built in 1984, so that must be a sign.  We have a 0.6 acre wooded lot with a fenced yard and lots of garden space and outdoor living areas on a screened porch and deck.  The house needs some cosmetic and energy updating inside (a lot of "old" original stuff from the 80s), but SOME of that we are actually looking forward to working on. Since we have some overlap with our rental house, we worked on several projects before we moved in mid-December (including raking all of those leaves and cleaning out the gutters!).  Of course we had a major winter storm the day before (Chloe) the movers showed up, so there was a lot of snow blowing and shoveling at both houses to get everything cleared.  We now have an older snowblower that came our way since last winter, so my bet to see how long we can go without one is over. Good thing!

On moving day morning it was a blustery 10 degrees.  Moving in WI in December keeps things interesting anyway.  One of my biggest disappointments is that I won't be able to use the yard and garden until May!  Teddy is in heaven already in his own yard- he loves it...when he can walk through the drifted snow banks.

A lot of people ask if we will stay in Wisconsin.  I don't know the answer to that or for how long, but for the time being, it will be nice have our own home.  We are regulars at Home Depot, ReStore, and Menards now, sometimes multiple time per day.  Lessons learned so far:

1. Do not move in winter in WI.  Ever.
2. Wallpaper borders are the devil.
3. Toilet guts are not made to last 30 years.
4. Check to ensure the hot water heater is turned on before taking your first shower.  Thanks for the cold welcome shower, sellers!
5. If you want something done right, you have to DIY.

I've said it before and will say it again, guests are always welcome if you want to come out/up/over and see Green Bay.  We don't get too many visitors in these parts (WI is not really "on the way" to anywhere), so we offer the full tourism experience once you get yourself here and tell us what you want to see.  Just ask Rosie...I took her to one of the biggest dairy farms in WI (well, I drove her there after she set up the tour) and to see "The Lake," which cannot be missed. :)

More photos coming soon!

Before project leaf rake

1o degrees F the day after 8 inches of snow...looks like a great day to move!

Happy holidays!