One Foot On Land, One Foot In The Swamp: Two Things

Thing 1:

Swamp House is looking pretty good. It is getting comfier and cozier every day. It may not even be able to be called "Swamp House" anymore. It is actually better than my own house at this point. Better views. Better appliances. Better finishes. No one ever said that life is fair.

Well, and it is technically our place, but a place is not the same as a home. It's kind of turned into our mini vacation home. We go as a family. The kids play games. I can avoid the mess that is naturally generated in the home of a family of five.

Thing 2:

We have new neighbors renting across the street...again. The homeowners are living on the east coast, so they've been renting out their home for about 3 years. We've had three different families move in and out.

The first time I baked brownies, wrote a little card, knocked on the door and introduced myself. The second time, I introduced myself--gave the family a little card with our contact info.

The first two families we invited to our parties, went out as couples and spent some time together. They were very nice people. Then they all moved and sincerely, we will never see them again.

Now, I'm on the third time around, and I'm tired. Do I need to bake brownies? Show up on the doorstep? I'm generally very welcoming, but for now I'm lazy and crabby and they only are going to live there for 5 months. Can I just smile and wave?

If you know me, sigh, we will bake the brownies and do the whole thing all over again. That's just the way that we are, or I am anyways.

The Guest List: Add Your Name to the Ark Roster Now!

The Ark, or Swamp House, is almost finished with its construction odyssey. I've been an errant bloggeress, life is doing it's usually January undertow and I'm going under.

We are setting up camp, so we need to figure out what kind of things we need. You sure think about necessity when you have to drag your worldly possessions out a boardwalk by hand or in a little cart.

The project has turned out beautifully. If you are on the potential guest list, get your request in early... I have this feeling that once someone stays here it's going to be hella hard to get them to leave.

It's better than my house...so it might be me that you'll have to boot out!

The Ark

Well, if you have heard rumors about an ark, they are true. I am told I can no longer refer to it as "Swamp House." All I can say is that the first time George laid eyes on this place, he was grinning ear to ear.

He was still grinning ear to ear through the pest inspection report. It was like the pest inspector just drew a big red circle around the entire structure and declared it infested. He was still grinning ear to ear when the building inspector declared part of it a "tear down."

And he was really grinning ear to ear when he dragged his old kayak out of it's 6 year hibernation and plopped it into the creek.

I am charmed by the history, the unique lifestyle and the gorgeous views. I guess I finally got my 100 year old, um, house. George got his cottage location northwest, as well as an office. Our parents get a place to come and enjoy extended stays. We all win, except the pests, I hope.