Preface

     So, you bought a house and 3 1/3 acres and you want to grow everything at once and have livestock and chickens and ducks. 

     Does that describe just me, then? That’s ok, I’m sure we still have plenty in common. I guess you’re reading this because the name of my site was interesting or some term in your search brought you here. 

     Let me start by saying thank you for joining us on our journey and welcome your to our little piece of heaven in progress. 

     Do you know how you never knew you wanted something until it just jumped out in front of you? That actually wasn’t the case here. 

     

My husband (The Mister) and I (Mrs B33) moved to Central Illinois about a decade ago to better our opportunities and to help out my aging mother-in-law (MIL). That went well. The Mister eventually landed in a great career in the city, while I stayed back for the most part to continue helping MIL. The Mister would come home on the weekends while keeping a small apartment in the city. 

     As you might imagine, it got difficult for us to be so far apart for the better part of every week, so we rented a bigger apartment and I moved to the city (ugh). The two of us were able to spend much more time together and would come down to MIL’s house every couple of weekends and on holidays. 

     Every time we left her house or came upon it, we’d pass this house on on a beautiful hill about two miles from her. It’s in rough shape. It has old outbuildings and a mobile home. I’d seen it for sale once (when there was no possibility of us considering it yet) and looked up the information online. Time passed and every so often The Mister or I would mention it as we passed it...”That hill would be a great place to build a house”, “I wonder what the view is like up there?”  

     Meanwhile, back in the city, we’re looking into buying a house near where we currently live (apartment life is not for us). There are plenty of nice places...nice houses that would serve most of our needs. Plenty of rooms, a yard for gardening, fenced in so that our dog can get off his leash, etc. Almost anything that looked like it would tick off all the boxes on our list was either at the very top of our budget with no room for repairs or replacements, or just plain out of our league. 

     One summer, coming down to see MIL, “The Hill” is again for sale! We’re already in the market to buy a permanent home, it’s out in the country, its an area we are familiar with and it’s only two miles from MIL!

     Yes, it’s going to need some work, but it’s well within our budget to do  that. After a few mishaps and snafus, we have the property inspected, make an offer, AND IT’S OURS!