Two Years Ago...

 ...we did a thing.  I wrote about it last year:  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2025/08/its-been-one-year.html.   And now it's two years.

So you think I'd know it all by now. 2 years in this house, on this property, and there are still questions! There are still things I don't know! One of which being how to turn on the giant light in front of the detached garage. I have no idea which switch might turn it on. I have no idea because I don't know if the light fixture actually works. And another switch that I figured out turned on an outside light on the side now no longer works; is it the bulb or the switch. I should know, but I don't. 

I still don't know what to do with all of the space for the detached garage. Should I try and make it a game room type place? A man cave? A she shed? All that would cost money which I don't have. Plus it's not that easy to access when it's cold and there's snow on the ground.

I still don't know what to do about the pool house which is gross and disgusting and just houses some cushions for outdoor seating. There should be a better use for it.  (There should be a pool?  Not a pool table which is still up in the loft and is rarely used or even visited.)

There's space for three cars in the attached garage. I only use one. If my son are in-laws come up, a second one can be used. But somehow I feel like I should do something more with it. Two years later I still don't know what that is. 

What I do know, and my husband just figured out this summer, is what that strange noise by the doggie door in the family room is. He was brave enough one day to go down to one of the crawl spaces that is our basement. (We have a couple areas that aren't necessarily attached. This space is the one that goes under the family room.) He was brave enough to go partially in to this tiny space and that's where he saw the sump pumps, which we had heard before and were working (thank goodness), and then there were two industrial like fans that are running round the clock. That's what the noise is: the fans in the crawl space with the sump pump! We o figure it has something to do with keeping the space dry. After the incredibly wet summer we've had, keeping it dry it's a good thing. A very good thing!

We figured out what to do with that space above the kitchen. Then just a week later I decided to rearrange some kitchen shelves and I displayed some more items.

There are little nooks and crannies with nothing in them.That's a good thing. There are nooks and crannies with things in them. That's a good thing as well. It's all a balance of having some, but not having too much. The interior of the house will probably forever be evolving.  (At least that’s what I figure.)

Within a 2-year period we've replaced the fence, learned about servicing our generator and our heating and air conditioning unit, maintaining our fireplace, having trees removed, having roof maintenance, having pest control maintenance, and finding a landscaper that actually returns my text and phone messages. (Amazing!)  We’ve dealt with dead fish, disappearing turtles, and other various wildlife that has appeared around our property, like the groundhog who wanted to move in and thebear who decided he could walk up part of our steps. 

It's a lot at times. And I have often questioned as to whether I have done the right thing or not. Of course that question mostly comes up when I'm doing the drive from PA back to NJ, or when something breaks and needs to be replaced or repairs. (I knew this wasn’t going to be a cheap endeavor, but…) The refrigerator that makes strange noises sometimes. The garage door that suddenly won't open. Some things are silly; some things are larger. My worry sometimes consumes me. But that's my nature 

However when I drive back from New Jersey, I feel a sense of calm. I am grateful for the sunflowers that have managed to come out at the end of summer. I am grateful for the fish that swim around and somewhat cautiously will eat the food pellets that I sporadically throw to them. I hear the insects at night and somehow find them calming. (At least while they're outside. If they come on in and I'm going to totally freak out. ) 

I suppose I will always question as to whether we did the right thing. And there is no answer to that question. But there is appreciation for what we have. Appreciation for a little section of calm in the world. Even if that calm also comes with chaos and anxiety for it. 

We are here and I'm so glad.