Sunday and a For Sale Sign.

This is the side yard into the woods off of the front deck at the cabin.

The leaves are turning and falling and you can BARELY see the mountain range to the west as the sun begins to set.

This photo was taken Saturday night as steaks were sizzling on the grill.  The night we went to sleep, and fell back an hour.


So many mixed feelings are conflicting in my heart.

Are we doing the right thing?

Maybe if we didn’t sell, things would get better?

Is this really the place I want to stay or is it a stepping stone to something I will love even more?

Making change is so very very hard for me.  I get attached to places, people and things.
When I was a small girl, I cried and cried when my dad traded our beloved Corvair in on a Volvo.  I had no knowledge that a Volvo was a REALLY NICE CAR.  I didn’t care about leather seats or new car smell.  I didn’t even consider that we needed a bigger family car because the family had grown to 3 children.  I just wanted OUR SAME CAR.  Don’t make a change.  Keep things the same.

And this has followed me throughout my life.

The same thing happened when my mom got rid of the old “colonial” style 1960s couch for a new one.  It didn’t feel the same, it didn’t have the memories.  I never did like that new couch.

Yesterday morning, sun on the mountains.

There are many places with beautiful mountain views.  And it could take a long long time for my cabin to sell.  It was on the market for over a year when we found it.  It’s got things that maybe someone else won’t want to deal with, like not one, but TWO spiral staircases, the only way to get upstairs or downstairs from inside the cabin.  It could be a deal breaker for some.  It could be something that others find really cool.

Going up the spiral stair case always made me feel like I was climbing up to a tree house.  My inner child loves it.

Our realtors.  Wayne & Carolyn Bond.

The BOND TEAM!

I love the website address.

WWW.BondTeam007.com

Great way to play on a name!

As soon as everything is entered into the MLS, and things are up on Realtor.com I’ll share the link.  Maybe you’ll know someone who is interested in buying a piece of my heaven who wants the kinds of things this HOA is doing.  Someone who already lives in a gated community with available community amenities might enjoy a club house, community BBQs and pot lucks and activities and groomed trails and won’t mind the dues required to make these events and resources available.

Our waterfall is barely running!

We took them on a tour of the mountain showing them the things we have loved, things that someone looking for a place might also love.  Remember when the rains came so hard the year we bought the cabin that it washed out the road?  We are so dry from lack of rain that the water fall is now barely a trickle.  We need rain!

It was a beautiful day.

I’ll miss the pond with the twin gazebos.

See the guy fly fishing on the bank?

There was ONE property out in McGrady we wanted to see, and it was a bit of a jaunt to get there, but away we went.  It was listed as 2500 sq foot cabin, 3 bed, 3 bath, 30 acres.  I’m not really caring about THAT much property, but the listing looked nice.

There is still color in the mountains, but almost done now.

The view from the back deck.

The view was magnificent.  Truly.  And 30 acres?  All woods and trails…beautiful.  But the roads to get to this place were very remote, very narrow and I worried over how steep they were, and imagined driving it in various weather conditions.  Too remote maybe?

The cabin looked cute on the outside, but needs work.

The roof needs re-doing, the logs need sealing, staining and weatherproofing.  It’s been neglected. 

Can I say that “not enough wrap around porch” is also a reason for me to say no?  I spend so much time on the porch, it needs to be more than a falling apart back deck that needs replacing.

This cabin may have “technically” had more square footage than our cabin, but it was so chopped up that there was no FLOOR SPACE.  The family room down stairs was almost no bigger than a bedroom, and there would be no where to lay a quilt out.  THIS is a deal breaker. No sewing space.

It will be perfect for someone who wants isolation, and doesn’t quilt.  But not for me.  But the views?  MAGNIFICENT!

Somewhere, I’ll find what I’m looking for.

Too much work, not enough porch!

And no sewing space.

The bedrooms were also tiny.  They would only fit FULL beds, not even queen.  I have big people in my family.  My current cabin has 1 queen room on the main level, 2 king rooms up on the upper level, and there is an additional twin bed in one of the king rooms where my nephew and his wife and daughter stay when they come. 

Spacious bedrooms are on my “needs” list too, because we have people come and stay. 

We left this place – and I started second guessing putting my place on the market.  I had to talk myself out of feeling down  because it is ONLY THE FIRST place we have been able to see.

Searches have begun anew.  We are considering even going north into Virginia.  My wish is no more than a 2 hour drive in any direction.  There are mountains to the west, to the north west, to the north and a bit north east of us all within that region.

Making a list, finding a realtor out of Hillsville/Fancy Gap, Virginia who can show us properties there after Thanksgiving.  Maybe our new place isn’t in North Carolina at all, but will cross state lines.

My evening, finishing a binding to The Crown on Netflix.

Yes, shoes were still on, it was a bit chilly down here in the studio.  Like the world KNEW that as soon as the clocks flipped back an hour that it was time to turn on the cold outside.

DONE.

And on the back of my comfy chair.

So hello, Monday!  There is a to-do list as long as my arm as I prepare to head out to Utah on Friday.  So excited for our “Early Thanksgiving” Family Reunion.  There will be 6 siblings there, only two brothers not able to make it due to work obligations in Idaho.  Spouses, nieces, nephews –my mom and stepdad.  And I’ll get to meet my nephew’s wife for the first time!  They got married a couple months ago and I am so excited to meet her. 

My “Bookend” sister Mary and her hubby just closed on their new house in Tooele this past Friday and they are busy moving in so they have room for part of our brood.  (Mary and I are “Bookends” because I am the eldest, she is the youngest and there is 20 years between us)

Family.  However they come, how ever many or how few there are.  Whether they are step, or half, or whole….we are REAL FAMILY.

I can’t wait to hug their necks and make some great memories.  This whole plan for this Early Thanksgiving reunion all came together when I got stranded in Salt Lake trying to get home from Montana and stayed over night at my Sister Joy’s.  ABUNDANCE of family.  It’s good for every heart ache life throws at us.

My Monday means being back at the dining room table getting more stuff out the door.  I’m up to October 27th…so everything is orders that came in from the time I left for Quilt Market, and since returning home.

But before I can get to that I have some desk work that has to be taken care of…The release of Wanderlust Quilt with Bonnie Hunter (Scrap Quilting Basics from Beginning to Binding!)is right around the corner and they need some things from me, so I’m writing all of that up this morning.

Don't forget that you can save 15% by clicking the above link and using coupon code WANDER15 when registering!

And this happened!

Over night our Quiltville’s Open Studio group reached the amazing membership of 50,000!!  I believe this is due to the Winter Mystery, En Provence ramping up.  But what a fun place to gather with like-minded Quiltvillians to share your projects in progress, ask questions and make new friends.

Sometimes it's all a bit overwhelming. But it is confirmation to me that above all of the push for more fabric, more tools, more fancy this, etc.....that deep down there are a bunch of us who just want to sew scrappy quilts that we give away to those we love so that we can keep on making more.

It's less about trendy, and more about KEEP QUILTING REAL. I am honored and humbled, and having the time of my life :)

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

Vintage Mariner's Compass quilt found in Houston.

Sometimes as life changes, and we grow older we have to change our methods in order to keep doing what we love doing the most. Don't give up!

Have a great Monday, everyone!

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