So my plan worked but it's hard to know whether to be happy or sad. I'm a bit of both. Who am I kidding? I'm ecstatic to be going HOME and devastated to be giving up on my dream. But I'm moving on and this was the only way.
I love how blue the sky is in this picture. And I LOVE how well the septic system seems to be working LOL! You can see from the long lines of ultra lush grass that it's being well fertilized :)
Oh, yes, the plan...
I offered the house back to the fellow who sold it to me. For a substantial drop in price. First he said yes, then he said no, then he said YES!!
It makes my heart happy knowing Crofters Lane is back in his hands. I know it will be safe over the winter and I won't need to worry or wonder about it. It also frees me up to leave as he'll keep his eye on things as he always has for the past 4 years. So all of you wonderful people who wished me a "quick sale" THANK YOU - YOUR WISH (and mine) CAME TRUE!!
Sooooooooooo, I'm going to finish two painting projects today - the front door needs a second coat and the stair need a couple of touchups. I will need to see the lawyer before I leave, do a few errands including paying my lawn guy, see if I can break my Bell Aliant contract (probably can't :( ), and then I'm going to pack up the truck.
My hope is to get up very early Wed. morning and make tracks for Ontario! So you likely won't hear from me again til Thursday or Friday and then it'll be from London!! Woot woot!
The header picture shows my condo a couple of months ago when the crabapple tree was in bloom, also the bleeding heart bush. I've never given my condo a cool name like "Crofters Lane" so I am open to suggestions....
I have discovered some tough truths this summer, one of them being "there's no place like home"...I should have listened to Dorothy!! Home isn't a condo, it isn't a farmhouse, it isn't a mansion or a penthouse or a yacht or a highrise apartment...no, home is where the heart is and my heart is in London with Kazi, my brothers, my friends, my neighbours, my kitty, my familiar haunts and yes, my condo where I've lived the past 20 years. Crofters Lane was home only when my former partner and I loved it and worked on it together and alas, that dream has died.
So, sing with me, "goodbye yellow shingled house"....
PS - I have family here in PEI, as well as good friends here and in New Brunswick so this isn't a goodbye to them. I'll be back as a visitor and right now I'm thinking next fall. I've heard many times that fall is the best season in the Maritimes and I've never experienced it so would love to do a long trip which would include New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Magdalen Islands. Hmmmmm, perhaps that should be spread over two visits...we'll see...
I'm both happy and a little sad for you. Drive safe, enjoy the trip and how about the Condo of Contentment? Or Crabtree Condo?
ReplyDeleteHow about Crabapple Lane, love that tree!!!! Safe travels, on the road and in your heart :-))
ReplyDeleteSafe travels into your new future!
ReplyDeleteJane x
Have a safe trip back home. The dream hasn't died, it has just changed to whatever you wish it to be. Don't give up on that.
ReplyDeleteHave a super fun, safe trip! And many congrats on the quick sale! Maybe it was a sign. Not sure on a name, but the place looks lovely! And indeed, home is where the heart is... I'm just not sure where mine is just yet, haha. I like Sam's crabtree condo!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any suggestions for names, but would like to say I am so glad for you that your house sold quickly and you can move on with your retirement and what that is going to mean. Have a safe trip back home!
ReplyDeleteWow - things really have moved fast. There are so many dreams in life and this was just one of them. I am certain that this next dream will be better for you xxx
ReplyDeleteJane,
ReplyDeleteGlad this was a fast sell for you. Have a safe trip back to London.
That crab apple tree is so beautiful when in bloom. I think your Brother need to build you a nice Birdhouse for you to enjoy. (and of course for the birds to enjoy)
Take care and we will hear from you soon.
- Appleblossom Avenue (Appleblossom Ave for short)
ReplyDelete- Appleblossom Anchor
- Homebase Beginnings (short for Homebase New Beginnings)
Now that I think of your condo as "Homebase" ... just think of the possibilities. The condo will be your anchor, your homebase for your retirement possibilities. Go to your (eventual) trailer ... come back to the condo. Fly away on an airplane somewhere ... come back to the condo. In 5 - 10 years if Kazi relocates to a (hopefully closeby) city, go visit her then .... comeback to the condo.
- Comeback Condo (?)
- Crabapple Comeback
- Anchors Away (you go away on a trip, then comeback to the condo which is your anchor)
I bet your elderly neighbour will be happy to see you return!
Just think how much easier it will be for you to travel from London as your homebase as opposed to travelling from PEI. You can still fit in your annual trip to Toronto with your daughter!
If the mood strikes you, you can substitute teach a day or two, on your own terms!
So many of us sit on our duffs and end up thinking "I would have liked to .... ". You didn't sit on your duff! You had a dream .... worked toward it (and generously allowed us to observe your progress updates (goals achieved and setbacks) ... and realized that the dream needed adjustment.
Once your autumn trip is over and the dust settles, just think of the fun you will have making future plans (and knowing that you don't have to return to school!). I don't think retirement will finally sink in until October/ November.
And ... think about the post you will write in December ... the "one year ago" post ... and how long the post will be ... recapping everything that occurred from Dec 2013 to Dec 2014. That will be a novel in itself!
You may have been battered and bruised a bit emotionally (metaphorically speaking) but Jane of the Jungle was / is a Survivor.
I'm happy that Crofter's Lane sold, and hopeful that the purchaser didn't use your situation as a way to take advantage of you. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt! :)
So, goodbye yellow shingled house
ReplyDeleteWhere the dogs chased me to after the rat race
i won't be planted in the potato fields
I'm going back to my HOMEBASE!
So glad for the quick sale. I read some posts of a retired couple who just purchased an r pod trailer. It looks to be the cutest thing ever and then your dream could travel around. I have no special name for your condo, but maybe just HOME is the sweetest name of all.
ReplyDeleteSorry to see you leave Jane (didn't even get to see you this summer!) but I am so glad to hear the house sold. I was anxious for you though I didn't want to say anything. PEI doesn't have the quickest real estate market. It's onward and upward from here, anything can happen. Take care and best wishes to you.
ReplyDeleteDid your daughter ever go out to PEI to see Crofter's Lane?
ReplyDeleteNo, she didn't. Unfortunately she always seems to be working several jobs, all part-time, which offer no holidays. Right now she is working 4 jobs. But perhaps someday she and I can take a road trip, or fly out and visit my sister, her aunt, and she can get a sense of the beauty and magic of the "gentle island."
ReplyDeleteOf course the offer is conditional but my sense is that it will go through. Offering it back to the previous owner at a price reduction was my way of circumventing the real estate process which could have dragged on and on. I'll be back to visit the island from time to time - I have so many connections there and you're one of them Marguerite! You haven't seen the last of me yet!
ReplyDeleteThat's a temptation Kim. I've always wanted some sort of trailer that I could pull or an RV to drive from place to place. We'll see...
ReplyDeleteLOL!! I really like the idea of a "home base" and London's International Airport is continuing to add new destinations!
ReplyDeleteI think that in song lyrics anything goes lol! I love your creativity. It's funny because as I drove into London the other night I had the idea of somehow incorporating the rural aspects I love into the urban landscape in which I now find myself. Somehow I am going to still attract the birds that I love and somehow I'm going to grow a few vegetables. The scale will be smaller but more doable. The brain is chewing away on these ideas...
ReplyDeleteI love "Comeback Condo" and the different meanings behind that - I'm making a comeback of my own!! Quite the creative thinker you are :)
ReplyDeleteI've never been a "duff sitter" but often my decisions have been spur of the moment and driven by emotions and more than once I've had to pick myself up, dust myself off and continue on a different path than what I had envisioned. You are right though, I am a survivor, always have been and usually come out of things wiser than when I entered. Such is life I guess.
You seem to know me so well - I guess that means that I am honestly portraying myself on my blog - which was my intent upon beginning one.
And oh yes, my neighbour hugged and hugged me - we've already made an agreement to share the daily newspaper - I'll give her half the monthly cost - this way I can see what is going on in this city of mine, now that I've come to the conclusion that this is HOME!
Thank you for taking the time to comment...and comment again...:) You've got me pretty much figured out and i appreciate that you don't judge.
Yes, I have plans for putting up a few bird houses and feeders! My space is now much smaller but that doesn't mean I can't bring more "nature" into it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Holly, yes I do believe my next dream will be better as it slowly evolves :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel - the offer is conditional but I think it will all work out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tania - I'm just anxiously awaiting Aug. 27th to see if the deal closes successfully. I think it will!
ReplyDeleteI will never give up! Just taking a bit of a detour :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane :)
ReplyDeleteThanks jmac - I gave that tree a hug when I got home!
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm happy and sad too. I looked at pictures of Crofters Lane this morning and it hurt my heart. "Crabtree" will definitely be part of the name I think :)
ReplyDelete