Saturday, August 29, 2015

City Mouse Starts a Blog

Hi, and welcome to my new blog, City Mouse Marries Country Mouse!

Almost everyone who knows me has heard me joke about how my husband, Steve, and I are like City Mouse and Country Mouse. I grew up in the city of Milwaukee, and he grew up about 30 minutes north of Minneapolis, in what used to be considered "country." (Now, I guess some would say it's a suburb.) I grew up with literally dozens of kids in my neighborhood, and it wasn't unusual for my friends and I to enter each other's houses like they were our own. Steve, on the other hand, didn't really have a lot of friends until he started preschool ... because there were no kids around. The only kid within a five mile radius was his sister. Despite our different experiences growing up, we both wouldn't change a thing. We found each other in college, and have always thought we have a few things to teach each other. For example:

Gretchen: "What's a septic system?" 

Steve: "This is why I never come downtown." 

There are times it seems we will never find a middle ground, but usually, we do, and our lives are richer for it. And, I'd like to think we are thankful for the things we teach each other and the variety of experiences we can offer our children because of our differences.

We have so much to be thankful for. First and foremost, we have two amazing daughters. They fill our lives with love and joy and I can't imagine what life would be like without them! Second, and sort of the reason for this blog, is we are building a new house! We have been waiting for years, literally, for this moment, and I haven't been this excited since the birth of my kids. Through some sort of miracle, and months of scouring properties for sale, we found exactly what we were looking for: undeveloped land, in a quiet area, with potential for a home and garden and wilderness to explore. We purchased our land in the Fall of 2013 and have been planning the house ever since.

Today, is Saturday, August 29, and on Monday, August 31, an excavator will come to our property to dig the basement for our home. This is what it looks like now:

In two days, there will be a giant hole in the ground here, and I can't wait to show you!

Thanks for following us on our journey. Feel free to leave comments and questions, and I'll respond as soon as I can.