House

We still love our condo after 3 years. We've definitely made it our own- painting every room, adding curtains, tile in several places, new flooring. There's plenty of space, we're near the freeway, nice views, close to many attractions and shopping, two playgrounds near, quiet neighbors, tons of storage, etc. And when we signed up for the CSA I thought, this is perfect, no need to ever have a yard or garden and all the work that comes with it.

But I now feel the opposite way. Brian and I dream about having a nice big yard, fun for the kids and a place for a serious garden. We think about what we want to grow and what kind of fruit trees would be best. I want the kids to grow up having a garden, learning to work and love fruits and vegetables.

I've been thinking about a house for quite a while, but not wanting to move "just because." I want a good reason to sell the condo and find a house (keep this place spotless, leave the house for showings [if there are any], figure out where to live in between, cleaning, packing, unpacking, living with everything packed...hmmm maybe I'm changing my mind now). I thought about my reasons and realized almost all have a green influence.

Live in town

-less commute for Brian

-to be in walking distance of necessities like school and a grocery store, and therefore go down to one car

-live in a city that makes recycling easy

Have a yard

-garden with a compost, I think about it several times a day as I throw away veggie scraps

-to be able to line dry cloth diapers in the sun, they require germ-killing from a hot dryer or the sun

-safe place outside where the kids can play while I work

School

-find a good school and hopefully be able to afford something in its boundaries

-live in the neighborhood for a while before Eli starts elementary school so he starts with friends

Last night we went to Curt's grandma's house. Eli was so excited he didn't know what to do first, climb the apple tree, drive the power wheel truck, jump on the trampoline or pick grapes. No plans yet, but we're hoping for a house in the next year.