Guest Post from Erika: Dream House

Happy Bastille Day! Vive la France!

I promise I'll let Pawlene get back to the keyboard soon, but she is pretty busy these days, showing Peter how to nap. He hasn't quite got the hang of the daytime nap yet, although he is doing GREAT at night, which is actually quite preferable. But still, Pawlene is such an expert daytime napper, I thought I would give her a chance to show him how it's done.

In the latest news on the city/country mouse front, Martin and I received news from the bank on Friday. Bad news. Our home loan was about to expire and the new terms were so unfavorable that it would be impossible for us to buy a house in California for the next few years. We have to get the paperwork started on a house THIS WEEK or go to Plan B. Or Plan C or D.

So, the Kosina family packed up for a quick yet exhaustive tour of every house in Sonoma County that met our top three criteria: in our price range, more than an acre of land, and an in-law unit for my beloved mother-in-law. We picked Sonoma because it is country living, it has houses in our price range, and Martin and I could still, ostensibly, commute to the Bay Area.

It was a long day, the highlight of which was a delightful picnic lunch at Wild Flour bakery in Freestone. We were all (especially Peter) exhausted after looking at only five properties. One had its own outdoor bread oven, but the house was depressing and dark. One was built in 1918 and was nearly untouched since that time. One belonged to a happy guy who was raising cockatoos, doves, three cows, umpteen rabbits, and an emu on the property, but could no longer afford to pay the mortgage and feed his large family. One was tiny, smoke stinky and a little scary (there was a dog lurking behind one closed door and the master bedroom door was locked), but it sat on 5 acres of flat pasture with a huge organic vegetable garden and an enormous chicken hotel.

And then there was our dream house. Not the dream house we had been looking for (an original farm house and barn set amongst rolling green pasture), but an entirely different dream. The 5-bedroom, 70s-era house is nothing special, although the floor plan is quite unique in a Winchester Mystery House sort of way. The kitchen layout is fantastic, although we would need to replace the electric range with gas. But the amenities are off the chart. TWO in-law units, one which was converted from a barn to a beautiful, light-filled dance studio. A secluded swimming pool (and hot tub, though it is not currently functional). A large vegetable garden. An apple orchard. 3 acres of all different kinds of land and landscaping. Lovely little spots to sit and admire the flowers and listen to the wind chimes. Room to park 5 cars and an RV. Plum trees, Nectarine trees, who knows what other kind of fruit trees...and not a single neighbor is visible from the property.

The location is great too - 8 miles from the airport (makes Martin happy) 3 miles from the Waldorf school (makes me happy), just 10 minutes from the town of Sebastopol, and about an hour and 15 minutes from San Francisco.

What's the catch? The price of living in California. We could get the same acreage for half the price in Oregon, a tenth of the price in Missouri. This galls Martin. And with raising Peter, canning all the fruit on the property, and taking care of the bees, chickens, goats, plants, and trees, I may at some point decide to abandon web consulting, which means abandoning a fairly sizable regular paycheck that would be contributing to our mortgage. Don't even get us started on housing values and mortgage rates and the economy tanking.

And so, for now, we are undecided. The clock is ticking, but it is a big leap and we need some time to sit with it.