weekend warrior

I'm a weekend warrior of the unconventional type... I'm not sore from a weekend spent exercising, I'm exhausted from travelling. :P We went to the mainland this weekend to look at a townhouse for sale. Travelling, because I'm not used to it, literally knocks my socks off. I'm exHauSteD just getting anywhere. I think it's partly the constant motion of transportation... I don't usually spend 6 hrs en route to anywhere. Also, there's the unfamiliarity of the surroundings (although I can't completely confess to that, being that I went back to where I spent the first 20 yrs of my life)... and the traffic of the city or urban environment. Totally not used to the traffic anymore. And as my son said, the people. Sooooo many more people than in our little community of 400. ha ha ha ha ha I guess it's all about sensory overload. We were only over there for one night, but wow, today I'm just wiped. Last night I was like this, too, shortly after 10 p.m. (highly unusual for me to turn the lights off before midnight).

So the townhouse? Loved it. It's a cohousing complex, meaning a few things - it's focus is on building community between the inhabitants. This is facilitated by underground parking and a pedestrian walkway joining all the homes, allowing for more face-to-face interaction as people walk to and from their cars and the common house. Oh, yes, the common house. Also not a traditional feature in your average townhouse complex. This lovely shared space is fantastic and has so much to offer - shared laundry, a lounge, a guest room, a business office space as well as meeting/board room, aerobics or dance studio with mirrored wall, art studio, woodworking shop, dining hall with stage and community kitchen, indoor play area, teen area, outdoor play areas and trampoline, garden plots and so much more. Loved all of that.

What's not to love? Well, the idea of a smaller home than we're currently living in is a little daunting. It'd mean moving from 2000 sq ft down to about 1150. That's a significant decrease in living space... and while I know *I* could handle it (and probably the kids, really), it's dh who's the packrat. He grew up on 7 acres and then moved to 12. Having 12 acres to yourself is a lot different than sharing 6 with 100 other people! Also, just the interior space. The house he grew up in was 4000 sq ft. Ours, at 2000, is a struggle for him to keep his (ahem) *stuff* contained. He just doesn't believe in 'decluttering'. So that's really a bit of an issue, because I can handle his clutter in *this* house, where he has a separate room where I can toss it if he leaves it lying out. But in 1150 sq ft, I might need some therapy if his *stuff* is going to end up spilling out all over the house.

First things first, though. We need to get our own home ready to sell and on the market. So at the moment, I'm working on a (sadly, rather lengthy) "deficiency list" of things that will need touching up before we're ready to list. I asked dh if we ought to place a self-imposed deadline for that, but the idea didn't meet a very warm reception. lol

When the timing is right, our place will sell and there will be another 4 or ideally 5 br place (1600 sq ft) for sale in this townhouse complex.... that is, *if* dh can't get a job posting over on the island before then, which would be even more ideal.

oh, and the poncho? looks AWESOME and dd *loves* it! *AND* the matching one for her Maplelea doll looks fantastic, too, 'though a tad bit long... and it's not like the doll's going to 'grow into it'. ha ha ha I finished both today... just 5 days. *that's* the kind of craft project I can do!!