Hi, y'all!
Let me begin with a famous and philosophical quote from Forrest Gump: Life's like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get… Despite of the fact that I will finish my 22nd year with my employer in December, I can totally relate - there is never a dull moment and there is always something new happening in my little world. And now I will tell you about it!
Last October hubby was finally fed up with his corporate job, and I can understand, that a free spirit and visionary like him isn't in the right place in a large company. So he founded a start-up and is now kind of self-employed. As it isn't his first touch on entrepreneurship, I was optimistic that it would work out somehow, although I have to admit it's totally not my cup of tea. I need the security of a corporate job, and as my boss and team provide me with all the freedom and flexibility I need, I'm perfectly fine. Nevertheless, I have to admit that the last months weren't always smooth sailing, and the nasty virus didn't make it easier at all. But we made it and have proven: We can do crisis management, hell yeah! The start-up is developing prosperously, and hubby found investors in the nice but distant Magdeburg, and thus he officially established the company there. And it's completely consistent that the exec has to be where the team is, although they work remotely a lot. So at the moment, hubby commutes between North Rine-Westphalia and Saxonia-Anhalt; for the time being it's okay-ish but not doable on a permanent basis.
Therefore, we decided to pack our bags and start new adventures in the Magdeburg area! Of course, a first step to do that is selling our bungalow here in Gelsenkirchen, and that wasn't an easy one, I can tell you… We invested a lot of time, money and work into the design and layout, that it had become very dear to me, even if it's only a material object. But our future project will make up for it, I hope! (Boy, this post has a lot of exclamation marks…) We will buy an old farm/rest court built in 1830! (And there it is, another exclamation mark…)
Please find below some pictures - first a view from the courtyard onto the entryway of the main house (right) and the entrance to the cartwright workshop (why does "Bonanza" come to my mind right now???):
And this is the view onto the barn and the little gate to the enchanted overgrown garden:
The whole property has appr. 770 m², and therefore, is manageable, but on the other hand there is so much to explore. The barn can (and will) be fully developed, below is a cellar, where nobody knows what's in it, then there is the cartwright workshop with all original tools you need to make wheels, the garden is in need of some tlc and raised beds, and on top we have a separate outbuilding with a new roof and new windows, but apart from that it's completely empty, and will have to be transferred into a guest house. In theory, it's turnkey (if you don't consider the fact that there are neither kitchen cabinets nor appliances right now), but two rooms have yet to be connected to the heating system, and one of these rooms is still full of antique stuff left behind by the former owner. A treasure chest to be investigated further over time. Due to the age of the building, the rooms are relatively small, and so are the windows. On the upper floor we think it's charming, but on the ground floor we would like to combine two rooms and the kitchen to a nice cosy living area. In order to do that, we have to tear down two walls, one of them might be some Kinder surprise for grown-ups, because we don't know exactly what's behind it and how it's arranged. Without discovering that we can't start planning the kitchen, and regarding the delivery time of custom kitchens, I assume I will cook on one single hotplate and the grill for the first weeks and months. But as it is an induction hotplate, it can't be that bad, right? Furthermore, we plan to change two windows next to the entrance into glass doors with a wooden deck to make the entrance area more welcoming. In combination with the vine growing on the timbered facade that will look very romantic! (And never in my life I would've imagined mentioning the work romantic with regard to our design asthetics…)
But although there is much left to do, the farm has good bones, e.g. new roofs, good insulation, new windows, new baths (even if we don't like the half bath in the basement), new electric and new heating, thus buying is not that risky. But you never know what might happen during renovation.
Btw, here is a picture of the upper floor bath with a cast-iron tub!
This is a pretty accurate example for the mixture of old and new - very interesting designwise and with tons of potential. Until now I only could do straightforward, streamlined and minimalistic, and in the future I might have to delve into some scandic, shaker, farmhouse styles. In any case it's a beautiful and exciting challenge, which I gladly accept!
We have plans galore, and I can imagine a whisky tasting with some good friends in the old workshop, my team is already looking forward to our Christmas party 2021, and I hope we will make as many dreams as possible come true. Right now I can't wait to overcome all bureaucratic obstacles and tackle the selling as well as the buying as soon as possible, in order to start packing. We made our decision already in spring, and now I am more than ready to move on. It's like sitting on a rock or a hard place, and I can't stand it. The whole process of selling a house is a bit stressful for me: house viewings canceled on short notice, people criticizing to lower the price, polishing and staging the whole house, grabbing the dogs and getting out of the way to let people have an undisturbed view, and then the waiting - waiting for the realtor to call, waiting for the possible buyers to finally commit, waiting for the official closure... I could have knitted so many socks during that waiting time! But there's light at the end of the tunnel, I hope, and moreover I think that we found a home to stay for a bit longer. Alas, never say never...
And with that in mind - let's move on to pastures new!!! (A drinking game with exclamation marks might be nice...)
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