Well, hello dear reader!

It’s been a while since I last posted. Last time we sat down together, I was making delicious holiday cocktails, right before getting hit with Covid, round 2. How was that so long ago?? Here we are again, with all new stories and the same old ridiculous adventures you have grown to expect from me.

Let me start by saying: What a year 2025 has been. While we are already 6 months in, it’s been a wild ride.
Had you asked me a year prior what I saw for my future, I would not have answered: system upgrades at work, running a larger team, and working with a new community organization. It was one of the craziest professional seasons of my life, and I didn’t think I could tack on more.

Until I did.

Seattle was wearing on me, and I had outgrown our 6,000 square foot lot and tiny house – there was nowhere else to plant things and one bathroom with a pre-teen was rough. It was time for more space. I decided it was time for a move.

After looking on and off for a few years, we found THE HOUSE. An alert popped up on my phone for a house for sale – It was two doors down from Izzy’s grandparents. It was shy of 4,000 square feet, with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3 living rooms, 2 fireplaces, and was completely remodeled. It was on acreage, and it was affordable. IT HAD A BARN. It checked every box I had and then some.

The catch(es)? It was 1800 miles away from home, in the Midwest, and I’d not stepped foot inside of it. The house had sat abandoned for well over a decade and had been owned by hoarders who owned an antique store. If you know me in real life, I’m pretty risk averse. I over think every decision and research things to no end. This was a huge leap, and while it was scary and pushed me out of every comfort zone I’ve known, it was time for a change.

I ended up buying it after a small bidding war, and after a few weeks and a lot of contract amendments to fix stuff, we closed. 4 months later, and a bunch of remodel projects on both my Seattle and Kansas homes, we packed up, rented out our old house and made the trek across the country to see the house. It was better than expected. It was and still is a work in progress (aren’t we all though?!), but she has good bones and just needs a little extra love.

Since moving here, we’ve settled into a slower way of living. Days are spent gardening or planning out what will be the farm, happy hours and adventures with my family (there’s 5 sets of family here, close by!), or just walking up and down our little street, watching the neighbors’ mini pony and mini donkey, the cows, or the goats. Kids ride their bikes and play. I don’t worry about anything happening to Izzy while she plays outside. We’ve planted 2 apple trees, 2 peach trees, 4 fig trees, 5 blueberry bushes, 2 raspberries, a grape vine, and a ton of tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers. The herbs are doing well, and the roses and hydrangeas are getting big. A chicken coop is in progress. The list goes on. We go into the “big city” pretty regularly and happily; my Trader Joe’s is only 40ish minutes away. It’s been an adventure, making the house our own – the people who did the remodel must have just chucked stuff out the doors and windows as they went, as we keep finding antiques in the yard, every time we dig.

It’s been a wonderful change moving out to the country, starting over and being able to just breathe.
I’m excited to see what the future brings us, as we plant the new orchard, build out more gardens, and watching everything come together. Having a clean slate has been nice, but man, it’s some work!

I hope to do a better job of updating and sharing how the farm evolves here too. I’ll also share more on the downsides of buying a house sight unseen and the shenaniganry that goes with that.
Here’s to moving into a new, quiet, and happy life. And with that, here’s a glimpse into the last few months.

Yours in change,
Raina