Building our Mountain home

---

Our new home: Hendersonville, North Carolina, 22 miles south of Asheville-the gateway to the Appalachian mountains, the Blueridge Parkway, Land of waterfalls (swimming holes and Slide Rock), the French Broad River (tubing, rafting and kayaking), the Biltmore and so much more. I love it here-small historic town, parades, Music on Main concerts every Friday night - where you can dance in the street with your granddaughters and not feel ridiculous, Apple festivals and Christmas tree lighting at the courthouse and a ride down Main on a horse drawn carriage. Small town vibe but big enough to please my foodie tendencies- fabulous farm to table restaurants and lots of vineyards. Population approximately 16,000, elevation 2150 (although our land is 3000). This is our first time living in a small town and feel so at home. I also love the four seasons.



We loved Tucson, the desert is a special place. We have 18 years of memories there. When Jason and Amy moved to North Carolina it was a new beginning for them. They wanted to be closer to Lola, his first daughter. They got married in downtown Hendersonville and soon they were surprising us with the news of twins. Once Olivia and Ava were born we really started praying about moving to NC. Once the decision was made, we sold our house in one day, the first person who viewed it. We packed up, hired a moving company and Ken drove our RV.



We have been living in the RV since our arrival in October 2017, looking for land to build a new home. We wanted at least a few acres to have a garden and some space to roam a little. We looked and looked. Every place that looked promising on-line ended up being so steep it was only fit for billy goats. Jason and Amy live in beautiful Lace Falls, a community 15 minutes outside of Hendersonville near the Bearwallow mountain/Chimney Rock area. Each lot is at least an acre, well maintained roads and a few rules to prevent trailers, modular and other unwanted dwellings which can be important in the country. We were always watching to see if anything came up for sale (that wasn't too steep). We finally found a 2.24 acre lot at the top of the community, the end of a cul-de-sac and a nice level area to build. The previous owners had planned to retire there but circumstances changed for them and they were moving to Arizona! Funny how things work out. We bought the lot in February 2018. We had the land partially cleared so we could pick a building site, put in the septic system and had the electric brought up the mountain. (Dealing with Duke Energy to achieve this was insane)! We planted 12 Leland pine trees along the front of our lot and 'saved' a few pines that survived the clearing. We knew there was a water fall at the back of our property where it drops off because you can always hear it. Last November Jason and Ken walked down to it. It is stunningly beautiful. I can't find a picture of it at the moment but promise I will add one. They found this stone (attached) with a sorrowful poem on it near the ledge overlooking the falls. Someone created memories there. Since then they have cleared a path through the mountain laurel so we can visit our cliff.

The Poem: " I thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new, I thought of you yesterday and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and your picture in a frame. Your memory is my keepsake, with which I'll never part. God has you in His keeping, I have you in my heart".



We took the next months (many months) looking at house plans on line, meeting local builders and trying to make decisions. Word of mouth is huge around here and who you know can help to make decisions or cause more confusion on which direction to take. We really liked the Yankee Barn Homes (https://www.yankeebarnhomes.com/) but you can't buy the plans, you have to contract with them to build. We loved the floor plans but didn't want a post and beam home (or the cost!). We took the 'Mason' plan (just from screen shots) to an architect and had it customized to meet our needs.



In the meantime, a retired couple who lived in our RV park sold their RV and bought a townhome. They asked us to house sit their townhome this winter when they went back to Florida in October. We said Yes! Living in the RV in the winter can be tough if it gets really cold. So, we have been here since October and will be here until May. It's a nice gated community with beautiful mountain views. We have met some nice neighbors, including 'Allie'- a black Lab. We take her walks when Mike and Kathy go out of town. It was nice to have Thanksgiving and Christmas here at the townhome. One of the things I miss about living in the RV is the limited space for gatherings.



So, once the plans were drawn up, we met again with a builder (one we had met with before) to move forward. The land is cleared, the electric and septic systems are in and we hope to break ground in two weeks. Hope is truly what we are doing because nothing moves fast around here- if someone tells you they will be there tomorrow don't count on it. There will likely be a delay....rain attributing to that! Ken will be assisting with some of the finishing work. I hope to be in our home by my birthday in the fall. HOPE



I will keep you updated as we move along on this next journey.

---