Ch ch ch changes

After four years at our Elma Street location in Okotoks, a change is coming. Heather and I have made the decision to downsize and simplify. 

We love this property and we love this street. It has been a dream home and a dream studio. The only solace is that the family who have purchased our home are the perfect fit, and will infuse it with the same love and energy that we gave it.

The decision to sell and the actuality of doing so has offered us up several different possibilities for what is next. For a time, we thought we were going in one direction, only to be redirected and refocused in another. It became clear that we have two primary objectives in our purchasing decision. First, and most important, we want to emerge from this transition mortgage free. That means we have a very strict budget that we need to adhere to. The second objective is to downsize and simplify. 

We have a back-up offer on a property in Okotoks that would allow us to be mortgage free and downsize. However, it is only a back-up offer and in this real estate climate it doesn’t add up to much. We are watching for properties that might work while exploring an out-of-the box solution.

We are limiting our search to Okotoks, High River and south Calgary. While we could go to any number of places and find beautiful homes with everything we need well below our budget, location is important to both of us. 

Selfishly, I need a space to paint. Ideally, said studio space would also have some ability to serve as a mini-gallery.  Heather needs a place to write with good light. Everything else would be gravy.

In the background, Heather has been designing a potential situation that would be super exciting, good for the environment, and would allow us to continue the three elements of our business: art, AirBnB, and Ideal Protein.  However, as it is still in the exploratory phase, I won’t share anything more. 

What am I going to miss about 74 Elma Street?  Oh goodness, where do I begin?

Watching the deer on the hill behind our house. Putting out birdseed for the various species of birds who fly in and out of the yard throughout the year.  Turning on the gas fireplace on a cold winter day and enjoying its warmth. Sitting on the front deck listening to the rain. Watching our favourite shows in the upstairs bonus room.  Cleaning the backyard in the spring. Cutting the grass in the summer. Shovelling the driveway in the winter. The studio - everything about it. I’ll miss that a lot. The cold water that comes out of the fridge and the ice that makes it even colder. Folding my laundry in the mud room. Seeing the bunny jump out from under our front steps. Listening to the chimes on the windy days. Meeting all the amazing guests who stay in our AirBnB suites. Giving studio tours to visitors from around the world. Walking to the post office at HC Pharmacy. Getting my cappuccino and treat at 94 Take the Cake. Talking with my neighbour, also my family doc, over the fence. Talking to the deer when they visit Heather’s garden early in the morning. 

Even though I’ll miss all these things and more, I know that new things await at our new home, wherever that ends up being. I learned four years ago, when we left 114 Demers Drive in Fort McMurray, that a house is just a house. A home is where you make it.