Back From Virginia

Above this post you will find a slide show of our new house and property in southwest Virginia. Our final offer was accepted and if all else goes well we should take possession in October. We are planning a trip back again in December to visit our vacation, soon to be retirement home. There is a bit of work to do finishing the inside, but the previous owner has added many details such as a tongue and groove wood ceiling as well as floor, tiled entryway to match the fireplace surround, pine cabinets in the kitchen as well as other wood details. The house has two livable levels and an unfinished basement that, when finished will add quite a bit of square footage to the house.
The house is located at the end of a "street" which you can see in one of the pictures. It is literally two ruts in the ground which extends from a gravel road. The property is over an acre in size, mostly wooded and very isolated. Exactly what we were looking for! Bonus: wild turkeys and deer on the property. We did not actually see the turkeys (only their feathers), but did see several deer running around through the trees. It is so quiet there it's unbelievable. The weather was perfect, 70s to 80s with a bit of rain one day. Even after the rain it wasn't muggy at all. The area is in the Blue Ridge mountains and beautifully preserved.
While there we took a side trip to Mount Airy, NC home of Andy Griffith. I managed to find two fabric stores, a Goodwill, and an Alpaca farm (add weaving to my craft repertoire soon!!). It was great seeing green trees, grass, water in streams, hay bales, cows, horses, and two lane country roads after having lived in the urban Phoenix area for nearly 30 years. It smelled so good there I couldn't stop taking deep breaths... people probably thought I was asthmatic! LOL
Speaking of people, Southern Hospitality is not just a phrase, everyone really was nice. We have never had better service in restaurants than in Hillsville, VA! Even the buffet across the street was great and no matter where we ate our glasses were constantly refilled. Anyone who knows me knows that my tip is based on a full glass of whatever we are drinking! When we told people we were buying property they were genuinely excited that we would be moving to the area! What a difference between here and there.... can't wait to be there permanently...