My turf

**This posts explains the reason I picked this new layout for my blog.**

So, I live in the suburbs. I never imagined myself doing that, as I grew up in the country, THAT is where I imagined living out my life, simply, in a simple place, with a simple life. Not so! I married a guy who works hard for his company, and they like him, so they move him forward and upward, and Ohio-ward.

I will follow him anywhere mind you, but moving to the "burbs" was NOT an easy thing to come to terms with. First of all, the houses all look the same! You go into these neighborhoods and it looks like a cookie cutter massacre of the landscape.

( I have also found out that from living in NE so long, i have turned into a little bit of a tree hugger. Scoffing the smog, being mad at people for driving ridiculously big vehicles for no reason, demolishing of the rolling hills and grasses, it all bothers me WAAAY more than I ever realized. )

But, back to the matter at hand, Cookie cutter houses on postage stamp lawns is NOT what I preferred for my first house, but I knew this move was God's will, and so I followed, and I trusted that if God wanted me here, He would give me something I could latch onto, and feel "at home" here in the flatlands of Suburbia.

My neighborhood, is awesome, it is cleared from farmland, so they didn't do a lot to the land that was already pretty flat, they left a lot of natural grades and trees and a brook. They added lovely ponds, and walking trails to let people enjoy the area. There are rules here about houses, they are NOT ALLOWED to look the same. They want it to look somewhat varied, as varied as you can get with a 100+ plus houses in one sot built by only 4 different companies.

My house, stands out. It is a plain saltbox shape, no fancy dormers, no stone, just a New Englandy looking salt box in Cape Cod grey with navy shutters. You could plop our house right in the middle of a beachy neighborhood in the Cape and it would blend in beautifully. We get a lot of compliments on our house, how pretty it is, how it stands out so nicely. Yeah that works for me! Not to mention, the space inside, the places Mike can escape to when he wants, the space for me to do my crafts, the space for my kids to play and just be kids even in the darkest coldest wintry days, we have a big bright house to romp through.

My yard, is perfect. No it's not huge, and yes, looking at the pictures it may seem snug, but the back yard is the gem! We are backed up to preserved land, they can't develop behind us. We have a brook, a small rambling, rocky brook. It is amongst weepy trees that bend down and make perfect fort-like hides for little kids. Yesterday in the first warm weather we've had, I went exploring down into the brush and was so pleasantly excited, it felt like I was back Home in Walpole, looking for Faerie houses, and bunnies, and trying to hide from pesky brothers. It's perfect, I can't wait for the ground to dry up, so I can get down there and clear it out, and show the kids how to make forts and climb trees, and get our feet wet in the brook.

Yes, God did good. He usually does, if we wait patiently to see His plans. I am very happy with my suburban piece of countryness. It suits me just fine my friends, and I wouldn't change a thing!