What I really, really want . . . . .
We’re house/dog sitting this weekend. After living in our small space for the last month, being in a large home feels strangely uncomfortable. Not in a terrible way. Just uncomfortable. There is so much space between all of us and it makes me realize just how much untogetherness my family has been experiencing over the years.
One of our dogs isn’t handling this big space very well. She runs around in a panic trying to figure out how to get out and as I write this, she is sitting in front of me with her body pressed up against my legs. At least she’s calming down a bit, but the newness of the last month has been taking its toll on her psyche. She really likes our little home. She seems very comfortable in that space. We’re all right there together in our cozy little space and that makes her feel safe. But since arriving in Texas she’s gone to be groomed and has had to meet a new vet. In a couple weeks we’ll add insult to injury when we take all three dogs to boarding and leave on a week-long cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. Right now I feel this cruise is well deserved and needed, but I’m quite sure my anxiety ridden dog will not feel the same. She is going to be thrown into yet another new situation and hopefully she’ll handle it better than I’m anticipating. If not, I may be seeking out the services of a dog psychiatrist (do they exist?)
Our RVing experience has caused me to really think long and hard about our next home and exactly what will make us happiest. Now that we have an offer on our house, I feel that we can really begin to make plans for our future Texas home.
At this point, I certainly can’t see us settling in another 3600 sq ft home. Something much smaller is very likely in our future. What we really want more than anything is nice outdoor space. An extension of our indoor space so-to-speak. A nice covered patio area for outdoor dining or just sitting outside in the morning enjoying a cup of tea or in the evening with a tall glass of iced tea (or whatever cold drink suits my fancy).
With the pool because we’ll need to cool off during those long hot Texas summer days.
Space for keyhole gardening, which I’m determined to do here in Texas.
At this point I want my outdoor space to be larger than my indoor space.
Will we be able to find this without hubby’s commute being terribly long?
Not sure, but it’s what I really really want and we should have plenty of time to find it.
worldofweeks 
I enjoyed the Spice Girls reference. Also, keyhole gardens are awesome! I think I would shift the design a bit so the keyhole was more rounded instead of sharp. It would give you more room to work and be a lot more comfortable.
The keyhole garden picture was strictly for information purposes. My plans do include a more rounded keyhole and multiple keyhole gardens 🙂
I totally sung that song in my head lol!!! We live in central Texas and we’ve been having a really nice winter lately. I’m hoping that doesn’t mean we’re going to have a really HOT summer. I tried gardening but where we live everything turns brown from about late march until November. Green grass in November? Yup! Anyway good luck with your purchase.
Have you considered keyhole gardening?
HAHA! I have a black thumb! I would love to be able to have a very green thumb. I think it’s due to the bad ground here. I have tried purchasing soil but I don’t know how to mix it to get the right ph for gardening.
If you ever decide to give gardening another try, I highly recommend trying the keyhole method. If I remember the history correctly, it began in Africa where drought is a common problem. The queen of keyhole gardening lives in the Austin area and it’s a perfect method for this area of the country. One of our home requirements is a large enough property that I can put in my keyhole gardens.