We bought the farm.

As a result of some idealistic dreams, an optimistic assessment of our free time and perhaps a minor lapse in judgement we bought a farm house on an acre in Fairfax Station, VA. The house was built in 1890 and its ownership traces back to the Fairfax family. Lots of character!

As expected, the house needs some TLC. For the past month we've been our very own version of HGTV. Jonathan rigged his climbing ropes to the roof and cleaned the gutters. We've cleaned up the landscape and painted a lot! The first weekend we decided to gut the main bathroom (please see "optimisitc assessment of free time" noted above). The transformation has been amazing, but not without its moments - Jonathan called Sarah one evening and said "I only hit one pipe with my saw and flooded the kitchen". The professional plumber was a help with that one - but since then it's been all DIY. We now own more power tools than Sarah knew existed (including a chainsaw, air compressor and a ride on lawn mower).

On a more relaxing note - the landscape is amazing and it is hard to believe we're only a few miles from DC. We have a herd of deer who visit us daily. Butterflies, birds, raccoons and lizards abound and we have enough gophers to make Carl Spackler's head spin.

Our families and friends have been a huge help thus far and we look forward to hosting more friends and family in the near future....especially any who are particularly handy with plumbing or electric work :)

CRIBS – Scuddleston Style

As you may have noticed from previous posts, Jonathan is in love with our vehicle. We had a full photo shoot of our set up, but had to wait until the evening light was “just right” to do it. For kicks (and because there is really not a whole lot to do on the beach in the evening) we shot an episode of CRIBS to show those of you following at home how we are living (see attached video….we hope it works. Please note that Jonathan uses the word “amazing” about 364 times in the 4 minute clip). Some comments on out set-up: I (Sarah) have injured myself a minimum of 4 times a day – climbing into the back, I stand up too fast and hit my back; I wake up in the middle of the night, sit up, and crack my head on the light, I forget to push in the drawer knobs and bang my knee. Jonathan blames it on my lack of coordination – I say “if we were in a real hotel room…” This is not made for tall people (Matt – I don’t recommend you rent one of these). Seriously though, it is really pretty cool – we are totally self sufficient in our little vehicle. Our fridge is great and while there’s not a whole lot of space, it is well designed and everything does fit, albeit snug.