House Hunting in Madison

With Teri starting her new job at the end of September, and us having no concrete place to move into, there was a lot of stress at the beginning of the month. On September 3rd, after leaving Freja at camp grandma (Nunna) we drove in our Jeep to Madison. The 11 hour drive actually went by quickly. I think we were both excited about the potential of find the perfect home for us.

The first two days we drove all around Madison, literally circling the city. Teri had prepared a folder filled with notes on homes we'd chosen from online sources. We ended up crossing off almost all of them from our list, and the ones left were not ideal. While we did enjoy exploring the area, I have to admit we were both beginning to worry.

Teri enjoying a break from our house search at Goose Pond Sanctuary north of the city. We really fell in love with the countryside. All of the farms we saw were healthy and active. Unlike here in Western PA, we didn't see any discarded junk, or dilapidated barns.

A sculpture at the sanctuary. I don't know the artist or I'd link to their site.

While it was sort of stressful trying to find just the right house, we also really enjoyed our time alone. We both love being parents, but Freja was born 15 months after we met for the first time, 9 of which she was pregnant of course. Getting to spend time with just us is a rare thing. Simply being able to enjoy a good breakfast without any kid drama set a wonderful tone. Also, we discovered to our amazement that the diners all serve Bloody Maries! They garnish with pickles, olives, lemon and cheese curds... what?

On the fourth day of our hunt our Realtor, Chuck Schwenn took us to a house we hadn't seen online. As soon as we got out of the car we were excited. By the time we went through the entry all three of us were grinning ear to ear. We'd found it! Our new home! It's an early craftsman style home and is in perfect shape for it's age. The owner was home baking a cake for her granddaughter's wedding. Not only the smell seduced us, but the house itself was simply perfect for us.

While we spent the next day looking at additional homes, there was no comparison. Also, every spare moment we had was spent in the town where the house is located. We met a number of really charming people. The restaurants were all good! There's a park at the end of the alley behind the house with a lake and trout streams. The town also has a brewery and a winery, which we used as sort of a field office for a few days.

Yes, Mount Horeb, Troll Capital of the World is going to be our new home. The only snag? The owner of the home was taking it off the market the day we saw it as she didn't want to move in winter. Understanding this, we made our offer and set it up so we'll take possession in the spring. With literally no time to spare we managed to find a townhouse to rent in the town. We signed paperwork, handed over a check and then raced to the airport to fly home, leaving our Jeep behind.