A Year at The Vineyard House

View from the vineyard house, looking over the dormant vines to Mt. Jefferson.

How, exactly, do people buy homes in far-flung areas they are not familiar with? I see it every day on "House Hunters International," but still don't really understand it. There are so many subtle nuances to different neighborhoods, and for me the fear would be buying a home in Neighborhood A, moving in, and then discovering over the next several months that the best fit for us would have actually been across town, in Neighborhood B.

So Big Ag and I have been mulling this dilemma in looking at Oregon properties. The fact is, we just really don't know exactly what area we want to settle down in, and we have about a 60 mile radius we can choose from. But the answer to a prayer came this week, in the form of a lovely, 2400 square foot house sitting in the middle of a vineyard owned by Big Ag's employer, just a few minutes from the town on Independence, Oregon. It's a nice four bedroom house with raised beds and a big barn, with plenty of room for all the animals.

We've decided to rent the vineyard house for several months while we familiarize ourselves with this new life, explore neighborhoods and see what areas work best for us and where our hearts want to be. I'm guessing if it works out well, we may be there a full year, so 2018 - 2019 will be our year at The Vineyard House. Stay tuned, as I'm planning to keep up here with all the triumphs and travails in the vineyard, along with each season, from bud break to harvest, along with our "forever" house hunt. 

Living room with a view.

Big Ag has already claimed the barn.

Yes, for one year you may refer to me as The Queen of Manufactured Housing!

My plan is to run a full tub every day with no guilt about wasting water. Plenty of water here in Oregon.

The raised beds need work but I'm bringing my shovel. I'm definitely not used to this much greenery.

Now that the house issue is settled and we can move in anytime, I find I have tremendous peace and a happy excitement about this move. There are still lots of logistics to coordinate, but knowing there is a home waiting for us which we can move into anytime definitely takes a lot of the pressure off. And of course our next move, from the vineyard house to the forever house, will be a simple crosstown move, so we'll probably leave about half our stuff packed up and stored away.

Sometimes you catch a life-changing break in a stressful situation, and I feel like that's what's happened here. So stay tuned as we pack up and move this homestead north this coming April, from one wine country to another. It's gonna be a grand adventure!