ANITA P. LOWE JOURNALING HER MOVE TO OHIO

We finally made it Smiley face agrees. (deflated)

Kaylee & Alexis

In April 2015 My Daughter in Law Penny and I drove across the country in her 30 foot RV, to visit Alexis my Great-granddaughter, and Penny’s Granddaughter for her third birthday.  While there visiting, we decided we wanted to live closer to interact with them as they develop and grow especially, since my Granddaughter Marina was having another child in September.

Smiley face in the back of the car as we leave. (inflated)

  When we got back to our California house, we made the decision to start packing and put the house on the market. This meant three months of packing; after all, I had lived in my Auburn home for over 32 years.  We also had to pack my pottery studio and all my inventory…240 boxes later the move was on.

At first, we thought we would move to Tennessee, that way we would be close to my sister who lived in Atlanta, and to the Great Grand. who lives in Cincinnati?  After checking the property in the area, we decided it’s was not the place for us.  Finally, we decided on moving to Cincinnati to be very near the Children.  Property hunting was a success and we purchased 30 acres of land, on US Highway 68 in Georgetown OH.

 The Farmhouse

The property has a three-bedroom 100-year-old farmhouse and three barns, all the buildings are white with red roofs and as pretty as a picture. The property was covered with 15 acres of corn and is overlooking White Oak Creek water feeding in from the Ohio River.  At the time of purchase I wasn’t able to see all the property because of the corn that covered 15 acres, we have yet to find the pound. (The prior owner said he had not mowed it in a long time).

The Farmhouse

 The house in Auburn went on the Market on June 26, 2015, it sold on August 19, 2015.  We were surprised at how fasted the house sold.  After packing up the house and getting all moved out, we left California on our sojourn to Ohio on September 2, 2015, seven days later we arrive in Ohio.  My Daughter-In-Law Penny had a custom-built “Tiny House” and since Penny couldn’t transport it because it was a “wide load”, she barters traded for a Ski Boat.  We were bringing out our carpenter Tony who built the “Tiny House” and was able to pull the boat for her.  Penny’s RV towed my Ford Fusion and I drove the SUV.  As we caravan from California to Ohio Tony was “Johnny” on the spot and we may not have made it without his help. Tony rescued us three times when the RV overheated and broke down.

 Soon to Be My Studio

The birth of Marina’s baby didn’t wait for us to get to Ohio, Kaylee Mae Canterbury was born, on September 4, 2015. Yes, during the trip our 2nd Grand/Great Granddaughter was born.  We arrived in Georgetown Ohio on September 9, 2015. Met Kaylee for the first time on Sept 10 and we took possession of the property on September 11, 2015.  We took it as a good omen because It was Leonard’s, my late Husband's, birthday.  Leonard is the Grand/Great Grand Pa of the children.

To be My Showroom

From September 11 until October 10, 2015, the prior owner was busy cleaning out the three barns.  He emptied one of the small barns before my furniture arrived.  I was able to put all the Studio boxes and furniture there.  He had one month to get all items out of the three barns and there was a lot.  When all was done, Tony was able to clean up the large barn and made his own space for sleeping and all his tools.    From Oct 10 to December 10, Tony was to build my studio and gallery in the two barns.  After a lot of haggling with the Brown Township, Clermont County, and getting architecture drawings letting them know we were only going to have a group showing and no running water in the barns.

That meant I didn’t need a septic tank and I didn’t need architecture drawings just to enclose the barns.   So after all that stress and trouble, on the first of November Tony said He couldn’t get the Barns finished in the allotted time he was staying and went back to California.  We were able to get quotes on what it would cost to have the two small barns enclosed as a gallery and workshop.   I hired TM Fano Custom Builders to preserve the 100-year-old building allowing the wood to be shown inside and out when they enclosed the two barns as my gallery and workshop.  He said he hopes to have them finished by early spring.


 On November 2, 2015, three large machines came and mowed and shucked the corn down   It was interesting how it was done  The machine mowed the corn stocked down and the corn passed through an area that shucked the corn and spits out the cob.  Then the shucked corn was passed into a truck.  Taking them 3 hours to mow, shuck and process the 15 acres of corn.  I’m now able to look out and see my property along with my neighbors I didn’t know lived so close.

One of our neighbors came over and introduced themselves to us.  They wanted to know if anyone was going to be hunting deer on the back of my property.  When I told them, no, their 12-year-old son asked for permission to shoot deer on my property, which I gave to him letting him know to shoot away from the houses.   He promised he would give us a deer roast if he got one.   So I’m hoping he did (smile)

Christmas is almost here and the weather has been extremely warm for Ohio.  We have been busy getting things winterized.   The cars are done and Penny has bails of straw place around her RV,  she also had her boat winterized and put in the big barn.  I purchased a Kubota Mower and bucket.  The bucket will help clear out the snow in the winter and the mower will do the lawn in the spring. The bucket helped a lot when they were putting down gravel to cement the barn floors.

The year 2015 has been exciting, stressful, and interesting.  I’m hoping 2016 will be just as good if not better than in 2015.