Moving to the country

About a month ago, what I assumed would be a passing conversation with a few friends went something like this:

Friend No. 1: "Did anyone see the ad for a six-bedroom house in the classifieds today? We should all move there."

Friend No. 2: "Sweet." (Followed by similar responses from Friends Nos. 3 through 5).

That first six-bedroom place didn't work out - it had a limited-time-only lease, and who likes moving that much furniture just to move it again a couple of months later? Fortunately, we found something better.

The winning classified ad listed four bedrooms, a barn, a workspace/garage and 8 acres of land, all just 15 minutes from Mount Werner Road.

That description is as close to the exact opposite of where I imagined myself living as you could possibly get before I moved to Colorado 18 months ago. After all, if there's one gripe that comes to mind more consistently than anything else about living in a relatively remote town of 10,000 people, it's that there's not enough variety in nighttime entertainment options.

What better way to solve that problem than to become more isolated, effectively eliminating access to the few nightspots I enjoy going to?

I couldn't think of one.

At this point, my idea of finding new or different experiences has become more about looking at day-to-day life in a new light, instead of thinking about new cities to move to - even though deafening city noise still is one of my favorite things.

I mean, I've commuted on a subway before, but I've never commuted through a few miles of ranch land before hitting a road that has any kind of traffic on it. This is probably the biggest leap I've taken in choosing somewhere to live, as far as new experiences go.

Here is what I've learned so far:

¤ The house is warmed primarily by a wood-burning stove. This was exciting at first, until I realized that I have an almost crippling fear of chopping my leg off with an axe while splitting logs. It's actually not that hard - and kind of fun. My legs still are here.

¤ That stove also uses coal, which I didn't realize still was used to warm houses.

¤ Ranch houses collect dust like crazy. Endust works magic.

Lessons still left to learn: How a propane tank heats a house and how a well works.

- Margaret Hair, 4 Points