Yeah, the empty house has a certain charm, but at some point you gotta sit down. Which is why we ordered a bunch of furniture.

And just like that, we have a place to sit! Several places, actually.

Until this week, Mr. Fletcher has had some trouble navigating the slippery wooden staircase.

No more! And why not add a little zigzag spice to the upper level while we’re at it?

Now that we’re finally getting rid of those pesky moving boxes, we’re able to test out the garage. Given the new lift kit, we had real concerns about where Ruby Jean would stay.

No Ruby Jean means no Greg, so it’s a good thing SHE FITS! (Even if just barely..)

Now that the construction and remodel work is complete, it’s time to unpack! But first, let’s take a look at the empty house.

And while we’ve been working on the inside, here are some of the things that have been popping up outside in the yard.

This morning the last of the construction and painting equipment left our basement. (Woo!) To celebrate, we cleaned up our bikes and rode the Cheshire Rail Trail 3 miles into town where the Walldogs Mural Festival was underway.

In short, the Walldogs is a group of mural artists who travel the country creating public art murals related to local history.

One of the murals was dedicated to Miss Catherine Fiske’s Female Seminary which you can hear more about here. Most importantly, we got to enjoy a decadent food truck lunch.

One of the most exciting things about this move is the prospect of designing a brand new studio. From scratch.

As with our remodeling project, I’ve left the work to the professionals…

Eric Clark and his crew at Evolution Builders have been hard at work transforming our new home. They are truly incredible!

We did this work (mostly) ourselves in the past, but this time we’re leaving it up to the professionals. Smart. Very smart.

One morning I counted seven construction vehicles and two moving vans parked outside.

Throughout this process we had to improvise our work space…

… but the key is to keep calm and remember to enjoy some wine on the sun porch.

Construction (remodeling) in the new house has been at full tilt for the last week or so, but that won’t stop us from celebrating our arrival in Keene with the delivery of a fresh pizza from Cheshire Village and a little wine!

Moving is never fun, but it’s always tiring. Eventually we got everything packed up and ready to go…

The new owners were wonderful to work with and we sailed through the closing with smiles all around.

Remind me, what is it realtors actually do? FSBO is the way to go!

For the second year in a row, we were asked to speak at the regional SBDC New England Conference which took place in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. We had a lovely stay at the historic Red Lion Inn and were surprised to find this familiar face in our room.

It’s an American folk portrait of Mary Jane Smith by nearby Springfield MA resident, Joseph Whiting Stock, and we have our very own copy of it in our living room!

Happily we learned that Mary Jane Smith has a companion painting by John Brewster of Buxton, Maine. It’s appropriately titled, “Boy with Finch”. (I secretly think they’re siblings.)

That evening we enjoyed a wonderful meal at the The Lion’s Den…

…and the two portraits watched over us while we slept.

So, that was quick. 11 hours to be exact.

And now we’re gonna need to find somewhere else to live…

How ’bout Keene NH?

I have truly loved living in the New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Truly. For peaceful isolation and rural living that’s full of interesting people, the North Country is hard to beat.

But after nearly 5 years in Campton, it’s time for us to move on. It’s a bittersweet change.

We’ll always have the memories. And the listing photos.