I get some good ideas when I can’t sleep. Sometimes I remember them. Sometimes I don’t. Last night I had this idea, and it was to move to Northern Washington. Then I thought, Pete and I might invest in a home with my sister Eleanor.

So this morning I called her. She did not say that neither of us would have the money. Rather, she said it was a good idea, with the unspoken statement we don’t have the money hovering in the background. We both agreed that we’d like to live in Port Townsend, WA. Then I mentioned it to Pete who had about the same response. He said he’d like to live in Port Angeles, which is a stone’s throw away.

Pete almost immediately went on-line and began looking at properties. His and my requirements are that we need some acreage for the horses and access to trails. El and I both were not too keen on the idea of getting a fixer-upper, but Pete saw this as a distinct possibility.

I love this place , and Eleanor loves her place. So our getting a second place together seems like a good idea. This way we could keep the places we have.

It would be good for me because I’d have access to more horsey events and more horsey people. And it would be good for El and I because we don’t have any family left, except for an uncle and some cousins on the east coast. No more spending holidays alone, which is really no fun at all. El hates it and so do we.

I’d also be closer to the Project Proprius people, who just moved to Lopez Island this past week. I could not see living on the island – not enough trails and getting hay shipments might be tough.

Pete found one place – 18 acres, a funky little house, $165,000.000. The problem is that it is close to a road with a double yellow line. Can’t have that. Too spoiled. Don’t want to deal with the noise. And El will have a cat and a dog by then.

So we’ll just keep on looking at real estate ads. I have my fingers crossed that my Uncle Bob leaves us some money when he dies. He’s now closing in on 100, so his death would not be a major loss but rather the passing of an era. There’s a job opening coming up at the college – I will apply for it. I could put this money towards the mortgage payments.

I did think some of logistics – how would we transport four horses in a three horse trailer? And what would we do with the goats? And how many times would we be doing this trip back and forth? Yes, these are things to consider.

I am not giving up on this pipe dream. Build it and they will come.

Next: 341. December 10, 2017: It was a Dark and Stormy Night