It's doubtful one of our favorite local bar/restaurants will return after closing due to COVID right after Christmas 2020. Although a chain, Mia Francesca Trattoria never had that feeling. We started eating there when it first opened in 2011 in a pleasing space on the lobby level of a brand new Renaissance Hotel. We knew many of the staff well. The location is just minutes from the house in the area called Midtown. Just a basic two level shopping mall named North Hills when we moved here in 1977, it has morphed into a small 'town' of its own, north of the downtown city. Not just high end retail shops, boutiques, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, hotels, gyms, movie theatre etc., but elegant multi-story apartment buildings, a posh senior living complex. . . . . and mini skyscraper office buildings - the newest of which will reach 35 floors! Around these buildings more land is being acquired so quickly we can't keep up with the landscape changes and ongoing construction.
Houses built here on prior farmland in the 1960's to 1980's (when IBM moved so many people from the north to work in their huge facility) are disappearing fast. Small ranches, split levels, and cottages of that era, are selling like hotcakes for high prices, then being razed and huge homes in the $1-3 million dollar range popping up almost overnight it seems. It's definitely a seller's market, with houses usually selling, some with bidding wars, as soon as a sign goes up. Our neighborhood is a 'hot spot' for real estate listings. Phone calls, cards stuck on the mailbox, letters in the mail, are daily happenings here, all stating a version of. . . . . . . . . .WE WANT TO BUY YOUR HOUSE!
We will not be enticed easily! We have a figure which seems somewhat obscene compared to what we purchased the property for new in 1986! If someone truly wants it and agrees to pay that amount we could perhaps be persuaded to sell. Where would we go? At this late stage in life it would be hard to make that decision. Right now it looks like we will stay. . . . . . certainly after doing all this gardening lately!!!
MIDTOWN - Raleigh, North Carolina - Spring 2021
'Home Sweet Home'
Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
John Howard Payne (1791-1852)
Here at the 'homestead' we planted all these marked trees
along with dozens of shrubs and perennials.
The tiny trees each started out in one gallon pots many years
ago - and I think we'd truly have a hard time moving
and leaving them behind!
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Dear Mary,
ReplyDeleteWhat a charming cottage. I am so pleased to see it in its beautiful setting. I wouldn't leave. At least not until you see major changes and changes that are difficult to live with.
Even in our little town, major changes are happening. I would never sell. Like you I know how and when every bush and tree and Daffodil was planted. For now I have a large buffer zone around me and unless I change it I will be happy right here.
Having visited your breathtaking home dear Gina I know what you mean! In all honesty, your home is the most wonderful private home I've had the privilege to stay in. . . . . . and I want to come back so much!
DeleteWe'll keep going here I guess - it really is HOME SWEET HOME and we have great neighbors who say they won't allow us to move away!!!!!
You live is such a charming home in a great area! I am sorry to hear about your favorite restaurant closing.
ReplyDelete......as long as things don't change even more than they have this past year+, I believe we're here for the long run Penny! Now if only we can travel at least a little more we'll be grateful!
DeleteI have had dinner in your favorite restaurant ... Pre-pandemic! I agree, it is/was amazing. Your home is incredibly lovely, whatever you decide, it will continue to serve its occupants well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Helen - if you visit town again we have to meet!
DeleteDear Mary - so many businesses have folded during the past year, but I hope that the small homely eateries that we like to visit nearby do survive.
ReplyDeleteWe should really consider moving, our house is far too large for two people - I have thought about it many times, but I don't feel that I could cope, so I bury my head in the sands and hope that it will go away.
Your home is very pretty and just right for the two of you.
Hoping things will change in your area soon - especially for dining out. Although I must say, we did eat out once this week and didn't enjoy it very much - both the strained atmosphere, the service and the food were far from from pleasant! I prefer eating at home now more than ever despite it being a lot of work.
DeleteYour home and garden are beautiful too Rosemary. . . . .lets bury our heads in the sands together and be grateful for our lovely surroundings, lol!!!!
Beautiful cottage!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week and take care Mary...
Titti
Thanks Titti........and you also have a beautiful cottage on your lovely island too!
DeleteDearest Mary,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you found a perfect spot for your 'NEST' near a bustling city.
Same for both of us, with blood/sweat/tears we build a garden and a home and will not easily leave that behind!
Even though, our adjacent property we want to sell, it is no longer possible to maintain an Arboretum style garden... Sad but a fact.
Hugs,
Mariette
"Nesting" has become such a comfort Mariette - and years the years have paid off. I will never understand how some people need so much space to live in - the huge homes being built all around here are unbelievable and one has to wonder what the heck these mostly very young buyers are thinking!
DeleteThey too will age once; and a lot faster as they 'think'...!
Delete😉
DeleteYou've certainly seen lots of changes but then, nothing ever remains the same. Sometimes I wish it would.
ReplyDeleteLoree - I'm in agreement, so many changes are much too fast these days and one almost misses some of them, perhaps not a bad thing if one wants to keep their sanity!
DeleteHello Mary,
ReplyDeleteI love seeing all the trees you planted around your sweet cottage. How quickly they grow. I see you moved there in 1977 and that's the year we were married. It would be hard to leave your long loved home, I imagine. Our house here is not perfect by any means, but we are content to stay here and make changes as needed. Homes here are selling for ridiculous prices, but moving means more expense than selling, especially if we want to stay in the same area. It's a crazy time for economics.
So glad you two great 'kids' - much younger than us and the sweetest people - are happy where you hang your hats!!! We hope to visit the island again some day when life changes for the better. . . . . and you will be at the top of the list of dear friends to see again!
DeleteHappy week dear Lorrie and Tim.
Beautiful photos
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
DeleteIt never ceases to amaze me how so many people seem to have so much money to throw around, when others can barely scrape together a living in spite of working hard every day, sometimes holding several jobs.
ReplyDeleteYour house and garden are so beautiful, I doubt I would want to leave it, either! As long as you are both well enough to manage the run of your household the way you like it, there is no reason why you should move out. Long may it remain that way!
So many places here have been shut now for a year. I wonder how many of them will never open their doors again.
Oh Meike, your words are so true - so many people in the world have hardly have a roof over their heads let alone a monster sized home with 7 bathrooms!!!!! We are fortunate and will probably be here tucked into our cottage for a long, long time to come.
DeleteHope things in Germany soon improve regarding COVID restrictions.
The inflation of house prices makes moving tempting, but presumably you would need to buy elsewhere? In which case it's not quite the benefit it seems. Your garden looks gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the garden heads up! We are working hard on it this spring - more time than usual of course! IF we moved, most likely it would be to a condominium rather than another house with land, which would of course mean a patio or balcony would become our garden!
DeleteWhat a lovely expanse of lawn you have in the front. I know what you mean about leaving all the beautiful trees you have planted. It is such a hard decision and houses in our neighborhood keep skyrocketing too. The last tree we bought we planted in a very large pot, so we could actually move it if we decided to move. Let's enjoy our homes for awhile longer.
ReplyDeleteDearest Mary,
ReplyDeleteJust learned yesterday with the Hoisting of the Marshall Bell - Embassy of the Netherlands in the United States, a gift by the Dutch, that you in Raleigh, NC also have a previous bell made by Eijsbouts.nl. They are very close to my hometown, in the adjacent Province.
Very special, did write a brief post about it yesterday...
Feeling proud of it and had no idea you are the lucky recipients of one of their works, in June 2017 completed for the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh, NC.
We're learning every day and as long as we live.
Would love to attend there a Latin Mass on a 1st Sunday of the Month at 4:30 PM...
Hugs,
Mariette