The cabin inspection happened yesterday. Biggest learning is that these things take HOURS. It took 4 hours. I had not planned for it to take 4 hours. That’s on me. I didn’t even bother to ask. I just looked on the internets. Rookie mistake.

Anyway, the gentleman doing the inspection was nice and very thorough. He has 29 years of experience in home inspections and knows log cabins. The foundation is solid. The logs are solid. There is only one log that should be sistered but if it never does, it won’t cause the house to fall down or anything. The logs are 125 years old and in very good shape. He found signs that the logs had been moved to the current location based on the shape of the logs in the basement. There is even an old cistern in the basement.

The outside logs do need some maintenance, which I knew from looking at it and knew what I was getting into. Maintenance is always good. The logs need to be cleaned up, sealed, and the chinking replaced. This will help make sure the cabin is sealed properly and insulated well. A huge and very expensive job to ask someone to do as it’s very labour intensive. I envision having chinking parties with my friends where we do a bit at a time over time! It would be fun!!! But it is an old log cabin and it does need some maintenance.

There are some other things that add up here and there, mostly handyman related tasks. The biggest thing, for me, is the water system. The water pump needs to be changed along with the water pressure tank. The water softener is missing. Maybe it isn’t needed. The well test will be happening so I’ll know for sure. This is a few thousand dollars’ worth of equipment. I would like to see if the seller’s would be willing to make those upgrades or reduce the price by a few thousand.

All in all, I feel very good about the whole thing. It has been 24 hours and I still feel good about it. I’m a bit scared but I’m more excited. I really feel that I need to make this change and invest in myself. Build my own dreams instead of waiting for someone to give them to me. It sounds fanciful and romanticizing, maybe it is, but it’s how I feel.

I did have a few moments last night where I played out in my mind what if I decided not to. I immediately felt terrible at the idea of just getting a small house in the city or a condo or even just staying where I am. I felt sad. I felt like I was letting myself down. I felt like I was compromising to make other people comfortable.

I won’t know if I can do this until I try. It is risky. It’s a lot of money. I am single. I am childless. But I see it as the same level of danger that I’m in now. The truth is, it would take 3-4 days for me to be found in my apartment if something happened to me. So it really isn’t much different in the country. If I make sure I’m not a total recluse and my neighbours know me, it will actually be better than it is right now.

This is something that feels right to me and something I want to do. So I’m going to do it but try to be smart about it.