We're loving Stewartville! We've settled into the house and continue to make it our own through small projects:
- Adding basketball hoop to the driveway (a "basketball driveway" was non-negotiable for Brent when building;))
- Adding landscaping rock around the house and planting perennials in the front of the house
- Building shelving in the garage
- Adding wall hangings around the house (this is still a work in progress)
- Adding a piano!
- Adding an area rug to the living room
We're not only loving the house, but also the location:
- We are on the NW end of Stewartville, so we're only a few miles from Rochester on Hwy 63. I only added 6 miles to my drive to work, Brent, on the other hand, added 14 miles to his drive to work.
- Living on the NW edge of town is wonderful for the beautiful sunsets we see regularly as well. I'm not a morning person so I'd rarely catch a sunrise if our house faced east, but I get to see lots of sunsets from nearly every window in our house!
- We are just over a half mile to the new Bear Cave Intermediate School, where Luke started 5th grade last week.
- We are about one mile from Bear Cave Park, which connects us nicely to the bike path. Plus, Bear Cave Park is one of the locations for youth sports practices and games.
- Living in a smaller community has been wonderful for everyday convenience. We're a mile and a half from Fareway Grocery Store (who price matches!) and there are local stops for other every day stuff. I hardly even have to consider in "drive time" anywhere in Stewartville:)
- Our neighborhood is full of children! This is very different from our quiet block in our old neighborhood. Plus, we lived on a busier street before so we spent more time in the backyard. Now, you'll find us in the front yard, possibly sitting in the garage/driveway, watching the kids run, scooter, or bike past with several neighbor kids. This was helpful for Luke getting to know some kids before the school year started and knowing lots of faces on the bus. Some of our best friends even live next door:)
- People wave when you pass...whether they know you or not:) I'm trying to be a more conscious waver:)
- You run into familiar faces far more often and find connections among people very often. (Think: "Oh, you live in that neighborhood, you might know..." "Yep, we've lived by them for years") I'm expecting this will be very nice as we get to know more families in town through school and activities. Two quick examples:
- The first day of Nora's preschool, her teacher welcomed her by name. They had only met at meet the teacher for a few minutes. Impressive!
- At Luke's meet the teacher night, the first person we spoke to remembered his name from when I registered him for school online.
- Stores close earlier in the evening. I haven't run into this being inconvenient yet.
- It's not always possible to find a website for a local business...this has been an adjustment for me. I always default to the web before the phone to find out hours of operation, prices, etc.
- The weekly Stewartville paper, The Star, is lovely and keeps us apprised of all that's happening in Stewartville, including: school happenings, sports, city council, school board, etc. They even have a football pick 'em that Luke enjoys:)
So, we're Stewartvillian, or Stewies, or Tigers (school mascot)...and we're loving it:)
I leave you with this post that I wrote before I even knew we were moving. Alas, here we are in our own small town:)
