AND A LITTLE MORE

So, a little more info.  We currently live in a historic area of Houston know as The Heights.  Lots of old frame houses, Victorians, Bungalows, Cottages.  Lots of people fixing them up, some doing a good job, some not so good, some left the same and some torn down and obliterated only to be replaced by hideously inappropriate "McMansions".  You know the kind:  Three stories, lot side to side, blocking out the sun for the small homes on each side, and almost front of lot to back of lot, then they leave a flower bed up front and call it a "low maintenance yard". 

We've been fortunate.  We bought a small bungalow back in the late '90s'.  Wait a second, was that REALLY last century and is it REALLY almost 2011?  Where are my jetpacks and robots?  Oh wait, they are here and here, but I digress.  Anyway, we've been fortunate, great neighbors on both sides (even though one is a recent construction, and big, it still looks pretty much like it's always been there or at least belongs there).  In fact, our whole little 'corner of the world' is just like that.  Nothing new and obnoxious on our part of the street.

So why do we want to move?  We have a great little restored bungalow, and we live in the shadow of the country's 4th largest city, near everything fun and cool.  Well, first things first, we aren't moving full time YET.  That's still a few years down the road.  It's been a pretty much lifelong goal of mine to own land that I can live off of, veggies, fruits, herbs, flowers, and I think I've brought 2nd Man into the fold as well.  Mention growing their own food to a cook and they get all googly eyed at the possibilities. 

So for now, it will be a work in progress, clearing, building, planting, experimenting, seeing what works, what doesn't, and what lives and what doesn't.  Through trial and error we hope to create the classic, small, American farm. 

Speaking of, could stuff like this be in our genetics?  My grandparents, step grandparents, great grandparents and numerous Aunts / Uncles etc through the years have all been farmers or gardeners to some degree.  I was born in the big city, moved around growing up from one major city to another all around the country before settling in Houston some 30 years ago.  But it seems the older I get, the more longing I have to get back to my 'roots', pun intended. 

So my question is, does anyone else, even if they have always grown up/lived/worked in the city, long for a more rural lifestyle?  Is it in our DNA?  Do you have family that did it and now you wished you could?  Or is it just a longing to get away from the hectic lives we often lead these days and move toward something simpler and more rewarding? 

Even if you don't share this desire, I hope you'll join us on our journey!  The more the merrier! 

Thanks again for visiting!