one of their two Vermont-ready new-to-them cars, the Outback, navigating their 1/4 mile driveway
This past Saturday, Mrs. jlcollinsnh and I dusted off our passports, loaded up the old Forester with…
Jake the Wonder Dog
..and left New Hampshire for the two-hour trek over to the Frugalwoods’ new…
We got to visit with…
Mr. and Mrs. Frugalwoods
and…
Babywoods and Frugal Hound
Mrs. jlcollinsnh was particularly smitten with Babywoods and it is not hard to see why. But, no, there are no more babies in our future.
People not actually attuned to the path to Financial Independence and the frugal habits that pave the way, tend to see it all as a life of deprivation. The truth is, it is a life of abundance guided by strategic intentional, rather than frivolous, spending. It leads to living the life that gives you joy. In the Frugalwoods case, on their homestead deep in the Vermont woods.
If you’ve read (and if you haven’t you should!) their Frugal Homestead Series you know the preparation this project took and have seen the gorgeous pictures of the end (beginning?) result. I’m here to tell you, the reality is even better.
We had a wonderful afternoon wandering about the yard munching apples off their apple trees, followed by sitting on the porch to lunch of fresh salad with spicy chicken and ice cream with fresh rhubarb and strawberry sauce. Yum!
Thus fortified, we headed into the woods and down to their pond, crossing a rickety bridge, the fixing of which is one of Mr. F’s many, many future projects.
No one had more fun than Jake, running up and about, sniffing this and that like a puppy. In the car, all the way back, he kept pestering us wanting to know why we don’t live in such a wonderfully dog-friendly paradise.
Maybe if we had the skills and energy the Frugalwoods bring to bear. But for now, we’ll content ourselves with having such wonderful friends to visit in such a magical place.
*All photos shameless stolen from the Frugalwoods blog.
**Except that of Jake, which my pal Bill in Maine took in front of their fireplace.