During the past few months, Matt and I have spent a couple nights here and there looking up real estate in western Canada. We are by no means ready to buy anything soon, nor do we even live in the country, but it helps feed the dream that we will one day be back in the rocky mountains.

In our dreams there is a small wood cabin on a large plot of land, preferably with a landscape view of snowy peaks. There is enough space for a dog, maybe a few little people running around and a room for visiting friends and family. For Matt there is a river or a lake, a fire stove, and ski hill near by. He sees lots of kayaking, fresh powder, adventures in the north and a few bears he can try to hug. There is small town close by to get what we need, with a cozy little coffee shop and some friendly faces. Perhaps a quaint pub to grab a pint après ski.

For me, there’s a small eclectic kitchen with a big window over an old clay sink. There’s a heavy wooden table with place settings that probably don’t match. Outside there’s a garden, a really big one. It has all the usual suspects; garlic, potatoes, and onions to get us through the winter, carrots, radishes and beets for some color. There are also all kinds of greens, different types of kale, chard and collards. I’ll have to gift away zucchini and cucumber because there are always too many, but the neighbors are happy. We’ll have big red, juicy tomatoes if the summer has been good and an apple tree if we are lucky. There’s a place nearby to eat outside on warm nights, and an outdoor wood oven for making pizza and breads.

I imagine that we will have jobs or work of some sort, but time will tell what they will be. For now this is the dream. It’s humble and quiet, a place to build a life. One day. We’ll see you there.