This is Fruitycake The Raccoon. Things have been busy for our little family lately. We’ve been getting rid of things we don’t need and also don’t want to carry up that hill in Italy.

Some may say that our work is cut out for us. I say it’s cut out for us and waiting for us. We don’t know what is ahead of us. But we do know that it’s only up from here as you can see from this new video of our house we will show you!

We are looking forward to the challenge of making the rusticò our home. We are looking forward to seeing what we are capable of.

I know when I was a stray dog that if I would have put limits on what I could do, I would have never survived. When we put limits on ourselves, we will define our capabilities. We surely will. And we are so much more than our doubts. We are capable. You are capable too.

The way I think about it is that if our little house has survived all of this time, there is a reason. It is strong.

Sure. One big part of it may not be able to be rebuilt. But that’s ok! One part we can live in. The other part we can make into something creative. Anything we want to! A garden, a place to write. A place to talk to you every day on video. What do you think we can do?

We have not met our little house in person. No. Nope. Sure haven’t.

We have many more papers to mail and things to do. But one thing is for sure. We will get there.

And next week, each day, we will tell you some of the plans and what we are doing to get Brickle and I there safely. We will also show you some of the inside. And then…we will give you clues about where in Italy our little house lives.

In many ways, it’s becoming very clear that this house is actually rescuing us in ways we didn’t expect.

We’ve been very tired and weary from so much moving around each week.

My family tells me it’s been seven years of packing up and moving around.

They have let many things go like taking care of themselves. Like relationships. Like living instead of doing. There is a difference.

So little house in Italy? It’s me. Fruitycake. We may not have met. We may not know your history. And you may not know ours. But together, we will make a new history. And it’s only up from here.

–Fruitycake The Raccoon