Moving after 25 years? Keep your eyes on the prize. (The Last Laugh).

Just after I'd given up finding the place of my dreams and had settled for being carried out of my home of 25 years with my boots on, synchronicity hit me. I never saw it coming, because wine had dulled my senses.

We'd gone to dinner at the home of the woman who had owned the design studio on the first floor of 1934 Monroe Street, before marrying and moving away. She kept her condo on the north side of Madison's Lake Mendota, connected to it and to another three lakes by a river.

Complimenting her on the digs, I found myself a scant two weeks later writing a check for earnest money to buy a unit two down from hers. The owners are snowbirds, so the deal won't be closed until May 2003. Until then, I'm mentally and physically preparing for the big move.

A place on the lake

I've always said my goal in life was not to be governor or win a Pulitzer prize, but to live on a lake.

At Lighthouse Bay Drive, I'll have slip number 12 at the pier, where I can keep a kayak and a Barbie speedboat. To the left of the pier is Lake Mendota, to the right is Cherokee marsh. The tennis courts are 335 steps away and two good restaurants are within easy walking distance.

With luck, I can sell my house for more than the cost of the condo, and fix it up to last me 10-20 years.