Back at the farm…took the ferry yesterday afternoon and stayed the night. It is still cold, but the air mattress made a real difference! I am just too old to sleep on the floor. I spent yesterday working in the library, looking through cupboards and making piles of left behind books that I really don’t want. The previous owner and I shared some interests–nature and history–but he was much more conservative than I am, and I don’t want to have to explain the Ann Coulter books to anyone.
Today was cleaning day. With hot, running water available in the main house, I could finally tackle the kitchen floor and walls of the cottage where we will be camping out. I’ve gotten at least the top coat of dirt off the floor and made real progress on the white paneled walls. We’ll paint them eventually and replace the kitchen tile but for now, I’m just trying to make them passable for us to live. I took a few before pictures but I’m actually a little concerned about showing people as I don’t want them to think Bob and I are completely crazy!
We had a visit from our Williamsburg neighbors who were over working with a friend who lives on this side of the river. He owns an old farm himself and was full of great information about the farm and some of the things we’ve been wondering about, including the smokehouse. And, he made me feel good about what we doing because he could see past all the work to the beautiful homestead we are imagining. Despite all the dirt that needs cleaned and work that needs done, it is a special place that deserves to be preserved. He commented, as I have, on the solid roof and foundation. The rest is just time and elbow grease. And he noticed my rocking chair on the porch of the cottage. The perfect place to rest at the end of the day, looking out over the barns and fields.
And, I really have been able to do my regular work from here. The tethered phone allows me to send and receive email and in about three minutes, I’m doing a test webinar connect as well. I’m pretty confident it will work since it was the same setup I’ve used before. It is amazing to be able to combine work and play (if you can consider scrubbing a kitchen floor play) in this kind of way. Being able to be connected means that work becomes more humane, something done as part of your regular life, rather than being disconnected. And then I start thinking about school and what it could mean for how we teach our kids. But the latter is much more complex so I’m going to leave that for another day…
