The past two weeks have been a bit nuttier than even that past two months as we have hosted visitors for the past two weekends. First, an open house for our “city” friends so they could see what we are up to out here in the country. We had a weekend-long drop in and were happily surprised with the number of people who were willing to make the trek especially since, with the largest ferry out of commission, the float across the James River is longer than usual.
This weekend, my family arrived to celebrate the shared birthdays of me and my nephew. My sister hadn’t seen the place, and she was full of great ideas for making some changes. Everyone offered their time for painting and cleaning as well. We could make great progress if we had a work week. Just need a few more beds and another working shower so they could stay with us.
Now, everyone is gone and our small group are all resting. My husband and Tina Turner are napping on the bedroom while Spot and I share the porch where a lovely light breeze is keeping it cooler, and we can hear the birds. Spot and I were out early this morning for a walk and then some trash clean up along the road. I try not to be too judgmental of others, but I really wonder about the moral leanings of those who would throw an almost empty plastic milk jug out of the car window as they cruised down the road. Really? The world is your trash can? My bag filled up and I still have a bit to go so we’ll head back later.
But, I thought I should catch up on the chronicle. Between working for clients and working to get the place in shape for visitors, I have had neither time to write nor read. How ironic! I finally have a place where I can see and touch my books, but I don’t have any spare time. I try at night but am so tired, I rarely last more than a page or two. I picked up Mark Kurlansky’s anthology of food writing, Choice Cuts, thinking essays would be the way to go but haven’t made it much past the introduction and I’m not sure I completely connected with his distinctions between gourmet and gourmand as I just found it difficult to concentrate.
My life is much more physical than it was in Williamsburg, That is one of the huge differences for me. I still have seat work for my clients and am thrilled that my Aeron desk chair came over on the last truck load. But, I spend at least two hours and sometimes many more engaged in physical work. Here’s one of those “be careful what you wish for” stories: I was always an early riser and loved the early morning, thinking of it as my time before the rest of the world awoke and the world of work intruded. But once I stopped commuting and the dogs got so old, I found that I was sleeping later and later. Still getting up earlier than my husband but sometimes sleeping until the unheard of hour of 8 AM! I found myself missing seeing the sun rise and watching the fog burn off the fields, the first bird song and the contented clucking of the chickens.
Well, I am an early riser again! Spot wakes with first light and waits patiently in his crate until he sees some movement in the bed. I’m usually just slumbering by then and it doesn’t take long to hear the shake and then open my eyes to the big black speckled muzzle pushing gently but insistently under the sheet. We’re outside in a few minutes, usually with Tina tagging along. This morning, she stuck with us through the back alleys near the silo, emerging in the field where we turned for home. On mornings when Tina bails out before the silo, preferring to head home and tuck back into bed with my husband, we turn right and walk the perimeter of the field, out to the road for a short bit and then up the curving driveway to the house. I haven’t managed to measure it yet. I have an app on my phone but haven’t been alert enough to turn it on. Perhaps when I finish here, I will take him around to give it a try.
And then there’s just house and farm work in general: planting flowers, watering tomato plants, scrubbing floors and walls. We also finally moved out our bed, a refrigerator and freezer as well as some chairs. With the trailer, we will be able to move most of the rest of our furniture and it was amazing how having a few more things along with some treasured paintings and picture suddenly made us feel like this was our home
So, the transition is mostly over. It had its rocky moments, certainly, but as we settle into a schedule here, we find we like the somewhat slower pace. And I appreciate the distraction from the digital world. I do my work and keep track of things from my phone, but without television, I feel like I am more focused and productive. We get a few channels through the converter box out here but no cable news channels, no food tv, no discovery. I don’t really miss the chattering voices. I get my news more from reading than listening or viewing these days, a practice which I hope encourages me to be more reflective. We do take advantage of NPR for news and entertainment so will be sending them a hefty contribution this year, even as we cancel our cable television service in the burg.
The sun is out and there is an apple tree that has needed planted for a week now. I also want to put in sunflower and zinnia seeds around the telephone down by the road. I’m going to put on grubby clothes and head out with my shovel and rake. Later, I’ll try to find time to enjoy the porch and a good book. They are promising more storms so if I can plant a few things, they will benefit from the natural rain.
We love the company but it is different from our normally quiet days, and it is nice to have the calm restored. But having the visitors also forced us to make the place a little more personally liveable. We even set up an informal guest room for my nephew. So it all works out and now it’s back to normal, whatever that means!
