It's been a while...and a couple of snow storms since I last posted

Sorry that pesky...Life thing interrupts and you just have no time for anything. It is December 18, 2013 and it is 27 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now. We had a few days of below zero weather and that was an experience, my first. The snow freezes and ice covers everything. It is beautiful and purifying. The sun is out in full force now and with it comes the melt and the 'mush'. I always thought that the slippery bit was when things froze...wrong its when they start to melt. I'm in my attic office looking out upon the world through small 'dormer' windows. Ice and snow cover the slate tiles and as the house warms you hear a small roar and an avalanche of snow and muck slide off the side of the house and let out a huge roar like a hungry lion or some other beast reminding you of life! I understand now how and why there are more than 50 words to describe snow in certain languages. Fresh snow, frozen snow, clumpy snow, mushy snow, etc. It is still beautiful and majestic though. My friend KC from high school posted on my Facebook page something to the effect that native SF'ers are resilient and adaptive and I believe she is right! While I am in VT in the cold and the snow, she is in the desert experiencing the exact opposite. I am am looking at multiple forms of Water and she is in an environment which lacks most forms of water. Her comment is also a revelation in that native SF'ers are resilient and adaptive and are so because they are no longer in SF! It is however, beautiful to see this winter wonderland and to breathe in the pure air which is here in Vermont. It is amazing to have the force of nature dictate your response to life. Everything is slower here because it takes just a little more time to complete any given task because of the weather. You feel more 'alive' and more of being a 'part' of this planet when it impacts you so. California has its beauty and charm and weather which allows you more time for more things but what do you gain by filing your time with more and more things? Activities, events, logging in each hour on a calendar. You definitely are more 'detached' form the planet that way and more 'attached' to society/culture/events. There is a certain Zen in taking the time to shovel the snow off the driveway or sprinkle salt or clear your walkway. Give you time to think and absorb that which is around you while you perform a necessary task. Slowly your time is filled with events tied to daily life as opposed to events to just 'fill up' your time slot. This is definitely not the life for all nor am I criticizing. This has been a good change/opportunity for me. I am seeing life in a very different way. Life in Vermont/New England is good.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.........

Sorry it's been a while, I've been tied up with sorting things out. I have a pile of damaged/destroyed goods thanks to the movers, the snow has been light but has started only to reveal another leak near one of the dormer windows in the attic which is no my office. I can't describe how beautiful it is here when it has snowed and everything is covered in a peaceful blanket of white. It is truly gorgeous. It is as if frozen fairy dust has been sprinkled on everything and it reveals a beauty not noticed before on whatever it covers (e.g., car, tree, roof top, church steeple, etc.). It reminds me of the scene in Dr. Zhivago when they go out to the Urals and get to the little domed cabin which is covered in white. It is like a 'purity' paint brush covered something and in doing so has removed any and all blemishes and has 'purified' that which it has covered. It is also very cute to see the tracks of life left upon the blanket of snow by squirrels, humans, and even rambunctious pugs in need of booties because of the cold and the salt on the sidewalks. The movers....hmmm how do you take a couple of antique pressed glass dishes commemorating Queen Victoria's jubilee in 1867, wrap them in paper and place the largest possible Le Creuset cast iron soup pot on top of them and not think that this might be a bad idea? I have to file a claim with my insurer today but we are still going through boxes and discovering the...AFTERMATH! I found the camera finally so I am going to start taking pictures and posting. It really looks like a postcard here and it is very calming. We started with the Christmas decor and have a small table top with colored lights. It finally 'feels' like Christmas to this native Californian who has only seen snow by driving to it in Tahoe/Reno. Even that snow is different because it doesn't get as cold there as it does here so the snow doesn't really freeze like it does here. There are icicles on the house and I actually saw icicles and the bottom of the front bumper of a Toyota Corolla parked next door. It was my Birthday on the tenth and I want to thank everyone for your kind words and wishes. I wish I could round up all the people I love and establish a State of Miguel and have everyone live there so that I can enjoy your company and those of my friends who do not know each other can meet and become friends as well. You know you are getting old when your birthday present to yourself is a lamp! LOL I found a wonderful lamp (along with a bunch of other wonderful antiques) at the Windham Antique Mart here in Bellows Falls!!! Michael and John have been great friends and I snuck in yesterday and bought an antique lamp.... yes for those who know me it's an addiction...I am a horder. Give me the option of buying something and I'm running to the antique version of that item!! Windham Antiques is great! http://www.windhamantiquecenter.com Having my office in the attic has been great because it is removed enough to fell like a 'work' space so that I can concentrate and complete my tasks. The only thing is that it is so far removed from the rest of the house (counting the basement, the attic would be the fourth floor) that you feel isolated. I can't hear the doorbell ring or Butter's bark, or Sammy's meow demanding some 'Temptations' treats....the 'Crack' for cats!

The Movers arrive today!

Well we were hoping that the movers would be arriving a little later so that we have enough time to finish the floors but unfortunately...that was not meant to be. There are 3 coats on the first floor floors and two on the second floor with only one coat on part of the third floor which is our master bedroom. The goal is 2 coats on the third floor, 3 coats on the second floor and 4 coats total on the first floor to protect the wood floors against 'wear and tear'. We are going to have to put the large pieces of furniture down on the first floor and do the floors around them, the big bed in the master bedroom (and work around it), and then store second floor furniture in one room (so that we can work around the furniture) with all of the boxes and excess furniture stored in the kitchen and basement for now. It seems so odd to have so much space available. Functioning attics and full basements are very rare things in the SF Bay Area but not in Vermont! While the house is slowly becoming a home day by day be the mere fact that we are living and populating the space with our energy, there is nothing like having your belongings arrive and situated to truly make a 'space' a 'home'. It has been over a week since we have been able to sit on our couch and watch TV in our comfortable Walnut Creek apartment. Now this space will not only be populated by the things we are used to, but some things which have been in storage for a very long time. Things I haven't even seen since before or right after my accident in 2011. We have been so busy with setting this place up, installing an alarm, cable, getting the floors done, the locksmith, the roofing, the contractors, the tree guy, etc. It hasn't really felt like a home. More like a 'public space' with all the comings and goings and strangers in the house. At some point, I know we will get there....it will be a home. It can be overwhelming. Just when you pause and review what has been done your thoughts quickly turn to what will be next and you wonder if the roller coaster ride will ever end. I know it will but it is a lot. You can tell this home has held happy families through good times and bad. We mean to keep it that way. Sammy our cat is so happy here. Just by looking at her you can tell not only that she is happy but that she is 'home'. This means a lot from the adopted kitty who kept being returned. She found a home with us. She keeps crawling under the covers on the blow up bed which slightly deflated allows for a completely flat surface making it seem as if she isn't there. I've sat on her twice now!