We spent the weekend up at the cottage with my wife's parents. There was wonderful weather with cool nights. There was energy to do lots of mowing. There was lovely food and a railroad museum. There was a new domino set and a lot of fun playing team dominoes.
There were mosquitoes, so many.
Today I am feeling exhausted because entertaining guests always tires me and I especially wanted my mil and fil to have a good rest so I did not. I am also realizing again how incredibly wonderful this life is.
My in-laws are normal humans, far from perfect like the rest of us. But such lovely people. Kindhearted, caring, welcoming. A little goofy.
I hear horrible stories of gay couples being ignored as a couple by families and then I feel so rooted when I think of our families. [my brother excepted] Rooted and fortunate. Today I talked to my niece, spoke to a loved friend, found out we have imperial moths at the cottage and I remembered everything that is beyond the tiredness.
Even though plans are constantly changing and there is new stress at work...
It may be a cliche but it's true, life is precious and wondrous.
Even with mercury retrograde for a few more days.
Showing posts with label cottage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cottage. Show all posts
leather like
I have never been a leather fan. My best friend loves the smell of it, I don't really 'get it'. I mean yeah I can smell it, it just doesn't do that much for me.
I have noticed how sweat can increase when wearing leather, and extra sweat not really my thing. Also as a child both my older sisters had leather furniture in their homes and I never found it comfortable. I never like leather in cars either. It's hot and sticky when the weather is warm, and clammy and hard when the weather is cold. If I have a choice I pick cloth over leather every time.
Imagine my surprise when walking through IKEA to have a chair call me across the room, a dark brown leather chair. It had a pretty shape to it, it wasn't squishy leather, and it was on a small scale something that is very important when we consider our 900 sq ft cottage. I sat on it. It was the most comfortable chair I have ever sat on. Not because it was so unusual, but because it's proportions were exactly right for me. Exactly. It was like it was built for some one of my height, my torso and my leg length. It was only $249 and I had to have it. [I can't seem to find it at IKEA online so I can't show it] Seriously the fact that it is leather although a bit baffling is irrelevant, it fits me perfectly.
My wife almost fell over in surprise when I told her that while she was gone I bought a leather chair. But then she got me, while looking for a couch, with her 'vote' being the deciding factor guess what she picked out. yep=brown leather. Here's hoping I don't regret starting all this. The furniture does look great in the cottage, it's the right scale and it is very practical there [because of the durability]. So far we love how it looks in the room and the problems I had with leather as a child and the things I dislike about it in car seats have not come up and it is super comfortable. It does mean there is a lot of dark brown leather in the room, but hopefully when the room is painted that will help lighten things up.
I guess we do change all our lives long but I suppose I'll never be able to use "I don't really like leather" as a fall back again. It seems that we are rounding the turn and shopping for the cottage is dying down.
I have noticed how sweat can increase when wearing leather, and extra sweat not really my thing. Also as a child both my older sisters had leather furniture in their homes and I never found it comfortable. I never like leather in cars either. It's hot and sticky when the weather is warm, and clammy and hard when the weather is cold. If I have a choice I pick cloth over leather every time.
Imagine my surprise when walking through IKEA to have a chair call me across the room, a dark brown leather chair. It had a pretty shape to it, it wasn't squishy leather, and it was on a small scale something that is very important when we consider our 900 sq ft cottage. I sat on it. It was the most comfortable chair I have ever sat on. Not because it was so unusual, but because it's proportions were exactly right for me. Exactly. It was like it was built for some one of my height, my torso and my leg length. It was only $249 and I had to have it. [I can't seem to find it at IKEA online so I can't show it] Seriously the fact that it is leather although a bit baffling is irrelevant, it fits me perfectly.
My wife almost fell over in surprise when I told her that while she was gone I bought a leather chair. But then she got me, while looking for a couch, with her 'vote' being the deciding factor guess what she picked out. yep=brown leather. Here's hoping I don't regret starting all this. The furniture does look great in the cottage, it's the right scale and it is very practical there [because of the durability]. So far we love how it looks in the room and the problems I had with leather as a child and the things I dislike about it in car seats have not come up and it is super comfortable. It does mean there is a lot of dark brown leather in the room, but hopefully when the room is painted that will help lighten things up.
I guess we do change all our lives long but I suppose I'll never be able to use "I don't really like leather" as a fall back again. It seems that we are rounding the turn and shopping for the cottage is dying down.
pattern: angst and indecision
*spell check is flaking out on me for this post, good spellers read at your own risk*
As a personal gift from her Godmother I made Kat a sweet cross stitch for her bedroom. This was the first time in years that I have cross stitched and I enjoyed it.
So last week I was packing for four days at the cotttage and I had a brilliant thought. Why not bring up that garden cross stitch pattern that I love but have never started. It's the perfect, rewarding way to celebrate a long weekend up at the cottage.
So I look for it. I have all my craft stuff in 3 boxes in my office closet. It's a bit jumbled together but at least it is fairly well contained. The pattern is not there. I then look in a couple of places where I occasionally stash craft stuff in case it had migrated elsewhere without me remembering. Not there. Then I start tearing my closet apart looking into everything on the off chance I put it in something else but close by...then I start tearing apart my office...by the time my frezied looking spread to the hall closet I was tearing up. It was so frustrating, especially since I am a fairly organized person. Does this mean I get more frustrated with myself than care free types would? It was such a huge dissapointment, ever since I had thought of taking it I really looked forward to it.
I had an angry argument with myself when I couldn't find it. [no one else to blame] then I started panicking, what if it was gone for good? I couldn't even remember the designer off hand, and what if it was no longer available? The glass was not half full that day.
But I remembered enough to find it online [after our weekend] fairly easily. It is still available, and now I faced with the sure knowledge that if I buy it again I will surely find my old copy immediately afterwards. And now I am second guessing myself, do I really want to do this pattern? Perhaps I should buy one of the other ones? Perhaps the reason I didn't start it for all these years is because I didn't really want to do it?
So it has kind of ended happily. The pattern is not gone forever but now that I am removed from the immediate gratification [potential] of the moment I don't know what I want to do. Perhaps after my PMS is over the answer will come to me. I can't seem to make a decision, any decisions, at this moment.
As a personal gift from her Godmother I made Kat a sweet cross stitch for her bedroom. This was the first time in years that I have cross stitched and I enjoyed it.
So last week I was packing for four days at the cotttage and I had a brilliant thought. Why not bring up that garden cross stitch pattern that I love but have never started. It's the perfect, rewarding way to celebrate a long weekend up at the cottage.
So I look for it. I have all my craft stuff in 3 boxes in my office closet. It's a bit jumbled together but at least it is fairly well contained. The pattern is not there. I then look in a couple of places where I occasionally stash craft stuff in case it had migrated elsewhere without me remembering. Not there. Then I start tearing my closet apart looking into everything on the off chance I put it in something else but close by...then I start tearing apart my office...by the time my frezied looking spread to the hall closet I was tearing up. It was so frustrating, especially since I am a fairly organized person. Does this mean I get more frustrated with myself than care free types would? It was such a huge dissapointment, ever since I had thought of taking it I really looked forward to it.
I had an angry argument with myself when I couldn't find it. [no one else to blame] then I started panicking, what if it was gone for good? I couldn't even remember the designer off hand, and what if it was no longer available? The glass was not half full that day.
But I remembered enough to find it online [after our weekend] fairly easily. It is still available, and now I faced with the sure knowledge that if I buy it again I will surely find my old copy immediately afterwards. And now I am second guessing myself, do I really want to do this pattern? Perhaps I should buy one of the other ones? Perhaps the reason I didn't start it for all these years is because I didn't really want to do it?
So it has kind of ended happily. The pattern is not gone forever but now that I am removed from the immediate gratification [potential] of the moment I don't know what I want to do. Perhaps after my PMS is over the answer will come to me. I can't seem to make a decision, any decisions, at this moment.
wallpaper, weather, and ticks
There you go the 3 things that encapsulate our cottage experience currently.
There is a wallpaper border in every room and the whole bathroom is wallpapered. Being an old hand at wallpaper removal I was not daunted. I bought a circa 1905 house in 1989 that had wallpaper in every room, including some ceilings. Here it was mostly just borders so I started pulling and scraping with a light heart.
These are borders with the strength of 10! I did a pitiful few feet of border removal with bucket and sponge, it took hours. I returned last week with a friend's wallpaper steamer, this helped but it was still hellish and slow. All of the LR is done. I view doing the bedrooms and bathroom with some skepticism. I think it's all going to take longer than what we hoped. I have pictures of the border that is now gone. I think most will agree it had to go!
There is a wallpaper border in every room and the whole bathroom is wallpapered. Being an old hand at wallpaper removal I was not daunted. I bought a circa 1905 house in 1989 that had wallpaper in every room, including some ceilings. Here it was mostly just borders so I started pulling and scraping with a light heart.
These are borders with the strength of 10! I did a pitiful few feet of border removal with bucket and sponge, it took hours. I returned last week with a friend's wallpaper steamer, this helped but it was still hellish and slow. All of the LR is done. I view doing the bedrooms and bathroom with some skepticism. I think it's all going to take longer than what we hoped. I have pictures of the border that is now gone. I think most will agree it had to go!
The weather was rather gloomy most of the weekend. It was absolutely beautiful when we had to leave. I have heard that this is common and something to just get used to...but really it was uncanny. You start to pack the car, walk down to the lake to say good bye and out pops the sun. It feels 10 degrees warmer and it makes leaving for work stuff just that much harder.
The ticks are one thing I don't mind leaving behind when I am not at the lake. They are out full force and we tick check each other every night. Since we are in a Lyme's disease area we even put Frontline on Rosie, but we still find the occasional tick on her. It is really something and I am such a bug wimp.
Two quotes to share. From a Mother Earth article:
The ticks are one thing I don't mind leaving behind when I am not at the lake. They are out full force and we tick check each other every night. Since we are in a Lyme's disease area we even put Frontline on Rosie, but we still find the occasional tick on her. It is really something and I am such a bug wimp.
Two quotes to share. From a Mother Earth article:
"the only good spider is an outside spider".
and from a sign:
"Unattended children will be given espresso and a free puppy".
I stood for 5 minutes laughing after I read it.
and from a sign:
"Unattended children will be given espresso and a free puppy".
I stood for 5 minutes laughing after I read it.
bear possibilities
So... there are bears in the area of WI that we have our cottage. I wasn't surprised exactly, in fact there were bears in Pepin county several hours south where I used to have my farm. But since I never walked around much in the woods down there and we and our neighbors never had any bear sitings I didn't worry about it much.
We met more neighbors while at the cottage this past weekend. They showed us over their lovely house with 2nd story deck, no staircase to ground. She warned me to bring in all bird feeders overnight if I had them. They had a bear up on their deck one night munching at the feeder. 'especially this time of the year in the Spring when they are really hungry'. She said a lot of people bear hunted in the area. She also shared all kinds of great information about local snow mobile trails that are great for xcountry skiing in winter and walking in the warmer months. She told me about a loop, that is called the Hanson loop right off of our road that people used for walking. She gave us a lot of great information.
I don't have bird feeders so I mentally noted the information about the bears and forgot about it. Then Cervyn and I went out for a walk trying to find the loop. I think we did find it. We found a path that led us back through the woods. The trees up there are just starting to bud, it was super quiet and pretty and suddenly I thought 'what if we met a bear back here?'. Realizing there wasn't a whole lot that I could do, and that calling 911 in this case was useless I picked up the pace and tried to enjoy my walk. Surely the neighbor wouldn't be so enthusiastic about hiking if there were tons of bear encounters. I tried to observe Cervyn, she may be deaf, but her nose is certainly sharper than mine and I tried not to think about a bear being downwind of us. I realized it's harder to not think about bears when you are in the woods.
We met more neighbors while at the cottage this past weekend. They showed us over their lovely house with 2nd story deck, no staircase to ground. She warned me to bring in all bird feeders overnight if I had them. They had a bear up on their deck one night munching at the feeder. 'especially this time of the year in the Spring when they are really hungry'. She said a lot of people bear hunted in the area. She also shared all kinds of great information about local snow mobile trails that are great for xcountry skiing in winter and walking in the warmer months. She told me about a loop, that is called the Hanson loop right off of our road that people used for walking. She gave us a lot of great information.
I don't have bird feeders so I mentally noted the information about the bears and forgot about it. Then Cervyn and I went out for a walk trying to find the loop. I think we did find it. We found a path that led us back through the woods. The trees up there are just starting to bud, it was super quiet and pretty and suddenly I thought 'what if we met a bear back here?'. Realizing there wasn't a whole lot that I could do, and that calling 911 in this case was useless I picked up the pace and tried to enjoy my walk. Surely the neighbor wouldn't be so enthusiastic about hiking if there were tons of bear encounters. I tried to observe Cervyn, she may be deaf, but her nose is certainly sharper than mine and I tried not to think about a bear being downwind of us. I realized it's harder to not think about bears when you are in the woods.
monday frustrations
It's just been kind of a frustrating Monday. I thank the goddess I got to work from home today so that I could do any eye rolling in private.
Let's see the dates for the India trip are still not finalized. The lead at the meeting didn't seem too concerned still plenty of time [to buy plane tickets] It did not seem to occur to her that perhaps some of us have, well lives and lots of duties and people outside work that we need to plan for and around. I may need to send her a gentle nudge via email.
I got a very strange phone call that turned out to be legitimate but the caller was so overly friendly in a cold sales call [or scammer] way that every alarm went off for me. [kind of funny to be suspicious of friendliness but I hope you know what I mean] I told him I would have to verify who he was and hung up the phone. Going by my cell phone log he had called before but never left a voice mail message which also seems very unbusiness-like to me.
I was able to verify with my insurance who he was, but you know I wouldn't have had to do it if they had told me in the first place that they wanted to inspect the wood stove at the cottage. Still I am glad to know he wasn't some scammer trolling for information on me.
A co-worker got very agitated when I asked her for information. She was very pessimistic and upset, though since none of the decisions were made by me, I bore no blame. But I spent a lot of time and emails trying to soothe her down and find out when she was going to be able to complete the tasks I told her about months ago and which are now due in 2 weeks. Perhaps she was just defensive because she totally forgot what I had said many months ago and it came out kind of sideways. Just another reason to be happy that my lead returns from maternity leave next Monday. I can't wait.
Well the other frustrations are even more petty so I won't immortalize them, instead I am off to the local nursery to find some things to plant! And maybe make some risotto. More reports later.
Let's see the dates for the India trip are still not finalized. The lead at the meeting didn't seem too concerned still plenty of time [to buy plane tickets] It did not seem to occur to her that perhaps some of us have, well lives and lots of duties and people outside work that we need to plan for and around. I may need to send her a gentle nudge via email.
I got a very strange phone call that turned out to be legitimate but the caller was so overly friendly in a cold sales call [or scammer] way that every alarm went off for me. [kind of funny to be suspicious of friendliness but I hope you know what I mean] I told him I would have to verify who he was and hung up the phone. Going by my cell phone log he had called before but never left a voice mail message which also seems very unbusiness-like to me.
I was able to verify with my insurance who he was, but you know I wouldn't have had to do it if they had told me in the first place that they wanted to inspect the wood stove at the cottage. Still I am glad to know he wasn't some scammer trolling for information on me.
A co-worker got very agitated when I asked her for information. She was very pessimistic and upset, though since none of the decisions were made by me, I bore no blame. But I spent a lot of time and emails trying to soothe her down and find out when she was going to be able to complete the tasks I told her about months ago and which are now due in 2 weeks. Perhaps she was just defensive because she totally forgot what I had said many months ago and it came out kind of sideways. Just another reason to be happy that my lead returns from maternity leave next Monday. I can't wait.
Well the other frustrations are even more petty so I won't immortalize them, instead I am off to the local nursery to find some things to plant! And maybe make some risotto. More reports later.
Water Works
We did it! Ok I did it. The water in the cabin has been turned on, and aside from slight flooding in the utility room [which was totally my own fault] it is working great.
I even got intimate with the hot water heater and figured out how to light it. It is amazing what a bed and running water does for a girl. It also made me feel a boat load of gratitude. There are how many people on the planet who don't have running water? Tens of thousands, millions? Mind blowing. They have no choice and they live their lives and ... well let's just say a big boat load of gratitude. We are fortunate.
The weather was decent. The wall paper borders are adhering with ferocity. A lot of primo work was done on the steps to the lake and a railing added. The ticks are everywhere, and yes it is in an area where there is Lyme's disease. Lots were pulled off the dogs, even the dog who had the frontline. We ate out 3 times! in 3 days. It's really hard to cook meals when you kitchen is barely set up with essentials. I don't know that May is going to be a bid sucess as far as 'no eating out'.
And then there was the spider. It was big and surprised me in the bathroom at a vulnerable moment. I could joke and say it was the size of a chevy or a kitten. I could be more accurate and say it was the size of a field mouse. But when I tell people it was the largest spider I have ever seen outside of a zoo, that seems to convey just how big it was. The conscious part of my brain was totally bypassed when I saw it and I went into flight mode and fled the bathroom, speechless. She [I assume] is no more. I am not proud of this. I ask all spiders publicly to stay in the ample wooded area surrounding our abode not in the house and then we can all coexist.
I even got intimate with the hot water heater and figured out how to light it. It is amazing what a bed and running water does for a girl. It also made me feel a boat load of gratitude. There are how many people on the planet who don't have running water? Tens of thousands, millions? Mind blowing. They have no choice and they live their lives and ... well let's just say a big boat load of gratitude. We are fortunate.
The weather was decent. The wall paper borders are adhering with ferocity. A lot of primo work was done on the steps to the lake and a railing added. The ticks are everywhere, and yes it is in an area where there is Lyme's disease. Lots were pulled off the dogs, even the dog who had the frontline. We ate out 3 times! in 3 days. It's really hard to cook meals when you kitchen is barely set up with essentials. I don't know that May is going to be a bid sucess as far as 'no eating out'.
And then there was the spider. It was big and surprised me in the bathroom at a vulnerable moment. I could joke and say it was the size of a chevy or a kitten. I could be more accurate and say it was the size of a field mouse. But when I tell people it was the largest spider I have ever seen outside of a zoo, that seems to convey just how big it was. The conscious part of my brain was totally bypassed when I saw it and I went into flight mode and fled the bathroom, speechless. She [I assume] is no more. I am not proud of this. I ask all spiders publicly to stay in the ample wooded area surrounding our abode not in the house and then we can all coexist.
water and mailboxes
We only spent Saturday at the cottage last weekend. There were several reasons for this. The main one though was my wife, who is getting treated for allergies. Part of the treatment is avoiding the thing you are allergic to for several days after treatment. She is allergic to aspen and birch tree pollen and she got treated for this. Then she thought about our cottage, which stands in the middle of a birch and aspen forest, and realized staying a whole weekend up there was not the best idea. So plans changed. A bit disappointing but oh well.
We did do the most pressing cottage task. We put up our new mailbox and informed the post office that we did so. It was just another layer of 'wow, we have a cottage on a lake'. It's really a bit mind blowing at times.
We also got the green light from those who know to turn on the water system at the cottage. We didn't do this Saturday since we were there for such a short time, but it's wonderful to think we'll have running water the next time we are there. Scary as well, what if something leaks? Several somethings? What if that running water goes where we do not want it? Quite the little crap shoot the first time we turn it on and experience any and all issues that we'll be finding for the very first time. But still toilets can be beautiful things.
We also saw tons of people with their boats getting ready for the WI fishing opener. It like a whole different world up there sometimes.
We did do the most pressing cottage task. We put up our new mailbox and informed the post office that we did so. It was just another layer of 'wow, we have a cottage on a lake'. It's really a bit mind blowing at times.
We also got the green light from those who know to turn on the water system at the cottage. We didn't do this Saturday since we were there for such a short time, but it's wonderful to think we'll have running water the next time we are there. Scary as well, what if something leaks? Several somethings? What if that running water goes where we do not want it? Quite the little crap shoot the first time we turn it on and experience any and all issues that we'll be finding for the very first time. But still toilets can be beautiful things.
We also saw tons of people with their boats getting ready for the WI fishing opener. It like a whole different world up there sometimes.
DP IV report
Silly acronyms are funny, ok maybe just to me.
The dinner party was great. It was really fun having a group of people who really didn't know each other much and getting together for a meal and talk.
The food report: must remember in future the serving information in this one cookbook is totally off!! I doubled the casserole because the author said it only served 4 people. Big mistake, I had to put leftovers in the freezer. It was also not as yummy as the first time I remember making it. The sweet fruity flavor just seemed too one dimensional. Oh well. The leeks and mushroom saute was divine even though we had two non mushroom eaters. The rest of us gobbled them up happily. The roasted daikon and rutabaga were yummy as well. The homemade vanilla ice cream [with palm sugar] and strawberries were springlike even though the weather turned really chilly. The tomato spinach soup was warming and dependable, one of my favorite dinner party recipes. The artichoke dip didn't come out as well as I remember it. Was it me? I have made it for parties before and it's been great. Those who imbibed alcohol had the alto adige pinot grigio '04 which I take no credit for -- I just buy what the nice man at bright wines suggests..
People report: two of the women unknown to me, had been to India and we had some interesting discussions about that. One woman was looking for a home for an old canoe! We have just the lake for it, I find that pretty exciting. There was a lot of dog talk, slow/local food talk. We got to show the house to people who have never seen it. We shared very bad pictures of the cottage. My dear wife did most of the cleaning so that I could think about the food. It works well, and then we have an extra clean house to enjoy later. We were so well organized that at 6:30 pm we realized we were ready and had an hour free before the first guest showed up.
It was just a really pleasant, relaxed, fun time. I am so glad we started doing this. I love the feeling of slow connections which I never get at a bigger party. We are already looking forward to the next one in June. Perhaps a barbecue? I feel like I just want to encourage everyone to give this a try, it doesn't have to be fancy, but throw open your home and invite some friends in the share it. Very rewarding certainly for the hosts and I hope for our guests as well.
The dinner party was great. It was really fun having a group of people who really didn't know each other much and getting together for a meal and talk.
The food report: must remember in future the serving information in this one cookbook is totally off!! I doubled the casserole because the author said it only served 4 people. Big mistake, I had to put leftovers in the freezer. It was also not as yummy as the first time I remember making it. The sweet fruity flavor just seemed too one dimensional. Oh well. The leeks and mushroom saute was divine even though we had two non mushroom eaters. The rest of us gobbled them up happily. The roasted daikon and rutabaga were yummy as well. The homemade vanilla ice cream [with palm sugar] and strawberries were springlike even though the weather turned really chilly. The tomato spinach soup was warming and dependable, one of my favorite dinner party recipes. The artichoke dip didn't come out as well as I remember it. Was it me? I have made it for parties before and it's been great. Those who imbibed alcohol had the alto adige pinot grigio '04 which I take no credit for -- I just buy what the nice man at bright wines suggests..
People report: two of the women unknown to me, had been to India and we had some interesting discussions about that. One woman was looking for a home for an old canoe! We have just the lake for it, I find that pretty exciting. There was a lot of dog talk, slow/local food talk. We got to show the house to people who have never seen it. We shared very bad pictures of the cottage. My dear wife did most of the cleaning so that I could think about the food. It works well, and then we have an extra clean house to enjoy later. We were so well organized that at 6:30 pm we realized we were ready and had an hour free before the first guest showed up.
It was just a really pleasant, relaxed, fun time. I am so glad we started doing this. I love the feeling of slow connections which I never get at a bigger party. We are already looking forward to the next one in June. Perhaps a barbecue? I feel like I just want to encourage everyone to give this a try, it doesn't have to be fancy, but throw open your home and invite some friends in the share it. Very rewarding certainly for the hosts and I hope for our guests as well.
Did you notice?
I managed to get a picture to display yesterday? Here's another one of the cutest border collie in the world, to me at least. She is 14 and deaf but still loves to chase her frisbee. She is not thrilled about water but she will get her feet wet to drink. Our other dog loves water she has already gone up to her chest.
Easter, I had a nice and relaxed morning. I slept so well which was much needed because it was so horribly cold the night before at the cottage. Strange I didn't have any chocolate the whole day. Wasn't a deliberate choice, it just happened. Carolyn's family made the most fabulous brunch, timbales, spinach tart, fruit, sweet rolls. We just brought the bubbly, since we spent the rest of the weekend working at the cottage and other paid projects and had no time for cooking.
I made it to ECD last night. It was one of those weeks where the music all started to sound the same to me, and not in a good way. I had my first bike ride a couple of days ago. I feel like exercise is a good thing again. I'm sore but not too bad. The weather is finally a bit more spring-like around here. It's all looking up.
I read the above and I realize that my attitude must be improving because unhappy things also happened. A close friend lost her dad to cancer this week. This is the third friend in a year to lose a parent. Another friend shared her daughter is really bad with the cancer, they hope that they may be able to use radiation and chemo to put her in remission but, well what a thing to hope.
Yep, time to write my parents. *sigh*
streak over here's why
My 12 days of posting in a row are over. But I had a good reason.
We have closed on the cottage!! It was surreal and exhausting and wonderful. All the snow and ice is gone and I got to see the blue, blue of the lake. It was so beautiful.
I got to see all the old stuff being carried out. And the first bit of our stuff went in. We got to meet the wood stove. We completely froze on the air mattress because we didn't have an insulating layer between the mattress and the freezing foundation.
We sat on the deck and admired the water. The dogs waded and drank it. I was reminded how horrible it is to live with out running water and then felt gratitude when I thought about how few people on the planet have it.
It just mind boggling to think of this cottage on this beautiful lake we now have to cherish. Sure there is a lot to be done, but for now I drank in the quiet.
and the fact that there are no bugs out yet!
closing week fright
I could write about the yummy palm sugar cookies I made today and question why exactly they were so crispy. I could bemoan the fact that it is cold and wet and snowing here this weekend. I could also try to write a more intimate truth.
We are closing on the lake house this week and I am freaking out! It is all going to become so real so very, very soon. I still have no idea if I will like spending lots of time in a lake house I am responsible for...I don't know how hardly anything works...I worry I won't have time, I'll lose activities that I enjoy doing here and now. Nothing is really in my control. Why am I making a big purchase when the economy is spinning? What if house prices drop even more and I kick myself? Why is this the week when I am so busy at work? What if work goes away like it did for over 600,000 people last month alone!! Is the weather ever going to warm up? Do all my friends and family think I am nuts to be doing this?
Basically, I am spinning around in my head. The fear of the unknown is something. And this is something I signed up for, it's not something that just happened to me. eeekk!!
....deep breathing...
Of course today I did realize I could get the red toaster oven for here, the toaster oven I have been craving since Rome and take my great copper toaster up to the lake. That made me pretty happy. I am such the appliance nut.
I will breathe and think about the new appliances I will now have an excuse to buy.
We are closing on the lake house this week and I am freaking out! It is all going to become so real so very, very soon. I still have no idea if I will like spending lots of time in a lake house I am responsible for...I don't know how hardly anything works...I worry I won't have time, I'll lose activities that I enjoy doing here and now. Nothing is really in my control. Why am I making a big purchase when the economy is spinning? What if house prices drop even more and I kick myself? Why is this the week when I am so busy at work? What if work goes away like it did for over 600,000 people last month alone!! Is the weather ever going to warm up? Do all my friends and family think I am nuts to be doing this?
Basically, I am spinning around in my head. The fear of the unknown is something. And this is something I signed up for, it's not something that just happened to me. eeekk!!
....deep breathing...
Of course today I did realize I could get the red toaster oven for here, the toaster oven I have been craving since Rome and take my great copper toaster up to the lake. That made me pretty happy. I am such the appliance nut.
I will breathe and think about the new appliances I will now have an excuse to buy.
Lake-like
We placed an offer on another cabin this week and it was accepted.
It is a pretty incredible thing. Of course things can go wrong, fall through but it looks as though sometime next month we'll be spending time at our new lake home. [and ripping off wall paper borders]
This experience has been totally different from the first lake place. For one, we didn't fall in love. In fact the first time we drove by the place I thought the road had kind of a haughty energy. Not sure what that was about.
But DW wanted to see the cabin anyway and so we put it on our list and our realtor took us to really view the place. Here the sellers have been trying to sell the place for over a year with the price falling all that time. The current listing realtor really wanted to sell it. It has been very normal and refreshing experience thus far.
It is on a nice lake, in the lake district. It has 180 feet of shore. It has a 4 season house that needs very little done to it. It has 2 bedrooms and full kitchen and bath. A shed for storage. A screened porch as well as a deck. A very wooded lot. Normal plumbing and sewer. We have been told there is a nice sandy bottom to the lake and water lilies. It will need to be cleaned up outside, there is a bit of leak on the porch roof. Some kind of flooring will need to be installed in the bedroom, there is a wood burning stove as well as a furnace.
Although I was so sad about the other place I have a feeling of relief that this place will take a lot less work to get it habitable.
We are getting happier about it every day. It's hard to believe it may all be happening. We tried to figure out why we didn't fall in love at first sight.
Unlike the first place the driveway was not plowed so we had to hoof it to get to it. And although it is a deal pricewise, it is not the foreclosed on, rock bottom price of the other one. I have to wonder how those 2 factors effected us. Could the fact it wasn't such a super bargain and hard to get to really effected our emotions? Or perhaps it's because we got so burned the last time? A mystery.
We are hoping all will continue to go smoothly. We are getting it inspected next week. We are wondering what interest rate we'll get.
Now I have time to wonder about what it will be like to have a lake house. Will I love living up at the lake part of the week? Will I actually take up fishing? This is all so new, and really I have no idea how I am going to react to this. It looks like I will find out pretty soon.
It is a pretty incredible thing. Of course things can go wrong, fall through but it looks as though sometime next month we'll be spending time at our new lake home. [and ripping off wall paper borders]
This experience has been totally different from the first lake place. For one, we didn't fall in love. In fact the first time we drove by the place I thought the road had kind of a haughty energy. Not sure what that was about.
But DW wanted to see the cabin anyway and so we put it on our list and our realtor took us to really view the place. Here the sellers have been trying to sell the place for over a year with the price falling all that time. The current listing realtor really wanted to sell it. It has been very normal and refreshing experience thus far.
It is on a nice lake, in the lake district. It has 180 feet of shore. It has a 4 season house that needs very little done to it. It has 2 bedrooms and full kitchen and bath. A shed for storage. A screened porch as well as a deck. A very wooded lot. Normal plumbing and sewer. We have been told there is a nice sandy bottom to the lake and water lilies. It will need to be cleaned up outside, there is a bit of leak on the porch roof. Some kind of flooring will need to be installed in the bedroom, there is a wood burning stove as well as a furnace.
Although I was so sad about the other place I have a feeling of relief that this place will take a lot less work to get it habitable.
We are getting happier about it every day. It's hard to believe it may all be happening. We tried to figure out why we didn't fall in love at first sight.
Unlike the first place the driveway was not plowed so we had to hoof it to get to it. And although it is a deal pricewise, it is not the foreclosed on, rock bottom price of the other one. I have to wonder how those 2 factors effected us. Could the fact it wasn't such a super bargain and hard to get to really effected our emotions? Or perhaps it's because we got so burned the last time? A mystery.
We are hoping all will continue to go smoothly. We are getting it inspected next week. We are wondering what interest rate we'll get.
Now I have time to wonder about what it will be like to have a lake house. Will I love living up at the lake part of the week? Will I actually take up fishing? This is all so new, and really I have no idea how I am going to react to this. It looks like I will find out pretty soon.
Lake Love Loss
We have been on an unpleasant watery ride. We tried to buy a lake cabin this week.
The past 2 weekends we went out and looked at some places. I was feeling hopeful, we were seeing places that had what we wanted, 4 season, private, not too far from the city, nice views and good prices. They did exist.
Last Sunday our realtor showed us a place and we both fell in love. It was almost 5 acres on a small environmental lake. On a point, very private, dead end road/driveway less than half mile off of paved county road. It was new/funny/different how we didn't fall in love with the house but the place, the land. Even now I can see the curving wooded drive, the sheltering hill on one side, tall pines in a half circle around the house. *sigh*
The house needed lots of work, it was from the 50's. The bathtub was scary, the linoleum everywhere was barely better than the gross blue carpeting in the bedrooms. The oven and stove top were PINK! So campy I almost liked them. I could have lived with them anyway...
I was nervous what an inspection might show, it's so hard to judge in the winter. I hoped we were up to the challenge of fixing it back up.
The property had been foreclosed on which means you will basically buy 'as is' The price had dropped over 40K, it was the right price, it had been on the market since early December. We were bubbling over with joy as we drove away. All the scurrying to do paperwork and so forth would be worth it even though our weeks at work were crammed because we loved it so.
We made an offer the next morning and the descent into weirdness began. I can't figure out if the listing agent was just stupid or unethical or more likely a messy combination of both. She lied "the plumbing pipes are going to be ripped out next week" and" the lake didn't allow motorized boats". She told lies to the banks never to us. According to the bankers she basically said everything she could to discourage the banks from financing the offers. She acted completely unprofessionally as well as corrupt throughout the week. She seriously pissed our agent off and he has to be one of the most positive, happy people I know. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt but she crossed my personal line by a lot.
We heard yesterday afternoon that the bank accepted a cash offer that just happened to come from another person in the same small town in which she lives and ours was rejected. We are just heartsick. We know we can't compete with cash. I believe she did everything she could to delay the process so this person could get the cash offer ready. My only bitter hope is that it will fall through.
We know that it's a fact of life -- unfairness. But sometimes when your nose gets rubbed into it you just want to cry. Which also happened. I know I'll have to forgive her for my sake and I will but I am not there yet. I feel bruised and small. I want to believe that things work out as they should but my disgust with her behavior is over-riding everything. I hate feeling so judgmental.
We are trying to be hopeful. We try to hold onto gratitude. We hope we'll be able to pick up and go on looking eventually.
We are in mourning.
The past 2 weekends we went out and looked at some places. I was feeling hopeful, we were seeing places that had what we wanted, 4 season, private, not too far from the city, nice views and good prices. They did exist.
Last Sunday our realtor showed us a place and we both fell in love. It was almost 5 acres on a small environmental lake. On a point, very private, dead end road/driveway less than half mile off of paved county road. It was new/funny/different how we didn't fall in love with the house but the place, the land. Even now I can see the curving wooded drive, the sheltering hill on one side, tall pines in a half circle around the house. *sigh*
The house needed lots of work, it was from the 50's. The bathtub was scary, the linoleum everywhere was barely better than the gross blue carpeting in the bedrooms. The oven and stove top were PINK! So campy I almost liked them. I could have lived with them anyway...
I was nervous what an inspection might show, it's so hard to judge in the winter. I hoped we were up to the challenge of fixing it back up.
The property had been foreclosed on which means you will basically buy 'as is' The price had dropped over 40K, it was the right price, it had been on the market since early December. We were bubbling over with joy as we drove away. All the scurrying to do paperwork and so forth would be worth it even though our weeks at work were crammed because we loved it so.
We made an offer the next morning and the descent into weirdness began. I can't figure out if the listing agent was just stupid or unethical or more likely a messy combination of both. She lied "the plumbing pipes are going to be ripped out next week" and" the lake didn't allow motorized boats". She told lies to the banks never to us. According to the bankers she basically said everything she could to discourage the banks from financing the offers. She acted completely unprofessionally as well as corrupt throughout the week. She seriously pissed our agent off and he has to be one of the most positive, happy people I know. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt but she crossed my personal line by a lot.
We heard yesterday afternoon that the bank accepted a cash offer that just happened to come from another person in the same small town in which she lives and ours was rejected. We are just heartsick. We know we can't compete with cash. I believe she did everything she could to delay the process so this person could get the cash offer ready. My only bitter hope is that it will fall through.
We know that it's a fact of life -- unfairness. But sometimes when your nose gets rubbed into it you just want to cry. Which also happened. I know I'll have to forgive her for my sake and I will but I am not there yet. I feel bruised and small. I want to believe that things work out as they should but my disgust with her behavior is over-riding everything. I hate feeling so judgmental.
We are trying to be hopeful. We try to hold onto gratitude. We hope we'll be able to pick up and go on looking eventually.
We are in mourning.
Singing, me?
Pretty happy today
Of course I don't agree with Obama on everything, but then I don't agree with my best friend or my partner on everything either. I can totally live with that.
The actual watching of live TV and seeing 2 cabins ate up Tuesday. Work and a killer headache took up all of Wednesday. Another week is whooshing by.
One of the cabins is a possible. The other, well we didn't want it, and the realtor refused to consider us ever moving across from the 'home from deliverance'. Nice to know he has limits as to how far he'll go to make a sale.
Today is work from home day because one of the cars needs a new serpentine belt [we hope]. Mercury retrograde, that silly thing none of us believes in, strikes again. I did do my qi gong this morning and finally sometime this afternoon my headache went away. I also rode the stationary bike for 20+ minutes.
I now realize that if one watches an episode of '3rd Rock from the Sun' while biking those minutes will whiz by. How great is netflix? I have had it for at least 6 years now and I don't even care about the tv signal going digital. I'll see what I want eventually and I am probably one of the few americans who owns a tv but did not see one political ad in 2008.
Now there is a new years' resolution I would make: "I will not watch any political ads this year". Maybe, someday, I'll tell you all how I never saw a trailer for any of the LOTR movies. Which I just did, hmmm not that interesting. I have never seen the Godfather, any of the LOTR movies [although I have read the books at least 60 times] or the movie Titanic. Yep, not as interesting as it sounded in my head. Oh well. I can chalk it up to my quest for transparency.
Off to eat vegetable lentil soup. And perhaps a trip to the co op to buy milk and such with my sweetie when she gets back with the car. I'm hoping everyone is having a great week.
Of course I don't agree with Obama on everything, but then I don't agree with my best friend or my partner on everything either. I can totally live with that.
The actual watching of live TV and seeing 2 cabins ate up Tuesday. Work and a killer headache took up all of Wednesday. Another week is whooshing by.
One of the cabins is a possible. The other, well we didn't want it, and the realtor refused to consider us ever moving across from the 'home from deliverance'. Nice to know he has limits as to how far he'll go to make a sale.
Today is work from home day because one of the cars needs a new serpentine belt [we hope]. Mercury retrograde, that silly thing none of us believes in, strikes again. I did do my qi gong this morning and finally sometime this afternoon my headache went away. I also rode the stationary bike for 20+ minutes.
I now realize that if one watches an episode of '3rd Rock from the Sun' while biking those minutes will whiz by. How great is netflix? I have had it for at least 6 years now and I don't even care about the tv signal going digital. I'll see what I want eventually and I am probably one of the few americans who owns a tv but did not see one political ad in 2008.
Now there is a new years' resolution I would make: "I will not watch any political ads this year". Maybe, someday, I'll tell you all how I never saw a trailer for any of the LOTR movies. Which I just did, hmmm not that interesting. I have never seen the Godfather, any of the LOTR movies [although I have read the books at least 60 times] or the movie Titanic. Yep, not as interesting as it sounded in my head. Oh well. I can chalk it up to my quest for transparency.
Off to eat vegetable lentil soup. And perhaps a trip to the co op to buy milk and such with my sweetie when she gets back with the car. I'm hoping everyone is having a great week.
xcounty 2
Skiing fun was had today. I was pretty nervous, this was only my second time cross country skiing in my life. My first time was in 1988. Yep, I think I waited long enough.
We woke up today and I wasn't hungry. I called the weather line and it was 21 degrees. I used my smelling salts until the room stopped spinning. I suggested going out and working up an appetite for breakfast. So we did and I have that proud feeling for stepping out of my comfort zone.
It was pretty awesome half hour of fun in the snow. This is a big skiing town. There was one Dad pulling 2 kids behind him on a sled while skiing. There was one woman there with her two 80+ pound dogs on leashes. Would it be easier or harder to have the dogs pulling you I wonder?
Some gaiters for my ankles would probably be helpful. I am a bit sore. I didn't fall. [yet] I certainly want to do more of it. And the weather sounds like it will cooperate this week.
My cabin stuff is getting better. One of the cabins we really liked online, well the price just came down to our approved amount, could be kismet. So we are going to try to see it this week. I have never house shopped so extensively on the Internet before, it's funny to think we may drive up there and see something we immediately hate that is not visible in the pictures. It's also scary to think that we may be buying a lake cabin. Very surreal, challenging, lovely, scary, awe inspiring and more.
We woke up today and I wasn't hungry. I called the weather line and it was 21 degrees. I used my smelling salts until the room stopped spinning. I suggested going out and working up an appetite for breakfast. So we did and I have that proud feeling for stepping out of my comfort zone.
It was pretty awesome half hour of fun in the snow. This is a big skiing town. There was one Dad pulling 2 kids behind him on a sled while skiing. There was one woman there with her two 80+ pound dogs on leashes. Would it be easier or harder to have the dogs pulling you I wonder?
Some gaiters for my ankles would probably be helpful. I am a bit sore. I didn't fall. [yet] I certainly want to do more of it. And the weather sounds like it will cooperate this week.
My cabin stuff is getting better. One of the cabins we really liked online, well the price just came down to our approved amount, could be kismet. So we are going to try to see it this week. I have never house shopped so extensively on the Internet before, it's funny to think we may drive up there and see something we immediately hate that is not visible in the pictures. It's also scary to think that we may be buying a lake cabin. Very surreal, challenging, lovely, scary, awe inspiring and more.
something's going on around here
But I am not sure what. I am bothered by the fact that it is review time at work. Not only do I have to do my 'self' review but nine 'peer' reviews. Do most major companies do reviews this way now? It seems so.
I admit I am not crazy about this. I have been doing it for 1o+ years and I am not a supervisor. I suppose I am very skeptical about the usefulness of the whole process and when you are as busy as I am at work it's hard to not feel resentful about stuff that takes up time that you don't really have. As it is I will probably spend a good chunk of the weekend writing these reviews.
Distraction is certainly needed, sometimes living in the moment is sucky, you know, when it's a rather cruddy moment.
How about:
It's 3 degrees F, above zero. 3 above! It's like a heat wave.
How about something frivolous like seasonal colours? I have always been fascinated with various types of color work. It's one of my favorite things to play with and I know I approach many things like knitting through colour. I am a 'Deep Autumn' or maybe a 'Deep Winter'. I really don't know much.
Ok, I give up. The truth is I am just bummed and it's over a rather silly thing. I had an amount in mind that I was willing to pay for a lake cabin. Let's call this amount X. The mortgage payment from this amount I felt would be really reasonable especially at today's interest rates. Carolyn's comfort amount was half again higher. X + [x/2] but she was willing to come down closer to my comfort level. We assumed that the amount I would "pre approve" for would be more like 2X due to great job and great credit score.
I heard today, it's not 2X. The amount we got pre-approved for is right around X. But am I happy, relieved? No. I feel kind of ashamed that the bank didn't want to give me more. I feel 'less than' and uncomfortable. sigh
Although the mathy geekiness is helping. Better tomorrow I am hoping.
I admit I am not crazy about this. I have been doing it for 1o+ years and I am not a supervisor. I suppose I am very skeptical about the usefulness of the whole process and when you are as busy as I am at work it's hard to not feel resentful about stuff that takes up time that you don't really have. As it is I will probably spend a good chunk of the weekend writing these reviews.
Distraction is certainly needed, sometimes living in the moment is sucky, you know, when it's a rather cruddy moment.
How about:
It's 3 degrees F, above zero. 3 above! It's like a heat wave.
How about something frivolous like seasonal colours? I have always been fascinated with various types of color work. It's one of my favorite things to play with and I know I approach many things like knitting through colour. I am a 'Deep Autumn' or maybe a 'Deep Winter'. I really don't know much.
Ok, I give up. The truth is I am just bummed and it's over a rather silly thing. I had an amount in mind that I was willing to pay for a lake cabin. Let's call this amount X. The mortgage payment from this amount I felt would be really reasonable especially at today's interest rates. Carolyn's comfort amount was half again higher. X + [x/2] but she was willing to come down closer to my comfort level. We assumed that the amount I would "pre approve" for would be more like 2X due to great job and great credit score.
I heard today, it's not 2X. The amount we got pre-approved for is right around X. But am I happy, relieved? No. I feel kind of ashamed that the bank didn't want to give me more. I feel 'less than' and uncomfortable. sigh
Although the mathy geekiness is helping. Better tomorrow I am hoping.
what happened to Tuesday?
Really. I mean I wasn't sick or anything. Granted work is fiendishly busy and yoga started up after the holiday break but what happened to the day?
I try to be aware of my life as I am living it. Ok sure this is a huge goal which I fail at all the time, but yesterday just seemed to slip by. huh. I hope this doesn't mean that I am possessed by Voldemort or anything.
Yoga was excellent. [It always seems that way afterwards, funny huh?] Of course when I was trying to sink into warrior II and my one leg was shaking so hard, well it's probably a good thing no one asked me 'should I try yoga' during that time.
It may have something to do with the extreme cold interfering with normal brain function as I know it. Please note I am not whining about the -6 F high we are expecting today. No one is forcing me to live in MN, and I do like winter. Also my trusty volvo is still starting so that's excellent. It is weird though to put on 2 shirts, a sweater, lined wool pants and long underwear to go work in an office. It sounds like 20's are coming this weekend so hopefully the xcountry skiing will happen.
I guess there is stuff on my mind. We are thinking about buying a cabin up north. I am feeling conflicted and it's taking up lots of mental real estate right now.
Pro:
I love spending time on water. I love going someplace quiet and alone to re energize.
I lived on a farm for 4 years and there is stuff I love about the country.
Who was it who said 'buy real estate, they aren't making any more of it'?
This is a buyer's market for sure. I feel confident it is a good investment.
There are lots of good buys within 80 miles.
All weather cabins can be used all year round.
Cons:
What if it is noisy there when I want quiet and peace?
There are frequently concerts and such on the weekends that I love to do in the city.
Can we still garden successfully if we are away a lot in the summer?
I am from Pittsburgh, I did not grow up where weekend lake cabins were the norm, how much would we actually use it?
I'm not clear about all the various monetary costs to cabin life. Could be tons I am not aware of...
I lived on a farm for 4 years and there is stuff I hate about the country.
The few people I know who have a cabin grew up with one. I wish I knew someone who didn't grow up with one but has one now. Surely there must be a forum somewhere for this?
I hope everyone is a toasty as they need to be. Misspelled toasty as 'toady' at first. Feel free to be toady if you want!
I try to be aware of my life as I am living it. Ok sure this is a huge goal which I fail at all the time, but yesterday just seemed to slip by. huh. I hope this doesn't mean that I am possessed by Voldemort or anything.
Yoga was excellent. [It always seems that way afterwards, funny huh?] Of course when I was trying to sink into warrior II and my one leg was shaking so hard, well it's probably a good thing no one asked me 'should I try yoga' during that time.
It may have something to do with the extreme cold interfering with normal brain function as I know it. Please note I am not whining about the -6 F high we are expecting today. No one is forcing me to live in MN, and I do like winter. Also my trusty volvo is still starting so that's excellent. It is weird though to put on 2 shirts, a sweater, lined wool pants and long underwear to go work in an office. It sounds like 20's are coming this weekend so hopefully the xcountry skiing will happen.
I guess there is stuff on my mind. We are thinking about buying a cabin up north. I am feeling conflicted and it's taking up lots of mental real estate right now.
Pro:
I love spending time on water. I love going someplace quiet and alone to re energize.
I lived on a farm for 4 years and there is stuff I love about the country.
Who was it who said 'buy real estate, they aren't making any more of it'?
This is a buyer's market for sure. I feel confident it is a good investment.
There are lots of good buys within 80 miles.
All weather cabins can be used all year round.
Cons:
What if it is noisy there when I want quiet and peace?
There are frequently concerts and such on the weekends that I love to do in the city.
Can we still garden successfully if we are away a lot in the summer?
I am from Pittsburgh, I did not grow up where weekend lake cabins were the norm, how much would we actually use it?
I'm not clear about all the various monetary costs to cabin life. Could be tons I am not aware of...
I lived on a farm for 4 years and there is stuff I hate about the country.
The few people I know who have a cabin grew up with one. I wish I knew someone who didn't grow up with one but has one now. Surely there must be a forum somewhere for this?
I hope everyone is a toasty as they need to be. Misspelled toasty as 'toady' at first. Feel free to be toady if you want!
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