My last full day at the little house in the city dawned through cloud. It was a day lists; what to to bring back to the country house, what to bring on the next trip to the little house in the city. Attila and I will be coming back within a week or so, bringing Mist with us. The plan is that I will stay here at the little house in the city for the rest of the year, with Mist. Attila will take her back to the country house in January. We hope that this will minimize the disruption for her, as she does not hold back when miffed.
I had expected to accomplish much more than I did on this visit, but never mind. The cafe curtains are a major step forward, since they provide a new found privacy. The rearranged kitchen is a bit more user friendly now. The second bedroom was piled high with stored items and the pile has been whittled down a little bit. Since new flooring is needed through most of the house, and the living room and bedrooms still need to be gutted and redone from the outer wall in, there is little use in adding a lot of furniture. I have some wonderful ideas about what I would like in this tiny house, in the way of the efficient use of space, but that remains in the realm of fantasy for an indefinite period of time.
Throughout the day Tank was loaded with items to be taken north. Tank is big. Tank holds a lot of stuff! Some items were left to be loaded in the morning, such as the new microwave; items best not left in plain site, in the driveway, overnight.
The remainder of the day, and into the evening, I have been busy preparing the little house in the city for my absence. Appliances and lamps were unplugged, the hot water heater was switched off, items were moved from the refrigerator to the freezer, drapes were closed, all this and more filled my evening hours. I prepared a quick dinner, of onion and potatoes and cheese. The dishes were washed, the compost bucket was taken to the back yard and emptied into the compost pile. I always forget something! I won’t know what that is until sometime after I leave, and it may even take me until I get back to remember!
I am excited to be going home to see Attila! He, of course, will not be there to greet me, but should be home by the end of the day. I have asked him to leave firewood by the masonry heater, so that I can enjoy a fire when I get there. He does not keep the house as warm when I am not there, so I think Mist and I will enjoy a crackling fire to celebrate my return.
I’ll be off before first light in the morning. My breakfast sits on the counter, in readiness. I am a morning person, so always choose to begin my journeys in early morning, to catch the freshness of the day.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
-2°C
Date: 7:00 PM EST Monday 1 December 2014
Condition: Partly Cloudy
Pressure: 103.3 kPa
Tendency: rising
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: -1.5°C
Dewpoint: -9.2°C
Humidity: 56%
Wind: WNW 14 gust 30 km/h
Wind Chill: -6
Quote
“A GUEST IN THOUGHT
Once A Day And Sometimes More,
You Knock Upon My Day Dream Door
And I Say Warmly, “Come Right In,
I’m Glad You’re Here With Me Again!”
We Sit Right Down And Have A Long Chat,
Recalling This, Discussing That,
Until Some Task Comes Right Along That
I Must Do, That Forces Me Away From You…
Reluctantly I Say Goodbye, Smiling With A Little Sigh.
For Though My Day Dreams They Bring You Near,
I Wish That You Were Really Here…
But What Reality Can’t Change,
My Dreams And Wishes Can Arrange…
And Through My Wishing You’ll Be Brought
To Me Each Day, A Guest In Thought. ”
Author Unknown
I lifted this from a Facebook posting. I love the sentiment! The internet makes this very pertinent.
The quality of writing is so/so, but that is overshadowed entirely by what the poem says. In this case the meaning is all, and more than enough.
My friend Paul felt that proper English was an indication that what was being said was worth considering; being an Cambridge scholar himself, very well spoken, and well published, his belief was very strongly entrenched. He also felt that poor grammar, and/or mediocre writing completely negated the value of meaning within the words. What fun we had discussing that, truly! I disagreed with him entirely. From my point of view the meaning behind the words far outweighs the form of the writing. Ideas and expression cannot be contained solely within “proper” English. Although I acknowledge that words written within disciplined parameters can be a powerful conveyance, I do not feel that it is the only powerful conveyance worthy of note.
All this to say, I really like this poem!
I think Attila is your ‘permanent resident in thought’, rather than a guest. And I think your quote would probably fit your relationship with him perfectly.
How long will Attila be with you when you come back to the house in the city, Maggie? It saddens me, the time you two spend apart. I can see it’s a hardship for both of you.
Forgot to say that your plans for the city house echo the plans we have for our house. I guess both houses are in need of more than a little TLC.
Maggie,
It sounds like a lot of preparation for your return to the country. Glad that Tank holds a lot. I was very happy the years we had the van. Aside from being our camping adventure it held a lot and that was nice for me and my obsession for dragging things home.
Also sounds like there are big plans for the little house. I’m sure you will have them down to a fine art by the time it comes to manifest them. I think that would be fun. All the planning and then the end result.
You can compost at the little house…that is wonderful. I wish we could do that here but we can’t.
Hubby is a morning person too. I am both depending on what needs to get done but lean in the direction of owl.
Did you rid the house of the mouse problem?
I liked the quote.
Happy you will be back with Attila and Mist soon.
One time I was reading something someone wrote about cars & trucks and the fuel we use in them. He was somewhat of an “expert” I thought, and he said that unless your car requires “diesel” fuel, then you do not need to put “high test” or whatever the expensive fuel is called, into your tank. He said that the cheapest ones are just as good as the expensive ones and that this is a little trick perpetrated on us by the oil companies – making people think they need “the good stuff” when they don’t. Ever since I read that, I always put in the cheapest kind of fuel and have never had a problem with it.
xxxx
A guest in thought – love the phrasing.
By the time you read my comments, you’ll be safely home with warmth and Mist… and finally Attila. xo
Teri, funny you know, I was not thinking of Attila when I was charmed by the poem, I was thinking of all my friends, most of whom I have not seen for ten years or more, and those I have not yet met face to face. But it does fit with Attila! Particularly because, as you put it, he is a “permanent resident in thought”.
It is a hardship to be apart. The decision to try this solution to isolation was a very hard one to make, we agonized over it for months and months. The decision has been made though, and we going forward giving it our best shot, and both feel we must carry one and “not look down”. Until of course, we reach another node of knowledge that will ask us to reassess, and perhaps devise a different strategy.
I keep thinking that this must be for the best, and that there is some mysterious bit of luck behind it, that we cannot see at all. 🙂
Teri, the up side of doing all this work on our homes, is that they are well and truly our personal spaces!
Nora, after catching two mice in one night, they have not come back for more! I suspect I may have caught all of them now. I checked the traps every morning, and every evening, and they had not been disturbed.
However, it is quite possible that there are still mice in the house, and that while we are away in the north, the mice will play. We will check as soon as we get back down to the little house in the city. Fingers crossed that the traps will be bare when we get there.
Bex, good to know! I think you are right, the cheapest gas won’t do Tank any harm.
I spent a lot of time poking around on forums for the make and model of Tank, and the fellas, they were all fellas, felt that because the mileage was so much better with higher octane fuels, than it was with regular, that the cost was the same in the end. Seemed to be the consensus at the various sites i visited. Tank used about 40% more fuel than Four Doors, using the higher octane fuel, on a 300 km trip, which is bearable. Well you have inspired me, we will have to make a trip on regular fuel and see how that compares. Tank will not be the main vehicle for the commute, we will try to use Four Doors, unless we need to move large objects, like a door. We are taking both vehicles down the next time we go, and Attila will bring Four Doors back north when he returns for work.
Reeenie, you are right, here I am! Mist purred for the first 30 minutes after she found me in the house!
Seems like the mouse problem may have gotten handled. They probably saw the burial at sea and fled!
I hope you are right Nora about the mice! Checking the mouse traps will be one of the first things I do on our next visit to the little house in the city!