Isn't it self explanatory?
Today is everywhere rain, and the snow is lifting fog up into the sky like hands thrown up in frustration or submission: I give up trying to be winter. I felt the rain all day like some sort of permission. Let's not do. Let's stay put. This is the generosity of bad weather on a… Continue reading 10 years later
The first night we stayed in this house, 20 years ago last March, we slept on a futon on the floor in a small second-floor bedroom that had a cracked and crumbling plaster wall. And we were smitten. That wall didn't bother us much. The whole house was a project, and the crumbling wall seemed… Continue reading Pivot
It's the last day of summer, and before we launch into fall color, carved pumpkins, and big bowls of soups and stews, I need to take a moment to acknowledge what we accomplished around here the last couple of months. And when I say we, I really mean he, as in M. Because he was… Continue reading What we did on our summer vacation
We stood on the deck behind the house, thigh-high in late-spring snow, peeking inside the big window, 19 years ago this week. (Remember how Vermont winters used to be?) Our friends, the house's owners, had written to say, "We're selling the Vermont house. Do you want it?" We drove from Pittsburgh and arrived while our… Continue reading Good old bones
Ask anyone who knows us. We don't rush into things. We study the situation. We agonize over the details. We talk out the possibilities, mentally try out a series of "what-ifs", watch the wind, wait for the stars to align. We think of alternatives that delay further decisions. We come up with Plan A, then… Continue reading Potential
The other evening, I went out to dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday and when I got home, M and H surprised me with this: To you, it might look like just another pile of firewood. To me, it looks like heaven. It means a winter of never having to go out into the wild… Continue reading I won’t even have to put shoes on
Remember way back when, when did that little house move/renovation project? Back then, we were looking for ways to cut costs and one of the decisions we made was that we would do all the painting ourselves. We figured we could handle it and it would cut a good chunk out of the budget. We've… Continue reading A load off my mind
