Dianne Day

In my last post I was full of the joy of living here. 

One reason for joy that I didn’t include is my retirement from my own, self-imposed projects. My only ambition now is to enjoy my day-to-day life—I practice the Zen of my chores that support my large lot, three buildings, three pets and myself (note the order).

There was a time when I wondered: “Is this it? Is this all there is for the rest of my life? Will all day, every day (just about), for the rest of my life, be here with my pet friends doing chores until I die?” It seemed, in those moments, rather gloomy.

However, I now welcome those chores as my project of living here.

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Yesterday morning when the sun shone into the forest, so low in winter, it was like the forest was on fire. And the wind gave incredible mobility to the trees. It was a stunning morning, so there were lots of people and dogs on the Sunday morning community walk.

It was a treat doing yard work in the beautiful sunshine of the afternoon; it was truly lovely and warm (for winter)! Plus the incinerator was roaring. I absolutely loved burning the forest detritus—the warmth (I should have had some marshmallows) and the snapping sounds and smells of the burning wood. When I added a branch rich with needles, I’ loved the great whoosh of flame their oils created. 

I got the front yard looking pretty good. All of the big branches are gone; only little bits remain to be raked in the Spring. The courtyard is almost back to normal too, but the rest of the backyard still needs a lot of work—some of which I’ll do today if I have time.

In the evening I baked cookies and stuffed some mural project panels into their envelopes while the TV was on. What a great, great day!

Today Dianne arrives to celebrate NYE with me tonight and she’s stay for tomorrow night as well. So I’ve laundry to do, beds to make and shopping to do.

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2018 is over. Markers of time passing are scary now. However: I think of the Winter Solstice as the first step towards Summer and the beginning of the new year as the second, so we’re on our way!

2019 will see me become a mini-farmer as I inaugurate my vegetable. It’s also the year Steve, my dear ex, comes to visit. And, perhaps, my friend David, from London, will come. I’ll turn 72 and, in October, my second anniversary of life here in Paradise.

It feels like home here now—the nicest home I’ve ever had.