Who's that roaming around the woodyard?

It's always a good thing if you can laugh at yourself, or at least shake your head and mutter. 

The weather today left a lot to be desired. Gray skies, dreary. A definite winter bite in the breeze. It was a good day to pull a heavy sweatshirt out of the drawer and layer it with a turtleneck. 

Can you even buy a turtleneck these days? 

If you needed positive proof The Lady of the Manor exists, here it is. I have several trail cams now and it's difficult to walk around the yard and not trip one of them. 

Those windows you see in the background are the windows in my sunroom office. I was peacefully working at the computer when I heard a ruckus over my left shoulder. Of course, it was Loki. He'd chased a squirrel over the woodpile and somehow managed to catch it. I went out and convinced him to let the poor squirrel go. It scurried off, I'm happy to report. 

So there you have it. The fingers that pound on the keyboard are really attached to a person and not to some AI-generated fake. 

And the sweatshirt? Yep. It's an old one from the 1990s. It's got Terry LaBonte's #5 racecar on it. It's warm, too!

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, Terry LaBonte, rural living, bad cats, country lifestyle, firewood, sunroom, squirrels, trail cams

Sunlight on the hillside

I'm in a bit of a funk at the moment. The last several weeks took me away from doing the things I wanted to do and left me doing what I didn't want to do. I retired for a reason and yet I agreed to fill in at the old job. It hasn't left me feeling warm and fuzzy. 

My life has been spent working for others. I got my first part-time job when I was sixteen. I wanted a car and cars cost money, ergo, one works to earn money. I didn't stop working until I turned sixty-five. 

Yes, those years are now paying dividends. I'm not rich, but I have retirement funding. More importantly, I have time to enjoy my home. And what do I do? I say "yes" to filling in while a girl is on maternity leave. Someone should beat me over that. 

Yesterday morning I was reminded of WHY it's important for me to be here tending to my hearth and home. I'm working on a new story and I'm spending a lot of early mornings in my office, which happens to be the sunroom. I glanced out the window in time to see the sunlight hit the hillside. It's in these quick, quiet moments that I know I belong here on the manor. 

I live on the west side of the mountain. To the west of the manor, I can see the pink sky and the small town in the valley. The townies already have full sun, but I'm in the shadow of the mountain. It is on the hillside that I first see bright sunlight. It starts with a sliver of brightness that grows as it makes its way down the hill. It is constant, there in all seasons, present in every day, even on cloudy days when the rays of light slip under the clouds for far too brief a moment. These moments soothe the ache in my soul. 

I did the right thing by agreeing to fill in at the old job. But if they reach out again, the right thing will be to say no. I know this because of the quiet early morning hours and something as simple as the sunlight on the hillside. 

The Lady of The Hideaway

simple country pleasures, sunlight, peaceful mountain, right things, a writer's life, working hard, retirement, sunroom

You'd think we'd all learn - never say never

 One of the first projects the spousal unit undertook when he moved in with me was to, ostensibly, repair a small porch on the west end of my house. It needed new decking and one thing led to another and in the course of his first summer here, he'd built the sunroom. 

It's a wonderful space with windows on three sides. It's about 12'x12' so it's not too small. The south side has a sliding glass door that opens to a 10'x12' porch. The interior walls, ceiling, and floor are tongue and groove pine. It's my favorite space in my house, so I suppose it's little wonder my office migrated to the sunroom. 

For a good number of years, I didn't have blinds or curtains at the sunroom windows. It's not like we had close neighbors, but things have gradually changed. Off to the north, they cleared quite a few trees on the other side of the stone fence. I think they plan to sell that lot. The lady to the south has had a string of tenants, none of whom made good neighbors. 

A few years ago I conceded that having blinds up might be a good idea so people can't see in at night. Most evenings, after dark, I'm here in my sunroom office. This summer, my first being retired, I've given in completely and I've installed curtains. 

And not just any curtains, no. I went for room darkening drapes. If one wishes to be invisible at night, one should go all the way and manage the heat of the daytime sun and thwart the winter wind at the same time. 

I hung the panels today and I must say I like them. At the moment the panels are pushed back. Loki, being a strange little cat, needs to get used to them being at the door. He freaks over big changes in his world. Tomorrow I'm sure I'll close the south side panels to block the afternoon heat and see if they really do keep the room cooler. 

I had said I'd never have blinds or curtains but life moves on ever faster and our needs change with the times. I still have the option of opening the panels and raising the blinds to enjoy being surrounded by the trees. On snowy days, I can swivel my chair around and enjoy a cup of coffee as the snow comes down. 

If anything, I've expanded the ways in which I can fully enjoy my sunroom office. I wish I'd done this sooner. 

Never say never, just live and adjust. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, simple country pleasures, never say never, room darkening drapes, rural lifestyle, summer heat, options, sunroom, home office, Loki