Have I become an eccentric old lady???

[Raven]

Or maybe, I've always been one!

Some of you know that I threw over the law profession and have been living in my log cabin in the woods in NH since May. I've been learning to paint which is something I have always wanted to do.

Winter has come. The leaves are off the trees and the lake is beginning to freeze over. In October I drained the pipes so the toilet has to be manually flushed and any water must be brought in. I get water from the lake. Drinking water comes from Holland Springs or from my house outside of Boston when I go there (which isn't often). The heat here is pretty good but I often use the fireplace. The fireplace is stone and was built by the fisherman who built this cabin 50 years ago. It throws the heat beautifully and probably could never be duplicated.

I have learned some things here...you can't put things off. You have to get the water and the wood everyday. When it snows, you have to plow your path clear sooner rather than later. You have to have enough food and provisions for a week. Your car has to be in perfect running order. These are things I never thought alot about in Boston.

Some of my friends are looking at me funny and asking me when I'm coming home. I think I want to stay. Any thoughts? Any words of wisdom? :hi:

[radwriter0555]

1. Stay.

Sounds like real heaven.

Sounds like they miss you more than you miss them.

Stay.

[GOPisEvil]

2. If you're happy, then stay.

Sounds like you're happy to me. :-)

[Cleita]

3. No, but it looks like you gone back to nature.

This isn't a bad thing incidentally.

[Droopy]

4. No words of wisdom, but

How are you going to get water for the toilet when the lake gets frozen over this winter? Just curious.

Oh, and yes you may be becoming eccentric. At the very least you sound like you've become a hermit. Nothing wrong with that, though. There've been times in my life when I wish I could have become one.

[Raven]

9. Well, now that you asked...

I have found that I can get alot of wonderful rainwater from the downspouts when it rains. When the lake freezes I have an ax and the lake never freezes right at the shore so I think I'll be ok. I have also thought that I could melt snow. Worse comes to worse I could pee in the woods (just kidding)!

[MsFlorida]

5. Stay, stay, stay!!!

Thanks for showing me it can be done! I've been contemplating doing something similar.

[MaineDem]

6. I wonder the same thing

About me, though, not you. :)

My family thinks I'm nuts living so far away (2 hours.) It's 26 miles to a major grocery store and we plan a trip a week down there. That's providing the car is running well, which is not the case right now. Oh, it's running ok but we got a flat the other day and we have the toy spare on it while we wait (we do that a lot up here) for the tires we ordered to arrive.

I used to live west of Boston and worked downtown for a while. Yeah, I miss the vibrancy of the city at times. I miss being able to jump in the car and drive to Nashua to shop without taxes. However, back then I was working and pulling in a decent salary. Now we're living on my pension which isn't bad but certainly isn't what we were making back in the corporate world.

All that being said, as I look out at the mountains and the deer in the backyard I wouldn't trade this life for all the lunches at the Milk Street Cafe (I loved their Caesar salads.) It's fun being one of the few Democrats around and now that the mountain opens for skiing this weekend life gets a bit more interesting.

You deserve being an eccentric old lady (although I bet you're younger than I); enjoy it. Throw another log on the fire. :)

[Raven]

13. I've always wanted to meet you!

Did you see the thread about a Boston Christmas gathering? Can you come? Do you need a place to stay?

[Rainbowreflect]

7. Sounds wonderful!

Can move in with you. I am feeling a need to escape.

[supernova]

8. So what if you are?

Embrace your inner eccentric. :D

Sounds like a lovely place.

[Zomby Woof]

10. sounds like a dream to me!

You are living the Thoreau dream as far as I am concerned.

So to answer your question, you may be eccentric (which is a virtue), but you are young because your soul is young and spirit healthy. :-)

[RobinA]

11. The Big Question Is...

how many cats do you have?

Is there medical care within a reasonable distance? Do you have neighbors? In thirty or so years, will somebody be around to find your body before the spring thaw that year? (Sorry, I think of things like that.)

[Raven]

16. I have 2 cats and one dog.

I had two dogs but my yound Newfoundland died in October. There is a wonderful Vet in the town so I am not worried about that. I have neighbors close by and there are good friends about 3 miles down the road who would be there if I needed them. That, by the way, is the wonderful thing about this place, people help eachother...they have to. I think I could have died six months ago in Boston and my neighbors there wouldn't have checked.

[RebelOne]

12. No, you're not. I envy you.

Wish I could just leave and go up to the mountains to live. But since I can't afford to leave my job, I'll just have to dream. And I bet I'm older than you.

[Lars39]

14. Any thoughts?

No, you're not eccentric; I'd happily cocoon all winter if people would just let me. Also, toilet paper, books, food, chocolate; enough for the winter is a must. :)

on edit: and matches!

[tom_paine]

15. Stay, Raven and be part of the Underground Railroad

We will soon be needing another one of those as Imperial Amerika finishes transitioning from what it was into what it is becoming.

There are going to be many Anne Franks and Harriet Tubmans needing out help, if these trends remain unaltered.

[Raven]

19. Tom, I've said that to William...

often I'm kidding about him needing a secret place to escape to but as time goes on and I watch the madman in charge, I think that it's not such a joke.

[tom_paine]

20. Not a joke at all

As a Jew with seven Great-Uncles murdered by Stalin and more distant relatives lost to his Right-Wing Alter-Ego, Hitler, I am especially sensitive to the stench of evil in the wind and the Dark Clouds of Totalitarianism gathering on the horizon.

It's no joke at all, and if these trends are not reversed, history says it is not a matter of "if" but "when".

Oh, it will look different. It's bad PR to roll out your new product if it raises unpleasant memories of the discredited old product. Perhaps like "Farneheit 451".

But if it is not stopped, it will come.

[Cleita]

17. You should look into an Envirolet toilet.

The water usage is low, mostly for cleaning out. It makes compost and you can use it in your ornamental garden in the spring. (Don't fertilize your veggies with human compost.) It doesn't stink because of the way it's vented and engineered and it eliminates the need for septic tanks and such.

[VelmaD]

18. You say eccentric...

like it's a bad thing. I think you're wonderfully eccentric. :-) If you're happy then don't worry about what anyone else thinks. Do what you need to do right now for you. That's one of the good parts, I would think, of getting older and not having all the responsibilities of "middle-age". You can live for yourself.

[woofless]

21. Grandpa built a cabin

on Beaver Lake in Derry, NH. We went there often in the 50's and early 60's. I think of that place often even though I have not seen it in 40 years. You seem to love your place so stay. I envy you. I hope to someday return to MA and NH for a visit. Still tons of kin there.

Woof

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

22. They ask when you're coming home? I won't ask that. Instead I'll ask

GOT ROOM FOR ME???? I can cook! :D You'll NEVER be hungry ...

[Kenneth ken]

23. Do you talk to logs?

if not, you're fine.


I'm thinking of the log lady from Twin Peaks. She seemed a bit eccentric, but then so did everyone else on that show.

[WilliamPitt]

24. Become?

:)

Stay where you are. I can get there quick if I have to.