Let me tell you all about the craziness of the Little Cabin In The Woods. Since we moved up for the fire season, every single day of my life here, something hasn’t worked. I’m in a position, on a daily basis, to freak out, grow terribly frustrated or give in to a storm of anger. Here’s a list of things that don’t work or break on a regular basis or have broken and been fixed: power outage to the Airstream, a fried hard drive in my desktop computer, broken plumbing, power outage in the cabin, patchy internet connection, patchy phone service, broken internet connection (as in, my actual hot spot device is currently broken…I’m not even going to go into how awful it has been dealing with Verizon…) and last but not least, no hot water due to a lack of propane.
Yup. I’m taking ice cold showers. It’s brisk! It’s good for a frustrated soul too. I’ve had such a short fuse this week…too much emotional strain. Cold water helps me keep it real.
Life has been jolting about like a 1960 Volkswagen Beetle that is being driven by a kid learning to drive a stick shift for the first time. Some days I don’t get anything done because I’m trying to solve problems in the cabin or with my connectivity to the outside world. It can be exasperating. Instead of pitching a hideous tantrum every single day, I’m trying to view all the troubles I’m having as opportunities. For instance, when the electricity quits flowing into the Airstream and I can’t work, I view it as an opportunity to walk out into the forest and paint or go bike riding or take a box of beads down to the lake and swim between crafting bead strands. Or I sit down and practice writing in the heat of the afternoon when the Airstream is like an oven. All those moments of inconvenience can be turned into life experience, one way or another.
I am master and commander of the chaos. If I tell it to bug off, it does, and then I can proceed to have a lovely time doing something unrelated to the chaos.
Having to take a cold shower is another thing altogether but when I am in there, I imagine I am under a pretty cascade on a lovely, wild river, in the backcountry. I have a nice fire going in my campsite and am washing away the sweat of the day. I caught a couple of beautiful trout earlier on and am looking forward to reading a book in the dusk of the evening. The water is fresh and cold, pure snow melt from the high country and it makes me feel alive. You see? I transported you for a moment, didn’t I? If I keep my eyes shut while in my cold shower, I can take myself some other place and it seems lovely instead of darn terrible. In point of fact, when Rob comes home eventually and helps me to load the propane tank into the back of the truck to take to town to be filled, I might miss my cold showers and the wild living of my imagination. I know. This is all so disgustingly optimistic. What can I say? I’m like a sunflower. My face follows the light.
Today I am going to a flea market down on the Columbia River. I might pick up a delicious lunch on the way. When I get back this evening, I’m going to work on some earrings in the cool of the evening and watch, with gladness, as my forest falls into night. The stars have been magnificent lately, something to ponder on while I fall asleep in my cozy nest up in the cabin loft.
Life sure can be annoying, but it’s still wonderful.
When life gives you limes, make gin and tonics.
That’s all I have to say about that.
Happy belated Canada Day and Fourth of July to all my beloved Canadians and USA-icans. I belong to two very beautiful countries and it’s always wonderful to celebrate these awesome lands with friends and family and friends who are like family.
Be well, little saplings,
X
::Post Scriptus::
Cutest overalls ever, right?