The Fog 10/27/10

It’s early morning, the light is just breaking. I’m sitting at the table, looking out the front window towards the bay. I’m mesmerized by the dense fog that is sitting low on the water. Across the road, the pine and birch trees that are faded in the fog, line the edge of the water like a gateway to a surreal vastness. The fog has totally obliterated the sight of the water and islands. There is an emptiness.





Looking out the side window the glowing leaves of the deciduous trees, burning yellow, amber, orange and red, shine so brightly it fills my living room like sunshine. Although surrounded by the vibrant colors of the fall leaves, it’s the grey emptiness that holds my attention, it’s calling me like a siren. It’s not a cold empty feeling, it feels warm, as if I’m snuggled in a beautiful wool blanket, to ward off the dampness.. it feels like..... home.

I'm tired........

I just moved into a beautiful furnished home with fabulous ocean views for the winter, but the house has a quirk...

10/18/10
I’m tired....
That darn water conditioner! It sits on the backside of my bedroom wall. I’m going to have to do something about that contraption! I’ve looked for the paperwork to change the timer but as of yet, have had no luck.
The tubular tank of steel with a digital control on top, back-washes at 3AM! It sounds like the space shuttle taking off with full booster rockets, and the sound of gushing fire hoses squirting everywhere! When it starts, (third time in ten days), I sit straight up in bed, thinking the house is ready to explode. I jump out of bed, feel my way to the far bedroom door that opens into the bathroom, quickly inching my way around to the left, so as not to fall off the step, (which happened the first night in the house). With hands outstretched, I carefully and quickly feel for the folding louvered doors that fold outward into the bathroom. I slide my hand, left and right, up and down, on the right hand wall for the light switch to illuminate the mechanical room, where the furnace, washer and dryer and the dang water conditioner reside. I flip the switch expecting to see water pouring everywhere and seeing the water conditioner vibrating with flames shooting out of the bottom and expecting lift off out through the roof, any second. My eyes squinting, (no time to find my glasses) adjusting to the bright light and with heart pounding out of my skin, I look, and much to my amazement, everything was as it should be, no water squirting anywhere, the tubular metal water conditioner, sitting in the corner, still making ungodly noises, stationary, and no rocket fuel bursting flames from the base of it. I take a deep breath and wonder..........Who in their right mind, would set the water conditioner to backwash at 3AM!!!!!! The previous tenants? Did they work nights? The company that installed the dang thing (mean joke if they did)? Or, does it just backwash when needed?
Today, I’m tired......after checking for lift off and seeing that all was okay, I went back to bed, but hearing that thing jumble softball size rocks around inside that metal tube for thirty to forty minutes, I was wide awake. 3:45AM, It was time to make coffee, by 6:30AM, I had made a batch of oatmeal cookies, checked my email, took photos of a lobster boat chugging by, the lobster man in his yellow slicker, checking his traps. I ran down the road in my bathrobe and slippers to catch a good photo, between the trees, of a huge tanker heading to Searsport and a beautiful sailboat with red sails, skimming across the beam of sunshine that was just cresting the horizon. By 8AM, I had washed all the windows on the front of the house inside and out and swept the garage........I went to work this afternoon for five hours, came home had a glass of wine and a bag of microwave popcorn for dinner. That's all I could muster.
It’s now, 8PM, I’m absolutely exhausted and heading to bed. If that dang thing goes off again in the morning. I’m grabbing my sleeping bag and heading for the garage!