Saturday, November 6, 2010

The Ridge Glows like Burnished Bronze

This morning we slept in. Then we enjoyed a nice breakfast of waffles. And the newspaper. And plenty of coffee.

What a nice thing to have a break from the farmer's market. Our first family at home breakfast on a Saturday for months. The boys took care of some farm chores. The girls played and practiced the piano. I washed clothes and made my bed. And filled out some papers and filed some papers.

We went into town to run an errand and greet a friend. Came home and enjoyed a visit by some friends who dropped in. Nora and I took a walk up to the upper fields to check on the sheep and the cows and to get some fresh air. The setting sun lit the ridge on fire. It looked like burnished bronze. Nora and I were happy to get warmed up by the nice woodstove.

Hamburger patties, organic grass-fed, of course, seasoned with some soy sauce and carmelized onions, went deliciously with sauteed cabbage and red peppers and onions and garlic. Liberally dosed with toasted sesame oil. The girls played Uno while I read from an anthology of poetry. I had forgotten how I loved Shelley.

Sad and lonely feelings, worries about the unfinished tasks, all quite heavy and burdensome, seem almost bearable, in such a homey setting. For a moment I forgot that today has enough troubles of its own as I worried about the mountains of worries that loom in my future. We are so exhausted from the year, I sometimes wonder if I can keep moving. But then the girls practice the piano, I taste delicious dinner, I see the ridge light up, I feel a sweet daughter play with my hair and a son massage my neck, and I know we will be able to keep moving. Step by step. Day by day.

PS I thank God for the many friends who have supplied us with firewood. Our house is cozy and warm. May they have their gifts returned to them a thousand times.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish all our Saturdays could be like today. Staying home from the farmer's market. Rose Hillery

Tall, and Grey, and starting to flutter again said...

Seems we both had something to be thankful for today. It was my first whole day without a sling! Arm is sore this evening, but I think I have turned the corner with my shoulder recovery. I'm actually using two hands to type with tonight. Glad to hear that you can take a day off and not self destruct. We all need a lazy day every now and then to keep us fresh and "vital". There's a hint of snow in the air of late, so I guess it can't be far away. Stock up on coffee and stay warm

gingerhillery@mac.com said...

Me, too, Rose. Being together sure was sweet for me too.

So happy to see you back, Tall and Grey!!! What a relief that you are healing. Have been thinking of you. Two hand typing. Great. Now I can look forward to your own blog one of these days.

Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country said...

I wish I had some firewood! Before we knew it, the warm weather was over and we hadn't gotten any. Do you have "regular heat" too Ginger, or do you heat only by wood? I have a heat pump but I like it when it's nice and warm in here because I have the woodstove going.

gingerhillery@mac.com said...

Hi Debi,

Nope, woodstove is the only source of heat in the house. We used to have a propane furnace, but it was terribly inefficient, terribly expensive and we decided it wasn't part of a sustainable equation.

Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country said...

We used to have one of those outside woodstoves at our other house, the big old farmhouse. Woodstoves IN that house too. It was big, like yours looks from the pictures I saw on the newspaper. Speaking of which, you should put some pictures on your blog. I'd love to see a picture to go with all your little stories. Anyway, that thing was gold! You could burn ANYTHING in there. Didn't have to worry about the size of the pieces or if it was green. You could shove a half a tree trunk in there. You could even burn 2 X 4s.