Garsh, I feel like such a heel. It's been far too long since I posted anything, and I have received several emails from ya'll wondering about my safety, sanity, and relative happiness. Not to mention my whereabouts.! I have been remiss, and I hate that I have left so many people I am so fond of hanging for so long. I always swore that I wasn't going to be one of those bloggers who up and vanished one day, leaving everyone to wonder and worry. Imagine my chagrin to realize that I have done exactly that!
I have no internet access at home, currently. I'm working on it, but the only things available here are dial-up and satellite. I've spent the last 6 months trying to decide whether or not the expense of a satellite connection is worth it for us. I am beginning to decide that it is indeed worth it. I miss ya'll more than I can express, and I miss blogging my little heart out. The monthly expense isn't that bad. It's only about $20 bucks more per month than I was paying previously; its the start up costs that have me biting my nails! It's a little bit more than I am comfortable spending in one go. The move has provided both Gnymph and I with steady work at a place we know and love, however our combined income is less than I was making at my job up in Oregon before I was laid off. Truth be told, I'm making less working than I had been when I was collecting unemployment. It's not so bad, as our expenses are quite a bit lower here than they are anywhere else we've been. There are benefits to company housing with insanely low rental and utility rates! My biggest bill currently is my cell phone bill, and even that is a minor expense all told. We're comfortable enough, we just lack any pad for emergencies at this point. I have a feeling that that's not terribly uncommon in this economy of ours.
It's a mystifying thing to me that here, out in the middle of nowhere, in a solid community of perhaps 25 people year 'round, I am more socially active than I was in Portland. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the fact that I know these people, and am very comfortable with all of them. It's strange to come back here and find the core of the place comprised of the same crew we knew and loved so well. With as many of us who left during the "troubling time," nearly all of us have returned and taken up from a place not far from where we left of. It does my heart good to be back among so many faces I know so well. I do miss all of my internet friends, though. All those sane voices in the mists of the interwebs who were so vital in keeping my sanity firmly in place during my own personal "troubling times" of living in Oregon and fleeing said state of beauty and wetness.
To clarify, if only slightly, we have ended our traversing and settled once again in our tiny hamlet on the lake. All right, hamlet isn't really the right word for it. We're closer to a fishing village perhaps, or maybe a third world country with travel destination fantasies. *snicker* It's not that bad, but we're small and remote, and only exist to serve the whims of boaters, waterski-ers, and fishermen. It's a totally different world, living away from civilization. I hadn't realized how much I missed it until we got back here. I think you have to be a special kind of person to be able to live this far off the beaten path. We're not as far out in the boonies as I know some people are, it's only about an hour and half in either direction to get to a major town and good shopping. School for the kids is a little hard. We are too small to have our own school, so the kids are bussed in to a little town about an hour away. Their bus stop is all the way at the end of our 26 mile "driveway", and from there they still spend another 45 minutes or so on the bus getting to school. Thankfully they only go 4 days a week, so that saves a certain amount of where and tear on our vehicles. There aren't too many kids here full time. There are my 4 (Miss. Deedles chose to remain in Oregon with her daddy), and then two more that belong to If and Strong. Their kids are older than mine at 11 and 14. Even having missed out on the last three years of their lives, in many ways it's as if we have never been gone.
It's really amazing to see how much the kids have grown since we last saw them. Me has grown into a lovely young lady, who is so much her daddy's daughter that at times it's as if Strong is speaking through her. Cricket is so much like If that it's scary. Some people think it's funny that their daughter is so much like the father and the son so much like his mother, but having known them for as long as I have, it seems to make perfect sense to me. Me even looks just like Strong, right down to her build. She'll make some lucky guy very happy someday, but woe-betide any oaf that crosses her! She's got enough strength and meanness in her to pummel any offender right back into the rock he crawled out from under. We had a few other kids over the summer, but sometimes around here new faces come and go almost faster than you have a chance to learn their names. Not everyone has the fortitude to live out here, and for those of us who do, I think it has much more to do with the place getting under our skins and into our blood than anything else.
There is an undeniable power and draw to this spot, as many of our regular guests will tell you. Some of them have been coming out here for 30 years or more to spend time on our gentle waters. There are plenty of other places on the lake to stay and play, but all of them lack that special touch of magic that is found here. It's not just the stunning rock formations and vistas, the isolation, the atmosphere. It some combination of all these things that give this place a breath of it's own that revives the flagging spirit.
Despite my gratitude to find myself here once again, it has been a long summer. With our busy season drawing to a close with the holiday on Monday, I can't help but feel a sense of relief. Not only that the summer is finally over, but that we have survived the season and remain among the employed. The economy didn't do us any favors, and an almost decade long draught has left our waters lower than ever. It does make for a good business atmosphere for `us, but I know that it will only take time before we are once again as busy as we have ever been.
All of my internet access this summer has been through the office wi-fi connection, which thankfully we keep open for the use of guests and employees alike. The only trouble being that you have to physically be hanging out around the office or bar to get a signal. With the hours that I have been working, finding the time to do anything other than simply download my email and read it when I get home has been more than a challenge. Our hours of operation will scale back this week, so I am hoping that with that I will once again find myself with the energy to do more than lurk silently in the wings.
I miss doing HNT's - though I must admit to have gained a little padding over the summer! It's amazing how fast 20 pounds accumulates when you aren't paying attention! It's not all that bad, but I don't want to gain any more than I already have, so it's time to start watching what goes into the old food trough, and in what quantities. I'm sure a good deal of it is how often I find myself taking lunch in our restaurant. It's pretty good food, though not as healthy as I normally like to eat. I'm finding I'm having more issues with how my tummy handles certain foods, so that's something I'm going to have to start watching a little more closely as well. I'm not sure how I'm going to find the semi-secluded time to take HNT pictures, however! We've moved from our large 4 bedroom home, to Fred, to a smallish two bedroom trailer. Currently my living room doubles as my bedroom, as we try to maximize space for the kids. I'm sure I can figure something out. *wink*
If is my best friend out here, and I can tell that's she's glad to have me back. Not only do I have If and Strong, but there's Monkey Man and his wife Sweetie Pie. We've had quite the relationship in the past, and have remained steadfast compatriots in the long run. They've told us many times since we've been back that if they had known how we were faring in the cold wet north, they'd have taken us in a heartbeat. I was terribly excited to find that they had come back when we returned! Monkey Man is one of my favorite people, and Sweetie Pie is a darling gal - full of spunk and insecurity and love. I wish I'd had more time to spend with them these last few months, and hopefully with the calmer atmosphere upon us, that will be so.
Moo and Gan are in school, and glad to be there. I think being on the road was hardest on them. They missed the structure and interaction of the classroom and peers. Bean and D'oh fared better, but I think they're glad to be settled as well. It was so good to see those people I missed so much on our trip back down through California and through Nevada to get back here. It was hard to part with some of them, never knowing when I'll get the chance to see the light in their eyes once again. In all honesty, there was one place where if I could have figured out how to stay forever, I would have. It doesn't seem to be written for me that way, however, so we trod on to our final destination.
The new faces I got to see along the way were just as amazing as the old. My time in Oregon made me some fast friends, and if it hadn't been for my internet connection that wouldn't have happened. I can only hope to reconnect with all them soon, and catch up on all the wonders of their lives that I have missed in my absence.
My dear friends, I hope you are all well, and I cannot wait to begin on catching up with all of you. I hope to be posting again regularly, and I hope to have a hook up at home in the relatively near future. I love you all!
Posts
