2020 came and went. On to a new year. I know most were hopeful with the end of 2020 insight. As though with the arrival of 2021, all the bad will cease. Life will resume to normal. Whatever that actually is. It’s not as easy as that. You can’t just remove the calendar from the wall and toss in the trash with the past 365 days. Or as they say “wipe the slate clean”. We are in weird times. To say the least.
We were fortunate that 2020 offered us only a few obstacles. Nothing, that together, we couldn’t handle.
We ended 2019 and began 2020 the same way. House and land searching. During the search, we found one we both liked. A 3 car garage with an unfinished living space above. It had potential. And land! We met with a contractor and drafted up plans for a new small home. Which on paper, still seemed too large for me. We were still hesitant. We decided to back off. Keep looking. It had to feel right to both of us. January continued to be mild, icy and uneventful. My excitement was chopping wood during my down time and continue the home/ lot search.
February was much the same. Uneventful. And still looking for “just the right” property. Still nothing. We probably would have done more in the outside world if we known what was coming around the bend. Nahh…probably not. Who would have predicted a pandemic, this day and age, was going to turn the entire world upside down in just a few weeks.
March rolled in being snowy. The first week in, Jesse had the first of 3 surgeries he would end up having in 2020. None related to the other. This surgery was to fix a failed hernia operation he had 3 years prior. No work for 6 weeks. 2 weeks later, I came down sick. All the symptoms of Covid. I called the doctors office and was told to stay home. As the week went on, symptoms progressed. An entire week later the doctor’s office had me come in to be tested for Influenza and Covid. Both came back negative. I was miserable. During this time, Maine began their Stay At Home order. I was home for 3 weeks.
April came around with promising blue skies. Day’s were getting longer, the temperature was rising. I was getting antsy to be outside. The house hunt continued. I found one I was really interested in. Originally it was a camp. Small. Just what we were looking for. April 21st rolled around and we got snow. The road to the camp was impassable. Next thing I know, the property is off market. As many properties were, due to Out of Staters buying to get out of the Covid infested cities. I was frustrated and stopped searching.
Spring was all but a glimpse away. The weather looked promising. I bought my favorite sherbet pansies and planted the window boxes. May 9th…it snowed. A fair amount. A few days later, it all melted. We had crazy weather that went from the 30’s to the high 80’s within days. It was time for spring cleaning. Scrapping the old Schoolhouse began, we changed out the rotted house sill and door. All the old rotted window screen panels were rebuilt for the windows. We moved the enormous rock firepit from the front lawn and repurposed the rocks to build a rockwall. We now have an area on the side lawn with a smaller fire pit and benches to gather with friends and family. The last spring project was installing a flower bed in front of the house. I love my flowers! May 22nd, we welcomed our newest family member, our grandaughter, Marchesa aka Markie. Grandbaby #5 ❤
June was a busy month. Jesse was scheduled for shoulder surgery in July. Time to get things done. We got the house and trim painted, put the floor in the woodshed and got ALMOST all of the winter wood done. All by July 3rd.
July came, Jesse had his surgery and was out of work the remainder of the summer. What we could do was limited. Very limited. No 4-wheeling. Needless to say, we had a lot of fires.
August was other small projects and celebrations. Painted the kitchen floor and built not one, but two outdoor showers. The first one didn’t appeal to me. Not what I wanted. Nope. Shower #2…exactly what I wanted. August 15th, we celebrated our youngest turning 21 and the same day our solar power was installed. Two reasons to celebrate!! August was also a turning point for me. I fell back in love with photography. I was asked to do senior pictures. I had done them for years and at some point, didn’t feel it anymore. I think in a world with photo editing, where I did all mine with actual film and a manual camera, I felt the artistry of photography was gone. I’m back behind the camera again. Even though it’s a digital, I run it on manual.
Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. In Kingsbury, it starts early. I spent a good portion of my time running around with my camera in September. Trying to soak it all in. The turning leaves make me giddy. Just the thought of fall makes me ecstatic. I changed out the window boxes for fall, added Mums to the garden and was in heaven. I wish everyday could be September weather. This was also the month of Jesse’s last surgery. Removing precancerous cells from his nose, which was a two day procedure. Day 2 they rebuilt his nose. He’s just as handsome as ever.
October had wonky weather. All month. We celebrated a wedding and a milestone Birthday. We gained a son-in-law and our oldest turned 40. And just like any other year, Amanda wanted to celebrate at the Old School house. The whole month, the weather fluctuated. Fairly warm, cold, colder and then Antarctica. October 17th, we had the chimney fire with a new older stove installed the next day. I’m still questioning the newer old stove. Chimney fires will make you gun shy. In between rainy blustery day’s, we got the house buttoned up for the winter. I finished splitting and piling wood. We were good to go. October 28th, our 20th wedding anniversary, we got our first snow of the season.
November 3rd, Kingsbury saw a measurable amount of snow. Just enough to coat the landscape in white. I’m always excited for the first snow. Then I’m over it by…let’s say…January. The next day I started this Blog!! It was also our 1 year Anniversary as Kingsbury residents. The 16th, I left for Florida. A well overdue, long awaited trip. At this point, it had been 2 YEARS since I’d seen our daughter and grandson. He’s only 3. Between work and Covid, it kept getting pushed. I was done waiting. And that wasn’t happening again. I hated to leave. I returned a few days after Thanksgiving and did my duty to quarantine. Gladly. This country bumpkin was in the center of Orlando for 2 weeks. I’m still quieting my ears.
The Holiday season arrived. I Decked the halls, found my creative side, played with power tools! Every girls dream. The month of December flew by. So fast, it’s kind of fuzzy. We were able to celebrate the Holidays with our girls and quietly brought in the New Year. So quietly, I was asleep by 9 and started 2021 off at 5am! Boy times have changed.
That sums up our year in the woods. We’ve made productive accomplishments, celebrated not only our daughters wedding, but also our close friends. Our family grew. We’ve made new friends and were able to celebrate other special occasions and holidays. The individuals that we socialize with, besides our daughters, all live the same lifestyle we do. We’ve kept our circle small and in the woods Basically, I don’t leave our road. Then again, why would I?
I know there are people struggling in today’s craziness emotionally, mentally, spiritually and financially. My heart goes out to them. I hope 2021 brings better days for everyone.
Off-Grid Soul 