Home is where the heart is

Sethro got a new pump hooked up and running water working in the farmhouse today. Life here is slow and steady, a constant and continual effort to keep everything comfortable and nice. We've yet to get the property completely "together", but we are making progress every day.

While Seth puttered under the house with the pump, I continued on my Spring Cleaning mission. It takes a measure of perseverance and patience to clean this house. It's a four step process: 1. De-clutter/De-trash-ify 2. Organize/Dust 3. Clean (with product) 4. Sweep. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed, but then I sit down, smoke a cigarette, then get back to it! Today I nearly finished the living room, though there remains on corner to purge. Tonight Seth and I are going to tidy up our bedroom and tomorrow I'm going to tackle the bathroom and the upstairs and downstairs hallways. Which only leaves kitchen (where Seth has already made incredible headway) and the sitting room (which currently serves as the "catch all" for things without a designated place). The sitting room is going to be a real job.

I love this little farmhouse. It's filled to the brim with character, from the holes in the floors to the painted-over paneling...nothing is level, the fireplace/chimney is ancient and beautiful, and every corner, every crevice is filled with love. This place is home...something I have searched for my entire life. Something much more than a house, or a farm, or any dwelling or place...home is a concept, a feeling in the pit of your stomach. There are lots of "factors" that make this place my home...my soul-mate and husband Seth, our dogs and our cats, and yes our house (which was Seth's mom, Pinky's house and home) and all of the love and work and care we've put into it and our family. However, there's more to it than that. There is magic in it. Something I don't even understand, and certainly can't put into words, exists in the world that guides and designs everything. You can call it God, or Fate, or whatever you want...but it is real.

Personally, I prefer to believe that everything is controlled by His Noodliness, The Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Anyway, there's still a lot to do, not only in the house but throughout the grounds. Spring is almost here. We've had a number of incredible, sunny days, although today was very very rainy. Still, flowers are just starting to pop up, the birds and bees are buzzing around, and we go through less than half the wood we did a month ago!