Quiet

The house is quiet.

Weirdly quiet.

It's generally filled with Himself, various kids and dogs.

Himself is in Disney with some of the kids. I was supposed to be there, too, but even though I've ditched the crutches (YAY!!) I'm not up to a Disney trip. At least not the way my family does Disney...I've Fitbitted that in the past. It's generally at least a 20,000+ day. Yep, my swiss cheese thigh and I bowed out. And since Ella passed away, I'm here in this eerily quiet house.

I'm working on a new book and the main character is suddenly alone. And I think I understand the silence closing in on her better than I did when I started her story. I was trying to remember a time when I was all alone in a house for any extended period and came up blank. Most of the time, I'm cramming my work into the quiet minutes between the crazy ones. This week, I have a string of quiet minutes. And I'm hermit enough to enjoy the change of pace. For me it's a treat, but for my character...  Looking at a lifetime of those quiet minutes is a daunting task.

So I'm filling these quiet minutes by cooking food I love and Himself isn't such a fan of. (I made a banging cream of chicken and tortillini soup...mmm.) I'm working on the book I mentioned and in the studio, and I'm trying to finish this last Sanderson's Stormlight book (Dude, 1,200 pages?). I think I'm fortunate that I love solitude. LOL

How about you? Chaos or quiet? Or like me, do you enjoy a healthy mix of both?

Holly

PS Himself tried out the newest Star Wars ride yesterday and said it was amazing!

PPS. I hope you'll check out my new series!

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Quiet

Quiet.

There are different types of quiet.

There’s the quiet all mothers know…the kind that tells you the kids are up to something.

There’s also the quiet in town. I don’t always notice it, but even at its most quiet, the city has noise. Cars on the road. Music. Trains. Sirens. A dog barking. Something. There’s always something. I tune it out most of the time, but it's always there.

I notice the lack out here in the country. It's a quiet that is deeper and softer. Oh, there are still background noises. Birds—specifically my Cooper’s Hawks. The rustle of leaves as the neighborhood squirrels run through the woods. The neighbor-down-the-road’s dog. And occasionally, a car. We’re set back quite a way from the road, but I still can hear a car now and then.

 

That country quiet is balm. It soothes me.

I came out this morning and started the fire. While the cottage warmed up, I split more kindling for my next visit and brought in more wood. Then I took a long walk down our dirt road. I normally walk through my woods, but during hunting season I take walks through my “neighborhood.” You get a different feeling walking down the road than driving down it.  Someone threw an empty can out. I grumbled as I picked it up. But then I got back to enjoying the scenery. Up the road a bit, there were a bunch of deer tracks. They obviously went from the woods across the road to my woods. I heard my hawks from the treetops. I wondered if they’re staying the winter or migrating farther south. Now that it's fall, the quiet is...quieter. The frogs aren't making any noise down at the pond. It feels as if a lot of the birds and animals have started to huddle down as the weather cools.

When I went back to the cottage, I got to work in front of the woodstove and the only sound I heard was the occasional pop of the wood. It was a lovely day.  

I shot a quick tour of the downstairs for you. The stonewall if finished. Every stone came from our property. I love that. Just like all the tongue-and-groove on the wall came from the mill down the road. We're taking buying local seriously. LOL

Hope you find a moment of quiet soon!

Holly

PS I started that new bio of Louise Dickinson Rich today. I was happy to have my "lunch buddy" back.