Here's the News

For those of you speculating that my big change might be a move, you would be correct. The old house by the lake that I've been renting had finally become too much for me to deal with, and I suspect some of my health problems of the last couple of years can be traced to its dampness. Being shut up for 3 months while I was away in Rochester intensified its "old house smell" - overpoweringly musty when I arrived. I'd been considering getting out even before leaving for Rochester. Now my nose told me it was definitely time to go.

My faithful Subaru Outback made many trips to the new (and newer) rental on the other side of town, packed to the gills with things I could handle myself.

I'd given myself a short timeline to get everything packed that I needed the movers to handle. My last three moves I'd had the movers box up everything but my studio. This time, I boxed it all myself. Did I say a few posts back that I thought it time to clear the decks for a fresh start? I bet you never dreamed I meant this! But I did, and it feels right. I got rid of bags and bags of stuff, from clothing to books to furniture to polyester and blend fabric leftovers from my clothing construction days. I probably should have jettisoned even more, but this particular round of parting with things kept for all the wrong reasons was a big step.

Moving day was not without its drama. I'd had weeks of moderate dry weather for packing and trips back and forth to the new place. But THE day my furniture and boxes and boxes of stuff would be loaded into the moving van, mother nature gave me a send-off of rain/sleet and 50 mph wind gusts! We judiciously paused inside as multiple storm waves blew through.

So within a month of returning from Rochester, I was sleeping in my new place, although not totally out of the old; still things at the old house to be packed up and a lot of cleaning to do, another week's worth of work. It was starting to feel like Rochester all over again - the daily drive between rentals, the schedule requiring long days with nary a day off.

But at last I wrapped up that part of my life and am now focused on settling into my new digs. A lot of time has been spent washing most everything textile as towels, sheets and clothing had all absorbed the awful smell in the old house. (Thankfully, the studio was the one room that didn't smell so fabric stashes ok!) Boxes await emptying, the dining room table substitutes as temporary home to things that will eventually find their way onto kitchen shelves and a few new pieces of furniture require assembling. Every space has its own rhythm and I am still learning this one's. Bit by bit, all things will find their proper place.

I don't know when I'll get to setting up the studio again, but I feel an excitement about working in the new space that is encouraging. It is the same width as my previous studio, but several feet longer, plus it has that wonderful closet spanning the width of one end of the room and has its own bathroom - ooohh the possibilities. The ping pong table I've been using for years as a work table couldn't be enticed up the stairway and I am not particularly sad about that. I'd already researched a plan b, and have since come up with a plan c. Rather than feeling my usual urge to resist change, I am welcoming it. The fact that I could orchestrate this move in so short a time proved to me how ready I was for change. Not much pondering nor foot dragging, just acceptance and action.

The only thing sad to leave is the view I had of the lake. But seriously, I had 6 years of that view, taken so many pictures of it in all kinds of weather and seasons and am still just a few minutes' drive to city beach where I'd begun spending lots of time with another favorite lake view. I can go back to the bike trail and see the old view from their as well. It's not like I left the area. And what I traded it for is not so bad. This is the view from my new studio - I had the choice of three townhouses along this street - that birch tree sealed the deal for the one I chose!

And looking the other direction, from the office/guest room and my bedroom, over the tops of other townhouses along my street, I can still see mountains and watch the wispy clouds play amongst their peaks and folds, and watch stands of trees turn color, and enjoy beautiful sunsets.

Esthetically, it may not be as pleasing an area as the one I just moved from, but it has its own possibilities, and the townhouse itself makes me feel safe and comfortable in a way I have not for too long.