Good morning, folks. Well, since I know there are at least 3 of you out there interested ( Shine, LWM & Holly) I'm up early, steaming tea at elbow and cigar in hand, blinking for energy to write up how yesterday went...and the results.

Lets see now, woke up at 5am, spent some time talking our plans for the day with Emile then we got up. Too gods damn early, but long day on the road ahead so we wanted a decent breakfast (eat before noon? Oh, the horror...) so while E went to shower I fed the fur kids, and since it is freezing here made myself a cup of tea, gulped down in desperation to remain cognizant.

E finishes shower and I'm like, hmm...time to throw up. "Huuuurk!" twice and bye-bye tea.

"Okay, I'm ready. Lets go out to eat!"

(BTW, Holly, I woke up and my eye was fine. No longer “itchy” or puffy. Whew!)

Great diner we got in town, hug Greek place and the pancakes went (and stayed down) fine. Back home to walk the pooch, toss crap in a shopping bag for road lunch and we were off with the sun still rising...

Vermont. Love it. Driving up, more talk. I'm excited and trying not to be. Trying to fend ff that horrible "hope" thing and the rest of it. Emile is like, "I have no expectations for this trip...well, maybe 10% worth, but that's it."

Skipping ahead to first house. Hmm, well this is a really nice surprise. Large, decent layout, little stream in the back. Set back from the road in a sort of neighborhood place. Right next to a nuclear power plant but what can you do? Still, doesn't get much feeling from it.

House #2. Neet-o keen, actually. Owned and possibly built by a lady getting married. Carnival woman according to her parked and well painted trailer announcing the “wonderful and wild Cow Girl...” Real funky place, log cabin with plenty of nooks and crannies, yard or wild grasses with paths, the lawn made up of soft mosses with little running fountain tiny paths to “secret” places, like the one around the sheltering pine with benches and a ground-level stone fire pit. Another path to a rounded clearing atop a slight hill. (Can you say rituals anyone?) Woven vine stars hanging all over...pretty nice. Too cramped for E though, and he is getting small voices in his head saying “foundation problems”. And the place is a real do it yourselfer. The house not painted but spraypainted...so depite the funky 5 foot sun mural and paint-washed stucko all over...something says continue your search.

(Skip skip. We say 8 places today.)

Another log cabin...ah, haunted. How nice. Poor sod. I’ve the feeling he knows he’s dead now (happened in August) and he’s feeling sorts bitchy about it. Did not like seeing them come tow away his sports car. Nope. Interesting place upstairs where a chunk of carpet was removed, the floorboards replaced and a huge stained area of carpet still left. (Hum, where did this guy die? Nevermind. My mind tends to lean towards the morbid on “occasions” hehe. And sorry, guy. just don’t have the energy to deal with this at this point. Mr. Dead Pissy.) Dead birds mummifying on the back deck...problems with water. Foundation (on the side of a hill) has odd steal support brackets welded on and...lets pass.

The place right next door? Woman getting divorced, rents it to 4, 20 year old guys...yuck. Dirty socks and beer bottles enough to build another cabin with. Yes, I can see the building under the filth (Flies! Holy molly, though Amityville horror was next door LOL!) only...

Next place...the place we made this whole trip for to see; the one which has the heart beat faster and it is...

Oh my.

Out of the cars and the excitement is still there! Emile is smiling and takes off to look at the building down the driveway.

Now, what got me in the descript of this place was the “three room guest apartment”. Guest apartment? It’s a whole god damn separate house! And what a house! Like a barn on the outside, has a garage on bottom level, but the upper floor, WOW! All wood, cathedral ceilings of post and beam, bright, sunny honey-warm pine wood everywhere. Single floor, you walk into the living room / kitchen (full kitchen, oven, cabinets, microwave....) with wood stove and skylights. Full bathroom, tub sitting in bright sun (again, the whole place is that bright, yellow-golden pine) then the master bedroom and another large room. Guest apartment? Hell, like we have any friends who could visit. Nope, ALL MINE a voice was giggling with greed in my head.

Time to see the house now...

Walk about a hundred feet up through the trees, can barely see one place to another. Over 7 acres of wooded land. Walk in and...a sauna? Brand new and ready to go with bright laid out, smell of cedar which it is lined in, full, modern shower two steps from the door...walk from there to a living room.

Wait, you mean this is just the basement? Well lead us on into the house!

Walk up the wooden stairs (log cabin home remember) and there is a fireplace waiting for you. Not a wood stove, but working, large and modern fireplace.

Rooms from there, lots of space; large bay windows to let in the light and view of the trees all around. Deck accessed by the kitchen and Emile (smiling) goes out to see something viewed from the kitchen window. A ledge, bouldered in large span, rounded, like the backs of large turtles upon the other covered in drying, golden White Pine needled. (I see a think, bright white lightning streak of quarts peeking through the gold, some chunks sticking out like teeth...or crystals.

Emile climbs up, and if it isn’t a meditation area I do not know what is.

The asking price for all this? Duable actually.

The hidden catch, something not on the disclosure form but our realtor lady stars going, “Hmmm” about?

Power lines.

See, just below the boulder rise are some of those massive powerline structures you see connecting states. Large, high, two-post structures wide enough for a trolley to run between them. That is not the issue though, no, the issue (and what was not disclosed) is that there is a 300 hundred foot “right of way” for the ones whom manage the power lines and it is proposed in 2008 that they will be doubling them. LARGER structures, three poled and much, much higher next to the ones already there...and they will have to clear-cut the land.

How close to the house will/could the clear-cutting be?

Oh, fifteen feet from the kitchen windows...it will be your new view, greeting you every day...and the lights to warn off planes blinking throughout the night...right over your head.

Hum...

So then. Not quite certain where this leaves us. Another small drawback of the land is that is it up a mountain, no streams and I did want a garden. Under massive uber powerlines though? I mean, most of the point of this move is to leave the cities awhile, find quiet and inspiration (as well as health) in the land...

This is the good news though...I am not depressed. Even this next morning, sitting here thinking of everything. No, this place which excited us may not be it, yet Something sure as hell feel very, very close. And the paces we did see, bring some hope. Yes, because it tells us that places where we could live are most definitely out there.

Okay, I’m beat. Was a long, long day yesterday and so much work to catch up on on this house here. Prep, plastering, the usual. And we’re hosting our monthly Psychic Fair this Sunday, so the downstairs has to be re-assembled to get ready. Stupid, damn opera to go to with Ursel tomorrow night as well (on the first.)

Catch you later, gang,

Melissa