life is good and simple

hello world. life in west virginia is full of happiness. 

the haunted house was extremely exhausting, but also a huge success. after wrapping it up and making it through the following weekend i decided to take off to boston the next weekend. eric, my friend from depaul, moved there late this summer and we've been talking of a visit. we had a really chill weekend of local dive bars and delicious FOOD. i loved getting to spend time with him and explore boston from a local's perspective. i drove back to alderson last monday and have had a really busy week.

on tuesday, the crew (including children) went on an ADVENTURE to blacksburg, virginia. brian spoke at virginia tech and we spent the day with catherine!! 
wednesday and friday were full of standardized patient-ing(sp) and i worked around the house on thursday. this weekend was a bit chaotic, with a board meeting and a ground breaking ceremony for (eventual) new staff housing... i'm pooped. 

i definitely feel settled. october flew by and now it's already the middle of november. i've been going on runs, attending weekly yoga at the community center, and balancing sp gigs with house responsibilities. we now constantly have a fire roaring and my winter coat has been dug out. guests have called during their drive north and notified us of their decision to turn around because of 'weather' (even though we assured them there was no reason to worry about the flurries). some of my favorite guests only have two more visits before they pick up their wife/mom. and the ladies that volunteer with us every thursday only have two weeks before they stop coming for the winter. my time here is zooming past and i cannot believe that i originally only planned to stay only until december. 

sunday in yoga, our instructor talked about preparing ourselves for the dark and cold of winter. that people are finishing their harvest, packing and preserving for what lies ahead. she mentioned that this is the time to let go of whatever you don't need. don't bring unnecessary thoughts or aches into the next season. 
i hope that the drastic change of winter jolts me awake, freezes me into some understanding of this place in relation to the rest of my life and that i can start thinking of what comes next for lil ole me!!!!

miss and love. xoxo