A new way of being

The past

The present

On 20 February, the movers came and took all my big stuff out of the rectory and moved it (with some great difficulty getting up our icy road) to the rental house I have until July. Yesterday, on Leap Year Day, after thoroughly cleaning the rectory, I walked out of it for the last time.

Thus beginneth the new way of being.

Agatha now is in our little house by herself. She seems much happier without the other three. Our little house is 100 yards away from the rental house.

For the first time in twenty years, I do not have my La Palma angels flying over my head. Instead, I have a window which means I can look out at the stars (or snow) even as I lie there.

Aelred also can look out the window... at Anne who is snowblowing the driveway in front of my car.

Aelred and August explored the house today (poor Sophia is at the vet recovering from having her right canine extracted — she broke it years ago, missing the counter as she tried to jump up on it). Aelred seemed OK with things. August was terrified.

My wonderful Salvadoran aumbry now has a new home in my study. On the shelf below it, my amice and cincture lie ready to be used... they will be on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Easter when I supply at another Vermont Episcopal church.

It is going to take a while to dig the car out tomorrow but I must, because I have a funeral to attend and then go to Rutland to get Sophia.

The new way of being is that I do not have land line at the house; therefore, I do not have internet there. I can get the microcell signal from our house so my phone gets one bar; I am not totally cut off but working off an iPhone for the internet is tedious. So I am living a quasi retreat-like experience of dragging my laptop down to our house for the evening hours, knowing that when I go back up the hill, I am once again offline.

Now that I am fully out of the rectory and, therefore, completely finished with Trinity, it is time to start looking for a new cure. I know that will take time but I must get going.

In any event, the past two weeks have been full, very full, so full that I took a two-hour nap this afternoon... with both August and Aelred keeping me warm.