Stubbed Toe Syndrome

Dear All.

As I sit tucked away in a cozy chalet in the Swiss Alps, I find it very humorous that we had to come here to finally gain access to the internet. And let me say how very sorry I am that, after starting a blog, I then stopped said blog. It's a pet peeve of mine, that starting-and-stopping of the Cyber World. I can honestly say that I am, however, above my own reproach. Because one must have internet to post on the internet. I know this probably sounds a bit like my last post. Ya  know, the one in AUGUST. But nothing has changed so there you have it. In all seriousness, while it has been nice to be detached from the addicting and perhaps dehumanizing effects of social media (more on that here: https://marshillaudio.org/catalog/topics/media), I've also felt that detachment to be a bit like a stubbed toe. Expectation: walk across the room (book a trip, do the budget, talk to family, answer emails, blog). Reality: take three steps and crumple from the mind-numbing pain of a stubbed toe (drive 30 minutes to sit in the parking lot of the public library, use the internet, and listen to your 10-month-old protest his inactivity). And....repeat. Thankfully, sanity and the internet come in the form of a nice, German Telekom representative on Thursday.

In the meantime, another update (soon these posts will be less update, more stream-of-consciousness...you lucky thing you). Our home is finally settled. More settled than our home ever was in DC, in fact. And I am in love. I've never lived in a place that makes it easy to live, if that makes sense. We have space, a view, quiet, room to grow. It is easy to keep clean and has a cozy-cottage feel. I've spent time making it just as I want. It is now such a haven, one I am incredibly thankful for. Stay tuned for the tour-of-my-house-in-pics/video post!

Fall is in full swing in our neck of the woods. I'm enjoying becoming friends with a favorite gathering of trees and swath of field. Each day brings slight changes to foliage and landscape. Instead of a fall season that lasts two weeks, this season has lasted over a month and the leaves are still drifting and the colors are progressively more vibrant. Most days are crisp, beginning with dense fog, and progressing to a drizzly grey. I'm ruminating on how to best cope with these melancholy days. I love the cozy feeling they induce, but that coziness quickly turns morose after about four such days in a row. My mom suggested having a grey-day ritual. Perhaps turning on a certain playlist at 4 PM every grey-day or making a special drink or something. I'm also thinking about following the church calendar more closely to help the time pass in a meaningful way. Anyway, ideas and suggestions are very welcome.

On that note, I'm going to sign off. As I mentioned, we are spending a long holiday weekend in Switzerland. It is off-season, so the tiny town we are staying in (only accessible by cable-car/train) is mostly deserted. Snow is everywhere, the quiet is pleasantly deafening, the view is breathtaking (and we set it to music), and we're enjoying a slow morning, multiple cups of coffee, our wonderful all-wood chalet, and, yes, internet. But enough of this online stuff. I'm off to read a book.

'Til next time.

A

PS - For reasons I will not go into, I can't upload pics of Switzerland to this post. Check out my Facebook/Instagram page if you are dying to see some.