Peace Of Mind In Pennsylvania

Right now, I think I may be in the most peaceful place I could possibly be at the moment. I just took an amazing bath in a fantastically large jacuzzi bathtub. And yes, I definitely started singing “Kiss” by Prince just like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman! Never mind, I totally lied about that. But the idea crossed my mind! Needless to say, it was absolutely gorgeous.

Let me explain. So like I said before, I'm currently in Pennsylvania at Pete's mom's. She has this rather large older house that has an enormous amount of history tagged onto it. She just informed me the other night that during the Civil War, the Confederates came through and burned down the town just blocks from her house. Somehow, her block and East (I think) were saved. So people that had lost their homes all piled into this home. Like I said, it's rather large and she said supposedly every square foot was covered with sleeping people who had lost their homes. Normally, this would have creeped me out, but for some reason it has given me a true sense of appreciation AND inspiration actually. The house itself is gorgeous and the history behind it is even more fascinating. The floor is the original wood flooring....the house was built in 1857 I think she said. There's an incredible marble fireplace that is in the dining room that is also original. I'm just completely in love with this.

Lavinia also has quite the green thumb and has built an insanely beautiful garden in her backyard. The peace and serenity that exists in this setting is unreal. It has been such a relief to sip my coffee in leisure on her back porch while NOT having to pack boxes!

…......long pause, because I went to bed, woke up the next day, went to bed, woke up again the next day...........................................and then finally drove over to Starbucks to finish this entry!......

She lives right next to a railroad track, so occasionally the powerful rumble of a train screams by and invigorates my spirit. It's actually quite incredible because right to that gorgeous garden in her backyard is the industrial backdrop of the train tracks. Talk about a scene for a photograph. I've gone camera crazy since I've been here. The sunsets are spectacular and when the sun's rays seep through the leaves of the trees, it almost brings me to tears.

Yesterday, Pete and I woke up early and walked downtown to the farmer's market. I felt like I was at home! I would LOVE to buy all of my groceries from local farmers. I bought a loaf of homemade fresh wheat bread with absolutely no preservatives, two tall bunches of beautiful mint, and two thick pieces of squash. I would have purchased all of my groceries for the week, but we'd already gone to the grocery store. I'm really hoping the Montreal will be graced with the presence of these wonderful farmer's markets so I can support locally grown produce. That would just make my move that much more exciting to me! (it's the little things, right?)

Really though, right now I feel a little lost in time. This place makes me focus on the moment only. Lavinia does have cable, but I rarely want to watch television when it's as gorgeous as it is outside. We must go to the local Starbucks to retrieve any internet access. (yes, I'm sitting at one and drinking my Americano as I write this) But most of the time, I'm “unplugged” and I'm loving it! It's giving me the chance to enjoy every moment placed before me and I'm so grateful for that.

Although, I am still trying to remember NOT to procrastinate on my responsibilities. This seems almost too easy for me to do right now. But there are so many things to still prepare for...changing banks, figuring out phone, cable, internet access for my apartment, and I'm sure I'll find another hurdle to jump over in the next day or so. But as I'm quickly figuring out, that's how life is. Just gotta roll with the punches!