A Weekend in the Mountains

The wintry weather that had plagued the northeast early in December had warmed up enough for my husband and I to spend a couple of days in our mountain retreat. It turned out to be a lot more work than either of us had bargained for when we discovered water all over the floor in the master bath. Apparently the shower faucet had not been completely in the off position. We didn't know this because the last time we were in the house there was no heat, no electric and no running water. In our absence, all those utilities were made functional. Although all the sink faucets had been checked, the shower faucet had not and the little drip-drip-drip accumulated in the base of the shower. There would have been no problem had it not been for the rubber mat that was blocking the drain. It was a mess but not nearly as big a mess as in the basement below which caught all the water that seeped through the floor. This will haunt us for some time to come in the form of mold, mildew and warped floor boards. SIGH. Lesson learned.

Still, the weekend was not a total wash out (pardon the pun). We did, after all, have working utilities which made all the work a lot easier to deal with. For the first time I was able to really wash and sanitize the bathroom so we could wash, bathe and use toilet facilities. The heat was working and greatly appreciated. We have three heating systems in the house: a gas fireplace, electric baseboard heating and a wood burning stove. The gas and electric are currently operational. The wood burning stove will be cleaned and serviced during the warm weather in preparation for the winter, The house is surrounded by acres of trees so we'll have no lack of firewood. Here's the gas fireplace in the corner of our living room. The logs are ceramic and only for show but, boy, do they put on a show. It truly emulates a wood burning fireplace.

In order to fit some of the things we took up to the mountain house, we had to remove one of the car seats and leave it in our home on the living room floor. My husband, who parked himself in front of the television after our return, found himself looking at the folded seat, particularly at the two holes at the top of the backrest that hold the removable headrest. Perhaps all the mountain air spurred his creativity because the more he looked at them, the more they reminded him of eyes and he decided to "dress" the seat using Christmas stockings and a Santa hat. After I stopped laughing, he asked me to rig up some "teeth" which I accomplish with some bathroom cups and double stick tape. Our beagle, Marla, appeared to be jealous of all the attention we were lavishing on the "Chair Monster" so she pulled out its tongue but seemed appeased enough afterwards to pose in front of it. My son quickly proclaimed that his father possessed a very strange and deep seated sense of humor, something he doesn't often demonstrate to this degree. 

2014 is drawing to a close and I have to say that, in spite of many stresses and uncertainties along the way, the year-end activities have been very enjoyable. 2015 promises to be interesting to say the least. I'm looking forward to it.

Happy New Year, everyone.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Snow On The Mountain

(Click on any photo to view a larger image.)

Battery lanterns for light.

Kerosene heater for warmth.

After many years of dreaming about it, my husband and I finally purchased a home in the mountains of upstate New York. Like any home that is not brand new construction, it requires some tender loving care to make it livable. It also requires some utilities. That's right, there is no electricity, no gas, no water. We're in the process of getting these utilities turned on but it has been a nightmare dealing with National Grid for our electricity. Without power, we can't get our gas turned on and we can't pump water. This should be taken care of this week. In the meantime, hubby and I have been up to the house twice this month and we've essentially been camping indoors. Fortunately for us, we are old hands at camping and have been making do with a little help from our neighbor who has allowed us to get water and use his kerosene heater.

Western view from the deck.

Northern view from the deck.

It gets a lot colder a lot faster up in the mountains and this past Sunday we awoke to find a dusting of snow lying on the ground and clinging to the trees. It was beautiful...cold but beautiful. I took these photos from the deck in front of the main entry door. A view like this makes all the work and the inconveniences worthwhile.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva