Day: September 7, 2018

The sculptor Louise Bourgeois wrote that “solitude is a rest from responsibilities, and peace of mind will do you more good than the atmosphere of the studio and the conversations which generally speaking are a waste of time.”

I love the quote, although I am a fan of some conversations, they are not a waste of time for me.

But the truth is Maria and I both need a rest from responsibilities, a change of scenery, some quiet. We both need some quiet.

This has been intense time for both of us, and while I can’t speak for Maria, I can speak for me,  it has been an intense time for me for many months. We are worn out, we need to get away. I feel myself getting grumpy and restless and claustrophobic.

So we are.

Sunday morning, we’re heading to a secluded New Hampshire ocean cottage for three days, Sunday through Tuesday, returning Wednesday morning.

All we have to bring is us, some books and linens and towels. We will not be bringing a computer or dogs or be blog, I’m bringing several books I have been meaning to read and Maria and I will sleep, talk, read, and go out for some seafood.

If we feel like it, we might drive north into Maine to look around.

It’s going to be much colder on Sunday, so we won’t be doing any swimming, but I did order a portable chair to sit on if we get any sun. Otherwise I am happy to sleep late, cuddle up with my girl, search for fresh lobster, read and read more. That’s about it.

We  need a change of scenery, a rest from  responsibilities, news, pressure. The Open House is just a month away, when we get back, we will be working hard to get ready. I also have to write three chapters for my next book, Gus And Bud, A Tale Of Two Dogs.

I love my blog, i always miss it when I’m away, but I also know there I needs when I need to shut all of that off and just recharge. I imagine many of you need a rest from me as well.

Maria is a great travel companion, we enjoy the same things: extreme rest, exploration, talking, silence, reading and finding good  places to eat. We love sitting by the ocean and listening to the waves crash.  We are also very happy to hang around motel rooms on rainy days. We have a small kitchen in the cottage, we are bringing some  groceries.

I’d love to leave right now but I have too much to do.

So does Maria.

We have a great farm-sitter coming to take care of the farm.  When we leave, we never look back. We don’t need to hear that everything is okay, we don’t need to hear anything. And we are always happy to come  home. I’m not saying goodbye yet, we will be around all day tomorrow.

Just getting myself focused.

Sylvie is one of my very favorite portrait subjects, I could take photos of her all day, she is as inventive a dresser as Maria, and as individualistic. And she loves to be photographed. She never looks the same twice. She is a good friend, we appreciate each other.

A happy surprise at Bingo tonight at the Mansion, Tim  returned from rehab after the amputation of his right leg. He is loving the G2 Canon camera we gave him, taking pictures like a fiend. He looks good, is in good spirits and much less pain.

He will go back to rehab shortly to be fitted with an artificial leg. This will hopefully make him mobile again. Tim is, as always, cheerful and upbeat and eager to talk. He loves taking pictures, as I suspected he would I’m eager to see some of them.

The camera cost $50, it is ten years old but works as if new, we got it online. A small act of great kindness, Tim is a creative, he is hooked on photography. I hope to get him to the farm so we can take some pictures together.

I”m glad to see Tim back. He loves to get letters, if you wish, you can write him c/o The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. You can support my work at the Mansion by sending a donation to Jon Katz, c/o P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected].  Please mark the check or payment “The Mansion,” thanks.

Sylvie wanted to thank her “blog friends,” people from the blog and the Army Of Good who write to her, she reads every single letter and tries to answer as many as she can, but she struggles with addresses and stamps, so I am going to start helping her to answer some of the mail starting next week. I’ll sit with her and help address and stamp them.

She has no trouble writing them.

She wanted to say thanks in the video, and she wanted people to know she is trying to keep up with all of the letters, but can’t. I said everyone will understand. Sylvie loves to write letters, if you want to write her, you can send the letters to The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

She will try to answer them.

A month or so ago, I put out a call for help from Sylvie, she asked if people could send her tote bags. She got enough to equip a good sized army and she stacks them on her walker and files her papers in them. She says the other residents are making fun of her, calling her a “bag lady,” but I assured her they were joking.

She loves her  tote bags. I can’t say precisely what she is using them for, but they are always with her, and thanks for sending them. I got her four, the rest came in a torrent. Some are quite colorful and beautiful.

The new wood and wiring Ray Telford put up yesterday looks to be donkey proof (of course, several people wrote to say it wasn’t narrow enough. It is.). I like the shape and feel of it. The donkeys will find some other way to annoy us, they’ll probably chew on a gate or a different wall, or even a fence post.