Hi friends,
It's been almost a year since I last posted. It is amazing to me just how quickly time rushes by - each evening I think to myself "what the heck did I do today?"
I've taken such a long break unintentionally - I write this blog in my head all the time, but just don't take the most important step of actually typing. Thankfully, no one can read my thoughts, at least not yet.
I've been rather overwhelmed at trying to have a sustainable life. Which is a kind of crazy position to be in. Running a "sustainable" business, living in a "sustainable" community - whew! It is all exhausting! So I've been re-examining my boundaries, my perfectionism, my desire for guests to have just the "right" experience. I still don't have all of the answers I'm seeking, but at least am actively LOOKING!
Speaking of looking, we're on the hunt for an innkeeper this summer. It's a paid internship - while we'd love someone with experience what we're really wanting is someone the the desire to be here and do the job well. Look for a link on the Mercantile website soon. If you know anyone who you think might be a good fit, please have them contact me. We require a 3-month (minimum) commitment.
We've been so all-consumed with the Mercantile that our home has slowly turned into the Mercantile store room and the place where we sleep. We are endeavoring to change this, to make our house back into a home. Kurt is finishing the construction bits one by one - he just made a gorgeous window sill for our bedroom windows out of oak from the tree we had to cut down last summer. Now he's working on finishing all of the sheetrock that has been sitting here, mudded and waiting for paint all of these years. I've finished almost all of the thermal shades, which has come in handy during this bitterly cold winter.
Each Friday a group of us meet informally in the Mercantile in front of the fire for Tea and Conversation. Last Friday's topic was economic development at DR. It was a fascinating discussion; two fun things to come out of it are a Mercantile/Critters Goat & Chicken Bootcamp, and the beginnings of a food preservation collective. I am excited to see where these ideas will go!
Here is my favorite Facebook share of the week:
and a song I find beautifully haunting (a cover of a Bjork song, from the Jane Campion TV Series Top of the Lake, which also stars Elizabeth Moss and Holly Hunter):
That's all for now. More soon, I hope!
Love,
Alline
Currently 36°. Snow predicted for today. Tonight's low: 12°
