BLISSFUL

Flowers - CC

Aaah, Vox friends. Forgive me if I sound somewhat fuzzy today. I woke up today feeling strangely...blissful. We spent Sunday driving to a place called the Quabbin reservoir. We walked around in the sunlight and looked over the huge dams and stone walls built there. Then we drove around to various farm stands, picking up supplies for dinner.

One of my favorite local farm stands is called the Red Fire Farm. Their specialty is different kinds of heirloom tomatoes. Some of their tomatoes are purple. It's really cool. Most of their food is organically grown. They have the most beautiful brown tabby cat who sleeps on the top shelf where the homemade jam and mustard is kept. She blends in seamlessly with the burnt umber shelves.

Yes, I'm feeling strangely calm today.  I wish I could feel this way all the time. Maybe it's because we finally get to go to the beach next week. During grad school my long-term goal is to find a house near the coast. I would like a sustainable home, with some stone worked in. I like those soapstone counters. I want a modern-looking house, minimally decorated, with warm colored rugs and earthy leaf patterns. And large windows, with lots of sunshine coming in and side porches and decks for the cats.

We would need a barn also. That way I could keep our stray cat rescue going, and they could still be kept indoors in the loft, which I would transorm into a giant living room for them. Maybe I could even build a few stalls for an unwanted horse or two. I began attending a horseriding camp when I was just 4 years old. They taught us swimming, archery, painting, crafts and show and trail riding. The best thing was they made us responsible for the horse care.

By the time I was 7 I was staying in the cabins for the summer, and they taught us to groom, braid manes and tails, feed, clean stalls and how to assist the ferrier. Ten years later I knew all about basic horse care. It was a real confidence booster. So I feel very comfortable on a farm now. The swimming lessons were huge too. Now of couse any new home we get must have an inground swimming pool, with lights for night swimming.

The camp I attended was deep in the woods, so night swimming was really cool. The lights were this green glowy alien color. Everything was kind of ghostly and cool when lit up by those lights. I still dream of having outdoor BBQs and parties late at night by the pool. With an outdoor deck. Hopefully soon, Voxters. We'll be looking around when we visit the ocean.