Changes in Attitude

round circle archives- originally posted september 25, 2007

Sunset over Chequamegon Bay from The Cabinette

The first day of Fall arrived officially at 5:51 AM on Sunday, September 23rd. Seems like the weather knew it, because the rain and wind have blown most of the tree leaves to the ground already. I went to the outhouse early this morning and noticed the carnage of the yellow, red and amber leaves. I open the outhouse door and push the door all the way around. I sit there with a full view of nature instead of with the door closed. There are no neighbors, so I don’t have to be concerned with vanity. I watched the leaves fall and land on the ground in bunches. This time of year, the weather, more than the date, dictates my feelings. It’s time for a sweatshirt, maybe the hooded one from South Dakota State, Vermillion. The one with the Coyote on it. I trade in the Tevas for the Goretex lined light weight hikers. I wonder if the oil needs changing on anything. Should I have the kids come over after school and put all their toys under cover? Everyone around here is sick with some kind of a cold. That’s another sure sign of Fall. School is back in session and they all get together and spread germs. Runny noses, coughs, mucus laden chests, wheezing and laziness abound. This morning, I’m better, but Mrs. Spadoman is down for the count. I’ll make the coffee today. Not ready to venture to the Black Cat.

Earlier on, a month or so ago, I wrote about New Mexico and our plans to take my friends RV down there and set it up for most of the winter. I was so looking forward to it. I love to go down there. I wrote about how we’ve been down there in the past and the things we like to do. I had a good plan. Move out of the Cabinette for Winter, as it would be full of chores to try and spend a cold season with only wood heat, an inefficient wood stove and no indoor plumbing. I went on this road trip to Northern California and had a great time. Mrs. Spadoman flew into San Francisco to join me for a day of restauranting on Chestnut Street, Columbus Avenue and Fisherman’s Wharf. Then, we took the long drive home across the desert. We listened to plenty of music, but we also talked about a lot of things. We both came away with the thought that traveling these days is not what it used to be. It costs a bunch more than it used to. Gas prices are up for sure, but gone, seem to be, the cheap ass Mom and Pop motels, and the diners are replaced by chain restaurants feeding us crap. It just wasn’t as much fun as I once remembered as I couldn’t quite pull it off as I had envisioned. We wondered about our plan to take the RV to New Mexico and live down there for the winter. We already missed the Grand kids. We’d have to attempt to travel back and forth to Wisconsin over the Winter so we could visit them. We talked and talked and cyphered in the calculators of our minds and came away with the feeling that we would be broke constantly if we stood on our original plan.

The Cabinette, or Spadoland Villa as some call it

But what could we do? Staying at the Cabinette all Winter, although affordable, would be a lot of hard work. And even affordable meant buying a lot more fire wood, or at least a chain saw. Along with the chain saw came the prospect of doing the work of cutting, splitting, hauling and stacking, not to mention the chain sharpening and extra burden on the old pickup truck. No, we’d have to take the RV and go if we were to hold on to the Cabinette for another great Summer on the lake shore. We resolved that dilemma and made our plans, but deep in my heart, I wanted to ground myself here in Ashland and stay at home. I don’t have any problem admitting that maybe some of my wanderlust is fading and I like staying home more than traveling as I grow older. You know, it’s not the cold weather or the snow that I wanted to get away from. I don’t mind the cold. I just don’t do all the things I used to do in the Winter anymore. Gone is the ice fishing, ice skating, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and even camping on a frozen lake. Not for lack of opportunity, but just getting older, less able and more expense. It’s kind of boring when you can’t get outside because of the weather. Trying to heat workspace from zero degrees is costly. Renting heated workspace is costly. And I had the desire to work on my trinkets and make my Dream Catchers, Gourd Rattles, Drums, Snowshoes and other crazy ideas that come to mind.

Oh well, we had the RV and we’d do it out of self defense. I returned home after that road trip and went to the Black Cat Coffee Shop and saw some of my old friends. I filled them in on the trip and got caught up on all the gossip. People would walk through the door and say “Hi, you’re back” and I’d smile and feel good that they knew I was gone.

The lake shore in Summer from The Cabinette

One young gal came in and we exchanged hellos. I know her and she knows me, but we don’t sit and have a conversation very often. This day, as I was bussing my coffee cup to the plastic tub near the hallway, I turned to her and said, “How have you been these days?” We started talking and I found out that she has an offer to go to Nicaragua for three months, November, December and January. I also find out that she can’t go because she can’t leave her house empty and has no one to watch over it. You know, watering plants, making sure the heat doesn’t malfunction and the pipes freeze, feeding a cat. Well I’ll be! As it was suppose to happen, we can keep the Cabinette and stay at her house in town. It has a furnace and indoor plumbing. In February, I can afford to take a short trip to New Mexico for a couple of weeks. In March, move back to the Cabinette. I have enough wood to heat the place for that long, not for all Winter, but for a month or two. So the more things change, the more things stay the same. I’ll be home in Ashland all Winter. I felt I wanted to, but didn’t think I could. Now, a situation comes into my lap and everyone seems to be happy with the outcome. I’ll make my craft stuff to occupy my time and be able to be with the Grand kids often. I’ll have more money in my pocket as my expenses will be down. Sounds like a plan.

The Black Cat Coffee Shop, Ashland, Wisconsin

This is a long explanation of the fact that I could have just said, “We’re not going to New Mexico as planned. We’re house sitting a neighbor’s place through the Winter instead” Some folks don’t make plans. Some make them then don’t do what they say. Some change plans. I did the changing plans thing this time. And who knows? They might change again before November. But as of now, this is what I’ll be doing this Winter.

Now, does anyone need a Dream Catcher or want a custom made pair of heirloom quality snowshoes? How about a drum?