Category: - A Cottage by the Sea

Covid-19 -- a paradigm shift?

3/12/2020

Remember that song, “What a difference a Day makes”? New meaning in this age of Covid-19. Last week I was packing for my trip to Saratoga Springs to meet my daughter and grandson. I went, had a fabulous time, and came home. This week I have packed the refrigerator and freezer, and checked out a bunch of books from the library. Jim and I have decided to isolate ourselves as much as possible. We are prepared!!
I’m anticipating this to become a new version of my cottage by the sea days. A new kind of silence, solitude, and simplicity. New because this way we are being pressed/forced/compelled into living is neither temporary nor short-term. It is life changing in ways that we can’t begin to imagine. We may be experiencing a major paradigm shift, although we have no idea what that is. When Columbus set off no one knew that his journey would open up an entirely new way of thinking, of understanding and of living in the world.

My current cottage by the sea

3/10/2020

It’s been eight days since I posted about my decision not to go to Italy. It made sense then, but for sure it is a no-brainer now. You know why, you follow the news.
The other day I saw a picture of Pope Francis blessing those gathered on St. Peter’s Square. I could have been one of them. Usually there are crowds gathered. Not on that Sunday. As I’ve often said, “I go to Italy to walk, visit churches and museums, and eat.” If I were there today, I’m pretty certain that my only choice would be walk.
But enough of that. I have no regrets, nor do I feel sorry for myself. Now is now, and I’m content to be home. I’m hunkering down a little, but plan to help at Open Table, the local food pantry, this afternoon. My home is my current cottage by the sea, a place where I can read, walk, write, puzzle, cook, meditate, and pray. A deep, easy, comforting way of being. With all that’s going on in the world, all the fluidity, uncertainty, and fear, it feels right to offer stillness, calm, and confidence as balance.

A blog about solitude

2/7/2020

A blog for those who are looking for silence, solitude, and simplicity, and who sometimes want to be alone.
That’s what I wrote over ten years ago on the home page of this blog, and the focus still stands. In fact, the home page hasn’t changed much except for biographical update (which I ought to again), the cover of Very Grateful: The Story of My Hundred Year Old Mother and Me, and the addition of three topics: A Solitary Traveler, Secrets of an Old Woman, and Compassionate Reading.
I began this blog when I began going to the cottage by the sea. It was there, for those five winters that I settled into solitude. My life now has a different rhythm with less extended days of solitude. I miss that, but I still have hours of solitude in each day, and I still travel alone for two weeks time.

Remembering the cottage by the sea

11/9/2019

For five winters (2009-14), beginning about this time in November, I would pack up my few necessities and drive an hour and a half north to the cottage by sea on the Maine coast that I rented for five months. I loved those years, and although they no longer fit into my current life, I do miss them.
As the fall cold and barrenness sets in, I notice that I am carving out moments of cottage days here in my Massachusetts home. I don’t have the view of the ocean, nor the days of complete silence, solitude, and simplicity, but I have that atmosphere much of the time. How grateful I am that the conversation, community, and complexities, rarely stressful. That may sound impossible or even naive, but I am certain it is a goal I should strive for at this time in my life.
Silence, solitude, and simplicity is what you make it; you’ll know it when you’re living it.

My ten year old blog

8/14/2019

The other day I received an email from a women who had randomly come across my blog. She asked if there was a way to follow it through a link that would let her know when I had posted. My short answer was no.
    But that got me thinking about the nuances involved in keeping up a blog. I started this blog in 2009 during one of my first days at the cottage by the sea. This fall will be the blog’s tenth anniversary. I’ve been quite consistent in posting, and feel it is still vibrant, well, as vibrant as I want it to be.
    I used to offer a daily quote, but that feature now appears every other day. I post every few days, sometimes less often, and usually every day when I’m traveling. I’ve added “Compassionate Reading,” “Secrets of an Old Woman,” and “A Solitary Traveler.”
     The blog is what I want it to be; I feel very little pressure to post. Rather, I post because I have something to say, and I trust that my thoughts support others. I say trust, because I don’t often hear from my readers, as I did Susan. I deeply appreciated the affirmation, but what keeps me going is deeply knowing that my readers and I are benefitting from the silence, solitude, and simplicity that we are experiencing together. I don’t know who most of you are, but I am given the statistic that last week I had 1,798 ‘unique visitors’—whatever than precisely means!!

My cottage-by-the-sea at home~

11/11/2018

Today's sunrise

I continue to reminisce about my cottage-by-the-sea (CBTS) days. In fact the cottage has become my muse.
     As I mentioned recently, I’ve been looking for a new acronym for what I’m trying to create here at home. House-by-the-road (HBTR), house-in-the-woods (HITW). Nothing resonates; but that doesn’t matter, because life matters, and here in this house the CBTS mood continues to make itself visible and active--silence, solitude, simplicity, and times alone.
    I notice that I am becoming more intentional about the choices I make to assure this. The rhythm at the original cottage included daily walks, times to sit and be, pray, to meditate, read and write, and to do a jigsaw puzzle. Absent was an evening glass of wine, the telephone, and the TV (I’m not there yet on this last one). Those continue to be some of the physical and mental markers that support the spiritual (emotional and psychological) way of being for which all human being strive.
    Although I had a daily routine at the cottage, I didn’t have a to-do list, nor did I have others depending on me. That made sense for the four days a week I was there, but it doesn’t work for my life here at home. However, getting rid of being compulsively and unwittingly busy, busy, busy does make senses. In fact, it is one of the essential criteria for silence, solitude and simplicity, which leads to that place of inner peace deep in our souls.

The House on Concord Road~

10/26/2018

As soon as the Red Sox clinch the World Series. I’ll be able to return to silence, solitude and simplicity. Hmm, always an excuse, isn’t there?
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been remembering, admittedly with some nostalgia, my cottage-by-the-sea (CBTS) days. The cottage has been sold, so there’s no going back there, nor do I want to look for another place. That time was then and now is now, but there is something about those five winters by the ocean that I still long for. Not the venue but the calming atmosphere. My conscious desire for silence, solitude, and simplicity began when I starting looking for a cottage to rent, and it was then that I started this blog.
But now is now, and I find myself imaging silence, solitude, and simplicity at this house-at-16 Concord Road (HA16CR). That acronym doesn’t resonate, but I have until the 2018 World Series Pennant is raised at Fenway Park to come up with one that speaks to our lifestyle.

Remembering the cottage-by-the sea again~

10/22/2018

I’ve been thinking about my cottage-by-the-sea, missing those four days in a row with in solitude and silence living in simplicity. When walking this morning, I thought about the early morning sunrises and my walks on the beach, every morning.

My blog is entering its tenth year

10/6/2018

This blog of mine is about to enter it’s tenth year. Unbelievable, but true. My first entry was in November 2009 as I began going to the cottage-by-the-sea. I was searching for silence, solitude and simplicity, and I still am.
These peaceful ways of being aren’t found once and for all, but become more authentic as we keep our eye on the search. Yes, we slip at times into the chaos of worldly life, but that backslide is challenged and stopped by our commitment to greater forward movement.
The continued existence of this blog is proof that I am making progress toward silence, solitude, and simplicity. Although I no longer go to the cottage, the memories keep the image alive, developing, and growing as I travel to Florence and Scotland, or stay at home with a good book. The sections I’ve added, A Solitary Traveler and Compassionate Reading, attest to this. and am considering adding a new one about aging. Stay tuned.

A cottage by the sea, wherever you feel peace~

2/28/2018

   I am continually surprised that friends still think I am going to the cottage by the sea. Because I keep the title and picture for this blog, they assume I am still driving up to Maine and sitting on the deck looking out. Those days ended in 2015, but memories remain and as does my longing for silence, solitude and simplicity. Plus, I sometimes like to be alone.
     In place of this weekly cottage time, I have traveled more, and as I am confident to claim, I love traveling alone. This works out well because my husband loves staying home and working in the garden.
     When we went through our recent decision to move to a condo, I had to put off my usual spring trip to Italy. But when we came to our senses and decided to stay young in this old house for at least a few more years, I immediately got on the internet and arranged a trip to Italy with Monastery Stays. Usually I just go to Florence, but my April 4-19 itinerary is different: Rome (4 nights), Assisi (3), Cortona (1), and Florence (6). I’ll be staying at convents—guesthouses run by nuns. They are beautiful spaces, inexpensive, simple, and all ensuite.
     A cottage by the sea is wherever you feel at peace.