I awoke at 6am with light coming in my bedroom window. I'm in a strange place and didn't sleep well. My night was filled with crazy dreams, often changing characters, but alway the same story line. Sometime in the night I woke up cold and had to go to the bathroom. Before going back to bed I put a shirt on over my pajamas and socks on my feet. Slept warmer the rest of the night but the dreams continued.
Along with two other ladies, I'm at the "Imnaha Writers Retreat", sponsored by Fishtrap. This is my first year here so everything is new and exciting. We are staying in a large log home, that was build about thirty years ago by Dr. Blackburn, who was a physician in Joseph, for many years. In his later years he sold this place to Dr. Driver, a young doctor, who had joined his practice. Now Dr. Driver rents this remote spot to Fishtrap, for the months of April and October. Writers come from all over Oregon for a week or two of peace and quiet, to write, hike, read, make new friends and reflect.
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| Log House (photo by Katey) |
The log house is deep in the Imnaha Canyon, surrounded by rimrocks, with the Imnaha River running nearby. A long suspension foot bridge is the only access. The trees are starting to change colors, with the willows and bushes turning from orange to light green. A lone forsythia bush, with its yellow blooms stands out, next to the river. Green lawn surrounds the house. It is warmer here than in Joseph, but we still need a fire, to ward of the chill. The house is heated with electric baseboard heat and a wood furnace.
Yesterday when Kathy and I first arrived, she knowing about my balance problem, suggested I cross the bridge one time to see how I would manage. The bridge was difficult for me, since my balance is nil. It's a good thing it has wire mesh sides as I hung on all the way, taking baby steps and looking straight ahead, all my concentration focused on the end of the bridge. It was decided that Kathy, with one arm in a cast, from a recent surgery, would navigate the bridge, bringing our belongings over in a garden cart. I with two good arms would split kindling and get the wood furnace started. What a "team". All went well and soon we were heating the soup I had brought from home, and having our lunch.
Kathy and I visited about family and friends and soon Katey, our third person arrived and then left for a bike ride with her friend Eric. Kathy needed a rest and I spent time, bringing more wood into the house, set a fire in the fireplace for evening, and watched the river while reading my book. Later Kathy made cookies and I her "left hand" managed the removal of the hot cookie sheets from the oven. Later all three of us dined on more soup and bread, shared wine and conversation around the dinner table, then retired to the living room. In front of a crackling fire we read or told some of our stories and ideas of what we hoped to accomplish in this week. OWAV:)
OWAV:)…4/05/11…6am…60°…Broken Clouds
Up at 6am, rested. I've been retyping a story after it has been edited. It is now 9am, sun coming over the rimrocks and flooding the canyon with light. It rained during the night and now the rain drops are sparkling, the grass is greener and there is a promise of a warmer day. Kathy will be making a trip to Joseph today for a luncheon meeting and return late afternoon. Katey is fixing a special chili, using Thai lime and chili cashews for flavor for our dinner. Both Kathy and Katey have a food intolerance to milk products and Katey also to wheat. My soup worked well for both of them as I, substituted wild rice mix for the usual homemade noodles, added hominy and lots of green and yellow vegetables. I will make roasted chicken, yams and salad for dinner Wednesday night. Friday we will eat leftovers and on Saturday morning clean up, wash sheets and towels and leave this peaceful place for another group of writers arriving on Sunday.
Yesterday was windy and cold, each of us on our own went for a short walk, but were all soon back in the house to the warmth of the wood stove. Kathy pruned the grapevines and Katey and I made a quick trip outside with hand pruners, and brought in a bouquet of forsythia, now forcing blooms on the dinning room table. Each day we have quiet time from 9am to 5pm, with a break for lunch. Not that we are totally quiet all of that time, but it keeps everyone more aware that we are here to write.
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| Kathy Hunter |
Without really planning, we all have assumed different jobs. Kathy as "Den Mom" makes sure trash is emptied, knows where everything is and what belongs to Fishtrap and what belongs to the Driver family. I have been keeping the wood furnace burning, splitting kindling, and setting the fireplace up for a nightly fire. Katey hauls wood from the woodshed to the back porch each morning. We all share in cooking, doing dishes and other cleanup. Our day is spent writing, rewriting, editing, and reading. I play "Angry Birds" for a break.
Kathy fixed shepherd pie and green salad for dinner, we top it off with a glass of wine, then have dried fruit and chocolate for dessert. The fireplace is lit Kathy has brought some of her special cherry cordial, so we sip that as we read some of our writings aloud to be critiqued by each other. OWAV:)--watching the river and looking up at the rimrocks.
OWAV:)…04/06/11…6am…60°…Broken Clouds…OWAV:)..
Up at 6am, start coffee, rebuild fire in the wood furnace and settle down to write. The wood furnace is a temperamental beast, a little difficult to start, then when started it burns the wood like a raging monster. There is no way to close it down so it sustains a steady even burn. If I load it full to last all night it burns hot and fast so by morning I'm again left with a warm firebox but no coals, so have to start with more paper and kindling each day. I find that one good sized log lasts as long, because it doesn't burn so hot, as if it is loaded up at night. This log house is probably at least three thousand square feet, so along with the wood furnace we use the electric heat sparingly and keep a somewhat even temperature. If it would just warm up during the day it would be nice. Oh well can't change the weather. Another thing that we can't change is the continual smell of skunk especially in the living room. It will almost go away and then soon becomes more pungent, didn't smell it much on the first day but it gets worse as time goes on, maybe it is from the house being warmer. Kathy said they had skunk "problems" at one time but sealed up the foundation so animals can no longer get in. I wonder if it is sealed tight enough. Wonder if the smell of skunk is seeping into my pores and will I have a new fragrance when I go home?
Yesterday was pretty non productive for me, I did some more editing, and when I think about it that is one of the things I wanted to do here. So maybe it was more productive than I thought. I split more kindling, read more of the book "Too Close to the Falls" by Catherine Gildiner. A memoir of growing up in the fifties-sixties, my era. Read some material Katey gave me in preparation for her memoir class, I will be taking in May. I'm not comfortable doing dialog, but she says I need more of that in my stories to keep peoples interest, so something to work on. Katey did fix her special chili for dinner last night and it was very good, makes me want to be more innovative in my cooking, but not sure how it would go over at home? Kathy, Katey and I seem to be getting more comfortable with each other, loosening up a little, personalities coming to the surface. Alway interesting getting to know new people.
I hear cows mooing outside, have seen a couple of deer browsing on the hillside this morning and hear the sounds of birds, awake for another day. I must shower this morning and get on with the day. OWAV:)
04/07/11…5:30am...45°…Overcast 05/08/11…5am…45°…Snow Overnight
Didn't write yesterday, spent the day reading "Too Close to the Falls" by Catherine Gildiner. Memoir (coming of age) by a precocious child of the fifties'. Raised by affluent parents and schooled in Catholic schools. I found it interesting.
It has been cold, snowy, grey, dismal, not at all the week I expected, weather wise. Katey hauled wood from the woodshed, before she left for Enterprise and I have tried to keep the house warm, but it is difficult. Also trying not to use all of the wood. I do hope the next three weeks are nicer for the people coming then. Kathy came down with a cold and sore throat yesterday morning, so is sneezing and staying in her room more than usual, to keep her germs to herself. I made chicken broth yesterday out of the chicken carcass of the night before, when I had made a chicken dinner with roasted carrots, yams and parsnips. We didn't cook yesterday, just fended for ourselves with all the leftovers in the fridge. I had soup for breakfast and chicken sandwich for dinner, along with oatmeal cookies that I baked on Wednesday afternoon. Both of us drank chicken broth during the day, it tasted especially good on this cold snowy day. I split kindling and brought wood into the house, took a little walk just around the grounds to get some fresh air. The continued smell of skunk in the house is, worse at times, making my head hurt. Wonder how I will look back on the is week a year from now?
On the productive side I have made corrections to most of my stories that my friend Kathy Putnam had edited some time ago. So will see how they fit together and what spaces I need to fill in to make the story flow in an orderly manner???
Last nights dreams were vivid and jumbled. Someone showed up at my house to clean, cleaned one room and charged me two dollars, I gave her a five. Bill and Mona were building a new house in front of their old one and someone brought in heavy equipment to work in a rock quarry that was supposedly on our property. I went to the courthouse to find out where our property lines were, then called a lawyer to put a stop to their digging. The rock quarry was filled with the red rock of Utah. I awoke to find all of my covers on the floor, so reached down pulled them up again, all in a heap, went back to sleep and continued the dream. I kept trying to find the cleaning lady, so she would do another room, no luck. I arrived home, to find our house with the entire roof and upper story windows gone. Half of the house was being replaced instead of just fixing the eight feet of roof that was blown off. I'm ready to go home but afraid of what might be waiting for me.!! I slept until 7am. It is now almost 10am so will get dressed and start gathering my things into piles as we will clean and be on our way home tomorrow. OWAV:)
QWAV:)…04/09/11…7am…feels warmer…cloudy
I have kitchen stuff, including frozen food that is left, in my bags except for my breakfast. Sheets and towels are in the washing machine. We wash our sheets, pillowcases and towels, then fold them and leave them on top of the bed so people know they have been laundered. They will make their own beds when they arrive. Bedding is furnished by the owners which makes it easier than bringing your own, but it is very worn out and would be fine for summer when it is hot here, but we had a hard time finding the right combination to keep warm on this cold visit.
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| Idella, ready to go home. |
As always I'm anxious and ready to go home. It has been fun, only wish it had been warmer, then Kathy got the cold and has spent most of her time in her room trying not to spread her germs. Katey had to go into Enterprise on Thursday afternoon, for a presentation and decided not to return to the retreat, for only one more day. So much of it has been a solo trip for me. I did get the corrections made in many of my stories, now will fill in the gaps with additional stories, also add a few about my high school years.
Looks like the sun is trying to peak through, maybe we will have nice weather out on top. Must sign off, get dressed and pack my suitcase. We will vacuum, sweep and put things back as they were when we arrived. I brought over more wood yesterday and split a box of kindling and medium size wood for the next group. So long…from the Imnaha retreat, time will tell whether I return another year. OWAV:)
Welcome home. The dreams are funny.
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