Is normalcy a possibility?

Chinook has been out of my home since Friday (he's staying with Kelley). Saturday was literally the first "normal" day I've had & the most balanced I've felt since arriving in North Carolina. Kali & I got up, made coffee, sat on the porch swing watching birds. Then, we went off to look at coffee tables. All of the nearby u-stor-it facilities had morphed into roadside marketplaces. People just lift their sliding doors and haul their stuff out and *voila*, yardsales! All up and down Smoky Park Highway, these instant junk shoppes sprouted. It was great fun visiting them, discerning the antiques from the junk, the quality from the flimsy. In the end, I ended up buying a rug & a fold-out, rollaway steel cot (sans mattress) for $5.

Then, exhausted, we came home, ate lunch and started into our gardening projects. I started seeds from lettuce, beans, peas & chard. I did some raking, weeding, sweeping, cleaning and overall nesting. It was a lovely day with Kali runnning around the 11 acres surrounding the cabin, leaping at bees and sleeping atop the picnic table. Then, we took a short walk at Hominy Creek Park along the French Broad River (pictured above). I felt so grounded and stress-free for the first time in I can't remember how long.

Today it was back to work with trying to avoid driving to Marble in the snow - yes, it is snowing on April 6th! I managed to make it back to Balsam before the snow came in full force. Kali is staying at my sister's tonight so I will be alone & dogless tonight - my version of hell. But, that's ok. I'll take a long bath and a short drink & call it a night at an early hour.