This Monday morning I turned on my computer and I was faced with the fear of any computer user…A computer that would not start up. Well it did turn on, but I could barely see the screen, it was all faded with lots of horizontal lines. I said out loud “shit!” but managed to keep my shit together and started to play around with those instructions the service techs give us to hold down the control option P and R keys down as powering up and down. I tried various combinations, looking for help on my phone, and finally after a very tense half hour I have finally managed to get my computer screen back on-line again with no horizontal lines. Whew! back in business. Though I really need to empty files from this computer, there is no memory left, but I also seem to be having a problem accessing some files I saved to my external hard drive before I left, so afraid to move files there. I brought my older Macbook air on this trip for a lighter load, but it is a tired old thing from 2017.
Imagine that, how quickly our things become obsolete. When I am living in a house that dates back to being built in the 1600’s over the foundation of a structure from the 1200’s and I am using stairs that are just as old, or plumbing that is maybe over 100 years old, or windows with the original hand blown glass that leave the view a little warped when looking through. Time is all relative, and objects come and go, but somehow we manage to keep plodding along.
Been in and out of the news while here. I am glad to read that Salman Rushdie is healing from his wounds. I remember reading Satanic Verses while in school, when he was really still in hiding. What a glorious book! I remember one of my classmates commenting on wanting to marry him. Why do so many people hate each other? And want to control each other? Life in the country side is so idyllic compared to the rest of the world. And not a boring day in sight. We keep on going here from one adventure to another, one glorious meal after another, learning more about the land, our work, our ideas, and the history.
A soft summer rain throughout the days has been added to the Haar. The water has been much needed by the soil, trees and plants. Apparently there was quite lightening storm the other night, but I slept right through it. I am sensitive to hearing folks talking in the dining room below my bedroom, but I do not hear a thing from the outside for some reason. My window faces an inner courtyard surrounded by an old stone wall, probably this is why.
As I walk through this Heritage House it is still really hard to believe that we have such access to this historic site. But then I did stay in a house in London built in 1776. Here they have kept so much from the original home. The furniture, paintings, books, creaky floors and dinnerware. While working in the Dining Room I sneaked into the Butler’s Pantry and snagged a photo of all the glassware they have been cataloging. What a pleasure, but kinda creepy at night. You never know what ghosts may be lurking in the dark corners.
Attaching some photos for you. Take a look at the stone carving that is just at the top of the main stairwell. Patrick Allan Fraser who spent his life updating the house hired and supported many stone and wood carvers to embellish such an incredible amount of detail, especially related to the local history and flora. The figure in the carving dates back to the original site as a Hospital run by the monks from the Abbey.
