Veggies at Norwich Farmers Market

After a super-busy two weeks in early July: my boyfriend’s performance in Gypsy at the Sharon Playhouse (delightful!), my birthday (big event), my granddaughter’s 5th birthday (dwarfed mine), my sister’s 70th (oh, my!), plus my client appreciation celebration (post to come…) followed the next day by my all-day Mastermind Intensive, I hot-footed it up to Vermont where I will be spending the next two weeks in a cabin in the woods working on my memoir.

Almost the second I crossed I-91 into Vermont, the skies opened to a torrential downpour, followed quickly as I drove north, by an equally sudden clearing and a rainbow that appeared to be nearly vertical. A sign, for sure!

I arrived at the AirBandB property I’m staying at around 9:30pm and immediately fell in love with my space and its surroundings. Pictures to come…Another guest, whom I met this morning over coffee, said, “I’m in love with this place!” She’s a hospice something-or-other (she has a leadership role by her title, which I can’t remember), but today is marrying a couple in Woodstock, VT. I told her, “I’m in heaven,” which is what it feels like here, so removed from the noise, dirt, heat and hubbub of the city. The only noises here are ducks quacking and birds chirping.

I’m still not unpacked, but am getting a feel for my new, albeit temporary, space. I need to settle in. I made a short list of purchases to make, then folded up a Trader Joe’s bag I’d brought along, and stuffed it into my red backpack. When I unzipped the front pouch to change my regular glasses for my sunglasses, I looked for my wallet and couldn’t find it.

Don’t panic, Jane, I told myself. It has to be here. You had it with you in Northampton when you stopped for the bubble tea treat. You couldn’t have left it there.

But I couldn’t find it. Re-examined the backpack removing everything twice and re-packing it. Then I went out to the car, examined the passenger seat, the well in front of that, in between the seats and under both the driver’s and the passenger seats. No wallet.

Peonies at Norwich Farmers Market

Stay calm. Maybe it is at the tea place in Northampton. People are good. You will get it back. 

I didn’t want to trouble my hosts so early in my stay, but I was getting nervous. That wallet contains my drivers license, AAA card and my insurance cards, not to mention some traveling money I’d taken from an ATM earlier in the day.

And then I looked down on the ground outside the car, and there it was with a layer of dirt on it. Greatly relieved, I dusted it off and went on my way. I must’ve had it on my lap during the rest of the ride, then stood up to get out of the car and it slid down then.

My hosts here told me about the Norwich Farmers Market, an institution that’s open every Saturday about 8 miles away. With limited cell coverage up here, I eventually got into range where Waze helped me find one of the road names on my written directions, and I found it from there.

It was hard to choose which vendor to buy my berries from. There was plenty of competition, both in beauty and price. Picking flowers was easy. The bunches of peonies were so lovely, I couldn’t resist.

I’m back in the cabin now, had my lunch and feel a nap coming on. I’m here to write. Does this blog post count?