Jubilee's Jottings

   Photo credits: Elaine H.            Along a road in a state forest, a driveway veered off into the woods. The lane was gently lit by a break in the branches. Ferns dotted the sides and tiny ones crept into the middle of the lane. It was delightfully beautiful. The first part of the lane had been recently driven on, as I could see tire tracks, but the second part had been left for sometime to the care of nature.           The second part of the driveway was banked with moss. The middle was a soft carpet embedded with ferns, trillium, and other wispy plants. The leaves showed no signs of recent trampling, and the grass had just enough light to peek its way through. At the end of the little lane was a perfect cabin.           It was a log cabin: dark logs connected by cabin plaster with a sloping roof and a few old windows. The wood framing the porch was old, the roof mossy,...

  I had a fight with a chair the other day. It was a little brown kindergarten chair with metal legs, and a solid, probably metal seat. The chair was positioned right behind the chair where I sat writing. My brothers were interested in the research I was doing for my article, and they had pulled up chairs to watch, placing them right behind mine. A long while later, they were gone, and I got up to put something in the mailbox. I walked straight into the jaws of the chair. With three kicks the chair had completed its conquest, and I let out a loud, “ow.” Usually that is enough to move on from a bang on a chair, but it just didn’t stop hurting. I took a minute before going out to the mailbox, then I moved on. Each time I took a step, I felt my leg, and it really hurt. Later, I showed my sister, and she gasped and handed me an ice pack, along with my snack I was making myself. She said the bump warranted her reaction. I put the fabric of my skirt between my skin and the ice...

  It requires persistence and patience to write. It takes time and mental energy to formulate experiences and thoughts into words. It takes gumption and stick-to-itiveness to get anything done. I fine pleasure in poking my noes out the window as I reach a 2000 word goal. The noises outside are loud, I’d rather do anything else, subconsciously, than do my work. (That’s why I am writing this.) I notice when a honey bee flies in the window, and I watch it meander back outside. I feel the door open and hear the slightest jar. Consciously, I have committed to the task, so I pull myself back in when I find I have physically wandered from the computer or from the writing application. Since self-discipline is a muscle, I find I have a lot of it because I continually bring myself back to what I am supposed to be doing. Which is what I will do now, back later… I did finish. I persisted at my screen and got to 2,000 words. This number is equal to 6 and a half pages in a normal book. I...

  Moving is hard, even it it’s just one room. I was aware of every item I had in my room in Harrisburg, but I didn’t know (And I don’t know) what to do with the stuff. The kitchen and bathroom supplies were unnecessary before I moved away from home, and they are unnecessary now that I am back. I will have other for them after the single-wide is finished, but for now all that stuff is just in boxes waiting. The plan is to make the single-wide “mine.” Today we did work on it. The next step in the project was adding 2x2s to the original wall. We had already tore out the end wall and the new window was installed on the new frame work. The old walls were only as thick as a 2x3, which is thinner than usual. New construction uses 2x6s for framing walls. So we are adding another inch and a half to the original walls that we are not reconstructing. It is going faster than some predict, but progress is not the easiest thing. One thing I will prioritize is doing a little extra work...