At our show at the Grange, we met a man named Eric who had kindly offered us a guest room in his place if it got too cold to sleep in our truck. Gretchen also has always offered up her place, but with her three cats, it’s a bit of a rough go for me with a cat allergy that inconsistently decides when and how bad it will attack me. So, after the 12° night, and Gretchen being sick, we decided to take Eric up on his offer.
After our show at Blacksmith last night, Jared and I decided to pay our very favorite restaurant, Mission Bistro, a visit. Because it was about 45 min from closing on a Wednesday night in Stevensville, we almost had the place to ourselves. A few couples occupied some 2-tops, while a table of 8 people, who I can best describe as “People who have never used the term ‘Shakabra’ unironically” were just wrapping up their conversation about biking to Mexico, zip-lining, and hemp infused toilet paper. So we knew we were in for a delightful, quiet evening.
It was absolute perfection, as usual, and as we licked the coconut crème brûlée bowl clean, we made sticky goodbyes to the server and headed to Eric’s place.
A cozy, simple guest room greeted us with flannel sheets, clean towels, and, best of all, warmth!
We finished our bottle of wine from dinner, called “Occam’s Razor”, and toddled off to sleepy space, full of heart, mind and body.
The next morning, we woke up nice and late to an empty house and a full sky of snow. We decided a local breakfast place was in order but didn’t want to drive and find parking for the truck and trailer, so we found something walkable. The All-American “Coffee Cup Cafe” looked to be a 3 min walk and just the right place for some food we’d regret and memories we wouldn’t!
While we were there doing our crossword and drinking our black diner coffee, we noticed an elderly couple doing the same thing. We smiled, squeezed hands, and laughed at the fact that we’ve taken up our elderly habits early on… I say it’s so we’ll be ahead of the game, but truthfully, it’s comforting to know that Jared and I will always find joy in snuggling close in a booth in a diner in Middle America with a crossword puzzle or a cribbage board, the snow falling outside, the waitress slinging endearing insults at the regulars, and the world lazily turning under us all. Find yourself a partner where those simplicities make your heart sing and you will make music forever.
A snow day when you’re a child means cancelled school, hot chocolate, pelting each other with snowballs, and a general sense of wonderment at the brightness and quiet all around you. A snow day while on tour in the “Spring” in someone else’s house (that has good wifi) means get as much computer work done as possible. It’s even less fun than it sounds, so I won’t bore you with the minutia of it, but we got a bunch done. However, we completely bewildered our snow-loving, ski enthusiast, nature-thriving host as to why in the world we didn’t want to be outside. Meanwhile, he took a bicycle ride in the snow to run some errands. As I mentioned in a previous blog, work looks very different to each person.
That night, we ate homemade soup and veggies, talked about the state of the world, declined for the 13th time the offer to cross country ski the next day, and finally went to bed. It’s amazing how exhausting sitting all day can make a person!
