The First Journey

Friday decided better get wood stove goin'.  Brought stove pipe home in trusty bike back rack.

Damper in center with other purchases.

These pieces came with stove.

Won't use lower right piece, reducer goes in top of stove, cut straight piece proper length.  Tough job - 30 gauge steel - sharp little snips manage cutting first from one side then other.  Snap pipe section into cylinder, drill for, fit damper.

Stove positioned,

Damper - pull labels when she warms up,

heat shield - remainder of short pipe piece - in place.

First fire

coerces her out of stove.

Good blaze (pre heat shield), stove door off: fireplace mode.

Immediately like this stove.  Deep firebrick lined firebox - no mess coming out smaller door, good draw sending smoke up chimney where it belongs.  Earth stove.

Will spend plenty of time here warming tootsies.  (Note door behind me leaning in hallway opening.)

Replace house's only non working light fixture above wood stove

with free fixture from ReStore using small tan wire nuts, black electrical tape - don't want to further shorten brittle old ceiling wires.

Done deal.

Might's well have doors to keep heat in front room.  Hall door - nee front bedroom door - opened on front bedroom's remounted hinges,

closed.  Fit so well think 'twas here before.

Bath door for kitchen, remount hinges, use recycled over head cable bolt, lag bolt for pins.

Now stove lit front room heats up good - nice on freezing days

    First journey to Oregon in 2010 was June.  Reaching back further may shed light on how I came to be here. 
    We've seen how dad's death emotionally effected but final nail in 'organization's' coffin came when a Boy Scout.  'Secret society' within Scouts seated all 'round campfire.  Leader dressed as indian circled, tapped initiates who were led away to a night's solitary bivouac.

Another June - hot, sweaty Illinois - itched, scratched bugs, heat all night.  Woke itching found myself in luscious patch young poison ivy.   Steroids helped but couple weeks excruciating ivy blisters everywhere, quarantine - never would trust 'organization' again. 
     Once in a while carp 'bout dump I bought - Swett Lodge, here bathed in sunlight 4pm

week from winter solstice.  Kate's retort 'your decision'.   No question my willing signature on papers.  Not sure how other folk find answers but in my twenties'd begun acknowledging divine mystery in life.  Raised in religious home anti organizational bent disallowed church but came to understand spirit as guide when with young family, wife, house felt fine art call.  Heeded path wound into art through divorce ultimately to Los Angeles.  Spirit increasingly integral - booking work always a crap shoot, nudging toward Buddhism.  Never had health insurance 'til working film/television, diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after eligible, very capably healed to remission.  Chance?  Miracle? 

     Often felt the cat that ate the canary 'bout freedom of being single.  Years rolled along in LA - organic guy, plastic town.  Couple less than ideal relationships prompted relinquishing emotional life to spirit - want me partnered, make it happen.  Wasn't looking - much anyway - work life cruisin'.   Visited Skye in Seattle a year ago -  midst her Northeast move - felt laser like sympatico acquainting one of her friends.  Avoiding silliness on my part - Danimal lives - skipped Skye's goodbye party all attending.  Felt here's 'cause to let go single life but no appropriate avenue her half my age, boyfriend. 
      Believe soul comes into being many times sometimes overlapping two (more?) lives in single time frame.  Unconsolably miserable, LA Friends encouraged me tell girl feelings.  Did expecting/receiving no response.  Next couple months wrestled Jacob understanding huge emotional reaction to brief encounter.  Finally decided I'd met another of soul's incarnations - profound - regardless Danimal's perception.  Come May - nearly regained normalcy - learned on social network girl single, proposed lunch meet w/girl accepted so pulled Fourth of July trip to fourth of June - work dead slow - headed north in Lil' Blue.

     As preoccupied young man on Olympic Peninsula didn't visit mountains so added Hurricane Ridge to Seattle lunch itinerary while laying over in Eugene couple days.  Arrived Port Angeles - 20 miles from Ridge - evening drove on up but dusk park closing sent me down to sleep at park's entrance in Lil' Blue.  Hurricane Ridge's not only grandly beautiful but site of Indian's spiritual vision quests for ages - sacred.

Awaking abruptly 5am Martha Keeling in mind drove back up to Ridge.

Early, no others 'round, movingly felt those who've gone before file by acknowledging my path's appropriateness.  Whew!  Second once in a lifetime experience in six months.  Blown away. 

Rolled on to Seattle spending couple of days, no lunch meet.  Emotionally tried/tested returned Eugene to enjoy sis Kate's company, check out the city couple weeks.  Then came Swett Lodge.  Kate noticed the place bike riding, mentioned it to me.  I took a look and....

What a dump!   Returned LA after Fourth of July thinking maybe.  Decided end of July go for it. Nice thing is most work needed is basic - just has to be done - and doing anything makes big difference since so little was ever done.  Restructuring Swett Lodge's foundation will almost certainly correlate to emotional restructuring.   Spirit says time for fresh direction so I'm discovering a new world.  Adventure anyone????    

Next time more floor scrapin'.  Welcome new millennium's second decade.  Be well.  Enjoy.  Peace.