Living in the country is just awesome. After a lifetime of living in the suburbs and at times, in the city, the peace and slower pace of rural life is just so relaxing to me. It's great because I'm not so far out that I can't get to town fast. The county seat, Chardon, is only a ten minute drive, and crowded suburbia is twenty minutes away, a straight shot down the street that I live on. Love it.
Out here the air is cleaner, there are less lights so the stars are more visible in the sky at night. There is an observatory not far from here, so people who enjoy astronomy meet to see the stars once a month. I went once and it was spectacular, saw a Perseid meteor shower. Someone had a huge telescope set up and we could even see the rings of Saturn from it. Amazing.
Driving down the streets here, there are state parks, farms, fruit stands, a drive-in movie theater, Amish restaurant, an ice cream joint (it seems many rural places always have an ice cream stand someplace close..remember it from going to summer camp as a kid in different country places). There's a golf/country club down the street, a huge reservoir with lilypads all over the lake and horse farms everywhere. It's heaven. Life doesn't get much better than this.
I've been busy decorating the house, finding furniture to compliment it from different antique and other places. I bought a small telephone/side table for $10 recently and refinished it, now it looks like new. It was so easy and only cost me $10 in supplies. Now the table looks like it could sell for $100. I'll be doing this again, now that this was such a success. I love beautiful wooden furniture and there are loads of places around here to find it at, at reasonable prices. With all this room (three bedrooms) space to spread out in, decorating and finding just the right pieces is fun.
My new birdfeeder is beginning to attract birds now! It will get much more use in the winter, which is brutal out here in the Snow belt, but for now I'm just happy to see the few birds that have come - goldfinches, cardinals and mourning doves.
The older I get, the more I crave a less anxious, slower-paced life. After being very social and mobile throughout my younger years, living in other states and dealing with all the activity it took to do that, it feels great to just slow down and take it easy. My values have changed. I still plan on travelling, just not at the same pace as before. I don't have to. My business is established and runs itself. Doing my artwork is my passion, and I can do it from home, and post the designs to my store whenever needed. All these years of planning and building this business has paid off, it is rewarding to see it all take shape and grow like it has. There is always work to be done, of course, but it is less time consuming now, which gives me the ability to pursue other hobbies.
People sometimes ask why I don't bother to go out on dates much anymore. My dating life was full and fun in my twenties and thirties, but in my forties, it got boring and stressful so I just stopped it, with no regrets. I have male friends, of course, but dating drags me down so I just don't do it anymore. The last man I dated was a gold-digger, what a joke. The one before him was an arrogant playboy. I know how to pick 'em..not! The BS just was too much and I love being single and independent, nobody drags me down, there's no drama. Growing up with a colossal "drama queen" for a mother, I seriously hate drama and avoid it like the Plague. I'm not lonely, and enjoy being able to do what I want, when I want, without the need to explain myself to anybody. It works just fine for me. When I want to socialize, I do..but it's great to come home to peace, quiet. My home is my sanctuary.
