Alone in the country, what room do you use to write your notes?

[Woodrow LI]

Not much of a note writer here. Can;t recall when I last wrote a note except a grocery list and that is usually in the car just before I go in the store because I forgot the list the wife left on the refrigerator.

[Mr5150]

Nice thread. I live in rural area and have built a life of connectedness. Not on line, but face to face. I'd go crazy with a life of isolation and solitude. But that's just me. How do you guys do it?

[SunGrins]

I enclosed a part of the back porch to serve as an office-- only 8 by 12 with a sliding glass door on one end looking out on the desert. It is my writing space and I write on my computer. I live in the high desert with one adjacent neighbor and lots of wildlife-- some rabbits and quail come up to the door and peer in. The area is very quiet, too quiet sometimes so I have a CD player in my office for mostly classical music. My cat sleeps on my desk while I'm writing which takes up space.

Before I had my office I used a desk in a spare bedroom. When I had house guests I had to relocate all of my stuff --- a pain.

[TamaraSavannah]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

Nice thread. I live in rural area and have built a life of connectedness. Not on line, but face to face. I'd go crazy with a life of isolation and solitude. But that's just me. How do you guys do it?

Well, maybe we don't quite do it but have it "contained".

Such as, for one thing, realizing that everyone around you is important. Not just your friends but everyone, from the mail man to the cashier to the waiter, every one. I won't use the automatic cashiers in a Wally World or HEB because I prefer a person.

Next, back in my foot race days, I would be part of the after race celebration as much as I could, staying as long as I could. I often didn't know anyone there but I was part of it.

Now, I have activities that get me out there that also contribute to my contemplating type nature, such as dancing, shows, and plays.

Finally, there are the friends that perhaps we don't see but a few times a year but we are connected with each other's life on line so when we do meet up, well, it's like the Sheraton commercial of "We Belong".

[Woodrow LI]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

Nice thread. I live in rural area and have built a life of connectedness. Not on line, but face to face. I'd go crazy with a life of isolation and solitude. But that's just me. How do you guys do it?

As both my wife and hyself suffer from PTSD we find the isolation to be very beneficial and an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life which we can not handle.

[OpinionExperience]

Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah

Or perhaps the question should be about maintaining one's sanity.

Do you, those who have lived out in the country for a while, use a room that expands on the solitude or one that has the links, such as the computer and the Net, to the rest of the world?

I don't think it is a case of country living shock, where six months after arrival one is wondering "My God, what have I done?", but rather, just more of being an outsider from being a life time grave yard shift worker.

So for those who have lived out here for a while, what room of the house do you pick to reflect in?

Have you ever been to Ernest Hemingway's house in Key West? His writing room was a loft in back.

I am not a writer or big reader but he was an interesting guy and wrote some great books and was in awe to be in the room he wrote them. All his cats and the ocean, I learned a lot on that tour.

I like working with my hands so a writing room could be similar to a shop or art space, anywhere a person needs to be to sink themselves into what drives them. An office is not for me, I tried that. I need outdoors and near an ocean. The smell and sound of the ocean on a rough day, I am not a beach person, only when it is empty with rolling dunes of grass.