My Third Waitsburg Anniversary

As I’ve frequently written, I am not a reflective person. However, I do appreciate traditions. Therefore, as I did columns for my first and second anniversaries in Waitsburg, I decided to make it tradition and do a third-anniversary column. First, I am still amazed that my original attempt at a column was published; that the column continues is still beyond me. Full disclosure, after reading my initial essay, my first English class professor immediately sent me to the remedial class. Questionable punctuation, run-on sentences, and a lack of organization were just the beginning of my shortcomings.

My life has had some interesting twists and turns since those college days, and a good many of those have been in the past three years. These past three years have been marked with several significant milestones. I moved to Waitsburg in December 2018, which was the coldest and snowiest winter in 15 years. I spent most of 2019 remodeling my house, adopting Mugsy, making new friends, and traveling back and forth to Los Angeles to visit clients, family and eat sushi.

In 2020, Daniel and I reconciled, and he moved to Waitsburg, and two weeks later, so did COVID-19. We had a lot of instant togetherness (after ten years of aloneness). We continued remodeling by finally attacking the kitchen and landscaping. And we gardened relentlessly and competitively.

In the spring of 2021, we bought the Weinhard Café in Dayton, and a whole new chapter began. It’s been an exciting ride! Our timing seemed perfect; the pandemic was subsiding, mask mandates were lifted, vaccines became available, and life started to normalize.

The café was doing well, people could travel, and we could even host friends from the East Coast. Our garden suffered a little with us doing more, but it was a minor sacrifice for all the positive things happening.

Then came the Delta variant, which reinstated masking, staff shortages, and COVID-19 precautions. Now Omicron is looming on the horizon. It’s times like these that I am happy we live in Wine Country!

So, enough reflection and on to 2022!

I am cautiously optimistic that COVID-19 and its variants will subside. Learning the entire Greek Alphabet is not a class I want to take.

Winter is here, and the snow is falling. Being the eternal optimist, I’ve already ordered seeds for spring planting. A catalog came in the mail on Friday; my order was in by Saturday.

Foolishly optimistic, I hope that when we re-open the café in January, it will be less stressful, fully staffed, and even profitable. We will change the menu and operation to offer prix fixe dinner and lunches, continue with Take & Bake options, and some winemaker dinners are on the horizon, or just more wine, I’m not sure yet.

If nothing else, these past three years have taught me that adaptability is essential. Having good neighbors is an extraordinary bonus, especially with snow blowers and jumper cables. Snow tires are crucial. Good socks are worth their weight in gold. Boots need to be higher than ankle height. Thermal underwear is great. Zoom does get easier to navigate, and a clean house is overrated.

Having a “guest house/man cave/studio” and living with a chef who can turn anything into a good dinner are two luxuries I am thankful for every day. And sleep is easier now with our new mattress. Unfortunately, making the bed is a challenge as it’s 33” above the floor. Gymnastics lessons may be the next class I take in 2022!