Two Mugs of Tea Kind of Evening

Early in the morning, before daylight rose over the eastern ridge, I turned on the local news for a few minutes to see the day’s forecast. The overnight rain had mostly left the state, with final showers lingering in the Kingdom, which is where we call home. But it would depart within an hour or two. That is what the they said. What actually happened was steady, gentle rain through the entire day, and into the night. Not a glimmer of letting up. It made for a soggy counter install, and an even soggier ground, but that’s the way it goes this year. If this level of moisture keeps up, what a winter it will be.

The counter and sink install went off without a hitch! I don’t have a lot of experience with such a thing, but it feels like it should be nerve-racking, and it could have been, but the owner of the company came with the crew for our job and I am so grateful he did. By his Santa-like appearance, he seemed to be an old-time Vermonter. Or that is me stereotyping. Grey and rounded in all the right places. Friendly from a comfortable distance. While the crew was busy cutting, shaping, and sanding, he gave us quite the education on soapstone. It was honestly by happenstance that we landed with Vermont Soapstone for the job, but learning what we did from him I’m so grateful for the chance encounter. It turns out not all soapstone is quarried equally and the stone he provides demonstrates that. It might be why when I have shared glimpses of our stone in recent months, I always receive messages of “I’ve been wanting soapstone but the slabs I see in my area do not look that pretty.” I naively thought soapstone was soapstone; but have learned it is not. Quality and sources vary greatly. We seem to have won the stone lottery.

After the crew left, we needed a change of scenery and took a drive with some popcorn to the lake and ventured around some of our favorite backroads. Still raining. We noticed that Mrs. Miller’s garden is nearly harvested and my favorite roadside apple tree that we sampled from just a couple weeks ago is nearly bare. Eventually we made our way home again. Rain continued and we came inside, lit a fire in the woodstove. It was a two mugs of tea kind of evening. Early to bed while listening to rain outside the open window. Coyotes are quiet tonight.