What Century are We In, Anyway?

Last Wednesday, I spent the morning editing a friend's web site and creating a simple web page for the food bank. Up in my little office perch in the dormer I was zipping around the world wide web while Tom worked on his programs and communicated with his colleagues via internet from his office downstairs. All of this powered by solar panels. Here we are in a log cabin in the woods, living a very 21st century life.

Then, when I was done with the computer work, I went down to the kitchen, fired up the wood cookstove and baked bread. Suddenly, life felt very 19th century. Hauling water from the bathhouse for the kitchen sink and trudging through the snow to the outhouse reinforce that old-time feeling. Tom and I have been doing a lot of cutting, hauling, splitting and stacking firewood lately - also very 19th century activities.

But then, Thursday morning I fired up the snowmobile and drove to my car, then drove the car to town. All this internal combustion (snowmobile, car, not to mention chain saw and generator) seems very 20th century.

By the afternoon I was back to the 21st century as I received meeting reminders from my cell phone and spent the afternoon setting up a wireless computer network for the food bank.

So, what century am I living in, anyway? And, in case I wasn't confused enough about time, daylight savings time started, spring came and went, and now we're back to winter. So, I guess the next question is what season is it, anyway?

The first few days of March the temperature was 60 degrees. There were a few bare spots on the road. More and more of the ground was exposed around the house. I was beginning to worry about mud season arriving early. A few locals laughed and told me, "Don't worry. We always get a few big spring dumps before winter leaves for good." Sure enough. We have had snow all day long five of the last six days. We are socked in a snowy cloud. And the temperatures just keep dropping and dropping. Today, the mercury is below zero again for the first time since early January. And we have more snow than we have had all winter. Glorious ski snow. Winter is making a grand last stand.

The storm seems to have been interrupting the internet connection intermittently, so it's back to the 19th century as I bake pies and muffins to keep the kitchen warm (well, and to keep our tummies full, too). Then knitting and reading by the fire. Whatever century we're in, it is a wonderful life.