Author: Katie

Loudoun’s (Possibly) Most Haunted House in 2024

/ Katie / 11 Comments

Another year, another visit to Loudoun County’s (maybe) most haunted house! And this one might be my last, for reasons that I’ll talk about in an upcoming post. (Are you curious? I hope so!)

Anyway…

Here she is, in all her crumbling glory, as of October 2024:

And here’s last year’s post, for comparison: https://myvirginiadiary.com/2023/10/30/this-years-visit-to-the-maybe-most-haunted-house-in-loudoun/

They say nothing lasts forever, and this house certainly won’t. In the years that I’ve been visiting, I’ve watched the old girl deteriorate a little more each season.  

And who knows if the house’s story will outlast it. I hope I’ve done my part, at least, to capture some of the mystery. It will never be anyone’s home again, but perhaps it can be someone’s memory. Even if it’s only mine.

P.S. As I do every year, I’ll add this disclaimer:  This house is on private property, and there are no trespassing signs posted, so please don’t go poking around where you’re not welcome. It’s easy enough to take a picture from the road.

I’m (Not) Back (Yet)!

/ Katie / 14 Comments

But I will be soon!

This is just a quick post to say: Hi! I’m still here. I miss all of you something fierce! Things are happening around here in my little corner of Virginia, and I’m planning to be back in October with a weekly post. I’ve got a lot to share, let me tell you.

In the meantime, how are you? How are things? How is life?

All good here, if a bit crazy. Lucy’s good.

Pets are good.

Graham and I are tired. But good.

I can’t wait to get back to creating soon. I hope you’ll be here when I do.

Stay tuned and happy writing, y’all!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Success

/ Katie / 14 Comments

Been a while, and I hope to get back to writing in the very near future, but for now, I hope you enjoy this sweet little success as much as I did:

Yep, that’s right. Sweet Lucy Blue-Eyes has started solid foods, and she loves everything so far. It’s a whole new adventure, y’all. And so far, it’s pretty fun.

Mayhem and the Mandolin

/ Katie / 8 Comments

Y’all, my heart is so happy.

My parents came to visit last week. Graham’s work has been insane, and some nights he’s been up until 3:00 a.m. or later. We were struggling. We were both tired, our house was a mess. The cat’s feeling neglected. I don’t even want to talk about laundry.

We needed help. And we got it, and more.

My family has always done music. I’ve posted about it a lot, and I’m just so elated that Lucy seems to love music, too. My dad brought out his mandolin, and she was just fascinated.

Absolutely entranced. And she wanted to try it for herself.

She cried when he put it away. She’s never done that before, with any toy. (We got it back out and gave it back to her, of course.)

These little moments, they just keep coming. Lucy is an easy baby, but life around her has been generally chaotic. These sweet new memories make all that chaos seem like nothing at all.

Ode to My (Postpartum) Hair (A Poem)

/ Katie / 12 Comments

Here, there, and everywhere you are,
my hair –
in the shower drain and on the rocking chair,
fistfuls in my hands,
landing all around in tangles, clumps, and pairs.
You and me,
we were really something, weren’t we?
One day you’ll come back,
I know –
or, at least, I hope it’s so.
Until then,
my old familiar friend,
we’ll weather the (thinning) clouds together.

Lucy Blue’s Big Debut

/ Katie / 6 Comments

How’s this for some Monday cuteness:

It’s a blurry photo, I know, but too good a (new) memory to not share.

Our sweet Lucy Blue-Eyes made her big debut over the weekend, and we’re so excited to start getting her out and about to meet out friends and see our community. She had a good time, I think, and was very relaxed about the whole thing.

Mama, on the other hand, was an absolute mess. I know she can’t live in three rooms of our house her whole life, but going out where the people and the germs are makes me so nervous. I want her to know the world, but I also want to keep her safe from the bad things. This, I’m sure, is a parent’s ultimate dilemma.

At any rate, we went to one of our favorite places, and Lucy got to show off a shirt from one of my very best friends, and we had a chance to catch up with a few people, and Lucy took a big nap in the middle of all of it, and it was good. We’ll do it again, I’m sure.

For now, snuggles.