Since I’ve written a couple of posts now about Annie, my crazy, wonderful Australian Shepherd, it feels only fair that I should also feature my big, beautiful Maine Coon cat, Gatsby.
Gatsby is almost fifteen years old. I got him when I was a senior in college, and he was just a scruffy little kitten.
Boy did he grow.
I didn’t know when I adopted him that he was a Maine Coon. I just figured he had a little extra fluff, and really, don’t we all? But here we are, all these years later, and he’s grown into a gentle giant with a huge personality.
He has a knack for always finding the sunniest spots.
And the best angles to show off his handsome face.
He and Annie are…not friends…but we’ve managed. Gatsby makes it easy, honestly. His favorite thing to do is nap, so they don’t see much of each other.
At fifteen, I know he’s an old man, but I’m so happy I found him, and I cherish every moment with him. He really is a special animal.
Just a quick bonus post today, since I wrote about Annie yesterday and I’ve gotten so many sweet comments about her. When I was looking through pictures yesterday, I came across this one and just had to share.
This was taken the day we brought her home, almost eleven years ago. We look so young! And Graham is wearing a Bob Ross shirt. And I have bangs. And Annie’s eyes are closed, but she’s still cute as ever. Look at those little ears!
I remember this day vividly. Annie sat on my lap the whole way home – a four hour trip from North Carolina to Northern Virginia – and when we were about ten minutes away from our house, she vomited all over me. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
No, really. It was. I can’t imagine my life without my favorite furry weirdo.
Annie is an almost eleven-year-old Australian Shepherd. She’s been with us since she was just a little puppy.
Though I would not recommend an Aussie to an inexperienced dog owner, watching her experience the world is one of the great pleasures of my life. She’s smart, spunky, friendly, curious, quick to learn, and easily the most energetic of all of us. She loves Graham best, and she’s happiest when they go for walks on the path along the mill race.
It snowed Sunday morning, and while I sat by the fire with a cup of coffee and a book, Graham took Annie out for some playtime and a snow day stroll.
It snowed almost as much in six hours as it did over the course of two days last week, and it was just beautiful.
I’m glad Graham got some good pictures before it melted. Which it did, by Sunday evening. But as always, I enjoyed it while it was here to enjoy. And Annie did, too.
It looks like we’ve got more winter weather to look forward to this week, though there’s apparently a chance for some significant ice, so, we’ll see. I was worried, back in the beginning of December, that we’d see a winter with barely any snow. How lovely to be wrong.
I stayed up way too late last night watching a meeting of my local Board of Supervisors, and woke up this morning feeling foggy and sleepy. No surprise.
I had some meetings and non-writing tasks to complete, and they went well. Always good, though they kept me quite busy.
I made way too ambitious a dinner for a Wednesday. It was tasty.
And I got some sad news, which is never fun, and which has me feeling pretty down.
And between all of it, I haven’t had much time to sit and write today. I don’t write every day, but I’m never super pleased when I feel like I can’t write, as opposed to just choosing not to. Anyone else feel that way?
Anyway, I’m just not quite myself today, I think. I don’t have any interesting thoughts or stories to share, and I’m tired. Some days are just that way, I guess.
On Friday, I’ll post some pictures of 2021’s first snow, but until then, enjoy this admittedly low-quality video of my dad, my uncle, and me playing one of our favorite songs at a little café in southwest Virginia. This is from a few years ago, but John Prine never goes out of style.
Well, here we are again, expecting winter weather – not just snow, also ice. Hopefully not as much as last time, but we’ll see.
We are supposed to get a couple of inches of snow, so I’m excited for that, at least.
I’ll be recording a podcast episode this afternoon, so I hope I get to watch it snow while I chat with my friend and we create something good. That would be nice. But again, we’ll see. (And if you want to listen to the podcast, here’s a link to it on Spotify: Better Friendships on Spotify.)
Anyway, here are a couple of things I wrote thinking about the incoming storm.
While lying in bed last night, unable to sleep, anxious about the weather:
We’re expecting ice again today.
Please just make it go away.
Not a winter wonderland,
not fun, like playing in the sand.
Just slick and heavy and dangerous.
I really hope it misses us.
And something a little more thoughtful, after my first cup of coffee:
A beautiful danger
makes slow and steady progress –
tree limbs press down and strain
against the weight of it,
as if the whole world could break.
This glistening villain,
freezing fingers and frigid breath,
holds a glinting blade behind its back
and betrays all who love the cold.
I love winter, but these ice storms are killing me. I’m still holding out hope that before the end of the season, we’ll see some snow. Fingers crossed!
I know this isn’t a normal posting day for me, but y’all, my husband and I have been together for 12 years today, and I forgot until about 3:00 this afternoon.
On this day, 12 years ago, Graham and I basically looked at each other and said, “Let’s do this.” And here we are now, after all this time, married since 2013, living in our little historic house in our beautiful village with our needy pets and our embarrassingly extensive wine collection, and I have never been happier for anything in my entire life.
I can’t believe I forgot.
So, to make up for it, here’s a little Cole Porter, by way of Patsy Cline, for Graham. Note – no makeup, frizzy hair, don’t care. The most important thing is the love. I hope you feel it, too.
I just don’t. It doesn’t make me nervous or afraid or anything. But public speaking is definitely not something I enjoy.
(I’ve got an obligation to do it tonight, and I’m already thinking about it, at 9:23 a.m. Can you tell?)
When I write, I feel like I have time to choose my words perfectly, to build them perfectly, and that people will take time to read them and digest them.
And I love to sing. I love to tell a story in a song. Basically, anywhere, anytime, and to any crowd. Here’s me, at my wedding, being both the bride and the entertainment.
One of my favorite memories, honestly.
But when I’m up speaking in front of people, even if I’ve written my statement and practiced it and I’m confident that it’s good and right, I’ll second guess myself. I’ll worry about my tone, my delivery, and my body language, and that the words I’ve chosen aren’t actually all that good or right, and that I’m not getting my message across, and that I’ve lost the audience halfway through.
What I’m saying, I think, is that public speaking is just not one of my core strengths.
But I want it to be!
So I’d love to hear any advice or suggestions from you. 😊 How do you approach making public statements? How do you pump yourself up and keep from second guessing yourself? And, for those of you who enjoy public speaking, do you have any advice for how I could shift my perspective?
I am so excited to share this announcement with all of you! I’ve been working on this project with a very good, very talented, very smart and fun and amazing friend since the summer, and tomorrow, it finally launches.
Here’s some information from our website on what it’s all about:
Have you ever struggled to stay connected to your friends? Have you had a friend breakup? On the other hand, have you ever met someone and just clicked immediately? Or enjoyed a years-long friendship that makes you feel whole?
Friendships are hard work, and research has shown that strong friendships make women happier, healthier, and more successful. But research – and our own personal experience – also indicates that many women struggle to make and keep close friends. We see depictions of mean girls on TV and in movies, we read about toxic female friendships in some of today’s most popular fiction, and there are countless self-help books dedicated to building and maintaining friendships. (We’ve read lots of them.)
Clearly, friendship is important to women, and we believe that all women deserve positive, supportive friendships that enrich their lives and raise them up. We believe in better friendships! And we want to help you build them. Join us every other Tuesday for Better Friendships.
If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, or if you know someone who would be, then please tune in tomorrow, January 5th, for the very first episode of Better Friendships! You can find us on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. In the meantime, check out our website, our Facebook page, and find us on Instagram at @better_friendships.
I set goals every year, and I’m normally too shy to share them. But I’ve seen lots of posts over the last few days about goals and hopes for the new year, and I’ve found them all so encouraging. For what they’re worth, here are the goals I’ve set for 2021. I’m nervous to put them out there, but you all have made me feel brave and inspired. So, here goes!
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Go hiking and get outside more often
Whenever my husband and I travel, we hike. We’ve done big hikes and small hikes, and I’ve loved them all. I’m not the fittest person out there, but I’m pretty capable.
I don’t do a lot of hiking in my everyday life, though, and truthfully, I spend a lot of time inside. In my pajamas. I’d like to change that this year, and plan a good hike at least once per month. And, you know, just be outside more. There’s a lovely patio out back, after all, and I’m sure it would be nice to do some writing in the sunshine every now and again.
Make some improvements to the house
I love my house. I know I talk about it a lot. But I really, really love it. It’s the first place I’ve lived in my adult life that really feels like home.
In 2021, I’d like to spend some time painting, decorating, cleaning up and refreshing, and maybe even renovating (lightly…and inexpensively). I’ve not made a complete list of what I want to do, but I would like to make my home a priority in the coming months.
Continue to work on and grow this blog
And to engage with my wonderful followers. I’ve gained over 100 this year, and you all are amazing. Thank you for reading! And for writing and sharing your own thoughts and stories. 😊 In the new year, I’d like to gain 100 more followers, and to put out good, interesting, creative content that resonates and gets people thinking.
Start a YouTube channel
This is something I actually wanted to do in 2020, and I just chickened out on it. It’s kind of intimidating to think about being on camera. But I would love to take you all along on some of my adventures, especially in the beautiful Virginia countryside.
And to show you what it’s like to live in a very old house, and to just share some of my day-to-day life with you. What else would you like to see? Let me know. Maybe it will help me be brave enough to actually get something up and running!
Finish a novel
Oh yes, the big one. The main goal. The dream. I’ve been in some phase of working on a novel since 2016 when I started this blog. I’ve got several in various states of doneness. This year, I’d like to actually finish one. And then, if I can work up my courage, start the hard work on trying to get it published. Maybe to hold myself accountable I’ll do a weekly or monthly feature here. Is that something you all would like to read? I think it would help me to share the journey with you.
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And there they are, out there for everyone to see. I feel like by posting them here, perhaps I’ve spoken them into being. 2020 hasn’t been the year I thought it would be, but I’ve worked hard and accomplished a lot.
2021 will be better, I hope. I certainly plan to do everything I can to make it as good and as happy as it can be.
Oh, and one more thing!
I actually have a super exciting project to announce. It’s been a labor of love for the last several months, and I’m so excited to share it with you guys at the beginning of January. So stay tuned!
And on my December short story…
It’s almost done. It’ll be up on Wednesday. I swear.
To say that this Christmas has not gone according to plan is an understatement. We aren’t where we thought we’d be. We aren’t spending time with the people we thought we’d be seeing. And I’m not making a lovely dinner for my husband’s wonderful parents.
Yeah, 2020 threw us yet another curveball.
But, you know, it’s fine.
We’re home, and we’re safe and healthy. It snowed a bit this morning. The Christmas tree is all illuminated and there’s a fire in our fireplace. The cat’s napping and the dog’s being cuddly, and we’ve got vanilla crème brûlée in the oven and a roast in the Crockpot.
I’m thankful for all of it. My heart goes out this year to everyone who isn’t so fortunate. This is a Christmas we’ll all remember, I think, and not for the best reasons. But I hope we’re all the happier for it next year, when we can hopefully celebrate with family and friends. And without worry.
From my home and my heart to yours, merry Christmas! I wish all of you joy, love, warmth, comfort, and very good wine (or the tasty beverage of your choice).
And I promise to have my short story up next week.
A Virginia Writer's Diary 