Personal Essays

So…where’s the July short story?

/ Katie / 9 Comments

Alas, here we are at the end of another month, and while I’ve got a pretty good start, I just don’t have a good enough finished short story to post today. Why? Well…

Our refrigerator broke over the weekend, and suddenly, I had this brilliant (read: crazy) idea that here was our opportunity to replace ALL of our appliances with the retro-style, bright white stuff we’ve been ogling for years. The problem? Money. (Usually money when it comes to renovations, right?) Luckily, I think we found a good option, but it’s been stressing us both out, me and Graham, since Saturday. I expect we’ll get everything ordered by tonight though. And I promise to post pictures when things arrive.

Also, I started working on our baby registry over the weekend. I am. So. Lost. I’ve got a checklist I’m working from, and I’ve gotten advice from lots of very wise people who’ve done this before, but I just feel so intimidated by everything we need to get, and by how many choices we have. It’s just…a lot. It’s a lot. It’s worth it, and for a few minutes, it was even a little bit fun. And I know I’ll be relieved when it’s done and shared, because people have been asking, and it’s so nice and very appreciated that they’re thinking of us, and I feel like I’m behind. One thing at a time, right?

And now that we’re past 20 weeks, though I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful and happy in my life, I’m also anxious in a whole new way. Like, we’re over halfway there. She’s going to be here in no time. And if something goes wrong (God, I hope nothing goes wrong), it’s going to shatter me. I’m not thinking fatalistically. I’m actually very excited and feeling like everything will be fine, but anxiety isn’t rational, and those fears just creep in without warning. Often at the worst times. Like today. When I’m trying to finish this short story.

Anyway, if you’ve been reading this long, I suppose I just really wanted to give an update and share that July’s short story will be a little late. I want it to be good, not just to exist, and to do that, with how scattered my brain clearly is, I just need more time. Expect it on Wednesday, which means two short stories in August!

I’ll end (it’s past time…this has gotten pretty wordy, hasn’t it?), I’ll just say that I’m so grateful that these are my problems. They are good problems, and I know that. I am privileged to have this kind of stress in my life. This is just a moment, and it will pass. So, onward. The future is bright and happy and filled with very cool new appliances and a beautiful baby girl, and it’s so close.  

A Case of the Post-Vacation Mondays

/ Katie / 19 Comments

I confess, I’m just not feeling very inspired today. I’ve spent pretty much all morning and most of this afternoon waiting for something to come to me – a poem, a funny quip, even a good picture to take – and you guys, I got nothing.

This happens.

This especially happens, at least to me, after a vacation. Anybody else? And any ideas to kickstart creativity?

Coming off of time away, it’s just sort of hard for me to get back into the swing of things. My brain’s just not in it. But it’ll get there! So, in the meantime, I shall ponder ideas for July’s short story, and hopefully come up with something more interesting to write on Wednesday. And Friday.

Sigh.

Summer Break!

/ Katie / 28 Comments

I’ll be taking a blogging break next week, from July 17th through July 21st. I’m still planning to read all of your wonderful posts. I just won’t be writing any of my own. Why?

I’m going to the beach!

Okay, I know this is something I do fairly often. It’s the advantage of marrying a beach kid. 😉 But this year feels a little different, a little special, because it’s the last time Graham and I will be heading down to the ocean as just the two of us. This time next year, we’ll have our little girl, and we’ll be three. So exciting, and I can’t wait to see her reaction to the waves and the texture of the sand.

But, for now, I really want to unplug as much as possible and just enjoy this time with Graham, before things change. It’s a good change, but a change nonetheless. I’m so happy and grateful, but also soaking in these last few months before we’re parents.

So, happy creating in these next several days! And I promise lots of fun stuff when I come back, including July’s short story. I haven’t started it yet, but I plan to make it a good one!

Frustrating and Lucky

/ Katie / 3 Comments

I’ve had a lot of trouble focusing on my creative writing lately. With everything else going on, it’s just been really difficult to get my mind in that creative, imaginative space. I’m not happy about it, but I know that all things in life ebb and flow. Luckily, even though I’m struggling, I have talented friends who inspire me every day to keep trying. Case in point:

Thomas Creeper and the Purple Corpse, by J.R. Potter.

I posted about the first book in this series when it came out a couple of years ago, and just like that one, I can’t recommend this one enough. Creepy, spooky, a good mystery, an unlikely, likable hero, a vivid setting, great illustrations done by the author – just so much fun. And reading it comes with the added advantage of supporting a friend in his own creative work.

It can be easy to feel down when the words just won’t come, and easy as well to be envious when someone succeeds where you are (presently, not forever) lagging behind. But I don’t feel either of those ways. All I feel is lucky. I’m lucky to have time to write (even though I’m not great at it right now), lucky to be able to make my old house a home (even though the process is long and sometimes stressful), lucky (so, so lucky) to be pregnant, and lucky to be surrounded by cool, fun, kind, creative people.

Tomorrow is a new day, and then there’s another new day after that, and so on. For now, I’ll read (and if you’re looking for something to read this week, definitely go for Thomas Creeper!), think about backsplash tile, and try to write words that fit together. Life is good, even when it’s frustrating.

Happy creating to y’all, whatever you’re working on this week, and onward!

A Little Bit of Everything: Q&A, Merlin Mayhem, Music, and More

/ Katie / 11 Comments

Happy Friday! It probably goes without saying that these last several weeks have been pretty busy around here, with house things and pregnancy things. My pregnancy symptoms, at least and at last, have started to subside, and I finally feel a little more like my usual self. So, how about a post to catch up with each other today? A little bit of everything going on around here, and also a check in with all of you.

So, first: How are you doing? How’s life? What are you creating? What are you excited about? Anything making you anxious? (Everything’s making me anxious right now.)

Moving on, I’m getting pretty close to 1,000 followers – which, thank you, all of you, for reading and commenting! – and thought it would be fun to do another Q&A. I did a couple when I hit 500, and I think it’s safe to say, a lot’s changed since then. So, if you’ve got questions for me, drop a comment below!

What’s next? Oh yes. Merlin. He’s still growing and he’s a new cat every day, but the one constant, which is so very wonderful, is that he loves – and I mean absolutely adores – his Annie-dog. I’ve never had a cat so enamored of a dog. She is his best friend. I don’t think she feels the same, but I also don’t think he cares. He also firmly believes he’s one of the contractors, and loves to hang out with them (and “help”) while they’re working. Cats…

And lastly, I’m planning to post some more music soon! I’ve got lots of videos from Thanksgiving (yes, I know, that was all the way back in November…) that it’s just taken an eternity to get off of Graham’s camera and onto my computer. We had a little get together with family, and I love sharing my family music with y’all. So, expect to see those at some point in the not too very distant future.

Other than that? I expect things won’t slow down anytime soon. Lots of continuing work on the house, some fun writing ideas, a new baby on the horizon – it’s lovely chaos around here. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And before I forget, one more thing! I’ll be taking the day off on Monday, since Graham doesn’t have to work. So, no post then. But I’ll be back on Wednesday. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a good start to the week!

Smoke on the Mountain

/ Katie / 32 Comments

How are all my followers on the U.S. east coast and in Canada doing? Because around here, it’s a haze of smoke.

I don’t know if you can really tell from this picture. It honestly almost looks like fog on the mountainside. Everything looks just a little soft around the edges. And it’s been like this for days.

I’m writing this on Thursday. My nose is killing me. My eyes are burning. I’ve got an air purifier running. I’m NOT going outside, and we’re limiting Annie-dog’s time out there, too. I did pop out on Wednesday for an appointment and evening trivia, and I gotta tell you, I came back in smelling like wood smoke. It’s supposed to rain here tomorrow, and I hope it helps. I can’t imagine what it’s like being closer to the wildfires.

I sound like I’m complaining, and I really don’t mean to. I’m lucky. I know other people are dealing with this on a much bigger scale. It’s affecting lives and livelihoods and homes and wildlife and it’s terrible. And I’m worried for those living in places more impacted than my little corner of Virginia. I’m worried for what’s happening to the planet.

Not a positive post for a Friday, is this? I do have some happier content planned for next week, I promise. But for now, this is what’s on my mind. I’m sure it’s on a lot of minds.

And I just really hope it gets better soon.

Focus? What focus? (Or, The Art of Writing in a Construction Zone)

/ Katie / 5 Comments

I find myself once again at the end of a month without a completed short story to post. I’m working on it today, and have been for the past several days. It’s a good one, but not quite done. And that’s just going to have to be okay. I’ll have it up on Friday, so be sure to check back.

Why the delay? Well, a few reasons.

The first is that it’s not easy to focus when you’re living around dust and dealing with construction noise. Don’t get me wrong – our contractors are amazing, they work fast, and they do a really good job of cleaning up at the end of the day. But when you’re me, and (controlled) chaos in the house feels like (uncontrolled) chaos in your brain, it’s still just difficult to work around. The good news is that the dining room ceiling is stable and sound…

…and work has started on updating and expanding our master bathroom.

The second is just that life is just busy right now. I’ll share more on that next week, but for now, I’ll just say that there are lots of things, including renovations and construction, vying for my attention at the moment, and they’re all important, and I’m just not balancing them super well. I’ll endeavor to work on that in the future.

And the third? Well, it’s me. I’m the problem. I’m allowing things to distract me, and I’m making excuses. They’re good excuses (see: above), but I need to prioritize my writing. It’s as simple and as difficult as that.

So, onward, and by Friday, May’s story will be written and posted and done and dusted. The house, however, will not be dusted. And that’s okay, too. For now, I write.

Who’s afraid of the dark?

/ Katie / 18 Comments

Not me! I swear! (And you can’t see whether or not I have my fingers crossed.)

If you’ve been here for a while, you know that I love a good ghost story. But I confess, I do feel a little disconcerted in the dark. I can’t sleep in a totally dark room. I don’t like walking alone at night, despite living in a very safe (and thankfully, relatively well-lit) village. I love night time, when everything’s quiet and it feels like you’ve got the world to yourself. But I’m just not a big fan of the dark.

Unless we’re talking 90s TV.

90s kids – know where I’m going?

One of my favorite shows growing up was called Are You Afraid of the Dark? It featured a cast of kids who came together around a campfire every week to tell spooky stories. And guys, some of the episodes were genuinely, and still are surprisingly, scary. I loved it. And I’ve been revisiting it lately in my downtime. I still love it, and despite the obvious 90s fashions (bright colors! plaid! baggy jeans!), it actually holds up pretty well! (If you want to check it out, it’s streaming on Paramount+.)

On top of that, watching some of the episodes today, I feel like it explains a lot about the adult I’ve become. I love old houses. I love antiques. I love creepy stories. I love telling them around the fire in my back garden.

I can’t walk into a magic shop – or really any curiosity shop – without hearing (in my head) “That’s Sard-O! No mister. Accent on the DO.” Isn’t that funny? These things we love when we’re children, they never really leave us. And to tell you the truth, I don’t think I’ve ever really, completely grown up.

I still love cartoons and kids’ books. I absolutely will look for fairies in the meadow on a foggy morning. I even laugh at fart jokes. (Not always. They have to be good fart jokes, if such a thing exists.) And yes, despite knowing that there’s nothing there that isn’t there in the light, I am still afraid of the dark. It’s okay. Everyone’s afraid of something.

And frankly, I hope I never lose my sense of silliness. I hope I always get a little shiver thinking about what might be lurking behind me in a dark hallway. I hope I continue, all my life, to seek out magic.

So, yeah, I’ve put it out there now: Who’s afraid of the dark? Me. It’s me. Hi. What about you?

I Love Mondays

/ Katie / 14 Comments

Strange? Maybe. But true.

Back when I was still working a corporate job, I used to dread Mondays. I’d stay up late on Sunday nights, just trying to squeeze a little more time out of the weekend. I’d sit in bed and replay the previous week, I’d worry about issues and deadlines, and I’d wonder, over and over again, how I had ended up in a job I hated so much. It wasn’t pretty.

Now, all these years later, and after working hard to build the kind of life I’ve always wanted, I genuinely look forward to Mondays. I head into every new week excited about what I can do with my time and how I can write and read and volunteer and actually see my friends and eat dinner before 9:00 p.m. every night. I enjoy making a list on Sunday evenings so that I can start the week out strong. I wake up happy. I wake up ready for a new start and fresh week.

What a change.

I’m grateful that I can feel this way. I know it’s a privilege, and I know I’m lucky. And I’m really feeling that today – the sun’s shining and it’s warm outside, Merlin and Annie are both looking out of the windows trying to spot their favorite little creatures, and Graham’s sitting at the kitchen table, working away on his own stuff. It’s a good day. It’s a good life. These last few months have certainly been better than the ones that came before.

I’m happy. I’m grateful. I’m determined to make this a good week, and it starts today.

(And I hope it’s a good week for you, too!)

Good Morning, May Monday! (Thoughts, and a Poem)

/ Katie / 16 Comments

It’s a new week, and a new month! I’ll have a short story out on Wednesday (April’s, just a little late), and in the meantime, I’m playing catch-up from our weekend with family (which was lovely and, as usual, too short). It’s looking to be a busy week, and you know, I’m really fine with that. I always feel like I have more energy and more determination in spring. It’s like watching the earth come alive again makes me feel more alive, too.

So, onward! And here’s a poem to get the week started. 😊 Happy creating, y’all!

************

Lady May (A Poem)

Crowned in flowers
and robed in sunshine,
Lady May walks now
from slope to valley,
forest to river
to field and pasture.
And in her dewy wake,
she lines them with color,
paints them green and blue
and pink and white,
bright yellow and regal lavender,
and leaves behind
the joy and hope of a world
come alive once more.