Personal Essays

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.

Travel, Rain, and Trying to Write a Short Story

/ Katie / 19 Comments

Well, owing to a combination of a very busy week and my own poor planning, here we are, precariously close to the end of the month, and I haven’t even started April’s short story yet. Sigh.

We’re visiting family this weekend, and we drove down yesterday. It’s so nice to see everyone! And I desperately want to spend this time together, rather than tucked away in a corner trying to write. The good news is, it’s raining today! (No, seriously, this is good.) That means that it’s probably going to be a quieter, slower day, so maybe I will have some time to step away and work for a bit. We shall see.

The other good news is that we brought both Annie and Merlin down with us. Annie loves road trips, but cats don’t usually like to travel (an understatement), so we wondered how Merlin would feel. But he’s been doing great! He didn’t complain in the car, and once we got here and he explored a little bit, he pretty much decided he owns this space now, too. That cat…totally unflappable, I’m telling you.

Anyway, if you don’t see a short story from me by Sunday, I promise to post one next week. And that means two stories in May! Which is breaking my rule a bit, but I figure, we make exceptions for things that matter, right? And family matters a whole lot.

In the meantime, I wish everyone a wonderful Friday and a lovely weekend. Happy creating, y’all!

Annie got a haircut!

/ Katie / 4 Comments

And I think it tired her out.

We’ve actually not gotten her groomed in a very long time (probably too long, honestly), because there’s been a dog flu going around in our area. We know someone who lost a beloved pet to it, and it was scary and sad. Annie’s older and not in the best health – nothing awful, just aging and such – and so I worried about her being in a place with lots of other dogs. And unfortunately, she doesn’t really enjoy it when we try to bathe and brush her. Luckily, we found a mobile groomer!

And also luckily, cases of this particular illness have been going down pretty precipitously.

At any rate, she’s looking much better, and I’m sure feeling better, too. The groomer said she didn’t really want to stand up much, which isn’t surprising. She’s just a little old and creaky these days. But it’s funny, looking at her little graying muzzle. No matter how old she gets, I will always see her as the spunky puppy we brought home all those years ago.  

A Morning Walk in Spring

/ Katie / 5 Comments

It’s so gorgeous out today, and I just had to share some pictures that Graham snapped on his morning walk with Annie. (Where was I? Alas, I’m not a morning person, so, still in bed.)

I’m really hoping we get some fruit this year from our apple trees. I doubt we will, but you never know!

I suppose they’re just weeds, but I think they’re lovely.

The Japanese maple looks so vibrant in the morning sunlight.

Perhaps I ought to start waking up earlier, right? This is certainly a lot of color and beauty to miss in the service of sleeping in.

The Redbud’s Blooming!

/ Katie / 16 Comments

It feels like it happened overnight, and now here we are!

Redbud trees are my favorite. They’re native to the area, and I think every bit as lovely as cherry blossoms. To me, it’s not spring until the redbud trees bloom.

There’s actually a small festival near the town where I grew up. I’ve never attended, despite living so close for so long, and perhaps one of these days I should change that.

But for now, I’ll enjoy this beauty from the comfort of my favorite writing chair.