It’ll be up tomorrow! It’s been a busy day choosing some finishing touches for our basement bathroom (which is still looking amazing and is so close to being done), and I feel like I need just a little more writing time. So, stop back by! This is going to be a fun one, I promise. 😊
And for now, enjoy this photo of a beautiful view from one of the local breweries here in my corner little of Virginia. We spent some time in the countryside yesterday and it was just lovely. If it’s going to be spring in winter, might as well enjoy it, right?
I’m thankful for the wild things. The dew that slicks the blades of grass, the bee at his work, the birds who fill the air with song, the kits in their den dreaming of play and the deer in the meadow bathed in snow – outside my door, a whole world turns not in days and hours, but in moments, seasons and sensations. In the changing of the leaves, the rising and setting sun, these little lives go on and on until they don’t, and then, like a breath between words, they’re gone. How much we could learn from the brave, wild things, if we’d only each take time to wait and watch, to sit patiently with the silence before the storm, the crickets’ evening concerto, the breeze through the fields, the morning’s cacophony. They exist, not for us to see as a space apart, but with us, in us. We, too, could be brave, wild things. We know it in our hearts.
I hardly ever find myself wishing that I could stop time. I generally like thinking of the future. I find it exciting, all those possibilities and knowing that if I’m going through a rough patch, it’s only for right now. And that applies to good times, too. Everything is only a moment, and while sometimes that’s hard, I generally view it as a net positive. Being stuck, even in a happy time, would just be boring.
And then, I look at this little kitten that just won’t stop growing and I can’t help but think, “Slow down!”
I don’t have children, so this is as close as I get, I think, to what parents feel watching their little ones change every day. Merlin is a new cat almost every hour. He finds new places to explore and to nap, he likes something and then he doesn’t, he wants all the attention and then to be all by himself. The only constant so far is that he desperately wants to be Annie’s friend. She’s not interested. He’s not giving up.
He’s almost six months old, and I wonder what he’ll look like, what he’ll be like, in another six months. And then in the year after that, and after that. It’s exciting, as it always is for me, to think of the future. But it’s also a little sad, because he won’t be this new baby forever. He’ll grow and change and he won’t be the same. And eventually, hopefully a long, long time from now, and just like Gatsby, who is still so very loved, he’ll die. But he’ll always be Merlin.
(Feel free to laugh as I talk about my pet like a human. I’ve long ago accepted my impending future as a crazy cat lady.)
And then I remember that that’s true for me, too. And for Graham. And for all of us. It’s easy to get caught up, even knowing that everything is really, truly, temporary, in hard times and unhappy feelings, in being down on yourself or feeling stuck in a rut. For many of us, I think the world we live in tends to demand that we occupy a certain spot, like that’s where we’re most useful. But we’re all new, every day. The greatest thing about being human is that we are free to change and to grow as much as we want to, for all the days that we’re alive. And we’ll still be us, even as we learn lessons and try new things and make mistakes.
It’s wonderful, isn’t it?
But it’s also stressful and scary. And absolutely unavoidable. Life happens.
Okay, I knew I said the next update on our basement bathroom renovation would be to share the completed project, but we’re waiting on a few extra materials, so I thought I’d post where we are now. And, y’all, I love it.
I am SO, SO happy with the pink tile, and it’s beautiful. It’s hard to capture it well in pictures, and I think it’ll definitely look even better in context of everything else. But I have absolutely no regrets going with something a little more…colorful. If you look closely, you can also see a little bit of the black and white floor tile, and they’re going to look so good together.
We’ve also decided to change up the floor in the basement. I’ve always hated the blue and purple tile. You can see a little bit of that here:
And here’s how it looks today:
So much better, right? I can’t wait to see the whole floor done. And, you know, the bathroom too.
And then, onward! But for now, let’s celebrate the small stuff. 😊
Well, it seems this is it: The closest I’ll get this winter to seeing snow. So, hello little lovely. I truly am glad you’re here, though I wish more for your namesake at this point in the year. Still, I suppose, you’re no less dear to the season. And I know, at the end of the day, a fall or a flower is just no choice of mine to make.
Well, I guess I ought to just give up on snow this winter. It’s been warm and sunny and gorgeous this week. I spotted these little lovelies earlier today:
Daffodils! A little early this year, I think? Or maybe not. But it feels early. I suppose they’re ready, though, and honestly, if I can’t have a nice winter snow at this point in the season, I’ll certainly take an early spring.
I’ve written a few love poems, but this one’s just for you: Valentine, glad you’re mine, grateful for our time together. See, I’m not so good at love poems, am I? Though, whether or not that’s true, it doesn’t matter. I could write thousands of words, send them out into the universe, make them new every day, spin them out of threads and star stuff, and build a million little love stories infinite webs and lines and paths just for us. And it still wouldn’t be enough to show you how much I love you.
Y’all, it’s been a week, and I’m so glad it’s Friday. I had in mind to write an essay today to start a new series of posts that I’m super excited about, but I’m honestly too tired. I’m sure you know the feeling.
Next week, I hope, will be a little better, and hopefully I’ll get a bit more done. For now, enjoy this adorable picture of Merlin – growing and growing – being snuggly.
He likes to play just as often as he likes to cuddle, if not more. But I treasure these moments, when he wants attention and purrs and we can just take a minute to slow down.
Back next week with hopefully some better writing. In the meantime, I’m wishing all of you (and me) a fabulous weekend, and ideally, a restful one as well.
We’re coming into the home stretch on the basement bathroom, and it’s just looking really good, if I do say so myself. We’ve spent countless hours at this point choosing tile – tile for the floor, tile for the shower – and if I never have to think about tile again, I’ll be a happy woman. (Note that this is not possible as we will also be renovating our kitchen and master bathroom…)
Now, we’re on to choosing a vanity countertop and mirrors, with fixtures to be installed shortly. I’m thinking maybe a marble look for the countertop? I think that would go nicely with the black and white floor and the (yes, we went for it) pink tiles in the shower. I really wanted gold fixtures for the sink and shower, but alas, they are SO MUCH MORE expensive than chrome or nickel. Choices, choices. No matter what we do, I know it will look and function better than it did before. And I also realized earlier this week that I have no “before” pictures of this bathroom. You’ll just have to trust me that it was…less than perfect. (Read: It felt an awful lot like a dark, damp, small hole in the wall with just the bare basics. I hated it. I was embarrassed when people had to use it.)
Anyway! See, progress.
This whole process has been by turns exciting and stressful, but I’m ultimately just really excited to see it done. And I feel really lucky and grateful that we’ve been able to do it at all. Next time I post, it’ll be of the completed project! And then, onward to the next!
Well, we finally got some snow last week. Unfortunately, I think we can file this one under “Close, but no cigar.”
Way less than an inch, and it all melted by about 10:30 in the morning. But hey, we’ve officially broken our snow drought! Maybe this is a sign of more to come before the end of winter. We shall see.
In the meantime, it’s all writing and Merlin and trying to get the basement bathroom done around here. How do you feel about pink shower tiles? Because that’s what I’ve chosen, and I think it’s going to look fantastic.
Can you tell it’s that kind of Monday? You know, the kind where you just can’t seem to get on top of things and your list keeps growing because you’ve forgotten stuff, and so you can’t focus on anything for more than a few seconds? Yeah, it’s that around here right now, too.
Anyway, here’s hoping it’s a good week for all of us!
A Virginia Writer's Diary 