The Third Act

grateful April (14)

Coffee...on an as needed basis.  Guess I figured I needed it this morning!

 

 

 

grateful April (13)

Hot showers.  No, these images have nothing to do with hot showers.  Photos and subject are totally unrelated.  I can do that, right?

It's Monday.  I had my self chosen no internet Sunday (I don't know how many I've done now...three in a row?).  It was good.  But I'm moving slow and I wanted to make a post and these are the images I had on hand.  VMFA Instax mini shots.

But anyway...hot showers.  Yes!  It can be the middle of a sweltering summer and I still appreciate a hot shower.  These old, stressed tendons really need that wet heat.  The hot water coursing down my body, while I work to stretch out all the achy parts.  It's my ritual...sometimes twice a day, depending on the circumstances.  Sure, I could do hot baths but it's hard for me to carve the time.  Now, if I had a hot tub out back under the trees...that might be different (it's still on my list of "home improvements" haha!).

 

 

 

 

grateful April (12)

The screened in porch.  It's like being in the woods, but protected from bugs.  It's like bringing the outside inside when the door is open, even if I'm not sitting out here.  And I say sitting out here in the present tense, because I am indeed writing this on my laptop from the porch.

 

 

 

grateful April (11)

Rain.  When you're under your typical levels, it's definitely a thing to rejoice in.  Thankfully, it also waited until I had my yard mowed and trimmed, and Avery and I had our walk.

 

 

 

 

grateful April (10)

Sunshine!  Granted, today is a bit hot for mid April.  Still...sunshine always helps my mood and the plants love it as well.  

 

 

 

 

grateful April (9)

It's really pretty great to live just a 10 or 15 minute walk from the James river and Pony Pasture Park.  

For most of my life I lived rather close to the Pacific ocean.  On one occasion, for about year, I was within walking distance to the beach.  For the seventeen years before I moved here to Virginia, I could climb the hill behind my house and see the San Francisco Bay, complete with Golden Gate bridge.  There were nine years when my family lived completely landlocked in Arizona.  My ex said he knew I always wanted to get back to California, mostly because of the ocean.

So, finding myself a good couple hours from the Atlantic now, I'm not able to get to a large body of water on a regular basis.  That's why it's such a blessing to live so close to the river, to feel like the river is practically in my back yard.  The wildness of the surrounding woods only accentuates just how special it is.  Sometimes the river runs high.  Sometimes it's low.  But there's always the sound of moving water, which I appreciate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

grateful April (8)

Home.  It's incredibly fortunate to have a home.  So many people don't.  Mine isn't fancy or stylish (unless you count my style, haha!).  It doesn't have the newest, anything really (okay, there is a new roof).  To be fair, none of the homes I've lived in were ever updated in any significant way.  But I've loved them all and have been grateful for them all.  

 

 

 

 

grateful April (7)

Quiet...I'm so grateful for quietness.  Today marks the 9th anniversary of seeing my house in person (I closed on the purchase the following day and got the keys).  The first house I made an offer on in Richmond was in a different neighborhood and I'm so glad that fell through.  This area is much quieter.  I find the older I get the more I need quiet or just the sounds of nature.  

 

 

 

grateful April (6)

Ancestral traditions...  Even when I'm not able to be with family, with those now in another realm or those that are miles away, food traditions help me feel connected.  Onion skin dyed eggs, grated beet and horseradish, mom's cheesecake, and grandmother's babka.  I intend to share as it's just me and Avery in the house.

Whatever holiday (or no holiday) you celebrate, have a lovely Sunday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

grateful April (5)

It's raining today and about 30 degrees cooler than yesterday.  Yesterday I triggered a migraine by letting too much grow light light get in my eyes.  While migraines (so far in my experience) are never debilitating, they still make me feel blah.  I felt better this morning, but still off.  Combine that with the weather and I really, really didn't feel motivated to do much of anything (thankfully I got Avery for her walk during a break in the rain).

While I could say I'm grateful for the VMFA (and I am), what I'm really grateful for is that little spark/spirit/discipline in me that actually got me up and out the door.  It would have been sooooo easy to stay inside, but I knew it would be better for my well being to get out of the house.  I used a pack of Instax mini film and about half a roll of film in the Zero pinhole camera.  It's not much, but I feel good about this.  Now Avery and I will chill the rest of this Good Friday evening, listening to the rain and maybe watching a movie.