Thursday, October 7, 2021

Life refresh


My husband and I met up with friends in Harlem for dinner. Two of the women, married to each other for decades, had met my husband once before, but the third, the actress daughter of one of the older women, was meeting both of us for the first time. The next day, the actress's mother called me to say. "Don't feel bad because we love you, too, but oh we all three of us fell in love with your husband!" I said, "I don't feel bad! I fell in love with him, too!" When he came home from work, I teased him that he'd completely charmed two older lesbians and a movie star. "As long as I charmed you, too," he said, and this is reason number twenty trillion why I love him.

Now that the man is back in the office three days a week, I've moved back to the desk in the bedroom for work, which means I shall soon have to clear those towers of books and mail to give myself a neat, serene space to think. (I couldn't decide whether I liked the black and white or the color image better, so this post gets both.)

I will order our new living room couches today. I'm doing the thing, ma! I will even get a twenty percent business-owner's discount because of that publishing company my cousin and I started. The benefits of having a lawyer in the family—she officially registered us and now we are a legitimately licensed LLC (as in "little little company"). Because of pandemic related supply chain issues, the furniture won't be delivered until late January. I'm okay with that. Perhaps I will get to decluttering in the meantime.

My plan is to swap out the red curtains with ivory ones that are washed and folded in my linen closet, or maybe get new curtains altogether, in a lighter shade. The whole object is to make the room brighter and airier. I've also been on the hunt for a new area rug, but haven't happened on any I absolutely love. I did this week run across an inexpensive one that I did not mind. On impulse I bought it. I'd intended to wait till the new couches arrived to get a new rug, but our current one, having served twenty years of hard use, needs to be retired in the worst way. The new rug, which arrives tomorrow, is a loose commitment, enough to feel as if I have begun the upgrade endeavor. If I end up not liking this rug with the new couches, it was cheap enough that I can move it to another room or give it someone who will love it, and get something else. How privileged I am to be able to think this way. I do not take it for granted. 


15 comments:

  1. WOW , When you make up your mind you truly make it!! Your home is so lovely , probably right about more light, that , too, is my dilemma living in the dark PNW. My friend makes these rugs, They are actually made in India , she is the artist. http://www.dalegottlieb.com/new-page-34

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    1. Linda Sue, the story rugs and paintings are absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for introducing me to Dale Gottlieb's work!

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  2. I love your house. Looking forward to new couches and a rug. It's nice to change up the space. We finally hung a bunch of art yesterday. Since we know we'll be painting, the do over nail holes were not traumatic, we'll fill them and paint them this winter.

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    1. Allison, I know just what you mean about do-over nail holes, but how lovely to have your art hung! It does make a place feel like home.

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  3. Your husband has charmed your blog readers as well. He has quite the loving fan club!
    I am so looking forward to watching the transformation from this beautiful living room with older rugs, couches, and curtains to the new look you have planned. Such fun!

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  4. Lesbians seem to love my husband to. Yes. We have the best men.
    I am so proud of you for actually ordering those couches! What a glorious thing to look forward to!
    Those rugs that Linda Sue's friend makes are wonderful, aren't they? There are at least three I would love to own. But I'm not sure I could walk on them!

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  5. I love your house and many of the colors. can't wait to see what you do next...

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  6. I like the red drapes but you're probably tired of them. I'm a fan of lots of color. I painted the bedroom downstairs white which makes it much brighter but there's lot of other color in the room.

    Can't wait to see the new couches.

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  7. I love these peeks into your lovely home. It will be nice to have a new sofa to look forward to and it will be fun to see the changes you will make. Good luck!

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  8. don't you love having a window to look out of at your work space? I do, it's a must have for me. can't wait to see the new couches, rug, and curtains.

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  9. New sofas and rug will give the room a brand new feel for the new year. Enjoy! Can't wait to see the photos!

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  10. Sometimes it's just important to feel like you've made progress. I get that! I love the story about your dinner companions loving your husband!

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  11. There is great warmth in the home you and your family cherish. What a joy there in this transition time when you are envisioning it in new ways. The warmth and vitality is apparent in color as well as black and white and greys.

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  12. Did you talk about me at all, or did y'all forget me already? Sounds lovely. And your man is rad.

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    1. Darling M, of course we talked about you. Didn't you feel the love?

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