Peaceful kingdom

 

We are now a home with 4 animals and two girls. Besides the massive amount of hair that this creates, there are a lot of new moments of tension. In addition to mixing all the animals up with a move, there are new smells and sounds from Nicolette's cat downstairs. 

I am hopeful though. Even though there has been a ton of hissing and growling, the bloodshed has remained minimal. 

It feels right finally being upstairs. Satu is slowly setting up her space on the third floor which fills me with so much joy. She truly does seem happier when she has time to interact with things and to have some alone, but close time. I think it helps her put work aside for a while. On the way to and from work, her mind is usually completely overtaken with the frustrating problems of the daily grind. I hope eventually I can get myself paid well enough to let her quit without worry.

We are getting settled in our lives and it would sure be nice to have more time to enjoy the stability and the environment we are building for ourselves. 

Wild animals

 Spring is here and the cameras are on. Satu and I have already seen bunnies, skunks and groundhogs. The deer and squirrels are year round neighbors, but they have a bit of spring in their steps lately too. 

Satu and I are building a studio space on the third floor to move her into. Even though we aren't redoing the floors or changing the walls up there, the odd corners and funny shadows will make a beautiful space for her. 

I am really excited to see her bronze masks on the walls and to get her backyard foundry going this year. I think she's going to love creating at home if we can just get more comfortable with the idea of her quitting her job. 

Even though it scares me to my core, I'd love to know that she was enjoying some of the summer sunshine on her Honda rebel.

It is scary times with the pandemic making the economy safe only for the 1 percenters. Still, we play it safe enough that I think we should take the risk. Especially after Satu's sister moves in this summer. 

I have my own wishlist of upgrades for moving into the upstairs apartment. 

A french door type refrigerator would fit the kitchen a lot better and not block off the door in and out. A king sized bed would be a huge lifestyle upgrade since the animals chase me out of bed almost every night now. And I cannot wait to put in countertops and get a comfortable sofa. 

It is nice to daydream about homemaking with Satu again. As much as I hate to move, I have been wanting to get into he upstairs space since we bought this house. The downstairs is cozy enough, but I really feel like we will be able to spread out a bit. Satu deserves to have some nice space to herself to create and work on her secret projects. I have my basement dojo and office.  I feel like it adds a lot to my life to have that space just to be in. 

This year the cicadas will come out of hiding after 17 years in the ground. I can't wait to hear them singing in the woods and watch my wonderful wife examine them on her small, perfect hands. Ohio would be perfect this time of year if there were frogs and turtles. I haven't seen either since we left Georgia.

As far as our own little family of animals goes, the basement cat has turned into a very sweet, loving lap cat. He joins us upstairs whenever the dog isn't here. Unfortunately, they have had some bad interactions and I don't think they will be able to bury the hatchet. 

I think we can live with it though. We will have this whole wonderful house soon to spread out in. 

I am scared of this world too

 I am in the stairwell of our home burying myself in busy work. My country is in crisis and I am listening to songs that meant something to me when I was 20. I live with you and wake up with you and i miss you even when you are beside me. I know clearly right now that love is all that matters in this storm beaten world, but i feel lost. I want to make this world a paradise for us, but our home feels like a bunker. Hold tight to me and I will hold tight to you. Nothing else seems certain.