Dawn and Cherry Garcia...

It’s 6:30 a.m. and the day is just beginning to dawn. And oh, my, but what a dawn it is! Despite the fact that it is early August here in Central Texas, there is a pleasant, mild coolness in the morning air. Birds are chirruping in the nearby trees and I hear the hum of the cars of early commuters, likely on their way to work. The slight breeze tickles my cheek as I write, and I smile to myself as I haven’t in some time: a smile elicited not in response to another, nor something humorous I may have seen or read or heard; no, this smile comes straight from my heart for no other reason except that I feel a sense of peace and optimism today, despite the hurdles ahead of me.

Today I am embracing this day with a renewed sense of hope. I can feel that my new medications are beginning to have their desired effect at last, and I joyfully recognize that I have even been able to begin to tackle  that monumental list of tasks I described to you earlier. Even more significant: I am genuinely beginning to look at my next chapter with excitement rather than fear or even dread. Yes, the fear is still there in the back of my mind, but I’m beginning to really look forward to whatever comes next. I feel that exhilarating sense of joyful anticipation, like I do at the start of a new adventure. And indeed, this will be an adventure. Tami Jo, solo. Directing my future as only I deem appropriate. How marvelous!

What that future will look like is anyone’s guess, but I believe it will be bright: literally as well as figuratively. You see, I am a person who loves to surround herself with deeply saturated colors---colors most folks wouldn’t dare to use in decorating their homes. But as we all know, I’m not most folks. (I know...none of us are, but you know what I mean.) I’m a little addled, a little wild, a little adventurous, a little unconventional---and it comes out in my sense of aesthetics. I let my freak flag fly with joy in my Pensacola home, Avant Garden, and my environment brings me so much joy that I have decided to follow suit here, with my next (forever?) home. I'll probably adjust the palette somewhat so that this home is not simply a larger version of what I have in Florida, but it will be wild. It will be colorful. It will be fun. It will be ME!

I had a conversation about my plans with a very dear friend yesterday, and he asked, "Are you sure you don't want to have something different since you already have that in Florida?" I told him that I'm done with muted, earthy colors. Everyone has muted, earthy colors. Or beige. Or any one of an infinite number of variations of white.

Now, I'm not disparaging that sort of decor,: it's elegant, calming, serene... but it's simply not for me. It's too plain, too safe, too... vanilla.

I'm not vanilla. I'm Cherry Garcia with extra fudge and sprinkles, whipped cream and a few nuts thrown in for good measure, served in an extra-large chartreuse bowl with pink polka-dots. I'm anything but a minimalist: I'm a maximalist, and that's OK by me.

Yesterday's big task was to find the perfect flooring for my new abode. Currently there is hard flooring in the kitchen, dining and bathrooms, if I remember correctly (can't verify because it's not mine until the 22nd and folks are still living there), but all bedrooms, living rooms, media room (soon to be my studio) are carpet. And I detest carpet. Carpets are a catch-all for dust mites, dander from humans and animals alike, pet hair (and of course the occasional "accident"--- see Bucket List item #29), dirt, mold, bacteria... yeah, I hate carpet. So, I'm replacing all carpeted areas with a high-quality wood-look vinyl flooring. I was limited in making my selection by the necessity to find something that looks nice with the existing ceramic tile in the kitchen, but I've succeeded marvelously and I think it will be fabulous.

Next task is to settle on a color scheme, then find painters willing to take it on. It will be a "fussy" project, so it will require someone with patience and a willingness to deal with a somewhat eccentric lady who will likely make numerous adjustments until it's "just right." If any of my local readers knows of such a person (crew, really...I'm overhauling the whole thing), please let me know. 

The pictures I've included in this post are some I've found on the Internet as I've searched for inspiration. My house will, of course, be unique to me, but I think you get a sense of where I'm going. 

Between the new flooring and the painting required, it will probably take a month or more before I am ready to bring furniture into the home. I may begin with my bedroom so I can start sleeping there at least. A bed and a table are I'll I need to start. Maybe some peanut M&M's.

It will be a big undertaking but as I said, I am approaching it with eagerness and enthusiasm rather than trepidation and wistfulness. 

When one door closes another opens.

(Here's a bit of trivia for you: the above is a partial quote of words by Alexander Graham Bell. The quote, in its entirety: "When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

I'm not going to look back at that closed door with regret. I lived on the other side of that door for a long while, and there was a great deal of good there and I am grateful. But that door IS closed and to long wistfully for what was, or what might have been, is futile. I'm taking my steps through the threshold of a new door, and it's an exciting prospect.

So glad you stopped by today. I hope you have a great day!  And just to let you know, I love feedback so if you're so inclined, your comments can be made anonymously or publicly.

Happy Trails!