I've been included in a Minnesota anthology "Under Purple Skies", now available on Amazon!

My second chapbook, "The Second Book of Pearl: The Cats" is now available as either a paper chapbook or as a downloadable item. See below for the Pay Pal link or click on its cover just to the right of the newest blog post to download to your Kindle, iPad, or Nook. Just $3.99 for inspired tales of gin, gambling addiction and inter-feline betrayal.

My first chapbook, I Was Raised to be A Lert is in its third printing and is available both via the PayPal link below and on smashwords! Order one? Download one? It's all for you, baby!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Do-It-Yourself Takes on Further Meaning

They don’t tell you how much work it is, living alone.  All this maneuvering of furniture, lifting of heavy things.  And the garbage!  Did you know that I am forced to take out my own garbage?

All those things we don’t think about.  All the little things that we never noticed another person doing.

The first few months are a blur now: cleaning, unpacking, de-bugging.  The previous tenant had, apparently, never opened the windows, never turned on a light.  The cobwebs, or, as I came to know them, “grandma’s undies”, hung from the ceiling, the corners, clung to the baseboard in dingy, drooping failure.  And the bugs!  The bugs were numerous, adventurous little creatures.  There were those that I couldn’t identify, things with pincers or too many legs, things that took up residence in nightly dreams of climbing and falling.

And as all things do, it changed.  The house was scrubbed, the crunchy little beasts are now homeless. 

A large rug covers the stain on the carpet.  A wooden galleon with a clock in its belly sits on the mantle, telling time with a self-satisfied hum. 

I love my place. I admire the wooden shutters over the seven windows in the living room.  I marvel at its high ceilings.

I lay back on the couch, stare at the coffered living room ceiling.  Someone has painted it a rather vibrant yellow, and I picture myself on a ladder, paint in my hair, a damp rag at the ready.

I live alone now. 


It’s far more work than I remember, but things are looking up. 

31 comments:

Buttons Thoughts said...

Sounds beautiful:) Hug B

sage said...

Great posts and it sounds like you have created a new home... Take care!

joeh said...

Alone? No cats mixing gin and tonics, smoking your cigarettes and borrowing the car?

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Oh for heaven's sake gal, if you go up ladders, make sure that at least Mary is with ya!!! Or get a VERY long extender for the paint roller; and strapping for the shoulders... crikey, yeah. That's the stuff which takes the stuffing out of one. But you're made of stern stuff Pearl VZ. Revel in those seven windows... YAM xx

Camille said...

Missed you Pearl. So glad things are shaping up and smoothing over in your life. Starting over...Been there/done that. It's a beautiful thing. X

jenny_o said...

And you still write beautifully.

Sounds like a good place to be. In various senses of the phrase.

raydenzel1 said...

Welcome home

raydenzel1 said...

If you have questions feel free to ask me anything

Pearl said...

Of course, Dolly lives with me, and she is full of helpful advice, mostly centered around treats, ie the proper number of treatings a day, the method by which the treats should be administered...

Geo. said...

Pearl, your new place sounds great. Be careful painting on ladders. Long experience has shown me the distance down a ladder is twice the distance up.

Jono said...

Even when I am alone I am not alone enough. Your new place sounds pretty nice, actually, especially with the small multi-legged creatures having moved on.

Linda O'Connell said...

Seven windows sounds wonderful. You got rid of the crud and now you're moving on up...just be careful on the ladder. So glad you are back.

Anonymous said...

A day with a Pearl post--even if it is a post about cobwebs and tiny creatures with pincers--is a day with sunshine and mirth and lyrical lines. We are sooooooo glad you are back.

Gigi said...

Yes, I imagine getting used to living alone takes some doing. But, it will get better. Of this I am sure.

Elephant's Child said...

So glad to hear that things are looking up. And that Dolly still shares your world.
Yes living alone is more work - but less too. The only mess is your own. And the last piece of chocolate is also yours.

Catalyst said...

I was unaware you were making changes in your life but I'm glad you're back and with your sense of humor and writing skills your life from now on can't be anything but sunbeams and rainbows.

Jocelyn said...

In every possible way: your life is shaping up.

Plus, now you have a space that's a haven.

River said...

I've been alone a long time now and the novelty of DIY is long gone, but the peace and quiet are worth it. like Jocelyn said above me here, my space is my haven.

Raymond Alexander Kukkee said...

Pearl, you're at it again. Wonderful writing,--as usual, an inspiration to us all. Good to see you're adapting to your new life. ":)

Anonymous said...

A little more work, yes, but no one telling you NO. A small price to pay, yes?

Launna said...

I have never lived alone... I am not looking forward to it... the only thing would be that I wouldn't have to clean up after someone else... xox

Bill Lisleman said...

I see you answered my question about the cat above. Homeless insects is one thing but a homeless cat - they make Broadway musicals from stories like that.

fmcgmccllc said...

Yep, I hated garbage day. Especially when it rained. Loved that everything was always as I left it.

Should Fish More said...

Hmm, yeah, been there. The night is long, and there are long periods of laying there, no one to talk to.
It will get over, know that's a hackneyed phrase, vastly overused. But it's true. Really. It get's better. Eventually.
From several years beyond, Pearl, I suggest you spend some time in the company of others, for better or worse.
Cheers,
Mike

Connie said...

Your new place sounds nice. I'm glad to hear things are looking up. :)

Dawn@Lighten Up! said...

I love it! You sound so happy!
A secret: I'd love to have a little apartment of my own sometimes. Just a place where I could hang out on the weekends, for an hour or two or eight.

Suldog said...

I've certainly missed some posts, otherwise I'd know why you are now alone (excluding Dolly, of course.) I'll have to check the back issues of Pearl to find out. Off I go...

Watson said...

I've been living alone for decades! I'm an expert. Ask me anything, but my volunteered advice is: "Never, never, never get on a ladder when you are alone" Invite a friend over for coffee and have them do the ladder work while you make the coffee and bake a tray of cookies.

Watson said...

PS Your new home sounds warm and lovely! May it be a place of peace, creativity, and love

savannah said...

:) xoxoxoxo from me to you, sweetpea!

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Yay! You are back, and you got this!!
Hugs.