Where is my love?

Last week I had a chance to process things after the death of my cat and make some sense of the house. The entire house was in a state of upheaval, and to make matters worse my partner had to leave town for business. So each day after work I moved things around and made some progress here and there.

Community Thrift came by to take away our old black leather sofa (a reminder of my partner's bachelor days) as well as our old drop-leaf dining table, which we haven't used in over a year. We got a more useful dining table from our friends at Modern Past in Glen Park and decided to turn our Living Room into a Library/Dining/Work space instead.

But most importantly, I re-potted some plants that a friend had sent us after our cat Chino's death. It was a very sweet arrangement of peace lily, azalea, ivy, and some other pretty yellow flower. I was surprised that they were actual plants in the arrangement and not just cut flowers. This way, we'd have something living to help us remember our little guy.

I re-used some pots I had lying around the back sunroom and split up the arrangement. I put the pink azaleas in the Front Room/Office:

And then I put the lily/ivy arrangement to one side of the mantel, where I also placed a succulent arrangement that had some special meaning:

I had planted this arrangement of succulents years ago and watched as they grew. I always thought each one represented each of us in our little family: me, my partner, and our little guy. But the smallest plant died last year, coincidentally around the time of our cat's cancer diagnosis. In an effort to challenge the fates, I took another tiny succulent from our back garden to ensure that Chino's little plant avatar would continue to live in the arrangement. As the months went on, I surprised to see Chino's plant sprout something new and grow toward the light:

When this little antenna sprouted up and over the side of the pot, I thought maybe there was a chance he'd beat the cancer. Now it serves as a little symbol of hope and perseverance. Along with the new plants we've received, it really feels like Chino's spirit continues to live in patches of sun around the house.

I was able to move the new dining table into the center of the room and heaped more books on top of it. Now it's a place to read, eat, put our shoes, and even spread out to work. And if need be, two leaves extend from the table to seat up to eight people. I'm glad we made the change. I just wish our little guy could have enjoyed it.

 

Now the Front Room needs some updating. I got some new frames for some artwork recently, mostly for some little drawings I did years ago for our wedding invitations. I really liked the linen mats--they're so much warmer than standard white. I think I'll put them up in the Front Room this week when I have time.

         

I also got this shadowbox frame for another little sketch from years ago. It went up on the mantel next to Chino's ashes and paw print.

Lots of rearranging and changes around the house. At least there's more space in our back sunroom now that we donated our old furniture. (We kept our great orange lacquer nesting tables, but now they're stored away in the back room.) With so much going on, I felt like the clear nesting tables would work better to show off our crazy collection of cat and owl items.

More updates next week, as I continue rearranging. Any thoughts or ideas from readers out there?