Dissolution. A prettier word than divorce. The end is the same: the death of one way of life, the bumpy birth of another.
So, I'm no longer wife or partner in the DeVore's Land & Water Gardens business I helped build and fuel for 35 years. The farm and woods are no longer available to me. My wonderful large studio on the second floor of the house is no longer mine. All losses are worthy of grieving. It will take time.
Meanwhile, I have purchased a little house in Oxford. It is enough. It is a blank slate. I am in the process of making it mine. Moved in July 5. This summer has been spent on working with the interior and landscaping the yard, as I had to leave behind the landscape I had helped form on Hogue Rd.
It will be a while before I have a functional studio. In the meantime, creative energy is channeled into making this little house a home for me, and this bare little yard a sanctuary for me and my new cat, Tucker.
First, before pictures. Next, the 'During' phase, interior: remove all cheap-o carpet. Discover old asbestos lino underneath. Company can't remove, so I must. Hence, beefy dust mask & scraper. Big job! Then, paint all walls, trim, & kitchen cabinets. But first, must scrape bubbling up old paint off kitchen. Another big job! Finally, new vinyl everywhere, enlarge closet in master bedroom/soon to be studio, and create/install faux tile in kitchen made by painting and glazing strips of cardboard. It fools everyone.