new bathrooms, new girlfriends and new books

I believe that we, the husband and I, have made a monumental shift in our relationship…we conducted a sizeable home improvement project without a single fight! We painted our bathroom and did so in good spirits and without any bickering. I think that this ushers us past the “newlywed” phase (which some people still insist on saying, oh, you’ve only been married six years, you are still newlyweds…) or else it means that we are both mellowing out as we get older. I tend to think it may be a tad bit of both. The end result is a bathroom that is a bit more “minty” green than I had hoped for, I was wanting something more “sage” but, we have what we have. I guess one way to look at it is that we know we won’t live in the house forever since we don’t own it so, I won’t have to look at the walls forever. I am now in a quest to find new curtains and rugs that pull it all together.

Painting the bathroom was a must because the wall had cracked and needed repaired and the paint was pealing off. We had been putting it off (me for fear of choosing a color I wouldn’t like, oh well, and the husband because he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of painting). But, we are having company this weekend and the wall was looking pretty trashy…but more importantly, we are having very special guests this weekend. Our best friend is bringing his girlfriend to meet us. His first official girlfriend in years, the only one he has had since we have known him. This is pretty big for him and we feel like parents with a 30 year old child who is bringing his girl home to meet mom and dad. But it’s cool, I feel honored that our approval means so much to someone, who means so much to us and we are excited to meet Beth!

I am finally getting back to my book club tomorrow night, I have missed it the last two months. We are having dinner and putting together our reading lists for the next year. I am taking two suggestions with me, one I have read (and wept over) and one I am working on reading (per the husband’s recommendation after seeing Marilynne at a conference). The first is “A Severe Mercy” by Sheldon Vanauken and the other is “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson. I am anxious to get back to it, since I have been encouraged to read books that I would not otherwise have picked up. We shall see what the next year brings to my literary palette!