I promised a more cheerful post. This is as close as it gets.The header photo comes from my yard, where spring is springing on.  Happy little crocus flower, reminding me the world keeps turning and the best thing to do is keep on keeping on. (Which for a crocus means fighting frost and dodging bunny teeth. In my case it means practicing kindness, taking ALL the precautions, & looking for new ways to help others.)Working on fiction is hard when the real timeline is doing the whole "truth stranger than fiction" thing. Not much to share on that front.But!  There was progress on the basement renovation before things slowed to a cautious COVID-19 related crawl. Let's peek in on that, shall we?First, the whatnot room. I don't have "before" pics of this zone from the real estate listing or from move-in. It's hard to take a good pic of an unlighted room filled with paint-splashed chunky workbenches, low-hanging pipery, gnarly wiring, and beadboard walls enclosing some sealed plumbing leftover from a 1930's vintage throne-style toilet.Yeah. So the first image I had of this area was taken after extensive demo & cleanup, and it was none too appealing even then. And now The window has a deep frame just begging me to put plants there, and there are LIGHTS, and VENTILATION, and in the background on the right? That's going to be a half bath soon. We'll go from 1 toilet to 3 when it's complete, and let me tell you, I am giddy about that.See, the 1st floor bathroom has also been out of commission during the construction--to get the drains & pipes upgraded. Well worth it, and I don't regret the decision, but...um...let's just say that now that Spouseman & I are both home all day long every day, I am really looking forward to having multiple toilets again.Anyway. Onward to the mechanicals area.

This was another hard zone to get "before" pics of, due to lack of lighting and general ick factor. Now it's all brightly lit and open, with a window that works, and an upgraded circuit breaker box behind that swank wood panel.  Washer & dryer are scheduled to arrive Tuesday, so I'm hoping things stay below the Dire Catastrophe level & delivery goes as planned.(Small digression to point out this hope is grounded in wanting PEOPLE TO NOT BE DYING, not about me not being inconvenienced by a deadly fucking pandemic. Does that sound grumpy? Well, I might be a little bit raw from CONSTANTLY seeing my name associated with a zillion tweets & memes about being insensitive, selfish, pushy, whiny, entitled, tone-deaf, arrogant, clueless, nasty, and generally awful. Maybe. But I'll rant about that in another post. THIS MY HAPPY POST.)ANYway. Back from digression to take a look at the main hall. The part of the basement people see first, coming downstairs. It kinda sets the whole tone. The floors here are under protective covers right now while the trim & moldings go in, but it's fresh & bright and so easy to see how comfy & cozy it will be when it's done.And it SMELLS good. (happy, happy sigh.)Okay. that's more than enough for one update. As usual, I'm now questioning whether I should even post it, (see above re:self-doubts on the topics of selfishness & tone-deaf bragging etc)  But I AM gonna post it, and here's why: when I get scared & overwhelmed, being reminded of good things happening anywhere lifts my spirits.Things are hard right now for so many people, in so many ways, and this a big happy in my life. So if even one other person feels the way I do about collecting other-happies, that makes sharing (inflicting?) this on the world worthwhile. Right?I'll just have to hope so.Until later, friends.