I also have a beautiful neighbor.

Our new rental house is very cozy. It has two bedrooms, a bathroom, an open living room & dining room plan, and an open kitchen. Off the kitchen you can find the back door and washer & dryer. In the living room/dining room there are six windows.
SIX GLORIOUS WINDOWS.
A couple of weeks ago I met one of my neighbors who has this great koi pond (with the mother of all koi in there) and has a green thumb. While I was at her house visiting she casually told me that she had a bunch of plants that needed to separate and would I like some.
WOW.
I love house plants and had a cat that destroyed them and then we moved into an apartment (in our house in Saratoga) that didn't have great light or room for lots of plants and for years I have not had many plants in my home. Here I have my SIX GLORIOUS WINDOWS and a cat who won't pee in my plants. I can have plants again.
My neighbor calls me up and says that she has some plants for me on her back porch. She has to take off and go to work but I can just come over and pick them up. Sure! We have errands to do and we'll swing by and pick up some plants.
We stop by her house and what do we find on the back porch? We find an enormous rubber plant, a huge spider plant with babies abounding, a succulent, and a peace lily ready to bloom.
All for me.
I was expecting a few plants in some 4" pots and I got the mother load.
I have SIX GLORIOUS WINDOWS with plants and a cat.
I also have a beautiful neighbor.

...the next long conversation.

STILL.
I have been feeling very still.
The air is still, my heart is still, life is still. I am caught in a moment between arrival and arriving.
I am in mourning for Godiva. Everyday I miss her fat waddle and goofy stare.
I think I have survived the speed bumps and am feeling some of my 'self' return. I just turned around to see Ethel doing round flips chasing her tail. Since Godiva has passed she has been sitting on our laps and purring (a thing that she has not done in the past). Loss followed by a bit of joyous wonder.
We moved.
We have totally lucked into renting a small house that is right next door to our house. Did I tell you that already? It is good to be in our own space. I had an altercation with our landlady and members of her family at our other place and it left me feeling so very misunderstood and frustrated and not welcomed. It was a crummy situation to end up in during my first week here. Dealing with my feelings of being misplaced, not really knowing anyone, loosing Godiva to her new adventures, and then having our landlady being very harsh with me has left me feeling still.
As a child I would sit in my closet and have long talks with ghosts. Usually while sneaking a smoke. Even in my most troubled moments I have known that I am not alone. As an adult I consult with my spirit on a regular basis. Without the smoke.
I have decided (during my long conversations with self and spirit) that it is good to be still and feel all these feelings. To step back and be self-involved and introspective. And even if it is good or not it is what I have been doing.
Today Xan and I shall start homeschooling. Last week we went to two homeschool events here in town and met some very nice people, I volunteered at the Krispy Kreme Donut Fundraiser for Xan's chorus, and on Halloween Xan and I dressed up and gave out cookies shaped liked witch's fingers to our neighbors.
I think that I am stepping out of the closet turning back to tell myself to hold that thought till the next long conversation.