Dream Baths

All right, we’re back and beginning to heal. This is Sophie, the cat I got just after last Christmas to keep Beasey company, and to keep her from winding up at the animal shelter. Back then I had no clue I’d be working at the SOHS (Southern Oregon Humane Society, remember that—I won’t write it out again!) myself, but I now know that she may have not fared as well if she’d gone to the Jackson County Animal Shelter instead… luckily her picture on the bulletin board at Tark’s Supermarket in Talent was hard to pass up. Her and Beasey were just starting to turn the corner on friendship when Beasey’s meter ran out. At first we thought she was a real princess but then one evening I caught her in this very compromising position…

So, with all the upcoming changes in my life, such as having another actual human being moving into my tiny quarters with his two cats (!), I’ve been thinking about a dream I’ve had since around 1995, when I got the chance to take a bath in a friend’s tub near Sebastopol, California. Their house was way out in the country with no immediate neighbors, and there was a window right by the tub overlooking a tiny garden, which was lit up at night.
I was in love!
I’m a devoted bath-taker. Maybe it’s those mermaid tendencies, but every time I get stressed, I seek the womb-like warmth of a hot bath! Not a Jacuzzi-style hot tub, as I think they’re stress-producers in themselves, but just a quiet, candle-lit hot bath, with steam to clear out my sinuses and a little light incense burning… ahhh… don’t you want to take one right now?

Since that fabulous bath back in 1995, I’ve been plotting how to get my own “terrarium-style” bathtub, in my dream bathroom. When I bought this place I was sure I knew what I wanted to do, but luckily, finances kept me from realizing some fairly ill-conceived plans. Funny how that goes. After several years of border disputes with neighbors and considering all sorts of different plans, I finally decided I like the house where it is, my little old 50s cottage in need of major renovation. The siting is perfect, in the center of the property with a southwestern exposure just begging to be developed. (Can you believe there’s a closet there right now?) All I’d have to do is flip the house around 180° and have the master bedroom where the living room is and vice versa. And add the Dream Bathroom onto the back of the house facing the woods, with a big closet on the northern (cold) wall. It would be a good start. Of course, every time I tried to think of this in the past, my mind would instantly become flooded with complexities such as how hard it would be to change the plumbing, the roof, build a new foundation, find a good contractor, afford it… I’d end up sighing and putting the whole idea on hold for some indeterminate time in the future where I might a) get a huge new contract, b) find a publisher, or c) win the lottery.

But this past weekend I woke up on Saturday morning thinking, “What if I just started anyway?”
The idea of clearing out the vinca growing in that spot seemed perfectly natural. I mean, all I needed was a shovel and a wheelbarrow, which I happen to have. The vinca’s blooming with precious little periwinkle flowers right now, making the case for humane removal. It would need to be relocated somewhere else on the property. I could do that.
So here’s some before and after pictures of what my Saturday was like.
And like our wedding plans, I’ll keep you posted on the Dream Terrarium Bathroom as it develops.