When we first bought our 1882 painted lady Victorian home ten years ago, I repainted the master bedroom. At first, I was proud of what I did. It was a masterpiece of faux-finish. It almost looked like brown leather and would have been perfect for a library or old-fashioned smoking room. But for a bedroom, even I admit that it was just wrong. It was heavy and oppressive in a space that had to be lighter and airy. It needed...

Dear diary: This is one for the books, and I really don’t know if Isaac would be okay with it. Maybe someday I can work up the nerve tell him, but for now I just want to record these memories on paper. It was so hot, and I did things I never thought I’d do. Or rather, I thought I would do them first with Isaac. This was our fifth year attending Pennsic, the world’s largest medieval war reenactment festival. I remember tha...