Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Coloring Books = Relaxation

I wanted to share my daughter Amanda's BEDROOMS Coloring Book that was published earlier this year (available here in her Etsy shop).

It is a beautiful hardcover book, filled with many bedrooms to color as well as 
DIY pages for you to finish and color!

Earlier this month Amanda had a signing at 
Trident Booksellers & Cafe on Newbury Street in Boston.

Her family and many friends were there to support her and we all had such a great time!

(Birch Tree sample page done by Amanda)
If you're looking for a special Christmas/holiday/birthday gift 
for someone who could use some relaxation...

(Desert sample page done by Amanda)
... coloring books are a great idea. And I absolutely love this one!

(Ocean View sample page done by me)
The pages are a nice, heavy stock paper. I even used acrylic paints 
to 'color' this ocean view bedroom.

Below is a sampling of a few of the pages in the book.
(Please forgive my photography skills. Trust me, the book pages are all crisp, clean, & white, and any shadows or "wavy" page designs are also due to my photography.)

There are bedrooms...

for Book lovers....

... for Bird lovers...

... for nature lovers...

... for Animal lovers...

... for Tree lovers...

... for Ballet / Theater & the Arts lovers...

... for Astronomy lovers...

There are even rooms for children. 
(You or your child could color these and and frame them for their very own room!)



I'm just so incredibly proud of my talented daughter! This is such a unique coloring book, and the pages are all so detailed! Again, the book is available in Amanda's Etsy Shop, and she will be happy to personalize the book with any message you'd like! I think you or your gift recipients will really enjoy this book!

Happy coloring, everyone!!
Donna


Yes, J! What a small world! It's Trident Booksellers &Cafe, at the very end of Newbury, almost at Mass Ave! And there are two cafes, one upstairs, one downstairs, where you can get AMAZING food and drinks. 

Friday, November 18, 2016

Our house is a very, very, very fine house...

... with two cats in the yard (house). (I've always loved that song!)

Ms. Midgie wanted to thank everybody for all the compliments sent her way! 
They made this little shelter cat feel very special!!!


However, I'm afraid Baby cat's little nose is out of joint with Ms. Midgie being the focus of the last post.


After all, she's used to being the star of the blog and having the camera pointed at her.

So she and I had a little photo session the other day while she sunned in front of the slider.

It didn't take long for her to start working the camera in the way that only Baby can!

Yes, I think I see the hint of a smile!

Baby, you know that nobody can take your place.

After all, you're our one and only Baby cat!

So don't you ever worry. There's plenty of love to go around for you...

 ... and for Ms. Midgie 

(I don't think there's a cat alive who isn't drawn to warm towels fresh out of the dryer! I didn't have the heart to take these last two towels away from her after folding the others!)


Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!


Saturday, November 12, 2016

Hello again!

 Hello again to everyone! It has been a very long time since I've posted anything; over a year, in fact, right after we lost our wonderful Mr. J. I thought I would check in and let you know that we are all doing fine here in New England.

I also thought I'd introduce you to the newest member of our family...

... this little Black Beauty (which also would have been a great name!). She's a little lady - always with her dainty front legs crossed!



We adopted Ms. B "Midgie" Cocoa Bean at the end of August from the Lowell Humane Society. She is a very affectionate kitty and loves to spend time in the studio office with me.


She's a 10-year old all black long-haired kitty and a complete purring machine.

I've always had a thing for black cats. There was Mrs. B in the mid-70's, then Mr. B in the mid-90's, and now Ms. B "Midgie" Cocoa Bean. I think it all started with My Nana & Gamp back in the mid-50's with their all black cat, Midgie. (It seems that every 20 years our family has a black cat!)


So that brings me to the reason for her l-o-n-g name. At the shelter she was Cocoa Bean. I don't know why, but so many of my animals have had "Mr./Mrs./Ms." before they names. It just fit them. Since I know she's a female but don't know her history, she is "Ms." I also wanted to pay homage to my Nana & Gamp who were huge animal lovers. My Nana named every cat she ever owned "Midgie," Hence Ms. B (for Blackie) "Midgie" Cocoa Bean, simply called Midgie.


As you can see, she has made herself right at home.

Isn't she beautiful?

She and Baby are getting to know each other. I will be honest, it was not love at first sight. I don't know that they'll ever be best friends or cuddle with each other, but they are content to sit or lay within feet of each other with only an occasional growl or swat. But there's no swatting or growling when they're in front of  the slider watching squirrels, chipmunks and birds.

I don't know this sweetie's history, but she is such a good girl.

If you're looking for your own furry friend, every single town or city has a pound or shelter where beautiful cats, dogs, and other types of animal are desperately in need of good homes. Please consider adopting rather than buying until our shelters and pounds are empty. If you're looking for a specific breed, do a search on Petfinder or Adopt-A-Pet (on my sidebar). The shelters are FILLED with cats and dogs of every breed! Just enter in your zip code, what you're looking for, and the mileage range you're willing to travel and you're on your way to owning a rescue! And believe me, they know they've been rescued and make the BEST pets!

That's my news for today. I may try to post a bit more often than once a year! I hope you've all been well!

All my best, Donna