How long is 'a year' to a cat?

 In my January 2nd post, I showed photos of Baby, watching rather sadly, as I dismantled her favorite toy ... the Christmas Tree.

At that time I told her not to worry. After all, next Christmas is less than a a year away!

But when I came down the hallway just a few minutes ago, I found her sitting on top of the pie safe, looking so longingly at where our tree once stood (and probably wondering why Mr. J's doggy bed has taken its place).

At Christmastime, the top of the pie safe was her FAVORITE place to sit when she "played" with the tree (which I'm certain she believes was a toy that had been purchased just for her!)

Poor Baby. Don't worry. A year isn't too long. As a matter of fact, when you get to be my age, a year flies by in the blink of an eye!

So again, how long is a year to a cat? I'm not sure, but I think Baby is camped out here for the long haul, patiently waiting until next Christmas....

... when her beloved tree will once again sit next to the pie safe with all the sparkly 'cat toys'  dangling from its branches!!! You're such a character, Baby!

(a closeup of Baby using my watercolor filter)

I'm joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
(even though Baby has not enjoyed our 'un-Christmas' tweaking!)
and Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.
 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!!!

Donna

The winter sun casting shadows...

Hubby and I were just sitting in the living room watching Property Brothers on HGTV when I glanced toward this corner of our little living room.

If there's one thing I love about the winter sun, which sits so low in the sky, it's the beautiful mid-afternoon shadows cast across the house; in this instance, the pie safe.

(We've decided to keep the ''Christmas' living room arrangement, which means there's a lot more room for Mr. J's doggy bed where the Christmas tree once stood!)

The glass knobs on the pie safe act like prisms, reflecting the sun across the door panels...

... and the sun really accentuates the wreath appliques.

(I'm so glad I was in the right place(s) at the right time(s) to find these two darling white kitties! I just love them. They look so whimsical sitting on the floor below the bay window!)

It looks like someone else is enjoying the winter sunlight on his comfy bed!

Hoping you all had a lovely weekend.

I'm joining Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage for Favorite Thing Saturday

and Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
and Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.
 

Stop by and share something you love, have tweaked, or want to share!

Donna

Pretty in Pink

The view from our living room window...

is spectacular right now, thanks to our hoppa crab tree.

It's hard to believe it was only a little over a month ago, during our April 1st storm...

...that it looked like this!!!

Even the bird lamp birdies are enjoying the view!

It's hard to believe that when we bought these trees back in 1982 (we planted two in our yard)...

... they were so small ...

... that they both fit ...

...  into the back of my VW bug convertible (with the top down, of course).

Spring was a long time in coming, but it was well worth the wait!!

I'm linking up to My Romantic Home's Show & Tell Friday. Be sure to stop by and see what everyone is sharing this week!
Also, I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit a lot of you lately. My dad has been in the hospital/nursing home/rehab for the past two weeks and I'm spending a lot of time there. Hopefully, if all goes well, he will be coming home some time next week and I'll have more time to get around and visit. Till then, I hope you are all enjoying spring wherever you are!!

Donna

So Halloween is now over...

...and the few decorations I had out...

...are now packed away until next year.

Baby has made herself quite at home in the living room bay window (which, by the way, used to be Spotty's favorite hangout. There are quite a few similarities between the two of them which will, I'm sure, be the topic of a future blogpost.)

Once again, I seem to have captured an orb in a photo, right next to all our fur babies' urns in the bay window. I capture orbs on a pretty regular basis, and they always seem to have an 'energy' to them (as opposed to being just a round speck of dust... you can click the photo to enlarge it)... So today, the house is back to normal, but this is what it looked like on Halloween night when the trick-or-treaters arrived...

Lamp Bandit took center stage in the bay window and greeted everyone (I washed the windows that afternoon. They were SO dirty I didn't think anyone would even see Lamp Bandit if I didn't!).

Baby was not thrilled at having to share the window with Lamp Bandit...

...and she made that perfectly clear by sporting her "ears back, ticked off" look every time I tried to take her photo. I promised her the lamp would be moved back over to the side of the window as soon as trick-or-treating was over...

..and that seemed to put her in a better mood.

Not to be outdone by Lamp Bandit, Ms. Floor Lamp Floozy wanted equal time.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween :)

Donna

Winter white, silver, and green for the mantel...

Of course the winter white is year-round since it's the color of our walls, our painted furniture, and our slipcovers. I don't know why I'm so afraid of color. I love color! I drool when I visit blogs with bright colored walls, and furniture painted in blues, greens, & reds, with vibrant slipcovers in florals and stripes. Maybe someday I'll get over my fears, but until then... winter white!

(click any photos to enlarge)

Alrighty, so in my last few posts I've shared the dining room, including my bird tree and the dining room hutch. As you can see from the photo above, the hutch is actually located in the living room, right next to the fireplace (because our little dining area is too small to accommodate it!)


So come on into the living room with me... Oops - don't go too far! Mm hmm, that's the end of the living room already, right where the corner TV armoire is. Very tight quarters in here, especially at this time of year.


The tree has been set up where the loveseat usually sits. And the wing chair, because it's smaller, was moved over next to the tree. It usually sits next to the fireplace.


As you can see, it's pretty cramped over here by the fireplace, with the loveseat and coffee table plunked right in front of it. But instead of saying cramped, let's call it cozy. That has a nicer ring to it!

I tried the mantel with green glass balls hanging from the garland...

...but ended up switching to silver.

I guess I have a bit of a winter woodland theme going on. There are lots of trees on the mantel - all sizes and varieties of bottle brush trees, as well as some birches.

There are also woodland creatures, in the form of deer (stocking/garland holders), cavorting about...

... as well as mirrored snowflakes (again, stocking/garland holders) and sparkly silver trees of all heights and textures.

I wish I could remember the name of the woman that I purchased these stockings from years ago so I could share it with you - aren't they pretty? This one has a cream crocheted doily-type border at the top...

... while this one has delicate lace and ribbons.

The finishing touch is The Christmas star, sparkly white with silver tinsel edging.

I also decided to tucked my peach and green floral lap quilt over the loveseat sitting area for a little change of pace, trying to coordinate with the green floral sheet I'm using to cover the old brick hearth (we don't actually use the fireplace so the sheet is safe!). So that about does it for our cramped, I mean cozy cottage living room!

I still need to share my collection of Night Before Christmas books with you, and I also have a few things in the family room to show you!

But now you should head over to visit Cielo at The House in the Roses, to see the incredible mouth-watering meal she has prepared for Sunday dinner with her family! You'll also find a list of bloggers who are participating in Show Off Your Cottage Monday...

Then after that, be sure to head to Nesting Place for a huge list of Christmas homes to visit!!

Stay safe and warm, wherever you are!

Donna

Pre-decorating (otherwise known as the cleanup)...

A good part of today was spent cleaning the living room. Not just straightening up, but really cleaning in preparation for the Christmas decorations that will be coming up soon. As you may have noticed, our living room is teeny tiny, so the fact that the cleanup took so much time should give you a good idea as to how many dust bunnies were living in, around, and under furniture!


I changed the throw on the wing chair to a simple white king sized bedskirt, with a vintage "pink rosebud" pillowcase covering the seat cushion.


Last week when I showed you the "bargain of the century" painting, a lightweight blue floral spread was covering the wing chair and blue & white pillowcases were covering the brick hearth. They were all waaaaaaaaaay overdue for a trip through the washer.


Now that the wing chair was covered with clean, fresh linens it was time to decide what to do with the hearth. I thought this vintage sheet looked like a good choice for the holidays... a nice cottage green...


... with white polka dots, pink rosebuds and a scalloped design on one end.

When we closed in our brick fireplace a couple of years ago and painted it white, the pillowcases and/or sheets that we layed across the hearth were meant to be a temporary fix (until we decided how to finish off that area), but I've come to really like them. It's fun being able to change colors and patterns, so as far as I'm concerned, the hearth is officially done!


And I know I've mentioned this little guy before... doesn't he look like a little imp? I bought him as a Christmas decoration at TJ Maxx many years ago, but I really like him so he stays out year-round. I think he looks like he's playing Rock, Paper Scissors with someone. (I suspect he was meant to be holding something, but that during assembly that certain 'something' was omitted by mistake!)


Okay, I'm pooped after all this cleaning so I think I'm going to sit down and rest a while before starting supper... I wonder if there are any roasted vegetables left....

Donna

October's cottage living room...

It was a beautiful day in New England today as the sun made a triumphant return after the weekend's first mini snowfall... October has visited the living room in the form of "lamp bandit" in the window, "Ratty" in the birdcage, and a cottage pumpkin on the c0ffee table.

(click any photos to enlarge)

While Spotty lounged on the sofa, I 'tweaked' a bit more...


I decided that the big vase of roses on top of the pie safe was just too much in between the lamps. I love the vintage mirror that we attached to the top of the pie safe, and the roses blocked too much of it...


There... I think this is better. It's less cluttered and shows off more of the mirror, which in turn opens up the room...


The vase of roses has been replaced by a small green music box that plays Evergreen... ("Love, soft as an easy chair"... I love the lyrics to that song!).


One of my shabby stuffed pumpkins from Ronda's Tempting Textiles sits in the tray on the trunk...


...atop a small sampling of the many Halloween and/or spooky books I read to the girls when they were little (are they really both in their twenties now??? Talk about spooky!)

Wishing you all happy October memories-in-the-making!!!

Donna