Instant nostalgia...

Happiness is...


...doing some work in my studio/office, channel surfing, and unexpectedly coming across an I Love Lucy marathon on TV! (Right now on the Hallmark channel if anyone is interested!)


I've seen every single episode more times than I can count, and I never, ever get tired of them. My mom loved I Love Lucy and I have the fondest memories of watching it with her! It immediately transports me back to this simpler, less hectic era. Instant nostalgia.

Hope you're all enjoying your Saturday afternoons!

Donna

Christmas in March...

This is our Christmas cactus right now...


...happily budding and blooming in the living room window.


This was it on Dec. 22nd, just before Christmas.


It was also budding and blooming back then.

That got me to wondering if I had a Christmas cactus...

...or an Easter cactus.

It's now sitting in a western exposure window, whereas at Christmastime, it was in the southern exposure dining room window (it had to be moved because the dining room window, with it's screen feeder, became Baby's bird viewing area).

So I decided to do a little on-line research...

... and I was correct. I definitely have a Christmas cactus.

Why it has started blooming again is beyond me, but I'm thrilled because it is so beautiful.

Here is an excellent article showing side-by-side photos and outlining the differences between a Christmas cactus and an Easter cactus, just in case any of you might have the same question.

I'm linking up to Show & Tell Friday at Cindy's My Romantic Home. Be sure to pop over to see what everyone is sharing this week!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Donna

Our sofa has spring fever...

.. just like me!


Yes, it is definitely time for a burst of springtime color in our little cottage! My poor old slipcovers have seen better days (pulled and pilled by little kitty claws), therefore I like to conceal the damage under quilts!


So off came the old quilt used this past winter (a more subdued floral that looked great during the winter moths)...

... and out came the thrift store baby quilt I scored several years ago, because I am ready for some serious springtime color!

Bright blooms dot the pink and white striped background, and the border has a sweet sunny yellow striped ruffle...

...while the reverse side sports a soft green & white pattern pattern.

Now I should have stopped there with the flowers, but I couldn't. So my Rachel Ashwell hydrangea pillow sits in one corner of the sofa...

...and a pair of robins egg floral pillows sit on the opposite side. Yup, we are officially ready and waiting for spring, and flowers, and WARM weather, to finally make an appearance in our neck of the woods! And after three long months, the bare ground is finally visible beneath the melting snow! I think that's reason enough for a major celebration and explosion of flowers!

Hope you are all having a lovely week!

Donna

Please don't eat the daisies...

I am craving spring. I thought I might hasten its arrival (at least in my mind) with some daisies from the grocery store.


Is anything more charming than cut flowers in vintage milk glass vases? With any luck, I hoped they would last at least a week.


Luck just ran out.


Little Miss Curious doesn't miss a trick, or anything new brought into the house.


Baby, you can sniff and admire them to your heart's content, but...

...Please Don't Eat The Daisies!

I actually removed the daisies right after taking these photos because I couldn't remember if they were poisonous to cats or not. So I checked this ASPCA Toxic/Non-Toxic plant list and was horrified to find that daisies are toxic to cats. Needless to say, the daisies are gone.

We are going to hit the 50's and 60's this weekend in New England. Finally. I hope you all enjoy glorious weekends!

I'm linking up to Cindy's (My Romantic Home) Show & Tell Friday. Be sure to pop on over to see Cindy's beautiful table settings and to visit everyone else participating in Show & Tell this week!

Donna

Catching up, a new camera, and a lovely award

It has been quite a while since I posted. I am still not completely over my bronchitis, although I am up and about once again, thankfully, rather than flat on my back on the sofa.

I had an opportunity to try out my new camera recently.

Baby, sunning in front of the living room window, was a more than willing subject.

Yes, I dropped my old Lexmark point & shoot and it would no longer do anything for me. It wouldn't even open. A sad day, indeed.

How I'd love to buy a "bells & whistles" camera and get really creative...

... but, alas, my budget only allowed for another inexpensive "point & shoot."

One of my girls has a Canon Power Shot and she loves it. (Another plus, I figured she could show me how to use it, which was a big bonus since I hate reading instruction manuals!)

So I'm now the proud owner of a 12.1 megapixel Canon Power Shot SD1300. And I really do like it!

The sun was very bright behind Baby when I shot these photos...

... so I picked up a lot of cool reflections.

One thing I've noticed already is that this camera has a better stabilizer than my last one. I don't have the steadiest hands, and I'm getting a lot less "blurry" photos with the Canon.


Of course I have to admit that Baby was as still as a statue for most of these photos.


Quite 'out of character' for our crazy little ball of fur!

But even the best photo shoots last only so long...

And Baby let me know she'd had enough as she had more important things to tend to (i.e. her daily grooming).


So she turned her back on me and that was that.

Along other lines, I have been sooooo tardy in acknowledging the lovely Stylish Blogger Award that Laurie from Heaven's Walk bestowed upon my blog. Thank you, Laurie!! You must pay her a visit! You will just love her blog, filled with an abudance of charm, style, and love. Her house is 2-die-4 and you'll flip for all the projects she shares (like her recent Paris Flower Market bucket!), Not to mention, she has the most gorgeous fur babies! Again, Laurie, thank you so much!

The rules state that I am supposed to share 7 things about myself. Because I am sooooooooooo boring, I am going to link back to a post from 2009 where I shared 7 things about myself (because they are all still true! hahaha). So if you'd like, you can click here to read 7 things about me in my "More than you ever wanted to know about me!" post! I'm also supposed to pass this along to 15 other bloggers, but I'm going to open it up to anybody who would like to join in the fun because you're all stylish bloggers!!!

And last, but not least, here's to warm weather arriving. We've had some teaser days in the high 40's/low 50's, but then it drops back down into the 20's. I will be SO happy when spring truly does show up on my doorstep! Stay warm during these last few weeks of winter weather!!

I'm also linking up to Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday. Cindy always shares something amazing, and you'll also find a list of many other bloggers participating in Show & Tell, so be sure to hop on over!

Donna

Romeow and Juliet...

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

(click to enlarge any photos)

A Valentine love story, played out in photos, with a pane of glass separating the two potential lovers...

It was a frigid Saturday morning when Juliet first spotted Romeo sitting on the balcony outside her window.


It didn't take long for him to come closer, unable to resist her feminine feline charms.

Baby... I mean Juliet, tried prying open the door.

Not having any luck, she called in reinforcements to help...

..unaware that I had already bribed Mr. J with a dog biscuit to act as a chaperone, keeping the ill-fated lovers apart.

After hours (and I do mean HOURS), Romeow finally gave up and sought greener pastures (good luck with that in this New England winter, Romeow)... In reality, I only thought Romeo had gone. But about an hour later when I opened the slider to let Mr. J outside to do his business, Romeo appeared out of nowhere and ran lickety-split into our house! Now Romeo is no stranger to our yard. I think he spends more time here than he does at his own home. We have an abundance of little chipmunks, squirrels and birds because we feed them, and unfortunately Romeo and his brother, who are outdoor kitties, find our yard very enticing (grrrrrr). Because it was so bitter cold and because Romeo did run into our house (which he has never done before), I put on my jacket and carried him home to his rightful owners, where hopefully he will stay and live happily ever after.

I have been flat on my back for 9+ days with the nastiest case of bronchitis ever, therefore I haven't been posting or visiting anyone, I'm sorry to say. Back when I was a smoker (I quit on July 4, 1994, my Independence day), I would get bronchitis and/or pneumonia quite regularly. Happily, since quitting, I've rarely gotten either.

Wishing you all a wonderful week. I, for one, am hoping to feel good enough to get out and take Mr. J for a walk later this week as it is going to hit FIFTY DEGREES here in New England - a true heat wave after our bitter cold winter!

Enjoy the week, everyone!

ROMEO CLARIFICATION: I just wanted to clarify some Romeo facts. Romeo lives a few doors down from us and is a well fed kitty. He is not forced to be an "outdoor only" kitty (that would be too cruel, especially in our area during wintertime). Rather he is a kitty who is allowed to roam free whenever his little heart desires (which happens to be a LOT, with one of his favorite places being our yard). I just didn't want anyone to think he was being forced to live outside. His owners were there when I brought him home, so clearly he could have headed home whenever he wanted. And Sharon, we have talked about how we would love to keep him for our own, too. He is a gorgeous, affectionate kitty and we'd love to have him join our indoor only gang, but I'm afraid we would be charged with cat-napping :(

Donna

Winter Valances...

As much as I have had it with winter, I have to admit that I'm smitten with the beautiful snowscapes we see through our windows. I've always loved to "bring the outside in," so most of our windows have simple decorative valances rather than full window treatments.
(click to enlarge any photos)

Baby had been perched on the windowsill, looking out at the snow falling. Of course by the time I got back with my camera, she had moved to the chair. We purchased the valances in this room back in 1989, which is when the family room was added.


No valance on the slider, but another beautiful view of the snow from this angle. These tab top panels match the valance in the previous photo (they're also 22 years old!).

I love the battenburg lace trim on our dining room valance. It looks like intricate snowflakes to me. I think I got this valance about 8 years ago. I recently purchased a couple of more just like it for an upcoming project that I'll share soon!

This lace valance has been hanging in our living room so long that I don't even remember when I purchased it. It's probably been there at least 12 to 15 years because I purchased it during my primitive decor phase. It transitioned beautifully to the cottage decor we now have.

Nature has also been busy hanging valances on practically every house in New England it seems!

Everywhere you look, icicle valances are hanging from rooftops.

I pray that when they start melting, people aren't affected by roof leaks, but I'm afraid many will be.

We've knocked down the ones we can reach, and the ones on the side of the house where Mr. J goes in and out. We sure wouldn't want one falling on him!

But some are just too difficult to reach right now, like these outside our bedroom window.

Finally! The sun is out today after 2 back-to-back snowstorms. But they are predicting another snowstorm for Saturday that might give us at least 6" more...

I don't know how much more we can take! As you can see, the snow is already up to the flowerboxes on our backyard shed! (Sammy, in the foreground, was happily muching on birdseed in the screen feeder when I snapped this photo this morning.)

I'm sorry I haven't visited many of you in the past week but I will visit soon. Dad had a bad reaction to a routine surgery and we have been very busy this past week. On the plus side, it looks like things are slowly getting back to normal, and for that we are very grateful.

I'm linking to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, so be sure to stop by and add your own post and/or visit all the other participating bloggers!

Stay WARM everyone!!!

Donna