What's black & white and adorable all over?

If you've ever read my blog, you've probably figured out that it's our Baby cat. It's been a while since I posted any of her antics, so here goes!

When I came out into the kitchen the other morning, Baby was sitting in the family room on the rug, soaking up the sun on her back. I told her to stay right there while I ran to get my camera. Here's a first - she listened to me!

She's hung out on that spot all day, long after the sun was gone!

She loves to keep me company in my little office/studio. She was watching while I was painting my latest piece, but then she started nodding off. I hope this insecure artist (me) isn't reading too much into that!

Another time I was filing paid bills, left the room for a minute to get something, and came back to find her curled up in the last section of the file folder!

 I had the top drawer of this bureau open a tad. I keep some of my smaller prints in the drawers and was filling an order. Lo and behold, when I returned someone had squeezed her way into the drawer! This photo is cropped VERY closely to try to hide the mess on top of the bureau (which is actually my girls' old changing table from when they were babies!). I didn't really succeed in hiding the mess, but had to share the pic of Baby anyhow!

This was her in May, right after I plunked down my lavender and impatiens on the window screen feeder.

And this is her last night!

I had Chipmunks (looking for handouts) running around me on the deck while I was taking these photos, so I'm sure that's what caught her attention here.

Sorry, Baby. You are an indoor kitty.

So that's the Baby photos for today.

Oh, and Amanda, our oldest was on vacation in Switzerland, Italy, and Germany back in April. Someone saw Baby's picture and told her that Baby is definitely a Norwegian Forest Cat. I'd never even heard of a Norwegian Forest Cat! I looked them up on-line and, you know, and she just may be! She has "the look" and tons of their traits! And all this time we thought we just had a regular old shelter kitty. Who knew?

We're in for HOT and HUMID this week. We have been blessed with amazingly gorgeous weather this June, at least for me since I don't like extreme heat.

Enjoy the week, everyone!

Donna

March: In like a Lion...

... if the lion is a little baby cub.

What a strange New England winter this has been.

This is the extent of the snowstorm we had this first week of March. As you can see, it didn't amount to more than several inches. Back in October we had a freak snowstorm, right before Halloween. But other than the snowfall of October and this one now, we haven't had much more than a dusting all winter long.

 These photos were taken on March 3rd, just 5 days ago, and the snow is already gone as the past two days have been over sixty degrees!

I gave my aloe vera plant a little hair cut the other day. The tips of several pieces had been touching the window when we were having colder weather and the didn't like that. It looks much better snipped back a bit.

I love the ceramic pot I have this plant sitting in.  I remember purchasing it a couple of years ago at a local garden center. What I remember most was that my Dad was with me that day. So many things remind me of him.

I got these little bird stakes at the same time. They look quite at home sitting under the aloe vera stems.

Well, it appears Baby has spotted something out in the yard. Maybe it's that itty bitty Lion Cub that ushered in the month of March!

Enjoy this beautiful month!

I'm linking up to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home. Pop over and see everyone there!

Donna

Torn between two styles...

For years now our bedroom has been in a state of limbo...

... caught between our old, primitive style (much of which is completely out-of-date... yes, grapevine wreath and wallpaper border, I am referring to you!) and the newer, cottage style I fell in love with years later.

 (Notice the window open! It's Feb 23rd and warm enough here in New England 

for me to air out the house. What a strange winter it's been!)

While so many others redecorate rooms in their homes at the speed of light, our bedroom remains a mixture of those two styles. I revisit this subject about once a year and have even blogged about it in the past. Maybe I should just accept it, refer to it as 'eclectic,' and forget about making any changes.

Yet every time I walk into our room and see the mauve wallpapered accent wall behind the bed and this 20+ year old wallpaper border on the other walls, I know this room desperately needs a makeover.

I remember one blogger who updated every room in her house several times a year - living room, kitchen, bedroom, and I mean complete makeovers! How do some people have so much ambition and energy and others (finger pointing at me) have none?

Clearly Baby is just fine with the way things are.

I suspect I am, too, or I think I would have tackled this project by now.

So Baby and I will get into a very comfy position and give this a lot of thought. And if any changes are made, you can be sure that you will be the first to know!

Be sure to stop by  My Romantic Home where you will find bloggers with much more ambition than I have sharing Show & Tell Friday posts!

Donna

Mirror, mirror, on the wall....

 Who's the fairest of them all?

 

Baby is going to be very disappointed to find out that this blog post isn't about her...

...no matter how cute she looks staring at her reflection!

No, this blog post truly is about mirrors on the wall. We've had this large mirror on the wall of our entryway for quite some time now, but it always looked a bit lonely to me.

So when I found these two smaller mirrors at the dump a while ago, I couldn't resist taking them home. This past week, we finally got around to hanging them.

Another view, before the new mirrors were hung, looking down into the entryway or our little split level.

And here it is after the mirrors were added. I think I still need to fill in some spots here and there, either with some small mirrors or whatnot, but all in good time.

 The mirrors are quite rustic and distressed, which pleases me much more than it pleases hubby.

The reflections in this mirror are very wavy and distorted due to the old glass. I absolutely LOVE it! It's kind of like have our own fun house mirror!

The other old mirror to the left has been hanging above our coat rack forever. It was a purchase from eBay many, many moons ago.

Just look at this rustic, chippy, distressed finish! It makes me swoon!

 The second mirror we found at the dump is equally gorgeous (in my eyes).

The bottom of the mirror is extremely distressed, and hubby probably would have preferred we not hang it.

But what can I say? I find perfection in the imperfect! One of my daughters says I should paint them white to match the large white mirror, but I think I like the contrast and I'd hate to cover up all this chippy perfection.

So for zero dollars (except the cost of the the heavy duty hangers), we added a bit more oomph to the front entryway.

Be sure to pop over to Show & Tell Friday At My Romantic Home!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Donna

Hearts are Wild

Just squeaking in before day's end to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!

 We spent a quiet day at home.

Baby spent much of the day lounging and sleeping with a smattering of mischief and eating tossed in for good measure.

The idea for this Valentine themed post came from Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage. I'm sure you all know Claudia and her blog as it's very popular! For Valentine's Day, Claudia posted a picture of her handsome Scout who sports a big heart on his side. It turns out our Baby also sports a heart on her shoulder so I asked her to pose for you today. (Thanks for the inspiration, Claudia!)

Here's Baby posing with a heart that Claudia made last year. Who knows - you may see something similar in Claudia's new shop in the future (ScoutHarper is Claudia and her sister Meredith's new ETSY shop!). Right now the shop is stocked with gorgeous scarves and shawls handmade by Claudia and Meredith. They plan to add additional handmade and vintage items in the future!

Here is Baby chowing down (so she'll have plenty of energy for her wild shenanigans later on). You can be sure I'll share them with you in future posts.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Donn

Coming out of seclusion...

Hello friends. I want to take a moment to thank everyone, from the bottom of my heart, for the lovely, heartfelt words of support at my dad's passing. I thought I would get back into the swing of things much sooner, but it has taken more time than I expected.

I have thrown myself into work, trying to keep busy and stay focused. If I'm busy, I don't have time to think. Blogging makes me think. I have to think about things to write about, usually what is going in in my small little life. Dad is always in my thoughts it seems, and it's just been too hard to put into words what I've been feeling.

I want to apologize about the "Bad Case of Blogger's Block" post that showed up in November on my blog. Can you believe that that was a post I actually started over a year ago when I couldn't think of anything to blog about? I grabbed some photos from my computer, intending to eventually making it a coherent post and I scheduled it to go live the following year. I then forgot all about it and because I haven't blogged since August, I didn't realize it had gone live in its rough, non-verbal state.

So what have I been doing? Dealing with guilt of my dad having been in a nursing home/rehab facility, a place he did not want to be. Wishing I had done many things differently. Revisiting so many things and wishing I could go back in time and do some things differently which (in my mind) may have changed the outcome. Stress eating. God, have I been stress eating. I will be getting rid of my Weight Loss log on the sidebar because I've regained all the weight I'd worked so hard to lose. If I ever feel up to starting the weight loss journey again, I'll start a new log on my sidebar.

I'm still wearing dad's blue shirt. The one everyone said was "his" color. They were right. It's a beautiful shade of pale blue. The rhinestone brooch was my addition. I can say without any hesitation that my dad never sported the brooch when he wore this shirt.

When I take a break from transcribing, the shops, and/or trying to paint, I sometimes see these beauties in our neighborhood.

A friend called me last week to let me know they were in her yard, so you know I had to grab my camera and head down for a visit.

After having no tree at all last year, we decided to take a chance this year even though Baby is as crazy as ever. We didn't put any of our breakable ornaments on the tree which was a smart move because she's constantly batting at everything and trying to climb up or through the tree.

She's a very mischievous little cat and I'm certain she thinks the tree was solely put up for her amusement.

I have a feeling she will miss it come January.

Sweet Jarrett is also enjoying the tree. I think all the critters are excited that Santa will be bringing them some treats. They've been very, very good this year (yes, even Baby).

Our little Tiger, now 18, spends most of her time on Amanda's bed, laying next to the heating vent in my office/studio, or watching the world go by outside her window... Santa knows her favorite treats are Temptations and I'm sure he'll be leaving her a few different flavors.

(Baby watching for Santa)

I doubt I will be back before the holidays so I want to take this time to once again thank you ALL for your kindness and to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Donna