Everyone's Favorite Ottoman

Frankie bravely claims it for himself.

Chelsea gets jealous.

There's room for two.

Scarface finally has his opportunity.

Once in a while there is room for my feet.

All About The Pink

Well, big changes at our house and with our family.  I recently found out I'm going to be a Grandmother.

And it's to be a girl!

I couldn't be happier.

So it's all this.

Pink, pink, pink.
At least for a while.
It's been fun.

She'll be showing up sometime in July.  Can't wait to meet her.

Back From The Yurt

Vanessa joined us for our trip to Stargaze yurt this year.  We had a great time.

She sacrificed to get this panorama.  It's tough to go without snow shoes in four feet of snow.  Much less do yoga.

Scarface enjoyed his bed near the fire.

He also enjoyed our bed....

He did get out in the snow.

Next year I need to knit him a sweater.  The cold seemed to bother him quite a bit.

Chelsea spent most of her time sleeping.  Guess at 16 years old that's her favorite thing.

Felt good to really "get away from it all".  There's no reception, electricity or running water.  In the photo below I'm standing just to the left of the yurt.  That gives you some idea of the size.

Great view, tasty food, nice wines, good company, good times.

Winter is Here, Let's Embrace It

If it's snowing where you are and you need to be reminded of the beauty of it, or if it's not a winter wonderland outside and you wish it were, check out this post at Seasonal Wisdom.

Seasonal Wisdom is the blog of great gardener, writer, and my friend, Teresa.  This particular post includes photos of our garden in winter along with lovely winter quotes and poetry.

Teresa also provides links on surviving winter and how to make your garden more attractive in the "down" months.


For more winter inspiration check out past posts of our annual winter yurt trips.

Whatever you do, don't stick your head in the sand (or cup) just because it's winter.  With some effort, you too can enjoy this interval between autumn and spring.

Photo from Photo Blog

Pet Problems

Well here we are almost to February already and I've done nothing with this blog.

We did celebrate Christmas, really we did.

 

We bought a real tree this year and enjoyed it quite a bit.  

As usual the cats loved hanging out beneath it.

Since we adopted Scarface we seem to have tipped the edge of our tolerance for number of pets.  

I will say that things have improved since he first arrived.  The cats can maneuver through the house now without too much fuss.  (Scarface sleeps, a lot, so they've learned to check for that.)   One thing we haven't figured out yet is how to have company over.  He's over protective.  Gotta work on that.

Scarface has caused me to do some running again, which is good for both of us.  I make it a goal to get him out on a walk/run at least four days a week.  He really seems to need it, and he loves it.

What he doesn't like is when the smoke detector goes off (note to self, the oven needs cleaning), or when you shuffle cards.  Don't do that.  The first one makes him cringe, the second sends him into a barking frenzy.

Good news;  remember our hen Brazil and her problem with the other girls picking her feathers out?

She used to look like this, only much worse and barer, much barer.

 But since she recently came out of molting (yeah, bad time of year for that!), she looks like this.

So much prettier!  I hope the other hens leave her alone now.

My nights are spent being woken up around 3AM when our little dog Chelsea decides she needs to go out.  Then Felix will start smacking the window blind when he needs let out.  Chelsea lets you know with sharp yelps that she's ready to come back in.  Felix jumps on the window sill outside and hangs on with his nails until you let him back in.  Then if you're lucky he'll curl up on your neck and calm you back to sleep until the paper is delivered and Scarface lets me know we're being attacked. 

Fun times.

Then it's get up, feed Chelsea separately from Scarface to avoid a scuffle, feed/water the two outdoor feral cats (yes, I admit it, they're ours.....damn it), and feed our three indoor/outdoor cats.  And of course everyone has to shuffle indoors and out until they're all settled and happy.  Then maybe I can get a shower and get ready for work.

I'll leave you with some pics of Scarface lounging around.

Frankie sleeps on the back of the couch.  This would never have happened just two months ago.

Scarface gives up his bed to Felix.

And a common occurrence;