spring at comfy house

Oh, hello!

It's been almost a month since I last posted. I know it probably sounds strange to say I've been busy when we're in the middle of a pandemic, but it's true. We have several projects in the works. They haven't started yet, but we're getting contractor bids and doing a lot of research on the particulars. Our kitchen needs updating, we need some landscaping work done, and we're having some minor electric work done.

Everyday life is just busy in general, too. Seems the errand running never stops. And now the yard work. But on a happier note, I've been seeing my friends in my "Covid bubble" on a regular basis. We meet for coffee, a walk, or a chat in each other's home or yard. One of my friends enjoys art journaling like me, so we recently went shopping for some supplies. Another friend is currently going through some medical treatments, so I've been spending some time with her or else we have phone chats. What would we do without our friends, our support system?

(magnolia, nearby town)

We've had beautiful, warm weather here the past week which pushed trees and shrubs to bloom and most perennials to start poking out of the ground. One of my favorite times of the year! New life gives us hope. But that also means a ton of spring yard clean-up.

(hostas)

(bleeding heart)

(rhubarb)

(daffodils on the side of my house)

A few days ago I was saying to Brian that I should dig up these daffodils once they're done blooming and transplant them in Zippo's memory garden for bloom starting next year. A couple of days after that, I was walking around the yard and as I was approaching Zippo's memory garden, this sight stopped me in my tracks: A lone daffodil right next to Zippo's cat angel statue.

I love signs from above.

Speaking of kitties, Miss Clementine is still doing great. She loves hanging outside on the porch in the sunshine if I'm out there drinking my morning tea. Sometimes she'll start to head down the sidewalk or into the side yard, and that's when I scoop her up and put her back inside.

The young women vet techs that administer Clementine's subcutaneous fluids twice/week tell me she's "the sweetest cat ever." That she's one of the few cats they see that is calm about being stuck with needles so often. When I tell them that at home she's a "spaz", they can't believe it. She's very high energy and is constantly racing around the house, plays fetch with a felt ball, follows me everywhere and is constantly wanting attention. 

Now Monkey, on the other hand, is a totally different story. He's Clementine's son and is a year or two younger than his mama. He spends a lot of time lying around and/or sleeping. He goes to the vet tomorrow for an overdue wellness exam and blood tests. Poor guy has been a bit neglected with all the attention focused on Clementine and her kidney disease and skin issues. He also has something going on with his eyes, where they flare up and are red-rimmed. The vet told me when he was a kitten that it looked like he had the herpes virus in his eyes. It's passed on from the mother at birth. I'm used to seeing minor flare-ups from time-to-time, but this latest period is worse. (Don't you just love his little goatee...and want to pet the beautiful silky fur on his belly? 😻)

Back to beautiful weather...a couple of days ago, it was near 80 degrees. Brian had the day off work and unearthed the patio furniture from under the tarps and set up and cleaned off the patio and cleaned the grill. Both the furniture and the patio need a good power washing, but that will have to wait for another day. We wait six loong months every year for this annual spring routine. It's the official start to warm weather for us and it thrills us every year. 

Brian grilled chicken breasts and I topped them with pico de gallo, and made a side salad of quinoa with fresh veggies and cilantro and sliced up an avocado. Delicious, healthy, warm weather food! It felt so good to be dining al fresco once again.

As is typical here with the month of April, we're back to cool, rainy weather today. The extended forecast shows a lot of rain and much cooler temps. How's the weather where you live? And what's new with you? I hope to not be so long with my next post.
💓

clementine ~ and vintage shopping

Thank you all so very much for the good thoughts and prayers for Clementine. (See last post if you missed it.) Thankfully, she came out of her procedure doing well except for being feisty. They were able to clean her teeth using light gas instead of putting her completely under. A big relief so that her kidneys wouldn't have to process a strong anesthesia. As you can imagine, I am incredibly thankful to have my Clemmie back at home and doing well. She fell asleep on my tummy earlier today and even though I needed to get up and get things done, I relished the peaceful time spent with her. I know her life is limited due to her kidney disease. 

This past weekend, hundreds of vintage shops across Wisconsin and Illinois participated in a Vintage Shop Hop. I only went to a couple of shops ~ one on Friday and one on Saturday. From the first shop, I came home with this vintage recipe box. I loved the spring colors and graphics.

I also found this pair of salt and pepper shaker chicks. They're not vintage, but they were too cute to pass up. They go with my hen and chick butter dish that I found in a thrift shop years ago.

Saturday was beautifully sunny and getting warmer...I could smell spring in the air. I spent a few hours in a small nearby town, first grabbing a coffee from the local coffee shop and then taking a 1/2 hour walk around the town, soaking up the sunshine, breathing in the fresh air, letting my thoughts go...decompressing. 

As I was walking, this house across the street with the bright blue door caught my eye. Isn't it pretty? I never regretted painting our front door a bright yellow. A friend of mine painted her front door a bright green. 

After my walk, I popped into my destination. This shop I visited has a mixture of vintage items and handcrafted pieces made by the owner, Mary. I've been shopping at her store for years now, and we always chat, so I've gotten to know her. I hadn't seen Mary since before Christmas and I was the only patron in the store, so we had a chance to get caught up.

Mary's artistic ability goes beyond her handcrafted items. Her displays and vignettes are always eye-catching.

A few treasures came home with me, including this wooden pedestal. I might give it a little distressed look with a dry brush later.

This vintage wooden bird was up high on a china cabinet, but he caught my eye. He's handmade and his wings move up and down. Mary tied a rope around his neck to camouflage a crack in his neck from where she dropped him. I told her I didn't mind the defect. 

I have a soft spot for either red and white or blue and white kitchen decor. There were a bunch of these vintage milk glass spice jars, but I only wanted one. I've seen white vintage spice jars, but only smooth ones. I love the raised design on this jar. Right now it's on the ledge of my stove, in-between the salt and pepper shaker. I move things around all the time and change up decor, so one day it might be in my china hutch with other red and white items.

As always, thanks for visiting and for your lovely comments. They truly do make my day. 

Stay safe and well.

💓

my darling clementine

LATER UPDATE: Clementine did well with her procedure and is home and doing fine! 

Hello friends ~ I will be back later this week to show you some things I got from vintage shopping this weekend, but I wanted to pop in last minute and ask you for good thoughts and prayers for my sweet kitty, Clementine.

Before I do...I have to share this photo from this morning. We're having a rare few days here in Illinois with 60 degree temps. Brian and I sat outside on the porch this morning in our pajamas, soaking up the vitamin D while we had the chance. I jokingly said to Brian that with our gray lounge pants and sitting outside in the sunshine, that we looked like nursing home residents that the staff just wheeled out. 🤣 But seriously...oh, how we miss this during our long, cold winters! You can see in the background that we still have some snow piles. I hope that with this few days of warmth (and some rain moving in), the snow will be completely gone. I walked around the yard the other day and was thrilled to see signs of daffodils, chives, and Jacob's Ladder poking their green shoots out of the ground. 

On to my sweet girl. She is going to the vet tomorrow morning to be put under anesthesia and have her teeth cleaned. Normally, not much of a big deal. However, Clementine has kidney disease. So being put under anesthesia is a risk. After talking to both vets in our vet practice, they both agreed that it's better in her case to take the risk. The tartar is so bad on her back teeth that it poses a risk to her kidneys. 

I'm nervous about her being put under anesthesia, of course. I have anxiety, so fear and bad thoughts run through my head. I am doing my best to replace those thoughts with good ones, but if you suffer from anxiety too, you know how hard this can be.

And if you're a pet parent, you also know how much love your heart holds for your fur baby/babies. So if you feel led, please say a prayer for my Clementine that she will get through the procedure without any complications. Positive thoughts sent our way will work, too!

Clementine and I thank you!
💓

peaceful sunday

Hello and happy Sunday! If there's one positive thing I can say about early morning, it's that the sunrises through the bare tree branches are spectacular. They only last a few minutes, but at least it brings a smile to my face first thing in the morning as I raise the blinds and greet a new day.

I'm purposely having a peaceful day today, as this weekend was actually a little busy with errands, visiting with a friend (one in my COVID bubble), cooking and housework. And my next couple of days are busy with contractors coming to give estimates and taking Clem to the vet. (More on that later.) It was nice to enjoy a leisurely breakfast with the Sunday paper. I normally drink jasmine green tea in the morning, but once a week of so, I enjoy a cup of coffee. My tummy can't handle coffee every day anymore. Breakfast today was my usual: overnight oats with fresh fruit, toasted walnuts and pecans, raw pumpkin seeds, a little flax meal and hemp hearts, a smidgen of pure maple syrup, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

Yoga is part of my everyday routine, even if I only have time to just do a few stretches and poses. Otherwise, I enjoy doing Yoga with Adriene. She has so many choices, including gentle ones. I bring the video up on my phone and cast to the TV in the living room. Monkey loves when I do yoga, for whatever reason. See him waiting for me? He walks all around me, purring, rubbing up against me and sometimes even trying to climb on my body. Clementine's in one of her usual spots - lying on the heater vent under the table. Poor baby is always cold in the winter. I just ordered her a heated cat bed from Amazon.

A short journaling prompt for the day...it's called 12-6-3-1 and was designed by my First Best Friend, Cin, who is a poet. Sit in a quiet place and take a few deep breaths. Maybe light a candle. Just let your mind and body relax. Write down 12 words that come to you. They can be any kind of words...how you feel, what you see out the window, what is on your mind. You don't want to overthink this. When you have your 12 words, look them over and then whittle the list down to six of those words - whichever words jump out at you. Keep them in the order which you first wrote them. From the six words, choose three words that resonate with you. Again, in order which they were written. From those three words...choose one. What's behind that final word for the day?

I am still in love with this writer's medic bag from Galen Leather that Brian gave me for Christmas. The leather is so soft and buttery and gently worn, and the case unfolds to hold notebooks and journals and pens and all kinds of other materials a writer might need.

Even though it's a peaceful, relaxing day, general house upkeep has to be done. Seems like the laundry is never-ending around here, even with just the two of us. Brian produces a lot of laundry between his workout clothes, work uniforms, and everyday wear. This is just two days worth of laundry for us.

Clementine found her afternoon napping spot on top of some warm-from-the-dryer laundry. Speaking of her previously and taking her to the vet...I've mentioned in earlier posts that she has kidney disease. It's quite common in cats, especially as they get older. She is young to have it though. She was diagnosed over two years ago when she was 9-10 years old. Her illness has progressed to where she now goes to the vet twice/week for subcutaneous fluids. At her last visit, the vet detected what he called a "significant" heart murmur. She's having a chest x-ray tomorrow after her fluids. She also had blood tests done last week to check on the progression of her kidney disease. I have a feeling the news all around isn't going to be good. Fortunately, she doesn't act sick at all yet. She's still very spunky and playful as usual, eats all her food, and uses the litter box. Of course, if things change and she starts showing any signs of distress and/or suffering, we know we have to do the right thing and give her a compassionate end to her life. In the meantime, it breaks my heart to think about it and I am relishing every moment spent with her. When she cuddles in my lap and purrs, I let her stay there for as long as she wants.

Monkey has found his afternoon nap spot, too.

And so have I. The winds are howling, the sky is gray; the guest bed, a warm blanket, and a good book (Hamnet) beckons.

I hope that you're having a peaceful, relaxing Sunday, as well.
💓

new kitchen rug

Finding a rug that works in our eat-in kitchen isn't fun. It isn't like trying to find a rug for a formal dining room. It has to be casual, durable (more on that in a moment) and a solid color because of using different colored and patterned placemats, runners and tablecloths on the table. For several years, we've had this beige sisal rug in our kitchen and it worked good enough until it started getting stained (this is where the durable part comes in) from us walking in the garage-kitchen door and the cats choosing to use the rug as their vomit depository.

I searched online for a long time, trying to find another rug that met our criteria and didn't have any luck until I started looking at indoor-outdoor rugs. I found this blue one online at Target. We put it down a few days ago and I'm still trying to get used to it. Do I love it? No. But I don't hate it either. Brian really likes it, so there's that.

One thing I'm not crazy about is the dark shade of blue. It was much lighter online. I do like that you can't tell it's an indoor-outdoor rug from afar. You wouldn't know it until you're walking on it. It doesn't have any softness under your feet (another thing I don't like).

Monkey has already lovingly left me a gift on this rug and it cleaned right up and didn't stain, so that's a plus.

Here's the door in the kitchen that goes right into the attached garage. You can see what a tiny space we have to step into - directly in the kitchen - when we come in from the garage. I keep a folded towel by the back door to spread across the floor for extra coverage or to keep our wet shoes on. Oh, to have a house with a mud room! This time of year is especially messy and dirty with snow stuck to our boots or shoes when we walk in the door. This is why the previous beige rug got so dirty. Now with this darker indoor-outdoor rug, snow, water and mud wipe right up and don't leave stains.

Still looking for a chair for our living room. I thought I finally found one on FB Marketplace a few days ago, so we went to look at it in person. It was a leather chair from Article, but it wasn't what we were looking for. 

Have a good weekend...and happy Valentine's Day! 

💓

the heart of winter

We got walloped by another snowstorm on Sunday. I know...it's "nothing" compared to what the east coast just got. But we're making up for lost time here in Illinois, with January packing over 20" of snow. 

As much as I don't like winter, I have to admit, the fresh snow is pretty.

Even prettier, Mr. Cardinal peeking out of the snowy arborvitaes in our backyard. 

Looking down our street...

Pretty to look at - yes. Fun to shovel - no. Especially when the snow is wet and heavy like it was. I'm just thankful Brian had the day off of work.

The days after snowstorms aren't so pretty. Reality sets in. Cars are covered in road salt, the snow piles on the sides of the road are slushy and black from all the dirt, and even the bird feeders take a beating. I went outside and broke off these icicles for the poor little birdies.

So now it's February which brings Valentine's Day. One of my favorite holidays as it's no-frills, just cheery pops of red and pink in the middle of a dull, cold month. As a side note, this plant in the white pot is the newest to join my household. I found it at Trader Joe's ~ ceramic pot included. I believe it's English Ivy. The plant didn't have an ID tag. 

In Brian's office...

A vintage bowl on the table at the end of the hallway holds some handmade (not by me!) hearts.

Just a few heart touches on and in the china cabinet...

Speaking of china cabinets, in my last post I had talked about looking for a hutch for my kitchen and getting rid of the china cabinet. I explained that this skinny cabinet had sentimental value, as Brian and I bought it when we were first married. A few of you said that maybe I could find somewhere else in my house for it. 

Backtracking a moment, here is the hutch I saw on FB Marketplace that was listed for only $50. While I was thinking about it, it sold right away. 

Back to finding another place in my home where I could put my skinny cabinet...

Our house is small. The only place it could possibly go is the living room. There's no room in any of the small bedrooms. This corner and the wall to the right is currently a work-in-progress anyway. The cheap, ugly IKEA chair you partially see is just temporary. We desperately need a nice armchair for that wall. I've been looking for a deep blue velvet one. They're out there but wow, are they expensive! There are cheap ones, but we don't want a cheap one. We are looking for a quality piece of furniture that's going to last. Our second choice is leather. In the meantime, to fill in this space, I ordered that tall shelving unit from Target. It doesn't do a lot for me. This whole space is just "off". I'm leaving it alone until we find an armchair. Anywho...maybe the skinny hutch would indeed look good in this corner? Only time will tell. First things first: finding a new hutch for the kitchen and an armchair for the living room.

In the happy news department, Tim is flying in from California on Thursday for a quick visit. We're due for some more snow on Thursday, so I hope his plane isn't delayed. Of course, as a mom, these kinds of things worry me. And doesn't it just figure...we're in for an Arctic blast this weekend, with wind chills up to -30F! I'm sure he won't miss this weather one bit by the time he flies back to California. 

Stay well and safe. 💓