unconditional love from furry creatures

I have three cats that are my fur babies.

At age 13, Zippo is my oldest cat. He was a stray that my youngest

son found in our yard when Zippo was only about three months old.

He was with his two brothers ~ whom a friend took ~ and they were all

in good health, so it was obvious that someone dumped them.

(Don't get me started on that...grrr!)

I've had many cats throughout my life, and I have to say that Zippo

has been my absolute favorite. He is the sweetest cat I've ever known.

He's a mama's boy.

If I'm sitting in bed working on my laptop, he has to be next to me,

stretched out alongside my thigh.

He sleeps with me every night and in the cold weather, even sleeps under

the covers, nestled against my chest.

He loves people and will gladly take petting from anyone.

(He also has the prettiest pink nose and paw pads.)

Snuggling with Brian...

Clementine showed up on my doorstep in the summer of 2010.

She was skittish, malnourished ~ and unbeknownst to us at the time ~

pregnant!

Two-and-a half years later, she loves to be petted, but still doesn't like to be held.

And now that she's healthy, she has the prettiest, shiny fur.

Clementine only had two babies, and one was stillborn.

Since there was only one kitten left, we kept him, too.

Meet Monkey...

Monkey is a sweet boy, but he's rather naughty.
He's the one that knocks over plants, tries to jump on the kitchen
counter to get food, licks plastic bags...yes, he's weird!
He has the cutest markings on his nose though, and a brown spot on his
chin that we call his goatee. ;-)

It took awhile for all the cats to get along and they still
fight once in awhile, but sometimes they'll surprise me like they did
this morning when I came home from running an errand...

The three of them were all nestled in my (unmade) bed!
Just for the record, I normally make my bed every morning.
But, if one of the kitties is sleeping on my bed when I'm ready to make it,
I don't disturb him/her. Yeah, I'm a sucker.

"I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little,

they become its visible soul." 

(Jean Cocteau)

Linking up to Claudia's A Favorite Thing #10

new goodwill finds!

 You all know how much I love Goodwill!

Here's the round-up from my latest excursions...

 A "log" votive holder ~ I stuck an apple in it instead of a candle.

This cute nesting hen was brand-new (still had store stickers)!

Love these hand-blown glass birds. I have a smaller one from years ago.

Artist's signature and year (1991) is on the bottom, but I can't quite make the name out.

Pair of rooster tealight holders - in perfect colors for fall and a

Thanksgiving vignette.

These darling little birds came in a package of six ~

all nestled in a little box. I kept three and gave three to my mom.

I have one under a cloche and one in a bird's nest.

 Oh no, another bird! I just might need some aviary intervention!

This white bird doesn't have any markings on the bottom,

but I still thought it was so pretty.

Rooster picture that will be great in my kitchen

when I rearrange with my rooster decor. 

(I change decor and vignettes often.)

Sorry for the glare (and my shadow) from the glass...

"Sparrows" painting by the Canadian artist, Valerie Pfeiffer.

There's not a lot of info out there on the internet about her,

and I only found a couple of her pieces for sale, but they are quite pricey.

I could try and sell this piece on eBay, but I like it so much that

I'm going to find somewhere to hang it in my home for now.

I normally don't buy used shoes, but these were like-new Aerosoles

and sooo comfortable!

A folk art cat painting...

A turkey tealight holder, perfect for Thanksgiving.

Last up, a pretty piece of pottery.

I've been drawn to pottery vases lately ~ need to dig out all my pieces

and make a new vignette! :-)

That's it for my treasure hunting at Goodwill for awhile.

Now that I'm not working outside the home, I have to curb my spending.

Even little things at Goodwill can add up.

My mom just rented a booth in an antique shop and I will

be helping her set it up next week. I will be putting some of my

things in her booth, too ~ so I hope this venture will be successful!

 

tweaking my living room bookcase

I added a few new things to the ladder bookcase in my living room.

After visiting my cousin's house a couple of weeks ago and seeing how he

had a pair of decorative salt and pepper shakers in a family room vignette,

I decided to try something similar with my own salt and pepper shakers.

I've had these vintage gold leaf shakers for years.

Instead of using them on the kitchen table, I took the tops off and am using them

as decor items in the bookshelf.  I stuck a faux leaf in one of the shakers,

 so that it looks like a little vase.

Mr. Owl is new - from Kirklands.

I also stuck a vintage suitcase underneath the bookcase since

that space looked rather empty.

I'm linking up with Tweak it Tuesday on Cozy Little House!

www.cozylittlehouse.com 

kitchen wall design choices

I have this huge, looming, bare wall in my kitchen.

It's intimidating!

How to decorate? There's so many choices. 

At first, I was thinking I'd want to do a plate collage, such as this...

And then I saw this beautiful plate and mirror arrangement

by Michael on Inspired by Charm and was instantly smitten...

 I also love this empty frame arrangement from Penny's Vintage Home...

 

And this!

(bhg.com)

 Then, there's this lovely empty frame, plate, and mirror arrangement

from Country Living...

 What to do, what to do.

So, I've been playing with different arrangements on my basement floor

before I permanently hang stuff on the kitchen wall.

Because sometimes I get too excited and randomly start hanging things,

 then decide it doesn't look "just right". And I start moving things around,

leaving excess nail holes ~ which drives my husband (understandably) crazy!

Here's what I came up with today. Mind you, all the frames would be

painted white.

Not too sure about that round mirror on the bottom right.

Here's what the arrangement would look like if I hung it on the wall.

I realized after taking this photo and seeing it on my computer,

that the two large plates on top aren't going to work if I want to put

tchotchkes on the top shelf.

That's enough "playing" for now. Time to go pop some popcorn

and watch a movie with the hubby.

Hope you all are having a relaxing Sunday!

my life in {feline} ruins

 Nothing like hearing a *crash* from another room.

I ran into the living room to find this:

 

 Hmm...empty plant pot.

Aha! There's the culprit (Monkey), along with the main evidence.

 After cleaning up all the dirt and replanting the poor plant,

I moved the plant and stool into my office for the time being.

Thought the plant would be safe. Silly me.

Grrr....

 And how has YOUR Saturday morning been?

 

a before and not-so-happily after

This wooden table had been sitting in my garage for several years ~

simply serving as another place to stack all that extra stuff that somehow accumulates

in garages (and basements).

I put it out by the curb in the hopes that someone would take it,

but no such luck.

All of a sudden, a lightbulb went off in my head.

Why not paint it and use it in my kitchen?

I ran back out to the curb and hauled it back into the garage before 

someone changed their mind and snatched it up.

I sanded and painted and this is how it turned out.

Nothing too exciting ~ I simply used spray paint.

I am not one of those talented people who stains or gets fancy with chalk paint.

Looks OK and holds a lot of stuff, right?

Problem is ~ this is the only place in the kitchen where this table could fit.

It is simply too big and overwhelming for this space, I think.

I also don't like the black color of the table next to the oak cabinet.

So, I will be going back to square one...

Finding a new place for the table and putting the white stool

back in its place.

Wonder if the table will end up back in the garage? ;-)

breakfast is served

One thing I've been doing more of since I've been home full-time,

is baking and cooking. I've always loved to bake and cook, but sometimes didn't have

the time - or "gumption". (Love that word.)

I made these muffins yesterday morning and they were so delicious

with a cuppa coffee. Perfect for fall weather!

MAPLE OATMEAL MUFFINS

1 c. oats (quick-cooking or regular rolled)

1/2 c. milk (I used skim)

1 c. flour (I used King Arthur white whole-wheat)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. each salt & cinnamon

3/4 c. pure maple syrup

1/4 c. butter, melted

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/4 c. chopped pecans

Grease a 12- cup muffin cup. In a medium-sized bowl, combine oats & milk; let stand 5 min. In a large bowl, combine flour - cinnamon. Make a well in center of mixture & set aside. Stir syrup, butter & eggs into oat mixture. Add all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Fold half of pecans into the batter. Spoon batter into muffin cups 2/3 full. (I found that the batter only filled 11 of the muffin cups.) Sprinkle tops with remaining pecans. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15 min.

My friend, Heidi ~ from Holland ~ shared this recipe on her blog for Crustless Zucchini Pie:

http://bookshelvesandstovetops.blogspot.com/2012/10/crustless-zucchini-pie.html

I made this recipe this morning for breakfast and it was delicious!

It'd also make a great light lunch or dinner.

The changes I made to Heidi's recipe though were to use Swiss cheese instead of Gouda

(because I had Swiss on-hand), and I used only 1/2 onion, as the onion could get

too overpowering in this small pie.

Happy cooking ~ and eating! What's been cooking in your home?