For the Love of Aprons

I will never cut the apron strings
of my mother.

                         David Casias - Apron Chronicles
                                                A Patchwork of American Recollections

Seriously, this boy and his dad love
to lay on the ground.  It looks uncomfortable
even to Rose kitty, who will have none of it.
She does rule over all she surveys, though.

The little chair Rose is sitting on?
Jacob and I painted two, this one with
the black seat is his, while I was on maternity
leave after having Holly.  It was one of our
projects, one of the lasting memories
we visit every day.  Nothing fancy,
painted with the glorious energy of a little
boy.  What was important was to simply
do and have fun.  Perfection was not required.

These little chairs have survived nearly
nine years of kid chaos.  Mr. Lee, at well
over 300 pounds, has used these little
treasures as stepping stools for all kinds
of  handiness.

Useful things are among my favorites.
Aprons and chairs, of all sizes, are
collected here at the Pumpkin Cottage.

Welcome Cozy December

The secret to change is to focus all
your energy not on fightig the old,
but on building the new.

                                            Socrates


Rose is cuddling in every box she finds.

Tiny paws.

 

Pumpkin Cottage Makes

Pumpkin Cottage...the weather is cooling
down a little bit.  Just enough for Mr. Lee to
get on with projects and for me to rest my
hip.

A few years back, our friend, Cheri, gifted
this desk to us when her mom loved to assisted
living. We loved its lines and graceful legs.

Start of a revamp for Jacob's room.

Shiny black and white.

This is Rose, investigating the new object.  Mr. Lee says the
cats have to rub their bums on everything.  He is more of
a dog person but tolerates them for me.
Rose is really more like a dog.

Interesting, I must explore.

Yet this is it.

New vantage point for my bum.

Apparently, Jacob is going to have a homework partner.

See you soon. 

P.S. Mr. Lee grumbling, "She gave it her a** stamp
of approval."

Exhaustion Sets In

Looking old…should be a boast about experiences
accrued and insights acquired, a triumphant signal 
that you are someone who, beneath that white hair, 
has a card catalog of valuable information.”

 Frances McDormand

Kitty Love at Pumpkin Cottage

There are two types of people
in the world; people who are
passionate about things, and people who've
had their passion punched, beaten, or
whatever out of them.
                                      Kevyn Aucoin

Meet our Rose.  The most beautiful curious kitty
we have ever had.  Mr. Lee is not a kitty person
but Rose has stolen his heart.

Here she is beckoning, Mr. Lee at the kitchen sink.
Please let me in PaPa. 

Introducing Rose

There's a new kitty at our house.
Surprise surprise.

Look what Mark, my oldest, found while watering
the whiskey barrel rose planter.  
There were two tiny kittens found on Friday,

Can you feel Mr. Lee's eyes roll?
He is not cat people.
He loves dogs.
We recently started planning for a pup.

But late Friday afternoon he gets a call from home.
Guess what we found? Two tiny kittens, can
we keep them?

After a very long week, we went off to the animal hospital
with two tiny bundles of fur.

Rose is a healthy four week kitty.
Her tiny sister has spina bifida, there is a bare spot on her rump, and
her hind legs/paws are turned in. 
We were going to do the responsible thing.

Jacob was distraught because in his mind I am handicap.
Holly is pragmatic.
Lots of tears, but then a nurse steps up to provide the special care
she needs.  Yay.  Angels walk the earth every day if we simply
open our hearts to see.

Mr. Lee is allergic to kitty dander, and yet....
I LOVE this man.

Just a pom pom of fur.  Clovis, our 22 lb, black
cat is NOT happy with me.  Not one bit.