Kittens From The Dark Side: May 2023

I have lagged behind on posting here (though I am posting more regularly on Instagram if you'd care to follow me there). I plan to try to catch up a bit here, though, too!

I love fall, I love winter, and I love spring!

Look at the beautiful patterns in the icy snow!

I watched my nieces for a bit and we made some treats!

Cora wanted to find all sorts of things in the house that we could cover with chocolate, and she wanted to make sure that all of them were things I could eat (because she's sweet that way!)

Mangoes:

Then we played some Ransom Notes:

And we played crazy town in the basement! We picked them up and swung them around and tossed them onto their crash pad! Great fun - and very good for the sensory system.

I have finally figured out where I want to put art that we have. One goal for our new house is that I would like to have only original art rather than mass-produced art (even though I have some mass-produced art that I really like and might hang somewhere).

First I hung these photographs in the laundry room. I took these many years ago because I'm very inspired by my Dad's old fishing boat, the water, rocks, and ripples.

The top one is a stack of rocks I made and the bottom is my Dad's boat:

Allistair approved.

We got back Stephen's ashes (he passed away in March) a couple of weeks after his passing and were touched by the thoughtful card and sweet touches included in the bag. We have a great vet!

I finally figured out where I wanted these beautiful vintage metal geese I bought!

There are some in the main bathroom

and some above our bed!

They are not symmetrical and I like it that way.

Then I had a flight of inspiration about the artwork I wanted to put up in the library!

First, I realized that I wanted a bent wood and cane rocker in there. I found one on Facebook Marketplace and I love it!

Then I organized my art on the floor. Claude helped.

Then I installed it! Thank you, Command Strips - no holes in the walls!

HOW GREAT IS IT THAT I GET TO HAVE A LIBRARY?!?!?

From directly ahead:

The two small artworks above were passed on to my by my parents, who bought them in Asia when they were stationed in Okinawa in the early 1970s. I can't believe how fabulous they look displayed along with the larger paintings, which were gifts from dear friend, Cindy. The artist is Jack Clevenger, her father! To us they look very much like hikes we have taken together, so they are VERY SPECIAL to me and bring me a lot of joy.

On the other side of the room, I also have meaningful art!

The painting on top of the bookshelf was done by my talented Dad!

And the smaller panting to the right is by my Aunt, and it's personalized to me, with books labeled for things I love.

The painting above the rocking chair is also by Cindy's Dad. I love them all and this room makes me HAPPY!

I put up our spring welcome hanging that we've had for many years, and it looks great on the background of the blue front door.

Friendly roof ducks:

The last big snow of the year . . . it was beautiful and not very cold.

We had plans to have some friends over this night, but a blizzard was predicted and we got ice and then snow and snow, so our little gathering was cancelled. We still enjoyed the Weather!

Duck footprints. They came on the deck to sneak birdseed!

I also figured out how I wanted to hang the art in the powder bathroom!

The metal flowers were given to us by my parents. The colors are perfect alongside the wooden barn quilts that I found at an antiques shop in Stillwater, MN. The barn quilts were made by an Amish man who comes into town every few months in his buggy carrying some of these beautiful and delicately assembled wooden artworks. I love them! There are no such things in Arizona. Traditionally these are hung in the peak of a barn to show Scandinavian pride, but I think they deserve a place inside!

This beautiful and sturdy dresser was given to us by my brother and his family when my niece Cora needed something different for her room. It fits perfectly in our guest room! I decorated it with a couple of pretty mirrors to bounce the light around (and because that blue one is heavy and tough to hang, but I still want to display it!)

The day before my parents got back from Arizona (where they spend the winter), Cora, Esme, and I decided to surprise them by taking them some gifts and leaving sticky notes ALL OVER the house telling them how we love them!

First we did some art!

There was singing:

And we went to the park with Uncle Greg!

The walk across the wooden bridge is always fun!

While I cooked my dinner, Esme played with toys in my office

and Cora read in the library.

Mark and Jillian brought pizza over for dinner and then we went for a walk.

Easter came, and my parents had just arrived back in town from Arizona, so we had a feast at our house! Of course, it was a vegan feast, so it was a bit different from typical Easter food, but it still was yummy!

I made

vegan sausages

avocado black bean dip with corn chips

tater tots

cashew scalloped potatoes

fruit salad

veggies and cashew cheese

chocolate chip cookies

blueberry cherry cobbler

I also have recently tried making my own baked corn tortilla chips and they turned out great!

My Mom and I have been able to go shopping a few times already since my parents got back home.

We sometimes eat pizza.

Recently we shopped for fabric to recover the chairs on the dining table my parents have had since before I was born. I've had it since Greg and I moved to Arizona, and I recovered the chairs once myself, but they need extra padding now as well as different fabric. We considered denim and an ikat pattern, but we decided on this beautiful gold that's almost like a faux-leather.