A little love from the baker...

...for the crusty-hearted.

A hiding game

After my parents' two antique cats died within months of each other, my mom decided it was time for a brand new cat. This cat, she said, should be generously proportioned, for the purpose of covering a whole lap. Not just a part of a lap. And so, necessarily, the cat would also be the type to enjoy a lot of lap-sitting. With this brief shopping list, Mom went to the pound and returned home with Charley, who now spends a good part of each day sprawled across Mom's lap, or sort of slumped backward in the crook of Dad's arm, while reading on the couch. He also, you will notice, has a favorite, mustachio-print pillow, and he is so well camouflaged in front of it that you practically can't even see him!

the Each Week, One Beast project: week 7

Bodhi on the sofa. I feel a tiny bit guilty calling this week's beast a Beast. Because look at him! He's so sweet! He is a family member (Matt's brother). Here are some things he enjoys: the great outdoors, bagels, belly rubs, peeing on things in the wild, burger-size baby porcupines that fit in your mouth just so, and his sofa.

the Each Week, One Beast project: week 6

Red-breasted nuthatch. A favorite tiny beast. If you hear a very tiny honking coming from a fir tree... it might be a red-breasted nuthatch! If you're lucky.

White is the new black

A relatively warm morning, and the new snow is light and crystally like mica flakes. A woman came out and asked if I'd fallen... It took me a moment to realize that if you point your camera at someone else's sidewalk, it is assumed you have litigious intentions. This bummed me out more than it should have, perhaps. That old "SEE, this is why I never leave the house, everyone else is crazy, I am so misunderstood!" feeling.

the Each Week, One Beast project: week 5

A cat for Louise. My grandma, who is very old and ailing, loves a nice cat: a small, sweet, inquisitive and affectionate cat. One who is a tidy size for lap sitting. Grandma doesn't have a cat, so this one is especially for her.

A dream poem

I love a good stormy night. The window sashes knock around and the streetlight casts these very dramatic, dancing-tree-limb shadows inside the bedroom. I wake up enough to wish we had a metal roof to hear the rain on - a sound I find deeply comforting. In our house, powerful dreams always roil up in these conditions... Often dark ones, but last night, I got to walk down a dirt road in Vermont and wonder at all the heavily laden citrus trees (grapefruit-sized, pear-shaped blood oranges!). I've had similar dreams before, about Vermont (in real life, we hope to move there soon)... We drive there, and it is magically warmer - the leaves haven't fallen, but are just beginning to turn, and it's 70 degrees out.

In other news... A belated but heartfelt thank you to Summer of the beautifully curated blog Design is Mine for her kind mention of my artwork, and to FitPregnancy for recommending my bad woodchuck as good nursery art. And a note to locals: If you haven't already been there, Lyn Carey's shop, Earth and Wears, is so much fun! Lyn has a whole lot of enthusiasm and a really vibrant, energetic style, and I'm very happy my prints are now included in her selection of "handmade lovelies." The store is on Main Street in Dallas, PA.