COMFY HOUSE

my last post

2024-12-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

Hello! Still having problems logging into Blogger and uploading photos. I have tried everything except using a different browser. (I am using Chrome.) So for those of you who are using Blogger for your blogs ~ yes, I am still reading your blogs. I just can't comment on them.

With it being the end of the year (I hope you all had a good holiday with loved ones ~ I certainly did) and having these problems with Blogger, I guess it's a good time to say an official goodbye to blogging.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being a reader of Comfy House all these years and for your continuing online friendship. You can follow me on Instagram (melaniescomfyhouse) and/or email me (melriley62@gmail.com) anytime.

💗

quick hello

2024-11-26T14:26:00.000-08:00

Hello! Yes, I am still out here in Blogland. Haven't given up completely on blogging just yet. Like a lot of bloggers lately, I am mostly on Instagram.

This is just a quick post for now, as I have a new laptop and for whatever reason, I'm not able to sign into Blogger. I can't upload my photos on here, nor can I comment on other blogs that use Blogger. Not even as Anonymous! I have googled and tried everything, with no luck. I even posted my problem in a Blogger forum board and noone there was able to help either. I'm using Chrome as my browser, I have third party cookies enabled, I'm not in incognito mode.

The latest ~ and most important news around here ~ is that our precious Clementine crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on November 11. She was 15-1/2 years old and had battled Chronic Kidney Disease for seven years. The vet that came to our house to help her peacefully transition said that she was the longest-living kitty she knew of with kidney disease. I remember when she was diagnosed in December 2017, the vet said she'd probably only live another 1-1/2 years. I wish I could post some of my favorite photos of her on this post. We sure miss her. The house seems so empty and quiet.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US friends. Hope you all have a peaceful and love-filled day.

💖

time for some small changes in my home

2024-07-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

In my last post (I know, it's been awhile), I was explaining how we lived in a ranch-style house and that we basically lived on the main level. That we have a family room in the basement, but we're never down there. I also explained how we're at the age where retirement is looming, and that we need to decide if we're staying or moving. We started looking at other housing options by looking at homes in a nearby over-55 community. For various reasons, we have decided this particular housing development is not the right place for us.

In the meantime, I decided why not take advantage of the basement family room while we still didn't have any problem with the stairs? Besides, our living room is small and the wall by the fireplace is the only space we have for our TV. Not that this is a bad thing, but we don't have a foyer. So when you walk into the front door of our house, you're immediately in the living room. You're staring right at the TV. This was the only current (ish) photo I could find of the living room that shows the TV - from last fall.

Another negative thing about having the TV in this space: the glare from the windows.

We purchased a big rug from HomeGoods to anchor the living space (the floors are painted cement; long ago we had carpet but had a basement flood...the contractor said at the time that even if we put down laminate, if we ever had a basement flood again, that the water would go under the laminate and ruin it...so he suggested just having the floors painted). Then we moved the TV and media stand downstairs.

Ta-da! A usuable space once again. We're not big TV watchers, but sometimes on the evenings where Brian has the next day off, we've been enjoying our time watching TV downstairs. We're currently watching Season 3 of The Bear.

Tucked in back of the living area is a little alcove where Tim used to have his drum set. It now holds the treadmill and some other exercise equipment. To the right of this alcove is a small hallway with a door that leads into the unfinished part of the basement. Same with that bi-fold white door that you see.

You can see in this wider angle of the room, that behind the couch are bookcases and a L-shaped bar. That bar area came in handy when our boys were little and we'd have birthday parties in the basement. It was a great area to spread out all the food. Same for when the boys were teens and they'd have their friends over: a great space for kids to hang out and use the bar top for pizzas, pop, and snacks. The bar has cabinets built in behind it, so that's where I store all my large kitchen appliances and big serving pieces and platters.

A view of the bar...not a very attractive area, but at this point in our lives, we don't have any desire to change it. It's "good enough" for our use right now. The wall with the staircase behind it used to have an assortment of metal faux-vintage signs on it, but I recently took them all down. Was tired of looking at it.

Back upstairs, I moved the console table from Brian's office to the space where the TV and media console were. It's a weird place to put anything, with this wall being right next to the angled fireplace and needing enough room to walk into the kitchen or hallway. I don't think builders think about furniture placement or design challenges. ;-)

Thanks for still being here and leaving such nice comments, even though I've been posting sporadically.
💓

decisions decisions

2024-06-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

We're at that age where we're thinking about what we want to do when Brian retires. Do we stay here, or do we move? There are many pros and cons. We have a ranch house with a basement. We basically live on just the main level, which is 1120 SF. The basement ~ which has a big family room ~ is wasted space. We're never down there except for when there's a tornado warning.The unfinished part of the basement houses our washer and dryer, an upright freezer, extra pantry storage, Sterilite boxes full of out-of-season clothes because we have tiny bedroom closets, and lots of "stuff". I'm still in good shape and my knees are fine, but it's getting to be a little scary going up and down the stairs, carrying a laundry basket full of laundry. How are the stairs going to be for either of us in ten years? Or 20?

We are also surrounded by houses full of children (why do they all have trampolines in their backyards?!), which means it can get quite noisy here at times. Another thing I don't like: having well water. When there's problems with the well, it not only costs a small fortune to fix, but it's never a simple fix. It usually takes several days, lots of frustrating phone calls, and then we're without water. Sometimes the water stinks, and it leaves slight rust-colored stains in the tub and shower. If the electricity goes out, we have no water because the well is generated by electricity.

Our house is now 36 years old. We'll need a new roof again in a year or two, we need new siding, new exterior doors and all new trim, both bathrooms need updating and so does our kitchen. There's other little things that need doing, but these are the main (expensive!) things. Sooo...do we stay here and pour our money into this house, or do we sell as is and move into a newer place?

Last weekend, we dipped our toes in the water to start exploring options. We looked a model homes in an over-55 community not far from here. I think we looked at nine models and I took so many pictures, I now can't keep track of which ones belong to which model. They all started to look the same and I got overwhelmed. Turned out, I only truly liked two of the models. All the homes in this community are one level. Most are two bedroom, two full bath and have a two car garage. Here's a couple of photos of one of my favorite models. I think this was the one with 2112 SF. I loved this open floor plan with the huge living room going into the kitchen with the big eating area surrounded by windows. There's also a covered porch off the living room.

Looking into the kitchen...

The covered back porch...

Some other things we liked: there's a lodge you can use for large gatherings. They also have a small fitness facility with treadmills and weights.

Walking trails go throughout the community.

The biggest negative of this community is the montly expense. It's a bit on the high side. You own the house, but not the land. Therefore, there's a monthly land lease (not a HOA). The monthly expense includes property taxes, lawn mowing (you are in charge of your own trees, bushes and/or flowers), snow removal, garbage and water. Of course, there were some things I didn't like about the houses. Most of the bedrooms are carpeted (I hate carpet!) and the vinyl decking and railing material is super cheap. Definitely not quality Trex decking and railings, which we had put in at this house five years ago.

Our next door neighbor sold his house a few weeks ago and is retiring to Wisconsin. We were told there are "two families" moving in. 😧 We don't know if that means a generational family with grandparents, or two separate families. We will be finding out in a week!

In the meantime...I look around my home that I've lived in 34 years and think, "do I really want to leave"?

There are no easy answers. Moving is hard ~ and extremely stressful.

At least we're not in the position where we have to move.

In other home news, the dreaded mulberries have already started falling. They're early this year. And it's all the unripe berries. In all the past years, we've only had a few unripe berries fall. Don't know what is different this year except maybe all the rain we've had. We're already dealing with mushy berries all over the walkway to the patio and on the patio itself. Worse yet, they're also falling on the roof and into the gutters. Oh! And speaking of the roof, we had storm damage a few weeks ago where the soffits blew out of the j-channel and water got in. Some of that water also leaked into the guest room and left light water stains on the ceiling. We're in the middle of working with our insurance company and roofing contractors. The fun and excitement never ends when you're a home owner!

Of course, once the berries ripen, the problem will get much worse. The berries rot and attract flies, plus they stain the patio.

We can at least talk to this newer neighbor about the tree. The woman that previously lived in this house (some of you might remember) was very nasty. This newer neighbor is nice, friendly, and cooperative. He understands our frustration with the tree and was going to cut it down last fall (he works with people who can help him do this) but had a freak accident at work where he broke his jaw, so was out of commission for awhile. In the meantime, we had a tree trimmer come out and look at the tree and he can at least trim it back to where we won't get so many berries falling on our property.

It looks to be a beautiful weekend here. A friend is coming for a visit tomorrow and Sunday I'm going back to the over-55 community with another friend because she wants to look at these homes, too. I hope your weekend is filled with something to look forward to and time to relax.

💓

PS ~ if you leave a comment as "unknown" and it comes through to my email as a "no reply comment blogger", then I can't answer any questions you may send me! Someone on my last post said she wanted to follow me on Instagram but didn't know how. I couldn't privately reply to her. So if she sees this: Go into Instagram, search for melaniescomfyhouse, and click on follow.

it's about time

2024-05-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hello! I can't believe it's been two months since I've posted. Not sure what the future holds for my blog. I haven't had much of a desire to keep up with it. It's so much easier to post on IG. If you don't already follow me there, please send me a follow request (my page is on private) at melaniescomfyhouse.

I think May is my favorite month of the year. Spring finally and truly makes an appearance here. Planting begins, weddings, graduations and barbeques are in full swing, shorts and t-shirts come out of storage, dining al fresco becomes a thing again, windows are open for the beautiful cool breezes, and there's usually a nice mixture of sunshine and rain in May ~ without the extreme humidity that we get in the summer. Though this year, we've had more than enough rain this month. Lots of thunderstorms and even a tornado warning the other night.

I've made my annual trek to my two favorite garden centers and got my big pots planted. Of course, they'll look much better when they fill out. I did this same planting last year: begonias, rosemary and a trailing vine. By August, this should be huge and lush, with vines trailing down the sides of the planter.

This is my first time planting the colorful annual, mimulus ~ also known as monkey flower. The licorine plant vine is also new to me.

Another new-to-me annual that I fell in love with with I saw it: Iresine, or Blood Leaf. It's native to Brazil. Love the bold color and shape of the leaves.

We don't have enough sun on our small piece of property to plant a veggie garden, so we plant a few things in pots: tomatoes, red onion, purple bell pepper.

My butterfly garden is mostly green right now; just the Columbine is in bloom.

If you're in the US, I hope you enjoyed your long holiday weekend. (Thank you to those who served and sacrificed their lives for our country.) We attended a retirement party; I spent time with friends; and another day we spent the day in Wisconsin. We discovered an amazing garden center (Bluemel's) with an attached coffee shop. I was in heaven! The dome is from an old high school.

Inside of the dome still has the high school kid's signatures.

The inside of the coffee shop is welcoming and charming, but best of all was the coffee. They serve Colectivo ~ one of my favorites. (I admit: I'm a coffee snob.) Colectivo is Milwaukee based, but they now have locations in the Chicago area.

There's a huge, covered patio between the coffee shop and garden center, so we took our drinks and sat out on the patio for awhile.

Then we took a walk around the garden center. These are some of the annuals and hanging baskets I admired...

I came home with this gorgeous hanging plant ~ Thunbergia. Love the vines and the delicate pink flowers.

After we were done at the garden center, we headed to the charming town of Cedarburg. Spent the rest of the day walking around and popping into various shops, having lunch at one of our favorite spots in this town, and basically just enjoying the perfectly beautiful day.

Lastly, on a totally different subject: a kitty update! Remember Blanco, the feral? He's still around and comes most every day for food. Poor thing currently has beat-up ears. I have tried several times in the past couple of years to trap him for TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release), to no avail. And now the trap I have borrowed from a friend is defective. A cat can squeeze through an opening in the front of the cage. Not sure where I can buy a trap; perhaps a farm supply store. It's on my to-do list. By the way, I am not this close to Blanco in this photo. This is taken through the glass of my screen door. He still won't let me within at least six feet of him.

And my sweet Clementine...she is still unbelievably very much with us! She's around 15 years old now and in stage 4 kidney disease. She also has hyperthyroidism. When she was nine years old and first diagnosed with kidney disease, the vet told me she'd probably only live about another 1-1/2 years. And then in 2022 when she lost an upper fang, the vet dentist said that without surgery (all her other teeth are bad, too - very common in cats, especially as they age), she'd get a massive infection where the fang used to be and that she'd only live another few weeks to a few months. But the thing was, it'd be extremely risky for her to have the surgery, because her heart might've not been strong enough. Not to mention, they estimated the dental surgery would be about $3000. Welp...over two years later with no dental surgery, she's doing just fine.

For those of you still following me here and leaving comments and sending me emails, thank you for hanging in there with me. 💖

march update

2024-03-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since I've checked in. When I looked back in my journal to see what had happened since since the end of Feb when I last wrote, I noticed my life was filled with extraordinary moments: seeing friends and relatives that I hadn't seen in years; girlfriend get-togethers; making soup every week for a friend going through chemo; attending a wonderful poetry slam; getting an overdue massage; meals out with extended family; hunting for - and finally buying - new glasses.

Best of all, Tim was here for a visit last week! Per his request, we spent an entire day in downtown Chicago. We found a cool bookstore filled with used books where the proceeds went to children's literacy programs in the city.

Bathroom walls in the bookstore...

Tim requested a visit to the new Guinness brewery...

The aesthetics were beautiful! The guys said the beer - some brewed at this Chicago location; others brewed in Dublin and shipped in - was fantastic. I wouldn't know, as I don't like beer.

Good food was definitely on our list, too. We decided to try beef bone marrow ~ supposedly a popular item at this restaurant. I didn't care for it at all. Brian and Tim loved it. I brought the bones home and saved one for my mom's dog and with the others, made a delicious stock.

The burgers were a different story though...holy yum! I'm not even much of a burger person, but with this one, all bets are off. Good thing it's only a once-in-a-blue-moon indulgence!

Another stop was a cool arcade filled with retro pinball and video games, air hockey, and pool. We got there when they first opened, so the place was empty. A few hours later, it was packed with tons of young people. My cousin had joined us by then. I told all of them that I felt like I was in a frat house. We decided it was a good time to leave. ;-)

We wound the night up by sharing a charcuterie plate and appetizers at this rather "interesting" restaurant. As you can see by the photo, the booths have solid doors! They were opened up for us, we slid into the booths, and then the doors were shut behind us. It was rather claustrophobic. And it made the serving of the food and refilling our water glasses by the servers awkward. The food was fantastic though. The meats and cheeses were all sourced from Illinois farms and the sourdough bread was made on premises.

Walking back to our car on the top floor of the parking garage, this was our view.

On the homefront with Tim, he made us the most delicious cabbage soup for dinner one evening. I admit: his soup (at least this one) is better than mine!

Tim's flight going back to California was delayed because of storms, so we spent some time wandering around the local antique mall.

And...that's a wrap. I hope by the next time that I post, it'll be about spring yard clean up and what's blooming. I can't wait! This last half of March has been cold and now we're having lots of rain. I'm longing for warmer days spent outside once again...coffee on the front porch in the morning to start my day and working in the yard and planting flowers.

For those of you who celebrate, Happy Easter!

happy spring - kind of - and what i'm up to

2024-02-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

February in Illinois usually isn't a kind month. It's typical to have cold weather and snow. This year is different. We've actually had a mild February, including some abnormally warm weather for this time of year. Today is 66F and sunny. Tomorrow we're supposed to reach 70F, then strong thunderstorms will move in (with potential for hail and tornadoes), with temps plummeting to 20F by night! Yes, a 50 degree difference in the same day. Wednesday will only be in the low 30's with snow. CRAZY!!

This morning when I opened the blinds in the house, I saw two spring robins in the yard. The first sighting of the season! Usually I don't see them until mid-March. Walking around the yard, I saw Bleeding Heart poking out of the ground. That's definitely a few weeks early. And then when I went back in the house, I heard the beautiful sounds of Sandhill Cranes flying overhead. They're back from Mexico, Arizona and California!

(Bleeding Heart emerging)

What I'm reading:

I can't say enough good things about this book. You can probably tell I'm finding nuggets of wisdom and information from all the page markers. If you're a woman 60+, you'll love this book. From Amazon ~

"Filled with unexpected good news about growing older, Winter’s Graces highlights eleven qualities that ripen with age―including audacious authenticity, creative ingenuity, necessary fierceness, self-transcending generosity, and a growing capacity to savor life and to ride its ups and downs with humor and grace. Decades of research have established that the catastrophic conditions often associated with late life, such as severe dementia and debilitating frailty, are the exception, not the rule. Still, the mistaken idea that aging equals devastating decline persists, causing enormous and unnecessary suffering, especially for women. Drawing on decades of experience as a psychology professor and psychotherapist, Susan Stewart, PhD, weaves together inspiring folk stories that illustrate the graces of winter and recent research that validates them, along with a wealth of user-friendly tools and practices for amplifying these graces and bringing them to life. Written primarily for women over 50 seeking good news about growing older, Winter’s Graces offers adults of all ages a compelling vision of aging that celebrates its many gifts, acknowledges its challenges, and reveals how the last season of life can be the most fulfilling of all."

What I'm listening to ~

Halah ~ Mazzy Star

Idea 10 ~ Gibran Alcocer

What I'm watching on TV:

Curb Your Enthusiasm

(Honestly, I'm not much of a TV watcher. We're just now into Season 2 of this series and still think it's just "meh" even though it has good ratings and our son and some friends recommended it. We'll slog along for a little while longer. Have you watched this?)

What I'm cooking (making this tonight):

Creamy Parmesan Ranch Chicken

What I'm working on:

This mess!

We have small closets in this house. This is the closet in my office/the guest room/what-used-to-be Philip's bedroom. I use it for hanging my sweaters and hoodies, purse storage, and for my art journaling and scrapbooking supplies. Not shown: the messy closet shelf.

While on a walk around the neighborhood last week, I found this tall, slim dresser at the curb of a neighbor's house. I thought it'd be perfect for storage in the closet. Brian got the dresser in the car for me and brought it home.

I took everything out of the closet including the Sterilite drawers, went through every little thing, and ended up with three bags of things for donation.

And...the after, so far! I still have more organizing to do. And then I have to tackle all the stuff on the closet shelf.

Have a good week!

💗

happy day of love

2024-02-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've always liked Valentine's Day. It's a low-key holiday without any expectations (we don't exchange gifts), but a fun day to "celebrate" with extra love.

I enjoy putting touches of heart decor around the house at this time of year, too. I think it adds some cheer to the usually dismal month of February. Though this year we've been lucky with a decent amount of sunshine and mild temps.

Do you remember the "Love is" comic strip? It was created in the 1960's by New Zealander, Kim Grove-Casali for her then-boyfriend and then appeared in newspapers in 1970. When Brian and I were dating (and maybe first married, too; I don't remember), we used to cut out the comic from the newspaper and give to each other if it pertained to us. 💗 I still have a bunch of them.

I found this mug in an antique shop a few years ago and had to get it.

I like making a special dinner for Valentine's Day, too. When my kids were little, I'd make a heart-shaped meatloaf. Tonight for Brian and I, it's a lovely Bolognese sauce that I've had simmering on the stove all day ~ will boil some wide-tube pasta at the last minute; a tossed, green salad with various, crunchy veggies and a homemade Italian dressing; and a fresh baguette that I'll make into garlic bread. I also made one of Brian's favorite desserts: molasses cookies. Just pulled the cookies out of the oven and between the smell of those and the Bolognese sauce, my house smells amazing!

Sending all of you LOVE.

simple pleasures

2024-02-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

I came across an article from Cup of Jo on simple pleasures. It was a fun article to read, including the comment section where readers chimed in.

Here are some of mine, off the top of my head:

Seeing blooms on my house plants.

Good chocolate ~ bean to bar, made in-house.

The reassuring weight of Clementine curled up next to me at night as I'm sleeping.

Seeing the first pops of daffodils in the time between winter and spring. (It is way too early here to be seeing these, but we're having an unusual warm spell.)

Bouquets of Trader Joe's flowers around my house in the winter.

Little comforting book piles.

Some more simple pleasures, no photos:

That first cup of coffee in the morning.
Texts and phone calls from our son Tim, who lives 2000 miles away.
Snuggling with Brian on the couch while watching TV.
Clean sheets.
Playing Wordle every morning.
Lying in savasana after yoga practice.
Browsing in the library.
Getting a magazine in the mail.

* * * * * * * * *

I could keep going on and on! How about you, what are some of your simple pleasures in life? Please share.
💓

lights, blooms and staying cozy

2024-01-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, and happy 2024! This first week of January has rushed by in a blur. But a good blur. Lots of friend time and some fun activities. Oh, and I'm happy to report that the plantar fasciitis that I had in my left foot right after Christmas (I mentioned it in my last post) only lasted a couple of days. I did a bunch of stretching exercises I found online, lots of massage and ice, and that all seemed to work. I've also learned I can't go shoeless in the house anymore like I used to - I need cushioning. I hate wearing shoes in the house ~ I've always been a barefoot girl. Getting older does some fun things to your body. 😉

Back to the new year: Our tradition on the first day of a new year is to take a hike in the nearby State Park.

We basically have the entire park to ourselves because it's closed on New Year's day. We park on a nearby side street and walk in through the side entrance. Talk about peaceful! We feel like we're the only people on earth. Just us, nature all around us, and the occasional bird chirping.

Here in northeast Illinois, we never know what kind of weather we're going to have on January 1st. A few years ago when we were about a mile into the park, we got pelted by an ice storm. Other years, we've had light snow on the ground.

This year, we got lucky with mild temps and no snow. We hiked about four miles. (And for the next two days, my shins were killing me!)

Here inside Comfy House, Christmas decor started coming down on December 26th. Those of you who've been with me for a long time, know this is my norm. I feel that Christmas is over and I get tired of the clutter. I enjoy starting over with a fresh, clean look for the new year. But because January and February are such gloomy months here, I like leaving up little lights and candles to add some warmth and coziness to the house.

I left some green bottle brush trees on the mantle too, and brought out a couple of snowmen.

I even left up little snowflake lights in the bathroom. Why not warm up that dark space, too?

I needed a new essential oil diffuser and decided on a glass and wood one. Glad I did because I love the way it looks. It seems to diffuse stronger than my previous plastic diffusers, too. You can change the color of the lights on this one, which lends a pretty glow in a room on an otherwise dreary day. A little PSA: please research which essential oils are OK to diffuse if you have pets. Some can be toxic to them!

Interesting how my plants that bloom are all all doing so right now: the shamrock plant (Oxalis)...

African violet...

and Christmas cactus. Maybe somehow they know that we need some color and cheer on these gray winter days.

We're expecting our first winter storm tonight into tomorrow evening, with 5-8" of wet, heavy snow and up to 40 mph winds. Then another winter storm bringing much of the same on Friday. After that, frigid air will move in and we'll be below zero (F) at night. THIS is the kind of weather I loathe.

Clementine has the right idea with her heated cat bed. I have one, too. Not a cat bed, hee hee, a heated bed. We have an electric mattress pad which I turn on high an hour before we get in bed. Feels so good to slide into a warm bed on these cold nights. I then turn the heat off, but the bed stays warm long enough just to drift off into blissful sleep.

Maybe with all this snow and frigid air coming our way, it'll give me an excuse to stay home and get some organizing projects done, as well as working in my art journal again. Perhaps have more of a Sacred Day as my blogging friend, Jennifer talks about ~ something we all need.

💓

'til next year

2023-12-29T15:15:00.000-08:00

How was your Christmas? Ours was good. Games, too much food, good company on Christmas Eve, some lovely gifts from Brian.

Quiet times by the fireplace were certainly appreciated, too.

I'm not in the mood to write much. I have some loved ones in the hospital right now and also - out of the blue - plantar fasciitis attacked my left foot and I'm in a lot of pain.

I've been slowly de-Christmasing my house and trying to put things back in order, but moving slow and taking lots of breaks. I left lights and greenery on my mantle for a warm, winter look. Not done tweaking, but this is good enough for now.

I'll just leave this here...

Thank you for reading my blog this year, sparse though it may be at times. Wishing you all love, peace, and good health for the New Year.
💖

only one week 'til...

2023-12-18T15:10:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS!!

Are you ready? I am! Shopping and wrapping done, gifts for loved ones out-of-state shipped, house decorated, cards mailed out (I only do about a dozen these days), food for Christmas Eve guests purchased, made some Christmas cookies today.

I am wishing you a Christmas filled with love and peace, good health, and loved ones by your side. 💓

it's about time

2023-11-16T16:08:00.000-08:00

Where to start when it's been seven weeks since I last posted? It's been a combination of things. Not in a blogging mood, having a busy (a "good" busy) fall, and feeling like I have nothing to say while at the same time, having too much to say.

{my darling Clementine is still doing well!}

I at least wanted to say hello and check in with you all and see how you're doing. I know the world can be very heavy on our hearts at times. Personally, it's been a good fall for me except for September 25th, a day I always dread. That's the date of my oldest son, Philip's passing. It's been 14 years, which seems like forever ago. It's still a very difficult day for me and Brian and I know it will be until we take our last breath. It doesn't matter how many years have passed. When you lose a child, the jagged wound in your heart is irreparable.

Otherwise, this fall has been full of farms and petting goats and walking along the beach (Lake Michigan); reconecting with my yoga and Reiki communities; trying new-to-me art mediums (watercolor); and lots of one-on-one time with my friends.

{rocks and beach glass found along the lake shore}

The absolute best thing this fall was Tim coming home for a visit! It had been a year since we'd seen our boy. His time was limited while he was home as he was standing up in a wedding, but we enjoyed a day in downtown Chicago; hanging out for a bit at a couple of his friend's houses (with one friend and his wife and kids, I'm like their bonus mom and grandma ~ and with Tim's other friends, I've known them since they were in their late teens); a visit with extended family; just hanging out together watching a couple of movies; and an evening where Tim made us carnitas for dinner.

I haven't been reading as much as I'd like lately. (Goal: less time spent on social media!) How about you?

A trip to the library and the threat of cold weather moving in next week spurred me on. I'm nearing the end of Absolution by Alice McDermott. I have mixed feelings on this novel. McDermott is a wonderful storyteller and there's some compelling parts in this book, but it's also a bit dry. I'll take a break from fiction and dive into a non-fiction book next.

Hard to believe Thanksgiving is only a week away. To my American friends, I hope your day is full of gratitude and love.

💓

first day of fall

2023-09-23T19:13:00.002-07:00

Happy first day of fall! While summer is my favorite season, I do admit that fall can be beautiful.

Fall gets a little depressing for me though because my oldest son, Philip passed away on September 25th (2009). My dad, grandpa and mother-in-law also all passed away in the fall. I also hate seeing all the flowers dying and perennials withering, packing away all the summer yard decor and covering up the patio furniture...all reminders that the dreaded winter is right around the corner. (Ignore the bag of potting soil, plant pots and gardening gloves lying on the porch. I repotted several houseplants today.)

But back to the good stuff: Brian bought wood and stained it, and built a raised bed in back of the house for an herb garden. I had herbs back there in the ground for years, including mint, which I was always having to prune and dig out. The little area served us well during the past years, but with the french drains being put in the ground a few months ago (you can see one of the drains behind Brian), the area was looking scraggly. And I was sick of taming the mint. So Brian dug out all the herbs except for what I wanted to save ~ chives and red veined sorrel. I'll plant other herbs next spring.

Some color still abounds around the yard. Black-eyed Susan in the butterfly garden is drying up, but still lovely.

Plenty of color on the north side of the house with hosta blooms, coleus and impatiens.

I picked the last of our tomatoes today ~ even the green ones ~ and roasted them until they were saucy. Added to my pot of chili for dinner.

Another snapshot of my day: Clementine is my loyal companion. She follows me all over the house. I was making dinner, so she had to supervise, of course.

Even though it was warm and sunny today, I was craving chili. I don't use a recipe. This is my own creation. I taste and add things as I go along, though I do use some basics: half ground turkey, half ground beef (organic, grass-fed), onions, red and orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, garlic, a can of black beans, tomato sauce, dark beer, a little chicken broth, seasonings (chili powder, cumin, Mexican oregano, salt, pepper, chipotle red pepper), a tablespoon of cocoa powder. I doubled my usual recipe so that I could bring a container to a friend whose Significant Other just got home from the hospital.

Whatever you choose to do this weekend to celebrate the Autumn Equinox, I hope it brings you joy.

PS ~ still having trouble with my blog header. Designed a simple graphic through a website (can't even remember which one now), but I can't get it to center. That's what I get for using a freebie site, I suppose. I'm still not wanting to pay for a photo editing site since I will rarely use it, but I might have to bite the bullet.

it's still summer

2023-09-02T16:42:00.004-07:00

Hello, friends!

I know Labor Day weekend signifies the final hoorah of summer, but I like to keep in mind that we have another three more weeks of this beautiful season.

Give me all the days of warmth, sunshine, bright flowers, and patio sitting.

I would never get tired of spending Sunday mornings barefoot on the patio with my iced coffee and newspaper (it's the only day we get the paper).

My pots of veggies have been giving us beautiful tomatoes...

and I just harvested the first of our red onions. (Why are they called red onions if they're more purple? 🤷)

Evening walks to the lake to see the sunset are a bonus to living in this neighborhood, but the sunsets are getting earlier by the day. I hate having to close the blinds in the house at 7:30 now. Though in the throes of winter, I'll only be wishing the sunset were as late as 7:30. Aack, my mind can't even go there.

Our little town had their annual weekend fest in August, which always ends in a fabulous fireworks show over the lake. Thousands of people from all over come to see these fireworks. We stay home and watch them from our side yard. I don't like crowds or loud noises. Truth be told, I'm not a fan of fireworks in general because of the trauma from the noise to our veterans, cats and dogs who are usually terrified from the noise, and the terror and damage to wildlife. I saw online that some cities are choosing to do drone or laser light shows, and I'm all for that.

My birthday is in August, too and we spent the day in Chicago. One of the places I wanted to visit was St Michael Church in "Old Town". I'm not Catholic, but this place is rich in history and architecture, so I wanted to see it. It's one of the only handful of buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The interior was breathtaking. I got goosebumps when I walked in and saw this view.

Two violinists and a celloist were playing soft music, as they were getting ready for a funeral service.

It's been so dry here in Illinois this summer. The leaves on the neighbor's maple tree are already turning red on the top. And this photo was taken at the end of August! Way too early, that's for sure. There's also dried leaves all over our property. Another sign of dryness. I love the low humidity, but we desperately need rain.

It's supposed to be in the 90's the next few days, so we'll be firing up the grill tomorrow. I'm going to make a mayo-free potato salad. Not sure which recipe but it's between this French potato salad or this dill pickle potato salad. Either of one of them perfect for summer.

PS: totally unrelated subject, but for those of you who do your own blog header, especially if it's photographs, what photo site do you use? I'm more interested in a free one, but haven't had any luck with a Google search. I used to love PicMonkey, but it's no longer free and I wouldn't really use it except to change my blog header once in awhile. Would that be worth it?Thanks for any suggestions.

Have a fantastic weekend!

end of july

2023-07-31T11:45:00.182-07:00

Can't believe tomorrow is August 1st already. Where has the summer gone? It's my favorite season and it's far too short. My butterfly garden is in its glory; tomatoes, onions and peppers (trying purple ones this year) are almost ready; herbs are prolific (and I somehow got one lone petunia flower in the pot of basil and thyme...where it came from, I have no idea. I don't have petunias here this year. Love these little gifts from the Universe!).

Clementine is still doing fantastic despite her age and stage 4 kidney disease (and hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure and dental disease). You'd never know this sweet baby is so ill. She eats all her meals, uses her cat box, is very interactive with us, runs around, can still jump up to high places.

This month has been filled with various farmer's markets, sidewalk sales, and street fairs. I've been lucky to find some "treasures" at fantastic prices: a leather owl made in Italy; a vintage drinking vessel made in Israel; a stack of books and a CD for $3; a freezer Ball jar that I'm currently using as a vase; vintage pottery (those lines and colors!); a mini metal pitcher with a kitty on it...and then a splurge ~ a new mid-century modern style lamp for our basement family room. Found this beauty at Praha in Chicago.

Phil would've been 35 years old on July 21st. I don't know when the photo of the two of us was taken, why both of our heads of hair look so dark, or who took the photo. But it looks like Phil was about 14-15 in this photo. How I miss my oldest son.

And then we celebrated Brian's birthday in July, as well. We had a lovely day together, going out to a restaurant of his choice and seeing the movie, Oppenheimer. Brian liked the movie; I didn't care for it. You really need to know your WW2 history to get into this movie. I had a horrible history teacher in high school and it was a subject that didn't interest me. Plus, the movie was three hours long. We were squirming in our seats.

I know it's the height of summer when the local farmstands start selling their corn. There's nothing like Midwest corn! We had it for the first time this summer on the grill and agreed that next time, we are going for two ears each. Even better when it's eaten outside on the patio.

If you've stuck around with me through this long post, thank you. I'm not sure what to think about blogging anymore. It's so much easier to keep up with Instagram. Are you following me there? I'm at @melaniescomfyhouse. My account is private, so you'll have to send me a follow request. Anyway, this is by no means goodbye. If I decide to formally stop my blog, I'll let you know. For right now, it's more of an explanation of why I don't post much anymore.

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july weekend clicks

2023-07-08T12:22:00.005-07:00

1. A beautiful poem: Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye

2. This chicken burrito casserole looks so yummy

3. 5 painfully honest truths we tend to forget when life gets messy

4. Feel yourself relax with this video of the John Muir wilderness

5. Before & after: a Chicago cottage renovation

6. Add vertical interest to your flower gardens

7. Creative ways to organize your jewelry

8. Cottage garden ideas (Houzz 2018)...I'm featured 3/4 of the way down

9. 22 ways to simplify your life

10. Pets have a lot to teach us about love and grief

Have a beautiful weekend! 💓

hellooo ~ this & that

2023-07-03T16:08:00.002-07:00

Hello and happy July! I recently finished repainting the little table on the porch. I've this table for at least 30 years - a cast off from a neighbor. It's been several colors. The last few years it was yellow and it was fading and peeling. I was tired of the yellow anyway.

The Chicago area has been hit hard with the smoke from the Canada wildfires. I took this photo last week, when the sun was trying to peek out through the haze right before sunset. That was the day we had the worst air quality in the world.

My little veggie garden is doing great. There's two tomato plants on the left, then red onions, and purple beauty bell pepper.

Exciting to see the first fruits.

This beautiful purple flowered perennial has turned out to be one of my favorites. It's in the geranium family (geranium pratense); more commonly known as Meadow Cranesbill. I purchased this plant at least 25 years ago with my then next-door neighbor, Thanam. She had recently moved here from Malaysia and didn't have a car. I took her to the garden center with me and we each bought one of these plants. For some reason, she thought the name of this plant was Heavenly Death. That's what she always called it. Did it have that name on the plant tag? I don't remember. I've Googled to see if any variety of Meadow Cranesbill has this name and don't come up with anything. But to this day, I still call this plant Heavenly Death because of Thanam. It reminds me of her. (She moved back to Malaysia 20 years ago.)

Another interesting thing about this perennial is that it's been moved several times and has always done well. It loves where it is now, nestled in-between coral bells. It gets a nice mixture of sun and shade.

Our new(ish) next door neighbor never did cut down the mulberry tree like he told us he was going to. We even left him a nice note on his gate last month, offering once again to help him pay for having the tree cut down and to let us know if he needed any help finding a tree trimming service. We left our phone numbers and also told him he was welcome to stop by and talk to us. Never heard from him. *sigh*

So, you guessed it, we're once again having to deal with millions of mushy mulberries falling all over our patio, in the hostas, and all the other plants that run along the privacy fence ~ not to mention the walking path to the patio and in all the fresh mulch we lay down in the spring. We haven't been able to use our patio in for three weeks, so far. And when the mulberries are done falling, Brian will then have to power wash the patio to get all the stains off. Have I ever said how much I hate this tree? 😜

INDOORS:

I got tired of looking at this squished space in "my" room. (I never know what to call this space. I have several names for it: Phil's room {used to be my son, Phil's bedroom}, the guest room, my room, my office.)

I cleared the space out, including the bookcase so I could move it.

I started by moving the bookcase underneath the mirror. Clementine immediately took up residency on the chair moved to the side. I stashed my yoga and exercise equipment into a basket in the corner.

In this view, you can see the opening to the room, as well as how the wall next to the door juts out, creating a little nook next to the bookcase.

I decided I didn't like the basket of exercise equipment in the corner. The corner needed some height. So I moved the exercise stuff into a smaller basket, tucked the yoga mat and bolster next to the other side of the bookcase (as seen in photo above), and put a stool with a plant on it in the corner.

Took the framed cat art print from the kitchen and moved it to this wall.

I think this space looks much better now. Less cramped.

The white chair got moved into the living room across from the couch. The chair has become Clementine's new favorite napping spot. Funny, because she rarely napped on it when it was in "my" room.

For those of you in the US, have a happy and safe 4th of July. (Clementine doesn't like fireworks ~ and neither do I.)

june weekend clicks

2023-06-09T16:46:00.002-07:00

1. All about breathing (who knew?)

2. 20 min ginger pineapple chicken stir-fry

3. How to get the most out of your doctor's appointment

4. Cup of Jo readers share their cozy corners

5. Adorable farmhouse style cottage in Sweden

6. What movie to watch tonight?

7. How to style wall shelves like a pro

8. How to clean a dishwasher (yucky, but necessary!)

9. 8 essential elements for planning a cottage garden

10. The ultimate summer 2023 reading list

Have a beautiful weekend! 💓

hello june ~ peonies, yard project, patio and good book

2023-06-05T16:28:00.001-07:00

Even though it's technically still spring, I always think of June, July and August as the summer months. It sure feels like summer is here already. Last week it was 90F. And dry. We haven't had rain in weeks. Our grass is brown and brittle like it usually looks in August. My peonies bloomed a couple of weeks ago and the bush is so laden with blooms, that the top half is falling over despite having a peony cage.

I love when the peony and clematis are in bloom at the same time. Gives me a pretty view out my bedroom window instead of the neighbor's ugly brown fence.

I know peonies should be cut when they're budding, not when the blooms are full, but I cut both. I like to leave most of the blooms on the bush though, since they're so pretty. This year there were plenty for the bush and a couple of vases in the house.

We had a big, messy yard project that got done a couple of weeks ago. Our back yard had been flooding when it rained heavily. We have clay soil and over the years, it absorbed less and less water. We needed to have french drains installed in the back yard.

Looking the other way towards the south side of the house. The underground pipes wrap around to the side of the house by the patio.

In hindsight, we should've moved our patio furniture to the back of the yard by the arborvitae! We had no idea it would be this messy. They had to dig out all the lilies and hostas alongside the patio.

The pipes came down the entire length of the house, along the front yard and ended up in the drainage ditch in front of our house. You can see in this photo how they had to dig down the middle of the lilies and pachysandra. We didn't have them replant any of those, as both spread quickly. It doesn't look pretty this year, but hopefully by next summer, that area will start filling in.

Seeding and blanketing was done where they dug out the grass.

We've been watering every day but with this intense heat, no rain and being late in the season, I don't think much grass is going to germinate.

Hostas that were dug up were replanted alongside the patio. (Though they dug out my Joe Pye Weed too, and must've thrown it away, grr.) Brian got the patio cleaned off and bought a new umbrella, which we desperately needed for the late afternoon sun.

So my yard might not look too pretty this year, but at least there's the patio. For now. Those of you who have been reading my blog over the years know that the neighbor's dreaded mulberry tree is going to wreak havoc on my patio probably within a week or two. We have a new neighbor in this house and he told us he was going to have the mulberry tree cut down, but so far, nothing. We even offered to help him pay for it, explaining how it's been our nemesis over the years and nothing would make us happier than getting rid of that tree!

In the meantime, nothing more relaxing than an evening on the patio with chips and salsa, an icy cocktail, and a good book. This one - The Covenant of Water - is 715 pages long. I'm only on page 100-something. Hope I can renew it because there's no way I'll be able to finish this before it's due!

From Amazon:

"Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, known as Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.

A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the difficulties undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years."

💖💖💖

beautiful may

2023-05-23T16:58:00.004-07:00

I think May has officially become my favorite month. The weather in northeast IL is just about perfect this time of year. We've had abundant sunshine with low humidity interspersed with rain and cool days. May in this part of the country brings the start of farmer's markets, art and craft fairs, the opening of garden centers, setting up outdoor spaces and dining al fresco, working in the yard, planting flowers and vegetables, and the official start of grilling season.

Before I show you what's going on outdoors at Comfy House, I want to introduce my latest house plant. This is a philodendron micans. I'd never seen this variety of phildendron before and fell in love with the color of the leaves, especially when the sunlight is shining through them. I found this plant at an art and craft show. Two young women run a plant business out of their home, which I thought was really cool.

We got a "new" patio set on FB Marketplace at the end of April. I have it set up in a different way right now; this is when we first brought it home. Our old settee was literally falling apart and we didn't want our glass and metal dining table anymore. It's usually just the two of us dining al fresco and the table took up too much room. We did keep the two white wicker rockers (not shown) from the old set ~ those were still usable and gives us more seating options.

Early May is when perennials and trees truly burst into bloom around here. It's like Mother Nature's gift to us after putting up with five - six loong, dreary, cold months.

{Celandine poppy}

{bleeding heart}

{bishop's cap}

{not my redbud tree ~ a neighbor-friend's ~ but wish I had one)

Right now, our wiegala bushes are in beautiful bloom...

Pink peonies are about to burst open...

Clematis should be budding anyday now, too. This and the peony bush are right next to each other and when they are in full bloom at the same time, it's breathtaking!

I really need to harvest this rhubarb (it is massive right now) and bake something. The past two years I relied on making a rhubarb-strawberry crisp, but this year I'd like to change it up. A friend happened to recently post these rhubarb recipes on social media and I thought they both looked yummy and different from the same ol' traditional rhubarb desserts. Give them a try with me!

Rhubarb Scones

Brown Sugar Rhubarb Cookies

Made our spring trip to one of our favorite garden centers last week.

I never plan out my gardening. I simply buy what appeals to me when I see it and hope for the best. Somehow, it always works. This time I got gerbera daisies, coleus, impatiens, nasturtium, trailing ivy, basil, rosemary, parsley, cilantro, dill, tomato plants, a purple beauty pepper plant, a red onion plant, a hanging basket of calibrochea and a hanging basket of passion flower vine.

Got a few of the bigger planters done ~ here's one that I did with nasturium and gerbera daisy. It'll look much better when it fills out and that nasturium starts blooming. By the way, see those little seedlings on the red bench? They are elm seeds and they fall by the ton. They coat our driveway, sidewalk, porch, patio, patio furniture, and plants and clog our gutters. I could leaf blow 10x/day and it wouldn't make a difference. It's like shoveling while it's still snowing.

The coleus and impatiens got planted (by Brian ~ he does most of the planting-in-the-ground stuff) on the shady north side of our house, just past the mass of ferns, in-between the hostas. Again, when these flowers fill out, this area will look much better.

Our little veggie garden all in pots. It's the only space in our small yard where we get full sun, as we're surrounded by trees.

May, for me, also brought me good news with the stray kitty, Smokey. I was able to easily get him into a carrier (he's such a sweetheart!) and brought him into Save-a-Pet. They will fully vet him, including neutering, and then he will be adoptable. When I inquired about him the other day, the intake woman said he was still very nervous and that they were cleaning his wounded ears three times a day. She said she'd keep me posted about his progress. I miss seeing him every day and feeding him, but I know this is for the best ~ not only for him, but for our community; especially since he wasn't neutered.

Now to have the same kind of luck with Blanco, the feral. After almost a year of taking care of him, I still can only get about three feet away from him before he bolts. I will be using a live trap to try and catch him. I have a feeling it's not going to be easy. He's also not neutered, so it makes me wonder how many kittens there's going to be roaming around soon. And so the cycle continues. 😢

Lastly, another good thing May brings is graduation ceremonies. My youngest niece graduated university last week with a major in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. She's now going on for her Master's degree is Social Work. I'm so proud of her!

Hope the month of May has been beautiful for you, too.

may weekend clicks

2023-05-05T15:22:00.003-07:00

1. The sounds of your life turned into playable, personalized art

2. Ten tips for creating a cozy, authentic home

3. Cookie dough energy bites (yum!)

4. Ways to cope with anxiety

5. Love this colorful home in LA

6. How to create an art journal

7. 30+ cottage garden ideas

8. Quick garlic butter cashew chicken (I'm making this weekend!)

9. How to style wall shelves like a pro

10. Some simple self-care ideas

Have a lovely weekend! 💗

read, watch, listen, cook

2023-04-27T17:10:00.006-07:00

What I'm reading ~ Daring Greatly by Brene Brown & You Could Make This Place Beautiful. Both fantastic. Just finished reading Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World - which I highly recommend if you're a HSP.

What I'm watching ~ Season 5 of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (the acting! the costumes! the drama!) & Season 2 of Somebody Somewhere (Bridget Everett is brilliant and hilarious; the show hits you in all the feels.)

What I'm listening to ~ Love You Madly - Cake ...... Mazzy Star - Halah ...... Je te laisserai des mots - Patrick Watson

What I'm cooking ~ Half Baked Harvest Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs with Garlic Butter. I'm a big fan of Half Baked Harvest's recipes and this one was no exception. I don't care for ground chicken, so I used a mixture of ground turkey and ground pork. I also didn't use the chili flakes called for in this recipe, as I'm sensitive to hot spices.

What have you been reading, watching, listening to, and cooking that you would recommend? Please share!

💙

snippets of april goodness

2023-04-21T20:03:00.001-07:00

April has been a super busy month. Some not-so-good stuff, but I'm focusing on the good. We had a week of 80+ degree days (and in true Illinois weather fashion, we then crashed 50 degrees and had snow) which pushed everything into hyperspeed bloom. As I was driving the other day, I noticed the street lined with the brilliant green, newly emerged leaves on the trees and all the dogwoods and red bud trees in blossom. I said out loud, "Everything is so beautiful." Coming out of our overwhelmingly long, gray, dark winters into the brilliance of spring is akin to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz stepping out of her farmhouse into the colorful world outdoors.

(Flowering dogwood)

(Emerging peonies)

(Unfurling ferns)

(Crimson King Maple)

(Magnolia)

(My friend's daffodils...I think they're Sir Winston Churchill daffodils)

Some other good snippets of April ~

The beautiful spring weather called for dining al fresco once again...

and taking walks in the sunshine along the riverwalk.

Went to my first outdoor farmer's market of the season. I got farm fresh eggs, grass-fed burgers, artisan cheeses and microgreens. I petted dogs and a cat in a cat carrier backpack. Everyone was smiling and friendly and talking to each other. I think the nice weather not only makes people in a general better mood, but the freedom of being "back to normal" after the pandemic makes us more appreciative of life's everyday pleasures.

Walking a labyrinth with one of my best friends was good for our souls.

In my March 24th post, I mentioned going to a women's circle on a horse farm. I went again this month! I swear this farm has magical properties. Even driving down the long, winding gravel road to get to the farm is a surreal experience. The first part of the road is lined with dimly uplit trees, then dense pine trees. You come to a clearing and voila...there are the barns, the beautiful house on a hill, a little log cabin with rocking chairs on a porch, horse pastures, a huge pond, swings hanging from trees...and beautiful land as far as the eye can see.

I am still taking care of the feral and stray cats that come to my house just about every night, by feeding them and keeping a bowl of fresh water on the porch. Blanco is the feral. Photo was taken out my front door, through the glass. There's no way I could get this close to him in person.

Smokey is the stray. He's so sweet, rolling all over the porch as I talk to him. I've been petting him but I'm going to have to stop. He has open, raw wounds behind his ears from excessive scratching which means he has severe ear mites and they're highly contagious to other cats. As a stray, he probably has fleas, too. I can't take a risk of bringing anything into the house that Clementine could catch. I've been in contact with local cat rescues about Smokey. Only one said they could take him, but they don't have any room right now.

Clementine is still amazingly hanging in there with being in stage 4 kidney failure. She's a skinny little thing, only weighing 7 lbs, and looks even more pitiful with fur loss on her belly, legs, some on her sides and halfway down her tail from obsessive biting and chewing. Over the past years, we've been to two different vet dermatologists and between them and her regular vet, we've tried everything from natural remedies to every prescription medication possible. We've changed her diet, too. Nothing ever helped, at least not in the long term. Her regular vet said it's probably anxiety and since she can't be on any anti-anxiety medication because of her kidneys, we just let her be. Our sweet kitty still has a healthy appetite, is active, uses her cat box, and sleeps snuggled up next to me every night. When she was diagnosed with kidney disease 4-1/2 years ago, the vet said she probably only live another 1-1/2 years. She's a fighter! In this photo, she's waving her paw to get Brian to pet her. She either does that or taps you on the arm. So cute. She loves a lot of attention.

Have a beautiful weekend!

weekend clicks

2023-04-01T19:50:00.007-07:00

1. Highly anticipated April 2023 book releases

2. A Collection of 1698 blogs about every topic

3. 99 reflection questions to ask yourself for personal growth

4. Meditation to ease anxiety & boost your immunity

5. Loving this Mexican fire opal ring

6. This darling London flat captures the essence of an English cottage

7. How to edge flower beds like a pro

8. Ina's potato-fennel gratin would be perfect for Easter

9. An easy way to remove labels from jars

10. 7 ideas to show off your book collection in a dreamy way

Hope your weekend has been filled with play and rest!
Happy April. 🎕