It’s raining, it’s pouring

I know the Pacific Northwest is known for it’s rain.  But normally our rain is more of a constant drizzle.  Today however, we had a rip-roaring, gully-washer of a downpour without the gully washing of course.  It was a-coming down here like someone opened the power-washer on full, a couple of different times today.  The sheets of water were pounding down so hard on the roof I was convinced the hard rain would pull down branches off of trees.

So today, I am soooooo Thankful that wretched hole in our roof was patched last summer.  Otherwise I would have been running around with buckets in the front room stemming the incoming waterfall.  So thankful my roof is leak free.

That way I can just sit in a comfy chair, watch the torrent outside the window and dream of beings who love this type of weather.  I imagine there were some fun baseball games going on in the mountains today.  Oh, my depraved, guilty obsession knows no bounds.

I normally would have taken the heavy rain as an occasion to dance in the rain.  See what a skinny thing I was last year.  UGH to this year!  But this silly cough isn’t letting go so the rain dance will wait, until the next downpour.

I’m loving and so Thankful that my messed up house is still weather safe in a storm. 

Missing Fur ball

We we had our first Pumpkin scare today.  Earlier in the afternoon I remembered Hope chasing our new ninja kitty through the house.  I have to constantly remind her to be gentle and not carry him around so much. 

Pumpkin however is getting wiser by the day and now uses his lightening quick reflexes to try and allude her smothering hands.

After about 15 minutes of Cat and Mouse Hope (although to be honest she was the Cat in this scenario), Hope came up to me and informed me that she had lost ‘Pumpkin’.

We couldn’t find the little fur ball anywhere and I was starting to panic.  Imagining Hope had accidently off’d the poor creature wasn’t out of the realm of my imagination.  My kids have unintentionally shorted the lives of many a family pet.  Like rocks through fish tanks (air-drowned fish), forgetting to close the hamster cage door (starved escaped hamster), and one poor kitty that got flown into a wall by a nameless three year old boy (The kitty didn’t survived the crash). 

So seeing my kid’s unintentional track record with animals I was more than a little freaked out.  Because we all love Pumpkin. 

Needless to say, we  tore the house apart looking for the little guy.  I was ready to call a duct cleaning guy and have him come fish a kitty out of the air vents under the bathroom counter, Yes, I was that desperate to find the little creature.

Three hours later, Pumpkin saunters around the corner, pauses to stop stretch and yawn, then jumps up into my lap like nothing ever happened.

The sly little ninja kitty had successfully secluded himself in a secret location somewhere in the craft room.  I take that as a hint it’s become cluttered again. 

Sneaky little fur ball.

On my clutter quest I did clean off this.

And after thrifting a few more items it became this.

Sorry about the glare.

Wasn’t it the other day that I just posted that there were 100 days until Christmas.   Imagine then my shock when I saw this today…

No way is it half way here and I find myself in the predicament of only still needing to do 100 days worth of stuff.

I’m on it.

But today I’m Thankful that ‘Pumpkin – the Ninja Kitty’ didn’t meet it’s demise at the hands of Hope.  Whew!

Reminders

Can I just say that a couple of days on the couch being lazy recuperating and watching TV has opened my eyes to a couple of shows that I find motivational.  I haven’t ever seen the show ‘Clean House’  before but if there was ever a makeover reality show I could benefit from it would be that show.  Can someone please nominate me?  Please?  I promise I could supply some really nice before pictures.  Just ask Ethel?  She comes in weekly now to help me find the floor.

I’m sorry but when you can’t even walk through your garage because stuff is piled so high then you know you need help.  Granted the garage is the last place I will organize in my house – the last dumping ground.  The place of buried hobbies, memories, camping gear, rodent infested food storage crap.  I keep telling myself I’ll get there. 

Someday.

After I feel better.

So today I’m THANKFUL for reminders like ‘Clean House’, that help me remember that I don’t always want to be a Pack Rat Hoarding Hippo.  So not only did it remind me and motivate me but I moved my achy phlegm filled body (sorry I know you didn’t need that visual) and actually did something about it.

No I didn’t tackle my whole house, or even an entire room,  forget about even a single closet.  I tackled the entry way table.  You know because if people see my immaculate entry way and front room then they won’t be clued into the the clutter monster lurking within.

And no I didn’t move the mess elsewhere.  I thrifted a couple of things, overflowed my recycling bin and put the other items in their proper place and…

Tomorrow I think I’ll watch another episode of ‘Clean House’ and then I’ll attack the entry bookshelf.

Baby steps.  Baby steps.  I’ll get there.  Meanwhile I’m Thankful for Reminders.

Thankful to do Nothing

So I’ve been a bit under the weather for a couple of days.  And today I did absolutely nothing but lay around, read magazines, and sip spiced hot cider.  Even though it stinks to be sick, it’s a little nice to have a good excuse to by lazy.  Took pictures, but misplaced my camera.  And I was so looking forward to sharing some of that spiced hot cider with you.  So I’m thankful for a lazy day.

Now I’ll be even more thankful if this cough leaves me soon.  

Sunrise even in a Storm

I realize that my blogging has suffered dramatically because of the Unblogable.  And as it dominates the majority of my life it’s hard to think of other blog topics.  But I don’t want to lose touch with all my wonderful blogger friends and family.  So I’m committed to posting a Thankful thought with you every day of November.

This morning as I was taking my oldest down to catch the commuter bus to his work I stopped dead in the driveway and then dashed back into the house to grab the camera.  These pictures don’t do the colorful beauty of a morning sky the justice it deserves.  But the brilliant pink and peach hues reached halfway across the entire skyline.

Normally the saying goes… ‘pink skies in morning mean sailors take warning’.  A storms a brewing.  But since it seems we are already in the mist of a storm, I found such beauty in the stillness and marvelous beauty strewed across the heavens.

The light of hopes springs eternal.   So I’m thankful for a beautiful sunrise.  Yes there is beauty even in the midst of the storms of this life.

The Fuzzy Pumpkin

Well Halloween has come and gone and I’m sure a lot of those carved pumpkins have started growing fuzz or some moldy form or another.  We’ve a totally different type of pumpkin fuzz growing in our home.

It came from some of our angel benefactors that helped contribute to our sanity over the past few months.

Meet the newest member of the herd.

Introducing ‘Pumpkin’, our fuzzy new kitty.

Pumpkin has wrapped his little furry body around all of our heart strings very quickly.

 

Even Itchy is enamored.  I’m sure Itchy is still in shock that Pumpkin doesn’t hiss and swat like our last cat Spo0ky did.   And as an added bonus - their furry coats kind of match.

Pumpkin even allows Hope to carry him about like a rag doll without a bawl or bite. 

Even the boys have to take turns cuddling the little fur-ball.

 

Pumpkin’s a scooter too.  He has a lightening quick run which causes him to do some major slipping and sliding into walls.  I’m sure he will get used to our hardwood floors soon.   But it is quite comical to see him skating across the floor.

He as been dubbed ‘Pumpkin the Ninja Cat’, for his ability to scale walls, furniture and even water (we did try to bath him).  His super stealth reflexes were not diminished even after having his little talons clipped.    But he uses those reflexes only for good (our merriment).  I’m sure we will have to figure out how to teach him that scaling furniture may not be in his best interest when he is older and less adorable.

This year – no Halloween theme.  Even more sadly, I didn’t get around to repurposing costumes like I usually do.  I did spend less than $100 on costumes.  But sadly I did buy the girls theirs from mass marketed, poor quality will be guaranteed to rip apart after two wearings, party stores. Never again.  Overpriced pieces of junk.   I would have loved to have made them like in years past.  But it wasn’t to be this year.  Princess went as Silvermist the Fairy,  Lea was a Candy Corn Witch and Hope was Sleeping Beauty.

They were escorted around town Trick or Treating by a Beardless Prince Erik.  And that little Santa belly was really a fanny pack holding all valuables and a few extra treats.

 

Sadly I didn’t monitor the candy intake and by the end of the night the girls were in desperate need of a sugar de-tox.

The boys costumes were less imaginative and really simply.  Orange shirts that read, ‘My Tee-shirt beats your costume anytime’.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  Bring on my Thankful month.

Today.  I’m thankful Halloween is over.  Whew!

Magical Transformations in the Making.

So this week was much better.  Wa-hoo!  I felt so good I even busted out the old sewing machine and started a new project using this thrifted humongous wedding dress that I stole for $9.99.

 

All that material and beading… You’ll never guess what magical transformation I’m endeavoring to tackle with it.

I can’t wait to show you the finished projects.  I’m giddy with excitement every moment that I squeeze into working on it.

The kiddo’s don’t have school today so I’m letting them sleep in a bit.  But when they get up we are going to have some fun. 

My baby turned 4 this last week and I’m still in shock over it.  Don’t know whether it’s the shock from surviving four years of one of the most active, energetic wonders born on the planet or…

Could it be four years of rubbing shoulders with a miracle that leaves me bursting with joy every time  she hugs me.  My little Hope has taught me more about God’s love than nearly any other person I know.

So I’ll take the frantic exercise in discovering what she’s up to any day;  because it means another day of living with a true miracle and angel.

I do however, think it’s high time I taught her how to play with babies.  She’s always holding them upside down.

 

Future grandkids beware if I don’t.

Guess what else?  I saw Fuzzy-Wuzzy the bear again on Wednesday night as I was coming home from my Scripture Study Meeting.  Had my camera in hand and everything.  But the darn thing was on the wrong setting and he lumbered into the tall grass before I could get it right.  So I snapped this picture when I got home instead.  Our rickety fence was very haunted looking and even though I’ve been meaning to get out and fix it, I think I’ll wait until after Halloween since it lends itself to an eerie atmosphere.

 

When I was little I loved the fact that George and Mary Bailey renovated an old home for their own.

 

I’ve often dreamed of buying an older character home and making it mine.  Who’d have thought that I’d be living that dream with my very own newer home.  I’ve watched it crumble around me to the point where I think it has a mind of it’s own.

Lately though, the scary abode hasn’t been so scary.  (Knock on wood, because I’m not begging for something new to break down.)   I’m actually starting to get excited again about reclaiming all of it’s broken parts.  Dreaming of claw foot tubs, farm sinks, cream cabinets, tiled floors, and fresh paint.  The home is 18 years old and it might take us another 18 years to scratch up the money to reclaim it – but I feel it will happen.   

Now I’m off to play with the kids and dream of course.