Fodder for Past Posts

With the arrival of Owen in the house, my ability to get things done has fallen by the wayside.  If I have a chance to take a shower, I consider it an accomplishment.  In the past month or so I've had pictures that I planned to use for blog posts, but those posts were never written.

For example, my parents were here twice helping out, and each time they brought their Tibetan Terrier, Nellie.  For some reason, the only picture I managed to take of Nellie while she was here is this one:

It's not the most ladylike of positions, and if I were a good sister, I probably wouldn't post it.  Sorry, Nellie!  I'm sure you were doing other things while you were here besides lying with limbs akimbo on my living room floor!

And at one point towards the end of our unpacking after the move, I had piled a few boxes on top of Dorothy's dog kennel.  Plum decided to make a home in one, like a little furry purple hobo:

There is nothing a cat likes more than a new place to sleep!

King of Baby Mountain

Most of our unpacking is finished—although I should admit that the few remaining boxes are all mine and are all marked “flotsam and jetsam,” i.e. things that are impossible to find homes for.  

For awhile, we had all the baby stuff in a large pile in the dining room while we got organized, and also while the baby’s room was being painted.  Now the pile is markedly diminished, yet still contains a few large boxes and other items that create various ledges and levels.  Of course, the cats are quite pleased with this state of affairs and enjoy finding spots on Baby Mountain on which they can hunker down and get a few good z's. 

 They are going to be quite sad when the unpacking is finally complete.

Plum thinking, you mean this isn’t part of the permanent décor?

One Stowaway, Small and Furry

Before we officially move to the new house, we've been driving loads of our belongings that are hard to pack--breakables, mainly.  The other day when we were heading to the house to meet my parents there, I gathered a few bags together of fragile items, and then since it looked like there would be space, I threw a couple of odds and ends into the mix.  I then piled everything into one area in my "kitchen", thus making all three pets nervous at the thought of an impending trip.  I decided to take a picture of Dorothy sitting nervously by the pile of stuff:

But wait!  What is that I spy in the wicker cat basket?!:

It's a wee, furry stowaway trying to be the first pet in the new house!  Not so fast, Posy Fern!  It will be your turn soon enough!

Rosebud

Not even four days past our closing, my parents had rented a van and were driving to Pennsylvania from Maine to bring me all my junk that had been clogging their basement for years.  Lickety split! -- they journeyed south.

On the way, they stopped at my sister Martha's in Massachusetts to pick up some baby supplies Martha had generously donated to me.  At around 11:00 I got an email from Martha saying that Operation Childhood Crap had just passed Check Point Baby Mountain and were heading hither.  Here is a picture she took so that I could visualize:

You'll note the van is filled to the brim with goodies--new baby clothes!  a beautiful dining room table from my Great Aunt Ruth and Uncle Willard -- and not so goodies -- a crate of my old yearbooks, musty childhood books, a whole bin of dolls....

And now a good portion of it is (temporarily) in my very own basement and attic.  Ah, ballast!

Thanks, parents!