Six Things...

While Beach House covers a lot of interesting things that make me happy - including great modern design, great beef stew and great Long Island sunsets, the wonderfully dry-witted, smart and sassy modernemama recently tagged me to share six uninteresting things that make me happy.

It's taken me awhile to fulfill the assignment, but better late than never. Here are my six:

The Roberts' Farm. Those who opt for the East End of Long Island as their weekend getaway may look to Stargazer as a sign that they're entering the Hamptons, but for me, it's the Roberts' barn and accompanying silo that serve as that innocuous indication that "we're almost there!" To our happy place just down the road, that is.

I've always been fascinated by Stonehenge and most recently, the dolmens and stone circles of Ireland. So much so that I plan to build my own stone circle in our garden at some point with this otherwise uninteresting backyard boulder to serve as the keystone.



As a kid at summer camp, fresh corn was a once a week treat, but with 500 ears that needed shucking, we needed a little bribing to get the job done. I was always that ready volunteer who helped peel back husks in exchange for an ice-pop, and the satisfaction in knowing that to-die-for sweet corn would soon follow from a nearby Vermont farm. Since then, shucking corn always brings me back to that wonderful time and place.


To be honest, it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I've recently gotten into a bit of bird-watching. But with chickadees, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and wild turkeys floating through our yard day in and out, it's kind of fun for a Citiot like me to match up the birds in the yard with the birds in the book. Next up, trainspotting?



After a round of bird-watching, there's nothing like a little country cat nap (but I'll spare you those images). ;-)



Even after a summer of renovation work on the house, we have nothing to show for it when it comes to our 18' x 18' concrete slab porch. That is, except when it comes to these white trash lights. Not only do they provide ambient light for dining, but afterwards we can push back the table and chairs and turn the entire space into an outdoor dance floor...And those who know me, know that I'm NOT kidding.


Now I'm supposed to tag other victims to share their six uninteresting things that make you happy. After which choose another six people to tag and link your post on back here.

• Mary at Klutz in the Kitchen
• Hallie at Holy Hudson
• Patti at Eat Man Drink Water
• Jean at Renovation Therapy
• Stacey at Because I Said Go

Random Acts of Catness...

This weekend, Mido made himself comfy in the sink. He also ate my V-day flowers and managed to use my cellphone to call John. I think he takes himself way too seriously.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

.

I'm Still Standing: One of two fir trees standing
tall on our property.

I know we're still kind of "all about the storm," but, well, we're still all about the storm. Not to mention the foot of snow that came a week later, this past Friday.

As it turns out, the weekend of the ice storm, John and I had originally planned to get our first real Christmas tree together (and he had convinced me that it would be okay to go to a tree farm and buy a tree vs. purchasing an artificial tree at the store -- it was further confirmed that a real tree from a local tree farm is far better on the environment than a plastic tree made from oil products and shipped from China, but that's another story...).

So, our best laid plans to choose a tree, cut it down and drive around town with it on our roof of the LR3 were sidelined when we lost power, and the power to get out of our driveway.

But when John pointed out that while other people had a tree strapped to the roof of their car -- perhaps we had the next cool thing, a Christmas tree strapped to the roof of our house. Ever the optimist, he put a plan in place and, well, you'll see what happened next...

Left: John stringing the lights.

Left: John preparing the garland.

Left: John posing in front of our "Christmas tree."

Above: Mido gets in the act.


Above: Our First "Real" Tree in a Winter Wonderland!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Mido in the Snow...

I know, I know...more cats.

Watch out, this could be next year's Christmas card...

Introducing Mido, the Coolest Orange Kitten in the Whole Wide World

This is Mido (Mee-doh), the coolest cat in the world. I know, I know, just like any parent, I think Mido is not only gorgeous (seriously - look at him), he's brilliant. Like if they had a Mensa club for cats, he'd belong. He'd go to the kitty version of Cornell. Oh, and did I mention that he's crazy affectionate too?

Anyway, he really loves hanging out on the porch at the house and even though he's squeamish about getting into his little Sherpa bag to go Upstate, once he's in the car, he's great, totally naps the whole way.

Mido "owns" the porch. At first I thought the porch was mine, but no, it's really his. He sits there watching wildlife (more on that later): bees, squirrels, chipmunks do their thing without having to engage -- kind of like watching a movie.

Anyway, part of the reno work on the house included installing a cat flap for the little guy so that he could romp around out there all day and night without us freezing to death (it was a bit tough going last winter with that). Here's a video of him going through the cat flap (in case you're at all curious). He's getting much better at it now -- and hell, he's got a nice cat butt as well -- if I do say so myself.

Enjoy!