Silly kitten.

A new day, a new dingleberry move from Bro Bro.  This is the name of our largest cat.  It is hard to tell if he is the oldest, because he is a matched set of two sibling kittens that we adopted in September, Sissie being the other half of the equation.  They are one week shy of six months old.  Sissie is a dainty eater, and her form follows that fact.  BroBro’s other name is garbage cat.  He is forever looking for scraps and snacking opportunities.  Lest you believe we are underfeeding him his authorized food, well, I have a bridge I want to show you.  He is a typical teenage male…with an unlimited appetite for vittles and hijinx.  Sissie, to be sure, has her own issues which center primarily around the caboose hygiene subject, but I won’t get into that in this session.  At any rate, my dear husband just about had a heart attack when he looked up from watching cheesedoodles (what I call junkfood TV…e.g. Housewives of ‘fill-in-the-blank’ or anything about Ice Roads and Moonshine production) to see BroBro hanging off the second floor landing (between the stiles of the railing) by his two front paws.  Being that BroBro is a little piggy-kitten, he is meaty and strong and was able to claw his way back up to safety.  Sissie wisely chose to be an audience member, rather than a participant, in this misadventure.  For added excitement and giggles, directly below this railing is a marble console with my prized mid-century lamp pair, and a black iron armillary sphere in the center.  For those of you unfamiliar with an armillary, I will include a photo of one.  BroBro should find a better place to fall, unless he wishes to be skewered on my home deco objects d’arts.  Just, no.

On a serious note:  What happened in Connecticut today...  My whole being aches.  That something this horrific could happen—ever--makes my world tilt at a weird angle.  Like the creation of a black hole that warps the fabric of normalcy and decency and reality.  You can bet I hugged my son (until he was embarrassed) when I picked him up from school….he was blissfully unaware of the incident.  For now, the most I can do is throw extra love into the universe.  I send my thoughts and prayers of peace, healing and compassion to everyone.

...and so, it begins...

It seems like a good time to start posting my musings; what with the end of the world nigh (you know, that pesky Mayan calendar kerfluffle thingy).  Plus I have a birthday soon (ugh, another one), so the very real passage of time spurs me on to expand my horizons.   I just think it's about time that I unleash the full spectrum of randomness....

....geez, I can't even hear myself think because my BELOVED 10-year old son is singing Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" at the top of his lungs while he soaks away in his before-bedtime bath...(OK, seriously, what 10-year old looks up these lyrics on Google and then memorizes them?...I can't even make sense of these lyrics when they are right in front of me--that's how cerebral Coldplay is, and how, well, I am not)...

Where was I?  Now that the impromtu concert in my office bathroom has quieted to a low humming (he must be actually washing now--hope springs eternal), I can continue my train of thought...  Which was....  oh darnit all, oh yeah...I am unleashing the full spectrum of my brain's randomness upon you poor unsuspecting readers, all 2 of you.  For example:  right before I decided to start this new blog (what a stellar idea!!) I was Googling how to create Myrtle topiaries from seed; checking recipes for homemade marshmallows; hunting for cool Ikat and Suzani fabrics on eBay; trolling on Craigslist for brass furniture and anything faux bamboo or cowhide, and checking bike helmets on Target.  Random, right?

You see, I am a magpie.  I like shiny objects.  Sparkly bits.  I have time on my hands, and I am not afraid to use it.  So, I spend some of it searching for snazzy ideas and pretty things to make...(yes, yes, I do all the mundane things too.  Such as school carpool, wash the dishes, feed the cats, volunteer for field trips, take out the trash, solve the fiscal cliff...but you don't want to hear about all that, do you?  I am deeply intellectual...just not HERE, wink smirk)

A short list of things that float my boat:  chinoiserie, starburst and sunburst mirrors, weathered barn wood anything, the smell of figs, old American flags, orchids, monograms, leopard print, midcentury lamps, flokati rugs, the shapes of ogee and quatrefoil, mercury glass, toffee, snowflakes on my nose and eyelashes, etc. etc.

(Yes, he is still humming and splashing...)

Last year, about this time I started a little project called "Fleurishment"...I created a manifesto (check out Manifesto in 'About' zone, if you dare, on the "fleurishment" page on FB) and posted some creations on Facebook.  The idea was that I had a mash-up of French things, flowers, and a play on the word 'Flourish'...which is pretty much how I feel: the older I get the more I am flourishing.  When an idea pops into my head, I usually think "Why not?!"...so that is how I end up making homemade things like microwave instant sugar-free raspberry jam, huge monograms out of foamcore poster board and pillows that look like they are made from old French textiles.

Well, I think that is quite enough thankyouverymuch for my premier posting...see you both tomorrow (affectionately known as Reader 1 and Reader 2)!