Archive | October, 2012

to fix a leaky chimney

what is actually happening in my life vs. what I wish was happening in my life

Well, I was thinking of sharing some fun photos from our time back in the States.  (See above right photo.)  However, at 7:40 this morning (5 minutes after I woke up) the door bell rang and there was a work crew on the front step.  What?!  So early.

It’s okay, though.  Early can be good.  I knew they were coming to do an assessment today because we have an issue with our faulty chimney leaking smoke into our house.  After the assessment we planned to decide on huge chimney repairs vs. getting a wood stove installed in the fireplace instead.  Suddenly, a few minutes after they arrived, I heard a hammer hitting the wall and chunks of plaster hitting the floor.  “Stop!  What are you doing?!”  Well, so much for an assessment.  The chimney will be fixed this week!

Well, maybe not this week.  But in “a few days.”

My house is a total disaster, with dust everywhere, a man pounding on the chimney, and huge chunks of plaster falling to the floor.  (See above left photo.) My baby, meanwhile, is trying to sleep in the other room. I think she actually is sleeping, but that’s only because I have the White Noise Lite app on my iPhone turned up so loud that at first she couldn’t sleep at all.

Oh living in Italy!  I really love it, but it’s definitely hard with the language/communication barrier sometimes.  I only wish I spoke fluent Italian and could be trusted to do all the communicating on my own.  But instead every conversation has to go through an interpreter, often over the phone… and when you’re cell phone doesn’t get good reception in your house, that adds to the complications!

Anyway.  Here’s a fun video of Siena and Lena to end today’s post.  (I keep calling Siena “Luna” because that’s my sister’s cat’s name.)  You can see one of Lena’s greatest interests every time I take a video of her… oh vanity, you start so young!

5 :: in Italy, Lena, life lately, Siena, video

to fix a leaky chimney

what is actually happening in my life vs. what I wish was happening in my life

Well, I was thinking of sharing some fun photos from our time back in the States.  (See above right photo.)  However, at 7:40 this morning (5 minutes after I woke up) the door bell rang and there was a work crew on the front step.  What?!  So early. 

It’s okay, though.  Early can be good.  I knew they were coming to do an assessment today because we have an issue with our faulty chimney leaking smoke into our house.  After the assessment we planned to decide on huge chimney repairs vs. getting a wood stove installed in the fireplace instead.  Suddenly, a few minutes after they arrived, I heard a hammer hitting the wall and chunks of plaster hitting the floor.  “Stop!  What are you doing?!”  Well, so much for an assessment.  The chimney will be fixed this week! 

Well, maybe not this week.  But in “a few days.”

My house is a total disaster, with dust everywhere, a man pounding on the chimney, and huge chunks of plaster falling to the floor.  (See above left photo.) My baby, meanwhile, is trying to sleep in the other room. I think she actually is sleeping, but that’s only because I have the White Noise Lite app on my iPhone turned up so loud that at first she couldn’t sleep at all.

Oh living in Italy!  I really love it, but it’s definitely hard with the language/communication barrier sometimes.  I only wish I spoke fluent Italian and could be trusted to do all the communicating on my own.  But instead every conversation has to go through an interpreter, often over the phone… and when you’re cell phone doesn’t get good reception in your house, that adds to the complications!

Anyway.  Here’s a fun video of Siena and Lena to end today’s post.  (I keep calling Siena “Luna” because that’s my sister’s cat’s name.)  You can see one of Lena’s greatest interests every time I take a video of her… oh vanity, you start so young!

7 :: in Italy, Lena, life lately, Siena, video

of toddlers and kittens

she stretched out her paws to rest them on my leg and then fell asleep like that

I wish I had captured today on film, but the photo above is the first photo I took all day.  After a weekend where my camera barely left my hands, I was DSLR’d out.  So the camera never took a picture, and even my phone mostly sat by itself.

That’s fine.  It’s just that today was so peaceful and homey and full of love.  I wish I had a few more photos capturing the little moments.

Lena slept so much today.  Two 2.5-hour naps… what?!  My poor darlin’.  I guess she’s still recovering from jet lag and travel exhaustion and she also had a super busy weekend with friends and festivals and hikes and late bedtimes.  She was a happy camper today, though, with a sweet attitude that just made me so glad to be at home with her, savoring every day of her being 18 months old.  I watched her as she busied herself with her toys.  She is very into stacking and sorting things.  Later I found all her wooden puzzle pieces in two neat little stacks, one for each puzzle.

(I wonder if I will have another daughter?  I have been sorting and storing all her outgrown clothes from this summer.  Will another girl of mine ever wear them?  Or is she my only one?)

Lena can’t really say “cat” yet (“ca… ca?”  or “dee-tee” for kitty) but she can say “meow,” and so that is Siena’s name in Lena’s mind right now.  Watching her squat down beside Siena and gently rub a hand in her fur, then stand up and look at me and giggle gleefully… oh, my heart just melted into a big puddle of love juice.

As for Siena and me, well… I’m smitten.  OK, I wasn’t so smitten when I saw her on my kitchen counter licking butter out of my butter dish, but she is just five months old and part of me thinks of her as a toddler in need of guidance.

The other part of me looks at her as this beautiful, foreign thing–a cat!  in my house!  my cat!–and marvels at her, the mystery of her, the delicacy of her grooming, the lightness of her leap, the austerity of her gaze.

But I think she loves me.  She followed me all over the house today.  She really is like a dog, just like they say Maine Coons are.  At one point she lost me–I had gone into the laundry room and partly closed the door–and I heard her yowling at the top of the stairs.  I stuck my head out and called, “Here I am, Siena!” and she took one look at me and came bounding across the room to join me.

Big puddle of love juice.

In other news, this is how we blog now, apparently.

11 :: in Lena, life lately, motherhood, Siena

of toddlers and kittens

she stretched out her paws to rest them on my leg and then fell asleep like that

I wish I had captured today on film, but the photo above is the first photo I took all day.  After a weekend where my camera barely left my hands, I was DSLR’d out.  So the camera never took a picture, and even my phone mostly sat by itself.

That’s fine.  It’s just that today was so peaceful and homey and full of love.  I wish I had a few more photos capturing the little moments.

Lena slept so much today.  Two 2.5-hour naps… what?!  My poor darlin’.  I guess she’s still recovering from jet lag and travel exhaustion and she also had a super busy weekend with friends and festivals and hikes and late bedtimes.  She was a happy camper today, though, with a sweet attitude that just made me so glad to be at home with her, savoring every day of her being 18 months old.  I watched her as she busied herself with her toys.  She is very into stacking and sorting things.  Later I found all her wooden puzzle pieces in two neat little stacks, one for each puzzle.

(I wonder if I will have another daughter?  I have been sorting and storing all her outgrown clothes from this summer.  Will another girl of mine ever wear them?  Or is she my only one?)

Lena can’t really say “cat” yet (“ca… ca?”  or “dee-tee” for kitty) but she can say “meow,” and so that is Siena’s name in Lena’s mind right now.  Watching her squat down beside Siena and gently rub a hand in her fur, then stand up and look at me and giggle gleefully… oh, my heart just melted into a big puddle of love juice.

As for Siena and me, well… I’m smitten.  OK, I wasn’t so smitten when I saw her on my kitchen counter licking butter out of my butter dish, but she is just five months old and part of me thinks of her as a toddler in need of guidance.

The other part of me looks at her as this beautiful, foreign thing–a cat!  in my house!  my cat!–and marvels at her, the mystery of her, the delicacy of her grooming, the lightness of her leap, the austerity of her gaze.

But I think she loves me.  She followed me all over the house today.  She really is like a dog, just like they say Maine Coons are.  At one point she lost me–I had gone into the laundry room and partly closed the door–and I heard her yowling at the top of the stairs.  I stuck my head out and called, “Here I am, Siena!” and she took one look at me and came bounding across the room to join me.

Big puddle of love juice.

In other news, this is how we blog now, apparently.

13 :: in Lena, life lately, motherhood, Siena

welcoming our Maine Coon kitten!

Well, we did it.  We adopted a cat!  We’re probably the only veterinarian’s family who hasn’t had a whole passel of dogs, cats, and other animals since vet school.

I guess the idea of adopting a cat started this spring.  I mentioned it could be fun to get a cat, and Elliott immediately began looking for Sicilian Maine Coons.  We both already loved these cats after Elliott cared for a rescued Maine Coon in vet school.  They are known for their beautiful long-haired coats, talkative and almost dog-like personality, gentle and friendly attitude towards children, playful and personable natures, and their unique looks.

By “unique looks” I mean that they look a bit wild, perhaps because of the manes around their necks (especially pronounced on males) and tufts of fur at the tips of their ears.  See what I mean in this photo?

Perhaps needless to say, Lena loves her!

So far we’re thrilled with her personality.  She spent the first five months of her life with the family that owns her parents, and this family also has multiple children as well as two huge mastiffs.  So she’s not only used to people… she loves them!  We had a houseful of adults and kids over last night and she was happy to interact with everyone, wandering around between little legs and curiously watching the children’s games.

She’s sitting behind my head on the couch as I write this, watching me type and purring up a storm.  Already this cold winter will be warmer with her next to me as I write blog posts or knit or read.

Oh… and her name.  We finally picked a name last night.  It is Siena.  She’s named after the beautiful Italian city of Siena and also for the burnt orange color (ie. sienna) mixed into her beautiful coat.

 Welcome, Siena!  We’re so excited for many years ahead with you, our beautiful kitten.
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16 :: in animals, Sicily, Siena

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