February 10, 2010

mouse is a good cat

February 10, 2010/ molly balint

I'm popping in here to share these two pictures that I've been loving lately. A little before and after of Mouse, Mary's cat. I have been meaning to get a good picture of him, all grown up, all grown into all that fluff and fuzz. He is a patient sweetheart.

Mouse, circa June 2009

During all of Mary's "doctor stress" in the past few weeks, she had to go in one afternoon for blood work. It was horrible. Her fear-reaction to any shot or blood test is so strong, that the pediatrician was even offering a sedative. Needless to say, trying to get her out the door and in to the car that afternoon was difficult.

When we finally got her outside, she was still so upset and afraid. Dan sat her down in the car and then bent down to scoop up Mouse and put him in her arms. "Take him with you to the doctor." he said. After initial shock to what her Daddy had just said, all her energy and attention that was focused on the impending shots was focused on her cat curled up in her arms. And she settled right down.

Meanwhile, Mouse has never been in the car, except for maybe falling asleep in the back while it has been parked in the driveway. I had visions of driving to the doctor's office, Mary screaming in the back seat about shots and needles, Mouse clinging, claws out-stretched to the back of my neck.

But, he surprised me. He fell asleep in her arms while we drove to the doctor. A few times he opened his eyes to look out the window at the passing cars and then settled back down. He could care less, really.

When we got to the doctor, we set him down in the seat while we went inside. He curled up again and fell asleep, waiting there quietly when we got back.

He was the perfect antidote to the panic and the fear.

Mouse is a good cat to have around.

January 19, 2010

deep sleep

January 19, 2010/ molly balint

As I sit and write this post from the comfort of my overstuffed chair in the corner of the living room beside the woodstove, two kittens are tumbling up and down the stairs just outside the room. I can hear their thundering paws as they tackle and roll and skitter away from each other.

Somehow in the last few months, the line between our "outdoor mouse-hunting barn cats" and "indoor house cats" got very blurry.

This morning, my wake up call came from Mary, who had sneaked downstairs and outside to find these two little kittens waiting for her. I think they've caught on to her routine. She came to my bedside, the sound of loud purring coming from her arms : "One for you. One for me." as a pile of fluff was dumped on my chest. She slid in the covers beside me, tucking her ball of warmth under the comforter.

My children have this way with kittens. They get so much attention and love, mixed with just the perfect amount of patience-forming teasing, that I believe they end up to be the perfect pets. I know these two kittens, when they find the perfect home, will make sweet additions to some little family.

Between you and me, Columbus is my favorite, though Panda wins the cute award. Columbus has the motor of diesel truck and at the first stroke of your hand down his back, it kicks in. Sometimes just the anticipation of it, gets him going.

This weekend, he fell sound asleep in my arms and the girls grabbed the FLIP so we could record his purring. But there must be some stage of sleep rhythm for cats that inhibits purring. He was so sound asleep we could barely get him to show it off. I always thought cats were the lightest of sleepers, but Columbus seems to be proving us wrong.

And for the record, the heavy breathing is coming from Columbus, not from me.

January 02, 2010

2009 : in photos + words : april

January 02, 2010/ molly balint

: 26 april 2009 :

| Grateful To The Last |

I hold those two years we lived on her farm close to my heart. I find myself frantically searching my mind for memories, moments we shared. My family, my children became part of her routine ....

The question for the old and the dying, I think, is not if they have loved and been loved enough, but if they have been grateful enough for the love received and given, however much. No one who has gratitude is the onliest one. Let us pray to be grateful to the last.

: 16 april 2009 :

| Black Walnut's Home Birth |

: 12 april 2009 :

| swarm and settle |

....sitting atop a grassy green hill, looking out over his field dotted with black cows and their calves. Watching the grackles swarm and then settle in a different spot in the field. Swarm and settle. Chuckling at a calf whose slipped under the fence, kicking up its heels at its freedom. Watching the collies as they work over the bulls, who are only slightly bothered by their presence ....

: 7 april 2009 :

| little mysteries |

: 5 april 2009 :

| living a complex life |

I get tired of working, working, working, and figuring out how to make work-time into family-time. I wonder if there will ever be a weekend where there isn't a major project on the agenda.

I wonder if I'm cut out for this...

In so many words, Wendell Berry says that this life we are leading or striving for, so many people refer to as the "simple life" or "living simply". But in reality what we should be striving for "is the complex life"....

: 20 april 2009 :

| chicken picnic |

December 30, 2009

2009 : in photos + words : february

December 30, 2009/ molly balint

: 25 February 2009 :

| Changing Our Pace |

And I realized there's still tomorrow, except for a few things:

Tomorrow, my children will be a little bit older.

And tomorrow, they'll be carrying around memories of today.

And I can stand behind them and rush, rush, rush them through to tomorrow.

Or I can stay with them, and alongside them, and savor them. Today. ....

: 15 February 2009 :

| Cause For Celebration |

I feel like a proud mother. Or maybe a proud mother hen. We've been waiting for this day since September. And lately, with all the spring-like weather, and rooster hanky-panky, I had a feeling it would be happening soon ....

: 17 February 2009 :

| Not Enough Protein At Lunch |

I began to literally walk from cupboard to cupboard, looking inside and trying to determine what I could possibly cover in chocolate ....

December 30, 2009

2009 : in photos + words : january

December 30, 2009/ molly balint

For the next twelve posts, I thought I'd take a look back at 2009, a month at a time. I'm going to pull a favorite picture or two, a few words from a post I want to remember and cherish. I feel like it's a good way to reflect, and a good way to go forward into the New Year.

To celebrate the good things, the hard things I thought I might just not make it through, the "seasons" that have passed, the funny moments and the joys of 2009, before I wish her so long.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

: 15 January 2009 :

Befriending a Rooster

I've got this thing with roosters. It goes back to my childhood growing up on a farm. There was Friendly, the rooster who did not live up to his name ....

The Farm Report: dealing with my rooster

: 13 January 2009 :

: Cue The Doves :

This morning in a sleepy stupor, I heard the rustling of children downstairs. Moments later, I woke to hushed giggles beside my bed and opened my eyes to a dove, preening her feathers on my pillow ....

: 05 January 2009 :

New Year, New Project :

Habit was born out of a desire to capture little bits of our everyday lives--nothing staged--but real life moments we experience every day. It was meant to stretch us ....