Things That Help. Maybe With Paws.

After we rejiggered our kitchen, two years ago,
I vowed to keep the countertops clear and 
uncluttered to show off the nice new soapstone.

Kitchen 2010, almost done.

"So, Cass," I hear you say, "how did that work out for you?"

Must you ask?

There are 5 billion little squatters that for some reason

think they need to live out in plain view on my counters.

Things like olive oil, rice vinegar, a timer, paper napkins (gasp!),

soy sauce, red pepper flakes, espresso powder, the French press,

little teeny cheese knives, Scotch tape, and - I can't remember how

it got there - a small bottle of Proseco.  Plus things like stray receipts and coupons.

Witness:

A couple of months ago, while stalking HomeGoods,

I found a tall, tiered, round thingy.  I brought it home.

After paying for it.

It's my squatters' corral.

Daughter Anne thinks it's kind of hideous, which of course it is,

but it does the job of keeping lots of itinerant kitchen hobos

from roaming all over the counter, making nuisances of themselves.

 I'd love to have one of those kitchens with the pull out spice drawers, and that dedicated

storage for cans and bottles; in fact I'd like to have one of those kitchens with

lots of cabinets.  But I don't have one of those kitchens, and have very limited storage.

Or, possibly, too much stuff.

Nah.

The St. Joseph statue that helped us sell our last house (and a brilliant job he did, too),

got pride of place up in the Stuff Corral's turret.  It's good form to give ol' Joe a place of honor

in your new home.  Or, he might sell that one out from under you when you are not looking.

Fact.

Quiz time!

What do you see in the lower left corner of the picture, above?

Is it a stuffed doggy perched on the corner table in the sunroom?  

No!  It's a real doggy perched there. 

Woody, our Dion's great-nephew, was our weekend houseguest.

He likes a good view.

Oops.  He realizes he's been made.

"Off, Woody!"

And off he goes . . .

. . . and into the kitchen he comes, hoping for a snack.

"Look, Temp Mom, I am sitting nicely.

How's about a nice snack?"

"No snack?  I'm outta here.

There are tennis balls to find."

So, a post about helpful things.

The Stuff Corral makes my counter less cluttered,

and Woody did excellent work this weekend as my

Comforter Spaniel; he holds the rank of Master Snuggler.
It was lovely to have a sweet dog in the house again.

Many thanks to our good friends Betsy and Phil, for letting

us borrow Woody for the weekend while they went away.

Thanks to St. Joseph, for making it possible

for us to live here in That Old House.

And many thanks to my cousin Judy and her husband Edd

for sending gorgeous flowers to me -- such happy colors!

 They make me smile.

See the table in the upper right, laden with Halloween decor?

Howard brought the boxes up from the cellar on Sunday.

I'm still working on them . . . .  Cass

P.S.  Still typing mostly with one hand, so please forgive my
sketchy commenting.  It took me two days to get this post done.   :-P