Why we need a house-sitter

A cat draped across one or both of us at the end of the day is such a regular occurrence in this house that they come to expect such attention, so much so that the fat cat roams the house wailing in search of Ted when he's not home and the little one seen here in this photo with me runs away to the neighbor's house when we're out of town. These furry creatures living with us are more like dogs than cats. So we're currently on the look-out for someone who is willing to 'dog-sit' for us when we travel (yes, I'm letting myself think about it more and more these days, mainly because a trip to Ethiopia to bring home a young child is no small undertaking--a little bit of planning is required).

Speaking of planning, I'm pretty quickly ticking things off the list. Yesterday I found a diaper bag with insulated bottle holders and changing pad at Target. I'd looked into a couple of local baby boutiques in town and was floored by the prices. The saleslady showed me one bag, her favorite because she thought it was economical at $85. What? The others were all even much more. Why does someone need to spend $100+ on a diaper bag? I don't get it. If I spent that much on a diaper bag, I'd expect it to come with magical fold-out arms that would change the dirty diapers for me. (And any of you who may have spent that much on a diaper bag, I don't mean to offend. Really. There may be plenty of good reasons for a $100 diaper bag that I'm just not aware of yet).

The cosmetics gifts for the Gladney home caregivers are starting to come in too. This stuff came in the mail last week from some sweet-spirited and probably very sweet-smelling ladies:And a dear friend in L.A. has gathered up this stuff for us to take:
I'm loving the Dr. Bronner's. A mutual friend of ours apparently is friends with Dr. Bronner himself and added all this soap to the collection.

And for your Monday entertainment, here's a clip hopefully explaining why I love Merlefest. This is a performance by The Duhks with their new lead singer Sarah Dugas whose beautiful voice consistently makes me cry. Yes, that's John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on the mandolin with them. And I was sitting on the stage during this performance able to take this photo, totally blissed out.



You can read what I wrote about Merlefest last year, but besides the amazing music, quirky people, and impromptu jam sessions by the artists scattered around the campus, I like Merlefest because it's turned into a mini family reunion. Living on the west coast, I find myself missing the South, so what better way to reconnect with my roots than by camping out in Daddy's pop-up and listening to bluegrass/folk music in North Carolina with my family? I love those mornings, waking up to coffee brewing outside, a stolen shower from the diesel mechanics building, and hopefully a shared breakfast with Dancin' Dave before tossing a stick to Doc, my dad's dog (yes, named after Doc Watson).

Please excuse the randomness of this post. I appreciate your attention and especially all the words of encouragement. In good faith, I'm going downstairs now to count bibs, onesies, and burpcloths.