This is the kind of life I'd really like - laying about the furniture, shedding fur everywhere I go, coughing up hairballs, having a staff of caretakers to tend to my every whim. Life would be wonderful as a cat!



Except for the short life span, the inability to grasp things (due to those missing opposable thumbs), trips to the veterinarian, barking dogs next door, and occasional fleas.

And the food really doesn't look that appetizing. There's the wet stuff out of a can, which looks like nothing more than tunafish. And the dry stuff, which looks like little brown pellets of sawdust. And there's no opportunity to drink sodas or eat ice cream (although there is an occasional bowl of milk from someone's breakfast).

And we won't go into the details of the "bathroom" arrangements.



But there's something about spending the afternoon on the back deck in the bright sunlight, looking out over the backyard and watching the birds and squirrels scampering on the bird-feeders, knowing at any moment a fun little game of Big Game Hunter could commence, that makes it all worthwhile.

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James is heading off to music camp in a week or so, and since he is going to be learning how to play the bass guitar, it seemed appropriate to purchase one. So he and Dad trooped down to the store the other night and bought a bass starter kit (basic guitar and amp).

While they were there, they also purchased the rest of the items necessary to complete the drum kit. Then James' friend, Nathan, came over and helped set it up.



So now we have all the stuff we need to have our first garage band - rhythm, lead and bass guitar, plus drumkit!

Now we just need some kids who are willing to sing...

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Meanwhile, in the girls' room ...



Mary has lots of nice posters over her bed: kitties and fairies and ponies and mermaids, the kinds of things that are cute and safe and warm and fuzzy.



Deborah seems to prefer landscapes which she has colored herself, and I'm hoping this phase lasts a good, long time, because she's growing up so quickly, and getting so tall now, that she will soon be entering that part of her life where the boy-obsession gene kicks in, and her wall might end up covered over with glamor shots of all the young teen heartthrobs. In that case, we're going to have to move her into a padded cell so as to avoid infecting her sister.