Domestic Putterings

Life with a Lizard

Buckwheat got a treat the other night.

A Hole in our Home, and in our Hearts

Four summers ago, a scraggly, sick, more-than-half-starved black cat half-walked, half-crawled into the back yard.

Friday, she left our home for the last time.

We made the difficult decision Friday to put Lenny to sleep. I did not expect to have to make this decision so soon, or so suddenly.

This is what you sign up for when you take a pet. Their lives, their well-being, are all up to you. It is the responsibility you get for the reward of companionship and love.

And, oh, were we rewarded by Lenny.

Wild Kingdom

We brought Buckwheat out this weekend to hang out in the sun. He doesn't like it for very long. I think the big, open space and sky freaks him out. He was getting cranky by the time John was finished taking pictures.

The Empty Cage

It's a sad time in the land of Domestic Putterings. Yesterday, our bearded dragon, Mr. Bighead, passed away.

John worked from home briefly that morning and remembered seeing Bighead looking at him. John later brought Bighead's food bowl along with Buckwheat's into the kitchen so I could wash them before my daily feeding of the boys. Sometime between then and when I brought the food in around noon, Bighead quietly died.

All About Me

Some of you may know me in real life, or as an "invisible friend." You may know me as Melissa, or Missy, or, if you knew me prior to 1983, Ish. But if you don't know me, an introduction is in order.

I'm a reporter by training and temperament, but not by trade anymore. I spent 10 years as a sportswriter, first in my native Connecticut then in upstate New York, picking up a few nice awards along the way, before moving to the sports copy desk and moving to Cleveland almost 10 years ago. The sports desk job was all right, but I missed writing and wanted to do something new. I'd always loved home stuff, decorating and design, largely due to the influence of my sister, Deborah, who is an interior designer. So when the Plain Dealer launced a weekly home/garden section, Inside & Out, in 2002, I moved over there to become the homes reporter. Those were some good years, as the advertising came in and we did lots of great stuff like the old Sophisticated Home magazine. Then the economy changed, the industry changed, and the axes started to fall. In December, the ax fell on me and 26 other good, talented people.