Raindrops on Roses, Whiskers on Kittens

Raindrops on Roses, and whiskers on kittens,

Bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens,

Brown paper packages, tied up with string,

These are a few of my favorite things.

I have been humming My Favorite Things for weeks!  The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic from the Broadway musical and movie, The Sound of Music, is one of my favourites (Canadian spelling!) With a nod to warm woolen mittens, sleigh bells, copper kettles, and packages tied up with string, the song reads like a Christmas wish list. 

With music composed by Richard Rodgers, the memorable lyrics - "Silver white Winters that melt into Spring", and "Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes" - were all written by Oscar Hammerstein II.  My Favorite Things has been featured on Christmas albums recorded by everyone from Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett, to Mary J. Blige. 

  

The song, My Favorite Things was originally written for the 1959 Broadway musical, The Sound of Music. The theatre version was quite different from the movie version.  In the stage production, Maria, a young Nun, not quite cut out for convent life, tells the Mother Abbess about her fears of leaving the convent to care for the seven children of Captain Von Trapp.  It is at this point, that she sings My Favorite Things, telling Mother Abbess that she will think of her favourite things whenever she feels down, and then she won't feel so bad.  

In the movie version, Maria sings to the children, who've run into her bedroom, frightened by the thunderstorm outside.  It is a turning point in her relationship with the children, who've been doing their best to get rid of her until now.

    

This is Della.  I kept calling her Bella, because she is.  Della is one of five little kittens from Kitty Cat Rescue, that ran around my home one sunny November morning, for one of the happiest photo shoots ever!  While Della was giving me her, "far away dreamy eyed" look, the other four were climbing through the sound system, discovering a world under the leather sofa, and getting to know my wooden folk art cat.  

It is normal life for Lori, who along with volunteers, runs the cat rescue service, finding homes for young kittens, and older cats who's owners can no longer care for them.  Lori was the "Wrangler" for the photo shoot, bringing her young brood, a litter box, all of their food, water, and toys to my home in a baby stroller. Behind the scenes, Lori was waving an eye-catching metallic ribbon wand in front of the kittens, so that I could catch these wonderful expressions.  

Little Della is a feline Meryl Streep!  She portrayed a whistful dreamer, surprised comic, elegant and refined society matron (watch those claws), and a character out of  Les Miserables.  She just loves the camera!

As for the raindrops on roses...in this picture, you really do see why they call it, "liquid sunshine"!

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.