Farewell to Spike

Today was an incredibly sad day for us here. We had to put Spike the Dog to sleep this morning.
If you've been reading, you know that he developed a tumor right below his ear in March, and at his age (18) and given it's location, there really was nothing that could be done.

This weekend, he started showing signs of discomfort, and that was our signal that it was time.
We spent quite a bit of time with him this morning, taking him out, petting, comforting....
And reminding him what an amazing and special dog he has been.
Spike was a happy, sweetheart of a dog....
And we were lucky to have him. I hope he enjoyed us as much as we did him.

Rest peacefully, baby doll.....

Busy Weekend!

Joe and I checked out the Mill City Farmer's Market this weekend in downtown Minneapolis. Was nice, though I think the Minneapolis Farmer's Market has a larger selection of stuff.

The Mill City one is right n the river, which made for some great views. Looking down tot eh right, you can see the new I-35 bridge making it's way across the river:
If you recall from the news last year, this is the one that collapsed into the river last year in the middle of rush hour.

Notice at the bottom of the picture a group doing a Segway tour of downtown - now that would be fun!

Looking to the left, we see the beautiful Stone Arch Bridge:
And behind us, the Guthrie Theater, which is a very cool looking building:
When we got back, I spotted our arch enemy plotting....plotting evil destructive things:
The little bastard is mad because we cleaned out all her nest as soon as her babies were big enough to leave, fixed the screen into the porch, and plugged a big hole she had gnawed as a side entrance into the porch.

This time, victory will be mine.....

2 Great Things!

Bunnies:
Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches:
I mean, really.....

Garage Sale Score!

Joe and I were able to squeeze in a few garage sales this weekend - fun! We did manage to keep spending to under $10 - we got a gallon glass jar for 25-cents, a 'Fresh Eggs' country-style sign for a dollar (for Joe's Mom!), and wire basket for another dollar, and a Santa mug for 25-cents.

But the BEST buy of all? This set of snowman stoneware!
I have no idea who Debbie Mumm is, but I loved these as soon as I saw them! And the lady was anxious to sell them too - her husband told her she could not get new Christmas plates until these were sold!
The set was $20 originally, marked down to $10 by the time we got there, and she took my offer of $7! Woot! And they are in prefect condition - no cracks, chips...nothing! Yay!

We got back just before things turned ugly! Check out this nasty-ass cloud that rolled on by:
It rained for about 17 seconds, and that was it though. At least it didn't snow!

One Man's Junk.......

It's the most interesting thing. Tomorrow, our little city has it's annual Bulk Trash Day. Put your junk out by the curb, starting 2 days before pick-up, and the city will pick it up.

We had NO IDEA this was a major event! There has been a constant stream of trucks with trailers cruising up and down the street ALL DAY.
They stop at every pile and rifle through it, taking anything and everything! These people took the neighbor's basketball hoop!And the neighbors even helped them load it into their truck!

I have never seem so much junk piled into truck beds and trailers....
I mean, never!
My favorite so far was the lady who stopped and cut off roots from a nearly dead bush one of the neighbors put out.

Down the street, the folks made it into a party by setting up lawn chairs in their front yard, with a big cooler of beer.

Wow.

Today's "Must Have"......

I had to have it. I had to!
Joe made the mistake of agreeing to go to Michael's today, and we found this Disney scrapbook kit!! How could we not get it?? AND.....50% off! Ha! Clearly a sign from above that we were meant to have it. So now we have a nice little project to put all our vacation memories into this scrapbook. Yay! This will keep the Disney magic alive for many more months.

When we were shopping at one of the stores in Downtown Disney, they had a deal where you could get this super-cool Mickey throw for just $15 if you spent over $50!
So we *had* to have this as well! Soon everything in the house will be Mickey-related! Mwuahahaha!

Updates on Spike the dog.
We took him back to the vet after we got back. We could tell his tumor right below his ear has gotten bigger in the week we were gone.
It was a month ago that we first discovered it, and so far, we had not noticed any obvious signs of pain or distress. The vet checked it all out again, and concluded that he still does not seem to be sensitive to it or in any discomfort, bad as it looks to us. And he even managed to gain nearly half a pound since last month, so he still has his appetite.
The Dr's best guess based on how much it has grown over the past month is probably somewhere between 2 & 6 months. But he also says Spike is a most remarkable dog for 18 years old and nothing would surprise him! :)

Aarrrrrr, Matey!!

As requested (Thanks SK & Erika - I was waiting for someone to ask!! Hee hee).....
Me and my pirate Mickey ears!! I love these things! Joe had to pry them off my head when we got back. And yes, I wore them ALL THE TIME! Even on the plane back. And in the airport. Aarrrrr!

I wanted to try and steal this pirate Mickey topiary thingie at the entrance of Magic Kingdom, but we didn't have a suitcase big enough to get it back.
Ahhh, I miss it all so much already!

All Things Mouse.....

Can you guess where we were for the past week? Here is a clue:
Yes, yes....our Disney 2008 trip! Yay! We just got back today, and what a great time! It was a warm and sunny 86 in Orlando most of the week. So much to talk about, so many pictures (over 700 -someone went camera-crazy!!)

We stayed at the Port Orleans-French Quarter resort, which was so peaceful and quiet. And Joe score us a great corner room right on the river - it was perfect!
My favorite ride is still the Rock 'n Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith:
It's so easy to have such a great time there. More pics and stories to follow.....!