Plans are happening now for our next adventure:  a full 3 months on the road! Bob's got a sabbatical next spring semester and we are planning our get-away!

Ahhhhh!  What fun this will be!

Open roads, warmer weather, friends and family along the way.  Photographs, journals, blogging.  (big smile)

PERCY LET GO OF THE GRASS TODAY

I don't know how I am going to finish this post, but the best dog in the world passed away early this morning laying in Bob's arms next to Louisa. Percilina has been with us for 13 years (we adopted her from a shelter about this same time) and she honestly was the best dog ever.  I've never really been a dog person, an animal lover for sure, but not a dog person, but Percy changed all that.  She brought wisdom and peace to our family and everyone that knew her.  She was beyond special and she taught us everything she knew in her old wise ways. I could go on and on about all the times we've had with her; her silly ways. Like how she liked to have the goat milk squirted right into her mouth, straight from the teat!  Or how when she entered a room she would just wiggle and wag her tail like, "I'm here, your life is better now!" (Just look for Percy on the sidecolumns for more of her escapades) It was so difficult to watch her grow old.

Maddie once told me about a book where a grandmother and her granddaughter would lie in the grass and look up at the stars and her grandmother would tell her, "Don't let go of the grass because you will fly to heaven."  This is my favorite saying about someone when the pass away.  Not - they died, or passed on, but that they let go of the grass and flew to heaven.  And I know that is where Percy is - right now, showing all the other dogs (and people) everything she knew in her old wise ways.

Louisa seems lost, and Edie seems sad. I know we shed a lot of tears today.  And probably will in the future.

She is now out by the garden.  We will be planting flowers for her.  I miss you so much, Percy! I will miss snuggling with you every night! You are and always will be the best dog ever!

LOTS OF LOVE

It's been a crazy year, I guess that's why I haven't written anything for 10 months.  But hey, I'm human and really I just don't want this blog to end up in the circular file of blogger-
dom so I am writing this one little post today.  Maybe I will have time in a couple weeks, who knows. And here's a cute kitty for you to admire.

OUR OLD LADY

Thinking about our cat Winky.  She's approaching a ripe old age for a cat.  She turned 14 years old on April 23rd.  I know this because that was the first date Bob and I had and I got her 6 weeks later.  I'll never forget the look on his face when I brought her over to his house.  I had gotten her from a friend that needed to get rid of the family of kittens that she had and me, being a sucker for a cute face, took one.  I had two cats already and a dog.  Bob looked at me and asked, "Do you know that having another cat is for life, right?  That's like another 15 years or so that you'll have to take care of her."

This was his prelude to our future life.  Good thing he got over it.  I mean we have had as many as 75 animals at once on this farm.

Again, I am a SUCKER for a cute face and helping people out when they need a new home for their animals.  I've taken in goats, cats, dogs, chickens, horses and ducks.  And loved everyone of them!  I would not change a thing.

Winky's been around a long time and has copped an attitude. Mostly because of her first experience in life when i brought her home to my house in Crystal Lake, Illinois when she was a little squirt. I set her down next to our dog Nigel and he immediately attacked her! Chased her around the house and tried to eat her alive.  She was never the same after that…Can't blame her there!

She was always stand offish for the most part, staying only with Sam and hanging with her best bud Fuzzy.  But when we moved here, she basically became the barn cat.

 Never came near the house.  An after Fuzzy died, she wouldn't even talk to us anymore.  Until this winter.  She decided that the house was a little bit warmer than my 55 degree studio or the -10 degree barn.  We let her in and she's been hanging ever since.  She knows and we know.  She's feeling her age.

Except for the other day when I caught her playing!!! She was playing with the window shade string.  Cute.  it lasted about 30 seconds, but she played!
Way to go Winky!

And she took over Cashew's beddy-bye basket!

THE CHAT IS MAKING WAVES!

Oh me oh my!  how I do love a little controversy!  and I love when you create something and somebody doesn't like it.  It's kinda cute, really.  Like when I was censored at my own Senior art show in  college.   I had a nude painting I had done for the show and someone complained to the president of the college that it was pornography so they had to take it down.  Yep, really.

So because we used words like "Holy crap!", "screw 'em",  and "damn" we were chastised by an old lady.  (and I was the one who said those things) Phew!  I feel like the proverbial Catholic school girl being rapped on the knuckles with a ruler by the head nun.  But I digress….

Read the article here.

Last week we also had our first public event, it was a blast and we got to drink vodka drinks and mix our own.  The competition was tough though.  Our table created the Whipped and Bloody which consisted of Pinnacle whipped key lime flavored vodka, pineapple juice, blood orange flavored liquor and a little cream.  It was Dee-Licious!  But the table that created the "Spring Breeze" (gag me with a spoon) won.

But it was fun none-the-less!  all this for having an opinion and writing it in the paper!

THE END IS NEAR

Yes, spring was spposed to be here on March 20th.  It's April and there seems to be no end in sight. Until yesterday!  It was a beautiful 45 degrees and the sun was shining!  I haven't been this happy in 6 months!

A few weeks ago I pulled into the driveway to find a new snowman in our yard.  I laughed hysterically for a moment after I read his sign:  "THE END IS NEAR!" Then I cried.  Because it was the end of March and there was still enough snow to build a snowman.  "Egads!  Will it ever end!" I sobbed.

Here is how it went:

then, I put this picture up on the Facebook page entitled, Meanwhile in Minnesota.  Next thing I know someone spent some Photoshop time with our snowman:

and enjoy the video:

Yesterday - it's felt like it was all over!  Well, until tomorrow when it snows again…. bah!  Humbug!