Horse Manure Park

It was a long-anticipated day for our family. More than four weeks in the making, we finally got through the paperwork, the interview process and all of the technicalities that the caring, diligent folks at Minnesota Boxer Rescue (MBR) require before adopting a rescued boxer. And it finally happened yesterday, but it was a long and winding road to get there. <<>> We first heard about Humphrey a month ago.  He was three years old.  He's originally from Burnsville, MN.  He came from a home which included two other dogs and a growing family.  His original owners decided Humphrey was not getting the attention he needed, so they contacted MBR. He was a good, smart dog, they said.  They wanted him to go to the best home possible, they said. They didn't want to part ways with him, but they felt it was best for him. So Humphrey was surrendered into MBR's custody at some point in late April. When we saw Humphrey's profile and biography on ...

I think I can let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. We are officially adding yet another furry member to our family. We will be adopting "Humphrey" from Minnesota Boxer Rescue tomorrow.  I will be picking him up near Duluth in the morning! We are very excited!  He is the handsome dude on the right in this picture.  More to come!

I finished with my "homework" for the month, now I can do something fun, like update my blog. I had to wait for a day when the boy and the girl were out of the house so I could concentrate for an hour.  Even then, it just about killed me to simply sit down and do it . In this case, my homework was an online CPR course.  I still have to do the practical exam with an instructor, but the written work is out of the way (yes, I passed the written exam). I couldn't imagine going back to school at this point in my life.  My attention span is absolutely zero for things I have to do.  I mean, I've put off this quick-one-hour-online-in-the-comfort-of-my-own-home-review-and-test-just-because-I- had- to-do-it course for a month. I couldn't imagine taking several classes over a semester.  Certainly not at this point along the linear progression of my life. So, what is new? Spring cleaning this past weekend.  We had 10 years worth of shit used debris collec...

Cinco de Mayo was a special day for our family and it had nothing to do with the country south of the border. We decided to take a break from having a dog in our lives after we lost our dear Gracie to lymphoma back in January.  It was a long winter to begin with.  One without our old friend made it infinitely worse. But as spring approached, we felt the time was right to start looking for a new member of our family. We decided to search for a blue heeler.   I've always been fond of heelers and Beth grew up with one as a kid; my daughter was excited about the prospect of having a new dog and decided to call it "Lulu" if it was a girl. But finding a blue heeler wasn't easy in this neck o' the woods. We had a couple of leads that ran cold.  Then my sister-in-law, Sara, who lives in North Dakota, located a farmer with blue heelers for sale.  She contacted the seller and put the whole arrangement together.  A million thanks to her! So in the early mo...

They are laying George Jones to rest today in Nashville. He was always one of my parents' favorite singers, and I grew up listening to George Jones. He was one of those superstars who transcended musical boundaries (back when music had boundaries, that is.  Today, there is no discernible difference between rock, country or pop). Even the hardest of hardcore metalheads knew who George Jones was.  But he wasn't scoffed at.  He was respected.  To paraphrase his hit duet with Barbara Mandrell: he was country, but he was cool. He lived hard.  He played hard.  He was a legend. A few years ago I read Jones' memoir, the aptly titled, I Lived To Tell It All .  It was a well-written, entertaining read, and to say the man lived a hard life is a huge understatement. I remember a particularly funny story from the book:  Jones' wife had to run some errands, but before she left the house, she smartly hid his car keys from him so he couldn't drive ...