Thursday Thoughts with Ginger

Hi All.  Ginger here.  You may have been wondering what's been up with Barb.  She hasn't posted in FOREVER.  Well.  She's been busy raising money for our favorite dog and cat rescue, Hope Rescues.  She has been working on this yard sale for weeks.  Lots of wonderful people dropped stuff off in our garage.  It looked like a disaster!  But she managed, with lots of help, to get it all organized.  Then a very generous person donated a bunch of stuff from her shop.  Jewelry, flowers, Christmas ornaments, etc.

After the sale was done, we'd raised over $1000!  The nice ladies at Hope were so happy.  I think they paid off some vet bills with it.  Here's Chili laying in the pillow tub.  Our wonderful cousin donated all the pillows from her bedroom for the sale.  Chili thought they were there for her to lay on!

At the dog party we went to a couple of weeks ago (see Sassy's post below) we got to see our last foster dog, Freeway.  He is loving his new life.  He even has a new name, Dave!  He goes to the race track.  Loves the cars and the golf carts.  Everyone thinks he's great.  We all miss him, of course.  But we are glad he found a great forever home.  We will probably be getting a new foster dog soon.  As soon as we can get Chili to stop pooping in the front hall closet!

Well, maybe Barb can get back to posting on a somewhat regular basis now that the yard sale is over.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Ginger

Sassy Sunday

Hi Everyone!  I'm going to a dog party!  Big dogs, little dogs, black dogs, white dogs, red dogs and green dogs!  They will all be at the dog party!

So why am I going to a dog party, you ask?  Well, it's a party to celebrate Hope Rescues ' 1000th rescue.  That's right.  Hope has rescued over 1000 animals.

 "Our rescue started out as being two people deeply affected by the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the suffering of the animals.  November 15th, 2005 a group of pets arrived in Alton Illinois, some from the hurricane others from animal control facilities that use the gas chamber  to euthanize.  Working with those animals and seeing the "hope" in their eyes and the spirit of their souls drove us to continue our work today.  We are a RESCUE and we physically go pull animals on their last day of life at animal control so that they may find a true second chance within our adoption program.  Today we are a non-profit corporation and our mission is one of compassion for the homeless, rehabilitation for the physically and mentally abused.  Our goals are to promote spay/neuter, stop the use of gas chambers to kill our homeless pets, and to educate people on how to treat all animals with respect and dignity."

Chili was rescued by Hope.  Along with her mom and dad.  And all of those pesky (and not-so-pesky) foster dogs we've had at our house have come from there too.  And all of them have since found a loving forever home thanks to our friends Kim and Jackie.

We haven't had a foster since Freeway left a few weeks ago.  But Barb's been super busy helping with Hope anyway.  We're having a huge garage sale to raise money for the rescue.  Lots of people have been dropping off stuff at our house for the sale and Barb has been sorting, hanging, setting up, pricing, etc.  If you live near St. Louis and are into garage sales you should come check it out.  One of the local businesses even donated a bunch of cool stuff to sell.

Ok.  Thanks for stopping by today.  And if you're not busy, come by the dog party!  It's from 1 - 5 in Alton, IL.  (just hop on a plane, fly to St. Louis, rent a car, drive to Alton, and you're there!)

Happy Sunday,
Sassy

What Happened to Snubby?

The other day I was in a national chain pharmacy.  While there I committed a grave shopper sin, the “impulse buy”.  You see, I spotted an absolutely adorable sock monkey pet bed.  Of course I knew right away that I needed it for Spooky.  After all, the poor cat has only a blanket on my night table to sleep on.  And any self-respecting cat should have a real pet bed to sleep in.

But this is not a story about how marketing geniuses have figured out how to get shoppers to buy unneeded items by placing them on the end cap of the aisle.  No, this is a story about my DH and his long lost sock monkey, Snubby.

When DH returned from a 3-day business trip the other day, I excitedly pointed out the new sleeping arrangements I’d made for Spooky.  His first reaction was to smile at the silly sock monkey bed.  Then a look of longing and sadness came over his face.  “What happened to my Snubby?”, he asked in a child-like tone.  Of course I knew about Snubby before.

Snubby was a sock monkey that my DH had as a child.  He was his favorite toy and even accompanied him to the hospital when he suffered a severe case of pneumonia in the 6^th grade.  (6^th grade!)  (BTW, I was also hospitalized in the 6^th grade with pneumonia.  I guess we were made for each other.)  But at some point after that hospital stay, Snubby disappeared. 

Now, DH has an older brother.  And this brother was known from time to time to do naughty things to his younger brother (as all siblings do, of course).  So DH is pretty sure that his brother had something to do with Snubby’s disappearance.  But said brother has been asked and denies any involvement.  It may be that he wasn’t involved.  Or it may be that since this brother is now a man of the cloth, he has blocked any episodes of sock monkey abduction, dismemberment, and disposal from his memory.  Either way, a thorough search of my in-laws’ house failed to turn up any evidence of Snubby.  So we are forced to assume he is no longer around.

What warms my heart about this whole situation is the thought that my somewhat grumpy, over-worked, 40-something hubby was once a little boy who loved a sock monkey named Snubby.  I see that little boy on rare occasions.  And I’m sure heard his voice the other night when he asked, “What happened to my Snubby?”

Random Thoughts Tuesday

Hi Everyone!  Thanks for stopping by.  And thanks to the Un-Mom for RTT!  Go check her out and link up.  It's a great way to get in a post when you can't really think of anything to post about. :)


I stained the deck yesterday.  It was actually a really good day.  The boys and I power washed it during spring break.  But then the weather got wet so we had to wait for it to dry out.  Anyway, the weather was great (mid 80's, light breeze) and it took most of the day so I didn't do any laundry or dishes.  I'm not the best painter.  But I'm sure I saved us like $1000 by doing it myself.  Of course a professional would have remembered to mix the end of one can (from the last time I did it) with the new can I bought last week.  There is a slight difference in color, just a shade really.  Maybe hubby won't notice once I get the furniture all put back!

So why to kids have to fight, first thing in the morning, about who gets to sit in the recliner?  Number one kid, who thinks the recliner is his, put on the news in stead of Sponge Bob because kid number two got up first and took control of the recliner.  Ok, I could intervene.  But I'm trying to see how they work it out.

Kid number 3 asked me yesterday while I was working on the deck, "Mom, do you have a crown with a dragon in the middle?"  When I said I didn't, he said "But I need one!  How can I be a king without a crown?"  Don't ya just love kids?   I suggested he just pretend he had a crown since he was pretending to be a king.  He didn't think that was a good idea.

I was glad the younger boys were outside yesterday pretending.  But I was wondering if it counts as using their imaginations if they use what they saw in a movie as the basis of their fantasy world.  They just saw "How to Train Your Dragon", so they were pretending there were dragons.  They were also pretending there were earth, water and fire benders like in Avatar, The Last Air Bender.

I'm a single parent for the next 3 days.  Hubby's gone to Chicago at a meeting he doesn't really want to be at.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Don't forget to visit the Un-Mom.

Follow Me Fridays

Hey Everyone,
Thanks for stopping by.

It's been one of those weeks!  So today I'm just gonna participate in the Follow Me Friday at Trendy Treehouse .
Join in!
Barb

Sassy Sunday

Hi Everyone.  Sassy here for another Sassy Sunday.  Glad you could join me!

I am sooooo embarrassed!  Apparently, a huge, possibly invisible, lagomorph was able to get into the house last night undetected.  The kids say he left them candy.  Hey, I know how to smell a rabbit!  Ginger and I even dug up a nest full of baby rabbits a couple of years ago.  We were only able to kill one of them before Barb stopped us, though.  I couldn't understand why she was upset.  But we left the rest alone and the mom came back and took care of them.
My neighbor Cyrus had better luck this year.  He found a nest in his yard.  His owner said Cyrus left the dead baby bunnies on the back porch for him.  And he wasn't mad at all.
Anyway, I guess I'd better try harder to keep unwanted animals out of the house.  There were two visits by the Tooth Fairy in the last couple of weeks.  But I don't count them.  Fairies aren't edible as far as I know.  And they don't eat the day lilies like the rabbits do (see, I'm doing Barb a favor by ridding the yard of them).

I've enjoyed having all my boys home for spring break this past week.  But they are going back to school this week.  Then I think we are going to get a new foster dog.  I'm still trying to get Chili to pee and poop outside, so I hope Barb doesn't bring home another puppy.  We could use a mature lady like me.  I'd even put up with a boy if he doesn't lift his leg where he's not supposed to.  (I have a cousin that does that.  But I won't mention any names.)

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a happy Sunday.  See ya next week.
Sassy

Happy Hour Friday and Follow Me Fridays

Is it Friday already?   Then I guess it's time for Happy Hour with Rxbambi .  Check her out, link up, and have a round (or two) on her.  (Hey, she offered).

I'm happy that this is the last day of spring break!  Does that sound bad?  It's just that my kids, despite being wonderful little human beings that I adore totally, are always fighting and whining about stupid stuff and it makes me crazy!

I'm happy that it's spring and my grass is green.  There are flowers blooming (I showed some of those last week).  The weather has been nice so I've been able to send the kids out and to get the dogs out for a couple of walks.

Speaking of walks, I was happy to get to walk with Bambi and her daughter this week.  It was the first time I'd met her new dog Kodi, and the first time Chili had met any of her doggy cousins.  And I learned that the workout pants I was wearing are not good for running across a busy road towing a pug.  By the time I was half way across they were half way off my butt!  I think I'll put them in the yard sale.

I'm so happy that little Freeway is adopted.  I miss the little guy and I'm sure Chili does too.  But now we are in the position to offer a foster home to a new dog or puppy.  I'll be looking into who that might be soon.

I'm sooo happy for Hope Rescues.  They have made it over the 1000 pets saved mark.  What a great milestone!  They are a tiny rescue, run by two wonderful women who have pretty much given up any free time to help save these homeless creatures.  If you are in the St. Louis area, you should totally check them out.  They'll be having a 1000 party soon.  Details on the website.

And now, it's also time for Follow-Me Fridays from the Trendy Treehouse!  Just pop on over, sign the linky thing, then follow someone or two or three.  They will follow you back!

Thanks for stopping by,
Barb