Tell us Finch: What do you REALLY think about testing smoke alarms?

  Instead of tackling our endless list of errands today, we decided to spend today - another HOT day - at home:
- doing laundry
- recovering from Kyle & Heidi's Bachelor(ette) party last night
- watching birds at the new feeder

- Kevin made basil & garlic (both fresh from the CSA Crop Share box) bread

- a little cleaning
- a little more unpacking (there's still a loooong way to go...)
- and testing/putting up new smoke alarms.


  We got a few fancy smoke/carbon monoxide detectors that talk to you "Alert!! There's a fire! Get your butt out'a here or else!!"


  Finch, a dog who only barks once when startled by the doorbell, wasn't super pleased about all the noise...

So as you can see - and hear - Finch is about fully recovered from his surgery a few weeks ago. Thanks to everyone who sent their prayers and kind encouraging words Finch's way :)


What did YOU do today?

To Boutique...Or Not To Boutique.....

Well? That's the question?

After I took a year off from hosting Finch's Holiday Time Boutique - Kevin moved in, we got married, etc. - I'm kind of itching to get back to it. But it's SO much work! If only I could find someone, or a few people, to help me bring Finch's Holiday Time Boutique back to its former glory, but in a new location (Minnetonka)

What is Finch's Holiday Time Boutique you ask? Here's a little background for newbies: It was an annual sale I hosted out our house in Minneapolis - every December: perfect for Christmas shopping - up to 42 artists/designers have participated in a single year. Local artists, and a few from out of state, hand over their handmade creations and I set the place up like a little boutique. I love making stuff: cards, "stuffed friends," artwork, home goods, etc. so it's a great opp. for me to be able to make lots to share + others, who need an outlet for their creative tendencies. + all artisits donate $10 to participate that I put towards our American Cancer Society fundraising we do every year.

Here are some pictures and the blog link to previous year's boutiques: http://finchsboutique.blogspot.com/


Home & Seasonal Decor, Clothing, Jewelry, Purses/Totes Soaps, Kitchen Towels, Toys, Framed Artwork, Baked goods & other tasty treats, Cards & Staionery, Candles...



SO!
What I need to decide...and fast... is if the Boutique is ON for 2011. Hoping others might consider weighing in on their opinions and if anyone wants to add their name right away to the participants list... (Jason, this is your chance...). + Perhaps I'll do a facebook poll too...

Out In the Yard....

We have LOTS of day lillies and tiger lillies in bloom - its a good thing Kevin's favorite color is orange :)

It seems that a FEW of our day lillies have been disturbed...

a deer has been here.....a'snooz'n in the day lillies...

theyr'e all matted down in a nice little bed

and here is was what remains of the flowers...

Perhaps we need to try our Irish Spring soap trick - as per our July 12th post. It seems to be working with the pot out front - the leafy vines are growing back in after the last deer attack. See? Look.

AND! We have grown our first raspberry!! I picked it, after snapping a pic, and Kevin promptly split in half for us to share - yum.

...and there a LOTS of Japanese Beetles ALL over the raspberry leaves - chewing them into lacy-holey leaves, but mostly, those beetles are DOING IT all over the place!

I counted at least 7 beetle-couples getting it on right there in our garden.

How inconsiderate! 

But not so impolite not to include an up-close view of the dirty deed.

Tile + Vanity + Drywall = Bathroom Progress!

We have made some major progress on the Master Bath since we last reported:
Walls = drywalled and mudded, primed and painted (Sherwin Williams color "Seasalt")
Vanity = we went with white (Tiffany's guess wins! Hooray!)
Mirror = sprayed white and ready to hang (see the mirror BEFORE it was sprayed in our post from May 29th)
Tile = Big, wide Gray subway tile for the floor and shower walls, + tiny gray round toles for the shower floor and inside of built-in shower cubbies.
Shower Glass = ordered
Toilet = installed and a new seat (soft-close lid of course) - so glad the chunky wooden seat is gone

Sloooooooow clooooooooose

Missing: Leaves

The other morning, glancing out our kitchen window, we notice something is missing from our large, ceramic planter of annuals. Each of the top leaves of the sweet-potato vines we planted a few weeks ago have mysteriously disappeared! I recognize this scene as the result of the late night munchies of the local deer! How rude! And after we JUST fed treats to all the deer at the Fawn-Doe-Rosa over 4th of July weekend! You'd think they might have passed along the good word.

My parents had this problem years ago - deer and bunnies chomping on their outdoor plants. UNTIL! Their friend, Larry, told them the secret of soap: Larry's recommendation = Irish Spring. Word on the street is that deer hate the scent and steer clear. My dad put the soap out in the garden on little wires and they haven't had the problems since. SO - the McBrides are cleaning up their year...with tiny little bars or soap on sticks....  Fingers crossed that the sweet-potato vine will make a full recovery.

Finch on the Mend

We got to pick up our boy Finch last night at 6pm. We were SO excited to see him, but it was pretty clear that Finch didn't really know who we were when they brought him out to us. He would've gone home with anyone...well, that's probably the case all the time. He trusts everyone.

Kevin had to lift him down, out of the back of the Subaru - or more like, Finch ALLOWED himself to be lifted out. 83lbs of Finch = not so bad when he super out of it. 

We were sent home with tummy meds and pain meds and instructions to prepare a pretty bland diet for the first few days. We boiled beef for the first time ever (it was kind of gross and weird and foamy...) and steamed up some rice. After napping for a little bit, he got up and ate every little bit. We're supposed to be giving him smaller meals, more often for a while.

Here is our Finch - while pretty much totally out of it, he manages to strike a slightly provocative pose.

And this morning, Finch's tail was moving and he seemed pretty ready for his usual morning routine. Outside to do his business and back to laying on the couch.

We're so grateful that he made it through this and that he will be okay. The surgery should prevent Bloat from ever happening again.

Feel Better Finch!

It was a looooong night last night. Finch was acting pretty strangely and pretty distressed and he showed all the symptoms of Bloat, so we brought him right over to the emergency vet hospital in Eden Prairie - the closest place that was open at 9pm on a Sat. night. Finch went into surgery immediately to un-flip his stomach and relieve the kink in his esophagus. They said there's no way we could have gotten him there sooner.


The 3 page print out the doctor handed us about Finch's condition is titled "Bloat: The Mother of All Emergencies" - really? is this literature supposed to help us NOT freak out more? thanks.

We received word, after 11pm or so, that the surgery went well and that he was recovering and resting - no major damage done (other than to our bank account...)

This morning's update is that he's being stubborn and won't walk on his leash outside with the staff and they're trying to get him to eat. For anyone who knows Finch, you know that he is super picky and won't even eat most dog treats (yes, probably as a result of being spoiled rotten). So this doesn't totally surprise us. Plus as a result of being in a strange place and a strange kennel, he's being really anxious and stressing out. Who wouldn't be?!

So! Hopefully he will be ready to come home with us this afternoon and take it easy while he heals up and recovers from the anxiety of surgery. In the meantime, please send prayers and positive vibes Finch's way and in exchange, I shall share some of my favorite Finch pics :)

Finch: super dirty after playing in the mud at the dog park

Elisa and Finch - All bundled up

Finch's First Day Home: 10/01/05

Family Pics: Summer 2010

McBrides on the GOAT!

We visited one of our favorite places in St. Croix Falls, WI today: the Fawn-Doe-Rosa Wildlife Park and Petting Zoo - its right down Hwy 8 from the cabin, so we got up "early" and were the first to arrive when the park opened at 10am. We (Elisa, Kevin, Riley, Madeleine, + cousins Corey and Mason) sang the many renditions of the "fawn-doe-rosa" song we came up with LAST year -Riley, of course, managed to keep his lyrics too-inappropriate-to-share...

Mason, Riley, Corey & Mad

Kevin + Goats

so hungry!

Mad + baby ducks and geese!

more friends: a really ugly duck, a peacock, raccoon, tiny goat.
* not pictured: grizzly bears, wolves, an elk...

more to come!