The Lucky Dog Blog

MEMORIAL DAY

This Memorial Day weekend our town of Hopkins had flags out to celebrate and pay tribute. It is nice to live in a small town that embraces American traditions. Unfortunately, yesterday was rainy and either people were inside or “up north” at the lake when this photo was taken.

            

On a slightly different topic, Al said the there was a neighbor behind our new house I should meet. You know you still live in a small town when you find a pig enjoying life. It reminded Marilyn of her friend Mary, who had a prized pet goat. It disappeared one holiday weekend and she suspected that it was an unwilling participant in a nearby goat roast. I don't think the pig has anything to worry about.

           

I am not sure I want to meet the neighbor. He is a lot bigger than I am. They tell me there is a nice fence to keep us apart. I think that is a good thing.

Lucky

WORK CONTINUES

Painting in the master bedroom is almost finished. The painter is doing a very good job and we are pleased with the results. The light robin egg blue is a lot more soothing color than the previous muddy yellow.

  

      

In the office, preparation for the door out to the patio is underway. The view (lower right) shows where it will come outside. Some shallow steps will be constructed to provide easy access to the great outdoors.

  

The work has not been started in my bedroom yet. I wish they would hurry up with the painting of my Lucky Dog Pad.

Lucky

MORE HOUSE WORK

When we arrived yesterday afternoon to check on the new house we were surprised to see a dumpster being unloaded.

We were going to show Marilyn's son Ben and grandsons, Ian and Max the house. The open area to the right of the truck is a large park with soccer and baseball fields. I will get a better photo of that for you soon.

  

We were pleased to see the walls between the living/dining rooms and the kitchen were gone. The living/dining/kitchen is now one great room. Since one of the walls was load-bearing, a beam has been installed in the attic area to support the roof.

     

The kitchen sure looks different with the cabinet doors and drawers removed for painting.

The stove, microwave and refrigerator were also gone, to be replaced our Five Star Gas Range and a new French Door Refrigerator/Freezer.

  

From the amount of rubble in the front room and garage we sure can see what that dumpster is needed.

  

The house work is proceeding, but much more work will be needed. The photo above left is the living room viewed from the kitchen area.

Note the sofa the the workers saw for free in someone's yard so they picked it up to have a resting place.

Lucky

HOUSE WORK

Yesterday afternoon Marilyn and Al went over to see what work has been done on our new house.

The kitchen cabinet doors and drawers have been removed in preparation of painting. They are going to install sliding shelves in the lower cabinets so things don't get “lost” or Marilyn won't have to get down on her knees to find things.

   

The sub flooring in the living/dining areas has been finished and the vinyl tiles in the kitchen taken out,  the next step will laying down the bamboo flooring.

Before that, the rest of the walls will be removed and the beam installed.

The fan/light in the kitchen has been removed and a skylight has been started. They have started to remove the window in the office as well.

  

I know all this work takes time but I am anxious for it all to get finished.

Lucky

WALLS COMING DOWN

Yesterday work on the remodeling of our new house has begin in earnest. The carpets have been removed and the wall work has been started.

Marilyn and Al's first idea was to have a pass through in the walls between the living/dining rooms.

After seeing the start of the pass through they decided to remove the walls completely and make a big great room of living/dining/kitchen areas. A beam will be put in the “attic” to support the wall, so it won't be visible.

It looks like it will be while before I get to see our new house. I am sure it will be worth the wait.

Lucky

LAUNDRY CHUTES

In the rented house where we now live and in our “new” house the laundry rooms are downstairs. This is the norm in older cities because one of the reasons that ranch/rambler style homes are very rare is that the usual lot size is 50 x 100 ft. Also, most of the homes here were built before 1940.

One of the things that Marilyn noticed is an unusual configuration of linen storage and laundry chutes in many Hopkins homes. The hall area at Ben and Vicki's home is very similar to the one in our rental house (below left). Our new house was built in 1967 so the design was updated a bit, but still very similar in design and function. It is interesting to Marilyn that the design persisted for so many years through generations of builders.

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Central linen storage near the bedrooms and baths is very practical A laundry chute means fewer trips up and down stairs. The new house has a “cage” built at the bottom to trap the linens. Most homes here just have the chute and people place a laundry basket beneath.

                                            

When the laundry is finished it still needs to be carried back upstairs. That is one of the reasons M & A are going to have a stair lift installed as the last step of the remodeling project.

The chute is too skinny for me to slide down, but maybe I can hitch some rides on the lift.

Lucky

SUSHI

As my reader know, Marilyn and Al are on special meat free diets.

One item they found that they like is Sushi. However, they are a bit odd in that they only eat the vegetable versions.

In Minnesota (Land of 10,000 Lakes) where we now live the sport of fishing is very big.

Maybe that's why I thought the cartoon below was appropriate for today's Lucky Dog Blog post

        

Lucky

WORK HAS STARTED

Yesterday Marilyn and Al took a bunch of items over to our new house.

They told me that the current Living/Dining rooms are in need of remodeling to meet  M.&A.'s standards.

The walls will be repainted Jersey cream, and the carpeting will be replaced with bamboo flooring. They haven't decided on window treatments. A third window is planned for the end of the dining area. Marilyn is a light nut –  it looks pretty ok to me.

      

As of yesterday the remodeling work has started. The carpet has been removed and a new subfloor in being installed.

I'm wondering if that is the beginning of a puppy jail for me? I hope not. I like to roam free.

      

I am sure that the remodeled room will meet my Lucky Dog standards, as well as M.&A.'s.

Lucky

HOT DUCKS

Marilyn and Al were gone yesterday for some errands and appointments and while they were out and about, they saw a couple of ducks enjoying the nice day.

                                     

The temperature was at a record high, over 91 degrees F. The highest it has been on May 19^th  for over 100 years in Minneapolis, and the ducks were smart to be sitting in the fountain spray.

We did not turn on the air in the house and I got very hot. Black fur is chic, but it sure is warm.

Lucky

OUR NEW HOUSE

With all the closing paper work finished and the keys to the new house in Marilyn and Al's hands, the new house is ours.

The contractor started working yesterday morning. He is going to do several projects before we move in. The first is to tear out the carpet in the living room, dining area, hallway and one of the bedrooms (to be used as an office). The carpet will be replaced with bamboo flooring. Other plans are to remodel the kitchen to accommodate our 5 star kitchen range and a new French door refrigerator/freezer. (Marilyn's long time dream of having an ice maker will come true at last –  it doesn't take a lot to make her happy.)

All of the walls will be repainted in pretty colors –  Jersey cream, a sage-y green and a blue-green. The kitchen cupboards will be painted a glossy red and the walls Jersey cream. With the stainless steel appliances, that should look sharp. A wall between the kitchen and dining room will be partially removed and a sky light installed in the kitchen to let in more light. The office will have French doors to (again) let in more light and to provide access to the patio. The window in the current office will be removed to be replaced with the French door and the window will be relocated to the end of the dining room as it matches the two windows on the front. (More light.) You can tell that Marilyn wants a lot of light in the house.

                                

We certainly appreciate all of the kind comments to me and to facebook about our project. We will take lots of photos so that we can show before and after looks.   

                                

I can't wait to invite all our friends over to the new Williams/Lucky Dog house. (They simply must do something about that entry “rock bed”. It looks very uninviting, not a look we are seeking.

Lucky

KEYS

 

Yesterday Marilyn and Al finally finished all the paper work needed for their new house and received the keys.

Today their contractor will start the remodeling they want done before we move into the house.

I can hardly wait!

Lucky

CLOSING ON THE HOUSE - AT LAST

 

Today Marilyn, Al and I will finally get into our new house. M & A are to meet with the real estate folks to do all of the paper work to finish purchasing our new home

The appointment for house closing will be today, May 16, at 2:00 PM.

I am looking forward to seeing our new home. It will be a surprise for me as I haven't been allowed to go there until we have our own set of keys.

It has been a difficult couple of days getting the details worked out. M & A will be much relieved to get it all done.

 

Lucky

FLOWER VISITOR

NOTE: M & A were unable to close on their house yesterday due to the mortgage company dragging its feet. After many phone calls, e-mails and a few words not suitable for parlor use, they got a call last night that it would be sent this morning. I hope so. They are a little tense.

On a more pleasant note, we had a visitor to our backyard flowers yesterday.

                            

Al said that visitor is a butterfly. Marilyn said it was a Monarch, and she hadn't seen one in many years.

                            

That butter is not something I would want to eat on my toast. I prefer a hearty meat treat.

Lucky

SOUNDS I LOVE

I agree with this cartoon.

             

That dog in the cartoon could be me.

Lucky

P.S. Al and Marilyn are going to try to close on our new house today. There is a snag at the mortgage office as they moved the date back a week with out telling us. We are hoping it can be worked out.

RETIREMENT OFFER

First of all - HAPPY MONTHERS DAY!  We all wish a great day for all families.

Al saw a sign near the road that gave him an idea about retiring.                

                   

Of course, he is already retired.

I do wonder  how many people will have confidence in calling about their chance to retire from this offer.

Particularly because of this well made sign.

I did blank out the phone number since most of my Lucky Dog Blog readers have no need of retiring.

Lucky

ODDS & ENDS

I do not have much to report for my Lucky Dog Blog post today. M & A were stressed about the delay in getting the papers they needed to close on our new house on Monday. I hope that gets straightened out soon!

Yesterday Al saw some big birds on the road. Apparently those Canada Geese are everywhere.

                 

They saw a license plate of someone proud to live in Minnesota. For some reason vanity plates catch their attention. They told me a story about a car dealer they once knew from SE Missouri. Carl said that when someone drove in with vanity plates they usually couldn't afford to buy a car. I wonder if that is still true?

                  

Lucky

STAIR LIFT

Yesterday Marilyn and Al traveled to Eagan, MN to look at a Stair Lift for use in their new home.

             

They found a model that would work very nicely and will invest in the Stair Lift after we move into our new house.

            

They also said they enjoyed working with Laura the sales person.

Lucky

STAMP OUT HUNGER

Yesterday while Marilyn was at the Post Office she saw something familiar.

             

Al went to get a closer look.

                             

Apparently the the company that Al retired from and the Post Service have something going on. 

I learned the following from a local paper.

The Campbell Soup folks are teaming up with the National Association of Letter Carriers this weekend for the 20th annual Stamp Out Hunger effort -- and participating in the food drive could not be easier. Just put your nonperishable food items out by your mailbox on May 12, and your letter carrier will pick it up.

Sounds like a good cause.

Lucky

FLOWERS IN OUR YARD

Al was out in our backyard and saw some flowers in bloom. We think they are some kind of allium.

Later in the day he saw tree in our front yard with blooms. We don't know what they are. Maybe our readers know more about them.

It never surprises me what turns Al on!

Lucky

TOFU

As most of my Lucky Dog Blog reader know Marilyn and Al have been trying to change their diets to a meat free vegetarian diet.

One of their new diet ingredients is Tofu. Marilyn seems to like it just fine.

  

I am not sure Al likes Tofu.

Lucky

BREAKFAST OUT

Not much going on around here for me to write about for my Lucky Dog Blog. The days are winding down to the closing on our new home on May 14^th. Marilyn and Al went shopping for a refrigerator, paint colors and flooring last week and should finalize plans with the contractor this week.

That said, Marilyn and Al still have to eat so I have an item about their breakfast from the other day.

They said it was a Bacon and Eggs kind of day, so they treated themselves to Eggs Benedict and a croissant breakfast sandwich.

  

The foods look good and it is hard for me to criticize them, but they went way off their vegetarian and calorie plans.  I guess that happens once in a while.

  

They enjoyed themselves but there was no mention of my going out for breakfast. Needless to say, there was no doggy bag brought to me.

Lucky

HIKING/BIKING TRAILS ARE A GOOD THING

Next to our new house is a walking, biking, hiking trail that winds its way through the community. It will be fun for me to sit and watch the activity on the trail. Our new home is in the background in the photo on the left.

  

Marilyn recently saw a newspaper article about these trails, Bike Trails Pay Off In Cities, that confirmed her belief that trail construction pays off in many ways. A study found in three years “that biking increased by more with 50% in the area, 1.2 million fewer gallons of gas were burned and there was a $6.9 million a year reduction in health care costs.” The coordination of efforts include racks for bikes on buses, so that longer distances can be covered by bus and shorter distances where parking is difficult (like at the U). There is also a convenient bike-borrowing program called “Nice Bikes” that has been available for the past few years. To everyone's amazement, they have not lost a single bike.

A trail is being constructed from Fayetteville to Bella Vista, AR. Continuing that trail through McDonald County would have economic and health benefits and draw tourists. Of course, the idea of “change” is so ingrained that it is unlikely to happen. Too bad that the “powers that be” of McDonald County are so rigid and fearful of change that they won't consider supporting a good thing. Meanwhile, negative changes are all around them.

I even read that the trails can be used for dog walking, we shall see in my case.

Lucky

MUSING

I was thinking about things the other day and thought I would write somethings down for my Luck Dog Blog post.

First was that nasty squirrel out in our yard that caused me to take a fall and hurt my knee.

Then there was that sign posted right outside my grooming place, which is very short sighted, if you ask me.

 

On the road Al saw a sign that reminded of me.

Also he saw a licence plate that reminded him of Campbell Soup.

       

Well that enough of my musing for today.

Lucky

MEXICAN LUNCH

The other day Marilyn and Al stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

As usual I was not with them, but it did not stop them from telling all about what a nice restaurant it was and bring me pictures.

  

Marilyn had enchiladas and Al had a vegetarian burrito.

  

They said the food was very good and they would go back to that restaurant again.

  

You can tell by how they cleaned their plate how good the food was.

I am not sure this little black dog likes Mexican food.

Lucky

SUSHI SCHOOL

Last night Marilyn and Al when to a sushi class. About twenty people signed up for the course. It turns out that sushi is much more complex and varied than the kinds that they have sampled in restaurants to date. (See photo at the bottom of the page.)

The teacher had some of the class members helping out. It got pretty hectic with activity and there was only one small fire (paper too close to the frying shrimp pan).

They learned how to properly mince vegetables, peel an avocado, cook the rice, prepare the bamboo mats for shaping, how to quickly mince a jalapeno pepper and lots more. They got to sample edameme ( baby soy beans) and a nice cucumber salad.

  

The teacher demonstrated how to make several items and (thankfully) only one was made with raw fish. It was a pretty piece of tuna, they said.

Afterward, Marilyn said, “Let's just say it looks a lot easier to make than it really is.” The demonstration platter was very attractive. Al's efforts were quite good and Marilyn's a complete disaster. She says she is undaunted and plans to practice until she learns how as she really does like sushi, so long as the ingredients are cooked.

     

M. & A. came home very tired from their adventure. Marilyn said she was almost as tired as she was the night we arrived in MN from Missouri. That was pretty tired. Marilyn must be getting old.

Lucky

HAIRCUT DAY

Yesterday was my day for grooming. When my haircut was finished I was ready to go home.

  

I looked very nice after my visit. Marilyn said my fur looked like black velvet. I thought the lady bug kerchief was a nice touch.

  

I liked going to Shampooch, but I like going home better.

Lucky

HOPKINS ALL-DISCTRICT ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL

Last night Marilyn went to the Hopkins High School to attend the spring concert. Grandson Ian (glasses, on the right) was a member. The orchestra was made up of students from 5^th grade through high school. The gym was huge. The space to the blue curtain was large enough for two full-size basketball courts. She couldn't see beyond the curtain except to note that it was equal in size. Although the population of Hopkins is about 18,000 the school district has about 4,000 students as children from other communities are in the school district.

  

She took more photos of the elementary students. They wore tie dyed tee shirts, the middle school children wore white shirts and the high school students wore traditional black gowns (girls) or suits (boys).

  

To give you another idea of the scale, in the final number there were 89 children playing the viola, Ian's instrument of choice. There were lots more violins, cellos, etc.  The concert was lovely –  starting with the youngest playing simple tunes to the entire orchestra playing Ode to Joy. It was really something, Marilyn said.

Lucky

VISITING In EDINA

Marilyn went visiting yesterday. She went back to her old neighborhood on Branson St. to see the Vanko family.  Diane hid from the camera and I don't blame her. Marilyn took a terrible photo of her when they last met.I must say, her (Marilyn's) camera skills haven't improved much as this is a very beautiful family and Marilyn seemed to catch most of them in awkward poses. That said, this time she got to see John and three of their daughters and a couple of great grand children.

  

The baby's outfit was one the the cutest Marilyn has ever seen (not to mention the baby.)

                   

Lori showed a baby quilt in progress.It is beautifully made and very pretty (like the girls). In the background of the dining room, you can see the set of Spode china. That is how Diane taught Marilyn the difference between a tea cup and a coffee cup. She has learned a lot from Diane over the years and is delighted to be living near a treasured friend once again.

       

I didn't get to go, of course, but I'm glad Marilyn got a chance to visit with her old friends.

Lucky

COPING WITH STAIRS

After we move into our new house I have a lot of exploring to do to check it out.

Al told me there is a nice family room downstairs from the main living area.

Now that I have healed from my knee surgery it looks like an area that I would enjoy. There is a family room downstairs in this house, but I have never seen it as stairs are not easy for me.

Marilyn also has a problem with the stairs because of her bad knees, so she and Al have decided to invest in a stair lift so she can get good use out of the down stairs.

That stair lift looks like fun and I can't wait to check it out.

Lucky

MY AMAZING SENSES

I can always tell when Al goes to the refrigerator to get out some ice cream for him to snack on.

No matter where I am, asleep in bed or out playing in the yard, with my amazing senses I know.

 I will be right there in his face for my snack also. I know the difference between him getting ice cream and anything else out of the refrigerator

I can tell this drives him crazy.

Here are some dog facts I recently read about.

Dog nose prints are as unique as human finger prints and can be used to identify them. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

The Beagle and Collie are the nosiest dogs, while the Akbash Dog and the Basenji are the quietest. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

Marilyn says that I am one of the nosiest dogs and my nose prints on the front room window certainly ID me.

Lucky