Busy Weekend

Good morning on a lovely but frosty blue-sky northeastern Minnesota morning! Yesterday I was contemplating putting the geraniums - wintered over in front of the southern windows but now quite leggy - outside in the screened-in porch for the summer, but, considering that it was 24 degrees this morning, I'm glad I didn't!

The green leaves of my tulips are up about 5-6", and I see the fresh shoots of the American Lilies pushing up through the straw mulch of the front raised flower bed. The rhubarb is starting to come up in the small garden, too! The ground remains fairly brown, though. We really need some rain to make that green pop out!

This past weekend was a crazy one. We headed down to the big city on Friday night but got a late start and didn't arrive until about 1:00 AM. Saturday morning was the couples' shower/brunch for my oldest girlfriend and her fiance. However, when we were in the motel getting dressed, I realized that I had forgotten to pack a single stitch of makeup! Aack! So, we were late to the shower: instead trooping off to Target to try to find a few crucial items which I could then apply in the car on the rushed drive across town to try to make myself look presentable!

The shower was a really fun time, though - excellent food, a relaxed atmosphere, and good visiting with terrific friends. The weather in Minneapolis was, of course, truly springtime - green grass, trees leafing out, and temperatures in the 70s. We spent a couple of hours hanging out with friends in the afternoon and then headed on down to the southern part of the state. We had an appointment on Sunday morning to visit the breeder from whom we'll be getting our new little Cardigan Welsh Corgi puppy!

After a night in yet another motel we were greeted by freshly mown grass (one of my most favorite smells in the whole world) as we walked to our car Sunday morning. Compared to what we were used to up here in the far reaches of northern Minnesota, it sure didn't feel like we were in the same state at all - but, considering that we were but a stone's throw from Iowa, it seemed to make more sense!

Anyway, arriving at the breeder's home set a person's heart into melt mode. The mama, Petal, was hanging out with her nine - count 'em, NINE - four-week old pups. Actually, one was bundled in a blanket in a crate - not feeling well from the previous day's activities of too many visitors. Here I'd expected that we'd be there maybe 1/2 hour. We were there 2 1/2 hours, and the time FLEW!

So, here's the big news: we got to pick out our puppy!!!! We finally got the choice narrowed down to two, and it was so hard to make a decision between them. But, we went with our gut which was a little guy who had the color markings (red and white) that I'd originally wanted. The other little one we were waffling between was brindle and white - and seemed a bit bossy. Our little guy just cuddled into my arms and fell asleep!

We got to choose his AKC registered name from a list while we were there: 'Smoke on the Water'. The current "real" names we're kicking around are Copper, Cooper, Squash, and/or Torge (TOR-gee). Names that have already come and gone are Smokey Joe, Tang-Tang, and Cedar.

This breeder that we're getting our puppy from is top-notch and very picky about who she sells her litters to. We could tell we were "approved", though, when she told us we could have the little guy we ultimately chose - considering he'd already been hoped for by 3 parties! And, actually, there would have been no way we even could have been there had we not already been given the thumbs-up: there was a 5-page application that we had to fill out months ago before even being put on the list for an upcoming litter!

So, anyway, we'll pick him up in just under 4 weeks when he's 8 weeks old. I can't wait! Meanwhile, we're trying to prep Maisy and Miss Kitty for the new arrival (yeah, right!).