...a rundown of my week...

It's been a busy one!

Sunday, I hiked through Mastodon State Park. Mastodons are an extinct mammal species related to elephants. It is the site of the Kimmswick Bone Bed, one of the most famous and extensive deposits of ice-age fossils. Though I didn't have a moment to explore the museum, I worked up a sweat trying to stay upright on these tricky trails.

Tricky trails!

Monday, as I posted, I went to see the corpse flower with Megan and Amber. What a great experience that was! I didn't even realize that it should have been on my bucket list of things to do. If you ever have the opportunity, don't hesitate.

Such fun ladies!

Tuesday, a natural and organic grocery store, that focuses on locally grown products, Lucky's, opened up in our neighborhood. Because Andy is Facebook friends with Lucky's, we were invited to a special Friends and Family opening the day before their big Grand Opening. They deals were excellent, and the staff were magnificent, willing to help in any and every way. I went back on Wednesday, and they were packed out. We are so happy for their success and we're hoping that it continues!

Grown here, not flown here!

Thursday, it happened. The last carpenter left at 2:30pm, and left us with the task of putting our house back together. It didn't take me long. I can't even begin to explain how happy we are to have our house back in order. There will be many days of cleaning ahead, but it will all be worth it.

So, today, after many long months of discussion, Andy and I quite suddenly adopted a little dog. Born into a puppy mill, he was brought in by the Senior Dog Project, and we sort of fell in love with his sweet, little face when we saw him online. We drove an hour into Illinois, hoping only to meet him. When we arrived, we could hear some serious yapping in the back room.

Apparently, they decided to blow dry the little guy after his bath, and he wanted nothing to do with it. When they brought him out, he was shaking terribly, his whole body in tremors as I wrapped him in my long skirt and held him close to me. After a few minutes, I passed him to Andy, still shaking. Andy wanted to see what he would do when put on the floor, so Andy gingerly placed him down, and he immediately ran under a chair and huddled in the corner by the wall.

I let him stay there for a second before moving the chair and pulling him out. I'm not sure what his life has looked like up to this point, but he is a scaredy dog. His favorite place is in a corner or under something, though he's really taken a shine to flopping himself down on my feet. I hope we can love him into being courageous and loving. He is already so kind.

He's a Peekapoo. A Pekingese-Poodle mix, though they think
he has the look of a Brussels Griffon, so they aren't totally sure.

We're still not sure of a name. They were calling him Owen at the boarding kennel. Though scared, he's still curious, so we thought maybe he would grow into Sherlock. We've been calling him Buddy most of the day. And I kind of like the name Lucky. Any suggestions? What does he look like to you?

I hope you've had a great week!