A poem

T’was the day before Wednesday, and in our wee house,
N’are a rodent been spotted, not even a mouse.
At work in the bathroom was Allison’s repair,
And propped open the screen door, for fresh autumn air.
Out in the yard did Eleanor play,
The warm sun was shining, a perfect fall day.
Then Pup spotted a squirrel and made a quick dash.
Was this the day she would finally catch?
But into the house ran the fear stricken squirrel,
And after a’barking came our black furry girl.
Al heard a commotion in the basement bellow.
What could make such a ruckus? She just didn’t know.
Downstairs she hurried to survey the scene,
Then like a small girl she let out a scream.
For trapped in the corner the rodent did cower
Chased down by the dog while she fixed the shower.
She leapt on the washer with wood oar in hand,
And counted on Eleanor to make a brave stand.
But the dumb dog lost interest, and fled to the yard.
Who knew that homeownership would be this hard?
A quick call to tep, and to the rescue she came,
Riding fast on her bike to save her sweet dame.
But the basement was empty, no squirrel to be found
Could it be back outside, with the dopey black hound?
A live trap was laid, and a search put in play,
But nothing turned up, to this very day.

There's a new girl in town...

i'd like to introduce everyone to Montefellow's newest resident: Eleanor. she was found as a stray in north minneapolis (represent), and taken to Animal Control. with her short time on earth rapidly ticking away, in swooped Pet Project Rescue to save her from being euthanized. and, after some manipulation by my friend katie, she came into our care.

she is absolutely the sweetest puppy i have ever met. her disposition is docile and friendly, much like my own (ahem). we were told that she's a german shepherd/lab mix, and have no reason to doubt that. i toyed with the idea of training her in german, to honor her heritage, but decided against for two reasons: even i am not that pretentious, and allison doesn't speak german. of course, only one of those is true, but that is neither here nor there. anyway, as allison would say: "ich liebe eleanor!"

A bird in the hand...

if you were wondering whether bird netting works to protect your berry bushes, let me assure you that it does. while out picking some raspberries the other day, allison noticed a little bird who fell prey to his own greed for berries. it must have been a tragic and shocking death. there he is, just flying around, and he sees a plentiful raspberry bush, ripe for the picking. he swoops in to take a bite, and, in a flash, he is trapped. he can't fly away, he can't move at all. the more he struggles, the more trapped he becomes. he chirps to his friends for help, but they are no where to be seen. slowly, he loses his strength and relents to the pull from the other side. rest in peace young bird. and let your death stand as a warning to berry poachers everywhere: stay away from Montefellow!

What have you done for me lately?

don't be fooled by the fact that i haven't posted anything for a while; allison and i have been as busy as ever over at Montefellow. since you last tuned in, our meager little garden has grown into a mini farm. we even painted the "garage" barn red! the vegetables may be small, but the yield is gonna be high! readers, if you like cucumbers, zucchini, celery, beans, peppers, and (lest we forget) tomatoes, then you should come by with a basket. and then there are our raspberry bushes...holy crap, those things are prolific! there is really nothing more delicious than popping a freshly picked berry, warmed by the summer sun, into your mouth. i made a raspberry vinaigrette from scratch the other day, and it was divine. we put in a little bench (tip my hat to donald) with some flagstones on the edge of the garden, and there we sit to enjoy the fresh fruits of our labor. seriously, hand picked green beans are a better snack than any chip.

to the west of the garden is a giant dirt pit. sounds awful, you say? oh no, my friend, not at all. it is the future site of our pergola and brick patio. the bricks are ready, the wood is on order, and the pit is dug. ok, not completely dug, but it is well on its way. plus, we have enough bricks to for a grilling station, and a nice walkway. it's going to be good.

inside, the bathroom walls have beautiful new oak wainscoting (allison is quickly becoming a master woodworker), and our Koehler sink is up and functional. we decided against tiling the entire bathroom, and went with the oak wainscot, in the interest of time. it's in keeping with the style of the house, and looks fabulous.

i am going to be more diligent about posting, so check back soon for more updates!

Bricks are heavy

for those of you who have been on the Macalester campus on a snowy or rainy day, you have most likely almost broken your neck, slipping on the bricks outside the library. well, they dug them up today. and Allison and i were there to collect. after almost 5 hours, and 3 trips (poor horatio), we have almost 1000 bricks for our soon to be patio. god, I love fortuna.

Famous last words?

some of you may have seen the picture of the (former) pigeon's nest in our gutter. as pigeons are filthy creatures, we purged the gutter of their disgusting nest, and hung some chicken wire in our eaves (that's where they would sneak off to do their nasty pigeon business). well, the pigeons have spoken, my friends. they must have sent out their carrier brothers to spread the word, because our recycling bins have become the target of their fecal terrorism. this is no accident. this is no coincidence. this is war. sadly, it is a war they can not win. for, not only are they too stupid to choose a viable target, but i am just crazy enough to take this to the next level: pellet gun. oh, i'll do it, folks. and while i'm at it, rabbits and squirrels be warned: Montefellow is no place for disease carrying vermin!

When the cat's away...

while i've been soaking up the love of my nephews in Ann Arbor, allison has been as busy as a bee. [tangent: are bees really that much busier than other species?] remember when she ripped out those useless Ikea shelves next to the refrigerator? well, in my absence, she has hung sheet rock. yes, friends, the trash nook is soon complete! are you excited as i am? i hardly think so. because not only has she done a perfect job of sheet-rocking, but she also removed the nasty basement shower! it's amazing what she can achieve without me there to distract her!

that is not to say that i've been sitting on my hands. my sister and i went over to the Motawi Tileworks studio gallery, and perused their selection. holy moly, they have some gorgeous stuff! i'm going back tomorrow to pick up a couple of Dard Hunter Rose tiles for our bathroom project. i only wish we had enough money to do the whole room...and the kitchen, for that matter. if you'd like to send in a donation for such a project, please feel free to contact me for a mailing address.