MERCY MERCY

What a week we finished up today! First of all high temperatures flared and most outside workers who could do "flex" time by starting and ending early did just that. We tended to follow the example and get chores done the first half of each day and then stuck to completing indoor "stuff" later.

Then there was Mitzi (see July 15 below) who now is safe and sound in a rescue - another terrific ending for which I am very grateful. It's amazing how a network of caring folks came together and got something beneficial done in a hurry. Thank you for your mercy!

One of our "together" errands was as the result of having a yummy and delightful dinner with friends, right here in our town. Spur of the moment, stroke of luck, a promise fulfilled - whatever it was, we all enjoyed laughs and chatting. Our discussion did reveal we needed mulching blades on our mower. Who knew? Lucky us - there was a store greeter on duty. This was a sweet kitty; I think tabby mixed with a little Siamese. She was pretty and content but made a point of acknowledging both of us as we reached down to give her a friendly pet. We received lots of kitty kisses. Yes, I'm more a dog person, but we do have 3 cats and I love them dearly and I must confess that kitty kisses are special as they are not given out as freely as dog kisses are. So we were grateful for the welcome we received!

Then there was today's transport. I could write about it each and every week that we do a transport. Always the joy and excitement of knowing that mercy has been shown to a bunch of critters is overwhelming. Few feelings match those granted with transporting. We had somewhere around 37 animals today and there were 3 drivers on our route. WHAT? Yes, well, there were 14 kittens and 8 puppies and those can share bigger crates so it was OK. Of course, air conditioning must be blasting away the entire trip. In my vehicle were 8 kittens and 7 dogs and it was quite vocal for awhile but finally everyone settled down and napped, except maybe a kitten or two wanted me to know they did not appreciate the yapping dogs.

My front seat was occupied by a little cutie. It seems unfair to post only a photo of the tiniest dog but keep in mind we're not doing a photo shoot and this one just happened to be out of its crate temporarily so MM could have her photo taken with him. Usually we are walking, cleaning up, watering, re-loading, and heading out. Otherwise there would be a photo album. I think there may be some photos and even a longer video on the web. Since I'd slid the phone camera to video we got a couple of cute clips of "EARL" and MM.

He was a handful - nothing more than that! The trip went along without a hitch for the second "leg" and I'm sure on beyond that. It's a great bunch of folks - all volunteers - who, week after week, give of their time, energy, money, vehicles, supplies - so much more, to help those who cannot help themselves. And, as Beth Moore points out, in her James study, mercy is triumphant! These little guys know they are being given another chance, believe me. Each of our critters is a rescue as have been those we had in our lives before, whether they lived with us to the end of their lives or were fosters. They know. Anyone sensitive towards others can see it in their eyes. It makes it all worthwhile!

Doing retro this week. We are fortunate enough to live close to the original Route 66. Driving around in central IL we can see the signs identifying the route during various times in the last century. Today we moseyed (mo-zeed) part way up to Lincoln on I-55, the Route 66 replacement but could not resist departing the split 4 lane by Elkhart and taking the original as it was in the 40's. For the uncertain among you, yes, Lincoln is named after Abe, who "christened" it with watermelon juice in 1853. And, Elkhart has a hill supposedly shaped like, hmmmmmm, an elk's heart! It happens to be the highest point in IL south of Chicago, which to my knowledge is still in the state and not a state unto itself.

So why were we going to Lincoln? Glad you asked. We were headed for the BLUE DOG INN. And, why would we go there? Admittedly, for the Salmon Creek Merlot. We ate there, of course. I had the house burger which was under the section labeled "Food Bowl". Hubby's blue cheeseburger was in the same section. They had "Water Bowl" "Biscuit Tin" and "Doggie Teasers" and other delightfully named sections. Good as the food is there, for it was not our first time, today's mission was the wine.

You see, recently I was in CO and had that wine and found it so tasty I wrote the name down, legibly even. Upon returning to central Illinois I reported in to the aforementioned hubby that it was delightful. Googled it only to learn it's hard to find around here. Went to one pub that supposedly had it and learned they have had it but only ordered it for personal consumption. Really. So this was establishment #2 because it did involve a drive. The wait person was charming, has two rescue dogs and three rescue cats. We were sold a bottle of the Merlot, "on the side" so to speak. And, we're going to find out how to order some.

It seems I'm on a promotional streak. Well, live with it. I've been running into a lot of good things lately and being who I am I want to share them with you :-) If you were here I'd offer you wine. Your dog could have a newly dehydrated beef heart treat.

On to the dogs...Harmony, previously our only "published" dog, is taking Foundation Agility and after one class and one homework review session is performing beautifully. She's all about pleasing people so is a natural for this. If we can stay clear of skeeters and ticks we will end up enjoying the heck out of class.

But, to the publishing comment, I must announce that Baxter, as a young pup, is now the home page dog on the Quincy K9 Connection web site! He won a contest! And, I'm hoping everyone who reads this goes and makes a donation then passes the site along to friends and family to make a donation. Admittedly he had copped a bit of a woe is me attitude when I told him he'd won but he didn't see his photo up there until today. It was a long three weeks.

Last of all I am announcing that I now have a whole house vacuum system. That's not easily come by when you live in a log home. However, rather than rattle on about it I think it is best explained by showing you the actual photos in a before and after way. So here they are.

Before

After

Hopefully you can see for yourself that this is a distinct improvement and that I will be cutting my vacuuming time significantly. I did take the precaution of removing all the collected dog hair from the canister so your focus would be on the important conversion.
This is not a trademarked item. Feel free to make this modification on your own vacuum if you, like I, use your machine every day to give the appearance of caring that the house is not internally coated in dog hair.