Lisa and Michael

Today we had to say a very tearful goodbye to a member of our family who also happens to be the subject of many posts on this website. Our baby Junior a.k.a. Puppy left our world today. At 16 years old, he was still our special baby. We’ve had a lot of tears today and will have more in the coming days. He was a constant in our lives and always welcomed us home every day with a bark and a tail that wagged all the time! We love you Junior!

What the hell are you looking at?! Let me in NOW!

Very nice man, funny too. Puppy was having nothing of it, though. He was squirming to get down to keep walking around Old Town.

Re: the last post and the iMac… I knew Lisa would come around.

Well that’s happening this September, but first we’ll let Oscar and Junior continue to enjoy vintage 1970s decor.

Oh, and Lisa and I continued with the backsplash, pulling all the spacers and mastic boogers yesterday, and completing the (dreaded) grouting tonight. I was a basket case, considering I’d never grouted a thing in my life. With me on the float and Lisa on sponge duty, we completed the grouting in about 3 hours. The result? It looks awesome! I really should quit worrying so much, Lisa was calm and composed, not a worry at all. All that remains is replacing the trim and outlet covers tomorrow, another sealer application in a few days, and pictures to prove that anyone can put in their own backsplash.

We just finished planting the garden this afternoon. A week later than we did last year since the weather has been cooler. We are hoping to have great results like we did last year, and crossing out fingers that it wasn’t beginner’s luck. We used Bonnie Plants exclusively, they did so well for us last year.

This year we planted tomato, broccoli, leeks, peppers, jalapenos, and squash.

Lisa reminded me we also have an herb garden growing, started a few weeks ago: cilantro, flat Italian parsley, sweet basil, Thai basil, Greek oregano, and German thyme.

We got up early this morning to take advantage of last night’s snowstorm, and wouldn’t you know, it was continuing today. We all loved it!

Oscar and Junior, a bit too much snow for the day. They’re getting tired:

Junior and Oscar

Only a few more weeks to harvest, but we’re already pulling tomatoes, broccoli, and yummy New Mexico chile peppers. Just check out those pumpkin leaves on the far right! Next year, they’ll be going on the tier above the garden where they can really have room to spread and grow.

Lisa is trying hard to figure out where we are going in September, we’ll see how close she gets.

Edited to add: New toy for Puppy and Oscar.

Lisa and I are off to Ouray, Colorado for the next few days to celebrate our 1st anniversary. It’s been exactly one year since we last went. Oh, and the pups are going, too. This will be the first real road trip for Bailout, and we’re going to try and get off-road as much as possible. More than anything, this trip will give us a chance to relax. I don’t know about Lisa, but I really need a break right now, and this trip will be a nice warm-up before the big September extravaganza!

Now this is a large radish!

Puppy hates baths, but man, he’ll whine like mad if you don’t point the hose at him.