Snack Manager

North.

by the Artist

Sweet nibble 1

Sweet nibble 1

North.. isn't that where little polar bears live?

Yesterday the Carpenter picked me up and we headed to our first "interview" for the Snack Manager open position. Well it wasn't exactly an interview to pick a candidate, but to meet the nice people from where our next snack manager might herald from.

We traveled north of the Twin Cities to a town called Bruno. Bruno? Bruno Mars? I had never heard of Bruno. Along the way we passed a town called Askov. I recognized that because of the store that is in Minneapolis - Askovfinlayson. As we traveled I saw a group of white horses in a wooded area. White horses! We finally arrived to "Welcome Home Labs" http://www.welcomehomelabs.com/ where homes are identified by "fire numbers"! Not house numbers! We were in the country!

Our arrival was observed by three "light yellow" (the type our Gracie was) labs calmly peeking through their fencing. They just watched. No one uttered a bark. We had a great visit with the breeders. They were very informative and friendly. The Carpenter found out the husband had also been a contractor. We appreciated how much care they put into their labs. I'm sure they were "interviewing us" to see if we would be good owners for one of their precious pups. 

We were just on a "meet and greet" mission. We held some adorable "cute nibbles" as my sister called them... and met some adult labs. It was fun. We left without a pup. As planned. As the rain pounded down. The afternoon was a nice diversion from our usual Applewood routine. We got to relax, hold some pups and just get away. We stopped at a popular local area restaurant Tobies (where I had a not so good meal- my typical restaurant luck but I did buy a couple of their famous sticky buns!) then headed on our way. As we sat there I said to the Carpenter.. "it's so weird to be out sitting across a table from you.. not working". He agreed. We need to remedy that!

We hope to have the position filled in the fall.

Stay tuned!

Sweet nibble 2

Sweet nibble 2

Our sweet snack manager.

by the Artist

We lost our sweet Snack Manager Gracie last week. She was a couple of months short of her 13th birthday. It would have been her "golden" birthday. Do dogs have golden birthdays? 

She came into our life at age 7 weeks. It was a bit of a rocky start. She was sick and we had never had a labrador puppy before. During the three weeks when I was still working full time and Gracie came to live with us... we didn't want to leave her alone all day. So she went with the Carpenter to work. I'm not so sure that was a good idea. She balked at loud sudden noises the rest of her life. But the neighborhood kids at that project loved her up.  

She was an independent dog. Not a snuggler. But she had the sweetest temperment of any dog we've owned. She loved humans and dogs. She particularly loved humans. We could trust her with anyone. She was very forgiving. One time a niece bicycled over her tail and Gracie didn't even flinch. She handled everything in stride and with dignity. She was always happy.

And that happiness lived in our home and greeted the Carpenter every evening. No matter what was going on in the business... Gracie was there offering her unconditional doggy love.

Along the way after I stepped into the marketing job for Applewood... Gracie got her own job title. Snack Manager. She loved that job. What lab wouldn't? She was our Applewood good-will ambassador. 

Now we have an open position. The Carpenter just confessed he's been researching lab puppies for a couple of years. He's ready to bring another puppy into our life. I am but I'm not. I think it's just too fresh. And it is a ton of work. And it is grief. But it is love. Life is short (and even more so now) and we only get this earthly life to share with a dog. No matter what people say, I'm not sure dogs will be in heaven. So I am considering.

Gracie has been a big part of Applewood. She will always be with us. In our hearts. That is what the Carpenter has always told me when we've lost a pet. 

So here's to the best sweetest labby girl.  

 

Pork roasts and proposals.

by the Artist

This evening while the Carpenter was at a chiropractic appointment for our "Snack Manager".. yes there are animal chiropractors. I was proofing a proposal and making dinner at the same time. The Carpenter needed to get the proposal out pronto. So I was hustling and moving fast. Too fast. I tend to be a bit dangerous in the kitchen as it is... one trip to Urgent Care under my belt from a run-in with a cold pork roast years ago.

Who says history can't repeat itself? I had a pork roast in the oven. I was making a sauerkraut dish with apples (of course) and onions to accompany it. The metal can top didn't come off very nicely. I worked at working it lose and pop! it hit my finger. Not pretty. I thought.. oh no I don't have time for this! So I wrapped a paper towel around it and headed back to the computer to finish proofing. With one available hand. Sacrificing myself for the good of our business. Yes I am a drama queen.

I showed the Carpenter when he walked into the house with the Snack Manager. I knew he would be mad. He is always on me for being safe with sharp objects. He knows me. When he saw the wad of bloody paper towel wrapped around my finger he said... "oh no... I don't have time to take you to the ER I've got to get that proposal out!" Seriously he said that.

I said.. "I'm not going to the ER! You can do your "Carpenter" medical bandaging!" He's cut himself pretty seriously many times. He's used duct tape, gasoline, super glue, and has even let the Snack Manager lick his wound. Gross but true. I knew I was in good hands. 

After assessing that I was going to live... he bandaged my finger and we had a nice meal. And we got the proposal out.

 

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Rain rain go away...

,

by the Artist

pink_boots.jpg

come again another day. I mean that. And you too "Mr White". Stay away at least until Christmas Eve. Then you are welcome here for one month. That's it. 

We've had sodden skies and mud all week. We've managed to keep busy between rain drops, finishing up a small bath remodel– doing a knockdown ceiling, building the vanity, finishing tile work.

I'm not sure where the crew is currently. They did head back to our Bridge Street exterior reno early this AM when the sun made a very brief appearance, but the rain has picked up again. Harder to work in rain then snow with power tools, let alone the misery factor. Our guys are tough though… used to working in all kinds of weather.

Tonight we head to the doggie chiropractor. Our "Snack Manager"s crazy habit of jumping off stairs and more recently falling down stairs has finally caught up with her. She now suffers with a bad back and has added to her misery by tearing her ACL. It is hard to see. She's been on a ton of meds and in an attempt to cut down on those… we are hoping the adjustments and massages will help. She is 12 years old. Our goal is quality of life for her as long as possible.

Last weekend the Carpenter continued his firewood project. Hauled two oak trees off a customer's property they no longer wanted. We also had a huge Box Elder tree (a trashy marsh tree) removed from behind our garage. It was massive. I ended up joining him where we cleared and hauled and swept mountains of saw dust and debris. I thought.. what a way to spend a Saturday night! Comes with the territory some days. I hate to see the Carpenter beat himself up with such physical work. I wish I were stronger to help carry his loads. I do what I can. 

The other night the Carpenter told me about a conversation he had with one of the White Bear Lake building inspectors. That inspector told him that if he could, he and the other inspectors would recommend Applewood to the homeowners in the community. The Carpenter has always maintained great relationships with inspectors and is well respected because of how he handles himself on the job. And … he has never failed an inspection either in 30+ years. He would not tell you this.. but I will! 

This post has ended up being a little of this and that. Well that's the kind of week it has been. Hope your week has been a good one!

 

 

Blue memories.

by the Artist

I received an unexpected gift last week. I invited the Carpenter's cousin over for dinner. We are creative sisters who like to hang out from time to time. She had wanted to paint something for me for awhile but just never got around to it. Unexpected gifts are so fun. And a gift that is hand crafted is that much more special isn't it? When someone takes time out of their busy life to think of you. 

As soon as I saw the painting I was overwhelmed and flooded with memories. It is a painting of the laundry room window at the last spec home we built. I loved that window. It happily lit up the interior of the laundry room. I bugged the Carpenter to add an extra detail- the window box. Now adding a window box to a spec home is frivolous really. It doesn't add to the value and only adds to the cost in both time and materials. 

Well I got my wish. And just in time for spring.. I filled it with the most cheerful magenta cascading petunias. It made me happy just looking at it. Well that window box certainly did not speed up the sale of the house. It had gone on the market at the cusp of the national housing market crisis.

A year before when the Carpenter brought me to see the sad little cottage, that sat where the Blue House now sits, I walked in and looked out a tiny window. There was the lake sparkling at the end of the street. I was hooked. Beyond hooked. I swallowed the hook. It would take surgery to remove it. Well figuratively speaking.

We moved forward with our plans. The Carpenter built the house to sell. I built it to live in. My blue dream. I picked out every single detail from the roof to the floor. We designed the floor plan together. It was exhilarating. Secretly I continued to plan to move in. I was enamored with the small town lifestyle. I could step out my front door and walk anywhere to many interesting destinations very safely. I could walk to the post office, or to the lake or crash the weddings at the gazebo at the park (which the Snack Manager and I did quite regularly) or sit enjoying conversation with neighbors. It would be like living in a warm hug.

Eventually we moved into the what we call "The Blue House" so I could stage it. I convinced the Carpenter that sitting empty and unloved was not helping matters. So we packed up many of our belongings and moved in. I was in heaven. Blue heaven. The Carpenter… well not so much. He knew the clock was ticking. And tick on it did!

The first and only Christmas we lived there I looked out my window one day at dusk.. there was a family walking down the middle of the street pulling a tiny sled with a small Christmas tree.. snow was falling lightly. I thought I had died and landed in a Norman Rockwell painting!

The plusses of the house not selling were very few but significant to me. I gained lifelong friends, I got to enjoy the fruit of our labor- a fine designed incredible home, I got to live the small town lifestyle if even for a very short while, and I did learn a lot from the entire experience both good and bad.

Well the house did sell and we packed up and moved back to our "real" home. It took awhile to recover from "surgery". I felt like my heart and soul was ripped out when we had to leave that house. I could barely look at it. One day I was across the street at a friends house and I could see through the living room windows the late afternoon sun streaming in the front door… the soft golden light. I wasn't there.. but I was there. It was a huge ache that has taken me years to get over.

But I'm healed. I appreciate my "real" home and have left my blue dream behind. I know now that my home is where the Snack Manager and the Carpenter live. That is where my heart lives.