Turkey Day

Lots of play time (Mingo, Roxy, Lizzie)
Roxy chasing Lizzie

Lots of football watching

We hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. We spent ours at Mark's parent's house in Cross Plains. Although we traditionally have a large lunchtime meal, I think we had our big meal when everyone else in the state had it...AFTER THE PACKER GAME!

Sam, Mark and Abby playing ball

The meal was outstanding, as usual. I'm not just saying this to be a brown-noser, but my mother-in-law is really a phenomenal cook. I'm doubly lucky because Mark is such a fantastic cook too (he was in charge of preparing the bird this year).

Judy preparing the meal

Mingo sports his blaze orange vest

We spent the day with Mark's parents (Van and Judy), his godparents (Oscar and Karen), and his brother and future sister-in-law (Greg and Renee). Of course we all had our hounds with us too, for a total of 5 in the pack. The dogs had a great day, with 2 walks, a special dinner and ham bones. The three young ones (Lizzie, Mingo and Roxy) wrestled quite a bit and the two older ones (Greg's dogs, Abby and Sam) sat and received lots of pets and attention from the more sedentary people folk.

Fall fashionsSamOscar and Van Mark lounges with Lizzie and RoxyDinner

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark and I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family! We are thankful for having all of you in our lives...

Don't be fooled, this halo is not adorned by an angel...

Not an angel

Well, I think we all knew that it was just a matter of time for Roxy, our 8 month-old Llewellin Setter to do some sort of bodily harm to herself. She is a pistol, obstinate and energetic. This is a perfect recipe for an accident waiting to happen.

Tuesday evening I was at a class until 7:00 pm and Mark was home making dinner. Mark let the dogs out to go to the bathroom. Mingo stays in the yard ever since he somehow managed to wrap his tail around a tree (yeah, we still haven't figured that one out), but Roxy scampers up into the woods behind our house and does her poopin' duties up on the hill. Mark called the hounds back in, and they both returned without incident. Mark then went upstairs to finish dinner and about 45 minutes or so later I came home.

Sympathy?

I knew something was wrong when only Mingo greeted me at the door; but I just figured Roxy was in a room that she shouldn't be in or chewing something she shouldn't chew (such as the pocket of my new North Face jacket which she wrecked the night before). Much to my surprise, Roxy slowly came out of Mingo's kennel. When I went to pet her, she starting crying and shaking uncontrollably. For good reason: She had what looked like a huge gash on her front right side (bad enough where you could see the meat).

Caving in to cuddles on the couch!

Roxy had impaled herself on either a tree branch or stick in the woods when she went to the bathroom. The vet was absolutely amazed that Roxy had not punctured a lung or had not damaged internal organs, as the stick went in 2 inches and then down her side another 5 inches! The vet also couldn't believe Roxy's "toughness" when being examined before any pain medication was given to her (Roxy looked worried but was calm and hardly whimpered).

Gross

Mark and I couldn't believe it either. We knew she could tolerate a lot, especially when compared to Mingo...but it was hard to think that she would just come running in from outside, like she normally does, and just kind of "hang out" until we noticed. Oddly enough, an injury of this magnitude did not cause a lot of bleeding for there was no blood whatsoever on our carpet and only a couple spots on the bed in the kennel.

Roxy eating

Although our checking account would beg to differ (hello emergency vet care!), this could have been much worse. Little Fox Rox could have been killed! For the next 10-14 days we have to keep her and Mingo separated, she can only have limited exercise, she has to take pills, and she has to wear this darn clown collar...which she has already started to chew through! This is going to be a long 2 weeks for all of us!Concerned Mr. Britches

Boo!

Happy Halloween to everyone! That is me in the above picture holding one of Lisa's extremely cool, campy Halloween decorations. Lisa has always had an uncanny knack for interior design, and I wish you all could see her house at some point...it's always warm and welcoming, with so many interesting things to look at. You really get into the spirit of the holidays when you're there...

A view from the house in Rhinelander(note the moon)

But I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit. This past weekend, Mark and I both took time away from school, the restaurant, tutoring, and cutting firewood, to go visit mom & dad in Rhinelander and the Hurlburt family in Eau Claire.

We started the trip Thursday and went to Rhinelander. Mom had a wonderful dinner of ham, sweet potatoes, salad and mashed potatoes and gravy ready for us. We also went on a few walks with Mingo and Roxy, both of whom are convinced that Rhinelander is heaven. My goodness, do they ever run when they are there!

Friday morning Mark got up before light and sat down by the woodpile with his bow in hopes of shooting a doe. Many deer have been loitering around that area, as mom has been feeding them apples and squash. Mark was really hoping to shoot a doe with his bow for 2 reasons: he has to shoot a doe before he can attempt to shoot a buck (earn-a-buck) and he actually prefers the taste of doe meat over buck meat (though I can't tell the difference, but I guess it's more tender). However, he had no luck and didn't see any deer. He did hear them though as they make a whistling sound when they sense danger; as quiet and motionless as he may have been, they "busted" him and vacated the area.
Romeo posing as the Easter Bunny

After the early morning hunt, mom, dad, Mark and I drove up to the Minocqua-Woodruff area for a very nice quick trip. Dad had told us about the new Catholic church built in that area and how beautiful it was, so we decided to go check that out. Dad did not make an overstatement. The church was absolutely stunning. It has been built to compliment the natural beauty of the area. It is surrounded by pines and is located a couple miles outside the hustle-and-bustle of Woodruff. The main doors make it seem like you are entering a wooden fortress...and as you walk in, there are 2 fireplaces on either side of the entryway. It was warm inside and sofas and chairs have been placed next to the fireplaces.

Upon entering the church itself, you immediately come to a unique baptismal font, perimetered by a sculpted cast iron gate. In the picture below, you can see the double tree design on the gate and the size of the pool of water. The sanctuary of the church is simple, yet striking. Beautiful wood surrounds you and the altar and lectern also have the same iron motiff as the baptismal font. The altar is spectacular in its simplicity. The wood came from the bottom of Lake Superior and is over 100 years old. Note the ripples on the wood itself (Sorry... I forgot what kind of tree it was).

The large new church certainly seemed like it spared no expense; indeed, it cost 9.5 million dollars to build. But it also is a church that has combined 3 separate parishes into 1 largely due to the shortage of priests. I wonder what the new church in Rhinelander will look like when it is built.Mom & Mary

Mark checking out the state-of-the-art kitchen

After we toured the church, we drove just a mile or two to the place where mom and dad first met: the DNR Fish Hatchery. Mom and dad noticed that some things had changed, but the old building where they met was still there and in use.

We also drove past the first house mom and dad lived in immediately after they were married. It was really little!

Next, we stopped by UBC and saw Uncle Donnie, my godfather. It was the first time he and Mark had met and they talked some about pheasant hunting, as Uncle Donnie just returned from a big hunting trip in North Dakota. On our way home, I finished drinking my enormous cappuccino...very naughty!

After our jaunt Up North, we left our hounds in good hands with mom and dad. They were very nice and agreed to watch the dogs for 2 days while Mark and I visited in Eau Claire. Not long after our arrival, it was time for Lisa, Mark and I to walk to Longfellow Elementary, where Mikey and Emma attend school. I really enjoy seeing the kids in this environment. It's such a huge part of their life right now...

Lisa made us a spectacular dinner of saurbraten, mashed potatoes, beer bread and apple pie--all from scratch! It was yummy! I was also impressed by how Emma was so eager to help in the preparations.

Friday evening I played a couple board games with the kids. Mikey is becoming quite the Chess player! After reminding me of the basic rules of the game (I haven't played since middle school), we played and even though I won, I was really floored by how serious, focused and thoughtful Mikey was. He's really very good and enjoys the strategy of the game. I told Mark that we need to get more board games at our house, not only for our visiting family, but for us! What good clean fun! And thanks to Mikey for renewing my interest in Chess.

Jon and Mark spent the day Saturday bowhunting in the Cornell area. Those crazies woke up at 5:00 A.M., but the rest of us slept in and then had a lazy morning sipping coffee, talking, and watching cartoons. It was great! Lisa and I took the kids to a "pumpkin patch" (it's actually a tree farm, but they do a big autumnal theme park) in the afternoon. You will have to check out her blog for pictures, as I did not bring my camera this time. We had a fun time. The kids are a little too old for the "spooky woods" now, but they really had fun on the various playground areas, which included a tradional playground, a haystack/tunnel play area, and a couple of those bouncy forts. We also went on a really nice wagon ride (pulled by a tractor) through part of the hilly tree farm. Very pretty.

After the pumpkin patch we went to the mall to look for a Halloween costume for Mikey. Unfortunately, we were disappointed with the selections for both boys and girls. Boy options seemed to be limited to the super-cliche (cowboy, pirate) to the super-gory (characters from slasher films) and the girl costumes were limited to the babyish (clown, flower) to the...um...shall we say suggestive?

Mom & Roxy & Mingo

Mark and I left Eau Claire Sunday morning and picked up the dogs who were smiling from ear to ear having spent 2 days running, sniffing and exploring. Thanks again, mom and dad for taking care of them!

Don, Diane, Mark, Judy & Van

When we returned to the Madison area we went to Mark's parents house for a special dinner with his aunt and uncle who were visiting from the Twin Cities. It was really nice seeing them, as we haven't seen them since our wedding. Mingo and Roxy also had the opportunity to play with Lizzie. A perfect way to end their weekend of fun!

Van and Judy with Lizzie

Mingo torments Lizzie by chewing on her boomerang

Beautiful Autumn Days...

Roxy, Lizzie & Mingo smear the sliding door window

Although yesterday was not a very pleasant day, with overcast skies and a biting wind, today and this past Sunday were gorgeous. Mark and I had brunch with his family on Sunday at his parents' home in Cross Plains. His brother, Greg, and his fiance, Renee, brought their 2 dogs (Sam and Abby--Sam is the dog that "convinced" me it would be a good idea to have a dog; she merely gave me puppy dog eyes a few times, and I was hooked.) and we, of course, brought Roxy and Mingo too. Van and Judy have a Brittany named Lizzie who has a truly amazing nose...she can detect ANYTHING with that schnoz. Needless to say, when we take the dogs out for a walk, we have a pack of hounds to keep track of!

The Valaskeys walking on Indian Trail Rd. A favorite stretch in the road as the dogs like to run in the alfalfa.

Unfortunately, when you have dogs, you also have ticks (unless you live in Alaska). We all use Frontline to protect the dogs, but the annoying little parasites can still climb on and suck on the poor pups for a little while. Below is a picture of Judy and Renee deticking Abby.

Tick exam

This week is a short school week for me as there is a 2 day teacher convention. Mark and I will be going to Rhinelander & Eau Claire for the WHOLE weekend. We look forward to visiting mom and dad and the Hurlburt clan...stay tuned next week for pictures!