a sad goodbye

We said goodbye to Toonces yesterday and took him to the humane society. It was so sad. He has been a faithful sidekick for six years. We got him just a few months after we were married.

The crazy thing is that we both knew it was time to find him a new home, even before we found our new home. Our move really had little to do with his departing from our family. It had more to do with our growing family, wanting Rory's brothers to be able to come over without having their throats swell up and wanting a tidier house. He shed a lot.

Rory drove him to the humane society and only got a few blocks away before I called crying that they needed to come back because I hadn't held him while saying goodbye. (You can imagine any fifth grader behaving the same way.) And my sweet husband turned the jeep around and let me come and fall apart in the front seat, holding Toonces, who was very indifferent to the swell of emotions that held him. And then they left.

Rory said the drop off went well. The lady said that because of his age, proper litter box usage and the fact that he is good with kids that she though he would be adopted very quickly. I am sure she says that to every owner, but I am choosing to believe her words.

we're selling our house

Oh how we love this house. Adore this house. It is the perfect South Minneapolis home...complete with a front porch, lots of windows and the best neighbors we could ever imagine. This move is sudden...we found another home with three bedrooms that I'll talk about in another post on another day. But things are moving quickly and we are planning on listing this house by the end of the week.

It breaks my heart though. All the memories stored up in every room. We began our marriage in this house, learning to live together, working things out. We brought a teeny tiny Ivar home to this house and rocked him on the porch and took countless family walks to the lake. We have utilized the laundry shoot with great joy (going to miss that feature so much!) and played hard in the back yard.

Most of all we have been loved by the neighbors who surround us. Moving away from our neighbors is the very hardest part to swollow. We have been well cared for and looked after and we will miss our neighbors so, so much.

All this to say, we are sad to go. And hope and pray for a great new owner to start their own sweet season enjoying the sun porch, gardens and laundry shoot. If you, or anyone you know is looking for a move, interested in the South Minneapolis area (we're one block from Minnehaha Creek and four blocks from Lake Harriet) and would like to take a look at one charming and fantastic home, drop us a line at: beccagroves (at) gmail.com

Toonces is still looking for a home...

Last call for Toonces. On Monday we will take him to the Humane Society. If you know of anyone who would love a super great cat, please let us know. We posted on Craigslist yesterday and hopefully something will come together.

All of the details about Toonces can be found here.

We sure are going to miss him. He's such a great cat.

shish-kabobs

I made shish-kabobs for supper tonight for my first time. They were divine. I think the grill was invented just for shish kabobs.

After we were done eating, Rory asked that I put the recipe on my blog "for easy access for next time." So here it is, from Cooks.com

Kabob Marinade

1 1/2 c. salad oil
3/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. mustard
2 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. parsley
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 c. lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together. Place sauce in glass bowl and add cubed meat: up to 3 large sirloin or round steaks or chicken. Can be marinated several hours.

 

Kabobs: Chicken, steak, pineapple, green pepper, mushrooms, onion, cherry tomatoes.

**We were out of propane, so our kabobs actually sat in the marinade for 48 hours. And they were so full of flavor!

And a tip: I remember from a cooking show I watched one time (I have watched many) that they suggested to keep like items on each skewer so that each item can be cooked to its perfect char. So I put all the tomatoes on two skewers, all the pineapple on three skewers, all the meat and onions on their own skewers etc... And this was really helpful for easy grilling. Everything was perfect.

it's strawberry season!

Oh my word. Went strawberry picking yesterday for my very first time. Every year I want to get out berry picking but I always seem to miss the window. But this year I hit it right on. And it was amazing. Heidi and I got about ten feet down the row before our boxes were full...the berries were everywhere. We were at Silkey Gardens in Northfield and I will for sure return to this place in two weeks for raspberries and another week after that for blueberries.

And not only did I hit strawberry season, but I got down and picked strawberries 8 1/2 months pregnant. With Heidi, who is 7 1/2 months pregnant. I believe we were quite the sight!

Now I have to decide what to make with them, though I'm not totally convinced there will be any left to make anything with, the way we (Ivar in the lead) have been inhaling them.