I set my alarm to go off at 4 AM on Saturday. Of course, I didn’t get out of bed right away… actually, I fell back to sleep for an hour. I got up at 5 AM and was out of the house before 6 AM! Chloe and I were on our way. She is such a good traveler. She likes to bark at people but in the car, she snuggles up and enjoys the ride. Isn’t she the cutest?

We got to Spokane around noon. It was rainy and cold and there was a line to get in to the sale. When I got inside, it was packed! There were some really cool vendors there. I asked permission before taking pictures of the following displays.

I walked through the sale a couple times before I decided what I wanted to buy. I bought one large ticket item and the rest were little trinkets. Here is the chicken coop pie safe. I probably paid more than I should have but I did get the seller to drop $10 from the ticketed price. I put some of my angels in it but I think I need to start collecting birds for it.

Here is the little bird cage I bought from the same vendor. I am debating whether or not to paint it. What do you think?

I found these three little shakers. I thought they were so cute. Also found some little letters that spell my favorite word: Bliss. The shakers are sitting on an old store display sign. I’ve been looking for one of these for a long time and was surprised to find this one with the cute picture and lovely millinery flowers tied to it. The rusty old furniture leg is one of my favorite finds of the day. It was lonely and needed a home.

Here are some little odds and ends I bought from various vendors: three old drawer pulls, a couple small knobs, a roll of vintage wallpaper trim, some tins and vials, two watch crystals, an old watch casing, and a painted escutcheon.

The last thing I bought was two different jars of olive tapenade. Yum!

I left Spokane around 4 PM and was home by 10 PM. Next year I’m going to plan farther ahead and make Farm Chicks a girls get-away weekend. Put it on your calendar now, ladies!

June 6, 2009  •  10am-6pm
June 7, 2009  •  10am-4pm

Chloe, the Chihuahua gave us quite a scare last night. I got a frantic call from Steve that something was wrong with her. I hurried home (I was babysitting for my brother and sister-in-law) as fast as I could. Chloe had calmed down by the time I got home but within five minutes, she was having problems again. Her body was all stiff, her tongue was sticking out, her nose was running, she was gasping for air. We took off for the animal ER. On the way she had another fit. By the time we got there, her tongue was turning blue. They rushed her back and gave her some oxygen, valium, and a pain med. She was having seizures. They got her stabilized and kept her overnight. We went to pick her up today and she’s a little wobbly. She’ll have to be on anti-seizure meds from now on. It was quite a scare. I’m thankful we have such a great facility as DoveLewis here in Portland. And I’m glad the bill wasn’t $2000 like they said it could have been.

UPDATE

Check out these sites for more info on this great cause…

Six Degrees – Kevin Bacon’s charitable partnership with Network for Good

Parade Magazine and the Case Foundation

Track A Place to Bark’s (see Bernadette B) standing in the competition – wow! OVER 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 individual donations so far! MOVED INTO 2ND PLACE! They’ve received over $20,000 in donations!

I have been catching up on some blogs today. I’ve noticed a very important message that people are posting to their sites. There is an artist, Bernie Berlin, who is dedicated to rescuing dogs and cats.

Here is your opportunity to pay it forward and give to a great cause. Your donations to A Place to Bark will be matched up to $25,000 by the Zoline Foundation. In addition, a $50,000 grant from America’s Giving Challenge will be awarded to the organization collecting the most individual donations. The challenge is open until January 31, so go give now!

Click here to give what you can to help! Tim Holtz is paying it forward with a special give away, which makes it more enticing. Read Claudine Hellmuth’s blog to see what she’s done to help. The power of this effort is through word of mouth. Share this with your blog readers and help make Bernie’s dream a reality!

Today I am thankful for my dogs.  We have four small ankle biters running around here.  My dogs are always happy to see me.  They love me even if I have morning breath and bed head.  They are always happy to see me and every reunion is like a homecoming after a long absence.  No one loves me more as my dogs (well, maybe Steve does).  And I love my dogs.  I love my dogs more than some people I know.  Allow me to introduce them:

Chloe is my first dog.  She’s a very bossy, sassy Chihuahua.  She is the sweetest dog you’ll ever meet.  CoCo is a good girl.  She always tries to make mom and dad happy.  She’s a Miniature Pinscher.  Even though she looks like a tiny doberman, she’s really not even closely related. Next is Phoebe.  She’s the newest addition to our family.  She’s still a puppy and loves to play.  She’s a Cairn Terrier aka Toto dog.  Last but not least is Bull.  He’s our cranky, geriatric male Toy Poodle.  He and Steve were a package deal.  Poor old guy, he’s almost blind and has some other health problems.  It’s getting close to the end of his life which will be so hard on Steve.  For now we’re making him as comfortable as possible and enjoying his companionship.If there aren’t dogs in heaven, I don’t wanna go.