A day for good-byes

It was a sad day in Shakerag. Today, we said good-bye to my folk's German Shepherd/ Rottweiler mix, Bailey. She arrived with her sister at Mom and Dad's as a small puppy thirteen years ago. Having been born in the wild to a wild mother, Bailey never allowed any of us to pet her until she was about ten. By then she had arthritis and was in enough pain that she knew she needed Mom and Dad to help her. They did, and she continued to be friendly. The vet who saw her for pain said he had never seen a dog that didn't get over fear of people until old age. He said dogs either got over it as a puppy or never. Bailey was unique. She had been moving slowly for quite a while. Losing a dog never gets easier. It's always a very sad day.

We also had to say good-bye to our favorite local business, Grandmother's Clock. A shop specializing in unique children's books and gifts, it was a well-loved part of our community. Owned and run by a local grandmother, they even had story time and a tree house for good listeners. Unfortunately, there were simply too few of us who appreciated such a special store. The Grandmother of the Clock will still be around, but Stinkerbaby's favorite store won't be. Grandmother's Clock will be missed.

I'm sorry I'm not cheerful this evening. I promise I'll be in a better mood for my next blog post.

Good-bye Bailey and Grandmother's Clock.

Fisher Price Little People

Fisher Price Little People


Lately, I have been reliving my childhood. My mother, a.k.a. Nana, found many of my old Fisher Price Play Family sets. (Okay, they belong equally to my sister and me.) Stinkerbaby seems to think they are the coolest toys ever. I tend to agree.


This re-discovery of old toys began a couple of weeks ago at a yard sale. Stinkerbaby and I found the Fisher Price castle. Many of you in your thirties likely remember this toy well. Having spent hours playing with the secret room and drawbridge, it was gratifying to see Stinkerbaby interested. It was not it pristine condition, but I wanted it to play with, um, I mean I wanted it for my daughter to play with, so the condition wasn't an issue. There was no price, but I figured it wouldn't be more than $5. But when I paid, it was only $1! That was the best deal of the day by far! Well, after cleaning it up a bit under Stinkerbaby's "supervision" it has become her new favorite toy. So, I asked Nana if she could find some of my old little people or any other sets. The next day, she bought the following Fisher Price play sets:

the house the ferris wheel

the children's hospital

the village

the parking garage

the carousel (unfortunately, this is broken)

the farm the Sesame Street Clubhouse

the Sesame Street apartment building

and this is not Little People, but cool anyway, the Weebles Haunted House.


She also brought about 30 people and cars. Stinkerbaby could hardly wait for me to clean each item! And they were DIRTY! But, what do you expect, they had been in storage in Nana's garage for almost thirty years! I haven't cleaned some of them yet. But I'm sure I will soon. Nana didn't ever find my castle. Some days, I'm really glad Nana's a packrat.

What was your favorite toy? How about your favorite Little People playset?