Bye-bye, Birdie.

Our love bird, Houdini, passed away this evening.

I am very sad over the loss of our little buddy. I have a warped sense of humor (as if you didn't know this already) and have said some inappropriate things regarding the passing of our little feathered friend.

Things like, "Well, that's one less thing to move." My husband admitted the same thought crossed his mind only after I said it. And things like, "Ugh! There's a dead bird in our freezer and it's not even Thanksgiving yet!" We're going to bury the little guy tomorrow, but didn't want him starting to decompose and stink tonight, so I made a little birdie casket from one of my stationery boxes lined with fleece cut from the covers we used to cover the birds' cages with at night time. Brad put Houdini in the box, and then put the box in a ziplock bag, and then I put the whole package in the freezer.

Apparently one of my coping mechanisms when dealing with grief is to think inappropriate thoughts. :-)

RIP, little dude.

If you want to read a more reverent tribute, go to http://missnyssa.blogspot.com/2007/09/and-then-there-were-three.html

Odd Midwest

We recently made a trip to Emmetsburg, Iowa, by way of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I found great amusement in quite a few things on this trip!

Did you know there is a Minnesota Contact Lens Society? I wonder if there are Lasik surgeons attending this meeting incognito.



The Wild Rose Hotel & Casino in Emmetsburg has a daily special at the snack bar. On Sunday, it was a taco in a bag and a pop. What exactly is a taco in a bag? What kind of bag is it? Would they give you a choice of paper or plastic? I didn't care to spend the four bucks to find out.



Apparently you are not supposed to kick the side of the escalator, and dogs with no legs should be carried.



And because the pictures aren't enough guidance for proper use of an escalator...



This was in someone's front yard in Granada, Iowa.



A convenience store in Estherville, Iowa. They also have them in Emmetsburg. I guess the cost of the letter E was just too much for the chain. They must have said, "No," when asked if they would like to buy a vowel.



Ok, so I've seen international signs for no smoking, wheelchair accessibility, and even breastfeeding. I am stumped as to the meaning of this sign, which was outside our hotel room at the casino.




We departed from terminal A when we flew to Minneapolis. When we returned home to DFW, we were returned to terminal C. Dang inconvenient, if you ask me. So we hopped on the skylink and rode over to terminal A. The recorded voice announced, "Please stand clear of the doorway, do not block the doorway. This guy obviously didn't get the memo.