Father's Day

It's Father's Day this weekend and my parents are coming down for a couple of days.  Both to celebrate Sunday and Wednesday is my sister's birthday.

My dad is so hard to buy for.  Christmas, birthday, Father's Day.  He has everything he needs and if he did need something, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to find it because it would be an awkward tool at the hardware store and it'd be spendy.  I've done the whole gift card thing.  I LOVE getting gift cards but don't like giving them.  They seem to say:  I had no time to think of what you'd like or what you're interests are so I'm taking the short cut by putting money on this piece of plastic.

I guess I could say the same about my mom, but she's just a little bit easier 'cause she's a girl and likes girly things.

However, just a couple of weekends ago, my sister and I had a day off and we took an afternoon drive out to Ramsey and stopped by the Plants 'n' Things on Hwy.10/Sunfish.  We drive by there every time we head Up North and we always say we'll stop in on the way back.  But we never do because it's a been a long drive and we're almost home.  I wanna go home.

It's a pretty cool place to shop and kill some time.  Expensive patio/porch furniture, but great quality.  There's a little farm house that has knick knacks inside...two-stories.  I love this style of a house because it was an entry way staircase and another staircase in the back that leads down to the kitchen ( think Cosby show or 7th Heaven).  My grandparents' farmhouse had this at one point but they look the second staircase out in the 70's.

Anywho....back to shopping.  We were almost done and were ready to head back to the car when we saw something that made us both laugh.  I think dad will laugh too and then he'll get his Bebe gun and shoot the dang thing.

Growing up in Heights, we had tons of squirrels.  Cute little things.....Dad hated them.  Mainly because they would eat the grapes, strawberries, raspberries and make a mess with the bird food.  He would trap them and take them away...Rochester, Monticello, Blaine (at the time, it was desolate.  Think no Target/Menards/Townhouses.  Pure "Sticks".)  Our elderly next door neighbor had a air-gun and you'd hear it go "Pfft" and then a squeak.  Got 'em.

So Plants 'n' Things had this gigantic tree in front of the farmhouse and it made my sister and I take a double take.  It looked like it had over 50 squirrels on it....all ceramic.  Big ones, medium ones, baby ones.  They each were hanging from a nail that was pounded into the bark.  Some were hanging sideways (as if they were chasing each other) and some were hanging straight up (as if climbing up) and some down (as if climbing down).  We picked out one of the middle sizes. 

My parents really don't have a gigantic tree in their yard, but I know it will get a laugh and maybe a place in the garden.  Hope it won't attract the real thing though.  But I'm not worried.  Dad can handle the little bastards.