Stacy: Animal Rescuer

Well, bleeding heart that I am, I rescued a cute little animal from a certain tragic fate.

Tonight, on my way to the gym (no really, I was going to the GYM!), I saw this poor cute little animal sitting by the side of the road and I turned the car around and went back for it....wouldn't you???

Although he was wearing a tag, he was obviously abandoned. His name is "Ollie the Octopus" - I don't make this stuff up!

Ollie was put out for trash pickup and I saved him! Only on the North Shore of Chicago can you find an almost perfectly new kids rocker in the garbage! When I came home from the gym and SHOCKED Matt by telling him I paid nothing for this treasure, I went online and found out that this cute Octopus comes from rockAbye and retails for about $80!

Ollie still has one of his tags on him. He plays classical music and looks like he's never been played with. I do have to say that his biggest flaw is that his handles are missing. I wrote to the company, already, to see if they could send me new handles but I'm sure Matt could replace them if the company can't send us new ones. I'm not sure if we'll keep him or pass him onto a friend that will give him the love he needs.

This brings up one of my FAVORITE times of year that is just 12 days away...Winnetka Spring Clean Up Days! Adding to the joy of my birthday this year, Spring Clean Up starts the day before my birthday! Woohoo! This may sound silly but every year, Winnetka, the "village" we lived in about 4 years ago, has their Spring Clean Up event. For 5 days, residents in pre-determined neighborhoods can put WHATEVER they want out on the curb and the village will pick it up at no cost. The phenomenon of spring clean up scavengers, like myself, has been chronicled in many major news outlets like Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, USA Today and the NY Times! So I'm NOT the only weird-o out there!

One year, I found a pair of men's golf shoes in the garbage, brand new in their box, never worn and sold them on Ebay for almost $70! Even a few of our household items were scavenged from previous spring clean ups. I'll have to keep you all posted when I find treasures this year!

So as not to disappoint all of the Quinton fans out there, here are some pictures I took today, enjoy!