Memorial Day: Saturday & Sunday

Second Post of the Day

Saturday was one of those beautiful days where you want to be outside enjoying the weather. And did we ever take advantage of it.

After walking the dogs en masse as a family, we headed to Dog & Suds, an old fashioned hot dog and root beer stand.

We chose to eat together outside in the pavilion rather than stay separated in our cars.

That was the right choice. While the food at Dog & Suds is pretty average, the experience is not. Craig and I like to go there occasionally in the summer and eat in our car at the drive in part of the restaurant.

I was glad to be there with everyone - earlier that morning I'd had to go to Urgent Care. My eye had been bothering me for a few days but I hadn't thought much of it. Hawkeye Sarah wears many hats, one being a nurse, and Trinity is in her fourth year of nursing school.

Between them, they both agreed that I needed to head to Urgent Care and have my eye examined. I did as they asked and now I am on meds to clear up an infection. My eye is still swollen and puffy, but it is improving.

After lunch, we packed up the dogs and headed over to Local Son Curt's home where we spent the rest of the day.

Vanessa has been experimenting with juice drinks - the one she'd made that morning was delicious and did not last long.

Some family members played indoor games, while others went outside for a game of backyard softball.

Pepper, Tammo, Gus, Nash, Mama, Blue, and Rhett were with us, coming in and out of the house at will and enjoying the beautiful weather, too. 

The indoor dogs waiting for someone to open the sliding door so that they can join the outdoor dogs. (Pepper, Tammo, Blue, and Rhett.)

Pepper keeping my feet warm while I played a game of Wizards.

Curt grilled brats and chicken for dinner and we stayed late, playing games and chatting.

Sunday was an unexpectedly topsy turvy day and I did not take a single picture. Not one. We all went to church together, and then came home expecting to spend the day relaxing, playing more games, doing more chatting, and then having pulled pork sandwiches for dinner.

Unfortunately, that did not turn out as planned. Instead, Blue spent over 6 hours in Purdue's Emergency Vet Hospital.

Todd had taken Blue, Tammo, and Rhett to the dog park and Blue and a husky got into it with each other. Todd was bitten by the husky while separating them and Blue ended up with a deep and painful open wound on her chest.

It was deep enough that the vet was concerned that she might have a pneumothorax, so she had to stay not only for cleaning and stitches, but also for observation to make sure that she could breathe okay. (I'm not showing any other pics of the wound than this - they are disturbing.)

Needless to say, it was a long day for us all as we waited for Blue to be released. She came home late that night, slept fitfully, but seems better this morning.  She's been cleared for the drive home plus her pain meds will make her drowsy, so she will sleep most of the trip back home to Iowa. 

The visit closed on a somber note. Still, it was fun to be together as a family, and the family dogs had a lot of fun together. They know each other well, and while Tammo was the new kid on the block, he integrated well and he played hard and slept hard. (I expect he and Pepper will crash and sleep as soon as Sarah, Todd, and Trinity leave!)

One more thing... Sarah surprised me with a request about a piece in my collection. She asked if I would put her name on the tag of one of my Breyers so that she could have it. Any guesses as to who she might want? Hint: she's a wildlife photographer.

Stay 'tooned for the answer!