Myrtle, Myrtle Myrtle

Myrtle at her onery best before the hook and surgery. She loved to try and sneak a stick inside for an afternoon snack.

When will she learn? Not. Myrtle, began to feel better on Saturday morning and wanted to play, but no.. mean mama and daddy kept her locked up in the house. So.. when the back sliding glass door was thoughtlessly left open maybe an inch or so, Myrtle squeezed her scrunched up nose through the opening and made her escape.
The little squirrel in our back yard had become bold since Myrtle has been in prison and had the run of the yard. Boy was he surprised when that pesky dog came charging across the yard like the little freight train that she is and almost got him. He was treed in no time and Myrtle loved every minute of it.
I heard her barking and looked out the back window. Oh, no..she shouldn't be running or jumping just a few days after surgery. I ran to the back door and (with out thinking it through), called her to come inside. If I had thought about it, I would have taken the time to get my Oxygen bottle on and walked out with the leash to get her but no, I called to her. Just as usual, she came charging back all excited and leaped up the back deck stairs, stretching out all those tummy muscles.
In a very short time she was down and out, not feeling well. Later we noticed the bruising around her stitches and some swelling on the side. It just got worse and by evening it began to bleed a tiny bit and continued to swell. We were afraid she might be bleeding internally and my Dad suggested we feel around to make sure her intestines weren't bulging through.
Off to the doggy emergency hospital once again. Fortunately, the vet said the swelling was mostly fluid with a little bloody show but nothing serious but her stitches were pulled. The staples were intact on the outside thank goodness. So back home with another $200 bill. Oh, and they took an xray to see where the fishing hook was and it is gone (Yea!). I guess we missed it when checking but the xray was worth it to find out it's gone.
Myrtle is still not feeling very well but this morning she showed interest in being outside (on a short leash of course) so she's on her way up I'm sure. What a ride.

As many or more were inside along with kids running around cooling everyone off with their squirt guns after dinner.

All this while we had a BBQ to go to in Florence on Saturday night and I had to bake and decorate a large cake for my Mother and Father inlaws 55th wedding anniversary dinner on Sunday. With all the doggy care and worry and time constraints, the cake wasn't very professional but I did what I could. It was supposed to look like an old bunch quilt with tassles, etc. but the colors were too light, the travel was rough and the icing began to melt and slough off from the heat by the time we got there. Oh, well.

The bologna sandwich is made with angel food cake loaf for the bread and gum tex (like fondant) for the bologna meat

We had 20 people for the small gathering on Sunday.

Olive Garden always 'crowns' their 'special' people of the day!

Mac and Henri (my inlaws) were married 55 years ago this Friday. He had joined the army and would soon be going away. His superior officer got the base chapel for them for free and they had $35 for their honeymoon. That weekend they decided to drive north (from a little town in Kentucky) to another small town just to go somewhere by themselves. By the time they got there, most stores were closed on the weekend and they were getting hungry. They finally found a little country store and found a loaf of bread and a hunk of bologna. That humble meal on their honeymoon began many years of love and commitment to each other and their family of 5 children. They are very loving people and I embrace them as my own family just as they have embraced me and mine.

We celebrated their anniversary at a resturant in town and we brought the cake along. The staff kept the cake in their large refrigerator until after the meal. Unfortunately someone accidentally stuck their hand in the cake while reaching for something. The manager and staff were very apologetic and wanted to make it right. Fortunately I brought the left over icing in tubes just for touchups after transporting it and was able to pile it up in the corner and match it on the other corner. Most people couldn't find where the disaster took place.

The manager asked me if the couple would like a bottle of wine but I asked for a gift certificate for them to eat there again since they love Olive Garden food. He was so nice and gave them a $45 gift card. Wow, that little piece of cake and icing hole sure did get them a nice anniversary gift. What a deal.