I took Miss Luckie Beaule to the vet this morning after a long night of her throwing up and feeling miserable.  Dr. Steve examined her and took an x-ray.  She did not have an obstruction but there appears to be an enlargement in the area of her liver or her spleen.  We will be going for an ultrasound on Tuesday of next week.  Since she was dehydrated, he injected fluids through her skin.  She didn’t like this and snapped at him.    I was speechless.

She’s home now and he gave her something for nausea and asked us not to give her food or water until tomorrow evening.  I’ve broke down and given her 2-3 dog treats and a sip of water just to moisten her mouth. She has also stolen the cat’s food and drank out of the commode.  It is hard to obey the rules.

Since Luckie was worked in for her visit with Dr. Steve, we dropped her off so she could be seen “in between” other appointments.  This left Mike and I some time to kill in Bristol.  We could have shopped together, had a nice lunch, but this didn’t work out because we had Gracie the Golden Retriever with us.  I could not leave her home alone.

I also could not leave her alone in the truck even with the air conditioning running, because if the air conditioning failed, it would be terrible with the high temperatures we’re having.  So…this resulted in Mike running in and out of stores and me sitting in the truck with Gracie.  I learned something.  All of these places have wi-fi!  I had my I-pad with me so I played Words With Friends at Lowe’s, Sam’s Club, Home Depot, and “The Lost Sock” laundramat where we washed doggy bed covers (talk about a stinkin’ problem).  I just hopped on and off the wi-fi’s as needed.  Sometimes I had two to choose from!  Really changes the whole experience of being stuck in the truck!  Technology rocks.

I love this little face.  Dr. Steve–are you sure she snapped at you?   She’s so sweet.  

We need rain in Southwest Virginia.  Several weeks ago when we had the first cutting of hay, I noticed that the farmer’s got their hay in with a sense of urgency.   The hay was cut, raked, rolled and gone.   I recall thinking….they know something.  Farmers are more watchful of weather patterns than others.  They know the signs of pending drought.   Maybe they have developed a sixth sense.    At any rate, they valued the first cutting and worked day and night getting it in.   This were smart to do so, as we need rain. 

In churches all throughout the valley on Sunday morning, pastors will discuss the prayer requests.  Every church will have someone raise their hand and say “please pray for rain.”   I could not live anywhere else.

Here’s a picture of the North Fork right in front of my house.  This is what we call Mendota Beach and it’s where I learned to swim.  It’s very low for June.

I’m watering my green beans as I write this.  We have a deep well but it’s risky.

Not one cloud, and it’s blazing hot.  It’s not just that we need clouds to appear for rain.   The lack of clouds makes me uneasy.  It’s like I can’t hide.   The picture below is the “knob” behind our house.  In Poor Valley, we have the mountain and then the smaller ridge that runs through the valley which is called the knob.  No clouds above the knob.

The picture below faces the mountain.  No clouds anywhere.   

Let’s go to another subject, although a familiar one.   Guess what we had for dinner tonight? 

This is not a complete picture of the ingredients for my squash casserole.  I forgot to include parmesean cheese…you know…the one in the giant green can from Sam’s Club.  

This would be a great time for me to include a picture of the finished product, but I forgot about the blog and we ate it.   I’ll make again in a day or two and post the recipe and the yummy finished casserole.

We stalled today doing our projects.  Luckie kept us in town all day.