A "Grand" Fourth

When I say "out west", I mean past the trains and the wind turbines. Northwest. Not as north as Cary Grant North by Northwest, but "out there".

Muffin and I packed and saddled our Toyota and headed out West on July 3rd, spending the Fourth at Nana's house. After just a few hours at Nana's, Muffin was cleaning out some brush and something fell in his eye. We spent an hour at the local emergency clinic getting it checked out. He has a small abrasion on the cornea. The doctor deadened it, examined it for debris, flushed it with saline, and wrote a prescription for antibiotic drops. We were home in two hours even with the pharmacy visit.

We were not alone with Nana. When we arrived the Rowdy Girls' and Company had been there almost 24 hours, and were loving the backyard and the second and third generation toys. We laughed, talked, played the piano, ran and played outside, and got a new dog. Yep, Maggie Dog has a new sister. She looks remarkably like Maggie Dog, but much skinnier from malnutrition, recently lactating, and heartworms. 'Mo', as she has been christened, is receiving lots of TLC and heartworm treatment, and is a very sweet tempered dog who is gentle with the girls and doesn't even try to hide that she already loves JB. His cousin found her on the side of the road last week, and a vet checked her out before she headed home with them.

Although Nana and Mo are pleasant company, the Grand girls are the real entertainment. Miss Roo, below, does love her hats. If one is good, two are better. The one modeled below was Muffin's when he was just a pup. Roo loved wearing it around while dragging another one with wide red ties on it which to her meant "walking the dog". Roo and I sang and played "Do Re Mi" at the piano. Ver' cute! At one point she stood up in a dining chair--totally against all the rules-- and CB told her to sit down. And she said, "Eulalie, Sit Down!" That would be a direct quote from "The Music Man".

Em loved playing "I Spy" and kicking the ball outside. She also let me play with her lovely silky hair for awhile and make a pony tail. You can see her lounging on the air mattress, glamour-girl style, after a nap. That girl like's her Marmee's pasta salad! I made it with fresh cucumbers, celery, broccoli and basil and thyme from the garden. Mini farfalle and sun dried tomato dressing perfected it. Em's favorite line from The Music Man is "Where's the Band? Where IS the band??" She almost gave Mo the name "Maggie's Sister" too.

Roo in Muffin's Hat.

Em as Glamour Girl.

Although we missed the fireworks, being on the road that night, God provided an exceptional lightning show. A grand Fourth was celebrated by all.