Lily is Home

 Good morning,

Our sweet Lily is home after a very difficult week.  She came home late yesterday afternoon and I grabbed Kjell's phone to snap a picture of her before she came into the house.  She looks tired, but her tail sure was wagging to show how happy she was to be home.

The back story:  Lily swallowed a sock that got stuck in her small intestine.  The surgeon at MedVet did a great job of administering saline solution orally, then moving the sock through her system to the inevitable end.  To do this a long incision was made in Lily's belly.  At least there was no need to make an incision in her intestine.  That was exceptionally good.

So, Lily is home, the sock is in a jar on the table, and aftercare and medications have begun.  Lily has to wear her party hat for two weeks.  Activity is restricted:  no climbing stairs or furniture, no playing with her siblings....  

Oh, and that was an expensive sock.  We were quoted $10,700 before she was treated.  We don't have the final bill yet, but believe it will be slightly lower after an adjustment.  I'll check my credit card statement later today when everything has a chance to post. 

Thank you to everyone who wrote and asked about Lily.  You are so very appreciated.  It was a very difficult week for Lily and the rest of us, too. 

All the best,

Lois

Lily's Surgery Successful

 Good morning,

That's Lily sprawled across Catherine's knees and an adjacent chair at the Vet.  They are waiting to see the doctor after an ultrasound and before Lily's surgery.

I'm happy to report the surgery was a success yesterday afternoon.  Lily had swallowed a very expensive sock.  Well, certainly not expensive when we bought it, but expensive to get it out of her.  She is scheduled to come home this afternoon and will have two weeks recovery.

We hope Lily is tired of eating socks!

Thank your prayers and kind words for Lily.  It has been a difficult week for Lily and the rest of us, too.

More recovery photos to come....

All the best,

Lois

Prayers for Lily the Lab

 

 Good morning,

Our sweet Lily is in the hospital because, as Labs are known to do, she has swallowed something she shouldn't.  We don't know what it is yet or if surgery will be necessary. She had an ultrasound yesterday, received fluids and pain meds overnight, and will have another ultrasound today.

Please keep her in your prayers.  Thank you. 

This is an image of our two year old Lily from last Easter.  

Lois

Image from Viera Wetlands

 Good morning,

Today's image is one that Kjell took several years ago when we visited Viera Wetlands in Melbourne, Florida.  

Kjell was going through some of his old images and came across this.  It is just so pretty, I had to share.   

 Enjoy,

Lois

Dough Man Face

 Good morning,

It's that time of the week again to make bread.  The face you see above is the not-so-happy dough man as I started to knead after the first rise.  I suddenly realized the dough was looking at me.

I talked nicely to him, divided him into two portions for two loaves, and kneaded each portion before putting them into the bread pans to rise again before baking. 

 They looked very happy and yummy when they came out of the oven.  

Ah, adventures in baking....

;),

Lois

Acorn Squash

 Good morning,

I harvested this acorn squash from the front yard yesterday afternoon. It's wet and sitting on a kitchen towel because I just washed it off. 

 The back story:

 While cooking, Catherine sometimes tosses seeds from veggies she is preparing into the front or side yard.  Well, this one "took" and sure enough, we have a lovely acorn squash.  It seems only one seed sprouted into a vine, but there are a couple more small fruits still growing and a couple of flowers.  If it stays warm enough, we may get another one or two to the kitchen.

This is such fun!

What did you grow this summer?

All the best,

Lois

Old Glory - 24/7/365

  

Good morning,

We fly Old Glory 24/7/365 at our home.  Of course, we have lights on the flag so it is lit at night.

Recently, the light fixture we had on the ground aiming up at the flag was stolen.  Kjell realized the light was "out" so went outside to check and found the entire fixture was stolen.

So...  

 ...it is good to be married to an engineer.  

Kjell has constructed a light from the bottom that is powered by the sun and shines straight up at the flag.  Along with the light from the top of the pole, the flag is very well lit at night.  The light and solar panel you see in the image above are anchored to the flag pole so that it would take tools, strength, and time to remove it all.  So...

...we also have a camera system on the flag pole.  

It's always something, isn't it.  Hopefully, we won't have any more problems with theft in our yard.   

Happy Fall,

Lois