duke....

Well, the vet visit was different than I had expected. Sonja K. went with me, for which I rewarded her with a chocolate shake from McDonalds on the way home, as it was hot today and the air conditioning in the minivan chose to stop working. The vet seems very optimistic that this surgery will make Duke a happy dog. He thinks the ear tumor is cancerous, and the only thing to do is...remove his ear. Duke's heart and lungs are strong, says the vet, and if today's bloodwork comes out fine, he will probably have surgery...which I do have mixed feelings about, since Duke is so old and lumpy. I don't want him to suffer through recovery, ect., only to have more cancer crop up and cause him misery. blah. But Duke is such a good boy. He's the best dog to take to the vet. He did have his worried face on when he had bloodwork, which was adorable, bless his little innocent heart. I hate loving a dog so much, you know? He wouldn't even take a treat in the exam room, but he did gobble it up when we took him outside. He was like, "I'll go in, and listen to you, but I don't like this. I don't know about this, and I don't like it."

Oh, if dogs could talk.

He is tentatively scheduled for ear removal surgery in a few weeks, pending the bloodwork results.

But...life isn't ALL sadness and dread...no, it's summer. And we like summer. Today we lazed around a bit, sat in the sun...it's nice having five teenage girls...Margaret 18, Kathryn 17, Evelyn almost 16 (next month!), Suzanne 14, and Sonja K. 13...there is never No One To Talk To. I have girls to swim with, and sit in the sun with, and talk to as we wash up the dishes. We were in and out of the pool today, enjoying the almost 90 degree weather, and the fact that the pool is so very clean! Remember, the filter broke last summer right after I had it finally clean and clear...so all that stuff was in there since then...algae and leaves and green stuff....finally, it's clean again.

I found myself home with only Charlotte Claire and Camille, as the older kids all went to the youth meeting. Char fed Kitty and discovered that we were out of cat food! Someone had left the closet door open, and Bad Duke, he ate up all that kitty food, put his head right into the Little Friskies. So...we HAD to go to Target, right?

Just the three of us set out...Camille had the church songbook, and we sang, "Joy, Joy, Joy", and "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus". And, they talked. They delighted in having Mama's full attention, and I delighted in giving it. We found them a set of flower pots to paint, a pack of flower seeds, and some more potting soil. They are excited to work on this stuff tomorrow. I bought a package of division flash cards, some chocolate animal crackers, Starbucks coffee (yum!), and three bags of frozen chicken breast, as it was on sale and there was a $5 off coupon. The little girls got some oatmeal raisin cookies, which I admit drooling over...

It was a dark rainy drive home, but we enjoyed it. Char did not stop talking. The airplane flight to Washington state is their most favorite subject...who gets window seat, and walking while flying, what the bathroom will be like, where to go and how to stow luggage....they are so excited! The trip's not until September, but half the fun is the looking forward.

Never a dull moment. Tomorrow we have to go to the big awful mall in the big city, again, because two of the girls have iPods that need repairs, and are still under warranty. (none of them have cell phones:))

We are making arrangements to get kitty kitten "fixed", which Suzanne says could be avoided if kitty got converted. You had to be there, it was funny.

Oh well...it's after 1 a.m., and here I sit...morning comes early, and I can't seem to sleep in, so I had better get to bed before I turn into a zombie....goodnight.