What a weekend!

This weekend was one to remember! It started out normally enough. We got up Saturday morning and did our usual chores around the house, then went to the Food Court for lunch and perused the craft booths and walked around River Fest for a couple hours. There were lots of people and there was much to watch! People are fascinating! I will never understand how someone can pierce their nose, eyebrows, lip, and tongue…dye their hair jet black…put on theatre makeup…dress in bizarre clothing…and get upset when we stare at them! What is that about? I assume that the reason they do all of the above…is because they want to be noticed. Hmmmm….Anyway, everything from a hoola hoop contest to live music, and bathtub races on the river kept the massive crowd entertained! It really was fun to be there!

Saturday evening, we met Shane, Chas, Candy, Harold, and Diane, at Red Robin for dinner! Marvin’s birthday was Sunday, and Diane’s is today, so we had a birthday dinner for both of them! Afterwards, Marvin and I went over to Bradley Fair and walked around a bit, stopping in at Williams Sonoma, and Restoration Hardware to browse. Then we headed home and watched TV until about 10:00.

Shortly after 10:00, Marvin got in the shower, and I decided to check e-mail and see what Shane was up to on IM. I signed on and found a short message “Call me on my cell” from Shane, so I did immediately.

Riverfest always ends with a large fireworks display, which can be heard as far away as our house. Sugar is horrified of the sound of fireworks and thunderstorms. She was out in Shane’s backyard when the first boom of the fireworks began, and apparently, it caught her by surprise…to the extent that she bolted from the yard (we still don’t know exactly how…the gate was closed and the fence intact), and she was MIA. Chas and Marvin and I all three went directly to Shane’s house and joined in the search! Marvin and Chas drove up and down every street in the neighbor hood and Shane and I walked the same streets, as well as the local park and businesses, flashlights in hand, calling loudly every few steps.

As I said before, Sugar is terrified of storms and fireworks. The fireworks set her off…then…shortly after our search began…the thunder and lightening started. We walked and drove and called in the rain…to no avail. We finally called off the search around 12:30, and we left Shane’s house, brokenhearted for Shane, and worried for Sugar.

A fitful night of sleeplessness followed. I woke up over and over again. I had fallen asleep praying for comfort for Shane and safety for Sugar, and each time that I awoke, I prayed some more. We got up about 6:45 or so and I hit the shower, prayed some more and began running down a list of things to do, such as checking with the humane society to see if anyone had brought a frantic beagle in, making sure to pick up the staple gun and extra staples to help put up posters, knocking on doors at the apartment complex down the block from Shane, etc. Then…Marvin knocked on the bathroom door, “Sugar’s home! “ he called out! My heart leapt and an automatic smile plastered itself across my face!

Apparently, she came up onto the front porch about 7:30 a.m.. Too tired to bark…she whined at the door. She was fine, wet and caked with mud…and tired to the bone…but fine. We will never know where she went, or what sights she saw on her overnight adventure…but she was a very affectionate, sleepy little dog upon her return!

On to Lacey’s graduation Saturday afternoon! It was hotter than heck and I wimped out and went to the car to avoid a migraine. Apparently, the speakers felt the heat too…graduation was over in 1 ½ hours! Mom hosted a small reception at Cherokee Strip Museum for her, so we went there and ate, visited, and perused the museum for a bit, then headed back to Wichita. Once there, we ended the day with peanut butter chocolate pie and banana cream pie and ice cream for Marvin’s birthday!

Here it is…Monday morning. Cloudy and rainy. All Mondays should be like this…after all…Mondays are evil!

Be Well!