New Mother-in-law, Dogs, 4th of July and........ Still knitting!

Just some of the clouds that greeted us on the afternoon of the 4th! We ended up with serious storms that evening that did affect the fireworks displays. But I think to everyone watching, seeing the lightening and fireworks together was just the pinnacle of the evening...
I guess the word is out. I'm about to become a Mother-in-law again. Ivan and Kaitlyn are getting married on the 14th of July. Quick!, Yes, I know. Do we like Ivan? Of course, whats not to like. Why so .............quick? Well they want to be married before Kaitlyn goes off for basic training. So they decided to do a Justice of the Peace wedding now and perhaps later do a more formal affair. We're all getting ready to add another young man to the family with open arms.
I couldn't resist this pic! Sorry Ivan! Truth be known you have to have a sense of humor to get along in this group....

The 4th found me trying a couple of new recipes that included Blackberry's my favorite fruit! So we had Blackberry ice cream and cobbler! YUM!!! The ice cream was wonderful without being overly sweet. The cobbler was definitely sweet, just as it should have been. Then we partied with Barbecue Brisket, potato salad (Ivan's addition - which was very nice), black eyed peas, cornbread, fried rice (Jason's contribution - which turned out to be the hit), roasted corn in the husk, etc. We had plenty of food and it wasn't the normal 4th of July fare. So... I was pleased.



The layout....

Max and Jake get medicated twice a day every day. Max for his heart and esophagus. Jake for his seizures. Jake is so easy to get medicine down. I just open his mouth and pop in the pills his body goes totally lax and he just melts into the couch/floor/chair where ever he happens to be. Max on the other hand is a grab, pry open his mouth and start shoving pills down his throat kind of dog. Well as of yesterday he has officially mastered the technique of working the pills (3 of them) back into his mouth and then shaking his head where the pills get slung across the room!, or at the very least lost in the carpet or on the couch! I'm about ready to ask the vet for a blow gun and darts! to medicate this dog. I wonder if they really have that available? I checked, they don't offer dart guns and darts for dogs.... bummer.
Still knitting away.... working on the Rastafarian Sweater at the moment and trying to get at least 50% of it done. Then there is the Eventide scarf, Nutkin sock, Fable Classic scarf, Blanket from Hell, Geodesic Cardigan, Cable Net socks, and the list goes on. All get worked on weekly to some degree.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! EVERYONE...