A Lucy & Ethel Day

Sunday started out very normal. Well, with the exception of losing an hour of sleep. My worst day of the year.... anyway...Got up, ready for church, wearing a very cute, chic outfit. My black skirt, a yellow tank top and my red 3/4 length sleeved sweater, with a brooch which was a gift from one of my sweet choir kids. I put on my black tights and my nice church shoes. I looked good, I think. We went to church, where I worked in the toddler class & then helped out in children's church. Normal day.

After church, Don & I went to his mom's house for a visit and for Don to do some work around there. We had a nice ham sandwich for lunch. Avocado was even on it! Yum.... Anyway, after being there an hour or so, I get a panicky phone call from Meg. "Muffy ran away!!!" OMGosh! "What???" "MUFFY RAN AWAY." Apparently Meg & Drew were watching Greta's little Yorkie, Muffy for the weekend, while they were out of town. Meg & Drew have a fenced in back yard, but apparently that little doggie found the one place where the fence didn't go, under the house on the right side. There was a gap just big enough for Muffy to squeeze thru. Apparently neither Meg nor Drew realized that she was gone until several hours later. Meg was totally panicked, because she has an "iffy" relationship with Greta & Sydney (Drew's sister) and she feels that they don't like her or me, for that matter, and that this was only going to make matters so much worse. Meg, the DAUGHTER IN LAW, lost their beloved Muffy. Oy.... So, what was I going to do? Obviously, I needed to go help them look for that stupid dog. So, Don & I said our goodbyes to Mom, and took off to Belton.

Here I am, driving thru the neighborhood streets by Meg's house with my head hanging out the window, calling, "Muffyyyyyyyyy." Got to Meg's house. No Muffy. Meg and Drew had been out looking for her. No Muffy. Now, see, I have some experience in looking for lost dogs. Every time I'd go on a trip somewhere, my first Shih-Tzu, Tasha, would always run away, looking for her Momma! I found her every time. Three times she did that. Anywho.... Here I am in my fancy church clothes and heels, looking for this dog, all to save Meg's relationship with her in-laws. I walked all around, calling, "Muffyyyyyyyy." The whole neighborhood could hear me, I'm quite sure. It was like I was echoing. Weird.

I noticed that about a block away, there were some houses with a big fence running along behind them. So, since I was freezing to death, I grabbed one of Meg's blankets and wrapped myself up in it, and walked over there, all the while yelling, "MUFFYYYYYYYYY." lol So, I walked between some houses and over to the fence, thru squishy, lumpy, soggy, snowmelted ground, and was peering thru the fence, calling for the dog. And I prayed. "Dear Jesus, PLEASE help me find this dog for Meg. Amen." Then, not 30 seconds later, this lady, about 4 or 5 houses down was looking out over her back deck, which was up on the 2nd story of her house. She called to me and asked if I was looking for a lost dog. I said YES!!! I called back to her, asking if she sees a little Yorkie. She said, "Yes! She's in the fenced area, going around this building way over there." Sooo, she was also calling for Muffy, and I had to walk way over to the end of the fenced area, which was all gated up. No way to get inside, unless you're a little yorkie and can squeeze under the fence. Sheesh. So I walked around the end, and after trying several gates, all were locked up tight. I ended walking to the very end of the fence, which butted up against a little creek, which was very full and bubbling from snow runoff. I held on to the fence and swung my legs around it and got inside. Then I began the long trek to the building. It was about a mile away, or at least 3/4 a mile. Don was nowhere in sight, since he was in the Hummer driving thru the neighborhood looking for The Dog. I got to the lady's house and asked her to call my daughter and let her know The Dog was here. And then I proceeded to give her Dyan's number!!! And then after realizing my mistake, I had to turn around and walk back to her house and say, "OMGosh, I gave you the wrong daughter's number! (I was so out of breath from running thru mud in my church shoes, which were $200 shoes, BTW) Here's the right number," I said. I walked all the way down the mud path, and saw The Dog. Well, did she come when I called??? HECK NO!!! So, I'm running after this dog, in my fancy church clothes & my fancy church shoes.... and the dog runs away from me, and goes behind this building. I'm looking around and apparently I'm in a poop plant. Literally. They had several water tanks where they clean sewage. Omgosh. This plant was abandoned, but there were cars and junk everywhere. So.... The Dog went behind the building. I go trudging around the building, in my fancy church clothes and $$$ church shoes, thru the mud, muck, watery ground, lumpy grass, and there is The Dog. She's trapped by the fence. I get within 5 feet of her, after twisting my ankles side to side, because I'm wearing heels on uneven ground, and I kneel down and say, "Muffy Baby, come here!" She creeps close to me, and then within 3 feet of me, she tears off running away again. I think I probably swore, got up on my feet and walked thru the lumpy, muddy, wet, uneven ground while constantly twisting my ankles side to side. By the time I got to the muddy road, The Dog was clear back down to the end. OMGosh... Don, I could hear his voice by this time. He's on the other side of the fence. I yell at him to come around the end, but apparently he didn't hear me, because it's like TWO MILES AWAY! So, I'm hobbling down and yelling for Don to get Drew, since Muffy would know Drew's voice. By the time Muffy got down by Don, she turned around and ran back towards me. So, I stopped in the middle of the muddy road, kneeled down again, and said, "Muffy baby, come here!" And zoom, she ran right past me again. I couldn't nab the little poop. By this time, I'm thinking..... "If I ever catch that dog.... she'll get a whoopin' all the way home!" So, I go off in the direction of the building again. And pretty soon, Don & Drew had come inside the area, thru the frence at the other end, by the building. But noone could find The Dog. Apparently she must have gone around the building and under the fence. We're going on 2 hours by now, looking for The Dog. And I'm sick and tired of tramping thru mucky, muddy, soggy, uneven ground in my $$$ church shoes, and constantly twisting my ankles. Then Don & I were together, by the building, looking for The Dog. Nowhere to be found. Then a few minutes later, Don got the phone call from Meg saying that Drew nabbed her and was heading home with her. And the little poop dog even bit Drew!!! Boy.... Then Don said, my car is here.... but, because I'd been running and walking so much, I dropped Meg's blanket in the middle of the road, WAY BACK DOWN THEREEEEEEEE!!! So, I had to walk clear back down the road to retrieve the blanket and Don drove down to the far end of the fence to wait for me. I picked up the blanket, walked to the edge of the fence by the bubbling river, swung around the edge and walked over to the Hummer. Now, because my feet are all muddy.... and I was clearly worn out, I opened the door to climb into the Hummer, and put my feet on the floor board and started to heave myself into the seat, and BAM, my feet slipped off the floorboard and I landed on my right ankle, sideways. I heard snapping and popping and everything went numb, and I thought I broke my foot. I even cried. I never cry with injuries. But I did this time. Don took us to Meg's and I went inside, could barely walk, sat down, and then we noticed my ankle had swollen to grapefruit size. Oy..... Don insisted we go to the ER.

Fast forward FOUR HOURS after sitting in the ER surround by coughing, hacking, on death's door people. I made Don & me sit way far away from "those people". Mercy me.... Oh, and get this..... we were STARVING to death, and on the TV???? The Food Network. Steak grilling contest. Brother. Anyway, I finally got x-rays and diagnosis, severe contusion and sprain. I'm to stay off of it for several days and put ice on it. It's wrapped in an ace bandage & with an air splint. It's still pretty painful, but I'm getting around.

So, that's my Lucy and Ethel Day. Chasing a little poop dog who didn't want to be found, while wearing fancy church clothes & $$$ church shoes, and walking / running thru lumpy, mucky, muddy, wet grass & mud.... All for my daughter, to save her relationship with the In-Laws. LOL Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

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And that's my life so far...