Rain, Rain, It's Okay. Go Ahead And Rain All Day!

I woke up to the sound of rain this morning. I love that! Florida is the land of the afternoon rains, and morning rains usually only happen when I'm working - which I'm not. Or if I have someplace to go - which I don't. That's because I sent the Mister out.
My horoscope said I would meet up with some preachy people today and that I should try not to argue with them even though Virgos are ALWAYS right. Are so. Anyway, I'm not going anywhere, having dispatched the Mister for several errands, so the chances of running into anyone at all today are pretty remote. And the Mister knows not to try and get all preachy teachy with me.
I took a few pictures of the rainy day: some live oak leaves on the sidewalk, giant elephant ears with rain drops along the vein of the leaf, and a dejected Mexican petunia. Also a dejected Layla the dog but I'll tell you about that a little later.

I missed writing a post yesterday! I had a busy day and was too pooped to participate after the dust settled. The best part of the day was having Drew and her Grandma DJ over for the afternoon. Drew and Lucy the dog played in the pool, we made bracelets, and had a delicious dinner of tortellini with butter and elephant garlic, dippy bread, grilled chicken with lemon and fresh rosemary, and warm brownies with vanilla ice cream for desert. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures of the dinner - we were too busy eating. And, no, there aren't any left overs.

Does Layla look dejected? Well, she is!

Several years ago she had frequent episodes of major itching and scratched herself into a little bald mess. The Veterinarian never suggested a wheat allergy- they always just say vague things like "yeah , well, I see a lot of itchy dogs this time of year" or "it might be something in the grass". Kind of like the Doctor's "yeah, well, it might be a"urinary tract infection" which covers all obscure yet mild illnesses. Meanwhile, poor Layla was a mess - especially her poor little bald tail.

I finally found - with the help of daughter, Jennifer - that dogs can be allergic to wheat. Go figure. They eat things they find outside and lick stuff off the sidewalk that would kill the average human being without so much as a twitch, and they can't eat wheat? So, I searched around for wheat free dog food and settled on Merrick brand (Grammie's Pot Pie is her favorite). It works!

With few exceptions she's been itchy free and happy. Until now. Our newest dog, Lucy, has been eating Beneful dog food. Chock full of wheat. Her coat is beautiful and shiny and she has no skin problems, so we just stayed with it. Well, Layla's been snacking on it when she thinks no one is looking. The other dish always tastes better, ya know.

You can't really tell from the picture, but she's all bumpy and itchy again. Dog hives is what it looks like. I'm giving her an antihistamine, a soothing salve for her tail, and lots of attention to make sure she doesn't scratch herself into a frenzy. We'll be heading out to PetSmart tomorrow to buy the giant sized bag of Merrick - for both dogs. Layla can eat her heart out at either dog dish. She'll still think Lucy's is better, even if it's the same. Just like Lucy thinks Layla's food is better than hers.