In Which More Weekend Adventures Occur

This was a pretty full weekend!  I wrote about Saturday yesterday, but completely skipped Friday and didn't even get to Sunday.  Here we go!

Saturday, we had a meeting with all of the VISTAs in Pocahontas County.  There was only one person I hadn't met, and she'd just arrived, so it was a fun time.  I'd gotten all my hours in already, so I had the rest of the day off!  After hanging out at the library, researching and writing the aforementioned e-mail ("aforementioned" is one of my all-time favourite words.  Up there with "albeit" and "behoove"), I rescued my poor abandoned dog from her cushy prison and walked into town.  Armed with a book of West Virginia ghost stories (spooky things are a personal weakness), the plan was to grab some food at the Dirtbean, then walk to the river to read and eat.

My lovely roommate Kat, rather than making the long drive into Lewisburg after the meeting, had taken up residence in the cafe and was essentially "working from home."  We don't have internet at the house, so the Dirtbean often feels practically like home.  Poor Vista was forced to hide in the shade outside while I waited for my food, but finally, after watching the world's largest family get fed (not really), we set out, wrap-in-hand.

The river was gorgeous (see top photos), and very shallow.  Since Vista is part lab (probably), I'd wondered if she would prove to be a water dog, but since she'd never shown any interest is jumping into our little creek.  I decided to test her.  I waded out into the river with her on the leash, and she was interested, but hesitant.  Which is pretty typical.

We walked back to shore, and I sat myself on a tree root and pulled out my book.  Vista, off her leash, wandered back to the river but didn't go in.  So I grabbed my camera, hid my bag in the tree trunk, and waded back out.  This time, Vista wasted no time, immediately darting about, splashing happily through the water.  She tried to make friends:

...to no avail.  She had just the best time, though!  I've always wanted a water dog.

(She's actually standing in the river here, it's just so shallow that it's growing things)

Fortunately we'd walked, and by the time we got back to the house she was almost dry.  (Have I mentioned how much I love Vista's fur?  It is the easiest to clear and dry.  So long as one doesn't mind that it gets EVERYWHERE.)  But the best part of the whole experiment was how much it exhausted her.  I had a documentary waiting for me back at the house (I am a big nerd, in case you hadn't noticed), and in no time at all she was conked out.

On Sunday, I baked cheese biscuits, using a box mix I found on sale and all of the leftover cheese in the house (some shredded cheddar and a Mexican mix) and made a gigantic pasta salad (lunch for weeks!).  In the afternoon, the roomies and I drove into Lewisburg to make a Wal-Mart run.

(Do not be concerned: we were parked when this was taken)

First we stopped in town to see what was open.  The Bookstore, below, was not open, but one clothing store was.  We all tried on $50 shirts and $100 dresses, then went to Wal-Mart and bought $7 shirts and $20 dresses instead.  It is the VISTA way.

All in all, a very good, very full weekend.  There are other stories to tell, such as the tale of Vista's very determined gentleman caller (who arrived via the creek, if you can believe it), but I haven't discussed with her whether she wants me to share it.  After all, a girl's got to have SOME secrets.