The Best of Intentions and Plans Go Awry

So last week's Painting Adventure got off to a great start! I arrived shortly after noon on Tuesday, using the remainder of the afternoon to get unpacked, settled in & introduce Odie to our Home away from Home.  There was scrubbing and scraping that happened.  Then the painting commenced!

My Mom was concerned about what I used to clean the 'green' off the north side of the garage.  Between having the pup with me and so as not to harm the environment, I didn't use the outdoor bleach she had there. I used Dawn dish soap, hot water & a long handled brush - came off quick as a wink!

Before long, I moved on to painting.  Here's the north side of the garage with racing stripes of new paint, applied by brush.

 I followed up with filling in the center using a painting pad.  Best thing ever invented - so much easier & faster than using a roller! 

Unfortunately, no quilting got done.  I was bummed about that but I figured it was no big deal as I was going to be back up there all of this week.

The best laid plans! As usual, the wheels came flying off that bus faster than lightening! 

The PLAN was to head back up to Michigan early Monday morning. Good Plan!  The weekend was great - had a riding clinic at the barn, did laundry, paid bills, hung out with the DH & friends, and even had a puppy play date.

Odie & I were up early on Monday. There wasn't much to load up as I only brought my clothes bag home & his travel bag.  Traffic wasn't horrible so it looked like all systems were good to go.

Dawn  - Monday, 2nd October 

Except when we arrived in Michigan, Odie wasn't himself.  Thinking he needed to be out of the car and rest awhile, I crated him in the cool living room, with his water bowl at hand, to rest while I went out to tackle some more scrubbing & scraping. 

An hour later, I chucked our bags back in the truck, called the vet & we embarked on a 3.5 hour trip back towards home, right to the animal hospital. Odie was definitely not well! He wasn't walking right, had a fever (104.4!), was achy, sore to the touch on some body parts and was lethargic. Crapith!  

While we could figure out the symptoms he was showing and how to treat them, it took three of us putting our heads together on the specifics of the Shar Pei breed, knowledge of the family lines, a careful examination and a bit of luck to uncover the root cause.  Odie had an abscess! Located on the left side of his face, just under the ear, it was bad enough to be causing a systemic / lymphatic reaction. No, it wasn't huge and it quickly ruptured & drained without any surgical intervention.  It was caused by a dog bite, most likely his sister's sharp little puppy teeth when they were playing.  Add into the mix, the fact Odie is growing and cutting molars, his little body was fairly well taxed.

He was feeling much better by yesterday. 

Tuesday - Playing with the fallen leaves

He is on 3 different meds, and getting some wound care, along with some special food and treats. We have the all clear from the vet to head back up to Michigan House.  Between all the back & forth driving (we covered 312 miles on Monday), the expected weather for the rest of the week & the plans for this weekend back at home, the painting project will definitely extend into next week.

Of course, there is still the urgent quilting, that has now become Very Urgent. Fingers crossed for getting The Plan back on track!