This will be a short post, though it has been an eventful week. I just need a little more R&R before returning to another work week.

Pattern Painting

I was in the mood to paint today, but not in the mood to work on a project. I got out one of my favorite exercise books, Drawing in Black and White, and made some marks.

Negative space rocks

I worked on an exercise about triangles next, but it evolved into this.

“Things Just Get Harder”

The combination of the two satisfied my creative itch.

Low tail Key

As I wrote last week, Key went to nosework trial on Saturday. Sunday and Monday we puttered around, getting some walks in, but not really doing much. Monday evening, Key seemed a little lethargic. His nose was work (this is not an actual diagnostic test) and he just looked off. I thought he might have a tummy ache, but when I got up at two in the morning (now Tuesday), he hasn’t joined me in bed. Key was still on the couch and obviously didn’t feel well.

Tuesday morning, I called my vet and grabbed the first available appointment. Then I proceeded to watch my little friend stop eating and drinking. Whe we went on walks, instead of having a nice high tail of interest, he plodded along, ears low. He was definitely sick, but I wasn’t sure with what.

Wednesday afternoon couldn’t arrive too soon, and I ended up being really glad we had made the appointment. He had a high temperature, had lost over four pounds (he weighs 24 pounds normally; now he was weighing less than 20 pounds.) The vets got him some fluids, ran some tests, and sent us home with antibiotics. None of his bloodwork showed anything “wrong”, but he was definitely a sick dog. The vet suspected salmon poisoning (this is not the same as salmonella) and while I can’t imagine where he could have gotten into a fish corpse, the dog will eat anything.

Key at the vets, laying on my coat, not begging for food. Trust me, this is a sick dog.

It’s a few days later, and the antibiotics have done their job. He’s eating and drinking normally, all bodily functions back to normal. And his behavior is what I expect from him.

I’ve since learned that salmon poisoning can be very serious; even deadly. I’m glad I acted quickly to get Key that appointment!

Hives on the feet (really)

Just under two weeks ago I got into some poison oak without knowing it. I don’t remember having poison oak, but I knew I was allergic to it because both my parents were reactive. I did everything I could to stay within the bounds of polite company, but just as the original rash was going away, my body decided to overproduce histamine on a global scale and I developed a secondary rash on my arms, back, and even the bottoms of my feet.

I have a history with allergic reactions. A thing will happen and my body will take the normal response to the next level. After it became clear that we were beyond poison oak, I decided to invest in some benedryl. Happily, as long as I take it every four hours, it seems to be keeping at least some of the itching away. And the rash has to move on eventually, right?

So, with 50% of our little household under the weather, it’s not really too surprising that I didn’t paint up a storm this weekend. Anyway, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.