It's time for this week to end

Some weeks just don't turn out the way you expect. I posted on Monday about all the wonderful things 

that would be happening to the sunroom this week, so of course they didn't.

On Monday, Smooch spent her seventh birthday watching the snow fall and waiting for the crew to arrive 

so she could bark at them. It would have been such a wonderful gift.

Alas, paths and plaster and paint can't happen when the ground is frozen and the temperature is below 30.

Our hopes were raised on Wednesday when it got a little warmer, but that's when Hank told me it was time to go to the vet to figure out what in the heck was going on because he was having trouble walking that morning. Yikes! Luckily, I had to deal with a flat tire on the horse trailer so that helped take my mind off Hank and we made it to the big city without me having a nervous breakdown. Anyway, we still don't have a conclusive diagnosis. Could be dryland distemper (also known as pigeon fever); could be an allergic reaction to we know not what; could be any number of other non-serious things. I do know this: my team of vets is extraordinary and Hank is getting the very best care possible. They did an ultrasound on his swollen chest area - nothing but edema was found. More blood work showed that the antibiotics are working - all the levels are moving in the right direction. And they sent a blood sample off to UC/Davis for further study to help figure this out. I'm not crazy worried, and Hank is loving all the extra attention he's getting. Lucy is not.

By the time Thursday rolled around, I was ready for a break and I got several, in a roundabout way.

This stray dog showed up just as I was feeding supper. 

Lucky Break #1: Alan and George didn't hurt him before I contained him in a safe place, despite their best efforts.

Lucky Break #2: He didn't hurt the chickens, despite his best efforts.

Lucky Break #3: I starting calling every phone number in my two-page phone book and found his owners on page 1. 

They came and got him and we all lived happily ever after. 

Good thing, too, because I was starting to think up names for him.