Day 194

Do you ever find yourself doing things that you consider totally pointless? In the Winter, trying to find the leak in the roof is pointless, because whatever I do, water somehow always finds its way inside anyway. Expecting Dash to act like a normal dog when I take him for a bath is pointless, because he is always going to howl and carry on and be a total embarrassment, just like he was today. Fixing the screen door is equally pointless, because the dogs are just going to jump through it again the first time they see a rabbit in the back yard.

I fixed the screen door anyway this afternoon because I have become a connoisseur of doing pointless things. I've probably put a new screen on this door at least a dozen times since I bought the house. Every dog we've ever had has either scratched the screen or jumped straight through it in their continual quest for backyard critters. It would make a lot of sense to get rid of the screen door entirely, cut a hole in the back door, and install one of those doggie doors that everyone seems to have these days.

I really like mid-century modern architecture though and stubbornly cling to the idea of having the house look just like it was designed to look in 1955. The dogs could care less about such things. I certainly don't begrudge the dogs for acting like dogs, so I just keep replacing the screen. When I first started replacing back door screens, the wire was thick and substantial and I could find the aluminum mesh pre-cut to exactly the size of my door frame in almost any hardware store. Now, the only size available is 36"x84" and the metal material is so flimsy that you'd think the screen was made out of recycled McDonalds wrappers. That's progress for you.

It's hard to believe that the year is already half over. It still seems like I just took down the Christmas tree a little while ago. Sometimes I wish I could slow down time a bit. The days just blur together now. It will be July 4 next weekend. Then Janet has her annual family reunion. Then there's the Dalmatian Rescue golf tournament. And then it's Christmas again. I wonder if they'll have that oil spill stopped by Christmas?

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day