Day 1719

I only had one thing to do today. I was going to fix the screen door. I've done this dozens of times before, because screen doors don't last very long with Dalmatians. In the past, dogs have jumped right through the screen when they saw a rabbit in the back yard. Typically, the damage isn't this severe but the metal mesh always gets damaged eventually by scratching paws, wagging tails, and simply bumping into the screen over and over again. It was time for a new screen today.

I thought this would be an easy job, but I was wrong. Unbeknownst to me, they stopped making screen wire in the correct size since the last time I fixed the door. I couldn't even find anything close, so I had to buy a much larger screen and cut it down to size. I keep forgetting that my Mid-Century Modern house is really sixty years old. Doors have gotten larger, along with just about everything else. When I got the screen sized properly, I realized that I needed staples for my staple gun. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that nobody makes staples that fit my old but very nice Swingline stapler. All the staples are made to fit Arrow staple guns now. My sturdy, American made staple gun had become a relic. Home Depot had an entire aisle full of staples and nails, but nothing for me. I finally found a single box of Swingline staples that looked like it was from the 1950's in my storage warehouse, but this is going to be a problem in the future. Fixing the door was never this much of a problem before. It made me feel old. I had a hard time even getting the screen door off its hinges because of the carpel tunnel in my left wrist and my dislocated right shoulder.

I did eventually manage to get the door fixed, but in the process I broke a pretty brass watering can that I've used for years to water house plants. I knocked the can over when I was positioning the door on a nearby table to attach the screen and all the braised brass joints just fell apart. One little tap and the spout and legs just fell off. Later, when I was picking up dog blankets to wash, I knocked a picture frame off the wall and broke it too. It was that kind of day.

Dot had a better day than I did. There were no accidents at all. It's strange that today was normal, because last night she peed all over one of her waterproof mats while she was sleeping. Maybe it was just because we slept in a bit later this morning. She probably would have made it through the night if we had all gotten up at 6 AM like we do on a work day.

I watched the latest Dr. Who episode while I was getting the bed ready for another unpredictable night. I don't know if Dot's bladder will leak tonight, but I do know that Dr. Who needs some better writing if this season is to be a success. Peter Capaldi could still be a great doctor, but he needs better scripts. In my humble opinion, tonight's show was a poorly conceived mess. I felt like I was watching a parody of Fantastic Voyage. I'll still watch next week though.

Janet has a weird weighted hula hoop that she sometimes uses to exercise with in the back yard. I tried to use the hoop while I was messing around with the screen door this afternoon and I couldn't keep the thing spinning. How embarrassing. I would have thought using a hula hoop was one of those basic things like riding a bicycle that you never forget. Who knows. Maybe I can't ride a bicycle anymore either.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day