Day 1816

Breakfast and a haircut. That pretty well sums up today's activities. You wouldn't think I could use up an entire day with so little on my plate, but I'm getting pretty good at it. Add in two exceedingly slow dogs walks and a trip to the grocery store and the day was gone.

Walking the dogs seems to take twice as long as it used to, because Dot has slowed down considerably. Sometimes I have to take baby steps so she can keep up with Dash and I. Dash would like to go faster, but he's pretty understanding. Both dogs enjoy ambling along, stopping to smell each and every bush, so that's what we do. I can tell that our morning walk is the most enjoyable part of Dot's day, so I do my best to make it as easy as possible to continue this decade long tradition as long as she's able.

You wouldn't think getting a haircut would take that long, but it does during Christmas season. Just finding a parking place at the mall is a nightmare. If today's crowds are any indication, retailers should have a pretty good December. The stores were packed and it's still pretty early. I don't even start thinking about Christmas this early. It was probably a good idea that I got a haircut now. Next week, the stores will be even busier and I won't have any extra time anyway.

Tomorrow we begin the first of our December Santa Paws Christmas pet picture events. These events benefit the Dalmatian Rescue group that Janet and I work with and have helped quite a few dogs find homes over the years. I'm charging batteries and gathering up equipment now, so I'll be ready to pack the car first thing in the morning. I used to do a lot of location photography for my business, but these annual events are the only thing left where I'll still pack up a bunch of heavy equipment and set up a full studio on location. If this wasn't for a really good cause, I wouldn't even attempt something this tiring. Pet photos are a lot more difficult than taking portraits of people, since dogs typically don't stay still for very long. I'm constantly moving around trying to capture the moment and by the end of the day my knees are killing me.

I listened to an interview with Ian McLagan on NPR while I was driving home from the mall this afternoon. Ian played keyboards for The Faces on some of their biggest hits like Maggie May and You Wear It Well. Later he played keyboard with the Rolling Stones for quite a few years. Ian died of a stroke a few days ago, which was probably why PBS was replaying the decade old interview. It seems like rock icons about my age are dropping like flies these days. It's the end of an era and is kind of sobering as well. We really don't have as much time on this earth as we think we do.

I'm going to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and then we've got to turn around and do the same thing all over again on Sunday. Monday should be easier. I'll just be sitting in a dentist's chair on Monday.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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