Day 1948

It doesn't really take much to turn a bad day into a good day. It was supposed to rain this morning, but it didn't. I managed to located a missing UPS shipment and it will be here this weekend. I found a better source for my favorite Italian Roast coffee. I even took some decent photographs of baby ducks on my evening walk with Dash. Little things like these made me forget that I saw a giant spider in the kitchen this morning, woke up with a lot of shoulder pain, and discovered that one of my favorite watches had quit working. All you need is a little good to cancel out the bad.

Dot seems to share this attitude. Even though she stumbles a bit and can't seem to walk in a straight line, she seems quite happy with the limited mobility she has been able to regain. Dot's vet continues to be impressed with her progress, but she reminds me from time to time that Dot is fourteen and not to expect miracles. Dot gets stronger every day, but she gets older as well. I am so process oriented that I sometimes think if I faithfully continue her rehabilitation, she will eventually become a young dog again. That's not going to happen. The best we can hope for is a graceful balance between aging and recovery. Dot did great on the treadmill, but was very tired this evening. I guess that is to be expected.

I left Dot alone for the first time today. After we returned from physical therapy, I took a stack of bills to the post office and picked up some prescriptions at the pharmacy. I was only gone ten minutes, but you've got to start somewhere. When I returned, Dot was still sitting in her dog bed and didn't seem frantic at all. The experiment was a success. The only thing I forgot was to take off her harness before I left. Occasionally, one of her feet gets caught up in the harness while she is sleeping, and I don't want that to happen when I'm gone. We'll try this for a little longer when I take Dash for his annual exam next week. If that goes well, I think the dogs will be fine when I have to go for dental surgery toward the end of the month.

I hope I get some interesting projects next week. This week was slow and pretty dull. When I talk with clients they tell me that they have lots of stuff in the pipeline for me. I just hope it doesn't all hit the fan at once. There's only so much I can do in a day. I never seem to be able to regulate my work load very well. It's been feast or famine for over twenty years now, and I don't expect that to change soon.

It's a safe bet that tomorrow won't be very busy. Friday's never are. I think this is how the tradition of going out for breakfast on Friday got started. Without pressing deadlines, I finally had a little time for myself. I'll get up a extra early tomorrow and walk Dash in the dark, so there's still time to go out for breakfast before Janet leaves for work. This little oasis of time is often the high point of my week. As Dot continues to improve, I imagine that I'll be able to go back to my old schedule at some point. There's no hurry though. All in good time.

Backer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day