Day 2193

Dot was tired today. So was I. We soldiered on however and did our Thursday routine. I try not to push Dot too hard, but you've got to keep moving. When you quit moving, it's all over. We slowed down the treadmill a bit and Dot did just fine. Dot's vet spent a little extra time with her acupuncture session, trying to ease the tension in her back. I think it worked, because Dot was more relaxed when we got home again.I wish I could think of a better way to transport her to physical therapy. It's becoming routine to stop along the way, so I can re-position her. If she doesn't stay still during the trip downtown, she can get her rear legs twisted in an awkward position. If she struggles to re-position herself while the car is moving, sometimes it just makes the situation worse. The physical therapy is beneficial though, so we do the best we can.

I did the best I could with my assignments today.  Sometimes it's harder to write about nothing than to write something of substance. I've been doing a lot of writing about nothing lately. Hey, it's the Christmas season and that's what marketing is all about. I've developed a pretty vocabulary of superlative adjectives. Everything I write about is a marvelous, must have item, even if it was made in China. Personally, I don't think many people even read the ad copy. It's all about Instagram and images these days. Whenever I see someone send a Tweet or text message using nothing but emojis, I think the language is reverting to Hieroglyphics.

I had to unclog a bathroom sink today. Unclogging a sink or shower drain is even more unpleasant than removing wet leaves from the roof. I remember when taking care of a house was mostly just arranging furniture. Now, taking care of a house is almost entirely about fixing broken things. The older the house gets, the more things break. My next task is finding somebody to fix an oversize sliding glass door. The sliding part of the door is about twelve feet long and quite heavy. I had the rollers on the bottom of this door replaced once before, but apparently they need to be replaced again. The door is very hard to open now.

I ran out of laundry detergent this evening. This is a dangerous thing to do when you've got a dog who poops in the house. I'll need to remember to stop by a grocery store and pick up a big bottle of Tide on my way home from breakfast tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly we go through laundry detergent now. I'm washing something all the time now.

It's hard to believe it's going to be Christmas next week. This entire year has gone by in a blur. If this year was one of those word clouds you often see on people's blogs, the words that would stand out most prominently would be cancer, surgery, neuropathy, physical therapy, and incontinence. Sick dogs and our ongoing efforts to rehabilitate them have definitely defined the year. At least my own health hasn't been much of a problem this year. It's nice to have my Hepatitis C problems behind me so I can concentrate on the dogs. Maybe next year will be easier. I doubt it. The dogs will continue getting older and so will I. As hard as you try, you can't cheat time.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day