Day 2585

I keep forgetting what day it is. There certainly isn't much to distinguish one day from the next. I know you're tired of hearing about dog walks, dietary quirks, and disappearing clients, but those are the most interesting parts of the day. Maybe you'd rather hear about my efforts to unclog a slow shower drain, or lubricate a sticking sliding glass door. There are days when I feel like the king of a kingdom that's in ruins. Why is everything falling apart? The house could use a new coat of paint. The large trees in the back yard are nearing the end of their natural life. The warranty on my car will run out this Summer. My passport is about to expire. There are so many things that need attention, but I've used all my energy on caring for the dogs.

Everybody knows about Dot's problems, but Dash is getting old too. He has trouble getting in the car now. Last week I noticed that he was having difficulty hopping up in the bed. Occasionally, he sleeps on the floor with Dot. Sadly, his years of running and jumping are almost over. When our first Dalmatian began having problems with his rear legs, I had a special step made to help him get in the bed at night. I went to the storage warehouse and got this step for Dash today. Sooner or later, all our dogs have ended up using it. I'm glad that Dot finally accepted sleeping on the floor next to me. The step helped her for a while, but she is way beyond that now. Trust me, you don't want an incontinent dog sleeping in your bed.

I ran five cleaning cycles after I installed the new ink cartridges that arrived for my printer yesterday, but the printer is still clogged. The folks at Epson are evil geniuses for using expensive ink to clean their printers. They could give the printers away for free and still make a ton of money. I've easily spent more on ink than I spent on the printer in the first place. It costs over $400 to fill this printer with ink and I'm convinced that over half of it is used to continually unclog the lines that carry the ink from the cartridges to the print head. Some of my designer friends have thrown their large printers away and just use online print services when they need to print something large. This makes a lot of sense, but like I've told you many times, I have trouble throwing things away.

A life where everything is falling apart wears you out. It breaks my heart to see Dot falling apart. The house can be fixed, but there is no remedy for old age. I'm really hoping that Dash stays reasonably healthy while Dot is still with us. Dealing with two dogs who can't walk at the same time might be too much. I'm so tired of dealing with things that break. The shower drain flows freely now, but I'm sure it will clog again. The sliding glass door in the living room opens now, but every year the house settles a little more. Eventually. the whole thing will need to be replaced. Every time I do a load of laundry, I wonder if this is the day the washing machine will give up the ghost. The last time I got a new washer and dryer, it was hard to find something that would fit in our small utility room. It will probably be even harder now. Furniture and appliances keep getting bigger and bigger.

If I take Dot outside every three hours, she doesn't pee in the house anymore. Maybe the Incurin is working. We still have problems making it all the way through the night, but this is a definite improvement.  We still have a week to go before the loading dose period is over, so there's a chance that this restart will succeed. I'm not sure where the big victories are going to come from anymore, so I relish the little ones. Today's victory was getting Dash to walk in the afternoon again. He's been refusing to take his afternoon walk for three days now. I finally figured out what was wrong. He was mad that I was walking Dot first. The little shit was just being moody. When I walked him first this afternoon, all was fine.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day