Day 2889

I went to the store where my online order was supposed to arrive and wasn't all that surprised to discover that it didn't come on today's truck either. The person who was helping me said, "We do happen to have one of these in stock." What? Why was I buying online if what I wanted was already in the store? I bought the item they had in the store and told the clerk to return the online purchase if and when it ever arrived. The clerk was surprisingly friendly about this weird transaction and said it happens all the time. "I'm sorry to cause all this trouble," I said. "I looked last week and you didn't have this on the shelves, so I ordered online." "It was probably here," she said. "We don't keep everything on the shelves."

I'm glad I went to the website meeting today. Somehow, I had a completely different idea in my head of what I was supposed to do. If I had started to build the site yesterday, I would have had to throw everything away and start over. I have a much better idea of what everyone wants now. It looks like this will be a work in progress for quite a while, but that's OK. I needed something to keep me busy anyway.

The imaging lab called today to remind me to not drink any coffee before I go in for my Calcium Score Screening tomorrow. The test is to measure plaque build up in the arteries. I wonder how caffeine would affect the results? I'll need to leave a note on the kitchen table tonight. I'm such a creature of habit that I could easily drink my first cup of coffee automatically before it even registers that this is something I'm not supposed to do. I think I would have preferred if they told me not to eat. I really need my coffee in the morning.

I wish I'd been able to finish my work on the roof while the temperature was in the 80's. It's been cold and damp all week and I have a feeling that things are only going to get worse. Fall is going to turn to Winter soon. I may have already missed my best opportunity to get this done. I guess there is no rush to use the remaining coating, but I do worry about that little note I saw on the label that says the product should be used within 72 hours after opening the container.

It's hard to remember when I could walk and feed Dash without a lot of elaborate preparation. We have our new routine now, but it sure is complicated. All his gear needs to go on in exactly the right order, or it won't fit properly. The Rough Wear Web Master harness needs to go on first, because the knee brace attaches to the harness. The rubber boots always have to go on last because you can't fit the knee brace if the boots are already on. I have to remember the socks too. The socks go under the boots to keep the rubber from rubbing his paws and creating raw spots. I'm getting faster at all this, but it takes a while.

Feeding is equally complicated. Dash will only eat the Castor and Pollux stew in the morning. He seems to like the Whole Chicken Thigh recipe the best. At lunch he will eat 1/2 cup of dry food if it is mixed with a crumbled up rice cake. If the rice cake isn't there, he won't touch the dry food. At dinner, we feed him Hills ID wet food. He likes his dinner split in two parts with a walk in between. It took a lot of trial and error to come up with this complicated formula, but it works. He's getting good nutrition now and maintaining his weight. I guess this is as normal as it's going to get.

I'm a little nervous about doing the CAT scan tomorrow. The last time I had a scan they made me put both arms behind my head before they slid me into the tube. It was uncomfortable then and probably impossible now. My shoulder has gotten worse and my right arm just isn't that flexible anymore. There is no way I can stretch my arms out behind my head these days. Should be interesting.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day