Day 3061

Lots of errands today. I had to get new halogen bulbs for the living room lamps. These little bulbs cost ten dollars each and I'm lucky if they last a month. It's ridiculous. Why doesn't anyone make a really bright LED bulb with a candelabra base? I couldn't be the only person who uses these type of floor lamps.

Next on the list was something to relieve the itching from chigger bites. I seem to get bit every time I walk Dash now. There used to be a product called Chigarid that worked pretty well, but you can't find it anymore. I use clear nail polish now. Chigger bites itch a lot worse than mosquito bites, but at least you can't catch Lyme Disease from a chigger.  I can tell that Summer is on the way. The bugs are biting and the seasonal allergies are terrible. I kept sneezing and my eyes were watering all day long.

I needed coffee pods today. Coffee pods are almost as overpriced as halogen light bulbs. I could save a lot of money on coffee if I went back to buying beans and grinding them myself. Sadly, I've become hooked on the single serve pods. It's so convenient to make coffee this way that it's worth the extra expense. You don't even have to clean the coffee maker if you always fill it with distilled water. I've seen ads trying to make me feel guilty about using coffee pods. I don't really understand these ads. Plastic containers can be recycled 7 to 9 times to make more plastic. The reason this plastic winds up in the ocean is that too many people don't even bother to reuse it. So there you have it. I want to be lazy and use the pods, but I don't want other people to be lazy and throw them away.

We gave Dash a Rimadyl last night, but it was hard to tell if it is working. He had a lot of energy this morning, but his rear legs are still very weak. Dash is having increasing trouble getting up and down and it often appears like he might be in pain. We'll try the Rimadyl until his next exam at the cancer center in June and then do new blood work to see if his liver enzymes have become elevated. I always worry that Rimadyl can cause liver or kidney damage. If we see anything abnormal in the lab work, we'll discontinue the drug.

It's weird that two of the most common drugs that vets give dogs for pain are in the news for having adverse effects on humans. Tramadol and Gabapentin are both getting a bad reputation for abuse and overdose problems. I wonder if dogs get addicted too. I never want a dog to be in pain, but there are so few problem free pain medications. I won't even take an Advil myself.

Jupiter is closer to earth right now than it's been in two years. I took a pair of binoculars out last night to look at the planet and it definitely appeared larger. I could see all four bright moons and was even able to detect a little cloud banding. If you have any interest in this sort of thing, you ought to go outside just before you go to bed and take a look at the planet. A month or two from now it won't be as bright or large in the night sky.

I'm pleased that the new manual focus app on my phone actually works. I can take pictures of flowers now without the camera always trying to focus on the grass behind them. I've never liked the way the iPhone's autofocus mechanism worked. Maybe I won't have to take a real camera with me on walks now.

I'm either gaining weight or the earth's gravity has increased. I'm definitely going to have to go to the gym tomorrow.

Dixie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day