Day 3254

My eye exam went better than I expected. I still have 20/20 distance vision and while my close range vision has deteriorated, the doctor said wearing readers was normal for someone my age. I wish I didn't need the readers. You don't realize how nice it is to be able to focus your eyes from two inches to infinity until you lose this ability. Years ago, I use to think I could strengthen my eye muscles by alternately focusing on close and distant objects while walking the dogs. The plan didn't work. Almost everybody loses some close range vision as they get older.

I show no signs of macular degeneration, which is a good thing since my Dad already had macular degeneration at my age. There were no signs of diabetes related damage either. The only bad thing is that I've started to develop cataracts. The doctor said that it would be at least five years before he would recommend surgery, but eventually I would need it. Fair enough. Evidently, it is very common for older people to develop cataracts. Considering that I haven't had an eye exam in almost twenty years, I was happy with today's results.

I do wish I didn't need to have my eyes dilated for the exam. The drive home from the eye doctor was interesting to say the least. There is a new high-tech machine called an Optomap that makes eye dilation unnecessary, but this clinic didn't own one. Janet's eye doctor uses one of these scanning laser ophthalmoscopes and she loves it. I can see why. It's been over four hours since my exam and my eyes still aren't back to normal.

I'm not worried about my eyes anymore, but I am worried about Dash's paws. It's turning out to be very difficult to keep them from bleeding. The combination of blood thinner medication, the vertigo associated with vestibular disease, and the neurological problems that are making his rear legs weak are really making a mess of things. We can get the bleeding to stop, but almost anything can open up the cut again. The rear paws are the problem, but he even managed to hurt one of his front paws this morning when he fell.

Dash pooped in the bed again last night. We're going to try disposable puppy training pads tonight, but I'm not very optimistic about their success. Dash still moves around at night. If we put a pad under his butt when we go to sleep, he'll be using it as a pillow when we wake up. Luckily, we've got a good washing machine. I never dreamed that the super hot 'sanitize' cycle would turn out to be so useful.

I received another auction payment today. It still seems curious to me that some objects hold their value while others don't. I wish I'd held on to childhood toys and baseball cards. When you are a kid, you never think that baseball cards will be worth money when you are an adult. They were just pieces of cardboard wrapped with bubble gum inside. Most of my art was just pieces of paper too. Why do these things still have value and my old computers are worthless? My warehouse space is filled with old computers that were state-of-the-art when I bought them. Now they are just door stops. The movers literally used one of the computers as a doorstop while they were moving my unit last week.

It's hard to believe that it's Thanksgiving tomorrow. This year is almost over. We've been going to the same Thanksgiving Brunch for five years now. I hope the food is as good as it was last year.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day