Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Day 4009

Dawn did very well at the vet today. There was a lot of shivering and shaking while we were waiting in the lobby, but when the vet took her back to the exam room, she told us that Dawn almost immediatelly calmed down and was well behaved during her entire exam. Maybe we are being played. We still can't join Dawn in the exam room due to Covid restrictions, but maybe that is for the best. It's nice to know how she reacts when we are out of sight.

There is still no clear consensus about what caused Dawn's seizure and high fever earlier this year, but she certainly appears to be in good health now. Our vet says she is less inclined to think that the seizure had anything to do with brain cancer because the type of cancer associated with the symptoms Dawn showed during her seizure progresses rapidly and Dawn actually seems much better now than she did at the time. I guess we'll just keep monitoring her health and hope for the best. Everyone seems to think that the seizure will appear again at some point in the future. We are not inclined to do an MRI or elaborate imaging at this point. If there is a tumor or lesion in her brain it is likely to be inoperable anyway.

There were no doubts that it was Winter today. It felt like it was about to snow for most of the day. We waited until early afternoon to walk Dawn in hopes that it would warm up a bit. It didn't. The house thermometer said it was 40 degrees, but it felt like it was below freezing. This didn't stop us of course. We added a sweater under Dawn's Winter coat, dressed warmly ourselves, and off we went.

After our walk, all I wanted to do was stay in the house and keep warm. I made a quick trip to the bank at some point but that was about it. It's hard to get motivated on a cold, grey day. It's not surprising that I remembered these lyrics today. "All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey. I'd been for a walk, on a winter's day." I don't spend a lot of time California Dreaming, but it would be nice if it was a little warmer.

Tomorrow I go to the foot doctor. I hope he can come up with a solution for me that doesn't involve surgery. I can't imagine that surgery would be involved, but the guy is a surgeon. For some reason, my regular doctor didn't really want to refer me to a podiatrist. I imagine the guy will take an x-ray, tell me that nothing is really wrong, and prescribe some sort of expensive orthotic. That's what's always happened in the past anyway.

I"m trying to organize my thoughts about a second Sky & telescope article. I've got several ideas, but am not sure whether any of them would be all that interesting. I'm not really an academic writer or a teacher. I think I'm more of a travel writer who just happens to be interested in rockets and space. Since I don't have clear skies, a good telescope, or an extensive knowledge of astronomy, I'll have to think of something else. 

I hope it warms up a bit. Janet says we need to walk early tomorrow. We'll see how that goes. Dawn and I might just want to stay under the covers. 

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day