Day 4211

I guess the holiday continued into today. The markets and banks were closed. There wasn't any mail delivery. The Dalmatian's kennel was still open though, so we were still able to visit Charlie and Cooper. I took my camera because there were supposed to be two new Dalmatian puppies at the kennel. They were both at the vet for their check ups when we arrived though, so maybe we'll see them next week.

The day started normally enough. We got up early and took Dawn on her sunrise walk. I can already tell that the days are starting to get shorter. Sunrise seems a few minutes later each day. Dawn is now reluctant to eat the new food we got for her, so we made an appointment to see the vet. We need to know if she's just being a picky eater or if there is a medical problem. We are a little worried about her kidneys since we've known that they are a potential problem for some time. We'll get some new blood work done and a urinalysis, along with anything else the vet suggests. Hopefully, Dawn is just being stubborn. She has no problems eating people food.

The traffic was still pretty light when we went up to the kennel. I guess that holiday travelers aren't visiting Dallas. There were a lot of boarding dogs at the kennel, but we were still able to secure a room where we could play with Charlie and Cooper. Charlie was still very gentle with his new possum toy. This is the only toy that he doesn't toss in the air and get rough with. He just carries it around like he's looking for a safe place to hide it. We've never seen Charlie act this way before. It's actually encouraging to know that he has a softer side.

I was planning to go to the gym when we returned from the kennel, but I decided to take a walk at the last minute. I don't know why I thought it would be cool enough for a long walk in the park. Maybe the sun was behind a cloud. I managed to complete my six miles, but I was hot and tired by the time I returned home. I would have been tired at the gym as well, but I wouldn't have been as hot and sweaty. It's too bad I don't enjoy exercise more. It's very necessary, but I'd rather just sleep.

I paid some bills today and noticed that the electric bill has take a sharp rise upward. It's summer in Texas. Next month's bill will be even worse. The water bill will be a lot higher next month as well, now that we are trying to keep our new grass alive. I was never as aware of prices when I was working. Living on a fixed income puts a whole new perspective on things. 

I didn't sleep well last night. I've been having weird dreams again. For some reason my dreams frequently involve choosing food in buffet lines, being lost inside buildings, or being back in college. Last night I was dealing with all three of these things. At some point a professor asked me to come up with an equation that would generate an outline in the shape of Africa. I kept trying to convince the class that you could accomplish the same thing with a much easier equation that gave you the area of a circle. Just pack a whole bunch of little circles together and you'll have your map of Africa, I told the class. Hey, I was never very good at math. Maybe I was distracted by the fact that right after I had chosen a pathetic looking roast beef sandwich for my lunch, service workers bought out huge stacks of much better looking meat and replaced the entire buffet table. The flying dreams I had as a kid were much more enjoyable.

Hopefully the vet can tell us why Dawn keeps licking her feet and has lost her appetite. It might be nothing at all, but you never know with a dog. It's too bad dogs can't talk and just tell you what's wrong.

Isabella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day