Day 1739

Since most stores are already overflowing with an abundance of pumpkins, can Thanksgiving and Christmas be far behind? It still seems a little early to be thinking about Halloween to me, but apparently that's not how it works anymore. For the next three months we will be continually reminded that there is nothing more American than conspicuous consumption. I've already seen Christmas lights on sale in a few stores. These holidays come and go so quickly now that I already feel like 2014 is almost over. It has been an interesting year, but definitely not one of my favorites. I sincerely hope that the dogs stay healthy in the year ahead. There were way too many medical emergencies this year.

I must have gotten up early this morning. I had a leisurely breakfast at my favorite restaurant, retrieved some equipment from the storage warehouse, picked up groceries at Central Market, and was still home by 9:30 AM. It was good that I got an early start, because work was busy today. I finished my writing assignment first and then got started on a complex Photoshop job. The client loved the photo, except they wanted me to replace the eyes on one model with a different set of eyes, eliminate blemishes on another, and completely replace the head of a third model. It all had to look natural and believable too. I thought I did a good job, but the girl with the new head might be a bit surprised with the finished shot.

The new iPhone 6 went on sale today and I didn't buy one. That's a first. I haven't downloaded IOS 8 either. I must be slipping. Usually, I can't wait to try something shiny and new, but this time my old phone seems just fine. Truthfully, my interest in all types of gear is declining. I don't think I've purchased a new camera, lens, guitar or watch this entire year. It's just as well. I don't have any money anyway.

Today was a chemotherapy day for Dash. Dot is finishing her loading dose of the Incurin pills and we'll begin decreasing the dose this weekend. Between me and the dogs, it's amazing how much time is consumed dealing with meds. There is always something that needs to be renewed or reviewed. I picked up two prescriptions for myself this afternoon and am still trying to figure out which pill is giving me a runny nose. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the days when I took no meds at all. Then I remember that I am much healthier now. I tend to forget that before I made a concerted effort to get things under control, I had already had a minor stroke, a bleeding ulcer, and my blood pressure often hovered around 160 over 110. There is a reason for all these pills.

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. The weather is getting cooler. The dogs are getting healthier. Fall is finally here.

Rhett is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1478 - New Year's Day

Some people think that what you do on New Year's Day foretells what you'll be doing for the rest of the year. I certainly hope that isn't the case. I thought I'd organize a growing pile of healthcare records in a ring binder this afternoon. It took a lot longer that I thought to decide which records to keep and which I could throw away. When I started to shred the throw away pile, I realized that the paper shredder was jammed and completely full. I took the machine apart and cleaned it out, which took longer than I thought as well. When I got this task finished, I got out the vacuum cleaner to clean up my mess and discovered that the bag was completely full. I knew I had more vacuum cleaner bags somewhere, but once again it took a lot longer than I thought to find them. This was kind of how the entire day went, as one easy task after another morphed into something more difficult than I anticipated.

The dogs, on the other hand, might have a great year to look forward to in 2014. The first thing they did on New Year's Day was go to the dog park. The weather was perfect, there were no aggressive dogs in the park, and Dot and Dash both had a great time. They've been waiting for this outing since November, so we spent a long time at the park, letting them both get a lot of pent up energy out of their system. Dot was surprisingly strong today. Even though we take things one day at a time with Dot, it is always gratifying to see her defy the odds and act like a much younger dog.

Eating pork on New Year's Day is supposed to bring you luck. We had pork ribs for dinner, so who knows. I'm not superstitious, but I do love ribs. I'll take good luck whenever I can get it. I didn't have any chicken today either. They say eating poultry on New Year's Day will bring poverty in the year ahead. You're not supposed to wash clothes today either, but that's going a bit too far.

Maybe in a week or two, I'll get back on schedule again. It's seems like Sunday evening, but it's really just hump day and we've got two more work days before the weekend. Dot has her acupuncture session tomorrow, although it is usually today. On Friday, I usually go out for breakfast, but I already did that on Tuesday. It's all very confusing. I wonder if 2014 will be a good year. 2013 was a mess, although the stock market did surprisingly well. If we learned anything last year, it would be that it is totally pointless to try to predict the future.

I wonder if the weather on New Year's Day is a harbinger of what's to come as well. It would be nice if that were the case. The weather was fantastic today. The sky was clear, there was no wind, and the temperature got up to 70 degrees. Pretty nice for a Winter's day.

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day