Day 2926

Dash threw up again today. Just like yesterday there were no warning signs. He slept well. His appetite was good this morning. We had a nice walk and then Dash went to sleep, just like he always does. When he woke up around midday he was hungry. I fed him a light lunch and about five minutes later he began drooling heavily. I knew what was coming. After a few frantic minutes, he threw up everything he'd eaten for lunch and then some. These episodes are always the same. Once he empties his stomach, he settles down quickly. I made him a bed in the hallway with some soft blankets and within five minutes he was asleep again.

Since this has happened two days in a row, we'll give him the Cerenia again. Usually these anti-nausea pills seem to stop the vomiting episodes for a while, but maybe they would have stopped anyway. I don't know what triggers the nausea and I don't know why it stops. We have a major re-check scheduled at the cancer center next week, so I'll ask all my questions again. I don't really expect a definitive answer though. Vestibular disease still seems to be the most plausible diagnosis. If something else is causing all Dash's problems, it's going to be a lot harder to find.

Since the weather is still cold and dreary, I thought I'd watch the movie I downloaded yesterday. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that it is no longer possible to watch a movie in its entirety without disruption. I had to pause the film five times to deal with minor dog emergencies. When Dash is acting weird, I always take him seriously these days. Most of the time he just wants attention or needs to go outside and pee. You never know though. Every day is a potential trip to the emergency room.

Even with multiple interruptions, Bladerunner 2049 was an impressive movie. I guess the reason it wasn't a box office hit was that it is very long and a bit slow. It is definitely a cinematographers movie. Roger Deakins made this dystopian, crumbling world look absolutely beautiful. It's been a while since I've seen the the first Bladerunner, but this sequel did seem to show a lot of respect for the original. If I can find a day when I won't be interrupted, I think I'd enjoy seeing both films again.

While Dash was sleeping this morning, I went out and bought another pair of rubber, wet weather boots. The tire patches I've used to extend the life of the boots I'm using to walk Dash now aren't going to last forever. Maybe it's just the Gemini in me. I always like to have a spare ready to go for everything I use regularly.

I think I'll just stay home and fix French Toast tomorrow. It's been so cold this week that after I finish taking Dash on his morning walk, I don't feel like doing anything else. There is little point to going out to eat if I'm not enjoying the food anyway. Maybe something will rekindle my interest in these Friday morning breakfast excursions, but for now I think my own cooking is better.

The trash has been taken out to the curb. Dash has had his evening meds, including an extra Cerania pill. The only thing left is to watch an old Perry Mason re-run and go to sleep. I know that as soon as I get comfortable and drift off to sleep, Dash will wake up and want to go outside again. That's just how we roll these days.

Dot & Petey are today's Dalmatians of the Day

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Day 2925

Not a great day. I had a feeling that Dash was getting sick again when I had to take him outside repeatedly last night. He was a little shaky this morning, but he ate his breakfast and took a morning walk. Around midmorning he began drooling excessively and proceeded to throw up all over the living room floor. I'd like to think Dash just had a few too many Christmas treats, but this sure looks like another vestibular disease episode. We still don't know how to prevent these episodes or predict when they will happen next. The only good thing is that Dash always seems to recover. Dash seemed very tired after he threw up so I got some blankets and made a safe space in the hallway for him to sleep. It's much easier to throw a blanket in the washing machine than it is to clean vomit off the bed.

After a few hours, Dash was back to normal again. Hopefully, he took his morning meds early enough so that they were in his system before he vomited. I wish Dash didn't have these periodic episodes of vertigo and nausea, but I'm afraid they will become the new normal for the rest of his life.

We saw a coyote on our morning walk. Another couple walking their dog warned us about it and sure enough, the coyote appeared ahead of us on the path a few minutes later. It is not uncommon to see coyotes on very cold mornings. Although this one was very close, it didn't appear to be interested in us. I also saw what appeared to be a stray dog down by the lake, but it was much further away than the coyote. I worry about dogs out in the cold like this. It was below freezing when we woke up this morning and the forecast says it will remain cold for the rest of the week.

It was so cold today that I ordered another pair of down booties online. I've been wearing these things to bed lately and they do a great job of keeping your feet warm. The down booties I have now are so old that the feathers are starting to fall out. I figured it was time for a new pair. All the winter coats in my closet were purchased on very cold days. I think the only things on my mind in the winter are eating and staying warm.

I know there is water on the roof, but I'm resisting the urge to remove it. I've learned over the years that the elastomer coating gets very brittle in cold weather and several times I've managed to tear it while sweeping the water away with a push broom. I'm going to need to have faith that the coating will keep the water out as intended and just wait until the weather gets warmer. This is Texas, so I'm sure there will be a warm day within the next several weeks. For now, I'm not even going to look at the roof. I'm sure I'd be alarmed at how much water is actually up there.

I hope Dash is feeling better tomorrow. I had some errands I needed to run today, but didn't feel comfortable leaving the house while Dash was having a vestibular episode. The cold days give me cabin fever, so maybe I'll get out tomorrow. If the weather is bad, I'll watch Bladerunner 2049. I finally downloaded the film today, but didn't watch it. I thought the movie would be more enjoyable if I wasn't distracted by dog vomit.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2876

I can describe today in two words. Cabin fever. It started raining sometime last night and continued raining throughout the day. It was way too wet and cold to even consider taking a walk. Dash eventually went out in the rain and did his business, but you could tell he wasn't enjoying things. He would wait until he couldn't hold it any longer and then race out in the yard and quickly pee. I kept a towel by the back door to dry him off, but it really didn't help much. It was just a miserable, very wet day.

Without a deadline to keep me busy at the computer, or a walk to keep Dash occupied, we were left with two choices. We could eat or we could sleep. Dash and I tried both. I wasn't sleepy and even Dash got tired of snacking after a while. I thought this might be a good day to watch Blade Runner 2049 on iTunes, but I discovered that it probably wasn't going to be available for streaming until January 2018.

Cold weather, dark overcast skies, and rain aren't a good combination for me. It's good if I have a writing job on days like this, because without a forced deadline, I quickly lose interest in everything. Dash just gets frustrated. He hates to go outside in the rain, but he hates staying inside and doing nothing too. He would go to the back door again and again thinking that maybe something had changed. In an effort to keep things interesting for him, I split his meals into numerous small segments spaced several hours apart. These bite sized portions were kind of a doggie version of Dim Sum, but it seemed to do the trick. The day goes faster when you're eating.

I hope my roof repairs had time to cure properly, because everything is definitely under water now. When I see water spilling over the eaves on all four sides of the house, I know there is a lot of standing water on the roof. I'm sure the roofer knew it was going to rain today when he dropped off the container of elastomer coating yesterday. Technically, he got me the product before it rained, just like I had asked. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to use it. If I hadn't gone out and bought my own container of silicon last week I would have been in a world of hurt today.

I wonder what happened to the pleasure I used to get by curling up with a good book. I work in an office surrounded by floor to ceiling bookshelves, but I didn't feel like reading anything today. I didn't feel like watching TV either. Janet likes to binge watch to relax, but whenever I look at what Netflix or Hulu has to offer, I can't find anything. Luckily, I'm very good at sleeping.

I resisted the urge to upgrade the computers to High Sierra today. I may never upgrade to High Sierra. There are so many fundamental changes to this new operating system that everything I use would probably quit working. Even the way Apple stores files on the hard drive has changed with this new system. Apple's desire to get their phones and computers running the same operating system is ruining things for me. I have no interest in a computer that works like my phone. I had everything I wanted several decades ago and now it is all slowly slipping away.

Hopefully, the weather will improve tomorrow. We have tickets to see The Twelve Days of Christmas at the Arboretum. This spectacular outdoor exhibit will probably look a lot prettier in dry weather.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2862

Janet helped me get Dash's orthopedic and protective gear on before she left for work this morning. I let him wander around the house while I was fixing breakfast, hoping that he'd forget he had it on. This plan seemed to work. He quickly became far more interested in begging for treats from me than in obsessing about his knee brace. About halfway through breakfast, Dash headed toward the back door and I knew he was ready. I was ready too. I put my smoothie in the refrigerator, grabbed a leash, and off we went. Could it be that Dash just wants to walk a little later in the day? Who knows. We took a nice long walk and then I finished my breakfast.

Since this little excursion went well, I decided to take him to the vet to get his anal glands expressed. As usual, he was terrible in the car, but at least I didn't have to worry about poop. He'd already taken care of that on our walk. While we were at the vet, I had the nurse trim his remaining dew claw. Since he tore the first dewclaw riding in the car, I'll always be apprehensive that this type of accident will happen again.

By the time I got Dash home and finished washing the breakfast dishes, it was almost noon. I'd already spent almost half a day dealing with a lovable but very stubborn dog. I fired up the computer to see if there was anything important that I needed to deal with. Of course there wasn't. It was time to get ready for the refrigerator repairman.

I was planning to have the repairman install the new temperature sensor I bought, so I watched a YouTube video to locate where the old sensor was. Locating and installing the sensor seemed simple enough, but after watching the video, I learned that the repairman was right. This particular sensor had nothing to do with my problem.

When the repairman arrived, he had the correct part this time and it only took him about thirty minutes to install it. We didn't bother to defrost the evaporator coil this time, because I'd already done this less than two days ago. The repairman said he was confident that the refrigerator would work this time, since we'd replaced all the parts connected with controlling the defrost cycle. I hope he's right. Having to deal with food that could spoil and go bad is almost as irritating as having to go to the laundromat when your washer breaks. When the repairman left, he told me not to worry. The parts are guaranteed for a year and if the evaporator coil still keeps freezing, he'll keep coming out until the problem is resolved. I thanked the guy and told him I hoped I wouldn't see him again for a long time.

A stray cat has been pooping in our yard and Dash is obsessed with finding and eating the stuff. Now, I've got to shadow him every time he goes outside to pee, so he won't sneak off and eat cat poop. The elusive poop is very hard for me to find, but apparently very easy for Dash to smell. I don't know how I'm going to put an end to this nuisance. The smell will go away eventually, unless the cat keeps coming back. Feral cats should know better than to hang around this neighborhood. There aren't many mice anymore and some of the cats routinely get eaten by coyotes.

I contacted the roofer again and tried without much success to get him to commit to finishing the repairs. This is the only major issue left on my Fall to-do list. There are a couple of holes that need to be patched immediately. I'd much rather have the roofing crew repair the damage, but I'd settle with another five gallon drum of the elastomer material at this point.

If I wasn't so apprehensive about leaving Dash, I'd go see Bladerunner 2049 tomorrow. I'm not very busy. This would be a good time to go. The film has done so poorly at the box office that it probably won't be around much longer. There are even matinee showings now. It won't be long before it will be at the dollar theaters.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2847

I was surprised at how cold it was this morning. The furnace was running when we woke up and I needed to wear long pants and a jacket on our morning walk. Typically, these nice October mornings don't last very long. As soon as the sun comes up, the temperature is quickly above ninety again. Today was different. I don't think it got above seventy degrees all day long.

Since the weather was nice and cool, I thought it would be a good day to fix the big gash in the front yard. I measured the bare spot where the runaway car had ripped away the grass and went to buy some St. Augustine sod. I'd forgotten how messy is is to carry grass around in your car. I used to haul sod in the Defender quite a bit, but I don't think I've ever done it in this car. I had quite a bit of cleanup to do when I got home.

I can't say that I did a super job on the yard, but at least the dirt is covered up now. With this chore marked off my list, I went looking for a cheap orthotic insert for my dog walking shoes. I found something at CVS that looked identical to the expensive REI inserts for 1/3 the price. If I was willing to go to Walmart, I might have found something for even less.

Now that we're feeding Dash what he wants, he's eating quite well. I hope the loss of appetite scare wasn't just an elaborate ploy to get us to change his diet. Dash can be pretty clever when it comes to getting what he wants. I feel confident that what we're feeding him now is healthy and nutritious. The only thing I don't like is that his poop is softer and harder to clean up. He may be getting too much protein as well. We don't want to deal with crystals in his urine again.

I've noticed that the refrigerator is starting to get a little warmer again. If the replacement part doesn't arrive in the next day or so, I'll have to manually defrost the evaporator coil again. It's easy enough to melt the ice with a hair dryer, but it takes a while to remove all the food from the freezer and unscrew the back wall plate so the coil is exposed. I wonder why this coil freezes up so quickly? I remember having an old fashioned refrigerator without the frost-free feature in one of my first apartments and I think I could go six months without having to defrost the thing.

I guess I'll just watch the new Blade Runner movie on my computer. It's going to be available on iTunes soon and I don't feel like dealing with theaters or driving at night. I can really understand the appeal of Hello Fresh, Netflix, Amazon, and all the other things that bring the world to your doorstep. When you look at what the world has become, there's a lot to be said for just staying at home.

Neo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2846 - Columbus Day

I was thinking about seeing Blade Runner 2049 and was surprised to discover that there wasn't a matinée. The film was showing at multiple theaters but all the showtimes were at night. Some theaters only showed the movie late at night. Maybe this is why some folks have been disappointed with the box office returns for this movie, even though the reviews have been great. The audience for this film is me. You have to be old enough to have seen the original Blade Runner before you're going to be looking forward to the sequel. What were they thinking by not having a matinée? Let the Millennials watch movies whenever they like, but remember that old science fiction fans sometimes prefer a matinée.

When I was growing up, I never would have dreamed that Columbus Day would become controversial. For most of my life, this has been a bland, largely uneventful day. I don't understand the desire to rewrite history. Columbus was no saint, but he is still revered in many countries. There wouldn't be a Latino culture today without Columbus and the Spaniards that followed him. Sure, the Native Americans were here first, but it wasn't like indigenous people were leading peaceful, bucolic lives before the Europeans arrived. They'd been fighting with each other for centuries. You could make a pretty strong case that the Aztec's were even more brutal than the Europeans.

Every culture throughout history has done horrible things. Some of the horrible things have turned out to be significant. If we try to erase history, how can we possibly learn from it? I wouldn't make Christopher Columbus a role model, but I wouldn't throw red paint at his statue either. Many of the people we admire today will be reviled by future generations. That's just the way life is. Truthfully, I'm amazed that there is still life on this planet at all. Even the animals are mean and nasty. Cute and cuddly dolphins are actually stone cold killers who routinely murder their own babies. We prefer to think that all dolphins are like Flipper though. It's just easier that way.

I love dogs, even though I've been bitten five times. I've learned that you can't just divide the dog population into good dogs and bad dogs. Given the right circumstances, any dog could bite you. I think people are the same way.

We learned today that Dot was going to be the cover of the 2018 Dalmatian Rescue Calendar. She's a beautiful cover girl. When I saw the proof of the calendar, it made me want to cry. Such a wonderful tribute. I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of these calendars around our house next year.

I called Janet's doctors this afternoon and asked how to become a patient. It's taken me a long time to make this switch, but I probably should have done it a long time ago. I'm not getting any younger and staying healthy is increasingly becoming my top priority. I feel a bit disloyal abandoning my primary care physician, but I've gotten to the point where I'd be nervous depending on him if something serious happened. There are no perfect doctors, but I hope that a year from now, I will still think I made the right decision.

Dash did pretty well today. I'm getting better at putting on his protective gear by myself in the morning and he seems to be walking more naturally using the knee brace. He never did throw up last night and ate a pretty good breakfast. I'm really hoping that his next echocardiogram will show some improvement.

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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