Day 4131

I'm falling apart. I threw out my back last night when I was emptying the dehumidifier water bucket. I thought I'd feel better in the morning, but I woke up with one more in a long list of aches and pains. I'm sure many people have a lot more serious back problems, but this was a new one for me. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of things to come. 

It was raining hard when I woke up this morning. I turned on the pumps and nothing happened. I could hear the pumps running on the roof, but no water was coming out of the hose. This was unfortunate because it meant I needed to climb up on the roof and investigate. I finished my breakfast and waited for the rain to subside a bit before attempting to fix the pumps. I already knew what had happened. Every Spring, tons of catkins fall from our Oak trees and cover the roof. These catkins get sucked into the pumps and clog them. It's an easy fix, but you have to go up on the roof first. 

For the first time I can remember I had a difficult time scaling the rock wall leading to the roof. My back hurt. My arms felt weak. I got the distinct feeling that my roof climbing days were coming to a close. I unclogged both pumps, got the water running again, and went back inside. There was no point in doing anything further until the rain completely subsided. Maybe it will get hot again and the standing water will just evaporate. At any rate, I have no desire to go up on the roof anymore. The water can wait.

There isn't much to do on a rainy day. I don't like watching television and I don't like driving in the rain. Work used to keep me busy on rainy days, but work projects are few and far between these days. I have mixed feelings about getting shut out of the Crew-2 launch. Planning for a launch would definitely give me something to do, but I can't really afford a trip right now anyway. Realistically, I should be glad that I didn't get credentialed this time. I have time to work on getting back to Kennedy Space Center and hopefully the next time I get approved, travel won't be an issue.

I was glad when the rain finally stopped because Dawn clearly didn't want to take a nap with me. When Janet returned home we took Dawn on her short daily walk and then I continued onward. I knew today was going to be slow and didn't even bother to track my time. I don't know why I even bothered walking today. The weather was chilly and I felt stiff and painful. Right or wrong, it's important for me to keep moving. I eventually completed my route and returned home. This time I did take a nap.

We didn't get any mail today. Somehow this always seems to happen when the weather is nasty. The Postal Service Creed doesn't seem to mean much anymore. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" Nope. I don't think that's the creed anymore. I do a better job of completing my appointed rounds than our mail carrier.

We had chili and cornbread for dinner. Chili gives me heartburn but it seemed like the perfect meal for a cold, rainy day. It's a shame that the body refuses to cooperate as you get older. I used to have an iron stomach and could walk for days. I guess I should be glad that anything still works at all. By any objective standards, I'm still pretty healthy. It just doesn't feel that way sometimes.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3627

Lots of rain today. It was such a dismal, wet day that I decided to take my walk at the gym. This was a first. Driving in the rain to walk on an indoor track isn't something you'd expect of me. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Walking five miles on an indoor oval track is much better than getting cold and wet in the park. I may do this again. There is no sensation  of distance when you are walking on an indoor track. The only sensation is of time. To my surprise, I completed my walk faster than I do in the park. This was probably because there were no hills to climb. I also passed people on the track, which almost never happens in the park. People in the park are young and fit. People at my gym are taking physical therapy or recovering from heart attacks. I often think I'm one of the younger members.

I had to pick up something for dinner on my way home from the gym and the store was almost empty. I guess everyone was eating leftovers today. Since it was a cold, rainy day I thought we'd have chili for dinner. Eating chili almost guarantees that I'll have heartburn later this evening, but it still seems like the perfect meal for a wet winter day.

I guess it's a good sign that there are still no roof leaks. We've had a ton of rain lately. The pumps on the roof have been working pretty well, but they don't even come close to removing all the water. At best, the pumps can turn four inches of standing water into one or two inches. To remove the rest I have to get up on the roof and sweep the water over the edge of the roof with a big push broom. When it eventually stops raining, that's what I'll be doing.

Ginny has discovered squirrels. We may have to start taking her out to pee on a leash again. A dog that is recovering from heartworm treatment shouldn't be running around the back yard trying to catch squirrels. All our dogs have liked to chase squirrels. Dot even caught a few. It doesn't help matters that there are a ton of squirrels in the park. They could care less where the park ends and our yard starts. I've seen up to a dozen of them in the yard at the same time.

I didn't do any Black Friday shopping today. Instead, I deleted hundreds of Black Friday messages from my e-mail inbox. The ads and e-mail spam are relentless. From now until Christmas, retailers are determined to sell me something. These guys should know that I'm not really their target audience anymore. I don't need much. Unless someone's going to offer me a Mercedes Sprinter van for half price, I'm not interested.

Fitbit says that I am sleeping better since Ginny has arrived.  This is a bit counterintuitive, but it makes sense to me. Having a warm dog next to you is comforting. I didn't sleep well when Dot and Dash were sick, but they needed lots of attention. When our dogs were young, we all slept well. Ginny certainly has no trouble sleeping. She is sleeping next to me right now.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3355

We went and photographed the new dogs in the Dalmatian Rescue program today. I haven't been to the kennel for a while, so there were quite a few faces I hadn't seen before. It's easy to forget how strong and active young Dalmatians are. Dot and Dash were this way once. You think they'll be able to run and jump forever, but the years go by quickly. These new dogs were a lot of fun. I'm sure they'll all find great homes soon.

As expected, it was another rainy day. The gentle showers came and went throughout the day, so I was still able to walk Dash and do my grocery shopping without much trouble. Dash only got one walk today, but that was plenty. The rain picked up toward the end of the day and neither of us was in the mood to get wet.

Apparently, I still don't know how to tell time. I was going to stay up late and watch the Space X Crew Dragon launch tonight. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the launch was yesterday. Hmm. 2 AM on Saturday is not very late at night. It is actually very early in the morning. No great loss. Everything is recorded these days. I watched the launch this evening and pretended it was live.

My source for peaches has disappeared. I don't know where Kroger was finding peaches at this time of year anyway, but there were only four left when I went shopping this morning. The display was gone too, so I don't think the peaches are coming back soon. Oh, well. It's back to strawberries for the rest of the Winter. You can almost always find strawberries. When I was a kid, fruit really was seasonal. Nobody flew in berries from South America. Actually, fresh fruit of any kind was kind of a rarity. I mostly remember canned fruit.

Since it was cold and rainy this evening, we had chili for dinner. I love a good bowl of chili, but it doesn't always love me. I took my heartburn medicine ahead of time and had a beer with dinner as well. My doctor says it's fine to take a proton pump inhibitor like Protonix occasionally. It's not a good idea to take these drugs for years at a time though, since they can cause bone loss and osteoporosis-related fractures. It's always something, isn't it. For a long time I thought Protonix was a miracle drug, since it allowed me to eat anything. I guess there is no free lunch when it comes to heartburn.

I've got the pumps on the roof running now, but the rain is stopping and won't begin again until almost morning. Do I leave the pumps running and risk burning them out, or do I turn them off and risk a leak if the rain is heavy and the water levels build quickly? It's a tough choice. I wish I could find a pump that was safe to run dry for extended periods of time. It would make life easier. I guess I'll play it safe and turn the pumps off and place a bucket under the spot that usually leaks. I've had enough of this lousy weather, but there is no sign that it will end soon. March is often just as wet as February in Dallas.

There is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow. I'll probably go to the gym anyway. Hopefully, Dash will sleep through the night. If he goes outside to pee while it's raining, he'll get wet and dirty and by the time I dry him off and clean him up, I'll be wide awake. I'll bet those young Dalmatians at the kennel won't have any problems sleeping tonight. Young dogs and young people seldom do.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3333

I've been wondering why the cable bill went up recently. Then I remembered that it's been exactly one year since we upgraded to a fiber optic network. There must have been a special introductory price that expired. Of course we're not going to take the fiber optic connection out now. We've become used to the speed. That's how they suck you in to just about everything these days. I've learned to ignore the "free for 90 days" offers, but you can't ignore everything. My storage warehouse rent went up so much that I had to move to a new less expensive storage space. The cost of web hosting is about to go up as well. I'll just pay the extra fees on this one. It's too much trouble to move all the websites. There aren't a lot of options with the cable company. I've moved back and forth between AT&T and Spectrum for years. Both companies are terrible.

The temperature was in the low twenties this morning. There was ice in the backyard bird bath, so that meant that there was probably ice up on the roof as well. I certainly wasn't going to go up and investigate. It was way too cold and slippery. Dash wasn't even interested in getting out of bed, but eventually he followed Janet out to the kitchen to take his morning pills. It was pretty clear that a morning walk was out of the question. Dash was shaky and having trouble walking and I'm not sure the more complicated Help 'Em Up Harness will fit over his Winter sweater anyway.

Since Dash just wanted to sleep this morning, I felt pretty safe in going out to breakfast. I went back to the hotel today. This place is almost the exact opposite of the trendy restaurant I've been visiting recently. There are only a few items on the menu and the place is never full. The waiters treat me like a regular now and already know what I'm going to order. I like the quiet formalness of the place. It's just too bad that they don't know how to make shrimp grits.

We have a new routine with Dash now. The morning walks seem to be a thing of the past. We don't know why he is so unsteady when he wakes up. You'd think he'd be rested, since he's sleeping well now. Mornings have become a struggle unfortunately. Typically, Dash will perk up a bit around 10:30 or 11 AM and eat his breakfast. By early afternoon, he has returned to his old self. We took another walk this afternoon and Dash did very well. He didn't stumble and even wanted to go on one of our longer routes. It's a mystery how the morning dog and the afternoon dog can be so different, but I'm happy that Dash still has his moments. He likes the cold too. I was freezing on our walk this afternoon, but Dash was enjoying himself, stopping every few minutes to smell something.

A couple of times every year I think about uploading more photos to the stock photo site. Some of my photos are selling. I've just never submitted very many. You'd think that with thousands of good photos in my files, I could scrape together a nice little passive income. I know a few people that make a decent income on Shutterstock. Why not me? I examined about twenty of my favorite images this afternoon and found at least one good reason why none of them could be submitted. Some were too grainy. On others, the focus was off just a bit. In many cases I had failed to obtain a model release. I ended up submitting nothing today. I'm sure I'll revisit all this six months from now, but in a lot of ways it seems pointless. The secret to success in the stock photo market is to have a huge catalog of images available. Adding twenty images to my meager collection would only increase my income by a few dollars a year.

We had chili for dinner tonight. A steaming bowl of chili is the perfect meal for a cold Winter night. Unfortunately chili always gives me heartburn. Story of my life. Everything pleasant has an unpleasant side effect.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3306

Winter is here. It was all about the weather today. The wind was blowing so hard that it felt much colder than it actually was. Even though there was no rain or snow, it still felt like we were headed toward the South Pole on our morning walk. I'm glad we don't live any further north. The weather reports from the middle of the country looked pretty grim today.

I think the roof survived yesterday's rain. No water entered the house. The pumps kept the water level reasonably low, but when I went up to inspect things after breakfast, there was still lots of water to sweep away. It seemed even colder up on the roof than it did on the ground. The roofers did a pretty good job of repairing and sealing the areas where water was coming inside, but I can already see other areas that are likely to deteriorate in the weeks and months ahead. I've pretty much resigned myself to climbing up on the roof and sweeping the water away every time it rains. I think that the best I can hope for is that the recent repairs will keep the house dry until early Spring when I can make a decision about completely replacing the roof.

Dash has already torn up the plastic sheet we use to protect the bed in case he pees on it again. I went to Home Depot to see if I could find a better solution and came home with a shower curtain. The plastic shower curtain is waterproof, easy to place on top of the bedspread before we go to bed, and inexpensive enough that we can just keep replacing it as needed. Dash only peed on the bed once, but I'm convinced that he'll do it again the first time I forget to place a protective covering under his blanket.

I'm listening to the Cowboys vs Rams playoff game as I write. The Cowboys better pick up the pace a bit in the second half. Early in the season I didn't even think that they'd make the playoffs. It's never over till it's over though. Wouldn't it be a surprise to see the Cowboys in the Superbowl again. Somehow, I don't think it's going to happen.

Dash is still stumbling a lot, but other than that, he seems like a happy dog. We tried putting a leg brace on both rear legs this morning but it was too much. Dash couldn't walk at all. Oh, well. Back to the drawing board. When we ordered the second brace for the left leg we were hoping that it would provide some additional stability. Unfortunately, it just made it harder for Dash to walk. Both legs are weak, so maybe we can alternate the left and right braces on different days. Dash walked fine when we went back to our old configuration. He likes the cold a lot better than I do.

Janet made chili tonight. A hot bowl of chili is the perfect meal for a cold Winter day. It reminded me that even though I'm freezing, it's been a pretty good day. The roof isn't leaking. Dash has been in a good mood. And it doesn't look like there is going to be any more rain for the next week. Hey, the Cowboys didn't win, but the chili was delicious.

Suzie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3026

Mother Nature apparently didn't get the memo that Winter is over. The temperature was in the thirties when I woke up this morning. It didn't get much warmer as the day progressed either. Jeez. The Bluebonnets are in bloom. We've already had our air conditioner running. This just isn't supposed to happen in Texas.

I wasn't happy about the weather, but I definitely was happy to see Dash feeling better. After a rough day yesterday, he was almost back to his old self. Even though it was very cold, he seemed eager to walk this morning. A stiff wind made it feel like the temperature was in the teens, but Dash didn't seem to mind. I can't say the same for myself.

I didn't spend much time outside today. After going to the grocery store and running my Saturday errands, I got the urge to hook up a MIDI keyboard to the computer. I hadn't done this in years, and not surprisingly the keyboard didn't work. After doing some research on Google, I discovered that the keyboard was no longer supported by Apple. I still didn't know whether the old equipment worked, so I restarted the computer using an external drive with an old system on it. I found a driver for the keyboard online and installed it. Suddenly I had gone back in time. Everything worked perfectly. I wish I'd never upgraded my system. My computer and my own brain seem to work better using Mountain Lion. Once Apple stopped naming their operating systems after cats, everything began to go downhill.

I played the little keyboard for a while and was surprised that I still remembered quite a few chord progressions. I had a bit of trouble getting my left hand and right hand working together, but with a little practice I could probably play piano again. Unfortunately, I had to put the keyboard away and restart the computer under Sierra again. Spending time in the past may be pleasant, but I can only make money in the present.

If I had a ton of space and nothing better to do, I'd keep a separate computer running for each decade I've been using one. I really liked my original Osborne 1. I hauled the heavy sewing machine shaped machine to user groups once a month where I would trade software on floppy disks with other geeks. Affordable hard drives hadn't even been invented yet. I got my first Macintosh in 1984 and have owned at least eight Macs since then. I edited video on machines that would be considered dinosaurs today. Everything worked though and I never missed a deadline. I miss those days.

Janet fixed chili tonight. A bowl of chili has always been our go-to meal on really cold days. As tasty as the chili was, I hope it is warmer tomorrow. I've had to plug in the little ceramic heater to keep the office warm and I'm wearing a sweater as I write. I'm not looking forward to going out in the middle of the night with Dash tonight. I wouldn't be surprised to see snow.

I was going to get a birthday card for my Luddite sister and I discovered that the Hallmark store in our neighborhood had gone out of business. I think the store has been gone for a while, but I don't buy cards very often. This isn't really a sign of the apocalypse, but it is discouraging that greeting cards are a thing of the past. I guess everybody just clicks the birthday button on Facebook now.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2970

Wow. Fiber optic Internet is really, really fast. Back when I got my first DSL line, people talked about fiber to the home the same way they talked about flying cars. It was kind of the holy grail of connectivity, but nobody really thought it would happen. I guess the future is here.

The first thing the installer did when he arrived was step in dog poop. I was embarrassed, but the guy liked dogs, so all was well. I try my best to keep the yard clean,  but in the Winter it is virtually impossible. If you don't clean up the poop immediately, it just disappears in the leaves.

It always takes longer to upgrade a network than I expect. There are holes to be drilled, mysterious boxes to be installed, and things that need to be configured. I was glad that I got to keep my old router, so I won't have to reconnect everything to the WiFi network again with a different password. It took a while, but the network works just like it did before. It's just faster.

It's amazing that the actual fiber optic cable is so small. How can so much information travel through such a tiny wire? I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that upload speeds are just as fast as download speeds. This was never true with U-Verse or DSL. I could have really used this feature back when I was spending my days uploading websites and sending huge video files to clients.

The fiber optic network is a success, but I wasn't quite as lucky with my refrigerator search. There are apparently no special President's Day deals on the model I've been considering. I saw hundreds of great deals in the store, but the salesperson said specialty appliances, like the odd size refrigerator I need seldom go on sale. "They know you need this one," she said. "They don't have to sweeten the pot with a deal." I know this is true, but it is still depressing. I get very few special deals.

The weather has been almost as erratic as the stock market this year. It's driving me crazy. One day it's seventy degrees and the next day it's twenty degrees. I bet the AT&T technician wished he'd installed the fiber optic cables yesterday. It was forty degrees warmer. It kept getting colder and colder as the day progressed. Another arctic cold front has arrived and I can't wait for it to move out of the area. I think the temperature could be in the teens by morning.

The cold doesn't seem to bother Dash. We took two very icy walks today and he was having a lot more fun than I was. I worry that the cold might make his shivering episodes worse, but they don't seem to be related to the temperature. The shivering and tremors Dash has been experiencing lately appear to be neurological in nature. I hope the tremors don't get worse because there is nothing I can do to stop them.

We had Chili for dinner tonight, which appears to be the prefect cold weather meal. I'm wearing my down booties around the house all the time now. Strangely, my foot doesn't hurt as much when I wear these things. They must improve my circulation. Now, all I need are some down gloves for my hands.  I still don't understand how Northerners deal with ice and snow. All it takes to shut me down is for the temperature to dip below freezing.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2929

The last day of the year turned out to be the coldest day of the year. I almost felt like going to the storage warehouse and retrieving the old parka my Dad used while doing research in Alaska. The coat is over sixty years old, but it still beats anything made today. Maybe some other time. For now it was easier to dress in layers like I always do on cold days. Dash needed his winter coat this morning and we had a lot of difficulty figuring out how to add it to all the other gear he needs to wear these days. The last time it got this cold, Dash was younger and didn't need the special harness and knee brace. We didn't see many other people walking this morning. We are persistent though. It's hard to shut us down.

After breakfast I returned to the grocery store to get coffee and blueberries. How could I have forgotten these essentials? I was glad I didn't have many errands to run, because the fine mist was instantly freezing to my windshield. In northern parts of Dallas people had to deal with sleet and icy bridges, but all we got was a fine mist. That was enough for me. I returned home before the roads got worse and spent the rest of the day watching television and doing laundry.

While I was doing chores I accidentally started watching a show called Our Zoo on PBS. It was quite good, but I didn't realize until later that it was a true story. PBS was having some sort of a New Year's Eve marathon and I ended up watching the entire series minus the first two episodes which must have aired before I turned on the television. It was strangely reassuring that I actually enjoyed this show about George Mottershead and his family's difficulties in starting their own zoo in 1930's England. I was beginning to think I'd gone off the deep end and could only watch science fiction.

My gym is raising it's prices at the first of the year. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but this is disappointing. Everyone is always raising prices. When I got coffee this morning I noticed that the price had gone up as well. I guess I could go to a different gym, but I like my gym. That's what people count on. They want you to get hooked on their product and then they'll gradually keep raising the price until you're ready to explode. There must be a limit to this kind of extortion, but I don't know where it is. Nobody even blinked when Apple started charging $1000 for a phone.

Luckily, some things are still affordable. Janet and I had a big pot of chili for dinner and it was the perfect meal for a cold winter's day. I could tell that Dash wanted a bowl too, but it was much too spicy for a dog. There is a bottle of champagne cooling in the refrigerator, but it remains to be seen whether Janet and I will still be awake at midnight.

Lord knows what's in store for us next year, but I'm going to remain optimistic for the moment. Dash has a million things wrong with him, but on a day-to-day basis he is doing pretty well. I feel better about my own health since I switched doctors. Janet has the best news. She appears to be cancer free. I hope the stock market continues to stay strong. Like most small business owners, I don't have a pension or a 401K. I'm going to need all the market stability I can get in the years ahead. I'm sure that 2018 will be full of surprises. I'll continue dealing with the future one day at a time. This is Day 2929.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 647

I got some Chili at Central Market today. I've been hungry for Chili all day and take this as a good sign, especially since I haven't been hungry for anything for the past several weeks. Maybe my appetite is finally returning, one spice at a time.

I got an amazing amount of stuff done today. The only explanation for this productivity I can think of was that there really wasn't much else to do anyway. I finished editing the two videos I shot yesterday and got them both up and running on the doctor's website. I wrote a new watch article and got my monthly writer's group submission finished and turned in as well. This might not seem like a lot of work, but video editing is a lot more time consuming than writing. To finish two commercials in a day is actually pretty good.

When I was walking the dogs this evening, I slipped on some loose gravel. Yikes! My neck didn't like that one bit. I'm so tired of feeling fragile. I'm gaining a little more mobility every day, but this recovery is going so slow. I sure hope this neck problem heals quicker than the dislocated shoulder I had a couple of years ago. That mishap seemed to take months before everything returned to normal. Walking the dogs four to five miles a day has been a mixed blessing. I'm in a lot better shape than I would be otherwise, but the dogs are strong and they've definitely taken their toll on me. When they both see a squirrel at the same time, it's all I can do to hold on to them. Did I mention the dislocated shoulder...

This weekend is the big Dalmatian Rescue Charity Golf Tournament. A lot is riding on this tournament, since the rescue group makes over half of its yearly income on this one event. This year, Dot and Dash are going to the event as "ambassadors." It's kind of a tradition to bring dogs to the tournament. The really well behaved dogs ride around in golf carts and visit the players, while the rest hang around the clubhouse and beg for treats. Dot and Dash are getting a bath tomorrow, so they'll look good at the event. I'll take a bath too, but I'm mostly worried about making sure I have enough fully charged batteries to take the hundreds of pictures I'll need for the dinner presentation. After doing these golf pictures for all these years, I have a lot of respect for sports photographers. Compared to my days of shooting fashion, sports photography is hard work.

Sage is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day