Day 3704 - Valentines Day

I wasn't going to go to Sprinkles this year, but then I remembered that Dawn had never had a Pupcake. I had to go. Pupcakes for the dogs has been part of our Valentines Day tradition for a very long time. It was nice that we have a dog around the house so we can continue this tradition for another year. I got some cupcakes for us as well, but this year the day was about Dawn. Janet and I are both really happy to have her as a houseguest.

It was a beautiful day, but the temperature was only in the twenties when I woke up this morning. No pipes froze and it was back above freezing by mid morning, but this was still very cold by Dallas standards.  I'm glad I removed all the water from the roof a few days ago. It would have all turned to ice by now.

I tried the new neighborhood restaurant this morning and it was terrible. I like a good breakfast taco as much as the next guy, but this wasn't the place for me. There was certainly plenty of food. I got my meal in one of those tin foil pie pans piled high with Chorizo, breakfast potatoes, and refried beans. There was a stack of flour tortillas so I could roll my own breakfast tacos, but the food got cold before I could finish it. I'm sure this gutbuster of a meal was exactly what most people wanted, but I should have gone back to the hotel and had French Toast. I wish I knew I was in the mood for a soothing meal before I had consumed a huge plate of Chorizo.

Janet had already left for the gym by the time I returned home. We've been leaving Dawn at home for short periods of time so she will gain some confidence about being alone. Dawn was fine, but I could tell she was glad that her people had returned. She gave me a big Dalmatian smile and started wagging her entire body. I waited until Janet returned to go on my walk. There was no sense in leaving Dawn alone again.

It didn't take me long to realize that this morning's breakfast was going to give me a major case of heartburn. When will I ever learn? I need to be eating cottage cheese and peaches for breakfast instead of  chorizo and refried beans. I thought that a long walk might settle my stomach, but all I got was sore feet. I should have listened to Dawn. I could tell she wanted me to take a nap with her.

I never did get started on my Solar Orbiter story today. I'm so slow that I ran out of time. I guess I was busy enough. I just didn't do what I intended. I paid some bills and took them to the post office. I went to Sprinkles and got cupcakes. I picked up some things for dinner at the grocery store. And I tried with limited success to bleach the stains from our recent roof leak out of the kitchen ceiling.

I'm sure my story would be easier to write if I had a deadline to meet. Deadlines motivate me. My recent trip was fascinating and there is definitely a story here. I just need to get it done before the Solar Orbiter becomes old news. Maybe tomorrow. The only thing that could stop me from writing tomorrow is roof repairs. The roof repairs do have a deadline. I need to find this leak before the next rains arrive.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2047

Breakfast was the high point of the day. I like predictable, consistent things and this place doesn't let me down. I always order the Amigas plate with Chorizo and tell the barista that I want three cups of coffee. Since I've never varied my order in over two years, I don't even have to say anything when I walk up to the counter. They start cooking my breakfast when I walk in the door. Amigas is basically a plate of scrambled eggs, tortilla strips, Chorizo, cheese, onions, and a very spicy tomatillo sauce. It is served with three flour tortillas and pan fried potatoes. It's a hearty meal, so it takes me three cups of coffee to finish it.

I'd like it if the rest of my day was as relaxing as breakfast, but it seldom is. Apparently, Friday is stressful for a lot of people. I couldn't even get anyone to return my calls today. They were all in meetings or in crisis mode. I kept getting put on hold or dumped to voicemail. I always think my calls are important, but to a lot of people I'm just an old man who asks way too many questions. People prefer to send three word text messages these days. They don't want to spend fifteen minutes going over things in detail. I often realize when people ask me a question they don't really want an explanation at all, they just want me to say yes or no. At any rate, when people say "please call us if you have any questions," and then they won't take your call when you actually do have a question, you can start to feel irrelevant.

Dot ran out of Palladia pills today. This was one of the many questions I was calling about. "What do I do now," I wanted to ask? How can a major cancer center run out of one of their most frequently used medications? When one of the nurses finally returned my call, I was told that all they had left were the 10 mg Palladia pills. The 50mg and 15mg pills were unavailable anywhere. At any rate, next week I will be giving Dot six small pills three times a week instead of two larger ones. The total dose will be 60 mg each day, instead of her usual 65 mg. The oncologist said that this would be fine. I don't know what was wrong at some of the places I called today, but I'm sure the Palladia shortage contributed to the stress at the cancer center.

The temperature continues to get hotter and hotter. I'm impressed with how smart Dash is. He instinctively knows not to walk on pavement now and always chooses to walk on the grass at the side of the road. He never used to do this when the weather was cooler. Even the mornings are getting warmer now and I've had to delay our evening walk until the temperature starts to drop a bit as the sun nears the horizon. My water bill has certainly gone up. It was almost twice as much as it was last month. August will probably be even worse. We've still got grass though. That's a plus. By this time last year, the grass was gone.

It looks like it's going to be a slow weekend. I've got to pick up Dot's Palladia pills in the morning and get a few groceries, but that's about it. Work has slowed down. The dogs have slowed down. There's really no reason for me not to slow down as well.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day