Day 4300

I like big round numbers. Only 700 days to go. Writing something for 5000 days in a row has turned out to be a harder challenge than I originally imagined. A lot has changed over the past ten years. I'm still determined to make it to Day 5000 though, even though I don't really have much to say.

I certainly don't have any great insights today. It was a typical Saturday. We got up a little later than we do on weekdays and took Dawn on her early walk. Dawn wasn't adventurous today and just wanted to take her short one mile loop. We had bacon and eggs for breakfast and then I left to do my grocery shopping.

I have to go to three stores now to find the things I need. The supply chain in America still seems broken. A lot of common, ordinary things seem harder to find now. At least I'm having trouble finding the things I like. Stores are not shy about discontinuing brands that don't sell well. Everything is so computerized now that larger stores only restock items that customers are buying the most. They know exactly what you are buying because everything on your register tape is entered into their master database. This doesn't help me, because I'm not always buying what everyone else is. The shopping app I often use to bypass the register line always shows me a list of basic items I commonly buy and asks if I'd like to purchase them again. Sure, but where is that cheese that was on here last week? The list is convenient though. Maybe I don't need a shopping list. It's already in my phone.

I'm not wild about being held hostage to the latest buying trends. Things go in and out of fashion, even though my personal tastes rarely change. You used to be able to find local craft beers everywhere. Now the selections are more limited. I'm having a lot of trouble finding my favorite brew these days. The same thing is happening with cheese. I got hooked on some very sharp imported cheddar and now I can't find it anywhere. What you can find are store brands. All grocery stores have their own private labels now. These items are usually less expensive, because stores have learned that most customers will buy the cheapest thing available.

The temperature was fairly cool today but the humidity was extremely high. I'll take hot and dry over cool and damp any day. When I returned home from my long walk my clothes were drenched even though the temperature was only in the mid-eighties. I spent the rest of the day inside. At least the rain is over with for a while. The forecast shows clear skies for the next week. I probably need to get up on the roof and clean things up while the weather is nice. I'm not looking forward to this, but I've already proved that I can get up on the roof and down again.

I finally decided to install IOS 15 on my phone. This huge download seemed to take twice as long as most phone updates. The companion update to the Apple Watch took even longer. When the watch update began, it said it would take 4 hours. This estimate was pretty accurate. I think the update actually took about three hours. This pair of new updates is supposed to unlock a ton of new features. I wonder if I'll use any of them. There are several new apps on the phone that are supposed to help you achieve peace and serenity. I'm pretty serene anyway, so I doubt that I'll use those. I am interested in the new sleep tracking capabilities of the watch. I'm always interested in what happens while I'm asleep. Too bad I can't remember my dreams.

It looks like our nice Fall weather will return tomorrow, so we ought to have a good Sunday outing with Dawn. She really likes this change of pace from her normal routine even though a ride in the car still scares her. It's hard to tell the difference between fear and excitement with Dawn. She's certainly happy when we get to our destination. We all love the ice cream. We've even started taking home a pint of our favorite flavor when we get the cones. Life is good when there's long walks and ice cream.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2555

I can't keep up with the weather. It's cold again. Maybe I just imagined wearing shorts yesterday. This morning's walk saw the return of warm coats and gloves. The dogs seemed to enjoy the brisk weather, but I was just perplexed. What happened to yesterday?

Dot and Dash seemed determined to test my patience today. Dash barked constantly while I was trying to eat breakfast. He woke up Dot, who had been sleeping peacefully and then she started barking too. Meals used to be relaxing, but not anymore. In the morning they want me to feed them treats and in the evenings I have to be careful the Dot doesn't pee on everything. It's a three ring circus.

It took me most of the afternoon to get my December invoices out and finish a very modest amount of online Christmas shopping. Once Dot wakes up after her morning nap, she is determined to stay moving for the rest of the day. Since she can't move very far without my help, I am constantly walking her up and down the hall with periodic excursions outside to smell things. I don't know why Dot is so restless now. She doesn't seem to be in pain or anything. Actually, she seems pretty happy as long as I attend to her, but she sure doesn't want to take an afternoon nap anymore.

Eventually the dogs get tired, but I almost always end up getting tired first. My work has always required long periods of solitude. Without this peace and quiet, my writing lacks focus and the code I write often doesn't work at all. Even though I'm not nearly as busy as I used to be, it's still hard to concentrate these days.

I never did find time to go to the post office today, but at least the small stack of invoices is ready to go. Years ago, I bought a humongous box of Number 10 envelopes. I jokingly told a friend that when this box was gone, it would be time to retire. Guess what. After doing my invoices today, there are only two envelopes left. Is the empty envelope box trying to tell me something? It probably really is time to retire, but then what would I do? Taking care of Dot is exhausting. I don't have the energy to start anything new. For the time being, work provides an essential link to a world that I have become detached from. Deadlines and clients remind me that there is still a world beyond cleaning up dog poop.

I wonder if Mark Cuban is feeling silly after predicting a huge stock market crash if Trump was elected. So far, the Trump rally has been pretty substantial. It's certainly helped my portfolio. If things could continue like this for another year, I might finally get back to even. The crash of 2008 was devastating for me and I still haven't recovered all I lost. I'm a realist though. I don't expect miracles. The market will continue to remain volatile. Dot will continue to grow older. And I will continue to slowly work my way toward Day 5000. The key to all of this is to just keep moving.

Savannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day