Day 3446

June 1st will always be the day that Dot died. It was two years ago today. What a long journey. It was initially difficult for Dash to adjust to being the only dog. He was just starting to regain his confidence when he began getting sick as well. It seemed like everything we went through with Dot toward the end of her life, we repeated with Dash. At least both dogs had long, healthy lives before they began to decline. Weekends were fun for the dogs. They both loved to go to dog parks and we visited them all. Our cars were basically just dog taxis. There were rescue events to attend, indoor and outdoor dog parks to visit, evenings at dog friendly restaurants, and a weekly training class that we attended regularly for many years. For every sad memory there is a corresponding happy memory. I hope that over time, only the happy memories remain.

It was almost 90 degrees when I woke up this morning and is only 70 degrees now. Today's weather has been a roller coaster. It was hot and sunny on my morning walk and by the time I was ready to take my evening walk there were storm clouds on the horizon and I could hear distant thunder. I probably put too much faith in the weather radar, because I almost got drenched. It was weird to see the storm approaching and people still renting kayaks on the lake. Some folks began paddling for shore as soon as they saw lightning, but others seemed oblivious. I was almost home before the rain started to fall, but when I looked back toward the lake, I could still see half a dozen kayaks and stand up paddle boards out in the water. There were still a few families barbecuing on the shoreline as well. What were they thinking.

Earlier today I was wondering what a lot of dog walkers were thinking. Don't they know the dangers of heat stroke? I could tell that some of the dogs were too hot. Joggers are the worst. Most of them just don't want to stop to give their dog a rest. If you've got to walk your dog in hot weather, be sure to take some water along. If the dog wants to rest, let them. Heat stroke is very real.

This evening was much better dog walking weather. All you had to worry about was getting struck by lightning. I never walked Dot and Dash on a day like today. Neither dog did well in the heat and both were storm phobic. Dot was terrified of storms and once managed to rip out a nail while trying to run back inside after hearing a particularly loud thunderclap. We were one of the first customers for Thundershirts. Strangely, these garments actually seemed to work. Dot wore hers often.

Peaches are finally available almost everywhere now. Have I mentioned that I like peaches? I bought a dozen nice looking ones today. Unlike a lot of produce, peaches still seem to be seasonal and most of them are grown in the United States. Strawberries and blueberries are imported from all over the place, but I've still got to wait for summer to find peaches.

It's still raining, but the pumps on the roof are working. I just need to remember to turn them off before I go to bed tonight. I wonder if the storms will continue tomorrow? The thermostat says no but my phone says yes. It's silly to speculate at this point. It's all going to change by morning anyway.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3424

People I've never met still stop me in the park to ask about Dash. I guess it must seem strange to see me walking alone. Dot and Dash have been fixtures in the neighborhood for so long that I forget how many people used to see them every day. Rain or shine, we were almost always out there. Today a lady with two Greyhounds enquired about Dash. I've noticed her dogs for a long time too because they have matching coats for every type of weather. Today they were both wearing their raincoats. It wasn't raining but I almost wore my raincoat as well. It was one of those days where it looked like the rain could begin at any minute.

Since it was Friday, I went out to breakfast before my walk. I had Shrimp and Grits again at the cool restaurant. I've got to stop calling this place "the cool restaurant" because it just seems like your average breakfast place when you go at 8 AM. The restaurant was only half full and I was seated immediately. I had trouble finishing my meal this morning. I just can't eat as much as I used to. I probably should have just stayed home and had a bowl of cereal.

I continued exploring the idea of going to McDonald Observatory today. There is only one place to rent a car in Alpine, Texas but they seemed very friendly. The guy I talked to said they would meet you at the train station with a car if you arrived by train. Janet likes the idea of taking a train trip too. Now I've just got to wait and see whether I get accepted by NASA to attend the next Falcon Heavy Launch. As luck would have it, the first available Special Viewing Night at the Otto Struve Telescope happens to coincide with the launch date for the Falcon Heavy. We'll see what happens. Maybe one of these two events will work out for me.

I've been thinking about looking for owls ever since I met that guy in the park who showed me where they live. This afternoon, I took a detour from my regular evening walk and visited the owl habitat. A huge bird flew away as I arrived. It looked like a Great Horned Owl but I wasn't really sure. It was gone before I could get my camera focused. I kept looking and about five minutes later I saw a Barred Owl looking down at me from a nearby tree. I noticed the bird because a nearby Mockingbird was harassing it. A lot of birds in the park don't seem to like the large Hawks and Owls. Perhaps they know that they might become these birds next meal.

I hope all the walking I've been doing is good for my health. I don't feel any different yet, but the walks do feel easier now. I'd rather walk outdoors than in a gym. I gradually learn the names of the plants and animals I see. You learn to appreciate the Seasons when you spend a lot of time outdoors. I miss not having a dog at my side, but for now I'm going to do some things that were almost impossible when I was walking Dot and Dash. I carry a better camera with me now.

I got the heals on my hiking boots repaired this week. I probably should have just bought some new boots, but I hate the idea of breaking them in. Old boots are more comfortable. New or old, I see a lot of walking in my immediate future. I might not be doing much tomorrow though. The thunderstorms are returning. I can already see them approaching on the weather radar.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3408

Every time we get a heavy rain my first thought is that this was the worse storm ever. I felt this way last night when the rain was pounding down, but when I took my walk today I had to acknowledge that I've seen higher water levels at the lake before. I think my tolerance for bad weather isn't what it used to be. The rain was pretty bad though. Especially since one of my pumps on the roof wasn't working. I'm really glad that I wasn't traveling. I saw on the news this morning that one of the parking garages at the airport had flooded and lots of cars were completely underwater. This was the same garage where I parked when I went to Houston recently. A lot of travelers are going to be really surprised when they return home.

I was surprised that I even got a chance to walk today. Basically, it rained all day. I saw a little break in the clouds around noon and took advantage of it. I almost finished my three mile trek, but the rain started again when I was about 100 yards from home. I got wet, but it didn't matter. The next thing on my list was taking a shower.

I was almost certain that the roof would leak again last night, but the living room is still dry. So far, so good. Maybe judicious use of the two sump pumps is helping. The second pump started working again this afternoon, so I didn't have to go up on the roof and fix it. I don't know why these things are so balky. Sometimes they become clogged with leaves. There might be a bad electrical connection too. All the extension cords are underwater when it rains.

My contact at the auction house wants to re-offer some of the art that didn't sell recently with a lower reserve. Sounds good to me. The only other alternative is to take the art back and wait until the artist dies. A lot of art spikes in value after the artist dies. This plan probably won't work though, since the artist is younger than I am.

I found out today that the training class where we used to take the dogs on Wednesday evening had made a donation in Dot and Dash's memory to Dalmatian Rescue. This was so nice. Dot and Dash hadn't gone to class since they became sick several years ago and I was surprised that anyone still remembered them. I've still got some dusty ribbons that Dash won sitting on my desk. I continue to be amazed that he won ribbons for obedience when he was young, because as he became older and more stubborn he wouldn't even come when you called. Both dogs enjoyed the class. They probably thought the exercises were silly, but the weekly class was their chance to make friends and socialize with other dogs.

I hope that the weather improves tomorrow. Rainy days give me a bad case of cabin fever. It's not that dry days are all that exciting, but at least I'm not fretting about water leaks. I'll see if I can do something useful when the skies clear again. The back yard could certainly use some work.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3081

One year ago today, Dot passed away. It's been a long year. Shortly after Dot died, Janet was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then Dash almost died after experiencing a severe vestibular seizure. Later in the year I discovered that my sister also had cancer and Dash had a large blood clot inside his heart that could break apart and travel to his brain at any moment. We're all still here. Janet is doing great and so is Dash. I hope there is a lot less drama in the year ahead. It would be nice to have a year with no life threatening emergencies whatsoever.

The tree trimmers came early this morning. I hadn't even eaten breakfast or walked Dash when I heard the sound of their chain saws. It's sad that the Oak trees are slowing dying. They are very old and we lose a few limbs every year. I hope we can keep the trees as long as we are in the house. The yard would look pretty bare without them. I'm glad the crew was able to remove a large dead limb that was hanging over the house without dropping it on the roof. That would have been a disaster. Luckily, everything went well. I think the trees are safe and secure again for another season. The neighbors didn't even get mad at us today. They don't like it when work crews have to block their driveway.

I'm discovering that it is much more complicated to sell fine art than it is to sell model trains. I was on the phone with several galleries in New York today and there is some initial interest. It appears that I have a fairly discerning eye as a collector. The next step seems to be establishing provenance for the artwork I'm thinking of selling. This might not be easy, since I obtained some of these pieces many, many years ago. If you're the collecting type, be sure to save everything. Model trains without the original boxes were only worth half as much as those where I'd saved the original box and receipts. Artwork without a clear provenance is basically worthless. I save almost everything, but receipts and records from the 1970's might be very hard to find.

I cooked dinner for Janet tonight. It was only spaghetti, but she seemed to like it. I'm always surprised that I'm a pretty decent cook when I put my mind to it. Janet is a superb cook, but neither of us like to spend much time in the kitchen these days. We end up buying "Dinner for Two" at Central Market over and over again. I can see why meal kits like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron are so popular. Nobody really had time to cook anymore.

I still really miss Dot. When Dot and Dash were both young and healthy, life just seemed to make more sense. Dash finally seems to be getting used to being the only dog but I don't think he likes it. Dot was the Alpha dog and Dash looked to her for everything. Even though Dash has become more confident, you can tell that he'd much rather have his sister at his side. I'd much rather have both dogs together again too. They were perfect companions.

You can't bring back the past, but there's always the future. Here's to the future.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2697

It's dog roulette at our house. Last night it was Dash who threw up. He seemed fine when we all went to bed, but around 3 AM I woke up to the unmistakable sound of a dog vomiting next to me on the bed. Please, not on the bed. I hastily got up and moved him. Even the carpet seemed like a better alternative at this point. We gave Dash a Pepsid, took him outside, and cleaned up the mess. Dot never even woke up during the entire episode.

Nausea and vomiting are unfortunate side effects of Dash's Idiopathic Vestibular Disease. It doesn't happen all that often, but we will probably have to deal with this for the rest of his life. Of course with Dash, there is always the possibility that he just ate some crap in the yard when we weren't looking. When dogs vomit, you have the option of doing nothing, giving them a Pepsid AC, or giving them a Cerenia pill or injection. It all depends on how severe the situation is. Dash seemed fine this morning. Tonight it may be Dot who throws up.

Dot was surprisingly strong today. She slept well and was eager to take a walk this morning. Walking Dot is starting to seem more like carrying a fifty pound bowling ball down the street, but she is still moving her legs and seems to enjoy the experience. In many ways it would be easier to walk Dot using the wheelchair than the Help 'Em Up Harness, but the wheels have their limitations. It takes two people to effectively get Dot in and out of the chair. Since one of us is usually walking Dash while the other walks Dot, this can be a problem. Also, it's hard getting the wheelchair down the gravel alley behind our house before we get to a smooth street. I wish the wheelchair was easier to use. As it stands, it is only practical a few days a week.

There was lots of laundry today, since the protective pads weren't positioned correctly when Dot decided to poop this morning. Dot doesn't give you much warning, so you have to be ready for an accident at any time. Luckily, our washer has a super hot "sanitize" setting. We use that setting a lot.

It would be nice if dog pee were a bug deterrent. Dot rarely makes it past the back door when I take her out to pee. I hose down the back porch several times a day. Maybe I'm imagining things, but there do seem to be fewer spiders on the porch this Spring. The spiders probably just arrive later in the Summer, but I'm still hoping that there are some beneficial effects from the dog pee.

For someone who depends on predictability, I think I'm doing pretty well dealing with a steady diet of surprises. Every day is different. Some days are scary. Today was kind of hopeful. Dot actually ate more than her two cup goal today. She's eating fewer of the exotic, rich foods we had to depend on last week and is gradually returning to her old diet. You wouldn't think a dog would rather eat kibble than sliced turkey and cheese, but that's our Dot. She really just wants to get back to the familiar routines she has known for her entire life.

When I filled the car up with gas this afternoon, I was surprised so see that I'd only used three gallons of gas all last week. It appears that I'm not getting out much these days. I'll try to go to the gym tomorrow. I still need to get out a little bit. I debated whether to give Dash another Pepsid tonight. He seems fine though, so we'll take a chance. I hate to over medicate just to make life more convenient.

Today was a good day. Dot seemed stronger and was in good spirits for most of the day. Dash seems to have made a full recovery. It would be nice if tomorrow was just like today.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2686

Dot has eaten for three days now without throwing up. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a big deal, but considering the condition Dot was in last week, it is nothing short of miraculous. I called the oncologist today to give her an update and she had no explanation for Dot's surprising rebound. She just said she was happy for us and hoped that she'd see Dot again next month for her next recheck.

I'm so glad we didn't give up on Dot when things were looking very grim last week. We came very close to thinking she had no chance and that the kindest thing we could do was put her down. I honestly have no idea how she received a temporary reprieve from what everyone thought was inevitable. It's obvious that the new pain medication is much more effective. It's possible that pain was causing her body to shut down. Maybe the cancer is in some kind of remission too. Who knows. I'm not going to spend a lot of time analyzing this. The important thing now is to keep Dot eating.

I don't think Dot will ever chew or swallow normally again. If we can get food in her though, it comes out normally on the other end. Her digestive system seems to be working just fine. I've learned to take my time feeding her. She takes tiny little bites and sometimes you have to massage her throat to encourage her to swallow. Dot doesn't appear to be hungry early in the morning anymore, so I've moved her main meal to later in the day. The goal is just to get her to eat two cups of something by the end of the day. I haven't got there yet, but we're getting closer.

While Dot was sleeping, I went over to Snap Kitchen and picked up dinner for the next several days. I'm surprised at how popular places like Snap Kitchen and Nature's Plate have become. I suspect nobody has time to cook anymore. I love Snap Kitchen. The meals are delicious. The menu is very creative. And you can microwave everything when you get home in just a few minutes.

I've got to figure out what to do about Dash. He's getting jealous of all the time I'm spending with Dot. It's not like he really wants me to spend the same amount of time with him. He just wants Dot's food. I can't really feed the dogs the same thing. Dash has always had problems with crystals in his urine and he needs a low purine diet. Also, he'd be a fat little piggie if I fed him what Dot is eating now. Since he tries to steal Dot's food, I have to pen him in the back of the house while Dot is eating. I understand why Dash is mad. Sometimes it takes hours to feed Dot.

This whole experience has got me thinking about my Dad's last days. Like Dot, he had extreme difficulty swallowing. Dad's problem was Parkinson's Disease. Doctors gave him swallowing tests and when he didn't pass, they put in a feeding tube. He didn't want a feeding tube, but they didn't give him a choice. Hospitals and doctors are so afraid of lawsuits that they would rather make a patient miserable than risk the wrath of family and relatives if death was preventable. I know for a fact that Dad would rather have choked on a plate of barbecue than be fed through a feeding tube for the final three months of his life. I have a feeling that if someone had the patience to feed Dad the same way I'm feeding Dot, he would have done just fine.

So far, the hardest thing about providing hospice care is that every day is different. I like predictability, and there is nothing predictable about dealing with end of life situations. Dot's comfort level, sleeping habits, and ability to eat change from day to day. At some point during the day, there is always a surprise that I wasn't expecting. I'd like to think that I have a plan, but I'm really just improvising. There isn't an instruction manual for this sort of thing.

Bogart is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2632

I tried the bank again on my way to pick up some prescription this morning. This time there were only two people sitting in the lobby, so I added my name to the sign up sheet and sat down to wait it out. I can't imagine how long people had to wait when the lobby was full, because it still took me over half an hour to see a banker. The guy wasn't immediately sure why I had received the letter about my safe deposit box, but said he'd investigate. It turned out that my signature card listed me as the owner of the box and the bank's account records listed my company as the owner. I didn't care who was the owner as long as I didn't have to wait a long time.

The banker said it would be easier if the company was listed as the owner, but that I had to show some proof that the company was mine. Keep in mind that I've had this box for a long, long time. "Don't you already have something in your records," I asked. Nope. They had nothing. "There's probably something inside the box," I said. I found an old DBA certificate and asked if that would work. Problem solved, but I still don't know why it was a problem in the first place. I was surprised to see that I had registered the name Sealander & Company in 1980. Wow. That was a long time ago. I must have been doing some free-lance work while I was still working for an ad agency, because I didn't officially start the company until 1990.

As I prepared to leave, the banker thanked me for being patient and not getting angry. "I imagine that people don't like to wait a long time," I said. There were six customer service offices at this bank, and the banker who helped me was using the only one occupied. No wonder there were always long lines of angry people in the lobby. This is so typical of business today. I'm sure all the offices were occupied at some point. There are 44 checkout aisles at the big Fry's Electronics superstore where I used to shop a lot. Now, when I visit this store, only three or four of these checkout stations are staffed. The rest are empty. When I make a deposit at my local bank branch, there is usually only one teller working. Nobody wants to hire anyone anymore. They just keep experimenting to see if their customers will tolerate even less service than they are currently receiving. It didn't used to be this way. I think companies would still make a tidy profit if they were fully staffed. They just might not make quite as much. Personally, I think the world would be a better place if companies were happy with a modest profit and more people had jobs. We really need to make the world less efficient. Maximizing efficiency is ruining everything.

The dogs did well today. Dash has regained his appetite and continues to hold down food even though he has finished taking the Cerenia pills. He hasn't experienced any more seizures either. I think we've found the right balance in the pain medication Dot is taking. She appears comfortable now, without seeming lethargic or sedated. There were no bad accidents in the house today. The dogs still required a lot of attention, but all in all, it wasn't a bad day.

The tree guy promised that he'd have my trees trimmed by the end of February. I doubt that I'll see him out here tomorrow, so I'll have to give him another call. I need to call the roofer again too. Now, is the perfect time to patch the roof. It's clean and dry. If he waits another month, the oak trees will start to bud and the roof will be covered with catkins. Technically, catkins are flowers, but to me they're just a nuisance. They clog the gutters, cause allergies, and coat the roof of my car with a sticky yellow powder. Once the catkins start falling on the roof, it's going to be a lot more difficult to make those patches.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow morning. I hope the forecast is wrong. The day goes much more smoothly when the dogs get their morning walk on schedule. There's not much I can do about the rain. There's not much I can do about anything actually.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2629

The restaurant was crowded this morning. There were all these noisy overlapping conversations that were somewhat distracting and made me realize that most of the clichés you hear about people are based in truth. Even though this was my morning out, I couldn't wait to get back to my dogs.

When I got home, I immediately realized that peace and quiet are pretty illusive wherever you are. When the dogs actually are quiet, I worry that one of them might have died. When they're full of life and moving around, I'm continually cleaning up poop and retrieving Dot from corners were she has fallen or gotten herself stuck. I've got to try to keep Dash from getting too excited as well, because when he gets agitated, the risk of another seizure increases. It's a delicate balance.

I had a surprising amount of work to complete today. I don't think I've had any writing jobs this month, but the website modifications continue to keep me busy. Nobody seems to want a brand new website anymore. I guess everyone already has one. Instead of creating new designs, I spend my time adding new product lines, updating employee rosters, and correcting typos. There are an amazing number of typos, since a lot of clients write their own copy these days. I don't change anything anymore. I just cut and paste. I used to try to edit the text I received but quickly discovered that the awkward syntax that was bothering me was exactly what the client wanted to say.

Dash is acting real strange lately. I've had increasing difficulty getting him to leave the backyard in the afternoon. At first I thought he was experiencing vertigo or dizziness, but now I'm not so sure. As an experiment I tried to lure him out the back gate with a dog treat, so we could take our afternoon walk. It took us over five minutes to get down the alley. I would move to the end of his leash and then hold the cookie where he could see it. When he started to walk toward the cookie, I would move forward and we would repeat the whole process all over again. As soon as we reached the end of the alley and walked down a small hill into the park, he forgot all about the cookie and started walking normally. We finished the rest of our walk without incident. I have no explanation for this odd behavior, but it sure makes taking a walk more difficult.

Part of the problem is that the dogs still don't understand why they can't walk together like they used to. It is simply impossible for one person to walk both dogs under current conditions. It takes both hands and a lot of coordination to keep Dot upright. I walk her like a marionette in a puppet show. Dash is still strong and likes to walk fast. Even if I could manage to hold on to both dogs, Dash would start tugging and probably knock Dot and I over before we'd gone thirty feet. It's kind of sad, because I know that they would still prefer to walk together.

I've been so concerned about Dash's vestibular disease that it took me a while to realize that I had an upset stomach and was feeling a little dizzy myself. Maybe it was something I ate. At any rate, the best part about today was when I managed to convince both dogs to take a nap with me and we all curled up together for a few hours. The rest seemed to help. I'm feeling better now.

Nora is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2616

Dot threw up last night, which put me back on high alert again. There are so many things which can go wrong at this point that it's hard to keep them all straight. Dot has trouble chewing now and might have swallowed some food that she hadn't chewed properly. I'm always worried that the cancer might have spread and she's starting to lose her appetite. She probably threw up for no reason at all. Dog do that a lot. The worst thing about throwing up right after we've all gone to bed is that she threw up her evening meds. You never know how much the body has absorbed, so you can't give her a second dose. As a result, Dot probably didn't get any blood pressure medication last night.

Today was just a typical day of weekend errands, but it seemed busier than usual. Janet had an event to go to, so it was harder to keep track of what both dogs were doing at any given moment. Dot seemed to be having a little trouble with the heat. She doesn't do well in warm weather and the temperature reached over 80 degrees this afternoon. Maybe the slightly labored breathing and the meal she threw up last night are connected somehow. Lots of laundry today. I was talking with a client on the phone when Dot decided to poop in the house again. I think this was the third time today. She wasn't on a protected surface this time and there wasn't much I could do. Just something else to clean up after the call was completed.

Dash has to go back to the cancer center for a recheck on Monday. Nobody mentioned this to me when he was released from the hospital. We just happened to notice an obscure sentence mentioning a recheck when we were reading his discharge summary this morning. I called to confirm and sure enough, he needs to go back for a few follow up tests. I'm dreading this. Dash is a terrible passenger in the car. Whenever I'm taking him home from a vet appointment, I'm hoping that he'll miraculously stay healthy for the rest of his life and I'll never have to transport him in a car again. Traveling with Dash is nerve wracking to say the least.

I wish the dogs weren't so restless in the evenings. Dash gets nervous when Janet isn't around at night and paces around at the front door waiting. This activity gets Dot agitated and she wants to get up too. I think I've taken Dot outside ten times this evening and she still hasn't peed. I'm still cleaning up poop though. Evidently, she kept dropping little plops throughout the house after I got her up to clean up her blankets.

I hope tomorrow's photo shoot goes smoothly. After the pre-light check yesterday, I thought this thing was going to be a piece of cake. Now I'm hearing that there will be lots of costume and hairstyle changes. There have already been changes to the set as well. This could take a very long time. I need to remember to be courteous and not say anything snarky. It sounds like everybody wants to improvise and improvisation is definitely not my cup of tea. At least Janet will be home with the dogs tomorrow and I won't have to worry about that.

It's almost time to give the dogs their evening meds. I hate to wake them up, since they've finally calmed down after a long evening of restlessness and are both sleeping peacefully. I guess it wouldn't hurt to let them sleep another hour. This is the first quiet time I've had all day.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2614

I think the high point of the day was discovering a new kind of cheese in the refrigerator. It was that kind of day. I'll have to admit that there was a mild bit of drama early this morning when Dash and I encountered a coyote in our path on our morning walk. Dash is often terrified of loose dogs, but he was too busy looking for nasty things to eat in the grass to notice the coyote up ahead. I didn't want to take chances, so we made a wide detour to stay out of the coyote's way. The encounter ended peacefully, but I'm still nervous about the growing number of coyotes in the neighborhood.

Dash seemed steadier on his feet today. He seems to be getting his balance back, just like the doctor predicted. Dot seems to be having fewer episodes of urinary incontinence too. I have to remember to take her outside frequently, but if I do my part, she is trying to do hers. We still have to deal with pooping in the house, but at least a small sense of normalcy is returning.

I'm trying to stay engaged, but my mind feels a bit numb. I rarely get excited or mad anymore. There isn't much of an agenda. I just try to focus on what needs to be done at the moment. I gathered up all the trash for tomorrow morning's garbage pickup and compressed it so it would fit in the garbage can. I really miss the days when the trash truck came twice a week. Little things like this define my day. I was pleased that the strawberries still looked good when I made my morning smoothie, but was disappointed that the bananas are starting to go bad. It's hard to buy fruit a week in advance. It's even harder to watch the news. I turned off the television midway through breakfast because all the political rancor just doesn't interest me anymore.

I took Dot on her afternoon walk right after lunch today, in hopes that she would get tired and take a nice nap when we returned. This experiment didn't work at all. Dot seemed energized by the unexpected walk and spent the rest of the afternoon barking to get my attention. When it was time for Dash's walk, Dot let me know that she wasn't happy. She didn't want to be left behind. I was hoping that a new schedule might give me more time to work in the afternoon, but it wasn't meant to be. I may just have to accept the fact that I'm not going to get much done in the afternoon for a while. It's actually very good when Dot is active, so I need to do my best to be supportive.

I figured out a way to sync all my working fitness bands to the same account. Now, if I want to wear a different band for some reason, my step count will continue uninterrupted. I tried to give the extra fitness bands to Janet, but her wrist was too small and they didn't fit. I think I've become addicted to tracking things. The combination of a smart watch, an activity tracker, and a WiFi scale that measures body composition gives me the ability to track quite a few things. It all leaves me wanting more. I've got my eye on a WiFi blood pressure monitor and a little wireless device that monitors your blood sugar. You'd think I might be a hypochondriac, but I have no interest in going to the doctor. This technology just seems fascinating to me.

I hope the dress rehearsal for this weekend's photo shoot goes smoothly tomorrow. I'd really like to get this done quickly, because Dot is certain to poop in her enclosure if I'm gone too long. I'm not as worried about Dash as I was a few days ago. He doesn't seem like he's going to have another seizure. Nevertheless, if I'm gone all afternoon, I'm just asking for trouble. Clients just don't understand how difficult it is for me to leave the house. I'm getting tired of explaining too. Maybe it's just time to retire.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2607

Poor Dash. He had a massive cluster of seizures last night that quickly became a medical emergency. By the time I was able to get him to the vet, he was unable to walk. We debated whether to drive him to an emergency vet while he was having a seizure last night, or try and keep him as calm as possible and take him to his regular vet when they opened the next morning. Since each seizure seemed a little less severe than the previous one, we decided to wait. Eventually, the seizures subsided. Dash went to sleep and started breathing calmly again. We didn't discover that he was unable to walk until the next morning.

I carried Dash into the veterinary clinic at 7 AM this morning, hoping that the doctors could quickly stabilize his condition. It wasn't meant to be. It quickly became obvious that he needed to see a specialist. It wasn't clear at all that he was having an epileptic seizure. He could have had a stroke, be suffering from a brain tumor, have vestibular disease, or even have encephalitis. It is not easy to diagnose any of these conditions. You have to go through a process of elimination, evaluating for the most likely condition first, and then go on to the next condition if the tests aren't conclusive. To figure out what was going on, Dash needed a brain scan. There was a chance that he would need a spinal tap as well. I could take him to the regional neurology center 35 miles north of us and get an MRI tomorrow morning, or take him to the cancer center and get a CAT scan today. The second option seemed better, even though an MRI provides a superior image of the brain. Dash is well known at the cancer center and he would be seeing doctors who are very familiar with his condition.

I think I made the right decision. The oncologists and internal medicine specialists at the cancer center are among the best in the country. Whenever I take one of my dogs to this place I see people in the lobby who have traveled with their dogs from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and even further to see one of these doctors. We are very lucky to have some of the best specialty care for dogs in the entire country right here in Dallas.

So far, so good. The initial CAT scan showed that there were no lesions or tumors in his brain. It doesn't look like there is an inner ear infection either. Since Dash is not showing symptoms usually associated with Encephalitis, his doctors think it is likely that he has idiopathic vestibular disease. This condition is often called old dog vestibular syndrome, for obvious reasons. Young dogs rarely have these problems. Dash is spending the night at the cancer center's ICU, receiving steroids and anti-nausea medication in an IV drip to reduce the inflammation in his brain and help control the severe nausea that makes it difficult for him to stand. Hopefully, we will see some improvement in his condition when we check with his medical team in the morning.

Keep in mind that while all this is going on, Dot is still sitting at home, unable to do much of anything. I spent the day going back and forth, trying my best to monitor the condition of both dogs. It has been a very long day. Janet and I got virtually no sleep last night. Trying to arrange for emergency care and sophisticated imaging in a city full of sick dogs wasn't easy either. As bad as Dash's condition was, there were other dogs with even worse problems. While I was at Dash's regular vet this morning, a family came in carrying a dog that had just been run over by a car. They were all crying. The injured dog was their family pet. Even though the vets tried their best to save it, the dog died on the operating table. Later at the cancer center, I visited with people who had driven their dogs over 500 miles just to see the oncologist. One lady told me she made this long trip every single week.

We made it through the day. Dot is resting now. I hope Dash is resting too. Life is definitely full of surprises. I never dreamed that I would wake up one morning and find that Dot was the healthy dog. With all her incontinence problems and severe mobility issues, Dot is still in better shape than Dash right now. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but I will go to bed tonight knowing that I did the best that I could today.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2603

Dash had a seizure last night. This was very alarming, since he hasn't had a seizure in well over four years. We just did a check of his phenobarbital levels last month and everything was normal. Janet and I were convinced that we had his epilepsy under control and seldom worried about it anymore. Luckily, we still remembered what to do when a seizure occurs. Dash was very frightened during the episode, but we kept him calm and 45 minutes later he was acting like nothing had happened.

Hopefully, this is an isolated incident. If the seizures continue, we'll have to adjust his phenobarbital levels. I hate to give him more phenobarbital than he's already getting. It's a pretty powerdul drug. I wish I could train Dash to sleep on the floor with Dot. He likes to sleep on the edge of the bed, and could easily fall off the bed and hurt himself during a seizure. Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. The air was very dry and both dogs kept waking up with a dry mouth. Instead of going to their water bowls and drinking some water, they kept swallowing loudly, which made me think they were having trouble breathing. Dot pooped in her bed at some point during the night as well.

Janet cooked a special Superbowl dinner tonight. I was really looking forward to this meal when I was at the gym this afternoon. Unfortunately, neither of us realized until late in the day that the Superbowl is actually next Sunday. When Janet told me that the game was today, I had no reason not to believe her. I don't really keep up with these things. I guess if we'd thought about it, we would have realized that the game has been in early February for a long time. Oh, well. Dinner was delicious. Maybe we'll have the same thing again next week. I still think that if the NFL hadn't made that bad call during the Packers game and mistakenly penalized Dallas fifteen yards for having too many men in the huddle, the Cowboys would be playing in this year's Superbowl.

Despite starting the day with a medical emergency, it was actually a good day. The weather was crisp and cool like Dot loves. She had several good walks today and seemed to enjoy herself. Dash seems to have fully recovered from his unexpected seizure and acted completely normally today. I had a good workout and was surprisingly accurate shooting free throws on the basketball court. By the end of the day, I kind of forgot that I woke up dog tired.

My iPhone became a brick today. The screen was dark. It wouldn't respond when I plugged it into a charger. None of the buttons seemed to work. I thought I was screwed until I remembered that you can find the answer to anything on Google. Within thirty seconds I learned that by pressing the home and power buttons simultaneously for thirty seconds, you can almost always revive a dead phone. I tried the trick and it worked. I still don't know what was wrong, because this has never happened before. I did upgrade my system yesterday. Maybe that was the problem.

I hope that the weather stays nice and the dogs stay healthy next week. The stress is getting to me. I'm tired of waking up in the middle of the night thinking that Dot might be dead. I don't know if it's even possible to get a good night's sleep anymore. The slightest noise wakes me up. Now, I'm going to be wondering if Dash is going to have another seizure too. I need to remember to take things one day at a time and not to get ahead of myself. Today was good. There's a good chance that tomorrow will be good as well.

Spirit is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2585

I keep forgetting what day it is. There certainly isn't much to distinguish one day from the next. I know you're tired of hearing about dog walks, dietary quirks, and disappearing clients, but those are the most interesting parts of the day. Maybe you'd rather hear about my efforts to unclog a slow shower drain, or lubricate a sticking sliding glass door. There are days when I feel like the king of a kingdom that's in ruins. Why is everything falling apart? The house could use a new coat of paint. The large trees in the back yard are nearing the end of their natural life. The warranty on my car will run out this Summer. My passport is about to expire. There are so many things that need attention, but I've used all my energy on caring for the dogs.

Everybody knows about Dot's problems, but Dash is getting old too. He has trouble getting in the car now. Last week I noticed that he was having difficulty hopping up in the bed. Occasionally, he sleeps on the floor with Dot. Sadly, his years of running and jumping are almost over. When our first Dalmatian began having problems with his rear legs, I had a special step made to help him get in the bed at night. I went to the storage warehouse and got this step for Dash today. Sooner or later, all our dogs have ended up using it. I'm glad that Dot finally accepted sleeping on the floor next to me. The step helped her for a while, but she is way beyond that now. Trust me, you don't want an incontinent dog sleeping in your bed.

I ran five cleaning cycles after I installed the new ink cartridges that arrived for my printer yesterday, but the printer is still clogged. The folks at Epson are evil geniuses for using expensive ink to clean their printers. They could give the printers away for free and still make a ton of money. I've easily spent more on ink than I spent on the printer in the first place. It costs over $400 to fill this printer with ink and I'm convinced that over half of it is used to continually unclog the lines that carry the ink from the cartridges to the print head. Some of my designer friends have thrown their large printers away and just use online print services when they need to print something large. This makes a lot of sense, but like I've told you many times, I have trouble throwing things away.

A life where everything is falling apart wears you out. It breaks my heart to see Dot falling apart. The house can be fixed, but there is no remedy for old age. I'm really hoping that Dash stays reasonably healthy while Dot is still with us. Dealing with two dogs who can't walk at the same time might be too much. I'm so tired of dealing with things that break. The shower drain flows freely now, but I'm sure it will clog again. The sliding glass door in the living room opens now, but every year the house settles a little more. Eventually. the whole thing will need to be replaced. Every time I do a load of laundry, I wonder if this is the day the washing machine will give up the ghost. The last time I got a new washer and dryer, it was hard to find something that would fit in our small utility room. It will probably be even harder now. Furniture and appliances keep getting bigger and bigger.

If I take Dot outside every three hours, she doesn't pee in the house anymore. Maybe the Incurin is working. We still have problems making it all the way through the night, but this is a definite improvement.  We still have a week to go before the loading dose period is over, so there's a chance that this restart will succeed. I'm not sure where the big victories are going to come from anymore, so I relish the little ones. Today's victory was getting Dash to walk in the afternoon again. He's been refusing to take his afternoon walk for three days now. I finally figured out what was wrong. He was mad that I was walking Dot first. The little shit was just being moody. When I walked him first this afternoon, all was fine.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2583

The good thing about January is that it represents a kind of symbolic reset. You can easily trick yourself into thinking that the slate has been wiped clean and that none of the problems of the previous year will follow you into the next. The bad thing about January is that none of this is true. January is just a block of time that follows December. I'm always reminded that the slate is never wiped clean when all of my December bills arrive in early January. It's easy to spend a lot in December. There are Christmas presents, year-end business purchases, subscription renewals, and some of the biggest heating bills of the year. January is when prices go up too. Health insurance always seems to cost more in January. None of this would matter if I sent out a lot of invoices last month, but business is always slow in December. Basically, January is when the chickens come home to roost.

I might have been overly optimistic about Dot's progress with the Incurin pills. Yesterday I thought that they were already starting to work, but last night she woke up in a puddle of pee around 3 AM. Part of the problem was that I went to bed too early. Usually, I take her outside one last time around 11 PM. Yesterday, we called it a day around 9 PM. This obviously didn't work very well. I guess I'll be staying up late again tonight. Hopefully, after we finish the two week loading dose, the Incurin will help get Dot stable again.

Weekdays are mostly just getting up early and going to bed late with a lot of nothing in between.  It's not that weekends are that exciting, but at least I get to sleep in longer. I try to make my meals last as long as I can to make the day shorter. It's nice when there's a assignment to keep me occupied while the dogs are sleeping in the morning, but that doesn't always happen. I had a small website revision to make this morning, but the job took me less than an hour. I don't exactly meditate while I walk Dot around in the backyard, but I do try to empty my mind. You can't rush Dot and you can't fake being patient. Sometimes controlled breathing exercises seem to help. Other times daydreaming works. Either way, it can be a long day.

At least the weather is getting warmer. Holding up Dot's rear legs and waiting for her to get the urge to pee is a lot harder when it's fifteen degrees outside. Lately, I'm having trouble getting Dot and Dash on the same page. Dot is growing more receptive to the idea of afternoon walks and seems to enjoy them. Dash, on the other hand, sometimes refuses to leave the back yard. He'll go to the back gate, sniff the air, and then turn around and head back to the house. Dash used to love long walks, so I don't know what is going on. There is nothing wrong with him physically. It's too bad that I can't walk the dogs together anymore. Dash likes walking with Dot, but he doesn't understand why she walks so slow.

Dash goes back to the vet tomorrow for a follow up visit to check the swollen lymph nodes in his neck. I think he's better, because I can't feel the swelling anymore. He's just about finished with his antibiotics too. Usually, a vet appointment is all it takes to change a slow, uneventful day into a hectic one. Neither dog travels well in the car, but at least Dash doesn't poop in the back seat while I'm trying to drive. I was kind of bored today, but I don't think I'll have this problem tomorrow. Vet visit days usually wear me out.

I had another opportunity to apply for NASA press credentials recently. I don't even follow up on these opportunities anymore. It's going to be a long time before I view another space launch.

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2576

I woke up about 5 AM to an impressive display of thunder and lightning. The wind was blowing fiercely and I was a little worried that a tree might fall on the roof. Luckily, both dogs were still asleep. I closed some doors and hung a few blankets to block Dot's view of the lightning flashes and then went back to bed. We almost survived the storm unscathed, but eventually a loud thunderclap woke Dash and he made sure that Dot was awake too. Sometimes Dot will calm down if I lie down next to her and cover her with a blanket. I wasn't looking forward to sleeping next to Dot, since this is the time of day she often poops in her bed. Comforting Dot seemed to work and in ten minutes we all went back to sleep. When I woke up again, I wasn't sitting in a pile of poop, the sun was out, the storm had passed and everybody was fine.

After a brisk morning walk where I watched the tail end of the storm system move swiftly toward the horizon, I took the Christmas tree down. With no Christmas tree in the living room, it seemed pretty obvious that 2017 was officially here. While I was packing things away, I noticed that there was a small crack in the corner of a large seven foot square picture window. The crack could have occurred yesterday or six months ago. That's how observant I am. Sooner or later I'm going to have to replace this window and it's going to be expensive. I've replaced some of the glass windows before and I've found that glaziers typically insist on replacing large plate glass windows with tempered glass. Tempered glass is great stuff, but it's more than twice as expensive as regular glass. I guess 2017 will be a series of endless bills, just like 2016.

At least Dot and Dash aren't inclined to jump through glass windows. We had a Dalmatian named Petey who jumped through one of our living room windows trying to catch a squirrel on the back porch, He almost bled to death before I could rush him to the vet. That's why I already have quite a few tempered glass windows in the house. The window with the crack probably would have been replaced years ago if it weren't part of a large sliding glass door. I'm hoping I don't have to replace the entire door to fix this window.

I get another chance to find Neptune tonight. The sky is mostly clear and the moon will pass directly in front of the planet around 11 PM. I already looked through binoculars and couldn't find the illusive planet. It's pretty dim. I'll give it another try later this evening. Maybe I can find a place to observe with no streetlights nearby. Finding celestial objects inside the city limits is next to hopeless. The light pollution is pretty severe.

I made an appointment to take Dot to the vet tomorrow. We used to check Dot's vital signs every time we went for our physical therapy session, but Dot is difficult to transport now and we haven't gone downtown for physical therapy for quite a while. Tomorrow's appointment is with Dash's vet, which is much closer to home. In addition to checking her heart and blood pressure, we need to clip her nails. It's amazing how quickly a dog's nails grow if they don't walk very much.

I still haven't made any New Years resolutions. I probably never will. I did wake up firmly resolved to make it through the day. I wasn't going to let a thunderstorm or a little dog poop get in my way. If I can do this every single day, I'll probably make it through 2017 just fine.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2514

When I was writing one of my periodic old fashioned letters to my sister today, it occurred to me that I was becoming a Luddite too. Letters written on paper are starting to seem more satisfying than e-mail. Technology has been good to me over the years, but I'm not so sure that it has been good for me. I'm not sure that technology has been good for anybody.  When I was younger, I understood everything I used. Grooves on a vinyl record made a lot more sense than bits and bytes on an MP3 file. Adjusting the fuel mixture on a carburetor was something you could do intuitively. It would take an electrical engineering degree to understand the black box that controls my car's electronic ignition system. Editing film or tape by physically splicing pieces of it together always made sense to me. I still can't fully understand Avid Media Composer. I could go on and on. When you take things for granted that you don't fully understand, it all becomes like magic.

Maybe we're advancing too fast for our own good. We figured out how to use robots to make almost everything we use, but we never considered what would happen when nobody had jobs. We used medicine to dramatically increase our lifespan, but never considered what would happen when there were too many healthy people and we couldn't feed them all. There is a lot more stress in the world than there was when I was growing up. We are running as fast as we can just to keep up with the technology we created.

Every time I install a software upgrade, I feel like a kid who is being forced to swallow a spoonful of cod liver oil. Maybe it's good for you, but it certainly doesn't feel that way. I installed the latest upgrade to my Apple watch today. A few hours later the watch started beeping at me at random times. When I touched the screen, there was a message that simply said breathe. WTF? What kind of new age nonsense is this. I definitely don't need my watch to tell me to slow down and take a deep breath. Apple always tricks you this way. When you look for a description of the software upgrade, it usually just says something innocuous like performance and security enhancements. Seems harmless enough, but when you actually install the software, everything you liked has disappeared and been replaced by things that are irritating and unnecessary. Yup. I think I'm starting to sound like a Luddite.

It's hard to believe that it's November already. At least the election will be over soon. I think people will be a lot happier when they can return to thinking about what they are going to fix for Thanksgiving Dinner than about who is going to start World War III. OK. I'll admit that Thanksgiving Dinner can be stressful too, but not for me. Large family dinners are in the distant past for Janet and I. We just go out to eat at a nice restaurant and there are never any dishes to clean up when we get home.

Dot and Dash were in good spirits today. Dash took a nice long walk this morning and Dot seemed happy to walk around the house with me holding up her rear end. She did poop while I was eating breakfast, but I'm getting used to this. It's not a big deal.  I wish she was strong enough to resume her physical therapy tomorrow, but I don't think we're there yet.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow, but I have a feeling that it will be a lot like what I did today.

Jeda is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2504

Dash followed a path this morning we hadn't been down in years and all of the sudden it was like old times. It was a nice day and we ended up walking three miles. We used to do this every day, but it's been a long time. I noticed that leaves are already starting to turn in some sections of the park. Late Fall flowers are blooming. It was good to get reacquainted with this part of the neighborhood. On the way home, I noticed some new houses under construction and even talked with a few neighbors.

I asked one guy about a home that has remained vacant ever since it was completed several years ago. "Are you guys ever going to move in," I asked the owner. "I haven't been able to convince my wife to move yet," he told me. It seems like they would have worked this out before they built the elaborate house, but what do I know. When I asked whether he was going to sell the place now, he indicated that it was turning out to be a pretty great man cave for him. It must be nice to have the resources to build a million dollar house and then not even bother to live in it. The guy drove away in a perfectly restored 1966 Corvette and Dash and I continued our walk.

I love the cooler weather. Maybe that was why Dash was eager to take a longer walk this morning. Of course, he might have just wanted to get away from the chaos he woke up to. Dot had pooped in her sleep and then rolled over in it when she woke up. She was a smelly mess and I still had to figure out how to get her outside before she peed all over the place. After I took her out to pee, hosed her down, cleaned up the soiled blankets, and washed my hands several times, it was time for breakfast. I've decided that weekdays are easier than weekends. The discipline of getting up very early just works out better for everyone.

My convenient Scan and Go app crashed while I was grocery shopping this afternoon. I thought I'd have to start over, but discovered that the app saves your scanned items to the cloud and all the purchases I'd made before the crash were still there after I re-booted my phone. I decided to use 4G instead of the store's WiFi to complete my transactions and everything worked just fine. Even with this weird glitch, I still managed to get out of the store much faster than I would have if I'd gone through the check-out line.

Janet went to a friend's gallery opening after dinner. While I was cleaning up the kitchen, Dot came out to greet me, covered with poop. She'd done it again. I stopped what I was doing and took her outside and hosed her off a second time. Then I did a forensic search of the house and cleaned up the mess. Dot's not even aware of what she's doing. I can't get mad at her, but I do swear a lot now. This is very tiring.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. There are a ton of chores that need my attention, but I'd like to do something interesting for a change. Unfortunately, the only thing that interests me at the moment is sleeping.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day