Day 4629

I made it to Kennedy Space Center. So far, so good. My flight was on time. I managed to find a rental car with GPS. I got my press credentials and checked into my Airbnb. Now all I've got to do is wait for the rain to stop. The weather's not looking good, but hopefully it will improve by Monday morning.

I wasn't looking forward to such an early flight this morning, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. There were no crowds at the terminal and the plane was only half full. I went through the TSA line in record time. Love Field has really improved the way you go through security. You don't have to take your computer or liquids out of your bag anymore. You don't need to remove belts or watches either. The whole process is much faster now. I wish all airports would upgrade their equipment like this. The Orlando airport is still impossibly slow.

The Airbnb is a lot different than a hotel. It's basically a small apartment with a full kitchen. I could cook all my meals here if I wanted. There are pots and pans to cook with and plenty of dishes. I went to a nearby grocery store and got some things for breakfast. I'll just eat cereal like I usually do. This seems a lot easier than looking for a restaurant every morning. The place is clean and in a very convenient location. Who knows. I may become a believer in this type of travel. Airbnb definitely offers some real advantages.

There is a Space X Starlink launch scheduled for tonight. The weather doesn't look good and the launch is very late, but I think I'll go out to the press site anyway and see if I can get some pictures. Space X has been known to launch in less than optimal weather before, so if the rain stops before launch time there's a good chance the launch will take place. It's hard to pass up a chance to see two launches in a single trip, so I'll give it a shot even though things look 50/50 at this point.

One of my astronaut interviews got canceled tomorrow. The Italian astronaut had a flight delay and won't be here in time for the interview. I think the interview with the German astronaut is still on though. I wish I'd signed up to set remote cameras. This was going to take place on Friday before I arrived, but there was a thunderstorm and everything got postponed. Now there is a bus taking photographers to the pad tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, it's too late for me to sign up. I'm not sure I could go anyway, since I don't have any remote cameras to set. Space X often lets me ride on the bus and take pictures even if I don't place any remote cameras. NASA is more strict about this though. If you don't have remote cameras to place, they usually won't let you on the bus.

Dot has been gone for quite a while, but it would have been her birthday today. We had great birthday parties for Dot and Dash. We'll have to continue this tradition with Dawn. I remember that I even took a cake decorating class once just so we could make elaborate birthday cakes for the dogs. I don't think either of us has that much energy anymore, but Dawn definitely deserves something special.

I'm going to post this early tonight because I don't feel like blogging after a late night launch. I'd much rather get a little sleep. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3899

It took me a long time to figure out why today was a special day. One year ago today Janet and I were out at McDonald Observatory. That was kind of special. Nope. That wasn't it. I kept wondering and finally realized that it was Dot's birthday. We used to have big birthday celebrations for Dot and Dash. It all seems so long ago now. I hate it when memories start to fade. It's inevitable though. I guess that's why it's important to replace old traditions with new ones. We'll have to make sure that Dawn has a special birthday celebration this December.

My Apple Watch notified me that I've met my daily move goal for 365 consecutive days. I wondered why I'd missed a day a year ago and then I remembered that we'd spent August 26 last year in the car driving to Fort Davis. I didn't make the same mistake when I returned to the observatory the next March. I took a long walk as soon as I arrived. I've been routinely closing all three activity circles on the watch for months now. I wonder how long this will continue. At some point it seems like I might find something else to do.

The crystal popped off Janet's Apple Watch today. How was that possible? I wonder if this will happen to my watch as well. I did a little research on Google and discovered that this was fairly common. When the battery goes bad, it can swell and push the crystal out. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I've had swollen lithium batteries make a mess of laptops, a baby monitor, and a little WiFi hotspot. Why can't everyone make their batteries like Tesla? Tesla guarantees the batteries in their cars for ten years. You're lucky to get two years out of anything else.

We got an early start on our walk this morning. I think Dawn might be a little scared of the dark. She seems more comfortable when the sky lightens up a bit. I still enjoy these early walks, but it isn't always easy to get up in the morning. I still need to get more sleep. We were back at the house by the time the sun rose this morning. You'd think this would give me a lot more time to do other things. Usually it doesn't work out that way. I often feel like the day is finished by 9 AM.

I tried to do a few useful things today. I managed to open the sliding glass door enough to squeeze inside and clean the atrium. I've given up on getting this door repaired. Nobody seems to have the skills anymore. I swept some leaves off the porch, cleaned the car, and then called it a day. I should do more, but it's almost impossible to get motivated.

I'm trying to stay motivated about writing. That's getting harder too. I wrote some letters today trying to set up a visit to the Space X Boca Chica facility. I wrote a launch photographer asking for advice on how to reestablish contact with the Air Force. All this is kind of like putting a note in a bottle and throwing it out in the ocean. You've got to do something though.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. It doesn't look like we'll get any rain after all. I'm glad it is gradually getting a little cooler. Maybe we'll survive this summer after all.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2803

Everyone in Dallas knows someone in Houston. I've been mesmerized by the news coverage today. The flooding seems biblical. It just doesn't seem possible that we are talking about feet of rain instead of inches of rain. I saw a picture of the Houston airport today. It was a lake. Freeways are under so much water that even the overhear directional signs are buried. I've been to Houston many times and I can't even comprehend this scale of devastation.

Dallas is 400 miles away and even we are getting rain from this storm. The rain here is gentle and in many cases needed, but the fact that the outer bands of rain reach this far shows you just how big this weather system is. I've heard that they're opening a huge center for hurricane evacuees here in Dallas tomorrow. Similar centers will probably be opening all over the state. The problem is that I don't think many people can evacuate yet. The roads in and out of the area are flooded.

I didn't do much today. Dash got his walks in between rain showers. It was so messy outside that I didn't feel like going to the gym. When I took a shower this morning, I noticed a small leak. I still haven't been able to completely seal the shower floor. I used to be much better at this sort of thing. I'm losing my touch.

Today would have been a good day to take a camera down to the shoreline and photograph water birds, but I'd let my camera batteries run down and by the time I got them charged again the light was fading. It's probably just as well that I stayed inside. If I took my camera down to the lake, I almost certainly would have gotten caught in one of today's many intermittent rain showers.

It would have been Dot's birthday today. We don't know if she was actually born on this day, since she was a rescue, but we adopted her on September 27, 2004. I remember the day she came home with us well, but it seems like such a long time ago now. We have had many dogs and some of the memories are starting to muddle together in my head. Dot's memories haven't faded yet. I still can't believe she's not here with me. I wonder if that amazing dog ever knew how important she was in my life.

It's probably going to be a while before I can use the can of elastomer coating material the roofers left on my porch. It looks like we'll be getting intermittent rain every day until Harvey completely dissipates. It's hard to believe that they're forecasting even more rain for the Houston area. How much more rain can that city take?

Janet has decided that she feels well enough to start driving again. She ran a short errand as a test this afternoon and will drive herself to the doctor tomorrow. I'm glad her recovery seems to be going so smoothly. I hope the surgeon approves of the way we've been changing bandages. I have a feeling that we're using twice as much gauze and tape as a proper nurse would, but we're doing the best we can. It hasn't been a great summer. I think 'doing the best we can" might sum things up for quite a few people this year.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2448 - Dot's Birthday

I feel bad about not doing more for Dot's birthday. We're all getting old and tired. I know Dot is at least 16 years old and may even be 17. It hard to know the exact age of a rescue dog. Usually their birthday is just the day you adopt them.

We used to have elaborate parties for all our dogs, but they seem like distant memories now. The few dog friendly restaurants that remain in town are too far away and I don't think Dot would enjoy being transported in the car anyway. Even if she wanted to go, I don't think we can get two dogs in the same car anymore. Dot needs a lot more room with her injuries and I don't know where we'd put Dash. There used to be two places in town that made beautiful birthday cakes for dogs, but they both went out of business. The cakes were expensive and a lot of people didn't want to pay that much to treat their dog. After trying to make similar cakes myself, I quickly realized that these cakes were a bargain. It's a shame that these businesses didn't succeed. That's all in the past though. Last year, we got them some dog cupcakes at Sprinkles but it wasn't much of a party. They both ate the little cupcakes in about two seconds.

I saw a snake in the back yard this morning, but I wasn't able to catch it before it slithered away. I was trying to lift it up with a stick and toss it over the back fence, but the snake was faster than I was. I didn't want to pick the snake up with my hands, because it looked a lot like a baby copperhead. I don't want to mess with those things. The venom is actually stronger in baby snakes. I don't know why. Hopefully, the snake continued it's journey and is somewhere in the park by now. I definitely don't want Dash to discover it.

We went to a concert tonight because one of Janet's friends was performing. We hear this group almost every year. They are a large a cappella chorus that performs all over the world. When we first started going to these concerts, I wasn't that wild about this barbershop style of singing, but either they've gotten better over the years, or I've grown to appreciate them. The concerts are quite good.

When I used the Scan and Go app at the grocery store today, I noticed that there was a new welcome screen that said "No purchases over $750." I'm never going to buy that many groceries, but I wonder what this message means. Apparently, even though the app has been around less than a month, someone has already figured out a way to scam it. I wish everyone was honest and played by the rules. If everyone were honest, I wouldn't even need passwords on all these apps.

It was really hot today and there were no Summer showers to cool things down. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Winter.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2444

I can't honestly say that Dot got a clean bill of health today at her annual physical exam, but the vet was amazed that she's doing as well as she is. Very few Dalmatians make it this far on their journey through life. Dot has already lived two years longer than any other Dalmatian we've had and she hasn't given up yet. These exams aren't as dignified as they were during her younger years. When the nurse tried to weigh her, she peed on the scale. A little later when the same nurse took her temperature, she pooped. Dot's teeth are bad, she can't walk without assistance, and she tires very easily. It's not all bad news however. Her heart is still strong, her vision is good, and she is still very enthusiastic about eating. We skipped most of the normal vaccinations because she is so old and frail, but the vet still wanted to give her the Leptospirosis vaccine. Leptospirosis is becoming commonplace in Dallas, and it is so easy to catch since we frequently walk in the park.

Today's exam took a while, but I was very pleased with the results. Dot is old and has many serious problems, but she is amazingly resilient. She is a high maintenance girl who is becoming more stubborn by the day, but she definitely hasn't given up yet. There are days when I think Dot is going to outlast me.

Last week's cooler weather lulled me into believing that Fall had arrived early, but I got a reminder today that we're still in the middle of Summer. The sun came out this morning and almost instantly it was twenty degrees warmer. By afternoon, temperatures were in the high nineties again and Dash let me know pretty clearly that he wasn't all that interested in an afternoon walk.

I had some website updates to make today. These modifications aren't an everyday occurrence like they used to be, but apparently people haven't forgotten about their websites completely. Occasionally, a website will go offline and it will often take days before the client even notices. Things have changed. If something is wrong with Facebook, they all notice immediately.

The park is full of Rain Lily's today. These small flowers seem to appear overnight after a big rain and then disappear just as quickly when things dry up. Luckily, they were blooming today, because I couldn't find anything else to photograph. There aren't many flowers left. Pretty soon, I'll start seeing Fall leaves and as soon as the time changes, I'll be trying to capture pretty sunsets again.

We need to do something special for Dot's birthday this weekend. We used to take the dogs to dinner at Cafe Lago, but that dog friendly restaurant went out of business quite a few years ago. Janet and I also used to make beautiful little dog cakes, but I don't even remember how anymore. She would bake a small three layer cake made with apple sauce, eggs, and oat flour. I would decorate the cake with a cream cheese and yogurt frosting. I took a cake decorating class once, and even had one of those special turntables, so I could apply the frosting evenly. Distant memories. All I have the energy to do anymore is buy some pupcakes at Sprinkles.

Tomorrow, we have our second vet visit of the week. We do water therapy and acupuncture on Wednesdays and then on Friday she goes back to the cancer center for another ultrasound scan. It's going to be a busy week.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2081

Today is Dot's birthday. No, it's not the day she was actually born, it's the day we adopted her. Dot was a stray and we'll never know for sure what her history was before she found us. She was definitely a young dog, perhaps two or three years old. That would make her fourteen or fifteen years old today. I'd like to think she's fifteen, because I want her to have lived a long and happy life. When we were younger, we used to make elaborate birthday cakes for our dogs. I even took a cake decorating class once. The little dog cakes were gorgeous, but neither of us have the energy to make them anymore. We take the easy route now. I went to Sprinkles and got exactly the same thing I got for Janet's birthday: chocolate marshmallow cupcakes for the people and dog cupcakes for the dogs.

There's been a huge film crew in the park for the past several days and I've been curious to find out what's going on. I thought someone must be filming a big budget feature, since there was a forty person crew and a huge eighteen wheeler full of equipment. Today when I was taking Dash on his evening walk, I asked one of the crew members what they were doing. It turns out they were filming a brand new show on the Food Network channel called BBQ Blitz. There's currently a show called Food Network Stars and the winner gets their own show as the grand prize. This year's winner was an ex NFL football payer named Eddie Jackson who loves barbecue. They were filming the first episode of his new show, which will air sometime in October. I guess it's kind of like Top Chef, except that everyone makes barbecued food. Lord knows why they picked our park to film the first episode, but it will be interesting to see the show.

Dot did really well during her physical therapy session today. I do think she's getting stronger since we stopped her chemotherapy. Everybody, including Dot's vet, seems to agree that quality of life is more important to an old dog than the actual amount of time they live.  Nevertheless, it will be a really hard decision to make if we discover that the cancer has grown when she has her next Ultrasound scan in September. I'm hoping that the tumor has not grown at all or is growing very, very slowly. I'd hate to start the chemotherapy again, now that I know it was making her uncomfortable.

This is the weirdest political season I can ever remember. The only authentic candidates in the race are Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Everyone else has already been bought and paid for by special interests and huge corporations. Sanders and Trump couldn't be more different if they tried, but they both resonate with people because they just say what they think instead of having a focus group or talking to their pollsters every time they open their mouth. It's kind of refreshing to see the political insiders in both parties get their feathers ruffled by these two. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of professional politicians.

I noticed that another neighborhood restaurant has started serving breakfast and I was going to try it tomorrow until I read the Yelp reviews. Most of the reviews were from people in the area and said things like "I was so hoping to like this place, but the food just isn't that good." Without Yelp, I probably would have tried the place and might have even liked it. No wonder most of my local retail clients hate Yelp. It really changes things. I guess I'll just go back to my regular restaurant. Since I only go out once a week, it would be a shame to be disappointed.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2077

I thought I'd fix an old aluminum colander today. This colander was so old that it must have belonged to my Mom. Or maybe it belonged to Janet's Mom. One of the legs had fallen off and Janet was going to throw the thing away. "I can fix that," I said. This was about a month ago actually. Men aren't generally that quick about fixing things. I thought it would be easy to rivet the leg back on the bowl of the colander using my rivet gun. I hadn't used the rivet gun in years, so the first problem was finding it. After searching in all the logical places, I finally found the tool in an illogical place. It made sense that I would store the rivets with the tool, but of course I didn't. It took me another thirty minutes to find a supply of aluminum rivets. I got ready to attach the leg and realized that the broken old rivets were still attached. I would have to drill them out. The batteries on my electric drill were dead, but I managed to find an old AC powered drill of my Dad's. The drill didn't have a chuck though, so I couldn't attach a drill bit. I finally managed to pull the old rivet out of the hole with a pair of pliers. The first time I tried to rivet the leg to the bowl, I forgot to place a washer on the back side of the rivet and it fell out of the hole. Finally, I got things right. Two hours after I started, I had a successful repair. I wonder why I thought that fixing the colander would only take me ten minutes?

Fixing things around the house always takes me a long time. The whole process is kind of like household archaeology. I have to sift through layers and layers of stuff to find the tools I need. We ran out of space so long ago that stuff is just piled on top of other stuff. If a tool is buried under too many layers, it is often easier to just drive to Home Depot and buy another one. The rivet gun was buried under layers of painting supplies, which were in turn covered up by three folding tables that Janet and I used to use at Dalmatian Rescue events. Long before I found the rivet gun, a bunch of wasps found me. They has been building a nest a few feet over my head. I didn't get stung, but the wasps did make me work faster. I often wonder why I embark on projects like this. I could have gone to Bed Bath and Beyond and picked up a brand new colander for just a few bucks. The old aluminum utensil didn't even have much sentimental value. I guess I feel compelled to fix things.

I hope going to the gym on Sunday is beneficial because I could certainly think of better things to do with my time. I've been pretty faithful about my weekend workouts, but I still don't see the fascination with exercise that many people have. Every morning when we walk the dogs, we pass dozens of cyclists and joggers who are up just as early as we are. I'm up because I know that Dot and Dash really need these walks. I wonder why these other guys are up so early?  If I had a choice, I would just sleep in an extra hour. I did go to the gym today though. And then I ate cake when I got home.

The TV went out again this evening, and since I couldn't get things to work on my own, I called U-Verse tech support for help. After answering the usual laundry last of questions, the technician suggested that I disconnect the HDMI cable from the TV and plug it back in back to front. "Why would this make a difference," I thought? I dutifully took the TV end of the cable and plugged it into the U-Verse receiver and took the receiver end and plugged it into the TV. It worked! Since nothing was wrong with the cable in the first place, I wondered why flipping it back to front brought the picture back. The technician didn't know. "Sometimes this just gets the signal flowing again," he said.

The calendar looks pretty empty next week. Dot does have a birthday on Thursday though. We'll have to do something special.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2055

There are few things that will destroy your faith in humanity faster than running errands on a hot Texas Summer day. The roads are filled with disgruntled drivers who aren't paying attention to the road. The parking lots are filled with people who can't manage to park their oversize cars between the white lines. Grocery stores are the worst. There's always some 400 pound person blocking the aisles with their motorized cart while they fill their buggy with the same sugar filled, fattening foods that gave them diabetes in the first place. I always seem to get behind someone at the automated checkout kiosks who keeps inserting their expired credit card in the machine over and over again and wondering why it doesn't work. No wonder Amazon Prime is so popular. I just look around and think we are doomed, because all these people can vote.

There seems to be a big controversy on social media entering around the fact that many people are showing more compassion for Cecil the Lion than for their fellow man. This is a no brainer to me. Of course Cecil the Lion is getting more sympathy. He deserves it. Humans are in many ways the worst animals on the planet. We've reproduced like rabbits, taken all the planet's resources for ourselves, cut down the rain forests, and poisoned the waters. And then we sit around blaming each other for climate change. We operate on fear and greed and survive only because there's nobody higher than us on the food chain to eat us for lunch. Cecil the Lion and all those sharks swimming around East Coast beaches this Summer are actually the good guys.

I should have gone to the gym today, because it's about the only quiet place on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I burned my calories outside today by mowing the grass. The lawn is growing slower now, due to the heat, but it's still growing. After I mowed and watered the shrubs, I washed the sheets and made the bed. We've got plenty of bed sheets, but I like the bamboo sheets that Janet got in the Caribbean best, so I wash them over and over again and put them right back on the bed. If you've never tried bamboo bed sheets, I highly recommend them. They're softer than even the very best cotton and surprisingly durable.

The armadillo was back on our porch this morning when we got up. I thought I had blocked the area where he usually crawls under the fence, but the little guy seemed to have had no trouble removing my barrier and getting in the yard again. Now, I know who is making all the little trails through the Asian Jasmine ground cover in the back. The armadillo doesn't seem content with destroying the grass. Now, it is messing up all the shrubs and ground cover as well. I wish the critter would just go away. It's just one more thing that I always need to be aware of before I let the dogs outside.

Dot had a good day today. She was able to get up by herself when she woke up this morning and was steady and surefooted on our early morning walk. She still slept for most of the day when we returned, but that's OK. Janet and Dot both have birthdays this month. After all these years, we still don't know how old Dot actually is. They said she was four when we adopted her, but she was so active in her younger years that we began to think she was only three. Now, that she really is getting old, I'm beginning to think she might have been four after all. At any rate, on her birthday she'll either be fourteen or fifteen. I doubt that she's sixteen, because she sure seemed older than two when we got her. We'll never know for sure.

Snoopy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1716 - Dot's Birthday

Dot had a big day. We started the day by returning to our regular route for the dog's morning walk. I walked Dot and Dash together and Dot had no trouble going the full distance. We walked a lot slower than usual, but nobody was in a hurry. Dot also got to go back to training class this evening. This was the first time she's returned to the class since her surgery and she seemed to enjoy the outing. We didn't do all the exercises, but she seemed eager to participate in some of the easier routines. When we got home, we all had cake.

I'm still not sure how old Dot is. Janet says she turned 13 this year, but I thought she was 13 last year. Maybe it's like a woman's 39th birthday. Dot might end up being 13 forever.

I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before.  It's easy and it's delicious. When I was worried about my blood sugar levels, I stopped eating wheat products for over a year. Since grain converts to sugar during digestion, cutting bread out of my diet brought my blood sugar levels back to normal very quickly. I also lost a fair amount of weight. All this is good. The only problem was that I have always loved bread. Now that my liver is functioning normally again and I have significantly improved my chances for avoiding diabetes by eating a healthy diet, bread has become a bigger temptation than ever. I haven't pigged out on French Toast with Maple Syrup yet, but I do enjoy the occasional sandwich. Even though this morning's grilled ham and cheddar sandwich was delicious, I'll be back eating my oatmeal tomorrow. Dot won't be eating cake again for quite a while either.

I wish I was was busier at work, but it's probably been good that things are slow now. I've spent so much time this Spring and Summer caring for sick dogs and driving them back and forth between various vet appointments that I don't know where I would have found the time to do my normal workload anyway. Tomorrow is another physical therapy day for Dot. She's gotten strong enough now to do a full twenty minute workout on the underwater treadmill. It's amazing how well she's doing physically. You'd never know she was a senior citizen until you saw her pee all over the house. If we can ever resolve her incontinence issues, I think Dot will have made a full recovery.

I need to order a full set of ink cartridges and a new maintenance tank for the large format printer tomorrow. I've managed to use up all eight cartridges just doing cleaning cycles to keep the printer from clogging. Since the cartridges cost $57 each, I wonder if it is worth the effort. It's kind of insane to work so hard to keep this cranky printer running properly. Who knows? Maybe I'll have a gallery show again, but I probably won't. I may never make a huge print again. It's nice to have a good printer just in case though. I may not do much these days, but I'm certainly well prepared.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1715

Today is National Dog Day. I was curious how this holiday originated and quickly discovered that creating your own "national day" has become somewhat of a cottage industry. Creating recognized national days has become a hobby for some and a calling for others. It is remarkably easy to create your own special day. You or I could do it if we had the inclination. The woman who created National Dog Day in 2004 has also created National Cat Day, National Living Room Day, and National Farm Animals Day. Although there are only 365 days in a year, there are already over 13,000 officially recognized national days. This all seems kind of weird to me. Here I had been thinking that National Dog Day was a real holiday and it is just a totally made up event created by a woman who likes holidays.

My own important dog day is tomorrow. It is Dot's birthday. Our best guess is that she will be 14 years old tomorrow. I say this because we've been telling people she was 13 all this year. It's hard to know exactly how old a rescue dog is. When we initially adopted Dot, we thought she was about three years old. Our vet thought that this was a good guess. She was fully grown at the time and her teeth looked like those of an adult dog. We may be wrong. Dot could be older or younger than we think she is. August 27 is not the day Dot was born. It was the day we adopted her. It is still a very special day. Especially this year. When Dot had a 105 degree fever a few months ago and was clinging to life in the ICU, we didn't know if she would make it to her next birthday. The fact that both of our dogs survived cancer this year and are now healthy and happy again makes this a very good year. We will definitely celebrate tomorrow.

I spent more time taking Dot to her physical therapy session today than I did working. It's time consuming being a dog's rehab nurse. Dot did great on the underwater treadmill and walked a full twenty minutes. She is strong enough now that I've started walking both dogs together again. We had an enjoyable pre-dawn walk this morning and another not so enjoyable, but very necessary, walk in the afternoon heat. Dot really got her exercise today.

We used to bake the dogs a special three layer cake on their birthdays. At some point in the past, I even took a cake decorating class and became quite adept at decorating fancy dog cakes. Neither of us has the energy for that sort of thing anymore. I don't think we've baked a dog cake in over three years. These days, we either go buy a cake or do nothing at all. In truth, the dogs would rather have a nice juicy piece of chicken than a cake anyway. We'll conjure up some sort of a celebration.

I wish it were Friday tomorrow. I actually wish every day were Friday. I could make that happen easy enough by just going out to eat for breakfast every morning and picking up something tasty for dinner at Whole Foods or Central Market. This seems all wrong though. Once a week is a treat. Every day would be an indulgence. We can't have that. Indulgence has always been my personal road to ruin.

Cammy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1713

I highly recommend the occasional lazy day. Today was just what the doctor ordered. We slept in later than usual, but not too late to give the dogs a leisurely early morning walk while it was still cool outside. We had an equally leisurely breakfast and then I watched last night's Dr. Who Season 8 premiere while Janet went to the gym. I didn't realize the show was going to be two hours long when I taped it, but I didn't have anything better to do this morning anyway. Peter Capaldi was actually quite good as the doctor. I enjoyed the show and think I'll enjoy the new season as well.

Dot had a good day. Things aren't progressing in a predictable linear fashion, but it is clear that she is making progress. We almost made it through the night without an accident and probably would have if we hadn't forgotten to take up her water bowl early like we have been doing lately. Considering that she tanked up on water at 11 PM when we got home from the concert last night, she did pretty well.

I'm spending more time outside with the dogs lately. Mostly I go outside to warm up, since it is so cold inside. The temperature isn't that cold in the house, but I think my skin has grown sensitive to the cool air constantly blowing out of the air conditioning vents. It's weird. The temperature is usually 72 degrees when I wake up in the morning, but I feel warm since I've spent the night warming up under blankets. Later in the day, when the indoor temperature has risen to 77 degrees, I'm freezing. I don't think my body retains heat well. Maybe I'm a reptile.

When I'm outside watching the dogs, I usually lay on a bench and stare up at the canopy of trees over my head. It's amazing how much activity there is up in the tree canopy. In addition to the ubiquitous squirrels, there are large butterflies fluttering around, lizards climbing up and down the tree trunks, and at least ten different species of birds. I even saw hummingbirds the other day. There is hidden beauty high up in the trees, while down on the ground there is only the irritating possum, tearing up our lawn.

I made it back to the gym this afternoon. When I only go once a week, I feel like I'm tearing my muscles apart. It is only when I'm able to go at least three times a week that I can establish a rhythm and feel like I'm making serious progress toward building myself up again. Maybe now that both dogs are getting healthier, I might be able to visit the gym several times a week like I used to when I first joined. It's hard to believe I've been going to this gym over a year now. Time flies. I feel like I joined just a few weeks ago.

I wonder if I'm going to be busy next week. I don't get much advance warning about upcoming projects these days, so I never know. I do know that Dot has a birthday this Wednesday. We ought to have a big celebration. You wouldn't know by looking at her today, but just a little more than a month ago we weren't even sure if Dot was going to make it until her birthday. We've really come a long way.

Hero is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1356 - Dot's Birthday

We don't actually know when our dogs were born, or how old they are. We celebrate their birthday on the day we adopted them, or if that doesn't work out, on the first weekend after their adoption day. By this convoluted logic, Dot's birthday is today. I think we actually adopted Dot on August 27, but this was the first day where there was time for a party.

Since the only gift a dog really appreciates is food, we wrapped up an assortment of dog biscuits and got a couple more doggie cupcakes from Sprinkles. The dog treats were greatly appreciated, but we could have skipped today's trip to the dog park. It was simply too hot. The dogs walked around the park once, sat under a tree for a while, drank some water, and then we came home again. It was 106 degrees today.

I spent longer waiting in line at Sprinkles for the cupcakes than I did at the dog park this morning, but that's the way it goes on a hot day in Dallas. I guess when there's nothing better to do, you eat cupcakes. When I was waiting in line, I noticed the store was selling frosting without the cupcake. Strange. People were ordering the little cups of frosting and consuming them like shots of Tequila.  I've decided that the Sprinkles store is God's gift to the dentists of Dallas.

I finally got tired of seeing the Low Coolant light come on every time I started the Evoque, so I decided to fix the problem myself. I downloaded an Evoque owner's manual off the Internet and located the coolant overflow tank. I topped up the tank with the distilled water I use in the coffeemaker and started the engine. The low coolant warning doesn't appear anymore. Problem solved.

When we were taking our evening walk, a group of kids approached us and asked if they could take their picture with Dot and Dash. They said their school was producing The 101 Dalmatians Musical as their class play and wanted to use Dot and Dash in their promotional pictures. Sure, why not. I didn't mention that Dot and Dash had actually met the cast of the Broadway production and even got to meet Rachel York when she was playing the Cruella DeVil role in the show. The dogs get around, but they're not name droppers.

Sp[ot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 621

On the way home from the dog park, we stopped by Sprinkles again to get some cupcakes for Dot's party. They make dog cupcakes there, but really it's just an excuse to get some for ourselves. Janet seems to think that Dot's birthday is really today anyway. Maybe she's right. I'm terrible with dates. I just looked on the blog from last year and we celebrated her birthday on the 27th then, so I assumed it would be the same this year. Dot's real birthday may be Feburary 4 for all I know. When you rescue a stray, you never really know how old they are or when they were actually born. Most people just make the day they adopt their dog the pet's birthday from that day forward. I don't think Dot or Dash particularly care when they were born. They just wanted a bit of the steak we had for dinner and of course, their special Sprinkles dog cupcake. I think the party was a success.

Earlier in the day we got a call from our vet about some stray puppies that had been found in the park. The pups had spots, so the people who found them thought they might be Dalmatians. The dogs were heartbreakingly thin and looked like they had the mange. The two puppies definitely weren't all Dalmatian, but they were adorable. We see situations like this all the time and it is terribly sad. Who would just dump little puppies like this? One way or another these pups will get healthy again and find good homes. Probably next week there will be another story just like it however. I'm sure there are hundreds of stories just like this all over the country today.

I finished the day by mowing the grass, which was probably a mistake. It was still well above 100 degrees today. It's weird listening to all the reports about the hurricane on the East Coast. You wonder why they get all that rain and we get none? Even though we continue to water, the grass in our back yard has given up the fight. The yard that looked so great in May looks terrible again. I went to Home Depot this afternoon and got some Fescue grass in hopes that I could reseed the dead spots. It's probably hopeless though. I bet I'll be putting in a brand new turf again next Spring. There is just too much shade in the back yard for grass to grow properly.

Mandy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 620 - Dot's Birthday

We started the day with a trip up to the Velvet Snout to photograph Jordan, our newest Dalmatian Rescue dog. The folks at the kennel initially thought that Jordan was aggressive, since he showed his teeth to them. They'd obviously never seen a Dalmatian smile. A lot of Dalmatians smile when they greet people and it's pretty cute if you've never seen it before. Jordan is really a very gentle dog and he'll be a great companion for someone when he finds his forever home.

Our own Dot had a lot to smile about today. It's her birthday. It's hard to believe that it's already been seven years since we adopted her. We've had at least one Dalmatian in our home for over 25 years now and I can't imagine life without them. I tell people that Dot is my office manager, since whatever I'm doing, she's almost always nearby.

We usually take Dot and Dash out to a dog friendly restaurant on their birthdays, but it's way too hot today to eat dinner on a restaurant patio today. Dot will literally have to take a rain check on her birthday dinner. As soon as it rains again it will probably be 20 degrees cooler.

I'm going to miss the Dr. Who season opener this evening because Janet and I have tickets to see a concert. I don't think there will be any problems catching up with Dr. Who later though. The BBC channel seems to re-run everything they show about ten times a week.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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