Day 2802

Every year around this time we go see the Rich-Tones at the Eisemann Center. One of Janet's friends is in the group and she hasn't missed one of these annual shows in years. She certainly wasn't going to let a little surgery keep her from tonight's concert. If you don't know who the Rich-Tones are, imagine Pentatonix with 100 people in the group instead of five. I wasn't that familiar with a cappella singing when we started going to these things many years ago, but I've grown to appreciate the genre. Tonight's show was very enjoyable. There was lots of new material and for once we didn't have to worry about leaving a sick dog. I checked on Dash once during intermission and he was sleeping peacefully on the bed. He was still sleeping when we got home.

A few of Harvey's outer rain bands arrived in Dallas today. There was no wind or danger. All we got was a gentle rain. We may get more rain later in the week as the hurricane continues to move inland, but we are too far away to worry about severe weather. The storm will either dissipate or move back to sea long before it would arrive in Dallas. It's an entirely different story in Houston. The city is already starting to flood.

Janet can't drive yet, but she's feeling well enough that she wanted to get out of the house for a while. I took her grocery shopping and basically just pushed the cart around while she got a new supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since we've virtually stopped buying canned and frozen items, it seems like we're going to the grocery store a lot more frequently these days. It's probably worth the effort. We're both eating healthier now.

Dash's blood test results came back from the lab today. His Phenobarbital levels are still in the normal range, but just barely. I have a feeling that the vet is going to want to increase his dose because she feels that there might not be enough Phenobarbital in his bloodstream to protect him from seizures anymore. I'm sure we'll get this all worked out, but I'd really hate to see him taking any additional meds. I think he takes too many already.

Today's mail was full of flyers for Labor Day sales. Isn't Labor Day when Summer is unofficially over? This has certainly been an eventful Summer, but I don't think either of us would want to repeat it. Here's hoping that Dash stays healthy and that there are no new medical emergencies for the rest of the year. We may get more rain tomorrow. I guess it doesn't matter, since I don't feel like going anywhere anyway. If it's a rainy day, I just may join Dash for a good long nap.

Cammy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2083

We woke up to rain for the second time in as many weeks. Maybe the seasons are finally starting to change. The dogs always notice the rain first. I think they smell it. There was no thunder or wind this morning, but Dash went into his rain panic mode anyway. Dot taught him well, because now he's even more storm phobic than she is. Since Dot is half deaf now, she sleeps through a lot of things until Dash wakes her up with his barking and whining. She must have known what he was talking about this morning, because it didn't take long for her to go into storm panic mode too. It was a gentle rain and I knew she was going to poop soon, so I took her outside in the rain and walked her down the alley. We got wet, but it didn't take long. After barking at the weather a couple of times, she did her business.

I was hoping that we could go back to bed for a while, but Dash was wide awake when we returned to the house and he wanted his breakfast. So much for sleeping in on Saturday morning. By the time we fed the dogs and had a little something ourselves, the rain has stopped. I wish I had gotten all the pecan shells off the roof yesterday, like I had planned. Pecan shells must contain some sort of natural dye, because whenever it rains in the Fall, the broken shells on the roof immediately turn the water a dark tobacco brown that stains everything. If you're wondering why the pecans are all broken, it's because the squirrels feast on them. We gave up on eating the pecans or making pies with them years ago, because the squirrels always get them first.

When I went up on the roof later in the morning to check things out, there must have been ten pounds of broken pecan shells mixed in with the water. It was an ugly mess. It took me over an hour to get things cleaned up, and just like they always do, the broken pecan shells had stained the white roof even further. The roof looks terrible now, but at least it doesn't leak. In my ongoing battle with nature, it's the squirrels, spiders, and armadillo who always win. To add insult to injury,  I saw two well fed squirrels pulling up my St. Augustine grass by the roots and eating it while I was putting the Sump Pump away.

I thought one of my clients was a telemarketer this morning and refused to pick up the phone three times in a row. Janet, who is more curious about repeat phone calls than I am finally picked up the line and apologized for my behavior. Hey, it seemed like a telemarketer to me. There was no name on the caller ID and telemarketers often call several times in a row. They know you'll eventually pick up the line.

We went to the Eisemann Center tonight to see the Rich Tones. Janet has friends who sing in this group and we go every year to this annual concert. I didn't think I'd like a 100 member women's barbershop chorus when we first started going to these concerts, but the music grows on you. The group often takes pop hits like Lady Gaga's Born This Way or Michael Jackson's Beat It and re-arranges them as massive acapella numbers for their 100 voice choir.  The show was good tonight, but I worried that we were leaving the dogs alone too long. Of course, they were just fine when we got home.

The big photo shoot is tomorrow. I"m supposed to take a group portrait of several dogs and cats, a large lizard, two snakes, a rabbit, and a guinea pig. Maybe there's a parrot too. I hope the snake doesn't eat the guinea pig.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1712

I took my car to the Land Rover dealer to get a new safety inspection sticker after we ate breakfast this morning. I enjoy going to the dealership. They know me there, they have fresh coffee, and they always wash and vacuum the car, no matter what they are doing to it. The Land Rover dealer is kind of like the Apple Store or Design Within Reach. It's the absolute antithesis of Walmart.

Dot had a good day. She made it through the night without an accident and even though we were both too busy running errands to take her outside every two hours, there were very few accidents inside the house. It was virtually a pee free day. Dot has been making such good progress lately that we decided it was OK to leave the dogs for the evening and go to a concert. Dot was fine while we were away, but I don't think she approved of this plan. When we checked the nanny cam to see how she and Dash were doing, she apparently spent the first hour barking. When Dot is barking and Dash is still asleep, it usually just means that Dot is mad. It is only when they both are barking that I begin to worry.

We went and saw the Richtones at the Eisemann Center this evening. Janet has a friend who sings in the group, and we usually go to their Fall concert every year. I never thought that I'd like barbershop style music, but I've grown to like the group almost as much as Janet. A chorus of 120 women singing acapella Lady GaGa hits is actually pretty impressive.

The possum has been coming back almost every night this week to tear up a new patch of St. Augustine grass in the back yard. I think the possum is still looking for grubs, but he's not finding any. We did a pretty good job of treating the yard for grubs in the Spring, and I still haven't seen any signs of them. So far, the lack of available grubs hasn't deterred the possum at all. This irritating creature seems determined to tear up our lawn one square yard at a time until he finds something tasty to eat.

I hope I remembered how to set the DVR to record the new Dr. Who season premiere this evening. We were at the concert when the show initially ran, but if the DVR actually recorded anything, I'll get a chance to watch the premiere tomorrow. I always think I'm not going to like the show anymore when the doctor regenerates and a new doctor takes his place. Peter Capaldi is a lot older than all the other recent doctors, but I'm sure he'll suck me into watching the new season, just like all his predecessors have. Apparently, Jenna Coleman will be leaving the show soon, so there will be a new companion as well.

I can't think of a single good reason to avoid going to the gym tomorrow. The weather looks good. Dot is getting better. I'm more or less caught up on my work assignments. It looks like it's time for a good workout.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1348

We went to see The Rich Tones and Street Corner Symphony at the Eisemann Center this afternoon. I wasn't always a fan of acapella music, but I've grown to like the genre. Janet has a friend who sings with the Rich Tones, so we've gone to quite a few of these concerts. The Rich Tones are hard to describe. Imagine 100 women singing "Born this Way," with more energy and better harmonies than Lady Gaga and you get the idea. Street Corner Symphony were pretty amazing as well. These guys were the runners up on Season 2 of NBC's "The Sing-Off" and their acapella rendition of Train's "Hey Soul Sister" sounded even better than the one you always hear Patrick Monahan singing on your car radio.

I discovered today that the touch screen on the Range Rover Evoque isn't broken after all. A valet parking guy just put the car in Valet Mode and I don't know how to get it back to Normal Mode. Evidently Valet Mode locks the screen so the parking guy can't see your travel history on the GPS or your telephone contact list. Way too fancy for me. Valet Mode on the Defender 90 consists of me asking the parking attendant if he knows how drive a stick shift without a synchromesh transmission. Most guys say they know, but it's easy to tell they're lying when they grind the gears as they drive off with your car.

Not surprisingly, I didn't get all my Saturday errands finished today. Going to a matinee concert in Richardson took up a lot of time, but it was definitely more fun than mowing the grass. I did manage to get clean sheets on the bed, but that's about it. Maybe tomorrow. Or then again, maybe not. Tomorrow is a busy day as well. There a trip to the dog park on the agenda, and then later in the day Dot and Dash get another chance to be ambassadors for Dalmatian Rescue at a "meet and greet" event.

Truthfully, I"m not in a big hurry to  mow the grass. It's still way too hot outside. Maybe if I try to get a head start on some writing assignment tomorrow, I can postpone the outdoor chores a bit longer.

Hero is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day