Day 1934

I enjoy going to the vet with Dot on Thursdays. It gives me a chance to talk with some real people instead of just sending e-mails back and forth. Even more importantly, I can get an objective opinion on whether Dot is actually improving. It's hard for me to tell sometimes. She is definitely better than when we brought her home from surgery, but she still has good days and bad days. In my mind, everything in life should be a steady, even progression, but of course life isn't like that at all. I tend to get alarmed about the bad days, so it's nice to get an objective opinion.

I'm glad Dot's vet confirmed what I'd been thinking. She felt that Dot was definitely stronger than when she saw her last Thursday. We did a little more strenuous workout in the underwater treadmill today and everyone seemed pleased with her progress. We're still a long way from the finish line however. Dot has already lost over two pounds of muscle mass. That might not seem a lot for you or me, but it is quite a bit for a dog. We're got to slowly build her muscles back with exercise and physical therapy. Without strong leg muscles, she'll never be able to walk normally. So far, we're doing all the right things. It's just going to take time.

I understand the process all too well. I've been faithfully doing my own physical therapy exercises for months now and have still only managed to add a few inches to my bad shoulder's range of motion. In my case, my physical therapist told me that it could take up to a year before I noticed any substantial improvements. I hope it doesn't take that long for Dot. I think I've got a lot more time to get back to normal than Dot does. I could be wrong though. Dot is amazing. She may outlive me.

I was sleepy all day today. The combination of lack of sleep and acting as Dot's rear legs have taken their toll. I guess I could sleep in tomorrow, since it is a holiday, but I'll probably get up early anyway. It's Friday tomorrow and my desire to get out of the house will override any thoughts I might have about sleeping longer. I've been looking forward to my special breakfast all week.

It's amazing how quickly the vegetation has returned this Spring. A few weeks ago the park was still in the last grips of Winter. Now, there is new life everywhere. The trees are green. New flowers are popping up in the meadows every day. I'm even starting to see some baby ducks. I find it comforting that nature is so consistent and predictable. The same flowers and baby animals appear every year at almost exactly the same time. Humans are continually trying to reinvent themselves. Ducks and flowers seem content to stay as they are. I like that.

Miracle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1585 - Good Friday

Good Friday seems to be an optional holiday. The stock market was closed today, but the post office was still delivering mail. The Interstate Battery store, where I was going to replace my lawn mower battery, was closed, but Dash's cancer center was still open. Janet's office was officially closed, but most people went in to work anyway because they were busy. All over town, some businesses were closed and others were open in a random sort of way. This is probably just what happens to religious holidays in an increasingly secular world.

I surprised the staff at my favorite breakfast restaurant this morning by ordering something different. I must have been really bored this morning, because I always order the same thing at this restaurant. Maybe I should take a chance more often, because my alternate choice was really pretty tasty.

I wonder if there is an effective way to get telemarketers and scammers to leave you alone? I've been feeling inundated with scams lately. Phishing scams are growing increasingly sophisticated. I get dozens of these each day. It's gotten so bad that I almost don't trust any e-mail  receive these days. Today I got a realistic looking confirmation of a hotel reservation I never made. Two hours later, I got an unsolicited credit card in the mail, with a letter urging me to activate it immediately to avoid fraud. Nope! Not going to do that. Many of these phishing scams try to alarm you enough to call a fake help line were telephone operators try to grab even more of your personal information. It's such a shame that our society has come to this. If spammers and scammers put as much energy into starting a legitimate business as they did trying to cheat people, our economy would probably be booming.

I got an e-mail today telling me that my company had been recognized as a 2013 Texas Excellence Award recipient by the US Trade & Commerce Institute. I looked on the web and there really is a US Trade & Commerce Institute. Sadly, I suspect this is a scam too. There are quite a few companies in the business of selling pretty looking, but entirely bogus professional awards to excessively vain people. The pretty crystal award, which recognizes my company for "Excellence in Marketing" would certainly look good on my desk, but I'm a bit suspicious. I don't pay any attention to marketing whatsoever. What a joke! Hey, the only award I want would be to get in the Guinness Book of Records for "Most Consecutive Blog Posts."

Today wasn't very productive, but I need to start looking at the glass as half full rather than half empty. I didn't resolve any of yesterday's vexing website issues, but I did discover something new and very tasty to eat for breakfast and Dash continues to do well at his radiation treatments. He only has two more weeks to go!

Mattie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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