Day 3414

I voted today. As usual, I didn't really know that much about the candidates. It was a local election. I know more about what is happening in Venezuela than at city hall. Sure, we got the usual barrage of campaign flyers in the mail, but they all said the same thing: vote for me and build a better Dallas. They can't all be right. I think the most reliable way of choosing a candidate is just to look at the yard signs in the neighborhood. I see tons of these signs on my walks. If you like your neighbor, vote for their candidate. If your neighbor irritates you, well you know who not to vote for.

I was almost certain that I was going to get wet on my walk this morning, but as usual the weather forecast was wrong. They say a stable layer of warm air about 2,000 feet above ground can keep thunderstorms from forming. Evidently, one of these 'caps' is currently in place over North Texas. This is fine by me. I hope the cap stays in place. Light rain is fine. Thunderstorms, not so much.

My mind wanders on these morning walks. I keep seeing a lone White Pelican at the lake. Why didn't this bird migrate with all the other pelicans last month? Is the bird injured, or does it just like Dallas? It's hard to tell because it is always sitting on a log out in the middle of the lake. I keep seeing a lot of fishermen too. Especially on rainy days. Why would anyone fish in this lake? It is polluted. Every month or two you hear about a sewage spill into one of the tributaries that feed the lake. Most of these spills have been contained before they reach the lake, but that doesn't mean the water is clean. People aren't even allowed to swim in this lake. Veterinarians in the area warn you to always vaccinate your dog for for leptospirosis. It's unreal how much trash flows into the lake after a big storm. The park is probably the best thing about this city, but the water quality reminds you that you are still living in a big city. It's definitely not like the mountain lakes I remember as a child in Colorado. Clear lakes you could drink out of are just distant memories now.

I made a pathetic attempt to clean the office today. This really just amounted to sorting through a huge stack of unopened mail and throwing away most of it. I really ought to go paperless. I like the idea of paper, but it stacks up so quickly on my desk. Eventually it winds up in ring binders in the storage warehouse. After a few years, I have no idea what I'm looking at. Maybe I'll go paperless one of these days, but I'm pretty old school about these things. I'm still hanging on to a world that is gone.

I wish I could figure out what gives me heartburn. Some days I'm fine. Other days I'm not. It makes sense that pizza would give me heartburn, but crab cakes? Come on. Seafood should be fine. I had some delicious crab cakes tonight and almost immediately had to take a Pepcid AC. These over the counter antacids are pretty mild and have the approval of my doctor. At least I've been able to wean myself away from proton pump inhibitors like Protonix. PPI's dramatically reduce calcium absorption and can lead to bone loss in older people. I don't need that.

We're trying to decide whether to have the landscapers come back this year. It's time. Every Spring they clear away all the leaves and put in new St. Augustine sod in the back yard. Unfortunately, every year this becomes more expensive. The grass looks nice for a few months. Our water bill goes way up as we diligently water and fertilize as we're supposed to. Then the grass dies and we repeat the process the next year. I've been told that the reason the sod has a hard time getting established is that there are too many large Oak trees in the back yard. The extensive root system sucks up all the water. This is probably all true, but it would still be nice to have grass.

Tomorrow's forecast is just like today's. It's supposed to start raining before sunrise and continue raining for the rest of the day. Oddly, it wasn't thunderstorms that woke us up last night. It was a telemarketing call at 3 AM.

Bea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3170

They've discovered two bats with rabies in our neighborhood. That's a little disconcerting. We haven't had a rabies scare in ages. I don't think I have much to worry about. I rarely see bats in the yard and Dash is current on his rabies shots. He's totally lost interest in going after dead things in the park as well. We never used to have disease scares. Now people worry about getting Leptospirosis from contaminated water in the park. Almost every year there are new reports of someone being diagnosed with West Nile Virus in the area. Now, we've got rabies too. Good grief. We've even had to deal with the Ebola Virus here in Dallas a couple of years ago. I must have led a charmed life as a child. We never worried about anything.

My Dad was a zoologist who studied bats. He used to band them, set them loose in our yard, and see how long it took them to fly back to their caves. We were quite familiar with bats growing up. I don't think the subject of rabies ever came up. I don't think our neighbors were as interested in bats as Dad was. One Summer he released a few that refused to fly home. For the rest of the Summer the bats were a common sight at neighborhood barbecues.

Dash got me up last night, but we made it outside in time. At least I thought we made it outside in time. When he finished his business and we came back inside, I discovered that Janet was changing the bed. Yep. Dash had left another present for us. People ask why I don't use diapers on Dash. They rarely work on large dogs. I don't think they work at all on dogs with mobility issues. Diapers are messy too. It's a lot easier to clean the brick floors.

There are lots of chores I've been postponing. The floors are getting dirty and the grass needs to be mowed. I haven't unclogged the large production printer in a long time. If I was really ambitious, I could try to fix the shower tiles myself. The sheetrock on the living room ceiling needs a lot of attention too. There is an endless list of things that need to be fixed. None of these things appeal to me now. I wonder if this self imposed lethargy will ever change. By the time I finish dealing with all of Dash's many issues, I rarely feel like doing anything else.

I need to do something. Maybe I should apply for that opportunity to go behind the scenes at JPL and watch the InSight Mars landing. Janet will be home with Dash and I could always cancel the trip if his condition got worse. I'm trying to talk myself into doing this, but it's not that easy. I've become very comfortable with being a recluse.

I hope Dash sleeps well tonight. We're off to a good start because he pooped out in the yard this evening. When Dash is able to sleep, I sleep. That's important if I expect to get anything done tomorrow.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3070 - Dash's Birthday

Dash is a trooper. Despite some serious medical problems, we made it through another year. Dash is not as strong or as agile as he used to be, but he is still a happy dog. On a good day I think Dash will be with us for many years. On a bad day, I wonder if he'll make it through the night. Luckily, his birthday was a very good day. Dash ate well today and took two walks. He didn't stumble too much and really enjoyed the little party we had for him after dinner.

Janet and I used to bake and decorate special cakes for each of our dogs. We don't have the energy now, so I just went to Sprinkles and got him some Pupcakes. He seems to like these just as well. Hopefully, we'll be able to celebrate again next May. Tomorrow morning we have a vet appointment so he can get his annual Leptospirosis vaccination. We'll find out whether the infection on his lip has cleared up and if we can discontinue the antibiotics that upset his stomach. Next month, we will see a different vet at the cancer center for a follow up exam and an echocardiogram. It's not surprising that Dash doesn't enjoy going to the vet anymore, but he wouldn't be alive today without the excellent care he receives.

I got a surprise in the mail today. It was a rather large bill from the roofer. There aren't supposed to be any bills for repairs necessitated by defective materials. The roofers have been out many times before to repair the faulty elastomer coating and this is the first time I've received a bill. The roofer eventually agreed that I didn't have to pay the bill, but I could tell that he's getting tired of dealing with me. Hey, you and me both. I'm not really enjoying this either. Now, I'm wondering if the roofers will ever come back and finished the rest of the repairs as they promised. Today was definitely a setback.

I got a Fitbit today and when I went to set it up, the app said I already had a Fitbit account. Hmm. This was confusing, since I don't think I've ever owned a Fitbit before. Maybe I have though. These activity trackers don't last very long and I've owned quite a few. When I was setting up the device, I remembered why I started using Jawbone trackers in the first place. It's too bad that Jawbone made poorly constructed, flimsy equipment and went out of business. Their software was always the best.

Dash drags his rear legs so badly now that repairing his rubber boots has become a full time job. I hope I'm not pushing him too hard, but it's really important that he keeps moving. I wish he would let me take him for water therapy in the underwater treadmill like I did with Dot. Unfortunately, riding in the car has become too stressful for him. We limit car rides to essential vet visits now. There's just no point in stressing out a dog with a bad heart.

I called an electrician today but he told me that it would be two weeks before he could come out and fix my backyard security light. Hey, two weeks is fine. If he actually arrives in two weeks, this will be the fastest repair I've been able to arrange this year. I'm still trying to get the landscaper and the tree trimmer out here and it appears that all bets are off with the roofer.

All in all it was a good day. I had some frustrating encounters with suppliers, but Dash had a great birthday. He's sleeping it off now. Hopefully, we'll both sleep well tonight and be ready for another day tomorrow.

Casey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3063

We're making progress. The roofers came out today and fixed the area above where water has been leaking into the living room. I reluctantly agreed with them that it wouldn't be wise to repair the entire roof, since there is a 40% chance of rain tomorrow. It probably wasn't even wise to repair the small section above the living room, but it's so hard to get the roofers to come out here that I figured that something was better than nothing. The elastomer material needs 24 hours to fully cure. According to the current forecast, it will probably rain in 16 hours. The roofers said this was OK, but we'll have to see. If it rains really hard, today's patch might just wash away.

I was pleased that the roofers made a firm promise to return and fix the rest of the roof. Lord knows how long this will take, but they've always kept their word in the past. It would be nice if by the end of the Summer, all the house problems that are currently plaguing me are solved. Old houses are relentless taskmasters unfortunately. As soon as today's problems are solved, new ones will crop up to replace them.

Dash's vet is going to prescribe a new antibiotic to see if we can clear up the infection on his lip. I think we tried this before and it was only a temporary solution. Maybe this is a virus instead of a bacteria. I sure wish that Dash wasn't so interested in smelling things in the park. There are tons of animals that call this place home and not all of them are healthy. The main reason that Dash gets a Leptospirosis vaccination every year is that here are a lot of raccoons and rodents in the park that carry the disease. If you're listening Dash, please quit smelling other animals pee.

I've just about got everything set up to start taking distributions from my retirement account. I was hoping this day would never come, but this is what retirement accounts are for. Hopefully, I will be able to live comfortably for a long, long time, but you never know. I had to get a power of attorney and take over my Dad's affairs during his final years, so I have a realistic idea of what might happen. All it takes is one really serious illness to wipe almost anybody out. It was shocking for me to see how quickly medical bills can suck up all available resources. Medicare and supplemental insurance help a lot, but they don't even come close to paying for everything.

I wish Dash had a way of telling me what he wanted to eat. I picked the wrong can tonight and he refused to touch the stuff. Last night, this was his favorite. Even the fresh boiled chicken breasts he gets for breakfast aren't a sure thing anymore. He didn't finish his breakfast until almost 11 AM this morning. We still think it's the vestibular disease that's making Dash such a picky eater. It could be something else though. All I know is that it's getting harder and harder to feed him. Dash has a birthday coming soon. I hope we can find something he likes for his birthday meal. If I asked Dash, he would probably choose a cheeseburger.

Lady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3036

Dash surprised everybody today. He was well behaved at the vet. He didn't act up or bark in the car. He let the nurse take his blood pressure. He didn't squirm or try to escape when the vet gave him the rabies shot. Maybe Dash has turned over a new leaf. This was the first time he's been a good dog at the vet in many months. We'll have to go back for a Leptospirosis shot in May, but hopefully vet appointment won't be as frequent now that the blood clot worries have subsided a bit.

Dash was eager to take a walk when we returned from our vet appointment, so breakfast was very late this morning. At least Dash took a nice walk. He's pretty reliable in the morning, but I still have trouble getting him to leave the house in the afternoon. Nothing is predictable with Dash anymore. I was totally surprised at how good he was at the vet today. I never know what he's going to eat at any given time, and I can never predict when he's in the mood for an afternoon walk. They say dogs like a predictable routine. Not Dash. He likes to mix things up.

It's weird that only two days after that Sixty Minutes report about how terrible Allegiant Airlines is that an engine exploded on a Southwest Airlines flight and killed a passenger. Southwest has a good safety record, so I guess you never know when your number is up. I'm certainly going to be reluctant to sit in a window seat again. I'm certain that the poor woman who almost got sucked out of the plane never expected that a routine flight to Dallas would be her last.

I hate stories like this because I have enough fears and phobias already. I definitely don't need to add fear of flying to the list. I rarely stay out late at night anymore. I find driving in heavy traffic stressful. When I go to a restaurant I wonder if I'm going to get food poisoning. I'm always looking for snakes when I walk Dash. Nothing seems safe anymore. This isn't a great way to live, but I don't think I'm being paranoid. Just turn on the evening news tonight and you'll probably agree with me about the state of the world.

I almost called my accountant today to remind him to file my taxes. Luckily, I realized how ridiculous this would sound and didn't make the call. I think I actually did do this a few years ago and the accountant just laughed at me. Jeez. I've got to learn to trust people. At least a little.

I wonder if Barbara Bush will be the last person in the political arena to be loved and respected by everybody. I'm hearing praise and tributes from both sides of the political fence tonight. It's probably the end of an era.

The national news wasn't good today, but it wasn't a bad day for a recluse like me. I was pleased that the stock market went up again and even more pleased that Dash was a good boy at the vet.

Bella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2072

Dot got scared going to the vet for her annual exam and immediately pooped in the lobby. This was actually convenient, since we needed a stool sample for the exam anyway. Her vet told me that other than having cancer and severe neurological problems, Dot was looking pretty good. Dot sees so many vets for so many different reasons that these annual exams really are just a formality. She didn't need a rabies shot this year, but did get a leptospirosis vaccination.  This disease has become a real problem in our area. It is spread by the urine of rats, raccoons, and possums, which all seem to wind up in our yard, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Since Dot has three different vets, I always need to make sure that everyone is on the same page. I usually spend a good portion of every exam telling the vet what all the other vets think. Today, we didn't even need to do the regular annual exam blood work, because Dot's oncologist at the cancer center has already taken care of this just a few weeks ago.

A box of Keurig coffee pods arrived in the mail this morning. "Don't you already have plenty of coffee pods," Janet asked me? Well, I guess I do. I don't really feel guilty about buying an excessive amount of Keurig pods though. Janet does the same thing with soup. It's hard to resist a good bargain. I'll find a place to store the new pods until I need them. They definitely will get used. I drink a lot of coffee.

I'm trying to remember if August was always this slow. Traditionally, the end of the Summer has always been slow for me, but this year absolutely nothing is going on. The odd thing is that even though I have no business to speak of, I'm still busy every day. It's amazing how quickly taking care of the dogs, tending to the yard, paying bills, and running the occasional errand can fill up a day. I had to run to the mall and pick up something this morning, but this quick trip and Dot's vet appointment were my only excursions today. It seemed like they took up the entire day.

I need to pick up a few books to read. I've been meaning to read Andy Wier's new novel The Martian and this would probably be a pretty good time. What else have I got to do? Dot likes having me nearby during the day and sitting next to her reading a book probably makes a lot more sense than getting up and down every five minutes to check social media on my computer. I wonder why I lost the desire to read? I used to read books voraciously. Of course, I used to do everything with a lot more gusto than I do now. I still make sure to take a new photograph every day for the blog, but a camera is no longer my constant companion. I don't play guitar all that much either. Maybe this is just the natural order of things as my interests change over time. Or maybe I'm catatonically depressed. I really don't know.

Everyone says it is going to rain tomorrow. I am so ambivalent about rain.We really need the rain. The yard is dry and the air is hot and dusty. On the other hand, Dot and Dash are terribly frightened of storms and make life difficult every time it rains. I never really trust the roof either. What this means is that I'll be really happy when the rain first starts, but will become increasingly irritated if it doesn't stop within thirty minutes. If the power goes out, all bets are off.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1630

The long awaited SXSW Cookbook arrived in today's mail. The book was printed in China, which might explain why it took so long to be published. The well designed, hard cover cookbook looked absolutely beautiful. It was well worth waiting for and I was proud to be included. I am without a doubt, the least famous person in the star studded book, which seemed to include recipes by every millionaire start-up tycoon in Silicon Valley. My recipe is simple and unpretentious. So were my talks when I was asked to be a presenter at SXSW back in the 90's. I'm still kind of amazed to be included among this compilation of A-list multimedia luminaries. I need to save this book. It proves that for a brief moment in time, I was a mover and shaker too.

Today was certainly simple and unpretentious. I wrote two press releases, balanced my checkbook, and picked up some more phenobarbital for Dash at the vet. I got up early to take advantage of the still cool mornings. It's getting too hot for long walks in the afternoons, but I like to make sure that Dot and Dash get at least one good outing before the park turns into a humid furnace.

I read an article today that said Leptospirosis vaccinations for dogs were not effective and maybe even dangerous. This was unsettling, because Dash just got his annual Leptospirosis shot last week. I am increasingly frustrated by a lack of consensus about just about everything in this world. You can pick just about any subject and find well reasoned, but radically diverging viewpoints. Nobody agrees about anything these days, especially when it comes to medicine. I have yet to read the definitive article about what causes diabetes. People can't even agree on whether sugar is the culprit. Nobody can agree on the best food to feed your dog, whether eating wheat and grains is OK, or whether vitamins and supplements do anything at all. I know vegans, people who swear by a Paleo diet, and people who eat whatever they want. All of them think they're right. It's even worse when the subject is politics. I'm convinced that this once great melting pot of a country will remain hopelessly divided for the rest of my life.

I've completely given up on people, but I do wish that everyone could agree on what is best for dogs. Dogs don't get to choose their own healthcare plan, so I think we owe it to them to look out for their best interests. I always want to do what is best for my dogs, but occasionally it occurs to me that everything I know about dogs is just somebody else's opinion. Vets used to says that dogs needed rabies shots every year. Now, it's every three, or in some cases, five years. Is this why Spot got cancer?  I'll probably never know for sure. Doctors will probably never completely agree about my own health either. The playing field is always changing.

In an uncertain world, I would appreciate a calm and uneventful Tuesday. I've grown tired of all the drama and disagreement. To get this uneventful day off to a good start, a big bowl of oatmeal would be just fine.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1623 - Memorial Day

It was not an eventful day. It rained sporadically, but not nearly as much as I expected. Janet ignored the holiday and went in to work. I tried to ignore the fact that I didn't have much work. I added some new cats an animal rescue website, but that was about it. This task only took a couple of hours, so there was still plenty of time to wonder what to do with the day.

At one point, I got so bored that I took a camera out in the back yard and photographed squirrels. They looked exactly the same as all the other squirrels I've photographed though. Nothing new here. I thought about getting the guitar out of the closet and seeing what I remembered, but the dogs were restless, so I took them on a surprise mid-day walk instead. Since the weather was cool, they both enjoyed the additional activity. Even Dot seemed strong today.

It would have been a good day to go to the gym, if I hadn't just been yesterday. Any time I've gone two days in a row, I usually regret it the next morning. Exercise is great, but the last thing I want to do now is dislocate my shoulder or throw my back out again. If work doesn't pick up again soon, they'll be plenty of time to return to the gym later this week.

I kind of wish we'd had our severe weather today, since I was prepared for it. The bad weather isn't over yet, unfortunately. The rain just got postponed and should arrive tomorrow or Wednesday. If it's going to rain tomorrow, I hope it waits until I get Dash back from the vet. He's got an early appointment tomorrow morning.

I thought that the park would be packed with picnickers since today was a holiday. It was relatively empty though. Maybe everybody else was expecting severe weather as well. If you listened to last night's weather report on TV, the last thing you'd probably want to plan today was a barbecue in the park.

We'll see what happens tomorrow. Dash gets a Leptospirosis vaccination. I'll probably just get oatmeal. If it does rain, I hope there's no thunder and lightning. Dot doesn't need that kind of stress at her age. Whatever happens, we'll work on making it a calm, peaceful day. I've learned that when the dogs are happy, I'm a lot happier too.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1370

There wasn't enough time to take the dogs to the dog park we like in North Dallas this morning, so we went to another one right in the neighborhood. This park wasn't as well manicured as its North Dallas cousin. The dogs were a bit scruffier too. Dot and Dash certainly didn't seem to care. As long as they got to run around and smell things off leash, they were happy campers. It would certainly be easier to take the dogs to this nearby park, but I've seen fights break out when people brought aggressive dogs to the park, and our vet told us that one of her patients caught Leptospirosis from stagnant water in the park. If we can keep the dogs safer by driving a bit further to a cleaner, more polite dog park, it is well worth the effort.

I mowed the grass for the last time this season. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm sure I'll be mowing the front yard for several more months. There is a slight leak in one of the front yard faucets and I startled a few frogs who had made the damp grass around the leak their Summer home. I wish frogs were all I had to worry about in the back yard. The armadillo has returned every night this week and is making a mess of things. I discovered a large hole that the critter had dug under the fence to get in and out and filled it up with dirt again. Maybe this will keep the armadillo out, but I doubt it. If an armadillo can dig one hole under the fence, it can probably dig another.

I thought I'd install a webserver on my laptop so I could show my client the new Wordpress site I've been building. Much to my chagrin, I had to read the installation tutorial all over again. In less than a week, I'd already forgotten how to do the installation. I had a general idea how to do the installation, but that wasn't good enough. Servers and databases just won't work unless you have all the passwords and permissions set correctly. I finally got everything working properly, but as I have mentioned many times before, I'm not really a detail person.

I keep vacillating back and forth about buying a new car. Some days I feel like keeping the Defender and finding someone who could retrofit a new engine. Other days, I feel like taking money out of savings and getting myself something plush and extravagant. Today, I felt like getting a car just like Janet's. Her car is quite nice, somewhat affordable, and it's certainly been more reliable than mine over the years. If I wasn't obsessed with having something totally unique, this whole process would be a lot easier.

I don't know why I went up on the roof today. It hasn't rained in weeks. What I saw surprised me. The entire roof was covered with a layer of broken pecan shells from the neighbor's pecan tree. I knew the squirrels liked pecans, but I didn't know they liked them this much. I must have swept ten pounds of cracked pecan shells off the roof. Doing this little chore now will save me a lot of trouble later. Pecan shells will turn a puddle of standing water the color of iced tea. There are a lot more pecans that are still hanging on the pecan tree though. It is almost inevitable that by by this time next year, my nice white new roof will be the color of iced tea as well.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day