Day 3441 - Memorial Day

It was a quiet day. I'm getting plenty of sleep now, but I still wake up feeling tired. I still have vivid dreams of being lost. Maybe these dreams are wearing me out. Sometimes I'm with friends and sometimes I'm alone, but I always seem to be in the wrong room or the wrong building. These aren't scary dreams, but a lot of walking is involved. I always wake up before I get where I'm going.

The weather is warmer than it should be for this time of year, but at least there's a breeze in the morning. I had my morning smoothie while watching a marathon presentation of Jay Leno's Garage. Anything is better than the news these days. Jan Leno's Garage isn't nearly as good as the old version of Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, but what are you going to do.  Political correctness has basically ruined television.

I'm still trying to find the perfect shoe and sock combination for my daily walks. It's odd that this never seemed to be a problem when I was walking with dogs. The dogs probably stopped so frequently to smell things that my feet never got hot or became swollen. I'd probably be more comfortable wearing light weight running shoes, but I like firm ankle support. Boots are better if you accidentally step on a snake too.

Since today was the last day for REI's big annual sale, I made one last trip to the store to look for a solution. There were great prices on everything, but I came home with nothing again. I looked at boots, wool socks, solar powered gadgets and everything else with a 25% off sign, but I seem to have totally lost my interest in buying things. This is a new experience for me. Buying things used to always put me in a good mood.

Driving to Florida is starting to seem like a better option than flying. The launch date for the Falcon Heavy is almost certain to change several times and changing airline reservations at the last minute is proving to be more of a hassle than it should be. The price for a flexible, refundable ticket is more than double what a plan-ahead discount fare would be. There are no nonstop flights where I'm going either. The downside to a long drive is that I would need to get new tires. My current tires are a little worn for a long trip. We'll see. I probably shouldn't overthink this until a get a better idea when the launch is actually going to take place.

I discovered that I can stream the PBS Breakthrough series for free on my computer. I watched the show about The Rocket this afternoon. This type of stuff is interesting to me. I've watched countless launches on TV, but I still didn't know how rockets actually work. I'll have to watch the episodes about The Car, and The Robot later. It's amazing how many things we take for granted today were developed during wartime. Even the telescope was initially developed as a tool for sailors to observe opposing ships at a distance. We definitely wouldn't have gotten to the moon without World War II and the Cold War with the Soviet Union that followed.

I saw a Dalmatian on my evening walk today. It's a surprising how rare they are in this part of town. I had a brief conversation with the owner which gave me a chance to give the dog a pat on the head. This beautiful five year old female appeared to have a very good home. As the guy and his dog continued on their way I kept thinking how strange it was to not be holding a leash in my hand.

Libby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3433

Another 20,000 step day. It's not really that much of an accomplishment, but it will have to do for now. All I know is that keeping moving seems better than standing still. My routine at the gym hasn't changed, but I go earlier now. There is still plenty of time for several long walks and a few unavoidable household chores.

I had to go back to the grocery store today because I forgot to put several things on my list yesterday. You'd think I would have remembered these things while I was at the store, but I just blindly follow my list. I also spent a little time looking for boots at REI, but didn't see anything I liked. I'm beginning to think my problem isn't my shoes, it's my feet. It's probably time for a trip to the podiatrist and some expensive custom orthotics. I did this once a long time ago and it made a huge difference.

I couldn't figure out why one of the one of the backup batteries I used during the power outage yesterday wasn't recharging. I had just about convinced myself that the Lithium Ion battery had gone bad when I realized that I'd plugged the thing into a power strip that wasn't connected to anything. Sadly, this is what growing old is like. Nothing dramatic happens. You just go to the grocery store over and over again and start plugging things into dead outlets.

It was hard to believe that yesterday was filled with thunderstorms because today was beautiful. The sky was blue and the temperature was in the eighties. It was warm enough to remind me that hundred degree days and high water bills weren't that far away. I wonder how I'll feel about walking in July? Knowing my tenacity, I'll probably continue but it won't be fun.

The shower head has developed a weird drip that's driving me crazy. Some days I can turn the shower off and other days it continues to drip for hours. I don't think the faucets are bad because at least half the time they shut off perfectly. I took the shower head apart today and cleaned it, but that didn't seem to make any difference. Minor plumbing problems are maddening. One of the toilets is making a irritating whistling noise again. The whistling stopped on it's own for about three months and now it has started again. The toilet works perfectly but I don't like hearing the noise. I hate calling a plumber for things like these because frequently they don't know what's going on either. Plumbers are used to dealing with big problems. Little problems don't seem to interest them.

I wish this weather would make up its mind. The forecast says that another band of thunderstorms will be arriving around sunrise tomorrow. Will the power go out again? Will the roof leak? Will the roof blow off the greenhouse? I don't like all the uncertainty. Sometimes I wonder if a perfect place even exists. If it rains too much it floods. If it rains too little there are wildfires. I guess I should be happy that Dallas is usually somewhere in between these extremes.

I still haven't heard anything from NASA. Maybe I'll find out something this week. I have no idea whether I'll be accepted to attend the Falcon Heavy launch, but it would be nice to have a plan for June. Until then, I've got a fresh supply of berries for my morning smoothies and some reasonably comfortable boots. Sooner of later the rainy season will be over. You've just got to have patience.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3391

I stopped by REI on the way to the gym this morning. I had a coupon for 20% off anything in the store, plus my annual REI dividend. This was the day to get a bargain. I couldn't find anything that I wanted and walked away without buying a thing. This is happening more frequently now and I find it perplexing. I don't need anything. I don't need business equipment because there's no business. I don't need clothes because there's nobody to impress. Dash doesn't care what I wear. I don't need more cameras. I've got plenty of shoes. Anything I might buy will just add to the clutter that I'm trying to eliminate. Janet says she feels more or less that same way after she retired. Maybe this just happens as you grow older.

There is a huge storm in South Texas that's been heading our way all day. It must be really moving slowly because it's still not here yet. I've been prepared for rain since I got up this morning. I walked Dash early. Luckily he was in the mood to walk early. Sometimes he isn't. I cleaned the gunk out of the pumps on the roof and made sure they were working properly. I went to the gym about an hour earlier than I usually do. I'm glad that the storm never materialized, but I sure wish that weather was more predictable.

Grey, damp days are always a good time to do chores. I'm good at avoiding things, but eventually it all catches up with you. I reluctantly tried to unclog the large production printer this afternoon. I waited too long. I've lost interest in this thing, but realize that it's just a big pile of useless metal unless I can keep it running. Unfortunately, I ran out of ink before I could get the lines completely unclogged. Now I have to buy more expensive ink. Since I failed to get the printer running, I thought I'd try something easier. I replaced a broken latch on a cabinet door in the bathroom. I also replaced some rusted out screws in the glass shower door frame.

Although Dash took a good walk this morning, he's been very lethargic today. All he wants to do around the house is sleep. It's weird that he can still walk reasonably well in the park, but he can barely stand up at home. He seems to use up all his available energy on his walks and is exhausted when he returns. I'm glad that Janet is still pretty good at getting Dash to take his pills and eat his meals. I couldn't get him to eat anything today.

I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning for a semi-annual physical. Since they want to do new blood work, I won't be able to have breakfast. Do I have my smoothie when I return, or just skip breakfast? Such big decisions these days. I have nothing to complain about this time. I've actually felt pretty healthy during the past six months. I'm always tired, but that's all because of Dash. Anyone would be tired if their dog got them up three times a night. I still have heartburn, but it's very controllable. All I have to do is stop eating Italian food. I hope it's not time for a colonoscopy or anything else unpleasant. I'd just as soon forget about medical things for a while.

Looks like we're going to get some rain tonight. Hopefully, Dash will go outside and pee before the rain starts. I'll turn the pumps on before I go to bed. That's all you can do on a rainy day

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3223

Surprisingly, nothing went wrong today. Dash slept through the night for the second day in a row. There were no accidents and when I took Dash outside when I woke up, he pooped and peed like any normal dog. We took a nice walk while Janet was fixing breakfast and enjoyed a brisk Fall morning.

I think this was the last day for the State Fair of Texas. It appeared to be the last day for the little circus in the park as well. There was a performance today, but there was also a large truck getting ready to pack everything up and travel to their next destination. The little circus has been here almost a month and during that time they've only had three clear days. Hopefully they'll have better luck in California.

I don't know why I keep stopping at REI on the way to the gym. There is nothing that interests me anymore. It's disappointing. For years this has been the place where I've found sturdy shoes and durable pants for walking Dash. The place is full of clever solar powered gizmos, binoculars, satellite phones, freeze dried gourmet food, and other gear that satisfy my prepper fantasies. I just walk away without buying anything now. The store is still full of cool things. I guess I just have everything I need.

I still can't figure out how my gym can stay in business when there are so few customers. For over a month the place has been virtually empty on Sunday. Maybe it is crowded at other times of the week. I'd never know. I wasn't shooting very well on the basketball court today. This is a mystery as well. Some days I do really well and other days I suck. You'd think there'd be more consistency. I'm really a very consistent person.

I was going to vacuum this afternoon, but I got sidetracked repairing Dash's protective boots. He drags his feet so much when he walks that the boots get destroyed pretty quickly. It would be impossible to walk without these things. They do a good job of protecting his feet. They just don't last long enough. I've used almost three tubes of Shoe Goo trying to keep these boots operational. We've got four pairs that we rotate, but I probably need a few more. Too bad these little shoes are so expensive. I've spent less on my own shoes.

I think I'll go look for a new storage warehouse tomorrow. If I can find a better price, this might be the incentive I need to actually start throwing things away. There's nothing like being forced to move something to make you realize that you don't really need it. Where do I throw stuff away though. The storage warehouse won't let me use their dumpster anymore. Actually nobody will let you use their dumpster these days. Most businesses keep them locked up behind chain link fences now. The city ought to have a lot of big communal dumpsters strategically located throughout the city but I think they spent all their money building bike paths.

I hope that Dash has turned over a new leaf and continues sleeping normally for a while. When Dash sleeps normally, I sleep normally. It was such a weird sensation to wake up rested this morning. I need more days like this.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3174

I went to a Labor Day sale at REI on my way to the gym. I don't need anything, but I've spent so many years as a consumer that I still find these sales hard to resist. I ended up buying another Goal Zero emergency back up power supply that that can be charged with solar cells if necessary. Hey, it was half price. I already have a larger model of this type of product and have only used it once. You never know though. These things might come in handy. I guess deep down I'm a prepper at heart. I always expect the worst and want to be prepared. I also just like gadgets.

Janet's been looking for a new gym and I've been telling her that I like mine, but there weren't any classes. How did I know this? Well, I stopped seeing a schedule of classes on the bulletin board. Today, the lady ahead of me while I was checking in asked about classes and the receptionist reached in a drawer and pulled out a brochure. I guess the place still has classes after all. I guess it wouldn't kill me to ask questions now and then. Janet has already found a gym with the classes she wants, but I think mine had them too. Oops. This should have been a teaching moment, but I didn't talk to anybody today either. I never talk to anyone at the gym. They should have put that brochure on the bulletin board.

A firetruck went by with sirens wailing while we were walking Dash this morning and we started hearing coyote pups howling nearby. It seems a little early for the local coyotes to be having pups, but maybe not. There seems to be a new litter every year. We don't see coyotes much in the Summer, but they're out there. As the days grow shorter I'll have to be on the lookout for them when we're walking around sunrise.

The only thing we were on the lookout for today were loose dogs. I usually recognize the dogs we see in the park, but on holiday weekends there are a lot more dog walkers. There's almost always someone who can't control a large aggressive dog. Sure enough, we saw one of these people today. They're easy to recognize. The dog is usually on one of those long flexi-leashes and often races toward other dogs as the owner tries in vain to reel the dog in. I hate those flexi-leashes. We kept our distance and there weren't any problems.

I saw a baby snake on the porch while I was taking Dash out to pee last night. Where was the mother snake? Since snakes lay eggs, maybe the mother had long gone. I hate to take chances though. I'm always nervous about snakes and dogs.  Dash wouldn't stand a chance with a snake. This little snake looked harmless, but I snagged it on a stick and flung it out of the yard anyway. I don't like snakes.

I watched a show about eating healthy on PBS this afternoon while Dash was taking a nap. I've heard this information before and I'm sure it's true. Bread and pasta are the enemy. Refined flour converts to glucose almost immediately in your body and causes blood sugar spikes. Fruit and vegetable are good. Lean meat in moderation is good. But bread is bad. So what did I have for breakfast this morning? Two big country biscuits with bacon and egg inside. To make matters worse, I had pasta for supper. Oh. well. There's always tomorrow.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3074

I'm gaining weight. It probably didn't help that I had Beignets with breakfast this morning. I still try to eat healthy, but it's getting harder. I'm not really a Kale and Quinoa kind of guy. My diet hasn't changed all that much, but my daily activities have. When the dogs were young and healthy, we used to walk at least six miles every day. Dalmatians are active dogs and we kept a pretty brisk pace. Now there's only one dog and he is incredibly slow. Dash and I are lucky if we travel two miles these days.

In theory, there's nothing preventing me from still walking six miles a day. I could easily go on a walk while Dash was sleeping during the day. I have no desire to do this, unfortunately. Walking the dogs was a duty that I enjoyed. It was clear that the dogs needed me. When there was a problem to be solved in my professional career, I always felt the same way. I enjoyed a career as a photographer and filmmaker. Somehow doing these same things as a hobby has little appeal. When someone asks me "What do you like to do for fun?" I seldom have an answer. What is fun anyway?

Are you getting a ton of irritating e-mail from companies and websites saying that they've changed their privacy policies? It's all because of the GDPR. The European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation has changed everything. Personally, I don't think the Europeans realize that privacy is just an illusion. It doesn't exist anymore. Artificial Intelligence needs massive amounts of data to function and your robot overlords are going to get that data one way or another. China, not Europe, holds the keys to the future. They are already using sophisticated facial recognition technology to identify billions of people. In the future, payments will be made with retinal scans, not money. Stores will know what you are going to buy before you even enter the door. I don't necessarily like this, but it's coming. Just to be safe, I've removed all remaining online forms from my websites. I don't want to be ever accused of collecting any information on anybody.

Dash and I were surprised by an unexpected thunderstorm this afternoon. The sun was shining this morning when we took our morning walk. I was expecting clear skies all the way through the Memorial Day holiday. It wasn't meant to be. Around lunch time the sky became ominously dark and I began to hear thunder. We didn't lose power, but the lights did flicker for a while. This was more than enough to throw Dash into a panic. It took a while for me to calm him down, but eventually he settled down under a blanket with me and we rode out the storm. If I had anything else to do, this would have been frustrating, but life is pretty slow now. Comforting a dog under a blanket seemed as good a way to spend the day as anything. We both went to sleep after a while and when we woke up, the rain was gone.

There is a huge sale going on at REI, but there is absolutely nothing I need. I have a feeling that this is going to become a recurring theme. When collecting things and accumulating gear I don't really need fails to give me pleasure, it's probably time to reassess everything.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3069

Today was dominated by the weather. We watched as a surprise storm approached from the West as we were walking Dash this morning. Dash doesn't have a high gear anymore, so we kept inching along as the rain got closer and closer. We almost made it. The rain arrived when we were about 200 yards from the house. We all got wet, but it wasn't so bad. Now that the temperature and humidity have increased, a little cool rain felt kind of nice.

I went to the gym, even though I knew the car would get muddy. There is very little to do around the house on a rainy day. I'm sure there were things to be done, but my brain goes into hibernation when it rains. I didn't feel like thinking today. Exercise is a good substitute for thinking, so off to the gym I went. I was a little disappointed that there was a basketball game underway when I got there, but the game concluded by the time I was ready to shoot free throws, so all was well.

I stopped at the REI store on the way home to look at activity trackers. Should I get a Fitbit or a Garmin?  I'm still irritated that I can't glue my Jawbone UP3 band back together, but I've just about concluded that repairing this thing is a lost cause. Maybe I should just calibrate my Apple Watch. I learned you can do this today by syncing your watch to your phone's GPS for 20 minutes using the workout app. Who knew? It's weird that I'm so interested in activity trackers since I'm not much of an athlete. I guess I just like to track things.

I watched a documentary called Elizabeth at 90 while Janet was fixing dinner this evening. It was basically watching 50 years of the queen's private home movies. What a fascinating life the royals lead. They aren't like ordinary rich people. Unlike typical people of privilege, the royal family seemed very disciplined, polite, and in private led unassuming, seemingly normal lives. Maybe we need more people like the queen and fewer people like our own celebrity royalty.

I need to call the electrician. Every evening I wade through the thick ground cover in the back yard to turn on the security light manually and in the process get eaten alive by mosquitoes and chiggers. It's going to be a bad mosquito season this year. I am convinced that there are snakes hiding in the Asian Jasmine too. I definitely don't want to run into a snake at night.

Tomorrow is Dash's birthday. We need to do something really nice for him.  He's such a great dog. For most of his life, tasty food gifts were the preferred choice around our house, but I'm not so sure this year. You never know what Dash is going to eat on any given day. He might even turn up his nose at a doggie birthday cake. Who knows? Maybe we'll have a good day tomorrow. Today was certainly encouraging. Everything went well with Dash today.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3027

Dash seems to be feeling much better. He's eager to eat again and took two nice walks. I'm not surprised that he's eager to eat. Each time he has had a serious vestibular episode, we have to up the ante to get him to eat anything. After his last seizures, he refused to touch any of the many varieties of dog food we had on hand. In desperation, we boiled a chicken breast and tried feeding him that. He ate the chicken, but now he insists on having the chicken for breakfast every morning. I don't know what we've got left the next time this happens. He's probably going to want Eggs Benedict for breakfast.

When I went to the gym this morning I noticed that the workout app on my watch had changed. Now, instead of a simple heart rate and calorie counter, they had a separate routine for every machine in the  gym. Interval training, running, and even basketball were covered as well. I guess instead of just logging your time at the gym, you're supposed to log each activity and then arrive at a grand total when you're finished. This is probably more accurate, but it sure seems like a lot of trouble. Were people actually asking for this? Maybe. I suspect that some app developer just thought it would be cool and never considered how much of a nuisance this would be to use if you were actually exercising.

I went to the REI store to use my 20% off coupon and discovered that I no longer wear the same size pants. For years I have worn a 32x32 but now this size seems too long. Have I shrunk? It's certainly possible, although I'd hope that I'm still a bit too young for a shrinking stature. Clothing and shoe sizes are somewhat meaningless these days, so I'm not going to worry about turning into my Dad quite yet. The shorter inseam still seems strange though. Is it me or the pants?

I'm thinking about getting a new MIDI keyboard controller so I don't have to reboot the computer every time I want to practice the piano. I looked in the Sweetwater catalog and was surprised at how inexpensive these things have become. Full fledged synthesizers are still pretty pricy, but you can get a decent keyboard controller you hook up to your computer for under $100. The only problem is where to put the thing. There's a coat rack full of Winter coats where the old keyboard used to be. I always wanted to live in a huge loft where I would have room for everything. That's never going to happen though. Urban environments freak me out. My dream house lives on 40 acres of land without a neighbor in sight.

While I was driving to the gym, I listened to a program on the radio about how Adobe was developing advanced software for dialog replacement in movies that will let you just type in the new words you wanted the actor to say and the dialog will immediately be updated in the actor's real voice without recording anything new. This process was described as Photoshop for words. I'm sure production studios will love this. So will purveyors of fake news. Somewhere in Seattle a lab is developing something even more advanced for video. You will be able to take a video clip of anybody and make the face convincingly say completely different words. The lines between fantasy and reality are becoming hopelessly blurred. Can you imagine what the evening news will look like twenty years from now? Maybe these revelations seemed startling to me because I've worked in film and video for so long. I think it's time to stop tinkering around with reality. One day we'll look back and realize we've gone too far.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2845

Dash's new boots are doing a good job of protecting his feet, but they're already starting to wear out. This is probably because we're using the indoor version of the boots while we walk him outdoors. The outdoor boots are stronger, but they are so stiff that Dash can't walk while wearing them. Maybe they work for some dogs, but I don't know how. I'm going to have to go looking for some of that rubbery stuff that you can use to repair running shoes. I could probably patch the worn spots in these boots for a long time if I could find another can of this stuff. Nobody is very interested in stocking things that can be used to repair shoes. They'd much rather just sell you a new pair of shoes. The dog boot folks would probably love to sell me a pair every week, but they are much too expensive for that.

I stopped at REI on my way to the gym to look for the rubber sole repair goop, but of course they didn't have any. There were hundreds of shoes to choose from, but nothing to repair them with. They did have orthotic inserts, which I was also looking for, but they seemed way too expensive. $50 for a little extra arch support? I don't think so. One of the orthotic insert brands said it was made from recycled wine corks, as if this would justify the price. Jeez. These are just cheap house shoes I'm trying to fix. I refuse to pay more for the insole than I did for the shoe.

I've been doing better at the gym lately. I don't know what this means, but I'll take it. I'm still not any closer to my goal of three trips to the gym a week. Dash has a major vet appointment this week where  we will recheck his heart to see if the blood clots are becoming smaller. The refrigerator repairmen are scheduled to come out again and install the new mother board that is supposed to fix all my problems. I need to go buy some St. Augustine grass to fix the front yard. That pretty much takes care of the week. On the odd chance I get some work, I'll really be busy.

Janet cleaned the brick floors yesterday, so I finished the job by cleaning the carpeted rooms today. It's amazing how dirty our house gets, considering how careful we are not to track mud and dirt inside. Dash is pretty clean too, although he does shed a lot. Dalmatians actually shed more than long haired breeds. If you have a Dalmatian, you'll find dog hair everywhere. I've found it inside my computer, inside the refrigerator, and once an appliance repairmen told us that the reason our dryer had quit working was that dog hair had gotten into the main bearing of the dryer drum.

Dash went outside and started eating grass right after we gave him his evening  meds. This always makes us nervous because the medicine he is taking now is very important and we don't want him throwing up before the meds have a chance to work. We brought him inside and have been trying to keep him calm. It is not an easy task. For the past thirty minutes or so the house has been very quiet. I think this means Dash is asleep. I don't want to wander out to the front of the house and check though, because I might wake him up and start him barking again. He needs to stay calm for at least another hour.

Let's hope we make it through the night without an incident. I'd actually like to make it all the way through next week without an incident. Especially Friday the 13.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2806

It was a little unusual to go to the gym on Wednesday, but why not. There is nothing to differentiate weekdays from weekends anymore. I've decided that stopping or reversing the muscle atrophy I've been experiencing is as important as anything else that's on my plate. I might as well go to the gym whenever I've got some free time.

Truthfully, I could go to the gym every single day if I enjoyed it as much as some of the other people I see working out. Some of them seem to live at the gym. It doesn't matter what day I pick. They're always there. I actually did pretty well today, considering that I'd already been up on the roof. If I could bring myself to consistently exercise like this three times a week, I might actually see some results.

Preparing the roof for my repairs was actually a lot more work than my workout. I cleared away the remaining standing water today. Tomorrow I will clean the damaged surfaces and hopefully on Friday I can apply the new elastomer patches. Since there is no more rain in the forecast, there is a reasonable chance of success. It is so discouraging to go up on the roof. I think the materials that were originally used to coat the roof were defective, but the roofer won't put on a completely new roof. The whole thing is eventually going to be patched one square foot at a time.

I could spend the rest of my life repairing broken stuff around the house. I think I understand now why people sometimes just get in their cars and drive away from it all forever. There is so much that needs to be fixed now that it seems a bit overwhelming. If it was hard to find a good contractor before, it's going to be impossible now. Everybody is going to be down in Houston rebuilding the city for the next ten years.

I stopped by the REI store on the way to the gym and there was absolutely nothing that I wanted or needed. I left the store empty handed. I felt the same way the last time I visited the Apple Store. Maybe I am finally moving beyond my need to constantly accumulate stuff. It would be a good thing if this was true. Every amazing gadget turns into a pile of broken stuff after three to five years. I have enough broken stuff already. Maybe possessions are actually a liability. This would be a totally new concept for me, but it's something I see looming on the horizon.

It's time for my annual physical, but since I'm thinking of switching doctors I don't know whether to go ahead and schedule an appointment or wait until I find another doctor and start over with a clean slate. Why did my doctor have to fire me as his web designer? I was reasonably happy until this happened. Now I hate to even visit the clinic. Janet's doctors are great, but they are in a whole different league than mine. It's pretty obvious that the quality of care she gets is worth the extra money, but it's still hard to put aside money for health that could be used for a new camera. Nevertheless, I'm fairly certain I'll eventually go ahead and make the switch. The older you get, the more you realize that staying healthy is the only thing that matters.

I'm glad the rain finally stopped in Houston. Hopefully, the flood waters will start to recede soon. As hard as things are now, I think it will be even harder when the news crews disappear and people are left with the enormous task of rebuilding their lives from scratch. A tornado roared through a suburb of Dallas a few years ago and the residents are still wrangling with insurance companies and trying to rebuild their homes. We'll see what happens, but I think Texas has been changed forever.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2713 - Memorial Day

Last night I thought we were near the end. When I took Dot outside to pee one last time around midnight, she threw up and then almost immediately stumbled and fell to her side. I initially thought she might have had a stroke, but it was just a bad fall. I'll never know for sure, but I think it was our fault that she threw up. We were worried that she hadn't eaten enough yesterday, so we fed her some more of the Dogsure supplement just before bedtime. This was probably a mistake. Dot drank a fair amount of water after she took her evening pills. With the addition of the Dogsure, she probably had too much liquid in her stomach. What she threw up was mostly liquid anyway.

After this incident, Dot seemed weak, but slept peacefully for the rest of the night. It all seems so complicated. If Dot eats too little, she will starve. If she eats too much, or too late at night, she will throw up. Dot needs to stay hydrated, but she can't always drink from her water bowl normally. When she has trouble drinking, we will feed her water with a syringe. Sometimes this triggers a normal drinking response and she will go to her bowl afterwards and drink even more water. Too much water is probably better than too little water, but it would be nice to get this just right.

I'm always worried that Dot isn't eating enough. Today she eventually ate almost a cup of dry food, about six ounces of sliced turkey, half an Italian meatball, and two slices of bacon. No wonder she has an upset stomach at night sometimes. I'd probably have a stomach ache if I ate the same thing. Dot doesn't always eat the right things, but you really don't want to withhold food from a dog that isn't eating enough. If she's eating anything at all, it's a good thing.

Last night Dot seemed so weak that I though I might have to make the dreaded euthanasia appointment. Right now I feel that Dot has eaten enough today and am happy that she is resting calmly. Later this evening, who knows what I'll be thinking. The time between 11 PM and 2 AM is always the worst.

Since today was a holiday, I had time to run a few errands while Janet was at home with the dogs. I went to Home Depot and bought a heavier rope to hang rugs up to dry after I wash them. I used to throw these rugs in the dryer after we cleaned them, but the rubber backing really made a mess of things. I also went to the REI Memorial Day Sale. I didn't find anything I needed and walked away empty handed. Buying things is losing its allure. All I really want now is sleep.

I'm dreading giving Dot her evening pills. For the past three days everything has gone fine until about an hour after her evening meds. This is when she becomes restless and occasionally throws up. Dot takes exactly the same pills two other times during the day and there is no bad reaction at these times. I don't know what makes the evenings such a problem. We'll hope for the best tonight. Dot needs a good night's sleep and so do I.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2669

I found out this morning that the guy who played lead guitar in my old band is dead. I was going to wish him Happy Birthday on Facebook and when I went to his page I discovered that he had passed away last September. I'm so out of touch these days that this isn't the first time this has happened. I'm kind of wary about wishing someone my age Happy Birthday now without checking to make sure they're alive first. I'm not sure about the etiquette of these things, but it seems disrespectful to send a Facebook greeting to a dead person. Although it's a little late now to pay my respects, I was really sorry to learn about my old friend. He was a good guy. The years I spent playing in a band with him were some of the best.

I cut myself again today and didn't even notice until hours later. This is the second time I've done this recently. I have a feeling that I'm scraping my arms on branches in the yard when I'm holding Dot up when I take her outside to pee. I have to really concentrate when I'm walking her around like a marionette. I used to be able to just walk behind Dot, holding up her rear end as she walked. Now, her front legs are starting to become weak as well, so I need to provide support for both the front and rear. It's kind of awkward and hard on the back, so I have to be careful that I don't trip. It's not really surprising at all that I don't notice when I've bumped into a tree.

Blueberries are back. There was a big supply today, but they had doubled in price. I wonder sometimes how stores keep a steady supply of seasonal items. These berries probably came from South America instead of California or Mexico. Somewhere there's a guy who's job it is to source berries from all over the world, so people like me can enjoy them in their smoothie all year long. I'm always impressed that things like this work so smoothly. Maybe I'm not as much of an isolationist as I think I am. I enjoy having access to fresh fruit all year long. I routinely buy coffee from Ethiopia and Sumatra. And I'm continually amazed that you can get good sushi in Dallas.

The indestructible pants I bought at REI last year are already falling apart. I'm disappointed, but Janet tells me that you're not supposed to wear the same pair of pants every day. The knees of these pants tore first, which isn't surprising since I spend half my day on my knees cleaning up poop, or trying to get Dot back in an upright position. If lifting weights is supposed to build muscle, I don't understand why I'm still having trouble with muscle atrophy. After two years of lifting a fifty pound dog, I should look like the incredible hulk by now. Sadly, my muscle mass hasn't increased at all and all I've done is tear up both shoulders.

It looks like we got a bumper crop of wildflowers this year. The fields and meadows around our house are in full bloom now. I'm seeing new varieties almost everyday. Some flowers only bloom for a few days and others stick around for months. Some bloom very early in the morning and disappear by midday. It's fascinating to watch this pageant of color unfold. I spotted some Lazy Daisies this morning. I wonder who names these things.

I'm going to have to be careful when I walk the dogs in the park tomorrow. Every year, hundreds of families have their Easter Egg hunts here. Nobody seems to hide real eggs anymore. They hide plastic eggs filled with candy and chocolate. The kids never seem to find all the eggs, but the dogs do.  Since chocolate is poisonous to dogs, I definitely don't want Dot and Dash to go snooping around in the grass for stuff the kids left behind. It's amazing how much litter appears every Easter. Nobody even tries to pick up their mess.

It's been a long day. Two rugs and a blanket got soiled, but it could have been a lot worse. Dot is tired now and so am I. Hopefully we'll get some decent sleep before we start all over again tomorrow.

Krissy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2658

When I went to the storage warehouse today, I couldn't remember my access code. Good grief. This is pathetic. If there is any code I should remember by now, it would be this one. I tried every code I could think of, but the door wouldn't open. I thought the warehouse manager might be able to help me, but he didn't seem to be on the premises today. I was just about ready to give up and go home when I remembered a sequence of numbers I hadn't tried yet. It didn't really seem like the right number, but oddly it worked.

Later in the day I couldn't remember whether I had given Dot her afternoon pain pills. I think I did, but it was a hectic day and I wasn't really sure. The breakfast and evening meds are easier to remember because they are part of a long established feeding ritual. The meds that must be administered at odd times during the day are much more problematic. Lapses like these may not seem like a big deal, but they never used to happen. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come, but it probably is. Memory lapses are one more reason that getting old sucks.

Dot seemed agitated this morning. It took me forever to finish breakfast because she wanted to get up and go outside every five minutes. I couldn't figure out what was making her restless until she threw up after about thirty minutes of pacing around. Once again, I think she drank too much water, but I'm not entirely sure. After Dot threw up, she calmed down rapidly and slept for the rest of the morning. Eventually, the house was calm enough so I cold make a quick trip to the grocery store to look for blueberries. No luck today either.

On my way home I stopped at the REI store because the member appreciation coupon I received a while ago was burning a hole in my pocket. REI has a brilliant marketing campaign. They have lots of sales and incentives, but they don't last very long. If you don't go to the store quickly and use the coupons they mail you, they just expire. Maybe this trick doesn't work on everybody, but it certainly seems to work on me. I've been to the REI store quite a bit this year. Actually Chili's does exactly the same thing. Unfortunately, if I went to Chili's every time I got something tempting in the mail, I'd be fifty pounds heavier and have diabetes.

After making a big deal about going paperless and wanting to be paid electronically, my accountant's office manager couldn't figure out how to get their Paypal account to work and told me to just mail them a check instead. So much for technology. It didn't matter to me. I had to go to the post office anyway because I'm trying to pay my bills on time now in an effort to avoid going paperless with AT&T. I never dreamed I'd become a Luddite like my sister, but I'm well on my way. What's wrong with paper checks anyway? Even my bank doesn't want to deal with paper. They keep trying to convince me to make deposits using my phone.

I hope Dot feels better tomorrow. Today was a rough day. I'd like to think it was just the heat that made Dot uncomfortable, but it's probably the cancer too. I still don't know whether I forgot her afternoon pain meds. I hope I didn't, but she's had her evening meds now, so we're back on schedule.

Dottie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2650

There were tons of blueberries at the store today. I need to train myself to do grocery shopping on weekday mornings. The stores are empty and the shelves are well stocked. This is exactly opposite of the way it is on weekends. Since I had such good luck with the blueberries, I stopped by the REI store on the way home. The thing I wanted was out of stock, so I left without buying anything at all. By the time I got home, I'd completely forgotten why I needed anything at REI in the first place. The excursion wasn't a total loss though. I'll have fresh blueberries in my smoothie tomorrow morning.

Dash has been licking his butt again, so I made an appointment to go to the vet and get his anal glands expressed. Dot can go years without anal gland problems, but Dash seems to need his expressed every two weeks. I should learn to do this myself, but I'm tired of doing disgusting things. It's easy and convenient to just go to the vet. Dot is almost impossible to transport now and Dash is getting more difficult as well. He can no longer hop up in the car like he used to, but doesn't want me to lift him either. I got tired of having him try to squirm out of my arms, or hit the back bumper when he couldn't jump high enough to reach the open tailgate. Now, I let him get a running start and then grab the handle on the back of his Ruffwear Web Master Harness as he starts to become airborne and give him a boost. This probably wasn't what this durable search and rescue dog harness was designed for, but it works great. Dash thinks he's jumping, but I'm really just tossing him in the car like a sack of potatoes.

I wish I'd get an interesting project to work on so I'd lose the desire to go buy a bunch of stuff I don't need. Whenever nothing is happening at work, I tend to read catalogs obsessively and daydream about new gear that I think I need. I've convinced myself that I need a new telephoto lens, even though I have several long lenses already. I'm sure I'd use the lens and equally sure that I don't really need it. It's too bad that I don't enjoy going to a movie or reading books like a normal person. Life would be a lot less expensive if I just fought boredom with a good book. There is something strangely satisfying about gear though. I love to accumulate gear.

I've decided that Dot is like a 90 year old who still wants to get that hip replacement so they can start training for a marathon. She is so weak, but she just doesn't want to give up. I've never seen a dog with so much determination. I don't think Dash and I have Dot's inner resolve. Dash is moody and I have a tendency to be lazy. We both could learn a lot from Dot.

I guess I show a certain amount of determination by continuing to write this blog day after day, but I could do so much more. I've noticed that people's priorities change as they age. Some people, like my Mom, find a calling late in life. Other people, like my Dad, seem to flounder. I wonder where I'll wind up. I've remained curious, but I've also turned inward. This is probably a good combination for a philosopher. Not so good for an ad man. Maybe my life in advertising has reached its logical conclusion.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2589

I love fog. We've had foggy mornings for the past several days and I like the way it allows me to look at the ordinary things I see every day from a completely different perspective. Fog has a way of separating the foreground from the background, forcing you to look at one thing at a time. The effect is very similar to the out of focus bokeh you get when when you take a photograph with a very shallow depth of field. Almost everything looks prettier when it is the only object in sharp focus. I try to look at life this way, always concentrating on one thing at a time. One a clear day, my eye is always multitasking, trying to interpret too many things at once. A foggy day seems much more natural to me.

On my way to the gym this afternoon, I stopped at the REI store and got a cool winter coat with a Christmas gift card that Janet had given me. I've certainly changed the way I dress over the past five years. There was a time when I had a menswear client and chose to get paid in clothes. I dressed fabulously for a while, but it was all kind of pointless. Who was I trying to impress anyway?  Nobody needs big dry cleaning bills and I prefer clothes that look good covered with dog hair anyway. I just wonder why it took me so long to discover camping clothes.

I'm beginning to realize that I don't get any more sleep on weekends. Sure, we get up later on weekends, but we tend to go to bed later too. The net result is about the same. Maybe I'm destined to get 5 to 6 hours sleep, no matter what happens. One thing I've learned by wearing a fitness tracker is that I go to sleep very quickly. Apparent insomnia is not a problem with me. Even when I wake up several times a night to take care of Dot, I'm back asleep again five minutes later. When I eventually got up for breakfast this morning, I'd almost forgotten that I'd already taken Dot outside to pee at 4:30 AM and then re-made her bed for her before we both went back to sleep.

It's raining cats and dogs right now. I took Dash outside to pee right after dinner and he was just getting ready to go when a giant thunderclap scared him and he went racing for the back door. He must not have had to go very bad, because he's sleeping under my desk right now. I'm glad we don't live in Fort Worth, because they're under a tornado watch right now. I think we're in the clear though. The storm is headed in a northerly direction. If it were headed east, I'd be under the desk with Dash.

I've often wondered why I'm not building any muscle mass as the gym. Now I know the answer. I read an article recently that said almost everybody will eventually lose up to 30% of their muscle fiber as they age. The muscle atrophy begins when you reach 50 and becomes much more dramatic when you reach 60. This muscle tissue won't come back, no matter what you do, so if you want to remain strong you have to work extra hard to build up the muscle fiber you still have left. Normal cardio exercises like cycling or walking on a treadmill won't build muscle mass at all. You need to start lifting free weights and push yourself to your limits. This explains why I'm not making much progress. It's too bad that I hate lifting weights. Oh well, at least my heart is in pretty good shape.

Tomorrow is a holiday. I'm sure this makes a difference to Janet and everyone else to goes off to work every morning. It's going to just seem like a Monday to me though.

Betty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2569

Sometimes I feel like the bar that's being set for me keeps being raised a little higher every few weeks. Last night I found myself cleaning up Dot's poop in the kitchen at exactly the same time Dash was throwing up in the bedroom. It's a three ring circus around here. Needless to say, I didn't get to watch very much of the Dr. Who Christmas Special. Lord knows what makes Dash throw up, but it happens from time to time. Usually Dash has an upset stomach when he eats something bad he found in the yard. You might ask why I don't find the dead things first and get rid of them. I would, except that the yard is covered by a million Oak and Elm leaves that have fallen from our trees. I won't be able to find anything in the yard until Spring.

I made an appointment to take Dash to the vet, because when I was checking him out after he threw up, I noticed a small mass in his throat. This feels like a fatty lipoma to me, but since Dash has already had thyroid cancer and lost one lobe of his thyroid gland, I don't think I should let this one slide. It is always possible that another tumor is developing in the remaining part of his thyroid. I worry too much, but that is one reason why both dogs are still alive. I may be guilty of ignoring my own health, but I never ignore the dog's health.

Yesterday evening was far too distracting to sit down and watch the Dr. Who Christmas Special, although it was playing on both televisions. I got the general idea that this was a Superman and Lois Lane story wrapped around a typical alien invaders on Christmas Day story. I didn't think I'd like this one, since I'm getting tired of Peter Capaldi, but from what little I saw, the script seemed well written and clever enough to make me want to go back and watch the show again the next time I find some quiet time.

I'll never get used to Texas weather. After our recent cold spell. I really wasn't ready to start using the air conditioner again. It seemed to go from cold and dry to hot and humid almost overnight. I've had the air conditioner on for two days now. Go figure. At least the yard is finally drying out. I didn't need to clean the dog's paws nearly as often today.

Today must have been a holiday for people who have regular jobs. The park seemed really crowded for a weekday. At first I kept thinking "what are all these people doing skipping work," but I finally realized that since Christmas was on a Sunday, that offices were closed on Monday instead. Maybe if you were lucky, you got Friday off too. I haven't had a paid work holiday for decades. Of course there are those who think all my days are holidays, but they would be wrong.

I got an REI sale catalog in the mail and of course the one thing that caught my eye was something I'd never, ever use. It was a GPS satellite tracking device that lets you text people and send emergency messages when you're off the grid and far away from a cell tower. I haven't been off the grid since I was in college and if I had gotten in trouble, I would have been out of luck. Cell phones and GPS trackers weren't even invented yet.

I'm hoping for a quiet, uneventful day tomorrow. One can always hope.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2534

I've been tired all day. Dot had a major accident last night and when I took her outside to clean her up, I tripped and ended up cutting my leg as I tried to keep Dot upright as I fell. These emergency cleanup operations don't always go well. It's dark, so I can't see the full extent of the damage and I'm usually half asleep. By the time I got Dot clean, changed all her bedding, and bandaged my cut, I was exhausted. As I lay in bed trying to get back to sleep, I felt my heart pounding like I'd finished a strenuous workout. This isn't good.

It's really cold in the mornings now. I wear a Winter coat and compression tights under my pants on our early walks. By noon, everything has changed. When I took some bills to the post office early this afternoon, it was warm enough to wear shorts again. The temperature changes so radically during the day that I sometimes change three times a day and switch back and forth between the furnace and the air conditioner. Life would be easier if I didn't want to always feel like it was 72 degrees.

While I was running errands this afternoon, I went back to the REI store to look at some camping mattresses I noticed over the weekend. I thought one of these things would make a great dog bed for Dot. The mattresses were large and comfortable, but were only about an inch and a half thick. They seemed perfect. I wish I'd noticed earlier that these mattresses were inflatable. Inflatable things don't last very long with dogs. My trip was a wasted effort, but it really didn't matter. The whole day was a wasted effort.

I updated some websites this morning and got caught up on my bookkeeping, but by the end of the day all I could remember was getting up in the middle of the night with Dot and trying to stay awake at the computer. I just couldn't stay focused  today. Wisely, I decided to wait until another day to upgrade my computer's operating system. I'm going to need my wits about me when I embark on that foolish project.

I'm going to have to do some research and see if there is something else I can feed Dot.  She's having loose stools now, which makes my cleanup efforts ten times harder. I noticed the other day that the bird that shits on my car is back for another Winter. Normally, this evil bird drives me crazy, but I hardly even noticed it this year. I've got bigger problems to deal with now.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day