Day 4332

What a cold, rainy day. I didn't even want to get out of bed this morning. Neither did Dawn. It was 10 AM before I could even get her to go outside and pee. It rained quite a bit during the night and continued raining for most of the day. There was a small leak in the office, but the main trouble spot in the living room stayed dry. I really wish I had liked at least one of the roofers I interviewed earlier in the year. Now that the rainy season is here, it would be nice to have a new roof.

I resumed eating normally today. I still have a bit of a stomach ache, but that is to be expected when you've had tubes and cameras inside of you. I have one more scheduled doctor's appointment tomorrow and I still need to make an appointment with the dermatologist, but this Fall's medical marathon is about to come to a close. Hopefully I've been checked enough so that I'm good to go for another year. I guess I still need to reschedule a trip to the dentist too. I think they're forgotten that I still have a cavity that needs to be filled.

The rain finally stopped early this afternoon and Dawn was eager to walk. This was the first day it really felt like Winter. I wore a warmer coat and put some leggings on under my jeans. We thought about putting a sweater on Dawn, but she seemed to enjoy the colder weather. The only bad thing about the new Hoka shoes I'm wearing now is that my feet get wet almost immediately when Dawn decides she wants to walk in the grass. I was hoping that she'd stay on the trails today, but she likes to smell things. 

After we'd made our one mile loop, Janet and Dawn went home and I continued walking. I had the park to myself today. There were no bicycles and very few joggers. I like days like this. It's very peaceful, but I do need to find some waterproof boots that don't make my feet hurt. I can't wear the heavy boots I've worn for years any more. After the first mile or so, my feet start to say no. Somebody needs to make a tough, waterproof leather boot with a sole like the Hoka shoes.

I kind of wished that I'd gone to see the Rolling Stones last night. I saw both previous shows at the Cotton Bowl, but this time it was way too wet and cold for me. I didn't have tickets either. Tickets for big concerts have gotten way too expensive. Tickets to the Steel Wheels tour were only $17.50 back in 1981. A little more expensive these days. I was well connected back in the day and got free tickets to the Steel Wheels Cotton Bowl Show. I think I still have a couple of unused tickets in a box somewhere. Janet and I both had good jobs when we went to the Voodoo Lounge show thirteen years later and the price of concert tickets wasn't a big deal. I probably should have gone. There might not be an opportunity to see the Rolling Stones again. These guys are even older than I am. The Stones are currently missing a drummer and a bass player. All that's left of the Beatles is a drummer and a bass player. They ought to get together for one last tour.

I think it is supposed to be even colder tomorrow. I'm glad our furnace is still working well. Furnace problems and cold, rainy weather always seems to go together at our house. Winter is not my favorite season. I still walk and maintain my regular routine, but I'd prefer that the temperature was 72 degrees all year round. Oh, well. Like the Rolling Stones say, "You can't always get what you want."

Wolfgang is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4331

Well, I've got two more medical procedures behind me now. I think everything went well. My upper GI endoscopy has the longest name imaginable. Technically the procedure is called a esophagogastroduodenoscopy. The doctor wanted to do a follow-up biopsy of my esophagus when they discovered that I had a condition known as Barrett's esophagus. Very rarely Barrett's esophagus leads to esophageal cancer, so early testing is always wise. I think they discovered why I have reflux issues so often. The upper part of my stomach protrudes into my esophagus a bit. The doctor didn't think this was serious and said most people learn to live with it. Surgical options are available, but I'd rather just learn to eat foods that don't cause reflux.

The Colonoscopy I had done at the same time also went well. They removed one very small polyp from my colon. Polyps are very common at my age, so I was pleased that I only had one. The worst thing about today's Colonoscopy was the prep liquid I had to drink last night. This always seems like an enormous amount of water to drink in a single evening. I was up most of the night. I was hoping that this would be my last Colonoscopy ever, but the doctor said since they found a polyp, I would have to have one more five years from now. I might also need to have one more upper GI endoscopy, depending on the results of today's biopsy.

Hospital visits are always interesting. The administrative part of the visit is always slow and tedious, while the medical part is usually very swift and efficient. I think I sat in the waiting room this morning for longer than it took to do the procedure. When you sit in a waiting room for any length of time you realize that most patients are older and many are extremely overweight. Old people are why health care is so expensive. If we just threw the old people to the wolves, health care would be a lot less expensive. Since I am an old person, I'm happy to get good care though. I do try to do my part to stay healthy. I stay active, exercise a lot, and eat healthy food. No fast food for this guy. It's probably been decades since I've been to a McDonalds.

Janet wanted to vote today, so we stopped at our polling place while she was driving me home from the hospital. It was a cold, rainy day and the only things on the ballot were a bunch of constitutional amendments. No one was actually running for office where we live. You have to be careful when you vote for propositions or amendments. They seem to be worded as obscurely as humanly possible. If you don't read the ballot slowly and carefully, it's easy to end up voting for the opposite of what you intended.

I missed getting a minimum of 10,000 steps for the first time in a long time today. The doctor said it would be OK to take a walk later in the day, but it was raining outside so walking was out of the question. I can't decide whether to leave the pumps running tonight. If the pumps run dry, there's a chance they can overheat, but if I leave them off there's a chance of a roof leak. We need the rain, but rain is never my friend. Rain disrupts my walks, Dawn gets dirty on her walks, and there's always that pesky roof leak.

The Rolling Stones are in town tonight. It's a sign that I'm getting older that I have no desire to sit out in the cold at the Cotton Bowl and hear them in the rain again. Been there, done that. It always seems to rain when the Stones come to the Cotton Bowl.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day