Day 3569

I used to go for years without seeing the dentist. Now, I never miss an appointment. Every six months a dental hygienist cleans my teeth and once a year I get new x-rays and the dentist gives me an exam. I've always had good teeth, but it's not worth tempting fate anymore. Life is full of problems as it is. I don't need to add dental work to the list.

There were no problems today. The dentist thinks I'm doing a good job of taking care of my teeth. I use a Sonicare toothbrush and a Waterpik everyday and do my best to avoid sugar. The only thing that needed attention today was the retainer I wear at night. I broke it in half about a year ago and have just been wearing each half at night. The dentist said this was fine, but I think my teeth are shifting a bit. Getting a new retainer was more reasonable than I thought, so I'm going to go ahead and have them make me a new one.

There was no time for a morning walk today. As soon as I finished breakfast it was time to go to the dentist. This didn't mean I skipped the walk. It just meant I was outside during the hottest part of the day. Jeez. When are we going to get some Fall weather? It was really hot this afternoon. Temperature really does make a difference. These walks are much easier when it's cooler.

I can't figure out what is going on with the security light in the back yard. This weekend the light stayed on all night. Yesterday it didn't work at all. Now it's back on again. I've had this problem before and every time the light eventually seemed to fix itself. I'm hoping that it will start to work normally again. The light itself is inexpensive, but I always have to call an electrician when there is a problem. In theory I could easily install a new light myself, but it is located very near our power line and I'm clumsy at times. I don't want to get myself electrocuted. I'm trying to convince myself that it's easier to look at the stars at night when the yard is dark, but I like a little light coming in through the windows at night. Somehow it is easier to sleep when the security light is working.

I'm still eating leftover sandwiches from the golf tournament for dinner. If I'd thought to take a few more, I wouldn't have to go to the store at all this week. I ate the last sandwich tonight, but I doubt that I'll be very hungry tomorrow anyway. We're planning on going to the fair on Thursday. There's so much junk food at the fair that you seldom want to eat when you get home. You can get virtually anything deep fried on on a stick at the fair. I know it's not good for you but that's why the fair is only once a year. Whatever I eat tomorrow, there's a virtual certainty that it will give me heartburn.

I recharged my laptop batteries and applied a security patch this afternoon. With all the power outages we have around here, you never know when I'm going to need this thing. I used to ignore the security updates but you can't really do that anymore. Apple is no longer immune from hackers and malware. My laptop seems very slow, but that's probably just because it's old. I hate to retire this thing. It's the last laptop Apple made that came with a CD/DVD drive and full size USB ports. There's a slot for camera cards too. New laptops don't have any of this stuff.

Last year at this time, Dash was having seizures and I was getting nervous about an upcoming art auction in New York. That all seems so long time ago now. The only thing that hasn't changed are the telemarketing calls. We're still getting a ton of telemarketing calls.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2655

I thought my plan to go to the dentist early in the morning was pretty clever, but I forgot one important thing. The drive was right in the middle of morning rush hour. Ouch. As much as I complain about cleaning up dog poop, it's still not as bad as driving in rush hour traffic. All it takes is one small fender bender wreck to back traffic up for miles. I think I'd go insane if I had to do this every morning. Luckily, I have other things to drive me insane.

Every time I go to the dentist, there is a new dental hygienist.  Sign of the times I guess. The first dentist I went to had the same dental hygienist until he retired. Now there's a new hygienist every six months. The woman who cleaned my teeth today was pleasant enough, but she talked the entire time. It's very difficult to carry on a conversation while there are dental instruments inside your mouth.

I got new x-rays today and the dentist said my teeth are in good shape. No cavities. I'm not surprised. I use a Waterpik Flosser every day and brush with one of those Sonicare electric toothbrushes. I thought I was ahead of the curve, but apparently not. They now make WiFi toothbrushes that connect with your phone. This seemed a little over the top to me, but the hygienist said that the high tech brush provides feedback to let you know if you are cleaning your teeth properly and reminds you if you forget to brush. The robots are coming. I'm sure there will be a plate soon that reminds you to eat all your vegetables.

I knew I should have taken Dot outside to pee last night before I went to bed. She was sleeping peacefully though and I hated to wake her. Big mistake. When I woke her up this morning, she peed all over the place. Three rugs got soaked before I was able to get her outside. The house would be much easier to clean if we didn't have the rugs, but they are essential to keep Dot from falling. I tried to air dry the rugs in the back yard today after I washed them. They are making a mess in the dryer because little bits of the rubber backing flake off and clog the lint trap. There is no good solution though. By the time the rugs are dry, there will be spiders building webs in them.

I went to the vegan store this afternoon to pick up something for dinner. I always look at the website first to make sure they have something I like. Typically, when I get to the store, there is a completely different selection of meals. It doesn't seem to bother these people that the website and the store are perpetually out of sync. It's frustrating to me because I'm picky about my vegetables. I like chickpeas, brown rice, lentils, and any type of bean. I don't like sweet potatoes though. I'm not wild about tofu either. I ended up getting something I didn't really like, thinking that I really should have gone up the street and ordered a bowl of Pho from the neighborhood Vietnamese restaurant.

I need to call the roofer again. They still haven't come out and patched my roof. I need to call the landscaper too, even though it will be a waste of money. I wonder if there are any bedding plants that can tolerate being stepped on again and again? Years ago, Janet and I thought about putting artificial turf in the back yard. It probably would have been a good idea.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2254

Two vet appointments in a single day is probably too much. I basically spent the morning taking Dot to her physical therapy appointment and the afternoon taking her for a reevaluation at the cancer center. Dot was tired and so was I. Dot did well during the therapy session, as she always does, but the big news was that her blood pressure has returned to normal. The blood pressure medication she's taking appears to work. We'll recheck her urine and blood work in a week or so, but I'm not quite so worried about kidney failure anymore.

I am still worried about the cancer. Dot's oncologist wants to resume chemotherapy on a trial basis. We're going to try a smaller amount of Palladia and add an extra day between treatments to help her recover. We'll try this until next Friday and see how well she tolerates the new treatment schedule. The oncologist agrees that quality of life is more important than longevity at any cost. If Dot tolerates the Palladia, we'll continue the treatment. If it makes her miserable, we'll quit.

Hopefully, we'll have better luck with chemotherapy this time. I'm not looking forward to it though. It's a nuisance to put on the purple rubber chemo gloves every time you give her a pill and since Dot's poop will be mildly toxic during chemo, an accident in the house will be a bit more consequential than it was before. Incontinence and chemotherapy are not a good combination. As always, we'll do the best we can.

I'm coming down with a cold, which is rare for me. I can avoid colds almost indefinitely as long as I stay away from other people. I could have gotten the cold anywhere, but I have a feeling that I  caught this particular bug while I was at the photoshoot last weekend. Ironically, this is also where I probably got the nail in my tire. Maybe I should stick to photographing inanimate objects. I frequently get a cold when I'm doing holiday pet portraits for Dalmatian Rescue. If I'm photographing children, I'm toast. At least this is just a garden variety cold and not the flu. I woke up with a mild sore throat and spent the day sneezing, but that's about it. I should be fine in 48 hours.

I can't believe its been a year since I had my dental work done. It's already time for my annual checkup. In my prior life I would have ignored these annual checkups, but last year's dental adventure finally convinced me that I need to take care of my teeth. I want to keep the teeth I have left, so I'll do anything the dentist wants these days. I use a Sonicare toothbrush now and floss with a Waterpik before I go to bed each night. Hopefully they won't find any cavities when they clean my teeth tomorrow. The less time I spend in a dental chair, the better.

It would have been a good idea to go to bed early tonight, except that it's already late. That's the way it goes. The days are long and very little is accomplished. Now, if I could just remember where I put the cough drops the last time I had a cold.

Joshua is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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