Day 4986

Another busy day. We got up a little later this morning and the park was already filled with people when we took Dawn on her early walk. I think everyone is starting to realize that just before sunrise is the only time even worth thinking about going outside. We passed a lot of people walking their dogs this morning. It's way too hot for dog walks later in the day. The park department has even started putting up signs warning people of the dangers of walking your dog on hot pavement.

After breakfast I did my grocery shopping. My list was longer today and I had to go to several stores. It didn't take long to get oppressively hot. By mid-morning the temperature was already over 100 degrees. The traffic is terrible on weekends now. Where did all these people come from? Once again I ended up very close to my gym, but came home first because I had groceries in the car. My strawberries wouldn't last very long if I left them out in the hot sun for several hours. 

I went back to the gym after I put the groceries away. Usually the gym is virtually empty on Saturday, but there were lots of people today. Some people probably come here just because it's so cold inside. I completed my usual routine and came home again. I really ought to stay a little longer and use some of the many resources this gym provides. Somehow after an hour or so I'm almost always ready to come home. I like getting my steps every day, but don't really get that much pleasure from going to the gym. 

On the way home from the gym I stopped at Sprinkles and got cupcakes for Janet's birthday. I was going to get a special cake at Central Market but the decorated cakes were horrendously expensive. I probably should have got the cake. Sprinkles raised their prices again and I could have gotten a nice cake for the price of several cupcakes.

Janet wanted Chinese food so we went to a nice Chinese restaurant for her birthday. The food was terrific, but something seemed to be wrong with their air conditioning system. The place was too hot. I think everyone is struggling with this heat. Our house feels warmer and even the gym can't keep things as cool as they used to. The electric company probably loves this. When we return from our early walks, all we hear is the hum of everyone's air conditioner compressors. 

We sent our vet some videos of Dawn coughing, but he didn't seems to think it was serious. I beg to differ. This coughing doesn't seem normal at all. It sounds like she's choking on something. The vet doesn't think Dawn has kennel cough, but thinks she's doing something he calls reverse sneezing instead. We'll watch her for a while. We still haven't rescheduled her dental cleaning though.

Dawn has the next birthday on the calendar. She's the youngster in the family. Janet and I don't feel that old, but we're both getting up there. Oh, well. At least we don't need to think about aging for another year. Tomorrow I'll go mall walking and we'll take Dawn on her Sunday outing. I can't wait for Fall to arrive. This heat wave is starting to get on my nerves.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4560 - My Birthday

Another trip around the sun. I'm 74 now. I'm definitely feeling a little worse for wear.  I'm still hanging in there though. I walked my full six mile route this morning. We'll see if I can keep this going for another year. I'm already doing better than my parents were. My Mom was dead before she turned 74 and my Dad had already been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

We went out for dinner at my favorite restaurant this evening. We hadn't been since before Covid and things had changed a bit. The place was seriously understaffed and everyone seemed a bit stressed. The food was still good though. My favorite dish wasn't even on menu anymore. That was a little disappointing. I was surprised because it was still on the online menu, it just wasn't on the actual menu that the waiter brought us. Oh, well. I found something else I liked and we had a very nice dinner. 

I wouldn't want to be in the restaurant business right now. Everyone is still trying to recover from the Covid shutdowns, the cost of ingredients has gone up, and fewer people are dining out because of out of control inflation. We arrived a little early tonight, but they wouldn't seat us until our scheduled time even though the restaurant seemed half empty. I'm sure it was company policy. I bet they thought if they could shuttle everyone to the bar for a while before they were seated, they would sell a little more. I can't really blame them. It was clear that this place was just trying to keep their doors open.

We always have Sprinkles cupcakes and a little champagne to celebrate birthdays. Dawn gets a pupcake as well. I forget how long we've been doing this, but it's been quite a while. I enjoy the celebration, but I don't look forward to birthdays anymore. I'm clearly on a downhill glide path. I'm doing the best I can to stay healthy, but you never know. People my age are dropping like flies. I know a few people who are still active in their 90's though, so maybe I'll get lucky.

I get fewer Facebook birthday greetings every year. The difference isn't dramatic, but it is consistent. I think the smaller numbers correspond pretty well to the number of friends who have died during the year. I should do a better job of keeping up with my remaining friends, but I probably won't. I'm a solitary person and if I could just get my dog to like me I'd be a happy camper.

I was a little surprised that I got 20,000 steps today. I guess I was busier than I thought. Dawn still got her Sunday outing, even though she only took a very short walk because of the heat. She did get a nice sunrise walk earlier in the day though. These early morning walks are the only times when it's still pleasant to be outside. We didn't spend a lot of time outside on Dawn's outing, but we did still go and get ice cream. Dawn even got an extra treat today when they gave her a free doggie cone.

All in all it was a good day. I tire easily and my feet hurt, but I'm still in pretty good shape. I think I've still got a few good years left. I hope I've managed to see a few more rocket launches and made at least one more trip to the observatory before I turn 75. There are no big plans anymore. Little day to day plans are all I need. I think we'll go visit the rescue Dalmatians tomorrow. I'm a year older now but it's time to get back to our regular schedule.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3704 - Valentines Day

I wasn't going to go to Sprinkles this year, but then I remembered that Dawn had never had a Pupcake. I had to go. Pupcakes for the dogs has been part of our Valentines Day tradition for a very long time. It was nice that we have a dog around the house so we can continue this tradition for another year. I got some cupcakes for us as well, but this year the day was about Dawn. Janet and I are both really happy to have her as a houseguest.

It was a beautiful day, but the temperature was only in the twenties when I woke up this morning. No pipes froze and it was back above freezing by mid morning, but this was still very cold by Dallas standards.  I'm glad I removed all the water from the roof a few days ago. It would have all turned to ice by now.

I tried the new neighborhood restaurant this morning and it was terrible. I like a good breakfast taco as much as the next guy, but this wasn't the place for me. There was certainly plenty of food. I got my meal in one of those tin foil pie pans piled high with Chorizo, breakfast potatoes, and refried beans. There was a stack of flour tortillas so I could roll my own breakfast tacos, but the food got cold before I could finish it. I'm sure this gutbuster of a meal was exactly what most people wanted, but I should have gone back to the hotel and had French Toast. I wish I knew I was in the mood for a soothing meal before I had consumed a huge plate of Chorizo.

Janet had already left for the gym by the time I returned home. We've been leaving Dawn at home for short periods of time so she will gain some confidence about being alone. Dawn was fine, but I could tell she was glad that her people had returned. She gave me a big Dalmatian smile and started wagging her entire body. I waited until Janet returned to go on my walk. There was no sense in leaving Dawn alone again.

It didn't take me long to realize that this morning's breakfast was going to give me a major case of heartburn. When will I ever learn? I need to be eating cottage cheese and peaches for breakfast instead of  chorizo and refried beans. I thought that a long walk might settle my stomach, but all I got was sore feet. I should have listened to Dawn. I could tell she wanted me to take a nap with her.

I never did get started on my Solar Orbiter story today. I'm so slow that I ran out of time. I guess I was busy enough. I just didn't do what I intended. I paid some bills and took them to the post office. I went to Sprinkles and got cupcakes. I picked up some things for dinner at the grocery store. And I tried with limited success to bleach the stains from our recent roof leak out of the kitchen ceiling.

I'm sure my story would be easier to write if I had a deadline to meet. Deadlines motivate me. My recent trip was fascinating and there is definitely a story here. I just need to get it done before the Solar Orbiter becomes old news. Maybe tomorrow. The only thing that could stop me from writing tomorrow is roof repairs. The roof repairs do have a deadline. I need to find this leak before the next rains arrive.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3464 - My Birthday

Another trip around the sun has been completed. Last year at this time I felt old. This year I feel like each additional year is a bonus. Janet and I are reasonably healthy. I don't have much of a bucket list or any grand plans, but there is nothing stopping me from pursuing anything that capture my fancy. I have no idea what the future holds for me, but at this age it's good to still be among the living.

Birthday's are pretty subdued when you're 71. I had my smoothie, took my morning walk and picked up a prescription at the pharmacy. It was very hot today, so one walk was plenty. Janet and I went out for a birthday dinner tonight. I love barbecue, so we tried out a new smokehouse in the neighborhood.  I had burnt ends, fried okra, and cilantro coleslaw. It was delicious.

We always have Sprinkles cupcakes on birthdays, but it was weird not having any special doggie cupcakes for the dogs. For years and years we always got doggie cupcakes for Dot and Dash. They were always more excited about our little birthday celebrations than we were. It was pretty quiet this year. Even the dog's bowls are gone; carefully stored away in my storage warehouse.

I'm still waiting to see it the static fire test of the Falcon Heavy rocket takes place tonight. This is a key step along the way to a successful launch. There were thunderstorms and lightning warnings at the space center earlier today. Hopefully things will clear up so the test can take place. I'm really glad I decided not to drive to Florida. We would have been leaving tomorrow with no idea whether the launch would actually take place. As things stand now, I don't have to make a decision about my travel plans until late Friday night. Lets hope the weather clears up.

I think it's raining everywhere. There are thunderstorms this evening at Kennedy Space Center. It's raining where my sister lives. And North Texas has severe weather warnings for the third night in a row. Thunder and lightning woke me up again last night. It was probably a good thing because while I was awake I remembered I had forgotten to take my evening meds. If you wonder what it's like to be 71, all I can say is that you'll probably become more forgetful. We got a lot of rain last night, but at least we didn't lose power again.

Hopefully, it will be quiet tonight. I'm getting behind on sleep again. There's something about severe weather that makes sleep difficult. I'm always worried about roof leaks and power outages. I'd much rather be having mildly pleasant dreams about being lost somewhere. Maybe the launch date will be finalized tomorrow. I'd like to cross this uncertainty off my perpetual worry list.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3339 - Valentine's Day

Traditions die hard. I continue getting cupcakes at Sprinkles and a small orchid in a pot every Valentine's Day. I've been doing this for years even though we seldom eat sweets. I used to have to stand in a long line that snaked outside the store to get my cupcakes but Sprinkles isn't as trendy as it was five of six years ago. The line was very short today, but the cupcakes are still delicious. I used to be able to keep the orchids alive for several seasons. They would bloom again and again. Now they always die after a month or two. The orchids are definitely cheaper than they used to be though. Maybe there's a correlation. Sprinkles makes cupcakes for dogs too. I always get a few, while wondering if they are really safe. Dogs aren't supposed to have sugar, but I wouldn't be surprised if these weren't just small human cupcakes. Hopefully the frosting is just cream cheese or something.

Dash has gotten more enthusiastic about his daily walks. I hope this is a sign that he is feeling better. Something has changed. On most days he doesn't need to follow Janet anymore. This morning he confidently headed out the back gate on his own and I completed the entire walk by myself. It doesn't always go this smoothly, but Dash definitely does seem in better spirits. We stopped wearing the leg brace when Dash started using the Help 'Em Up Harness. It was difficult to attach the brace to the new harness and Dash was walking so slow that it didn't seem to matter anyway. I wonder if it is easier for him to walk without the brace? The whole idea of the knee brace was to keep a partial cruciate tear from becoming worse. We thought the brace would make it easier for Dash to walk, but maybe it did the opposite. Caring for a sick dog is always a learning experience. Occasionally, Dash ends up being the teacher.

I wonder if I am going to be perpetually tired. It certainly seems that way. This morning Janet woke me up and said that Dash looked like he was ready to walk. You hate to miss these opportunities, so I quickly got dressed and off we went. By the time we returned, it was much too late to go back to bed again. I slowly drank my morning smoothie, stopping from time to time to clean up poop. Dash has plenty of time to poop on these long meandering walks, but he often waits until he's home again to do his business. He doesn't do this on purpose. An incontinent dog just isn't able to plan ahead.

I had to turn the air conditioner on this afternoon. The temperature was in the high 70's today. A few weeks ago it was below freezing. I've given up on predicting Texas weather. I've often worn a t-shirt and shorts in the same week I've needed my warmest down parka. I check the weather app on my phone every morning before we take our walk, but even that isn't always helpful. Sometimes it seems like it's ten degrees colder down by the lake than it is in our back yard. Basically, you can end up wearing Summer clothes in the Winter in Texas, but you never end up wearing Winter clothes in the Summer.

I didn't really think Galentine's Day was a thing until I saw a whole row of special "Galentine's" cupcakes in Sprinkles today. I wonder if these were day old cupcakes? I think Galentine's Day was yesterday. It seems weird to me when made up holidays from old TV sitcoms become real and start being celebrated. It happened with Festivus too. Maybe in the future all our holidays will originate on TV shows.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3160 - Janet's Birthday

It's hard to believe that we're both 70 now. Where has the time gone? Birthdays are pretty subdued these days. At this point, we're just glad to be alive. Janet and I went out for dinner at Knife and had a small celebration with cupcakes when we got home. For the most part, it was just a normal Sunday. Janet cleaned the floors. I changed the sheets on the bed. And we both made sure that Dash took all his pills.

When I went to the gym this morning, the place was flooded. The scene was reminiscent of the time when a pipe burst under the slab at our house. A restoration crew was vacuuming up the water and placing large dehumidifiers everywhere. Water can sure do a lot of damage. It looked like water had gotten under the wood floor of the basketball court, because they were already starting to rip up the floor. All this water made me remember that I forgot to turn off the pump on the roof before I left for the gym. Damn. If the pump runs dry, it's real easy to burn out the motor.

By the time I returned home, I'd forgotten about the pump again. It was on for most of the day, or more likely until it burned out. Sadly, I've wrecked several pumps this way. The pump wasn't the only thing I forgot today. When I went to Sprinkles to pick up cupcakes, I forgot the gift certificate I always use. It never occurred to me to check and see if the certificate was actually in the envelope.

Dash got me up in the middle of the night again. His stools were a little firmer, but still pretty soft. A lot of people have suggested that we add pumpkin to his diet. We'll give it a try again, but the last time we fed Dash pumpkin, it actually made his poop softer. We've tried pumpkin bread too in the past, but it was so tasty that I ate most of it myself. I don't think Dash's problem is simply an upset stomach. The most obvious thing is that we have to keep changing his diet too often just to keep him eating at all. In the best of circumstances, a dog should always eat a very consistent diet. These aren't the best of circumstances unfortunately. The vets think that Dash's vestibular disease is probably contributing to his loss of appetite. We might never know for sure, but we'll do whatever it takes to keep him eating.

I seem to be losing my appetite as well. Janet thinks that I'm not eating enough, but I think I just ate too much in the past. To me, it's natural that you would eat less if you weren't getting as much activity. I walked at least six miles a day for years and years when Dot and Dash were young. Not anymore. Luckily, there were no problems with my appetite this evening. Knife has a well deserved reputation as one of the best steakhouses in Dallas and Janet and I both really enjoyed our dinner.

Now that all the birthdays are in the rear view mirror, it seems like we're racing toward Christmas. Time moves far too quickly now. Even though I don't have that much to do, I can never seem to get caught up. Maybe catching up doesn't even matter. I think the point now for Dash, Janet and I is just to keep moving.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2974 - Valentines Day

I don't understand AT&T at all. A couple of guys came out to bury the fiber optic line today. After they'd been working for a while I went outside to see what they were doing. Much to my surprise, they were laying an entirely new cable. "Why aren't you burying the cable that is already hooked up," I asked? "That's just the temporary cable," one of the guys said. They didn't hear me when I mentioned that both cables were exactly the same. "Aren't you going to hook the new cable up," I asked when they were finished. "We don't know how," one guy told me. The other guy said that someone else would come back later in the week to connect the new cable they just buried. Jeez. That's three trips for one cable. I don't get it.

I ended up getting cupcakes after all. I'm superstitious and I hate to mess with tradition on symbolic holidays. As usual, there was a long line at Sprinkles. Every single woman in line was texting someone or checking their Facebook page. None of the men were. This probably means something, but I'm not going to hazard a guess.

I went to pick up a prescription on the way home from the cupcake store. "Medicare won't let us fill this prescription until Saturday," the pharmacist said. "But I'm out of pills," I told her. "You shouldn't be,"  the pharmacist told me. I couldn't convince her that I only had two pills left. I think they miscounted the number of pills they gave me 90 days ago, but there is no way of proving it. Whatever. I guess I'll just skip a few days.

I did get Dash's prescription filled. It's always easier to deal with veterinarians than with my own doctors. I often wonder why veterinary medicine is so much more straightforward and affordable than human medicine. Probably it's because insurance isn't involved. Once insurance companies enter the picture, prices tend to skyrocket.

I was going to pick up something for dinner at Central Market, but I couldn't find a parking place anywhere. Not only were all the spaces filled, there were dozens of car circling around waiting for people to leave. One long line was enough for today, so I gave up and went home. There wasn't much in the refrigerator, but I made some pasta with a leftover meatball, some olive oil, and a piece of cheese. My creation was surprisingly good. It's too bad I don't like to cook because my own meals are almost always better than the take out dinners I live on during the week.

I've started watching the Olympics because it's getting hard to avoid it on TV. Curling is surprisingly interesting. It took me a while to figure out what the brooms and all the sweeping was about. Did the sweeping make the rock go faster or slower?  Apparently, sweeping the ice decreases friction and makes the rock go faster and straighter. The game is kind of like shuffleboard, but involves a lot of finesse and strategy. Admittedly, curling is not as exciting as watching Shaun White do back-to-back 1440s, but it's an intriguingly pleasant game I can watch while I'm eating dinner.

I wonder when the fiber optic technician is going to return. I never dreamed this installation would be so complicated. A fiber optic connection is very fast, but I'm not even sure I need fast anymore. I rarely upload or download huge files anymore. I'd rather have rock solid reliability than speed. I was actually happy enough with the 2800 baud modem I used back in the 1990's.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2973

My fitness tracker tells me when I dream at night. It appears that I don't get much deep sleep, but I dream quite a bit. I wish I could click on this dream timeline and recall the dreams. I occasionally remember dreams, but most evaporate a few seconds after I wake up. The few dreams I do remember all involve being lost. I walk endlessly down hotel corridors looking for my room. I can't find my car in parking garages. I get separated from Janet on cruise ships and can never find her again. Sometimes I am walking Dash and he runs away. I wonder why this is such a common theme?

Maybe I am lost. I certainly flounder around a lot during my waking hours. Today I felt like I was sleepwalking. Each day seems like the previous one. I walk Dash. I make my morning smoothie. I clean up the dog poop in the yard. I turn on the computer and pretend like I'm working for a while. Dash gets lunch. I take a shower. If there are bills to pay, I take them to the post office. Dash gets an early dinner at 3:30 and then we take an afternoon walk. He gets the remainder of his dinner at 4:30 after we return and then I see if there are any leftovers in the refrigerator for my own dinner. The only time I watch TV is while I'm eating. Today I sent out my February invoices. This didn't take long. There are fewer and fewer invoices each month.

My day has become so repetitive that the thought of doing something new makes me apprehensive. I've been taking care of sick dogs for so long that I associate something new with something bad. As long as Dash stays the same, we're fine. New behavior is usually alarming. I feel the same way about the house. If things stay the same, we're fine. Something new usually involves a water leak or a broken appliance. If I were starting the blog today, the title would probably be "What new kind of hell is this." I dread the thought of anything new.

I do try to take a new photo every day. Maybe I'm hoping that if the narrative becomes too repetitive, the photo will keep things interesting. Today, I encountered a very inquisitive squirrel. I don't know if he was looking at me or Dash, but we were definitely invading his territory. I'm looking forward to Spring and a return of the wildflowers in the park. There are very few things to photograph on cold, grey days like this.

I'm going to need to go to the store tomorrow. I've run out of coffee and the refrigerator is looking bare. I usually get Sprinkles Cupcakes for Valentine's Day, but neither of us eats dessert anymore. It hardly seems worth the trouble of standing in line for overpriced cupcakes if we aren't going to eat them.

I've noticed that my WiFi only crashes if I'm looking at Facebook. That's weird. I can be doing anything else on the computer and the connection is solid as a rock. I wonder what this means? I think all the autoplay movies in my timeline are causing things to go wonky, but it could just be that I'm spending too much time on Facebook.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2619 - Valentine's Day

We woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the roof. It was raining quite hard, so walking the dogs was out of the question. Apparently, Dot and Dash thought going out in the yard was out of the question too. Dot peed on the porch and Dash wouldn't go outside at all. I don't blame them. It was wet and very cold.

I was hoping that the rain would quit before I made my annual trip to Sprinkles to get Valentine's cupcakes, but it never did. Actually, the rain turned out to be a good thing this year, because there wasn't a line. There is almost always a long line at this place. I can't even remember how long Valentine's Day cupcakes have been a tradition at our house, but it's been a long time. On the way home I stopped at Central Market and got an orchid in a pot. I joined a long line of tired looking men holding flowers and chocolates. The men were from all walks of life, but they all had that slightly confused look in their eye that told me they weren't sure if they got the right thing. Of course we did the right thing. We didn't forget.

Sick dogs and an all day rain aren't a good combination. Dot seemed totally unaware of the rain and took just as long looking for the right place to pee as she does on a warm sunny day. I just about froze taking her outside today. Dash did his business quickly, but always managed to find the muddiest part of the yard before he came inside again. I was constantly cleaning dogs, floors, and rugs today. This weather certainly isn't doing me any favors. My cold seems to be getting worse.

Work continues to be slow, but I did manage to get my February invoices in the mail today. It occurred to me this weekend that I'd be a lot busier if I actually started looking for work. Like that's ever going to happen. I hate cold calling. Most of my friends and contemporaries have retired. And millennials irritate me. I don't think websites really matter anymore either. When everybody has one, they just become a contemporary version of a Yellow Pages ad. People are spending all their time on Facebook anyway. I mostly visit websites to find an address or a phone number these days. The design of the website doesn't matter nearly as much as how easy it is to navigate. Like it or not, what I do has become a commodity.

The stock market hit another all time high today. I hope this rally continues, but I suspect that it won't. It's always hard to know when to sell. You want to ride a rally as long as you can, but you don't want to be the last one to leave a sinking ship. My opinion changes from day to day. Tax cuts and deregulation will definitely be good for business, but chaos isn't good for anyone. Maybe I should sell a few things just in case.

I sure hope it warms up tomorrow. The combination of dark gray skies, wet dogs, and a bitterly cold wind do nothing to improve my mood. The cupcakes sure were delicious though, and I think Janet liked the flower.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2379 - My Birthday

Every once in a while, my birthday coincides with Father's Day. I remember my Mom used to tell my Dad that I was his Father's Day present. I'm convinced that sometimes he would have preferred a new fishing rod or even a case of beer to a somewhat rebellious son who never listened to his old man. Hey, what can I say. We don't always get to choose. I eventuality became a responsible and quasi-respectable adult, but I still think Dad would have preferred someone who wanted to follow in his footsteps.

I'm 68 this year. There are days when I feel 86. One reason that I'm often tired is that I haven't slowed down all that much. I haven't retired and still try my best to please the few clients I have left. My body has seen better days, but I still walk three to five miles a day. Today should have been a day of rest, but instead I found myself up on the roof clearing away standing water, working out at the gym, and vacuuming the house with the Dyson. It might have been my birthday, but it was also Sunday. This is just what I do on a Sunday.

The gym was virtually empty today. I guess the other members were doing Father's Day things. Janet asked if I wanted to go out for dinner, but I really didn't. We stayed home and she fixed a delicious meal. We had pork chops, corn on the cob, new potatoes, and of course a birthday cupcake for dessert. I vaguely remember more elaborate parties, but I don't miss them. Today was exactly as it should be.

I'm not always a fan of Facebook, but I do like their birthday reminder thing. It's nice to hear from people in my past who I thought had forgotten about me. I don't get out much anymore, but the birthday greetings create an illusion that I'm still connected to a much wider world. Most of my Facebook friends are former co-workers, people who own Dalmatians, watch collectors, and fellow bloggers. Thanks to all of you who took the time to say hello today.

Dot perked up a bit when she discovered that she and Dash were going to get some birthday celebration treats, but for the most part she seemed unusually tired today. She was slow and stumbled a bit on her morning walk, so we curtailed the evening walk entirely and let her rest. I really hate to see her decline. I can tell that she still has the desire to do things, but her body often lets her down. Maybe after some extra rest today, she'll be able to enjoy her walk tomorrow.

Tomorrow we start another year. I hope Dot makes it to my next birthday. I'd like to see my business pick up a bit, but I'm not going to spend much time marketing myself. I'm thinking about becoming a vegetarian, but I doubt that I have the will power. I just like bacon too much. There will be some exciting days and a lot of boredom. Whatever happens, I hope you guys will join me for the journey.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2252 - Valentine's Day

We got to sleep in until almost 8 AM this morning, which is almost unheard of. Both dogs slept soundly. There were no accidents during the night. And best of all, after our morning walk, we had bacon for breakfast. Who could ask for more. I didn't make it to the gym today because I had to catch up on a lot of Saturday errands that got postponed by yesterday's photoshoot. It was no great loss though. I didn't really feel like going to the gym anyway.

When I was out running errands this afternoon I noticed that I had another nail in one of my tires. Damn. It's almost impossible to avoid getting nails and screws in your tires in Dallas. Janet has had three nails in her tires during the past year and I've had two. I don't know where these nails come from, but they're everywhere. The situation has gotten so bad that I've even thought of investing in a set of run-flat tires. I can't imagine changing a tire on the side of the road in this city. The traffic is so bad that you'd probably get killed. The tire is still holding air, but getting it fixed is the first thing on my to-do list for tomorrow.

I'm apparently not the only one who has made Sprinkles Cupcakes a Valentine's Day tradition. Every time I go to the store on this day there is a huge line out front waiting to place their order. The wait wasn't so bad today, because it looked like it was going to rain any minute and even though the cupcakes are delicious, they are not worth getting wet for. I didn't even have to pay for the cupcakes today because Janet discovered a gift certificate she won in a charity silent auction quite some time ago. I thought the certificate had probably expired, but the store honored it and even told me that I could redeem the gift certificate a little bit at a time since I really only wanted four cupcakes today, plus another two small ones for the dogs.

I received an e-mail from a veterinarian this afternoon asking if I was still interested in designing a website for him. I had initially contacted this guy over two years ago and then just assumed he wasn't interested because I never heard back from him. This just goes to show that some things take time. I'm always delighted when these sleeper cell jobs come back to life. I've made tons of contacts over the years, but I just don't have the energy or inclination to make cold calls anymore. There are certainly a lot more people out there that I haven't heard from in a long time. If even half of them still remembered me, I could be busy for a long, long time.

Dot is ageless. I took this Valentine's Day portrait of her quite a few years ago, but she still looks absolutely the same today. Dash looks pretty young too, but that's probably because he actually is a lot younger than Dot. We're all getting older though. Now Janet is the only one in hte family who isn't taking blood pressure medication.

Tomorrow is President's Day. Is this a holiday for all the presidents, or just the ones like Washington and Lincoln who used to have their own holidays? It's a weird holiday. The post office is closed, but FedEx and UPS are still making deliveries. Some banks are closed, but others remain open. Mattress stores seem to love this day, because they always seem to have huge President's Day sales. For me, it's just another day, I hope I can get my tire fixed.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2251

The photoshoot went well today. All things being equal, I might not have chosen to place a lot of cats in a big pile of sand. As you might expect, the cats immediately thought the sand was a catbox. It might have been better to select dogs that weren't scared to put their head through a hole in the painted backdrop too, since the whole concept was based on animals putting their heads through cutout holes in the backdrop. These were minor things though. You can't really expect animals to anticipate what the art director had in mind.

The team I was working with was great and eventually we were able to make everything work as intended. I'm glad I was only taking the images today. Since the animals didn't really want to take a group shot, we had to photograph them all individually and will reassemble the group portrait in Photoshop. If the animals had been cooperative, this afternoon's photo would have been a piece of cake. Now, it's going to take someone a long time to recreate the illusion of animal harmony through the magic of Photoshop. I wonder what people did before Photoshop? It has saved me again and again.

The bird was fairly cooperative. Maybe the art director can change the concept to feature the bird. I was able to get lots of shots of the bird sitting exactly where he was supposed to be. This still leaves three dogs, a large cat, and lots of puppies and kittens who had no interest in being where they were supposed to be. When these animals are eventually composited into position, I think the photo will make a cute promotional poster. I'm still not sure how they'll use the photos of the kittens pooping in the sand though.

Since I spent most of the afternoon at the photoshoot, I wasn't able to finish my normal Saturday errands. It looks like I'll be doing the grocery shopping tomorrow instead of going to the gym. I wish I had time to get Valentine's Day cupcakes today. We always get cupcakes at Sprinkles on Valentines Day and I'm sure there will be a huge line at the store tomorrow. I could always just pick up some cupcakes at Kroger, but it wouldn't be the same. You could tell the difference immediately.

Janet left this evening in a long dress to go to some special work event. I think it was some sort of awards show. By the time she returns, the rest of us should be asleep unless Dot refuses to poop. I've taken her outside three times already this evening and she appears to be just as stubborn as the dogs at the photoshoot this afternoon. I'm tired and would really like a good night's sleep, so I'll take her outside a few more times before I give up entirely. The night is young.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2081

Today is Dot's birthday. No, it's not the day she was actually born, it's the day we adopted her. Dot was a stray and we'll never know for sure what her history was before she found us. She was definitely a young dog, perhaps two or three years old. That would make her fourteen or fifteen years old today. I'd like to think she's fifteen, because I want her to have lived a long and happy life. When we were younger, we used to make elaborate birthday cakes for our dogs. I even took a cake decorating class once. The little dog cakes were gorgeous, but neither of us have the energy to make them anymore. We take the easy route now. I went to Sprinkles and got exactly the same thing I got for Janet's birthday: chocolate marshmallow cupcakes for the people and dog cupcakes for the dogs.

There's been a huge film crew in the park for the past several days and I've been curious to find out what's going on. I thought someone must be filming a big budget feature, since there was a forty person crew and a huge eighteen wheeler full of equipment. Today when I was taking Dash on his evening walk, I asked one of the crew members what they were doing. It turns out they were filming a brand new show on the Food Network channel called BBQ Blitz. There's currently a show called Food Network Stars and the winner gets their own show as the grand prize. This year's winner was an ex NFL football payer named Eddie Jackson who loves barbecue. They were filming the first episode of his new show, which will air sometime in October. I guess it's kind of like Top Chef, except that everyone makes barbecued food. Lord knows why they picked our park to film the first episode, but it will be interesting to see the show.

Dot did really well during her physical therapy session today. I do think she's getting stronger since we stopped her chemotherapy. Everybody, including Dot's vet, seems to agree that quality of life is more important to an old dog than the actual amount of time they live.  Nevertheless, it will be a really hard decision to make if we discover that the cancer has grown when she has her next Ultrasound scan in September. I'm hoping that the tumor has not grown at all or is growing very, very slowly. I'd hate to start the chemotherapy again, now that I know it was making her uncomfortable.

This is the weirdest political season I can ever remember. The only authentic candidates in the race are Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Everyone else has already been bought and paid for by special interests and huge corporations. Sanders and Trump couldn't be more different if they tried, but they both resonate with people because they just say what they think instead of having a focus group or talking to their pollsters every time they open their mouth. It's kind of refreshing to see the political insiders in both parties get their feathers ruffled by these two. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of professional politicians.

I noticed that another neighborhood restaurant has started serving breakfast and I was going to try it tomorrow until I read the Yelp reviews. Most of the reviews were from people in the area and said things like "I was so hoping to like this place, but the food just isn't that good." Without Yelp, I probably would have tried the place and might have even liked it. No wonder most of my local retail clients hate Yelp. It really changes things. I guess I'll just go back to my regular restaurant. Since I only go out once a week, it would be a shame to be disappointed.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2073

Since it is Janet's birthday today, I did my usual last minute shopping and event planning. I can't say that either of us looks forward to birthdays anymore. We're old enough already. Birthdays are still special though. Each year is another milestone in a long and complicated journey. It's hard to buy gifts for each other anymore. We both have everything we need. Long ago we stopped having birthday cakes. A cake was too big and most of it ended up growing stale in the refrigerator. Now, we each just have a cupcake. Tonight we had a little champagne with our cupcake. I don't drink anymore, but I'm not completely rigid about it. Having a drink on birthdays and holidays is just fine.

It actually did rain today. It rained just enough to get the car dirty when I was out birthday shopping, but not enough to do the yard any good. The rain only lasted about fifteen minutes and by mid-afternoon the ground was bone dry again. There's a chance that we'll get a little more rain early tomorrow morning. That would be nice. A little rain before our morning walk might help cool things down a bit.

Dot seemed to have a burst of energy today. She seemed strong and confident on her morning walk and walked around the house unassisted much more than I expected. Her left rear leg is still extremely weak, but she seems to be learning to distribute her weight and balance herself better. I'm always happy when Dot has a good day, but have learned not to become overconfident. Tomorrow Dot could be stumbling around like a drunken sailor again. There is no real consistency in Dot's condition. She has good days and bad days. I'm just happy when she has a good day.

I got quite a bit done today. In addition to birthday shopping, I did some writing and website work. Of course I washed the car again as soon as the rain stopped. I can't stand a dirty car. I didn't even bother to go up on the roof after today's rain. It has been so hot lately that I'm sure the water has already evaporated anyway. Today was nice. We had a nice birthday celebration after dinner. I was busy all day, but not rushed. That's the way it should be. Dot had a good day too. We should do this more often.

I hope that Dot still feels good tomorrow when we go for our physical therapy session. I'm proud of Dot's amazing tenacity and like to brag about how well she's doing. It's always disappointing when she takes a turn for the worse. We have to temper the good with the bad unfortunately. That's what life is all about. Sometimes I think Dot understands this basic truth far better than I do.

Next week is Dot's birthday. We'll probably celebrate exactly the same way we did today.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2012 - My Birthday

I'm 67 years old. When I started blogging, I was still a little reluctant to reveal my age. I work in an industry that worships youth and I thought that my age was starting to hurt my business. I don't really care anymore. We all get older. Even though we are both old and tired, Janet and I can still run circles around most Millennials. I wear my age like a badge of honor now. I grew up in the best of times. I got to experience Woodstock, the moon landings, the Beatles, and president Kennedy firsthand. The Internet was so new that when I first began designing websites, one of my early creations was included in a book listing the top 1000 websites in the entire world. Jeez. Now, there are probably more than 1000 websites in my own zip code.

The world has definitely changed. My parents took long car trips in the Summer and we visited almost every National Park. None of us wore seat belts. I climbed trees when I was young and walked to school when I got a little older. On the Fourth of July we bought M-80s and Cherry Bombs. On Halloween we wandered around the neighborhood for hours at night in strange homemade costumes and nobody got hurt or abducted. Our parents didn't drive us to ballet lessons and soccer practice. They just told us to go outside and play. The world was a safer, much kinder place and I grew up confident and secure as a result. It was the best of times. Although it sucks to watch as your body and mind slowly begin to deteriorate, I wouldn't trade places with today's Millennials for all the money in the world.

Giving the dogs their daily meds just got a little more complicated. Dash still takes the most pills. He needs phenobarbital for seizures, allopurinol to prevent kidney stones, benezepril for high blood pressure, levothyroxine because he lost his thyroid gland to cancer, and doxycycline to cure his Lyme Disease. Dot only takes Palladia, but chemotherapy is more complex than all Dash's meds put together. When I give Dot her pills, I have to put on purple rubber bio-hazard gloves, pen Dash temporarily in the bedroom so he won't inadvertently grab one of the pills by mistake, and then wash everything I've touched before I put the pills away again. I hope that Dot tolerates the Palladia well and doesn't suffer from any of the potential side effects. Palladia, like any cancer drug, doesn't work for everybody. We'll discontinue the drugs if they make Dot miserable. She has lived a long and happy life. The quality of the time she has remaining with us is much more important than the length of time. I just want her to be happy.

My own meds aren't complicated, They are just expensive. When I went to get some prescriptions refilled today, the pharmacy declined my credit card. WTF? I always pay my balance in full every month and was puzzled why anyone would decline my card. I called Visa when I got home and they told me that they had flagged the pharmacy transaction as suspicious since the dollar amount was much higher than usual. I told the Visa lady that I thought the amount seemed suspicious as well. "I am in the Medicare Doughnut Hole," I said, "and the cost of my meds has literally doubled overnight." The Visa lady said she was sorry and reinstated my card. I still don't understand what this Doughnut Hole is all about. When I had private insurance, my prescription costs always stayed about the same. Medicare Part D is different. They pay for a while. Then they quit paying while you're in the Doughnut Hole phase. Eventually they come back and pay for virtually everything in the "Catastrophic" phase, after they feel they have punished you enough. Only the government could create something so needlessly complex.

We had a nice birthday dinner with Sprinkles cupcakes for dessert. Janet surprised me with an Apple Watch for my birthday. I wasn't expecting anything and felt a bit guilty since we are both spending so much for the dogs medical care. I was delighted to get the watch though. 67 is a lot different than 37, but life is still good. Thanks to all of of you who sent me birthday greetings on Facebook today. You guys probably raised my Klout score by three or four points.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1985

Things are looking up. The U-verse technician was already out in the alley working on the line when we took the dogs on their morning walk. By the time we returned, our Internet was working again. I'm still not sure how U-verse actually works but I'm glad it's up and running. U-verse is supposed to be a super fast fiber optic connection, but a copper wire actually comes into the house. This copper wire is necessary, because very few televisions, computers, and phones will connect directly to a fiber optic cable. I'm sure the copper slows things down though. U-verse isn't really much faster than anything else. To the technicians credit, our Internet is faster than it was last week though. I guess the technician accomplished something.

I got my car back today as well. It's nice driving a decent sized car again. I've never felt comfortable in small cars. Before I had dogs, I used to drive Citroëns. The Citroën is the Tardis of automobiles. These eccentric French cars don't look that big on the outside but the interiors seem huge. Having Dalmatians made me a believer in driving something even bigger than a Citroën, and I've had various SUV's ever since. The gas mileage is horrible, but the trips to the vet are a lot easier.

Luckily, we didn't have to go to the vet today, because the rain continued unabated. I don't know what I used to do before I had weather radar on my phone. I totally depend on the radar app now, checking it multiple times a day to find the perfect time to run errands and walk the dogs. I used to live in Seattle, and it never used to rain like this. Who would have thought that Texas would be wetter than Seattle someday. The rain has become a nuisance, but things are sure looking green. I think when July arrives, we're going to appreciate our exceptionally wet Spring.

I worked on websites again this afternoon. I don't typically work on weekends, but there's a lot of stuff I need to get finished and what else are you going to do on a rainy day anyway? If you've got a kid who can't find a job, tell them to learn how to build mobile websites. I noticed that the mobile traffic on my own website went up dramatically since I converted it to a mobile friendly design last week. This either means that Google really favors mobile now, or that I was getting no mobile traffic at all before I made the switch. Creating mobile websites is going to be a boom industry for a while. I suspect that every single website on the planet will eventually find it necessary to scrap their static sites in an effort to attract mobile traffic as well.

Janet and I are getting forgetful. Dash had a birthday a few days ago and we completely forgot about it. We tried to make amends by having a little party for the boy this evening. We used to make special cakes for the dogs and everything. I even went to a cake decorating class once, just to learn how to make the ultimate dog cake. Today the dogs got a doggie cupcake from Sprinkles, and more importantly they got to share some of the burgers we were having for dinner. It's hard to believe that Dash is ten now. I still go around telling people he is seven. How time flies.

Neither of the dogs understands that holiday weekends are for sleeping in. They got us up early this morning and I suspect that they will do the same tomorrow. It's OK though. I'm glad both dogs are still energetic and eager to start the day after all they've been through the past year. I'll be checking the weather radar again tomorrow to see if I can find them a little dry time.

Willie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1748

The golf tournament photo shoot ended well, but it certainly didn't get off to a good start. I loaded my gear in a golf cart after I arrived and was just about ready to get in the cart myself when two other golfers commandeered the cart and drove away. I had turned away for just a few seconds to talk with someone and when I turned back, my cart was gone. I told two nearby club pros what had happened and they went looking for the cart. Within five minutes I had all my gear back. No harm was intended. The other golfers just thought the cart was empty and didn't notice the stuff in the back.

About ten minutes later, I kneeled down to get a better angle on a guy teeing off and I stuck my right knee straight into a fire ant mound. Almost instantly I had hundreds of fire ants crawling all over my leg. I knew I shouldn't have worn shorts. Yikes! These little critters can really sting. One of the nearby golfers asked if I needed to worry about anaphylactic shock. Thankfully, no. Luckily, I'm not allergic to bee stings and ant bites because I tend to get stung a lot.

The day ended well and I wound up getting hundreds of nice shots of golfers, Dalmatians, and golfers with their Dalmatians. I did find myself briefly going the wrong way on a one way street while I was driving home from the tournament. It was just that kind of day. I'm glad we left the dogs at home today. As accident prone as I was this afternoon, I probably would have dropped Dash's leash and he would have run off.

It's hard to believe that the rescue group has been having these charity golf tournaments for well over a decade now. I think this year's tournament was our thirteenth. We're all older now and there aren't as many dogs in the program. Dalmatians aren't as popular as they were when the Disney movies made the breed famous. That's a good thing, because far fewer dogs are being abandoned. I doubt that we would have the energy to deal with twenty-five dogs at a time like we used to anyway.

Janet won a gift certificate for 24 Sprinkles cupcakes at the tournament silent auction this evening. At the rate we eat cupcakes, this should keep us in birthday and celebration cupcakes for another year. The birthdays are all finished for this year, unfortunately. We'll have to figure out something else to celebrate, because those cupcakes sure are good!

It looks like next week is going to be busy. I've already got several new projects queued up and it isn't even Monday yet. I could have showed you dozens of people hitting a little white ball off a tee today, but I thought the clouds overhead were more interesting. This was definitely a Texas sized sky.

Spanky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day