Day 3346

Rain keeps getting in the way. Dash was surprisingly strong this morning and wanted to walk. I've learned to be ready for these moments, so we put on Dash's boots and off we went. Unfortunately we didn't get far. The rain that was supposed to arrive in an hour arrived in less than five minutes. When we heard thunder, Dash wisely turned around and we headed for home.

Dash went to sleep after I dried him off and I returned to making the bed and fixing my breakfast. All it took was a quick look out the kitchen window to know that it was going to be another long, wet Winter day. While I was finishing breakfast I listened the the press conference with the Chicago police department where the head of detectives laid out a detailed time line showing how they determined that  Jussie Smollett staged the hate crime attack on himself. What was Smollett thinking? He paid the Nigerian brothers with a personal check. Surveillance cameras showed the brothers purchasing all the items used in the fake attack. The brothers confessed to being accomplices in the stunt. There were even phone records confirming that Smollett talked extensively with the brothers both before and after the staged attack. This guy calls himself an actor, be he clearly hadn't watched enough episodes of Columbo. In the end the detectives usually get their man.

Almost every day I think our divided country has reached a new low. Then I turn on the TV and realize that we can still go a lot lower. Although this fake hate crime opened a dismal new chapter in this ongoing story, I still have a small amount of hope for the country. Down in Florida, Space X launched a used Falcon 9 rocket for the third time carrying three different satellites from three different countries. One of them was headed for the moon. I hope the little Israeli lunar lander makes it. I'd much rather hear a success story about Jews on the Moon than a sad story about anti-Semitism.

Dash eventually did get a walk today. It was cold and damp, but at least it wasn't raining. I think these walks are important. They keep Dash motivated. Around the house, he stumbles a lot and gets depressed. The park is filled with animal smells and Dash has a reason to keep going. Walking helps keep his muscles from atrophying. The walks probably help me as well. I'd never get close to my 10,000 steps a day goal without them.

I paid a bunch of February bills this afternoon and took them to the post office. How can an uneventful life be so expensive? The big bill this month was car insurance. Maybe I should let the insurance company put that little tracker in my car after all. They say it could lower my rates by 20%. Why am I suspicious? I have a feeling that it could also raise my rates.

The week's trash has been taken to the curb. This evening's Space X launch was flawless. Dash got his walk today and finished eating all his meals. The roof still isn't leaking. Hey, measured by these low standards, I guess that today was a success.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2438

There are many things I'd rather do than go to a vet appointment on a rainy day. For starters, the traffic is terrible when it rains in Dallas. Dash's storm phobia is getting worse and he hates to be left alone in the house. Dot doesn't like riding in the car in any kind of weather. It's not a good combination. I apologized for being late to my appointment, but apparently my absence wasn't even noticed. I'm not the only one who has problems with their dogs in bad weather, so everybody else was late to their appointments too. There was a backlog of dogs in the lobby and we ended up having to wait about an hour to start our therapy session. Actually, the wait was good, because it gave Dot a chance to calm down. By the time the vet was ready to see us, Dot was getting sleepy.

We had a good session today. The acupuncture relaxes Dot and hopefully relieves some discomfort. The water therapy is supposed to strengthen her rear legs and prevent further muscle atrophy. Dot was strong enough to exercise for the full fifteen minutes today and the rain was almost over by the time we made our way home. We spent most of the afternoon to get these fifteen minutes under our belt, but I suppose it was worth it.

I was going to pay bills and do some bookkeeping this afternoon, but I never got around to it. I never got around to going to the vegan take out place either. I ended up just having a can of soup for dinner. Maybe I'll get caught up tomorrow, but I kind of doubt it. It's supposed to rain tomorrow as well. It's actually supposed to rain for the rest of the week. I should be used to how time consuming the dogs can be on rainy days, but I still underestimate the difficulties.

Dot has added a new wrinkle to our daily routine. About the time everybody else is getting ready to go to sleep, Dot gets a second wind and becomes very restless. This would be a good time to give her a walk, if it weren't for the fact that it is 11 PM and pitch dark outside. I don't know what has caused this change, since she used to be ready to go to bed for the night as soon as she's had her evening meds. Now, I'll take her out in the back yard three or four times and hold up her legs as she wanders aimlessly around. I'll get her situated in her dog bed and then two minutes later, she's barking and wants to get up again. It's taking longer and longer to get her settled in for the night.

I wish tomorrow was Friday. I wouldn't mind getting rid of Thursday entirely. Six days in a week would be plenty for me. Unfortunately, I don't get to choose these things. I'll try to do something useful tomorrow, even though I find the day completely redundant. For now I'll just concentrate on getting Dot to go to sleep.

Toby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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