Day 3242

The move is complete. I was really happy with the movers I hired. They were on time, courteous, and stayed within their estimate. They even helped me pack the loose items in boxes. I picked these guys because they had the best Yelp reviews. I guess that's how you do things these days. A few good Yelp reviews don't mean anything, but when they're all good you can usually rely on the results. I need to remember to leave a good review myself. I'd use these guys again.

The new storage unit is slightly smaller than the old one. It is twenty square feet smaller to be exact. This is unfortunate, because the metal industrial shelves don't fit quite as well. The movers and I eventually found a place for everything, but this new unit is a lot closer to being full than I had hoped. It's a good thing I threw away a lot of empty boxes. If I had kept everything, I don't think it would have fit.

After the movers helped me arrange the shelving and place the really heavy items on the lower shelves, they left me to sort out the rest. I was happy with this, because it allowed them to stay near the low end of their estimate. I spent the next two hours filling the shelves with a large assortment of boxes on the floor and then I dragged my aching body home and took a nap. Hopefully, my lower back and shoulder will recover soon. Right now, I feel a hundred years old.

This ended up being a very long day because it started around 4:30 AM by cleaning up poop on the floor. As he often does these day, Dash went outside to pee and went back inside and immediately pooped on the living room floor. He doesn't do this on purpose. I just don't think he's aware that he needs to poop until it starts coming out. Dash went back to sleep, but I wasn't so lucky. I stayed in bed and watched TV for a while until it was time to get up and give Dash his morning walk.

We tried to pack Dash's rear paws with gauze this morning before putting his socks on. In theory, this should have eliminated the possibility of abrasion, but one of his paws still bled a little when we returned. The boots are wearing out faster too, because Dash's paws are turning under more as he walks. Basically, his rear legs continue to get weaker and there's nothing we can do to stop it. If Dash would learn to ride in the car, I could take him downtown for water therapy like I used to do with Dot. This is out of the question though. Dash is horrible in the car.

I was so tired today that I felt I deserved pizza and a beer for dinner. Janet loves pizza, but it always gives me heartburn. Occasionally, it's worth the heartburn. I took a Prilosec and hoped for the best. The pizza was great. We'll see how well I sleep tonight. I wish I had an iron stomach. I love pasta and bread, but they have to be reserved for special occasions now. Anything that includes tomato sauce as an ingredient is a red flag. I can't handle tomatoes at all.

I'm glad I completed the storage warehouse move. I guess it was worth it. Even after paying the movers, I ended up saving quite a bit of money. I still don't understand why the old warehouse had no  interest in keeping me as a customer. I was a good customer. They seemed determined to get rid of me by raising my rent every single year until I'd finally had enough. My new storage unit is about the same size and I'm only paying about half as much.

I hope Dash has a good night. I really need to catch up on my sleep.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3004

I met a refrigerator repairman while I was grocery shopping this morning. He was parked next to me and the message on his company truck sounded intriguing. I knocked on his window and asked him if he was familiar with my refrigerator. The guy was very knowledgable. I was actually surprised that he spent so much time talking to me in the Central Market parking lot. I asked for the guy's business card and told him I'd give him a call. When I looked up the company website when I got home, they had excellent reviews. For comparison, I looked up the repair shop I'm currently using and they had terrible reviews. I've never seen so many single stars. I wish I'd checked out the Yelp reviews before I'd scheduled three unsuccessful service visits. The new company I discovered today offers a full year warranty on parts and labor. The parts warranty actually ran out at the other place before they even fixed my problem. I knew Janet would be skeptical, but I decided to try one more time to fix my existing refrigerator.

I think there are a lot of good reasons to try to save this refrigerator. The GE model that I have has a better service history than the Maytag I'd be replacing it with. The Maytag is smaller and holds less food. It also doesn't have an ice dispenser in the door like the model I have now. I always read the testimonials and a lot of people said the Maytag model didn't keep food cold enough and that the ice maker had a tendency to leak. So here we are. I may be throwing money down a rabbit hole, but I'm going to give this new company a try. I really like the refrigerator I have now. I wish GE still made this model.

After spending so much time thinking about refrigerators this morning, I decided to go ahead and defrost the evaporator coil before the weekend. The refrigerator is still cooling fine, but I know this drill pretty well by now. I've probably got four days before performance begins to suffer. It made sense to go ahead and take care of this now. I removed the ice on the coil and put everything back together in less than an hour this time. I think the repairman I met this morning was surprised that I knew actual part numbers and was familiar with the inner workings of kitchen appliances. It's too bad I don't know a little bit more or I could fix this thing myself.

Breakfast wasn't bad this morning, but it wasn't great either. I just picked a restaurant that was on the way to the grocery store. Maybe my problem is that I'm just not as interested in food as I used to be. I eat smaller portions now and occasionally even the thought of food turns my stomach. If a great meal can't turn my day around, I wonder what can? Food used to be an easy, almost foolproof way to perk me up. It doesn't work anymore.

Luckily, food still works for Dash. His appetite has really improved. I hope this means that his heart condition is improving as well. I have a feeling that when he was refusing to eat, he was in worse shape than we or the vet thought. The only problem with Dash's new interest in food is that he wants a treat before he'll do anything. He learned too well that we really want him to eat and now he wants to eat all the time. It's hard to teach a dog to do things in moderation.

The weather is still nice. Our Oak trees are starting to bud and that means the messy catkins are starting to fall. The pollen in these tiny flowers stains the car, causes me to sneeze, and makes a huge mess on the roof. I guess even nice weather has a downside. If this weather continues, it won't be long before I'm mowing the grass again.

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2642

I increased Dot's pain medication today. Actually, I'm only giving her the dosage the vet recommended, but it's still more than she was getting yesterday. Did the extra meds help? It's hard to tell. Dot slept well during her morning nap and actually did seem more active and engaged in the afternoon. She appeared tired on her afternoon walk though. It could have been the humidity, or maybe the pills are doing nothing at all. It sure would be easier if I could just ask Dot how she was feeling. If my own doctors prescribed pain medication the way vets do, lord knows what I'd be taking now. The doc would probably just twist my bad shoulder and when I screamed, he'd prescribe something for pain. I'm not a big fan of pain medication. A lot of it is addictive. For the most part, I've just learned how to compensate.

So, what do you do with a dog? A mild amount of discomfort will keep an injured dog from doing something stupid and injuring themselves further. Mild discomfort is kind of a reality check. Severe pain is something else entirely. Since cancer can cause severe pain, I rely on what the oncologist tells me when I take Dot for her periodic evaluations. We always run some tests to determine whether things are getting better or worse. I try to notice subtle changes too. Changes in behavior do mean something. Dot is definitely more uncomfortable than she was a year ago. She still seems happy though and rests easily without a lot of panting or muscle tenseness. I want Dot to be as happy and comfortable as possible as she completes her journey. It's hard to hit the sweet spot though. Too little medication leaves you in pain and too much turns you into a zombie.

I must really be bored. I spent an inordinate amount of time this afternoon looking for someplace new to have breakfast. I extended the radius I was willing to travel from five miles to ten miles and several new options turned up. Everybody basically offers the same thing on their breakfast menu, but the quality and price vary wildly. Who would have thought that there were so many variations on pancakes, bacon and eggs, migas, eggs benedict, breakfast tacos, and waffles. Yelp reviews aren't very much help. Some people actually seem to like crappy food. I found a place in Lakewood that sounded interesting and another in the lower Greenville area. Both are a little further than I usually travel, but what better have I got to do in the morning anyway?

Don't let me start talking about politics. Ever. Political discussion seems to be a virus that has infected most of my Facebook friends. I've never seen anything like it. The weird thing is that everyone is just preaching to the choir. I can't think of a single person I know that has actually changed someone's mind. If I did talk about politics, I'd probably just become a purveyor of fake news. It's almost too easy to rile someone up with fake news. Everyone is so locked into their preconceived view of the world that they'll latch on to anything that reinforces their beliefs. I feel like throwing a bucket of cold water over some of my friends. Good grief. The world isn't coming to an end and I doubt that we are on the verge of a new renaissance either. Ten years from now, you'll look back and wonder what all the commotion was about.

I just hope I'm still around ten years from now. People in my age range are dropping like flies. Almost every week I read about someone I know who has passed away or is fighting a losing battle with cancer. Not everyone is Betty White and quite a few folks never make it to 80. There's not much I can do to change the odds. If having a Dalmatian keeps you young, I'll live forever. If you need close friendships and a sense of community to keep you going, I'm probably a goner.

Val is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day