Day 3327- Groundhog Day

I've always associated Groundhog Day with the Bill Murray movie instead of Punxsutawney Phil, It seems somehow appropriate that Groundhog Day takes place on Superbowl weekend this year. The Patriots keep playing in the Superbowl over and over again. A lot of things in my life seem to take place over and over again as well. Recurring events aren't necessarily bad but they do make you wonder. Is Tom Brady playing in the Superbowl again because he's the best quarterback in the league? Is there some luck involved? Why do I have a fruit smoothie for breakfast every morning when it would be easy to eat just about anything? I'd never order a fruit smoothie at a restaurant, even if it were on the menu. I've come to realize that a lot of repetition is pure laziness. Sometimes it takes a lot of dedication and practice though. I'm still trying to learn the difference.

Apparently, not everything happens over and over again. For many years, I've been going to a Superbowl Sale at a clothing store that used to be a client of mine. This was a fabulous once a year sale and it was generally the only time I could afford these type of clothes. Even though I have little need for work clothes anymore, I've continued going to this sale. Today I learned that the Superbowl Sale is gone. It has been discontinued. I don't know why I thought this would never happen. Nothing else lasts very long in today's world. Why should this odd three hour 75% off sale be any different.

Dash seemed a little better today. There was no diarrhea last night. Maybe the Metronidazole worked or maybe there was so much diarrhea yesterday that his entire digestive tract is empty. I guess we'll know when Dash poops again. That hasn't happened yet. Unfortunately, some common side effects of Metronidazole include lethargy, confusion, and loss of appetite. Dash is already dealing with these problems so it is hard to tell if Dash's difficulty in walking this morning was caused by the pills or was just something he would have experienced anyway. Later in the day he seemed fine and the diarrhea hasn't returned, so I've got to assume that the medication is working.

I think my dehumidifier has broken. It was leaking water this afternoon. The dehumidifier is meant to run continuously, but it has been running for about three years so I guess problems are inevitable. I wonder if my appliance repair guy can fix dehumidifiers? This dehumidifier has made a real difference in keeping the house livable, so I may need to buy a new one. I've discovered that the leak stops when I tilt the dehumidifier to one side. I've propped a book under one corner of the machine so it runs at an angle now. This is a temporary solution at best. It's weird that almost every single problem I've had with the house involves water. Water has become the enemy around here.

Janet has a meeting tonight so it's up to me to give Dash his evening meds. You'd think this would be easy but Dash has become very particular. Some days he will take his pills in canned dog food. Other days the pills need to be rolled up in a small strip of delicatessen turkey. Occasionally I have to use a little piece of Angle Food Cake. One way or another he always takes his pills though.

I'm sure we'll watch the Superbowl tomorrow, even though the Pats and the Rams aren't our favorite teams. The Pats are probably my least favorite team. My favorite commercial of course is the Budweiser spot featuring a Dalmatian with its ears blowing in the wind.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3156

It was hard to get out of bed this morning. Dash got me up twice last night. After I cleaned up the inevitable poop, I was wide awake. I eventually got back to sleep, but I sure woke up tired. I'm feeling perpetually tired these days. We've been dealing with sick dogs almost continuously since 2014 when Dash was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Ever since then, it's been one crisis after another.

After our slow morning walk, I fixed my regular smoothie and made some coffee. Eventually, I woke up and began feeling normal again. This was a surprisingly busy day, considering that nothing happens anymore. I drove up to the watch repairman's office and picked up my watch. He's only got three more left to repair. Maybe I'll see these other watches again before I die. The watch repairman is a friendly and very talented guy, but he sure is slow.

On the way home, I bought another pair of Ruffwear protective boots for Dash. I've got enough of these boots in rotation now that we should be good till Christmas. OK, maybe Halloween. Dash is really hard on shoes.

I think August is the worst month of the year for bills. I took a few more to the post office today. My car insurance is due. My annual August service visit at Lander Rover is always pretty pricy. Summer electric bills are through the roof. And there's always something going on with Dash. This wasn't a big deal when I was doing a lot of website work. Now, keeping this ship afloat is beginning to seem expensive. No wonder selling things is starting to seem so attractive.

I got some more estimates from another auction house this afternoon. I wonder if these estimates mean anything at all. I'm still pretty much of a neophyte in the auction world. After the first auctions take place in October, I should have a much better idea whether this little venture was a good idea. I hope the auctions are successful. They suit my temperament. I could never sell anything on Craigslist or eBay. I just don't want to have any direct contact with the buyers.

Dash must have had an upset stomach this morning. Janet was unable to get him to take his pills this morning. I didn't have much success when we returned from our walk either. I was starting to get worried because he needs to take his Phenobarbital at very specific times. Luckily, the crisis was averted and around 9:30 AM I was able to hide each of his morning meds in a little cube of rare steak. After he took all his meds, I didn't even care about breakfast. Dash went back to sleep, but eventually returned to the kitchen around 11:30 AM and finished his boiled chicken breast. I think this dog eats better than I do these days.

It was surprising to see blue skies again this morning. I think the rain is over. I didn't check the roof today because I was busy running errands. Maybe the longer I wait, the more water will evaporate. I'll probably go up and sweep the standing water away tomorrow. I really don't want to tempt fate. I don't care what the roofers have done. If you leave water long enough, it will find a way inside.

I hope today's weather continues. It felt like Fall when I woke up this morning. Dash can be a very high maintenance dog, but life is definitely a little easier when the weather is nice.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3140

We got a surprise today. It rained. I wasn't expecting rain, but another guy I see walking dogs in the park told me it was going to start raining in one hour. He said he needed to get home quickly because his dog was storm phobic and freaked out when it rained. I told him that Dash was the same way. We talked for a few minutes about the problems of caring for old sick dogs and wondered whether we'd ever have the energy to care for another dog again when our dogs were gone. My neighbor and I both love dogs and are both seventy years old. We didn't have an answer to that question.

Janet is coming home today, but her flight got delayed and she's still sitting in an airport somewhere. Dash is going to get a nice surprise later tonight. We actually did pretty well with pills and meals, but I can tell that Dash is more enthusiastic about eating when Janet is home. I was actually amazed that I was able to get the socks and protective rubber boots on by myself since Dash never stays still. We did OK though. I actually thought that Dash would want to take a walk this evening since the rain cooled things down considerably. He wasn't in the mood though. Maybe he already knows that Janet is on her way home.

I'm curious how well the roof repairs held up to today's rain. It rained pretty hard for at least an hour, so this was a good test. I didn't have the nerve to go look today. Maybe I'll climb up and inspect things tomorrow. I really hope the repairs worked. It was very hard to get the roofers to make these repairs. If they don't work, I know that it's going to be even harder to get them to come out again. I'm pretty sure that they're done with me now.

I'm still looking for a replacement for the location tracker app I've grown to depend on. I've downloaded three different apps that claim to have similar functions, but they all seem kind of buggy. Why did Facebook have to kill this app?  Probably for the same reasons they stopped supporting Networked Blogs. Everything they've done since the Cambridge Analytica mess has seemed to make the platform worse. I wish they'd just left things alone. Most of us knew all along that they were selling our data and just didn't care.

It's hard to believe that it's almost August. Unfortunately, August is just as hot as July. The weather won't get nice again until October. Until then we will continue to have sky high water and electric bills while I fret about the air conditioner breaking down. Dash has done better this Summer than I expected. It really helps to get an early start in the mornings. I'll be up at 6 AM again tomorrow, ready for our early morning walk. I won't have to worry about getting him to take his pills though. Janet will take over that task when she returns. She's better at it than me anyway.

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3137

I didn't go out for breakfast this morning. There was too much to do at home. Getting Dash ready in the morning is quite a challenge. He is very reluctant to get up, but as soon as he does start moving, he immediately needs to poop. There is a clear path to the door but he hasn't been able to make it outside yet. I have to try to give him his meds before I clean up the poop, because if I wait too long he'll go back to bed and we'll have to start all over again. So far, the only pill pocket that works is a little cube of rare steak. There are lots of pills, so he gets a fair amount of steak. This usually spoils his appetite and he won't eat his breakfast.

I clean up the poop as quickly as I can and get him ready for his morning walk. I wish we could get started earlier, but we're doing the best we can. We've only been walking about half as far as we usually do, because it's already starting to get hot when we leave the house. I'm glad that Dash has the good sense to head for home early when the weather is hot. Usually he will finish his breakfast when we return to the house, but sometimes I end up saving it for lunch. When Dash has cooled down and goes back to sleep, I fix my own breakfast.

Dash has been very slow and lethargic this week. I don't know whether it's the heat, or if something had gotten worse with his heart. Whatever is going on, it's troubling. I don't want to overwork him, but I don't want him sleeping 24 hours a day either. We've got to strike a balance. We go back for another big recheck at the cancer center next week. I really hope his condition hasn't deteriorated.

I took my last remaining synthesizer to the repair shop today. I'll probably try to sell this one too. It isn't as rare as the two I've already consigned, but there isn't as much wrong with it either. I think all this one needs is a new backup battery. Why this battery is soldered to the main logic board in a hard to access place, I'll never understand. Probably I just wasn't supposed to keep the thing this long.

The keyboard technician told me that the damage to all my synthesizers was probably caused by heat.  The storage warehouse just wasn't cool enough. The fact that you should never keep musical instruments in a storage warehouse has been an expensive lesson to learn. I should have sold all these things immediately when they were no longer being used. Most of the guitars weren't as damaged as the synthesizers, but heat took their toll on them as well. All three of the good guitars will need some major setup work.

It's discouraging to realize that my desire to keep things has always been at odds with the realities of living in a small house. There never was room for this stuff. I always thought that the storage warehouse was like a giant pause button. Maybe I could keep things in suspended animation until a mythical much larger house materialized. Life doesn't work that way though. Time marches on whatever you do.

I just finished giving Dash his evening meds, but he hasn't touched his dinner yet. Usually he will get hungry before we go to bed, but you never know. I guess I should look on the bright side. He hasn't thrown up yet.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3136

Our new schedule got off to a shaky start this morning. Dash didn't want to get up. I tried everything I could think of to rouse him, but nothing seemed to work. It's important to get an early start, because if we sleep in, it quickly becomes too hot to walk. I was almost out of options, but I thought I'd try waving a fresh piece of steak in front of his nose. That worked. He quickly became excited and headed toward the kitchen. The steak not only stimulated his appetite, it also stimulated his urge to poop. I was going to cut up the steak and use it as pill pocket to administer his morning meds. We'd finished half the pills when Dash got a funny look on his face and went racing for the back door. He didn't make it.

I cleaned up the poop, finished giving Dash his meds and got him dressed for our walk. Amazingly Dash stood still through this ordeal. I learned quickly that Dash needs to be standing on carpet when I suit him up. The brick floors are too slippery and he falls over. By the time we left the house, the sun was already peaking over the horizon. An hour makes a big difference. We had to shorten our walk this morning because of the heat, but we'll try to do better tomorrow.

6 AM until 9 AM can be pretty hectic, but after that, nothing happens. Dash sleeps most of the day. After I finished my breakfast and washed the dishes, I went back to the camping store and bought the dog boots I saw yesterday. Will these boots be any better than the boots Dash already has? Who knows. It's worth a try though. We've finally found boots that will stay on his feet, but nothing really lasts that long. After about three months of wear, they start to fall apart. I can keep the boots going for six months by fixing the worn areas with Shoe Goo, but the holy grail is something that would last as long as my own shoes. We've got a long way to go.

Our vet recommended giving Dash SAMe to help prevent dementia and cognitive disfunction. I used to take this stuff for my liver, but I guess it has many functions. I started giving him these pills recently. He's no Einstein yet, but hopefully the SAMe will help. Dash is definitely becoming more forgetful and is showing some early signs of dementia. This is one of the saddest parts of aging. It happened to Dot. It happened to my Dad. And it will probably happen to me.

I found the telescope, but it was much smaller than I remembered. My image stabilized binoculars actually provide a much better view of the sky. I didn't want my search efforts to go to waste last night, so I took the telescope out and looked at the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and a bright red ball called Mars. It's too bad the sky never really gets dark here in Dallas. There's a lot more up there to see.

Dash has taken his evening meds and appears ready to call it a day. Hopefully, things will go a little smoother tomorrow. It's a learning experience.

Smokey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day