Day 3324

Sometimes I turn on the news and I feel like I'm living inside a dystopian science fiction novel. It was colder in Chicago today than it was in Antarctica. Is that even possible? Chicago shouldn't be that cold. When I was young I once thought about taking an ad agency job in Chicago. I visited the place in January and all it took was a brief walk down Michigan Avenue to convince me that Chicago was far too cold for me. I wasn't dealing with a polar vortex. I just wasn't wearing a warm enough jacket. I decided then and there that I was meant to live down South.

As far as I'm concerned, Dallas winters are bad enough. I wear my warmest clothes when we take our morning walks. Even though it is running fine, I always worry that the furnace is going to break on a cold winter evening. I worry about frozen pipes too. It seldom gets cold enough for the pipes to freeze, but it has happened. The lake behind our house completely froze over once as well. The fact that there is no ice on the lake at all this Winter just shows that I am getting older and the planet is getting warmer. I doubt that the lake will ever freeze again. It hardly even snows anymore.

It's gotten to the point where I need to make sure exactly where Dash is and what he is doing before I let him out of my sight. He falls so easily now that it's easy for him to get in trouble. I make sure he is gated in a safe place before I take a shower and try not to leave the house unless he is sleeping. Dash's naps last for hours at a time, so it is usually safe to run errands while he is asleep.

I don't even worry about poop anymore. As those old bumper stickers used to say: shit happens. I do wish that Dash would work on his timing. He inevitably poops in the house right when I'm starting to relax with my first cup of coffee. I always jump up immediately and clean things up. I've learned from experience that if I don't act fast, Dash will step in the poop and track the mess all over the house. Also, I enjoy the smell of coffee in the morning. I can't say the same for the smell of poop.

I wrote a letter to a sick friend today and realized that I have no natural empathy at all. I kept having to rewrite portions of the letter when I noticed that I was just making sarcastic comments about the unfairness of life instead of being warm and sympathetic. By the time I sealed the envelope I think I got things right, but it didn't come naturally.

Aging doesn't seem to come naturally either. They say you're officially old when you start having trouble putting on your socks or clipping your toenails. I think the moment has arrived. I feel like a rusty old machine this Winter. Maybe when the weather warms up, I'll feel younger.

Malcolm is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2704

There are good days and there are bad days. Dot had trouble eating again today. For some inexplicable reason, all the progress we'd made this week was gone. I could tell she was hungry, but when she attempted to chew something, it just fell out of her mouth. I really tried to interest her in food, but all she ate was a little broth from a can of the Ultramix chicken and potato stew, a few crackers, and the cheese I gave her with her pills. She wouldn't even eat the turkey slices today. This has happened before, but it is always discouraging. Maybe Dot's appetite will return when it's time for her evening pills in about an hour, but at this point it doesn't look hopeful.

When I wasn't trying to feed Dot, I ran my normal Saturday errands. I got a garden hose at Home Depot so I could wash my car again. I threw away the old hose last month after it developed a leak, but never got around to replacing it. I filled the car with gas. I must have really been out and about last week. I used four gallons of gas instead of the three I used the previous week. I've been buying bulk items like paper towels and laundry detergent at Sam's Club for many years. The items never change, but the prices have almost doubled in the past decade. I don't get it when people talk about how low inflation is. I'm not an economist, but when prices for almost everything you use have doubled, that's inflation to me.

I washed the car and did a little yard work while Dot was sleeping. It was so disheartening that I couldn't get Dot to eat today. I've gotten used to her appetite kicking in late in the day, but it just didn't happen. I always look for a rational explanation to everything, but sometimes there just isn't one. Advanced age has its own set of rules. If you're looking for logic and order, you probably won't find it in the aging process. Things just fall apart and not always in the ways you might expect.

Maybe Dot will wake up hungry and start eating again tomorrow morning. I hope so. I can't force feed her though. When she has no desire to eat for any length of time, I have to realize that she is telling me it is time to go. I'm going to remain optimistic though.  Dot is resting calmly now and doesn't appear to be in any distress. She took a nice walk today. I just need to keep her eating.

This is one of those days where midnight is rapidly approaching and I'm not even close to being ready for bed myself. I have a feeling that I have more to say, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2372

Like most of you, I woke up to the news of the horrific mass shooting in Orlando. I think in the weeks and months ahead, a lot of people are going to be asking why someone who was already on a terror watch-list and had been interviewed several times by the FBI was allowed to have a job as a security guard and purchase weapons in the first place. Omar Mateen's coworkers warned us about this guy, but nobody listened. The same thing happened when the Russians warned us about Tamerlan Tsarnaev before the Boston bombings. This has got to stop and it probably will. Safety and security has always had a higher priority than abstract concepts of personal freedom. I think we are headed toward a world like the one depicted in that movie Minority Report. It won't really be that hard to arrest people before they commit a crime. We won't need Pre-Cogs like in the movie, because Google knows everything about you already. In a world with no secrets, you will give yourself away. If you don't think this is going to happen, just wait. The technology is here already. All it will take is a few more incidents like Orlando and people will be more than willing to use it.

When I was younger I never dreamed that the world would wind up like this. I was convinced that we'd all be driving flying cars by now and would have already established a thriving colony on Mars. It's sad that we haven't lived up to our potential. Personally, I'm not all that worried about climate change. Humans will be extinct in 30,000 years, mostly as a result of our own stupidity. The earth will survive like it has for four billion years and maybe the next species to evolve will do a better job of things.

Current events frequently leave me feeling that dogs make better companions than humans. It makes perfect sense to lead a quiet, somewhat solitary life devoted to keeping two aging Dalmatians healthy and happy. That's pretty much all I did today. I cleaned Dot up after several accidents in the house. We took both dogs on a slow, but pleasant walk. Later, I comforted them when the thunderstorms arrived. It's a simple existence, but it makes as much sense as anything in today's increasingly chaotic world.

I did make it to the gym before the afternoon storms started to frighten the dogs. Like always, today's workout reminded me that I need to go to the gym more often. Aging is such a losing battle. I still do a pretty strenuous workout, but it seems much harder than it did three years ago. I wish I enjoyed all this activity. I know it's necessary, but personally I'd rather just eat cake.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2062

Janet and I drove up to the Lewisville kennels today to photograph the latest additions to the Dalmatian Rescue family. Even after all these years, I continue to be amazed that so many wonderful, friendly dogs like these could have been dumped and abandoned so casually. Every dog you see featured in my Dalmatian of the Day pictures was a member of the Dalmatian Rescue program at one point or another. We have helped hundreds and hundreds of Dalmatians find new homes, and this is just a single breed in a single city. Almost all of the widely recognized dog breeds have active rescue organizations very similar to ours. There are even larger, more ambitious rescue groups devoted to helping mixed breeds. You wonder how things ever got this bad. How can people treat a living animal like a disposable object? And why do people get a dog in the first place if they aren't willing to make a commitment to taking care of it? I just don't  understand people sometimes.

After we got back in Dallas, I sorted through the pictures and updated the Dalmatian Rescue website. It takes me a little longer to make the updates now that I have converted the site to a more complex mobile friendly format, but I don't think I'm in danger of running out of time. I've got more time than I know what to do with. Few people are fighting over my time anymore. The clients I have left probably don't realize what a good deal they are getting. I never miss a deadline, but I linger over their projects and try to make them last as long possible so I won't have to face the horrors of an empty day. I've worked all my life and I don't really know what to do with an empty day.

Realistically, an empty day is just a theoretical concept, now that the dogs are getting older and Dot is becoming so frail. Just taking care of Dot and Dash has turned into a full time job. I've developed a new respect for people who have children with disabilities. I don't know how they do it. I really sympathize with the ones who try to keep their personal ship afloat while running a small business or working out of their homes. I lead a pretty simple life and am lucky to have the time and resources to provide Dot and Dash with the best care I possible can. It's tiring and stressful though. Dogs live such a short time that I often feel like I've been living with dogs declining and dying all around me for the past twenty years. Spot, Petey and Greta are gone. I want to enjoy the unique friendship I share with Dot and Dash for as long as I can.

It looks like we've got at least another full week of triple digit temperatures. Now that we're locked in an August heat wave, I don't think anyone even remembers the Spring rain anymore. I wonder how long it is going to be before the lake levels start to drop again. It is really hot this Summer. It is no longer pleasant outside when we take our pre-dawn walks with the dogs. It's just a bit cooler than it's going to be later in the day. At least there's usually a nice breeze early in the morning and you don't have to worry about the pavement being too hot for the dogs paws. Once the sun hits your face, it's all over. By mid-afternoon the air feels like you're living inside a pizza oven.

I guess I'll go to the gym again tomorrow. They keep it nice and cold at the gym and the air conditioning almost makes the exercise worth it. I don't need to worry about mowing the grass anyway. The lawn isn't even growing anymore. I water on the days the city allows, but things keep getting drier. I haven't been up on the roof in over a month. That alone tells you how dry it has become.

Lilly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2054

I repaired something fairly complex today by watching a YouTube video. I set my laptop next to the project and every time the guy on the tape said to unscrew a certain bolt or grab a wrench, I would pause the video and do that step exactly the way he said. The whole process took about 45 minutes and worked like a charm. I'm going to start looking for YouTube videos every time I need to fix something. Watching someone else repair the exact same thing you're trying to fix is so much easier to understand than reading poorly written instruction manuals, or my time honored method, taking something apart without following any instructions at all. I think Ikea should include an assembly video with everything they sell. Trying to assemble something using those cryptic numbered drawings Ikea uses to avoid translating the instructions into forty different languages can be maddening. At any rate, YouTube has become my go-to source for learning things these days. I've managed to find detailed instructions on everything from designing mobile websites to fixing the refrigerator.

As I suspected, it was a slow day, so I went out and bought a pair of shorts and some new shoes at an end-of-Sumner sale. I didn't really need any new clothes, but 70% off is hard to resist. I don't think Summer is ending any time soon in Dallas, so I ought to get a lot of use out of these bargains. I also picked up some groceries for the weekend while I was out and about. No bargains here, but I always find it easy to rationalize purchasing the tasty things I find at Whole Foods and Central Market.

Maybe I'm watering the lawn too much, because I'm starting to see mushrooms growing in the back yard again. I always try to remove these as soon as possible, since I don't know my mushrooms well enough to recognize the ones that could be harmful to the dogs. Dot probably wouldn't eat mushrooms, but Dash would. He'll eat just about anything under the right circumstances. If mushrooms are an indication that the yard is too wet, the frogs that appeared out of nowhere to get under the sprinkler while I was watering shrubs this morning, are an indication that things are too dry. I'm never sure what to do about the lawn. I try, but I definitely don't have a green thumb.

Dot pooped in her bed again. There is no rhyme or reason to these accidents. Today's accident happened right after I'd taken her outside, so it caught me by surprise. I need to get one of those "Shit Happens" bumper stickers. This is quite literally what happens in our house these days. I try my best to be patient when Dot has an accident. She can't help it. I just hope the same thing doesn't start happening with me a few more years down the road. Getting old basically sucks, no matter who you are.

The weather forecast said there was a 20% chance of rain this afternoon. No such luck. After all the complaining I've done about rain over the years, you wouldn't think I'd be wishing for a downpour, but I was. It's gotten way too dry. The dogs hate the heat. The plants are dying. I'm ready for some rain.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2044

Dash's blood pressure medication isn't working. When we tested him today, his blood pressure was just as high as it has always been. The vet asked me if I'd like to borrow the blood pressure cuff and take another reading at home when Dash was calm. "He is calm," I said. "This is the way he always is." We're going to have to try a different blood pressure medication. It will probably take just as long to find something effective for Dash as it did for me. I've tried three different blood pressure medications, and none of them is perfect. The reason I took Dash to the vet in the first place was to see if his treatment for Lyme Disease worked. It turns out that that there is no reliable way to test whether the antibiotics worked. We'll just have to have a urinalysis done frequent to make sure there is no kidney damage. I suspect the treatment worked though. Dash shows no symptoms of Lyme Disease whatsoever.

My new website project is finished. I was told today that the design was approved and to go ahead and bill the project. This is good news, but now I'm going to have to find something else to do. Web projects are nice because they keep me occupied longer than writing. I can usually finish my writing assignments in a single day, but it usually takes me at least a week to design a new website from scratch. It's hard to find the right balance of work. I like to be busy enough so I'm not bored, but I don't want to be so busy that I'm stressed out all the time. There's enough stress just dealing with the dogs. I don't need work related stress in my life anymore. Been there, done that.

I guess whatever the U-verse technician did yesterday worked. I've had no problems with my connection all day. Actually, my download speed seem faster, which is almost unheard of with U-verse. They rarely make anything faster. I wish the service was reliable enough that I could just drop my backup T-Mobile broadband account. Every time I think I don't need the T-Mobile hotspot though, our power goes out, or the U-verse Internet gets flaky. I've posted by blog entry quite a few times using the little T-Mobile  4-G hotspot. When it works, U-verse is fabulous. I just don't think it's ready for prime time yet.

I was editing pictures today and came across some old photos I'd taken of Dot and Dash when they were young and active. It was startling to see the differences between then and now. Both dogs were racing around in an open field at full speed. I had forgotten how fast and graceful Dot used to be. She absolutely loved to run. It was sad to see these pictures of her flying through the air and realize that she will never run again. We will be lucky if she can even continue walking using the Help 'Em Up Harness. Dash is still as healthy as a cancer survivor can be, but he's slowed down quite a bit too. I suppose from the right vantage point, Janet and I have slowed down as well. I prefer not to think about that though. The dogs are lucky in a way. When my own legs begin to get wobbly, I'm not sure who's going to be there to keep me moving.

That's all in the future though. I'll still be moving tomorrow. There are dogs to take care of and assignments to finish. It's going to be another hot July day. I wish it was Friday tomorrow, but I can always pretend it's Friday. All these days are more or less the same.

Katie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2029

Years ago, I made one of those micro loans that are supposed to help people in developing countries buy a cow or plant more rice or something. I completely forgot about the small loan, although from time-to-time the investment would deposit quarterly interest payments of $2.50 in my Paypal account. Much to my surprise, I received a notice the other day telling me that the loan had been paid in full and my principal was being returned to me. I kind of liked the symmetry of the whole transaction. I had helped someone I didn't even know and many years later, the money came back to help me pay for Dot's cancer medication. I think the principal will pay for one month of Palladia pills. This is the way money should work. You help someone buy a cow and then the favor is returned when you least expect it to help extend a dog's life. This simple investment was never designed to make anyone rich, but there was an honesty about it that just doesn't exist on Wall Street. Unfortunately, simple honesty seldom pays the bills. With two high maintenance dogs, a laundry list of prescription medications to take every month, and an insatiable desire for the latest gear, I'm afraid micro loans are just a symbolic gesture. I still need the stock market to go up.

I spent most of the day cropping and re-sizing photos for a media presentation. I could have saved myself a lot of time if I'd just shot the photos in a 16x9 format in the first place. Hey, how was I to know that this is how they'd end up being used? I could have batch processed the files to save time, but then nothing would have been cropped correctly. There must be an easier way to do this, but I still find myself opening up each individual image in Photoshop, cropping it manually, applying color correction, and then finally reducing the file size a bit so it will load quickly on the destination device. I think I did a good job cropping hundreds of photos, but I have a feeling that half the images won't end up being used anyway. That's just the way it goes in my world.

Dot seemed shaky again today. It remains a mystery to me why she wakes up strong some days and is weak and shaky on others. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to her energy levels. Some days she's full of energy, even on those hot days when she should be tired. Then there are times when she has no energy at all, even when the weather is perfect. It's just as confusing trying to figure out what causes her to poop in the house. She'll be right on schedule for three or four days at a time, and then the next day poop will just fall out of her. Her diet is consistent. I am consistent about feeding her and taking her outside. Maybe this is just an inevitable part of the aging process.

One of my favorite doctors is closing his practice at the end of the month. I made an appointment well in advance to see him one more time before he disappears forever. Today, I got a call from the clinic saying that the doctor would be in surgery on the day of my appointment and that I would have to reschedule with someone else. "But I scheduled this a long time ago," I said. "I specifically wanted to see this particular doctor." "I understand," the nurse said, "but he is completely booked until he leaves at the end of the month." "You'll have to choose someone else," she told me. It hardly seems fair, but then what is fair these days? Not much, I suspect.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1740

I'm beginning to feel like I'm locked in a perpetual battle with the aging process. It's not just me that's aging; it's everything. I lost two of my favorite cars to this battle this year. I just couldn't keep them running any longer. I'm losing ground on the house as well. Even though the place is extremely well built, it is almost 65 years old and nature is taking its toll. When I was up on the roof today, I saw signs of carpenter ants again. The foundation is shifting a bit, even though there are concrete piers that go all the way to the bedrock. Lord knows how long the plumbing will last. The two inch cast iron drains are no match for today's larger washing machines and dishwashers. It's amazing how quickly nature wins if you don't keep making constant repairs.

There are small victories of course. I am so happy that the dogs are healthy again. They both could have easily died this year. I can't make them any younger though, so I know this is a temporary victory. When I took over my Dad's affairs toward the end of his life, it was frightening to see how quickly things can go downhill. I need to do a better job of appreciating each additional day that I am granted. None of us really know how many we will have. The dogs do a great job of living one day at a time. I should do better myself.

I tried to make the most of today by downloading and installing IOS 8 on my phone, removing a small mountain of cracked pecan shells from the roof, mowing the grass, and making sure that the dogs had two nice walks. It was surprisingly warm today for so late in the year. I guess since we've already had some very pleasant Fall days, I expect them all to be that way. It might have been too hot for me, but I think the dogs enjoyed the warmth. They spent quite a while sunbathing out in the back yard this afternoon.

I set the DVR to record the latest episode of Dr. Who before walking the dogs this evening. There will be no mini-revue tonight because I haven't even watched the show yet. Perhaps this will give me something to do while I am preparing the bed for Dot a few hours from now. Although she hasn't had an accident recently, I still can't bring myself to declare victory over the incontinence. Better safe than soiled is my new motto.

I saw more Christmas trees when I was doing my shopping this afternoon. They were artificial trees, of course, but there's still something wrong with seeing Christmas stuff for sale in September. When I was walking the dogs, I notice several yard signs announcing the annual DADA Fall Gallery Walk. I used to never miss this art walk. The fact that I am more interested in going to the gym than going on gallery tours probably tells you all you need to know about my changing priorities. Yep. I'm going to the gym again tomorrow, and after I burn off a few calories, I'll go to the store and buy some tasty sausages.

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1674

Someone has been sprinkling ground up bits of broken glass along several of the paths in the park. I don't know if this is to cause passing bicycles to have flats, or an effort to hurt animal paws, but it is definitely malicious. One more thing to look out for every morning. This city is wearing me down. Daydreaming is one of my favorite things, but it's just not as easy to absentmindedly daydream during our walks anymore. There's always something to look out for.

Dot worried me today. She was very slow and a bit stiff on our walk this morning. You could tell she wanted to walk, but just didn't have the energy. She went to sleep as soon as we returned home, but even her sleep wasn't restful. She kept changing position and groaning occasionally as if something was bothering her. There were no visible injuries. She was breathing completely normally. And she didn't appear under any stress. She just seemed tired. I'll ask the vet to check for any hidden warning signs, but I think she's just getting old. I know how she feels. It doesn't take much to wear me out either.

We don't get much mail anymore. I used to always look forward to getting the mail everyday, but the steady stream of magazines, circulars, and catalogs has almost come to a standstill. I think the battle for shoppers hearts and minds is over and that Amazon has won. Practically the only thing I get in the mail these days are bills to pay. Even the bills come with admonitions and enticements to get me to switch to online payments. Switch to online payments and we'll give you a $25 Starbucks card they say. No thanks for now. I still like printed statements. I prefer reading a book to looking at the same thing on a Kindle. I'd still rather read a magazine than visit a website. My days are numbered though. I've become a dinosaur.

A few more observations about my day at the courthouse yesterday. I think you can divide people into two categories. There are the ones who check their e-mail and texts obsessively. And there are the others who play Candy Crush Saga obsessively. I hate waiting and paced up and down the courthouse halls all day while the lawyers were deciding what to do with us. I was virtually the only person walking around though. Most people were just sitting on a bench and staring at their phones. They couldn't leave them alone for five minutes. It's kind of sad. I suspect the smart phone has already had an even larger impact on society than the automobile. For the Millennials, the phone has actually replaced the automobile as the iconic object of their generation.

Even though Dot was tired today, we still took both dogs to training class tonight. Dot spent most of the evening sitting in the grass with Janet, while Dash and I went through the exercises. Dot was happy. She doesn't like to be left out and there is no reason to leave her out of anything. We'll all just slow down a bit and let her enjoy her remaining days

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1628

Sometimes I wonder what is going to happen on Day 2000, or Day 5000. On any given day, what I write is trivial, but I keep on writing for the same reason I keep doing a lot of things. I always think that if I just continue doing what I'm doing a little longer, it will eventually add up to something. Maybe it will in this case. How many people have even attempted to document every single day of their life? Probably not many. I've only been doing this for about five years and I'm already starting to see subtle changes in the way I think and act. Maybe you are too.

Aging is a tricky business. At first you deny it. Then you fight it. Finally, you embrace it. I spent so many years in advertising that I probably held on to my youth for much longer than I should have. It's a business where youth is worshiped and age is discarded. In my early thirties, we always used to wonder where they put the 40 year old ad guys out to pasture. We never saw any. If you wanted to keep your job and prosper, you needed to figure out how to stay young.

I find that I no longer care what people think of me or how old I might appear. I've become one of those people who talks back to the television, drives slower than the rest of the traffic, and feels no shame in wearing the same shirt for days at a time. In the beginning I briefly thought that having a blog might help my business. Later, I entertained the idea that I was a humor writer who always saw the glass as half empty. Now, I realize that what I'm doing is accurately describing the aging process, one day at a time. If you only read the blog sporadically, it probably seems like an Andy Warhol movie. Nothing seems to happen. If you started reading on Day 1 and continue reading until the end, you might discover something quite remarkable. On the other hand, you might discover nothing at all. Like I said, aging is a tricky business.

Today, I opened a check from a client and discovered that it wasn't all there. I'd been shortchanged. Either this client is having money problems and couldn't send me any more this month, or they're just fucking with me. Either way, it's not a good sign. I wish money was no longer an issue, but I'm afraid it always will be. Globalization has changed everything. A few people have been able to make the transition and everyone else is fighting over table scraps. The way I see things, if you don't lose your job to someone in a third world country who is willing to work for pennies, you will be replaced by a robot.

I will never be replaced by a robot, but my writing and photography efforts have certainly been marginalized by a sea of people who have turned my profession into their own hobby. Everyone is creative these days. It's hard to compete with that. I shouldn't complain though. I'm much healthier than I ever though I'd be five years ago. I've got two great dogs. Janet seems to tolerate me. And even though the market is terrible, my financial advisor tells me that I still stand a reasonable chance of outliving my savings.

I don't believe him of course, because I know he always sees the glass as half full. Who knows what will really happen? It's all a crap shoot as far as I'm concerned. I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1591

I managed to compound the problems I was facing with an already busy day by making small mistakes in virtually everything I touched. Maybe I just had too much on my plate today. I suspect it might have been my tendency to ignore the details however. The details I forget are inevitably the first thing my clients always notice. All's well that ends well though. I think I managed to get everything fixed.

Dot did great at her physical therapy session today. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that she was actually getting younger. Her rear legs seem stronger now and she doesn't stumble as often. More importantly, she hasn't had a seizure since  we started to do acupuncture on a regular basis. I asked the vet if there might be a connection between the acupuncture and the seizures, and she said that although there was no way to prove things conclusively, at least two other patients of hers quit having seizures when they started having acupuncture. There is some anecdotal evidence that acupuncture can help prevent seizures in certain situations. Maybe Dot is one of the lucky ones where acupuncture really makes a difference.

I went back to eating oatmeal this morning, but the whole time I was fixing my breakfast, I kept thinking that tomorrow was Friday and I would finally get to go out for a real breakfast. I need to come up with a better solution for feeding myself. I'm actually a pretty good cook, but my OCD tendencies make cooking excruciatingly slow. I often find that I've wasted half the day fixing myself a simple meal. When I'm chopping vegetables, I have to cut everything into precise little squares. The meat has to be browned just so, and heaven forbid that I substitute another spice for the missing one in the spice rack. None of my compulsions make the food taste any better, but they sure do waste a lot of time. I've also noticed that I tend to wash all the dishes by hand before I put them in the dishwasher.  I don't know why I do this, but I suspect it has something to do with trying to make things easier on the machines. By some twisted logic, I think that the dishwasher will last longer if it doesn't need to deal with excessive amounts of dirt.

One of my clients mentioned that she had an idea for a TV series that she would like to pitch. There was a time when I would have jumped at this obvious opportunity to help her put together a pilot episode. I have the experience and I have the equipment. I just don't have the energy anymore. Production is a lot of work. Fifteen years ago I was going to SXSW every Spring, hoping to make connections and find funding for video projects I wanted to do. Now, I'm wondering if I'll ever get behind the camera again. Years ago, I was totally perplexed at all the changes my Dad went through as he got older. Now, I think I'm starting to understand.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1461 - Blogiversary

The sun returned today. The bright blue sky and warmer temperatures were a welcome relief from last week's icy weather. I was so happy to see the sun that I got an enormous amount accomplished today. The big pile of equipment from our Santa Paws photo shoots has been put back in its proper place. The car has been washed. I even cleaned all the leaves and ice off the roof. Yes, there was still ice up there after an entire week of gradually warmer temperatures. That was quite an ice storm we had! I finally got up my nerve to talk to my neighbor about the tree of theirs that was still resting on my roof. They were actually quite nice and said they'd already contacted a tree service to remove it.

Fortunately, there was more to the day than an endless progression of weekend chores. Janet and I also went to photograph a very old German Shepard, so the owners could have a nice portrait to remember the dog by when it went to The Rainbow Bridge. The old dog was weak and couldn't walk anymore, since her rear legs had become paralyzed from the canine equivalent of ALS. She definitely hadn't given up yet, however. There was a dignity in the dog's eyes that I often see in older dogs. I hope my photos captured this dog's spirit. Sometimes I think that dogs cope with their short time on Earth much better than we humans do with our much longer block of time. We could learn a lot from the dignity of dogs.

It was hard getting out of bed this morning. I've been tired all week and even though it is getting warmer, I still don't think my body has completely recovered from last week's ice storm. I spent quite a bit of time on my knees photographing the old German Shepard and I felt like joining her on her comfy fleece dog bed. My legs weren't working all that well either at that point. After a long day filled with indoor and outdoor chores, I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep.

I'm hoping that today's mild weather continues through next week. Even though I got a lot accomplished today, there's still a long list of chores on my to-do list. There are still Christmas gifts to buy, bills to pay, and an illusive UPS package to locate. Oh, I almost forgot. Today I begin my fifth full year as a blogger. It's my Blogiversary again. Can you believe it? Five years without missing a single day. I don't think I've been this consistent with anything before. It's been a lot of work, but it's been good for me to collect my thoughts like this at the end of each day. I see a rhythm and poetry to life that I never noticed before. Although I'm still a grumpy old man, I think this forced reflection has made me a better person in many subtle ways. Who knows how long this personal journey will continue, but as long as it does, I hope that each of you will continue to join me for a few minutes at the end of each day. I'll see you again tomorrow.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1405

Dot seems to grow older by the day. She still likes to go to the dog park, but she's never active anymore. She mostly just moves slowly from tree to tree smelling things. She seemed exceptionally tired today and we didn't stay at the park very long. When we returned home, she slept for most of the afternoon. The girl still has her moments though. She bounced back after dinner to bark at the neighbor dog and was still eager to go on her evening walk.

I know exactly how Dot feels. On most days I feel exceptionally tired as well, but so far, I still seem to bounce back when the occasion calls for it. At least I don't have to go to work on Sunday, like Janet did today. I pulled weeds in the garden beds while the dogs were resting in the back yard, but that was about it. I try not to even think about websites and writing on Sunday.

I did think about going to the gym again this afternoon. It turns out that Sunday afternoon is the perfect time for me. For the second week in a row, the facility was practically empty and every machine was open. The basketball court was empty as well, so I didn't need to worry about taking up some young hot shot's valuable court time. Janet likes to take group classes at her gym, but I prefer to have the place to myself. I never did anything important on Sunday afternoons anyway, so this new activity is working out pretty well. I still don't know why I'm the only person who likes to work out on Sunday afternoon, but I'm not going to spend much time questioning things. I'll just enjoy this pleasant situation while it lasts.

The Wednesday business group I joined recently seems to think LinkedIn is important. I never cared much for LinkedIn myself, but I've started building up a connection list just to go along with the flow. I'm not going to get very far with this group by telling them that LinkedIn is worthless. Truthfully, the more time I spend with social media, the more useless all of it seems. Facebook is where I look at pictures of Dalmatians and see which of my high school friends died over the weekend. Twitter is where I relentlessly spam people with my writing and stories. Instagram is where I take pictures of my food. Google+ is where I find out what new technology I'm going to be wanting next. I'm not sure what I'll use LinkedIn for. I can't imagine the place actually bringing me any business.

I hope I get some sleep tonight. I'm a light sleeper anyway, and lately every time Dot or Dash coughs, I wake up thinking they might be having a seizure. Last night I woke up five times. The dogs were fine. I've got to get beyond this, since there isn't much I can actually do during a seizure anyway. We'll see what happens tonight. I'm tired enough that I ought to sleep like a log.

Emily is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1363

It was time to give Dot another medicated bath today. She was so good about taking her bath this time that I wondered if I had the right dog. Dot has never been fond of water and giving her a bath is usually an ordeal. Today, the whole process was a breeze. Maybe she just likes this new dog bathing place better. I'll have to admit that the new place is quieter and the water is much warmer. Who knows. Maybe that's all it takes to change a dog's mind.

The dog park was almost empty today. It's still unnaturally hot for mid-September and most people probably had the good sense to stay indoors. We didn't stay at the park long. We only go on hot days like this to give Dash a chance to be off leash for a little while. These opportunities to race around unhindered are one of his favorite things.

Since tomorrow looks like it's going to be a busy day, I used my afternoon to catch up on bookkeeping and pay some bills. Although paying bills has never been my idea of fun, it certainly beat my other alternative: mowing the grass. I'll save mowing the grass for a cooler day. I did water the yard though. It was so hot and dry that the plants seemed to be crying out for water.

I reluctantly laid the groundwork for becoming a Wordpress developer this afternoon. Since Wordpress is a server-side application, I needed to install a web server and a database management system on my computer before I could begin. I downloaded the Apache server software and MySQL for the database. Now, I'm ready to install Wordpress itself, but I'll save that for another day. I guess it's time for me to embrace dynamic websites. I've avoided them for years. I still prefer nice looking, simple static sites built using easy to understand HTML code, but time marches on. Clients are dragging me kicking and screaming into the brave new world of dynamic, database driven sites. Oh, well. I'll just have to grit my teeth and get with the program. I've already had to retire my beloved Nikon F-2 film cameras and my next car probably won't have a manual transmission either.

Dot is really slowing down. She still insists on taking her daily walks and enjoys going to the dog park, but when she gets home again, she immediately goes to her bed and sleeps for hours. She looks so tired when she is sleeping. I hope I can continue to strike the right balance between letting her enjoy the things she loves and keeping her from overexerting herself. I think the best way to age gracefully is not to be aware you are aging at all. I'm pretty sure I can create an easygoing and enjoyable environment for Dot as she enters her senior years. I'm just not sure how to do the same thing for myself.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day