Day 3240

So I get in my car this morning to go to my doctor's appointment. I'm late as usual. I press the ignition button and immediately get a Low Coolant warning light on my dash. Do I ignore the warning and proceed to the doctor's office, or cancel my appointment and go looking for some antifreeze? This is how people wind up getting towed to the dealership. I decided to keep going and just make sure that the car didn't overheat. Everything turned out OK, but I hate situations like these.

As far as I can tell, my physical exam went OK. There were no surprises anyway. The phlebotomist was great today. I didn't feel a thing. It's still surprising that my new doctor and my old doctor seem so different. Each has their own priorities. Some tests that my old doctor routinely preformed are considered unnecessary by the new doctor. He's added some new tests that the old doctor never bothered with however. Who is right? I guess it's all a matter of who you trust. I'm screwed because I basically don't trust anybody.

After my appointment, I immediately drove to the Land Rover dealer to ask them about the coolest level. The warning light actually went out after the engine warmed up, so I didn't think the problem was serious. My service adviser topped up the reservoir with antifreeze and told me to give him a call if the warning light came on again. He said the sometimes an air bubble gets trapped in the cooling system and causes a false reading. He also said the coolant level actually was pretty low, so who knows what is going on. I'll keep an eye on things in case I have a leak. At any rate it was certainly easier to have the dealership take care of this for me than to go to Auto Zone and wonder which of twelve brands of antifreeze to buy.

I never ate breakfast at all today. By the time I returned home, it was way too late and I wasn't very hungry anyway. I'll return to my smoothie tomorrow. Dash did get a walk this morning, but he seemed kind of lost as soon as we got to the park. I had to return to the house and get Janet to walk with us so he'd have someone to follow. Lately, he's been very tentative about walking unless he has someone to follow. I think his vision has gotten much worse in the past several months.

Evidently, I need to worry about my own vision as well. My doctor made an appointment for me to see an ophthalmologist. He said it was important to see an eye doctor at least once a year since I was being treated for diabetes. I've always thought I was pre-diabetic but my doctor said to stop kidding myself. "If you're taking Metformin," he said. "you've got some form of diabetes." I'm a long, long way from needing to take insulin, but I do need to be careful. I probably need to go back to my rigorous, no sugar, no wheat diet too, but I do love bread, pasta, and dessert.

I'm glad I'm moving to the new storage warehouse. When I went back to the old warehouse today, the entry doors at the back of the building wouldn't accept my code and the manager didn't know when they'd be able to get things fixed. I had to carry my stuff all the way to the other side of the building to load the car. I hope the get the door fixed before the movers arrive. My move is going to be more expensive if the guys can't park their truck near my unit.

Dash had a cut on one of his paws this morning. Even though he wears a special sock under his protective rubber boots, his feet still manage to get scraped up. It's frustrating. He needs to stay active, but he also needs to stay protected. Any type of bleeding is not good at all.

It was really a long day. I should have no problem sleeping tonight. I hope that Dash feels the same way.

Chase is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 445

It's amazing how the smallest of tasks can escalate into a big mess. When we go to take the dogs for their bath this morning, the coolant level light comes on in Janet's car. I check, and sure enough, the overflow tank is a little low. I look at the manual for the LR2 and it says the car needs to use Texaco antifreeze. Why? I don't know. Where did all the Texaco stations go? There used to be a Texaco station on just about every street corner. I drive around looking for a Texaco station and notice that everywhere there used to be one, there is now a bright yellow Shell station instead. When did this happen? Was it last month, or three years ago that this big switch happened. I haven't really been paying attention. Ever since gas started getting expensive, I stopped buying gas at Texaco and started filling my tank at Sam's Club instead.

Eventually it dawned on me that there weren't any Texaco stations in our neighborhood anymore and I got some generic antifreeze at a Chief Auto Parts store and went home. When I opened the hood of Janet's car to fill the reservoir, I noticed that there was a dent right in the middle of the hood. Under the hood I saw some weird shards of glass up near the windshield wiper motors. When I asked Janet why there were strange looking pieces of glass inside her engine compartment, she said that a street lamp had fallen off a pole last week and landed right next to her car while she was at work. "I'm sure glad it didn't hit the car," she said. "Uhhh, you'd better come look at this," I say. We notice different things. I would notice a dent in my hood instantly, but I never seem to notice when something has gone bad in the fridge.

Dot really didn't want a bath this morning. She refused to get out of the car when we pulled up in front of Vhea's LaundroMutt. When I finally had to resort to lifting her out of the car, she growled at me. Strangely, Dash was actually pretty good about his bath. He had one of his quietest, most uneventful visits to the LaundroMutt in several months. Tomorrow, the dogs take part in the city of McKinney's annual Krewe of Barkus parade. The theme for this year parade is "The Wild West." Dash will go as a cowboy and Dot will go as a horse...complete with a tiny leather saddle that I found on eBay.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day