Day 3317

I didn't want to get up this morning. It's probably good that I don't set the schedule around here because I'd end up sleeping till noon every day. Dash always likes to walk right after he takes his morning meds and Janet likes to take early classes at the gym, so we get an early start on Wednesdays. Today, the temperature was below freezing when we woke up, so Dash needed his full Winter outfit. It takes a while to get all his gear on, but it's worth the effort. Dash moves so slow now that he'd freeze on cold mornings without a warm sweater and paw protection.

The sky was clear today, so the temperature did eventually warm up as the day progressed. When the thermometer hit 40 degrees, I figured it was warm enough to go up on the roof again. There wasn't a lot of standing water today, but I don't want to take any chances. So far there haven't been any additional leaks. One of the pumps had tipped over again. Maybe it was that windy day when the greenhouse roof blew off. No wonder no water was coming out of the hose yesterday when it rained. I had to watch my step because there was still some ice on the roof. It took me about an hour to get things cleaned up. Hopefully I won't need to go up on the roof again for another week or so. The forecast looks pretty good for the rest of the month.

It was a sad state of affairs that clearing the water off the roof was the big event of the day. Things have been extremely uneventful lately. I spent some time after breakfast cleaning up a small cut on Dash's leg. He bleeds so easily now. He must have scratched his leg against a twig or some brush on our morning walk. I'm always careful where we walk, but it is impossible to prevent these accidents. Dash is a dog and he loves to smell things. The small cuts don't freak me out anymore. I've gotten much better at stopping the bleeding.

I got a message from Herman Miller that the replacement part for my Aeron Chair has been shipped from Michigan. That certainly took a while. I'd almost forgotten about the chair, since the loaner chair they gave me is pretty comfortable. As far as I'm concerned they can take their time with the repairs. It's just one more bill I'll have to pay when they're done.

Maybe I'll use the gift card the electric company sent me recently when the chair is ready for me to pick up. The electric company sends me a gift card every year to "thank" me for being a customer. Wouldn't it be easier to just lower my rate a bit? The gift card is always small and sometimes I forget about it until after it has expired. Maybe the electric company's marketing department has determined that customers like these little gift cards. They seem silly to me. Nobody gives you anything for free. I'd just like a lower bill every month.

I'm already thinking about breakfast on Friday. I'll probably go back to the same restaurant I tried last Friday, since there were so many things on the menu. Those shrimp grits sure were good. Maybe I need something special to do each day of the week. I've got the breakfast restaurants on Friday and the gym on Sunday. Tomorrow is trash day, but that doesn't sound very special. I'll have to think about this.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3256

It was unusually warm today. I didn't need my Winter coat on our morning walk and I didn't need a coat at all later in the day. Is this normal for November? Or were the chilly temperatures we had last week normal? It's hard for me to tell anymore. Texas weather is all over the place.

As much as I would have rather done nothing today, I knew I needed to take advantage of this opportunity to finish up some outdoor chores for the year. I reconnected the battery to the lawn mower again and charged it up for it's final run in 2018. I'm almost certain I won't need to mow the grass again this year because it has already gone dormant. I should have gotten a new battery several months ago, but I wanted to wait until Spring. The battery won't hold a full charge anymore and I was barely able to trim the front yard before the mower died.

With this task completed, I raked some leaves, cleaned the front porch, and got ready to use the touch up paint I'd bought earlier for the car. I don't know why I thought I'd be able to make a perfect repair. These little automotive touch up kits don't work that way. You basically have a tiny vial of paint that you apply like nail polish. Even if you are really careful using the applicator, there is almost always some overlap. I did pretty well, but my hand/eye coordination isn't what it used to be. I could have used a finer brush as well. From more than three feet away, the scratch is gone. If you look closely though, it is apparent that this paint job isn't auto body shop quality.

As I predicted, I was still too full from Thanksgiving dinner to go out for breakfast this morning. I just stayed home and made a smaller version of my normal morning smoothie. It definitely didn't feel like Friday. I guess yesterday didn't feel like Thursday either. I didn't remember to take the trash out to the curb until almost midnight. Hey, at least I remembered. It's always a mess when I forget trash day.

Maybe we just got lucky, but Dash's paws didn't bleed at all today. The cut is starting to scab over nicely and hopefully we can avoid further mishaps until it is completely healed. The paw bandages we got from a veterinary supply company seem to provide better protection than the socks we normally use under his boots. They are meant to be disposable though and can only be worn a few times before you have to use a new pair. This could get expensive, but hopefully we can go back to using his regular socks when the cuts have healed.

This afternoon, Janet and I went to the new storage warehouse to gather up the gear we'll need to do this year's Santa Paws photo events. I don't know where everything is in the warehouse yet, since the movers helped me put everything back on the shelves. I told the movers to put the heavy things on the bottom shelves and the light stuff on top. Unfortunately, they didn't always follow my instructions. These guys were young and strong, so probably everything seemed light to them. Eventually we found what we needed. It's too bad that all this stuff will need to go back in the warehouse when the photo events are over. I'm really tired of moving heavy stuff.

I've got a weekend of Fall chores to look forward to Hopefully the weather stays nice until I get finished with the outdoor stuff. Who knows. If Dash doesn't let me get some sleep tonight, I'm going to be too tired to do chores anyway.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3255 - Thanksgiving

Even when the world is sliding toward the abyss there is always plenty to be thankful for. Dash is still with us and still appears to be enjoying life despite his many problems. Janet and I have both successfully navigated the world of work and arrived at retirement in one piece. Knock on wood, but my doctors still think I'm relatively healthy. Janet has survived cancer. We're not rich, but we're not going to starve. Basically, life is pretty good.

I hope I can remember this in the years ahead. It's not always easy for a grumpy curmudgeon to be thankful. Complaining is easy. Realizing that you are surrounded by good things takes a little practice. Sometimes it takes a relaxing day like today to put things in perspective.

The weather was beautiful today and Dash was in good spirits. His paws are finally starting to heal. The combination of special slip-in bandages and some medication recommended by a Facebook friend is helping us turn the corner. I'm sure there will be more bleeding as long as Dash is taking Plavix, but we know what we need to do now.

We went out for Thanksgiving Dinner again. We found a place that has a wonderful Thanksgiving  Brunch several years ago and have been going back ever since. As usual, I ate way too much. I think it's just fine to drink champagne and eat too much food ocassionally. I'll get back to normal tomorrow. Over indulging is always part of the fun on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving doesn't typically fall on November 22, but when it does I always remember where I was when Kennedy was shot. It seems such a long time ago now. I was in high school in Alaska at the time. There was no live network television in Alaska in 1963, so we didn't see the tapes of Kennedy's funeral until several weeks later. I never thought I'd end up living in Dallas back then, but here I am. I've visited Dealey Plaza several times on November 22 but I didn't go today. There used to be large crowds, but the day is slowly being forgotten. I didn't hear a single thing about Kennedy on the news today. Someday 9/11 will be the same way. You only remember history if you've lived it.

I don't think I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow. I'm way too full. Right now, a piece of toast and a cup of coffee seems like all I'll need. I will need a walk in the morning. So will Dash. I can't imagine living in a place where you can't walk along the shoreline of a pretty lake every day. This is one more thing to be thankful for.

I hope I get some sleep tonight, but if I don't I can always take naps. Dash sleeps right next to me and when he moves I wake up. It's OK. I'm glad the little guy is still with us even if he does poop in the bed. I'm hoping that he'll still be here with us next Thanksgiving, although I know that's a long way away. We can't make long range plans anymore, but each additional day is something to be thankful for.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3254

My eye exam went better than I expected. I still have 20/20 distance vision and while my close range vision has deteriorated, the doctor said wearing readers was normal for someone my age. I wish I didn't need the readers. You don't realize how nice it is to be able to focus your eyes from two inches to infinity until you lose this ability. Years ago, I use to think I could strengthen my eye muscles by alternately focusing on close and distant objects while walking the dogs. The plan didn't work. Almost everybody loses some close range vision as they get older.

I show no signs of macular degeneration, which is a good thing since my Dad already had macular degeneration at my age. There were no signs of diabetes related damage either. The only bad thing is that I've started to develop cataracts. The doctor said that it would be at least five years before he would recommend surgery, but eventually I would need it. Fair enough. Evidently, it is very common for older people to develop cataracts. Considering that I haven't had an eye exam in almost twenty years, I was happy with today's results.

I do wish I didn't need to have my eyes dilated for the exam. The drive home from the eye doctor was interesting to say the least. There is a new high-tech machine called an Optomap that makes eye dilation unnecessary, but this clinic didn't own one. Janet's eye doctor uses one of these scanning laser ophthalmoscopes and she loves it. I can see why. It's been over four hours since my exam and my eyes still aren't back to normal.

I'm not worried about my eyes anymore, but I am worried about Dash's paws. It's turning out to be very difficult to keep them from bleeding. The combination of blood thinner medication, the vertigo associated with vestibular disease, and the neurological problems that are making his rear legs weak are really making a mess of things. We can get the bleeding to stop, but almost anything can open up the cut again. The rear paws are the problem, but he even managed to hurt one of his front paws this morning when he fell.

Dash pooped in the bed again last night. We're going to try disposable puppy training pads tonight, but I'm not very optimistic about their success. Dash still moves around at night. If we put a pad under his butt when we go to sleep, he'll be using it as a pillow when we wake up. Luckily, we've got a good washing machine. I never dreamed that the super hot 'sanitize' cycle would turn out to be so useful.

I received another auction payment today. It still seems curious to me that some objects hold their value while others don't. I wish I'd held on to childhood toys and baseball cards. When you are a kid, you never think that baseball cards will be worth money when you are an adult. They were just pieces of cardboard wrapped with bubble gum inside. Most of my art was just pieces of paper too. Why do these things still have value and my old computers are worthless? My warehouse space is filled with old computers that were state-of-the-art when I bought them. Now they are just door stops. The movers literally used one of the computers as a doorstop while they were moving my unit last week.

It's hard to believe that it's Thanksgiving tomorrow. This year is almost over. We've been going to the same Thanksgiving Brunch for five years now. I hope the food is as good as it was last year.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3249

It's been quite a challenge getting Dash's paws to heal while still continuing to walk him. The least little scrape causes them to bleed again. Even walking around the house is starting to cause problems. I found some extra soft socks and we are only using new boots now. Mostly the bleeding has stopped, but I still see little drops of blood on the floor from time to time. The cuts are minor and will definitely heal over time, but cuts like these are much more problematic when you are taking blood thinners.

Even though Dash doesn't stay still at night, I'm going to try placing a puppy training pad under his butt before I go to sleep. It couldn't hurt to try. It's really getting old cleaning blankets and bedding every day. Dash didn't even wake up when he pooped in the bed last night. This is actually a good thing. If he starts staying asleep when he poops, I can put a puppy pad under him and cleanup will be easy.

It was a little warmer this morning, which made our morning walk chilly but pleasant. I'm enjoying this weather. For the second day in a row there wasn't a cloud in the sky. After checking to make sure Dash's paws were OK after our walk, I left for breakfast. Even though I almost always order the same thing, I'm still enjoying going to the hotel. It's pleasant there. The staff knows me by name now. Since most customers are travelers, I'm one of the few regulars.

A trip to the bank was on my to-do list today. I had to clear up a snafu that I probably caused myself by not listening carefully when I opened a new account several months ago. I thought I had one kind of account, but I actually had another. I could have sworn that I opened an account that had no fees associated with it. Nope. I've started noticing fees and charges I wasn't expecting. Eventually I managed to get the fees removed but they shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Getting my bank account straightened out was easy compared to getting a new TV remote from AT&T. I don't know why you can't get a TV remote at an AT&T store. That would be too easy. I had to talk with an offshore customer service representative who couldn't speak English very well. At first he tried to change my U-verse plan. Then he tried to sell me a TV remote. It took forever to explain the my remote was broken and he needed to send me a replacement for free. Who knows if I will get a new remote in the mail. I'm not counting on it. I could barely understand this guy.

I wrote a letter to my sister this afternoon and watched another episode of Mars. I was hoping that this series would be like The Martian. The script isn't nearly as good as Andy Weir's novel. This is definitely not something i could binge watch. After a single episode, I was ready to start repairing dog boots again.

I'm still tired a lot, but I'm sleeping better now. I don't know what has changed. Dash continues to wake me up every night. I'm just getting back to sleep a lot quicker.

Alvin is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3243

Winter is here. We woke up to near freezing temperatures this morning. We found our Winter coats and took Dash on his morning walk. When we returned, we discovered that our power had gone out. Why would the power go out on a completely clear day? I suspect that everyone woke up and turned on their furnace at the same time. Since nothing was working, we went out for breakfast. Restaurants in the neighborhood were out of power too. This was worse than I expected. We drove a little further and ate breakfast at my favorite restaurant in the hotel. Janet liked the place too.

Power was restored later in the morning, but that wasn't the end of today's mishaps. When I left to run my Saturday errands, the first thing I did was get gas. After I filled my tank, the car wouldn't start. It was completely dead and there were all kind of warning lights on the dash. I called AAA and they got me to the dealership, where I discovered that I not only had a dead battery, I also had a broken water pump. Damn. Another expensive repair. My service adviser got me a loaner car and said that he might be able to complete the repairs by the end of the day. Land Rover prices are ridiculous, but at least they have good service.

I continued my Saturday errands in the loaner car, hoping that I never have to buy a car where the engine automatically shuts off when you stop at a traffic light. This "feature" is included on almost every new car these days and it is terribly annoying. After a lifetime of worrying that my car is going to die in heavy traffic, the last thing I want is a car that does this on purpose.

I should have checked the weather last night. I forgot to bring the lawnmower battery inside, so last night's cold weather probably ruined it. I'll see if it still works the next time we get some warm weather. This may be tomorrow, or next Spring. You never know with Texas weather. I suspect that the cold weather might have had something to do with my car's bad battery as well. Why did the car start when I left the house with a cold engine, but refused to start after I got gas and the engine was warm? Why did the car work at all with a broken water pump? Some things will always remain a mystery. I suspect that any car can be on the verge of breaking down for quite a while before it actually does.

I found another pair of dog boots that seemed softer than the ones we've been using. Neither Janet or I could remember where these boots came from. Perhaps they were Dot's. Dash's paws didn't bleed today, so these boots are a winner. I don't think they'll last long though, since the rubber on the outside is thin and soft. Maybe I'll just have to buy new boots every few weeks. Repairing torn areas with Shoe Goo tends to make the boots harder and more abrasive on the inside. I guess I shouldn't worry about what the boots cost. They're cheap compared to his veterinary bills.

Amazingly, the dealership did finish my car today. Everything works great now. I hope I can rely on the car for the rest of the Winter now. After switching storage warehouses and hiring movers, I think I've had enough large expenses for the rest of the year. Dash pooped on the bed again last night. I've had enough of that as well. At least we're getting better at cleaning up the mess. In less than fifteen minutes, everything was clean, in the wash, and we all went back to sleep again.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

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 3241

I can't believe it. I was going to apply to attend a Space X launch, but I missed the deadline because I apparently can't tell the difference between midnight and noon. The application said that the deadline was 12:00 PM today. I thought I'd have plenty of time to fill out the form this evening. Oops. 12:00 PM is noon. 12:00 AM is midnight. I should have known better, but shouldn't 12:00 PM be one hour after 11:00 PM?

Dash's paw is still bleeding after walks. I don't know what to do. The sock between his paw and the boot should protect him from any abrasions, but it doesn't seem to work. This is a thick, good quality sock too. I think it's better than the socks I wear. This is the problem with taking blood thinners. The smallest thing can cause you to bleed. I've got to figure something out because it is important to keep Dash moving. If he becomes sedentary, he will lose his remaining mobility very quickly. Luckily, Dash seemed to have a little more energy today. He was willing to walk on his own and Janet didn't need to provide him with a target to follow. I really wonder how well Dash can see. He still responds to movement, but I often think that all he sees are blurs and shadows. We had a good walk this morning, even though Dash lost his way several times. We made it home minutes before it started raining again.

I wish this rain would quit. It's depressing. I keep thinking that the roof leak will reappear and taking care of Dash becomes much more difficult. I wasn't able to go over to the storage warehouse at all today because there isn't much point to moving things in the rain. It always seems cold and damp in the house when it rains, even though the temperature on the thermostat remains the same. I hope that the skies clear by tomorrow. I've got to meet the movers at the storage warehouse tomorrow morning.

I was supposed to receive my first payment from one of the auction houses today. Nothing. I finally called the auction house to see what was going on and they told me that their buyer hadn't paid them yet. "Don't worry," they said. This is why I hate selling things. It always turns into a hassle. The worst part of owning my own business was always getting paid by clients. It looks like downsizing isn't going to be easy either. So far, one of my vintage guitars has already been returned because the buyer decided he wanted something different. Since the guitar was on layaway, the store allowed him to apply his payment to a different guitar. Several of my model trains have been returned for similar reasons. Eventually, things get sold and payments are received but I sure wish the whole process wasn't such a hassle.

I'm glad this week is almost over. I'm tired of the rain. I'm tired of moving stuff from one storage warehouse to another. I'm tired of cleaning up poop in the middle of the night. Mostly, I'm just physically tired. I wish I was 30 again. 30 is a lot better than 70.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3183 - 9/11

Pretty soon September 11 will be like December 7. Babies born in 2001 are entering college now. It's just a matter of time before this day becomes a page in a history book instead of a shared memory for an entire nation. Pear Harbor was real for my Dad. He fought in World War II. 9/11 was real for me. I took this picture of the twin towers out of my hotel room window in the late 1970's when I used to fly from Seattle to New York to edit commercials. I enjoyed my periodic visits to lower Manhattan back then. Anyone could walk around the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and it was always exciting to take the express elevator to the roof of the South Tower and look out over the city. I always wanted to eat at Windows on the World but never got the chance. It was a little pricey for a young advertising copywriter.

Sometimes I think the terrorists won. The world is not a friendly place anymore. We have become hopelessly divided on just about everything. My Dad spent several years in the Pacific during World War II and there was a clear and decisive victory. We've spent decades fighting in the Middle East and accomplished nothing. I don't have a lot of hope for the future. If we can't collectively agree on anything, it's going to be very difficult to fix anything. It's interesting. People used to spend a lot of time envisioning utopias. Now, we've replaced these utopian futures with dystopian calamities. Science fiction used to be about how we were going to reach the stars. Now, it's mostly about how we're going to die.

We didn't get off to a good start this morning. Dash pooped in the bed again and when we took him to his vet appointment, he didn't want anyone to even get close to his feet. Our very patient vet was finally able to trim Dash's nails, but it wasn't easy. Hopefully, we won't need to do this again for another two months. It's kind of alarming how easily Dash bleeds now that he's on Plavix. We were super careful about avoiding the quick, but several nails still bled a bit. I wish we'd come away with a good solution for ending Dash's loose stools, but there are too many possible causes. Dash's age, the meds he's taking, and his multiple illnesses all contribute to the problem.

I was glad I was able to walk Dash before our appointment this morning. By the time we left the vet, it was already starting to rain. The rain continued off and on for the rest of the day. We had a short power outage, but the lights came back on again before I was able to file a report. I have no idea why the power went out. There was no wind and the rain was just a gentle shower. Even though the outage was short, I still had to reset all the clocks and automatic timers. Just about everything has a clock in it these days. Even the thermostat and the coffee maker needed to be reset.

Dash doesn't want to go outside because it is raining. This increases the odds that he will poop in the house tonight. I've thought about placing puppy training pads under him while he sleeps. This worked with Dot when she became incontinent but I'm not sure if we'd have any success with Dash. Dash is still mobile enough to move around at night while we're asleep. He can poop just about anywhere.

Shadow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3151

More rain today. The moisture cooled things down enough so that it was actually pleasant outside. We seem to be in kind of a sweet spot in Dallas. We don't get horrible floods like Houston or horrible wildfires like California. I used to think I'd like to think I'd like to live out West again, but all my favorite places are burning down.

We narrowly escaped getting wet again on our morning walk. Dash is really slow these days, but I don't care if it takes all morning to make our rounds. Even though he can barely stand up, Dash still really enjoys these daily walks. Today he got to see one of the dogs he made friends with at his old training class. It's been so long, I don't even know how he remembered this dog, but he did. It was just a chance encounter in the park, but Dash started wagging his tail and even attempted an abbreviated play bow. I haven't seen him do this in a very long time.

The place I've been going to breakfast on Friday's has a sign on the front door saying "kitchen help needed, inquire within." I wish they'd find a new cook soon. Every time I order something, it comes out completely different than it did the previous week. Today's chef didn't really know how to make a decent omelette. If I had the time and the inclination, I'd just go to chef owned restaurants. If the cook owns the place, at least there's going to be some consistency.

While I was eating my omelette this morning, I noticed that half the people in the restaurant were wearing Apple Watches. Apple is the most popular watch brand in the world now. Kid wear them. Grandmothers wear them. Everyone wears them. Apple outsells all the fashion brands and even Rolex. No wonder my writing jobs disappeared. I used to primarily write about the watch industry. Like it or not, this industry has been decimated.

It rained so hard when I was coming home from breakfast that it felt like I was going through a car wash. The car was actually cleaner when I returned than it was early this morning. I think the rain is going to continue for almost a week. This will be a real test for the roof. I'm not even going to try to remove the water until dry weather returns. I've become pretty fatalistic about roof leaks, They're either going to happen or they won't. I really hope the roofers did a good job. I'm tired of arguing about this.

Dash's tail started bleeding this morning. This is what I hate about Plavix. The least little scratch can cause bleeding that is very hard to stop. Dash needs the blood thinners though. If he stopped taking them, he might not be with us much longer. I was lucky this morning. Dash was sleepy when I noticed the cut and I was able to wrap a bandage around his tail while he was taking his morning nap. By the time he woke up again, the blood had coagulated and the bleeding had stopped.

I didn't get much sleep last night. I hope I do better tonight. You'd think with so little going on in my life that it would be easy to get eight hours of shut eye every night. It never seems to work out that way.

J-Lo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3091

We're making progress. The landscaper said he's coming over and will replace the dead grass. The roofer contacted me and said they were very busy with hail damage, but hadn't forgotten about me. The art auction house sends me about three e-mails a day and we are inching closer and closer to a deal. All this stuff will get taken care of. It just takes time.

There was blood on the bed again this morning. I don't know where Dash is bleeding. When I look in his mouth, there are no obvious signs of bleeding and all of his paws look fine. The blood is obviously coming from somewhere. Maybe Dash is coughing it up. When I mentioned the bleeding to the vet at Dash's last big exam, he didn't seem very alarmed. The bleeding is sporadic and only seems to happen about once a week. I guess I'll just keep an eye on things. It's probably nothing. Plavix can make even minor cuts seem alarming.

I got some Thai food the other day that was way too hot. Janet suggested rinsing the noodle dish with warm water in a colander to remove a lot of the spicy sauce. Surprisingly, this worked great. I had the noodles for dinner. They were still tasty, but were only half as hot as they were yesterday. Live and learn.

I like the picture of the purple thistle I took this morning. You may be seeing a lot of thistles. The park is full of them this year. There isn't a lot of variety in this years crop of wildflowers, but there are a ton of Texas Thistles, Engelmann Daisies, Native Sunflowers, Yucca Flowers, and Horse Nettle. I wonder what happened to the other flowers this year? Sometimes the meadows are a carpet of colorful plants. This year, not so much.

I'm watching the coverage of the big summit in Singapore. It appears like every reporter in the world is over there. Non stop coverage and nobody has a clue about what's actually going on. It's non-stop speculation. Kim went sightseeing. What does that mean? Why is Dennis Rodman wearing a pot crypto currency t-shirt? Kim is smiling? What does that mean? It's a circus. I wouldn't be surprised if something significant actually does happen. Why not? It would be pretty easy for the two leaders to formally end the Korean War. If it were up to me, I'd start with a meaningful symbolic gesture like this and leave the hard stuff for later.

I'm all for leaving the hard stuff for later. That's why I didn't do much of anything today. It's weird not having websites to update. For years and years I had websites to update and articles to write every single day. Now I spend my days figuring out how to dispose of things I acquired during the busy years. Working is winding up a watch and retirement is watching it unwind.

The roofer and the landscaper didn't show up today, but at least they called. There's always tomorrow. Maybe I'll see these guys tomorrow.

Willa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2937

Our power went out again this morning. This is the second time in less than a month that we've had a power outage. Just like the last time, it happened on a clear, windless day. I don't know what's going on, but it's certainly frustrating. This time, I was working in Photoshop and lost the file I was editing when the power went out. I have been lulled into thinking power outages were a thing of the past since we haven't had many problems for the past several years. I guess the lesson here is to never get complacent. Random, unexplained outages are back.

Even though the power outage was inconvenient, it was the least of my worries this morning. Dash's back paws had gotten cut during his morning walk and I was having trouble stopping the bleeding. With the two different blood thinners Dash is taking, even a minor scrape can turn into a major problem. I guess we're going to have to go back to wearing the rubber boots all the time. It was the front side of his paws that got scraped. He doesn't lift his rear legs very well when he walks and when his nails drag the pavement, the paw sometimes turns under and he ends up scraping the front part. The socks and boots he wears are pretty effective at preventing this damage, but now we'll need to figure out how to trim his nails.

I had big plans to complete the initial phase of my new website project today and by the time the power was restored, I was already way behind schedule. I didn't bother to create HTML documents yet. It's way too early. I'll show the client a Photoshop layout first and see if they respond favorably to the basic idea. I've learned from experience that it's a huge waste of time to create a fully functioning website if the client hates the way it looks. Hopefully, I'll get some feedback soon, so I can finish this thing.

When I finished shipping the website layout off to my client, I reluctantly returned a phone call from another client. How weird that someone actually wants to talk to me on the phone. This is almost unheard of in this day and age. It turns out that I'm talking to my new contact at the client who gives me most of my writing assignments. I sure wish my old contact hadn't quit and decided to become an accountant. After talking to this new person for a few minutes, it became clear that we were starting over. I could have finished the entire article in the time it took to go over the input information. Oh, well. We'll get things straightened out eventually. I guess I got spoiled by working with the same person for four years. I should have realized that nothing good ever lasts.

I still haven't reset all the clocks and timers in the house. Every time the power goes out, I need to reset the internal clocks in the land line phone, the coffee maker, the little gizmo that turns off the living room lights at night, the dehumidifier, and several clock radios. For some reason the washing machine automatically turns itself on when power is restored too. You can see why people like WiFi. Everything connected to the WiFi network just resets its clock automatically.

I hope Dash has a normal day tomorrow. After dealing with bloody paws, runny poop, and a mysterious episode where Dash spent ten minutes barking at an empty bed, I need a rest.

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day