Day 3147

You know you've finally come to terms with your dog's incontinence when he poops in the bed and you're just happy that the poop is firm. I thought I smelled something last night, but I was really tired and Dash farts a lot anyway. I didn't notice that he'd pooped in the bed until morning. This was a first and I hope it isn't a sign of things to come. At least the mess was on Dash's dog blanket and it was easy to clean up.

We've been through this before with Dot.There was a period of time between when she initially became incontinent and when she lost the ability to climb on the bed that we were doing a lot of laundry. I hope Dash's instinct to head for the back door continues for a while. It makes life a lot easier.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother to write on Monday. Nothing ever happens on Monday. The big event of the day was putting the new vehicle registration sticker on my windshield. If the state doesn't need a safety inspection sticker anymore, I wonder why they still need a registration sticker? Probably it's just a different bureaucracy that's involved. I can tell that the carpel tunnel in my wrist has gotten worse. It was surprisingly difficult to position the sticker in the bottom corner of the windshield. It probably would have been easier if I wasn't such a perfectionist. The sticker had to be absolutely parallel.

Dash had a nice walk this morning, but as soon as we returned home, he seemed exhausted. We walked really slow and he seemed to be enjoying himself, but maybe we are overdoing things. It's hard to tell. Dash went to sleep while I was fixing my smoothie and didn't return to the kitchen to eat his own breakfast until 10:30 AM. He does still eat his meals, but there is no real schedule anymore. I just leave the food in his bowl and he eats when he's hungry.

It looks like I won't be able to upgrade my computers anymore. Apple just announced that it's new Mojave operating system won't run on any of the computers currently I have. Apparently, they are all too old. Apple is actively trying to make the operating system in their computers work more like their phones. Pretty soon your desktop computer is just going to be a big, giant iPhone. I guess a lot of people like this idea. Not me. I have a feeling that I'd probably be happier using Linux now. Apple is working way too hard to please the millennials.

I wonder if anything interesting will happen tomorrow. I need to write my sister and I should probably call the guitar store to see if the guitar that disappeared from the website actually sold. If it sold it would give me an excuse to drive over to the store and pick up a check. There's always naps. I took a long nap with Dash today. It wouldn't be difficult to do the same thing tomorrow.

Margo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2417

It's hard to differentiate between one day and another. For several hours today, I was convinced that it was Tuesday. Nope. We did that yesterday. I should have known the difference immediately. Yesterday, I went to the post office and today I didn't.

I spent most of my time today writing. I made good progress on my new writing project and might have even finished it if the rain hadn't interrupted things. Any major rainstorm throws the dogs into panic mode. I have to stop what I'm doing and calm them down. This usually involves placing them in a room where they can't see the lightning and sitting with them until the thunder subsides. I'm usually so tired that I welcome these opportunities to take a short nap. We huddle together until the thunder subsides and then I take them outside so they can smell the air and make sure the coast is clear. I'm convinced that Dot and Dash just think I'm another dog and they want to make sure that the pack stays together whenever there is danger. It's a good thing that the roofers didn't make their repairs yesterday because their work would have been ruined. We got a lot of rain.

I wonder if other people are as burned out on politics as I am. You can't turn on the TV without being inundated with political punditry. Sometimes I think that the media has created much of today's unrest by continually stirring the pot whenever they find a story. Between friends fighting on Facebook and dueling cable news channels, I've had about as much as I can take. I'm going to vote, but unlike some of my friends, I don't think my vote is going to save the world or end the world. Sadly, we have been a divided country throughout much of our history. There is no reason to believe that we won't remain a divided country. Our finest hour was during World War II when the entire country came together to destroy a common enemy. During peaceful times, this unity dissolves and we just end up fighting with each other. Humans are an angry species. Truthfully, I think the only thing that would bring us all together on a global basis would be if a fleet of alien spaceships appeared overhead and threatened to destroy the earth. Now, that would bring us together. I don't think peace and prosperity ever will.

Stormy weather seems to accentuate Dot's incontinence problems. This afternoon, I just got finished cleaning up Dot's mess when she pooped all over again. When I'm able to quickly pull a rug out of the way, so she poops on the bricks, or manage to have a disposable pad strategically placed under her when she has an accident in her sleep, I felt like a baseball player who has made a diving catch and prevented a runner from scoring. You have to be alert with an incontinent dog. There is always an accident just waiting to happen.

With any luck, I'll be able to finish my writing assignment tomorrow. I wish I was doing the design work on this project as well. Website designers are usually better paid than the content providers. I can't complain though. Neither of us is getting rich. Those days are gone. When I finish my writing, I'll go up on the roof again and clear away the standing water. The next time I see the roofers, I want that roof to be dry.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2408

I've been walking more lately. We get up early and take Dot on a walk around the block. Leading Dot on this short, slow journey isn't enough for Dash, so after we return, we feed both dogs their breakfast and then I take Dash on a second much longer walk. We call this our boy's walk. By the time I return from my walk with Dash, Janet has already left for work and Dot is sleeping in her bed.

This is how I start my day. It may not be all that exciting, but it has it's moments. I'm encouraged to see that Dot isn't wobbling as much on our short walks. Maybe, when the weather gets cooler and Dot gets stronger, we can do something a little more ambitious. Until then, I'll continue to daydream as I walk Dash, occasionally noting a strange new bird or a pretty flower. I'll dawdle over my own breakfast when we return, feeding Dot and Dash slices of banana as I drink my morning smoothy. There's no reason to hurry. Life has slowed down for me as well.

I made sure the roof was clear of water this morning because the roofers promised me that they'd come out later this week and patch the bad spots. Will they actually show up? Who knows. They've been making promises for a long time now. Eventually, everything will get fixed. Dealing with roofers teaches you patience. So does dealing with old dogs. I think that I've got a lot of patience, but probably not enough. It's probably only a matter of time before I start saying "get off my lawn" to neighbors.

I watched bits and pieces of the Republican Convention today. What else was there to do? I don't know about you, but I thought Melania was fabulous. She was calm, poised, and reminded me of Jackie Kennedy. The guy who followed her on stage reminded me more of Dr. Strangelove, but I guess everybody can't be a supermodel. Like the Oscars and the Grammys, political conventions are way too long. By the end of the evening, most of the older folks in the audience were falling asleep.

I'm probably putting you to sleep myself, because as you can tell, not a lot happened today. Dealing with what comes after a life of work and meetings is still a mystery to me. Taking care of Dot is tough at times, but it has provided me with a purpose. Tomorrow, I'll keep working on keeping her legs moving, clean up her poop, and probably watch more political speeches while she's asleep. I think they ought to hold both political conventions at the same time so you could just channel surf back and forth between them. As patient as I am, I think watching eight solid days of this stuff would drive anybody crazy.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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