Day 1732

Such a busy day. I got my blood tested at the liver center. I finished the first of two new writing assignments. I brought five dead websites back online. I comforted the dogs during a thunderstorm. I got groceries for the weekend. And I still found time to have a nice breakfast at my favorite restaurant. The most problematic task was moving the websites to their new hosting company. First, I had to get a new password from Network Solutions before I could begin pointing the domains to the new server. I can never remember all my passwords. It seems pointless to write them all down on a yellow Post-it note and stick it on my computer screen, but it's just about come to that. After I received a new password and moved the DNS for each site, I tried to figure out the new server's control panel and reconfigured a few things in Dreamweaver so each site would upload correctly. I think everything works now, but it took a while.

For the first time since last Spring, it is actually colder outside than it is inside the house. A cold front must have accompanied this morning's rainfall, since it is much colder than it was yesterday. The temperature was in the mid-90's on Thursday. Today it got as low as 65 degrees. The dogs both seemed to enjoy the cooler weather and wanted to take longer walks. They didn't want to walk any faster, just longer. Needless to say, our walks took a long time today. I didn't mind. A nice walk is always more enjoyable than staring at my computer screen. I was actually delighted that Dot is strong enough now to take these longer walks. Our girl has come a long way.

I'm charging camera batteries now for tomorrow morning's photo shoot. I wonder what will happen if it rains? Hopefully, the weather will be nice, because we don't really have a contingency plan. If I wake up tomorrow morning to the sound of rain pounding on the roof, I guess our Plan-B will be to just reschedule the entire photo shoot for a sunny day. I hope that nobody suggests moving the shoot indoors, because I don't have enough strobes to light the large group I'm supposed to photograph. My client is a very positive person, so I assume that she'll make everything turn out OK. I haven't even mentioned the possibility of rain, since everyone thinks I'm too negative already.

I wonder why I keep thinking about the new iPhone 6? I certainly don't need a new phone. I barely use the one I've got. Nevertheless, there's a good chance that I'll end up getting one of these sleek looking tech toys with its fingerprint recognition system and pretty rounded corners. I'm hopeless. I wonder if there's a twelve step program for people who are addicted to pretty things?

Dot and Dash are both getting so much better that it's time to turn our attention to dental care again. It's amazing how quickly a dog's teeth get dirty. It's only been a few months since Dot had her teeth cleaned at the vet and they are already beginning to show signs of plaque buildup. Our vet showed us a new enzyme product that requires no brushing. You just add a few drops to their water bowl each day. We'll see how that goes.

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1640

Today was strange. When I picked up the mail this morning, there was the letter I'd mailed my sister last week. "Return to sender, forwarding address unknown," the letter said. I gave her a call, to see if anything was wrong and discovered that the line had been disconnected. My sister had vanished without a trace. To her credit, if anyone was going to vanish without a trace, this would be the person to do it. She had already retired fifteen years early, moved to a small rural farm in Southern Ohio, and showed absolutely no interest in anything related to the Internet. Basically, she had disappeared a long time ago.

It did rain today, but it wasn't exactly the severe storm that the weather forecasters had predicted. We got a little wet on our morning walk and Dot barked at the thunder once or twice when it started raining harder after we returned home. That was about it. The thunderstorms were basically a non-event. I'm still glad I got most of my errands taken care of yesterday. Without places to go and things to do, I had a pretty relaxing day.

I watched a Torchwood re-run while I was eating breakfast, did some research on how to solve a puzzling website problem that has currently me stumped, and wrote a letter to my direct contact at a company that I probably won't be working with much longer. I just wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings. I enjoyed working with this guy. It's not his fault, or mine, that his miserly boss thinks I'm too expensive.

I'm still having problems keeping Dash's tail from bleeding. I called a couple of vet tech friends today to ask for advice and they admitted that "happy tail" was a problem for them as well. Dogs can wag their tails very hard, as anyone who has had their dog clear everything off the coffee table with a single wag can attest. You can't keep dogs from wagging their tail, and it's pretty hard to keep them from chewing off a bandage too. I'm having trouble even making a bandage that will stick to the tail. Dalmatian tails are thin and slippery. Nothing appears to stick to them.

I need to try to brush Dot's teeth this evening. I promised the vet that I'd try to brush her teeth three times a week. Dot doesn't like her teeth brushed any more than Dash likes me messing with his tail. If I have a bandage or a toothbrush in my hand, the dogs run away. I'm supposed to have another blood test tomorrow. I don't know why, since I've already had dozens of these tests this year.  Too bad that doctors don't have a better way of sharing information. It's not a big deal though.  I'll go early and have the test and then go have a delicious breakfast at my favorite restaurant on the way home. Sounds like a plan to me.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1633

I learned how to brush Dot's teeth correctly today. How could I have been doing it wrong for all these years? Every Dalmatian we have ever had has hated having their teeth brushed. They either immediately eat all the toothpaste off the brush, run away, or grab the entire brush and start chewing on it. Today, I was amazed to see Dot sit calmly in the exam room and let the vet slowly and carefully brush each of her teeth. I've been told for years about how important it is to brush your dog's teeth after you have them cleaned at the vet. I usually try for a month or so, and then just give up. Maybe this time it will be different. If I can learn to duplicate what my vet showed me today, brushing Dot and Dash's teeth should be a piece of cake.

I wasn't very busy today. I should have gone and had lunch with someone like I used to do in the old days. The problem is that I don't eat lunch anymore. Even the thought of eating something at lunch time turns my stomach. I don't know exactly when this happened, but I haven't enjoyed lunch for quite a while now. A big breakfast and a light dinner seem to be plenty for me now. The odd thing is that I don't even miss catching up with former co-workers anymore. What's there to talk about anyway? I'm not really interested in everybody's grandchildren, I haven't been to Barcelona or Paris lately, and I'm not planning on remodeling my house. I probably have more in common with the millennials living in their parent's basement than I do with people my own age.

Many of my local clients seem frustrated that their websites aren't bringing them the customers they expected. I don't know what to tell them. When everybody is on the Internet, nobody is special. Websites have become a commodity. Maybe you get lucky and do something amazing and your site starts trending. A few days later everyone has forgotten about you again. There's just too much out there. The internet has become a "pay to play" environment, just like modern television and print. Old fashioned SEO strategies are largely irrelevant these days. If you're a retailer and want to get noticed, you buy advertising on Yelp or Angie's List. That's just the way it is.

I can't believe that Pope Francis is telling people that having dogs and cats instead of children is all wrong. I was a big fan of this new Pope until I heard this. He says that people who choose animals over kids will spend their old age bitter and lonely without the companionship of their children to comfort them. Maybe this is true for some people, but it hasn't been my experience. I know several senior citizens who openly prefer the companionship of a loyal dog or cat to dealing with squabbling siblings fighting over who gets what in the will. I just wish that our pets lived longer. I'm always sad when an old person's dog dies and leaves them alone. Despite what the Pope says, a good dog is about the best companion you could possibly wish for.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day