Day 4042

I signed up for the vaccine on a few websites today. I thought this whole vaccination effort would be more organized, but this is apparently how you do it. All the pharmacies, hospitals, and other locations that have been designated as distribution centers have websites saying that they'll have the vaccine soon. None of them appear to have it now. You just leave your e-mail address on the websites and I guess they'll get back to you. I was just going to wait until I could get the shot at my doctor's office, but if Janet and I can get vaccinated earlier, we'll feel a lot better about traveling.

I'm sure there are side effects to the vaccine but I'm not going to worry about them. I've already been vaccinated for almost everything and there were side effects to all those other vaccines too. Most vaccines leave me with a sore arm for a few days and that's it. I'm old enough to remember kids who had polio. You really want to eliminate these kind of problems if you've got a chance. If we all end up growing a third ear a few years from now, well it won't be the first time that humanity screwed up.

Dawn seems to be walking fine now. She's not very adventurous and only wants to walk for one mile on very familiar routes, but she does seem to be enjoying herself. What was going through her head when she used to take much longer walks with us? We thought she was enjoying herself then too. This is a fairly dramatic change and there doesn't appear to be any physical reason for it. We've had Dalmatians for many, many years and they've all loved to walk. Maybe something happened when Dawn had her seizure several months ago. Maybe she's finally become confident enough to let us know how she really feels. I have a feeling that we may never know what has caused this strange change in behavior.

After we took Dawn back to the house, Janet and I continued walking along the old route where we used to take Dawn. It was a beautiful day, but it didn't seem the same without a dog. We both kept thinking that Dawn was missing out on an enjoyable afternoon. Dawn probably thought we were missing out on an enjoyable nap.

I feel like I've lost my momentum. I'd made some good contacts at Kennedy Space Center and had made three trips out to McDonald Observatory. Stories were getting published and I felt like I was on my way. Then Covid ruined everything. NASA became much more restrictive with press credentials. My main contact at the Air Force retired and I'm going to have to start all over again getting credentialed through them. West Texas became a virus hot spot and the observatory shut down. There's absolutely nothing I'm interested in writing about in Dallas. I get up in the morning and I walk. That's about it.

We'll go visit the Dalmatians at the kennel tomorrow. On Tuesday Dawn has an appointment to have her teeth cleaned and then on Wednesday I have my own dental appointment. I think that the SN9 Starship prototype is supposed to fly next week as well. It should be a fairly busy week. I don't think there will be time to get the leaves raked before the next big trash day. We'll save that for next month.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3603

What a wet, dreary day. I kept waiting for the rain to stop, but it never did. Clearly the weather forecast was wrong today. My phone kept saying that it wasn't raining and then I would go outside and see rain falling. I'm typically frozen in place on rainy days. I just sit and wait for the roof to start leaking.

I finally gave up and took some bills to the post office in the rain. I cleaned the car when I got home even though I knew that it was supposed to rain again tomorrow. It was a slow, gentle rain so the pumps on the roof would work for a while and then they would quit. I hate to turn the pumps off on a rainy day, but if the water level gets low and there isn't enough water to prime the pump, the motor can burn up. I fret about little things like this because there isn't anything big to fret about.

I finally got so bored that I decided to take my walk anyway even though it meant getting wet. I put on some waterproof boots, waited until the rain slowed to a drizzle, and then made my usual rounds. I guess I've become a slave to Fitbit. I had very little interest in going out and getting wet, but if I stayed home and did nothing, I would break a 57 day streak for meeting all my fitness goals.

It was actually quite pretty outside. It usually is when I don't have a camera with me. The temperature was a lot warmer than yesterday, so this created a lot of fog on the surface of the lake. If I'd had a camera with the right lens, I could have gotten a great picture of the White Pelicans shrouded in fog. They looked like stately ghosts swimming on the lake.

One of the things on my to-do list today was getting a banner reprinted that I'd done years ago. Usually reprinting anything is a simple matter. You just call up the printer and tell them to reprint the job they have on file. Unbeknownst to me, the printer had experienced a major computer crash a few years ago and lost most of their customer's files. Why didn't I know this already? Probably because I very rarely have anything printed anymore. Did I still have this file on one of my computers? It took me forever to find it, but I still did. It pays to save everything.

One of my doctors called today and asked why I hadn't paid a bill they'd sent me in September. The reason was simple. Either my mail carrier put the bill in the wrong mailbox or I mistook it for junk mail and threw it away. Both things happen frequently. I apologized and said I'd send them a check right away. Maybe I actually received the bill and just forgot about it. I hate the thought that I'm becoming even more forgetful as I grow older, but of course I am. It happens.

The rest of the week is going to be busy by my low standards. I'm getting a haircut tomorrow, going back to the dentist to refit my retainer on Thursday, and going to my regular doctor for my annual physical on Friday. It sure looks like I"m going to be doing some of these things in the rain.

Coach is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3458

Janet and I temperament tested a dog this afternoon. I think I've already told you about Xander. He's got a good home if he gets along with other dogs. With the help of the kennel staff we introduced him to a variety of different dogs and he passed his test with flying colors. Some dogs tolerate other animals. Xander really seems to like them. He was curious, playful, and gentle with everyone we introduced him to. Now we just need to see if his potential companion is equally friendly. Xander is not dog aggressive. He doesn't appear to be food aggressive either. Somebody is going to get a wonderful companion and friend.

I went ahead and ordered tires today. The good news is that they will be here tomorrow. The bad news is that since they were a special order, I had to pay for them in advance. At least these tires weren't as expensive as the OEM tires that came with the car. I was glad to hear that they'd been discontinued and replaced with a more reasonably priced tire. Keep in mind that 'reasonably priced' is a relative term when it comes to Land Rover parts. In my experience absolutely nothing has been reasonably priced.

It was weird to be working again. I finished my client's website updates this morning and uploaded the changes to the server. Amazingly, I remembered the client's old passwords and remembered most of the HTML code I needed. It takes a little longer to do this stuff if you don't do it every day, but I guess I passed my temperament test as well. Could it be that coding is like riding a bicycle? I might remember some of what I know forever. At any rate, I think I did a good job. Hopefully, the client will agree.

I took the money I made selling the guitars to the bank. It won't stay there long. My homeowner's insurance is due, I just had a large tree removed, and then there are those pesky Land Rover tires. Everything is so expensive now. I still have prices in my head from the 1970's. Unfortunately those days are gone. I think my favorite year was 1969. It definitely isn't 2019.

I saw a Purple Passionflower today. I haven't seen one of these bloom in years because they grow in a section of the park that wasn't accessible to Dot and Dash after they became sick. As the dogs became older and less mobile, we had to limit our walks to safe, relatively flat areas where they wouldn't fall. Walking was more difficult for me as well, since I was holding up their rear legs using the Help 'Em Up Harness. I've started walking the old trails again. They bring back memories. We'll see how long this lasts. My feet are telling me that I'm going to need a Help 'Em Up Harness myself some day.

This week went amazingly fast, considering that we spent most of it without electricity. Janet and I stayed surprisingly busy during the power outage. Even though we both seem to have good survival skills, I'm glad the power is back. I'm certainly sleeping better now. Everything is more or less back on schedule. I just finished taking the week's trash out to the curb. I hope the trash truck can find everybody's cans. They look insignificant next to the huge piles of tree branches and logs stacked along the street.

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2444

I can't honestly say that Dot got a clean bill of health today at her annual physical exam, but the vet was amazed that she's doing as well as she is. Very few Dalmatians make it this far on their journey through life. Dot has already lived two years longer than any other Dalmatian we've had and she hasn't given up yet. These exams aren't as dignified as they were during her younger years. When the nurse tried to weigh her, she peed on the scale. A little later when the same nurse took her temperature, she pooped. Dot's teeth are bad, she can't walk without assistance, and she tires very easily. It's not all bad news however. Her heart is still strong, her vision is good, and she is still very enthusiastic about eating. We skipped most of the normal vaccinations because she is so old and frail, but the vet still wanted to give her the Leptospirosis vaccine. Leptospirosis is becoming commonplace in Dallas, and it is so easy to catch since we frequently walk in the park.

Today's exam took a while, but I was very pleased with the results. Dot is old and has many serious problems, but she is amazingly resilient. She is a high maintenance girl who is becoming more stubborn by the day, but she definitely hasn't given up yet. There are days when I think Dot is going to outlast me.

Last week's cooler weather lulled me into believing that Fall had arrived early, but I got a reminder today that we're still in the middle of Summer. The sun came out this morning and almost instantly it was twenty degrees warmer. By afternoon, temperatures were in the high nineties again and Dash let me know pretty clearly that he wasn't all that interested in an afternoon walk.

I had some website updates to make today. These modifications aren't an everyday occurrence like they used to be, but apparently people haven't forgotten about their websites completely. Occasionally, a website will go offline and it will often take days before the client even notices. Things have changed. If something is wrong with Facebook, they all notice immediately.

The park is full of Rain Lily's today. These small flowers seem to appear overnight after a big rain and then disappear just as quickly when things dry up. Luckily, they were blooming today, because I couldn't find anything else to photograph. There aren't many flowers left. Pretty soon, I'll start seeing Fall leaves and as soon as the time changes, I'll be trying to capture pretty sunsets again.

We need to do something special for Dot's birthday this weekend. We used to take the dogs to dinner at Cafe Lago, but that dog friendly restaurant went out of business quite a few years ago. Janet and I also used to make beautiful little dog cakes, but I don't even remember how anymore. She would bake a small three layer cake made with apple sauce, eggs, and oat flour. I would decorate the cake with a cream cheese and yogurt frosting. I took a cake decorating class once, and even had one of those special turntables, so I could apply the frosting evenly. Distant memories. All I have the energy to do anymore is buy some pupcakes at Sprinkles.

Tomorrow, we have our second vet visit of the week. We do water therapy and acupuncture on Wednesdays and then on Friday she goes back to the cancer center for another ultrasound scan. It's going to be a busy week.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2442

Janet's birthday dinner was a few days late, but it was still very nice. We went to Knife, a new steakhouse in the neighborhood that has received national attention recently. The place was started by John Tesar, who was once a Top Chef contestant, and according to D Magazine, it is this year's Best Steakhouse in Texas. I prefer to think of the place as the hotel restaurant in the pet friendly hotel where we always stay when the power goes out or a water leak floods the house. We didn't have the nerve or the money to try the signature 240 day dry aged rib-eye, but our meal was very good.

It's a good thing I went to the gym today, because I definitely ate more than I usually do on a Sunday evening. I noticed this afternoon that my workout is remarkably consistent. I'm usually done after about 62 minutes and seem to burn roughly the same number of calories every week. The only thing that seems to vary is how long it takes me to sink five baskets from the free throw line. Sometimes I do this almost immediately and other times it seems to take forever.

I came closer to meeting my sleep goal last night than I have for a long time. We didn't get up until almost 8 AM, which is almost unheard of in this house. It certainly helped that Dot and Dash didn't wake us up like they usually do. Dot made it all the way through the night again without pooping in her bed and Dash didn't make a loud, noisy spectacle out of changing position during the night like he usually does. We need more days like this. Getting enough sleep really makes a difference.

The rain appears to be over for a while. It was somewhat surprising to see blue sky for a change. I'm amazed at how crowded the park has become on a nice day. When we first moved to the neighborhood, we practically had the place to ourselves. It's like a amusement park on weekends now. Dash likes to crisscross from one side of the paths to the other, depending on which side smells the best. I have to really watch out for cyclists now. They appear out of nowhere going very fast, and they never slow down. Bicycles are fine, but I'm not a big fan of cyclists. Why do they all act like the roads and trails were created expressly for them? Today, when I was driving home from the gym, I encountered three cyclists riding side-by-side so they took up the entire road. This made it almost impossible to pass them and traffic was backing up. Did these guys care? Not in the least.

I got another two month free trial offer from SiriusXM radio. I wonder why they sent me this offer, because I didn't bother to sign up when they sent me the same offer last year. I'll probably take advantage of the free offer again, just like I did before. Two months is plenty of time to discover that the service isn't actually worth paying for.

Next week is going to be busy. Dot has three vet appointments scheduled, each at a different vet. The first is her annual wellness exam, the second is her physical therapy session, and the third is a cancer re-check. I don't know how I screwed up and scheduled these so close together. In my defense, the appointments were all made at different times. It's not easy to transport Dot anymore, so one appointment a week is plenty. We'll make it work though. I certainly don't have anything better to do.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2147

Dogs don't understand Daylight Saving Time. Frankly, I don't either. The whole concept of "gaining an hour" or "losing and hour" is bizarre. We all follow the same circadian rhythm and arbitrarily turning back the clock so it will be light when you drive to work in the morning doesn't really prove anything. I'm sure that's what Dot and Dash were thinking when they got us up at 6 AM on a Sunday morning. According to their clock, we were already an hour late for breakfast. We wanted to sleep in a little longer, but it doesn't pay to ignore Dot these days. When we didn't respond immediately to the dogs desire to get the day started, Dot got up on her own and promptly pooped in the hallway.

I had plans to go to the gym in the morning, but got sidetracked by setting all the clocks in the house back an hour. You don't realize until the time changes that almost every device in your home has a clock in it. There's a clock in the thermostat. There's a clock in the coffee maker. There's a clock in the television. There's even a clock in the old land line phone. In addition to these clocks are wall clocks in the bathroom, office, and kitchen, plus two clock radios. You are either forced to change all of these clocks, or ignore them all. Just changing one or two clocks creates confusion.You never know which one is right. I even set one clock back to Daylight Saving Time by mistake this morning. It is ironic that in a house filled with watches and clocks, I am perpetually late everywhere I go.

Since we have a lot of single pane glass in our house, cold weather can cause water to condense on the inside of our windows. This condensation can make the entire house feel damp. There is nothing new about this damp weather condensation, but today it made me feel like it was caused by our invisible water leak instead of the weather. I still see no evidence whatsoever of a leak, but the water keeps running in the pipes. I hope the plumbing company sends out a really good plumber. I hate these kind of mysteries.

I went to the gym this afternoon even though I knew it was raining and I would feel compelled to clean the car when I got home. I had cabin fever and needed to get out of the house. I did clean the car when I got home, but it was no big deal. Sunday is just a giant cleaning day anyway. After I cleaned the car, I vacuumed all the rugs and carpets with the Dyson. I continue to be amazed by the enormous amount of dirt and dog hair that I sweep up every week. I used to wonder why Dyson made the dirt canister out of clear plastic so you could see all the gross gunk you had removed from your carpets. Now, I think that they want you to see all this dirt so you will be impressed by how strong their vacuum cleaner is. Probably all vacuum cleaners suck up the same amount of dirt, but most just hide it away in a bag that your forget about until it is full.

So far, November is looking busy. I have an appointment to take Dot back to the cancer center for one of her periodic exams. She'll get another Ultrasound scan tomorrow to measure whether the tumor in her liver has grown. Dash is fine for the moment. He is eating normally and all four legs are working fine. I haven't seem him limp for almost a week. I think there is already enough work on the books to keep me busy for most of the week. I have three new articles to write, along with a website that needs to be updated and converted to a mobile friendly format. All these projects will be finished in good time, while I spend my time fretting about where to find fresh peaches. My morning smoothies were much better with peaches in them.

Jeda is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2014

Today was all about the weather. Things got off to a very early start when I smelled poop as I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Dot had pooped in the house again. I kind of suspected this might happen when she refused to stay outside long enough to do her business before we went to bed last night. Who could blame her. The yard was wet and she was tired. I cleaned the mess up, put the soiled dog blankets in the washer and we went back to bed again. The rain continued sporadically throughout the night, but when daylight arrived, it had stopped. Since the radar showed that more storms were on the way, we dressed quickly and used the opportunity to give the dogs their morning walk. Dot and Dash were in no hurry, so we barely made it home again before the next round of rain started.

Whenever Dot poops in the house, it sets off a clean frenzy. We start by cleaning the soiled blankets and rugs. Then we notice how dirty everything is surrounding these areas and the vacuum comes out. It doesn't take long for the house to get dirty with two dogs and the seemingly endless rain we've been having. I'm glad the new Dyson has a five year warranty, because we're going to wear the thing out. By the time I was finished cleaning today, I had emptied the Dyson several times. I'm glad I got the yard taken care of yesterday, because today would not have been a good day for yard work. It wasn't a good day to fix the screen door either. That will have to wait.

The skies had cleared quite a bit by mid-afternoon, so we decided to take Dash to a new dog park in the neighborhood. Since everyone in the house has been having cabin fever lately, it seemed like a good idea to let Dash do something fun for a change. We hadn't been at the park for five minutes before I noticed some ominous looking black clouds to the South of us. We made several circles around the park perimeter to let Dash smell things and then headed home again. On the way home, the rain started again. It was like this all day long. There would be a short torrential downpour, followed by a dry spell of an hour or so, and then the rain would start again.

It was just as well that I was mostly housebound today. I had a huge website update to complete and rainy days are generally good for this type of thing. I added over 60 new dogs and cats to a rescue website I manage. It's hard to keep these type of sites current. By the time the photographer has time to take pictures of the new animals, half of them have already been adopted. I imagine that I will get a call in the near future asking me to remove many of the animals I just finished adding today. It's not an entirely futile effort though. The dogs and cats do get homes and sometimes it is the website that brings people and pets together.

When I finished working on the rescue website, I started writing another article. By the time I managed to come up with a decent headline, I realized I was very tired and took a short nap. That was it for writing today. When I woke up, it was time for dinner and a brief evening walk with the dogs. Dot pooped right on schedule this time, so maybe we'll all be able to get a good night's sleep tonight.

Next week is already looking pretty busy.  There are two vet appointment, a doctor's appointment for me, an appointment to get a haircut, and then there is a meeting I really ought to attend even though I detest meetings. Of course there are still all the usual articles to write and websites to update. I often feel like a hamster with one of those exercise wheels in their cage. I'd like to get caught up on everything and have absolutely nothing to do, but I don't think it's going to happen.

Barley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2001

I think some people should have just stayed in bed this morning. I needed to find out some simple information today and struck out everywhere I called. My insurance agent seemed about two weeks behind on everything and said they couldn't get to my questions because of all the flood damage claims they had to process. My doctor couldn't find the test results from lab work that was done almost a month ago. I had better luck with the veterinarians I called, but they seemed frazzled and overworked too. Jeez, it's only Monday. If everyone is already hopelessly behind on Monday, I wonder what the rest of the week is going to be like.

I'm certainly going to be busy this week. I asked when a new writing assignment was due and the client said as soon as possible. I think this means tomorrow. I finally got up my nerve to convert my most difficult website to a mobile friendly format and almost immediately began to wonder if I had bitten off more than I can chew. When I started working on the site this afternoon, I quickly realized why I had saved this particular client for last. Everything will get done in due time, but this conversion is going to take a while. This is a very large website. I hope Google is happy when all my sites are finally mobile friendly. I don't want to do this again for a long time. If they decide that websites have to look good and be readable on the Apple Watch, I'm going to scream.

I'm going to have to figure out how to keep Dash cool during our Summer walks. I can tell he's already starting to get too hot and it's going to get much, much warmer in the months to come. In the past I've tried soaking a bandana in water before we start and putting it around the dog's neck. I've also tried spraying them with a water mist before we start. There aren't any drinking fountains along the way and Dash hasn't mastered the art of drinking from a water bottle. I wish Dash would just take shorter walks in hot weather. That's what Dot does. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize he's too hot until we're about a mile away from the house. I'm sure we'll figure out something, but I'm already starting to wish that the rain would return.

I've got to figure out how to switch the new fancy thermostat to some sort of reasonable Summer mode. In the Winter, I had it programmed to let the house cool down while we were asleep and then bring everything back up to 74 degrees just before we got up in the morning. This actually saved quite a bit on energy bills. In the Summer, I guess you'd want to pre-cool the house while you were sleeping and then let it warm up again during the day. I don't think this will work as well as the Winter settings though. The house isn't well insulated and the temperature is always hot day and night. Basically, the air conditioner runs non-stop in the Summer. Oh, well. I guess I'd better get used to those high Summer electric bills again.

Dash seems to tolerate the doxycycline he's taking pretty well. So far, there has been no upset stomach or other side effects. I'm hoping when Dot has her mini-biopsy on Wednesday that everything is normal with her. It would be nice to have both of these dogs healthy again. Maybe when I get my dental work finished later this month, life will finally return to normal.

Lacey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1849

I got on the phone this morning and literally begged the appliance repair folks to expedite the shipment of the part needed to get my washing machine working again. In an era when you can get literally anything overnight using FedEx or UPS, it just doesn't make sense to wait a week for a washing machine part. After making my case, the company agreed to fix my machine on Friday. I still don't understand why they couldn't have fixed it today. Delays like this are one more reason I hate the whole concept of just-in-time sourcing. Nobody inventories anything anymore. Repair shops used to have huge warehouses full of parts. They don't want the expense of maintaining an inventory these days and prefer to just order things as needed. It's another sign of the apocalypse as far as I'm concerned.

When I went to my physical therapy appointment today I asked the therapist if everybody's shoulder made loud cracking and popping sounds like mine does when I'm doing the stretching exercises. "No, you're the worst I've ever seen," she told me. She also added that the next time I had a shoulder problem, I definitely shouldn't wait five years to look for a solution. The dentists I've been seeing have been basically telling me the same thing. What can I say? I'm great at taking care of the dogs. Not so good at taking care of myself.

I'm ready for Summer. I don't know how you Northerners can stand these frigid temperatures. One week of sub-freezing weather has just about brought me to my knees. The temperatures are still in the high twenties, but when you factor in the wind chill it feels closer to zero. I still don't understand why the dogs appear to like this weather. They get cold on longer walks, but when we follow our normal route, the seem to take the chilly weather in stride.

Work is getting busy again. I had several writing assignments today, along with one big website revision. This work, along with my physical therapy appointment and two dog walks completely used up my day. I was trying to explain to my physical therapist that it was difficult to find time for all the stretching exercises and she seemed perplexed. Most people think that if you work out of your house, you have an almost unlimited amount of free time. Not true! I had a lot more free time when I worked in an office. You really have to manage your time wisely if you want to make a decent living while still being a world class dog butler to two demanding Dalmatians.

The laundry is already stacking up. I'll readily admit that I'm obsessed with doing laundry. I hate seeing dirty laundry lying around the house. I can't stand a dirty car either and am always washing mine. Oddly, a dirty house doesn't bother me at all. Go figure.

Vegas is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1846

I'm glad this day is over. It was so cold this morning that I didn't even want to get out of bed. The dogs didn't want to get out of bed either. I think they knew that this was a day when they would have to wear their warmest winter coats. It looked nice outside, but looks can be deceiving. Even though the sky was clear and blue, the temperature was in the low twenties and there was a stiff wind. It felt like we were heading toward the North Pole.

Have I mentioned that I hate to work on Sundays? Sometimes it's unavoidable though.  Several of my clients seem to work 24 hours a day and I've found that if I don't deal with their requests right away, I tend to forget about them. Forgetting doesn't tend to make people happy. This is why I found myself doing a lot of website work today. It's much easier to work on Sunday than to try to remember what you were supposed to do on Monday. I'm not sure if I got everything right today, but at least I made an effort.

I made an effort to go to the gym today as well. I wish I actually enjoyed going to the gym, but for me it's kind of like eating Kale. I know it's good for me, but I'd much rather be watching Dr. Who while I was eating a sausage and bacon pizza. I'm discovering that if I modify some of my workout routines a bit, I can get in quite a bit of the stretching that my physical therapist wants. I'm always trying to kill two birds with one stone. The less I have to do the better. I had a very good workout today, but as I was cooling down shooting free throws on the basketball court, I found myself thinking "Three more to go, two more to go, etc" I usually enjoy sinking baskets, but not today.

On my way to the gym, I stopped at a Sports Authority store to get some running shoe glue I'd seen on their website. When I told the manager what I was looking for, he just laughed. "We don't want you to repair running shoes," he told me with a smile. "We want you to buy new ones." There you have it. The guy managed to explain our entire economy in a single sentence.

I just looked at my calendar and every single day is filled with either a vet appointment or a physical therapy appointment. That's my week. If you work out of your house and actually want to get anything done, it's really hard to do more than one thing that requires driving somewhere else each day. My plate is full.

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1840

I never realized that there were so many devilishly inventive ways to make my arm hurt. Every time I go for physical therapy, I get introduced to several new stretching exercises designed to increase the range of motion in my right shoulder. I'm definitely making progress, but it's going to take a long time at this rate. I wonder what I did to make this shoulder so unstable? There was never any definitive injury that caused the shoulder instability. It just gradually got worse and worse. I still think the dogs caused most of the problems. They both like to walk on my right side and whenever they try to chase after rabbits or lunge at a pile of fresh horse poop, my right arm always had to absorb the shock. Since I'm left handed, this abuse to my right arm never really bothered me. "At least the important left arm is safe," I thought. I wish I'd been a little more protective of both arms over the years, but it's a little late now.

Usually this last week of the year is completely dead, but I've been getting a surprising number of new assignments. I was kept busy today with an assortment of writing and website jobs. There are a couple of stretching exercises I can do while I'm sitting at my desk. While this is convenient, it is also irritating. Much of what I do isn't much fun anyway. Working with a very sore shoulder just makes the task at hand worse. I would like to be able to lift both hands over my head again, so I guess I'll continue.

I noticed an oddly shaped piece of white plastic in the greenhouse yesterday and was just about to throw it away when I realized that it might be a good way to foil the pooping bird. The plastic sheet was about the length of my car's front door window and had a convenient angle along one side, allowing it to rest just below the window while providing a very unstable platform for the bird. I positioned the plastic sheet against the window after I got back from physical therapy and it seemed to work. The bird didn't want to land on the unstable plastic and there was no more bird poop for the rest of the day. It would be weird if this Rube Goldberg device worked while my very realistic rubber snake did absolutely nothing.

Usually at this time of year, I'm buying equipment for the studio so I can expense it on my taxes. I doubt that I'll buy anything at all this year. There seems little point in buying more video equipment when it seems doubtful that I'll ever get another large scale production job. Everyone has a GoPro now and thinks they're Stanley Kubrick. It's kind of ironic that I'll probably end my career exactly the same way I started it: as a writer. Writing never seems to become obsolete. All you need is a pencil and a few ideas. In a world where nobody reads and writing is becoming a lost art, I can still fill a page. It makes me wonder why I got sidetracked by video production and web design in the first place.

Dot has her last session with the underwater treadmill for the year tomorrow. It's been quite a year! Dot's determination and resilience has been an inspiration. I hope we both can continue to get healthier in the year ahead.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1748

The golf tournament photo shoot ended well, but it certainly didn't get off to a good start. I loaded my gear in a golf cart after I arrived and was just about ready to get in the cart myself when two other golfers commandeered the cart and drove away. I had turned away for just a few seconds to talk with someone and when I turned back, my cart was gone. I told two nearby club pros what had happened and they went looking for the cart. Within five minutes I had all my gear back. No harm was intended. The other golfers just thought the cart was empty and didn't notice the stuff in the back.

About ten minutes later, I kneeled down to get a better angle on a guy teeing off and I stuck my right knee straight into a fire ant mound. Almost instantly I had hundreds of fire ants crawling all over my leg. I knew I shouldn't have worn shorts. Yikes! These little critters can really sting. One of the nearby golfers asked if I needed to worry about anaphylactic shock. Thankfully, no. Luckily, I'm not allergic to bee stings and ant bites because I tend to get stung a lot.

The day ended well and I wound up getting hundreds of nice shots of golfers, Dalmatians, and golfers with their Dalmatians. I did find myself briefly going the wrong way on a one way street while I was driving home from the tournament. It was just that kind of day. I'm glad we left the dogs at home today. As accident prone as I was this afternoon, I probably would have dropped Dash's leash and he would have run off.

It's hard to believe that the rescue group has been having these charity golf tournaments for well over a decade now. I think this year's tournament was our thirteenth. We're all older now and there aren't as many dogs in the program. Dalmatians aren't as popular as they were when the Disney movies made the breed famous. That's a good thing, because far fewer dogs are being abandoned. I doubt that we would have the energy to deal with twenty-five dogs at a time like we used to anyway.

Janet won a gift certificate for 24 Sprinkles cupcakes at the tournament silent auction this evening. At the rate we eat cupcakes, this should keep us in birthday and celebration cupcakes for another year. The birthdays are all finished for this year, unfortunately. We'll have to figure out something else to celebrate, because those cupcakes sure are good!

It looks like next week is going to be busy. I've already got several new projects queued up and it isn't even Monday yet. I could have showed you dozens of people hitting a little white ball off a tee today, but I thought the clouds overhead were more interesting. This was definitely a Texas sized sky.

Spanky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1621

Most of the neighborhood cats have learned to avoid our yard. Dot and Dash love to chase cats. There hasn't been a cat in the yard for quite a while, so I was surprised when I saw both dogs circling a tree today and barking like a pair of Coonhounds. I suspected that they were barking at a possum and went out to investigate. There was a scared little orange tabby sitting up in a branch. I recognized the cat. It was the same one my neighbor had lost two days ago. They had just adopted the cat and it ran out an open door and escaped the day after they brought it home. When I got the dogs back inside again, I talked the cat out of the tree and took it back to the neighbor's house. Hopefully, this will be an indoor cat. If it's an outdoor cat who decides to hang around our yard, it's going to be miserable. I need to go look for dead birds in the yard tomorrow morning. Usually, when there's a cat in the yard, there's a dead bird nearby.

We went and photographed a new dog at the Dalmatian Rescue kennel today. Max was a very small male and is a bit shy. We was very friendly though and will make someone a wonderful pet. I used to find myself taking pictures of new members of the rescue program almost every week. There aren't nearly as many abandoned Dalmatians anymore though. That's a good thing. There are so few Dalmatians in the rescue program now that there's a waiting list to adopt one. That's a good thing too.

Dash finally got a bath today. Considering how much he generally hates getting a bath, he was surprisingly good today. Maybe after all he's been through at the cancer center, he finally realized that getting a bath isn't a big deal. He does seem more comfortable now that he's clean again. There wasn't nearly as much scratching and itching today.

I'll be glad when the Spring allergy season is over. My eyes itch and water constantly now. I practically have to carry a bottle of Visine around in my pocket these days. It's a shame that my allergies are worst during the one time of year when the weather is nice in Texas. By the middle of June, the seasonal allergies have usually disappeared, but so has the nice weather.

I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow. Once a week isn't great, but it's better than nothing. Since life is slowly returning to normal, I may be able to find time to go two times a week soon. It won't be next week however. Dash gets his annual vaccinations on Tuesday. I go for another blood test on Wednesday. And Dot has an appointment for her dental cleaning on Thursday. There's rain in the forecast for next week as well. I'll be glad when Dot's dental exam is over. She's pretty old to have anesthesia, but we don't want her to get gingivitis or gum disease either. Her rear molars look pretty bad too and the vet says she really needs her teeth cleaned. I guess there's always something to worry about.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1615

The gym is always empty on nice sunny days. I guess most active people prefer to be outside on days like this. Inside is fine by me. The temperature is a constant 72 degrees, the air is filtered, and the lighting is subdued. I don't have any problems with Spring allergies when I go to the gym. Outdoors it's a completely different story.

I spent quite a while outdoors this morning, sneezing and wiping my watering eyes the entire time. I got a long pole saw and decided to remove the remaining dead limbs on the two Live Oak trees in the back yard myself. I thought the tree guys would have taken care of this when they came over a couple of months ago, but apparently these smaller dead limbs weren't in their bid. The landscape guys could have taken care of this too, but it wasn't in their bid either. Heaven forbid that anyone might decide to be proactive and do something extra. I guess that just isn't done these days.

It took quite a while to remove all the small dead limbs the power company guys left up in the trees when they were restoring power after last Winter's ice storm. They made sure that the trees weren't touching the power lines, but they couldn't be bothered to remove the branches they cut. At any rate, the work I did today was probably worth the effort. I bet if I called the tree guys to come back and do this job, they would have charged me $300.

I stopped by Central Market on the way home from the gym. I never used to go to the store this often. Everything changed when I stopped eating out of cans and started eating something fresh every evening. Things don't stay fresh all that long, so I go to the store frequently. I still think that improving my diet has done more to improve my health than anything else I've done. It's definitely been worth the effort.

Dash's health seems to be improving even more dramatically than mine. The skin on his neck is a healthy pink color now and you can barely see the incision scar from the initial surgery. He goes back to the cancer center tomorrow for a post-radiation follow up visit. I hope his doctors think he's doing as well as I think he's doing. After all he's been through this Spring, Dash is making an amazingly recovery.

Next week looks like it's going to be busy. Dash goes to the cancer center on Monday. Dot gets her acupuncture and water therapy on Tuesday. I've got a location photo shoot planned, and there are sure to be the usual writing assignments and website revisions as well. Pretty soon it will be June. Since I'm a Gemini, June is a birthday month. I'd like to say I'm getting wiser, but I'm afraid I'm just getting older.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1566

Today was a catch up day. I went up on the roof and swept away the remains of last week's thunderstorm. I charged camera batteries and updated software. I did some cleaning. I even made it back to the gym. Since it was such a nice day outside, the gym was practically empty. Between walking the dogs, cleaning standing water off the roof, and my first full workout in several weeks, I was pretty tired.

I can't say I actually enjoyed any of this activity, but it all needed to be done.  Although I do spend a lot of time staring aimlessly into a computer screen, I'm not a lazy person. I continue to push myself, and am determined to never become an overweight Walmart shopper or a professional victim. I remain convinced that we all determine our own destiny. Each and every one of us.

I'm starting to worry about Dot again. I've noticed that her stools have been darker than normal this week. It's not the dreaded tarry black that indicates internal bleeding, but still it's not normal. I'll get a lab test done to make sure nothing's wrong. Dot is so absolutely consistent about everything, that anything abnormal stands out like a sore thumb. Now that Dash is sick, I depend on Dot more than ever as a source of stability. Luckily she is.

It's hard to believe that April is just around the corner. So far, 2014 has zipped by amazingly fast. We seemed to have survived the Winter. The trees in the back yard are turning green again. Most of the shrubs and ground cover survived. The roof shows no signs of leaking and I'm beginning to think that the roofers did a better job than I initially thought they did. If Dash and I can just put our health problems behind us, it might turn out to be a very good year.

Right now, I'll just settle for another good week. Dash resumes his radiation treatments tomorrow.  While he's away, the HVAC guys will be getting the AC ready for Summer. I need to see if I can get Dot's vet appointment rescheduled for Tuesday. And then on Thursday, I've got a doctor's appointment of my own. I'm sure that in between all this, there will be articles to write and websites to revise. It will definitely be a busy week, but it will be April. April is always one of my favorite times of year in Texas.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1359

I had a new business meeting this morning. I am being asked to develop a new website, and before I got started, I wanted to get everybody's input. One guy said the website need to be a lively forum that generated lots of discussion. Another guy said it need to showcase the organization's mission and values. A third guy wanted a transaction site where people could pay for things and make appointments. One group wanted a blog, and a small contingent wondered if there was any point in having a website at all.

I had almost forgotten that this was what beginnings were always like. Most of my clients have been with me for so long that there is seldom any need to talk. My input these days usually consists of "You know our business. Just make it work."

This new project sounds interesting. It also sounds difficult. Sometimes difficulties challenge me. Other times they make me put my head in my hands and start muttering "Why me?" We'll see what happens. At least I'm being given enough time to put some serious thought into this.

Dot was back in the underwater treadmill today. She seems to like the water therapy and did really well today. When I see her move her legs during the interval training sessions, I remember how fast she used to be when she was a young dog. Dot was always a dog who loved to run. It must be hard on her not to be able to do many of the things she enjoys so much. Considering her age, Dot is still remarkably strong and agile though. She is probably the healthiest Dalmatian we have ever had.

It's been such a busy week that I haven't been able to get to the gym at all. If I want to finish my normal writing and website chores, I only have time for one out-of-the-office activity. On days like today, where I pulled out of the driveway to run errands or go to meetings on four separate occasions, keeping on schedule is a lost cause. It seems like I used to do my job much faster, but maybe I'm just imagining things. All I know is that there just aren't enough hours in the day anymore.

I have to have another MRI tomorrow. The imaging is a pretty painless process, but I'm still not looking forward to it. When they inject you with the contrast dye, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I don't like having to put my arms behind my head when they slide me into the tube either. I've still got a dislocated shoulder and one of my arms doesn't really want to go behind my head. It could be a lot worse though. I'll take a MRI over a biopsy any day of the week.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1358

Yeah, I know it is Tuesday, but it sure seemed like a Monday to me. Everything started off slow today. I managed to get everything done on my list, but I certainly didn't set any speed records. Our morning walk was slow. Breakfast took forever. Even my writing assignments felt like I was wading through molasses. The only upside to all this is that it is a four day week and I'm already that much closer to Friday.

Have I told you how I feel about Texas weather? It's always too something: too hot, too wet, too humid, too dry. You get the picture. Today there were too many horse flies. I assume these pesky critters were horse flies, because, unlike common house flies, these flies would bite you. The flies weren't very interested in Dot, but they went after me and Dash with a vengeance. I tried to keep the flies off the dogs, but it was virtually impossible. Eventually, we had to curtail our evening walk and head for home. The flies were everywhere.

My only outing today was taking Dash to see the vet for his antigen shot. I renewed his phenobarbital prescription while I was there. I hate the thought of having him take this powerful sedative for long periods of time, but it seems to be working. Dash hasn't had another seizure since he resumed taking the drug. Since long-term use of phenobarbital can damage the liver, we are going to work with our vet to slowly transition Dash to potassium bromide instead. Potassium bromide has its own set of problems, but it does appear safer than phenobarbital. So, why didn't we put Dash on potassium bromide in the first place? Well, for starters it can take up to four months of continued use before it starts to become effective at controlling seizures. Have I told you how I feel about pharmaceuticals? I'm sure I have.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I've got a new business meeting in the morning and Dot's physical therapy session in the afternoon. In between, I've got to find time to complete my regular allotment of writing and website assignments. The dogs have their weekly training class in the evening as well. Maybe with so much going on, I might actually have something interesting to write about for a change.

Are you as confused about politics as I am? The Democrats want to bomb someone because they are using weapons of mass destruction and the Republicans are against it. The last time I heard the words "weapons of mass destruction" mentioned in the news, it was the Republicans who wanted to bomb somebody and the Democrats were against it. Personally, I think we ought to mind our own business and mend our own fences instead. We've got enough problems right over here.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day