Day 1543

I love my breakfast restaurant. It was crowded this morning and the barista brought me my coffee while I was standing in line to order. As two women swooped in to grab the last available table, the waiter shooed them away, pointing at me and saying that the table was mine. I paid for my meal and sat down at the table, all without saying a single word. Everyone already knows what I want, so no words are necessary. If only the rest of my day was this way. I have a couple of clients who trust me enough to forgo the usual talk and meetings. We've worked together for a long time and they've learned that they get more for their money when they leave me largely unsupervised. I'm consistent, I'm dependable, and I abhor the whole idea of collaboration. Leave me alone and I'm a pleasantly productive guy. Bother me and I'm a grumpy troublemaker. If the restaurant people have figured this out, why is it so hard for everyone else?

I have been researching dog harnesses and have discovered that several companies make what is called a "full body" harness. These harness are often used by avalanche rescue teams and other service dogs. They also seem to be favored by people like us who have a Houdini dog who can escape from normal harnesses. I think we'll get one of these and give it a try. Walking a dog using two leashes is just a stop-gap solution at best. It's amazing how quick and easy it is to find offbeat things like this on Google. What did we do before Google? The next thing I'm going to look for is a life size rubber bird to sit on my driver's side mirror while my car is in the driveway. I'll bet that troublesome bird won't poop on my car if another bird has already claimed it. Worth a try anyway.

Maybe I'll start on my taxes this weekend. I really can't put this task off too much longer. It's either taxes or painting more water damaged window trim. I don't know which is worse at this point. At least I've got a few more weeks before I'll have to start mowing the grass again. The thought of mowing grass reminds me that I still need to call the landscaping guy and get an estimate for putting new St. Augustine turf in the back yard. All the grass he put in last year is dead. As things stand now, there is nothing to mow.

I have this long list of things I need to do when "things get back to normal." Things are never going to get back to normal though, are they?  As soon as one crisis is averted, another one seems to creep up out of nowhere to take it's place. Maybe that's just the nature of life. I know people who find this constant chaos exhilarating. Personally, I prefer calm. Here's hoping for a calm, uneventful weekend.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 991

How do you keep a Dalmatian completely calm? I think it's impossible. Dot woke up sick this morning. She seemed to be having some trouble breathing and was coughing a lot. When she was completely calm, she appeared just fine, but as soon as she got excited about anything, she started coughing, gagging, and throwing up what looked like mucus. I made an appointment to take her to the vet right away, but it wasn't easy to keep her calm until her appointment. It just isn't in Dot's nature to be calm. When she looked out the living room window, she got excited and started choking. When she thought she was getting breakfast, she started coughing. Of course, she still wanted her walk too, even though she really needed to be sleeping.

The vet agreed that Dot had a nasty cough, but didn't think it was anything serious. She didn't have bordetella. She didn't even have a fever. It appears that she severely irritated her throat last week while the dogs were being boarded. I think she just barked all the time at the kennel. We left the vet with some antibiotics and a cough suppressant. Hopefully, she will get better soon. I tried my best to be a good nurse today, but Dot is not a very good patient.

While I was trying to keep Dot calm this afternoon, I did get a chance to watch a couple of Dr. Who episodes I hadn't seen before. The new season premiers later this evening and there was an all day Dr. Who marathon on the BBC Channel leading up to the big season opener. I wonder how I completely missed two of last season's shows. I've seen virtually ever episode of Dr. Who at least five or six times. At any rate, as soon as I post tonight's blog entry, you know what I'm going to be doing.

It doesn't look like Dot will get to go to tomorrow's rescue event. She needs the rest anyway, but we couldn't take her to a public event when she was coughing like crazy. People would think she had kennel cough and probably wouldn't even come near our both. Dash will probably be happy that he'll have all the attention to himself while I stay home and nurse Dot.

At least all the dog activities today allowed me to postpone mowing the grass a for a whole. The grass in the front yard is getting pretty long after last week's rain. I guess I get a reprieve. Nobody expects you to mow the grass when a you've got a sick dog around the house.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day