Day 4140

Taking Dawn on a car ride to a new park has become a Sunday ritual. Dawn always appears excited and apprehensive at the same time. It kind of reminds me of how I feel when I take car trips. By all rights Dawn and I should be best buddies. We both spend way too much time waiting for the other shoe to drop. Today was certainly a good day for a little excursion. It was beautiful outside. We saw horses today. Dawn wasn't scared of them, but I don't think she realized that Dalmatians are supposed to have a natural affinity for horses. What Dawn was really interested in was the ice cream. We always end our Sunday outings with an ice cream cone.

I stayed busy today. It was an increasingly rare 20,000 step day. I must have looked pitiful when I was mowing the grass this morning because a homeless man wandering down the street stopped and asked if I needed help with the mower. I assured him that I was fine and always mowed this slow, but he persisted for a while before he continued wandering down the street. I think he just wanted money. The good news is that the yard looks a lot better now. The bad news is that I'm probably going to have to start mowing every week again. Most people on the street use a yard service now, but I continue to mow myself. Why not. We have a small yard and it's good exercise. I don't really like yard work, but I don't like going to the gym either. I wish the human body just stayed in shape automatically.

Now that my missing package has resurfaced, I'm getting frequent notices from the post office about its whereabouts. Oddly, the package is still in Indiana. I think it is making a grand tour of Indiana postal facilities. The post office needs to talk to Amazon. Janet has Amazon Prime and they seem to be able to deliver virtually anything the next day.

There were even more people in the park today than there were yesterday. It's not surprising. You've really got to take advantage of nice weather here in Dallas. It doesn't last long. I don't mind all the joggers and dog walkers on the trails, but there are way too many skateboarders and guys barreling along at thirty miles an hour on those electric Onewheel boards. You can buy a used car for the price of a Onewheel, but  these things are surprisingly popular. A brand new way to kill yourself I guess.

I'm continuing to watch YouTube tutorials about astrophotography. I'm amazed at how many people make these things. Some of them are very good. If you want to do anything, there's a YouTube video to tell you how. Before I attempt any major computer repairs, I'll look for a YouTube video to explain the process. Why do people make these videos? You might make a little money from the ads that Google inserts at the beginning, but I suspect that most of these tutorials are a labor of love. I could never do this myself but I'm glad these tutorials are out there. You can learn a lot on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Dawn has decided to join us for dinner again now that Janet and I have switched chairs and she can't see me. It's weird to have a dog that doesn't like you. Dawn isn't scared of me at all and is perfectly comfortable with me feeding her and walking her on a leash. She just doesn't want to be friends. It's OK. Actually I understand completely. I don't want to be friends with everyone either. 

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3923

What a beautiful Fall day. The temperature was in the mid-60's when we went walking this morning. The smoke disappeared overnight and the sky was clear and blue. There was a nice breeze and my allergies weren't bothering me at all. A lot more trees are starting to turn and we noticed that two more White Pelicans have arrived at the lake. We counted five of the birds today.

We also found the lost female Muscovy Duck this morning. Janet and I were convinced that the duck was dead since we haven't seen her in over a month. She is very much alive with six brand new baby ducklings. The ducklings explained a lot. The mom probably just found a safe place to make a nest and it's just now that the ducklings are getting old enough to rejoin all the other ducks. The reappearance of the female duck probably explains why the two male Muscovy Ducks moved to a different section of the lake. All three were together again today. It made me feel good to see the three ducks reunited. Muscovy Ducks are ugly, but we've become attached to them.

After our regular walk this morning we took Dawn to a different park in the afternoon to continue our efforts to get her used to riding in the car. She's still nervous about car rides, but she always enjoys the destination. She got a special treat today because we stopped for ice cream on the way home. I've never met a dog yet who didn't love ice cream.

I was going to make roof repairs today but when Janet suggested taking Dawn on a car ride that seemed like a much better idea. I don't know if there would have been time to apply the silicon coating anyway. It really needs 48 hours to dry completely and it's going to rain again tomorrow. It's looks like there is rain in the forecast for several days. It must have something to do with the next hurricane headed for the Texas coast. We are pretty safe from the hurricanes themselves, but we often get rain from the outer rain bands.

I joined my very first Zoom meeting today. I can see now why the software is popular. It was easy to use and the whole experience was more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Maybe I won't be so reluctant to join these things in the future. It took less than an hour out of my day and much to my surprise I enjoyed talking to these people again.

It appears that there is going to be a rocket launch next Saturday. Now I just need to decide whether I'm going or not. One of my Florida friends said that if I have confirmed press clearance I ought to go. He said that the Covid rules change frequently and nobody with credentials really knows if they are going to get clearance again. We'll see. I'll try calling the Air Force again tomorrow. I suspect that the launch will get postponed again anyway. There are a lot of hurricanes in the Atlantic right now.

There might be a new Dalmatian at the kennel tomorrow. I know that we have a new dog in the program now, but he might still be at the vet getting his initial exams. I'll take my camera just in case. Hopefully, we'll be able to take our walk with Dawn in the morning before the rain arrives. 

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3911

The days are getting noticeably shorter now. We start our morning walks at the same time, but it's much darker now when we leave the house. The sky doesn't noticeably lighten until we're almost at our halfway point. This morning we completed our walk and had returned home before the sun rose above the horizon. Daylight Saving Time doesn't end until November, so we've got more dark walks ahead of us. I think Janet and I will both be glad when the temperature cools enough so that we can walk at any time of day.

I wrote another letter to my sister today and took it to the post office. These are the only physical letters I write to anybody. Everyone else switched to e-mail a long time ago. Sadly, even e-mail is becoming too much of a bother for a lot of people. Texting is gradually replacing e-mail as the preferred way to communicate. I find all this kind of sad. Communication has become so rudimentary now. I still like a nice long letter and will never resort to using Emojis.

This afternoon we took Dawn to another park to get her used to riding in the car. Janet often does this by herself, but sometimes I go along to see whether having both of us in the car makes things better or worse. Helping Dawn overcome her many fears is a long slow process. She seems eager to go on a car ride now until the car starts moving. It's weird. She's always excited when we get ready to go and eagerly hops right in the back seat. As soon as we start backing out of the driveway, she starts shivering, shaking, and panting excessively. Usually she quickly reverts to acting normally again as soon as we arrive at our destination.

I actually found Clorox wipes today. These weren't genuine Clorox wipes. They were just a poorly packaged imitation that was probably quickly rushed to market by someone who wanted to take advantage of the pandemic shortages. I bought the imitation wipes anyway. These things can be useful in a world where you are constantly wiping down surfaces and cleaning your hands away from home. I still think the pandemic will be officially be over when the real Clorox wipes return to the shelves. That hasn't happened yet.

Janet asked me if I had Zoom on my computer. I guess she wants to learn how to use it. You're on your own there buddy. I have no interest in learning about Zoom or installing it on any of my devices. There is a certain freedom in being a Luddite. To me, Zoom just seems like an irritating way to bring the stress of pre-Covid days into your own home. Zoom is incredibly popular and the company is one of the hottest stocks on Wall Street now, but I have no desire whatsoever to talk to twelve people at once.

There was nothing happening on the Boca Chica cam today, but tomorrow something might explode. Since tomorrow will probably be as boring as today, I'm sure I'll tune in to watch the pressure test. I kind of wish there were live streaming cams everywhere. It would be nice to be able to check and see if there were crowds or lines before I went anywhere. I've become obsessive about avoiding crowds these days. They weren't quite finished filling my prescription when I went to the pharmacy this afternoon, and I had to wait at the store for fifteen minutes. Jeez. I couldn't wait to get out of that place.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2862

Janet helped me get Dash's orthopedic and protective gear on before she left for work this morning. I let him wander around the house while I was fixing breakfast, hoping that he'd forget he had it on. This plan seemed to work. He quickly became far more interested in begging for treats from me than in obsessing about his knee brace. About halfway through breakfast, Dash headed toward the back door and I knew he was ready. I was ready too. I put my smoothie in the refrigerator, grabbed a leash, and off we went. Could it be that Dash just wants to walk a little later in the day? Who knows. We took a nice long walk and then I finished my breakfast.

Since this little excursion went well, I decided to take him to the vet to get his anal glands expressed. As usual, he was terrible in the car, but at least I didn't have to worry about poop. He'd already taken care of that on our walk. While we were at the vet, I had the nurse trim his remaining dew claw. Since he tore the first dewclaw riding in the car, I'll always be apprehensive that this type of accident will happen again.

By the time I got Dash home and finished washing the breakfast dishes, it was almost noon. I'd already spent almost half a day dealing with a lovable but very stubborn dog. I fired up the computer to see if there was anything important that I needed to deal with. Of course there wasn't. It was time to get ready for the refrigerator repairman.

I was planning to have the repairman install the new temperature sensor I bought, so I watched a YouTube video to locate where the old sensor was. Locating and installing the sensor seemed simple enough, but after watching the video, I learned that the repairman was right. This particular sensor had nothing to do with my problem.

When the repairman arrived, he had the correct part this time and it only took him about thirty minutes to install it. We didn't bother to defrost the evaporator coil this time, because I'd already done this less than two days ago. The repairman said he was confident that the refrigerator would work this time, since we'd replaced all the parts connected with controlling the defrost cycle. I hope he's right. Having to deal with food that could spoil and go bad is almost as irritating as having to go to the laundromat when your washer breaks. When the repairman left, he told me not to worry. The parts are guaranteed for a year and if the evaporator coil still keeps freezing, he'll keep coming out until the problem is resolved. I thanked the guy and told him I hoped I wouldn't see him again for a long time.

A stray cat has been pooping in our yard and Dash is obsessed with finding and eating the stuff. Now, I've got to shadow him every time he goes outside to pee, so he won't sneak off and eat cat poop. The elusive poop is very hard for me to find, but apparently very easy for Dash to smell. I don't know how I'm going to put an end to this nuisance. The smell will go away eventually, unless the cat keeps coming back. Feral cats should know better than to hang around this neighborhood. There aren't many mice anymore and some of the cats routinely get eaten by coyotes.

I contacted the roofer again and tried without much success to get him to commit to finishing the repairs. This is the only major issue left on my Fall to-do list. There are a couple of holes that need to be patched immediately. I'd much rather have the roofing crew repair the damage, but I'd settle with another five gallon drum of the elastomer material at this point.

If I wasn't so apprehensive about leaving Dash, I'd go see Bladerunner 2049 tomorrow. I'm not very busy. This would be a good time to go. The film has done so poorly at the box office that it probably won't be around much longer. There are even matinee showings now. It won't be long before it will be at the dollar theaters.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2816

Traveling with Dash in the car is usually a disaster. Today was no exception. We made it to our appointment with the photographer this morning without incident. I think she even got some good pictures. The trip home was the problem. We had almost made it back to the house when Janet noticed that there was blood everywhere. Dash had ripped out one of his dew claws. Don't ask me how it happened. I don't know. He was fine when we got him in the car. He was fairly calm on the way home and didn't appear to get his nail caught on anything. He didn't even yelp or appear in pain. One minute he was sitting on his bed and the next minute there was blood everywhere.

We took him to the vet to stop the bleeding and see if he needed stitches. They were really busy, so we had to drop him off and pick him up later in the afternoon. When he returned, he had a bandage on his paw and was wearing a cone. The vet thinks he will be fine, but we need to keep him from chewing the bandage or getting it wet. Hopefully, the dewclaw will grow back. Dot lost a nail once when she got it caught in a crack in the pavement while on a walk. Her nail eventually did grow back, but it grew in crooked for some reason.

Dash hates wearing the cone and bumps into everything. Hopefully, we can take it off tomorrow. The bandage needs to come off pretty soon as well. There will be less risk of infection if the wound is exposed to the air. To be safe, he is taking antibiotics, but a damp or wet bandage is not what we want right now.

Taking Dash to have his portrait made and then taking him to the vet to get treated used up a big chunk of the day. I feel bad. Maybe if we had trimmed his nails a little sooner, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference. I'm really nervous about taking Dash in the car now. Bad things seem to happen whenever Dash rides in the car.

I ran my Saturday errands while Dash was at the vet and when he returned, I spent the rest of the afternoon with him to keep him calm. It wasn't that hard to keep Dash calm. He was really tired and pretty soon both of us were asleep on the bed.

Janet thought the refrigerator was broken again, but I thought she just left the door open too long while loading in new groceries. It still seems to be working to me. At any rate, the appliance repairmen will be returning next week anyway to install the new thermostats they ordered. I'm more worried about the shower. I had to use the wet/dry vacuum again today to clear away the water that had collected under the tiles. I think the shower pan will prevent the water from getting into the rest of the house, but it still shouldn't be getting under the tiles.

I hope Dash is back to normal soon. One problem after another is wearing me down. I feel vaguely guilty being bothered about trivial problems, because every time I turn on the TV, it seems like the rest of the world is dealing with huge, almost apocalyptic problems. A torn nail is nothing compared to a hurricane. I'm sure it's a big deal to Dash though. The little guy seemed pitiful today.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2815

Sometimes little things make all the difference. Nothing really happened today, but there were some little things that made it feel like a good day. The weather was beautiful. This is the one time of year when the weather is actually nice in Dallas. After a brisk morning walk with Dash, I had an enjoyable and surprisingly quiet breakfast at a place that is often crowded and noisy.

When I got home, I was amazed that I'd gotten a reply to the plea for help I'd sent the roofer a few days ago. Hopefully, he can figure out how to fix some of the mistakes his crew made earlier. My repairs actually look pretty good. When I went up on the roof today to clear away my equipment, it seemed like all my patches were solid. I'm sure there's still some water trapped under the elastomer, but the roof looks better than it did a few weeks ago.

Dash is still moody, but he's eating better now. We're back to eating two regular meals a day now, instead of dividing his food into a bunch of little meals. He hasn't thrown up in several weeks, so that's good too. Now if I could just get him to take normal walks again. For some reason he doesn't want to leave the house. Once we're down in the park, he's fine, but getting him to leave the house is often next to impossible.

You'd think Dash would be eager to leave the house. The place is pretty quiet these days. Dot is gone. Janet is back at work again. My office is no longer a beehive of activity. As a result, we both spend too much time thinking about food. I spend forever fiddling around with breakfast and since Dash never learned to eat slowly and savor his food, he's constantly begging for treats. I usually save some of the banana I put in my morning smoothie for him, but he eats the banana so quickly that I wonder if he even tastes it.

I did get a few things done today, but there was nothing that couldn't have waited until tomorrow. Actually tomorrow will be fairly busy. We need to take Dash downtown to get his picture taken. I'm not sure why, but I think it has something to do with the upcoming Dalmatian Rescue Golf Tournament. I could have taken Dash's picture myself since I'm a photographer, but that wasn't apparently the plan. I just hope that Dash is good in the car. I definitely don't want to be cleaning up poop again.

I'm mesmerized by reports of the slowly approaching hurricane. I hope everybody stays safe. I have a sister who lives in Florida and I never could figure out why she moved there. In addition to alligators, snakes, and huge cockroaches, they have to deal with hurricanes over and over again. I still think Wyoming is a better place to live.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2616

Dot threw up last night, which put me back on high alert again. There are so many things which can go wrong at this point that it's hard to keep them all straight. Dot has trouble chewing now and might have swallowed some food that she hadn't chewed properly. I'm always worried that the cancer might have spread and she's starting to lose her appetite. She probably threw up for no reason at all. Dog do that a lot. The worst thing about throwing up right after we've all gone to bed is that she threw up her evening meds. You never know how much the body has absorbed, so you can't give her a second dose. As a result, Dot probably didn't get any blood pressure medication last night.

Today was just a typical day of weekend errands, but it seemed busier than usual. Janet had an event to go to, so it was harder to keep track of what both dogs were doing at any given moment. Dot seemed to be having a little trouble with the heat. She doesn't do well in warm weather and the temperature reached over 80 degrees this afternoon. Maybe the slightly labored breathing and the meal she threw up last night are connected somehow. Lots of laundry today. I was talking with a client on the phone when Dot decided to poop in the house again. I think this was the third time today. She wasn't on a protected surface this time and there wasn't much I could do. Just something else to clean up after the call was completed.

Dash has to go back to the cancer center for a recheck on Monday. Nobody mentioned this to me when he was released from the hospital. We just happened to notice an obscure sentence mentioning a recheck when we were reading his discharge summary this morning. I called to confirm and sure enough, he needs to go back for a few follow up tests. I'm dreading this. Dash is a terrible passenger in the car. Whenever I'm taking him home from a vet appointment, I'm hoping that he'll miraculously stay healthy for the rest of his life and I'll never have to transport him in a car again. Traveling with Dash is nerve wracking to say the least.

I wish the dogs weren't so restless in the evenings. Dash gets nervous when Janet isn't around at night and paces around at the front door waiting. This activity gets Dot agitated and she wants to get up too. I think I've taken Dot outside ten times this evening and she still hasn't peed. I'm still cleaning up poop though. Evidently, she kept dropping little plops throughout the house after I got her up to clean up her blankets.

I hope tomorrow's photo shoot goes smoothly. After the pre-light check yesterday, I thought this thing was going to be a piece of cake. Now I'm hearing that there will be lots of costume and hairstyle changes. There have already been changes to the set as well. This could take a very long time. I need to remember to be courteous and not say anything snarky. It sounds like everybody wants to improvise and improvisation is definitely not my cup of tea. At least Janet will be home with the dogs tomorrow and I won't have to worry about that.

It's almost time to give the dogs their evening meds. I hate to wake them up, since they've finally calmed down after a long evening of restlessness and are both sleeping peacefully. I guess it wouldn't hurt to let them sleep another hour. This is the first quiet time I've had all day.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2577

I thought today would never end. We certainly didn't get off to a good start. When I took Dot out to the back yard this morning, she left a trail of pee all the way from her bed to the door. It took me most of the day to get all the rugs washed and back on the floor again. I made her vet appointment for 11 AM, thinking that would leave me plenty of time to get ready. We made it, but just barely. I'm still having trouble coming to grips with how slow and tedious life has become.

Dot used to love riding in the car. As recently as six months ago, she would tolerate our trips to the vet. Now, the car seems to terrify her. Even a very short trip is a nightmare. She won't lie down anymore and keeps struggling to get up. This is not good in a moving car. Hopefully, we won't need to make another journey like this for several months. Other than peeing and pooping in the exam room, she did pretty well today. Her blood pressure and heart rate were good and a couple of things I was worried about turned out to be nothing. The vet clipped her nails, which had gotten way too long, and after an hour or so, we were on our way home again.

The weather has gotten really cold. There has been a stiff wind all day, which makes things seem even colder.  It definitely feels like winter and I'm really glad the furnace is working well. I heard on the news that we may even get some snow later in the week. I'm not looking forward to snow at all. Dot has enough trouble standing up on dry ground. Walking her in the snow might prove impossible.

In anticipation of an approaching storm, I took my hiking boots to the shoe repair shop to get some more heel taps. I have the shoe repair guy put these on every few months and they keep falling off. I reapply them with glue when I can, but eventually they just get lost. Even though the shoe taps are a temporary fix, I think they make my boots last twice as long. I seem to put all my weight on the edge of my heel and can wear out a shoe sole in no time. I wish I could buy a shoe with steel heels. Leather and rubber just don't seem to last long with me.

The refrigerator looked pretty empty this morning, so I picked up some Thai food on the way home from the shoe repair shop. Janet and I both buy groceries, but I don't do a very good job of planning ahead. Sometimes there are enough leftovers to last all week, and other times there are none at all. I guess I really don't think about food unless I'm hungry.

I never did find Neptune last night. The sky clouded over again and I don't think my binoculars were powerful enough anyway. Actually, I felt a bit foolish when I realized that the moon was already below the horizon when it passed in front of Neptune. I guess I need to read about these events a little more carefully on Google.

Hopefully, tomorrow will go a bit more smoothly. I feel like I never caught up today. It's weird that a simple event like a vet appointment is enough to throw the entire day off schedule. Dot is finally sleeping peacefully, and I hope to join her soon. It's been a very long day. I never realized that doing nothing could be so tiring.

Chase is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2451

I wish we'd discovered something more definitive about Dash today. The vet agreed that he wasn't moving his rear legs normally, but couldn't pinpoint a cause. The problem could be caused by a compressed disc in his spine. It could be a very early sign that Dash has a disease like Degenerative Myelopathy. It could be nothing at all. The exam today eliminated some possibilities, but many other possibilities still remain. We took x-rays of his lower spine and hips earlier this month, but I'll need to get another radiograph of his upper spine to eliminate the possibility of a damaged or compressed disc. He definitely hasn't ruptured a disc like Dot did, or his condition would be much, much worse. The vet didn't recommend an MRI at this time, because she said if that Dash has a neurological problem, an MRI can sometimes make the condition worse. I'm not sure how much I actually learned today. Dash is still in pretty good shape for his age, but if there's something we can do to help him, I want to know about it.

Dash is not a good passenger in the car. He becomes agitated and barks incessantly. By the time we got to the vet, I felt like I was going deaf and Dash was wound up like a spring. The vet said that acupuncture might help Dash if I could figure out a way to get him to ride calmly in the car. The acupuncture session would be largely wasted if he arrived full of adrenaline and bouncing off the walls. It's sad that Dash doesn't ride well in the car anymore. He was terrified of car rides when we first adopted him. Gradually, after years of taking him to dog parks and training classes, he began to act normally. Before both dogs got cancer, they loved to ride in the car to go to their favorite dog park on Sunday morning. We don't travel much anymore for obvious reasons. It's just too difficult.

I really hope there's nothing seriously wrong with Dash. After over two years of dealing with serious medical problems, I'm exhausted. Life has changed dramatically for us after both dogs got cancer. When Dot's spinal injury compounded the problem, I pretty much became a 24x7 dog nurse. Dot is such a high maintenance dog at the moment that I really need for Dash to stay healthy for a while longer. The best case scenario is that Dash is just getting older. It is common for breeds like Dalmatians and German Shepards to develop problems with their rear legs as they age. Spot's legs began to give out toward the end of his life and so did Petey's. Dash probably has quite a few good years left, but I want to be careful. I've dealt with so many serious dog problems over the years that anything out of the ordinary makes me nervous now. One way or another, I'll figure out what is going on with Dash.

I had some minor website revisions to take care of today, but nothing to reverse the trend I've been experiencing lately. My workload seems to diminish with each passing month. I know what I need to do, but the effort seems pointless at times. You need to interact with people to get customers. I need to start having lunch with people again. I need to go to industry events. It wouldn't hurt to take a few classes either. The problem is that I don't want to do these things anymore. Enough is enough.

Tomorrow, it's Dot's day to go to the vet. She's been doing surprisingly well lately. She's sleeping better now and occasionally gets up on her own to walk around the house. It's not a dramatic rebound, but she seems to have more energy than she did last month. I don't really know why Dot has good days or Dash has bad days. I just try to keep them both as healthy and happy as I can.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day