Day 1691

Today was pleasantly quiet and uneventful. Dot had moments when she was shaky on her feet, but then there were other moments when she seemed almost normal. She still seems to be improving a little bit with each passing day. Both dogs got excited when a neighbor's cat unexpectedly appeared in the yard. I didn't want Dot to injure herself by chasing after the cat, but when I took her out on a leash to investigate, she was surprisingly nice. The cat eventually got tired of the barking Dalmatians and left. Janet would like to have a cat, but whenever Dot and Dash get near one, they prove they aren't up to the challenge yet. Both of them have a strong prey drive and think cats are just a larger member of the squirrel family.

I hope our unseasonably cooler temperatures continue. It was in the low 70's this morning when we took the dogs for an early walk. Even later in the day when the sun came out, the temperature only rose to the mid-80's. I can remember several Summers when the temperature was above one hundred degrees for the entire month of August. This is much better. It almost feels like early Fall.

Our list of weekend errands has grown back to it's normal size. After breakfast, I went to the vet to pick up some more phenobarbital for Dash. Then I want to the pharmacy to get my own meds, filled the car with gas, and got groceries. When I returned home, Janet left to do her errands. We still don't feel comfortable leaving Dot alone. Mostly the dogs just sleep when we're gone, but there's always a chance that Dot might fall and be unable to get up again. After Dot ate the carpet earlier this year, I'm not sure I'll ever be completely comfortable leaving her alone again. Thinking back, I'm beginning to think that frantically eating a hole in the carpet might have been an early sign of distress caused by the tumor growing inside Dot's intestines. How were we to know though? Dogs eat things they aren't supposed to all the time.

I discovered today that one of my former co-workers has written a book about his career in advertising. This guy became somewhat of a superstar after we worked together in the early seventies, so I imagine it is an interesting book. I bought a copy to see if I remembered any of the stories. If I wrote a book about my own career in advertising it would just be an extended version of that old Johnny Paycheck song "Take This Job and Shove It." I was a creative fellow, but I wasn't a very good employee. I worked at seventeen different agencies before I finally realized that the only boss I was ever going to take seriously was myself.

Maybe I'll finally get a decent night's sleep this evening. We set an alarm and remembered to get Dot up at 2 AM to pee last night. The bed was dry, but I had a hard time getting back to sleep after we all came back inside. Since Dot was having trouble getting back in the bed, I just got a blanket and went to sleep on the floor with her. I'm pretty sure she slept better than I did.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1625

Medicine gives my life structure. The doctors, veterinarians, pharmacists, and technicians have become my equivalent of co-workers. I've seen some of these people periodically for many years. A few have even become clients. These people know me by name and we exchange the same kind of banter that regular co-workers do on a coffee break. The blood tests are becoming less frequent now. Dash and I have both moved on. I had a routine blood test at the liver center this morning, just to make sure my hemoglobin levels were returning to normal. Pretty soon, these tests will cease completely. You'd think I'd be delighted to put this all behind me, but even though I'm delighted that Dash and I are getting better, I'm going to miss the interaction. I like asking questions and learning something new. That's what you do with doctors and pharmacists. You ask lots of questions.

The neighbor's cat returned to our yard again today and drove the dogs crazy. Our neighborhood is filled with feral cats. Most of them learned to avoid dogs years ago, so it's still rare to actually have a cat in the yard. You'd think that one little cat couldn't cause so much chaos, but Dot and Dash have always seen a cat as a sign of the apocalypse. I had to remove the cat from the yard three times before it decided to look for mice elsewhere. It's a friendly little cat and I don't want the dogs to hurt it. I wish the neighbors wanted to keep their new pet indoors, but they obviously don't. You can't really convince people that having a barn cat in the city isn't right. If they think their cat is happier outdoors, you're not going to convince them otherwise. These outdoor/indoor cats do seem to enjoy roaming around and catching mice and birds. Unfortunately, my dogs enjoy catching cats. Dalmatians seem slow to learn that the cat usually has the upper hand in a confrontation. I had to take Spot, our first Dalmatian, to the vet several times when he got too close to a cat and it scratched him on the nose.

I'm pretty much caught up with work again. I checked the article I wrote yesterday for spelling errors and submitted it for publication. I made some minor website updates and uploaded them to the server. That was about it. The remainder of the day was spent going to the bank, picking up prescriptions, and dealing with the curious cat in the yard.

Although the forecast predicted rain again, it was actually pretty dry today. There were lots of dark clouds, but most of the thunderstorms went either to the North or the South of us. Since it was pretty dry, I went up on the roof and removed the standing water. This almost guarantees that it will rain again tomorrow, but I can't leave the water up there too long. Standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and I don't want my house to become a source for West Nile Virus in the neighborhood.

Dot gets her teeth cleaned tomorrow. This means she has to fast tonight and won't get the usually treats just before bed. We'll drop her off at the vet early tomorrow morning and if things go well, she'll return with sparkling white teeth by mid-afternoon. Hopefully, this will be the last vet procedure that either dog will need for a while.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1622

On my way to the gym on Sunday, I often listen to the TED Radio Hour in the car. The show starts at 2 PM, and by coincidence, that's usually when I leave for the gym. TED talks are one of the few things I continually find interesting. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, but these wide ranging talks can be about virtually anything. I always learn something. I wish there was a station that ran these talks non-stop, because they are a lot more interesting than listing to Hip Hop, old 80's rock, or ads from mattress stores. Today's talk was about fear and I listened to a fascinating conversation with astronaut Chris Hadfield as he explained what it was like to be strapped to the top of a rocket when the odds were about 1 in 35 that it would explode.

The odds were much better that I'd have a good workout today. I'm getting stronger now. I'm sure that having a fully functioning liver again helps. If I can manage to find the time to get back to my goal of three good workouts a week, I imagine I'll really start seeing some progress. Something is always better than nothing though, so for the moment, I'm trying to make the most of my once a week schedule.

I wrote my monthly essay for my writers group this afternoon. Why this afternoon? Well, the deadline was today. Like I've said many times, I'm very deadline oriented. Without a deadline, I'd probably do nothing. I'm skeptical of people who tell me that they are motivated by simply loving what they are doing. That isn't enough for me. I need a deadline, combined with the fear of public humiliation, to find the motivation I need.

The neighbor's new cat returned to our yard this morning. It's a shame that Dot has such a strong prey drive, since the little cat is very friendly. I think it has decided that it would rather live with us than with the people next door who adopted it. I've got to figure out how to convince the neighbors to keep their new cat indoors. If this is going to be an outdoor cat that is attracted to our yard, Dot will eventually hurt the cat, or hurt herself. She is much too old and frail to be chasing cats.

We had burgers and home made potato salad for dinner. It seemed like a perfect meal for a three-day weekend. I'll be the first to admit that I've led a fairly sheltered life. Like many baby boomers, I spent my life living between major wars and never served in the armed services. The period between the Vietnam War and the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was probably the longest period of extended peace in our country's history. It's easy for people like me to forget what this Memorial Day holiday really means. My parents both served proudly in World War II. They had something most of my own generation lacks. Patriotism wasn't just a word to them, it was a way of life. In honor of their service and of the service of the thousands who continued to fight and die after them, I hope that we can all agree to start treating our veterans better. It is simply unbelievable to me that prisoners at Guantanamo Bay receive better medical care than many of our own veterans. Maybe this Memorial Day holiday, we can finally decide as a country that the time has come to do much, much better.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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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

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Day 1271

It was a typical Saturday. I went to the doctor's office to straighten out a fouled up prescription. I watered the big patch of yellowed grass in the front yard that the roofers killed, in hopes that it would come back to life. I put clean sheets on the bed, vacuumed the house, and unclogged the large format printer. I tried to re-attach some of the plywood that had come loose under the carport when water poured though the unfinished and largely unprotected roof a few weeks ago. The roofers should have done this themselves, but they didn't. The dogs got a walk too, but they didn't want to go far. It was pretty warm today.

Before getting started on my weekend chores, I finished up an article that I knew would be due Monday. Next week is going to be busy enough anyway, so I might as well try to get ahead of the game.

There are so many bills this month, it's driving me crazy. Homeowner's insurance is due on the house. There a big car repair bill. And of course there's the roof. Month after month, small checks from clients arrive in the mail and much larger checks are written to pay the relentless onslaught of bills. My investments are supposed to make up the difference, but that hasn't been working out so well lately. It's frustrating to say the least. I don't understand all these economists on TV saying that we are in a non-inflationary environment when the price of gas, food, utility bills, and just about everything else seems to have doubled. When the phone bill is twice what is used to be, that's inflation to me.

I bought some new jeans when I was running errands this afternoon. As my waistline keeps shrinking, my old pants are starting to feel too large. If simply losing weight was my goal, I'd think I've just about reached it. I suspect getting healthy isn't quite so simple, however. I'm beginning to wonder if I might have lost too much weight. Since periodic blood tests are the only way to tell if I'm headed in the right direction, it's really hard to tell on a day-to-day basis. It probably can't hurt to lose twenty pounds though. I'm not sure my liver appreciates the slimmer, trimmer me, but maybe it will help keep diabetes at bay.

I couldn't figure out why the dogs were both barking so wildly until I looked out the living room window and saw the cat they were looking at in the back yard. I'd never seen this cat before, but it was obviously stalking something. I told the dogs to be nice to the cat, because it was helping us get rid of rats. I don't think Dot and Dash were listening, because they kept right on barking.

Our neighbors are having a party. There's one of those gourmet food trucks parked in their driveway. You can tell the kids are getting older when a food truck replaces the ubiquitous birthday bounce house. I'm curious what the food truck is serving, but not curious enough to become a party crasher.

Lacey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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