Day 2831

I fixed the refrigerator this morning. I remembered what the appliance repairmen did the last time they were here and did exactly the same thing. I was a little worried about electrocuting myself since I didn't unplug the refrigerator before I started taking it apart, but the repairmen left it plugged in too. The repair won't be permanent because there is still a thermostat that needs to be replaced, but I think I did a good job. Everything is working perfectly now and I saved $175 by not calling in another emergency repair.

It took me about two hours to get the refrigerator running properly again. I put all the frozen food in an ice chest while I was working and nothing thawed. I could do this again if I have too, but I would prefer to have the two thermostats replaced so the automatic defrost circuit works properly again. I wonder why it is taking so long to get those parts? Either the repairmen have forgotten about me, or the parts are on backorder. I'll call tomorrow and remind the guys that I'm still here.

Dash is still not eating well. I eventually got him to eat enough to make sure he is still getting proper nutrition, but it was an uphill battle. Feeding Dash these day involves lots of little meals and judicious food substitution whenever he refuses to eat something. I sure hope that his vet can come up with an explanation for this odd behavior. He'll turn up his nose at something and then two hours he'll scarf the same thing down like it was his favorite meal. He won't eat wet and dry food mixed together anymore, but he will sometimes eat dry for if it's mixed with a broken up rice cake.

Walking Dash has become equally problematic. I'll put his harness on, lace up my boots and then he won't go out the back door. It took four tries to get him interested in an evening walk. The first three times he refused to leave the house. The fourth time he walked eagerly out the door and headed straight for the back gate. I don't know what's going on in that dog's head anymore.

Once I was sure that Dash was ready for a long nap and wasn't going to lick his injured dewclaw, I went outside and began cutting the pile of branches I had thrown off the roof yesterday into smaller pieces so I could take them back to the alley. Cutting up the Elm Tree branches took me even longer than fixing the refrigerator, but I did get the job done. Now there is a neat pile of wood in the alley that will have to sit there for another month before I can take it to the curb for October big trash pickup.

Dash was happy to see Janet when she returned from the Dalmatian Rescue Golf Tournament this evening. She brought him some hand made dog treats she won in the silent auction. For some reason Dash had no problem at all eating these.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1458

To hell with going to the gym today. I got more than enough exercise by clearing a safe path through the downed trees behind the house, so Dot and Dash could get into the park again for their daily walks. When that was finished, I moved the huge pile of branches the power company tree trimmers threw over my fence back to the alley where they belong. If I get time tomorrow, I'll haul everything out to the curb, so the city trash removal trucks can pick them up. The power company guys said they'd be back to clean things up, but truthfully, I don't expect to ever see them again. They've already moved on.

I don't know if I'm ever going to get caught up with work. Today was even busier than yesterday. A hosting company glitch knocked one of my clients off the Internet and everyone was in a panic. They couldn't remember the password for their account, and since it isn't my account, I didn't know either. I did remember one password for this account, but it didn't work. I'm sure the hosting company has required customers to change their passwords several times since the worry free days when everyone used something simple like "1234."

My retail customers are all in full holiday mode, which can be just as stressful as a lost password. I don't think Black Friday went as well as many people hoped and now they are scrambling to make up those missing sales. I have trouble getting excited about the holidays, The weather is always horrible and everyone is pulling out all the stops to get their customers to buy, buy, buy. Most of the work I've been doing this week is very time sensitive and "later" just isn't an acceptable answer. I certainly hope my efforts to get people to buy lots of useless stuff are successful, because I always like to see happy clients in January.

I did find a little time to make it to the grocery store and pick up something for dinner. Janet and I are both so busy that we rarely cook anymore. I just pick up ready-to-eat stuff from the deli or chef prepared sections. The food is very good, but it isn't the most economical way to eat. I don't know why people tend to eat more when it's cold. The grocery stores have been packed all week. The ice is all gone now, and the stores are still crowded. Maybe nobody plans ahead anymore and they're all just shopping for their next meal like I am.

I hope that things slow down a bit tomorrow. I'm really tired. There's still the ice and the neighbor's tree to get off the roof. There's still another Santa Paws pet photo event to complete before we're done for the year. My printer is clogged again, because it sat unused for too long during the power outage. Hey, I'm looking forward to a delicious breakfast at my favorite Friday restaurant though. I've got to think positive thoughts.

Savannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day