Day 1925

I love my new Keurig coffee maker. I don't know why I didn't get one of these things earlier. It's quick. It's easy. The coffee tastes good. And there's no cleanup whatsoever. This machine, with it's touch screen menu and ability to brew almost anything is the iPhone of coffee makers. I'm not usually impressed by kitchen appliances, but this one is a keeper. One of the first things I noticed about this 2.0 version was that it will only accept it's own brand of K-cups. I didn't think this restriction would go over very well with people and a quick Google search confirmed my initial suspicions.

Even though this version of the coffee maker is fairly new, there were already 100's of hacks that would let you use old style K-cups and those reusable containers that allow you use your own ground beans with the system. Since the only reason I bought the machine in the first place was to avoid grinding beans and cleaning up the mess later, it baffles me why people would go to so much trouble to convert their machine into an old style drip coffee maker. I guess it is human nature when someone tell you you can't do something to try and do it anyway. I'm not going to try any of these hacks. I'm not going to jailbreak my iPhone either. Why bother. It seems a wasted effort to fix something that works already.

I forgot to give Janet the folder with my tax information to take to the accountant on her way to work this morning. As luck would have it, she forgot her phone and came home to retrieve it, so I was able to give her the tax folder anyway. It takes a lot of coordination to get things done when you can't leave the house. It doesn't help that we are both becoming more forgetful too. Lord help us ten or fifteen years from now. Dot is forgetful too. Half the time when I take her out to pee, she forgets why she's outside and just comes in again. As soon as I sit down to do something, she remembers that she needs to pee and we repeat the whole process.

Since work was slow today, I tried to get some other stuff done. I made arrangements with the roofer to come over and repair the roof. When I got off the phone, I noticed that the day the work was scheduled to be done, it was supposed to rain. Sounds about right. I also contacted the landscaper and made arrangements to replace the dead grass in the backyard. Keeping the back yard looking nice is an exercise in futility. We've put in new sod every single Spring for the last five years. It looks nice until about August and then it dies. I water the grass, treat the ground for grubs, and apply fertilizer, but there just isn't enough light. In the Summer, the tree canopy overhead blocks almost all the direct sunlight and the tree roots suck up all the water. The grass doesn't stand a chance.

Dot continues to get stronger. I provide very little assistance when I use the harness now. I'm trying to encourage her to support her own weight again. When her legs are placed correctly, she does great, but it is still easy to slip. Dot must be getting more feedback from the nerves in her legs now, because she can balance her weight much better. She'll automatically shift her legs and re-balance when she is starting to slip. I have a feeling that the ugly rugs are going to remain in the house for a long time, but we're definitely making progress.

This housebound existence is a weird way to live, but hopefully in another month or so Dot will be able to move around on her own. Dot just needs to get better before I go crazy.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1924

I got quite a bit done today. My taxes are finally ready to go to the accountant. I finished writing two more articles and sent them off to the client. I made an appointment to resume Dot's physical therapy later this week. And I contacted the roofer and told him about the problems I've been having with the peeling elastomer. Considering that today is Monday, this was pretty good.

A small piece broke off the grinder component of my new single serve machine when I was making coffee this morning. This was actually a good thing, because it gave me an opportunity to take this worthless thing back to the store and exchange it for something else. I boxed up the coffee maker and as soon as Janet came home to watch Dot, I took it back to the store and got a Keurig instead. All I want is a nice cup of coffee in the morning without having to spend half an hour cleaning the machine. Who knows if the K-cup pods will be as tasty as the beans I'm currently grinding, but the whole process will certainly be easier. I don't think you have to clean these K-cup coffee makers at all.

Dot continues to get stronger with each passing day.  Today I attached an extension to her Help 'Em Up Harness that lets her support her own weight and just serves as a fail-safe device to keep her from falling if she starts to slip. I was pleased to see that Dot can walk without me holding up her rear legs. On the other hand, I was a bit alarmed to see how awkwardly she walked when I wasn't supporting her. Dot is definitely not ready to walk completely unassisted yet. I'm in no hurry. We'll just continue taking things one step at a time. The stronger she gets, the better she'll be able to walk.

It would be nice if the roofers could come out tomorrow. I'm not going to hold my breath though. They probably won't show up until it starts to rain again. Since there is currently no rain in the forecast for the rest of the week, this would be an excellent time to get things repaired. The roof may be dry now, but it's going to take a lot longer before the park dries out. Dash's favorite routes seem to always traverse the soggiest and muddiest areas. I let hm walk wherever he wants though. He's been really good about dealing with all the extra attention I've been giving Dot, and I don't want to rock the boat. Peaceful, happy dogs make life a lot easier.

It's proving to be quite difficult to keep the house clean with a muddy yard and throw rugs all over the place. The vacuum cleaner doesn't deal with the little rugs very well and keeps trying to suck them up. It may be time for a new vacuum cleaner. For now, the house it just getting dirtier by the day. Dot has always been scared of the vacuum cleaner anyway and I don't have the heart to use it while she's trapped in her pen and unable to move. There are so many elements to this rehabilitation effort that catch me by surprise. I'm getting better at finding the dog poop but there's always something new to deal with. Since it's getting warmer, the wasps have returned and I can no longer just leave the back door open while I take Dot in and out to pee with the harness. The wasps are already starting to build nests under the eaves and if I leave the door open very long, they are sure to fly inside. The only good thing about Winter is that the bugs disappear for a while. Now, they're back again.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1916

The dogs were good today. It makes a big difference. I was able to get the water off the roof. Janet cleaned the floors. And we were both able to go to the gym. Things work pretty smoothly when we take turns watching Dot. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow, except that my shift will be quite a bit longer.

In anticipation of Janet's return to work tomorrow, I tried to take care of as much unfinished business as I could. I paid the bills that were stacking up on my desk and took them to the post office. I also went shopping for a new coffee maker, since the old one has just about given up the ghost. I came home with one of those single serve coffee makers that are becoming popular these days. I'm the only one that drinks coffee in the house, so this seemed to make sense. Instead of making a pot of coffee in the morning, I'll just make it by the cup as needed. I think I've wasted a lot of coffee over the years by brewing way more than I needed.

Since we've reduced Dot's prednisolone dose, she is able to make it through the night again without needing to go outside and pee. This makes life a lot easier. We all got a decent night's sleep for a change and even the early rising dogs didn't feel the urge to get up until about 7:30 AM. I think when her circular pen arrives next week, we'll just let her sleep there. She doesn't like sleeping in the crate, but this new enclosure is larger and should allow her to change positions relatively easily. Right now, she sleeps in a secure padded bed near our own bed. She can't hurt herself, but she can't move easily either. If she has to get up or shift positions during the night, I have to get up and help her.

I hope the sun comes out tomorrow. When I removed the water from the roof this morning, I noticed that the problem area had become a bit larger. I'd like to re-coat this area with the waterproof elastomer and give it time to dry before the next round of rain heads our way. It's weird that California is having such a severe drought, because here in Texas it's seems like we get more rain every year. I can't remember a rainier Winter than we've had this year.

When I was walking Dash this afternoon, I noticed a perfectly circular hole in the clouds with bright rays of sunlight shining through, reflecting off the water below. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Whatever caused this phenomena was short lived. Ten minutes after I took a picture of the odd hole in the clouds, it was completely gone. I also saw my first turtle of the season today. When the water turtles start sunning themselves on rocks and partially submerged logs, Spring can't be far behind.

I hope tomorrow will go smoothly. It would be a good day to write, but that will depend in whether there are any writing jobs in my inbox tomorrow morning. Dot walks like a drunken sailor, but she can actually walk now. The main reason I hold on to her special harness is to help her up when she's sitting and to keep her from trying to run. She already tries to chase squirrels when I take her out to pee. It would be very bad if she was able to run at this point. She'd probably make it about ten feet, slip and fall, and injure one of her legs. It's my job to keep Dot safe. I take this job seriously, because Dot apparently has no idea how fragile she is right now. Dalmatians and complete bed rest don't co-exist very well. They just don't understand the concept. As soon as we get Dot walking normally again, I think I'm the one who's going to be needing some complete bed rest.

Carmine is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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