Day 3554

Today was a little different. Instead of taking a walk right after breakfast, I turned on the computer and recreated the missing business card. Why didn't I do this in the beginning? It only took me about fifteen minutes to redo the card from scratch. I spent hours looking unsuccessfully for the old files. I uploaded the layout to one of the same online printing companies I thought might have printed the original card and I was done. Is there a lesson in this? Probably not. If there is an easy way and a hard way, I usually pick the hard way.

After I got the business card taken care of, I edited some of the new Dalmatian pictures I've been taking and got dressed to go to my doctor's appointment. This was just a yearly checkup with a specialist I don't see much anymore. I was hoping that they'd have a better nurse this time. I remember she had a hard time finding a vein during my last visit and ended up sticking me multiple times. You'll never feel it when a good phlebotomist draws your blood. An inexperienced one can make you want to skip your appointment.

Todays blood draw was fairly painless, but my blood pressure seemed abnormally high. I mentioned this to the doctor and he just laughed. "We don't even need your blood pressure," he told me. "We're required by law to take a reading before every exam though, so we just buy the cheapest monitors we can find." "Throw that cuff away," he told his nurse. "It's been reading high all day." The doctor seemed pleased with my exam and said that I didn't need to see him again until this time next year. I don't have nearly as many doctor's appointment anymore. I feel healthier and apparently the most of my doctors agree.

I finally did a side-by-side comparison of the old and new dehumidifiers today. The old one clearly isn't working as well as the new one. It's hard for me to throw the old machine away because it still looks brand new. Rationally, the dehumidifier isn't worth fixing. I've had trouble finding a repairmen who works on this brand and I know that the repairs would cost almost as much as a new machine. This is why we bought the new dehumidifier in the first place. Too bad. I was kind of hoping I could fix the old machine and then we'd have two. Hey, you can't have too many dehumidifiers.

This morning, I was convinced that I wouldn't have time to take my long walk today, but when I got home from the doctor's office, I decided to walk anyway. Skipping a day now and then is no big deal, but I've gotten hooked on taking a lot of steps for my Fitbit to count. A walk at the end of the day is really no different than a walk in the morning. It was still way too hot.

I watched the third episode of Ken Burns documentary about Country Music. After the first hour, I got bored and wandered away from the TV to do something else. Ken Burns films are well done and really interesting, but they are way too long. I think I've got the message now. I'm not sure if I'll watch the final episode at all.

I'm sure that tomorrow won't seem nearly as busy as today. I don't have many busy days anymore. I'll figure out something to do though. I always do.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3475

Another 20,000 step day. This isn't much by historic standards, but it's about all I can manage these days. Multi-day backpacking trips didn't used to faze me when I was younger. Times have changed. I don't think I could make it all the way around the lake today. I'm not winded or even that tired. It's my joints. My knees, shoulders, and elbows have all seen better days. Sometimes it feels like all the cartilage is gone. I take glucosamine and chondroitin but I'm not sure how effective this is at rebuilding cartilage. I certainly don't see much difference after years of taking these pills.

Although it felt like I spent the day walking, I did manage to get a few other things done. I went back to the store and got strawberries. I should have looked in the refrigerator first. Janet had already gotten strawberries when she went to the store a little earlier. I  also got some more peaches. I guess I didn't realize that there are almost as many varieties of peaches are there are apples. The Earth Rich peaches I got yesterday tasted mushy and fibrous. Today I got a different variety called Sierra Rich which tasted much better.  Needless to say, there is plenty of fruit in the house now.

I was terrible on the basketball court this morning. Maybe skipping a week at the gym made a difference. Hand/eye coordination is a curious thing. You'd think that after all this time I would have perfected the free throw. Nope. Some days I can sink quite a few shots in a row and other days I'm all over the place. Even though my coordination wasn't up to par today, I still enjoyed my time on the court more than the treadmill and hand bicycle. I see a lot of people walking and jogging on the indoor track in the Summer. It would make sense for me to do this as well. For some perverse reason, I still prefer to walk outdoors, even though it's getting pretty hot outside.

Walking outdoors is very conducive to daydreaming. Walking indoors is just exercise. I enjoy trying to identify plants and animals, along with observing what has changed in the neighborhood. There's something new to think about every day. Even cloud formations can be interesting on a hot summer afternoon. There were sailboat races on the lake today. I also noticed that the wild fennel is in bloom. I've often thought about taking sailing lessons, but since I don't even use my kayak anymore, I doubt that I'd go sailing very often. It is not an activity that is usually done alone. The boats are still fun to watch though. There are lots of little Sunfish and Lasers at the lake, along with a variety of larger craft. I think that one of the local sailing clubs must have been having a regatta today. The lake was a busy place.

Now that I've become a slave to my Fitbit, I'm not doing as many household chores. There only so much time in a day. Without a dog, the house stays cleaner now. It's amazing how much hair a Dalmatian can shed. They shed constantly. We were sweeping up big piles of dog hair every week with Dot and Dash and yet each dog always had a full, healthy coat. Where all that hair came from will remain one of life's enduring mysteries.

Not surprisingly, we miss all the dog hair. I think Janet and I will be going to go visit the rescue dogs again tomorrow. There are several new dogs in the program that need to be photographed for the website. That's not the real reason we're going though. We just need our weekly Dalmatian fix.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3013

There are so many products I would like to buy that simply don't exist. Why doesn't someone manufacture the dog boots I currently make by hand. I take a stretchy rubberized sock and apply tough yet flexible inner tube rubber at strategic wear spots. These boots are easy to get on Dash's feet and stand up to a lot of punishment. I've never seen anything like them. I also would like to see a bright saucer shaped LED bulb that would fit inside the living room sconce lights. I know exactly what the light bulb would look like, but nobody makes one. Trust me, I've looked. While I'm at it, why doesn't someone make an adapter that would allow you to retrofit inexpensive Home Depot toilet parts in my Porcher toilet? None of this is rocket science. Why doesn't anybody make these things?

I've always had these problems. Things I obsess about just aren't a high priority to anyone else. I can't even find a decent pair of pants anymore. About three years ago I found a brand I really like. The pants fit well, had tons of pockets, and were made of a heavy canvas like material that seemed like it would last forever. I should have bought more of these pants while they were still available. Now, this company makes everything out of much lighter synthetic fabric. They seems to love stretch fabric, which I hate. Everything is advertised as quick drying and easily packable. Apparently backpackers and rock climbers love this stuff. I guess I'm not the target audience anymore.

Dash pooped in the house again last night. I didn't even wake up this time. At some point I woke up and noticed that Dash was sleeping on the floor. This was unusual and I immediately suspected the worst. I picked up a flashlight and walked slowly and carefully toward the back door. It didn't take long to find the evidence. At least Dash tried to go outside. I felt bad that I didn't wake up, but I must have been really tired. Jeez, Dash. You bark at me for everything else. Couldn't you try barking when you need to poop? At least everything landed on the bricks. Although he almost hit the Persian rug in the living room, this was nothing compared to last night's mess. I cleaned everything up, washed my hands twice, and went back to bed.

I wonder if fitness trackers are even remotely accurate? My Apple watch never shows the same results as my Jawbone UP band. Today Janet and I both took the same morning and evening walks with Dash and we both went to the gym. Our fitness bands showed wildly different results. Could these things be delivering fake news as well? I wouldn't be surprised.

I finally got around to constructing a second pair of rubber boots for Dash. I sure wish Shoe Goo wasn't so messy. My dog boots are tough and functional, but they aren't very pretty. You'd never buy a pair if you saw these in a catalog. I wish Dash didn't need these boots, but he's dragging his rear legs even more than he used to. Dash would be a good candidate for water therapy if I could ever get him to ride in the car. Right now that isn't even an option.

The toilet and the refrigerator are still working normally. I've seen no evidence of ice build up in the refrigerator so far and I don't hear the toilet running anymore. It's too early to declare victory, but I think we're headed in the right direction.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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