Day 4443

The weather was crazy today. It seemed unseasonably warm when we walked Dawn early this morning. The temperature was 70 degrees and we didn't even need jackets. We returned home thinking that it was going to be a nice day. I was dumbfounded when I walked outside again after eating breakfast and the temp-erature has dropped to 38 degrees. What happened? This sudden change seemed almost instantaneous. Oh, well. I put on some warmer clothes and took my long walk. The weird thing about this sudden change of temperature was that it wasn't accompanied by a lot of wind. It didn't even feel like a front was moving in.

I walked early today because it was time for Janet to have cataract surgery on her second eye and I was the designated driver. I was a little surprised that they scheduled both eyes so close together, but that's the way they do it these days. The whole procedure is amazingly fast. It was almost time to return to the surgery center by the time I drove home. I've been dreading having cataract surgery myself, but Janet's success with these procedures makes me feel a little more confident. The first surgery has already dramatically improved her vision and she said the second surgery went well too. 

The surgery center is super efficient and they always send the designated driver lots of messages about how the surgery is progressing and when and where to return. Some of these messages arrived while I was in the car driving back to take Janet home again. Much to my chagrin I realized that I've forgotten how my paired phone works in the car. Nobody calls anymore and I never listen to the radio. When the calls would come in I would press the green button on the steering wheel and couldn't figure out why I couldn't hear anything. The call was connected but I could barely hear a voice. How do I make this thing louder I kept thinking? After several dropped calls I finally figured out that you controlled the volume on the phone with the volume dial on the car radio. The volume dial was multi-function and controlled all the car's audio. Since I had turned off the audio months or even years ago, I'd almost forgotten that this button existed. When we drive to visit the kennel Dalmatians in Janet's car she listens to the radio. When I drive, we don't listen to anything. I've forgotten how to program stations in my car's radio. Basically I like silence. When I drive out to West Texas, I make the entire long drive in silence.

Apparently, another arctic cold front is headed our way. This seems a little strange because it feels like it is already here. Nope. According to the forecast it is going to be even colder tomorrow. It is supposed to rain as well. I just hope that we don't have any more freezing rain. If history is any guide, we will have to endure this erratic winter weather for another month. Occasionally we've had some really bad weather in March. I'll be glad when April arrives. It's officially Spring in April and wildflowers are everywhere.

I hope we don't allow ourselves to be dragged into another needless foreign war. Haven't we learned our lesson by now? I'm an unabashed isolationist and think our country would be a lot better off if we just minded our own business. The Vietnam era was pointless. So were the endless wars in the Middle East. I can understand why Putin would like to recreate to old Soviet Union. Maybe he succeeds and maybe he doesn't. I just don't understand why we are obligated to get involved. Let the Europeans handle this. I don't even understand why we are a member of NATO. Sadly the only thing that Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on is foreign wars. They both love a good foreign war. It's a perfect distraction from all our domestic problems.

I was able to walk three miles today. I guess that's progress. I was struggling to walk two miles yesterday. It's sad that my two regular activities have lost their magic. What would I replace them with though? Walking keeps me moving and blogging keeps me thinking. I still believe that physical and mental activity are equally important so I'll keep on keeping on. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to look a lot like today.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3582

I went to the dentist today and got impressions made for my new retainer. It actually took longer to drive to my appointment than to make the impressions. I was in and out in fifteen minutes. It always seems weird when the dentist fills your mouth with what looks like bathroom caulk and has you bite down on a spacer that presses the stuff into your teeth. I'm always convinced that this mess will stick to my teeth and be impossible to remove. After two minutes the goop hardens and pulls away cleanly though, making a perfect impression of your teeth. This will serve as a mold to make the actual retainer which should be ready on Thursday. I asked if they could just mail it to me, but the dentist needs to make sure the retainer fits properly. Looks like I'm going to have to drive all the way up to the dentist again.

It rained again during the night and this morning I noticed what appeared to be a small leak in the office. The water looked like it was coming through a can light in the ceiling. I've never had a leak in this spot before, so this was very disappointing. It's too bad it rained on the same day I got the silicon roof coating. Due to the weather, I still haven't been able to make any repairs. I cleared away all the standing water after I took my walk today and am hoping for the best. The long range forecast says it's not going to rain again until next Monday. Hopefully I can patch things before then.

This weather is driving me nuts. This Fall we have already had two cold fronts that only lasted one day each. Yesterday it was back to ninety degrees and today was super muggy. The humidity was so high that my shirt was drenched before I even finished my first mile. Tomorrow it is supposed to be cold again. I think the temperature at sunrise is expected to be fifty-five degrees. At least it isn't going to rain tomorrow. I've really got to get this roof fixed.

My allergies have been terrible this week. The windy days and swiftly changing weather probably have something to do with it. I was afraid I was going to be blowing my nose and sneezing on the dentist while he was making my impressions, so I took an antihistamine this morning. I rarely take antihistamines because they make me feel terrible. My nose stops dripping, but my entire head feels like it is wrapped in a blanket. I get an odd buzzing feeling that is hard to describe. I didn't want to sneeze on the dentist today, but generally I'd rather go through a box of Kleenex every hour than feel this way.

Janet is traveling again. This means I have to start cooking for myself again. Cooking to me generally means just heating something up in the microwave. I still like those Cadence Kitchen flash frozen meals though. You just heat them up in a skillet on the stove and ten minutes later you have a tasty and reasonably healthy meal. I like their Mexican Style Pulled Pork and Chicken Tikka Masala. I think they make a Paella Valenciana now too. There is a little too much salt in these meals, but not as much as I'd get if I went to a restaurant.

I can't decide whether to write the roofer again. He'd probably just ignore me. The gift of a $250 bucket of liquid silicon is his way of saying "don't bother me anymore." It's irritating to still have a leak though. The roof shouldn't be leaking. If he'd gotten me the silicon coating back in July, I probably wouldn't be having this problem.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2222

I don't believe in numerology, but I'd like to think that days like 2222 have some sort of special significance. I guess all days are special in one way or another. The last time we had a day like this was way back toward the end of 2012. On Day 1111, Dot and Dash were still healthy enough to run and play at the dog park. It was a cold, clear Winter day much like today. I took some stuff to the storage warehouse that day and went looking for a new floor lamp at Home Depot. Nothing has changed and everything has changed. I wonder what Day 3333 will be like?

It would be funny if I was still going to my favorite breakfast restaurant on Day 3333. I'm bound to get tired of this place eventually. For now, it's still a delicious change of pace and a nice way to end the week. I actually got to the restaurant a little later this morning because there were no accidents during the night and both dogs slept well. When the dogs sleep, Janet and I get to sleep a little longer too.

There was no real reason to get started early today anyway. There wasn't that much to do. Since I'm more or less caught up on work again, I spent the day doing little things around the house. I finally discovered why the sliding glass door is sticking. It's not a broken roller as I initially thought. On closer examination, I noticed that the entire wall has shifted a bit and the ceiling and floor aren't quite parallel anymore. This wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have a floor to ceiling sliding glass door. Now, when I open the door it is traveling very slightly downhill. After about two feet, the bottom of the aluminum door touches the metal track that keeps it in place and friction brings the heavy door to a stop. I'm not sure what to do about this. I suspect it would be a lot easier to replace a roller in the door than to re-position the entire wall.

I took a small check to the bank today and paid most of the Christmas credit card bills. If there aren't any unexpected vet bills or household emergencies next month, I might actually have a little money left over. I don't know why I even try to keep things in balance anymore though. The stock market had an absolutely horrible day. So far, this might be the worst January for the market on record. Very few people have escaped this market downturn because just about everything has gone down significantly. Could I have invested more wisely? I doubt it. A lot of things are just out of our control these days. I mean, who would have thought that the price of oil would come down to twenty dollars a barrel again? Wasn't it over a hundred dollars a barrel just a short while ago?

A large limb from one of the Oak Trees fell in the yard this morning. Luckily, the limb didn't hit the house, the dogs, or myself. These trees are getting old and falling limbs are becoming a common occurrence. It's probably time to get the trees trimmed again. I used to have a tree trimmer come out every year, but I've let things slide a bit. Tree trimming, like everything else, has gotten expensive. Hey, if I don't look up, I don't notice how bad things have become. I need to put taking care of the trees on my to-do list. One more big ice storm and I'm sure some other limbs are going to fall. I don't want one of them falling on my head.

Our crazy weather continues.  It warmed up and was quite nice today, but I hear there is a possibility of snow tomorrow.

Betty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1538

Unbelievable! Yesterday it was 81 degrees. I was wearing shorts and we had the air conditioner on. Today, it is twenty degrees, there is a fierce wind, and it is sleeting outside. Only in Texas. I'm beginning to wonder if I just imagined yesterday. It is so cold that even the normally cold blooded Dot refuses to go outside. I don't blame her. I don't want to go outside either.

When I discovered what the weather was like, I immediately scrapped my plans to go to the gym today. There is little point in going to the gym if you end up wrecking your car on an icy road afterwards. The only time I even got near the car today was to start it up in the driveway to make sure the battery still worked. I'm once burned, twice shy about batteries and cold weather. They've let me down before and probably will again.

I'm glad I picked up that DVD of "Gravity" yesterday, because watching an Oscar nominated movie inside a warm house sounds a lot more appealing than anything I might have been doing outside. I really liked the movie, although I probably would have liked it even more if I'd taken the trouble to drive to a nearby 3-D theater and see it on a big screen. I can see why the special effects took over three years to create. They were simply spectacular. After a while I forgot I was looking at special effects. It just looked like someone had filmed the whole thing in space. Alfonso Cuarón deserves major kudos for pulling off an extremely ambitious production. Even Buzz Aldrin was impressed, and he's been to the moon. At any rate, watching this movie, while Janet cooked some savory smelling pork chops in the slow cooker and the dogs curled up for a nap on their dog beds, seemed like a good way to spend a very cold day.

I guess I hadn't realized that the Oscars had become an all day television event. The red carpet fashion shows seemed to begin around noon and the actual ceremony is still going on. If this show is anything like last year, it will still be still be going on long after I go to bed. I guess I don't really care who wins, or I'd be watching the show instead of writing this blog post. Ellen is pretty good as a host though. Maybe I just like snarky humor.

I hope the weather improves tomorrow. I've got a lot to do and I doubt that I'll be able to get away with staying inside all day. Jeez, when is this crazy weather going to finally run its course? I'm ready for Spring. Just like I expected, all the early blooming daffodils and flowering dogwoods are frozen now. An early Spring really doesn't mean much if it is immediately followed by a late freeze.

Despite the terrible weather, there is still a lot to be thankful for. Dash's recovery has been remarkable. The furnace works great this year, and the house is actually warm. I've already received my assignments for tomorrow, so there's be plenty to do, whether I get outside or not. I wish that damn redbird would quit pooping on my car though. It's driving me nuts.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1517

I'm surprised that the city didn't close the dog park today. It was sure pretty muddy when we arrived after breakfast. I'm glad they left it open though, because Dot and Dash both had a great time. Dash even found a playmate, a little black dog who seemed determined to show Dash how fast he was. It was fun seeing Dash lose his fearfulness for a moment and race around the park with his new found companion. After about 45 minutes, both dogs were ready to come home again and they spent the rest of the day curled up on their dog beds.

I returned to the gym this afternoon for the first time since my shoulder injury. I didn't attempt to do any lifting or upper body exercises. All I wanted to do today was burn calories and the treadmill worked fine for that. I hadn't spent much time on the treadmill before, and discovered that all the dog walking I do has actually been keeping me in pretty good shape. Thirty minutes on the treadmill is a lot easier than twenty minutes on the hand bicycle. It was interesting to see that if you control your breathing, your heart rate actually goes down, even if you are moving along at a pretty good clip. I need to figure out how to return to doing upper body exercises without destroying my shoulder all over again. Endurance I've got. It's strength that I need. Muscle atrophy is real as you get older. Dot is experiencing it, and so am I.

I tried to get a head start on my February invoices today. I'm so busy during the workweek now that's it's hard to find time for things like this. Invoices are important though. If I don't send them out, I don't get paid. It would be nice to go after some new, and possibly more interesting, business. This doesn't seem to be in the cards though. It's all I can do to keep up with the business I already have. Every day is more or less the same. I get up. I walk the dogs. I eat breakfast. I write an article. I feed the dogs lunch. I take a shower. I update my clients websites. I write another article. I feed the dogs dinner and walk them again. I eat my own dinner. I write my daily blog post. And I go to bed.

This is exactly what will happen tomorrow, with one small addition. We take the dogs to the vet early in the morning before they have their breakfast so they can both have blood tests. We need to to find out whether Dash has a vitamin-B deficiency and Dot just needs recent blood-work before we get her teeth cleaned. If the dogs aren't having a blood test, chances are that I am. My next test is on the 20th to see if the new Hepatitis-C medicine is working.

I was hoping for another sunny day today, but all I got was an absence of rain. The day started out pretty warm, but the temperature continued to drop as the day progressed. By morning, the chances are high that we will have returned to Winter again. Back and forth between the temperature extremes we go. I don't even think the ground hog could have predicted this.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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