Day 1365

I was busy from dawn till dusk, but now that the day is over, I'm having trouble remembering what I actually did. The entire day was a succession of necessary, but not very memorable tasks. I got my September invoices out today. I retrieved a large banner from the storage warehouse in preparation for upcoming Dalmatian Rescue events. I picked up some clothes from the dry cleaner. I did some research on the best way to install Wordpress on a Macintosh. There was more, of course, but these were the memorable things.

I definitely didn't rush out to place an order for a new iPhone though. I was totally underwhelmed by today's product introductions. I think I can live without a button that identifies me by my fingerprint. The irritating thing about all new Apple phones is that they always change just enough to force you to buy a new case. I like the case I have now. Even though the new iPhone 5S is the same size and shape as the current model, there's that pesky round biometric fingerprint button. It's pretty clear that current waterproof cases, like the one I have, won't work with that thing.

My vet wants to keep Dash on phenobarbital for the time being. I was a little disappointed to hear this, but the logic makes sense. She said the best reason to keep Dash on phenobarbital was that it works. Alternate medications might work too, but you wouldn't know until you tried them and that would involve a long, drawn-out process of gradually reducing the phenobarbital dosage while introducing the new medication. The vet acknowledged that there was a potential danger of liver damage using phenobarbital for extended periods of time and recommended frequent blood tests to monitor liver enzyme levels. This made sense too, since I do exactly the same thing myself.

A new cutting board I ordered from England came in the mail today. This one looks exactly like the one I would have made myself if I had the time, tools, and patience to do it myself. The new cutting board is well made, has a built-in colander, can go in the dishwasher, and fits perfectly in its allotted space. It still has to pass one final test though. We have to see if Janet likes it. Sometimes she likes things I buy for the kitchen and sometimes she doesn't. Whatever happens, it's a safe bet that the nice slab of Mahogany I bought a few weeks ago will probably wind up in the storage warehouse.

I'm going to begin attending those Wednesday morning business networking breakfasts I've been invited to, starting tomorrow. We'll see which is going to be more difficult: going to the gym three times a week, or getting up early every Wednesday.

Cleo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1357 - Labor Day

I usually get things backwards on Labor Day. Instead of a day of rest, it's usually a day of labor for me. Since there was a huge downpour last night, I started the day by getting the standing water off the roof. Since the neighbor's pecan tree is already raining down a bumper crop of nuts that the squirrels immediately crack open, the standing water was stained a dark brown by the broken pecan shells. Tannin stains from nuts and leaves have already discolored my pretty white energy efficient roof. As the roof grows darker, it will eventually start absorbing the sun's energy instead of reflecting them the way it is supposed to. This type of roof probably works great in barren warehouse districts where there are no trees. Unfortunately, I have an abundance of large oak trees that are already trying to make a mockery of my new roof.

I had to pick up some prescriptions at the pharmacy this afternoon, so I thought I'd look for a restaurant supply store on the way home and get a small colendar for my cutting board project. I should have known that all the restaurant supply stores would be closed today. Since Walmart, Home Depot, and the shopping malls are all open today, I keep forgetting that the whole point of Labor Day is to give working folks the day off. I came home and started looking for colendars and wire mesh baskets on the Internet instead. Although I found dozens of colendars, I couldn't find one in the size I needed. They were all too big. Then, I thought I might be able to use one those wire mesh baskets that are used in ultrasonic parts cleaners. I found plenty of these things as well, but they were all too small. While I was looking, I also discovered that there were already plenty of ready-made over-the-sink cutting boards with built-in colendars that looked much better than the one I was trying to build. Maybe it would be much simpler to just buy one of these.

Since I'd wasted most of the day already, I decided to waste the rest of it by cleaning my office. The office never seems to get much cleaner after my attempts to straighten, arrange, and declutter, but it still seems important to make an effort. Since I could write my name in the dust that has accumulated on the top of my desk, I thought it might be a good day to do a little dusting. I don't know where all this dust comes from. I never open the windows and I always use the highest rated furnace filters I can find. The dust still finds a way inside though. I might as well be living in a tent.

Janet was a lot more productive than I was today. She set up a sewing factory in the living room and made dozens of fancy dog bandanas for the upcoming Dalmatian Rescue golf tournament. Maybe I'll be more productive tomorrow. It's a work day, whatever that is.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1354

I decided to make a kitchen cutting board today. You would have thought this endeavor would have involved a quick trip to Home Depot, or better yet, an even quicker trip to Bed Bath and Beyond for a ready-made cutting board. Nope. Nothing is this easy with me. We've had trouble with cutting boards warping or splitting apart in the past, so I wanted something that was impervious to water. I thought mahogany would be a good choice, because people make boats out of the stuff. I discovered very quickly that not many companies sell select quality mahogany lumber here in Dallas. Even fewer will sell you a single small piece of wood about the size of a cutting board. After much searching, I finally found a specialty lumber company that said I could look through their scrap bin and see if I could find a piece of mahogany that met my needs.

Too bad this odd little lumber company was a long way away.  I'm glad I still have the loaner car. My Defender would have never made the journey in this heat. School is back in session and the route to the lumber company was peppered with school zones. Throw a few broken stop lights in the mix and traffic just crawled along. Eventually, I reached the lumber company and found a nice looking piece of mahogany. I'm glad I wasn't building a boat. Select grade mahogany is a lot more expensive than I'd thought. Now I've got to sand the board, round the edges, and then cut an oval hole in the center so I can fit a small colander to drain food when I place the board over the sink. Alternately, I could forget all this and just use the board like it is.

It's always something with the dogs. When I was walking the pair through some tall grass, Dash let out a yelp and acted like something had bit him. I looked at his paw and found nothing. There were no cuts or abrasions and he hadn't stepped on a thorn either. When I extended his leg, there was no sign of pain or discomfort. I don't know what happened, but Dash limped periodically during the trip back home. The boy seems fine now. Maybe he's just a big baby.

I think most of my clients have already started their Labor Day holiday. Work was non-existent today. I didn't even have any website updates to do, which is rare for me. I'd like to tell you that I did something exciting with my free time, but all I've got to show for myself is a 10x21 inch piece of mahogany. I did try something new for breakfast though. That was nice.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1350

The trouble with working is that I'm too busy to get started on any of my ambitious bucket list projects and not busy enough to make any real money. I feel like I'm treading water at times, but I guess this is still better than drowning.

When I find the time, there's all sorts of things I'd like to try. I've been meaning to hook a camera up to a Meade Cassegrain telescope I acquired at a charity auction. I bought the necessary fittings to attach a camera about three years ago, but still haven't found the right opportunity to photograph anything. There are only about three or four days a year when the sky is sufficiently free of haze to take advantage of this super telephoto lens, but so far there has either been a dog emergency or a client crisis whenever the ideal day arrives.

I need to make a cutting board for the kitchen. For some reason, all the wooden cutting boards I've seen available in cooking stores are the wrong size. I found a local specialty hardwoods lumber company on the Internet, but have never found the time to spend several hours searching for a perfectly proportioned piece of rosewood or mahogany. It doesn't help matters that I will also have to buy a router and learn how to use it in order to create the kind of cutting board I really want.

I'd like to put rock sliders on the Defender 90, build a model train layout, and start recording my songs again, but I'll openly acknowledge that some of these things will never happen. There are always practical necessities like painting the house and caulking cracks and crevices so bugs can't get in that supersede the fun stuff. I guess I could start on some of my bucket list projects if I didn't go to the gym several times a week, but the workouts have become a practical necessity as well. Too many of my friends have already had heart attacks. I don't want to be the next one.

When I was walking the dogs this morning, one of my neighbors brought me up to date on the Summer's ongoing neighborhood disputes. I'm glad I really don't keep up with these things. I try to pretend that the park behind my house is out in the wilderness somewhere, and it is always distressing to realize that it is just a small patch of green in the middle of a big city. I would like to live in the middle of forty acres of land with no neighbors at all. The trouble with this type of arrangement though, is that there are seldom good veterinarians nearby.

When I was at the gym today, I discovered something else that is murder on my carpel tunnel hands. The gym has a really nice basketball court, so I thought I'd shoot a few baskets while I was there. Yikes! This used a few wrist muscles that I haven't moved in a while. My hand-eye coordination isn't what it used to be, but I did manage to dunk a few.

Cammy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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