Day 2442

Janet's birthday dinner was a few days late, but it was still very nice. We went to Knife, a new steakhouse in the neighborhood that has received national attention recently. The place was started by John Tesar, who was once a Top Chef contestant, and according to D Magazine, it is this year's Best Steakhouse in Texas. I prefer to think of the place as the hotel restaurant in the pet friendly hotel where we always stay when the power goes out or a water leak floods the house. We didn't have the nerve or the money to try the signature 240 day dry aged rib-eye, but our meal was very good.

It's a good thing I went to the gym today, because I definitely ate more than I usually do on a Sunday evening. I noticed this afternoon that my workout is remarkably consistent. I'm usually done after about 62 minutes and seem to burn roughly the same number of calories every week. The only thing that seems to vary is how long it takes me to sink five baskets from the free throw line. Sometimes I do this almost immediately and other times it seems to take forever.

I came closer to meeting my sleep goal last night than I have for a long time. We didn't get up until almost 8 AM, which is almost unheard of in this house. It certainly helped that Dot and Dash didn't wake us up like they usually do. Dot made it all the way through the night again without pooping in her bed and Dash didn't make a loud, noisy spectacle out of changing position during the night like he usually does. We need more days like this. Getting enough sleep really makes a difference.

The rain appears to be over for a while. It was somewhat surprising to see blue sky for a change. I'm amazed at how crowded the park has become on a nice day. When we first moved to the neighborhood, we practically had the place to ourselves. It's like a amusement park on weekends now. Dash likes to crisscross from one side of the paths to the other, depending on which side smells the best. I have to really watch out for cyclists now. They appear out of nowhere going very fast, and they never slow down. Bicycles are fine, but I'm not a big fan of cyclists. Why do they all act like the roads and trails were created expressly for them? Today, when I was driving home from the gym, I encountered three cyclists riding side-by-side so they took up the entire road. This made it almost impossible to pass them and traffic was backing up. Did these guys care? Not in the least.

I got another two month free trial offer from SiriusXM radio. I wonder why they sent me this offer, because I didn't bother to sign up when they sent me the same offer last year. I'll probably take advantage of the free offer again, just like I did before. Two months is plenty of time to discover that the service isn't actually worth paying for.

Next week is going to be busy. Dot has three vet appointments scheduled, each at a different vet. The first is her annual wellness exam, the second is her physical therapy session, and the third is a cancer re-check. I don't know how I screwed up and scheduled these so close together. In my defense, the appointments were all made at different times. It's not easy to transport Dot anymore, so one appointment a week is plenty. We'll make it work though. I certainly don't have anything better to do.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1744

When I was walking the dogs this morning I noticed a bulldozer ripping up the trail we normally use. Now there is just a lot of loose dirt that will immediately turn into a mud pit as soon as it rains. I think the city is planning to replace the trail with a much wider concrete bicycle highway to accommodate all the cyclists who like to ride in the park. I'm not looking forward to this. The trail has been a nice, peaceful place to walk the dogs for many years and as soon as the cyclists arrive, it will just be another place to avoid. Bicycles and dogs on a leash don't mix. The dogs and I have almost been run over by Type-A cyclists too many times to count. When you're on the same trail together, these guys, and they're almost always guys, don't want to slow down or move over for anybody.

I probably won't have to worry about the bicycles for quite a while. City projects move exceedingly slow. It will take at least a month for them to rip out the old trail. Then it will take another month to construct the wooden forms and place the steel rebar reinforcement before actually pouring the concrete. Sooner or later though, this bicycle highway will be finished and I'll have to find a quieter place to walk the dogs.

Life is gradually returning to normal. The dogs are healthy again and Dot's incontinence problems seem to be over. My workload has returned to a predictable mix of writing and website design. I'm busy, but not too busy. There seems to be plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast and long dog walks while still meeting deadlines. The familiar routines aren't all that exciting, but they're comfortable. As long as the dogs stay healthy, I'm OK with this.

Dot was stronger today and participated in many of the exercises at our training class this evening. Both dogs seemed to enjoy the cool, pleasant weather. Since the autumnal equinox was yesterday, the days will start to get noticeably shorter now. It's already dark by the time training class is over and pretty soon it will be dark before we even begin. The sky was clear and I recognized a few constellations overhead as Dash and I did our training exercises tonight. It made me wish I'd bought something when I went to the telescope store the other day.

Tomorrow is Dot's physical therapy day. She's still not quite as strong as she was before her illness, but she's getting close. Her progress reminds me that physical therapy actually works. I really need to get one of my doctors to refer me for physical therapy myself. It would sure be nice to have a functional shoulder again.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day