Day 2950

It only rained for about twenty minutes today, but it would happen to be the same twenty minutes when I decided to give Dash his afternoon walk. Dash seems to have lost his ability to detect approaching storms. So have I, it appears. We get caught in the rain a lot. Today's rain was a real soaker. I was worried that I may have ruined my camera and phone. Luckily there was no thunder and lightning. Everything still worked when we got home, but Dash and I were very wet.

Ironically, I'd gone to the gym this morning specifically to avoid the rain. In retrospect, it would have been smarter to have walked Dash earlier in the day and let the car get wet during the afternoon. As always, we may have made it home before the storm this afternoon if Dash wasn't so slow. He still insisted in smelling every bush along the trail even though we were both getting drenched.

I had a good workout today. It still seems odd that my body reacts the same way every Sunday. The first twenty minutes, my aches and pains are in control and I just want to go home. The next twenty minutes I'm kind of in a zone where I'm not really aware of time. My mind wanders and I start to notice what the other gym members are doing. During the last twenty minutes, I often feel surprisingly good and absentmindedly wonder whether I should stay and exercise a little longer. I never do.

I was planning on vacuuming the house this afternoon, but it took so long to dry Dash off after we got caught in the storm that I quickly lost interest. I had to do something, so I recharged a bunch of battery powered devices and took a nap with Dash instead. From time to time I would turn the television on and then turn it off again. I can't stand to watch the news channels anymore. Eventually, The Great British Baking Show caught my interest. Watching bread bake is much more interesting than politics.

Yesterday, we experimented and fed Dash later than usual. We also made him wait for his bedtime snack until ten-thirty PM. There was some barking and bad behavior due to this delay, but the reward was that Dash didn't need to go outside and poop in the middle of the night. We all were able to sleep without interruptions until morning. It was so pleasant to get a decent amount of sleep that we're going to trey the same strategy tonight. We have been so worried that Dash was refusing to eat that he has become very spoiled. Once he realized that he was calling the shots, he began wanting to eat earlier and earlier. Things have gotten out of hand. We've got to work on reestablishing a more reasonably feeding schedule without getting Dash all worked up and putting his heart at risk. Life is always interesting with a Dalmatian.

I have articles to write but I still have this antiquated notion that Sunday should be a day of rest. I have no idea why going to the gym qualifies as rest and writing doesn't. I guess I only feel like I'm working when I'm following someone else's orders. When I'm calling the shots, it's never work. Maybe Dash feels the same way. He certainly likes to call the shots about his meals and feeding schedule. Dash is a very stubborn dog. If he and I can compromise on an appropriate dinner time, it should be a no brainer for congress to get the government running again.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1689

It was a long day. Dot is having trouble getting up and down. We're kind of between a rock and a hard place. She's still too weak for physical therapy, but it was the physical therapy that was keeping her strong in the first place. She's lost a lot of weight along with some muscle mass, but we sill have to feed her a bland diet with small portions until her incisions have fully healed. It's a balancing act. I know Dot would like to eat large meals to pack on the pounds and then go on a long walk. She's not ready yet, unfortunately. First she needs to be able to get out the back door without stumbling on the single small step down to the patio. It's hard to tell this to a sick, but very stubborn dog. Especially when she thinks she's ready to go anywhere.

It didn't help matters that it poured rain during the morning and the stock market dropped over 300 points during the afternoon. All in all, it wasn't a very auspicious day. I probably shouldn't worry about Dot so much, since she has been making steady progress every day. I know that this is going to take time, but it's sad to see her muscles start to atrophy again, especially since we've all worked so hard this year to keep her active and strong.

There were more website problems to unravel today. First on the list were calls to technical support to find out why a client's online forms weren't working properly. I'm beginning to hate online forms and databases, since they tend to crash every time the hosting company changes servers. The rest of my day was spent trying to figure out how to modify a site that I didn't build in the first place. Working with other people's code can be baffling at times. Why did they do it that way, I wonder? Sometimes I learn something from unraveling these mysteries, but mostly it's just irritating.

There will be no trip to my favorite breakfast restaurant tomorrow morning. I had initially thought that I might be able to get away for short periods when Dot's condition stabilized, but since she's having trouble getting up and down, I need to stay nearby. Dot needs to rest. The last thing she needs right now is to get frightened while struggling to get up after she's been sleeping. Old legs sometimes need a boost, and I've had lots of experience keeping senior dogs walking. I talked to Dot's physical therapist today and hopefully we can get her back on the water treadmill soon. Water therapy is great for older dogs, because the buoyancy of the water takes weight off the tired muscles while still allowing a full range of movement.

I'm still having trouble comprehending that it's August already. I guess it will be OK to give Dot her monthly heartworm pill in the morning. One more question I forgot to ask. We were told to go ahead and continue heartworm medication after Dash's surgery, and after Spot's as well. I'll probably still call the cancer center first thing in the morning though. I hate ambiguity.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. My Jawbone fitness band said I slept less than three hours last night. I think I need to rest just as much as Dot does.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1300

I woke up this morning to a quiet house. Janet likes to walk the dogs on weekends and she had taken them on a morning walk before I'd even gotten out of bed. I don't know how the rest of the family can get by on so little sleep. No matter what's going on, I always feel like I could sleep a few hours more.

Once I did get out of bed, I tried to make myself useful by watering the lawn, making the bed, and doing some laundry. This was just the warm up act for the task I'd been dreading: repairing the Sheetrock in the living room. It's a shame that most of the drywall mud I applied today will just be sanded off a few days from now. It will probably take about three coats of the compound, each sanded smooth after it dries, before the repair starts to look decent. I'll be glad when I'm done. I'm not fond of messy work, and doing anything with Sheetrock is definitely messy.

The dogs had a great time at the dog park today. Dot had plenty of energy for a change and Dash even managed to find a playmate. I don't know how Dash chooses the dogs he wants to play with. He often rejects shy, gentle dogs like himself in favor of larger breeds that end up scaring him. Today, he found a young Irish Setter that he took a fancy to and the two dogs had a great time racing up and down the park. By the time we got home again, Dot and Dash were content to snooze for the rest of the afternoon.

I spent some of my afternoon re-learning how to use the WiFi function on one of my cameras. I like the idea of being about to completely control the camera with my phone, but I can never remember how to create a ad hoc network linking the phone with the camera. I need to remember how to do this, because I'll never be able to impress clients with my remote control camera skills if can't even remember how to sync the camera with the phone. When I finally figured out how to tap my phone and take a picture, it was time for dinner.

The day ended pretty much as it began; with a nap. I probably could have done more today, but Sunday is best enjoyed as a day of rest. Janet fixed a great dinner tonight. The dogs are happy. All is well with the world. Too bad tomorrow is Monday.

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 522 - Dash's Birthday

Today is Dash's birthday. We think he's about six, mostly because when we adopted him on this day five years ago, we were convinced that he was just under a year old. It was just a guess though. It's kind of a tradition with animal rescue dogs that their adoption day becomes their birthday as well. You never really know the true age of a stray. It's only when they become really old that you see how good your initial guess was.

We took the dogs to Cafe Lago this evening for Dash's birthday. A lot of places in Dallas allow dogs on their outdoor patios now, but Cafe Lago is the only place I know of in town that has a special chef-prepared menu just for dogs. I've been tempted to order off the dog menu myself ocassionally, because everything looks so good. The dogs each had an order of meatloaf and eggs, while Janet and I had hot sandwiches.

I finally got those wildflower pictures I've been talking about taking finished. Today was one of those perfect cloudy bright days with no shadows that photographers love. I figured it was now or never, especially since the wildflowers will be gone in a few weeks anyway. When I got home and looked at the pictures on the computer, I realized that I had more or less wasted my time. The pictures looked exactly like all the other wildflower pictures I've taken on previous years.

I ventured up on the roof again for the first time since I was stung by the swarm of bees a few weeks ago. Thankfully, there were no bees this time. Only the usual standing water from yesterday's rain. I sure wish the roof drained properly. Whenever it rains, the water collects in the center of the roof, where it stays for weeks, until I either sweep it away or it evaporates. It's not hot enough yet for the water to evaporate, so I'm still doing a lot of sweeping.

Hopefully the weather will be nice tomorrow. It's one of those rare Sundays without a lot of chores or errands. I'm really looking forward to doing nothing at all.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day