Day 2259

Things take longer now. It takes me longer to shave. It takes longer to brush my teeth. It takes longer to make the bed. It's not just age that slows me down. I've become more particular about how I do almost everything. I wouldn't say I've that got OCD, but other people might. This odd combination of aching old bones and a mildly obsessive personality, can turn many days into a slow, plodding journey.

True to form, today didn't didn't start out like a spontaneous romp on the sun. The combination of a lingering cold and a long list of Sunday chores made the day seem like walking through quicksand. To be fair, it wasn't even sunny today, but I doubt if blue skies would have helped much. It took forever to make the bed. The dogs were slow on their morning walk. And I lingered over breakfast so long that it was almost lunchtime when I finished.

I spent the afternoon alternating between taking short naps and vacuuming the house. I've grown to hate vacuuming since we filled the house with inexpensive rugs to help keep Dot from falling over. These rugs are no match for the powerful Dyson vacuum cleaner and I'm constantly having to turn off the machine and pull a rug out of the brush after it got sucked in. The house was so much easier to clean before there were all these rugs. All you had to do was run a damp mop over the brick floors and you were done. The rugs seem to be giant dust magnets. Furniture and dog beds must be moved every time I clean, and even after a concerted effort to tame the dust, nothing looks any different. The only evidence that I've done anything at all is a full canister of dust and dog hair. I continue to be amazed at how much dirt and dog hair can accumulate in a single week. Well, OK. I admit it's been two weeks since I vacuumed. Maybe that explains it.

I feel a little better today, although Janet keeps telling me that I probably have pneumonia. I doubt that I have pneumonia since I got the pneumonia shot this year at the same time I got my flu shot. I don't have a fever. I just have a nagging cough. Chest colds like this must be quite common, or there wouldn't be all those irritating Mucinex commercials on TV. We had been planning to go to an open house in the neighborhood this afternoon, but Janet decided that she didn't want to go at the last minute. She was probably concerned that I would break into violent coughing spasms and scare the Realtor and any potential buyers. I'm still a little curious what the interior of this house looks like, since I've walked by it for years while walking the dogs. I must not have been that curious though, because I certainly don't regret missing the little home tour. Hey, maybe the change of plans proves that I'm spontaneous after all.

I've got to remember to take my car to the dealership tomorrow. I made the service appointment so long ago that I've almost forgotten what's wrong with the car. It's one of those intermittent electronic problems, so when it isn't actually driving you crazy, it is easy to forget. I hope they don't give me another Evoque loaner car. The engine in these cars automatically shuts off every time you pull up to a stop sign. This is supposed to be a feature, but it drives me nuts. After a lifetime of having cars that stall out at stoplights for no particular reason, having a car that does this on purpose just seems wrong.

Wow. I just noticed that it's pouring rain outside. I guess we need the rain, but I've grown fond of our long stretch of dry, low humidity days. I haven't had to go up on the roof and remove standing water for a long time. I've given up on having a nice lawn. I think if there was enough water to take showers and flush the toilet, I could go without rain for a long time.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2076

Janet and I went to a barbecue and going away party for one of Dot's nurses today. She's leaving Dallas to begin vet school in London. What an adventure. I always admire people who have the nerve to take a big, bold step forward. Going to vet school at the Royal Veterinary College in London is a big deal. It is consistently ranked among the top three vet schools in the entire world. Of course, Texas A&M, where a lot of my veterinarian friends went to school, is ranked number six in the world. There are a lot of really good veterinarians in Texas. Dot will miss her friend at our water therapy sessions, but she's going to be a very good veterinarian someday.

I've got to start getting more sleep. I got to bed late last night, and even though we slept in a little longer because it was Saturday, my activity tracker still said I'd only gotten 4 hours and 10 minutes of sleep. That's really not enough. Whenever I wake up a little late, my first thought is how to get Dot dressed in her harness and outside before she poops all over the place. Sometime I succeed and sometimes I don't. It's kind of like watching a ticking time bomb. You know it's going to explode sometime. Today, we did manage to get Dot to the back door in time, but neither of us had our shoes on and Dot pooped in the doorway. I should have had my shoes on before we headed for the doorway, but it's hard to be coordinated when you're still half asleep.

The poop soiled area rug is finally dry again and it's actually cleaner than all the other rugs in the house. Maybe I need to take the all the other rugs outside and hose them down with the pressure hose. It couldn't hurt. There are some things even the Dyson can't handle. I've just about concluded that it's physically impossible to keep a tidy house with old, sick dogs. It's just not going to happen. It doesn't help matters that the house itself is older than the dogs, and Janet and I are older than the house. Everything in our little universe is slowly falling apart. I used to wonder why my parent's house looked like it had been hit by a tornado as they got older. It was always as neat as a pin when I was a kid. Now I know the answer. Priorities change, and a messy house can end up being the least of your worries.

One of my worries today was gaining access to my coffee pods. The door to the kitchen cabinet where I store all the Keurig pods was jammed shut. Somehow the latch had broken in the closed position and it was impossible to open the door. I tried everything I could think of the get the latch to release, but nothing worked. I finally had to pry the door open with a large screwdriver and ended up ripping the two screws holding the latch to the door right out of the wood. I was really lucky that I didn't end up cracking the door. Now I've got to find a new latch. Nobody makes them anymore. I bought a dozen of the peculiar looking latches at an old hardware store when I first bought the house. One of my rent properties used the same type of latches and I knew I'd use them. I think they're all gone now though. A lot of door latches can break over a twenty year period. I'll think of something. It's already one of my projects for next week.

Dot seemed pretty perky today. From time to time she would get up from her dog bed and wander around the house with no assistance from me whatsoever. Baby steps. I'm still hoping we can manage to get her a little stronger.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day