Day 3291

Today started oddly. As I was getting ready to go to breakfast, I noticed that the garbage truck was parked right next to my can on the street. The driver appeared to be texting someone or maybe he was having an Egg McMuffin for breakfast. When he finished he drove away, completely forgetting to pick up my trash. Damn. I was the only can of the street he skipped. I quickly ran out to the street and pushed my can to an adjacent street to catch the truck on it's return through the neighborhood. I'm glad my hastily improvised plan worked because I have no place to store two week's worth of trash.

A little later at the hotel restaurant I noticed that a well dressed older man sitting next to me was eating a meal that definitely wasn't on the menu. I was intrigued, because this guy's breakfast looked really good. I asked my server if I could order something off the menu too. She gave me an odd look and just said no. How did the old guy get to order whatever he wanted when I couldn't? I'll probably never know because I didn't want to make a scene. The old gentleman was very polite and clearly was accustomed to privilege. This odd little incident made me realize that I'd love to live in a world where I could walk into a restaurant and ask the chef to whip up whatever I wanted. "Menu? We don't need no stinkin' menus," I'd say.

I've totally lost track of what day it is. Probably everybody else has too. The time between Christmas and New Year's is an amorphous mess. I only remembered it was Friday because of chasing the garbage truck this morning and I only remembered to take the trash out last night after Janet reminded me. Basically every day kind of feels like Saturday.

Cleaning up poop doesn't help me remember what day it is because it happens all the time. It's almost easier that Dash poops in his sleep now because I can place a puppy training pad under him. The poop has been landing on the pad pretty consistently now. When I change the pad and put a fresh one under his butt, he often wakes up and decides he needs to pee. I'm still getting up in the middle of the night but the whole process seems more organized.

I got a lot of things done today, but none of them were important. I repaired several of Dash's boots with Shoe Goo. I calibrated and unclogged the large printer. I updated software on my laptop and recharged a bunch of batteries. By the time I was finished it was time for dinner. Janet is always dusting things around the house and told me that refusing to dust is a sign that you've given up. That hurt. I never dust. I actually think dust protects things from scratches.

As a sign that I never give up, I thought I'd go to the gym tomorrow. Hey, in my own dusty way, I'm determined. This plan lasted about thirty seconds because I eventually remembered that tomorrow isn't Sunday. Everything needs to happen on the correct day whether I can remember it or not.

Dot & Petey are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

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

Watch of the Day

Day 1174

The leaf blower made its first appearance today. It was a warm and windy day and it seemed like the thing to do. The leaves wanted to blow away anyway and I just gave them a little nudge in the right direction. It's amazing how many leaves the big oak and elm trees in our backyard can drop during the Winter. I wish I could think of something useful to do with all these leaves, but it's not going to be compost. We've tried to plant vegetable gardens at various points in the past, but the neighborhood squirrels, rabbits, possums, and rats relentlessly eat everything we plant. It's just not worth the aggravation anymore. Our yard is next to a large wooded area. Every season, I think the yard is trying to tell us that it wants to be part of the forest too. It just doesn't want to be domesticated.

As we were leaving the dog park this morning, we saw three police cars and an ambulance arrive. I looked around and couldn't see any problems. Nobody appeared to have been bitten by a dog. Nobody had a heart attack. No cars had been broken into. No purses had been stolen. I couldn't see a single reason for such a show of force. The police were definitely there though. Life in the city, I guess. There isn't always a reason for everything.

I can't figure out why our house is so dusty. We seldom open the windows and always use the best available furnace filters. Somehow, the dust continues to get in though. Lots of dust. I tried to dust and vacuum the office this afternoon and it seemed like an impossible task. Layers of dust covered everything. It hadn't even been that long since I'd cleaned the place either. Nature seems to have taken over, inside and out. When I'm fighting these losing battles, I often wish I lived on the the seventeenth floor of a brand new high-rise. Instead of cleaning on Sunday afternoons, I would just take the elevator down to the first floor and have a cappuccino with friends in a nearby coffee shop. This isn't going to happen though. The dogs definitely prefer things just the way they are.

The dogwood trees are in bloom all over town. They are quite pretty. In a few weeks, it will be the azaleas turn to shine. Sometimes I think Dallas has more azalea bushes per square mile than any other city in the world. The entire city turns pink. While the azaleas are blooming, there is often a brief  explosion of bluebells and other wildflowers alongside the major freeways. Then it will be time to mow the grass again. Spring never lasts long enough in Texas.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day