Day 2213

I took down the Christmas tree this morning, packed everything away, and took the decorations back to the storage warehouse. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do on a dismal, grey day. I don't know what the deal is with the weather lately. One day it will be nice. The next day is will be miserable, And the next day it will be nice again. You never know how to dress when you wake up in the morning. It's making me crazy.

I went to the bank and paid some bills after breakfast. That was about it. I had planned to go to the UPS Service Center and pick up a package, but UPS lost it again. I don't know why these things still irritate me, since they happen so often, but I wish UPS would get its act together. The UPS website and the UPS trucks seem to live in alternate universes. This certainly isn't the first time the website said I had a package that was going to arrive today and it just wasn't on the truck. I thought I could solve the problem by going down to the main service center and picking up the packages myself, but that hasn't been working so well either. Once, a UPS employee told me that the tracking information on the website was electronically generated and just told you where the package was supposed to be at any given point in time. Where the package actually was, could be completely different. That explains a lot.

I noticed that there was a big estate sale across the street from us when I went to the post office today. I knew that there were elderly people living in the house, but I didn't even know they had died. I don't understand the fascination with estate sales. They often attract huge crowds. This must have been a big one, because a line of people stretched all the way around the house waiting to get in. There were large hand lettered signs telling the bargain hunters not to park in the yard. There was another sign that said "no children allowed." That seemed strange. Although the sale seemed to be attracting people from all over Dallas, I didn't bother to cross the road and take a look. I find estate sales depressing. I hope I'm organized enough to downsize and dispose of things before I die when my time comes. Probably, I'll never get around to it though and my storage warehouse will end up being fought over on Storage Wars.

There were feathers all over the back yard this morning. It looked like one of the neighborhood feral cats had killed a bird during the night. I couldn't find the bird, but if it's still around, Dash will find it. My first thought was that maybe the cats had killed the bird that keeps pooping on my car, but the feathers were the wrong color. My second thought was that I really need to find the dead bird before Dash does. The last time Dash ate something dead in the yard, he had diarrhea for two days. Maybe the cats took the bird with them or ate the whole thing. That's always a possibility.

I sure wish that Dot had pooped earlier. Now it's pouring rain and I'll never be able to get the dogs outside again until it quits. There may be clear skies again tomorrow. Maybe my package will turn up. Anything could happen. I think there's a good chance that tomorrow might be better than today.

Alle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 669

I went to the estate sale of local architect John Barthel this morning. After walking the dogs and eating breakfast, I arrived pretty late. All the dealers fighting over the architect's vintage Knoll and Herman Miller furniture had bought what they wanted and left already. This was no great loss to me. I mostly just wanted to see the house itself, which had won an AIA award for contemporary residential architecture in 2002. I ended up buying Mr. Barthel's briefcase which was well worn and stained with the ink from hundreds of architectural drawings. I don't really use a briefcase anymore, but this small leather case had lots of character and appealed to me.

I find estate sales fascinating. People spend a lifetime acquiring the objects that define their values and shape their life. What happens? At the end, a bunch of complete strangers trod through your house and completely ignore all the memories you've accumulated. They can't even see them. The dealers who dominate estate sales are just looking for stuff with immediate resale value. It's all kind of cold and a bit sad.

I upgraded my iPhone to iOS5 today. Don't do this if you're in a hurry. The whole process seemed to take much longer than other iPhone upgrades I've done in the past. While the upgrade is underway, there are numerous dialog boxes that tell you your phone is being restored to factory settings. Yikes! I was convinced that all my photos and apps were being erased until the lengthy upgrade was finally finished and I found myself with a working phone that was connected to the iCloud.

In honor of the new mattress, we got a new comforter for the bed. To make sure the new comforter stayed looking new at least a few days, both dogs got a bath. Dot refuses to get out of the car now when we arrive at Vhea's LaundroMutt. Dash is a quick learner. When he saw that Dot was refusing to get out, he jumped back in the car as well. Eventually, we got the dogs inside and bathed, but it seems to be more of a struggle every time we go.

If I've got time tomorrow, I'm going to go look for some small hand weights. Free weight training seems to be helping tone up my shoulder and back muscles, but the one pair of weights I found around the house are way too heavy for the exercises I'm supposed to do. I've never even been inside a Dick's Sporting Goods store, but there's a first time for everything.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day