Day 4512

There are only four Dalmatians at the kennel now. Dorothy found her forever home this week. Sammy has not been staying at the kennel since she's been busy raising eleven puppies. The puppies are all weaned now and ready to go to their new homes, so Sammy was able to go to her forever home this week as well. Rocket is the only one of our puppy mill dogs that has not found a home yet. He will soon though. He is overcoming his fears and each week we see him he acts more and more like a normal dog.

We are really pleased with Rocket's progress. He has gone from a terrified dog who wouldn't even come near us, to a much happier dog who wags his tail and runs to greet us when we arrive with a bag of treats. We even managed to teach Rocket to sit today, which was a major accomplishment.

We know why it is going to take Charlie a little longer to find a home, but it's a mystery why Oliver and Jo Jo haven't already been adopted. Both dogs are some of the friendliest we've ever had in the program. Oliver loves to play and Jo Jo just wants attention. Maybe people want a smaller dog. Oliver and Jo Jo are both larger male Dalmatians. Maybe their luck will change soon. All these dogs really deserve a great home.

I spent a big chunk of today unpacking and doing laundry from the trip. Everything is back in it's proper place now and ready for the next adventure. It's a shame that travel has become so expensive. I wouldn't mind spending more time at McDonald Observatory as well as Kennedy Space Center. You may wonder why I spend so much time at these two locations. The answer is easy. They feel like home. I avoid people in Dallas, but I always find folks that seem like kindred spirits at the observatory and the space center. Rocket launches and the night sky never get old to me. I'll keep going back because it is just more satisfying than visiting someplace new as a tourist.

I went to the bank today and picked up prescriptions for myself and Dawn. When I went to pick up my prescription at the pharmacy, I was confused. "Didn't I just pick up this same pill last week," I asked. The pharmacist checked and sure enough I was right. It turned out that I had two separate prescriptions for the same medicine. One renewed in 30 days and the other renewed in 90 days. "Let's just cancel the 30 day prescription," I said. One more example of automated systems run amok. For some reason neither my doctor or the pharmacist ever noticed that there were two identical prescription floating around in the system.

Almost every day something we need goes up in price. It's not just travel expenses. My storage warehouse had a dramatic price increase this year. Real estate taxes are up. The cell phone bill keeps getting higher even though I don't make any calls. Today I got a letter from my primary care doctor saying that the clinic was going to raise rates again in July. Concierge doctors were always expensive, but this is getting ridiculous. I'm just glad I'm not trying to buy a house. Housing is what has really gotten ridiculous.

Dawn didn't want to walk this morning because it rained last night. She's a strange dog. The thunder and lightning last night didn't bother her at all, but getting her paws wet is another story. She just doesn't want to walk on wet ground. By the time Janet and I returned from the kennel, the weather was nice again and we had a nice walk with Dawn. As I often do, I continued walking after Dawn finished her one mile loop. I guess I'm still tired from my trip because I couldn't complete my regular six mile route. Maybe I'll have to change the name of this blog from "Some Assembly Required" to "Perpetually Tired."

Bogart is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4256

It was a busy day. When we took our sunrise walk this morning, Dawn wanted to do her one mile loop in reverse. This was surprising because she hasn't done this before. I thought she was just going to poop in the little meadow behind our house and come back home, but she found the trail and continued her regular walk backwards. I always think that Dawn is set in her ways, but she's probably more flexible than I am. She certainly does surprise us from time to time. I wonder what's going on in her head.

I went to the gym today because it was really humid outside and I needed to run some errands anyway. The place was fairly empty this morning. I did a perfunctory two mile walk on the treadmill and then came home again. On the way home I stopped at Sprinkles to get cupcakes for Janet's birthday celebration and then at Central Market to get some champagne. They have little bottles that are perfect if all you want is a single glass each. I discovered that 3 PM was the perfect time to go shopping. All the other shoppers were waiting in long lines wrapping around every school zone to pick up their kids. I was the only person in Sprinkles and Central Market was surprisingly empty. There were a ton of parking places today which is almost unheard of.

We went to a nice Italian restaurant for a birthday dinner this evening. We've been going to this restaurant for many years and it is one of Janet's favorites. Even though they've moved to several different locations over time, the menu is still exactly the same. We were around 43 when we discovered this place. Now we are both 73. Time flies. When we were younger we used to go out a lot. Then we got Dalmatians. Life is different now, but I think it is much better. I can't imagine not having a dog anymore. We tried, but Dawn quickly reminded us that dogs rule.

We always have cupcakes and a glass of champagne on birthdays. I can't remember when we started this, but it seems like we've been celebrating like this forever. I'm surprised that I can even write the blog tonight. Wine with dinner and champagne with dessert is a little rich for me. We'll sleep in later tomorrow. Actually, we need to sleep in later because as soon as we wake up tomorrow, we've got to take Dawn straight to the vet with a full bladder. This will be interesting because the first thing Dawn does every morning is go outside and pee. Apparently, a full bladder makes it a lot easier to flush the bladder stones out. I hope this plan works. The back up plan for tomorrow is still surgery.

We got some rain today, but not as much as yesterday. It was purely accidental, but we planned our sunrise walk perfectly. Five minutes after we returned home, the skies opened up and we got our heaviest rain of the day. I'm glad the pumps on the roof are still working. I'm not looking forward to going up there at all. At some point I'll probably have to go clear away all the residual water. The pumps help, but there's still a ton of water on the roof after the pumps can't remove any more. I'm hoping that the standing water will just evaporate again. A few more hot days and it probably will.

Tomorrow I'll probably just worry about Dawn a lot. Whatever happens, she'll be at the vet for most of the day. Rain is out of the forecast for now and it is supposed to be hot tomorrow. I'll probably go to the gym unless something unexpected happens with Dawn. I'm hoping that it will just be another uneventful day.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4188

The roads and stores didn't seem as crowded today. I wonder where everybody went? Even the park was strangely empty. Maybe all the news stories are right. The lockdown is over and the country has gone on vacation. A vacation actually does sound like a good idea, but Janet and I can't decide where to go.

Today certainly was no vacation. After I finished grocery shopping and running errands, I mowed the grass and cleaned up the yard a bit. I've grown to hate mowing the grass. My electric mower isn't self propelled and it seems to get heavier every year. The yard does look a lot better though. Somehow my Fitbit interprets mowing the grass as cycling. This isn't even close. It is exercise though. I don't think I ever did anything this strenuous at the gym.

I didn't feel like getting up this morning and neither did Dawn. I thought we were going to bond for a while and then Dawn realized that Janet had gone running and she was alone in the house with me. She groaned, hopped off the bed and went out to her dog bed in the kitchen. As soon as I made the bed and went to fix myself some coffee, Dawn reclaimed the bed and went back to sleep. We go back and forth like this all day. When I'm in the bedroom, Dawn is in the kitchen. When I'm in the kitchen, Dawn is in the bedroom.

I heard thunder early this morning, but it never rained at our house. I was hoping that having rain in the vicinity would cool things down, but that didn't happen. It was hot and humid today. It wasn't a great day to do yard work, but it didn't make sense to put things off any longer. The grass would have been even harder to mow next week. I may cut down the remaining dead Photinia trees tomorrow. That's another chore I've put off long enough.

I seriously thought about going to the gym today, but I was already hot and sweaty after our short walk with Dawn, so I convinced myself that continuing on a longer walk couldn't possibly be any worse. I was wrong. I managed to complete my six miles, but I was very slow. I had an excuse though. I had already mowed the grass and was tired before we even started our walks. Hopefully all this pointless activity will keep me fit and healthy. I can't think of any other reason to punish myself like this.

I was briefly glad that I didn't go out to the observatory for the June photography night. I would have been driving back home today and that long drive can seem even worse than mowing the grass. It's weird when even the fun things in your life can fill you with a sense of dread. I love spending time in West Texas and down at Kennedy Space Center. It's getting there that's the problem. I kind of envy the people who live in these places. They just roll out of bed in the morning and they are already there.

I went out and got Chinese take-out for dinner tonight. About once a month this is what we're hungry for. Some of the staff at the restaurant were wearing masks and others weren't. This is probably how the pandemic will end. It will be slow and awkward and nobody will do everything at the same time. I feel stupid now when I go into a store wearing a mask and none of the staff have one on. Let's all get on the same page people. 

With any luck Dawn will get her special outing tomorrow. It's a simple thing, but it's nice to do something that all three of us enjoy.    

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day