Day 2656

Housecleaning during an all day rain is almost the definition of futility. Even though I know the effort is pointless, it's amazing how often I spend dreary, damp days cleaning. What else is there to do? I never leave the house on rainy days anymore because a single loud thunderclap can cause the dogs to freak out. I seldom watch TV either, because it irritates me to even turn the TV on. Given the choice between political bitching and moaning, inane reality shows, and sports, I'd just as soon listen to the rain pounding on the roof.

The day didn't get off to a good start, but that's par for the course for rainy mornings. Apparently I didn't take Dot outside late enough last night, because when I woke her up this morning, she immediately peed in her bed. Dash wouldn't even go outside, even though I knew he needed to pee too. He kept scratching at the back door and when I opened it, he would turn around and head for the kitchen. Dash still doesn't understand that I can't turn the rain on and off like a water faucet. Eventually he had to go so bad that he went outside and got wet.

After taking both dogs out in the rain several times and drying them off afterwards, I decided to do something less stressful and got out a needle and thread to sew the fitted sheet on the bed back together. I should just throw the threadbare bamboo sheets away, but I'm not ready to give up on them yet. The repair would have been easy to make with a sewing machine, but I never learned how to use the fancy new Viking machine Janet got a few years ago. Oh, well. Hand sewing a tear in an old sheet is a good way to kill time on a rainy day.

Vacuuming is a terrible way to kill time on a rainy day. The house was already dirty again before I even finished cleaning all the rugs. The combination of mud, wet leaves, and yellow catkins dropping from the oak trees makes keeping the house clean virtually impossible. I can't really clean Dot's paws before she comes in the house because my hand are full holding her up. Dash is just too fast for me. He usually slips in the back door before I can manage to wipe his paws with a wet rag. My own shoes cause a problem as well. Often, when I'm dealing with Dot, it's hard to kick them off at the door before entering the house. Keeping Dot from falling always has a higher priority than keeping mud off the floor.

I wonder where my appetite went. For decades I used to eat a huge breakfast on Sunday morning. Big breakfasts were a tradition. So was going out to brunch. Now I can barely finish one egg and a single piece of toast. I don't eat as much for dinner either. It's hard to explain what has happened, but I'm just not as hungry anymore.

The skies finally cleared late in the afternoon, so the dogs did manage to get at least one decent walk. It's interesting to watch the progression of wildflowers in the park. For some reason, the blue flowers seem to bloom first. Next come the yellow flowers. And finally the red ones arrive. We're in a yellow phase now and the fields are filled with Englemann Daisies. I photograph the flowers. Dash just pees on them.

I never did make it to the gym today, but I did get plenty of exercise. I should sleep well tonight as long as Dot does the same. The day is winding down. I hear the ACM Awards playing on a TV in the other end of the house. I doubt that I'll get up and watch even though I find these country shows much more enjoyable than the Grammy's these days. Country has become the new rock. Some of the tunes I'm hearing almost sound like the Eagles. Times have certainly changed.

Miracle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2644

Weekends are when I realize that I've lost control of the house and yard. I start with a long list of little things I need to improve or repair and when I'm finished, nothing has changed. I was certainly busy today, but it's not clear how much I accomplished. Dot has been peeing on the porch a lot and the garden hose isn't long enough to clean it off properly. I looked in the greenhouse and found several sections of old hose and strung them together to create a single long one. The only problem was that all the rubber gaskets had gone bad and my new hose leaked like a sieve where each connection joined. I would have saved a lot of time if I'd just gone to Home Depot and bought a new longer hose.

Next, I got some bleach and tried to remove some ugly rust stains in the ceiling. The stains are gone, but so is a lot of the old dry paint. I had to get the vacuum out and spend a lot of time cleaning up all the paint chips that had fallen on the floor. Since I had the vacuum cleaner out, I thought I'd clean all the leaves and debris out of the air conditioner floor vents. Leaves blow in the house every time I leave the back door open to take Dot out to pee and they all seem to wind up in the floor vents. Cleaning these vents seemed like it would be an easy job, but the vent covers are sticky and most of them have to be pried off with a screwdriver. Eventually, I got all the vents in the living room and kitchen clean and decided I'd done enough for the day. I spent a lot of time working, but nothing really seems to be improved. It's still the same old house.

I can't figure out the produce section at the grocery store. I love strawberries, but the produce manager has a habit of mixing bad batches of strawberries in with the good ones. I guess he thinks people will be stupid enough to buy the strawberries on the verge of rotting, but I haven't seen anyone buying them yet. Everyone searches through the entire display case, looking for the freshest looking package. I've seen people spend ten minutes picking over these berries. I spend a lot of time too. I usually wind up with a good package of berries, but sometimes I get fooled. I think they pack rotten berries in the middle on purpose where nobody can see them.

While I was getting gas this afternoon, someone came up to me and asked if they could inspect my windshield for rock chips and repair it on the spot. I resisted the urge to scream "this is a scam, get out of this parking lot immediately." Instead I just politely said "no thank you" and the person moved on to another car. I hate random people approaching me. Maybe they're crazy or won't take no for an answer. There are far to many people asking for money these days. I can never figure out whether all the people asking for donations in front of the grocery store are legit. Sure, the girl scouts selling cookies are real, but what about all the others? I have a feeling that some of these people have no connection with a charity at all.

The weather has changed again. This morning it was warm and muggy, but by the time I took Dash on his afternoon walk it had become quite cold. It feels like a storm is on the way, but the weather app on my phone still says that it will be 72 and partly cloudy tomorrow. Have I mentioned that the weather app on my phone is basically worthless.

The time changes tonight. This means that when we wake up at 7 AM tomorrow, it will already be 8 AM and I'll spend the rest of the day trying to catch up on things. Why do we even have Daylight Saving Time? I don't know anybody who likes it. Maybe it served some purpose a hundred years ago, but I don't think artificially shifting the time around makes much sense now. Trump seems to like abolishing things. Maybe he could just abolish Daylight Savings Time. That would probably get some bipartisan support.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2196

I made it back to the gym today. I wish I enjoyed this more, because it seems pretty obvious that this is a much more effective way to ward off heart attacks and diabetes than working around the house. Housework can be strenuous, but I'm slow and methodical and vacuuming or sweeping leaves off the roof seldom elevates my heart rate. When I'm at the gym, my body knows I've done something. Cleaning the house leaves me tired, but I'm not really feeling the burn. The weariness probably comes from the futility of it all. When I go to the gym regularly, I actually do feel stronger. When I clean the house regularly, it is still old and falling apart. It never really gets clean either. I continue to be amazed that week-after-week the Dyson canister continues to fill up with dust and dirt while the dehumidifier bucket continues to fill up with water. Where does all this dirt and moisture come from. It's almost like the house manufactures it.

When I was young and starting out in advertising, my boss came up with the famous "There is no finish line" theme for Nike. This was a brilliant headline, but it also summed up my feelings about exercise. I want there to be a finish line for everything. I'd like to be able to get into shape and then be able to say "been there, done that," so I could go back to eating donuts. Life doesn't work that way unfortunately. If I don't continuously keep practicing my skills, I lose them. If I don't continuously stay active, I become fat. If I'm not comfortable with the idea of continually being my own personal drill Sargent, I'll probably just sink into a deep depression and give up.

It's more about perseverance than pleasure these days. That's not entirely bad. There is a quiet satisfaction in hanging in there and being able to get up and face another day. I see this determination in Dot every day. Her brain isn't all there anymore, and her body definitely isn't all there. Aging and adversity doesn't seem to phase her though. She wakes up every morning comfortable in the knowledge that she is a dog. This seems to be enough. She enjoys smelling things. She loves to eat. And she sleeps a lot. I have a feeling that she doesn't search for the meaning of life at all. This is probably a better way to live.

I seldom think about the meaning of life on Sundays. I'm too tired. In addition to burning off a lot of calories at the gym, I cleaned the entire house with the Dyson and made a valiant attempt to straighten up my office. It's gotten so bad that I have to approach cleaning the office like archaeology. Today I removed hundreds of small tools, broken watches, computer cables, and other dusty objects off an unused workbench. I cleaned each of these objects and then cleaned the workbench itself, which was covered by a thick layer of dust. I should have cleaned the bench months ago, but it was just too much trouble to clear it off. It looks better now. Things that have been out of place for years are now back where they belong. A few things were thrown away and I even found a couple of things that had been lost for months. Was it worth the two hours it took to de-clutter a small two foot by six foot surface? Maybe. The problem is that the dust will return. Remember, there is no finish line.

I took today's picture of the moon before I went to bed last night. I just pointed the little point-and-shoot camera I take with me when I walk the dogs at the moon and clicked the shutter. There was no telescope, no tripod, no exposure calculations, no real effort at all. When I was in high school I became fascinated with astronomy and would spend hours trying to take pictures of the moon through a small telescope. Most of my efforts didn't turn out as well as this lazy, effortless shot. That's the way life should be. As you continue doing the things you have always done, they should gradually become easier. My aching body and somewhat muddled brain beg to differ. Like it or not, most things become much harder as we grow older.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1908

Today was kind of a preview of what's to come. Dot was restless and wanted to move around, but wasn't strong enough to move by herself. I held her up with the harness while we went inside and outside and walked back and forth from room to room. Periodically, she would get tired and rest in her dog bed for a while, but just as soon as I got started on something myself, she wanted to get up again. Dot likes to sleep in the kitchen and near a big window in the bedroom, but she's decided that she doesn't like the office anymore. She seems to be looking for brightly lit areas and the office is admittedly the darkest room in the house. This is unfortunate, because the office is still where I need to spend the most time.

Needless to say, I didn't get a lot done today. When Janet was home earlier in the day I was finally able to get the water off the roof but it was probably a wasted effort. There is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow. When I'm up on the roof, I feel like Sisyphus, eternally pushing a huge boulder up a hill. It is necessary to remove the water because it is heavy and over time will warp the roof beams and cause the roof to settle even more if I just ignore it. Standing water will also cause another leak if I just ignore it. Nothing is waterproof forever. Water is very patient. If you leave it alone, it will eventually find a way inside. All this being said, it is still very frustrating to spend hours removing all the water from the roof and then have it rain the very next day.

My teeth, which had seemed just fine for months, suddenly became sensitive to cold again yesterday. This worries me, because I've decided to put off all the dental work I need until I get Dot's surgery bills paid off. I had been planning to get the wisdom teeth removed in early February, but it wasn't meant to be. Dot's spinal injury intervened. I can only deal with one crisis at a time. The last thing I need right now is a dry socket from a tooth extraction while Dot is having serious problems of her own. Luckily, Dot seems to be getting better. Maybe by Summer, Dot will be walking normally again and I can move on to overcoming my fears of going to the dentist.

Tomorrow, we will be able to cut Dot's prednisolone dose in half. Prednisolone causes dogs to increase their water intake. Dot drinks water constantly now and can't make it through the night without going outside to pee around 3 AM. On a lower dose, I think we'll all sleep better. I'm sleeping so lightly now, that my fitness tracker app asks me whether my nighttime activity is really sleep. I miss the days of having two lazy dogs on the bed who didn't want to get up at all.

Of course, daylight saving time goes into effect tomorrow and this will mess up my sleep schedule even more. I don't know why we need more daylight in the evening anyway. I want more daylight in the morning, so it's easier to wake up. The days were just starting to get long enough for the sun to come through the bedroom window a little before 7 AM. Now, after the time change, it will be dark again when we need to get up.

Dot is sleeping peacefully now. I wish she was sleeping peacefully this afternoon when I had a long list of chores to do around the house. Now, I'm too tired to finish these chores. Oh, well. There's always tomorrow. I have a feeling that I'm going to be saying "there's always tomorrow," quite frequently in the days and weeks ahead.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1883

Today was an exercise in futility. I wanted to boot my computer from an external drive so I could use a defragmentation application to clean up the desktop computer. There was an external drive sitting on a nearby shelf, but I couldn't find the wall wart power supply so I could plug it in. I got a box out of the closet that contained about forty of these wall warts and started looking for one with an odd, non-standard four pin connection that matched connection on the external drive. I hate these wall warts. Why can't manufacturers include a decent internal power supply with their gadgets like they used to? Now, I've got all these various wall warts and I have no idea what they go to anymore. Each one has a different capacity and outputs a different voltage. I don't know how I acquired so many of these things. Old routers, synthesizers, battery chargers, hard drives, sequencers, and mixers all seem to use them.

Eventually, I found the correct power supply, plugged in the external drive enclosure and discovered that the drive itself had gone bad. All it made was a clicking sound and wouldn't even spin up. Luckily, I found another old Seagate drive in a drawer and took the enclosure apart so I could substitute drives. The second drive wouldn't spin up either. Evidently, if you leave a hard drive sitting around for five or ten years without using it, there is no guarantee that it will ever work again. I thought both of these hard drives were still good the last time I used them. I just can't remember when that was. If old hard drives just die of their own accord after they sit idle for years, I need to seriously rethink my storage warehouse strategy. There are a ton of old computers sitting in there that I might want to fire up someday. What if none of them work anymore?

Today's experience reaffirmed my belief that there are two fundamental operating principals in the universe. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and use it or lose it. Since I still needed an external drive I could boot up from, I drove to Fry's and bought one. This is probably how I have acquired so much electronic garbage over the years. I should have added the two broken hard drives to the pile of junk I was going to take out to the curb for big trash day, but I couldn't bring myself to throw them away. Maybe they weren't broken after all and I was just doing something wrong.

The weather was wonderful for a second day in a row. I continued my efforts to clean up the yard a bit while the dogs lounged in the sun. I felt like leaving the back door open, so the dogs could come an go as they pleased. I can't do this for too long though, because neighborhood feral cats and even racoons will wander inside.

My experience with the hard drives got me to thinking about the generator I got a few months ago. I took it outside and started it up, just to make sure it still worked. The instructions said I should start it at least once a week, but that was way too much trouble. I haven't started the thing since I bought it. I didn't even use the generator during our last power outage. I still think the best way to deal with a power outage is just go to a nice, pet friendly hotel and wait for the power company to fix things. Luckily the generator still works just fine. Maybe someday, I'll actually need it.

The Space X launch in Florida got scrubbed again. I'm glad I didn't fly down to watch the launch. I would have had to come back empty handed again. You have to have a lot of patience and a very flexible schedule to actually see one of these rockets get off the ground.

Today was kind of dead, but there are already two writing jobs cued up for tomorrow. Two writing jobs and two long dog walks ought to fill up the day rather nicely.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1486

It was a long day. The weather was damp and foggy, and as I worked, it seemed like the fog was creeping indoors as well. Everything was a foggy, unresolved issue today. There were websites that kept changing before I could finish the previous changes. There were budgets that couldn't be resolved. There were lots of things that made me wish I'd never gotten out of bed, but of course that was never really an option.

At least the dogs didn't need their winter coats today. They seem to hate wearing their coats, even though they get cold without them. I can relate. I hate writing sometimes, even though I know I'll go broke if I quit. Without their protective coats, the dogs got even dirtier than they did yesterday. That's what towels are for though. I did a lot of laundry today as well.

I though I'd be writing most of the day, but there were so many unresolved issues that I went to the gym instead. I cut my workout a bit short so I could make it to a 6 PM client meeting. The meeting ended up getting canceled, because not enough people could make it. I have a feeling that a lot of people had a foggy, unresolved day today. Even the people at the gym seemed to have lost their focus. A woman on a treadmill next to me was moving so slow that I wondered why she even bothered. I did make an effort to burn off some calories, but I didn't have time to shoot hoops on the basketball court, so maybe I shouldn't have bothered either. Shooting baskets is the only part of my workout that is any fun.

I saw my neighbor's car in the driveway on the way home, so I knocked on her door to ask about the tree on my roof. Nobody answered the door. I don't know why the car was in the driveway if nobody was home. She should have been home. Sadly, I know nothing about my neighbors. I know some of you guys better.

I hope it quits raining tomorrow. If if doesn't, I've got a tough choice to make. Do I go out in the rain and get my car muddy, just so I can have poached eggs and pulled pork? Or do I stay home and eat oatmeal in a warm house while watching Dr. Who re-runs?  As I said, it's a tough choice.

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1406

There are occasional benefits to dumping everything in the storage warehouse instead of just throwing it away like a normal person. While I was taking some things to the storage room today, I noticed some dusty old coats hanging in one corner. Among the coats was my favorite leather motorcycle jacket. This jacket was fairly snug even when I used to wear it in the 1970's. I haven't been able to get into the thing in decades. On a whim, I tried the jacket on again, and lo and behold, it fit. I know I've lost a lot of weight, but I didn't think that jacket would ever fit again. I dusted the coat off, put it on and continued my errands feeling younger than I have in years.

Although there were no new assignments today, there was still plenty to do. I have a long wish list from website clients that I'm still not sure how to fulfill. Whenever I have some extra time, I do a little research and see what I can learn to make these mostly odd wishes come true. I used to think I knew everything about the web, but increasingly I'm feeling like a stranger in a strange land. A lot has changed since 1995. I try to keep up, but I think I'm probably still a few years behind.

Dash saw a loose dog in the park this morning and panicked. Ever since he was attacked by another dog in the park several years ago, he gets extremely nervous whenever he sees a large dog off leash.  He has good reason to be afraid, since the other dog almost killed him during the attack. I feel terrible when I see how fearful Dash has become, but there isn't much I can do. I can't keep the dogs cooped up in the house all the time and Dallas is full of idiots who think it's perfectly fine to let their dogs off leash, even though there are sign ever 100 yards saying that it is illegal to do so. I just try to stay very aware of what's happening up in front of us and change direction if I see a loose dog.

I tried to make a doctor's appointment today and kept getting a message that said "due to unusually high call volumes, your wait will be longer than normal." I guess never is a lot longer than normal. They never did pick up the phone. I suspect that there never were high call volumes in the first place. It's a lot more likely that the receptionist just didn't show up for work this morning.

That bad thing is that other than driving across town to resolve the problem in person, I'll probably have to repeat this exercise in futility tomorrow. I still need to make the appointment. I did manage to get my toll tag account changed to my new license plate number though. Now, all I got to do is remember what this new number is. It took me years to remember the number on the old Defender plates.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1377 - Autumnal Equinox

You couldn't have picked a better day for Fall to officially begin. Everything was picture perfect. The grass in the park is coming alive again after Friday's big rain. The sky was clear and free of haze. The temperature was in that rare sweet spot that makes opening the windows a pleasure. I just wish the days would stay this way a little longer. If memory serves, the rainy season is already just around the corner. I guess I ought to just relax and enjoy the Halcyon Days of Autumn while I can.

We had our first family drive in the new car today. Much to my relief, everyone likes the car. This hasn't always been the case. Once I bought a diesel Ford F-350 pickup and Janet and the dogs hated it so much that they refused to ride in it. I don't know what the dogs problem was, but Janet said the smell of diesel fumes made her sick. Hey, how was I to know? I always kind of liked the smell of diesel.

Janet told me that this was the best car that I've ever purchased. It shows you how long we've been together that she actually remembers four cars that came before the Defender. Dot and Dash seemed to approve as well. Finicky, car phobic Dash rode actually quite well on our trip to the dog park this morning. The only mishap was the humongous pile of dog hair in the car when we returned. I never really noticed dog hair in the Defender, since the interior was kind of the color of dog hair.  Since the interior of this car is black, the dog hair shows up quite well.

I watched a bit of the Emmy Awards on TV while we were eating dinner this evening and was appalled at the number of nominated shows I'd never even heard of. I guess I don't watch TV much anymore. I mostly watch TV to go to sleep at night and 50 year old shows like Perry Mason are perfect for this purpose. Just about the only current shows I enjoy are the British version of Top Gear and Dr. Who.

Even though I should have spent the entire day outdoors enjoying the near perfect weather, I did spend some time in the office, cleaning the large format printer. As I often do, I waited too long to run the cleaning cycle and ended up wasting half the new ink I bought last week. This printer always reminds me of the futility of so many things I attempt. I haven't given up on the printer though. I haven't given up on anything.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day