Day 2675

I stayed home and made French Toast this morning. As expected, Dot remained active after her morning walk. She needed to go outside twice while I was fixing breakfast and then just as I thought things were settling down, she pooped and made a big mess as she struggled to get up. I took everything off the stove, got some wet rages to clean her up, and fitted her with the spare harness we have for occasions like this. After I got everything cleaned up and started a new load of laundry, I warmed up my breakfast in the microwave and finished my meal. Basically, it was just a normal morning.

The good news is that Dash seems back to normal. His appetite has returned and he didn't seem nauseous at all. By 10:30, both dogs were ready for a nap. I made sure they were sleeping soundly and then ran my morning errands. While I was at the bank, a teller asked me if I was trying to get everything done before it started to rain. "It's going to rain," I asked? She told me that there was a severe weather warning and that there was going to be hail in the afternoon.

Since I avoid rain at all costs, I hurried to get everything done before the bad weather started. I picked up dinner at Central Market and swung by the vet to get Dash's blood pressure medication on the way home. It really didn't look like bad weather was on the way to me, so I checked the weather radar as soon as I got home. The only storm clouds I saw were in Oklahoma. I wonder where the bank teller got her information? She seemed convinced that something bad was about to happen.

The only bad thing that happened today was that the automated garbage truck driver crushed my can again and failed to empty all the trash. There were still two bags in the bottom of the badly dented can when I went to retrieve it. I hope we haven't lost our good driver. For the past three months we've had a very good driver who knew how to operate the high tech truck properly. Now we're back to square one. I hope today's driver was just a temporary replacement. From the looks of things he made a mess of the entire street. After making sure the dogs were still asleep, I took the abandoned trash bags to a dumpster. I'll have to ask the city for a new can again too. I wish the sanitation department could master these new trucks they've got. It shouldn't be that hard to get the trash in the truck.

Dot slept for a long time today. She didn't wake up until mid-afternoon, but after that, she kept me busy for the rest of the day. Dot was eager to walk this afternoon, even though she can barely move. I really hope we are successful at fitting her for a wheelchair next week. Her rear legs have been weak for a long time, but now she is starting to lose muscle coordination. If I don't hold her up properly using the harness, her rear legs start to drag. It's amazing that she still wants to walk, because it seems so difficult.

It's been a long day, but at least we made it through another week. Next week is going to be busy. Dot has a major cancer recheck and we've got a lot of questions for the oncologist. Hopefully Dot will have a new wheelchair next week as well. At least we will test her to see if she would benefit from wheels. If I have time, I'm going to replace the hard drive on my office computer with a higher capacity drive. I'm out of space. I found a place that offers same day service on drive upgrades. I'm sure I can go a day without a computer these days. That's all in the future though. All I'm worried about tomorrow is making sure Dash holds down his dinner and Dot can swallow her pills.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2649

 

My taxes are done. Well, they aren't really done, but they aren't my responsibility anymore. When I dropped the files off at the accountant's office, I made sure that they could open the CD with my Quickbook records before I left. I use such an old version of Quickbooks Pro that I'm always afraid that my accountant won't be able to import the files into their system. I hate to switch accounting programs. I was probably the last person in the world who still used MacMoney. When I finally switched to Quickbooks, I never bothered to upgrade. The first version was fine.

It was kind of chilly this morning. When I put on my favorite winter coat to walk the dogs, the zipper broke. The last time the zipper broke on this coat, I asked the tailor to replace it with a heavy duty indestructible zipper. Apparently indestructible zippers last two years. I took the coat back to a different tailor and asked them to put in a third zipper. I'm so tired of fixing things that are poorly made. Nothing lasts very long anymore. I still have a parka that my Dad wore when we lived in Alaska. The coat is over fifty years old and looks like it will last another fifty years. I doubt that I'd ever have to replace the zipper in this sturdy coat. So, why don't I just wear my Dad's coat and forget about all the shoddy imitations I've bought over the years? It's a nice coat, but something designed for Alaskan winters is a little warm for Texas.

I actually went to an animal rescue group meeting tonight. It's rare that I'm able to attend these meetings anymore, but Janet came home early, so I felt safe leaving Dot for a while. I didn't contribute very much to tonight's meeting, but at least I stayed the entire time. Several people had to leave early this evening, so the meeting was shorter than usual. It still seemed long to me though. I've spent the better part of my life sitting in long meetings, but I think my meeting days are over. I just don't have the patience for them anymore.

We saw another coyote on our walk this morning. Somehow the subject of coyotes came up at our meeting tonight and almost everyone had seen one recently. One guy even said that they were coming into his yard. I guess urban coyotes are a thing now. I sure wish that Dash was a little more wary of the critters. He is sometimes terrified of other dogs, but he seems oblivious to coyotes. He was literally walking right toward one this morning. I would think that he could have smelled the coyote, but Dash didn't seem to care. I didn't want to take chances, so we changed directions and took the long way home.

I almost forgot to take out the trash tonight. Somehow going to the meeting after dinner made me forget it was Thursday. When I finally hauled the trash can out to the curb, someone else had already taken my favorite spot. I'm superstitious about the trash truck missing my can, so I reluctantly placed the can somewhere else and hoped for the best. I don't know why I worry about stuff like this, but it's probably not going to change. Lost mail, broken zippers, and forgotten trash cans are all pretty normal these days.

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2544

I never know what to expect when I open my e-mail in the morning. Today there were more new assignments than I'd had all week. It was going to be a busy day. After taking Dash on a long walk and finishing breakfast, I got started on a lengthy website revision. It seemed like I'd just changed this site recently, but I guess it was time to change it again. It's not my role to question these things.

The dogs were good this morning, so I was able to work quickly and efficiently. Before noon, I was ready to get started on a new writing assignment. Neither of today's assignments were very exciting, but I was glad to have them. It's still important to have something to do besides cleaning up dog poop.

The replacement parts I ordered for the Waterpik and the LunaTik iPhone case I ordered on Black Friday both came in the mail today. I love getting things in the mail. If I had more money, I'd order even more stuff I don't really need. I think the main reason I started collecting watches many years ago was that I liked getting little packages in the mail. I was never a very orthodox collector. I seldom bought expensive or traditionally "collectible" watches. I preferred obscure brands with odd looking dials. People always worry about being scammed when buying watches online. I never worried at all, because who is ever going to go to the trouble to counterfeit a cheap watch. Whenever a package comes in the mail these days, it reminds me of my collecting days. Eventually, I realized that most of the fun was over as soon as I opened the package. I don't collect anymore, but I make no apologies for the money I've wasted on useless stuff. When you work alone for years at a time, you've got to use your imagination to keep your day interesting.

If you saw my closet, you'd probably think I collected coats. In my mind, I'm just being practical. Each coat represents a ten degree difference in temperature. Today I picked one of my warmer coats for our morning walk. This was the first time this year that the temperature was in the 30's when I woke up. Nothing froze, but it got pretty close. I dread the day when the temperature actually does drop below freezing. The garden hose on the back porch has become an essential component in my continuing efforts to keep Dot clean. It is much easier to take Dot outside and clean the poop off her butt with a hose and then dry her off with a bath towel than it is to try and accomplish the same thing inside using wet rags.

I've been wondering what to do with the extra garbage can the city sent me last month. One of my neighbors solved the problem for me. They stole it. Why they would want a broken garbage can is beyond me, but at least it isn't sitting behind my house in the alley anymore. I've actually been having pretty good luck getting my trash emptied recently. Maybe there's a new driver on our route. I haven't had any problems in well over a month, but I'm still superstitious. When I took the trash out this evening, I made sure to place it in my lucky spot. If a car is ever parks in this spot on Thursday night, I don't know what I'm going to do.

Dot is sleeping now, but she still hasn't pooped since early this morning. It makes me nervous. This is an accident just waiting to happen.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2493

The city delivered a new garbage can to our house today. What a surprise. I wasn't expecting them to be so responsive. The new can looks suspiciously like the old can, but we'll give it a try this Friday. If this can doesn't get emptied properly, I may have to paint a sign on the side, telling the trash truck driver to "give it a shake,"

It was discouraging to go up on the roof today and see that the special coating the roofers applied continues to deteriorate. I don't know if the problem is with the elastometric coating itself or with the way it was applied. Something is definitely wrong. I'm kind of at the mercy of the roofers, since I don't have the knowledge or ability to fix this problem myself. I need to call the roofers again, because all it's going to take is a few more good rains and my potential leak is going to turn into an actual leak.

I picked up Dot's pain pills at the vet this afternoon. The receptionist said they were still locked in the safe. I didn't know that Tramadol was a controlled substance like phenobarbital. I guess it makes sense, since it is a synthetic opiate. Dot's vet thinks that a low dose of Tramadol might help with the weakness in her back legs. I'm a little nervous, but this is a very low dose, so we'll give it a try.

I made our Thanksgiving dinner reservations. This elaborate holiday brunch has gotten very popular and the price seems to go up every year. I guess it's worth it though, since neither of us feels like cooking. Hopefully, we'll have better luck than we did last year when an unexpected dog emergency forced us to cancel our reservations at the last minute.

When I took yesterday's letters back to the post office, I mailed out my October invoices as well. My monthly billings are so small now, compared with what they used to be, that it seems pathetic to even send them. The monthly bills are relentless though, and every little bit helps. It's been a long time since I bought an expensive camera lens or piece of electronic gear on a whim. I really have to plan my frivolous purchases now and it it often takes months to save up the money. Oh, well. It was good while it lasted. I have to remember that I started my company in 1990 and twenty five years is a long time in my line of work. A lot of my contemporaries bit the dust long before I did.

I got a surprise text from a high school friend who was in town for the day and wondered if I wanted to meet him downtown. It might have been fun to catch up on things, but going downtown for a long lunch is out of the question these days. I'm glad I didn't go. Dot had kind of a bad day today. She does best when she takes her walks and then rests for most of the day. Sometimes she gets frustrated and tries to stay active and ends up tiring herself out. That's what happened today. I could tell she was getting exhausted and starting to stumble as I walked her around the house, but she just didn't want to sleep. It happens sometimes.

I have no plans for tomorrow, but I'm sure it will feel like a busy day anyway. I"m convinced that those hamsters who spend their day spinning a hamster wheel inside their cage feels like they've been busy too.

Katy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day