Day 3667

Things are starting to come together. I heard from the observatory today and they told me that I'll be able to stay at the Astronomer's Lodge this Spring. This is pretty cool. A long list of well known astronomers have stayed here while they were using one of the big telescopes on Mount Locke. I'm relieved that I won't have to worry about renting an RV any longer. I also won't have to worry about food. Apparently, there is a cook on the mountain and two hot meals a day are included with my stay. It looks like I will be very busy as an on-site volunteer, but I'm really looking forward to this. It will definitely be something that few non-astronomers get to experience.

I still haven't heard whether I'll be attending the upcoming Solar Orbiter launch at Kennedy Space Center. SpaceFlight Magazine has told me that they'll verify my application to be a photographer for their publication. What remains to be seen is whether NASA will approve their request to cover the launch. It looks like getting a press pass is more complicated than I anticipated. There is still time for all this to be resolved, so there is no reason not to be optimistic. Even if a trip to Kennedy Space Center isn't in the cards, I've still got plenty on my plate with a trip to McDonald Observatory in the planning stages.

I had a meeting with my financial adviser this afternoon. I've been doing these periodic meetings over the phone for the past several years because I had sick dogs to take care of. I couldn't think of a good reason not to visit in person today. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly, because I should have stayed home. When I arrived at the guy's office he told me that he was recovering from the flu. He looked terrible. Yikes. I've always had a terrible phobia about being around people with colds. I seldom get sick, but I think the main reason is that I spend very little time around other people. I get nervous when I'm around someone with a cold. Oh, well. I did get my flu shot this year.

It's getting harder and harder to do more than one thing a day. When I got home from my meeting there was barely time to take my long walk. I initially thought I might be able to increase the distance I walk after a few months. I'm not so sure now. I've probably got the energy to go another mile on most days, but it just takes too long. Walking is a fairly time consuming way to get your exercise, but it still seems like a good idea. I don't think I'd want to spend this much time at the gym every day.

It looks like it's going to rain tomorrow. It may rain Friday as well. I wonder if I'll ever become comfortable with the idea of rain. Even though I've done a good job of patching the roof, I'm convinced that it is going to start leaking again. I need to make a decision about replacing the roof, but I haven't been happy with any of the bids so far. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a new roof and still be dealing with standing water after I'm done. Adding a slight pitch to the roof so that it will drain properly seems to double the price. I don't care how much you might love mid-century modern homes, don't ever buy a house with a flat roof. They are nothing but trouble.

I've wondered for a while why I wasn't able to enable WiFi calling on my phone. It turns out that my SIM card is too old. Usually when I get a new phone I just take the SIM card out of the old phone and put it in the new one. Looks like I can't do this any longer. If I want to be able to make WiFi calls on my current phone, I'll need to exchange the card for a current model. Who knew that these little chips had changed over the years. One more thing to add to my to-do list.

I hope I don't get the flu. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow either. I probably should just hope I can eventually learn to quit fretting about stupid things I have no control over.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2794

There are three restaurants in the neighborhood that I go to a lot. One is a favorite of millennials. The next seems to be favored by middle-age teachers and health care workers. The third is a time machine inhabited by really old people who still prefer reading the morning paper to looking at their phone. Each of these groups is so completely different than the next that they might as well be living on different planets. Maybe the world was always this way, but I don't think so. We have really become a tribal society. Does everyone hang out with their own tribe because it has become too difficult to communicate with the other tribes? I don't know. I ate with the millennial tribe this morning. They seemed happier than the other tribes in the neighborhood, but maybe younger people are always a bit more optimistic. I had no idea what they were talking about, but the food was good.

Janet's birthday is tomorrow. Since I have renounced gift cards after receiving a fraudulent gift card for my own birthday, I needed to go shopping for real birthday presents. Shopping for people our age isn't always easy. For the most part, you've already got everything you need. I wanted to get Janet something she would really like, but since she is actively downsizing, I didn't want to add even more to the clutter. Hopefully, I did well today. I can see why gift cards are so popular. Gift cards are easy.

Maybe I shouldn't have bragged about Dash's health yesterday. Right after I finished writing my blog post, Dash threw up again. He seemed fine all day. He ate well, took normal walks, and didn't seem to be in any kind of discomfort or distress. Just like when he has vomited previously, he went to sleep around 10:30 PM, woke up about two hours later, and seemed very restless and agitated. Immediately after he threw up in the yard, he went back to sleep and was calm for the rest of the night. This seems to happen about once a week now. It is really odd behavior. The symptoms don't seem to be consistent with vestibular disease and if he were really sick, you'd think there would be other signs of discomfort. I'll talk to the vet again when he goes in for a Phenobarbital level check next week, but I don't expect any easy answers. These periodic and seemingly random vomiting episodes have been a problem for a long time now.

I never did buy any eclipse glasses while they were still available, so I guess I'll need to make one of those pinhole projectors out of an old cereal box. I remember doing this once when I was a kid. The last partial eclipse I saw was right around sunset, so it was possible to safely look at the sun through some thick haze on the horizon. If you are a regular reader, you might remember the picture I took. Monday's eclipse will be right around midday in Dallas. You don't ever want to be looking at the sun when it's high in the sky.

I never really made plans to see this eclipse. In my heart I was hoping that Dot would make it to her next birthday and I knew she needed me. She almost made it, since her birthday would have been on the 27th of this month. I never expected that Janet would be diagnosed with cancer either. She has always been much healthier than me. Life is full of surprises and you've got to stay flexible. You've got to stay hopeful too. There will be another chance to see a total eclipse in 2027. I won't even have to leave town, since Dallas is in the path of totality. Hopefully, we'll both still be around by then.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2254

Two vet appointments in a single day is probably too much. I basically spent the morning taking Dot to her physical therapy appointment and the afternoon taking her for a reevaluation at the cancer center. Dot was tired and so was I. Dot did well during the therapy session, as she always does, but the big news was that her blood pressure has returned to normal. The blood pressure medication she's taking appears to work. We'll recheck her urine and blood work in a week or so, but I'm not quite so worried about kidney failure anymore.

I am still worried about the cancer. Dot's oncologist wants to resume chemotherapy on a trial basis. We're going to try a smaller amount of Palladia and add an extra day between treatments to help her recover. We'll try this until next Friday and see how well she tolerates the new treatment schedule. The oncologist agrees that quality of life is more important than longevity at any cost. If Dot tolerates the Palladia, we'll continue the treatment. If it makes her miserable, we'll quit.

Hopefully, we'll have better luck with chemotherapy this time. I'm not looking forward to it though. It's a nuisance to put on the purple rubber chemo gloves every time you give her a pill and since Dot's poop will be mildly toxic during chemo, an accident in the house will be a bit more consequential than it was before. Incontinence and chemotherapy are not a good combination. As always, we'll do the best we can.

I'm coming down with a cold, which is rare for me. I can avoid colds almost indefinitely as long as I stay away from other people. I could have gotten the cold anywhere, but I have a feeling that I  caught this particular bug while I was at the photoshoot last weekend. Ironically, this is also where I probably got the nail in my tire. Maybe I should stick to photographing inanimate objects. I frequently get a cold when I'm doing holiday pet portraits for Dalmatian Rescue. If I'm photographing children, I'm toast. At least this is just a garden variety cold and not the flu. I woke up with a mild sore throat and spent the day sneezing, but that's about it. I should be fine in 48 hours.

I can't believe its been a year since I had my dental work done. It's already time for my annual checkup. In my prior life I would have ignored these annual checkups, but last year's dental adventure finally convinced me that I need to take care of my teeth. I want to keep the teeth I have left, so I'll do anything the dentist wants these days. I use a Sonicare toothbrush now and floss with a Waterpik before I go to bed each night. Hopefully they won't find any cavities when they clean my teeth tomorrow. The less time I spend in a dental chair, the better.

It would have been a good idea to go to bed early tonight, except that it's already late. That's the way it goes. The days are long and very little is accomplished. Now, if I could just remember where I put the cough drops the last time I had a cold.

Joshua is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1819

Some days are more discouraging than others. I woke up with a sore throat this morning. I knew I was going to catch a cold yesterday, when several of the volunteers for our photo shoot turned up with bad colds. If I'm around someone who has a cold, I almost always catch it. Ironically, I almost never get sick, because I'm not around other people very much. Children are the worst. If I'm even in the same room with a child, I catch a cold. I wish this weren't the case, but it is. I've lost my immunity to people.

When I took my car in for service this morning they informed me that this was going to be a "major" service. Major almost always means expensive. They replace all the fluids, clean the fuel injectors, install new brake pads, rotate the tires, adjust the suspension, and all sorts of other preventative stuff. When all is said and done, you get back a car that looks and feels exactly like the one you drove up in. I'm never able to tell any difference whatsoever after a major service. I always do everything they say however, because I don't want to be calling a tow truck with a sick dog in the back of the car.

Even though it looks like my service visit will be expensive, I'm sure the cost will seem trivial compared to the cost of my upcoming dental work. The specialty dentist I went to today examined me and said he didn't feel comfortable extracting my wisdom teeth because of the unusually long roots. Now, I have to go see another, even more advanced oral surgeon who is an MD as well as a dental surgeon. Dentists always assign teeth a number. Both of the dentists I've seen so far tell me that when tooth number 32 is extracted, they suspect that number 31 will need to be pulled as well. Since the molar next to the wisdom tooth has a cavity below the gum line, they are not sure that a root canal could save the tooth. They aren't even sure if the tooth is still alive. The general consensus so far is that after I have the wisdom tooth removed, I will then have to replace the adjacent molar with a dental implant.

Getting an implant done properly is a long and very expensive process. The damaged tooth is removed and sterile bone power is placed in the jaw where it fuses into new bone in four to six months. When this new bone is solid and stable, a titanium post is implanted in the jaw. The bone slowly grows around this post, attaching it firmly to the jawbone. This process takes another four to six months. When the post has fused with your jaw, a crown is attached and you're done. The whole procedure takes up to a year to complete and involves three different dentists. I'm not looking forward to this at all.

So, there you have it. The stock market had another terrible day and I'm beginning to think some of my assumptions about China and the energy markets were wrong. Dental insurance is more or less worthless if you need anything serious done. After investigating my options I don't think I'll even bother with it. I'm still busy, but my remaining clients keep cutting their budgets. At a time where it would be nice to have more money, I am faced with having less. I shouldn't whine though. I need to remember that even though this was a bad day, it has basically been a pretty good year. Both dogs survived cancer this year and I no longer have Hepatitis C. Sometime in the future I'll look back and be glad I fixed my teeth.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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