Day 4999

I woke up with a terrible stomach ache this morning. I must have eaten something yesterday that had gone bad in the refrigerator. It happens ocassionally. I felt better as the day progressed but I need to be more careful about eating old food.

We had a nice sunrise walk with Dawn and then I made the bed and ate my breakfast. The good thing about eating shredded wheat for breakfast is that it never goes bad. I could probably open a two year old box and it would still be fine. After breakfast I checked my messages and went to the bank. I got stuck behind someone making a long transaction at the drive up window, but I wasn't in any hurry. The only thing on my schedule was a trip to the gym.

I didn't complete my routine today. All I did was walk three miles around the indoor track and come home again. It seemed strange that I did so well yesterday, but I just didn't feel like exercising today. When I returned home I let Dawn out in the back yard so she could sun herself. She loves to sit out in the sun, but I bring her back inside after about ten minutes. When I start getting really hot, I figure she's had enough.

It's still hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of the blog. I've been doing this for a very long time. I still have mixed feelings about ending things but I think it's time. I don't enjoy writing these daily posts as much as I used to and often feel like I'm running out of things to say. Sometimes I'm amazed that anyone still reads this. In the early days of the blog my readers seemed amazed when I posted something every evening for 500 consecutive days. Now that I'm approaching 5000 days there are few readers left. Blogging just isn't as popular as it once was. My plan was always to take long walks in the morning to keep my body in shape and write something every evening to keep my mind in shape. Not a bad plan actually, but it probably would have worked just as well if I did Sudoku puzzles instead.

This afternoon was uneventful. I hope things finally start to cool off in September. The weather app on my phone still shows clear skies and triple digit temperatures for the next two weeks, but this has got to end sometime. I need to think of something to occupy my time but I'm in no particular hurry. Until something captures my interest I can just watch old Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond episodes on TV.

It's time to make my grocery list again. Janet did her grocery shopping today and Dawn was just as excited as ever when she returned with lots of bags of food to put away. Grocery day is a big deal to Dawn. I'd like to post something meaningful tomorrow, but I suspect that it will be another ordinary Saturday. There has certainly been some excitement during the past fifteen years, but life isn't like that always. Maybe that's the charm of this blog. I make the ordinary and uneventful seem OK.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4907

I didn't accomplish much today. Somehow it's June already and it still seems like it should be February. I guess I've done a few things this year, but it doesn't seem like much. What happened to all the goals I used to have? I wake up, wonder what I'm going to do today and always end up doing the same things I did yesterday. There are really only two goals I have left. I want to continue walking six miles a day as long as I can and I want to finish my quest to write 5000 consecutive blog posts. Both of these are kind of silly goals. Is six miles a day really any better than four miles a day? It's just an arbitrary distance I picked a long time ago. I'm pretty sure that completing 5000 blog posts is no different than completing 4000 blog posts, but that's the number I chose. I'll be glad when I'm done because I really don't have that much to say.

We had a nice early walk with Dawn. The park seemed unusually busy this morning and I have no idea why. It wasn't a holiday but there were a ton of bicycles to avoid this morning. Dawn definitely gets the best walk of the day. It's almost always pleasant before sunrise. When I took my long walk later in the day it was way too hot.

When I checked my messages this morning there was a thank you note from my editor at SpaceFlight. I always feel better after I get some kind of acknowledgment that these articles I write have been received and are appreciated. One of these days a story will be rejected. I'm kind of surprised that all my stories have been accepted so far. I have absolutely no connections within the aerospace industry and don't really know that much about rockets. I can't even remember how I got interested in writing about space. Hey, it gives me something to do. All old people need something to do.

I had to go to the bank this morning but had no desire to go anywhere else. I just made a quick trip and came home again. I've probably driven more in rent cars in Florida this year than I have in Dallas. I do walk a lot though. Getting 10,000 to 20,000 steps a day seems far more important to me than what I see on these walks. I just walk the same route over and over again. The area where we live is pretty compared to the rest of Dallas, but after thousands of walks I hardly notice things anymore. I'm pretty sure I could do the walk blindfolded these days.

Now that the roof is fixed the other flaws in the house seem even more noticeable. The stained and cracked sheetrock in the ceiling really needs to be fixed. The sliding glass door to the atrium needs to be repaired as well. The whole house needs paint and new carpets. I'm sure there are many other things as well. The main drawback to making these repairs is that I hate having strangers in the house. Unless I want to learn how to do everything myself, I probably don't have a choice.

I've taken this weeks's trash to the curb, so this week is over for me. Tomorrow is Janet's grocery day and is Dawn's favorite day of the week. She gets so excited when Janet comes home with groceries. I'll continue watching the mail for my new driver's license. I'll feel a lot better about traveling when it arrives.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4758

I stayed surprisingly busy today. Janet had an early class at the gym, so we took our early walk in the dark again. Walking in the dark doesn't seem to bother Dawn at all. She uses her nose more than her eyes anyway. It was a little chilly early this morning, but it warmed up quickly. I could tell it was going to be a nice day.

I always think I'm going to do something different for breakfast, but I never do. When I have my shredded wheat and fruit I don't have to think and I don't have to cook. It's always the easy way out. After breakfast, I changed the sheets on the bed, did three loads of laundry, and paid some online bills. With bad knees and a dislocated shoulder it's harder to change the sheets than it used to be. Somehow lifting up the mattress to tuck in the fitted sheets is always a problem. I'm starting to understand why my Dad decided to just sleep on top of the bed in his latter years. It saves a lot of trouble if you don't have to make the thing every day.

I had to trick Dawn to get her off the bed so I could change the sheets. She wasn't very happy about that but we survived. Everything is clean and fresh again, but it will be covered in dog hair in a matter of days. I won't give this chore another thought until Janet reminds me that it's time to do it again.

When I finished my household chores, I went to the bank and took some stuff back to my storage warehouse. There was a long line at the drive up window today. The bank probably need to hire some more staff. There was just one guy handling both the inside and outside transactions. He seemed very busy.

It was a good day for a walk, but my heart wasn't really in it today. I felt tired and my pace was slower than usual. It is discipline, not a love of the outdoors that keeps me walking. Sometimes I see interesting things, but often the long walk is boring and just hurts my feet. There were no eagles today at the nest site.   There weren't many people on the trails either. I guess everybody is returning to work.

I don't know what I'm going to do about the house. I still can't find a carpenter or a contractor I like to undertake the needed renovations. I've got a long list of roofers, but I don't like any of them. The house isn't going to fix itself though. I've got to do something. I wonder why it's so much easier to find a good appliance repairman or plumber than a carpenter? Is carpentry becoming a lost art? 

I made no New Year's resolutions this year. My old resolutions to write 5000 consecutive blog posts and walk at least 10,000 steps every day are keeping me busy enough as it is. It's amazing what a little discipline can do. I'm basically a very lazy person.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4572

Another uneventful day. I think it's impossible for me to get eight hours of sleep. When I go to bed earlier, I wake up earlier. Somewhere between six and seven hours is all my body seems to want. It's too bad that Dawn wasn't in the mood to walk when I took her outside this morning. It was really nice out just before sunrise. She's not going to walk until Janet returns though. I'm lucky that I can get her to go down to the meadow behind our house to do her business.

I took my long walk right after breakfast to avoid the heat. Apparently, I'm not the only one trying to avoid the heat. The park is surprisingly crowded early in the day this summer. I often see neighbors walking their dogs while I'm in the park. Today one of them was one dog short. It turned out that the dog had died of cancer recently. It's sad that our dogs are with us for such a short time.

I went to the bank this morning and then stopped at a nearby grocery store to get some more salad greens. Actually I just got a couple of pre-made salads so I wouldn't have to make anything. I'm spoiled that Janet makes me a nice salad every day. On my own, I would revert to eating tuna fish out of the can pretty quickly.

The Benro folks wanted me to run a test on my star tracker and sent me some pre-release software to install. I was a little apprehensive because there was a good chance that everything would stop working again. Boredom makes you take chances though. I figured that if the beta firmware didn't work, they would fix the problem later. I carefully followed the instructions I was sent and was pleasantly surprised that the tracker still worked. There weren't any camera disconnect problems either. Maybe my problems are over for a while. Actually, I'm pretty lucky to be communicating well with the manufacturer in China. They always answer my questions within a day or two and have been pretty responsive. A lot of people on the user group haven't even received their trackers yet. One of these days I'll have some really nice astro photos to show you. It might be a while though. Lord knows when I'm going to be able to get back to the observatory.

I finally contacted the right person at NASA and got an update on my Artemis-1 status. Yes, they received my application for press credentials a long time ago. No, they haven't made any final decisions yet. I hope I get selected but it would certainly save me a lot of money if my application is rejected. I don't think airfares and hotel rates are going down any time soon.

I found Dawn sitting in the corner again this afternoon. Some noise that I hadn't even heard had spooked her. She came when I called and we went outside to sit in the sun for a while. Dawn is fine, but she is still very nervous without Janet at her side. We get all the essential things done during the day, but I can tell that she is sad and a little depressed. At least she doesn't run away when I take a nap on the bed anymore. I took a long nap this afternoon and Dawn stayed right there with me. We are definitely building trust, but there is a big gap between trust and joy. I tell Dawn that her friend will be returning soon, but I'm not sure she understands.

It's grocery day again tomorrow. This week really went quickly. I don't need much since I got some of my shopping done today, but I do need strawberries. Janet returns on Sunday. I think Dawn will be very happy.

Bentley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4408

Today was a mess. I had to go to the bank this morning and on the way home I had a flat tire. Luckily, there was a tire store nearby and they were able to fix the tire. The place only took cash though. Who uses cash anymore? They said I should go across the street and use the ATM machine at the 7-11 store. That didn't work. The machine would only accept debit cards. I've never used a debit card and generally just shred them as soon as a bank sends me one. I asked the tire guys if they'd mind if I drove back to my bank to get some cash. 

The ATM machine at the bank didn't work either. I guess all ATM machines expect a debit card. I didn't think the bank would let me in the lobby because I didn't have a mask with me. The drive-thru teller said they'd give me one and eventually I got the $30 the tire guys wanted for fixing two nails in my rear tire. This seemed a little expensive, but I wasn't in a position to argue. I was actually amazed that the tire guys didn't seem at all concerned that I was wandering around town for forty-five minutes looking for cash. I didn't try to stiff the guys though. I came back and gave them their money. It sure beat trying to change the tire myself.

When I returned to the house, there was a work crew digging up the alley again. They asked if this was my house and told me that there was a gas leak they had to repair. Evidently the faulty pipe was right near where they had discovered a leak at my neighbor's house several months ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they had caused this leak when they were trying to repair the other one. At any rate, they told me that they would have to shut off our gas tomorrow. "How long is it going to be off," I asked? Another cold wave is on the way and I wasn't looking forward to spending a night without heat. I'm not even sure I know how to shut off the gas to the house. We've lost electricity many times, but we've never lost natural gas.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. My phone works great with the new battery. It's nice to not have to put the phone on the charger every few hours. I don't think I'd ever get an electric car. I'm plagued with battery problems. Something I own always seems to be having a battery issue. Probably as soon as I figure out how to use the star tracker, I'll start having battery problems with it.

I waited until later in the day to take my long walk. It was cold this morning when we walked with Dawn, but I knew that it would warm up quickly. It would have been an enjoyable walk if it wasn't for my feet. When all this started, I was only having problems with my left foot. Now, both feet hurt. The Hoka shoes help, but I don't know what else I can do. Over-the-counter pain medications do nothing. 

I got the invitation to apply for press credentials for the Artemis 1 launch today. The launch is supposed to take place sometime in March now, although insiders tell me that it probably won't take place until this Summer. I'll go ahead an apply, but it doesn't guarantee that I'll be accepted. We'll see. I'd really like to attend this launch, but the bloom is off the rose as far as travel is concerned. Who knows what new Covid variant will be around when the launch takes place. Covid had made travel such a hassle that I'm tempted to just stay home and do nothing until this whole thing is ancient history.

I hope the gas company people don't throw me any surprises tomorrow. I really don't want to be without heat on Thursday when the cold weather arrives. I'm going to have to be really careful about taking Dawn outside as well. Work crews are notorious about leaving gates open. 

Dovey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4117

Dawn surprised us today. At the corner where she normally turns right and begins to head back home, she turned left instead. She seemed happy and eager to follow a new path today. We still didn't walk all that far, but it was encouraging to see her try something new. While Janet was out earlier in the day I sat outside with her for about 15 minutes. She was very relaxed and came over and sat with me several times. We're still having problems in the kitchen though. Dawn seems to have some very bad memories associated with feeding and food. That's really a shame, because she loves to eat. Building trust with this dog is going to take a very long time.

I had to go to the bank today and I'm beginning to wonder if they are ever going to reopen the lobby. I've been making transactions using the drive through window for over a year now. I think a lot of businesses have discovered that it's a lot easier to operate in lockdown mode. The bank certainly doesn't have to hire as many people these days. Everything still seems to work, so why would they bother to reopen?

I'm beginning to think I bought the wrong camera. This new camera is a kind of heavy and my old camera seems to work a lot better with the star tracker. The new camera has some amazing features but since most astrophotography is done in full manual mode, I don't even need them. What I really need is a very light camera with a good sensor and long battery life. I still don't have anything that will make my life easier. Most deep sky processing software requires a PC to run. I use a Mac. Canon and Nikon cameras are popular with astrophotographers. I use Panasonic and Olympus cameras. I probably should have just gone on eBay and bought a used Canon DLSR and a cheap PC that would run the software I need. Why don't these guys use a Mac? I've always hated using a PC.

We needed to renew a prescription for Dawn today and discovered that our vet no longer worked at the clinic. Do we move with the vet or stay with the clinic? One more thing to be frustrated about. People in the veterinary business seem to move around like musical chairs. There is a huge turnover. My business used to do a lot of work with veterinarians and not a single one of these old clients is working at the same place anymore. I used to move around a lot when I worked at the ad agencies, but I expected the rest of the world to remain stable. Now, nothing is stable. The whole world reinvents itself every week.

When I went out to the street this morning to retrieve my garbage can, a new neighbor who just moved in crossed the street to introduce himself. When he shook my hand it startled me. I hadn't shaken anyone's hand in over a year. The guy was new in town and was just trying to be friendly. Nevertheless, I washed my hands as soon as I returned to the house. Is it always going to be this way? Maybe. I'm suspicious of everyone now and have no desire to make new friends. Covid changed everything.

It's Easter weekend and the park will be filled with little kids having egg hunts. Not many people use real eggs anymore. They fill plastic eggs with candy instead. The kids leave candy and unfound eggs all over the park. It's a mess. We'll see if Dawn has a nose for candy like Dot and Dash did. I always had to watch Dot and Dash like a hawk in the weeks following Easter because they were always trying to eat the candy.

Miracle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3906

You want a recipe for a dismal day? Start with lots of rain. Add a huge sell off in the stock market. Throw in a little pandemic isolation and top it off with the latest cable news crisis. It's getting harder and harder to stay positive this year. I'm not a very positive person anyway, but this year is off the charts. Sometimes all it takes is a little rain to tip the balance.

We had to delay our walk again this morning because of the rain. We got up really early to beat the weather, but the forecast was wrong. It was already raining. The rain never lasted long, but it was hard to tell what was going to happen next. We ended up waiting until almost noon before leaving the house. Dawn didn't seem to mind. I think she would sleep all day if given the chance.

I got a letter from the grocery store today telling me to throw away the peaches I had bought from them almost a month ago. A little late guys. I've already had two peach pies and eaten a peach every day in my morning smoothie. If I was going to get salmonella poisoning I'd be dead by now. Who keeps peaches for over a month anyway? They don't last that long. There's still one store that sells peaches. I'm continuing to eat them. It makes me wonder if these peaches are actually safe, or whether the store just didn't bother to read all the recall notices. I do think a lot of these produce recalls are just done out of an abundance of caution. Nobody wants to get sued these days.

I went to the bank today to deposit a check. I wonder if the bank lobby is ever going to reopen? They've probably discovered that it's much easier to have everyone go through the drive up windows. Customers seems to have adjusted to this. Maybe there's no need to ever reopen the lobby. There's an app that lets you deposit checks by taking a picture of them with your phone. I'm too old school for this though. I don't use my phone for any type of transactions. It's just a tool to check the weather with and occasionally take photos. I used my phone to photograph some Bald Cypress fruit today. These don't look nearly as edible as the Mexican Plumbs a little further down the road.

Both Space X launches were successful today. There was a Starlink launch in Florida this morning and another Starship prototype hop in Boca Chica later in the day. The Starship still looks like a flying grain silo, but I bet a year from now it will look a lot more sophisticated. One disconcerting thing is happening down at Boca Chica. Space X is building a giant stainless steel wall around the facility. If I ever get down there, I might not be able to see anything. Since United Launch Alliance didn't have any launches today, they had time to answer my letter. Yay. I'm on the ULA media list now.

The trash has been taken to the curb. The rain has stopped. Dawn seems to be in a good mood. Maybe today wasn't that dismal after all. Really nothing happened today, but nothing happened yesterday either. We'll see if tomorrow is a repeat of today. There's more rain in the forecast starting around 4 AM. Will we get to walk or will we have to wait? There's certainly nothing else on the agenda.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3529

Every time I go to the bank I wonder what has happened to jobs in this country. There are lots of empty offices and very few employees. All I needed this morning was to go to my safe deposit box, but I had to wait forever because there was only a single banker helping everyone. Next to his office were six identical vacant offices. The tellers cages were equally empty. There was only a single teller on duty.

This is happening everywhere. There are fewer cashiers at the grocery store. There are fewer employees selling stamps at the post office. Even my new breakfast restaurant seems to be doing more with less. I noticed this morning that there is no full time cashier. When you are ready to pay your bill you walk over to the empty cash register stand and after a while a waiter will notice you and come over to take your money. Unemployment is supposed to be at an all time low. I wonder where everyone is working? I don't think they are working at ad agencies. There are significantly fewer agencies in Dallas than there were when I moved here in the 1970's.

I thought it was going to rain for a while this afternoon, but all we got were a few ominous looking clouds. No rain hit the ground. The clouds didn't even cool things down very much. It was still a hot and very humid day. When I start hoping for rain you know something is wrong. It has been dry way too long and the grass in the front yard is looking pitiful. I'll take my chances with the roof. We need some rain.

I lost another friend to cancer today. The list keeps growing. It's amazing to me how many former classmates and coworkers are gone. It's alarming how many of these people were actually younger than I am. I guess I should focus on the equally amazing number of people I know who have survived something serious. Life is never entirely fair, but I try to remember to enjoy the time I have left on this earth. It's not going to last forever.

I wonder why there's not more concern about all the fires in the Amazon rain forests? Jeez. This is where our oxygen comes from. You can't get more basic than that. The sad thing is that these fires weren't caused by drought or lightning strikes. They were set by humans who want more farmland and cattle ranches. With all the talk about climate change these days you still don't hear much serious discussion about the real cause of all our problems. The problem is overpopulation. There are simply too many people on this planet. It is not sustainable. We have become an invasive species who are rapidly destroying everything. We all need to quit having babies for a while.

I'm still concerned about the weather in West Texas. Two of the three long range forecasts I'm following predict clear skies. Unfortunately the third says there's a 50% chance of rain. Why can't you weather experts agree on these things? I want clear skies when I go to the observatory. I should be concerned about the wild gyrations in the stock market, but I've given up on stability in the market. The market overreacts to everything these days. I try not to overreact to anything, but it's getting harder.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3253

I got a letter saying that I needed to change my pharmacy to continue getting the "preferred rate" on prescription drugs. This has happened before. I wonder what goes on behind the scenes at insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Prices and procedures are always changing with no explanation. Are generic drugs really the same as their brand name equivalent? Why do Dash's pills cost substantially less than mine? Often he takes the same pills that humans do. All I know is that healthcare has become way too complicated and is much more expensive than it needs to be. Jeez. I don't want to change my pharmacy for some stupid bureaucratic reason. I like my pharmacy. I need to check and see what this "preferred rate" really is. It may be nothing. The government always likes to scare you into doing things their way. I'm always willing to pay a little more to do things my way.

I was surprised to see that half the junk I took out to the curb yesterday is already gone. All the metal objects are gone. People drive by and scavenge the bulky trash piles. I guess they sell the metal at recycling plants. The city seems more than happy with this practice because there is less trash for them to pick up. The whole thing seems kind of sad to me, but what do I know. You know the old saying: one man's trash is another man's treasure. I did haul some pretty heavy metal objects to the curb yesterday. There was no copper though. It was only steel. Can you make money scavenging steel from trash piles? Like the true cost of prescription drugs, this is probably something I'll never know.

I had to leave the house for a meeting at noon today. Once again, it was hard to get ready in time. By the time I clean up all the poop, make the bed, walk Dash, eat breakfast, and take a shower, it is almost always noon. It's getting harder and harder to do more than one thing a day now. Today's meeting wasn't even necessary. My business bank wants to start selling me investments now that I'm retired. I keep telling them that I already have all the investment advice I need, but they are persistent.    I wonder why they don't understand that I want from them is the kind of service they were giving me fifteen years ago. Unfortunately, nobody wants to provide the type of service they offered fifteen years ago. That ship has sailed.

How do you prescribe bed rest for a dog? I'm having a hard time getting the cut on Dash's paw to heal, because he is always scraping the scab that is trying to form. He wears socks in the house now, but they are always falling off. The boots are too heavy to wear around the house, but the boots are what keep the socks on. At least the wound is trying to heal now. Dash just isn't a very good patient.

I woke up to find poop in the bed again last night. Dash didn't even wake up. Sometimes when the poop is firm I can pick it up with a poop bag without leaving a stain. I did this last night and just went back to bed without waking anyone up. I did wash the bedspread in the morning, but it still looked pretty clean. I don't know if I'm becoming better at cleanup or just more casual about poop. When stuff like this happens every night, it's hard to get very upset about it.

I've got my eye exam tomorrow. I think my eyes are still pretty good, but I have a tendency to rationalize my body's slow deterioration. I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if I needed to wear glasses. I just hope I never have macular degeneration like my Dad.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3161

Good grief. The dehumidifier has started to leak. This trusty little machine has been running 24/7 ever since we had our big water leak several years ago. I've grown to depend on this thing. Now it has joined both toilets, the shower stall, a bathroom sink, and of course the impossible roof in a coordinated effort to drive me crazy. Why do I have all these water problems? I've come to the conclusion that there's only one thing for certain about water. Eventually it's going to wind up someplace it doesn't belong.

I guess I'll go ahead and order a new dehumidifier. I'll probably even get the same brand again. This thing has worked like a champ. Nothing lasts forever unfortunately. I'm reminded of that almost every day.

It certainly seemed like Monday today. I'm perpetually slow anyway, but on Mondays it seems like I'm moving around underwater. I guess I accomplished something, but it would certainly be hard to prove. Our morning walk took forever. There was nothing wrong. Dash just didn't feel like going very fast. Breakfast was equally slow. I don't think I made my smoothie larger than usual, but it took almost until lunch to drink the whole thing. I spent a long time trying to figure out where the leak in the dehumidifier was coming from. No luck there. Water just seems to be dripping through a screw hole on the bottom of the sealed system.

When I went to the bank this morning, I noticed that a client had failed to sign a check they sent me. The bank took the check anyway. Did they not notice or did they just not care? I didn't care that much. This client has done this before. The bank probably sees unsigned checks like this everyday. I have a feeling that the entire world is becoming sloppy and forgetful. Hey, I'm certainly doing my part.

I wrote a letter to a friend with a sick dog who thought the diagnosis they received from their vet might be wrong. I encouraged them to get a second opinion. It is not that uncommon for an initial diagnosis to be wrong. Dogs can't talk and symptoms are often confusing. It has often taken us several tries and an expensive MRI or two to figure out what was going on with Dot and Dash. The important thing is to never give up. Especially when you think there is still hope.

I got a lead this weekend about someone who might be interested in another collection I have. I tried to call the guy, but of course he wasn't in. I wrote him a letter instead. Letters still have their uses. They somehow seem more serious than a voicemail message that would probably be mistaken for spam anyway. Whether I hear back from the guy or not, it is going to take a long time to unload these collections of mine. It definitely took a long time to assemble them.

Maybe I actually accomplished more than I thought today. It just seemed like everything was moving in slow motion. I'll try to pick up the pace tomorrow. There's no point in going too fast though. I've got an entire week to fill.

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3100

Every time I think we've turned the corner with Dash, something happens to remind me that he's still a sick dog. He must have had another vestibular episode last night. When I took him outside to pee around 1 AM, he was drooling a lot and wanted to eat grass. I thought he was going to throw up, but he didn't. We went back to sleep, but he had no appetite the next morning. It was really hard to get him to take his morning meds. He wasn't interested in anything. Eventually we were able to wrap the pills in small pieces of a leftover quesadilla. He still seemed eager to walk, but when we got home he wanted to throw up again. It was way too soon to throw up because his phenobarbital hadn't gotten into his system yet. I wouldn't let him eat grass in the yard, gave him a Pepsid AC, and went back in the bedroom with him until he eventually fell asleep on the bed. This was a little risky, since I didn't want to clean vomit off the bedspread. The plan worked though. When Dash woke up three hours later, he seemed fine.

When we went out to dinner yesterday I put on a shirt that Janet said was fifteen years out of style. It probably was. I have trouble throwing stuff away, so I told her she could go through my closet and get rid of anything she'd be embarrassed to see me wear in public. Janet loves to get rid of clutter, so I wasn't surprised that she took me up on my offer. This afternoon, there were three large trash bags filled with an odd selection of old polo shirts that looked like they belonged to a guy thirty pounds heavier than me. Jeez. Did I ever wear those shirts? I guess I must have. There were also a ton of old t-shirts I must have picked up at trade shows. Janet seemed delighted to pare down my collection of ugly sweaters. I must have been fond of loud, colorful sweaters at some point. I could never throw away this stuff myself, but I won't miss anything. Truthfully, I'm glad the stuff is gone.

When I went to the bank this morning, I stood in line behind a man who'd brought a shopping cart into the lobby with him. He looked like a homeless guy, but he must have had a business of some sort. I watched as the teller handed him bag after bag of coins. When he had filled the grocery cart with coins, he left the bank and started pushing the cart down the sidewalk. I have no idea where he was going. It's a strange world we live in. You never would have seen this at a bank twenty years ago.

I made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow, but I forgot to check the weather forecast first. It looks like there are supposed to be thunderstorms. I hope the forecast changes overnight. Weather forecasts change every few hours here in Texas, so it might be clear tomorrow. If there are storms, I'll have to cancel my appointment. Dash's storm phobia has gotten worse and I can't risk leaving him alone in a storm anymore.

Dash ate his dinner tonight, so hopefully he is feeling better. We still don't know what triggers these vestibular episodes. They seem to occur when you least expect them and they are always alarming. The vet says he will experience these periodic sensations of vertigo and nausea for the rest of his life. Luckily, they don't seem to happen too often. Lets hope he has a normal day tomorrow.

Alamo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3057

I'm glad I only had one thing on my list today. Two things would have been too much. After walking Dash and eating breakfast I went to the bank to set up the new account I needed. If you ask me, I have too many accounts already, but apparently I need this new one to serve as a conduit from my IRA account to the operating account that I pay bills with. I was surprised at the number of people who wanted to "get to know" me. One guy told me that he'd watched me come and go for seventeen years and I'd never stopped and introduced myself. Sadly, this was probably true. I never talk to anyone at the bank. I just hope I don't get stuck in the slow line at the teller window and leave as soon as I've made my deposit. The bank is like the post office to me. I could easily make deposits using my phone these days, but I like to go in person. I'm a Luddite. It's hard for me to believe that anything is actually happening if I don't physically hand the postal clerk my letters or the bank teller my money.

It took a long time to get things set up the way I wanted, but I'm ready to go now. Even if I get dementia or go stark raving mad, my bills will still get paid. I saw how forgetful my Dad became as he got older. You need to get prepared while you've still got your wits about you. I definitely don't want my electricity cut off because I forgot to pay the electric bill. I'm going to gradually set up all my recurring bills to auto pay and quit writing checks. My plan seems pretty solid unless I become a nonagenarian and run out of money. I don't think that's going to happen though. My family is not noted for longevity.

I think we're going to have to consider pain management for Dash pretty soon. The signs are subtle, but he seems more uncomfortable than he did even a month or two ago. Gabapentin didn't work, so we may have to resort to Rimadyl. Rimadyl is very effective, but it has some nasty side effects including gastrointestinal bleeding and liver disease. Hopefully, Dash will continue responding well to the Movoflex supplements and we can postpone the harder drugs for a while. I think pain management is important. It doesn't matter whether it's your dog or your Dad. Nobody should live in pain. I hope we can continue Dash's daily walks as long as possible. When he is no longer mobile, he is going to go downhill rather quickly.

Peaches are back in season. I'm always glad when peaches are plentiful at the grocery store. My morning smoothies taste better when I add a peach to the usual strawberries and blueberries. A peach makes a pretty good dessert too. I wish I could get my diet as organized as I've got my finances. I'm convinced that if I were eating exactly the right things, I would enjoy every meal and still never have heartburn. I need to talk to a nutritionist who doesn't just want me to become a vegetarian. Eating pizza is a disaster, but I can often eat pasta and spaghetti without any problems. Vietnamese Pho doesn't give me problems, but similar Chinese dishes can keep me up all night. I eat earlier now and avoid acidic foods like tomatoes. The holy grail would be a meal that provides the satisfaction of barbecue with the health benefits of kale. I'm still looking.

The weather is perfect for putting in new grass and repairing the roof. Why am I having so much trouble contacting the roofer and the landscaper? They should both be out here now. Guess who I'll be calling tomorrow.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day