Day 3331

We had a bit of a setback today. Dash woke up with no energy at all. He stumbled around, took his morning pills, and went back to sleep without touching his breakfast. He's done this before, but we had such a good day yesterday that we thought we'd turned over a new leaf. After sleeping a few hours, we tried to interest him in a walk, but he wasn't going anywhere. It was clear that today was going to be a day of rest.

Dash has good days and bad days, so it's best to let him determine the schedule. He got plenty of rest today, occasionally getting up to pee. I had to keep an eye on him because wanting to get up and being able to get up are two different things these days. Luckily, Dash is learning to accept help. He still likes to sleep on the bed, but I need to help him navigate his steps now. He falls too easily.

Eventually Dash realized he was hungry and finished his breakfast. I was encouraged that when he noticed Janet had gone, he was able to walk around the house on his own looking for her. He became stronger and more confident toward the end of the day and we were able to take him on a very short walk just before sunset. Even though we only walked to the end of our street and back, Dash seemed happy to get outside and smell things.

I have a feeling that shorter walks and longer naps are going to become the new normal. This is not a problem that can be fixed. Dash is very old and is dealing with an enlarged heart, neurological problems, and vestibular disease. I'm amazed that he still does as well as he's been doing.

Since Dash has become less mobile, I'm not getting enough exercise myself. When Janet returned to watch Dash, I grabbed a camera and took a photo walk around the shoreline. It was a dismal, gray day but there were still plenty of birds. I saw several Great Egrets, some Double-crested Cormorants, a few Coots, and a gull catching a fish.

There may be no real solution to my allergy problems. Second-generation antihistamines like Allegra are much better than first-generation antihistamines like Chlor-Trimeton and Benadryl. They aren't perfect though. When I was taking photos this afternoon I noticed that my eyes seemed unusually sensitive to light and I felt slightly dizzy. My nose wasn't running though. I wish I wasn't sensitive to antihistamines, but it's always been a problem.

There is rain in the forecast again. Damn. I wonder if I'm ever going to be able to quit fretting about rain? The roof hasn't leaked since the guys came out and made their repairs, but I still keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don't trust this roof anymore. Rain also makes it difficult to get Dash outdoors. He has trouble enough on dry ground. Wet weather just makes things even more slippery. Unfortunately, the rainy season is far from over. I'm tired of this. I used to think that Seasonal Affective Disorder was a myth, but I sure seem to have most of the common symptoms.

Hey, maybe I'll see the sun tomorrow. Maybe Dash will get up on his own and we'll be able to take a longer walk. Anything is possible. I've just got to take things one day at a time.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3166

It drives me crazy that Dash's condition varies wildly from day to day, even though everything in his life is extremely consistent. We've finally found a diet that he tolerates well. The meds he takes every day haven't changed in ages. He has some gentle walks every morning and evening and sleeps a lot in between. Earlier this week his stools had become firmer and looked almost normal. Last night everything became runny again. This is weird because through good times and bad, he is eating boiled chicken breast in the morning and a home made mix of chicken, rice, and vegetables in the evening. A few days ago he seemed sure footed and wanted to walk by the shoreline. Today he stumbled all over the place. I don't know what to do. A slow, steady decline would make sense. All these wild fluctuations just don't seem right.

Good days or bad, life goes on. I ran all my usual Saturday errands while Dash was taking his morning nap. I can never figure out pricing for the things I buy over and over again. Fresh fruit, which I love, seems very inexpensive. Blue shop towels and furnace filters, on the other hand, seem ridiculously expensive. Gasoline is a total mystery. It seems to change in price every single day.

Water has become my nemesis. The dehumidifier started leaking again this morning. Damn. I really thought I'd managed to fix this a few days ago. I had to suck water out from under the shower tiles again with the wet/dry vacuum as well. This happens about every three days now. It's irritating to do this so often, but I don't want to spend the money to rip out all the bathroom tile and start over. Been there, done that. It was quite a bit more expensive than I expected.

Dash seems depressed this evening. He's always been a mama's dog. Janet went to a friend's wedding and he feels abandoned. I wish he wasn't such a little shit about things like this, but it's hard to reason with an old dog. He wants someone to sit on the bed and watch Netflix with him. Dash wouldn't walk this evening and I've been having trouble getting him to eat his dinner and take his evening meds. So far, the only thing he's done right on schedule is poop in the house. Oh, well. The night is young. We'll get this done eventually.

Things continue to roll toward a conclusion at the auction houses. I got asked today to approve the descriptive text for some of my art in the auction catalog for the first auction. One of the pictures in the catalog hung on my bedroom wall for decades. Now, I could never afford to bid on it. Lets just hope that everything sells.

I got an invitation to apply to join the Insight scientific team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory this November for a behind the scenes look at the spacecraft's upcoming landing on Mars. I'm frozen when these opportunities come my way. I don't want to leave Dash. I remember that the last time I did this type of thing, I had a car accident in California. It's expensive to take these type of trips and I'm not even sure I'd get accepted. Hey, my blog isn't as popular as it was when I was invited to view my last space launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base. I'm just making excuses. I'd still like to do this. One of these days I'll get up my nerve to apply to become a NASA social media reporter again.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day