Day 1616

Today was a typical Monday. Everything was disorganized. Things got delayed, or in many cases, they never happened at all. Dash's routine exam at the cancer center ended up taking most of the day, mostly because there were a lot of unexpected emergencies with other dogs. Dash seemed happy about the situation though. He got to play with the other dogs at the cancer center while he was waiting to see the doctor, instead of spending another boring day at home with Dot and I. When I did go to pick him up later this afternoon, I received a glowing progress report from the oncologist. Dash is doing great! We don't have to go back for another exam until the middle of June. Dash can have a bath again now, which is very good news because he is getting filthy.

I was a bit worried that the chemo pills might be causing the diarrhea Dash was having this weekend. The nurse said that this was possible, but not very likely, since he's been taking the pills for over three months now with no adverse effects. She said it was much more likely that he ate a small lizard. Apparently a lot of dogs have been finding lizards in the yard this Spring. Sounds about right. Actually I did see Dash chasing a lizard in the yard last week. It wouldn't have been hard for him to catch one without us noticing.

Not only have real estate taxes gone up this year, our homeowners insurance rates just went up as well. When real estate values dropped significantly after the big market crash in 2008, real estate taxes and insurance rates didn't go down at all. They just held steady for a few years. Every time the real estate market rebounds however, taxes and insurance rates immediately go up. This is what is happening this year. We've had a little rebound and the city and county can't wait to get their hands on this new source of revenue. Somehow this doesn't seem very fair, but as we all know, taxes almost never go down.

I fell asleep briefly at the computer a few minutes ago. This is the second time this month this has happened. Jeez, if I can't even stay awake writing the blog, lord knows how you guys feel reading it every day. You never know though. Things still happen. Just not every day.  Maybe tomorrow will be exciting. It certainly should be busier. Dot has her weekly acupuncture and water therapy session, and I have a photo shoot. Dash has nothing planned, but he had a big day today.

If it weren't for my Spring allergies, I'd have no complaints about the weather at all. There's been enough rain to keep things green, and enough sunlight and cool breezes to keep the dogs and I happy. Today was absolutely beautiful.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 863

It's a shame that allergy season coincides with the nicest weather we have all year in Texas. The temperature is perfect, but I can't go outside for more than ten minutes before my eyes are burning and my nose is dripping like a faucet. I have to carry a pack of Kleenex wherever I go and my nose is starting to look like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. The seasonal grass seed allergies that bother me the most usually subside by late June, but by then Summer has arrived and it's too hot to spend much time outside anyway. I used to live in Seattle where it rained continually. I think I prefer the rain to this hodgepodge of dust storms, tornadoes, droughts, and wind blown pollen that we have here. Of course I didn't own a house with a flat roof that leaks all the time when I lived in Seattle. I probably wouldn't think so fondly of the place with memories of a leaky roof.

I got the second of three large shelves disassembled and moved over to the larger storage space today. I'm glad now that I kept both storage rooms rented for the entire month. I never could have moved everything in a single day. I've been down to the storage warehouse at least five times now and I've still only gotten about 2/3 of the stuff moved. This little project is turning out to be hard work. I should just throw away stuff I don't need as I go, but I don't have time to think about which things are keepers or not, so everything gets moved. I'll have plenty of time later to throw away all the old computers, scanners, and printers from the 1980's later.

Janet wants to plant the new grass this weekend. That means I'll need to till the soil tomorrow. I'm fairly sure the little tiller I keep in the greenhouse won't start using the two year old container of gas I keep for the lawnmower I no longer use. That gas wouldn't work anyway, since the tiller uses a gas and oil mixture like you use for a chain saw. I'll need to go to Home Depot and buy a little gas can and some of that two stroke oil you mix in with it. Finding all this stuff will take longer than actually tilling the soil. Hopefully, the tiller will start after I've found the proper fuel for it, or I've really wasted a lot of time.

I never have enough time anymore. I had to go to a planning meeting for one of the animal rescue groups I work with this evening and didn't have time to eat dinner until I got home. Hmm. Do I fix myself a nice dinner, or do I write this blog? I heated up a pizza that was in the freezer because the box said it would cook in 11 minutes.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 848

Janet wanted me to take one of the dogs to training class tonight, because she had a late meeting to attend. The only problem was that neither dog wanted to be the one left behind. I had such a difficult time getting one dog ready while trying to pen the other one in the bedroom, that I decided we would all just stay home instead. It's just as well. My allergies were terrible today and I'd probably go through an entire box of Kleenex if I was out in the pollen laden air for another hour or two.

I finally got my April invoices out today and got caught up on my monthly accounting. Everything seems to be moving very slowly this month. Each morning I turn on the computer and start working, just like I always do, but even the simplest task seems to take forever. I'm so tired.

I got an e-mail today about an upcoming tour of homes and noticed the name of a real estate agent who specializes in mid-century modern houses. I think I'll give the guy a call tomorrow. I really need to find someone who knows how to market my rent property. It's little and doesn't have the latest amenities, but it's still the kind of place that someone out there is going to think is cool. I need to find that someone.

There were still a lot of butterflies in the park this morning. I've discovered that there is something odd about photographing butterflies. It's almost impossible to use the auto-focus feature on the camera. For some reason, the auto-focus mechanism doesn't see the insects. Manual focus isn't a good alternative either on cameras without a viewfinder. I can never tell if something is in sharp focus on those little LCD screens. I'll have to do some experimenting. Luckily, there are plenty of butterflies to practice with.

I don't know if I'm ever going to get caught up. There are still a lot of things on last week's to-do list that I haven't finished yet. I need to mow the grass. I need to get started moving things from the little storage room to the big one. I still need to call the plumber too. Maybe tomorrow. There's always tomorrow.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 809

I forgot that one of the things that comes along with an early Spring is an early onset of Spring allergies. For the past several days I've been wheezing and sneezing like crazy. This happens to me every year when the grass pollen starts to blow in the wind. Usually my grass pollen allergies start a few months later, however. Even with all the sneezing, it was still a very nice day.

We went up this morning to visit Patches, our newest Dalmatian Rescue dog. While we were there, we said goodby to Molly, who was on her way to her new home this afternoon. Patches, who is today's Dalmatian of the Day, was delightful. She was as friendly as could be and should find a home very quickly. She was hard to take pictures of though, since she never quit moving. Patches doesn't like to stand still.

Wall outlets are always at a premium in the office, since I've got so many things plugged in. I went to Home Depot and got another plug strip and I could plug in a few more things. When I got behind the desk to look for an outlet to plug in the new power strip, I found half a dozen black wall warts that weren't connected to anything, even though they were still plugged into a wall socket. These were all remnants of earlier computer systems. I guess when various printers, scanners and external hard drives became obsolete, I just unplugged the other end of the cable and left the wall warts intact. This was certainly easier than moving the desk like I did today. To make a long story short, just by unplugging all the unused extension cords and wall warts, I instantly had all the outlets I needed for my new gear. There are still a lot of cables behind the desk that don't appear to go to anything, however. I really need to totally start over in this office, but it's such a lot of work.

Dot and Dash seem to love all the new Spring smells in the park. I wish they wouldn't be quite so exuberant though. Dash is so strong and so eager to chase after things that I think I'm going to have a permanently dislocated shoulder.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day