Day 3231

I started moving stuff from one storage warehouse to another today. Everything seems so much heavier now. I guess muscle atrophy is real. This stuff certainly didn't seem this heavy when I was younger. I made three trips today. At this rate, it will take at least thirty more to get everything transferred. I had thought about renting a truck so I'd only have to make a few trips, but now I'm wondering if there is any point to this. The little loads I was able to fit in my car today tired me out. I don't think I'd have the energy to fill up a truck by myself.

Yesterday, my plan was to get everything moved before November 1 so I wouldn't have to pay another month's  rent on the old warehouse. This seems unrealistic now. It takes a long time to sort through things. Some stuff goes to the new warehouse. Some stuff gets donated to charity shops. And other stuff gets thrown away. I'm going to have to get rid of some things. My new storage unit is actually smaller than my old one. I don't know why I thought they were the same size. Now that I'm starting to fill the new unit up, it is obviously not quite as deep as the old one. No wonder I got such a good deal on the price. I actually rented a smaller unit.

I couldn't get back to sleep again after taking Dash out to poop last night. I can usually get back to sleep fairly easily when he just pees and goes back to bed. When I have to clean up poop though, I'm fully awake. There's no point in going back to bed when you're wide awake. I made some coffee, unloaded the dishwasher and did a load of laundry while I watched middle of the night television. By the time Janet and Dash got up, I felt like I'd been up all day.

Dash's right rear leg has become noticeably weaker. He does OK if he keeps moving, but if he stands in one place too long the leg starts to give way and he has a tendency to fall. I had to hold him up while he ate his dinner today. We had a good walk this morning, but I couldn't get him to leave the house this evening. It's frustrating when Dash won't move after I've spent fifteen minutes getting his leg brace and boots on. He's got a mind of his own though. Tonight he was determined to wait until Janet came home. I tried to tell him that she was working late and he wouldn't get a walk at all if he kept waiting by the front door. As usual, Dash didn't listen.

I'm going to move as much as I can tomorrow. There is rain in the forecast for Wednesday, so tomorrow might be the only good day I've got before November 1. It will be almost impossible to empty the old warehouse space in a single day, so I guess I'll just rent the unit for another month. If I move a little bit every day, it should be no problem to transfer everything in a month.

I wonder if I'll ever get organized? Once I get the storage warehouse taken care of, there's the even bigger problem of cleaning out my office. How did things get this way? I started my adult life with a zen like clarity. For years I was Mr. Minimal.  Everything was always organized and perfectly in place. Now, I've turned into my Dad. I guess we all turn into our parents eventually.

Dakota is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3138

The weather has cooled down a bit. The small difference in temperature made a big difference for Dash and I. There was a nice breeze and for the first time in weeks, Dash was able to take two walks. It's amazing now nice ninety degrees feels when you've gotten used to one hundred and ten.

I stayed busy today. I looked for a new and more reliable back yard security light. I bought some bug spray specifically designed to kill spiders. I went to the grocery store and got some of the things Janet usually gets on Saturday. These errands didn't really complete my list, but I didn't want to leave Dash too long.

When I got home, I defrosted the little emergency refrigerator we got when our kitchen refrigerator was broken. This little fridge was just supposed to be temporary, but it's become a necessity. Dash has so many things that need to be refrigerated now that he needs a refrigerator of his own. It's too bad that these little dorm room refrigerators aren't self defrosting. I guess that why they are so cheap.

Since the weather wasn't too oppressive, I mowed the grass and sprayed the Asian Jasmine ground cover in an attempt to get rid of the chiggers and mosquitoes. I hope this works. Until I get the security light issue resolved, I'm going to have to wade through this thick ground cover every night to flip the breaker switch and turn the light back on after it shuts itself off.

I think the SAMe pills are making Dash a little friskier. I'm not sure this is a good thing. He got excited about taking an evening walk today and tried to run to the back door. Dash's legs aren't steady enough to run anymore and he immediately fell over. When he falls on the slippery brick floors, he struggles to get up. If he would relax and let me help him up, everything would be fine. Unfortunately, Dash almost always chooses to panic rather than relax. We'll have to see how this goes. I like seeing Dash in better spirits, but I don't want him to injure himself.

I usually have no trouble sleeping, but last night I was wide awake. I had to take Dash outside to pee around 2 AM and I had to wait so long for him to do his business that I couldn't get back to sleep again when we finally came back inside. It would be terrible to have insomnia all the time. I'm usually so tired when I go to bed that I'm asleep almost instantly.

Should I go to the gym tomorrow? Probably. Will I go to the gym tomorrow? Probably not. This week has been tiring. At the moment, a long nap seems a lot more appealing than exercise.

Queenie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2861

I love my new doctor. It was refreshing to make an appointment and actually see the doctor at the scheduled time. I'm used to sitting in the waiting room for hours, then waiting some more in the exam room, only to end up seeing the doctor for a few minutes. The waiting room at my old doctor's office seems like a scene from The Walking Dead. This new place was quiet and sedate. Everyone was friendly and there was even valet parking. Best of all, this new doctor took the time to listen to me, instead of rushing around trying to see five patients at once. Janet told me that concierge medicine was a completely different experience. She was right.

After three unsuccessful attempts to get Dash walking this morning, I decided to leave his harness on, just in case he felt like going out again later. I finished my breakfast and when I was doing the dishes, I saw him scratching at the back door. I was ready to go, so I quickly grabbed a leash and off we went. This time I didn't waste time putting the knee brace or the protective rubber boots on. This seemed to do the trick. Maybe Dash just hates all the protective gear. I made sure that we walked on grass, so he wouldn't injure his paws and kept the pace slow, trying to avoid a knee injury. We had a nice slow walk along the shoreline. Dash seemed to be enjoying himself and walked very normally. This evening when Janet came home, we put the protective gear back on for our evening walk. He still walked normally. I just need to get him used to wearing the protective gear in the morning. Based on my experience so far, this may take a while.

I had trouble sleeping last night. This is so rare that it was kind of alarming. I'd hate to have insomnia  on any kind of a regular basis. When you're lying in bed and can't get to sleep, time seems to move much slower than usual. I occasionally had insomnia many years ago when my company was busy. I would just get up, turn on the computer and go to work. There's little point in doing that now. There's no work to do. I think I'd rather lie in bed and listen to my dog snore than look at Facebook at 3 AM.

I stopped at Whole Foods to pick up something for dinner on my way home from the doctor's office. I used to think that all grocery stores were basically the same, but they definitely cater to specific audiences these days. Whole Foods seems to be for upscale vegans. Central Market is for upscale meat eaters. Sprouts is for people who like the idea of a small neighborhood market. I guess Albertsons and Kroger are for older people who haven't realized that shopping has changed. I have no idea who Walmart is for and I don't intend to find out.

It's time to clip Dash's nails again. It's weird that something so simple can be such a problem. I hate taking Dash in the car, but I'm terrible at clipping his nails myself, so he always has to go to the vet. Sometimes the techs clip his nails too short and they bleed. This happen more often than you'd think with Dalmatians, since some nails are black and you can't see the quick. Bleeding of any sort is not good, since Dash is taking Plavix. I can't ignore his nails though, since he might pull out a dewclaw again. This whole procedure only takes a few minutes, but I've already spent hours thinking about it. I worry too much.

I'm really hoping that tomorrow will be the end of the refrigerator repair saga. I need to get this thing fixed before something else breaks.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1962

We're making progress. Dot walked in the underwater treadmill without her special harness for the first time today. Dash managed to keep his protective sock on during his entire walk and hardly limped at all. The bleeding has almost stopped from the empty socket where my wisdom tooth used to be. I fixed a fairly normal breakfast of scrambled eggs this morning and since I still can't drink hot liquids, I let my morning coffee cool down to a lukewarm temperature before drinking it. It wasn't the best coffee in the world, but lukewarm coffee is still better than no coffee at all.

I wisely postponed climbing on the roof to remove standing water until I'm finished with my dental surgery meds, but I'm pretty much up to speed on everything else. I completed all my writing assignments today, went to the bank, and made a few website revisions. I did most of this in the morning, because the afternoon was reserved for Dot's physical therapy.

I hope I sleep better tonight. Last night, I woke up about 3:30 AM and couldn't get back to sleep again. I spent the rest of the night listening to the two dogs snoring on either side of me and counting the times the furnace went on and off. Ideas often pop into my head when I have insomnia like this but they are usually wasted. I recall thinking of several clever ways I could improve my responsive website experiment, but I forgot them all by the time I turned on the computer the next morning. I worried about getting a dry socket and got up and drank some water. By the time I got back to bed, Dash had stolen my covers. It wasn't worth waking him up to get the bedspread back so I grabbed the nearest dog blanket, pulled it over my head and tried to get to sleep again. Luckily, I don't have  insomnia very often, because I don't enjoy it.

Our rainy Spring weather been good for the wildflowers this year. The meadows in the park are becoming more colorful by the day. I see a new variety of flower coming into bloom just about every time we go on a walk. Today I noticed that the Milkweed plants are starting to bloom. I've always liked the symmetry of these odd little spherical bundles. We call the little five sided green blooms Antelope Horns down here. I don't know why. The Milkweed flowers will last about a month and then they'll be replaced by something else. It's a nice time of the year for a visual person like me.

Tomorrow I have a photoshoot. Dot is doing well enough now that I'm comfortable leaving her for two or three hours. I'll be able to go out for my Friday morning breakfast as well. I'm not sure what I'm having yet, but I'm sure there's something on the menu that's easy to chew. Most of the forbidden foods are back in play after 48 hours anyway. I've already taken the trash out to the curb, but I still need to remember to charge up the camera batteries for tomorrow. I think I'm ready fora good night's sleep this evening.

April has already come and gone. This month was tiring and a bit stressful, but it went quickly. It's hard to believe that it's the first of May tomorrow. May is usually when it starts to get hot here in Dallas. Let's hope our unusually cool Spring lasts a bit longer.

Bea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1418

When I went to mow the lawn this morning, the mower wouldn't start. I was baffled. Everything worked perfectly the last time I mowed the grass. I went through all the normal troubleshooting procedures, and then out of frustration, I hit the mower with a hammer and it sprang back to life. It's sad that it's come to this. I just don't have the patience to carefully and methodically take things apart and put them back together anymore. I used to be able to fix anything, and now I just feel like hitting my recalcitrant machines with a hammer.

I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. Sometimes this happens for no apparent reason. When you can't sleep, the night can seem pretty long. Listening to the two snoring and farting dogs on either side of me didn't make the time go any faster, but eventually it was morning again.

When I went for my blood test at the health food store, there was already a line of old people waiting ahead of me. I usually try to go early and avoid the lines, but I couldn't seem to get organized today. The line moved surprisingly quickly and since I has to fast for the test, I went to breakfast at a nearby restaurant afterwards.

I took the suit with moth holes to the tailor and listened to a little Chinese lady explain the process of re-weaving to me. Somehow, I don't think the results will be nearly as invisible as promised, but what are you going to do? I can't let the moths win this one.

By the time I made a few remedial website updates, did the laundry, and made the bed, it was time to feed the dogs again and take them on their evening walk. This might be the last full daylight evening walk for a while. The sun will be setting an hour earlier now, so we'll be taking a lot of sunset walks during the month of November.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 765

I spent most of the day creating individual web pages for each of the employees I photographed yesterday. This used to be a fairly straightforward process, but it seems to take twice as long now, since people expectations are higher. It's not enough to quickly slap a picture and a bio on a page anymore. Now, people expect me to remove blemishes and color correct blotchy skin. I really wish the general public had never even heard of Photoshop. What really gets me is some people will complain that their new picture doesn't look as good as the previous one that might have been taken five years ago. Jeez, you were five years younger. Of course you looked better then,

I noticed my neighbors hauling large, bulky items out to the curb while while I was taking our trash bucket out for tomorrow's collection day. I wonder if I'll have the time to trim all the dead branches off the bushes and shrubs in the back year before big trash day? They only pick up these bulky items once a month and I always seem to miss the day. I still have some writing jobs that need to be completed before the weekend, but maybe I'll have time tomorrow to get out the reciprocating saw and tidy up the yard a bit.

I haven't been sleeping well lately. I don't have insomnia of anything. I just wake up over and over again. I go back to sleep quickly enough, but it is irritating. I think the dogs are waking me up in an attempt to push me out of the bed, but there's always a chance that a perverse part of my brain is causing me to wake up, just to see if the furnace is still working. This furnace is driving me nuts. It is absolutely reliable for an indeterminate amount of time, and then for no apparent reason, it becomes absolutely unreliable for another indeterminate period of time. Back and forth it goes like this; never really really stopping and never being totally reliable either.

The results of the blood test I took at the health food store last Saturday arrived in the mail today. For the first time on many months, every single parameter was within the normal range. Does this mean I can go back to drinking scotch and having bacon for breakfast? Sadly, no. I was puzzled why Janet's results didn't come in the mail along with mine. When I asked her later this evening, she said "Because I didn't go. Only you took the test." It's a good thing it was a blood test, not an IQ test.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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