Day 4638 - Labor Day

I wouldn't say summer is over yet, but I don't think we'll see many more hundred degree days. It's very pleasant when we take our sunrise walks with Dawn now. It was only 71 degrees when we left the house this morning. It warmed up as the day progressed, but it was still nice enough to take a walk in the park instead of going to the gym this morning.

It was pleasant walking outdoors for a change. The park is green again. A week of rainy days has made a huge difference. The ducks and geese are still here, but the construction workers are gone. I think the fancy new trail they've been building all summer is finally finished. There must have been a really strong wind accompanying yesterday's storm.  I saw a lot of downed trees. I'm glad our own trees withstood the storm. The last thing I need right now are more tree problems.

I mowed the grass in the back yard this afternoon and the yard looks a lot better. The batteries on the electric mower really need to be replaced. I was barely able to get the back yard mowed before the batteries died. I used to be able to mow both the front and back on a single charge. There seems to be a never ending list of batteries to replace. I've got to find new batteries for a power drill and circular saw as well. In the future I think I'll just buy power tools with a cord that plugs into the wall. Batteries that constantly need to be recharged or replaced have become a huge nuisance.

I got started on my article about Artemis-1, but I didn't get very far. I still can't decide whether to take a "practice makes perfect" point of view, or a slightly more pessimistic "billion dollar boondoggle" angle. Personally I think this rocket is a huge waste of money when Space X already has a better idea, but what do I know. Obsolete or not, I'd still like to see this thing fly.

I updated the star tracker again. I guess that's what you do with this thing. I've lost track of how many updates and firmware installations I've already done. The good news is that the tracker still works after today's update. The bad news is that I doubt that I'll be using it to photograph stars anytime soon. Lord knows when I'll get out to the observatory again. My memory of the terrible drive out there is starting to fade, so maybe I'll start planning something for the Spring.

I feel perpetually tired these days. A walk in the park and mowing half the yard shouldn't have worn me out, but it did. I just don't have the energy that I used to. I should finish mowing the grass tomorrow, but we'll have to see. Right now a nap sound much more appealing.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3372

I finished getting my tax files organized today and took them over to my accountant. For the past several years this has been a somewhat depressing experience. I've known the accountant for decades. We are about the same age. His business is still very successful and mine is practically nonexistent. It's embarrassing to show him how little money I've made. The accountant just laughs and says that old accountants are in more demand than old creative people. While this is probably true, it is not reassuring.

There's a shoe store I like near the accountant's office. I usually stop and buy a pair of shoes after I finish my meeting. I didn't stop today. After moving my storage warehouse last November, it finally dawned on me that I don't need anything. Pick almost any category and I have enough. I certainly have enough shoes. Buying things was like comfort food for me for a long. long time. Not anymore. When I look around the office, I just see lots of obsolete stuff I no longer need.

My waist and shoe size haven't changed, so I'll eventually wear all the clothes. I might be out of fashion, but who cares. When you dress like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, fashion is irrelevant. T-shirts, jeans, and comfortable shoes are timeless.

Cleaning up Dash's poop at night usually goes like clockwork, but last night something went wrong. I always slide out the soiled puppy pad, roll it up and seal it in a plastic bag. I was unfolding a fresh puppy pad to slide under Dash's butt when he decided to poop again. No protection always equals a big mess. We had to wake Dash up, get him of the bed without stepping in the mess, and then replace the soiled blankets. By the time I re-made the bed, took the blankets outside to clean with a hose, and then placed them in the washing machine on the sanitize cycle, I was wide awake.

I hate reading articles about how sleep deprivation can take years off your life. There's not much I can do about the situation right now. I think parents with small children go through something similar, but most of them are quite a bit younger than me. At any rate, if you're changing diapers or trying to get your kid back to sleep in the middle of the night, I can relate.

All this week Dash has seemed exhausted after his walks. We walk really slowly, but he doesn't have as much energy anymore. I've tried to get him to take shorter walks, but Dash is very stubborn. I can't get him to turn around. It is only after we return home that he realizes that we went too far. Hopefully, the long naps Dash takes during the day are beneficial. I'd hate to have to discontinue the walks. They're one of the few things he still looks forward to.

Now that my taxes are out of the way, there are a tons of things around the house than need my attention. My toilet repair didn't work very good.  I'll have to repeat the process. There's a new pothole in the driveway that I need to fill with river rocks. The little refrigerator needs to be defrosted as well. The little refrigerator was only meant to be temporary, but like most things around here, it has become permanent.

Maybe I'll get some sleep tonight. It's all up to Dash at this point.

Pringles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

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 2443

The weather seems more like October than August. The Fall rainy season usually coincides with the State Fair of Texas, but it seems like we got an early start this year. The temperatures have been unseasonably cool, and it has been very, very wet. I guess I should just relax and enjoy it. The water bill will be less this month and the grass is turning green again. The main problem with the rain is that it is difficult to find a good time to walk the dogs. We got wet today, but it could have been worse. At least it was a gentle rain.

I had a weird memory lapse recently. I've been wondering why I haven't gotten a bill to renew my homeowners insurance. It seems like I always renew my policy around this time of year.  I was kind of worried that the bill had gotten lost in the mail, so I called my insurance agent today. "When are you going to send my homeowners policy," I asked. "I haven't received a bill yet." "You paid your bill in June," the agent told me. Never mind. How could I have forgotten that?

I picked up a heat and serve meal at the new vegan store in the neighborhood. I wasn't really expecting much, but my dinner was delicious. The dish was called a Lime Cilantro Bowl and basically consisted of organic roasted corn and zucchini, Spanish rice, and black beans. The dish was very fresh, spicy enough for my taste, and quite filling. I didn't miss the absence of meat at all. I doubt that this meal will turn me into a vegetarian. If you remember, I had dinner at a steakhouse last night. What it proved was that a vegetarian dinner can actually taste good. Weaning myself away from meat will be a gradual process, but this is a start. The menu at this place rotates frequently, so every time I see a tasty looking curry or Thai dish, I'll give it a try.

Something is wrong with Dash. He stumbles a little too frequently for it to be purely accidental. He doesn't seem to have as much energy as he used to and I find him licking the area around his joints a lot. I worry that his cancer might have returned or that he has developed some neurological problem. The x-rays we took a few weeks ago were inconclusive, but I'm still convinced that there is something wrong. It would be so much easier if dogs could talk.

Dash wasn't the only one who had less energy today. Dot seemed tired too. Spending the day with two exhausted dogs makes me tired. I felt like taking a nap all day long. Maybe it's just the weather. It was so humid this morning that it felt like you could squeeze the air and wring water out of it like a sponge. I emptied the dehumidifier bucket twice today, but it still feels muggy. Lets hope that things improve tomorrow so Dot's trip to the vet goes smoothly.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2102

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to stay connected. 95% of all the phone calls I receive are telemarketers. Nomorobo takes care of a lot of the nuisance calls, but I continue to be amazed at how persistent some people are. Some telemarketers still continue to call several times a day. Do these people really think I'm an idiot? My e-mail is just as bad. There are industrial strength spam filters on both the server and my local e-mail client and still a lot of the spam manages to get through. I never even open these messages, but some of the headers are so preposterous that it makes you wonder what the spammers were thinking. Are there really that many people out there who are dumb as rocks and would fall for these schemes? Maybe there are. I don't think these guys would be so persistent if people weren't falling onto their traps.

I've noticed that the daily bombardment of e-mail spam and telemarketing messages has steadily increased as I grow older. I'm sure they're thinking that if they keep trying, eventually I'll become senile and pick up the phone. It happened to my Dad. He was a brilliant scientist, but when senility began to cloud his brain, he fell for one of those Nigerian scams where someone will tell you that they won the Canadian lottery, but can't claim the prize because they can't afford to pay the tax. They offer to share the lottery winnings with their unsuspecting victim, if he or she will help them pay the tax. I don't know how my Dad fell for such a preposterous scheme, but he was living alone and couldn't resist picking up the phone. He lost everything he made selling his house a few years earlier. If the FBI hadn't stepped in and warned his bank to block large withdrawals, he would have lost even more.

It's sad that the world has come to this. Instead of being open and inclusive, you are forced to put up barriers. I find it hard to trust anyone in today's world. When I'm driving I feel like everyone else on the road is driving without a license or insurance. In Dallas I have good reason to feel this way. I wasn't happy when the Ebola outbreak hit our city a few years ago, because it seemed like someone let down their guard. When I watch the current European refugee crisis on TV, I am convinced that there are ISIS members cleverly mixed in with the hordes of people who are just trying to escape some very horrible conditions. Sometimes I'm envious of friends who go out to Burning Man for a week and manage to convince themselves that the world is full of rainbows and unicorns. I'm pretty observant and I just don't see much to be encouraged about.

Dot certainly didn't provide a lot of encouragement today. She seemed tired. We had to slow down the treadmill a bit during her physical therapy session because she just didn't have the energy. She was only able to go fifteen minutes this week. It's hard to keep the balance of exercise and rest just right. Maybe it was just the weather. It was warmer today and Dot had gotten used to the cooler weather we were having earlier in the week. We'll rest tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll rest tonight as well.

We'll see how tomorrow goes. Dash has a cancer re-check in the morning and I'm not anticipating any problems. He certainly seems healthy now. I've already taken this week's trash out to the curb and am hoping that the truck empties my entire can this time. Friday's are usually good. No matter what happens, I know I can depend on a good breakfast.
 

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1922

Weekends were always busy. Now, they're becoming impossible. When you try to add a week's worth of postponed activities to your normal weekend errand list, not everything gets done. Janet and I both had lots to do today and neither of us got everything finished. I guess this is the new normal, just like the mismatched rugs covering the floors, the dog beds in every room, and the metal playpen in the living room.

Dot is sleeping much better now. Since we've discontinued the prednisolone, she doesn't have to go outside to pee in the middle of the night anymore. I need to help her when she wakes up and wants to circle around and change positions, but I can almost do this in my sleep. I still had to get up early, so I could walk Dash, mail some bills and go to the bank before Janet had to take her car in for service, but all-in-all, I think everyone got a good night's sleep.

The pet store was nice enough to let us return the crate we got for Dot immediately after surgery. As soon as she got strong enough to protest, she refused to sleep in it. It was a nice, sturdy crate, but if Dot refuses to use it, it is just something else to trip over in the bedroom. Now that we have the circular pen in the living room, we probably don't need a crate anyway. Janet bought some sort of a hammock thing while she was out today that she says is a safe way to transport Dot in the car. I'll read the instructions and install it tomorrow and see if it works. About half the things we get for Dot's rehabilitation work and the other half don't. At least the pet stores have been pretty good about taking back the things that didn't work.

I don't know how much more of this rain I can take. It rained again today. Our yard is as soggy as a wet sponge. The park is a mud pit. And if you don't pick up the dog poop immediately, you can never find it the next day. I got a new pair of waterproof boots, but I continue to wear the old leaky pair and throw my wet socks in the wash as soon as I get home. This doesn't make any logical sense, but I hate to ruin a new pair of shoes before I even get them broken in. At least Dot's incision has healed nicely and I don't need to worry about it getting wet in the rain anymore.

Maybe I'll get more done tomorrow. I certainly hope so. There is still some shopping that needs to get finished, there is lots of water on the roof, I never made it to the post office, and I haven't been to the gym in a long time. I've noticed that the grass is starting to grow in the front yard too. This means that mowing the grass will soon be on my weekend chore list as well. I wonder if the lawn mower battery survived the Winter? Maybe next week I'll find out.

As you can probably tell, I'm totally burned out. Dot's amazing ability to bounce back makes it all worthwhile though. After all she's been through this year, I never would have dreamed that she would have responded so well to the risky surgery. Nobody, not even her surgeon and neurologist, can believe Dot is fourteen years old. She is definitely the Energizer Bunny of Dalmatians. I wish I had Dot's energy. Unfortunately, everybody can believe I'm in my mid-sixties. I might as well wear a sign that says "Grumpy Old Man."

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1283

The road crews were back in front of the house again this morning. This time it was paving machines, re-applying the same sort of asphalt surface they had scraped away a few weeks ago. Is this progress? Sadly, in today's world, I suspect it is. Millions of tax dollars were spent to fix a road that was never broken in the first place. Meanwhile, dozens of nearby side streets are still full of potholes and will probably never be fixed.

In honor of my advancing age, I fell on my butt and sprained my wrist while doing yard work. I was tugging on a large vine, trying to get it out of a tree. When the vine snapped, down I went. Oh, well. Now my right wrist matches the other one I'm always complaining about with the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

I got a ton of social media birthday greetings yesterday. Most of them were from people I'd never actually met. At least I had a vague idea who most of the Facebook greetings were from. I didn't have a clue who sent me birthday greetings on Google+. Not only did I fail to recognize the people, in many cases, I didn't even recognize the language the greeting was written in. For the record, I received no greetings at all from actual family members. They probably learned years ago that it just wasn't worth the trouble.

I wasted quite a bit of time today trying to apply online for a legitimate and well-deserved exemption on my real estate taxes. The powers that be couldn't have made the process more difficult if they tried. After I finally assembled and filled out the required forms, I noticed a little note at the bottom of one form that said everything had to be notarized. Why have an online form at all if it has to be notarized? It kind of defeats the whole purpose. I guess I'll finish this task another day.

Dot had very little energy on our morning walk. Even though we started out earlier, while the weather was cooler and there was still a breeze, I could tell she was getting too hot. We turned back well before our usual halfway point and made it home safely, but I'm really starting to worry about the old girl. She still loves to walk, but one of these days, I'm going to have to carry her home. That's not going to end well for either of us.

I've already taken the trash out to the curb for tomorrow's weekly trash pickup and am starting to salivate, thinking about my Friday breakfast outing. Staying on my wheat, sugar, and salt free diet forever is not going to be easy. I can still have meat in moderation though and I'm hungry for meat. I see a tasty, meat filled omelet in my future tomorrow.

Alamo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1268

I finally got all my Las Vegas photo files processed and they're currently on a FedEx plane in-route to New York. I need to make a mental note that it takes at least a full day to individually process 500 image files in Photoshop. What was I thinking when I convinced myself that it would only take me a few hours to get these files ready for publication? The sad thing is that I can never charge for all this Photoshop time, because every client I've got believes that the pictures I take should come out of the camera looking like this. Since most photographers shoot in some sort of Camera RAW format these days, nothing could be further from the truth. Camera RAW images always need some sort of processing. Oh, well. The images look good now. Maybe they will help me got some more work in the future.

The roofers are just about finished.  They attached the galvanized metal flashing to the edge of the roof today and applied the final top sheet to the carport. In a day or two, they will be gone and I will have a large bill to pay.  All in all, I think the roofers did a good job. They repaired all the areas where mistakes were made and I'm reasonably confident that my roof isn't going to leak for a while. The only thing I'm disappointed about is that the roof still doesn't drain properly. The rafters have settled and warped over the years and the low point on the roof is right near the center. Although the roof is now waterproof, there are still areas that will become small duck ponds after a heavy rain. These puddles will evaporate quickly in the Summer, but next Winter I'll probably still have to pump or sweep the standing water off.

I've got a big photo shoot tomorrow. It's a good assignment, I'm not really looking forward to it, because I still need to go to the storage warehouse tomorrow morning and dig out all the heavy backdrops and studio gear. I can carry everything I need for editorial jobs like the Couture Show in a small carry-on bag. Jobs that require studio strobes, soft boxes, and large muslin backdrops fill up the entire car. I'm getting too old to keep lugging all this stuff around. Too bad my day rate isn't high enough to hire a couple of muscular assistants to do the heavy lifting for me. It would be nice to be one of those photographers who just walks on the set and is handed a camera.

Dot seemed tired today. I certainly can't fault her lack of energy. It was hot and muggy outside. Summer is on its way. Truthfully, I was tired too. I need some time to sleep in late and watch old Dr. Who episodes on television. I doubt that this is going to happen any time soon though. Everyone is in a hurry. This usually means I've got deadlines to meet, whether I like it or not.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 642

The dogs got their weekly trip to Wagging Tail Dog Park today. Dash has finally figured out where we are going every Sunday, so he has gotten a lot better in the car. He was so quiet going to the park today that I almost forgot he was in the back seat. When we arrived, we were greeted by a convention of Corgis. There must have been half a dozen Corgis in the park this morning. Dash seems to like dogs of this size, so he even played with a few of them.

When we got home, I decided to mow the grass. I was a bit worried that I'd hurt my neck again, but the yard looked terrible and I knew I couldn't put mowing off forever. As it turned out, my neck wasn't the problem. I just don't have any energy these days. I don't know what the problem is, but things that used to be routine wear me out now. By the time I got the yard looking decent again, I was drenched in sweat and totally exhausted. I don't know whether I need to find a different doctor or what. When I mentioned my lack of energy to my regular doctor last week, he didn't really take it seriously. All I know is that I'm tired of living this way. My normal week takes a lot of energy and it's hard to get things done when all you want to do is take a nap.

The Dalmatian Rescue Golf Tournament is next weekend. I've got to get feeling better by then, because my main job during the tournament is to go around in a golf cart and take hundreds of pictures of all the participants. We put these pictures together in a slide show that we project in the clubhouse during dinner. Over the years, I've gotten better at capturing the ball just after it's been hit by the driver. People like to see a good tee off shot. They also like to see a shot of a really good putt with the ball right on the lip of the cup, but these shots are a bit harder to come by.

I've discovered that Dalmatians are really good companions when you're sick. Every time I've taken a nap this weekend, both dogs have been right there with with me. Maybe they're just lazy, but I'd prefer to think they're both good little nurses.

Puppies are today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day