Day 4837

I attempted to check a few small things off my list today with even smaller results. I called a music store to check on some gear I still have on consignment and discovered that nobody I knew still worked there. The guy who answered the phone said he wasn't familiar with my stuff but that he would look for it and to call him tomorrow. It's probably my fault for not having called the place since before Covid, but I wasn't expecting the gear to be lost. Hopefully they can find this stuff. The synthesizer and mixing board are old and probably obsolete, but they were still working fine when I consigned them three or four years ago. They'll make a great addition to the storage warehouse if they can be found.

I've been wanting to repair my large format printer, so I called the company I used to use and discovered that their printer technician had retired and they no longer service printers. I called a second company that was recommended and they lost their printer technician too. Evidently fewer people repair their printers these days. They just buy new ones because it is often cheaper than the repair. I finally found someone who still works on my type of printer. He seemed knowledgable, but he had bad news. Many parts are no longer available for the printer and the ink has gotten really expensive. A set of eight cartridges costs over $800 these days.Yikes.  Janet says it is stupid to buy a large format printer if all I want to do is print three or four photos. I'm sure she's right, but I always liked that printer. Making huge prints is awesome.

Today was even warmer than yesterday. I can't imagine that we will get any more freezing weather at this point. We will get more rain though and that means I'm going to have to start mowing the grass soon. I'm one of the few people in the neighborhood who still mows his own grass. Just about everyone else uses a lawn service. I've grown to hate these services because they are always around with their loud leaf blowers. The neighborhood just isn't very quiet anymore. One of these days I'll probably have to start using a lawn service myself. It's getting harder and harder to push the mower up the hill in the front yard.

Dawn is almost back to normal. We took her on a longer walk this morning and she did fine. She's getting better at going up and down her step to the bed as well. Her front legs are still a little shaky, but she's definitely getting better. We thought she was well enough to get a bath today, so we took her to our local self bathe place. I still have to ride in the back seat with her to keep her from sliding off the seat, but probably by next week she'll be ready to return to her training class. At least she's clean with trimmed nails again.

Even though I wore shorts, I still got hot on my long walk. It felt like summer this afternoon. I think I saw one of the bald eagles again. It was flying overhead and I didn't get a good look, but I suspect that it was an eagle because there were a number of photographers with long telephoto lenses in the area. There must be some sort of network among birders for eagle sightings because every time I see the eagles I also see photographers. I made terrible time on my walk today, but I'll give myself a pass. I was very tired.

Janet and I are both thinking of getting new phones, but the whole process is frustrating. All the major phone companies seem to get horrible reviews. Nobody seems to like their service provider. I don't want an iPhone 14, but the 12's and 13's seem to be in short supply. I still like a SIM card that can be removed from the phone. My current phone plan has been discontinued and I'm kind of grandfathered in at a ridiculously high rate. I guess there are better plans, but when I read the fine print, there's always something I don't like. Why do I even need a phone? I hardly ever call anyone. I just use the thing to take pictures and check on the weather.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3391

I stopped by REI on the way to the gym this morning. I had a coupon for 20% off anything in the store, plus my annual REI dividend. This was the day to get a bargain. I couldn't find anything that I wanted and walked away without buying a thing. This is happening more frequently now and I find it perplexing. I don't need anything. I don't need business equipment because there's no business. I don't need clothes because there's nobody to impress. Dash doesn't care what I wear. I don't need more cameras. I've got plenty of shoes. Anything I might buy will just add to the clutter that I'm trying to eliminate. Janet says she feels more or less that same way after she retired. Maybe this just happens as you grow older.

There is a huge storm in South Texas that's been heading our way all day. It must be really moving slowly because it's still not here yet. I've been prepared for rain since I got up this morning. I walked Dash early. Luckily he was in the mood to walk early. Sometimes he isn't. I cleaned the gunk out of the pumps on the roof and made sure they were working properly. I went to the gym about an hour earlier than I usually do. I'm glad that the storm never materialized, but I sure wish that weather was more predictable.

Grey, damp days are always a good time to do chores. I'm good at avoiding things, but eventually it all catches up with you. I reluctantly tried to unclog the large production printer this afternoon. I waited too long. I've lost interest in this thing, but realize that it's just a big pile of useless metal unless I can keep it running. Unfortunately, I ran out of ink before I could get the lines completely unclogged. Now I have to buy more expensive ink. Since I failed to get the printer running, I thought I'd try something easier. I replaced a broken latch on a cabinet door in the bathroom. I also replaced some rusted out screws in the glass shower door frame.

Although Dash took a good walk this morning, he's been very lethargic today. All he wants to do around the house is sleep. It's weird that he can still walk reasonably well in the park, but he can barely stand up at home. He seems to use up all his available energy on his walks and is exhausted when he returns. I'm glad that Janet is still pretty good at getting Dash to take his pills and eat his meals. I couldn't get him to eat anything today.

I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning for a semi-annual physical. Since they want to do new blood work, I won't be able to have breakfast. Do I have my smoothie when I return, or just skip breakfast? Such big decisions these days. I have nothing to complain about this time. I've actually felt pretty healthy during the past six months. I'm always tired, but that's all because of Dash. Anyone would be tired if their dog got them up three times a night. I still have heartburn, but it's very controllable. All I have to do is stop eating Italian food. I hope it's not time for a colonoscopy or anything else unpleasant. I'd just as soon forget about medical things for a while.

Looks like we're going to get some rain tonight. Hopefully, Dash will go outside and pee before the rain starts. I'll turn the pumps on before I go to bed. That's all you can do on a rainy day

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3134

I think I'm getting used to the heat. The temperature was only 95 degrees today and it actually seemed cool. Janet didn't have to work this morning, so she got me up early and we were able to give Dash a nice morning walk before the sun ruined everything. Walking before sunrise really makes a big difference.

I'm still wondering how I'm going to maintain this routine while Janet is gone. It takes two of us to get his boots and leg brace on in the morning. One person holds Dash still and lifts his legs one at a time while the other person puts on the socks and protective boots. I've been able to get Dash dressed alone before, but it continues to get harder as he gradually becomes weaker. We'll do the best we can. I know Dash loves his walks, so maybe he'll be cooperative.

I finally went up on the roof and inspected the repairs this morning. Generally, the workmanship looked pretty good, but there were a few glaring errors. There are several telephones lines on the roof. A series of wood blocks elevates these lines, keeping them about five inches above the roof's surface. The roofers removed the blocks and poured the elastomer material directly over the lines. Now, they have become embedded in the roof. There is no way I can remove these wires without ripping a hole in the silicon coating. There is also a mysterious air bubble in one section of the new coating. Where did that come from? I hesitate to complain about these things. All in all, the roofers did a pretty good job and I know they don't want to hear from me again.

The large production printer ran out of ink today while I was trying to clear the clogged lines. Against my better judgement, I called my supplier and ordered some more of the expensive ink. It's doubtful that I'll ever be making large Giclée prints again. I hate to give up on the aging printer though. Unlike some of my obsolete equipment, this thing still works as long as I keep it clean.

The light in the back yard stayed on all night and automatically shut off at sunrise. Weird. There is no rhyme or reason to this thing. Some days it works and other days it doesn't. I like things orderly and predictable, so this stupid light is driving me nuts. If I was a superstitious person, I'd have to conclude that the light was haunted. We'll see what it does tonight. I hate to keep bugging the electrician if the thing is actually working.

I think I've got Dash's complex diet and pill routines memorized. If not, Janet has written everything out for me. She, more than anyone, knows how forgetful I am. All Dash's daily pills are neatly packaged in sandwich bags, labeled with the appropriate day of the week. There is a bag for morning meds and a different bag for evening mets. The refrigerator is filled with tasty things to make improvised pill pockets out of. If Dash isn't eating chicken, there is steak. I think we'll be OK.

I wish I wasn't such a nervous person, but I've spent the past three years caring for sick dogs. There are so many things that can go wrong.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3010

Dash was in a weird mood today. We'd only walked about half a block this morning when he froze and wouldn't go any further. Although the street was completely empty, he seemed panicked for some reason and was trying to run back to the house. We tried again a couple of hours later and Dash refused to leave the yard. Inexplicably, around 11:30 AM, he decided he was ready to walk and headed toward the park as if nothing had happened. We took a nice long walk without incident and I never could figure out why he balked at the idea earlier.

When I tried to renew Dash's Plavix prescription this morning the pharmacist told me that the prescription had expired. It took forever to get the prescription renewed. The vet would tell me that they had called the prescription in and then the pharmacy would tell me that the hadn't received anything. I kept asking the vet to try again but the prescription wasn't going through. I think everyone was getting annoyed with me, but I really needed to get the Plavix today. Eventually, the vet and the pharmacist connected and I was able to go pick up Dash's meds. I had to pick up something for myself as well. The only problem with my prescription was that it was too expensive.

I haven't used my large format printer in several months, so I was apprehensive about turning it on this morning. I didn't have anything to print today, but knew that the longer I waited, the harder it was going to be to unclog the lines. As I expected, the printer was hopelessly clogged. I used up two of the eight ink cartridges running the cleaning program and was still not able to clear the lines. Reluctantly, I called my supplier and ordered some more ink. I might as well add the printer to all the other broken stuff that needs to be fixed.

There seems to be a perfect storm of bad news that is sending the market into a tailspin. I miss the days when people bought and sold stock based on whether a company was making money or not. Now market moves are almost entirely fueled by fear and greed. Why are people so upset about Facebook? Facebook's entire business model is based on selling our information. We are the product and advertisers are the customers. It's always been that way. It's pretty easy to opt out of just about everything on Facebook too. People are just too lazy to go to their settings page. I don't understand the panic about tariffs either. There is not going to be a trade war with China. Both countries depend on trade with each other. Tariffs are silly and ineffectual, but most modern presidents have imposed them at one time or another. I don't know why rising interest rates would cause a panic either. We actually need interest rates to go up a little. The Fed has kept interest rates artificially low for way too long. Why can't people act rationally about money? I guess that's too much to expect in a world ruled by emotions.

It was a slow day so I did an extensive search of nearby breakfast restaurants. I must have looked at two dozen menus and found nothing that appealed to me. Why is this so hard? I don't think I'm that picky. I've enjoyed a perfect breakfast numerous times. It just seems difficult to find this illusive meal again.

Truthfully, everything seems somewhat illusive these days. I don't know whether it's me or the world in general, but I'm beginning to feel like a stranger in a strange land. I think it would take a time machine to return me to a place that felt familiar.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2870

I left the house early this morning so I could get my lab work done before I ate breakfast. Like I always do, I asked these new guys if they could tell me my blood type. I think it's ridiculous that I'm almost 70 years old and don't even know my blood type. I've literally had hundreds of blood tests, but this is one test that nobody wants to do. "Insurance won't pay for it," they tell me. Why not? It seems like useful information that everyone should have. Apparently, the normal way to find out your blood type is to donate blood at a blood bank. This won't work for me. Nobody wanted my blood for decades because I had Hepatitis C. Blood banks probably still don't want my blood. The nurse said it would cost me $100 extra to run the blood type test. "Never mind," I told her. I don't know why this irritates me so much, but the fact that doctors have taken gallons of my blood to run complicated tests and refuse to do this simple one represents everything wrong with modern medicine to me.

While I was walking toward the elevator in the parking garage, I passed a section where every single car was a Porsche. This seemed odd. The place looked like a dealership. There were several Panamera's, a bunch of 911's, a Macan, and two Cayene's. I looked a little closer and wasn't entirely surprised to discover that this was the reserved parking area for doctors. Even my old doctor in the hood drives a Porsche. I'm amazed that it hasn't been stolen yet.

It's still hard to get used to a medical facility where the lobby isn't crowded and everyone is polite to me. I only had to wait a few minutes before they took me back to the lab for blood work. I have to drive a little further, but I think I'm going to like this place.

I fixed my regular breakfast smoothie when I got home, but it was more like lunch than breakfast. Since it was a warm, clear day, I had planned to spend the afternoon repairing the roof. I don't know why I thought I could do this quickly. Nothing happens quickly on the roof. I started by cutting out the section that had gotten ruined by the rain. When I cleared away the debris, I noticed that there was water seeping out around the edges of the square hole I had made in the coating. I'm beginning to think that there is a thin layer of water under the entire roof. I removed some more of the rubbery material, hoping that I would find the end of the water, but the asphalt under the elastomer coating was damp everywhere I looked. I gave up and went back inside. It was clear that I wasn't going to be able to re-coat this damaged area today. Luckily, there is no rain in the forecast. I'll let things dry out for a few days and try again.

I had a lot more success with the large format printer in my office. I finally managed to get the thing unclogged and running normally again. This is a pointless exercise since I don't make large prints anymore, but I can't stand the idea of having a large nonfunctioning piece of equipment taking up space in the office. The printer will clog again, but if I get the urge to make a huge print within the next two weeks, everything should be fine.

The gift card people finally refunded our money. It took four months and they were rude the entire time. They lost our documentation twice and basically treated us like we were the scammers. All I've got to say is don't ever buy a gift card at a grocery store. This scam is well documented on the Consumer Reports website. It is apparently not that hard for someone to get your information before you even buy the card and when you go to use it for the first time, the money is already gone.

I'm going to get a haircut tomorrow. This is the only time I go to the mall. I"ll probably stop at the Tesla store for a few minutes and look enviously at the Model X. Maybe I'll stop at the Apple Store to and see if I'm tempted by the iPhone X. In both cases, I'm guessing the X stands for x-pensive.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2867

I don't watch baseball very often, but I'll have to admit that last night's World Series game was pretty darn good. It certainly beat watching another Perry Mason rerun that I'd seen five times already. I've been trying to get to sleep a little earlier, but Dash has other ideas. He's usually fast asleep when I go to bed, but just when I get comfortable, he wakes up, drinks a lot of water, and than goes to the back door, waiting for me to let him out to pee. I have to get dressed and go outside with him, so he won't eat cat poop. By the time I lock up and go back to bed again, Dash has already returned to bed and stolen my place. This happens every night.

This morning, I was determined to do something productive. I turned on the large format printer for the first time in over a month and ran the cleaning cycle. As I expected, the printer was hopelessly clogged. I ran the cleaning cycle three times and just as the lines were starting to clear, I ran out of ink. I called my supplier and ordered some more ink. It's insanity to keep this printer running when I no longer use it, but it is a perfectly good machine. I can't bring myself to toss it.

Since rain is in the forecast this week, I redoubled my efforts to get the roof fixed. I called the roofer again, and then I found a commercial supplier who carries the special coating material used on the roof. Ouch. The stuff is expensive. I ordered a five gallon can, because what choice do I have? After I committed to buying the material, the roofer finally returned my call and told me that he'd have his foreman drop some elastomer product by the house. It's probably just as well that I bought my own elastomer. The roofer didn't exactly say when he was going to come by. Given his track record, it could easily be Christmas before I see him again.

I noticed a raw spot on one of Dash's paws where the hair was starting to wear thin. It looks like the boots might be rubbing against his paw while he walks. Good grief. Now I'm going to have to make socks to go with the boots. I thought the insides of the boots felt soft and smooth, but something must not fit as well as I thought. This is getting complicated. If I have to put on socks, and shoes, and the knee brace, along with his regular harness, it's going to take forever to get him out the door in the morning.

Since I wasn't able to obtain any of the roof coating today, I turned my attention to the shower drain. I thought if I cleaned out the inside of the drain, I might be able to see a crack that was allowing water to seep under the tiles. It was a messy job. I sure wish soap manufacturers would invent a soap that didn't leave a film of soap scum behind. I thought the soap scum was bad on the tiles, but it was even worse on the inside of the drain. I did find one area that might be leaking, but it's in an awkward place and I don't know how to seal it. The best solution would be to have a plumber replace the entire drain and then get a tile guy to repair the damage the plumber made. I don't even want to think about something this drastic yet. Maybe I can just use some of the roof coating material that I'll hopefully receive tomorrow to seal the small crack.

I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow. It sure would be nice to repair the hole in the elastomer before the rain turns it into an even larger hole. With my luck, I'll have everything I need to make the repair the day after it rains.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2852

It was one of those 20,000 step days. My mind doesn't get a lot of activity on Sunday, but my body certainly does. After breakfast this morning, I moved the big pile of wood in the alley out to the street so the city would pick it up on Bulky Trash Day. When I was removing the Elm tree branches from the roof a few weeks ago, I scratched myself up pretty bad. This time I made sure to wear long pants, a jacket, and gloves. Wood is pretty heavy. It took me over an hour and a half to get everything moved to the curb. Hopefully, no more trees will fall on the roof for the foreseeable future.

Dash threw up again last night. He threw up a lot. This was surprising, since he had acted perfectly normal all day and didn't seem to have an upset stomach. This was the first time he's thrown up for well over a month. I was beginning to think we had gotten past this hurdle. Throwing up periodically must have something to do with Dash's vestibular disease. There is no real cure for this disease and several vets have told us to expect episodes of vertigo and nausea for the rest of his life. I'm used to solving problems and it's frustrating to have so few options with Dash. Many of the ailments he is suffering from just don't have a cure.

When Dash vomits, it is always very late at night, after he's been asleep for a while. He acts frantic and wants to go outside and eat grass. After he throws up, he goes back to sleep as if nothing had happens and is usually good the next day. We didn't give him a Cerenia pill last night. We'll see what happens tonight. With any luck, he'll be good for another month.

My beloved weather radar app quit working on my old series one iPad this morning. I tried again tonight and it still wasn't functioning. I haven't been able to update this app for over three years, so I suspect that the company finally quit supporting the older hardware. This happens a lot on my phone, tablets, and computers. You are basically forced to update hardware because the software quits working. The weather radar app still works fine on my phone, but I liked checking the weather on the iPad. Probably my phone is the next to be rendered obsolete. I just noticed that I can't update the system to IOS 11. The phone is too old.

Even though I was tired from lugging heavy logs around, I decided to go to the gym anyway. I'm much older than my phone and a trip to the gym is the closest thing I can find to a software update. I thought I had a pretty good workout, but my fitness tracker said otherwise. I did the same routines, but I didn't burn nearly as many calories as I did last week. I'm sure it was the yard work that made the difference.

I haven't turned on the large format printer in over a month. It may be impossible to unclog the thing now. I'll give it a try tomorrow and order some more ink if I succeed. I've basically grown tired of buying expensive ink for this thing just to make test prints to keep the printer from clogging. Maybe it's finally time to take the printer to the curb. This printer made beautiful very large Giclée prints in it's day, but I think that ship has sailed. If I could bring myself to part with this obsolete printer and the equally obsolete Beta-SP tape machines, I'd have a lot more space in the office.

I wonder if my refrigerator part will arrive tomorrow? Promises apparently don't mean much in the appliance repair business.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2584

Dash appears to be in good health. He got a precautionary chest x-ray today to make sure his thyroid cancer hadn't reappeared and his lungs looked clear. When Dash was initially diagnosed with cancer, the oncologist recommended periodic chest x-rays, because if his type of cancer metastasized, it would often spread to the lungs. He's been cancer free for over three years now, but we still give him a check-up every six months. The swollen lymph nodes in his neck have returned to normal as well. After getting his anal glands expressed, which he seems to need every time we visit the vet, we returned home to find that Dot was still asleep and hadn't pooped anywhere. I was pleased at how well the morning turned out.

One of my clients wants to change his domain name and move his website to a new server. I started making preparations for the move after Dash and I returned home. Changing domains and webservers is an easy process as long as you know where everything is located. I had to make a few phone calls to find out where the old and new domains were currently registered and see how much time I had to make the move. I got lucky and ended up talking to a good tech support person today, so I think I have all the information I need. I uploaded all the files to the new server and now all I need to do is find out when the client wants to make the switch, so I can point the domains to the right place. None of this required much imagination or was very difficult, but I was still glad to have something to do today.

Our roller coaster weather has bounced back to the unseasonably warm side of the scale. I had the furnace running this morning when we woke up, but it became so warm later in the day that I had to turn the air conditioner on. Only in Texas will you use the furnace and the air conditioner in the same day. I think it is supposed to get even warmer tomorrow and then another storm system will sweep through town toward the end of the week. I hope we don't have thunderstorms on Friday. Thunderstorms always mean that I need to stay home with the dogs and I look forward to going out to breakfast all week.

Dot seems to be improving in a lot of subtle ways. We haven't had an accident on the way to the back door in the morning for the last four days. There's generally been less leaking during the day as well. I'm hoping that the Incurin is starting to work. What's really surprising is how often Dot is able to get up on her own. I often find her standing up in her pen when I return from running errands and sometimes when she wakes up, she will walk out to her water bowl in the kitchen without any help from me. When she's tired, she still barks for assistance, but there's definitely been some improvement. It's too bad it's so difficult to improve muscle mass in older animals. Dot still has three small tumors that are slowly growing in her liver, but her biggest problem is the severe muscle atrophy in her rear legs. It seems harder for me to improve muscle mass too. No matter how much I exercise, my arms and legs are still too thin.

The new ink for my production printer arrived today, so I guess I'll spend tomorrow unclogging the thing. It's amazing how much time I spend staying prepared. There are always batteries to charge, computer files to backup and archive, and a huge, somewhat obsolete printer that seems to need a lot of TLC. I take such good care of my machines that Rod Serling probably could have used my life as a basis for a Twilight Zone episode.

Tomorrow will be another exciting day filled with laundry to fold and poop to clean up. If you didn't know that Dot and Dash were dogs, it would be easy to think you were reading a mommy blog.

Murphy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2580

It snowed today. The snowfall was short lived and there were barely enough flakes to cover the ground, but my reaction was still "what new kind of hell is this." Jeez. Dot has trouble standing up on a rubber safety mat, so you can imagine what snow is like. Oddly, she still wanted to walk, so I did my best to guide her down our slick, snow covered street this afternoon. The temperature barely topped twenty degrees all day, so I would have preferred staying inside. Dash seemed to agree. I couldn't get him to go on a walk at all.

The snow caught me by surprise. I knew it was going to be cold, but I wasn't expecting a wet mess. I was glad I was able to go out for breakfast and run a few errands before the weather got bad. Traffic slows to a crawl in Dallas whenever there is snow or ice. I really like my breakfast restaurant. I'm a solitary person and some places make me feel lonely or uneasy. Other places make me irritable. For some reason I feel like I belong in this place, even though I seldom talk to anyone.

Dot's urinary incontinence continues to get worse, so I reached out to several of my veterinarian friends today to find out what to do next. There are several options, but the general consensus is that we should start over with the Incurin she's been taking. The way Incurin works is that you take a loading dose of two tablets a day for two weeks. If you see an improvement, you can reduce the dose to one tablet a day. You continue reducing the dose each week for as long as you can. We did this two years ago and eventually got to the point where Dot only needed to take half a tablet every other week. If starting the process over again works, Dot will probably need to take a larger dose than she did before, but that will be much better than continually leaking on her bedding.

I was surprisingly busy today, which is usually good when I am house bound. In between taking the dogs outside every fifteen minutes, I managed to complete two website projects and upload the revisions to the server. Against my better judgement, I ordered some more ink for my large production printer. For the past year, I have done nothing but print small daily test pages to keep the printer from getting hopelessly clogged. I keep this printer working just in case. This is why I renewed my Avid Media Composer subscription too. I could save a lot of money if I could just accept the fact that my career is basically over.

I thought the stock market might top 20,000 today, so I turned on the business channel to watch the market close. Instead of a big celebration, I saw another mass shooting at an airport instead. The shooter turned out to be a guy who actually walked into an FBI office less than a year ago and told the agents that voices were forcing him to watch ISIS videos. Jeez, that would have been a warning sign to me. Why was this guy still allowed to own a gun or even fly on a plane? If ISIS can recruit crazy people, we're in big trouble. We've got an entire country full of crazy people.

It's still going to be cold tomorrow, but I looked at a long range forecast and it's supposed to be back over seventy degrees by next Tuesday. Texas weather is insane. You can get Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter all in the same week. I'll be happy when it warms up though. Dealing with Dot in the snow is a major problem.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2556

We didn't make it to the back door this morning, so there were a lot of rugs to wash. This one was my fault. I knew Dot had to go as soon as I woke up, but I failed to make sure that the back door was already open before we made our race for the back yard. Slowing down just a little to give Janet a chance to open the door was all it took and Dot peed all over the place.

I'm learning to get everything done in the morning now. After their morning walk, Dot and Dash will still go back to sleep for a few hours. Today, I used that time to take my invoices to the post office and run a few errands. I left the house before I took a shower or even turned on the computer. I really didn't know how long I had.

Maybe it's the Tramadol pills that are giving Dot a little more energy. Maybe it's something else. I'm glad to see her moving around more, but it sure keeps me busy. I've tried to let her wander around the house on her own, but it doesn't work very well. Dot is still very unsteady on her feet and she usually falls within a minute or two if I am not supporting her rear end. Since her incontinence has gotten worse, she also tends to leak a lot. Whenever she falls, there is usually a puddle of pee on the ground when I lift her up.

I've thought about trying a doggie wheelchair for her, but they don't work very well for larger dogs. Our first Dalmatian used a wheelchair during his last year, but he was always tipping it over. A wheelchair is terrible for a dog that likes to alternate between walking around and lying down. You spend all your time hooking them up and detaching them from the contraption. A wheelchair might be good for longer outdoor walks though. I'm almost at my wits end and am willing to try almost anything.

I think I'm coming down with a cold. I rarely get sick, but if I do it's almost always during the holiday season. Everyone seems to have a cold in December. Even though I do my best to avoid people, there is inevitably someone coughing or sneezing nearby. So far, I've just got a mild sore throat. Hopefully, that's as far as it goes. I'll see if I can shake this one off.

The large format printer is clogged again. I wish I could bring myself to just throw this albatross away. I have a lot of compassion for old dogs, but it's hard to be sympathetic to an old printer. At some point I'm going to realize that I get nothing in return for all the expensive ink and maintenance I pour into this relic. I need to find a twelve step program for people who are attached to obsolete gear. Keeping all these things running is getting ridiculous.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2464

A client wanted some advice about where to host his website. He gave me a price for 32 years and asked me if it was a good deal. I've been doing this for a long time, but I'd never heard of anyone wanting to renew a hosting agreement for 32 years at a time. I did the math and converted the price to a more normal 3 or 5 year contract. OK. The price was in the ball park. Later in the day the client said he'd made a typo and the price was actually just for 3 years. Oops. That changes everything. The price suddenly seemed insanely high. You've got to watch those typos.

This error on the client's part must have been an omen, because my own day was filled with a host of little errors and few of them worked out in my favor. After cleaning a poop soiled rug that took an inordinately long time to dry, I put it down on the floor again and within five minutes Dot pooped on the same rug all over again.

I went up on the roof to mark the bad spots for the roofers and discovered a lot of brand new areas where the elastometric coating was peeling away. The roof had deteriorated further over the weekend. Some of the new damage was on patches that had been applied less than a month ago. This is not good. I really need an entirely new roof, but it is going to be very difficult to convince the roofer that the roof is fundamentally defective.

I finally got around to opening the package of printer ink I'd ordered recently and discovered that the company had sent me the wrong ink. Now, instead of just installing the cartridges in the printer, I will need to return the ink and have my supplier reship the correct cartridges. The supplier apologized and said they ship me replacement cartridges today, but this was one more instance where something that should have been easy turned into something difficult.

When I went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, one of my refills was on back order, so I'll need to go back again tomorrow. This wasn't a big deal, but it made me tired. I don't like taking these pills in the first place. Somebody ought to make the whole process easier. It seems like I'm always asking doctors to renew prescriptions or returning to the pharmacy to pick up something that the automatic refill process said was ready. I just need to resign myself to the fact that nothing is going to work flawlessly ever again. The world is broken.

Dash woke me up coughing last night and Janet and I were both worried that he had kennel cough. Dot is so fragile now that the last thing we need is for her to get sick. I made a mental not to call the vet, but this morning everything seemed fine. Dash hasn't coughed all day. I don't know what was going on last night, but my theory is that he ate a frog when he went out to pee last night. Our yard has been full of frogs and toads lately and the dogs are very curious about them.

I have a lot of little chores on my to-do list for tomorrow. I hope at least a few of them go smoothly.

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2460

I finished one of my articles today and when I started on the second, something seemed very familiar. I looked through my files and discovered that I'd already written this article last November. How quickly they forget. As much as I hate to turn down work, I told my client that this ship had already sailed. I wonder whether they completely forgot about the first article I wrote, or if something minor had changed about the product. I compared the pictures and the product looked identical. I'm an honest guy, but I wonder whether I could have just copied the original article and turned it in again.

I called the roofer and he wants me to draw a circle around all the bad spots on the roof, so his crew won't miss them when they return to patch the areas they forgot. Sounds fine by me. I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of little circles up on the roof. I'd better use a laundry marker, so my identifying marks won't just wash away the next time it rains. So many areas have been patched by now that I keep thinking that it would have been easier to just re-coat my entire roof. It's pretty obvious by now that the first material they applied was defective.

We've had to change the route of our short morning walk because we've noticed that one of the more aggressive dogs in the neighborhood has almost learned how to jump over it's fence. Yesterday, I saw the dog leap at the ten foot wooden fence and manage to get his paws over the top. The dog fell back to the ground, but it's only a matter of time before he learns to pull the rest of his body over the fence. There would be no way to protect Dot from this dog. Actually, there would be no way to protect Dash either. Why can't people spent more time training and socializing their dogs? There is no good reason why anyone should have an aggressive dog. They're everywhere though. I'm always on the lookout for loose, aggressive dogs. I've been bitten before and I hope I'm never bitten again.

I ordered some more expensive ink for the large production printer. I just can't bring myself to abandon this thing. I doubt highly that I'll ever be making beautiful, oversize Giclée prints again, but the printer still seems cool to me. It's too bad it's such a pain in the ass to keep it running. I guess I could say the same for the two multi-track tape recorders I recently restored. They're still sitting on the floor in a corner of the office. I haven't even bothered to hook them up again. It goes without saying that downsizing doesn't come easy to me.

Maybe nothing comes easy anymore. I can't even decide where to have breakfast tomorrow. Do I feel like pancakes, eggs benedict, biscuits and gravy, or breakfast tacos? I don't have a clue. Hopefully, my trash can will be emptied properly tomorrow morning. At least that will get the day off to a good start.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2324

The severe storms that everybody's been talking about are supposed to arrive between now and midnight. On the news they say there's a strong possibility of tornadoes, 80 MPH straight line winds, and baseball size hail. I hope none of this is true, but in Texas it's better to be safe than sorry. We've had some terrible tornadoes in the area during the past several years and you never know where one is going to strike next. I worry most about falling tree limbs, broken glass, and power outages. I don't know what the dogs worry about, but a bad storm must be the equivalent of the end of the world to them. They both totally freak out when we have severe weather.

I went through a big stack of mail I've been avoiding and sorted it into categories this afternoon. Most of the mail was either medical records, bank statements, or stock transactions. Whenever I read a bank statement, there would always be something on the bottom of the page in very tiny print telling me that the bank had changed its policy on something. Interest rates have declined. Service fees have gone up. It's always something. No wonder I hate to read this stuff.

I was going to sort through a big pile of socks and throw away the ones with a hole in the toe, but sorting through the mail took too long and I'll have to postpone this task for another day, or more realistically, another year. I could spend the rest of my life clearing out the clutter in the office. Stuff piles up and I just don't care anymore. I always used to wonder how my parents house became so cluttered as they grew older. Now I know. The truth is that it takes a lot more effort to maintain a zen-like minimal lifestyle that it does to just let stuff pile up.

Against my better judgement, I ordered some more ink for the big production printer. I really should throw this thing away, but like the video tape machines, mixing boards, and synthesizers that are gathering dust, it is a link to a very productive past that I find difficult to abandon. My Dad was kind of like this. After he retired, the University let him keep his lab for a few years and he went there every day and just puttered around. Absolutely nothing was accomplished, but these familiar surroundings kept him from having to acknowledge that a chunk of his life was over. I feel like I am the guardian of this old gear that served me well for so many years. It's totally obsolete now, but I can't part with it.

Dot had a good day. She slept all night and didn't poop in the house at all today. After dinner this evening, I took her out in the yard and she did her business just like a normal dog. When something good happens, Janet and I like to think it is because we discontinued the chemotherapy. When something bad happens, we don't know what to think. We are doing everything we can to ensure a good outcome for Dot. We aren't really in control of everything though. Often bad things happen despite out best efforts.

I'm certainly not in control of the weather. The storm has gotten much closer as I've been writing. There is no escaping this thing. It is a solid wall of wind and water extending from the Oklahoma border down past Waco. The laptops and phones have been charged. There are fresh batteries in the emergency lights. The dogs have been outside to pee. All we can do is wait.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2317

There was a pile of mail on our doorstep early this morning. It obviously didn't come from the post office, so I will have to assume that it was another batch of misdirected mail that our mail carrier left at a neighbor's house instead. This has happened before. Luckily, our neighbors are usually more reliable about returning the mail than the post office is in delivering it. We used to have a fabulous mail carrier, but things have gone downhill in recent years. I suspect that the post office has become mired in bureaucracy, just like the veterans administration and other government agencies. It's hard to fire bad mail carriers too. They probably have a job for life.

It was difficult to focus on anything today. I had some websites to update, but there wasn't enough work to keep me occupied for long. I kind of drifted aimlessly through the day. I paid some bills, took a small check to the bank, picked up a prescription, and bought a big bag of Cheetos. I really try to eat healthy, but I've become addicted to Flaming Hot Crunchy Cheetos. I hope the red dye in these things doesn't give you cancer, because it sure stains your hands when you eat them. I don't know what happened to the guy who studiously avoided wheat products and dined on Kale and Quinoa for over two years. I hate to admit it, but I've become a culinary backslider, trading fish and fresh veggies for bacon cheeseburgers whenever I can.

My big production printer is out of ink again. Do I buy eight more expensive cartridges, or do I just give up on the thing? The printer is a relic from another era. I used to make beautiful very large Giclée prints. I sold the prints and had several gallery shows. After a while I lost interest. Now, I just make a small test print every evening to keep the printer from clogging. I've run through two complete sets of ink cartridges making the same test print over and over again. The printer is ready if I need it, but I doubt that I will ever need it again. I haven't made a large exhibition quality print in three years.

I don't take as many photos as I used to either, although I keep checking the B&H website every few days to see if the camera I want is still on sale. The camera has been discounted quite a bit, so I suspect that it is being discontinued. That doesn't matter to me. Practically everything I own has been discontinued. Truthfully, I don't need a new camera any more than I need a huge commercial ink jet printer. It's frustrating. I'm just as addicted to gear as I am to Flaming Hot Crunchy Cheetos, but the cameras and computers are much more expensive. There was a time when these things were just normal business expenses, but that ship has sailed. I'm going to have to come up with a less expensive way to spend my remaining years.

I've got lots to remember tomorrow. It's time for Dot to take her next batch of Palladia pills. Our physical therapy session is also tomorrow, even though I still keep thinking it's on Thursday. My leather jacket is ready to pick up at the tailor shop. I'm sure there are other things as well. I'll try not to take the trash out a day early like I did last week. It's hard to remember what day it is when you keep track by how many bananas are left in the kitchen. If it's four bananas, it must be Wednesday.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1992

The rain wasn't as bad today. Our stormy weather lasted from just before dawn until just after breakfast. The rest of the day was fine. Toward mid-afternoon, I even started to see a few patches of blue sky. We didn't lose power at all today. The dogs didn't have any major panic attacks either. I'd have to say that things are looking up.

There were a ton of little errands to run today. I filled the car with gas. I went to the bank. I got halogen bulbs for the living room floor lamps at Home Depot. I picked up a new set of ink cartridges for the general office printer at Fry's. There was a trip to Sam's Club for laundry detergent and paper towels and then it was back home again to get the standing water from the latest storm off the roof. I've been up on the roof for three days in a row, but I am getting much more efficient about water removal. If I bought two more sump pumps and 100 feet of extension cord, I might be able to automate the entire process.

When I was walking Dash this afternoon, I noticed that the Passion Vines were in bloom. Passion Flowers seem to be the rarest of the many native Texas wildflowers I see in the park. I only see these exotic looking plants bloom once or twice a year and it's usually right after a big rain. Maybe that's way I saw half a dozen blooms today, instead of the one or two I see in a typical year. I took a photo and Dash and I were on our way. These blooms don't last long. They might already be gone when we pass this way again tomorrow.

Dot is doing amazingly well around the house now. She doesn't even need to wear the Help 'Em Up Harness when she's inside anymore. She can back up when she's in a tight corner without falling over and can sit down with a lot more grace and finesse that she could even a few weeks ago. The only room that's off limits now is one of the bathrooms that has some pretty slick tile floors. We still use the harness whenever Dot goes outside or on a walk, but it doesn't seem to keep her from enjoying things. I'm so glad we made the right decision and had the surgery.

It's almost time for a new set of ink cartridges for the large format printer. I can't believe I've used an entire set of these expensive cartridges just making small test prints to keep the printer from clogging. I haven't made any large exhibition prints for almost two years. This thing would have gone to the storage warehouse a long time ago if I didn't have to keep using it regularly just to keep the lines from clogging. It seems like things you don't use frequently should just sit there, patiently waiting for you. This is not the case with printers. Whoever came up with that phrase "use it or lose it" probably had a printer like mine.

I wonder what excuse I'll come up with to keep from going to the gym tomorrow? I finished most of my errands and chores today, so maybe there isn't any excuse. We'll see. Believe it or not, it's not supposed to rain at all tomorrow. That would be nice.

Ollie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1722

It sure seemed like Monday today. That's what happens when you have a long weekend. Whatever day you return to work seems like Monday. It wasn't a terribly busy day but it had that unfinished quality about it that Monday's often do. I made an appointment at the Apple store to get the battery on my phone replaced. I have serious doubts that I'll actually get a battery installed tomorrow, but you've got to start somewhere. I also ordered a complete set of ink cartridges for the Epson 4880. I've never had all eight cartridges run out of ink at the same time before, but I guess there's a first time for everything. I don't know why I even bother with this printer anymore, since the ink is quite expensive. Maybe deep down I still have a desire to make large Giclée prints like I did six or seven years ago.

I don't think I'll ever sleep normally again. Even if we do end up giving Dot pills to help control her incontinence, we won't ever be able to completely trust her again. Accidents happen. Since I don't have the heart to make Dot sleep in a crate away from the rest of the family, I am resigned to spending extra time every evening preparing the bed with a vinyl drop cloth under several layers of protective pads. The dogs actually like the protective pads that Janet sewed for them, so we had to make one for Dash too. They have a soft terry cloth surface and a protective waterproof back, making them great little dog beds. Every evening they go on the bed and every morning they come off again. There is a spare pad in case there is an accident during the night. I think we've thought of everything. It's just very time consuming.

I need to get a second opinion about my shoulder. I've been putting off doing this forever, since I'm afraid I'll be told that I need surgery. I really don't want surgery on my shoulder, but I don't want an arm I can't lift above my head either. Also, I'm sure that just about any doctor would tell me that the first thing I need to do is stop walking the dogs with a dislocated shoulder. That's just not an option. I don't like hospitals either. Increasingly, hospitals are where you go to get sick, instead of to get better. Just about everyone I know who has had to go to the hospital recently has ended up getting some sort of infection from all the antibiotic resistant germs that infest hospitals these days. My health plan basically consists of avoiding sick people and it seems to work pretty well. My shoulder still hurts though, so I'm faced with a dilemma.

I wonder if the watchmaker has finished with my watch yet? It's not that I need it or anything. Picking it up would just give me something to do on a dead day. Tomorrow I've got my appointment with the Genius Bar folks at the Apple store. Thursday is Dot's physical therapy day. Maybe I'll call the watchmaker on Friday and see what's going on. It's nice to have at least one thing to do every day.

In case I give the impression that I'm sitting around idle, I'm not. There are still plenty of website revisions and updates each and every day. These are getting too boring to write about though, so you won't hear much about these in the future. The fact that I prefer to tell you about dog pee than what I'm currently doing at work tells you all you need to know about my business. Maybe it is time to retire.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1716 - Dot's Birthday

Dot had a big day. We started the day by returning to our regular route for the dog's morning walk. I walked Dot and Dash together and Dot had no trouble going the full distance. We walked a lot slower than usual, but nobody was in a hurry. Dot also got to go back to training class this evening. This was the first time she's returned to the class since her surgery and she seemed to enjoy the outing. We didn't do all the exercises, but she seemed eager to participate in some of the easier routines. When we got home, we all had cake.

I'm still not sure how old Dot is. Janet says she turned 13 this year, but I thought she was 13 last year. Maybe it's like a woman's 39th birthday. Dot might end up being 13 forever.

I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before.  It's easy and it's delicious. When I was worried about my blood sugar levels, I stopped eating wheat products for over a year. Since grain converts to sugar during digestion, cutting bread out of my diet brought my blood sugar levels back to normal very quickly. I also lost a fair amount of weight. All this is good. The only problem was that I have always loved bread. Now that my liver is functioning normally again and I have significantly improved my chances for avoiding diabetes by eating a healthy diet, bread has become a bigger temptation than ever. I haven't pigged out on French Toast with Maple Syrup yet, but I do enjoy the occasional sandwich. Even though this morning's grilled ham and cheddar sandwich was delicious, I'll be back eating my oatmeal tomorrow. Dot won't be eating cake again for quite a while either.

I wish I was was busier at work, but it's probably been good that things are slow now. I've spent so much time this Spring and Summer caring for sick dogs and driving them back and forth between various vet appointments that I don't know where I would have found the time to do my normal workload anyway. Tomorrow is another physical therapy day for Dot. She's gotten strong enough now to do a full twenty minute workout on the underwater treadmill. It's amazing how well she's doing physically. You'd never know she was a senior citizen until you saw her pee all over the house. If we can ever resolve her incontinence issues, I think Dot will have made a full recovery.

I need to order a full set of ink cartridges and a new maintenance tank for the large format printer tomorrow. I've managed to use up all eight cartridges just doing cleaning cycles to keep the printer from clogging. Since the cartridges cost $57 each, I wonder if it is worth the effort. It's kind of insane to work so hard to keep this cranky printer running properly. Who knows? Maybe I'll have a gallery show again, but I probably won't. I may never make a huge print again. It's nice to have a good printer just in case though. I may not do much these days, but I'm certainly well prepared.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day