Day 4212

We took Dawn to the vet today. She had some lab tests done and we came home with some new dog food. We didn't learn anything today, but hopefully when the lab results come back we might find the answer to why Dawn is not eating normally and continues to lick her feet. I'm still thinking that we have a smart and very stubborn dog. She was certainly eager to eat the new wet food we brought home today. Dawn might just be training us. Why are we even worried about a temporary loss of appetite? Well, when our other dogs stopped eating, they usually died. It is not unusual for a dog to get tired of what they are eating. We've had to change a dog's diet many times for a variety of reasons. You've got to take loss of appetite seriously though. Dogs love to eat and when they stop, it could mean that something is seriously wrong.

We got some scattered showers today, but if you blinked you probably missed it. I noticed that the grass was wet several times, but I never actually saw any rain fall. We were able to take Dawn on her morning walk without getting wet and there was no rain while we were at the vet either. I could see a lot of dark clouds when I went to the gym later in the afternoon, but the rain always seemed to be somewhere else. This was all fine by me. I didn't feel like washing the car and I certainly didn't feel like dealing with the roof leak again.

My gym must be offering a special deal on personal trainers because almost everyone seemed to have one today. Maybe it just seemed that way because the gym was fairly empty. I think the city is still on vacation. Everything is open again, but the roads are still surprisingly empty. I wasn't even planning on going to the gym today, but the humidity was oppressively high. This didn't seem like a day to be walking six miles outdoors. As I circled around and around on the small indoor track, I kept watching the trainers pushing the people they were working with to go a little faster or work a little harder. I don't think I could work with a trainer. I can't deal with people telling me what to do, even if it might be in my best interest. It's hard enough for me to go to the gym as it is. If somebody was there pushing me to test my limits and improve myself, I'd probably stop going altogether.

Improving myself is not very high on my agenda these days. I still read articles about astrophotography, but I probably forget most of what I learn because you can't really see stars in Dallas. Setting up my gear and actually taking photographs several times a year out in West Texas probably isn't enough. In theory I could probably find some reasonably dark skies within easy driving distance, but I don't feel comfortable being out at night in the city anymore. Whenever I turn on the local news, the lead story is always about someone being shot late at night. Dallas isn't as bad as Chicago or Philadelphia, but it's a lot, lot worse than Fort Davis or Marfa.

I think that future historians will write about this period of time the same way we currently think about the fall of Rome. We're definitely on a downhill slope and the barbarians are already at the gates. It's such a shame because it didn't have to be this way. When I was growing up there wasn't a single murder in my town during my entire childhood. Parents let their kids roam around town on Halloween without any supervision. Nothing bad happened. It was kind of like growing up in Mayberry on that old Andy Griffith Show. 

Luckily, I'm still pretty confident when the sun is up. If the weather stays cool I'll take my long walk. If it gets hot, I'll go to the gym. Either way, tomorrow will be pretty much the same as today. I'm sure the telescopes will stay inside.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3459

Travel is stressful. NASA finally confirmed a launch date for the Falcon Heavy, so I started looking for a hotel. Literally as I was looking online, I started seeing hotels disappear from the availability list. In less than four hours half of the hotels were already gone. I guess everybody else attending the launch was looking at the same time I was. I'm not good making quick decisions and hotel prices can be confusing. The price you see online is usually meaningless because most hotels change their prices everyday based on demand and availability. I picked a few places that looked nice and called the front desk, even though the website showed no availability. I ended up getting one of the last two rooms available at a nice hotel very near the space center. I felt like the clock was ticking the entire time I was making the reservations. The whole experience confirmed my opinion that it is always better to talk with a real person. You can make changes and compromises when you are talking to a real person. Websites aren't flexible at all.

I went back to the hotel with the good French Toast for breakfast this morning. Breakfast was delicious as always, but my appetite keeps shrinking. I could barely finish my meal. Even though I'm a creature of habit, I need to eat less. During the power outage Janet and I just has some fresh fruit for breakfast that didn't need to be refrigerated. A small bowl of peaches, strawberries, and blueberries was just about perfect. Maybe I need to make this my regular morning meal. Even my smoothie is starting to seem too complicated now.

I'm so glad the weather was cooler during our power outage. It's starting to warm up again and we would have been miserable without power with temperatures in the nineties. We were really lucky that temperatures were in the seventies while we had no electricity. Although life is getting back to normal in Dallas, I'm still hearing the sound of chain saws everywhere. The storm must be a bonanza for tree services and lawn care companies. I had no idea there were so many tree trimming services in Dallas. They're everywhere in our neighborhood. So far, the city's Park and Recreation Department seems to be doing the best job of tree removal. City workers were out in force in the park today, sawing up downed trees with chain saws and hauling away the debris in large trucks.

I wrote a letter to my sister asking if she'd like us to stop and visit when we return from Florida. It might be difficult to coordinate a visit with someone who only communicates through the U.S. mail, but we'll see what happens. I mentioned in my letter that a visit might be easier if she started using her phone.

I guess the week starts on Monday, but it always seems to start on Friday for me. Friday's have seemed like Saturday to me for years. I guess that an empty trash can and breakfast at a nearby restaurant signals a new start. It certainly seemed like Saturday today. I almost started to run my regular weekend errands, but then I finally remembered. I hope my memory doesn't become even worse in the years ahead. I forgot to wear my hat again on my morning walk. I guess a sunburned head will eventually jog my memory.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3396

Today was tough. Dash refused to eat or drink today. Not eating is bad enough, but not drinking is even worse. Dogs that refuse to drink water can have kidney disease among other things. I've always worried about renal failure, but I think one of the symptoms for that is drinking too much water. At any rate, refusing to drink water definitely isn't normal.

 I called Dash's vet at the cancer center and he said that if we couldn't get Dash to drink water by later this evening, we should take him to an emergency vet and put him on IV fluids overnight. With so many serious problems already, we definitely don't want to let Dash become dehydrated. I was just about ready to make an appointment with the emergency vet, when we tried one more time to get Dash to drink. This time it worked. Dash drank a lot of water from his bathroom water bowl and then about thirty minutes later he drank some more from the kitchen water bowl. Crisis averted.

We're still going to take him to the vet tomorrow morning to check his blood work and make sure his kidneys aren't starting to fail. We aren't out of the woods yet, but he's had enough water so that I don't think we need to put him on IV fluids tonight. Eating is still a problem. Dash refused to eat anything for most of the day. He wouldn't even take his pills. After we got him to drink water this evening, he finally was able to eat a small ground beef patty and some bread. That's not much for an entire day, but at least it's a start. We'll try the appetite enhancer the vet prescribed tonight.

Janet was home today so I was able to keep my haircut appointment. The only time slot that was available was later in the day, so I ended up driving home during rush hour. I try to avoid this time of day at all costs because the traffic is horrendous. It certainly wasn't this bad when we moved to Dallas. How are people able to put up with this day after day? I'm surprised that road rage isn't worse than it is. It's been decades since I've had to deal with any type of commute. Working out of your house spoils you. I don't think I could handle commuting anymore.

While I was out this afternoon I renewed some prescriptions for Dash. This was being optimistic, since at the time, Dash still hadn't taken any of his daily meds. Luckily, we were able to give Dash his evening pills about an hour ago. I think today was the first time we've had to skip some of his meds entirely, but it couldn't be helped. This morning we weren't sure he was going to make it through the day.

I look more presentable after a haircut, but I don't feel any better. Today has been stressful. Hopefully, we can get some answers when we go to the cancer center tomorrow morning. Something is definitely wrong. Dash's periodontal disease might make his mouth hurt too much to eat normally. Maybe he has kidney disease. This is not uncommon with older Dalmatians. Maybe his cancer has returned. It could be almost anything at this point. A dog needs to eat and drink though. When they stop eating, it's all over. If we can get this problem resolved, we can work on the other things later.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3395

Every year around this time I get an e-mail from GoDaddy asking me to confirm the contact settings for a domain that isn't mine. Every year, I try to call GoDaddy to find out what is going on. I can never connect with customer service because I don't have the correct customer ID or PIN number. "I'm sorry, we can't authenticate your records," an automated voice says and then the line hangs up. I want to tell somebody that of course I don't have the right customer ID because I'm not a customer. The utter futility of dealing with automated customer support systems says everything you need to know about the world we live in today. Good luck if you want to call someone and ask a simple question. It's almost impossible. I'll probably get the same stupid e-mail next year.

I was sad to hear that the little Israeli lunar probe crashed on landing today. It almost made it. The main engine cut out just a few hundred feet above the lunar surface. I was hoping that this inexpensive, privately funded spacecraft would make it. The moon, or anywhere else for that matter, shouldn't be the exclusive purview of big governments.

I was also disappointed that Julian Assange was arrested. Assange should be viewed as a hero instead on an enemy. Everything he has revealed on Wikileaks has turned out to be true. Governments, including our own, shouldn't be able to hide under a cloak of secrecy when they are doing something wrong. There are no good guys in Washington. They all claim secrecy is vital for national security when the truth would damage them. On the other hand, they clamor for "full disclosure" when they think the truth would damage their opponents. It's disgusting.

At least there was some good news today. The second falcon heavy launch was a resounding success. The satellite went into orbit and all three of the booster stages landed successfully so they can be used again. Elon Musk has been able to do something that has so far eluded every government space agency in the world. We need a lot more people like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs and a lot fewer folks  like we've got in congress right now.

Dash continues to be a mystery. I don't understand how he can continue to walk in the park when he can barely stand up at home. The contrast is astonishing. He needs assistance on his walks, but his legs move properly and when he is moving he can support his own weight. Even when he can barely stand up in the mornings, he still tries to head for the back gate. These walks seem really important to him.

I wish the walks weren't so exhausting. As soon as we return home Dash's legs turn to jelly. He immediately goes to sleep. It is often hours before he moves again. We were able to get him to eat some chicken and even some Hills ID yesterday so the diarrhea has subsided. If he gets really hungry, he'll eat, but he just doesn't have much of an appetite. I've seen all these signs before. Dash is slowly shutting down. I don't know how much time he has, but he has made it clear that he's not ready to go quite yet. We'll do our best to keep him comfortable and happy for as long as we can.

I finally made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. If Dash does well in the morning, maybe I'll go out for breakfast too. Who knows at this point. I can kind of relate to Dash's loss of appetite. The reasons are different but I've lost interest in food too. In case you're interested, today's watch used to belong to Alice Cooper.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3392

I had my semi-annual physical today. The doctor ran all the usual tests and seemed pleased with the results. A nurse got a blood sample so they could compare it with my previous blood work. I got my prescriptions renewed and my parking validated. In less than an hour I was ready to go home again. There is no waiting with this new doctor. I get seen almost immediately.

Since my appointment was early, I didn't have time to walk Dash. This morning, I led the way to the park and Janet walked Dash. It all worked out pretty well. It was good to know that either of us can do these walks when necessary. Dash can be quite a handful. Janet said that Dash still got very tired and stumbled occasionally, but they had a good walk.

Meals have been more of a problem than walks this week. Dash has become a very picky eater again and it's getting harder and harder to find anything that he'll touch. It was very difficult to give him his pills this morning. Nothing seemed to work as a pill pocket. Eventually, he took the pills and ate about half of his breakfast, but he definitely needs to eat more. Dash was trying to eat grass and leaves in the back yard today, so part of the problem seems to be an upset stomach. I'm hoping that he'll feel better tomorrow.

I didn't feel like making my smoothie after I returned from the doctor's office, so I ate cold cereal. I haven't done that for a while. It was surprising that we even had any cereal, but there was still a box of granola in the back of one of the cabinets. I wonder how old it was? Having cereal for breakfast is quick. I was done in no time. I've been making the smoothie for so long now that I've almost forgotten what a long and complicated ritual it is.

It must have rained a lot last night, because there was a ton of water on the roof. I removed as much as I could using the pumps and then swept the rest away with the big push broom that resides permanently on the roof. If I go to hell, I think my punishment will be pushing water off a flat roof for eternity. It's really a terrible job. Massive amounts of catkins falling from the Oak trees in the back yard make the job even slower and messier than usual. At least the forecast looks good. Hopefully, I won't have to go back up on the roof for a while.

The touring company of Hamilton is in town this month. I was amazed at how much tickets are. I remember seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway at the height of its popularity for far less. Ditto for Jersey Boys. What has happened with prices lately. I don't go to concerts anymore, but from what I've heard, top acts are outrageously expensive too. Maybe I'm just getting old. I just can't relate to today's prices. I read recently that the median home price in the United States is $300,000 now. Jeez. I bought my first house for $45,000. It was a nice house too. When I started working you could buy a new Porsche 911 for under $9,000. A Jaguar XKE was even less. No wonder I wish I had a time machine.

There's not much on the agenda for tomorrow. I'll probably spend most of the day trying to get Dash to eat.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3166

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3163

Some days are all about Dash. He didn't want to eat today. I had to really use my ingenuity to get him to take his morning pills. When worse came to worse, I could always put a pill directly down Dot's throat. This trick doesn't work with Dash. He'd bite me if I tried. Our walk was exceptionally slow this morning. Dash didn't appear tired. He just seemed disoriented at times. We took our time and made it home OK. By the time I finally got him interested in breakfast, it was noon.

This disinterest in food  is making it difficult to cure Dash's loose stools. The real goal is to get him to eat anything at all. Eating something that will make his poop firm again is just a bonus. Something is wrong, but I don't know what. There is no sign of blood in his stools anymore. His gums are nice and pink. His blood work looks good too. Dash is taking so many medications now, that the vets hesitate to add more. We're kind of on our own here.

When I woke up this morning I was almost certain that I was going to need to make an emergency doctor's appointment. My wrist hurt pretty bad and looked swollen. I strapped on my brace and soon became preoccupied with Dash. Several hours later when I was finishing my own breakfast, I realized that the wrist wasn't as painful anymore. I took off the brace and noticed that the swelling had subsided a bit as well. As the day progressed, the wrist continued to return to normal. It was surprising that this had happened so quickly. I was expecting to live with the sprained wrist for at least a week. To make a long story short, I'm glad I didn't call the doctor.

Truthfully, I didn't do much of anything today. I didn't order a new dehumidifier because the water leak seems to have disappeared. Maybe cleaning the unit out was all it needed. I didn't go up on the roof for obvious reasons. I didn't call anyone about my collections either. As I said before, the day was mostly about Dash.

He likes to sleep under tables and in awkward places these days. It seems like I'm always trying to extract him from these cubbyholes when he gets stuck. I've read that dogs seem to feel safer in small enclosed spaces when they feel sick. This certainly seems to be true with Dash. There are still places in the house where his lack of mobility wouldn't hinder him. Dash isn't interested in wide open space though. He seems to prefer a cave.

We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm finally starting to get tired of my morning smoothie, but I don't know what else to eat. In five years of going out to breakfast on Friday mornings, I've tried just about everything. Nothing seems that appealing. In an odd way I can understand what Dash is going through. We both still need food to survive, but seem to have lost the joy of eating.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3162

I injured my wrist again. I have no idea what happened. Yesterday, my wrist felt stiff when I woke up. By this morning, things had gotten worse and I could barely move it at all. Did I overdo things at the gym on Sunday? Did I pull a tendon trying to get the fitted sheet on the bed? It could have even happened while I was trying to get Dash's rubber boots on for his morning walk. That's what sucks about getting old. Just about anything can lead to a major problem.

I still have the brace I wore while I was recovering from last year's dog bite and started wearing it again this morning. Somehow, immobilizing your wrist goes a long way toward alleviating the pain. Without the brace, even drinking my morning coffee was painful. With it, life proceeded more or less normally. I definitely couldn't climb up on the roof today. I'm not going to be able to do that for a while. Here's hoping that our hot August weather will help the standing water evaporate.

I guess I should make a doctor's appointment, but I'll probably wait a few days to see if things improve. I've injured my wrist at least four times before and I know exactly what the doctor is going to do. They'll take an x-ray and tell me that no bones are broken. They'll ask me to move my wrist and discover that I can't. It's inflammation, they'll say. Then they'll tell me to wear the brace for a week and give me a cortisone shot. I've already got the brace and I hate taking steroids, so I'm just going to try to take it easy for a few days and see what happens. I can always go to the doctor later.

I hope that Dash doesn't need to go to the doctor again. His stools are still loose and his appetite is decreasing again. Most of the symptoms he's experiencing now are consistent with heart disease, so I'm not sure there's much we can do. I'd hate to change his diet. The homemade meals we're fixing now are very healthy and should be good for a dog with a sensitive stomach. I'm not even sure a trip to the vet would help. We've been through this so many times before. When the dog has nausea or diarrhea they'll give you some Cerenia pills. With an upset stomach, they'll want you to feed him canned Hills ID. If all else fails and you keep coming back with the same problem, they'll recommend a MRI. We've done all this. If Dash's leaking heart valve was treatable, we probably wouldn't be having a lot of these problems. The vestibular disease doesn't help either.

I contacted another auction house today. I'm discovering that consigning the second tier art is much harder than my initial experience with the desirable stuff. If there's something the auction houses really want, they'll treat you like royalty. If you have something they know won't sell, you'll be lucky to even get a reply. Ultimately, an auction house is just a business like any other business. They want to make money.

Dash and I looked pitiful this morning. He was wearing a brace on his leg and I was wearing a brace on my arm. We're troopers though. We both walked a mile and a half. I'm going to wear the brace to bed tonight. Maybe it will help me sleep better. That's probably just wishful thinking. I'm almost certain I'll be standing outside waiting for Dash to poop at 3 AM.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3160 - Janet's Birthday

It's hard to believe that we're both 70 now. Where has the time gone? Birthdays are pretty subdued these days. At this point, we're just glad to be alive. Janet and I went out for dinner at Knife and had a small celebration with cupcakes when we got home. For the most part, it was just a normal Sunday. Janet cleaned the floors. I changed the sheets on the bed. And we both made sure that Dash took all his pills.

When I went to the gym this morning, the place was flooded. The scene was reminiscent of the time when a pipe burst under the slab at our house. A restoration crew was vacuuming up the water and placing large dehumidifiers everywhere. Water can sure do a lot of damage. It looked like water had gotten under the wood floor of the basketball court, because they were already starting to rip up the floor. All this water made me remember that I forgot to turn off the pump on the roof before I left for the gym. Damn. If the pump runs dry, it's real easy to burn out the motor.

By the time I returned home, I'd forgotten about the pump again. It was on for most of the day, or more likely until it burned out. Sadly, I've wrecked several pumps this way. The pump wasn't the only thing I forgot today. When I went to Sprinkles to pick up cupcakes, I forgot the gift certificate I always use. It never occurred to me to check and see if the certificate was actually in the envelope.

Dash got me up in the middle of the night again. His stools were a little firmer, but still pretty soft. A lot of people have suggested that we add pumpkin to his diet. We'll give it a try again, but the last time we fed Dash pumpkin, it actually made his poop softer. We've tried pumpkin bread too in the past, but it was so tasty that I ate most of it myself. I don't think Dash's problem is simply an upset stomach. The most obvious thing is that we have to keep changing his diet too often just to keep him eating at all. In the best of circumstances, a dog should always eat a very consistent diet. These aren't the best of circumstances unfortunately. The vets think that Dash's vestibular disease is probably contributing to his loss of appetite. We might never know for sure, but we'll do whatever it takes to keep him eating.

I seem to be losing my appetite as well. Janet thinks that I'm not eating enough, but I think I just ate too much in the past. To me, it's natural that you would eat less if you weren't getting as much activity. I walked at least six miles a day for years and years when Dot and Dash were young. Not anymore. Luckily, there were no problems with my appetite this evening. Knife has a well deserved reputation as one of the best steakhouses in Dallas and Janet and I both really enjoyed our dinner.

Now that all the birthdays are in the rear view mirror, it seems like we're racing toward Christmas. Time moves far too quickly now. Even though I don't have that much to do, I can never seem to get caught up. Maybe catching up doesn't even matter. I think the point now for Dash, Janet and I is just to keep moving.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3150

Dash is so slow now that the weather forecast can change during our walks. That's what happened this morning. When we left the house the weather radar looked OK and I wasn't expecting rain until this afternoon. Things can change quickly in Texas though. The dark skies on the Western horizon began growing closer and closer. I started hearing thunder. It wasn't long before I began feeling raindrops. The surprise storm didn't seem to faze Dash. He kept inching along at a snail's pace, stopping to smell every bush along the way. Dash used to be frightened by thunder, but he doesn't hear well anymore. He didn't even appear to notice that we were starting to get wet. Amazingly, we made it home before the storm arrived. Usually we aren't so lucky.

Dash seemed unusually tired today. He slept for most of the day and wasn't interested in eating at all. He didn't finish his breakfast until 4 PM and we're still working on dinner. Dash's good days and bad days are totally unpredictable. As recently as yesterday I was feeling that he was getting stronger. Whenever Dash is lethargic like this, I start to worry. There's not much I can do, but this type of fatigue is usually a sign that his heart condition is getting worse.

I'm still trying to downsize, but it appears that the low hanging fruit is gone. When I began this quest, I purposely looked for items that would appeal to other collectors. Now that the good stuff stuff has all been consigned, I'm having a lot more difficulty unloading the second-tier collections. I apparently has a discerning eye for art back in the 1970's. I had good taste in model trains too. Not so much with the watches I began collecting a few decades later. My taste in vintage watches turned out to be terrible. The only things I was interested in were early tuning fork watches, LED watches, and calculator watches. Very few people work on these things anymore. I had a guy in California who used to fix my Accutrons, but he died. A lot of early electronic watches used mercury batteries and never worked reliably using modern replacement batteries. Parts for LED watches are almost impossible to come by. All these problems could be overcome if people actually desired these geeky timepieces. They don't. Everybody wants an old Rolex instead.

We ended up getting a lot of rain today. There is no point in removing the water from the roof though. It's supposed to continue raining for the next several days. Let's hope that the roofers did a good job. I really don't want to deal with a leak again. I'll go up and inspect things when rain is out of the forecast, but there's no point in doing anything now. I'm going to just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

I hope the forecast is wrong. Dash does much better when he gets his morning walk. I can't go out for breakfast if it's raining either. Dash is just too unpredictable. We'll see what happens. The forecast wasn't very accurate today. It probably won't be tomorrow either.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3109

The "Service Required" light has come on in my car again. There's nothing wrong with the car. It runs fine. The light is programmed to come on whenever the dealer wants you to come in for required maintenance. They know that if you see the warning light every morning, you are eventually going to make an appointment for the expensive service. The trick works every time. Even if the car is working perfectly, I eventually begin to worry that something "might" go wrong. The service light didn't bother me much when the car was under warranty. Now that the service costs an arm and a leg, I'd rather just keep driving until I hear a funny noise. I'll go ahead and make an appointment though. You win, expensive dealership. I'm superstitious.

I talked to the owner of a vintage guitar store today. A friend recommended this place, and sure enough these guys knew their stuff. Sadly, my guitars aren't particularly special. They are old though. The store was interested enough to want to take a look at them. I made an appointment to get an appraisal and hopefully I can move some of these things from the storage warehouse to a consignment agreement. I've decided that it makes sense to consign as much stuff as possible. Climate control isn't very good in the storage warehouse and for the most part, the stores provide much better insurance. You've got to do your homework though. There are good dealers and shady dealers for almost everything.

I couldn't decide where to go for breakfast this morning, so I went nowhere. While I was getting groceries for the weekend, I picked up a pathetic looking breakfast taco to eat. By the time I got home, I wasn't even hungry for that. It's a shame that I've lost my interest in going out for breakfast on Fridays. I can think of an excuse to avoid every restaurant within a ten mile radius these days. Maybe I've just become too picky, but I think something has fundamentally changed. I don't have much of an appetite anymore.

The security light in the back yard has started to work again. I don't know what is going on. Some days it works perfectly and other days it turns itself on and off randomly. The electrician hasn't come out to replace the photocell yet, so I've probably got a few more days to ponder this mystery. I still think a big spider is causing the problems. Since bugs are attracted to light and spiders are attracted to bugs, it makes sense that a lot of spiders are living near the light. The only problem with this theory is that if a big spider were sitting on the photocell, the light should come on. It goes off instead. I don't know what would cause the lamp to randomly go dark in the middle of the night, especially if it still returns to normal the next evening.

Janet and I are going to go photograph new rescue dogs this weekend. That still seems like a useful thing to do. So many things I do these days have no purpose whatsoever.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3102

We had our first 100 degree day of the year. I'm sure it won't be our last. It seemed ridiculously hot today. I kept thinking that we don't usually get this kind of weather until July. Then I realized that it is actually pretty close to July. Needless to say, Dash didn't get an afternoon walk. He had trouble yesterday when it was ten degrees cooler. We're just going to stay inside and hope the air conditioner keeps working.

I've started ordering breakfast from the side dish menu. These little plates with a single sausage link or a few pieces of toast seem just about right. The waiters don't seem happy. I think they want me to order a much larger meal. Not to worry. I'm still going to leave a good tip. I'm just not very hungry these days.

The art shippers called this afternoon. They're on their way. It's going to seem weird not to have these pictures on my walls any more. They've followed me around to two different states and three different houses. It's time to say goodbye though. Possessions can be an anchor around your neck. It might be more enjoyable to travel than to worry about whether a roof leak is going to ruin a painting.

I was going to clean the atrium today and I couldn't get the sliding glass door to open. Jeez. I was going to fix this thing last year, but never got around to it. Now, I've got one more thing on my to-do list. The list just keeps getting longer. Yesterday, I added a whistling toilet in Janet's bathroom. The toilet still works fine, but loud noises are usually a good indication that something bad is about to happen.

Anyone my age has probably watched the Carpool Karaoke episode with Paul McCartney by now. The video was plastered all over my Facebook wall this morning. This touching tribute to Paul's Liverpool roots brought back a flood of memories that had nothing to do with Liverpool. I grew up with the Beatles. It's amazing that after all these years, the Beatles and the Stones are still relevant. I was lucky to come of age in the golden age of music. The 60's and the 70's were a high water mark. Listening to a new album by The Lumineers just doesen't compare to hearing Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon for the first time.

I got a letter from my sister today. I'm glad she's feeling well enough to write again. Her cancer is not in remission, but she seems in much better spirits. We followed dramatically different paths in life, but some things seem to be converging as we grow older. We both share the same distain for Uber and Airbnb. It's pretty obvious that we have joined the "Get off my Lawn" crowd.

When Dash woke me up last night to go outside, he ended up giving me a scare. He had a mild case of diarrhea and wandered all over the yard in a squatting position. When he was finished, he had trouble resuming an upright position. He seemed stuck in his pooping posture. I had to help him up and gently walk him around the yard a bit to get him moving again. When he came inside, he wasn't able to climb up on the bed and went to sleep on the floor. Luckily, he was walking fine this morning. Dash's rear legs are getting weaker and weaker. I hope he can make it through the Summer.

I hope I can make it through the Summer too. Right now, living in Iceland seems pretty appealing.

Kirby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3067

Janet is back. I think Dash and I did OK on our own, but taking care of this dog is definitely a team effort. We certainly had our hands full today. Dash isn't eating again. It was really hard to get him to eat enough this morning so he could safely take his pills. He didn't finish the rest of his breakfast until around 3 PM. Right around sunset, his appetite seemed to return, but then he threw up everything right after we finished a short evening walk. It is really frustrating that there doesn't appear to be a solution to this ongoing problem. He'll seem fine for a week or two and then he'll start throwing up again. I guess we could keep him on the Cerenia anti-nausea pills indefinitely, but there's a downside to that as well.

Dash has reached the point where everything he does can have serious side effects. The antibiotic he's taking to clear up the skin infection on his lip appears to be working, but one of the side effects is vomiting. Do we continue the antibiotic? Who knows. I'll contact his vet and see what she thinks. Dash sleeps so much now that he really needs the limited walks he gets to maintain his mobility. He's so fragile though that every time we walk I worry that he is going to injure himself. Maybe I worry too much, but I think I'm just being realistic. Dash is a very high maintenance dog.

I was sad to hear that Tom Wolfe died this week. You could not read something by Tom Wolfe and not be influenced by it. He was one of the most prolific and talented writers I have ever encountered. To this day, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The Right Stuff, and Bonfire of the Vanities remain in my top ten list. John Fowles is gone too. I used to eagerly await anything new from these two authors. Maybe John Kennedy Toole would be right up there with them if he hadn't committed suicide before A Confederacy of Dunces was published. I wonder who the amazing writers are these days? Sadly, I don't read much anymore.

My friend in Kentucky has finished making an inventory of my collection. Seeing everything on paper makes me realize that I had assembled a much better collection than I realized. I was well suited to being a collector. I had good taste and enjoyed the process of finding a needle in a haystack. It's weird though. The process of collecting had a lot more meaning for me than the objects themselves. Once I stopped collecting things, the objects lost their meaning. Over time, the collections just became a lot of dusty, useless stuff.

I've got to find something to replace all the things that kept me so busy when I was younger. How did I ever find the time to do so much reading, collecting, and exploring new boundaries? Today I'm just tired. A lot of my friends have died. And every time I turn on the TV, I realize that the world has gone to hell in an handbasket. I'm still curious though. That's why I keep writing. Maybe that's why you keep reading too.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3065

I voted today. I don't always vote in primary elections, but I took this opportunity to vote against the candidates who irritated me the most with their incessant robocalls and spammy brochures. I still don't understand why politicians of the same party spend so much time trashing each other in primary elections. Both parties do this. All it does is leave voters trusting nobody when it's time for the general election.

Dash is still getting used to our new schedule. I was pleasantly surprised that he stayed still enough for me to put his leg brace and boots on by myself this morning. He was actually eager to go on his morning walk. Unfortunately, he wasn't so eager to take his pills and eat breakfast when we got home. This was equally surprising because usually a nice walk will give Dash an appetite. I had to experiment to find something he would take his pills in, but eventually we succeeded. He didn't seem very hungry this morning, but eventually he finished his breakfast around 11 AM.

It looks like we're going to have clear skies for the next week. There is no rain in the forecast at all. Now, all I've got to do is get the roofers to come back and finish the job before the next thunderstorm arrives. I tried to contact the foreman and schedule something but I kept getting a message saying "mailbox full" and the call would hang up. It's like pulling teeth to get these repairs completed. I feel certain that when the roofers eventually do return, it will rain the next day.

I went to the grocery store this morning to buy some more Chicken Tenders. When everything else fails, Dash will still usually eat Chicken Tenders. He'd probably like a bucket of KFC too, but I've got to draw the line somewhere. The store was out of Chicken Tenders, so I got some Steak Fingers instead. They might not taste the same, but they certainly look the same.

The temperature was in the 90's this afternoon. I didn't even try to take Dash on an evening walk. He just can't handle the heat anymore. As the temperature warmed up, I could tell he was reluctant to even go out in the back yard and pee. Thank goodness it is still cool around sunrise. We need a cool morning breeze or we won't be able to walk at all.

I set the DVR to record tonight's episode of The Expanse. I might as well just watch the show live. There isn't much else to do this evening. We've still got to take our evening pills. I'll do fine with mine, but I'm not so sure about Dash. He certainly wasn't very enthusiastic this morning.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3064

Dash and I have a new schedule for a little while. Janet is traveling and I need to remember to do all the things she usually does. Janet usually prepares Dash's meals and gives him his pills. The meals are a guessing game, since you never know what he's willing to eat on any given day. No matter what his mood is, he always has to eat something early in the morning, because he can't take his phenobarbital on an empty stomach. Dash used to take his pills in a dog food meat ball, but now we have to resort to more exotic temptations. Today, I hid the pills in soft slices of banana bread with a little peanut butter on top. This worked pretty well. Meals are just as challenging. I opened three different cans this evening before I found something he would eat. When a dog turns up his nose at fresh chicken breasts, you know you are getting desperate.

Luckily, we were able to give Dash a good walk early this morning before Janet left for the airport. I knew I would have trouble with the afternoon walk, and even though I tried, we didn't even make it out of the back yard. Dash turned around and threw off one of his rubber boots before we even reached the back gate. When I got the boot back on again, he refused to move at all. Hopefully, he will still walk with me in the mornings. Morning walks are an essential part of the feeding routine. Without a walk, he rarely has much of an appetite.

It's not normal for a Dalmatian to lose interest in food. Something is definitely wrong, but so far his veterinarians have not been able to pin down a cause. We've done every type of test imaginable and so far the only plausible cause for this loss of appetite is the nausea that is commonly associated with vestibular disease. So far, we've always been able to get Dash to eat something, but it's getting harder and harder.

I think I got lucky with the roof. The rain that was supposed to arrive today never materialized. The area the roofers patched yesterday has had a full 24 hours to cure, so I think the elastomer coating is stable now. We may still get some rain later tonight, but if the roof stays dry, my next job is to get the roofers back to finish the rest of the repairs.

I paid some bills this afternoon and picked up the new antibiotic that is supposed to cure the infected area on Dash's lip. Hopefully, this pill won't interact with any of the other pills he's already taking. Dash takes so many meds now that it gets complicated. I always hope that we'll be able to reduce the number of pills at some point, but that's probably being realistic. Dash hasn't had an epileptic seizure in year, but he will always need to take phenobarbital to prevent them from reoccurring. Even though the blood clot in his heart has seemingly dissolved, he will need to continue taking Plavix to keep new clots from forming. The list goes on and on. He has to take thyroid medication because he doesn't have a thyroid anymore and he takes blood pressure medication for the same reason I do.

I think we're going to go to bed early tonight. Why not? We've both finished our dinners. Dash has taken all his evening meds. And I'm almost finished with tonight's blog post. We're probably going to need a good night's rest. Tomorrow might be challenging.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3037

I'm losing track of the days again. The main thing that make one day different from the next is how Dash is acting. He is totally unpredictable. Last night he slept all night, although I woke up several times in anticipation of his usual need to go outside. He seemed disoriented when he woke up this morning, but returned to normal after about thirty minutes. He seemed in good spirits on our morning walk and then slept most of the day after we returned. When it was time for dinner, he turned his nose up at everything. I couldn't tell if he was feeling nauseous or just being stubborn. I tried all his favorites and he wouldn't eat anything. I left some food in his bowl and went about my business.  About an hour later I noticed that he'd changed his mind and decided the food was OK after all. He wouldn't take an afternoon walk with me, but when Janet came home from work he decided that walking was OK again. I wonder what causes these mood swings? Dogs are supposed to be predictable.

I'm having trouble getting people to return my calls. I'm ready to clean up the back yard and get new St. Augustine grass put in, but the landscaper hasn't called me back. I haven't heard from the roofer either. He sent me an e-mail about a month ago saying he'd take care of things, but that was the last I've heard from him. I did finally get a call from the tree guy, but he just told me that he was in the middle of something and to call him again tomorrow. Eventually, I'll get all these things taken care of,  but nobody seems very excited about my little projects.

I was slightly excited when I the UPS guy delivered the special silicon glue I ordered. I had to order two tubes of this exotic adhesive to meet the company's minimum order requirements and shipping cost $10. I could have found a replacement UP3 fitness band for about the same price. I wonder why I'm so obsessed with fixing things? Oddly, I'm really curious to see whether this glue works.

We encountered a bunch of Great Egrets along the shoreline this morning. I wanted to get closer so I could take a good picture, but Dash wasn't interested. Dash is not interested in birds at all. I always carry a small pocket camera with a 30x zoom but the pictures often leave a lot to be desired. I never take a good camera while I'm walking Dash. Dash is a great companion, but he's a terrible photo assistant. It's easier to just concentrate on walking.

I watched another Space X launch on my computer this afternoon. These guys are really getting good at this stuff. Today's payload was a telescope that will look for planets orbiting other nearby stars. I wonder whether humans will eventually reach the stars or just become extinct after we ruin our own planet. It's a toss up.

Mattie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2986

I had to defrost the refrigerator again today. Didn't I just do this? I can't even remember whether it was a week ago or two weeks ago. Either way, this process is a pain in the neck. I have to take all the food in the freezer and put it in an ice chest. Then I have to remove all the shelves and the ice maker bucket to gain access to the back panel. Six screws are removed and then the metal back panel easily slides out to revel the frozen evaporator coil.  I turn the refrigerator off and then thaw the coil with a hair dryer. I put some thick bath towels on the bottom of the freezer to sop up all the water. The whole process takes about an hour.

I was so frustrated when I finished that I drove to Home Depot determined to end this madness and buy a refrigerator today. The appliance salesperson was helping another customer, so I started looking at refrigerators again. I noticed that all french door refrigerators have a weird folding flap that seals the two doors when they are closed. This flap makes it virtually impossible to open the left door first. Couldn't somebody have come up with a better design? I found the refrigerator that has replaced the one I currently have. It was exactly the same except it was one inch wider and won't fit in my kitchen. Why did you have to do this General Electric? That extra inch didn't make the refrigerator any more useful. All it did was make me mad. Eventually, I got tired of waiting for the salesperson to sell the other customer something, so I went home with nothing again.

Dash was a picky eater again today. I had to open several cans of food before I could find something he liked. He wouldn't take his afternoon walk either, even though it was one of the nicest days we've had this month. I wish I knew what was going on in his head. Janet thinks some of the problems started when the vet increased his Phenobarbital dose. I think he may be be experiencing some mild nausea from the vestibular disease all the time. It's really hard to tell, because even when Dash was young and healthy, he was always a moody and stubborn dog.

Another round of thunderstorms begins tomorrow morning. I'm getting so sick of this weather I could scream. I have no idea how long the wet weather will last, but we've certainly had enough rain for the month of February. At least I heard from the roofers today. They promised that they'll be back when things dry out. Hopefully the roof will last that long.

We take Dash in for another echocardiogram later this week. I wonder if these expensive scans are even useful at this point? They were supposed to track the effectiveness of the blood thinner medications he's taking, but the blood clots haven't moved or changed in size for several months. I don't know if the Plavix is even working. I guess we'll continue these monthly checkups. They may not help Dash get any better, but at least they provide a heads-up that lets us know what's happening.

I'm going to try to get to bed earlier tonight. I'm not getting enough sleep. I think I'd do a lot better if I just didn't bother to get up in the morning.

Bingo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day