Day 3195

It was oddly comforting to discover that there was also a roof leak at the gym today. If this huge, well funded facility can't keep water out, maybe I'm not doing so bad. Every time we have a serious storm, I remember a quote from Dr. Who. This was from the Waters of Mars episode. "Water is patient," the Doctor told Adelaide. "Water just waits. Wears down the cliff tops, the mountains. The whole of the world. Water always wins." Nobody's keeping score, but water is certainly winning the battle it has been having with me all these years. I'm no match for the relentlessness of water.

I couldn't go on the basketball court today because the restoration crew was trying to save the hardwood floors with something called an Injectidry System. I'd never seen anything like this before. There were weird looking flat panels taped to the floor of the court. Small hoses connected these panels to larger hoses which eventually terminated in a noisy machine that looked a bit like a portable generator. Somehow this Rube Goldberg contraption is able to remove the water from hardwood floors before they start to warp and crack. We'll see if the system worked when I return to the gym next week.

The water has receded quite a bit at the lake. I can see the boat docks again and the shoreline road has reappeared. There is still water dripping from my ceiling, unfortunately. It's not a lot of water, but I don't know how to stop it. The roof needs to be dry before the leak can be located and I think there's rain in the forecast for the rest of the week. I'm not even sure the roofers can find the leak. They've failed many times before.

Janet found some interesting meals that seem to be tailor made for people like us. We rarely cook anymore, but still enjoy interesting, fresh food. These chef prepared meals just need to be heated in a skillet for about ten minutes and they're ready to go. Last night we had Risotto and tonight we had Pesto Shrimp. We never would have taken the time to make these items from scratch, but they certainly tasted authentic. The end result was easier to make than those meal kits like HelloFresh and the portion sizes were small enough for two people. A delicious, easy to fix meal was certainly the high point of my day. It definitely beat working out in a soggy gym. Their water leak was a lot worse than mine.

Dash is still pooping in the house, but his stools are getting firmer again. If you've got an incontinent dog, you always wish for firm stools. Cleanup is so much easier. I believe there is a rational answer for everything, but it's still a mystery why Dash can go from normal stools to diarrhea in a matter of days. It doesn't make sense because his diet hasn't changed for several months now. From everything we've read, Dash is eating exactly what he should.

I need to come up with a plan of action for next week. Do I argue with the roofers? Do I attempt to clean out the storage warehouse? Do I look for an auction house who will take the remaining art? There's lots that needs to be done, but all too often the best option seems to do nothing at all.

Sage is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2039

I had way too much on my plate today. The dogs were unusually restless and a lot of my time was consumed just taking them in and out of the house over and over again. Dash just wants to eat June Bugs when I let him out and Dot has to get suited up in her special harness before she can even make it out the back door. I must have taken her harness on and off ten times today. She can't rest comfortably when the harness is on, so I always take it off while she is sleeping. Every time she wants to go outside, I have to put it back on again. Since she is shaky to begin with, getting the harness on and off is not as easy as it might seem.

The article I had scheduled to write today took a lot longer than I expected. I worked on it off and on all day and didn't finish the thing until just before dinner time. One of the reasons the article took so long was that I kept getting interrupted by website emergencies. There were lots of little things that needed to be fixed today. There was also a website so unremarkable that both the client and I had completely forgotten about it for two years. The client finally remembered the website today and asked me why he couldn't find it on the Internet. Hmm. It turned out that he couldn't find the site because it wasn't on the Internet at all. We had forgotten to move it to the new server over two years ago. When you forget about a website for two years, chances are that you don't really need it.

Dot did great during her physical therapy session.  Physical therapy Thursdays are another reason why I was so busy today. I was a little worried about Dot's weak rear leg, but she had one of her best days in several months. She went seventeen minutes on the underwater treadmill, which she hasn't been able to do for a long time. The fact that she seems reasonably strong during therapy and on her morning walks, while still having increasing difficulties around the house is a mystery to me. I wish I knew what was causing the sporadic lameness and leg tremors. Maybe I'll find some answers tomorrow when I take her back to the cancer center for another periodic re-check.

The refrigerator is getting pretty bare, so I ended up making breakfast again for dinner. There are always more breakfast items around the house, since I am more or less fixated on breakfast. Biscuits and gravy with a little breakfast ham actually makes a pretty good dinner. We bought too many bananas this week, so Janet is making banana bread with the rotten ones. I love the smell of fresh baked banana bread. It almost makes me forget what a hectic day it's been.

Tomorrow will probably be more of the same. I've got another long article to complete and Dot has another vet appointment at the cancer center. Maybe the dogs will be calmer tomorrow. That would be nice. At least it's Friday. I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing breakfast with no barking dogs at my feet. Maybe when I get home from the restaurant, there will be new pictures from Pluto to see on the Internet. I complain a lot, but actually I'm pretty easy to please.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2036

I started on my new website project today. I thought that this one would be a piece of cake, but I almost immediately ran into a couple of snags. Absolutely nothing is a piece of cake anymore. In my experience, everything from getting a prescription filled to changing a light bulb can quickly turn into an unintended learning experience. Website design is always full of surprises. It didn't take me long this morning to learn that Plan-A just wasn't going to work. That's why I always make sure there's a Plan-B.

The New Horizons spacecraft will reach Pluto tomorrow. I continue to be amazed by the audacity of this incredible journey. It takes Pluto 248 years to orbit the Sun. The last time Pluto was in it's current position in space, the United States wasn't even a country yet and nobody on Earth was aware of its existence. Pluto wasn't even discovered until 1930. A lot can change in a single orbit. The technology that sent New Horizons on its three billion mile trip is over a decade old. The iPhone wasn't even invented when the spacecraft was launched. The fact that everything still works after this nine year journey is a testament to what we can do when we really put our mind to it. Sadly, this golden age of exploration that began with Sputnik is drawing to a close. Enjoy the moment tomorrow, because you won't see anything like this again in your lifetime. We have lost the will to explore. Maybe Elon Musk will eventually figure out a way to get to Mars, but we won't get another first look at a new planet for a long, long time.

The dogs are driving me nuts at mealtimes. The barking has become a permanent part of the mealtime ritual. As soon as I start preparing breakfast or dinner, they start to bark. I'm not exactly sure when this started, but it didn't used to be this way. They don't bark when Janet eats either. It's just me. To keep them quiet, I fill a coffee cup with dry dog food and feed them one kibble at a time. I feed them slightly less at their own dinner time, so they won't get fat from this additional food. Dot and Dash are far more tenacious than I am. Maybe they would eventually quit barking if I ignored them, but I don't have time to find out. Instead of training them, they always end up training me. It all works out OK, I guess. They are still eating exactly the same amount of food as they always were; just in an irritating, unconventional way.

One of my cousins recently sent me a copy of a family history her mother had written for her before she died. I started reading the history today and was totally amazed at how richly detailed my aunt's recollections were. The history was 75 pages long and described a way of life that no longer exists. There were generations of Sealanders that I'd never even heard of. Families were closer then. I'd be lucky if a were able to write a single Tweet about each of my family members. I've just never kept up with anybody. It was fascinating to read about my Swedish and Norwegian ancestors, but it left me wondering if the story ends with me. I won't be taking this family history and passing it down to my children. There are no children, and my own family memories are fuzzy. I can tell you plenty of stories about dogs though.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day