Day 3310

I try to leave myself plenty of time whenever I make an appointment. Let's face it, I'm slow and Dash is even slower. You'd think an appointment at noon wouldn't present a problem. Wrong. I actually got up early this morning, but by the time I'd walked Dash, made the bed, cleaned up dog poop on the living room floor, fixed breakfast, and taken a shower, I was already late.

I get my hair cut every couple of months. I've been going to the same stylist for decades and see no reason to change now. This periodic trip to the mall gives me an opportunity to see if the outside world has changed. It seldom does. There was a new Model 3 on display at the Tesla store and I noticed that a new KAWS Companion sculpture had been added to the Mall's art collection. Everything else was the same. I was surprised at how nice the low cost Tesla looked considering the bad press it has been getting. I'm always surprised at the popularity of Brian Donnelly's art. I guess I'm getting old. I don't understand the popularity of Banksy either.

I didn't linger at the Mall today. I skipped the usual window shopping at the Apple Store and watch boutiques. There is just no desire to buy stuff anymore. It was good to get a haircut though. I always feel better after a haircut. My hair is almost white now, but at least I still have hair. I'm looking more and more like my Dad every year.

I finished the day by paying a few bills and picking up a new supply of Plavix for Dash at the pharmacy on my way home from the post office. It seemed like a very busy day, but as usual I didn't get much done. Janet and I both wonder how we used to get so much done when we were younger. Now, just taking care of the bare necessities can eat up an entire day.

It was a little warmer today, but the weather is still damp and nasty. This type of weather must accentuate smells, because Dash spends even more time than usual smelling things on damp days. Smell is everything to him lately and he will frequently walk straight through muddy areas to get to a smell he likes. I've always got to have a spare set of footwear for him because his boots and socks usually need to go in the laundry after a walk. My own boots are usually muddy as well. Sometimes I feel like I spend half my day cleaning stuff. When Dash poops in the bed, I might spend the entire day.

After today's excursion, I see no need to leave the house tomorrow. The outside world just isn't that enticing. I still enjoy walking through the park, but I don't take many photos anymore. I have to concentrate on keeping Dash from falling. I didn't realize how good I had it when Dot and Dash were young and healthy. Walks were a joy back then. We walked a lot further, but it was relaxing. Relaxing isn't a word I use very often anymore.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2859

It rained a lot last night. Even though it was a beautiful day, the yard was muddy and the roof was filled with standing water. Dash didn't waste any time finding the mud and immediately tracked it inside when he went out to pee before breakfast. He also discovered where a stray cat had been pooping near the back fence and tried to eat the stuff. Yuck. These events set the tone for the day and I didn't even notice how pretty it was outside until much later.

Since water was still spilling over the eaves when I got up, I knew I wasn't going to be able to escape climbing up on the roof and removing the standing water. Fall is the worst season for the roof. The standing water doesn't evaporate like it does in the Summer, and falling leaves often block the water from spilling over the edge of the roof. The only alternative is to remove as much as I can with the sump pump and push the rest over the edge with a big push broom.

It was cold this morning, so I waited until later in  the day to remove the water. That gave me a chance to go to the gym like I usually do on Sunday. I've been going to this gym for over four years now and I still haven't seen a huge improvement. On the other hand, I'm four years older and I haven't gotten any worse. I guess you could call that progress. I've thought about hiring a personal trainer for a month or two, just to see if I've been doing everything wrong. How would I know? I never asked anyone about my exercise routine. I'm the only one that seems to use the hand bicycle, even though it provides a great upper body workout and elevates my heart rate just as much as the treadmill. Shooting baskets probably doesn't provide any benefits at all, but it's the one thing I actually enjoy.

There is absolutely nothing I enjoy about getting up on the roof. It is my own private version of Dante's Inferno. Every time it rains, I find new holes that need to be repaired. Today I found two new bad spots that should be covered with the elastomer material as soon as the roof dries, but unfortunately I've already used the five gallon drum the roofers gave me. I'm been corresponding with the roofers and they promise they are going to come back and fix things, but that could be weeks or even months away. Several people have suggested that I add a pitch to the roof, so the water would drain. These people haven't seen the house. It would be easier to start over and build a new house.

The next time the roofers supply me with a container of the silicon product they use to seal the roof, I'm going to try dipping a pair of Dash's protective boots in the stuff. The material is very flexible when it dries and is completely waterproof. The elastomer might work better to reinforce the boots than the tire patch material I'm using now. Actually, the repairs I've made to Dash's shoes so far are very durable. It just takes a lot of time to shape the patching material so that the boots still fit properly.

I can't say it was an exciting day, but I did get a lot done. If I'm lucky the refrigerator will get repaired tomorrow. I'm hoping that the repairman will get tired of coming out to the house again and again and finally do the job right. It's rare when this happens. The roofers never should have coated the roof with a material that wouldn't hold up under standing water. The plumbers who repaired the water leak under our foundation shouldn't have dumped all the dirt they couldn't fit back in the tunnel they dug under the Photinia bushes along the edge of the yard. That's where all the mud is coming from. The tile guys the contractor hired for our bathroom remodel should have known how to set tile so water wouldn't leak at the corner of the shower. I even showed them little curved tile pieces that made a better transition between horizontal and vertical surfaces. They said these weren't necessary. I could go on and on.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2742

Another rainy day. The yard is still muddy and I have to clean Dash's paws with a wet rag before he comes inside. The first thing Dash does when he comes inside is jump on the bed. If the rainy season continues much longer, Janet may wish she hadn't picked out a white comforter and pillows for the bed. When you've got large dogs, mud brown usually turns out to be the best color for everything.

I really need to start pestering the landscaper to come out and take care of the yard. He was supposed to come a month ago. Usually we put in new grass in March but there's been way too much going on this Spring. The yard really hasn't been a priority. A friend who uses the same guy told us the landscaper isn't very interested in us since we only call him once a year. Hey, once a year is plenty. He ought to be glad to have our business since he gets to put in the same grass over and over again. I don't know why the grass won't grow. The lawn gets enough water and the soil is good. Maybe there just isn't enough direct sunlight. At any rate, it doesn't really matter how long the grass lasts. Right now the back yard is basically a big mud pit.

I wrote another letter to my sister this afternoon. Letter writing is always a good thing to do on a rainy day. I wish my sister would just read the blog, since I end up repeating most of the things I've already written here. Pen and paper is how she communicates and I doubt that anything is going to change. We're both set in our ways. My Dad was the same way. He was a brilliant scientist, but he never owned a computer. He had no interest in computers at all.

Maybe I'm the odd duck in the family. I don't know what I'd do without my computers. Without computers, I'd never have been able to operate a successful business out of my house for all these years. When I first started the company, I was constantly driving from one client to the next. It seemed like I was always in meetings. What a revelation to discover that I didn't really need to see these people at all. The Internet changed everything for me. To this day there are still clients who I have never met in person. I get my assignments via e-mail and I send the completed projects back via e-mail. It works for me.

I'm surprised that Dash has turned out to be a really good therapy dog. Janet and I were a little nervous when she first came home from the hospital, since Dash has a tendency to be wild. He's been very gentle and attentive though. He follows Janet around the house wherever she goes and just sits by her side. So far, there have been no problems at all. I suspect that Dash has wanted both of us home for a long time. For most of his life, Janet has left for work early and come home pretty late. Now Dash has both of us.

Tomorrow I take Janet to visit two different doctors. We're hoping that they are both pleased with her progress. Surgery is always so invasive and recovery is so messy that it is hard to know what to expect. I remember when I first saw my Dad after open heart surgery I was horrified. The cardiologist reassured me that everything was normal but it sure didn't look normal. Dad recovered and so will Janet. There just aren't any shortcuts. I've learned that when a surgeon explains a procedure to you, they usually aren't telling you the entire story. Maybe it's for the best. If I knew everything, I would never have the nerve to have surgery.

It's hard to believe the year is almost half over. This is one year I don't feel like repeating. When Janet recovers, I hope we all stay healthy for a long, long time.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1911

It was still dismal and grey today, but thankfully, the rain appears to have moved elsewhere. Drier skies meant that it was much easier to take Dot outside and Dash got to enjoy his normal walks again. There were still muddy shoes and even muddier paws at the end of these walks, but a little mud is nothing when the alternative is getting soaking wet.

Since things are starting to dry out, it was a good day to get the water off the roof. When I removed this week's standing water, I was appalled to discover two spots that already looked like they needed to be patched. I shouldn't have to patch anything yet, since the current roof is relatively new. As soon as the roof is completely dry, I'll call the roofers to come take a look. They should just give me a big can of the epoxy material they use to coat the top layer. I really wouldn't mind patching things myself, since I'm up on the roof so much anyway. At least if I did the repairs myself, I'd know the job was done right.

Since I'm more or less caught up with website work for the moment, I used the day to write. I got a lot done, but what I really wanted to do was sleep. Although reducing Dot's prednisolone dose yesterday was  supposed to make her pee less frequently, I haven't noticed any immediate changes. I still had to get up twice last night to take Dot outside. The second time I took her out, she didn't want to go back in her crate, so I just pulled out a blanket and went to sleep on the floor next to her. It was almost morning by then anyway, but I sure could have used a couple of more hours of shut eye.

At some point during the morning, I noticed that the metal staples holding Dot's incision together felt hot. I was initially alarmed and then I realized that Dot had been sleeping next to a heater vent. One more thing to watch out for. Dot has always liked sleeping near the heater vents in the floor during the Winter, but that's not a good idea when she's got metal staples in her back. Luckily, the staples come out later this week. Having her sutures removed will be Dot's first post-surgery milestone. I doubt that getting her stitches out will make Dot walk any better, but it still seems like progress.

I called my broker today to ask why I hadn't received my tax reporting statement yet and he told me that the statement had been available online for several weeks now. Damn. One more company to deal with that wants to go paperless. I hate this movement to go paperless. It's much easier to organize a stack of papers in file folders than it is to download and print out PDF files. I've noticed lately that when I renew subscriptions to trade magazines, they ask whether I'd like to receive a printed or electronic copy. I always check the box to get the printed copy. A real magazine makes good bathroom reading. A PDF file is just a nuisance.

So far, the weather looks good for the rest of the week. I wish I could get a sleep forecast that looked good for the rest of the week. I've never had kids, but this must be what it's like to have a baby. A solid eight hours of sleep never looked so good.

Ely is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1831

I must be getting more confident in the roof. I haven't been up there all week, even though it's been raining almost every day. I know there's a ton of standing water up there, but I still can't bring myself to tackle the laborious job of removing it all. Maybe tomorrow. Of course, I could go to the gym instead and expend the same amount of energy in a warm, dry place. Eventually, I'll have to go remove the water, because it's certainly not going to evaporate in this kind of weather.

The weather's been damp now for long enough now that the dogs are getting exceptionally muddy on their walks. My boots are caked with mud when we return, and even my pants are muddy. Cleaning the dogs paws and my boots before we go inside again seems to add another ten minutes to each walk. I wish we had a mud room like some Northern houses have. Everyone with Dalmatians needs a mud room.

Today was full of busy little chores. The dog blankets got washed, the sheets got changed, and I made a trip to Sam's Club to buy toilet paper, shop towels, detergent, and other sundries in bulk. I don't know when we started buying a three month supply of stuff like this. It wasn't always this way. Buying commodity items in bulk does save money, but it also uses up all your closet space. It took me quite a while to figure out where to stash away all the toilet paper.

When I was going to sleep last night I watched the last Craig Ferguson Show. I didn't know that the final show was going to be last night and just switched it on accidentally. I've always liked Craig Ferguson better than Jimmy Fallon or Seth Meyers. There is an irreverence to Ferguson's comedy that appeals to me. The show is gone though, so I guess I'll just have to go to sleep a little earlier. It's weird how many of these "final" shows I've seen over the years. I remember seeing Jack Paar's final broadcast when I was a kid. I saw Johnny Carson's final show and Jay Leno's as well. I think I even remember seeing the last Ed Sullivan show. David Letterman will have his last show pretty soon as well. It's hard to believe now, but I saw the Late Show With David Letterman live once during a trip to New York. I used to see a lot of shows. Aerosmith, Simon & Garfunkel, Phantom of the Opera, The Rolling Stones, Jersey Boys, The Who, Cirque du Soleil, and countless others. Somewhere along the line, a fear of crowds replaced a love of live performances and I quit going to shows. No regrets though. Peaceful scenes like this morning's foggy lake shore are much more appealing than watching a loud band in a crowded arena.

I'm kind of surprised that my stretching exercises actually seem to to be increasing the mobility in my bad shoulder. I've only been doing the exercises for three days now and I"m already seeing an improvement. Who would have thought...

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1735

Did you realize that while you were sleeping, U2 downloaded their entire new album to every iPhone in the entire world. I didn't believe this until I looked at my own phone and sure enough, there it was. I didn't buy or download the album myself. It just appeared on my phone. The same album was on Janet's phone and on every other iPhone in the world. I don't know how much it cost Apple to pull off this little stunt. I don't even know how it benefits them. I will admit though that this was pretty impressive.

Today got off to a slow start, which wasn't surprising since it was a Monday. By the time I had finished walking the dogs and eating breakfast, it was already 10:30 AM. It must have rained at some point during the night because Dash got exceptionally muddy walking through the soft ground. I usually clean the dogs paws with a damp rag before I let them inside. This mud was too much for a rag though. I had to hose him down. Since this is Texas, by the time I took the dogs out again for their evening walk, the ground was almost completely dry.

The lab work I had done at Baylor last week came back completely normal. My liver is doing just fine. Now I have no excuse to discontinue the Statins and Niacin. I'll be the first to admit these drugs are probably effective in controlling cholesterol. I just don't like the side effects of waking up with a dry mouth in the middle of the night feeling like I'm on fire as the Niacin dilates all the tiny blood vessels near the surface of my skin. Also, ever since I've been taking these new meds, my nose has been dripping like I've got a low level cold. It's irritating, but I guess it's better than a heart attack.

I only had one website to update today, so it was a good day to do some bookkeeping and pay bills. I don't know how economists can continue to say that we have low inflation. The cost of virtually everything I use on a daily basis has gone up. Often it has gone up a lot. Food costs more. Utility bills are higher. Gasoline is higher. Insurance is higher. I could go on and on. Just about the only thing that is cheaper are consumer electronics, but how many flat screen TV's do you need?

Dot really seems to have turned the corner. She has been accident free for almost a full week now. I'm starting to let her sleep wherever she wants now as long as I'm in the house. This is probably a mistake, since dogs are so unpredictable, but Dot is a lot happier having free rein of the house. Janet says I spoil these dogs. Of course I do.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1487

One of my regular readers suggested that I should quit complaining about the weather and just read a book on rainy days. That's easy for her to say. She's retired. When I retire, I'll probably do a lot of reading. Since I'm still working, I deal with problems like losing clients instead. Another website client went bye-bye today. I've gained a few website clients this year as well, so I'm basically even for the year, but this slow erosion of my online business is still troubling. I lose a lot of these jobs when my client's kids graduate with their worthless marketing degrees and want to do the website themselves. Yes, parents don't just let the kids continue to live at home until they are 27, they give them jobs when they graduate as well.

For those of you who are wondering, I chose to ignore the rain and go out for a decent Friday morning breakfast anyway. The dogs pretty much made the decision for me. They were so dirty at the end of their morning walk, that I decided a little more dirt wouldn't make one bit of difference. I cleaned the mud off the dogs and then proceeded to get mud all over the freshly washed car. The eggs were sure good though.

I finally managed to talk to my neighbors about the tree on my roof. They are nice people and appear to still be making an effort to get the tree people to come out and remove the tree. I can't really complain. I've been having my own problems with one of the oak trees in the back yard. My own tree guy promised me that he'd come out before Christmas and clean up the mess made by the power company guys during they ice storm. It seems like it's been quite a while since Christmas now, and he's still not here.

Although it wasn't a terribly productive day, I still managed to make it to the grocery store and get my January invoices in the mail. I'll have to remember to take the newly departed client off my monthly invoice list. It would be embarrassing to keep billing them after they fired me. Hey, at least it's Friday. I have no idea what the weekend has in store for me. It probably depends entirely on the weather.

Murphy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1485

I wish I had the nerve to tell people that I didn't work when it rains. Better yet, I'd love to be able to say that I don't do anything when it rains. Yes, it rained all day today. The dogs got wet and needed to be cleaned up several times. Everything got muddy. And of course, the Dallas traffic was terrible. As you might expect, I can't get away with refusing to work on a rainy day, because it rains far too often.

I went about my day as if everything was normal.  I ate breakfast with the business networking group. I drove downtown with Dot for her water therapy session. I did a lot of laundry. And I updated a few websites. Through it all, the rain never stopped.

I'm not certain, but I'm getting this feeling that the business networking group is on the opposite side of the political fence than me. We don't talk about politics and the group is supposedly apolitical, but you can kind of tell which way the wind is blowing. This new insight is disappointing to me. I don't want to know anything about your politics. Political rants from people I know in real life has just about ruined Facebook for me. Go ahead and vote for whoever you want. I just don't want to hear about it.

One of my clients wants to start sending me more work. This a mixed blessing at best. More work means more money, but it also means more time spent working. I think I already spend far too much time working. In the best of possible worlds, I will learn to become faster and more efficient and still have a little time for myself at the end of the day. On the other hand, I could just as easily go stark raving mad.

Maybe the rain will stop tomorrow. I still need to get the tree off my roof that fell during last month's ice storm. The neighbor who owns the tree seems to have been out of town ever since the tree fell. She told me that she had already contacted a tree service to remove the tree, but three weeks later they have never arrived. I suspect that they won't come out unless she is home to pay them. If things go as they usually do, I will eventually get frustrated and hire my own tree people to remove the tree. Then the neighbor will never repay me. That's just the way neighbors are these days.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1272

We woke to the sound of a torrential downpour pounding the roof, and nothing leaked. Maybe a new era of carefree living has begun. After striking out twice, we finally found a dog park that was still open in spite of the recent rain. Not surprisingly the park was very muddy. The dogs had a good time though. They would have had an even better time if we'd remembered that the annual dog training class Summer party was this afternoon as well. While we were at a muddy dog park, the obedience class dogs were right behind our house having a party in the park. It's a shame we missed the whole thing, because Dash really likes the bobbing for biscuits game and there's always some really tasty barbecue for the people as well.

Since the new roof appears to be finished, I went to Home Depot this morning and bought some spackling compound and a trowel to repair the damaged Sheetrock in the living room.  I thought I'd try to do this myself first, since I dread having workmen in the house with the dogs. Having some tape and bed guys in the living room would be an open invitation for non-stop barking from Dot and Dash. Anyway, what could be so hard about repairing a little damaged Sheetrock?

Several clients have warned me to expect a busy week. I hope this is not the case, but I ought to be grateful for the work. There are certainly a lot of bills to pay this month. Dot is back on schedule to resume her acupuncture treatments and it's time to get my June invoices out as well. From the looks of things, it probably will be a busy week.

It's hard to believe that the year is almost half over. It still seems like I was putting up Christmas decoration just a few weeks ago. I've been a busy bee this year, but it doesn't really feel like I've accomplished much. I'm still dealing with exactly the same issues I was last year and the year before. Maybe that's just the way life is.  I do try to live in the moment, but somehow it always seems to be the same moment.

Tomorrow ought to be exciting. I bought some flax seed to mix in with my morning oatmeal. Oh, there's a new type of tea in the cupboard too.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1258

Janet and I woke up to the sounds of footsteps on the roof. WTF? The roofers were back. In my limited experience, it is simply unheard of for roofers to work on a Sunday morning. Initially I was a bit confused and then I remembered that I'd written a letter to the contractor last night. It must have been the letter.

I guess in a world where Yelp and Angie's List can make or break a business, a blabbermouth writer with a popular blog and 30,000 Twitter followers might just be a contractor's worst nightmare. I certainly hope this is the case, because basically all I've got are words. My architect friends have the carrot and stick of future jobs to keep contractors in line, but like most of you, I don't. All I have are words.

It was far too wet outside to take the dogs to the dog park today. Dot and Dash were good sports about the situation though and took a long nap on the bed instead. While Janet went to the mall to take advantage of the Memorial Day sales, I tried to get caught up on work. There are quite a few jobs I need to complete before beginning my upcoming trade show assignment and today was as good a day as any to get started. I managed to get three articles completed this afternoon. Not a personal best by any means, but it's still pretty good for a Sunday.

It was incredibly humid today. The air felt like you would wring it out like a wet rag. Under these conditions, the ground never had a chance to dry out. Every time the dogs went outside, they came back with huge clods of mud adhered to their paws. We buy large bundles of cloth bar towels to clean the dogs paws with. We used enough today to fill the washing machine. A load of these towels are being cleaned as we speak.

I had a hamburger for dinner tonight! Janet is concerned that I'm not getting enough protein with my rather severe new diet and maybe she's right. At any rate, this was the first hamburger I've had in many, many months and it was delicious!  I did eat the burger on a gluten-free bun however, so I'm not completely off the wagon. Tomorrow, it's back to oatmeal for breakfast and kale salad for dinner.

I watched a member of SEAL Team 6 recount the night they captured Bin Laden on a 60 Minutes episode this evening. We all owe these guys a huge debt of gratitude. My Mom's family was career military and one thing she taught me was to give our soldiers the respect they deserve. Tomorrow is a day reserved for saying thank you, but I think we all know that the men and women in our military deserve a whole lot more.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day