Day 2573

When I was eating breakfast this morning I ended up sitting next to the kitchen and overhead three of the cooks talking about guitars and amps. It seemed apparent that all of them had either been in a band or were still in a band. My ears always perk up when I hear someone talking about guitars. I love guitars. I kind of wanted to join the conversation, but the guys looked very busy and I was a little too far away to be heard anyway. Musicians don't talk about music the same way fans do. They usually talk about gear.

One of the guys was talking about a certain brand of strings meant to be tuned an octave above the standard tuning. Another mentioned that he once had an all-white Marshall Super Lead amp like Randy Rhodes used to use. He then mentioned that his amp was a cheap copy, which made sense since the limited edition Marshall tribute amp was hugely expensive. All three of the guys seemed to like Randy Rhodes, which reminded me that I once did a fashion photo shoot at the home of Ozzy Osbourne's drummer. Maybe this was after Randy Rhodes died, but I'm not really sure. The drummer's girlfriend was a model and they lived in a huge home with almost no furniture and some pet rabbits hopping all over the place. The drummer seemed to spend most of his time playing with radio controlled model cars when he wasn't on tour. This is why I enjoy my Friday breakfasts. I just listen to other people's conversations and lose myself in memories. Now that I know that the cooks are musicians, it kind of explains why the restaurant makes its own mix tapes instead of subscribing to a plastic sounding SiriusXM channel like other places.

I thought today would be a good day to vacuum the house, since basically the floors were covered with dog hair and leaves. It was getting to the point where I couldn't avoid this task any longer. I've become convinced that all the people who think a Dyson vacuum cleaner is wonderful have a maid that does the cleaning. This machine is difficult to maneuver, even more difficult to clean, and has a long heavy cord that is always getting tangled up in the furniture. The dogs were asleep when I started vacuuming, but that didn't last long. For some reason both dogs like to follow me around when I'm vacuuming. I had to stop the vacuum every few minutes and gently move Dot out of the way. Moving around was actually good exercise for her, but it made my job harder. She was always getting stuck in precarious positions and as the house became cleaner, I began to worry that she was going to poop on my freshly cleaned rugs. Eventually, I finished the task I'd been postponing for so long. The Dyson canister was completely full of dirt and the house looked exactly the same as it did before.

It has gotten cold again. This weather is driving me nuts. One day it's freezing outside and the next day it is balmy and warm. I've literally been alternating between using the air conditioner and the furnace. It would be nice to have a little consistency in my life. The weather isn't consistent. My work isn't consistent. And Dot's pooping schedule doesn't even come close to being consistent. I hope my Friday restaurant stays consistent. After my first breakfast restaurant lost it's magic, it took me quite a while to find this new place. I don't want to do that again.

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I probably should. My problem is that I'm not very big on self-improvement. I'm happy with my weight. I certainly don't want to become a kinder, friendlier version of myself. I'd like more money, but that's probably more of a wish than a resolution. I'd like Dot to get healthier, but that's a wish too. Maybe I'll just make a New Year's wish...

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2321

I thought Dot would get stronger when we discontinued her chemotherapy, but she appears to be getting weaker. Maybe she just had a bad day. Sometimes if her bad leg gets in the wrong position while she's asleep, she has trouble getting it moving again the next day. Maybe the weather is bothering her. It certainly is bothering me. The humidity is bouncing up and down like a boomerang with all the Spring storms moving in and out of the area. Allergies are terrible this Spring too. My eyes are watering constantly and I'm sneezing most of the day. Hopefully, Dot will feel better tomorrow. We've still got a few more days of nice weather before the next wave of thunderstorms is due.

I was surprised to get a text message from an old friend of mine who I hadn't heard from in years. I think the last time we talked, texting hadn't even been invented yet. I still don't understand the fascination with texting. Everybody I know seems to love texting. I still prefer to use the telephone. Of course, I don't answer the phone much anymore. Maybe that's why people text me. The way we communicate has gotten so complicated. I have a sister who refuses to use the Internet, so I write her old fashioned letters in longhand. Some friends only communicate using that message thing on Facebook. Others prefer e-mail. Janet is the only person I text regularly and usually it's just about whether to pick up strawberries at the store. Life was much simpler when we all talked to each other on the phone. That was the only option we had. Increasingly, I don't think a wealth of options makes life better. It's just makes life confusing.

I didn't accomplish much today, but somehow the day went quickly anyway. I need to change the alarm setting on my activity tracker because I'm always up well before the alarm goes off each morning. What was I thinking when I thought I needed an alarm at 7 AM? I'm lucky if I sleep until 5 AM anymore. Dot was restless this morning and got us all up early. When she appears restless, we try to get her outside as soon as possible, so she won't poop in the house. We were successful this morning, but of course she pooped in the house later in the day anyway. Several walks for Dot and Dash, a few loads of laundry, breakfast, dinner, and a trip to the grocery store seemed to consume the entire day. I did complete one small website update, but it was so minor that I almost forgot about it.

My Facebook feed is still inundated with tributes to Prince.  I always liked his music, but never realized what a big deal he was to a generation slightly younger than me. Prince had a huge influence on this generation, just like The Beatles, The Stones, and Pink Floyd had on me. Ever since I was a sophomore in high school, I've been able to measure time by which Rolling Stones song was popular at the time. Truthfully, Prince was a better musician than any of my rock heroes, but he wasn't around when I became fascinated with music. I was preoccupied trying to learn Jimi Hendrix songs.

It looks like it's time to mow the grass again. I never notice until the neighbors mow theirs, and then almost instantly my yard looks like shit. Hopefully, after I mow the grass I'll still have energy to go to the gym. Shooting baskets in a climate controlled gym seems far more appealing than working outside where the air is filled with ragweed and pollen.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2319

When I looked at Facebook this morning my feed was completely filled with tributes to Prince. This has definitely not been a good year for rock icons. When a musician dies, it seems to trigger far more shared memories and tributes than a comparable politician, actor, or athlete. There is something universal about music. We all know where we were when a certain song became stuck in our head. I'll never forget Prince playing Purple Rain during a driving rainstorm at the Superbowl. There was something almost magical about how the whole thing came together. There was also his amazing guitar solo during his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 while playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, and George Harrison's son Dhani. If you've seen the video, the look on Dhani Harrison's face while Prince played says is all. So many music greats are dying this year that it's kind of alarming. It is really the end of an era.

Dot was weak again today and had trouble standing. I need to make some sort of a chart and track her energy levels. I keep thinking that the Palladia pills are causing the weakness, but since her chemotherapy schedule is so complicated, it is hard for me to determine if the drugs are to blame. All I know is that she has good days and bad days that loosely correspond to when I give her the pills. There are so many other things that could be contributing to her gradually deteriorating condition that the chemotherapy might not be the culprit at all. We are scheduled to have our monthly Ultrasound scan at the cancer center tomorrow and hopefully Dot's oncologist will be able to shed some light on this mystery.

It rained again last night, but during the day the skies cleared and we ended up having a warm and somewhat windy Spring afternoon. I was hoping that Dash would take advantage of the nice weather and take a long walk, but something spooked him in the park and he wanted to come home almost immediately. Dot's illness seems to have changed Dash as well. He is not as confident anymore. Dot was always the Alpha dog and Dash seems a bit lost right now. I think they are both frustrated that they can't take long, brisk walks together like they used to. I'd like to go back to the old days too, but that isn't possible. We're just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

I paid the last of the April bills and took them to the post office. There's still a little money left in the bank, but there will be another big bill from the cancer center tomorrow and we'll start the never ending cycle all over again. I hate budgeting and curtailing indulgences. I guess I should be happy that I can still pay the bills as an aging writer and web designer, but I can see the writing on the wall. One of these days the only money coming in will be a social security check. I hope to avoid that day as long as possible.

Maybe I'll go back to my original breakfast restaurant tomorrow. Having all these new choices has disoriented me. It's sad that something as simple as breakfast can make me nostalgic about the old days. Everywhere I look, I keep wanting to turn back time. If this gets worse, I'll just go back to fixing myself French Toast with the leftover bread in the refrigerator. That's what I used to do on Friday.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1588

I realized this morning that I've got an appointment for the dogs at the vet every single day this week. Today Dash had his fifteenth radiation treatment. Tomorrow he gets his annual physical and vaccinations. Wednesday it's more radiation therapy. Thursday Dot gets her weekly acupuncture and water therapy. Friday we finish things out with Dash's next to last radiation treatment. It's a good thing that I've got a flexible schedule.

I was expecting terrible weather today, but most of the bad storms went to the North of us. We still got a little thunder and lightning, but now that Dot's hearing isn't so good, the storms don't tend to bother her as much. The loud severe weather alerts that take over the TV from time to time during storm season bother Dot more these days than the thunder itself. I guess we're in the middle of tornado season, but it hasn't been so bad this year. Like I've said many times, you can never figure out Texas weather.

One by one, my laundry list of website problems is starting to get resolved. Today, the recalcitrant forms on one site finally started working again. Maybe one of the dozens of calls I made to technical support eventually resonated with someone. Hopefully, I can now check this problem off my list and move on to other things. Maybe this problem got solved first because it was basically a coding issue. Broken code is always easier to fix than finding the answer to vexing questions like "why isn't my site popular?"

I've been watching this show about FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals, Alabama on PBS this evening. I'd forgotten how many amazing songs had been recorded there. The show seemed like the sound track to my life. Everything from Percy Sledge's When a Man Loves a Woman, to the Rolling Stones Brown Sugar, and Paul Simon's Kodachrome were recorded at FAME Studios. Lynyrd Skynyr's Sweet Home Alabama was actually about Muscle Shoals. I only mention all this because this particular music is one of the few things that still manages to break through my somewhat stony indifference. I loved playing these songs when I was a bass player in an obscure rock band. When I wrote jingles for commercials, I would occasionally daydream about quitting my job as an advertising copywriter and moving to Nashville. It never happened though.

I guess everything works out as it should though. I've got no complaints. I understand Dalmatians better than most men and take some damn nice pictures of local wildflowers. All that being said, I still might dust off the guitar tomorrow and play a few tunes to make the day go faster.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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