Day 4319

No pain meds today. I was able to complete my regular six mile walk without much of a problem. I think I will always have some foot pain. I walk a lot and there isn't a lot of cartilage left between these old bones. The foot doctor told me that in severe cases they can fuse the bones of the foot together, but that seems like a terrible idea. It would seem like the foot needs to stay as flexible as possible when moving.

We like to eat out on Thanksgiving and I started looking for places today so we could make reservations. Some places we have enjoyed in the past just weren't there anymore and others weren't offering a Thanksgiving buffet this year. Many restaurants had scaled back service and a few major hotel restaurants were only open for breakfast now. The restaurant landscape has really changed since Covid. I finally found one place where we'd eaten before that still had a nice Thanksgiving brunch and made a reservation.  Hopefully, it will be an enjoyable meal that will remind us of a time when life was less complicated.

I've noticed a huge increase in spam calls, telemarketers, and even spam text messages in recent months. Did somebody get my number, or is this just part of modern daily life? The spammers are irritating, but I don't know how to stop them. I have two different call blocker services on the land line but spam still gets through. I block callers almost every day now on my iPhone. I wonder if there is a limit on how many calls I can block? This information must take up some memory in the phone. Why do people do this? Are there really than many gullible people out there who fall for these telephone scams? You really feel under siege at times. The post office delivers tons of junk mail every day but seems to lose the occasional legitimate mail I send out. The phone company knows they are bombarding me with spam calls. They even identify these calls as "suspected spam." Why do they even put the calls through? I suspect that the spammers might be their best customers.

A neighbor wanted to talk about dogs while I was out walking today. I slowed down as we reminisced about various dogs we'd owned, but I kept thinking that the conversation was messing up my Fitbit pace. I've become a slave to the Fitbit and the Apple Watch. I kind of measure my day by how well I'm able to walk. I must be a fixture around the neighborhood though, because people frequently ask why Dawn isn't with me. Sometimes they still ask about Dot and Dash. Few people ask about Petey anymore, but every once in a while someone will still mention Spot. 

Dawn still enjoys her sunrise walk, but she wouldn't dream of walking six miles with me anymore. She used to take long walks with us, but not lately. I don't know if she is getting old and tired or if she has finally become comfortable with her new life and is doing exactly what she wants. She certainly seems happy enough spending most of the day sleeping on the bed. I can't fault Dawn for being lazy. I'd spend my day sleeping too if I could get away with it. Unfortunately, if I sleep too much during the day, I'm awake all night.

I have an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. Usually I have some place to go right after I get a haircut. There are no travel plans in the works now though. I doubt that I will be going anywhere before the end of the year. I can't even think of any place I'd like to go other than the space center and the observatory. National parks are overcrowded, cities aren't safe, and a lot of foreign countries are still off limits. Dawn's going to have to get used to sharing the bed with me during the day.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3547

The big tree that fell in our yard is gone. The falling tree also knocked over a large Photinia that we had let grow into a small tree. That tree is gone as well. The yard is starting to look bare now that we have lost our Elm tree and a large portion of one of our Oak trees. I'm afraid more trees will go when the tree guy returns later this month to remove what is left of the Elm tree and evaluate the rest of the trees. These are all very old trees that are near the end of their natural life. I guess I'd rather lose them than have one fall on my house.

I was glad the tree guy was able to come out today but apparently my neighbor wasn't. Less than fifteen minutes after the chain saws started, he was complaining about the truck blocking the alley. Jeez. It's all going to be over in an hour. Couldn't you just chill out and wait to park your car for a few minutes? Neighbors are one more reason the emptiness of the Davis Mountains seems so appealing.

I'm glad I called to confirm my appointment before I left for the doctor this afternoon. The lady who answered the phone told me I didn't have an appointment. "What do you mean," I asked. "Just two days ago you told me that my appointment was for 1:20 this afternoon." "I'm sorry," she told me. "That was last year's appointment we were looking at. We never made an appointment for you this year." Once I confirmed that I actually needed an appointment, we rescheduled everything for next week.

I finally finished my article about McDonald Observatory and sent it off to Sky and Telescope. I think it was a pretty good article, but I'm not sure if people are going to be interested in reading about a rainy day at an observatory. The finished article was certainly a bit different than what I had proposed to the editors. Oh, well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I gave it my best shot. I hope the editors find the article interesting and decide to publish it. At any rate, I plan to return to the observatory. Maybe someday I can actually write about seeing distant galaxies through these telescopes.

We found out that Hank has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I'm glad that he doesn't have cancer, but this disease has no real cure and can be difficult to treat. Not all dogs respond the same way to the disease either. Treatment often involves experimenting with special diets, antibiotics that can reduce inflammation like metronidazole, and probiotic supplements until the right combination is found. Hopefully Hank will respond quickly to treatment. He is too young to be having these problems.

Even though it was a very busy day, I still managed to take my five mile walk. With a long walk under my belt, I always feel like I have accomplished something even when the rest of the day is a disaster. I'm certainly not planning on tomorrow being a disaster, but you never know. There have been a lot of surprises lately.

Cleo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3449

I noticed that the sole was coming off one of my most comfortable boots this morning. This eventually happens to all boots where the sole is just cemented on instead of stitched. I got the tube of Shoe Goo that I'd been using to repair Dash's protective boots and attempted to reattach the sole but I doubt if the repair will last very long. I wish all work boots had a proper stitched Goodyear Welt, but I guess it's more expensive to make shoes this way. Everything is just glued together these days.

When I talk about repairing things with Shoe Goo, you know it's been an uneventful day. Everything I did today I've done many times before. My morning walk has become so familiar that I'm able to preview the entire route in my mind down to the last detail. I know where the pelican lives, where to look for raptors, egrets, and ducks, and when most of the flowers will bloom. Often I will test my memory to see if I've remembered details I've seen previously. Was there a turtle on that log yesterday? Is that a scissor-tailed flycatcher? I know when I pass a a certain tree, I'm halfway home. Observing little details helps to pass the time. I rarely have deep thoughts when I walk.

When I was going to the bank this morning, I noticed that someone had put one of those big political signs in my front yard. I hate those giant political signs but my neighbors seem to love them. I have a feeling that whoever delivered the sign meant to place it in my neighbor's yard but just got it on the wrong side of the lot line. When I got home I tried to remove the sign, but the poles were too deep in the ground. Oh, well. This election is over soon. It's no big deal. I voted for this guy anyway.

I wonder what it's going to take to start fixing things around the house. I'm just not motivated anymore. Taking long walks is a very effective way to kill time. After fixing my meals, taking several walks, and running an errand or two, the day is gone. I really wonder how I was ever able to accomplish so much when I was younger? When Dot and Dash were young, I took them on long walks almost every day. I also drove all over town going to meetings, took business trips, and spent a lot of time writing and building websites. It's a different world now. It doesn't really feel like I've slowed down, but I guess I have.

I need to mow the grass pretty soon. At least I've got an excuse now. I definitely can't mow with that awful sign in my front yard. There is no excuse for not making a service appointment for my car today. If I don't do this soon, I might not be able to get an appointment before I need to go to Florida. I bet there's still water on the roof too. I haven't even checked this week. We'll see if I can be more productive tomorrow. The odds aren't good

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3414

I voted today. As usual, I didn't really know that much about the candidates. It was a local election. I know more about what is happening in Venezuela than at city hall. Sure, we got the usual barrage of campaign flyers in the mail, but they all said the same thing: vote for me and build a better Dallas. They can't all be right. I think the most reliable way of choosing a candidate is just to look at the yard signs in the neighborhood. I see tons of these signs on my walks. If you like your neighbor, vote for their candidate. If your neighbor irritates you, well you know who not to vote for.

I was almost certain that I was going to get wet on my walk this morning, but as usual the weather forecast was wrong. They say a stable layer of warm air about 2,000 feet above ground can keep thunderstorms from forming. Evidently, one of these 'caps' is currently in place over North Texas. This is fine by me. I hope the cap stays in place. Light rain is fine. Thunderstorms, not so much.

My mind wanders on these morning walks. I keep seeing a lone White Pelican at the lake. Why didn't this bird migrate with all the other pelicans last month? Is the bird injured, or does it just like Dallas? It's hard to tell because it is always sitting on a log out in the middle of the lake. I keep seeing a lot of fishermen too. Especially on rainy days. Why would anyone fish in this lake? It is polluted. Every month or two you hear about a sewage spill into one of the tributaries that feed the lake. Most of these spills have been contained before they reach the lake, but that doesn't mean the water is clean. People aren't even allowed to swim in this lake. Veterinarians in the area warn you to always vaccinate your dog for for leptospirosis. It's unreal how much trash flows into the lake after a big storm. The park is probably the best thing about this city, but the water quality reminds you that you are still living in a big city. It's definitely not like the mountain lakes I remember as a child in Colorado. Clear lakes you could drink out of are just distant memories now.

I made a pathetic attempt to clean the office today. This really just amounted to sorting through a huge stack of unopened mail and throwing away most of it. I really ought to go paperless. I like the idea of paper, but it stacks up so quickly on my desk. Eventually it winds up in ring binders in the storage warehouse. After a few years, I have no idea what I'm looking at. Maybe I'll go paperless one of these days, but I'm pretty old school about these things. I'm still hanging on to a world that is gone.

I wish I could figure out what gives me heartburn. Some days I'm fine. Other days I'm not. It makes sense that pizza would give me heartburn, but crab cakes? Come on. Seafood should be fine. I had some delicious crab cakes tonight and almost immediately had to take a Pepcid AC. These over the counter antacids are pretty mild and have the approval of my doctor. At least I've been able to wean myself away from proton pump inhibitors like Protonix. PPI's dramatically reduce calcium absorption and can lead to bone loss in older people. I don't need that.

We're trying to decide whether to have the landscapers come back this year. It's time. Every Spring they clear away all the leaves and put in new St. Augustine sod in the back yard. Unfortunately, every year this becomes more expensive. The grass looks nice for a few months. Our water bill goes way up as we diligently water and fertilize as we're supposed to. Then the grass dies and we repeat the process the next year. I've been told that the reason the sod has a hard time getting established is that there are too many large Oak trees in the back yard. The extensive root system sucks up all the water. This is probably all true, but it would still be nice to have grass.

Tomorrow's forecast is just like today's. It's supposed to start raining before sunrise and continue raining for the rest of the day. Oddly, it wasn't thunderstorms that woke us up last night. It was a telemarketing call at 3 AM.

Bea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3225

I voted today. The lines were not as bad as I expected, although I did have trouble finding a parking place. As usual, I was the only one standing in line who wasn't looking at their cell phone. I continue to be amazed by how much time some people spend texting. It's rare if I send one text message a month. The lady ahead of me in line never stopped texting. I can't even imagine texting continuously for 30 to 45 minutes. My fingers would hurt. Since I wasn't using my phone, I had plenty of time to look at people's shoes. Nobody wears decent shoes anymore. Young and old alike were all wearing ugly running shoes. I don't know what this means, but the old people were definitely winning in my precinct. There were at least ten old people in line for every young person.

I wonder why early voting has become so popular? Evidently there were huge lines yesterday when early voting started. It's not like an early vote counts any more than a late vote. I actually prefer to wait until election day because our precinct still uses paper ballots on election day. It also rains a lot on election day, which is why I voted today. Our early voting locations all use electronic voting machines. I guess these things are legit, but they don't inspire confidence. How do you know if your vote is even counted? I often wonder if my voting machine is even hooked up to anything.

I'm sure the country is as divided as everyone says we are, but you'd never know it from standing in line at my polling place. Everyone was very friendly. It felt like people were neighbors first and voters second. Neighbors can be sneaky though. Probably a lot of people were actually voting to cancel out the vote of another neighbor. I know I was.

Dash woke me up several times last night. Once I had to catch him before he fell off the bed and the other times I had to take him outside. I thought we were safe when I saw him squat in the yard, but then I turned around and realized he'd left a trail of poop all the way from the bedroom to the back door. It's so hard to get back to sleep after you've spent fifteen minutes cleaning up poop.

I got caught up with some correspondence today. I'm not nearly as good about answering letters as I used to be. After I get finished writing the blog, there just isn't that much to say. I guess there's nothing wrong with repeating myself. The few people I still write never read the blog anyway.

I made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. I'm long overdue. Under normal circumstances I might stop by the Apple Store on the way home and get the new Series 4 Apple watch. I'm feeling poor though. The stock market is doing terrible and my storage warehouse rent is due next week. The watch will have to wait.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3149

When I was walking Dash this morning, I saw our neighbor walking the dog that bit me. We were both careful not to approach each other, but I was still apprehensive. I know that this dog would bite me again if he ever had the opportunity. I wish there weren't so many things that frightened me like this, but I'm a practical guy who learns from experiences. I don't like driving at rush hour anymore. There are way too many wrecks. I won't take my telescope into the park at night even though there are some excellent viewing areas. The park is no longer safe at night. I never go to concerts anymore. Crowds are too unpredictable.

Has the world changed, or have I changed? It's probably a little bit of both. Leave It To Beaver is as much of a fantasy as Harry Potter these days. It's hard to believe that I hitchhiked all over the country while I was in college. I backpacked alone in wilderness areas. I thought nothing of packing up my musical instruments at 2 AM on a deserted city street after the clubs had closed. None of these things seems very wise anymore. When I hear sirens at night, I am content to stay inside behind a locked door. I hope it never becomes worse than this. The world is still full of interesting things and it would be a shame to feel like a prisoner inside your own house.

I still walk Dash every day but I'm more careful than I used to be. I watch for Type-A cyclists intent on mowing us down. I watch for loose dogs. I watch for poison ivy and snakes. I definitely keep an eye out for the neighbor's dog. Being observant has its benefits though. I see lots and lots of interesting birds, rabbits and wildflowers.

Today was slow. I need to find a hobby. Without the steady stream of articles and website updates that used to keep me busy, the days can get really long. I wrote my sister and paid a few bills. I checked my brokerage account and did some laundry. I cleaned up dog poop and looked in vain for something interesting to watch on TV. It was a pretty typical Wednesday.

Rain is on the way. It's supposed to be raining by tomorrow morning. Even though we really need the moisture, I'm very apprehensive about the roof. If the repairs the roofers made don't work, I don't know what I'm going to do next. I believe the crew made a good faith effort to repair all the damaged areas. If the roof still leaks after all this, I'm probably going to be faced with putting on an entirely new roof.

Dash pooped in the house again while I was fixing breakfast. He almost made it to the back door. Hey, at least he's still trying. Despite the boredom, I'm still trying too. One way or another, we're going to make it through this long, hot summer.

Lilly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3112

I heard the neighbor calling his dog this morning. This was the dog that bit me. The voice wasn't coming from the neighbor's yard. It was coming from down the street. Damn. The dog had gotten loose again. Luckily, I had already finished walking Dash, but I didn't feel comfortable going outside for the rest of the day.

I called the electrician again to see when he was coming to fix the security light. He said he tried to call me last Thursday. I never got the call. Who knows what happened? Maybe the call got intercepted by Nomorobo and was never put through. Maybe the phone actually rang and I didn't answer because I thought it was a telemarketer. This happens a lot with service people. They use their personal cell phones now to call customers. If I don't see a company name on caller ID or I don't recognize the number, I don't answer. The guy could have left a message, but he probably don't want to come over anyway. He promised that they would still fix the light, but didn't say when.

My second call was to the guitar store to let them know I was on my way. Oops. I should have read the website more carefully. The place isn't open on Mondays. It isn't open in the mornings either. Actually the place isn't open much at all. The guys did say that a lot of their business was out-of-state. I guess having a retail storefront isn't all that important. I really shouldn't complain about any of this. My appointment was for tomorrow anyway. I just wanted to go today because I was bored.

Since I couldn't get my guitars appraised, I decided to fix the crack in the sheetrock instead. I would never make a good tape and bed guy. I can't seem to apply the drywall mud smoothly. I'll let the stuff dry and try to sand it smooth tomorrow. This will make a lot of dust, but I can't see any alternative. I've seem people apply mud so smoothly that you don't even need to sand. This type of finesse is out of my league. Oh, well. At least the joint compound is easier to clean up than glue.

I heard on the news that the raw sewage crisis has been averted. The city managed to divert the sewage spill to storm drains so the mess will never reach the lake. Who knows where the storm drains go. I think the lake is being reopened for recreational use tomorrow. I'm really glad that the lake won't be filled with dead fish and disease. This little oasis is one of the nicest things about this part of town.

The truck with my art should have arrived in New York by now, but I still haven't heard anything. I'm trying to avoid making a worried call to the auction house. The stuff is insured, so I should just forget about it. It's hard to do though. It doesn't matter if it is the post office, UPS, or some fancy fine art shipper. I always think something disastrous is going to happen during shipping. I'm sure the auction people will give me a call later this week. I just hate to wait.

Tomorrow, I'll probably paint the wall I patched today if the surface looks smooth enough. If Dash is doing well, I'll go to the guitar store too. He was a little shaky today. This heat is tough on him. I think it's tough on everybody.

Bud is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2967

Someone has started throwing their trash in my garbage can. This shouldn't bother me, but it does. I always bag and seal my trash in big black trash bags. I have a neat and tidy bin. It just seems all wrong to see someone else's loose garbage inside this can. Since all my neighbors have their own cans, I'm beginning to think that this trash is coming from the strange new people I've seen coming and going from my neighbor's house recently. I may be wrong, but I think they've turned part of their home into an Airbnb rental. Jeez. I hope this isn't true. After I read an article about how Airbnb virtually destroyed Crested Butte for local residents, I haven't been a fan of this new form of lodging.

I wonder when I went from living on the cutting edge to being violently opposed to anything new? It must have been a gradual process, because I wasn't even aware that it was happening. These days I wonder why there isn't any good music anymore. I am baffled by all these ride sharing bicycles that have spread like kudzu vines through our city. I think social media addiction is as real as drug addiction and we would all be better off if we went back to living offline. I don't like globalism and think a factory in every small town would be much healthier than massive imports from China. Basically, I'm becoming a Luddite like my sister.

My Dad was kind of reactionary as he grew older, but I think I'm much worse than him. It's probably because I never had children. If you are a parent, you are forced to make an effort to see the world through a younger generation's eyes. Millennials seem much stranger to me than they do to friends of mine with millennial aged children of their own. Maybe everything is as it should be, but increasingly, life seems like an episode of the Twilight Zone.

I wonder how I'd view the world if I were younger myself? Maybe I'd be more tolerant. I'd probably be working in silicon valley. I'm a huge fan of Elon Musk and share his vision of a life on Mars. I can't imagine myself as a political person, but I could get excited about renewable energy and solar power. Anything that gives people more independence is a good thing. Maybe I'd do just fine as a millennial.

Growing younger isn't really in the cards, so I guess growing old gracefully is the next best thing. I get up every morning and try to make sure Dash has everything he needs. We're both grumpy old men now, but he is a good companion. We take our walks and build our days around mealtimes. It's not a bad life. I try not to panic about stock market fluctuations and I hope that Dash doesn't panic about his heartbeat fluctuations.

We had a good day today. Dash finished his entire breakfast after we returned from our morning walk and his appetite remained good for the rest of the day. The shivering episodes have subsided a bit too. Now that he's finished his four day course of Cerenia, I'm hoping that he will be stable for a while. The big event of the day was picking up some spicy Japanese Ramen for dinner. I picked up some new meds for Dash as well. We'll probably do something similar tomorrow.

Stortz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2886

It was so windy today that I kept expecting one of our trees to topple over. It has happened before. I see old growth trees fall in the park all the time, but luckily nothing happened to ours today. The wind did signal a change in the weather. A cold front moved through town this afternoon and it's currently about twenty degrees colder than it was this morning. Dash seems to like this chilly weather. I can't say that I agree.

The only thing I accomplished today was to catch the cockroach that eluded me yesterday. This time I had my flyswatter ready. The bug didn't have a chance. I hate to think how many of these things might be lurking around the house. There are certainly plenty of places for them to hide in the office. The office was full even before I brought all the paraphernalia home from the storage warehouse for Santa Paws pictures. Now, it's a total mess.

Dash seemed to want a walk around 3 PM this afternoon, but when I looked outside I noticed a mobile grooming truck parked in our neighbor's driveway. We would have to walk right by this truck to get to the park. It would be just my luck that the groomers would open the door just as Dash and I were walking by and out would come the dog who bit me. I wasn't going to risk it. I'm still very apprehensive about that dog.

I waited about an hour until the truck drove away and then we took our walk. We encountered another loose neighborhood dog along the way, but luckily this one was friendly. These people let their dog out in the front yard without a leash all the time. Over and over again, it races out in the street to greet me and Dash. One of these days it is going to get run over. I really don't understand how people can pay so little attention to their dog's safety. Is it that hard to keep your dog on a leash? The streets are busy. There are coyotes in the area. There are snakes. There are just too many unpredictable things that could happen.

I tried to sweep the leaves off the front porch today. It was impossible. Prevailing winds tend to blow leaves onto the porch where they pile up against the front door. When you open the door on a windy day, the leaves blow inside. This is one of many things that make me wish I lived in Arizona with a big cactus and a swimming pool in the yard. At any rate, I swept the leaves away three times today and the wind blew them back again every time. It's futile to battle against nature. Nature always wins.

I wonder how Black Friday got to be such a big deal. We are being inundated with Black Friday flyers in the mail and Black Friday e-mail messages. I don't think I've ever bought anything on Black Friday. I guess it's a good deal if you want to stand in line for a cheap big screen TV, but how many televisions do you need? I think everybody already has a big screen TV by now. I guess I'm not the target market. I'm so out of the loop that I thought Black Friday was yesterday.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2878

I wonder why I'm losing interest in going out for breakfast? This has been an enjoyable Friday morning ritual for over six years. It's safe to say that I've explored every single restaurant that serves breakfast within a ten mile radius. I could write a book on the multitude of different ways you can fix hash browns, grits, or sausage. I used to be fascinated by all these small but significant variations, but now I seldom even feel like eating. The meals all seem too hot, too cold, too spicy, or too bland. There is nothing wrong with the restaurants. I think it's me.

Today I went to a place famous for Southern country cooking. The portions seemed way too large. I felt like asking for a doggie bag and nibbling on the meal for the rest of the week. This isn't like me at all. I usually have a huge appetite and find eating to be one of life's few pleasures. I ate my breakfast slowly, wondering what I was going to do for the rest of the day. I really didn't come up with any answers.

When I got home I did some research on the roof coating I've been using and discovered that I've been doing everything wrong. To be fair, the roofers were doing everything wrong too. Before applying the coating, the roof should be power washed to remove all dirt and debris and then sprayed with a solution of bleach and water to kill any remaining bacteria and fungus. A special primer should be applied prior to using the silicon material to ensure that the coating sticks firmly to the roof. If people are going to be walking on the roof, ceramic granules should be mixed in with the silicon material prior to application to keep the surface from becoming too slippery. The material should only be applied when the temperature is above 40 degrees and the humidity is below 50%.

The roofers didn't follow any of these guidelines and neither did I. I'm sure the roofers ignored a lot of this stuff because if you followed the specifications to the letter, it would probably only leave about three days a year where you could safely install a new roof. The manufacturers probably made the specifications so stringent and exacting to cover their ass when customers complained that their roof had failed. This is the way life is. Everybody cuts corners and covers their bases, hoping that nobody will notice. Occasionally, people like me do notice, but it doesn't really change anything.

I'm glad Dash appears to be returning to normal. I'm curious what we'll find out when we return next week for a one month follow up visit to check on the blood clots in his heart. This will be touch and go for a long time. If I had blood clots inside my heart, they would perform open heart surgery immediately. That's not an option for dogs though. We've just got to hope that the Plavix will eventually work.

So many things can go wrong with dogs. One of my neighbors just found out that his dog has meningitis. Scary. I didn't even know it was possible for a dog to get meningitis. The disease is rare but it is so serious that it is one more thing to worry about. I would think one of the biggest problems would be getting the right diagnosis in a hurry. Some vets have never seen a dog with meningitis. You almost always have to have a MRI and a spinal tap to confirm diagnosis too. It's hard to arrange all these tests in a hurry. Luckily, my neighbor's dog was treated in time by one of the best veterinary neurologists in Texas and is going to recover.

I can't say that I accomplished anything today. Maybe I'll do better tomorrow.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2750

Well this sucks. I found a credit card in our alley this afternoon and though it might belong to friends of our neighbor. They'd had a Fourth of July party yesterday and there were a lot of people walking back and forth down the alley yesterday evening. I knocked on the neighbor's door and before the door was even fully open, their German Shepard ran out the door and bit me in the calf. I fell down and before I could get up, the dog bit me in the other leg. I was just trying to do a good deed by returning the credit card and got some bad dog bites for my efforts.

I've been bitten before and know that puncture wounds aren't to be taken lightly. One of those new stand-alone emergency rooms had just opened up in the neighborhood, so I decided to go there. They told me that they didn't accept Medicare and I would have to pay cash. Forget that. I drove down the street to a Primacare and they told me there would be a two hour wait. The lobby was empty, so I don't know what the problem was. I was still bleeding and growing frustrated. Luckily, I remembered that my own doctor was open until 8 PM. I got in the car and drove there, arriving just before the place closed.

A nurse cleaned my wounds, gave me a tetanus shot, injected me with an antibiotic, wrote me a prescription for more antibiotics, and bandaged me up again. If I'd waited for the Primacare folks to do this, I'd probably be sitting in the waiting room until midnight. Something needs to be done about the neighbor's dog. They claim he's friendly, but he's bitten me three times in the last ten years. It's probably time to call animal control.

I was hoping the nurse could stop the bleeding, but she told me that letting the blood flow would help prevent infection. I'm probably going to need to do a lot of bandage changes for a while. Just when I thought that Janet's bandage changes were becoming less of an issue, now I've got my own to deal with. The bad thing about dog bites is that they take a long time to heal. Been there, done that.

The rest of my day was pretty uneventful. I walked Dash, took Janet to a few stores to get her out of the house for a bit, and started cloning the hard drive on my desktop computer in preparation for installing a larger and faster drive later in the week. It was just a normal hot July day until the dog bit me.

I never dreamed it would take so long to clone a terabyte of data. Everything has slowed down to a crawl while the files are being copied. I've been waiting for Photoshop to open for twenty minutes now. I hate to cancel the cloning operation, since it's been running for five hours now. Oh, well. I learned a long time ago that when you start something, you've got to finish it.

Maybe tomorrow will be better. It looks like I've got a hematoma in my left leg since it's swollen quite a bit. Everything hurts, but the nurse said I should be fine. At least Janet is improving. The drainage is subsiding and if she's lucky they'll take the remaining tubes out at her doctor's appointment tomorrow.

I hope I don't bleed on the bed tonight. The nurse did a good job with the bandages, but I don't know if they'll hold all night. I probably should take a pain pill, but Tylenol is bad for your liver and you aren't supposed to take ibuprofen if you're bleeding. Jeez, I really thought this was going to be a good day, but life is full of surprises.

Isabella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2740

The last of our original neighbors died last week. These were the people who built the houses on our street in the 1940's and 50's. One by one, they've been slowly disappearing for the last thirty years. I'm pretty sure that Ben was the last. When we moved here, we were the youngest couple on the street. Now, we're one of the oldest. It feels like the end of an era. I liked our older neighbors. They all knew each other well and would sometimes have large block parties. It's rare if I ever get to know the newcomers. We'll say hello if I pass them while walking the dogs, but I really don't know who they are. Most arrived from out of state and are much younger than me. Many of the original houses in the neighborhood are being torn down now. There is nothing wrong with these houses. They just aren't big enough or fancy enough for today's buyers. I hope our house doesn't get torn down someday, but it probably will. That's the thing about change. You just can't stop it.

There are still a few things that don't seem to change. There seems to be a tradition of bringing over food when you're sick. Janet's friends have been generous and we've got enough food to feed an army now. Maybe people don't realize how little the two of us eat. Everything is appreciated and will get eaten, but we've got to figure out how to freeze some of the stuff. Dash seems to be telling us to let him help with the stash. He can always tell when there's lots of food in the house. Sorry little buddy. I know you'd like a big plate of lasagna, but you've got a sensitive stomach and are on a strict diet.

It's a good thing that I went to the gym, since I definitely needed to burn off a few extra calories today. Once I finished my workout, I came home and took a long nap. I've been really tired lately, but I was still surprised at how quickly I went to sleep during the middle of the day. I'm getting more sleep now that Dot is gone, but I'm still not getting enough. Maybe someday. I'm really glad that the home nurse comes over once a day. It makes a big difference.

The time is passing quickly. Next Wednesday Janet has her first re-check with the surgeon. If all goes well, some or maybe even all of the drain tubes can come out. I'm sure she will be happy to have this major hurdle behind her. You really can't do much with tubes coming out of your body. Years ago, when Dash was attacked by an aggressive dog in the park, he had to have drainage tubes inserted after surgery. Dash's tubes had to stay in place for almost a month. They weren't nearly as sophisticated as Janet's and every time Dash would shake his head vigorously, blood would fly out of the tubes. The house was a mess.

I'm not very organized about grocery shopping. I had to go back to the store today even though the house is full of food and I just went shopping yesterday. The one thing we really need is always the one thing I forget. Oddly, I'm not that hungry. What I'd really like to do is just go to sleep for a month.

Shiner is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2653

I cleaned the roof this morning. There was still a lot of standing water from yesterday's storm. Even with the help of a sump pump, it almost always takes me at least an hour to remove all the water. While I'm pushing the water off the edge of the roof with a big push broom, I fantasize about living on the eighteenth floor of a luxurious high rise condo. It would be nice not to have to worry about water on the roof, trees falling in the back yard, cracks in the Sheetrock, or ants crawling into the bathroom.

Of course this will never happen. I lived in a condo once when I was younger and when I finally sold the place, I swore I would never live in a place with a condo board or neighborhood association again. People should never live this close together. All I remember from those years were the continual fights between neighbors. It wouldn't be practical to have large dogs in a high rise either. Dash is scared of elevators and panics when he has to ride in one. Dot would get us kicked out of the building. An incontinent dog that can't walk and poops and pees all over the place would make high rise living very difficult.

When I was sitting in the park with Dot this afternoon, a guy on a bicycle stopped and asked if I was John Sealander. I didn't recognize the guy, but it turned out he was a co-worker from a long, long time ago. I asked him if he was retired and he said he was still doing a little consulting. When old men tell you that they are doing a little consulting it usually means they are doing nothing at all. I remembered that this guy started his own agency once. I think he even hired me a couple of times when my own company was getting started. He's probably in the same boat that I am now. At any rate, he couldn't be that busy or he wouldn't be riding his bicycle around the lake in the middle of the afternoon. We had a nice conversation and didn't mention advertising at all.

When I called in the power outage a few days ago I noticed that the automated system recognized my cell phone number and associated it with my street address. This is new. I used to have to call in outage reports from a land line. This worked great in the old days because analog phones were powered by the phone line. You could still use your phone when the power was out. Since most land line phones are voice over IP now, your phone goes out when the power goes down. I still like the old system better when you could talk to a real person who could tell you when the repair crews would be in your neighborhood. I'll have to admit that the automated system works pretty well though. The power company even sent me a text when my power was restored. I probably don't even need the land line anymore. The only people who use it are scammers and telemarketers. I routinely block these people, so I'm actually paying for a service I don't want people to use.

I'm going to have heartburn tonight. I didn't even feel like looking in the refrigerator, so I stopped at a taco place next to the post office after I paid some bills this afternoon. Yesterday's Buddha Bowl was much, much healthier, but the greasy taco was pretty good. I can see a day when I'll never use our oven at all. It's just so much easier to pick up a take out meal than it is too cook.

I certainly won't be cooking anything tomorrow morning. I've been looking forward to my Friday breakfast outing all week.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2544

I never know what to expect when I open my e-mail in the morning. Today there were more new assignments than I'd had all week. It was going to be a busy day. After taking Dash on a long walk and finishing breakfast, I got started on a lengthy website revision. It seemed like I'd just changed this site recently, but I guess it was time to change it again. It's not my role to question these things.

The dogs were good this morning, so I was able to work quickly and efficiently. Before noon, I was ready to get started on a new writing assignment. Neither of today's assignments were very exciting, but I was glad to have them. It's still important to have something to do besides cleaning up dog poop.

The replacement parts I ordered for the Waterpik and the LunaTik iPhone case I ordered on Black Friday both came in the mail today. I love getting things in the mail. If I had more money, I'd order even more stuff I don't really need. I think the main reason I started collecting watches many years ago was that I liked getting little packages in the mail. I was never a very orthodox collector. I seldom bought expensive or traditionally "collectible" watches. I preferred obscure brands with odd looking dials. People always worry about being scammed when buying watches online. I never worried at all, because who is ever going to go to the trouble to counterfeit a cheap watch. Whenever a package comes in the mail these days, it reminds me of my collecting days. Eventually, I realized that most of the fun was over as soon as I opened the package. I don't collect anymore, but I make no apologies for the money I've wasted on useless stuff. When you work alone for years at a time, you've got to use your imagination to keep your day interesting.

If you saw my closet, you'd probably think I collected coats. In my mind, I'm just being practical. Each coat represents a ten degree difference in temperature. Today I picked one of my warmer coats for our morning walk. This was the first time this year that the temperature was in the 30's when I woke up. Nothing froze, but it got pretty close. I dread the day when the temperature actually does drop below freezing. The garden hose on the back porch has become an essential component in my continuing efforts to keep Dot clean. It is much easier to take Dot outside and clean the poop off her butt with a hose and then dry her off with a bath towel than it is to try and accomplish the same thing inside using wet rags.

I've been wondering what to do with the extra garbage can the city sent me last month. One of my neighbors solved the problem for me. They stole it. Why they would want a broken garbage can is beyond me, but at least it isn't sitting behind my house in the alley anymore. I've actually been having pretty good luck getting my trash emptied recently. Maybe there's a new driver on our route. I haven't had any problems in well over a month, but I'm still superstitious. When I took the trash out this evening, I made sure to place it in my lucky spot. If a car is ever parks in this spot on Thursday night, I don't know what I'm going to do.

Dot is sleeping now, but she still hasn't pooped since early this morning. It makes me nervous. This is an accident just waiting to happen.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2504

Dash followed a path this morning we hadn't been down in years and all of the sudden it was like old times. It was a nice day and we ended up walking three miles. We used to do this every day, but it's been a long time. I noticed that leaves are already starting to turn in some sections of the park. Late Fall flowers are blooming. It was good to get reacquainted with this part of the neighborhood. On the way home, I noticed some new houses under construction and even talked with a few neighbors.

I asked one guy about a home that has remained vacant ever since it was completed several years ago. "Are you guys ever going to move in," I asked the owner. "I haven't been able to convince my wife to move yet," he told me. It seems like they would have worked this out before they built the elaborate house, but what do I know. When I asked whether he was going to sell the place now, he indicated that it was turning out to be a pretty great man cave for him. It must be nice to have the resources to build a million dollar house and then not even bother to live in it. The guy drove away in a perfectly restored 1966 Corvette and Dash and I continued our walk.

I love the cooler weather. Maybe that was why Dash was eager to take a longer walk this morning. Of course, he might have just wanted to get away from the chaos he woke up to. Dot had pooped in her sleep and then rolled over in it when she woke up. She was a smelly mess and I still had to figure out how to get her outside before she peed all over the place. After I took her out to pee, hosed her down, cleaned up the soiled blankets, and washed my hands several times, it was time for breakfast. I've decided that weekdays are easier than weekends. The discipline of getting up very early just works out better for everyone.

My convenient Scan and Go app crashed while I was grocery shopping this afternoon. I thought I'd have to start over, but discovered that the app saves your scanned items to the cloud and all the purchases I'd made before the crash were still there after I re-booted my phone. I decided to use 4G instead of the store's WiFi to complete my transactions and everything worked just fine. Even with this weird glitch, I still managed to get out of the store much faster than I would have if I'd gone through the check-out line.

Janet went to a friend's gallery opening after dinner. While I was cleaning up the kitchen, Dot came out to greet me, covered with poop. She'd done it again. I stopped what I was doing and took her outside and hosed her off a second time. Then I did a forensic search of the house and cleaned up the mess. Dot's not even aware of what she's doing. I can't get mad at her, but I do swear a lot now. This is very tiring.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. There are a ton of chores that need my attention, but I'd like to do something interesting for a change. Unfortunately, the only thing that interests me at the moment is sleeping.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2456

When we were taking Dot on her evening walk around the block, we discovered that one of our neighbors had died about two weeks ago. We might never have known if someone hadn't pulled in the neighbor's driveway as we were walking by and casually mentioned the recent death. Years ago when all the neighbors actually talked to each other, we would have known about something like this immediately. I felt bad that we didn't even go to the funeral.

The neighborhood has changed over the years. We were the young ones when we moved here. Most of the other people had lived in the neighborhood since they built their homes in the 1940's. As our original neighbors grew older and moved to retirement homes or died, they were increasingly replaced by renters. The renters stayed a year or two at most, until their company relocated them somewhere else. Gradually, not as many people knew each other anymore. I would wave at familiar faces as I walked by with the dogs, but I didn't even know their names. I'm sure there are still people in the neighborhood who are the best of friends, but it's not like it used to be. Nothing is permanent now. If I told some of the renters that Joan had died, they wouldn't even know who she was.

I cleaned the pecans off the roof this morning. What a mess. Our resident squirrels love the pecans and eat them with gusto. Broken pecans and shells are everywhere and as soon as it rains, the tannin in the nuts turns the water into a deep brown coffee colored mess. The tannin not only stains the roof, it causes the special elastomeric coating to deteriorate. I try my best to keep the roof clean, but it is a a hopeless task. Now that Fall is approaching, oak leaves, pecans, and acorns will be falling on the roof from now through December.

I didn't feel like vacuuming today, but since I'd skipped this chore last week, I really had no choice. With two dogs that shed constantly and track dirt in the house every time they go outside, I probably need to vacuum everyday. The house looks better now, but it will be dirty again tomorrow. That's just the way it goes when you've got Dalmatians.

I don't know why I even bothered to go to the gym today because I was worn out before I even arrived. It's important to maintain routines though, so I thought I'd make an effort. Since my shoulder was hurting already, I skipped some of the routines that were sure to make it worse. Instead of aggravating my shoulder on purpose, I shot free throws on the basketball court a little longer and spend a little extra time on the treadmill. My fitness tracker said I had over 20,000 steps today, so I did manage to keep busy.

Tomorrow is a holiday. Mostly this just means that the park will be extra crowded and that we won't get any mail. Janet mentioned going down to Trinity Groves and trying out some of the new restaurants there. I'm so out of it these days that I didn't even know what Trinity Groves was.

Nola is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2215

I ran into a photographer buddy at breakfast this morning. We hadn't seen each other in quite a while, so it was enjoyable to spend some time catching up on things. We talked about how radically our business had changed. We wondered why time seems to speed up as you grow older. We couldn't remember the names of people we both used to work with. "You know the guy," my friend said. "He used to take a lot of ballet pictures." "Sure, I know who you're talking about," I replied. But what was his name? Who knows. Basically, we were just a couple of old men talking.

This morning started out even foggier than yesterday. Ground fog is interesting. When we left the house on our morning walk, I could see the stars. It was clear enough for me to spot a faint Saturn right below Venus in the Eastern sky. As we walked down toward the lake, we were quickly enveloped in fog. It was like we were inside a dense cloud. Looking back toward the house, you could see the top of the cloud, with blue sky above. It was strange and very pretty. There were still patches of fog when I finished breakfast, so I got my camera and went back to the lake again. Just like yesterday, I was too late to catch the sailboats peaking through the fog, but I did see some nice White Pelicans.

I've been wondering about an elderly neighbor who's house has seemed vacant for the past month. I finally ran across someone who might know what was going on and discovered that the husband, who had already fallen and broken his hip twice, started to fall again. His wife tried to catch him and ended up falling on top of him. They were both injured and are currently in a rehab center learning to walk again. Their son is trying to convince them that it is time to move to assisted living. Evidently, they don't want to leave the neighborhood, but their house has become hazardous for them. The EMT ambulance has already been to their house six times. This sounds so much like what happened to my Dad. Getting old isn't pretty.

Since I spent so much time talking with my photographer friend at breakfast, I didn't have time to go to the grocery store. I went home to make sure the dogs were alright and completed all the website updates that were due today. It didn't take long for me to get my January invoices out. There were so few of them this month that I wondered why I even bothered. When I finished all my work for the day, I decided to go to my favorite barbecue place and bring home a surprise dinner for Janet. We both love ribs and brisket, but don't have it that often anymore. I came home with two pounds of pork ribs, a pint of potato salad, some fried okra, a generous helping of barbecue beans, and several big dill pickles. Almost as an afterthought, I added a couple bottles of Corona Extra beer to my order. Barbecue this good really deserved to be accompanied with beer. Janet was pleased when she got home from work and we had a tasty and somewhat nostalgic dinner.

I noticed this morning that the top of Dash's head is covered with little bumps. What now? He used to have skin allergies, but his coat has looked great for the past two years. Maybe he is allergic to the shampoo we used to give him a bath last week. Maybe an insect bit him. We haven't changed his diet, so I don't think the irritation is caused by food. If he doesn't improve over the weekend, I'll take him to the vet next week. It's always something with these dogs.

I'm hoping that the weather stays warm this weekend and that the dogs let us sleep in a little later tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day