Day 4205

Every once in a while I do something unpleasant just because it needs to be done. Today I bought a bunch of St. Augustine sod and covered all the bare areas in the back yard. Today seemed like a good day to put in new sod because the ground was still very wet and made it easier to prepare the soil for the new grass. I haven't put in sod for a while and had forgotten that this is a tiring, messy job. I used to put in a new turf almost every year. Then we started using a landscape company for a while. Lately we have done nothing and I just mow the weeds. Wet, muddy sod is messy stuff to carry around in a car. The old Land Rover Defender was certainly easier to clean up afterwards. It was probably good that the sod was wet though bacause it won't dry out as fast when we are trying to get it established. Wet sod is very heavy. Each square seemed to weigh twice as much as I remember.

I think I did a good job. The yard looks presentable now and Dawn will be a lot less likely to roll around in the dirt. Like other outdoor chores I've attempted recently, installing the sod reminded me that I'm well past my prime. My hands still hurt from carrying each piece or the heavy, slippery sod from the car to the back yard. I thought it would be easy to carry a square of sod in each hand while I was moving the stuff to the back yard. I must have been dreaming. I had to carry one square at a time. I definitely have some arthritis in my fingers now. The old joints don't move like they used to. I got the job done though and now there is one fewer item on my to do list.

By the time I was finished with the yard work it was way too hot to take my long walk in the park. I did a load of laundry, took a short nap, and then went to the gym. I got a notice the other day that my gym no longer has a mask requirement. Nobody was wearing masks today. This was quite a change from a few days ago and seemed to prove that everybody had just been following the rules without any strong feelings about whether masks actually worked. One old fool was wearing a loose fitting cloth bandana while he was running around the track but that was about it. Now that the mask mandate is history, I hope that the gym brings back the basketballs soon. I really used to enjoy shooting baskets on the court. They said I could bring my own basketball, but it would be a lot easier to just use one of theirs.

Dawn had a day of beauty at the vet while I was putting in the new sod this morning. Janet discovered that the price included a nail trim and getting Dawn's anal glands expressed, so the deluxe bath was actually less expensive than taking Dawn to one of those self-bathe places and then having a vet do the nails and anal glands as separate items. We still need to figure out why Dawn is obsessively licking her feet, but that's going to be a lot more complicated than getting a bath.

I watched the Space X Transporter 2 launch this afternoon on the streaming channel. The launch got scrubbed with ten seconds on the clock. There was a range violation and apparently there was a boat or an airplane in the restricted zone. Every time a launch is scrubbed it reminds me that a trip to Florida is never a sure thing. When a launch gets delayed, suddenly your trip becomes much more expensive. This has happened to me several times already and I haven't even been to that many launches. I guess nothing is a sure thing. There's been a lot of rain out at McDonald Observatory recently, so this wouldn't have been a good time for a visit out there either. The Davis Mountains really needed the rain though. It has been very dry this year.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'm definitely not going to do any more yard work. Hopefully I won't be dealing with roof leaks either. A day with absolutely nothing on the agenda is perfectly fine with me.

Sparky 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 3107

The yard looks nice again. I thought the guys were only going to replace a few squares of obviously dead St. Augustine sod, but they ended up replacing about half the grass in the yard. The landscapers were very nice and I felt a little bad about calling them multiple times about the bad grass. I was polite but persistent. You have to be. I've learned the hard way that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Now it's time to focus my attention on the leaky roof, the stuck sliding glass door, the faulty backyard light, the noisy toilet, and a half dozen other things that are falling apart around the house. There are lots of little things that need attention this Summer, but the big thing is still Dash. I worry about Dash every day.

I talked to two different vets today about blood thinners and internal bleeding. Both of them agreed that Janet and I did the right thing to discontinue the low dose aspirin Dash was taking when we started seeing dark stools. Evidently baby aspirin has a greater tendency to irritate the stomach and intestinal lining than Plavix. Low dose aspirin can easily cause internal bleeding in both humans and animals. We're going to stop the aspirin for now, but continue the Plavix. So far, this plan seems to be working. Dash's poop has already returned to its normal color and there are no longer any obvious signs of bleeding. We can only hope that we are still keeping the blood clot from growing.

I'm way behind on the website project I'm supposed to be doing this Summer. I've been waiting for input, but I finally decided that I could get started without it. I didn't really accomplish much today, but I did manage to recover my password and gain access to the server. I created a space for the new site to reside and now I've got a place to come back and work whenever I'm in the mood. As my deadline for completing this project approaches, I imagine that I'm going to be in the mood a lot more often.

As soon as the new grass got installed, the yard squirrels started to eat it. When the squirrels aren't eating the grass, they are digging holes to bury acorns under it. With all the critters that call this place home, it's amazing that I have a yard at all. I have a feeling that critters are responsible for the faulty security light in the back yard as well. There are thousands of spiders in the yard and they are constantly building webs. I wouldn't be surprised if there a thick spider web covering the photocell that turns the light on and off. This would certainly explain the erratic behavior of the photocell, but I'm not sure about the solution. You can't tell spiders what to do.

I'm recording the two hour season finale of The Expanse tonight. I wonder when I'll find time to watch this? Dash doesn't usually sleep this long. Whenever I watch, I'm sure I'll have to stop and start the show over and over again, so I can take Dash outside to pee. Dash will sleep for a long time if I'm sleeping with him. If I'm trying to do something else, he's constantly interrupting me. Like any Dalmatian, he thrives on attention. I probably spoil him, but why not. Dash has so many problems that he deserves all the happy moments he can get.

I can't decide whether to stay up late tonight. Saturn is at opposition and less than one degree away from the full moon tonight. It ought to be quite a sight. The only problem is that there are so many trees in our area that I won't be able to get a good view of this rare alignment until almost 1 AM. If I want to see Saturn's rings, I'll need to get the telescope out too. I wonder if I can even find the telescope? I know it's here somewhere.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3086

Some of the grass the guys installed yesterday looks dead. The landscaper said the sod was fine and would turn green after I watered it for a while. I doubt it. I've seen dead grass before. To add insult to injury, the grass was more expensive this year, even though it looks worse than last year's grass. I'll water the new turf faithfully for a few weeks. If the brown squares don't turn green, I'm going to demand a replacement. Believe it or not, I really don't enjoy complaining and wish that people would just do things right the first time.

I went to retrieve some art from the storage warehouse and was dismayed to discover that one piece had been damaged by humidity. The paper wasn't flat anymore and has developed some alarming ripples. I should have kept this lithograph at the house, but I ran out of space a long time ago. I called a good art conservator and explained my problem. She was convinced that the art could be saved, but warned me that the process took a long time and could get expensive. What a shame. I don't think this piece is going to the auction house.

Water is my enemy. I'm always fighting water. I had a really nice vintage guitar ruined by moisture several years ago. The shower pan leaks. The toilet runs. And I'm worried that I'm going to need a new water heater soon. If I water this new grass too much it will die. Conversely, if I don't water it enough, it will also die. Don't even get me started about the roof. My ongoing problems with the roof are all about water.

There are still a lot of e-mails going back and forth between me and the auction house. Consigning the model train collection was much easier. One of the hardest things about selling art is providing appropriate provenance for each piece you are planning to sell. It's not easy to find detailed records for things you bought forty years ago. My memory isn't that great anymore. I have no idea where some of this stuff came from.

I have an opportunity to apply for a chance to provide social media coverage for the launch of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe at the end of July. This sounds like fun, but it's probably too soon to participate in another one of these NASA social media events. I can't afford the three day event for starters, and taking care of Dash is still a team effort. I'm glad that NASA is still providing these opportunities for bloggers, because one of these days I'm definitely going to go cover another launch.

I think that this is the last day that NetworkedBlogs is in operation. If the site hasn't already shut down, it will tomorrow. I signed up for a new blog syndication service, but I don't know if it works yet. We'll see. The blog will still be published on Google's Blogger platform, but it you don't see it on Facebook or Twitter, it means that I haven't figured out how to use the new syndication service yet. I guess I could just share each night's post manually, but I haven't really figured out how to do this either. I'm sad to see NetworkedBlogs disappear. It's been a useful tool for many years.

Dash has his big follow-up exam at the cancer center tomorrow morning. Wish us luck. Tomorrow's test will determine if the blood clot in Dash's heart is really gone. Hopefully, this final echocardiogram will confirm that the clot has completely dissolved and is gone forever.  It's always good to have one less thing to worry about.

Wendy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3058

I went to visit my watchmaker friend today. I don't bother to fix my own watches anymore, but I took four of Janet's with me that needed new batteries. I enjoy talking with the watchmaker. Like almost everyone I know, he used to be a client. We have similar interests and always end up talking about how much the world has changed. My friend is still very busy. There aren't a lot of good watch repairmen left anymore. Most of them have retired or died. I'm glad the watchmaker hasn't retired yet. He's the only guy left that I know who does this sort of thing. He tells me that if someone told him how much the watch industry was going to change thirty years ago, he would have chosen a different line of work. I can relate. I might have chosen a different line of work too if I knew how radically the world was going to change.

One of Janet's watches needed a new movement and crown, but I took the other three back with me. It's ironic that Janet is more interested in watches now than I am. She still likes to wear a nice watch to work. I lost interest quite a few years ago. I have so many watches that I just became overwhelmed with the upkeep. It's impossible to keep hundreds of watches running. I should have bought three really good watches that would hold their value instead of a ton of weird, eclectic watches with pretty dials. When I started collecting, I think I just liked getting things in the mail. I bought a ton of stuff on e-Bay from all over the world. I learned a lot, including how to bring old Bulova Accutrons and 1970's LED watches back to life. I actually managed to get quite a few of these dinosaurs running again before I lost interest. If you're just getting interested in watches, don't ever go buy a dozen old Accutrons, hoping they will take you back to the 1960's. Yesterday's state-of-the-art technology is today's albatross around your neck. Just go buy a Rolex. They may too conventional for some, but they are well made, hold their value and you can eventually give the watch to your grandchildren.

I finally contacted the landscaper today. He apologized for not returning my calls and said he could probably come out and get my yard looking decent again late next week. I feel like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill with this yard. Whatever I do, I know I'm going to have to do it all over again next year. It's still better to replace the grass than do nothing though. At least our yard will look nice through the Summer.

One of Dash's rubber booties fell off on our walk this morning and I couldn't get it back on again. Dash wanted to keep walking and definitely didn't want me near his rear paw. He even growled at me when I tried to put the boot back on again. This was troubling, because he really needs to wear the booties. His legs are weak and his rear paws turn under when he walks. Without the booties to protect him, it doesn't take long for the top of his paw to start to bleed. I'm not looking forward to getting Dash ready to walk when Janet goes on vacation. It takes two of us to get him suited up now.

There was a new episode of The Expanse tonight, but I didn't bother to watch it. It's more enjoyable to record the thing on the DVR and watch it during the day while Dash is taking a nap. This will give me something to do after breakfast tomorrow. I should just use the DVR for everything. You can fast forward through all the commercials. If I have the patience to wait for a series to come to Netflix or iTunes, that's even better. You have to pay, but the commercials are gone. I wouldn't even want to watch my own commercials anymore. Life should be commercial free.

The next thing on my to-do list is getting my oil changed. I just noticed that the sticker on my windshield said I should have changed it in January. I drive so seldom now that I never change the oil based on mileage. It would take me another year to meet the mileage requirements for my next oil change. Unfortunately, motor oil doesn't last forever. You have to change it eventually whether you drive or not. I end up fixing a lot of things whether I use them or not.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2784

I don't think I'll ever buy a gift card again. The gift card company keeps asking for more and more information. It's almost as if they think we're the perpetrators of a fraud rather than the victims of one. We keep providing all the information they ask for, but they don't seem that much closer to refunding our money. Why this investigation process should take ninety days is beyond me. I'm sure they know exactly what happened. There is an entire Consumer Reports website about gift card fraud. The sad truth is that this type of thing has become so commonplace that the company doesn't particularly care. Janet and I are just a statistic.

I like things to be predictable. That's a big reason why the gift card fraud is so frustrating. I've always thought of gift cards as a simple and convenient way to give someone money. If you have to worry about someone else gaining access to the card before you even use it, it suddenly isn't simple or convenient anymore. It's just one more giant hassle in a world full of giant hassles.

I wish Dash knew how much I want life to be predictable. He's driving me crazy by changing his food preference every day. Some days he likes the Hill's I/D that we used to feed Dot. Other days he won't touch the stuff and prefers the Hills I/D Low Fat that the vet wanted us to feed him when his triglycerides were through the roof. Usually, he wants a little wet food mixed in with the dry, but not always. It's really hard to predict what he's going to eat on any given day. Today, I split his dinner into two parts, because he wouldn't wait until 5 PM. He ate the first part of his dinner with gusto. An hour and a half later, he refused to touch exactly the same thing. I removed the food from his bowl, ate my own dinner, and then put Dash's dinner in a different type of bowl. I made sure he saw me stirring the bowl with a spoon and pretending to add new ingredients. This subterfuge did the trick. Dash finished his meal.

There was very little work to do today, so I used my time trying to find replacements for some of the software that refuses to work after I upgraded my operating system to Sierra. My computer used to be able to play Windows videos, but not anymore. Neither Apple of Microsoft seems to have any interest in being compatible with each other these days. It's a shame. Since most of my clients are still on Windows systems, I sometimes have a need to open and play Windows audio and video files. I did a Google search, downloaded a few open source Windows media players, but none of them worked. That's the trouble with Google. Something that got rave reviews in 2013 might not work at all in 2017.

At least computer problems aren't messy. I'm starting to think our shower is leaking again, and that is messy. We had a shower pan leak once before and we pretty much had to rip out the entire shower and re-tile everything to fix the problem. Maybe it isn't as bad this time, but there is a distinct musty smell in the bathroom that wasn't there before. I hate water problems because you can't ignore them. If you ignore a leak, it will eventually ruin everything.

The new grass is already starting to die. It's received plenty of water and it seems to be getting enough sunlight too. It definitely shouldn't be looking spotty and thin so soon. I'll call the landscaper to come take a look, but I doubt that he'll do anything. He'll just say that I did something wrong and that it's my fault. Somehow, it's always my fault.

Lilly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2763

Things are looking up. Dash got a good report at his semi-annual cancer review. He is still cancer free and his doctor saw no reason to worry about his enlarged heart or vestibular disease. We learned what to look for in case his heart condition becomes worse and we pretty much already knew what to look for with his ongoing vestibular disease. For an old dog who has had many problems, Dash is looking pretty good.

The yard looks pretty good too. The landscapers arrived early this morning and spent the day removing a year's worth of dead leaves and small sticks before installing a brand St. Augustine turf. Janet and I realize by now that because of our soil and the four large trees in our back yard, that the grass won't last forever. It never does. The yard sure looks pretty now though. It should be a lot easier to keep the house clean too, since Dash won't be tracking mud inside every time there is a rainy day.

The landscapers probably think we are nuts to keep replacing our back yard every year, but there really isn't an alternative. A lot of large trees in the park don't have much grass under them either. The tree roots cover the yard like a canopy and suck up all the water. There is almost no way to provide the grass with an adequate amount of water during a hot Summer. We'll do the best we can. One thing is certain. Our water bill is going to go up next month.

I took my first walk since the dog bite this morning. My leg didn't swell appreciably afterwards and there was very little pain, so I think it will be OK to return to a more active life. The July heat will prevent me from over doing things. Early mornings are really the only time when it is cool enough outside to safely walk a dog. I'm going to continue sleeping with my feet elevated for a while. That seems to be the key to keeping my ankles from swelling.

The combination of good news at the vet and a pretty yard spurred me on to tackle some other ongoing problems. I contacted the roofers and asked them to come out again and make a few more patches. I have't received a response yet, but I seldom do. I also contacted the Land Rover dealer and asked them to apply my discount coupon to yesterday's bill. They gave me some sort of weird answer, saying that it was difficult to apply a credit to a job that was already closed. Come on guys. I'm a good customer. If you keep treating me this way, I might buy an Audi next time.

Dot was really loved within the veterinary community. When we had Dash up at the cancer center today, her medical team came out and gave Janet and I a hug, telling us what a special girl she was to them. Her oncologist said she would never forget her. This meant a lot to me, since I will never forget her either. I will remember when Dot and Dash were young and healthy as the best of times. I like having dogs around, but we're not thinking of getting a companion for Dash. He's adjusting well to being an only dog and he's getting older too. I'm a realist. Taking care of Dot was exhausting and taking care of Dash will be equally exhausting when he starts to fall apart. Dash will always get the love and care he deserves, but I don't have the energy to start over with a puppy again.

Janet has started talking about going back to work. Her recovery is really going well and if she gets a good report from her oncologist later this week, Dash and I might be on our own again sooner than we expected. It's been a really tough Summer, but I think we have weathered the storm. Although I'm a glass is half empty kind of guy, today the glass actually seemed half full.

Beemer 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 2314

We went to a concert tonight. One of Janet's friends is a singer in the group and we go and see them perform from time to time. This evening's event was a fundraiser and there was a barbecue dinner, a silent auction, and casino night gambling. Janet was probably hoping that I wouldn't look at the baby monitor on my phone, but I couldn't help myself. I worry about Dot. The first time I looked, she was sleeping. The second time I looked, she was barking and appeared to be struggling to get up. I could hear Dash barking too in the background. We left the event early and came home.

I was almost certain that there was either a thunderstorm in the area or that Dot had pooped in her bed, but everything was calm when we returned.  I have no idea what got the dogs so upset. It's probably just as well that we came home a little early. It takes me longer to write the blog that it used to. If we stayed for the gambling, I would never have gotten tonight's entry completed before midnight.

The weather forecast looks ominous. There is supposed to be wind, rain, and severe thunderstorms for the next ten days. This is one reason I was worried about the dogs this evening. Dot and Dash are both very storm phobic and tend to panic when there is thunder and lightning in the vicinity. The rain is supposed to start later tonight, so I thought it might have arrived a little early. Probably it is me who has the real storm phobia in the family. Bad storms freak me out. Trees have fallen on our roof twice since we bought the house, and if a tornado ever blew through, we are sitting ducks. There is so much glass in the house that there are no safe rooms anywhere. Even the interior walls are pretty close to floor-to-ceiling glass windows. With a flat roof and no basement, this house wasn't designed to weather much of anything.

For the past few weeks I've been noticing that the price of gas is going up again. Why? When I filled the car up today it seemed that prices had risen even further. The price of oil has been basically falling for the past two years. It seems like the price of gas should stay low for a long time. I've gotten used to seeing prices gradually go down. It will be a low blow to watch them go up again. I guess it doesn't really matter. I don't drive much anyway.

The new grass in the back yard is starting to grow. This is always a good sign. Every year when we refurbish the yard I think that this might finally be the year that the grass takes root and thrives. It never seems to happen though. Grubs eat the roots below the ground and squirrels eat the grass above the ground. In the Summer there is always a thick canopy of Oak leaves overhead that blocks most of the direct sunlight. The grass always has an uphill battle, but I keep thinking that one of these years it might make it.

I'm not sure whether I'll be going to the gym tomorrow or sitting at home watching an approaching storm on the weather radar and hoping the power doesn't go out. You never know about Texas weather. I hope the rain doesn't start until after we've walked the dogs in the morning. Life is much more peaceful once we've gotten the morning walk out of the way.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1558

We went up and photographed dogs at the Dalmatian Rescue kennel today. One of the dogs was actually being adopted while we were there and it was nice to see him go to his new home. There aren't as many abandoned Dalmatians anymore. I think the irresponsible people have moved on to other breeds. That's a good thing. Most of the Dalmatians who get adopted now go to homes that have had a Dalmatian before. These people love and understand the breed and the dogs find good homes. I'm sure there are still people who see a popular movie and end up wanting a dog for all the wrong reasons. At least that dog isn't a Dalmatian now. Hopefully, Disney won't make any more 101 Dalmatian movies. That movie was largely responsible for the surge in abandoned Dalmatians in 1996.

The weather got cooler again today. This is the time of year when Janet keeps turning on the air conditioner and I keep turning on the heater. Back and forth we go. During these in-between times, I'm always cold and she's always hot. In a month or so, there will be no more ambiguity. By the time June arrives, everybody will be in agreement again. Texas summers are hot.

Our water bill is going to be high next month. One of the things about new grass is that you have to water it constantly. It's ironic. We got the grass to keep the dogs from getting muddy, but now that the entire yard is a soggy mess, the dogs get muddy anyway. Hopefully, the grass will last a little longer than it did last year. The landscape guys treated for grubs again, but grubs are a perennial problem in Texas. No matter what we do, we always seem to have grubs.

I thought Janet would laugh at my idea of putting a little scarecrow on my car mirrors to ward off the pooping redbird. She apparently liked the idea though, because when she was shopping today, she got a bunch of little rubber birds at the Dollar Store and now her car has little bird scarecrows on the mirrors as well. The mailman will probably think we are crazy.

I need to go to the gym tomorrow. I need to figure out how to resume going during the week as well. Now that it appears my liver is improving, the real challenge will be avoid slipping back to my old unhealthy ways. I've always been able to rise to the occasion during difficult times. I'm a big advocate of that old "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" adage. When the danger is over, I'm a terrible backslider though. I definitely don't exercise and eat Kale for the sheer joy of it. At heart, I'm more of a bacon and beer kind of guy.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day