Day 2201 - Christmas Day

We had a pleasant day. It was unusually warm for Christmas Day, but that's Texas for you. The warm weather was fine by me, because it made it much easier to walk the dogs. As far as Christmas activities go, that's about all we did. Dot and Dash got two nice walks and then slept for the rest of the day while Janet cooked a Christmas dinner and I cleaned up around the house. With eggs and bacon for breakfast and a big traditional Christmas dinner, I feel like I've had a week's worth of food in a single day.

Dot and Dash have always enjoyed unwrapping presents. They are convinced that every package is for them and seem genuinely disappointed if it doesn't contain something they can eat. We give them a taste of each of their food gifts and then put them away. If they had their way, they would eat everything at once and make themselves sick. It's fun to watch them get so excited over a simple bag of dog treats or a piece of cheese. Dash got a little too excited. Once he started barking, it took him about thirty minutes to calm down.

I was surprised at how many people were out in the park today. Maybe taking a walk after your Christmas meal is a thing to do now. At any rate, there were entire families walking on the trails and plenty of other dogs. One dog got loose and came running over to Dash. Luckily, it was a friendly dog and no harm was done. I do wish people would keep better control of their pets, however. This happens far too often.

I couldn't figure out why I wasn't able to get on the Internet to write the blog tonight. Nothing was wrong as far as I could tell, but everything was impossible slow. It finally dawned on me that the fancy U-verse connection just didn't have enough bandwidth. Janet was talking to her niece on the phone. I was taping the Dr. Who Christmas Special on one TV while a Hallmark movie was playing on another TV in the kitchen. There just wasn't enough bandwidth left over for me.  I wasn't going to let this stop me however. I fired up the little T-Mobile WiFi hotspot and kept on writing.

Our holidays have become very quiet and stress free. It's surprising how enjoyable doing nothing can be. We didn't go to a Christmas movie. We didn't visit family. We didn't do much of anything. Janet cooked and went to the gym. I cleaned and fiddled around with the dehumidifier. I thought the thing was broken for a while, but apparently cooking a big meal raises the humidity a lot. Now, everything is back to normal again. My favorite Christmas gift was a pair of soft grey fleece running pants with Dalmatians printed on the fabric. These pants will make your average ugly Christmas sweater look tame by comparison. To each his own. Hey, the pants are very comfortable and will probably become my new around the house uniform.

We slept in until after 7 AM this morning. Janet, Dash and I could have slept longer, but Dot couldn't. We all had to get up when she pooped in her bed. She had another accident in the kitchen while Janet was cooking Christmas dinner. We didn't let this slow us down a bit. I took the big rug outside and hosed it down. The little rug went in the washing machine. This is life with a very old dog. We are just happy that she is still here to share this special day with us. Getting to spend another Christmas with both dogs was the best Christmas gift of all.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1470

Today was good. I slept in a bit later than usual. I fixed myself a leisurely breakfast. I finished up some writing work in the morning, but I wasn't in a hurry. By noon I was done with everything I usually do on a Tuesday. Since I felt I had the afternoon free, I decided to finish up my Christmas shopping and go to the gym. Unfortunately, since Janet was off work today and it felt like a holiday, I completely forgot that Dash was due for his antigen shot. Now, I'm going to have to reschedule his appointment ASAP before his skin starts to get irritated again.

My mind is a sieve. When anything deviates from my normal schedule, I completely forget what I'm doing. Sadly, I didn't remember that I'd forgotten Dash's vet appointment until I started writing tonight's blog post.

As I expected, the gym was empty and the stores were full this afternoon. Surprisingly, my doctor's office was still open today, so I stopped by on the way home from the gym to make them aware that they still weren't submitting my insurance claims properly. I don't expect anything to be resolved, but at least I made an effort. I got my workout and shopping done so efficiently this afternoon that I would have had time to take Dash to the vet, if I had only remembered. Oh, well. I'll try to get him rescheduled for Thursday or Friday.

Since Janet is traveling to visit relatives tomorrow, we had our Christmas celebration today. We enjoyed a fantastic traditional dinner of baked ham, whipped sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and Brussels sprouts. After dinner, we opened presents under the tree and Dash got so excited while opening one of his presents that he ate some wrapping paper. Luckily it was a small piece, and I think it will pass without incident. Leave it to Dash to do something like this though. Dot was a model of decorum opening her own presents.

The dogs never like it when Janet is away, but they'll have to buck up and get used to it. This happens almost every year. I'm sure they'll be fine when they realize they still get fed and that there's extra room in the bed. Maybe they'll even enjoy watching the Dr. Who Christmas Special with me.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day