Day 3033

I took Dash outside several times last night and each time it was ten degrees cooler than the time before. The temperature was in the seventies when we went to bed and in the forties the next morning. I don't think Winter is ready to relinquish it's grip on us. I'm glad I haven't put away my Winter clothes yet. I still wear them several times a week. It felt like we experienced all four seasons today. The clear skies looked like Summer. The cold temperatures felt like Winter. The blooming flowers reminded me that it was actually Spring. And the blustery wind felt like Fall. It isn't usually this cold in mid-April, but then there is nothing "usual" about Texas weather at any time of the year.

Janet went to pick up a dog for Dalmatian Rescue this morning, but we got Dash to take his regular morning walk by pretending that she was just going to work again. On weekends Dash typically insists that we all walk together. I wanted to stay home with Dash because he was so shaky yesterday. He was still very wobbly when I took him out to pee during the night, but he began to improve as the day progressed. By the end of the day he was walking normally again. This kind of confirmed my suspicion that the gabapentin was causing his problems. It's a shame that there are so few pain pills without serious side effects. Cortisone and other steroids can weaken your immune system. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Rimadyl can damage the liver and kidneys. Gabapentin tends to cause sedation and weakness. Tramadol and other opioids have their own serious problems. There is not really a good solution. You use these drugs when the pain becomes worse than the side effects.

I got tired of looking at the rust colored stain in the living room ceiling, so I got out a ladder and cleaned the area with a bleach soaked rag. The sheet rock is still damaged, but it looks much better now. I was pleased to discover that the sheet rock felt pretty dry. This means that the leak we experienced recently wasn't very bad. After the cosmetic improvements I made to the living room, I decided to tackle the bathroom. Mildew is a continual problem in the shower. I took the handles off the faucets and scrubbed them inside and out. Then I did the same thing to the shower nozzle. I'm not sure if the shower nozzle works better after I took it apart and cleaned it, but it certainly looks better.

I couldn't figure out why I've been unable to repair the silicon band on my fitness tracker. I finally did some research today and discovered that it is almost impossible to glue two pieces of silicon together. The stuff just doesn't stick to anything. I learned that there is a special industrial adhesive specifically designed to attach silicon to silicon, but it costs $30 for a small 3 oz. tube. Jeez. I could just buy a new fitness band for about the same price. I still like these UP3 bands, despite their many problems. The company is bankrupt but you can still find the trackers at companies that specialize in selling discontinued merchandise. I should buy a few spares before they're all gone.

I listened to another piano lesson on my computer this afternoon and realized that my fingers are going to be a problem. I have trouble playing the guitar for any length of time because of the arthritis in my hands. I thought that the piano wouldn't be a problem, but I'm having trouble with the correct fingering on chords. My fingers just don't move the way they used to. The pain isn't bad, but it's a nuisance. Maybe this is why Dash and I do so well on our long, slow walks. We're both falling apart at just about the same rate. I don't know how Janet puts up with us. We're both grumpy old men.

Flash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2753

Janet and I have to do all our errands together now. She can drive, but her doctors don't want her to lift things. I've got one good hand for lifting things, but I can't drive. Together, we make a pretty decent team, although I still don't understand why we are doing our shopping on busy weekends. When we were out today, I saw a couple of old people who had personal assistants. "We need one of those," I said.

I'll be glad when I don't have to wear the splint on my wrist anymore. I wish I had the forethought to fall on my right wrist instead of my left. I am so totally left handed that it's hard to even write my name or hold a fork these days. I am getting better though. The swelling is starting to subside on my left leg and I find it easier to sleep now. I'm going to have to revise my position on pain pills a bit. They do have their uses. When I took a Tylenol-Codeine pill before I went to sleep last night, it really helped dull the pain in my wrist. I may not even need a pill tonight. The pain is not as bad today.

Dash is a lazy dog and loves to nap, but I think even he is becoming bored with us. Janet and I both get tired so easily now. After we finished our shopping today, we both went back to bed and went to sleep for two hours. Although it is becoming easier to walk, I still can't be on my feet for too long. Moving around a bit is good for circulation, but moving around too much is bad. You really have to stay focused on healing. You can't pretend that everything is fine when it isn't.

This whole incident has made me realize that you have to start taking falls seriously as you get older. I've fallen many times before. I've even landed on my wrists before. It's kind of natural to try to break a fall with your hands. Although I've fallen hundreds of times for dozens of reasons, I've never put myself out of commission like this before. I'm going to have to be real careful when I go up on the roof. Old, brittle bones aren't very forgiving.

The animal control people were back in the neighborhood today. They were still looking for the owners of the dog who bit me. Janet and I have told them several times that the owners are out of town, but that doesn't seem to make any difference. When the guy knocked on my door again this morning, I gave him the owners cell phone numbers and asked him to please call them directly. Just knocking randomly on neighbor's doors and asking people if they'd seen the owners isn't going to prove anything. It's weird that animal control is ruthlessly efficient, but I can't get the sanitation people to empty my trash. When I look at how city government functions, it's no surprise that our national government doesn't work very well either.

My newly upgraded computer seems to be working well. Even though the cloned hard drive was supposed to be absolutely identical to the old drive, I'm noticing all sorts of little differences. The computer seems to know that there's been an organ transplant. Some icons look different now and the computer seems to want to go into hibernation and disconnect from WiFi when it has been sitting idle for more than thirty minutes. Maybe this is a good thing. The computer is idle quite a bit. Lord knows how much electricity I've wasted over the years.

I'll be glad when I can get back to walking Dash again. I miss our early morning walks. One of the best signs that I've been totally out of it lately is that the battery on my fitness tracker has been dead for three days and I only noticed this morning. I'll try to keep the battery charged, but it's going to take a while to get back to taking 10,000 steps a day.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2711

Dot has forgotten a lot, but she hasn't forgotten birthdays. We celebrated Dash's twelfth birthday this evening and Dot ate her birthday cupcake like a champ. I was surprised, since the Sprinkles doggie cupcake was larger than the things she can normally chew. Motivation is everything, I guess. Dot has always loved cake.

I wish she was equally motivated to eat her dinner. I couldn't get Dot to eat dry food at all today. So far, her somewhat eclectic menu has included three thin slices of turkey breast, a piece of cheddar cheese, and two crackers. This isn't enough.

At least Dot has been calm and peaceful today. There has been none of the anxiety we saw last night. We'll never really know what caused yesterday's problems, but I think she might have gotten a pill caught in her throat. Dot wasn't eating food when she took her evening pills, so she might not have swallowed them completely. When we took her outside and squirted some water down her throat with a syringe, the anxiety seemed to go away and we were all able to go to sleep.

The weather has been hot and humid all day. It's starting to feel like Summer. I'm dreading the warmer weather. Dot can't handle the heat and I can't handle the bugs. I've already started seeing an increase in the number of bugs hanging out on the back porch. Since I am unable to close the back door when I take Dot outside, many of these bugs get inside. Nighttime is the worst, since a lot of the flying insects are attracted to light. I keep several strategically placed flyswatters around the house now. I still think the bugs are winning though.

I wish there was some sort of breakthrough I could report. I know it's not going to happen. We will continue taking things one day at a time. There will be good days and bad days and then there will just be little good moments within the bad days. I have a feeling that Janet will be the one who decides when it is time. I'm not really good at evaluating quality of life. I've experienced little good moments within bad days for so long now that it just seems normal to me. I hope I am not fooling myself about Dot. I really think she enjoyed Dash's birthday party tonight. I could tell that she remembered all the other birthday celebrations and at least for a little while, she was happy. That's worth an extra day in my opinion.

Libby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2703

It's even harder to tell what day it is now that I'm not going out to breakfast on Friday morning. I'll have to say that my pancakes were pretty good though. They were better than any restaurant pancakes. The only problem was that I had to reheat them in the microwave half a dozen times because every time I took a bite, Dot wanted to go outside.

Dot's new schedule is perplexing. She generally wakes up in a good mood. We take our early morning walk and sometimes she eats a little while Dash is eating his breakfast. By the time I give Dot her morning pills, Dash is usually taking a nap. After taking her pills, I try to feed Dot again, but usually she isn't hungry. She doesn't want to rest either. I might as well just skip breakfast because I'm constantly moving Dot around for the first hour or so after she takes her medication. She doesn't seems to be uncomfortable. She is just restless. We walk around a lot. I figure this is good exercise for her. Eventually she gets tired and goes into a deep sleep. She sleeps more soundly during this period of time than she does at night. By the time I wake her up for her afternoon pills her appetite has generally returned. She eats most of her food between 4 and 6 PM. Sometimes she'll eat more as the evening progresses. If I'm lucky, she'll take a nap when I'm writing the blog and then just when I'm getting ready for bed, she becomes active again.

This type of activity is not conducive to getting much done. It's not great for getting a lot of sleep either, because now there's an additional trip outside to pee every morning around 2 AM. We've learned to adapt to the incontinence, the mobility problems, and the eating difficulties. It makes you wonder what's going to happen next though.

After Dot went to sleep, I drove to Central Market and got some food for the weekend. They were having some kind of celebration of southern cooking, so there were all kinds of tasty new items in the Chef Prepared section. We seldom cook anymore, so something new in the deli section is always a treat. Tonight we had grilled shrimp and Andouille sausage over a bed of smoked grits and red onions. It would have taken hours to make something like this at home. Cooking is overrated.

Dot's changing moods throughout the day make me wonder how the pain pills actually work. I would think by giving her the medication every eight hours, that she would be pain free all the time. Maybe the pills don't really last eight hours though. Maybe it takes a long time for the medication to actually enter her bloodstream. I hope Dot's restless periods aren't just times where she is still in pain. This will be a question for the oncologist when we go back to the cancer center for a recheck next Tuesday. Cancer pain and neurological pain are very different. I'd like to learn more about what is actually happening when we give her these pills.

There are supposed to be thunderstorms tonight. I can see them on the radar West of Fort Worth. Let's hope the go to the North or South of us. I'm not in the mood for thunderstorms.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2700

Dash is doing pretty well for a dog about to celebrate his twelfth birthday. The vet didn't discover anything alarming during his annual exam. The lumps and bumps are just benign lipomas. The cloudiness in his eye is getting worse, but he can still see well. Blood pressure is OK. His heart murmur has not gotten worse. Just about the only surprise was a mild infection on the inside of his lip, which he got an antibiotic shot for. I think I got the bigger surprise. When we got home, I discovered that someone had scratched the paint on my car in the parking lot.

I was worried about leaving Dot alone during Dash's exam, but she did pretty well. She was awake when I left, but was still resting calmly when I returned. Dot is still eating, which is nothing short of remarkable. I'm still spending most of the day feeding Dot dozens of little meals, but she's finally getting the nutrition she needs. I had to get the prescription for Dot's pain medication renewed today. When her oncologist prescribed the powerful meds, I think she was convinced that Dot only had a few days left. She was really surprised when I called and told her that Dot was eating again and needed a refill. I'm sure that the new pain medication is partially responsible for the return of Dot's appetite. Maybe there is another explanation, but I think that it might have simply been too painful for Dot to eat.

I wish I could think of something that would actually make Dot stronger. Her rear legs have gotten even weaker and she is totally dependent on me for mobility now. The good news is that Dot trusts me completely and knows that I will be there when she needs me. The bad news is that Dot trusts me completely and knows that I will be there when she needs me. Now that she is feeling a little better, she is barking for me to come lift her up and take her somewhere every five minutes. Since she is a bit senile, we spend quite a bit of time just wandering around aimlessly. Aimless wandering counts as exercise though. Maybe it will help keep her muscle atrophy from becoming even worse.

I joined this website called Alignable as a favor to a friend who was already a member. I guess this place is kind of a LinkedIn alternative and is supposed to help get you business leads. I spent about five minutes setting up a profile and then promptly forgot about the site. Apparently, it didn't forget about me. Now I'm getting messages from old co-workers and suppliers saying "good to hear from you again" and asking me how my business is doing. I hate to tell them that business sucks, so I just reply that it was good to hear from them too. I wonder how all these people heard about this site before I did. It appears that everybody else is already there. At any rate, I'm not expecting much. I never got any business from LinkedIn and I probably won't from this place either. Real business leads still come from word of mouth referrals.

My fitness tracker sends me messages every morning telling me that I'm not getting enough sleep. Jeez. Tell me something that I don't already know. Feeding and tending to Dot's needs and writing the blog basically take up the entire day. When you add something extra like Dash's annual exam or a big website update, I'm automatically behind. Needless to say, I didn't get to take a nap with the dogs today. Maybe tomorrow will be less hectic.

When Dot's oncologist prescribed her new pain medication, she told me that a younger dog could never take these meds because it would eventually kill them. The oncologist wasn't worried about Dot because she genuinely thought she only had a few days left. The goal was just to make her final days pain free. Now that Dot is slowly and steadily improving, I'm wondering how long Dot can take these powerful pills before the side effects start to cancel out the benefits. Catch 22. There's always a catch to everything, isn't there.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2689

I didn't get any sleep last night, but today went reasonably well. I actually had time to run down to the hipster restaurant and pick up some breakfast to go before Janet left for work. I gave Dot her morning pills and then sat down to enjoy some delicious cinnamon pancakes. Dot didn't eat her own breakfast until almost 11 AM, but who care about timing anymore. She ate pretty well and wanted to eat out of her bowl again instead of being hand fed.

The reason I didn't get much sleep last night is that Dot can't seem to sleep all the way through the night anymore. She peed in her bed around 3 AM and while I was cleaning her up, she decided to poop as well. It was a mess. By the time I took her blankets and harness outside to rinse off with the garden hose before throwing everything in the washing machine, I was wide awake. Maybe I went back to sleep and maybe I didn't. It's hard to tell.

The only benefit to this nocturnal mishap was that it was pretty easy to get her outside again when I woke her up around sunrise. There were no leaks on the way to the back door at all. Usually Dot sleeps for hours after breakfast, but she remained active today for some reason. Maybe she's starting to feel a little better. She certainly kept me busy. I could tell that all this activity was making it hard for her to stand, so we used the wheelchair for our evening walk. I wasn't sure if she'd ever be strong enough to use the wheelchair again, but she did pretty well today. I continue to be amazed at how easily Dot is able to walk using this contraption.

I made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. I'm way overdue, but it's been hard to get out of the house this Spring. Today I made a ten minute trip to pick up breakfast and another ten minute trip to pay the phone bill, but that was it. The rest of the day was non-stop dog wrangling.

My new driver's license arrived today. That was quick. I was convinced that the process would take months. I probably should start doing more things online like this. The whole world is optimized for online transactions these days. Nobody wants you to go to the post office or the bank anymore.  I'm afraid I'm becoming a Luddite just like my sister. I'm just more comfortable doing things the way I've done them for most of my life.

I'm curious to see if Dot's blood work and vital signs have improved the next time we take her to the cancer center. She was genuinely close to death for almost a week and now she seems to be slowly improving. Dot is still very week and has a lot of trouble swallowing, but the fact that she is trying to eat on her own again and still wants her daily walks is pretty amazing. I'm not going to get my hopes up, but it would be really nice if she could make it to her seventeenth birthday. Hey, it's possible. Her birthday is this summer.

It took about five tiny meals, but Dot ate her full two cups of food today. I had a decent breakfast for a change and Janet and I had a nice dinner. Even Dash acted pretty normally. Not a bad way to end the week.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2688

I'm having trouble with schedules. Dot has a schedule. Janet has a schedule. And Dash has a schedule. All these schedules are different. We get up early on Janet's schedule, so she can help with the dogs before she goes to work. Dot doesn't want to get up this early and won't eat much until almost 11 AM. Dash wants things the way they used to be where both dogs ate and walked together. We have to give Dot's pain pills before she is really ready, because she needs to take them every eight hours. If we started the pills later, she'd be taking the last set at three in the morning. Dash hates how long it takes me to feed Dot and usually starts his high pitched barking before we are finished. Even though Dot can't hear well now, she flinches every time Dash barks. I think Dot is starting to become nocturnal. Because she gets up late, she often isn't ready to go to bed with the rest of us. I don't have a schedule at all. I just try to keep things moving from one end of the day to the other.

Last night we had a reminder that Dot is still a very sick dog. She was sleeping peacefully, but woke up about 3 AM and started crying. I took her outside and she peed, but she still seemed uncomfortable and wouldn't go back to sleep. I got a pillow and sat with her on the floor. I could hear her stomach rumbling and suspect she had a belly ache. Since Dot gets hungry later now, she often feels like eating just before we all go to bed. This probably isn't a good idea. I'm just guessing about the indigestion. Dot could have been uncomfortable last night for dozens of other reasons. I slept on the floor with her, thinking that she'd probably throw up on me, but she held her food down despite all the stomach rumbling and eventually went back to sleep. This morning Dot seemed fine. I was exhausted though.

I had a lot of trouble giving Dot her pills today. Maybe Dot is becoming wary again, or maybe it was just me. There's an art to pilling a dog properly and I don't think I was quick or coordinated enough today. Eventually I got her to take all her pills and eat a modest amount of food, but the effort seemed to take forever. It doesn't help that Dash is becoming a picky eater as well. I have to mix in a little bit of Dot's food to get him to eat. It's all way too complicated. Dash has always had a sensitive stomach and it has taken us years to find a diet that he liked and was healthy for him. Now all that's out the window. I feed the dogs what they'll eat and just hope for some peace and tranquility.

I think my body is falling apart. I've lost five pounds in the past month and a half while still eating normally. This doesn't seem right. This morning, my right hand was swollen when I woke up and I could barely move my fingers. I'm pretty sure that holding Dot up caused this, but there is nothing I can do about it. I'm still deathly afraid of pain pills and refuse to take them. This leaves me with some pretty sore shoulders, knees, and wrists. I've seen what addiction to pain medication can do and I'm not going down that road. If I ever find myself in Dot's situation, I'll probably reconsider, but compared to Dot, I'm still pretty healthy.

When I was going out to pick up some Thai food for dinner tonight, the "Service Required" message came on in my car. Damn. Whenever I see that message on the dash, I know it's going to be expensive. I still do all required maintenance though. I'm pretty sure I treat my car better than I treat myself. Ordinarily, I'd take the car in tomorrow, but I think I'll wait a few weeks so the charges will appear on next month's credit card bill. There's enough on this month's bill already.

I'm not sure what I'll do for breakfast tomorrow. Going out on Friday morning just doesn't work anymore. Maybe if we all get up early, I can run out and pick up something in a to-go box while Janet is getting ready for work. I did take the trash out to the curb tonight, but I've still got to give Dot her nighttime pills.

Crosby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2626

Either my Spring allergies arrived early this year, or I've got a cold that just won't go away. I've had a runny nose and itching eyes for at least three weeks now. I have to remember to stuff my pockets with paper towels when I walk the dogs or leave the house, because my nose continually drips. I'm starting to look like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I've never been able to blow my nose silently and often end up waking the dogs, which is the last thing I want to do. It's frustrating. I suspect that I'm having allergy problems, because a cold would never last this long.

The cancer center finally returned my call about Dot's Gabapentin pills. It would be a lot easier if you could just talk to the doctor directly, instead of receiving relayed information from a nurse. I know that doctors and veterinarians hate to take phone calls though, because if they did they would spend their entire day talking with people looking for free medical advice. It took a while to explain Dot's situation. The pills were working great at night when Dot was sleeping, but seemed to impair her limited ability to walk during the day. All I wanted to know was whether it was OK to just administer the nighttime dose and forget the pills she was supposed to take during the day. The nurse kept suggesting that I discontinue Dot's Tramadol pills instead. "But she's been taking Tramadol for almost three months now and these pills aren't causing a problem," I kept saying. I thought this would be an easy conversation, since Google listed the three most common side effects of Gabapentin as drowsiness, weakness, and feeling tired. Finally, I think we got on the same page. "It's a pain pill," the nurse said. "If Dot's uncomfortable, give her a little more. If the pills make her weak, give her a little less." I guess I'll just continue doing what I've been doing.

I got a long awaited check from a client today, but it still wasn't enough to offset Dash's rather large vet bill. Looks like I'll have to transfer some money from savings. I don't know why it bothers me to do this, since it's just moving money from one pile to another, but I always feel defeated when I have to dip into savings. I guess I'd better get used to the idea. It won't be all that long before retirement becomes a reality and I'm faced with the prospect of living on social security.

I went to make an appointment for a bone density scan at my doctor's office and discovered that you don't need an appointment for this sort of thing. This just gives me an excuse to postpone the test a little longer. I've started taking calcium supplements to increase my bone density, but I don't know if I've been taking them long enough. I hate to take a test if I know I'm going to get a bad result. This desire to fudge test results has even got me experimenting with my new WiFi scale. I've learned that you weigh the least when you first wake up, but that your heart rate might be better later in the day. I can't seem to find the right time of day when all the things this high tech scale measures are optimal. Food is a lot heavier than I thought though. I guess the best way to diet would be to just quit eating.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1600

There were a ton of events to attend this weekend, but we were too tired to even think about most of them. A decade ago, I could have spent the entire weekend wandering around the big guitar show at Fair Park. It hardly seemed worth it though when I haven't even taken the Stratocaster out of its case in several months. Janet and I usually go to the annual Dalmatian Rescue crawfish boil, even though we never eat crawfish. This year, it all seemed too complicated. Dot can't take the heat anymore. Dash is still too sick from his radiation treatments. The event seemed way too far away this year and both of us were really tired. The event was a  no show.

The only event we made an appearance at today was our vet's Wine on the Roof animal rescue fundraiser. We've gone to this event every year since it started. It's hard to believe it's been thirteen years now. Times have changed. Our house is too full of clutter to bid on silent auction items anymore, and I haven't had a glass of wine in five years. It's still a good cause though, and the event is only a few miles from our house. Janet had some wine. I grabbed a few little sandwiches from the buffet table. And we watched a pet fashion show where dogs and cats were dressed up like characters from fairy tales. Less than an hour and a half later, we were back home.

If I had written the blog earlier in the day, I would be asleep by now. Unfortunately, earlier in the day I was sitting at my desk trying to figure out how to put together the new website that is due on Tuesday. I wish I'd kept my big mouth shut and hadn't told my client that it would be easy to replicate the look of a Wordpress site she likes using HTML. Now, that I'm actually looking at the code, it isn't going to be easy after all. Oh, well. I actually didn't mind working on the website project this afternoon, since my other alternatives were mowing the grass or weeding the gardens. I didn't actually finish the website today as I had hoped, but at least I made significant progress. I did fall asleep at the computer for a while, but it was that kind of day.

Dash had a good day. He wasn't as listless and lethargic as he was yesterday and even seemed to enjoy a short afternoon walk. The pain pills much be working. His neck still looks red and raw, but he isn't trying to scratch at the wound anymore. Hopefully, having a two day rest from the radiation will give him time to rest and relax.

I don't know what we'll do tomorrow. If today was any indication, we'll probably sleep in late. There is still a lot that needs to be done, but I doubt that it all needs to be done tomorrow.

Milo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1536

The only thing worse than a sick dog is a dog who doesn't realize he's sick. I decided today that the best way to keep Dash calm and sedate is to keep his routine as close to normal as possible. All the complicated instructions the vet gave me just seem to agitate him. He hates going out in the back yard on a leash. Using the logic that the meadow behind our house is really just an extended back yard, I took Dash on a short walk today. It made a world of difference. He got to smell his favorite bushes. He did his business much quicker than he would have in the yard. And, best of all, he was calm. When we got back home, he was a good dog for the rest of the day. A lot of people don't understand Dalmatians. You've got to meet them halfway to get anything accomplished. Dash and I have an understanding now. He'll still get his walks. In return, he'll walk nicely on a harness and keep his incision away from stray branches. As long as he gets to go outside, he seems fine with these shorter, more sedate walks.

It was a very busy day. The tree trimmers arrived promptly at 9 AM to clean up the trees that were damaged by last December's ice storm. I'm glad I finally got this taken care of, because eventually one of the precariously attached tree limbs would have broken loose and fallen on my neighbor's car. The tree looks much better now. My only problem was when I had to negotiate a truce between the tree trimmers and a neighboring fence contractor when they both wanted to park their trucks in the alley at the same time. As I expected, Dot slept through the whole thing. I wonder if they make hearing aids for dogs. Dot's hearing definitely isn't as good as it used to be.

I realized today that being able to get out of the house myself, even for a few short minutes, can make a big difference. I didn't even make a quick trip to the bank or post office today and the day seemed to drag on forever. Staying housebound for a while gives me an opportunity to observe Dash under a wide variety of different conditions and make sure he won't do anything stupid. So far, he's been an excellent patient. There is still no swelling at the incision site, so I don't think hemorrhaging is going to be a problem. Now that Dash and I have agreed to compromise on a few important points, he is being very calm and reasonable. Let's hope this continues.

My writing assignment today was long and complex. I'm still not finished with it. Maybe I'll get up early and do my editing tomorrow morning. I definitely don't like these assignments hanging over my head during the weekend. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can catch up on a few household chores as well. Maybe I'll even get to go to the gym again later this weekend.

Dash is still on pain pills, but he already seems better than he did yesterday when we brought him home. The little guy is a trooper. I only wish I could bounce back as quickly as he's doing. I'm just barely hanging in there these days. Bounce is no longer part of my vocabulary.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day