Day 4000

Today was a milestone. Yay. I've only got 1000 days left to reach my goal. It's hard to believe that I've been blogging now for 4000 consecutive days. I've never missed a single day. Tornados, illness, travel, and numerous power outages never stopped me. The lack of anything to say never stopped me either. Blogging is not very popular anymore and readers have dwindled, but I soldier on toward an arbitrary and somewhat meaningless goal. 5000 days actually seems within reach. I can do this. If you continue reading, I'm sure something interesting will happen within the next three years.

Today's interesting event was our annual Santa Paws photo shoot. In previous years Dalmatian Rescue has organized multiple Santa Paws events in early December. I don't know why, but people love to have a picture of their pets with Santa. These holiday events have always been popular and are a reliable fundraiser for Dalmatian Rescue. Covid has made holding events like this much more difficult, but we pulled it off. Even Santa wore a mask this year. We only scheduled a single event and reservations were spaced out a bit more, but I think we were successful. 

I think we did a great job keeping everybody safe and people loved their pictures. Everyone was polite and followed the rules. Compared to grocery shopping or going to a hardware store, I don't think having your dog's picture taken with Santa was risky at all. Once I got used to it, wearing a mask all day wasn't that bad either. I wore my good N-95 mask, but just about anything would have sufficed. Nobody was really that close together.

There were no equipment failures today and no dogs peed on the backdrop either. If we do this again next year I'm going to have to replace a few things. One of the stands that holds up the backdrop is on its last legs. The softbox I use as a key light has seen better days as well. My Norman strobes and power packs seem indestructible though. I've used these things for so many years and they still function flawlessly. The aging equipment seemed expensive at the time, but it turned out to be a good investment.

Dawn has absolutely no separation anxiety. She didn't seem to mind that we were gone all day at all. We checked on her with the webcam from time to time and I think she just slept on the bed all day. It would have been nice to get a Santa picture with her, but Dawn hates riding in the car and the kennel can be stressful as well. I think she enjoyed a long, peaceful nap.

Tomorrow, a lot of the photo gear goes back in the storage warehouse for another year. I've already washed the backdrop and it came out looking like new. Maybe when I dig this stuff out again, the world will be back to normal. I certainly hope so anyway.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3993

I thought I had gotten everything we needed for next week's Santa Paws pictures from the storage warehouse a few day ago. Not so fast. I was looking at my gear today and it felt like something was missing. What was it? Jeez. I had forgotten the two large steel stands and aluminum crossbar that holds up the backdrop. How could I forget this? These three items are the largest, heaviest parts of the entire setup. I'll go back to the storage warehouse tomorrow and retrieve these items. I'll also take a good look around to see if I've forgotten anything else. I need to make a checklist when I get up in the morning. I forget everything these days.

I wish I could forget about all the water on the roof. Since it looks like the weather has cleared up for a few days, it was time to remove all the standing water from yesterday's rain. I've grown to hate this job, but it needs to be done. It must have rained a lot last night, because there was a ton of water on the roof. The water never evaporates in the Winter and falling leaves from the large Oak and Pecan trees form little duck ponds that hold the water in place. It took me almost two hours to remove all the leaves and standing water. While I was working, I found a few new areas that need to be repaired. Why can't I find these things in the Summer when it much easier to patch the roof? If there's ever a warm, dry day in the next month or so, I know what I'll be doing.

We slept in a little later than usual this morning and by the time we were ready to walk, all the rain had stopped. It was still wet and muddy however, so we tried to stick to paved roads. Dawn enjoyed the chilly morning, but I wished I had dressed a little warmer. It's hard to decide what to wear on days like these. When it's windy down by the water it can seem ten degrees cooler. When the sun comes out on a cloudy day, it almost instantly seems ten degrees warmer.

When we were taking inventory of our props for next week's photoshoot, we tried a few hats on Dawn. She was a good sport, but I don't think she likes wearing hats any more than our other dogs. We seldom get Santa pictures of our own dogs because Janet and I are both working at these events. I'm sure that Dawn would much rather stay home and take a long nap on our big bed than be in a kennel run while we were taking pictures. We did take Dot and Dash to a Santa Paws event once and you could tell that they almost immediately wanted to go back home again.

I attached a strap to the new camera and charged the batteries. That's as far as I got. I'm in no particular hurry. I still haven't even finished unpacking from my trip to Florida. It's taking me longer and longer to accomplish anything these days but I keep plodding along. Eventually, everything gets done. I'm going to use an older, more familiar camera for the Santa Paws photoshoot anyway. I learned long ago that the worst time to try something new is when you need everything to go right.

When I was taking my afternoon walk, I watched the sky change from heavily overcast to completely clear in less than an hour. It was really quite beautiful. I enjoy being outdoors. When I was looking up at the sky, I could imagine I was anywhere. The recurring sounds of police sirens and fire trucks quickly reminded me of where I actually was though. I miss the solitude of the Davis Mountains.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2547

Today was pretty hectic. One of the larger dogs we photographed tore the muslin backdrop. One of the smaller dogs pooped on Santa's red suit. In between, we had a lot of dogs that didn't really understand the whole concept of pet pictures. I'm sure that most of them would have rather gone to a dog park today. Eventually, we managed to get good pictures of almost everybody though. You just have to be patient.

There were no cats today, but there were a lot of Dalmatians. Quite a few were alumni from our rescue program. It was almost like a Dalmatian Rescue reunion. We saw young dogs that we had rescued a few weeks ago and old dogs that we had rescued over a decade ago. It was nice to see that all of these dogs had fabulous homes with people who really loved them. I guess I'll do this again next year. It sure is tiring though. I didn't even bother to put away my equipment when I got home tonight.

I still can't find my UP fitness band. The odd thing is that it appears to still be counting steps, even though no one is wearing it. My first thought was that one of the dogs might have eaten the band, but Janet said this was ridiculous. It is pretty unlikely, since neither dog has any interest in eating things like this. My second thought was that somebody stole the band, but that is unlikely too, since the band connects to my phone using short range Bluetooth. If somebody else was wearing the band, it wouldn't pair with my phone anymore. My third thought was that the UP band never actually measured real steps in the first place. My phone can measure steps too. What if the UP app used the measuring sensors in my phone and the tracker itself was just a little rubber bracelet with flashing LED lights? I'd never know the difference. The battery on the tracker is dead now, so it stopped sending  information sometime this afternoon. I may never find an answer to this mystery.

It's going to take quite a while to put all the photo equipment away tomorrow. I had some minor electrical problems over the weekend and I really ought to test everything carefully to make sure it will work the next time we have a Dalmatian Rescue photo event. I have a feeling that we won't be doing another photo shoot anytime soon. All the volunteers agreed that we're getting older and these events aren't getting any easier. It's hard to believe that we used to have photo events for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, and sometimes even Halloween. We'll probably do Christmas pictures again next year, but it won't be a marathon like it used to be. Two events a year is plenty.

Janet and I are going to a Christmas party tomorrow. The event is kind of formal, so Janet told me to be sure to air out a suit before we go. Like that would make a difference. It wouldn't make any difference if I air out, press, or take a suit to the dry cleaners. I'm still going to look like an old guy wearing a suit I bought twenty years ago. I suspect that it doesn't really matter. Most of the people at this party will be even older than I am. One good thing about old people parties is that they don't last very long. I feel pretty safe leaving Dot for a while. We should be back home in less than two hours.

It's been a long day, but everybody survived and maybe a few people will have a better Christmas card this year as a result of our Santa Paws photo shoots. Tomorrow, it's back to drinking banana, strawberry smoothies for breakfast and cleaning up dog poop.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2189

We're done! I always say that I never want to do one of these pet picture marathons again, but that's just my aging body talking. When it's all over, I usually think we've done something good. Hundreds of people now have their Christmas card photos. We've made a lot of people happy. And we've raised a fair amount of money to help my favorite charity. Shooting Santa photos with people's pets is the only team activity I get involved with all year. Maybe a little teamwork isn't such a bad thing. I'll have to say that we're a pretty good team. It takes eight people to put together these Santa Paws events and over the years we've become experts at it. People come back year after year to dress their pets in ridiculous costumes and have Santa hold them on his lap. They say we have the best Santa photos in town. I believe we do.

Today was tiring, but everybody was in a good mood since we knew we were on the home stretch. I think most of the bad, misbehaving dogs decided to come today. We definitely had our hands full. Our set got peed on again. Several dogs were nervous and didn't want to have anything to do with Santa. Other dogs couldn't stand still for two seconds. Quite a few drooled a lot and couldn't keep their tongue in their mouth. It takes a lot of patience to be a pet photographer. It also takes a lot of dog treats. Eventually, we got a good photo of almost everybody, but some dogs took longer than others.

Texas weather is remarkably inconsistent. When I went to bed last night it was warm and muggy. During the night it poured rain and by the time we called it a day at our Santa Paws location this afternoon, it was thirty degrees cooler and felt like it could snow. I thought there might be a lot of no shows because of today's rain, but I think all the weather did was make people late for their appointment. I never criticize people for being late anymore, since I'm late so often myself. Dallas traffic is terrible and encountering a single traffic accident or construction site can put you twenty minutes behind. With some of the wild dogs we photographed today, I'm amazed that many of these people made it to the photo shoot at all.

With the Santa Paws season behind us, it's now time to catch up on other things. I'll make a trip to the storage warehouse tomorrow to return some of the equipment we used and hopefully return with a box or two of Christmas ornaments. Putting up a Christmas tree is definitely on this weeks to-do list. So is putting up the new set of mini-blinds I bought last week. I'd like to sleep in tomorrow, but it's a work day. Janet will be getting up at the crack of dawn to get ready for work and we'll all go on a morning walk as the sun comes up. After that, who knows. There is a fresh bunch of bananas and a tub of strawberries in the kitchen for my morning smoothies. There is certainly plenty to do tomorrow, but it will be hard to resist the temptation to take a long nap as soon as Janet's car leaves the driveway.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1818

Today's Santa Paws photo shoot was in Lewisville, so I had to get up a little earlier than usual to make the 40 mile drive to our location. The crowds were a little lighter than yesterday, but I still ended up with almost 800 images on my memory cards. There were no mishaps today at all. The dogs were friendly and all the equipment worked. I even managed to get the MicroSync transmitter that broke yesterday working again.

It's surprising how many people come to these events year after year. One photo session made me sad today. A dog I have known almost since he was a pup is finally approaching the end of his life. His family wanted some special portraits to remember him by, since they didn't think he would make it another year. I have taken the final portraits of many Dalmatians over the years and I always wish they could live a little longer. Dogs live just long enough to work their way into your heart and then they are gone. Maybe Jasper can make it one more year though. I certainly hope so.

We had Pizza for lunch today. These photo events are the only time I ever eat lunch. If I ate lunch every day, I'm sure I'd be twenty pounds heavier. I don't see how people do it. Even if it weren't for all the extra calories, three meals a day just takes up too much time. I like a leisurely breakfast, but that's about it for me. I certainly don't spend much time on dinner. That being said, the pizza was delicious. I figure I deserve to indulge on days like this. The work is tiring and I'm surprisingly hungry. Maybe if I worked hard every day, I could eat like a horse. I suspect that if I did manual labor for a living, I'd be dead by now though. My bones and joints are just barely holding together as it is.

Dot was surprisingly energetic on our evening walk. I guess this shouldn't seem that surprising since she and Dash just slept all day while we were gone. Janet thinks I worry too much, but I still hate to leave the dogs for long periods of time. When I photograph all these old dogs, it really hits home just how short their lives are. I read an article recently saying that since dogs have been domesticated for centuries, they age in a very similar way that we do. They tend to get Alzheimer's, dementia, and cancer at almost the same rate as humans. The point of the article was that since old dogs live longer when they eat the best possible food, take lots of naps, and continue to stay active with long walks, we could do ourselves a big favor by living our own lives the same way. I ought to do pretty well, since just about all I do is shop for healthy food, take lots of naps, and take long daily walks with Dot and Dash.

Tomorrow I take my car to the dealer for a service check and go see the oral surgeon who is going to remove my wisdom teeth for an initial consultation. My car and my teeth have both been remarkably reliable. I really have had no problems at all with this new car, which is certainly a change of pace from my old Defender. The Defender was always in the shop, but I loved it anyway. Whenever I do see a dentist, they always tell me I have great teeth. They also tell me that if I saw a dentist a little more frequently, I might not have any problems at all. The decay in my wisdom tooth is totally my fault. Dentists told me ten years ago that I should have the tooth removed because it was coming in at an angle and was prone to cavities. They were right!

I know I take better care of the dogs, my cars, and my cameras than I take care of myself, but I really thought my teeth could make it another twenty years on their own.  I guess, like everything else in life, they're going to need a little help.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1800

I like big round numbers like 1800. They give me hope that I'll be able to continue doing this for 2000, or if I'm lucky, even 5000 days. As incremental days go, this really wasn't much of a milestone. It was still chilly outside, although the temperature was warmer than yesterday. The day went fast, because there were a ton of minor chores to do. After walking the dogs and fixing myself some oatmeal for breakfast, I went to the bank. Then I went to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions, did a load of laundry, and balanced my checkbook. Each of these things took a lot longer than it should have, but like I said, the day went quickly.

I don't know why it takes me so long to balance my checkbook these day. This used to be a snap. Now, I'm always entering something twice, or not at all, and ending up with a perplexing discrepancy after all my efforts. Since I'm an obsessive type by nature, I keep checking and rechecking until I eventually find my error, but I doubt that all my calculations even matter. It would probably be a lot easier if I just accepted what the bank said I have each month and let it go at that.

My writing assignments took longer today as well. I wish I could do these things faster since they don't pay a lot, but there are days when my mind is a blank. Just like the checkbook, I eventually get all the words in the right place, but there is often a lot of staring off into space involved. By the time I got all the writing, bookkeeping, and other errands taken care of, it was time for dinner. It wasn't an exciting day, but it was a productive one.

We skipped dog training class for the second week in a row. It's just too cold for Dot. Her joints are old and stiff and the ground is damp and cold. On nights like these, she prefers to sit on a pile of blankets in a warm house. Dash doesn't seem to mind missing class either. He enjoys seeing the other dogs, but I think he lost interest in being obedient several years ago. When it warms up a bit, we'll be back. It's good for the dogs to stay active and mingle with other dogs.

It's time to start thinking about Christmas pet pictures again. I can't even remember how many years I've been shooting pictures of dogs sitting on Santa's lap, but it's been a long time. Janet and I got a new backdrop for this year's round of pictures. Since a lot of the same people come to these events year after year, it's nice to have something different to offer them. I think we have five events this year, so I hope all my equipment still works.

The refrigerator looks pretty empty, so I'll probably have to go to the store tomorrow. Dot has her physical therapy session as well. We'll see how the day goes. I'd like to go see Interstellar at an IMAX theater sometime soon, but tomorrow looks pretty busy. Maybe Friday might work.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1509

I shot lots of pictures of dogs in tutus today. You get a different crowd for Valentines Day pet pictures than for Santa pictures. There were very few big dogs and no families. Everybody was pretty young today. A lot of people wanted to have their picture taken with their dog. Your first thought is that the picture is going to be a gift to a special someone of the owner. Then you realize that the dog actually is the owner's valentine. That's OK, I guess. I've seen surveys saying that dogs are increasingly the significant other in many people's lives.

Christmas pictures are almost always expansive, happy affairs. Families bring in four or five big, rowdy dogs, a few kids, and even a cat and then try to cram everything into one picture. Valentines Day pictures are kind of lonely by comparison. It's usually a single small dog accompanied one well dressed young person.

I made it through the day with no further injuries to my shoulder, but realized that you can't really do much with one arm. There were so many things today that just required two hands. Maybe abstaining from walking Dot and Dash and limiting my workouts to walking on a treadmill will help the healing process, but there are so many other ways you use your shoulder muscles every day. A host of simple little things like putting on your pants in the morning, drying your back with a towel after taking a shower, or putting groceries into a grocery cart all have to be re-thought. This is probably why my rehabilitation didn't work out so well the last time I dislocated my shoulder. There are simply too many things that need to be done and too few people to lean on for assistance. I hate to ask for assistance anyway. I've done things my own way and on my own schedule for so long no, that it's really hard for me to change my ways. I'll just do the best I can and try not to do anything stupid.

The weather is turning cold again. They say we might have freezing rain by morning. At least we managed to get this photo event, and most of the weekend grocery shopping out of the way before the bad weather arrives. I think this has been one of the strangest Winters in recent memory. We continue to alternate back and forth between days where you can wear shorts and other days when the roads are slick with ice. It is not uncommon to have 50 degree temperature shifts in a single day. Yesterday there were lots of people having picnics in the park behind our house. I doubt that there will be many picnickers tomorrow.

It's been a long day. I'm tired, but I think the day was a success. We made some money for Dalmatian Rescue. Everyone seemed very happy with their pictures. And most of the photo gear has already been stowed away until it is needed again. I'm looking forward to sleeping in late tomorrow morning. I really hope that Dot and Dash have the same idea.

Myles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1459

Today, the ice and snow turned to rain. I guess that's a good thing. It sure would be nice to see the sun again however. There were a few breaks in the rain when I was able to walk the dogs, but for the most part, I just stayed inside and tried to get caught up on work.

It's hard to even remember what day it is anymore. A week ago at this time the city was without power. Although the electricity has returned, the residual effects of the ice storm still linger. For the most part, my clients are still trying to make up for lost time. So am I. It's amazing how just four or five days of ice related chaos can screw up your schedule.

Things are getting better though. My client with the Internet problems is back online again. I'm getting caught up on my writing assignments. I even managed to get my December invoices in the mail this afternoon. I'm glad I didn't waste any time trying to get the water and ice off the roof. It's still raining right now, and any effort to clear the roof would have been futile.

UPS seems to have lost another of my shipments. I'm not going to get upset this time though. Losing things seems to be the new normal for UPS. Both of my previous shipments turned up eventually, and I'm sure that this one will too. Hey, the trash truck finally came and picked up our garbage today. Could the UPS truck be far behind? 

Maybe I'm just going to have to learn to live with a certain level of incompetence. Nothing runs very smoothly anymore. I get put on hold more frequently when I call people. Check out lines in stores are longer. I think part of the problem is that nobody really has any useful skills anymore. When everybody just wants to write press releases and have their own reality show, society will slowly grind to a halt. I don't have many useful skills myself, but no society needs very many people like me. Trust me on this. Tell your children to become chemists, plumbers, and astronomers. The world doesn't need any more advertising people.

Tomorrow is our last Santa Paws pet photo event for 2013. I'll be glad when I can finally pack some of this gear up and take it to the storage warehouse again, so I won't have to trip over it every time I get up to go to the bathroom at night. I've photographed a lot of dogs this year, and I don't think I've complained as much as I did last year. Hey, that's something to be thankful for. If the weather finally clears up tomorrow like everybody is expecting, I'll be a happy camper.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1429

It's that time of year again. I brought home a big pile of photo and lighting equipment from the storage warehouse in preparation for the first of our Santa Paws photo events this weekend. If it seems a little early for a picture of your dog sitting on Santa's lap, just look around you. The Christmas season is already in full swing. There are Christmas tree lots on every other corner. Stores are filled with lights, cards, and decorations. Some people are even starting to decorate their yards.

Every year the equipment seems heavier and it seems to take me a little longer to set up for these events. These Santa photos are all for a good cause though. I guess lugging this heavy gear around is what I've been doing all the workouts for.

I picked up my suit from the tailor today and the moth holes are gone. Reweaving is kind of amazing. Even when I look at the repair with a magnifying glass, I can't see any evidence that a moth hole was ever there. Now that I've taken care of the moth problem, I need to take care of the ticks. Dash seems to attract ticks like a magnet. Oddly, even though they walk together, I rarely see a tick on Dot. I check Dash for ticks every evening, but sometimes I miss a few. This morning I found one crawling on me. Yuck. It's all part of having dogs though. If you have a dog, you're eventually going to find a tick.

Dot did really well at her water therapy session today. She seems to enjoy these sessions. The water is nice and warm. The place is quiet. And the vet techs all like her and feed her treats. Dog class is another story entirely. Sometimes the dogs like their training class too, but not tonight. The only thing Dot and Dash wanted to do at class this evening was go home again. I can't really blame them. It was really cold this evening. I thing the temperature is supposed to get down in the mid-twenties later tonight. I finally remembered to set the outdoor faucets dripping, so they won't freeze. Since there are no valuable plants to bring inside, I guess we're all set for the first hard freeze of the season.

It looks like my breakfast recipe is actually going to be published in the SXSW Cookbook. I had to sign a release form today verifying the my recipe was original and not copied out of another cookbook. I'm glad I didn't have to sign anything guaranteeing that nobody would get sick from eating my recipe. I'm not really a very good cook. If somebody told me a few years ago that I would end up being featured in a film festival cookbook, I would have just laughed at them.

I wish tomorrow was Friday. This week is kind of dragging along. I've got lots of writing and website assignments to finish tomorrow. It's time to go to the gym again as well. One of these days I'll surprise you with something new and original. It won't be tomorrow though.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1269

My models for today's photo shoot were a small puppy and kitten, sitting together inside a gold crown. I didn't think a dog and cat would play nice together for long enough for me to get the shot I needed, but we had an unusually calm kitten and some very good animal wranglers. I think the shot came out fine. I definitely don't think Dot or Dash would have been this calm in a similar situation.

Our power went out today during another surprise thunderstorm. After about six hours of being dead in the water, the power is still out. I can hear a repair crew from the power company back in the alley replacing a transformer on one of the telephone poles, so I have high hopes that our electricity will be restored this evening.

There was another roof problem today. The roof is mostly finished, but there is a small section of rotted wood that still needs to be replaced directly above the kitchen door. It rained so hard during today's thunderstorm that water got into the unfinished area and came spilling into the house through the top of the kitchen door. As I have mentioned already, I couldn't have picked a worse time to put on a new roof. It's usually not so bad at this time of year, but this has turned out to be the wettest Spring I can remember.

It was bad enough that it was raining cats and dogs while I had to pack up all my equipment to go photograph some cats and dogs. It would have been even worse if the rain and ensuing power outage had happened yesterday though. I would have hated to be forced to complete my Photoshop marathon using a laptop with a low battery as my primary resource.

Everyone seems in a hurry except for me. I feel out of sync with just about everything this week. My client in New York is in a hurry to get all the Las Vegas pictures. My veterinarian client is in a hurry to get the kitten and puppy pictures. The roofers are in a hurry to get paid for their still unfinished roof. I'm trying my best to keep up with all the requests, but the only thing I'm in a hurry for is the weekend.

Dot and Dash did pretty well today, especially considering all the chaos going on around them. I had to leave the dogs right in the middle of the rainstorm, and amazingly they both seemed pretty calm when I left the house. I think they sensed that this was a day where I had few options and they were doing their best to help.

Hopefully, the power will be restored this evening and tomorrow will be calm and uneventful. I'm looking forward to sunny skies and my favorite Black Bean Benedict for breakfast.

Gypsy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1089

We're done! After photographing hundreds of dogs and snapping thousands of images, the Santa Paws pet picture events are over for another year. This is a good series of fundraisers for Dalmatian Rescue. Every picture we take helps to save another abandoned Dalmatian. Even though it is a good cause, I'm still glad the photo marathon is finally over. It's tiring taking pictures of dogs all day. Dogs aren't very impressed by photography. They've got better things to do. Some dogs like to chew on Santa's beard. Other dogs like to pee on the muslin backdrop. Very few dogs listen to the photographer at all. Despite all this, we still manage to get good pictures. Everyone seemed happy with their photos this year, and most said they'll be back to see us again next year.

With the holiday pet photos finished, it's time to clean the house and pack away some of the photo gear. I'll be taking a lot of stuff back to the storage warehouse tomorrow. Although I take pictures for clients all year long, I rarely use big sets. Maybe with all the Santa Paws gear back in its place again, we can finally get the house looking nice. It will definitely be an uphill battle. If you ever saw my office, you'd probably think the whole effort was hopeless. I'm convinced that somewhere underneath all this clutter is a thing of beauty. We've just got to find it.

With all the Santa Paws photo events during the past three weeks, Dot and Dash have been getting shortchanged on their weekend outings at the dog park. We'll try to make amends tomorrow. The weather looks nice and I can't think of one good reason not to head up North for a little play time. It's probably good to avoid our own park tomorrow anyway. There's a big marathon race on Sunday and the place will be packed with people.

Our dog training class had a Christmas party tonight, but Janet and I were both too tired to attend. By the time I got all the photography stuff unloaded out of the car and took the dogs on their evening walk, all I really felt like doing was taking a long nap. Janet hasn't completely recovered from the food poisoning episode either. Maybe by this time next week, everything will be back to normal.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1082

Three down two to go. Today's Santa Paws event was a marathon. We had more appointments per hour than we'd ever done before. I photographed big dogs, little dogs, puppies, seniors, well behaved dogs, stubborn dogs, shy dogs, and some dogs that didn't look like dogs at all. All these dogs probably thought they looked ridiculous dolled up with a bright red bow. Their owners seemed to like the pictures though. Some of them were returning for the fourth year in a row.

Today went well. Even though we photographed dozens of dogs, none of them knocked over the set or peed on the backdrop. With only two more events to go, I'm optimistic that we can make it through the holiday season without a major mishap. The real test will come tomorrow, when Dot and Dash get their pictures taken.

It's hard to believe that it's December already. The temperature was in the mid-80's this afternoon. If it wasn't for the Christmas tree lots on every corner, you could have sworn it was Summer. I was too tired to take advantage of the warm weather and get some yard work done. I'm sure the yard will wait.

More printer problems today.  One of Janet's printers has a clogged line and the black ink won't print. If someone would just invent a printer that never ever clogged, I think they should get the Nobel Prize. We don't use our printers all that much and inevitably the tiny lines that carry ink from the cartridges to the print head get clogged. You would think that Epson could make these lines something that the user could replace, since they get clogged so often. Nope! I've asked Epson how to solve these clogging problems many times and the only answer I get is that I ought to use the printer more often.

I hope Dot and Dash don't wake me up in the middle of the night like they usually do. We've got another one of these photo events tomorrow and it would be nice not to fall asleep with my finger on the shutter button. I need to remember to recharge all the batteries tonight, including my own.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1068

Two down, three to go. As I pulled into our photo location this morning, I realized that I'd been to this particular strip shopping center in far north Dallas before. It used to be home to one of the only stores in Texas that sold astronomical telescopes. I bought a telescope here four or five years ago. I was disappointed to see that the cool little telescope store had disappeared. The building now housed a Condoms to Go store. A sign of the times, I guess.

We didn't have as many customers today as we did last week. The low turnout was more or less expected, since this was a new location for Dalmatian Rescue. Usually we do better in subsequent years after our customers tell their friends about us. The locations where we've been for three or four years now draw huge crowds.

One of the dogs peed on my backdrop today.  This always happens one or two times a season. It wouldn't be a problem if the twenty foot long muslin backdrops weren't so hard to clean. You can't just throw the big hand painted backdrops into a commercial washer, because the colors will run. Generally you just have to tread the stain with a bacterial enzyme stain remover like Outright and hope for the best. If you manage to get the stain out, everything is fine. If you don't, other dogs start to pee on the same spot and you're hosed. At that point you just have to throw the backdrop away.

Even though I didn't photograph as many dogs as I did last week, I was just as tired. At one point, during a lull in the activities, Santa and I both fell asleep. Everyone liked their pictures though, and for once we had plenty of room to set up. I think this will be a good location to return to next year.

The weather continues to be exceptionally nice. After the photo shoot, I got home just in time to feed Dot and Dash their dinner and go on our evening walk. We saw another beautiful sunset, but I didn't feel like doing any more photography today. You'll just have to imagine how pretty it was.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 789

Where is streaming video when you really need it? I've been trying to watch the Grammy's while I write this and I thought it would be easy to just open the show in a separate window and write while I watched. No such luck. Apparently, some folks still want you to watch the show on a regular TV. I've been going back and forth between the office and the nearest large flat screen. I like watching the Grammy's better than the Oscars or other awards shows because some of the live performances are amazingly good. I just finished watching the Beach Boys reunion and the harmonies were still pretty tight. Brian Wilson looked a little out of it, but it was amazing that he was even there with the rest of the band.

I've started noticing that the colder the weather, the larger and more aggressive the dogs are at the dog park. It was only a few degrees above freezing this morning, so the park was filled with huge, very active dogs. Dash totally lost his nerve and wouldn't play with anyone. I couldn't blame him. It was pretty rough and tumble today. We took the dogs Winter coats off, thinking they were cramping their style, but without his coat, Dash just ran away from the other dogs a little faster.

I ended up going to Target this afternoon to get a waterpic to ease my fears of being without a dentist. I hate going to Walmart and Target, but that's where you find these small appliances these days. I don't think I've been inside a Target or Walmart for several years. I prefer to imagine these stores don't even exist. I think I can sum up the discount superstore experience in four words: great deals; weird people. I did get my waterpic though. I'll probably still get a cavity before I find a dentist again.

I won't be doing Valentines pictures for the Dalmatians this year. It's getting harder and harder to find a good venue. We will be doing Easter pictures though. Get your little dogs ready for impossibly cute pictures sitting in an Easter basket, or on an egg, or something like that. Until then, I'll try try to keep myself busy writing about oilfield technology and shooting the inevitable employee pictures for websites you'll probably never see. Oh, in case you didn't notice: Adele was fantastic at the Grammy's tonight.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 689

We had our first frost last night. I'm still not sure what the difference is between a frost and a freeze, but it must have gotten below 32 degrees at some point. When I walked the dogs this morning, there were still ice crystals on a lot of the plants in shady areas the sun hadn't reached yet. As the weather gets colder, I start dressing warmer. When it gets real cold, the dogs have coats as well. For the most part, I like these Winter walks. We seldom have to compete with joggers and mountain bikes on the trails during the Winter. From now through Spring, we pretty much have the park to ourselves in the mornings.

Of course, we usually have the rest of the day to ourselves as well. Today was no exception. When we got back from making tracks in the frosty grass, I made a pot of coffee, fried some eggs and got started on another day. These days all kind of blend together. I can't even remember which websites I modified today. I wrote another watch article, which seemed very much like the one I wrote yesterday. I paid a few bills, and since it was Friday, I went to Central Market to pick up some things for dinner. Just another normal day.

We've added a few new locations to our Christmas pet photo schedule. I don't look forward to lugging the equipment to yet another venue, but I am glad that we've got an opportunity to make some additional money for the Dalmatians. The new muslin backdrop arrived this week, so the people who come to these events every year will finally get pictures that look a little different than the year before. Santa has lost some weight this year as well, so I need to remember to punch new holes in Santa's big leather belt. I think everything is ready, and there's still several weeks until our first event.

I think Winter is officially here. If the weather cooperates this weekend, I'll mow the grass for the last time this season. There won't be any rotting pumpkins on the front porch this Winter, because I never got around to buying one this year. I've noticed that the leaves are already starting to fall off the large Oak trees in the back yard. Hopefully the leaves will cover up some of the bare spots in the lawn.

Ginger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 488

Where did the weekend go? It's too bad that tomorrow isn't a holiday, because it would be nice to have another day to rest up from this weekend's pet picture marathon. Although we didn't take nearly as many pictures as we did during last Easter's pet picture event, the whole thing seemed just as tiring. With each passing year, the equipment seems to grow heavier and heavier. No complaints though. Dalmatian Rescue made some good contacts for future events, and we all enjoyed meeting the newest members of our rescue program. We picked up another dog today from Denton Animal Control. The new girl's name is Bella and she was an instant hit with everyone in the store.

It's too bad it is so hard to find a venue for these pet picture events, because our little team has become quite good at them. We take credit cards on our iPhones. We have a large flat panel display showing pictures from previous photo events. We can print everything for our customers right on the spot, including T-shirts and tote bags. We've become pros.

I really hope I can connect with my client's contacts in Houston tomorrow, so I can finally make my hotel and plane reservations for the upcoming May trade show. The event is getting closer and closer and nothing has been finalized yet. It's weird. I can't turn the TV on for ten minutes without seeing one of those ads for Travelocity or Expedia claiming to make travel easy and cheap. Whenever I try to use these services however, they always come up with nothing. I still have more faith in my client finding me a room than I have in Travelocity.

Once again I have a big pile of photo equipment just waiting for me to trip over it in the front hallway. I'll need to take that stuff back to the storage warehouse tomorrow morning. Then we can move on to other things, like fixing the website I was supposed to finish last Friday.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 486

I had to check my calendar today to make sure it wasn't National Website Problem Day. Everyone had a problem today. Some of the problems were small and insignificant, while others were so large that I felt like throwing my hands in the air and walking away. The trouble with website work is that although it doesn't pay very well, it is still very time consuming. I need to figure out a way to revive my video production business. In retrospect, that was a much better way to make a living. Unfortunately, video production work doesn't pay as well as it used to either. Once people discovered that they could buy one of those little inexpensive Flip cameras and do everything themselves, the whole process of putting corporate videos on the web changed dramatically.

Someone mentioned to me today that we are doing our Easter pet pictures tomorrow right in the middle of the largest Jewish community in Dallas. Maybe if we made little Yarmulkes for the dogs. I don't know. Hopefully, people will still come and have their dog's picture made even if they don't celebrate Easter.

I didn't really feel like celebrating much of anything today. I'm just tired. The day started with sweeping tons of water off the roof from last's night's big thunderstorm and it hasn't ended yet. All the website problems I had to deal with today slowed me down quite a bit. Yesterday, all I thought I'd be doing today was taking some employee pictures at one of my client's offices. I did get the pictures taken this afternoon, but I still haven't found time to get them up on the website yet.

As soon as I publish today's blog post, I've got to start packing up all my gear for tomorrow's pet picture event. I need to be at the store to set up at 9 AM. That means I'm going to have to start drinking a lot of coffee at 6 AM. Wish me luck.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day