Day 3044

The roofers came over today. They didn't do anything of course. It had rained overnight and the roof was covered with water. Nevertheless, I was happy to see the guys. I went up on the roof with them and showed them were the damage was. They promised to come back and fix things as soon as we get some warm, dry weather. Lord know how long it will take to get warm, dry weather, but I am determined to get this roof fixed.

There's a new wrinkle in Dash's continuing health saga. He's started coughing in his sleep at night. At first I thought he might have kennel cough, but that is unlikely. Dash is seldom around other dogs and he doesn't cough at all during the day. Coughing during sleep is a known complication associated with an enlarged heart. We've known for a while that Dash does have an enlarged heart, so maybe this is the problem. There is also a slim possibility that Dash's thyroid cancer has returned and spread to his lungs. I called the cancer center and had a nice conversation with Dash's nurse. The doctor won't be in until tomorrow morning, but the nurse thought that Dash's enlarged heart was the problem too. It's unclear what the doctor will want to do at this point, but I hope Dash doesn't have to take more meds. He's taking way too much medication already.

We're waiting for a package. For the past four days the Fedex Ground has said that there was an attempt to deliver but nobody was home. Wrong! We've been home every single time. The guy never even came to the door. This has happened before with Fedex Ground. UPS, Amazon Prime, and the Post Office have no problem finding our house, but the Fedex Ground drivers don't even try. I don't know how we are going to get this package. I looked up the facility on Google and there was a seemingly endless list of one star reviews. It was clear that we weren't the only people having this problem. Fedex Express is still pretty good, but Fedex Ground is worthless. I don't know how they stay in business.

I didn't even try to walk Dash this afternoon. The weather was cold and nasty and I don't think Dash was in the mood anyway. He's seemed a bit lethargic all day. I really hope he isn't having problems with his heart again. When we got the news that his blood clot had apparently dissolved, I was elated. I thought we could finally scratch one of Dash's many problems off the list. Unfortunately, it looks like this isn't over yet. I'm not sure when we can schedule a new exam, but hopefully Dash's doctor will have a solution to the coughing problem.

I've discovered that practicing the piano is a great way to kill time. I've been working my way through some of the online lessons I've downloaded and am pleasantly surprised with the progress I'm making. It probably helps that I used to be able to play the piano, but it's been a long, long time. Interactive online lessons are pretty cool. So far, it seems like a great way to learn to read sheet music. It's probably easier than learning German too. That was the last thing I tried to learn online.

I hope the weather improves tomorrow. It seems way too late in the year to have the furnace running.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

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 3032

I spend most of the day waiting for rain. Theoretically, we are under a tornado watch, but the bad weather must have gone to the North or South of us. So far, all I've seen are a few light showers. It doesn't hurt to be prepared though. I went up on the roof and moved the sump pump, so it would remove water from the area where we've been experiencing a leak. It may not work, but it's worth a try.

I got an early start today so I could walk Dash before the rain started. Even at Dash's excruciatingly slow pace, we managed to stay dry until we made it home again. I wasn't so lucky when I went to get groceries for the weekend. The rain wasn't heavy, but it was enough to get the car muddy. I picked up a new supply of phenobarbital for Dash on the way home and spent the rest of the day inside, watching the sky get darker and darker.

The vet that examined Dash yesterday thought some of the weakness in his rear legs was caused by arthritis and wanted us to see if gabapentin would help Dash walk without dragging his legs. We tried the drug today and it actually seems to make him worse. Sure enough, two of the most common side effects of gabapentin are sedation and wobbliness. We decided to discontinue the drug after only using it for one day. Dash is so wobbly already from the vestibular disease that he stumbles a lot. He can't afford to get much worse. I had to help Dash up several times this afternoon as he was waking up from a nap. He was struggling to get up on his own. This wasn't normal. It almost has to be the pills.

The tree trimmer canceled his appointment today because of the rain. He told me he was going fishing instead. I don't blame him for not wanting to trim trees in a thunderstorm, but I'm not so sure that fishing was a wise idea. Oh, well. The trees aren't a big priority anyway. The person I'd really like to see right now is the roofer.

I downloaded some of the piano lessons that come with GarageBand. The lessons are pretty basic, but nicely thought out. I could actually learn something. It's kind of cool to have a digital audio workstation that can teach you to play an instrument. Today I learned that the way I typically finger chords is wrong. I also learned how to play a simplified version of Ode to Joy. I think you have to buy the more advanced lessons on the App Store, but they're not very expensive. This will definitely give me something to do on rainy days.

We didn't even try to take an afternoon walk. Dash was smart enough to know that the noise we were hearing off in the distance was thunder. In lieu of a walk, I did some laundry and watched TV. I'm so tired of political news and stock market gyrations, that it might have been better to take a walk in the rain. I need to find a channel that just talks about artificial intelligence and upcoming space launches.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3031

Good news. When the doctors reviewed Dash's latest echocardiogram this morning, they were unable to detect any signs of the blood clot in his heart. There's always a chance that the clot just didn't show up during today's scan, but the folks at the cancer center are usually very thorough in their exams. We think that Dash's dangerous blood clot may have finally dissolved. Dash's doctor wants to give him one more scan in June before he gets a clean bill of health, but things are looking very good at this point.

I wish Dash were better behaved during these exams. The tests are non invasive and completely painless, but Dash freaks out whenever we take him to the vet these days. It's embarrassing to sit in the lobby and hear your dog bark and whine during the entire procedure. Everybody else's dog was sweet and well behaved today. Not ours. Maybe Dash would be happier if he realized that he only had to endure one more scan. We won't tell him that he's going to need his teeth cleaned when it's safe to sedate him again.

The day always gets off to a slow start whenever there's a vet appointment. We try to make the appointments as early as possible, so Janet won't miss too much work, but our normal routine still gets delayed quite a bit. By the time I finished my breakfast and got Dash ready to walk, it was well past noon. I don't know why I even try to keep a schedule. When I finally turned my computer on around 1 PM, there was still noting but junk mail in my inbox. I would be totally shocked if I found myself looking at a new assignment these days.

With Dash taken care of and nothing else on my plate, it was hard to avoid mowing the grass. I thought it might be better to care care of this task today, because it's expected to rain tomorrow. The good news is that the mower still works. The bad news is that it seems even harder to push this year. All my trips to the gym really haven't produced any dramatic results. What has happened to me?  Mowing the grass used to be easy.

I installed some music production software on my laptop this afternoon, so I could use the new keyboard outside the office. I probably never will, since the laptop is slow, but it's nice to have options. I was pleased to discover that Logic Pro and GarageBand have a new "teaching" mode where you can learn to play guitar and piano from within the software. Cool. I'll have to try this. I'm certainly pretty rusty playing the piano. I hope I can maintain my interest in music for a while. It would be nice to start writing songs again.

I'm still amazed that Dash's blood clot seems to have disappeared. There was always the possibility that it would, but I wasn't very hopeful. I can't even remember how many echocardiograms Dash has had now. We've been monitoring his condition for many months now and until the scan we had a month and a half ago, nothing ever changed. I'm glad we never lost faith and kept up with his treatment even when it didn't seem to be doing any good. The good news we heard today reminds me how important it is to be patient. Some things in life just take a lot of time.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day