Day 3020 - Easter

Janet and I have been watching old World War II bombers fly over our house for the past week, so we decided to go see them today. A traveling exhibit called Wings of Freedom was in Dallas this week which included some of the last remaining examples of legendary planes like the B-17, the B-24, and the P51 Mustang that are still in flying condition. You can even take rides in these planes although it is pretty expensive. I had no idea how a thirty minute flight could cost $450 until Janet and I climbed inside the B-17 parked on the runway and took a look inside. Good Lord. How do these things still fly? It might be pretty exciting to ride inside one of these ancient bombers, but bungee jumping seems safer. The planes looked huge on the outside but were claustrophobic inside. The B-17 only has room for 7 passengers and costs $4000 an hour to fly. No wonder rides are expensive. You have to always watch your step, because there are few areas where you can stand up and lots of sharp things to bang your head on. These bombers were state-of-the-art in the early 1940's, but seem primitive by today's standards. It's amazing how much the world has changed. I don't know if I'd have the nerve to fly in one of these things, but I have a lot of admiration for the men and women of my Dad's generation who did.

I was surprised at how cold it was this morning. I'm sure glad I fixed the furnace. Maybe it was a little premature to think that Spring was here to stay. Hey, at least we aren't getting snow like some parts of the country. The cooler weather didn't deter the hordes of people who descend on the park every Easter. People were already staking out their territories when we took Dash on his sunrise walk. Later in the day the place looked like a rock concert. I don't know where these people come from, but they sure don't believe in picking up their trash. Every year, the park is a disaster on the day after Easter. Lots of garbage get blown away by the wind and never gets picked up. The rest sits around for weeks until the sanitation department finally gets around to removing it. For the next three weeks I'm going to have to watch carefully to make sure that Dash doesn't eat chicken bones or children's Easter candy. The stuff is everywhere.

It's a shame that Dash wasn't feeling great today, because Janet and I had a delicious Easter feast. We enjoyed a traditional meal of smoked ham, candied yams, green beans, corn on the cob, and spiced baked apples. Dash had an upset stomach and was reluctant to eat his favorite dog food. He must have experienced another vestibular event. Even though Dash seemed normal for much of the day, he ended up throwing up twice as evening approached. Hopefully, the worst is over now and he'll be able to hold down his evening meds. It's always important that he takes his phenobarbital.

It was enjoyable to get out of the house today. While we were at Love Field we stopped to visit the Frontiers of Flight museum. The museum is home to the Apollo VII capsule and they were getting ready for a fiftieth anniversary celebration of the launch later this year. Has it been that long? Jeez. I'm really getting old. I remember each of the Apollo launches quite vividly. There were a couple of World War II vets touring the B-17 with us. I imagine they felt even older.

It was nice having a holiday weekend, but it's back to normal tomorrow. I might even have to mow the grass.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2280

We got off to a late start this morning. I woke up at 7 AM, which meant it was really 8 AM because of Daylight Savings Time. Dot couldn't wait that long. She needed to go outside immediately and before I could get her harness attached, she peed on the living room rug. It wasn't her fault. It was her old, slow companion. I hate it when she has an accident just because I wasn't alert enough to see the signs. She does try to tell me, but it doesn't always work in the morning when I am sleep deprived and haven't had my coffee yet. At any rate, it wasn't a big deal. I sprayed the rug with Nature's Miracle, took it outside and hosed it down and left it to dry in the sun. The rug will live to serve another day.

Dash got a bath today while I went to the gym. I don't think either of us really enjoyed the experience. Janet always asks if I had a good workout and I don't even know what that means. She really enjoys going to the gym, but to me it's just a way to moderately reduce the chance of having a heart attack. It's kind of like taking statins and blood pressure medication, except that I sweat more. It would be nice if I enjoyed these workouts, but that would be out of character for me. It's rare that I enjoy anything these days.

I definitely didn't enjoy going up on the roof for the third time this week, but maybe the third time is the charm. According to the weather forecast, we are supposed to have clear skies and warm weather for the next four or five days. I probably should get the landscapers out to refurbish the back yard before the rainy season is completely finished. Last year, we planted the St. Augustine grass in March and the Spring rains really helped it get established before the Summer dry spell and underground grubs killed it again. It wouldn't hurt to call a tree trimmer as well. Now, that the Oak and Elm trees are starting to bud, I'm starting to see more than a few dead limbs.

The park was really crowded today. It's always this way on warm, early Spring days. Dash can smell food from quite a distance, so he's always trying to crash someone's picnic. It's a shame that there are so many loose dogs in the park on weekends. When Dash sees a loose dog, he immediately turns around and wants to go home again. Our afternoon walk got cut short this way today. It's been many years since Dash was attacked, but he has never forgotten. A single loose dog can ruin his day.

I bet we'll be walking the dogs in the dark again tomorrow. I looked outside around 6 AM this morning and it was still quite dark outside. I should of gotten up then and taken Dot out to pee, but I didn't. No worries about repeating this mistake on a weekday. The clocks have been re-set and we'll all be up at the crack of dawn whether I like it or not.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2265

When we were walking the dogs this morning, I noticed that all the neighbors were getting brand new concrete driveways. Apparently the construction crew that is fixing the street also does freelance concrete work on weekends. I can see why everyone is jumping at this opportunity. They are all getting highway grade concrete work at half the price a private contractor would charge. These guys don't need special permits from the city because they are already paving the road. They probably get quantity discounts on concrete, since a ton of concrete is already being used for road repairs. Best of all, there is no big contractor markups on the job. The neighbors just pay the crew directly. I wish I could get a new driveway for half price like the other neighbors, but my driveway exits to a different street that is unfortunately not under construction. I don't quality for this unexpected bonus.

I finally crawled up on the roof and removed last week's standing water. Half the water had already evaporated. Maybe if I had waited another week, the roof would have just dried out on its own. I think I got lucky this time. We had a very windy day right after it rained and the wind blew away all the dead leaves and a lot of the standing water. The roof only gets messy when leaves create little Beaver ponds that keep the water in place. The roof seems to be holding up fairly well this year. I didn't see any cracks in the elastomer, which was surprising. Maybe the gods have finally realized that I've had enough water problems for one year.

I typically use those automated checkout lanes at stores because they are generally much faster. Not today. When I was getting groceries, I got stuck in line behind someone who tried to stick every single credit card in his wallet into the machine before he eventually gave up, abandoned his buggy full of food, and walked out of the store. Why would you even try to use the automated check out if all your credit cards had expired? People amaze me sometimes.

It was unusually warm today and Dash tried to crash several outdoor picnics while we were walking in the park. He's got a good nose for barbecue. It was embarrassing when he was tugging at his leash to reach someone's barbecue grill. I kept having to explain to people that he was really a very friendly dog who had no manners whatsoever. I kind of hate it when people picnic in the park, because they throw their bones on the ground and I have to watch carefully to make sure that Dash doesn't find them. I've had dogs that have swallowed pork ribs or chicken bones before and it usually involves a trip to the vet.

I should go to the gym tomorrow, but it has been a long day and I haven't completely recovered from my cold yet. I think my body would appreciate a nap a lot more than a workout.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1860

We started out the day by moving some stuff from Janet's storage warehouse to my storage warehouse. I'm not sure what this accomplished, but it did keep Janet from throwing a few things away. She is trying to de-clutter, while I have apparently still failed to grasp the meaning of the word.

Today was even nicer than yesterday.  We were graced with another day of clear blue skies and 70 degree temperatures.The park is a mine field on days like this. The dogs amuse themselves by trying to grab all the chicken bones and barbecued ribs that picnickers throw on the ground. They can smell food scraps from fifty feet away. They can smell horse poop from even further, and there's plenty of that as well. There are stables in the area and a nice Sunday afternoon ways brings out plenty of riders. Somehow, we managed to negotiate all these pungent smells without Dot and Dash eating a bunch of crap. Although I enjoy walking a lot more on days when the park is empty, I don't think the dogs agree. They see days like today as a treasure hunt.

Since it was a pretty day, there was nobody at the gym. I counted only five people in the huge building, which was fine by me. I almost always prefer to do things when other people are doing something else. Maybe this is why I tend to prefer a matinee to an evening movie. In an empty movie theater you can always find the perfect seat. I hate rush hour traffic and always try to schedule meetings at either 10:30 AM or 2:30 PM. I studiously avoid trendy restaurants. I discovered long ago that the food is just as good after the bloom is off the rose and the trend-setters have moved elsewhere.

Since I feel so comfortable going against the grain, I spent a portion of this warm and sunny afternoon sitting in my office catching up on writing assignments. Why not? I'd already had a nice early morning walk before the rest of the world got out of bed. I had a good workout in an empty gym. I even organized my storage warehouse a bit and Janet fixed steaks for dinner. It was a good day.

Tomorrow is a holiday, but I bet I'll have work to do anyway. Banks are closed and government workers get the day off, but almost everything else seems to continue as normal. I'm not sure about my schedule, but I know I still have a physical therapy appointment. If the rest of the day turns out to be just like today, that would be fine by me. I'm not a huge football fan, but I still can't figure out how Green Bay lost that playoff game today. They were ahead the entire game and all of the sudden they inexplicably lost. That's life, I guess.

Dovey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1587 - Easter

I hope everyone had a pleasant Passover, Easter, or just a nice day. I certainly did. I knew it was going to rain sometime today, so I thought I'd get up early and get a lot done while the sun was still shining. As luck would have it, the skies were clear and sunny for most of the day. I got the lawn mower running and got the front yard looking decent again. I think the cause of my battery problems is my battery charger. It no longer shuts itself off when it reaches a full charge. I'll have to remember to manually unplug the thing this Summer after it charges for about three hours. Otherwise, I'll burn up the new battery fairly quickly.

After I got the yard looking nice, I weeded a few flower beds. I encountered quite a few honeybees while I was working. Hopefully, they were just passing through gathering pollen. I certainly hope they aren't planning on building another huge hive in my house. Once you've been stung by a bunch of angry bees, you don't tend to forget.

I took some more stuff to the storage warehouse this afternoon. If I lived in a rural area and had a bigger yard, I'd buy one of those metal warehouse buildings that all farmers seem to have. I'd fill it with industrial metal shelving and alphabetize each aisle from A to Z. I'd take great pleasure in categorizing and archiving all my stuff, until the zombie apocalypse came and I realized that all my treasured tools were hopelessly rusty with completely dead batteries. Janet thinks I'm dangerously close to becoming a hoarder, but I think my pack-rat tendencies are no worse than her own tendencies to always buy in bulk to take advantage of sales. I may still have every Macintosh I've ever owned, but at least I'm not responsible for the year's supply of soup in the kitchen pantry.

Today is a huge day for family picnics in the park. Typically, one family member arrives early in the morning to stake out a picnic table and the rest of the family arrives later. Some people erect elaborate tents and put up volleyball nets. By ten-thirty AM, the air is thick with the smell of barbecue and smoked meats. I try to walk the dogs in secluded areas on days like this. Dash loves an audience when he poops and never fails to embarrass me by pooping right in front of a large table of people eating their holiday dinner. There's way too much candy littering the ground too, since the kids seems to only find 50% of what their parents hide for the egg hunt. Easter candy is the last thing the dogs should be eating. Chocolate is poisonous to dogs.

The rain did eventually arrive late in the day, but we were all safely back inside by then, eating our Easter dinner. A great dinner is always a nice way to end a good day. Tomorrow, Dash goes in for his fifteenth radiation treatment. I'm on the home stretch of my own Hepatitis-C treatments as well. I usually don't look forward to birthdays, but this year might be different. By June, most of this Spring's long medical journey should be in the past.

Wilson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1297 - Independence Day

The best Fourth of July I can remember was in 1976. This was the year we celebrated the country's Bicentennial. I was returning from Victoria, British Columbia to Seattle by boat and just as we entered the harbor, a massive fireworks display began directly overhead. The celebration was beautiful and serene as the boat glided slowly towards the shore. There were no ants or mosquitoes and the crowds of revelers were far away on shore. At the opposite end of the scale was a celebration in Dallas where I was right in the middle of thousands of drunk revelers, trying to sell glow-in-the-dark necklaces to raise money for animal rescue. Ever since that event, I have had no desire to be in a large crowd again.

There was certainly a respectable crowd of people in the park behind our house today. Early in the morning, there were hundreds of runners completing a 10K race while I walked the dogs. Later in the day, the park was filled with picnickers, cyclists, and boaters. The smell of barbecue permeated the air, but even the delicious smell of burgers and brisket cooking wasn't enough to make me want to have a picnic myself.

I kept to myself as I worked my way through a list of chores. I made another week's supply of juice with the juicer. I did several loads of laundry. I even tried to fix a leak in the problematic French Porcher toilet. It is impossible to find parts for the thing, but I do the best I can. When all my chores were done, I thought I'd go work out at the gym, but when I got there it was closed for the holiday. On the way home, I stopped at Central Market and got something that we already had in the refrigerator.  My memory is shot.

Dot has an amazing ability to sense changes in the weather. She was was acting like she usually does when it's about to rain this afternoon. I was initially confused, because there was no rain in the forecast and the sky was clear. As her behavior continued, I turned on the weather channel and learned that a cold front had just passed through town. It is easy to miss a cold front in the Summer. I think the temperature just went down from 95 to 85. Dot knew though. She knew way before I did.

I tried to do a little research in the Internet today and see if I could discover why my liver enzyme levels were continuing to fluctuate. There were so many potential reasons that I just gave up. Even trained hepatologists seem to have trouble coming to a consensus about liver enzyme levels. Oddly, exercise can actually cause liver enzyme levels to rise. I can't imagine that I've been doing enough exercise to move the needle though.

At least tomorrow is Friday. Friday is my favorite day. I like things to be finished, and they very seldom are. At least Friday creates the illusion that you've crossed some sort of imaginary finish line.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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