Day 4441

Sunday is usually a good day for walking but I didn't make it very far today. My feet just weren't cooperating. I tried the Voltaren again but as usual it did nothing. Our sunrise walk with Dawn was fine because she spends so much time smelling things that we end up going very slow. Now that we've decided to let Dawn choose her own route and walk wherever she wants she seems much happier. 

Our Sunday outing walk was a little more challenging and Dawn and Janet got back to the car at least five minutes before I did. I still made it thogh. Usually on Sunday I will still take my regular long walk, but I just didn't have it in me today. After the first mile I knew it was time to turn around and come home. I'm reluctant to stop walking, but I may have to for a while.

I'm still frustrated with my Google blog site. If you read this on Facebook you don't see how messed up the actual site has become because all you see is a photograph of each days individual post. There is more to the real blog with a header, additional pictures, and a sidebar with links and an index of previous posts. The problem is that Google has retired, or as they call it "depreciated" the ancient theme I initially used to create the blog. Some of the elements don't work anymore and the sidebar isn't at the left side like it used to be. For some reason it's at the bottom now, below a ton of old posts. I guess I could transfer the blog content to one of the new modern themes they offer these days, but I like the look I had. Definitely a first world problem, but it is irritating.

Apple is equally irritating. I don't update the OS on any of my computers anymore so I can continue to run old familiar software and open ancient files. Each computer seems to have a system that works best, but they are all pretty old at this point. Apple has no interest in supporting its older systems. My Safari doesn't work well anymore because the browser is meant to be used with current operating systems. Even older Quicktime files won't open on the latest Macs. I liked the Apple of ten or even twenty years ago much better than the current company. I doubt that they care.

We forgot to give Dawn the calming medication before we went on our Sunday outing today and she was back to her usual frantic behavior in the car. I'm not a fan of these type of meds, but I reluctantly have to agree that gabapentin seems to help. Dawn was much calmer on last Sunday's outing. She wasn't as frantic while still seeming to have plenty of energy to enjoy her walk. I wonder occasionally if Dawn even likes these Sunday excursions. We're doing this all for her. It would be a shame if she'd rather stay home.

I voted in the state's primary election yesterday. I wonder why so many people are running in these primaries? Both sides seems to have an abundance of candidates and they are all badmouthing each other. Isn't this counterproductive? I think some of the things they say today will come back to bite them in the general election. It's weird that I am still a regular voter. I dislike politics intensely and think most politicians are totally worthless.

I do like Janet's cooking and we had a delicious dinner tonight. It made up for all the foot pain earlier in the day. Tomorrow it's time to visit the kennel Dalmatians again. I hear that we have a new dog, so I'll need to remember to take my camera. 

Odie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3065

I voted today. I don't always vote in primary elections, but I took this opportunity to vote against the candidates who irritated me the most with their incessant robocalls and spammy brochures. I still don't understand why politicians of the same party spend so much time trashing each other in primary elections. Both parties do this. All it does is leave voters trusting nobody when it's time for the general election.

Dash is still getting used to our new schedule. I was pleasantly surprised that he stayed still enough for me to put his leg brace and boots on by myself this morning. He was actually eager to go on his morning walk. Unfortunately, he wasn't so eager to take his pills and eat breakfast when we got home. This was equally surprising because usually a nice walk will give Dash an appetite. I had to experiment to find something he would take his pills in, but eventually we succeeded. He didn't seem very hungry this morning, but eventually he finished his breakfast around 11 AM.

It looks like we're going to have clear skies for the next week. There is no rain in the forecast at all. Now, all I've got to do is get the roofers to come back and finish the job before the next thunderstorm arrives. I tried to contact the foreman and schedule something but I kept getting a message saying "mailbox full" and the call would hang up. It's like pulling teeth to get these repairs completed. I feel certain that when the roofers eventually do return, it will rain the next day.

I went to the grocery store this morning to buy some more Chicken Tenders. When everything else fails, Dash will still usually eat Chicken Tenders. He'd probably like a bucket of KFC too, but I've got to draw the line somewhere. The store was out of Chicken Tenders, so I got some Steak Fingers instead. They might not taste the same, but they certainly look the same.

The temperature was in the 90's this afternoon. I didn't even try to take Dash on an evening walk. He just can't handle the heat anymore. As the temperature warmed up, I could tell he was reluctant to even go out in the back yard and pee. Thank goodness it is still cool around sunrise. We need a cool morning breeze or we won't be able to walk at all.

I set the DVR to record tonight's episode of The Expanse. I might as well just watch the show live. There isn't much else to do this evening. We've still got to take our evening pills. I'll do fine with mine, but I'm not so sure about Dash. He certainly wasn't very enthusiastic this morning.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2994

OK. I voted. I've never really liked primary elections because the candidates viciously trash each other and then act surprised when all their negative ads come back to bite them in the general election. Aren't you guys supposed to be on the same team? Both parties are guilty of wanting to win at any cost. I received so much negative advertising during this primary season that I basically think all the candidates are worthless. I'm convinced that we would be better served if the vast majority of politicians didn't start out as lawyers. Lawyers just want to win. It's a game to them. I'd rather be represented by somebody who owned a pizza restaurant or walked dogs for a living than a lawyer.

Hey, I still voted though, even though Janet probably shamed me into going to our neighborhood polling place. I've had a spotty voting history over the years. I didn't vote regularly when I was younger. I just didn't think it mattered which party won. There are times when I would have preferred a monarchy. Our adversarial system seems to promote rancor and discord. I'm not surprised we're a divided country. We talk a good game about working together, but nobody really makes the effort. It's much more satisfying to just trash the other side.

I spoke too soon about my cold being over. I woke up in a cold sweat again last night. I thought I must have a fever, but my temperature was only 96 degrees. Weird. The sheets were damp, so I went back to sleep on some dry towels and changed the bed in the morning. Janet and Dash never woke up, which is probably a good thing. I'm definitely tired of feeling lousy. Unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do to shorten the duration of a cold. You've got to just let it run its course. Most cold remedies only provide very temporary relief.

Dash is still being moody. He barks at me while I'm eating breakfast. When I take him outside, he refuses to walk. It took me forever to clean all the bedding this morning and as soon as I finished making the bed again, Dash hopped up and used the bedspread as a dishrag to wipe his dirty snout. I think Dash misses having another dog around. He was much better behaved when Dot was in the house.

The repair I made on my fitness tracker didn't even last one day. Apparently superglue doesn't stick very well to silicon. I really like the Jawbone UP trackers, but they aren't made very well. My desk is littered with broken ones. I'm not doing a good job of fixing anything these days. I'm starting to see frost on the inside of the freezer again and there is still an annoying dripping sound inside the toilet tank. I'm treading water at best. Basically, all the broken things are winning.

In case you were wondering, I never got around to working on my taxes today. I did take a nice picture of a Cedar Waxwing though. Oh, well. There's always tomorrow.

Anne is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day