Day 1882

Today was absolutely gorgeous. With clear skies and 75 degree temperatures, it was hard to believe it was February. When we were coming home from our morning walk, I noticed that the neighbors were taking large bags of leaves and bulky trash to the curb. It must be big trash day this week. Since it was a nice day, I thought I'd follow the neighbor's lead and managed to get rid of some my own back yard clutter while the dogs lounged in the morning sun.

After breakfast, I thought I'd get started on organizing my tax information and was appalled to discover that I'd completely forgotten to send in my quarterly estimated taxes this year. Oops. I guess there might be some sort of penalty for this, but it probably won't be much since my income was so low last year. My accountant asked me a couple of years ago why I even bothered to do quarterly taxes anymore and I guess it sent some sort of subliminal message. I certainly didn't bother this year. Every time I forget something like this, I wonder what else I've forgotten.

I did remember to send out my February invoices today. Such a small pile of letters, compared to what it used to be. Janet's retirement was a big deal. Mine will be a non-event. One day I will be sitting at the computer and realize I haven't done any work in three months. I'm still relatively busy, but the writing is on the wall. My peak earning years are so, so over.

So, what happens next? Honestly, I don't have a clue. Some days I still want to design websites and make films. Other days, not so much. I really ought to go buy a more powerful pair of reading glasses and start reading books again. I could easily fill a couple of years just catching up on my reading list. Janet and I are both realizing that when you base your life around work, it can be kind of disorienting when the work disappears. What I don't want to do is spend my time doing a succession of smaller and smaller meaningless jobs. If you follow this path, you eventually reach a point where you are totally consumed with doing nothing at all.

What the hell. I miss being the Wizard of Oz. It's not as much fun spending your days doing the high tech version of Yellow Pages Ads. I do enjoy writing this blog, but it's not War and Peace. Even if I live long enough to extend my run to 5000 days, this will still only be a curious blip on the literary horizon. Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Until then, there's laundry to do, dogs to take care of, and if I'm really good, some bacon and sausages for breakfast.

azz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1280

Janet is home again. The new roof has been paid for. I didn't even get stung by a bee today. For the most part, all is well with the world.

The day did start off with a humongous Summer rainstorm, but the dogs and I are learning to adjust to these storms. Instead of walking the dogs right after I get up, as I usually do, we all had our breakfast instead. Dot and Dash love to eat, so postponing their walk was no big deal to them. I am so slow fixing my own breakfast that by the time I was finished eating and had done the dishes, the rain was over. Problem solved. The sudden downpour cooled things down by at least fifteen degrees, so we actually had a very enjoyable walk. Our afternoon walk was another story entirely. Once the sun broke through the clouds, the moisture in the ground turned to steam and the air became a sauna.

Considering that it was a Monday, I was surprisingly busy today. I completed a couple of website revisions and wrote an article or two. I remembered to pay my quarterly estimated taxes too, so I can cross that off my list. I was actually so productive today that I feel I should be entitled to take Tuesday off. That will never happen though. There is always work to do on Tuesday.

Janet's flight was delayed by weather this evening, so I found myself out at the airport watching the bags go round and round at the baggage claim carousel. I like bags and it's always interesting to see what other people are carrying. At least half the bags are dull, utilitarian looking Samsonite models, but occasionally I see something interesting. My favorite bags are made by PortaBrace. These distinctive blue bags are made by hand in Bennington, Vermont and used almost exclusively by film and video production crews. I frequently use mine as suitcases. They are almost indestructible.

I wish tomorrow was Friday. It's not like the workload is all that terrible this week. I think I'm just getting tired of oatmeal for breakfast. Even mixed with strawberries and blueberries, it's still oatmeal.

Bali is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1216

I had to laugh this morning. When we arrived at the dog park, there must have been a dozen dogs sitting around a small tree, all looking skyward. You guessed it. There was a squirrel in the tree. Dot and Dash frequently do this in the back yard. They quickly lose interest though. A couple of the dogs in the park were more persistent. They continued to stare upward at the tree for the entire duration of our visit.

Janet often walks the dogs in the park on Sunday mornings and I am faced with a deficit of steps on my little activity tracking wristlet. I have become a slave to the thing. To meet my quota of activity, I've taken to looking for chores around the house. This is very unlike me, since I'm basically a lazy person. I guess it's a good thing though. Today I cut down a small, dead Wax Myrtle tree in the front yard and hauled the branches out to the street for big trash day next week. I meant to have the landscapers do this last month when they were here, but I forgot. This task seemed to compensate for the lack of a walk, and I felt better.

When I finished my self-appointed chores, I watched the Dr. Who episode I recorded yesterday. I guess I could have bought a TiVo box years ago and discovered this brave new world of re-arranging the natural order of things on TV much earlier, but I'm still a late bloomer about some things. I wonder what this all means for the traditional networks. With DVRs, Hulu, Netflicks, and shows like Game of Thrones, the networks don't really matter anymore. When I was a kid, every family subscribed to TV Guide magazine. They literally planned their lives around this diminutive programming bible. How things have changed.

I need to remember to send off the voucher with my first quarterly estimated tax payment tomorrow. I forget this a lot. In the euphoria of getting all your tax issues sorted out for another year, it's easy to overlook the fact that April 15 isn't the end of anything. It's just the day when you begin the whole cycle all over again.

Next week looks busy already. Dot has a visit with the neurologist in addition to her regular acupuncture appointment. Dash has his antigen shot. There are several writing assignments already on tap. This takes us up to Wednesday. After that, anything could happen.

Flash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1154

I forgot to send in my quarterly estimated taxes again. This wasn't the first time I forgot, and it probably won't be the last. I have gotten so accustomed to e-mail reminders and smartphone messages that I've almost lost the ability to remember anything on my own. You'd think the government would have the resources to send a little reminder to my phone like everybody else, but apparently not. At any rate, I mailed in a check today and I'm up to speed again, but I wouldn't be surprised if I forget again in April.

After I finished my website work for the day, I paid a visit to a nearby exterminator to get some advice about getting rid of bugs. I learned that cockroaches seek out both moisture and heat, which might explain why I see them in the bathroom and near the furnace. If you don't like chasing after them with a paper towel, you can just spray them with rubbing alcohol or a mixture of soapy water. Both elixirs will apparently kill the bugs quickly. After talking with the bug man for about twenty minutes I came home with some stuff that your spray on your exterior walls using a pressure sprayer and some encapsulated powder that you squirt into cracks and crevices inside your house. Poison is surprisingly expensive. I hope this stuff works.

Did you watch the Grammys last night?  Some of the awards were baffling, but the all-star tribute performances were great. The tribute to Bob Marley with Bruno Mars, Sting, Rihanna and several Marleys showed considerable musicianship, but was an odd sort of tribute since they didn't play any Bob Marley songs. Much better was the tribute to Levon Helm. I always liked Helm's "The Weight" and it was fun to listen to Elton John, Mavis Staples, Brittany Howard and members of Mumford & Sons and The Zac Brown Band trade verses. I guess it made sense for Fun to win with We Are Young, but Frank Ocean's odd performance of the odd song Forest Gump made no sense at all. I wish I still had the HD channels on my TV. It would have been fun to watch the Grammys in HD. I learned on Facebook this morning that the now full grown son of one of my Seattle advertising friends produced the Grammy nominated album by the Lumineers. Jeez, how time flies. The kid was a baby when I lived in Seattle.

I keep waiting for a Dalmatian to win the Westminster dog show. At least last year, the Dalmatian won the non-sporting category and got to compete for best of show. This year, the Dalmatian wasn't so lucky. The non-sporting title reverted to one of those little white Bichons that look like a child's stuffed animal. Oh well. I thought the Dalmatian was the best tonight. I changed the channel as soon as the Dalmatian lost.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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