Day 4220

You can probably skip this post because nothing really happened today. I followed the usual summer routine. Janet gives me a ten minute warning when it's time to get up for Dawn's morning walk. I hate to get up and wish I could sleep longer, but the walk is always nice. Dawn really enjoys these sunrise walks and all the hesitancy she showed several months ago is gone. Our route varies from day to day, but we always end up walking about one mile.

After I make the bed, I fix my morning smoothie. The recipe never varies. I combine a little half and half with two raw eggs, three heaping tablespoons of uncooked oatmeal, some collagen power, lots of strawberries and blueberries, a whole peach, a banana, a little cinnamon, some turmeric, a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, and a cup of crushed ice. This makes quite a bit, so it takes a while to drink it all. This is my big meal of the day. I usually eat a light dinner.

After breakfast I check the mail, which never arrives this early. I'm lucky if the postman delivers the mail at all. I turn on the computer and prepare for work. There isn't any work of course, since I am retired. I look through the mountain of spam that arrived overnight just in case there might be a real message. There seldom is. I look at Facebook and say Happy Birthday to whoever happens to have a birthday that day. I check the Lab Padre live feed to see what is happening with Starship down at Boca Chica. There is really no need for me to turn on the computer at all.

I need to check on Dawn more frequently now to make sure she is not licking or biting at her paws. We have her wear some socks that protect her paws now. They fall of a lot, but they seem to be working. Hopefully the antibiotics she's taking for her urinary tract infection will help clear up some of the redness as well. Since most of the paw licking occurs at night when we are asleep, we just hope that the socks stay on.

I called the company where I ordered the replacement foam for my camera case this morning. My first order got destroyed by the post office. I reordered the foam inserts again over a week ago and they still haven't shipped. Somehow I imagined that someone would just take these foam inserts off a warehouse shelf and put them in the mail. Nope. A guy in Ohio cuts them individually by hand. He said that there isn't enough demand for the foam that fits older Zero Halliburton cases so he doesn't keep an inventory. For some reason he was behind because it was raining a lot. Oh, well. At least I know now. It's not like I actually need the camera case. I haven't used the old Nikon cameras in years.

I always need to decide whether to walk in the park or go to the gym. I was hoping for some cloud cover and a cool breeze, but it wasn't meant to be. I went to the gym again. The same people seem to be at the gym every day. It is a small group at 3 PM. I found a machine today that allowed my to stretch my arms above my head. The arm with the bad shoulder is very weak, so I couldn't add many weights to the machine. Maybe if I keep using this, it will give me some more mobility. The idea is to sit on a bench and grab a bar above your head and then pull the bar down while raising some weights attached to a cable. I can't raise my right arm above my head on my own, but this machine pulls it up. We'll see if this helps. I'd like to have a little more mobility with this shoulder.

I've been hearing thunder this evening, but it only rained for a few minutes. I don't think this is enough to trigger the leak. Maybe I should put a bucket out just in case.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3865

I wrote some letters today and took them to the post office. I still like the slower pace of letter writing. Too bad other people don't feel the same way. Very few people I know will actually reply to a letter with another letter. I keep thinking that the world would be a better place if we all just slowed down a bit. Writing letters is a good way to slow down. I initially thought that the pandemic might be the reset button we all needed and life would resume at slower pace. Nope. I was wrong about that. The minute that businesses started to reopen, everyone rushed to get back to their old ways. Traffic is back to normal here in Dallas and shopping center parking lots are full. This is one reason why we are seeing a spike in new coronavirus cases now. I don't get it, but then I don't get a lot of things about modern life.

We got started on our walk so early this morning that I was able to see several planets in the morning sky. In addition to Venus to the East, Mars was directly overhead. I should have been able to see Jupiter and Saturn as well, but they were hidden my clouds along the Western horizon. There always seem to be clouds along the Western horizon these days. I wish they would go away. They've certainly spoiled my chances for getting a good view of the rapidly fading comet.

Wildflower season is over for the year, but there are still a few surprises. After Halloween there are people in the neighborhood who dump their old pumpkins in the park for animals to eat. Many of these discarded pumpkins have taken root and started to grow. About this time of year, the vines start to flower. I spotted my first pumpkin vine this morning. It wasn't that exciting, but it was something new.

I was supposed to get a haircut today, but my appointment got canceled. Scheduling things in the coronavirus era is complicated. No great loss. I've gotten used to looking scruffy. I'm sure I'll get a haircut eventually, but it's probably best to wait a little while anyway. Dallas needs to get its act together again. We were doing so well and now we've become a hotspot.

I was missing a few ingredients for my smoothie this morning, but it still tasted the same. Sometimes I think it doesn't even matter what I dump in the blender. These smoothies always taste pretty much the same. The news on the TV while I'm eating breakfast is always the same as well. Life really is starting to feel like that Ground Hog Day movie.

Hard to believe it's already time to venture out for groceries again. Time flies when you are doing nothing. I'll be glad when the supply chain completely returns to normal. Every time I go to the store there are always one or two very common items that have completely disappeared. I hope my favorite coffee is there tomorrow. I'm set in my ways. I don't know if I can handle a new type of coffee.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3471

I'm back on Dallas time. Not surprisingly, I'm back on my regular schedule as well. I made my signature smoothie with a big bowl full of peaches, strawberries and blueberries, a banana, two raw eggs, 1/4 cup of Quaker Oats, a pinch of Cinnamon, and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. I know it's not rocket science, but the Vitamix is a wonderful machine. On my morning walk I noticed that the wayward White Pelican that refuses to migrate was still sitting on its favorite log at the lake. I wanted to tell the bird that I'd seen several endangered Brown Pelicans while I was in Florida. Not that the Pelican would care, but I also saw a Bald Eagle, lots of Ibis and Egrets, and some of the largest insects I'd encountered in a while. Florida has even more critters than Texas.

I'm still a bit surprised that the trip went so smoothly. I'm used to getting lost, sick, or stressed while I'm away from home. This little journey was a welcome change of pace. Travel is so easy these days. I made all the arrangements on my phone. Airline, hotel, and rental car reservations were all made in a matter of minutes on an app with a few easy clicks. Travel agents and paperwork seem to be a thing of the past. I made the entire trip without using any cash. Cash seems to be a thing of the past as well.

Meeting so many clever people at the Space Center inspired me to make an attempt to up my game a bit. I decided to write an extended article about what it meant to be standing on the same launch pad that sent astronauts to the moon fifty years after the Apollo 11 landing. I will submit the article to several magazines for publication if I ever finish it. I started writing this afternoon after I returned from my walk. Lord knows if the article will ever get published but at least I'm making an effort. I've written a shitload of ads and TV commercials but I haven't gotten anything published in a magazine since I used to be a contributing editor for The Dalmatian Quarterly many years ago.

I'm always humbled by the people I meet at these NASA events. On previous trips I met Bobak Ferdowsi, the talented JPL systems engineer who gained a bit of fame by wearing a mohawk haircut with stars shaved in his head during the televised Mars Curiosity landing. Scott Manley, the talkative Scottish YouTube personality and Kerbal Space Program expert was on the bus with me during a memorable launch at Vandenberg Airforce Base. This time my group included an actress who has appeared on Star Trek and the guy who invented the Fidget Spinner. Somehow, I'm always the oldest guy in the room.

This morning while I was walking I saw several large trucks in the neighborhood that were clearly intended for picking up brush and debris. I was hoping that these trucks would stop on my street and pick up the huge pile of brush and logs that is currently covering my front lawn. Nope. The trucks didn't pick up anything in the neighborhood. They were just passing through. I wonder how long it's going to take to clear away all the debris from our recent wind storm. The park department is doing a good job of cleaning up the damage in the park, but nothing has happened on the streets. There are still huge stacks of brush and logs piled up along every street in our neighborhood.

I thought I managed to escape the mosquitoes while I was in Florida, but several suspicious red welts appeared on my neck and face this morning. It seems that the mosquitoes got me anyway. What's with the time delay? Mosquito bites appear immediately in Texas.

Derrick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3143

When I took my car in for service this morning I was surprised that my loaner was a brand new Evoque Convertible. The car only had 72 miles on it. I jokingly told the guys that I wished they'd given me a beat up old clunker instead. Whenever I get a really nice loaner, I'm always worried that I'll get dinged in a supermarket parking lot and have to pay for repairs. The car was cute and fun to drive though. I doubt that anyone really needs a four wheel drive Range Rover convertible, but they built one anyway.

The pleasant surprise of driving the sporty convertible home was countered later in the day with an equally unpleasant surprise. I learned that in addition to the expensive standard maintenance, I needed new brakes. For years and years I thought new brakes just meant new brake pads. Not anymore. Land Rover makes you replace the rotor, pads, caliper, and sensor. "Jeez, I thought I got new brakes last year," I told the service adviser. "You only had the front done, he reminded me. "Now, you need the rear." It's almost impossible to leave a Land Rover dealership with your wallet intact. I think that's why Janet finally gave up and bought an Audi.

Car repairs are never a pleasant experience, but at least the weather was nice today. I walked Dash before I went to the dealership this morning and the temperature was only 69 degrees. This pleasant taste of Fall didn't last long, but it sure was enjoyable. Dash walks so slow now. I don't think my Fitbit even counts these walks as exercise anymore. I can tell that Dash still enjoys being outdoors though. He stumbles along, smelling every bush and tree. We'll keep doing this as long as we can. It's his one remaining link to the days when he could run like the wind.

I bleached the stain off the living room ceiling this afternoon. The odd thing was that the sheetrock didn't feel damp. It was completely dry. Where did this odd stain come from? The longer I live in this house, the more it's starting to feel like it's haunted. Odd things just happen that have no logical explanation. In addition to flickering lights and odd stains, I think we have carpenter ants again. That cruise ship cabin is starting to look better and better.

Janet is at her retirement party tonight. She has already had other retirement parties, but tells me that this time it's for real. We'll see. It's hard to imagine Janet not working. It's actually pretty easy to imagine me not working. That's what I'm doing now. Looking back, I can see that I've been easing into retirement for a long time.

The only reason I'm going out for breakfast tomorrow is that I've run out of some key ingredients for my morning smoothie. If the weather is nice, maybe I'll put the top down on the convertible.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2952

My routine seldom varies. Sometimes I'm amazed that doing simple, often mindless things can take so long. It takes far too long to make the bed in the morning. I can make my smoothie fairly quickly now, but it take me forever to drink two eggs, a scoop of oatmeal, a large mixing bowl full of fresh fruit, a banana, a little vanilla ice cream, some half and half, assorted seasonings, and a cup full of ice cubes. My recipe makes a quart.

Walking Dash takes much longer than eating breakfast. We walk several miles each morning at a snail's pace. Dash can't move very fast anymore, but he still enjoys smelling things and being outdoors. I don't even turn on the computer until we've returned from our walk and I've finished doing the dishes. There is no hurry. I know I'll have plenty of time to finish any assignment I might have. It take me longer to find the dog poop in the yard than it takes to finish my writing assignments these days.

Today I finished my second article. It's hard to believe that I used to routinely write 4000 word annual reports when today's assignments rarely top 400 words. The assignments are still moderately interesting and I'm happy for any work I get. It took me less than two hours to finish today's job. There's a good chance it will be the last thing I write this week.

When I was working today I discovered a strange file on my computer. I thought I might have a virus,  so I quarantined the file and started doing some research on Google. It turned out that the file was something Apple installed the last time I upgraded the operating systems. Apple installs hundreds of weird files on your computer and they never bother to explain what they do. A lot of them report back to Apple, because about every ten minutes Little Snitch informs me that my computer is contacting an Apple server. If you think you still have any privacy at all, you're living in a dream world. Apple, Google, and Facebook know everything. Probably Microsoft knows a lot too, but I wouldn't know. I've never used Windows.

I noticed this morning that there a brand new channel on my TV right between Fox and MSNBC. It's called Newsy. Something was really different about this channel. There were no pundits and very few opinions. There were just little snippets about various events in a seemingly random order. The channel is billed as news for millennials. Surprisingly, many of these short segments were actually quite interesting. If this is really the way millennials like to get their news, Fox, MSNBC, and the broadcast networks might as well pack up their tents and go home. Maybe I have the attention span of a millennial, because I actually liked this odd format.

My foot didn't hurt as much today. This gave me an excuse to postpone making a doctor's appointment a little longer. I hate making a big deal over something that might be completely normal for someone my age. On the other hand, I'd hate to ignore a broken bone in my foot. I'll procrastinate a little longer and see what happens. I have no such reservations about making an appointment for Dash. We're going to the vet tomorrow morning to check out a minor eye infection and get his nails trimmed.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2908

The Christmas tree is up. It's a small tree and all the ornaments are Dalmatians. Periodically new ornaments are added and occasionally ornaments are removed. Most of the Dalmatians with angel wings are now sitting on top of the little urns on the coffee table that contain the ashes of Spot, Petey, Greta, Mindy, and Dot. We don't put presents under the tree anymore. Once the dogs realized that many of them contained treats for them, they wouldn't leave the packages alone.

Before I could deal with the Christmas tree, I had to remove all the equipment from yesterday's photo shoot. I put away the things that had a place in the office and took the rest of the stuff to the storage warehouse. Every time I visit my storage space, I  realize that the day is coming when I'll have to come to terms with all this clutter. The warehouse has become a black hole that sucks up everything I can't figure out what to do with. There are a few treasures here and there, but most of the stuff is old equipment that isn't useful anymore, but will never be collectible either. It will take an enormous amount of energy to clean this place up and I'm not sure I'm up to the task.

With all the Santa Paws gear out of the way and the Christmas tree in place, I realized that the house was very dirty. I spent the rest of the day vacuuming, changing sheets, and cleaning dog blankets. Dash's protective boots were starting to look threadbare, so I repaired them too. The house doesn't really look much better, but at least I tried.

When we took Dash on his morning walk, there were lots of people preparing for the BMW Dallas Marathon. This used to be called the White Rock Marathon, but I guess everything has a corporate sponsor now. I'm not a runner, but this was definitely a beautiful day for a race. It is almost a tradition to have terrible weather for this marathon. Our house is fairly close to the course and we've watched runners compete in pouring rain many times.

When I returned to the park for Dash's afternoon walk, the same crews that were setting up things things this morning were tearing everything down again. By tomorrow morning, all the signage, rest stations, and temporary parking will be gone. I like the park best when nothing is happening and all I hear are ducks quacking. Our walks are really the only time when Winter weather is welcome. Our dogs have always liked cooler weather and I like the fact that the bicycles virtually disappear. On nice days there are bicycles everywhere and I have to be careful that we don't get run over. On chilly days, Dash and I have the park to ourselves.

Dash didn't have a Cerenia pill yesterday and he still seemed completely normal today. This is good news. I'm sure that Dash will have a vestibular episode again, but maybe he can catch a break and enjoy a few months as a normal dog. This disease never really goes away, but the symptoms can subside for months at a time. Dash is lucky that he still seems to be able to recover from these periodic episodes. Some dogs don't.

I'm not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow. There are lots of things around the house that still need attention and I'm not finished with my website project either. There are fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and bananas for my morning smoothie, so I guess we'll start there.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2785

I didn't accomplish much today. At least Dash ate well. He finished both his breakfast and dinner with no hesitation at all. Will he throw up tonight? I've learned that anything can happen with Dash. Everything seems normal now, so that's a good sign. I did call his vet to ask if there is anything we might have overlooked, but haven't received an answer yet. Something is wrong, but I'm not sure if there is anything more we can check. Once every week or so, he just throws up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. On the days he throws up, there is usually no prior sign of an upset stomach. We watch him carefully now when he goes outside, so I don't think he's eating bugs either. It's frustrating.

I don't know why the grass is dying in the back yard either. There are no signs of grubs and the new grass has received plenty of water. I mowed today and now the grass looks even worse. There are lots of reason why we have to replace this grass frequently, but it should last at least a month or two. I'll call the landscaper, but somehow I feel that this problem will be as difficult to resolve as getting a refund on the fraudulent gift card.

When my client told me that he has put a check in the mail on Monday, I kind of expected to receive it on Tuesday. We're in the same zip code. I mean, how long could it take? Well, I didn't get the check today either. Maybe the guy was just thinking about putting the check in the mail. I'll wait until next Monday before I complain again. I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt, but there is no reason to be this late with a payment.

I'm trying to think of something that didn't frustrate me today, but I'm coming up blank. I still can't get old Windows video files to play on my computer. The software that used to convert them isn't being updated anymore and probably won't be in the future. Nobody cares about old Windows video anymore. I don't even think Microsoft supports these files now. The price of progress is having to  abandon old habits and old routines. Upgrading to Sierra allowed me to continue using the important software I use in my business, but I lost a lot in the process. This happens every time I do a major upgrade. Eventually, I'll just forget about the old, obsolete stuff.

I made an appointment to get my hair cut tomorrow. At least this is one thing I won't be disappointed with. My hair is such a mess now that it couldn't possible look any worse. I probably should have made a vet appointment for Dash instead of getting a haircut, but it is much easier to get a haircut on short notice. I've already taken Dash to two different vets for this vomiting issue and nobody seems to have a solution. Give him a Pepsid. Change his food. Look for signs of a vestibular event. We've already tried all the obvious things.

I did get a response to the website proposal I sent out last week. The guy seems interested, but he wants a lot of complicated stuff that I know he doesn't have the budget for. I've either got to convince him to simplify his wish list or come up with more money. I'll put together a modified proposal tomorrow, but I'm not very confident that this project is ever going to happen.

I accidentally left out some ingredients in my smoothie this morning and it actually tasted better. Why did it take me three years to discover this?  I shouldn't have been surprised. I learn most things by accident.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2649

It's that time of year. There are tornado warnings in the area and the weather radar shows a storm is headed our way. I think the really bad weather will pass to the north of us, but you never know here in Texas. One way or another, we're due for thunderstorms this evening and that's never good with two storm phobic dogs.

I was actually surprised to hear all the storm warnings on the evening news because, for the most part, it was a nice Spring day. The park was full of people today, including several weird ones. While I was walking Dash this morning we encountered a couple walking their miniature donkeys. They had the donkeys on leashes, just like dogs. Later in the day when I was returning from the gym, I noticed a group of men in another section of the park dressed in suits of armor, apparently reenacting medieval battles. At least there were no loose dogs today, although I was followed by a drone for a while.

The people in my gym keep getting older and older. I'm beginning to feel out of place. When I was on the treadmill this afternoon there was a group of old men next to me complaining about their doctors. One of them didn't want to have a biopsy done and thought he could resolve his problems through the power of prayer. Good grief. Just get the biopsy done. I didn't join the conversation though. It was none of my business. I wish a few younger people would join this gym, although I do tend to have the basketball court to myself.

Dot woke up in the middle of the night and I decided to take her outside. It was a good move, because she went right back to sleep after she peed and I was able to sleep in until almost 8:30 this morning. I wouldn't mind taking Dot outside every night, but it doesn't work very well unless she wakes up on her own. If she's sleeping, you want to let her sleep.

I forgot to go to the grocery store and look for blueberries this morning. I also forgot to go to REI on the way to the gym and use a coupon I got in the mail. Basically all I did today was take a nap and go to the gym. I did do the laundry, but when I washed the sheets, the bottom fitted sheet tore in the washer. Damn. I love bamboo sheets, but I wish they weren't so expensive. Bamboo sheets are more comfortable than cotton, but they don't last any longer. I guess it's time to look for some more.

It's hard to believe it's almost April. Pretty soon I'm going to to have to renew my driver's license and my passport. I hope I can just mail in my driver's license renewal. Spending time at the DMV is even worse than jury duty. I think when they take my passport picture this time, I'll finally look exactly like my Dad. I sure wish I still looked like I did in my first passport picture. Time definitely isn't kind.

I guess I'll have to make my morning smoothie with blackberries this week. Oh, well. Blackberries are pretty tasty too.

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2640

Every time I write a letter I keep thinking that if everybody would just read the blog, there would be no need to keep in touch. It's all here really. Despite the duplicate narrative, I still write my sister. We haven't seen each other or spoken on the phone in decades, but the occasional letter still reminds us that we are family. I used to be a lot better at letter writing before the Internet made me lazy. There was a long list of people I corresponded with and I even dabbled in mail art for a while. That's all gone now. The only person I write is my sister and my one page, single spaced messages are basically just a personalized blog post. Today's letter was very similar to yesterday's blog entry with a little extra information about the dogs. I really should pay more attention to friends and family, but like I say, it's all here if they're interested.

Dot's left rear leg continues to get weaker. If I don't guide her, she just walks around in circles now. I take a break and sit in the grass with her before we return from our short afternoon walks. The weather is nice and she likes the breeze and the fresh air. The rest is necessary because she tires so easily now. It's sad to watch this slow decline. We've been doing this dance of diminishing returns for over two years now. The deterioration is so slow that we continue to adapt and after a while it just seems normal. I dread the day when the cancer finally overtakes her. The oncologist says we've still got a while, but when her liver begins to fail the end will come quickly.

These days go so slowly now. It takes me about an hour to drink my smoothie in the morning. The concoction, filled with raw eggs, oatmeal, fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and ice cream is least a quart in size and is typically my main meal of the day. There's no hurry. I sip the huge smoothie while drinking two cups of strong coffee as I watch the morning news. I channel hop between liberal and conservative stations until I am sufficiently discouraged and then I watch old Dr. Who reruns. Usually Dash is right there with me, barking for slices of banana.

Usually after breakfast there is time for one serious work related task. One job a day is all I feel like doing these days anyway. I let the dogs sleep as long as they want in the morning because they never sleep in the afternoon. I have to get Dot up at 2 PM to give her some meds and from that point on, it's a three ring circus. To keep the dogs engaged, I have split their dinner into two parts, separated by Dot's afternoon walk. It takes almost 45 minutes to walk Dot to the end of the street where she can enjoy sitting in the park for a while. When I return, we do part two of dinner and then I take Dash for his afternoon walk. This works pretty well, because Dot is usually tired at this point and will sleep while we are away. When she relaxes and goes to sleep, Dot often poops. At least 30% of the time, there is poop to clean up when I return with Dash.

The sky was clear tonight so I did a little exploring with the new binoculars. Binoculars are great for deep sky objects. The Orion Nebula looked spectacular, but the moon was too bright to see some of the other deep sky objects I was looking for. A lot of things are out of reach as long as I live in Dallas. There is way too much light pollution in the night sky. I don't think I've ever seen the Milky Way inside the city limits of Dallas. Light pollution or not, the binoculars are a good diversion. There is a lot to see in the night sky.

I suspect that tomorrow will be a lot like today. That's OK though. The dogs will make sure that I don't become complacent.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2472

The bananas didn't ripen at all this weekend and were still green this morning. I thought about chopping them up and throwing them in the Vitamix anyway, but after tasting one, I decided against it. There must be a chemical change that goes on in bananas as they ripen. These didn't taste like anything I was familiar with. The taste was somewhere between a raw potato and wood chips. My smoothie didn't taste the same without the bananas. Bananas are tricky. If you pick bright yellow ones that are ready to eat, they go bad quickly. If you pick green ones, you're never sure when they are going to ripen. I'll try to do better next time.

You probably think green bananas aren't even worth mentioning, but they kind of became the theme for the day. Nothing really went as expected. Dot stumbled three times on her morning walk. All we did was go around the block, so the walk wasn't strenuous at all. I made sure she rested when we got home and sometime later in the day she pooped all over herself and made a huge mess.

The roofer finally called me back and said he hadn't forgotten about me. He told me that they were so busy fixing actual leaks that potential leaks had to wait in line. I hope they hurry. My potential leak is going to become an actual leak if the repairs get delayed much longer. The house I owned before this on had a flat roof too. It's hard to believe that I've spent almost 40 years dealing with one frustrating roof problem after another. Don't ever buy a house with a flat roof. No matter how cool the house looks now, you're going to regret your decision later.

The power went out for about thirty seconds early this morning. Even though the electricity came back on almost immediately, it took forever to reset all the devices that immediately lost their memory. Just about everything has a clock inside it these days. All the internal clocks needed to be reset. I reset the coffee maker so it would turn itself on and be ready for me when I woke up. I reset the timer that turns the living room lights on at sunset. I turned the washer and dryer off, because somehow they both turn themselves on after a power outage. I reset the humidity threshold on the dehumidifier so it wouldn't turn itself off when the humidity reached 50%. There were several clock radios that had internal clocks and probably a few other things that I haven't even discovered yet. Electricity can be complicated.

I got a new writing assignment today and finished several small website updates. The work I do now tends to keep me busy, but the budgets are so small that I never make any money. One more frustration in a long list of frustrations. There is no point in turning these little jobs down, because what else would I do? It would be nice if I would get a job with a decent budget every once in a while though. I have a feeling that this has something to do with Karma. I must have done something terribly wrong years ago when I was making a lot of money.

I'm not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow, since I canceled Dot's physical therapy appointment. Maybe I'll go buy some new bananas. I don't think the ones I've got are going to turn yellow overnight.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2351

If you ever want to take the pulse of today's millennials, just go to an REI sale. I stopped by the store's self named "biggest sale of the year" on my way to the gym this afternoon and was greeted by the biggest collection of 20 to 30 somethings I'd ever seen. They were all stuffing their Honda CRV's and Subaru Foresters full of bargain tents, hammocks, bicycles, yoga mats, and Fitbit trackers. All I wanted was a pair of shorts, but there was no express lane. It took me forever to check out.

When I arrived at the gym a few miles down the road, the contrast couldn't have been more striking. There were no hordes of young people at all.  All I saw were a half dozen balding old men who had traded their Subaru Foresters for a Porsche Panamera decades ago. Maybe this explains why there are so few young people at my gym. From the looks of things at the REI store, all the millennials are doing something outside.

I got an e-mail today saying that my recent transaction with Network Solutions had failed to go through. What transaction? I haven't purchased anything from Network Solutions in years. I did some checking and discovered they has reset the preferences on my profile so that all the domains I had registered with them would auto-renew by default. I know for a fact that I had set all these domains to not auto renew because I wasn't interested in keeping some of them anymore. How could they just reset the preference file to auto-renew everything without even asking me? Luckily, the credit card I had listed with them had expired quite a while ago, so the sale didn't go through. I think I'm going to move the domain registration somewhere else. I don't appreciate sneaky tricks like this.

I had big plans to catch up on household chores I've been avoiding, but the small things at the top of my list took so long that I never got around to the larger things near the bottom. I did manage to get a few things accomplished. I cleaned some boots that had gotten muddy a few days ago. I lubricated a sticking sliding glass door and got it so it would open again. I swept leaves off the front porch, and of course I cleaned up Dot's latest accidents. I know there's lots of water on the roof, but the new forecast says it is supposed to rain every day next week. It's not worth the trouble to mess with the roof until things dry out a bit.

I'm worried about Dot. She's sleeping longer. She doesn't have as much energy as she did a few months ago. And her incontinence is getting worse. I still can't decide whether to resume her physical therapy sessions this coming Wednesday. The decision may end up being made for me. My car is still in the shop and the loaner car I'm driving is too small for me to transport Dot comfortably. Dot is due for another exam at the cancer center later in the week. Maybe we'll be able to find out what's going on while we are there. I hope the tumor in her liver isn't growing larger. If the cancer is progressing rapidly, there isn't much we can do.

There is a big bowl of fresh peaches and bananas for my morning smoothies. I've washed and dried all the dog blankets. I'm temporarily caught up on all my website revisions. I guess I'm ready to start another week.

Rosco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2322

Dot's injuries have caused me to worry more. There is absolutely no reason to worry any more than I usually do, but I still wake up every morning expecting something terrible to happen. Today, when I was at the gym, I checked on the dogs with the baby monitor and got a weird error message. I get error messages with this camera all the time, but I'd never seen this one before. It seemed to indicate that the camera had been physically moved. The only thing that I could think of was that Dash had another epileptic seizure and knocked the camera off the low table where it was sitting. This was an irrational fear since Dash hasn't had a seizure in years, but I cut my workout short and went home to check on things anyway. Everything was fine. When I re-booted the WiFi network, the camera worked perfectly.

My seasonal allergies are worse than ever this year. My eyes were itching when I woke up and I spent the rest of the day sneezing, blowing my nose, and squirting Visine in my eye. It probably didn't help matters that I mowed the grass this morning, but it had to be done. I wish I had a self-propelled mower, but I'm tired of trying to start gas powered mowers. I like my simple electric lawn mower, but it's getting harder and harder to push it up the hills. Elon Musk needs to design a decent electric lawn mower. Most of them are pretty crude and basic.

My new activity monitor send me a message saying that based on a twelve day analysis, my resting heart rate is considered normal for a person who eats well and is physically fit. That was kind. If the message was honest, it would say that the heart rate is normal for a crazy old man who still mows his own grass and vacuums up dog hair obsessively with the most powerful Dyson available. I do stay active, even though taking naps is one of my favorite activities.

On my way to the gym this afternoon, I stopped by the sporting goods store that is going out of business again. They keep lowering prices further every week and I'm drawn to a bargain like a moth to a flame. I walked away with a big plush dog blanket for Dash. The last thing we need are more dog blankets, but this looked pretty and was marked down from $70 to $14. I couldn't resist. Dash liked the blanket, but he always likes new things.

Dot hasn't pooped all day. Ordinarily, you'd think this was a good thing, but it's making me nervous. She should have done her business after lunch, during her evening walk, or at least after dinner. She just wasn't in the mood. Now, I'm sure she's going to explode when I'm not looking and make a big mess all over the house. There's nothing you can do. Incontinence and old age are just a fact of life.

The Foxglove and Milkweed plants are starting to flower behind our house. Wildflowers always bloom in a distinct sequence. I see pink and yellow Primrose flowers first. Then there are a lots of Horse Nettle, Grape Hyacinth, and Crows Poison blooms. The Firewheel and Mexican Hat flowers always seems to arrive last. The meadows and native prairie around our house look so lush now that it's hard to believe that everything will be brown and dry by early July.

The refrigerator is stocked with strawberries and blueberries and there's a big bowl of fresh bananas on the kitchen counter. I'm ready for another week to begin.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day