Day 1993

Today was beautiful. It was 68 degrees when we walked the dogs this morning and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The recent rains have washed a lot of the allergens out of the air, so I was able to walk without sneezing or rubbing my eyes for a change. I think the dogs enjoyed this pleasant weather as much as we did. They certainly wanted to go outside more often today.

With a clear, allergy free day, I took the opportunity to mow the grass and do some much needed yard work. I even cleaned the windows on the East side of the house, which I should have done months ago. The narrow strip of land between our house and the neighbor's fence has become somewhat of a no-mans land. Luckily the architect had the forethought to put frosted glass in all the windows on this side of the house, because there certainly isn't much to see. Spiders and wasps love this area though, so occasionally I have to get a big broom, a can of bug spray and some Windex and clean the place up.

I found a "Buy One Get One Free" coupon that could be used for any item under $20 at a local hardware store. Since the coupon expired tomorrow, I thought I'd go see what I could find. I've always liked hardware stores. This little neighborhood store was the complete opposite of Home Depot, so it was fun to browse around. I came home with a pair of leather work gloves and my free item was a nice pair of grass clippers. This was a good promotion, because I'm sure I'll go back and get things from this store again even when I don't have a coupon.

I did manage to go to the gym today. I think they were surprised to see me, since it's definitely been a while. I've switched my workout around to include more cardio work and fewer weights. This is what the doctors seem to want, and for the moment, I'm happy to go along with their suggestion. The treadmill is a bit boring, but I'm not as sore as I was when I mostly did weights. Whenever I'm at the gym, I think I should go more often, but lately other things have been getting in the way. If I do end up going to the gym more often, it will mean that life has finally calmed down a bit.

Dash dug up something dead next to the neighbor's fence, but I was determined not to let the disgusting carcass spoil the beautiful day. I still don't know whether the animal was a large rat or a small squirrel. I'm glad we caught Dash before he tried to eat the thing or bring it in the house though. We had Sushi for dinner, which is a pretty good way to end a nice day and there is no rain in the long range weather forecast for the first time in over a month. I'm not going to complain about anything today.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1858

I got a lot done today. I attribute the day's success to seeing the sun again. We had a great walk this morning. It was still chilly outside, but with shadows on the ground and the sun on my face, it all seemed reasonably comfortable. My shoes were still muddy when we returned, but it was no big deal. All is forgiven when there's lots of sunshine. Janet went to breakfast with me for the first time in recent memory. She liked the food, but I don't think she'll become a regular. My go-to meals have too many calories.

I was a little surprised that I've never heard anything further from the new client that was supposedly headed my way. The initial inquiry was from an ad agency, which probably explains everything. Ad agencies are notorious about not following up on things. I probably won't hear from them again until late on a Friday afternoon when they have some kind of rush deadline that will ruin my weekend.

On days like today, I'm not sure how many new clients I could handle anyway. I was almost late for my physical therapy appointment because I had trouble finishing my writing assignments. I got a lot done, but I'll still have to do some additional writing this weekend. When I returned from therapy, I had a big website update to complete. There were 24 new pictures that needed to be resized in Photoshop, plus captions and bios under each picture. Everything was uploaded to the server just in time to begin feeding the dogs their dinner and give Dash his Palladia chemo medication before taking our evening walk.

I'm glad the weekend is here, although Saturday and Sunday aren't much different than any other day when you're freelancing. I like to think of the weekend as a restful time, but I'm not kidding anyone. All my clients know that I'm still here, and if they need something, they're not shy about asking me. The oral surgeon initially wanted to remove my wisdom teeth on a Friday, so I could have the weekend to rest. Rest on weekends? You've got to be kidding. I tried to explain that my office didn't shut down at 2 PM on Friday afternoons, like his did and that weekends were often the busiest days of the week for me. I don't really care when they do the surgery, as long as they do it at 10:30 in the morning. Any earlier and I won't be able to walk the dogs. Any later and I'll get hungry, since I can't eat before surgery.

I had a different therapist today, since my regular therapist had a scheduling conflict. This therapist was stronger and gave my arm some serious tugs. I actually think this approach might be better. My shoulder got this bad in the first place because I was always trying to avoid pain. If the therapist tries too hard to avoid causing pain as well, I probably won't accomplish much. It's a fine line though. Too much discomfort will cause more inflammation and make the whole situation worse. Maybe I just need pain as a yardstick to measure things. I've kind of lost the whole concept of pleasure.

I did manage to find Comet Lovejoy last night. I couldn't see it with the naked eye because of the city lights, but it was fairly easy to spot with binoculars. Right below the Pleiades was a soft luminous smudge that had to be a comet. Either that or my binoculars were dirty.

Selby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1845

The sun finally returned today. It's still a bit chilly, but it was actually a beautiful day. The abrupt change in the weather made me realize that it was time to start the new year. I took down the Christmas tree and put the ornaments away for another year. I went up on the roof and removed a week's worth of accumulated water. I even thought about cleaning the office, but wisely decided not to get ahead of myself.

I've just about given up on getting a response from Jawbone, so I went out and purchased another UP fitness band. This one syncs automatically using Bluetooth, so you don't have to plug it into your phone everyday. I must be a glutton for punishment, since this will be my fourth UP band in just a few years. I love these things, but they just aren't made very well. The batteries don't last very long. The little LED status lights frequently stop working. And, in the case of my last band, they sometimes refuse to go into sleep mode. You'd think I'd wise up and get a Fitbit or something more durable, but I still like the UP band best. It is still the smallest and most unobtrusive fitness tracker you can wear on your wrist. You can wear an UP band with a watch without feeling that you've got a watch on both wrists. And best of all, Jawbone has easily got the best smart phone app to track your results. It's just too bad the company hasn't figured out a way to make these clever little gadgets last more than a year.

I guess I'm officially in the loop for the upcoming launch of the SMAP satellite. I'm starting to get e-mail from my contact at the Jet Propulsion Lab and was invited to join a recently created Facebook group where other people attending the launch can share information. I still haven't made any travel arrangements, but that's on my list for next week. It was kind of unnerving to see that there was snow in Southern California last week, but hopefully the weather will improve by the time I depart. The weather has always been fabulous whenever I've visited the Los Angeles area and I'd hate to break a winning streak.

The range of motion on my right arm is increasing, now that I've been doing the stretching exercises that are supposed to loosen up the muscles in my bad shoulder. Unfortunately, the shoulder still hurts just as much as it always has. I wonder if I've really proved anything if all I can do is painfully extend both hands all the way above my head. Maybe I'm just not being patient enough. I don't really like to exercise and exercise that causes pain is even worse. I'm going to ask my physical therapist if they offer cold laser therapy like Dot is currently getting. The laser treatments seem to be helping Dot, and it certainly seems like I ought to be able to get the same kind of care as my dog.

I had to get some prescriptions renewed this afternoon and I noticed that the price of several drugs had gone up almost 40%. Every year, my drug plan adjusts prices in January and they never go down. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. We're only a few days into 2015 so far, and I'm trying to remain optimistic.

Chase is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1539

My life is starting to resemble Groundhog Day again. The same health insurance claims get filed incorrectly over and over again. The large printer keeps clogging. My UP fitness band keeps breaking right after Jawbone sends me a patch that they claim will fix the problem. The insane redbird keeps pecking at my office window and pooping on my car. The same telemarketers and politicians relentlessly robo-dial my phone. I eat the same oatmeal and do the same work assignments over and over and over again.

I need to ask the dogs how they cope with bone crushing monotony. They both seem to have adjusted pretty well to doing the same things over and over again. Of course all Dot and Dash really do is sleep and pester me to entertain them when they wake up and realize they're hungry or need to pee. I'm sure I'd do better myself if I spent my entire day sleeping. It's much more frustrating when you have spend your day going through the motions of resolving problems that never seem to get resolved.

At least I saw the sun today. It was still cold as hell, but the blue sky looked promising. Today was certainly better than the relentlessly grey skies and sleet we had yesterday. I think the temperatures are supposed to climb back into the mid-sixties before the end of the week, when the whole cycle will begin again. I thought it would be too cold for the dogs this morning, but they seemed invigorated by the frigid air and wanted to walk longer than I had in mind. Dash still needs to take short walks and can't even wear his winter coat, since it attaches around his neck where his surgery incision is. Dot is just too old for long jaunts in icy weather. I'm always worried that she's going to fall.

I'm going to have to call an electrician soon. I can't even finish brushing my teeth before the LED lights in the bathroom ceiling start blinking on and off and driving me crazy. It would be nice to go ahead and fix the leaking shower pan and reinstall a large mirror that has come loose at the same time, but that would involve either finding a contractor who would inflate the price, or using a jack-of-all-trades handyman who would do all three jobs poorly. I've already mentioned that the dogs don't like workmen in the house either. All these problems will eventually get solved. It just won't be very satisfying.

Tomorrow, Dash resumes his regular bi-weekly antigen shots. I know he'd like to resume the rest of his regular schedule as well. All in good time. He should be pleased that he's doing as well as he is. I only wish my dislocated shoulder would heal as quickly as he seems to be recovering from his thyroid surgery. I'm going to remain hopeful that something interesting will happen tomorrow.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1420

Today was dismal. The skies were sullen and grey, accompanied by a cold, all-day rain. I would have preferred to just have stayed under a blanket today, but I had to pick up some more phenobarbital for Dash at the vet and the dogs still needed their walks. Every time I went outside, there were muddy shoes that needed to be cleaned and wet dogs that needed to be dried off. I wish I could just train the dogs to use a catbox on days like this, but we all know that's not going to happen.

While we were walking in the rain, I noticed a film crew working in the park. There were four grip trucks, several tents, and a large motor home for the actors. Why would anyone want to film something on a day like this? Maybe they were in the park for the same reason I was. Some things just can't be postponed. On the other hand, maybe the movie had a scene that takes place in the rain. In that case, they picked the perfect day.

This would have been a perfect day for me to hunker down and write, but I seldom get writing assignments on Mondays. Usually the writing assignments start filtering in later in the week when I have plenty of other things to do. Without any pending deadlines to spur me on, I uploaded some more pictures to Shutterstock. So far, more people seem to be downloading my images on Shutterstock than on iStockphoto. Although this is encouraging, Shutterstock pays less, so I doubt that the increased activity will net me any more money in the long run.

When I saw my Hepatologist recently, he suggested that I probably ought to see a kidney specialist. Apparently, the radiologist had noticed that something had changed in my kidney on the MRI they took. I don't know why each organ in the body needs its own doctor, but that's apparently the way it works. You'd think that a liver doctor would work on kidneys too, since they both filter things. Nope! I needed to see a kidney doctor, so that's where I'm going tomorrow.

I wonder how long it will be before I see the sun again. I do much better when the sun is shining. The weather forecast isn't encouraging. It looks like there will be at least two more days of continuous rain.

Ginger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1265

It was a beautiful day with clear skies and a light breeze. The dogs got to frolic in the sun at the dog park and I had plenty of time to catch up on some much needed yard work. I mowed the grass, watered the shrubs, and enjoyed one of those brief moments when everything looks nice for a change. I certainly wasn't the only one taking advantage of the nice weather. The park was filled with picnickers and the lake was dotted with small sailboats. I'm always in a better mood when I can see my own shadow, and sunny days where it's still cool enough to open the windows are the best. From the looks of things in the park this afternoon, there appear to be a lot of people who would agree with me.

I thought I'd re-arrange all the partitions in my camera case, based on how I used my equipment in Las Vegas. It would be nice if the things you used the most were right at the top for easy access. After spending an hour or so peeling away the Velcro partitions and re-attaching them somewhere else, I ended up with a configuration much worse than when I started. I guess this just proves that sometimes it's better to leave things well enough alone.

I sure wish I could have left my diet alone. It's much harder than I thought to avoid salt, sugar, and wheat entirely. While we were eating dinner tonight there was this baking competition show on TV and it made me really hungry. The show was basically like Top Chef, except that the contestants just baked pies and other pastries. I love pie. Unfortunately pie is the poster child for things I shouldn't eat. A good pie is chock full of salt, sugar, butter, and flour. I'll just have to learn to enjoy my Kale.

I discovered why there were so many tasty things that actually were on my diet when I was staying at the Wynn. It turns out that Steve Wynn is a vegan and he insists that all his restaurants have choices on the menu that he could eat. I guess that explains why there was such a variety of astoundingly good vegetable dishes. If you're a vegetarian with plenty of money, the Wynn is definitely where you want to go.

I don't want to go back to the regular work routine tomorrow, but there's basically no choice. It's going to be a very busy week with meetings on Monday and Tuesday, along with a big photo shoot on Thursday. Some of my friends tell me that they couldn't imagine not working. I can easily imagine this kind of life. All I have to do is look at the dogs sleeping peacefully on the bed in the next room and visions of the good life start to appear in my head.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1130

I paid a visit to my watchmaker today. Although I rarely even bother to fix my own watches any more, Janet still likes hers to run. I like visiting with the watch repairman. I'd drop by more often if he wasn't so busy. Guys like him usually have enough work to last a lifetime. The mechanic who works on my old Maserati is the same way. These solitary craftsmen work alone, slowly and methodically restoring odd little treasures from a bygone era. I used to know lots of people who could fix things. I knew several guys who could rebuild a Leica camera from scratch and one peculiar guy who did nothing but restore old electric fans. Most of these guys are gone now, but fortunately the watchmaker remains. He and I both collect things and enjoy sharing our discoveries. Guys like me rarely talk about feelings because we don't really have many. We do like to talk about stuff though. I had a very enjoyable afternoon and Janet's watch got fixed too.

I got quite a bit done today. I have a feeling that I was more productive because the skies were clear and the weather was warm. I think everything goes better on a nice day. The dogs enjoy sunning themselves in the back yard. The car starts effortlessly, and best of all, I don't have to muck about up on the roof. With the help of the suns rays, I managed to finish several articles and completely update an animal rescue website.

I think I'm going to contact the foam roofing company next week and have them come out and give me an estimate. I need to come up with a five year plan to get the house shipshape again if I ever want to sell it. I guess the roof would be a good place to start. It certainly wouldn't make sense to fix anything inside if the roof was still leaking.

I wonder how long it will be before I become bored with eating out every Friday morning. I found a really nice restaurant this morning, but nothing on the menu really appealed to me. Maybe I just wasn't hungry. I finally ordered an omelet with chorizo, shallots and cream cheese. When I got home I was so full that I almost went up on the roof just to push the broom around for exercise.

Dovey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 399

The sun finally came out today. I had a couple of meetings out of the office and you could tell that the sunshine had a positive effect on everybody. I don't know how Northerners deal with month after month of dreary weather. All it takes is a week down here and everybody is in a grumpy mood.

I don't know if it was the sunshine or just good luck, but I managed to get a lot accomplished before the sun went down. This morning, there was a successful initial planning meeting for a new website I'm going to be designing for a cat only veterinary hospital. This afternoon, I added a final group of pictures to a website I've been working on for months and I'm just about ready to call the whole thing completed. I even got a request to bid on a brand new project directly as a result of Facebook. Social media continues to amaze me. I had my business website up for several years before I could attribute any work whatsoever to having a persence on the Internet. I've only been on Facebook for a month and it's already having an impact on my business. Things have definitely changed. I think attention spans are shorter these days, but if you can learn to operate in that little window called "now," there are some real opportunities.

When I took the dogs on their evening walk, I was surprised to discover that most of the leaves in the park were gone. I could have sworn that there were tons of leaves on the ground yesterday, but today some of the meadows we walk through looked like a golf course. The whole thing is a bit of a mystery to me. I know there wasn't a big storm last night that blew the leaves away. The only thing I can think of is that the city used some of their stimulus money to buy a giant leaf vacuum for the parks department. If that's what happened, I sure wish they'd come over to my house and suck all the leaves off my lawn. As it stands now, I've got a lot of raking to do before Spring.

I didn't have time to take pictures of the three new Dalmatians today. Maybe tomorrow.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day