Day 2352

There have been better days. The suspension problems on my car that I was almost certain would be a warranty repair are not a covered item. "I'm not believing this," I said. "You fixed the suspension problems on the right hand side of the car under warranty a few months ago, and now you not going to fix the left hand side when it's exactly the same problem?" "We only replaced the air bladder last time," my service guy said.  "Now, we've got to replace the air bladder and the strut." "So," I said. "The strut is a regular maintenance item like wiper blades and brake pads," the service guy said. "It's not covered." "You're telling me that a $1,200 part that is an integral part of the car is just a disposable item," I said incredulously. To make matters worse, the strut is only available as a kit with the accompanying air bladder, which I had gotten free last time. Apparently, you can get an air bladder without a strut, but you cannot get a strut without an air bladder. "Well, if this repair is going to be this expensive, don't do the regular maintenance check. I'll save that until next time," I said. "Oh, we did the maintenance check first," the service guy told me. "It's already done." Oh, did I mention that my homeowners insurance is due in a few weeks as well. June hasn't even arrived yet and I'm already broke for the month.

To add to my financial woes, my financial adviser called today in response to the letter I'd sent him last week. I think he is genuinely trying to resolve our problems, but we just aren't on the same page. When I told him that I would have been better off if I'd just put my money in a boring index fund and forgotten about it, he reminded me that it was me who wanted to buy individual stocks to try to get a better yield. There have been so many bad decisions over the years. Some of the decisions are mine. Some of them are the brokers. All I wanted to do was get back to even after the huge market meltdown in 2008. I've been trying to claw my way back at a time when the market has been more volatile than at any point in recent memory. I have friends who gave up on stocks after the crash of 2008 and put their money into gold, only to watch gold prices tumble. I know other people who put their faith in real estate, only to discover that real estate wasn't a sure thing either. We live in a world where there are no sure things anymore and I only think it's going to get worse.

Dot had quite a few accidents today. Most were easy to clean up, but the incontinence is really getting me down. There is no cause and effect anymore between when I take Dot outside and when she actually poops. Her digestive system still works as it should, but she has little control over it anymore. It doesn't matter where she is. When something reaches the end of the line, out it comes.

I'm still having Internet connection problems. I never would have dreamed that I would look back at my old slow Mac tower, my friend's simple web server, and a single DSL line as the best of times. Things were so reliable in the beginning. I could often go a year without any problems at all.  Now it seems like I re-boot the U-verse router and call tech support at Bluehost almost every day. Nothing is reliable these days and it's wearing me out.

Maybe things will be better tomorrow. Somehow, I doubt it. The rain is supposed to continue through the end of the week. I'm not sure when my car will be ready now. I'm not sure whether to resume Dot's physical therapy either. One day she seems better and then the next day she's weak and tired again. We'll stick to the simple things tomorrow. If I can manage to get out of bed in the morning, we'll take it from there.

Willie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2334

It drives me crazy when stuff breaks all the time. I called the electrician today to fix a broken sodium vapor light in the back yard. These lights typically last up to ten years, but this one bit the dust in less than a year. The good news is that the fixture is probably still under warranty. The bad news is that my electrician has gone to a four day week and doesn't work on Friday anymore. He won't be able to come out and replace the faulty security lamp until next Wednesday. By then, Janet and I will both have tripped over rocks and stepped in dog poop while taking the dogs out late at night. The security light is essential.

Next on the list was a call to the plumber to fix the leaking fixtures in the bathroom sink. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. I will have to measure and photograph the existing fixtures and then bring the photos to their offices so they can see if they can locate a suitable replacement. They're probably telling me the truth, since the modern fixtures I see at Home Depot and Lowes are too big to fit in the old sink. I had to do this once before when I owned rental property and it seemed like it took months to get the old leaking fixtures replaced. I keep thinking that all repair people are going to be like those friendly, knowledgeable guys on that PBS This Old House show, but sadly this is seldom the case.

I've started hearing a loud squeak or chirping noise on the left side of my car when I drive over a bump. I heard exactly the same noise a few weeks before the suspension went out on the right hand side of the car last year. To be proactive, I called the dealership to make an appointment to bring the car in for service. They don't have any openings until the end of the month. I guess I'd better not drive over any big bumps until then.

It was quite warm today and I could tell that Dot was already having trouble with the heat. We're going to have a real problem this Summer. The higher the temperature, the less energy she has. In Texas terms, this was just a mild Spring day. It's going to get worse. When Summer really hits us, we might not be able to walk at all. It's going to be a challenge to keep Dot moving in the Summer. I guess we could start using the underwater treadmill more, but it's a long ride in the car to get to our therapy sessions and cars can get very hot during Texas Summers.

Don't ask me why, but I had breakfast at a neighborhood cafe that appears to be a favorite with the over 70 crowd. Literally, everyone in the place was a senior citizen. I hadn't been to this place for several years, but it certainly hasn't changed much. The food is actually pretty good, but that's not why the place is popular. Old people love this place because the portions are huge. I could barely finish my meal this morning. It's weird how people tend to stay with their own tribe. There were no hipsters in this restaurant. There were no young moms, pushing their kids in fancy strollers. All I saw were a bunch of very old men who were clearly going to vote for Trump.

The new camera arrived today. I opened the box to make sure everything was there, but that's about as far as I got. I'll be taking plenty of pictures in the future, but my hands are full with other things now. Taking care of Dot and keeping the house from falling apart has become a full time job.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2112

A yellow warning light appeared on the dashboard this morning when I was driving to the golf tournament. Suspension Fault the message said. The warning light was a little alarming, since I was driving on a busy freeway.  At least this warning will validate my assertion that something is wrong with the suspension when I take the car in for service next week. I continued on my way to the tournament, not really knowing if the warning meant a wheel was about to fall off, or that I should just prepare myself for a big repair bill next Wednesday.

This was our fourteenth annual golf tournament. It's hard to believe that Janet and I have been working with the rescue group this long. We didn't even have a golf tournament when we initially started volunteering with Dalmatian Rescue. Tournament attendance probably peaked a few years ago, but there were still a respectable number of players today and everybody was having a good time. The weather was great and the course at the Tour 18 club was in good shape. All we needed were a few more people. It's really hard to sustain an event like this. People get older and interests change. Die hard golfers always enjoy a round of golf though, so I imagine that we'll continue having our tournament for many years to come. This is almost always our biggest fund raiser of the year and we've helped a lot of dogs along the way.

Even though the tournament was a long way from Dallas, our dogs didn't have to stay alone long. Janet went first to check people in and then when I arrived to take pictures a few hours later, she went home again. Dot and Dash were fine today and probably end up being left alone for much longer periods of time on a normal weekday. It would have been a lot different if we'd just taken one car. Neither dog can really handle being left alone all day anymore. When Dot and Dash were younger, we used to take them with us to these tournaments. The rescue group always picks a dog friendly golf course and many people still bring their dogs with them. Those days are over for us. Dash would freak out on an hour long car ride and Dot is simply too frail.

There were light clouds on the Eastern horizon this evening, but I still got to see tonight's rare super blood moon lunar eclipse. There have been a lot of lunar eclipses this year, but there won't be another super blood moon until 2033. I wonder if I'll still be around then? At least this eclipse was early in the evening, so I didn't have to get up at three in the morning like the last blood moon. I need to get a bit more serious about taking pictures of the moon. Once again, I just pointed a hand held camera at the sky and depended on the camera's image stabilization to keep the moon in focus. It was interesting that I could see the red color more clearly in the camera's electronic viewfinder than I could with my eye. Maybe the sensor is more sensitive to red light.

There was no time to clean the house or go to the gym this weekend, but there should be plenty of time to catch up on things next week. Work is still alarmingly slow. Maybe when the Jewish holidays are over, my writing jobs will pick up again. Until then, I've got plenty of time to read. I think I'll go out and buy a copy of Jennifer Lawson's new book. She was one of the people who got me interested in blogging back in the beginning. I wish more bloggers would break out of obscurity and wind up on the New York Times best seller list. It doesn't happen nearly often enough.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day