Day 4735

Sundays are all about walking. I don't think I did anything constructive today, but I sure did a lot of walking. Luckily the rain has stopped. Unfortunately the roof is still leaking. I discovered a few new leaks when I woke up this morning, but all have stopped dripping except for the original leak in the office. Lord knows when this leak will dry out. It's fairly persistant.

Dawn got a nice early walk this morning. The weather was cool and there was lots to smell. We didn't encounter a single bicycle this morning and we only saw two joggers. Maybe everyone was getting ready for the big BMW Dallas Marathon. This used to be called Run the Rock, but now they have a corporate sponsor. It seems to rain almost every time this race takes place.

I went mall walking again after breakfast. I was surprised at how full the mall seemed a full two hours before the stores opened. There were lots of parents with little kids. Taking your kids to the mall must be kind of like taking them to the zoo. It's a very popular activity. Most importantly, it's free. A lot of stores seems to have staff meeting on Sunday morning. It's not uncommon to see groups of employees gathered around a manager in these closed stores listening to some kind of pep talk or instructions. Are these meetings mandatory? What if someone wanted to go to church instead. The Apple store seemed to be having a Christmas party this morning. There were a huge number of employees milling around inside the locked store.

Everyone seems to have a holiday window display now. There is certainly nothing new in the word of fashion. I saw double breasted men's suits on display that looked exactly like what I used to wear in the 1970's. Leather motorcycle jackets seem popular too. At least they seem popular for women. I used to wear jackets like these back in my college days. Basically all fashion just gets recycled. Few people who are interested in clothes are old enough to remember that we've seen all this before.

Dawn got her Sunday outing today. The ground was a little wet, but it was a pleasant day for walking. We walk about the same distance as we do on our early morning walks, but somehow we always seems to go a little faster. Probably Dawn doesn't spend as much time smelling things when we take her to the Sunday park. The park near our house is Dawn's territory now. She has to investigate and keep up with what all the other dogs are doing.

I passed a horrible multi-car wreck on my way to the mall this morning. I think people forgot how to drive during the pandemic. Drivers seem much worse lately. People routinely cut in front of you, make unannounced u-turns, and run through traffic signals. Dallas has never been a haven for safe drivers, but I've never seen it this bad before. It feels like a demolition derby and you can't help but wonder when your luck is going to wear out.

I continue to have problems with websites and passwords. After I have changed all my online passwords to more secure versions, some of the websites I use have reverted to the old passwords. I find it impossible to change any information on my web hosting account. When I try to call customer service, I get an offshore call center and end up talking with someone I can barely understand. I'm beginning to wonder why I'm still on the Internet. I think I'd be just fine if I wasn't online at all.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2559

Why do car problems always take place at the worst possible time? When I got in the car to go to breakfast this morning, I got a big surprise. I pressed the starter button and nothing happened. The engine didn't turn over at all. I immediately knew that this was going to be a bad day. Dot had an appointment with her oncologist today and it can take months to get an appointment with this woman. I definitely didn't want to cancel. There were several other appointments today as well, but Dot's visit to the cancer center was the big one.

When I talked with my service guy, he seemed fairly convinced that it was just a bad battery. He sent a technician over to the house to see if he could get the car started. If we could get the car moving, I could drive up to the dealer and get a new battery installed. I called the cancer center and they were nice enough to reschedule my appointment for later in the day. I rescheduled or canceled my other appointments as well and started to think that this day might have a happy ending anyway.

While I was at the Land Rover dealer, I got a call from UPS and they said they had found my package. This was good news too, but I wasn't sure if I'd have time to drive down to the service center today. Dot's appointments at the cancer center often take a very long time. Walk in emergencies at the dealership often take a long time too. It was a busy, hectic Friday and they had to work me in. Eventually, they discovered that the battery was the only real problem, so I bought a new battery and was on my way.

When I got home, I resumed cleaning the rugs that Dot had peed on when I was trying to get her out of the house this morning. Everything has to be just right if I have any chance of getting her outside without an accident. Last night she peed too early. She really needs to pee at 11 PM, and last night she seemed to think that 9 PM was a better time. I wish I could explain to her that she just can't hold it that long.

I thought I'd have time to run down to the UPS service center and pick up my package before taking Dot to her appointment, but a major accident along the way foiled my plan. I saw four fire trucks and two ambulances, although I wasn't close enough to see what actually happened. The road was blocked in both directions. After waiting about ten minutes, I gave up and drove over the median so I could exit the mess and get out of the traffic jam. This was a very bad wreck, but I didn't see much compassion on the faces of the other drivers. You could tell that like me, they just wished the fire trucks had pulled over to the side of the road.

I used my GPS to find an alternate route to the UPS service center and when I got back home again, I was only ten minutes late. I quickly packed Dot in the car and we were on our way. Dot doesn't travel well these days. I dread driving with her, because she often panics and tries to escape. Since she can't move very well, her struggles usually result in her getting stuck somewhere. I try to drive in the far right lane, so I can always get off the road quickly if necessary. I'm worried that someday she'll accidentally manage to unlock one of the car doors while we are moving.

There was good news and bad news at the exam. Dot has a new tumor in her liver, but like the other existing tumors, it appears to be growing very slowly. Her liver still functions normally. Most of her blood chemistry looked good, but the doctor was worried that the muscle atrophy in her left rear leg was getting worse. She said we need to keep Dot moving and encouraged me to continue our slow walks each day.

The day was very hectic, but I guess it wasn't that bad after all. My car works, Dot's oncologist said that Dot is good to go for at least another two months, I finally have my package, and all the soiled rugs are clean and back on the floor again. I still have a bad cold, but maybe I can get some rest this weekend.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2370

I went to the airport and picked up Janet after breakfast this morning. I'm really glad her plane arrived at DFW airport, because at exactly the same time that I was waiting for her at the American Airlines baggage claim, there was a shooting right outside the baggage claim at Love Field. If we had been at that airport instead, we would have been stuck there the rest of the day. They shut down the entire airport because they thought that people might have got on on planes without going through security during the confusion that occurred right after the shooting. Everyone had to get off their plane and go through security all over again. Access to and from the airport was shut down and people on the airport access roads at that time were stuck in their cars for hours. It was a huge mess.

The dogs said goodby to the dog walker this morning after a final early morning walk. It was nice to know that if I need help again, there is someone out there I can trust. There were certain aspects to caring for Dot on my own that were more difficult than I anticipated, but continuing to give the dogs their regular morning and evening walks wasn't one of them. The dog walker always arrived right on time, was very patient with Dot, and most importantly, both dogs liked her. Having something new and different to anticipate each morning seemed good for them. Hopefully, they will continue to walk with the same enthusiasm when we resume our regular schedule tomorrow morning.

It didn't really seem like a work day, since I spent half my day going to and from the airport. I finished several small website updates after lunch, but there was nothing major on the agenda. Since Janet was home with the dogs and work was slow, I decided to get a head start on my Saturday errands. You'd think that mid-afternoon on a workday would be a good time to do grocery shopping, but what do I know. The store was relatively empty, but there were only two check out aisles open and I ended up waiting in line longer than I usually do on a busy weekend. I couldn't use the automated check out aisles today because I bought some beer. They still check your ID every time you buy alcohol even if it's obvious that you're an old man who hasn't hasn't made an underage purchase in over fifty years. There is no common sense to rules and regulations anymore. Eighty year old grandmothers are forced to take their shoes of at the airport and old men are still carded when they buy beer. In the mean time, there are still shootings at airports and nothing is really any safer.

Even though I had just returned from the store, neither of us felt like cooking, so I went out again and picked up some take-out for dinner. On the way, I encountered a huge four car pile up just a few miles from my house. There were fire trucks, ambulances, and a big traffic jam. It probably would have been easier to cook something for dinner. If I learned anything today it was that when people come to me, like the dog walker and the FedEx man, it is generally a good experience. On the other hand, when I venture out into the world, not so much. If anyone ever perfects online grocery shopping with free home delivery, I may never leave the house again.

Escher is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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