Day 2650

The restaurant I visited this morning was really old school. People were reading newspapers instead of looking at their phones. I didn't see a single phone in use in the entire restaurant. It was odd to see so many newspapers. I must admit that I haven't read the paper myself for several years. The food was good at this old fashioned place, but the portions were huge. I felt vaguely guilty that I couldn't finish my meal. I grew up with a mother who made me eat everything on my plate and I've religiously cleaned my plate ever since.

I actually struck up a conversation will a fellow diner, which was probably rarer than seeing a newspaper. The guy was wearing a t-shirt that said "the Falcon has landed" with a picture of the Space X Falcon 9 rocket. I was enough of a space nerd to realize that this was a play on words, referring to Neil Armstrong's famous phrase "the Eagle has landed" when Apollo 11 touched down on the moon. I asked the guy if he worked at Space X and he said "I wish." We talked for a while about NASA, the moon, Elon Musk, and our fascination with space flight. The guy asked me whether I collected space memorabilia.  I told him no, but that I did stay up late last night to watch the Space X Echostar launch.

Dot had her monthly cancer recheck this afternoon. She rides so much better in the car now that Janet has started going with us to the exams. Janet sits in the back of the car with Dot and is able to calm her when she gets frantic and has a panic attack. Dot was actually calm enough when we arrived at the cancer center today that the nurse was able to get a decent blood pressure reading for a change.

The good news is that the growth of the tumors in Dot's liver has slowed. Each mass only grew about one millimeter this time. She still has four tumors, but no new ones have appeared. The oncologist seemed pleased that Dot was responding well to the pain medication and said her condition was more or less stable. She still wants us to come back every month for an ultrasound scan though. One of the tumors is large enough that it could become a problem at any time. Greta, one of our earlier Dalmatians, also had liver cancer. I wish we had handled Greta's illness the same way we are doing now with Dot. Greta was old as well when we discovered her cancer and wasn't able to survive the surgery. She died at the hospital. It would have been better to just keep her comfortable at home during whatever remaining time she had.

I got a notice from AT&T today saying that my wireless bill was overdue. Jeez, I sent the guys a check over two weeks ago. AT&T gave me an extension until next Wednesday to see if the check shows up. Maybe it will and maybe it won't. How could it take two weeks to get a letter to Atlanta?  I have a feeling that it's finally time to give up on the US mail. The post office has lost things of mine before and I'm sure they will again. Janet pays all her bills online and has urged me to do the same many times. At least when you pay online, you know instantly if your payment went through. Unfortunately, I'm just about as old school as the restaurant I visited this morning. I like traditions like going to the post office and the bank. There is something nice about these traditions, just like writing letters on paper to my sister.

I hope Dot sleeps well tonight. We kind of had a rough night yesterday and neither of us got very much sleep. I remember cleaning up poop and throwing rugs in the washing machine at 3 AM. Hopefully tonight will be calmer. We could all use the rest.

Alison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2496

I'm confused. When I took Dot to the cancer center today, I was prepared for bad news. To me, Dot seems to be growing weaker. She stumbled a lot this week and seems to be having a harder time walking without assistance. What do I know though? The oncologist, the ultrasound technician, and two nurses all thought Dot looked stronger and more alert than the last time they saw her. Her lab work and scan seemed to confirm their opinion. Dot's tumors are stable and haven't grown at all since her last scan. Her blood work is actually better than it was a month ago. This is all good news, but I still wonder why she seems so weak around the house.

I'm really mad at the city. For the fourth week in a row, the trash truck has failed to empty my trash. Not only was my bagged trash not removed from the can, the robotic arm on the truck actually damaged my brand new trash can. Now, there's a big dent in the can and the lid won't close. I piled the trash in the back of my car and went looking for a dumpster again. I'm tired of this. I called city services when I got home and after a long wait on hold, explained my problem to someone. Nothing got resolved today, but I did get assigned a case number and was told that someone from the sanitation department would be calling me next week.

I didn't get to go out for breakfast this morning, since a thunderstorm was headed our way. I could see lightning on the horizon and hear distant thunder, but we managed to get the dogs walked before the rain actually arrived. The short walk around the block with both dogs went just fine, but Dash almost got me struck by lightning when he refused to curtail his longer walk as the rain continued to get closer. Dash can be pretty stubborn sometimes. By the time we returned home, the sky was looking dark and ominous. I found another package of frozen waffles in the freezer and listened to the rain pounding on the roof while I kept telling Dot that everything was going to be OK.

I've been worried that the new Tramadol pills were going to make Dot constipated, but she put those fears to rest by pooping in the car on the way home from the cancer center. Poor car. Today, it's been pooped in and full of garbage within the same day. It's harder to clean Dot up after she's had an accident in the car. Since she's in a confined space, she can't move away from the mess. Sometimes, it takes me a while before I can safely pull off to the side of the road and attend to her as well. Such is life. It's hard to imagine a trip in the car without one of these accidents these days.

I picked up some Chinese take out for dinner and was dismayed to see that the restaurant had taken all the small sizes off the menu. I used to have a choice of small or large on everything. Not anymore. Absolutely nothing stays the same anymore. Oh, well. At least the restaurant is still in business. I hope we have a quiet, uneventful weekend. I need some time to rest and recharge my batteries before I resume my battle with the city over trash pickup. I'm beginning to think that the robotic arm on the truck has some kind of sensor that rejects my can when it discovers it is full of dog poop.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2365

Today was exhausting. I got up early to give the dogs their morning pills and make sure they were fed and ready to go when the dog walker arrived. I'd already been up twice during the night to clean up Dot's latest accidents. I don't know how Dot can sleep through pooping in her bed, but she does. I certainly can't sleep through these episodes. The smell wakes me up every time. Luckily, I can get back to sleep easily.

Things went better than I expected with the dog walker. She arrived right on time and Dash seemed to take a liking to her almost immediately. We decided that she would walk Dash and I would walk Dot. Dash seemed to think it was special to be walked by someone new. Dot barked a lot at first, but she soon settled into the new routine as well. Dot even walked a bit faster than usual, which was surprising.

Since it was a nice day and the ground was starting to dry out, I decided to mow the grass this afternoon. This might have been a mistake. The grass was still a little wet, so the mower was harder to push than usual. I ended up getting a lot better workout than if I'd gone to the gym. I almost forgot it was Sunday today. It didn't seem like Sunday. It just seemed different.

Somewhere between breakfast and dinner the dogs walker came down with some sort of virus and asked if her husband cold help with the dogs in the evening. It was fine by me. Despite their many idiosyncrasies, Dot and Dash acted like well socialized and surprisingly well behaved canines today. the went on walks with two different strangers and nothing went wrong at all. I was proud of them.

The hardest part of the day are the evenings. It's almost like a changing of the guard when Janet comes home. They look forward to when she comes home every day and generally follow her around until bedtime. This gives me time to write the blog, clean up the kitchen, and whatever else I need to do. With this routine disrupted, there is a lot of barking and standing at the front door. Eventually they both get tired and we all go to bed, but you've got to watch them like a hawk. Dot ended up peeing on a big rug last night when I let her out of my sight for a just few minutes. I wish Dot wasn't so needy, but it is almost inevitable with her lack of mobility.

Tomorrow we go back to the cancer center for our long awaited ultrasound recheck. Dot's regular oncologist is out of town, but we have an appointment with another of the clinic's oncologists. I have mixed emotions about restarting her chemotherapy. She didn't appear to get any stronger when we discontinued the Palladia pills, but she didn't get any weaker either. It is hard to tell whether the chemotherapy was doing her any good at all. Hopefully, the ultrasound scan will clarify things a bit.

It would be nice to sleep a little longer tonight. I might as well have just stayed up last night. I think we're coping pretty well, but I'll be glad when things get back to normal.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2356

It was raining so hard this morning that I quickly abandoned my plans to go out for breakfast. It just wasn't worth it. The dogs are always restless when it rains and even more restless when they can't go on their morning walk. They will stand at the back door and just look at you like they expect you to stop the rain. It took about five tries before Dash would venture outside and pee. Dot ended up pooping inside the house while I was fixing my breakfast. Once I got the mess cleaned up, breakfast really wasn't bad.

I made some delicious French Toast with a leftover loaf of bread I found in the refrigerator and cooked a few fresh sausage patties to go along with it. Add some dark roast coffee and real maple syrup and this meal easily held its own with any of my recent restaurant outings. Since there were no bananas today, the dogs even let me eat in relative peace. They go nuts when there's a banana around.

I talked with Dot's oncologist after breakfast and rescheduled her appointment for next week. There actually was an ultrasound technician available today, but not the one the oncologist wanted. There is a specific technician that the oncologist wanted to use who is familiar with Dot's case. Evidently Dot's tumors are located in an area that is difficult to scan and the technician who was sick today was the only one who knows exactly where to look. I was happy to reschedule, because transporting Dot in the car on a wet stormy day is even more difficult than on a normal day.

I got an e-mail from AT&T this morning warning me that there would be a non-returned equipment charge if I didn't hurry up and install the new router they sent me and return the old one to them. Jeez. It's only been one day since the UPS guy delivered the package. Truthfully, I'm reluctant to install the new router, since everything has been working perfectly since the package arrived. This is the first time in a month that I've had no problems and so far I've made no changes at all. I still think the tech support guys fixed something after my irate calls and just didn't tell me. I'd like to just put the new router in the storage warehouse and keep it in case I need it in the future, but apparently AT&T frowns on this. If everything is still working properly in the morning, I think I'm going to call and ask if I can return the package they sent unopened. I'm very superstitious about setting up and configuring a completely new home and office network at this point. Maybe I should just leave things alone.

The city didn't pick up my garbage again. My can was the only one on the entire street this morning that wasn't emptied. This has happened too many times. I don't think the garbage men are purposely trying to harass me, but something is definitely wrong. I'm starting to think that the lid on my can doesn't open properly when the automated truck picks it up. Things worked much better when real people emptied the cans. The robot automated truck picks up the cans, but I don't think it can sense if it has actually emptied them.

I think I've finally found someone to help me walk Dot while Janet is on vacation next month. It's been a lot harder to find a reputable dog walker to come over every morning than I thought it would be, but things are looking up. The dog walker is going to come over and meet Dot next week and I think we'll be able to work something out. I've been walking Dot and Dash for over a decade and never dreamed that a simple walk would become so difficult. It's important to keep Dot moving though, so I'll do what I've got to do.

We've got a three day weekend ahead. We've also got lots more rain ahead as well. It remains to be seen whether we'll have a relaxing holiday.

Libby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2320

When I went to breakfast this morning, I was disappointed to see that business still hasn't improved for the once thriving restaurant that initially captured my attention several years ago. The place was almost empty. It didn't make sense. These guys deserve better. The food was still good. The staff was extra friendly. They were really trying. It was weird to think that a little competition across the street had virtually destroyed this place. I guess everyone has their thirty minutes of fame. Maybe the restaurant will recover and maybe it won't. They certainly did nothing wrong. As I've discovered myself, success can be very fickle.

One of the tumors in Dot's liver is growing again. The oncologist said that since one mass was stable and the other appeared to be changing, it was hard to tell if the Palladia treatments were working. We decided to discontinue chemotherapy treatments for a month and then do another Ultrasound scan. We'll be able to see if Dot's energy level and mobility improves without the drug in her system and whether the tumor starts to grow even faster. Then we'll have to make a decision about whether to resume chemotherapy, even though it has failed to completely stop the growth of the cancer. If Dot is walking better after a month, I would be inclined to discontinue the Palladia indefinitely. If she is still just as weak without the pills and the cancer has started growing faster, I would be inclined to resume the chemotherapy. Either way, it will be a tough decision.

Both Dot's nurse and the oncologist told me that Dot was a bit "feisty" today during her exam. This was just a nice way of telling me that Dot didn't behave very well. I asked whether they could tell if Dot was comfortable or just being grumpy and the oncologist said it could be a little bit of both. It was clear that she didn't want to go to the doctor today. I can't say that I blame her. The Ultrasound scan isn't painful, but she does have to be upside down on her back for a while. I think she's had enough.

I finally got up on the roof and cleared the water away. What a mess. Katkins falling from the Oak and Pecan trees had turned the water a dark coffee brown color and made the entire roof slippery. I slipped several times, aggravating my already aching joints. My elbows and knees were sore and my dislocated shoulder made one arm nearly worthless. The way I was feeling today, I wouldn't have wanted an ultrasound scan either. I need to ask my doctor whether I should continue taking glucosamine chondroitin pills. They don't appear to be working. I found several more areas that need to be patched on the roof. As soon as it gets dry, I need to get the roofers over again. I'm not sure how to patch myself up.

Since it was a nice, clear day, I took my binoculars and went down to the park after sunset to look for Mercury on the horizon. I think I found the illusive planet, but it was hard to tell, since there were few reference points in that part of the sky tonight. It's always easier to find Mercury if the moon or another planet is nearby.

I wish that Dot had gotten a clean bill of health today, but it could have been a lot worse. We'll continue taking things one day at a time. Dot is resting comfortably now and I hope to join her soon. A good night's sleep would be very nice.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2319

When I looked at Facebook this morning my feed was completely filled with tributes to Prince. This has definitely not been a good year for rock icons. When a musician dies, it seems to trigger far more shared memories and tributes than a comparable politician, actor, or athlete. There is something universal about music. We all know where we were when a certain song became stuck in our head. I'll never forget Prince playing Purple Rain during a driving rainstorm at the Superbowl. There was something almost magical about how the whole thing came together. There was also his amazing guitar solo during his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 while playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, and George Harrison's son Dhani. If you've seen the video, the look on Dhani Harrison's face while Prince played says is all. So many music greats are dying this year that it's kind of alarming. It is really the end of an era.

Dot was weak again today and had trouble standing. I need to make some sort of a chart and track her energy levels. I keep thinking that the Palladia pills are causing the weakness, but since her chemotherapy schedule is so complicated, it is hard for me to determine if the drugs are to blame. All I know is that she has good days and bad days that loosely correspond to when I give her the pills. There are so many other things that could be contributing to her gradually deteriorating condition that the chemotherapy might not be the culprit at all. We are scheduled to have our monthly Ultrasound scan at the cancer center tomorrow and hopefully Dot's oncologist will be able to shed some light on this mystery.

It rained again last night, but during the day the skies cleared and we ended up having a warm and somewhat windy Spring afternoon. I was hoping that Dash would take advantage of the nice weather and take a long walk, but something spooked him in the park and he wanted to come home almost immediately. Dot's illness seems to have changed Dash as well. He is not as confident anymore. Dot was always the Alpha dog and Dash seems a bit lost right now. I think they are both frustrated that they can't take long, brisk walks together like they used to. I'd like to go back to the old days too, but that isn't possible. We're just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

I paid the last of the April bills and took them to the post office. There's still a little money left in the bank, but there will be another big bill from the cancer center tomorrow and we'll start the never ending cycle all over again. I hate budgeting and curtailing indulgences. I guess I should be happy that I can still pay the bills as an aging writer and web designer, but I can see the writing on the wall. One of these days the only money coming in will be a social security check. I hope to avoid that day as long as possible.

Maybe I'll go back to my original breakfast restaurant tomorrow. Having all these new choices has disoriented me. It's sad that something as simple as breakfast can make me nostalgic about the old days. Everywhere I look, I keep wanting to turn back time. If this gets worse, I'll just go back to fixing myself French Toast with the leftover bread in the refrigerator. That's what I used to do on Friday.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2247

Today was discouraging. Dot's oncologist found a second tumor during her ultrasound exam. We won't know whether she also has kidney problems until the complete lab reports come back later in the week, but we did learn that Dot has high blood pressure. The high blood pressure could be causing the abnormalities discovered in the routine urinalysis we ran last week. None of this is good news. Dot's oncologist wants us to consider resuming chemotherapy at a lower dose to see whether Dot can handle it. This will slow down the growth of the cancer, but it might cause her to become weaker and make it harder for her to walk again. It's going to be a tough choice.

Cancer is so relentless that it's really hard to beat it entirely. Most treatments don't actually cure cancer, they just slow down it's advance. Despite her limited mobility, Dot is still a happy dog who enjoys her life. If we can come up with a treatment plan that will keep her happy and motivated, I'm willing to try it. The day Dot becomes severely depressed with her condition, it's all over. I think this is true with people as well when they become ill. You've got to have a reason to keep moving forward.

I'm having problems with my car and had to make a service appointment. It used to only take a day or two to get an appointment, but now the wait can be up to two weeks. I'm sure this has something to do with the economy. The dealership is still selling a lot of cars, but they haven't added any new mechanics. As a result, customers wait longer. The same thing seems to be happening when you need a plumber or make a doctor's appointment. Airlines are the worst. Fuel prices have come down dramatically during the past year, but have ticket prices decreased? Nope. Flying is just as unpleasant as it has always been.

I digress though. I was talking about my car. The car is still under warranty, but is getting old enough that things are starting to break. My current problem is with the electrical system. Modern automotive electronics are so complex that they are almost unfixable when things start to go wrong. Usually they end up replacing the expensive computer brain that controls everything. That's why I'd like to get this problem taken care of before the warranty runs out. I was able to keep my old Defender 90 long after the warranty ran out because it was basically a very simple machine. I don't think I'll be able to hang on to this car without a good warranty. The car is just too complicated. Repairs are already so expensive that it would make more sense to just trade it in as soon as the warranty runs out. Luckily, I've still got a few years to decide what to do next.

I don't think I've got a few years with Dot. I'm worried. After all we've been through, it's hard for me to accept that she won't live forever. I've never seen a dog with this much strength, determination, and resilience. We're getting near the end of the road however. I'm observant enough to see what's happening. I'm just not ready.

I was pleased to see the outsiders win tonight in New Hampshire. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are as different as day and night, but each is authentic in their own way. I hope this sends a message to Washington DC that politics as usual is over. I don't know what the solution is, but we've got to find a way to move beyond the total gridlock our current politicians have created. It won't be easy because we have allowed ourselves to become so fragmented as a country that nobody can agree on anything anymore. The next year or so should be very interesting.

Jazz it today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2212

Dot's cancer is growing again. Her oncologist said that she wasn't that alarmed by the growth, but it was still disheartening. We had gone for over six months with no growth in the tumor whatsoever, so it was easy to start believing that the cancer was in remission. We talked about the merits of resuming chemotherapy and both of us agreed that in Dot's case, chemo probably did more harm than good.When Dot initially started taking Palladia to slow down the growth of the tumor, she quickly became weaker and within a week she could hardly walk. She was just too old and weak to tolerate the powerful drug. When we discontinued the chemotherapy, her mobility began to improve again. It's a tough choice when you have to choose between quality of life and length of life. Dot was miserable when she couldn't move around. Her mobility is still limited, but she can move around the house on her own and has a sense of independence. The cancer will win in the end, but for now she is a happy dog. I hope we did the right thing.

I wish I'd remembered to bring the lawn mower battery inside for the Winter before the temperatures dipped below freezing. I forgot, and now I've ruined another expensive 24 volt battery. I brought the battery inside this afternoon anyway, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to have it re-celled again in the Spring. I've learned the hard way that freezing weather and batteries isn't a good combination. This is the third lawnmower battery I've ruined. I wonder how car batteries survive as well as they do? They're out in the cold all the time. Any other type of battery is usually toast if you leave it too long in freezing weather.

Since it looks like it's going to be cold for a while, I'm doing my best to get ready for Winter. I've set the outside faucets so they drip a little to prevent the pipes from freezing. The dehumidifier has done wonders to lower the humidity in the house. Last Winter, I routinely had to mop the inside of the window glass with a towel in the morning to get rid of the condensation. Now, there is no condensation at all. We've learned how to attach Dot's Help 'Em Up Harness over a sweater, so she'll stay warm on our early morning walks. I've got a new pair of Winter gloves now, because my old gloves were falling apart. I can't say that I enjoy Winter, but I'm not going to let it get the best of me.

The year has just begun and there's already a stack of bills to pay on my desk. There's got to be more to life than paying bills and cleaning up poop. Maybe not. Sometimes I think I need to find a greater purpose to my life. Other times I think I've already found it. I do a good job of taking care of the dogs. I make enough sitting here writing so that I can pay the stack of bills on my desk without leaving the dogs. I haven't had a boss to tell me what to do in over 25 years. That's all got to be worth something. I'm not sure how writing this blog every evening fits into the grand scheme of things, but maybe this ongoing saga is valuable to someone.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2148

Dot's cancer continues to be in remission. The ultrasound scan we did today showed no growth in the tumor whatsoever. The oncologist was pleased and said that since this was a slow growing cancer anyway, Dot had a good chance of leading a normal life. It is questionable how normal Dot's life actually is at this point, but at least we can concentrate on her neurological issues instead of trying to fight the cancer at the same time. We will continue doing the Ultrasound scans at two month intervals just to be on the safe side, but cancer isn't nearly as high on my worry list anymore.

During Dot's exam, I asked the oncologist about Dash's recent eating problems.  She listened to me describe his symptoms and asked me whether we had any acorns in our yard. Yup. There are thousands of acorns on the ground right now. Evidently acorns can be toxic to dogs and cause nausea and digestive problems if ingested. Dash doesn't have a specific taste for acorns, but he could easily have eaten a few while he was trying to eat bugs, nasty things the feral cats left behind, and other crap in the yard. I never realized that acorns could be a problem, but I shouldn't have been surprised. Just about anything can end up being a problem for Dash.

Today was busy. In addition to taking Dot to the cancer center, there was a growing list of writing and website assignments I needed to deal with. As soon as Janet left for work, I turned up the heat in an attempt to eliminate the dampness we'd been experiencing. I'm not sure my plan worked. The house warmed up quickly, but it still felt humid. Dampness has been a problems for a long, long time in this house. I think it was one of the reasons I got the storage warehouse in the first place. When we first moved here, I stored some of my guitars in a ceiling level storage closet in my office. A year later I discovered that dampness had ruined the finish on two of the guitars. I digress though. In spite of all my fiddling with the temperature and humidity this morning, I still managed to finish several new articles and send them off to their destination. I'll tackle the new website project later in the week.

Dot was a little shaky today. I had to support her rear legs while she was eating to prevent them from slowly sinking to the ground. She also stumbled a bit during her morning walk. On the other hand, Dot seemed active and energetic during her exam with the oncologist. The oncologist was impressed. That's the way it is with Dot. There are good days and bad days and very little is predictable. We are thankful for the good days and do our best on the bad ones.

Tomorrow, we deal with the plumber. Neither of the dogs like repairmen in the house and Dot poops whenever she barks these days. It should be an interesting day. I seriously doubt that the water heater will be replaced tomorrow, but hopefully the plumber will be able to diagnose the problem. I could keep a plumber busy for a long time if we addressed all the water related issues in the house. Some aren't serious though and can probably wait. If the dogs are cooperative, I ought to get the plumber to fix all the faucets while he's here. One of the toilets needs a new flushing mechanism too. French Porcher toilets are impossible to find parts for. You just can't go to Home Depot to fix these things and many plumbers are unfamiliar with the oddly designed French components. We'll see how the day goes. I'll be happy if the plumber can just stop the hot water from flowing through the pipes when it isn't supposed to.

I'm optimistic at this point. I could just as easily be pessimistic. It probably wouldn't make much of a difference.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2136

There's going to be another opportunity to apply for NASA press credentials to cover a resupply mission to the International Space Station in early December. I'd love to go, but predictably, I'm already making excuses. What about the dogs? Could I afford the trip? Could Janet take a couple of unscheduled vacation days to look after Dot? It's silly to fret about this, since I haven't even been accepted yet. Actually, I haven't even applied yet, but I probably will. I really enjoyed being NASA's guest at Vandenberg Air Force Base last January, so having an opportunity to do this again at Kennedy Space Center would be fantastic.

I got a call from the cancer center today telling me that it was time to schedule Dot's next ultrasound scan. It doesn't seem like it's been two months since her previous scan, but it will be soon. I made the appointment and am hoping that we'll continue to hear good news. Dot has felt so much better since we discontinued the chemotherapy treatments. I'd hate to even consider resuming them again.

I was almost certain it was going to rain when we walked the dogs this morning. The sky was heavily overcast and there was a light mist. It's even darker walking in the dark on a cloudy day. I decided that we definitely need some more streetlights in our neighborhood. As the day progressed, the chances of rain diminished and by mid-afternoon I was seeing patches of blue sky again. This would have been a good day to get all the pecan shells off the roof, but I got sidetracked by other things. If it rains tomorrow, I'm really going to wish I'd taken advantage of the opportunity to remove the messy shells while they were still dry.

I should have heard from the watch winder company about my repair by now, but I haven't. Why am I not surprised? I'm not a very high priority on anybody's list these days. Since there were no deadlines to meet today, I did some routine bookkeeping and worked out a termination agreement with the website client who wants to move on to greener, cheaper pastures. Other than walking the dogs, the only time I got out of the house was to renew a few prescriptions at the pharmacy.

I tried to get Dot's physical therapy moved back to the afternoon, but the best I could do was buy myself an extra half hour in the morning. Once again, it's amazing how time flies. It seems like it was just yesterday when I was getting the car ready to take Dot downtown for last week's appointment. I guess you know that today was the day Marty McFly and Doc traveled to in the future to repair the damage from their previous time travels. Back to the Future is all in the past now. The film accurately predicted that we would that we would be flying drones everywhere and watching large flat screen TV's, but didn't anticipate smart phones at all. I prefer the more distant futures envisioned in shows like Farscape and Lexx, but I did see all three Back to the Future movies. Wish me luck on my application to attend the Orbital ATK Cygnus launch. That's a spacey thing that's off in the future too.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2096 - 9/11

I left the house this morning fully intending to try the new restaurant. I came to an intersection where if I turned left, I would be headed toward the new restaurant and if I turned right, I'd be on my way to my regular place. The left lane of the cross street was bumper-to-bumper cars as far as the eye could see. The right lane was practically empty. I turned right and headed back to familiar territory. This is probably how I found my Friday restaurant in the first place. If I turned left, I would pass three schools on my way to the new restaurant. In the other direction there were no schools and very few cars. I always tend to follow the path of least resistance.

This reminded me of the Dr. Who episode called "Turn Left" where Donna Noble has to go back in time at a critical moment and convince an earlier version of herself to turn left at an intersection to reverse a chain of events that was going to destroy the world. I don't think turning right at my intersection this morning will cause anything drastic to happen, but it did make me wonder how today would have turned out if I turned left instead.

I probably made the right choice. I didn't have time to experiment today. When I got back from breakfast, there was barely time to take a quick shower and check my e-mail before it was time to take Dot to the cancer center for her Ultrasound scan. The oncologist said that the tumor was stable and not growing, so it was safe for Dot to discontinue her chemotherapy. She agreed that Dot looked stronger and wants us to monitor Dot's condition with a follow-up Ultrasound scan every two months. Sounds good to me. I'm really encouraged to see that Dot is getting stronger again. Admittedly, we're taking baby steps, but this is so much better than seeing her slide even further downhill.

It was a very different day fourteen years ago. We hadn't met Dot yet, but she was a very young puppy on the verge of becoming lost and abandoned. I hadn't started blogging yet and wasn't eating very healthy either. I'll always remember looking at the kitchen TV in stunned disbelief as I watched the twin towers fall while I ate a plate of French Toast floating in a sea of maple syrup. I would soon learn that I was on the road to diabetes and needed to change my ways. Watching the Today Show while eating that big plate of French Toast was the end of innocence in so many ways. The world has never been the same since. Dot found Janet and I through the Dalmatian Rescue organization and her story had a happy ending. I don't think the world was as lucky as Dot. We are still facing almost all the same problems we faced on September 11, 2001. Two wars certainly didn't help much. In retrospect, we should have left dictators like Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi in place. They were the only thing keeping a population of zealots that were still living in the Middle Ages in check. We've opened Pandora's box, and as the world descends into chaos, I'm not sure that anyone has a plan to close it again.

I certainly don't have any solutions.  There are too many of us on this planet and we keep making more. We are consuming the planet's resources at an alarming rate. Some of use are living in the twenty first century while others are still living in the fourteenth century. This can't end well. It really shouldn't be surprising that I prefer the company of dogs. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if that giant asteroid hadn't wiped out the dinosaurs sixty five million years ago. Maybe the dinosaurs would have done a better job of things.

Shadow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2060

I wake up every morning with a logical, well thought out schedule that everyone completely ignores. Clients could care less about my plans. The dogs don't care either, even though most of what I do has been designed with them in mind. The city of Dallas always thumbs its nose at my plans. It is almost impossible to leave the house without encountering an accident, a construction crew, or a broken stop light that brings traffic to a standstill and makes me late.

I really only had two things to do today, but keeping these simple tasks on schedule was next to impossible. The package I needed to pick up at the UPS will-call counter wasn't there, even though I received an e-mail saying it was ready to pick up. I eventually got things sorted out, but by the time I got home it was already time to take Dot downtown to her physical therapy session. I got the car ready for Dot, but she was on an entirely different schedule and was in no hurry to leave the house. It took a while to get her hooked up in her harness and then she didn't want to poop in the yard, so I knew there was a 50/50 chance she'd poop in the car. It was late, so we had to go anyway. On the way to the vet we got stuck at a malfunctioning stop light that was only letting three cars get through before it turned red again. The light changed five times before we made it through the intersection. The trip downtown took twice as long as it normally should. Luckily, our vet is always late too, so we were both back in sync when we arrived.

Dot did pretty well today. She actually seemed to have more energy than I did. This heat is becoming unbearable. October can't come soon enough. Even though I water the shrubs every day, the yard is still drying out. The house isn't insulated well enough to stay cool in the Summer, so the air conditioner has to work extra hard. Even the tap water is warm now when you turn on the cold water tap. The ground is so warm that it actually warms up the water as it it goes through the underground copper pipes to the house. I'm not surprised that Dot actually seems to like using the underwater treadmill these days. The water is nice and cool.

I watched bits and pieces of the presidential debate this evening. My initial impression was that each of the candidates did reasonably well. It often seemed like they were debating with the three moderators instead of with each other. The moderators seemed to have gotten some sort of directive from the network to make the show provocative. They kept trying to ask gotcha questions that would make them seem tough and probing to their news anchor peers. I'm not really a careful listener to these type of things, but my gut feeling was that the 10 candidates were more or less united on many issues and the moderators were just doing their best to stir things up. This was a little disappointing. I really didn't learn anything new tonight, but then I'm not a big fan of either politicians or news anchors. I would have rather watched a new episode of Dr. Who.

Dot gets an ultrasound scan tomorrow to see whether her tumor has grown. Hopefully it has stayed the same or even shrunk a bit. I'm always a bit nervous about these scans because they place Dot on her back in a cradle to do the imaging. With all the problems she's had with her spine, there's always a danger that a nerve could get pinched again. She needs the test though. All I can do it tell them to be extra careful with her. At least it's Friday tomorrow. The trash has been taken to the curb and I'm ready for the week to be over.

Margo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2046

We had to decrease the amount of time that Dot spent in the underwater treadmill today. She just didn't have the same amount of energy that she did last week. The vet confirmed what I've been observing all week. Dot's left rear leg is definitely growing weaker. Why? We don't really know for sure. The problem could be caused by the Palladia medication. The vet suspects that the weakness is a neurological problem caused by another shifting disc in her spine. It could be something else entirely. The only way to know for sure will be to systematically eliminate each possible cause. After her next Ultrasound scan, we will stop the Palladia for a while and see if her condition improves. If discontinuing the Palladia makes no difference, we can have another MRI done to see if one of the other discs in her spine has slipped or ruptured. If we can find out what is going on, there may be something we can do to reduce any discomfort Dot may be feeling. I don't think further surgery is an option though. Dot is too old and has been through too many major surgeries already.

I feel kind of helpless at this point. Dot still has the desire to be active. She just doesn't have the strength. It's hard not to feel that I'm letting her down in some way. I had the same feelings during my Dad's last days. I knew he wanted to get out of the critical care facility and go home. The doctors wouldn't release him though. Once certain things have been set in motion, they can end up being almost impossible to reverse. At least Dot is still happy and in good spirits. She may never walk unassisted again, but I'm happy to assist her for as long as she's willing to continue this journey we've embarked on.

The Summer has returned with a vengeance. The air conditioner runs pretty much non-stop now and I'm having to run the sprinklers in the yard almost every morning to keep things from drying out. Friends who spend time on the water say lake levels are still high for July, but other than that our wonderfully wet Spring is becoming a distant memory. Just about everybody was complaining about the rain in April and May, but a lot of people, including myself, would like to see some of that rain return. The only real reminder of the massive Spring rains are all the potholes in the city streets. It will probably take several year to fix all these potholes. My roofer tells me that one of the reasons he hasn't been out to fix the defective elastomer coating on my roof is that his company had an unprecedented number of leaks to fix this Spring. I'm just glad that my own roof wasn't one of them.

I remembered to take the trash out to the curb this evening, but it's hard to remember everything. I forgot that the brush and bulky trash truck was coming last Wednesday and I continually keep forgetting to wear my retainer at night. I never forget the dogs pills or my own meds. I never forget my keys when I leave the house. And I never forget a work deadline. I think my brain is too crowed with routines and details though. For everything I do remember, there's something else I forget.

I'll definitely remember to go out for breakfast tomorrow. My Friday breakfast outings are often the high point of my week. I was excited to learn that one of my favorite downtown restaurants will soon be adding a second location in my neighborhood. By Fall I may have two restaurants to tempt me.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1998

Poor Dot. Her Ultrasound scan this morning showed a small growth on her liver and an unexplained shadow on her spleen that were not there in a previous scan taken about eight months ago. Her oncologist told me that there was no reason to get alarmed yet. The vast majority of small growths like this turn out to be benign cysts. We were at a cancer center though and cancer doctors want to know if an unexplained growth might be cancer. The oncologist wanted me to bring Dot back next week so they could aspirate some cells from the questionable areas and send them to a cytology lab for analysis. Since she will need to be sedated for this procedure, I went ahead and had a full blood chemistry panel done today. At least that part of her annual exam later this Summer is already done.

Dot's oncologist is a realist. She said that no matter what the results turned out to be, she couldn't see herself recommending surgery. Dot has had just about all the surgery she can handle at her age. I agree with her that it's good to know what's going on though. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the new growth in her liver was just a cyst. I've had several small benign cysts in my kidneys for years. Cysts and growing older just kind of go together. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with today's test results. Dot is my miracle dog. After all she's been through this year, I was really hoping that her lab reports today would be perfect.

I noticed this morning that my breakfast restaurant has raised its prices. The cost of my favorite meal has gone up a dollar. Truthfully, I was surprised this had not happened sooner. This is still one of the most reasonably priced quality restaurants in town. I don't begrudge their modest price increases a bit. I just wish I had a way to raise the price of my own services. The cost of just about everything continues to go up, and yet people continue to want to pay less and less for website design.

At least there is plenty of work. I had an initial meeting with a new website client this afternoon and we all got along well. I got the job and will begin building their new site later this month. I also decided that my mobile friendly skills were ready for prime time and almost immediately got a job to convert an older static site to a mobile friendly design. I'm going to be busy this month.

I was certainly busy today. In addition to my trip to the cancer center with Dot and the new business meeting later in the day, I still had time to write a new article and send it off to its destination. By the end of the day, I was tired. We didn't get a lot of sleep last night, mostly because Dash had an upset stomach and kept getting me up to take him outside. I've never seen a dog who is so indecisive about pooping. I knew he had to go, but it took three trips to the back door at thirty minute intervals before he finally did his business. It doesn't help that the sodium vapor security light in the back yard is starting to go out and every time it blinks on and off Dash thinks it is lightning and races back inside again. Eventually, we all got back to sleep but it was almost morning by then.

For all his peculiar habits, Dash is a very smart dog. Sometimes I think he knows English. Usually, on our afternoon walks he like to take a right turn when we get to the alley and go directly into the park. Today when he tried to turn right, I told him that we needed to go left today. "If we turn right, you might get bit by the neighbor dog again." He gave me a worried look and immediately turned left.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1997

It's always something. When Dash and I were returning from our walk this evening, one of the neighbor's dogs came charging through an open gate and started attacking Dash. Sadly, this has happened before. The neighbor always apologizes profusely and sometimes offers to pay for any damages. I can't seem to get them to lock their gate though. This time they said their yard guy must have left the gate open. As the large Shepard mix tried to grab Dash around the neck, I tried to command it to sit and stay while grabbing it firmly around the collar and pulling the dog away from Dash. I held both dogs at arm's length to keep them apart while walking slowly up the hill toward my house. Luckily, I didn't get bitten myself. I get so frustrated by people who can't control their dogs. I see unleashed dogs in the park every week and do my best to avoid them. People may think their dog is friendly, but you never know. I've worked in animal rescue for long enough to understand that dogs can be very unpredictable. In the right circumstances, any dog can bite you. I've been bitten numerous times.

Dot seemed tired at her physical therapy session today. We had to run the treadmill slower and her muscles seemed tight during her acupuncture therapy. The vet said we should curtail her exercise walks for a couple of days and let her rest. It's hard to keep the right balance of exercise and rest. She needs to keep moving to keep her leg muscles from atrophying, but she's an old dog and you don't want to push her too hard. I had Dot tested for exposure to Lyme Disease too while we were at the vet. We still haven't decided whether Dash should start taking doxycycline though. Since this is the drug of last resort for many very serious problems, you definitely don't want your dog to build up a resistance to this antibiotic. Dash shows no symptoms of Lyme Disease whatsoever, so it might be wise to save the doxycycline in case he needs it for something even more serious later. We'll see. We're going to do a few more tests to see if yesterday's results might have been a false positive.

The ice maker on our refrigerator broke recently and I am so frustrated with the high cost of appliance repair that I was determined to see if I could fix things myself. I found a website that sells appliance parts directly to the consumer and also features very detailed YouTube videos showing exactly how to make the necessary repairs. I looked at the video for fixing the ice maker on my refrigerator and quickly realized that this was something I could do. I ordered the part and ended up paying less than a third of what it would have cost to have a repairman come out. I should have done the same thing when the washer and dryer broke earlier this year. The wax motor door latch assembly for the washer only cost $79 on this website and it came with explicit instructions for how to remove and replace the faulty latch assembly. I paid a repairman over $350 to replace exactly the same latch assembly. I won't be doing that again.

The ease of repairing things yourself got me thinking about my own business. I've been losing business for years to template based website solutions that let people quickly and very inexpensively design their own websites with no coding required. I can't really blame people who would rather pay $25 for a template than give me several thousand dollars to create a custom site for them. I'd probably do the same thing myself. The problem is that nobody wants to be poor. Appliance repairmen, watchmakers, website designers, and car mechanics keep charging more and more in hopes of maintaining their lifestyle in a changing economy. Eventually everyone puts themselves out of business because they are too expensive. It's hard to even find a good appliance repairman anymore. In five more years they might all be gone. It's hard to compete with cheap parts on the Internet.

Dot goes for her Ultrasound scan tomorrow morning. These type of high-tech services aren't going to go out of business soon. You can't just go out and get your own MRI machine. Even my vet friends are feeling the squeeze though. They purchase all this expensive diagnostic equipment for their practice and then their customers still want to get all their pet's meds on discount Internet websites like 1800PetMeds. The age of the big retail markup is over. Janet buys all her clothes on the Internet now and I haven't been to a camera store in years. And people wonder why there are no jobs. It's kind of ironic that all these people are clamoring for a higher minimum wage now. They are just going to be replaced by robot kiosks anyway.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1988

Short weeks always confuse me. It seemed like a Monday for most of the day, but is was really Tuesday. It's probably going to be like this for the rest of the week. After breakfast, I made an appointment for Dot to get her semi-annual ultrasound scan at the cancer center. This test was actually due a few months ago, but Dot was still recovering from surgery. Dash was due for some tests as well. I made an appointment to get his blood work done so the vet could re-check his phenobarbital levels. We do this once a year to make sure there is still enough phenobarbital in his blood stream to control seizures.

When I got all the dogs vet visits scheduled, I put together another mobile friendly website. I thought my client would be delighted when I told him that he finally had the mobile site he'd been asking for. The guy seemed strangely uninterested though. I explained how Google was already demoting sites that weren't mobile ready, but he still seemed to want to hang on to the old static site. Go figure.

The rain was more sporadic today. There was a light mist when we walked the dogs this morning and I actually caught a brief glimpse of the sun later in the day when I was taking Dash on his evening walk. It's so wet outside that I have towels strategically placed just outside the back door so I can dry the dogs off after their walk before they go in the house again. My jeans are usually soaked halfway to the knee from walking through the wet grass in the park. The wet pants go in the dryer and the equally wet shoes are placed on top of one of the furnace floor vents. With a little luck, everything is dry again by the time we take our next walk.

One of the worst things about all this rain we've been having are the mosquitoes. They're everywhere. I don't know how so many got inside, but they appear to be here to stay. The little beasts are hard to catch, because you usually don't even notice them until you hear one buzzing right beside your ear. At least we're on high ground, so we don't have to worry about flooding. The pictures I've been seeing on television from Austin and Houston are unbelievable. I've lived in Texas for a long time, but I don't ever remember a Spring like this.

I'll have to admit that I was a little disappointed that my client wasn't all that excited about the work I'd done today. I need to remember that most people don't spend that much time thinking about social media and Google rankings. A website is no different than a Yellow Pages ad to many of them. Oh, well. I learned some new things putting together this second mobile friendly site. That should be useful. Eventually, this knowledge will come in handy.

There is more rain on the way tomorrow. We'll be fine though. There are plenty of bananas for the dogs, lots of dry towels, and a ton of old static websites that I still need to make mobile friendly.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1949

I woke up with an uneasy feeling about today and as the day progressed, it turned out that there were good reasons for my apprehension. Service was unusually slow at breakfast this morning because they were trying to work in a new employee and I just barely got home in time so Janet could leave for work. I hate feeling rushed before eight AM. Later, someone from my insurance company called and said they needed to to photograph my house again. Why? This would be the third time they have done this. I called my agent and he didn't have a clue why the company was requesting these pictures. It can't be good. They probably want to charge more for insuring flat roof houses or something. If this were true, it would be totally unfair. I'm probably the only one in the neighborhood who hasn't gotten a new roof as a result of storm damage. Sadly, leaks don't count as storm damage.

These minor problems were nothing compared to my growing apprehension about my future as a web designer. For over a year, I've been hearing that the static sites I typically create will all be gone in a few years. Over 30% of people primarily use their phones to view websites now. To reach this growing audience, it is becoming mandatory to create responsive websites that automatically resize themselves to fit any platform they are viewed on. It is no longer enough to re-direct iPhone traffic to a much smaller vertical site. There are so many different platforms and such a multitude of potential sizes that making a separate static site for all of them would be impossible. What you need now is smart code that makes your site look equally good whether it is viewed on a phone, a tablet, a laptop, a desktop, or something that isn't even invented yet. This is responsive design and I don't know how to code it yet. To me, it's kind of like going from addition and subtraction to calculus in a single step. I've been reading tutorials for a month now, and it still seems Greek to me.

I got a call from the cancer center today saying it was time for Dot's six month recheck and another ultrasound scan.They didn't even know about her spinal surgery and the long journey to teach her to walk again. When I explained Dot's current condition to the doctors, we all agreed that it would be best to postpone the exam for a while. Dot is making great progress, but she's not ready to be a drop-off patient yet. Dot sailed through her last exam with flying colors, but I'm a bit apprehensive about going through all this again. If the cancer ever returned, I don't know what I'd do. The poor girl has been through enough.

I know I've mentioned that nothing happens on Fridays, but today was surprisingly busy. I finished two articles, did some laundry and household chores, and spent quite a while researching responsive web design. If I don't learn how to create these adaptive, mobile friendly sites soon, I'll probably be out of business within a year. I'm pretty good at dealing with today's increasingly interactive world, but I really miss print. Creating a 4-color magazine ad was fun. Creating a website that looks just as good on a phone as it does on a 30" monitor, not so much.

It's raining now. To beat the rain, I had to leave Dot alone again while I took Dash on a quick evening walk to do his business before the thunder and lightning arrived. I could hear Dot barking when we left, but she was just fine when we returned. I remembered to take her harness off this time as well. We're definitely making progress. I have a feeling that Dot will be doing back-flips and handstands before I even begin to understand responsive design.

Bella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day