Day 2655

I thought my plan to go to the dentist early in the morning was pretty clever, but I forgot one important thing. The drive was right in the middle of morning rush hour. Ouch. As much as I complain about cleaning up dog poop, it's still not as bad as driving in rush hour traffic. All it takes is one small fender bender wreck to back traffic up for miles. I think I'd go insane if I had to do this every morning. Luckily, I have other things to drive me insane.

Every time I go to the dentist, there is a new dental hygienist.  Sign of the times I guess. The first dentist I went to had the same dental hygienist until he retired. Now there's a new hygienist every six months. The woman who cleaned my teeth today was pleasant enough, but she talked the entire time. It's very difficult to carry on a conversation while there are dental instruments inside your mouth.

I got new x-rays today and the dentist said my teeth are in good shape. No cavities. I'm not surprised. I use a Waterpik Flosser every day and brush with one of those Sonicare electric toothbrushes. I thought I was ahead of the curve, but apparently not. They now make WiFi toothbrushes that connect with your phone. This seemed a little over the top to me, but the hygienist said that the high tech brush provides feedback to let you know if you are cleaning your teeth properly and reminds you if you forget to brush. The robots are coming. I'm sure there will be a plate soon that reminds you to eat all your vegetables.

I knew I should have taken Dot outside to pee last night before I went to bed. She was sleeping peacefully though and I hated to wake her. Big mistake. When I woke her up this morning, she peed all over the place. Three rugs got soaked before I was able to get her outside. The house would be much easier to clean if we didn't have the rugs, but they are essential to keep Dot from falling. I tried to air dry the rugs in the back yard today after I washed them. They are making a mess in the dryer because little bits of the rubber backing flake off and clog the lint trap. There is no good solution though. By the time the rugs are dry, there will be spiders building webs in them.

I went to the vegan store this afternoon to pick up something for dinner. I always look at the website first to make sure they have something I like. Typically, when I get to the store, there is a completely different selection of meals. It doesn't seem to bother these people that the website and the store are perpetually out of sync. It's frustrating to me because I'm picky about my vegetables. I like chickpeas, brown rice, lentils, and any type of bean. I don't like sweet potatoes though. I'm not wild about tofu either. I ended up getting something I didn't really like, thinking that I really should have gone up the street and ordered a bowl of Pho from the neighborhood Vietnamese restaurant.

I need to call the roofer again. They still haven't come out and patched my roof. I need to call the landscaper too, even though it will be a waste of money. I wonder if there are any bedding plants that can tolerate being stepped on again and again? Years ago, Janet and I thought about putting artificial turf in the back yard. It probably would have been a good idea.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2578

I got a call from an old college friend who was passing through town today. We talked for almost an hour, which is almost unheard of for me. First we compared notes about who was dead and who was alive among the people we used to hang out with. Then we compared notes about doctors and ailments. Jeez. How did I ever get this old? My friend and I used to play in a band together back in the day. Back then, I don't think either of use would have ever dreamed that we would be having a conversation about Medicare some day in the distant future. Hey, I'm glad my friend still remembered me. There are a lot of people that I don't remember anymore.

Today was even colder than yesterday. I think the temperature is going to continue to drop for the rest of the week. Dot seems to be the only one who likes this Winter weather. You'd think with all her problems that she'd be the one who would want to stay inside, but cold weather invigorates her. She actually seemed eager to walk this morning. I wish she'd been a little more eager to get out of the house when she woke up. We had another accident on the way to the back door and more rugs that needed to go in the washer.

I paid some bills and did a little bookkeeping this afternoon. I'm starting to hate automatic payments, I tend to forget about them and when I eventually do remember to enter them into the ledger, it is always disappointing to realize that I have less money in the bank than I thought I did. Merchants seem to love automatic payments and subscriptions that auto-renew. I prefer to decide who to pay first myself, but there are a few things like health insurance that I'd hate to see expire because of my forgetfulness. I imagine that the older I get, the more I'm going to depend on automatic payments. I'm only mildly forgetful, but there are times when Dot seems to forget what planet she's on. Her vet thinks we ought to try giving her SAMe because there is some evidence that it is effective in slowing down canine dementia. Maybe Dot and I both ought to start taking SAMe.

I went to the vegan store to pick up something for dinner and was disappointed to see that they are already starting to raise their prices. The place has been open less than a year. You'd think they'd wait a while longer before the inevitable price increases. Restaurants and grocery stores need to be careful about price increases. People are particular about what they pay for their food. I think a price increase led to the demise of my first breakfast restaurant. The customers revolted again the price increases, so the management rolled prices back, but lowered the quality of the ingredients to maintain profit margins. That only made matters worse. I still like the vegan meals, but it kind of weird that a plate of vegetables costs more than a big juicy bacon cheeseburger at Chili's.

I think I washed everything in the house today. Dot's incontinence is getting worse and I'm not sure if there's anything we can do. One of our vets recommends adding Phenylpropanolamine to the Incurin she is already taking. Other vets say that Phenylpropanolamine can cause a dog to have strokes, just like the drug does with humans. I hate dealing with pharmaceuticals. All too often the side effects are worse than the cure.

Tomorrow we start all over again. In a lot of ways my life is starting to seem resemble that movie Ground Hog Day. I need to remember to take things on day at a time and always enjoy the good moments even though they might be fleeting.

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2492

I didn't even realize that it was Columbus Day until I took some letters to the post office and discovered it was closed. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who didn't know that this was a holiday, because the slot where you could drop off mail appeared to be full. The door to the drop off was jammed, but there were still people trying to cram their letters through the broken door. "I don't like this," said an old woman standing next to me, and she turned around with her handful of letters still in her hand and left. This seemed the best course of action to me, so I turned around with my letters and left as well. I can always go back to the post office tomorrow.

I'll need to go back to the vet tomorrow as well. When I stopped to pick up Dot's prescriptions, they weren't ready yet. My outing wasn't a complete failure though, because I stopped at the vegan take-out store and bought an entire week's worth of meals. I got some Chana Masala, Black Bean Soup, Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Peppers, and Chili. Before I tried this place, I wouldn't have believed these things could taste so good without meat, but I'm becoming a convert. I've always liked the idea of eating more vegetables, but constantly buying them in small quantities and cooking for one has seemed more trouble than it's worth. This clever store takes care of this problem.

My attempt to seal the shower stall with silicon didn't really work. Evidently the shower wasn't completely dry, because the silicon didn't stick to the tiles very well. The last time I tried to attempt this type of repair was back when we had our big water leak under the concrete slab and the water to the house was shut off for a week. I shower got nice and dry then and my repairs lasted over a year. Now it's going to be more difficult. I really need to have a tile guy re-do the entire bathroom, but that's expensive and a bit intrusive. I don't want a bunch of workmen in the house while the Dot is sick. I need to find some type of sealant that can be applied when the tiles are wet.

There were some minor website revisions that needed attention this morning, but other than that, it was a typical slow Monday. It's amazing that work seems so slow and yet my day still seems busy. Helping Dot achieve some semblance of a normal life takes an enormous amount of time. I follow her around like a shadow, holding up her rear legs when she feels like moving. Sometimes when we're out in the back yard, I think she forgets where she is. We wander around aimlessly for long periods of time until she eventually discovers the back door and goes inside again. I encourage this kind of activity, because it keeps her on her feet and active. It takes a lot of patience though. I've never been known for patience, but I'm learning.

As expected, both sides claimed that they won the debate last night. Maybe I should have watched. I still think that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein should have been allowed to participate. If more people knew who they were, they would get a lot more votes. I think this is what the established political parties are afraid of. They want to avoid another Ross Perot situation at all costs. I used to do a lot of work for EDS and always thought Ross was a good man. He would have made a better president than the choices we're faced with today.

Neo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2443

The weather seems more like October than August. The Fall rainy season usually coincides with the State Fair of Texas, but it seems like we got an early start this year. The temperatures have been unseasonably cool, and it has been very, very wet. I guess I should just relax and enjoy it. The water bill will be less this month and the grass is turning green again. The main problem with the rain is that it is difficult to find a good time to walk the dogs. We got wet today, but it could have been worse. At least it was a gentle rain.

I had a weird memory lapse recently. I've been wondering why I haven't gotten a bill to renew my homeowners insurance. It seems like I always renew my policy around this time of year.  I was kind of worried that the bill had gotten lost in the mail, so I called my insurance agent today. "When are you going to send my homeowners policy," I asked. "I haven't received a bill yet." "You paid your bill in June," the agent told me. Never mind. How could I have forgotten that?

I picked up a heat and serve meal at the new vegan store in the neighborhood. I wasn't really expecting much, but my dinner was delicious. The dish was called a Lime Cilantro Bowl and basically consisted of organic roasted corn and zucchini, Spanish rice, and black beans. The dish was very fresh, spicy enough for my taste, and quite filling. I didn't miss the absence of meat at all. I doubt that this meal will turn me into a vegetarian. If you remember, I had dinner at a steakhouse last night. What it proved was that a vegetarian dinner can actually taste good. Weaning myself away from meat will be a gradual process, but this is a start. The menu at this place rotates frequently, so every time I see a tasty looking curry or Thai dish, I'll give it a try.

Something is wrong with Dash. He stumbles a little too frequently for it to be purely accidental. He doesn't seem to have as much energy as he used to and I find him licking the area around his joints a lot. I worry that his cancer might have returned or that he has developed some neurological problem. The x-rays we took a few weeks ago were inconclusive, but I'm still convinced that there is something wrong. It would be so much easier if dogs could talk.

Dash wasn't the only one who had less energy today. Dot seemed tired too. Spending the day with two exhausted dogs makes me tired. I felt like taking a nap all day long. Maybe it's just the weather. It was so humid this morning that it felt like you could squeeze the air and wring water out of it like a sponge. I emptied the dehumidifier bucket twice today, but it still feels muggy. Lets hope that things improve tomorrow so Dot's trip to the vet goes smoothly.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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