Day 3344

Rain, rain, go away. Needless to say, I'm tired of this. Dash was lucky to get one walk today. I checked the radar as soon as I woke up and realized that we had a short window of opportunity before the downpours started. Janet had an appointment this morning, but she helped get us started. Some mornings Dash won't leave the house without someone to follow. Janet led the way to the park this morning and then as soon as there were lots of things to smell, he totally forgot she was there. Janet returned home and Dash continued smelling his way along one of his familiar routes. I was worried that the approaching rain would overtake us, but we completed our walk with minutes to spare.

Rainy days are murder on Dash's protective boots. Everything gets wet and the fitted bandage that we use as the first layer of protection often gets ruined. There were no bloody paws this morning, but there were a few small red spots that indicated something was rubbing. I'll be glad when the weather is dry again. It's much easier to deal with these assisted walks without a lot of mud and slippery wet grass.

I got a letter from NASA today saying that a postponed event that I had applied to attend early last Fall had finally been rescheduled and that I had been approved. This was a surprise. The event is an opportunity for bloggers to go behind the scenes with the NASA Orion program and see how this four man capsule will be used to return to the moon. I get the Orion, Crew Dragon, and Boeing Starliner programs confused sometimes and wonder why we are developing all three. Maybe this trip to Johnson Space Center could provide the answer. Since Houston is close and the tour is just a one day event, I think I'll probably accept the invitation. Janet says Dash will be fine with her for the day. I probably worry too much, but Dash does need a lot of assistance.

I wish I was better at predicting how Dash was going to respond on any given day. I never know when or where he is going to poop and I always worry that we might be overdoing things on walks. Dash did great this morning. We took a long, leisurely walk and Dash enjoyed smelling everything in his path. He seemed fine when we got home and then about an hour after we returned, he has a severe shivering episode. Was this shivering caused by the cold weather? Was it some sort of tremor related to his vestibular disease, or maybe a mild seizure? I don't know. I wrapped Dash in a blanket and sat with him for about 30 minutes until the shivering subsided and his breathing became normal again. These shivering episodes come and go. He hasn't had one in a while, so I was hoping they were a thing of the past. Dash is fine now, but you never know what is going to happen next.

The rain was pretty heavy today. Luckily, both pumps on the roof were working well. I assume things were working well anyway. Lots of water was flowing through the hoses. I'm not going to go up on the roof and inspect things until the rain stops for good. So far, the repairs the roofers made are holding up well. I have seen no evidence of the roof leak returning. The sheetrock on the ceiling is still ugly and stained, but it's dry. I still have very little confidence in the overall integrity of the roof, but every dry day is a good day.

They say the rain will be gone by morning. I certainly hope so. My day will be more or less the same whatever happens, but at least the inevitable cleanup will be easier if things are dry.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3153

OK. Enough rain already. I managed to complete most of Sunday's errands despite the rain, but it looks like I'm going to miss the Perseid meteor shower tonight. This has been a weird month even by Texas standards. Within a matter of weeks we recorded the highest temperature on record for August and the lowest temperature on record for August. I'm enjoying the unusually cool weather we've been experiencing recently. I just wish there wasn't so much rain.

On the way to the gym this morning I listened to a show on the radio about an economist who had written a book about how smart people often do stupid things learned a few days after the book's publication that he had lost all his money to Bernie Madoff. Ironic, but not terribly surprising. I've known a lot of smart people who've done stupid things. Myself included. The surprising thing is that there are still a few people who don't do stupid things. I guess they're out there, but I don't know any.

I think I've mentioned this before, but I can't figure out how my gym stays in business. There was nobody there today. Well, I guess there were two or three others, but it seemed like nobody. I think my lack of sleep is catching up with me. I felt like I was doing my routines underwater today. I was terrible on the basketball court as well. I guess, just like Dash, I have good days and bad days too.

It's too bad it's overcast tonight. They say the Perseid meteor shower is spectacular this year. Oh, well. Maybe next year. I guess I do most of my astronomy online these days. Even on a nice day, it's a lot of trouble to take the telescope out and the light pollution in Dallas is terrible. Much easier to look at pretty pictures online. I guess I could say the same thing for space launches. If I went to Florida to see the Parker Solar Probe launch in person it would have cost a fortune. The launch got delayed several times and I would have had to extend my stay and change my airline reservations. The launch was in the middle of the night too. I watched a replay this morning on YouTube while I was drinking my coffee. Works for me.

While I was thinking about throwing away my old computers, I had a radical idea. Maybe I should just go back to using them. I liked the old towers much better than what I'm using now. The big silver cheese grater tower was my favorite. I liked Mountain Lion better than Sierra too. Now that I'm essentially retired, is there even any point to keeping up with the latest innovations? Probably not. Of course, I could always become a raging Luddite like my sister and go offline completely.

I hope everything is normal tonight. Dash gave me a scare last night. He woke up and got off the bed like he often does. Then he just froze. He wouldn't move or even respond to me. I thought he might be having a vestibular seizure, but there were no rapid eye movements. The poor guy just seemed totally out of it. About thirty minutes later he was back to normal. It took me a little longer to get back to normal.

It's supposed to rain again tomorrow. Hopefully on Tuesday, the sun returns.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3124

Friday the 13th. arrived a day late. Dash woke me up around 5 AM heading for the back door. He didn't make it and pooped all over the living room. After breakfast, he drank too much water, started coughing, and ended up throwing up everything he ate on the bedroom carpet. We were out of Nature's Miracle, so I went to the pet store to get some more to help clean up the mess. The bottle leaked in my car. That was enough bad luck for me, but later when I went to get groceries, the lids to both the blueberry and strawberry containers popped open, spilling the fruit all over the back of my car. All this happened before noon. The afternoon was actually pretty normal.

I don't think it was the vestibular disease that made Dash throw up today. He wasn't disoriented and didn't seem to have vertigo. He just burped and all his food came out. Accidents like these are becoming our new normal. Often, I will take him outside to pee and after wandering around aimlessly for a while, he will come back inside and immediately poop on the floor. Actually, he did this right after dinner this evening, making it two for two in the indoor pooping sweepstakes. It's hard to be mad at the little guy. He's trying his best to be a normal dog. Age is a bitch though. The body just doesn't cooperate anymore.

I definitely sympathize with Dash. Age hasn't been kind to me either. I went up on the roof this afternoon to prepare things for the roofers and my shoulder hurt for the rest of the day. An hour of pushing water off the roof with a push broom was all it took. I was going to mow the grass today as well, but I'll save that for another time. Enough is enough.

We must have got a lot or rain last week. The water level in the lake was about two feet lower than usual earlier this month, but this morning I noticed that everything was back to normal. Flowers have started blooming again as well. I spotted some Jimson Weed this morning. The blooms are pretty, but they are poisonous. I never want to let the dogs get too close to these plants.

I went to pick up a prescription yesterday and the pharmacist told me it wouldn't be ready until Monday. This morning, the same pharmacy called me and asked why I hadn't picked the pills up yet. Go figure. I suspect the pills were actually there yesterday but just didn't show up in the computer. It's getting harder to have faith in the pharmacy. Like anyone else these days, they make mistakes from time to time. I'm always looking up pills on Pill Finder to make sure I'm taking the right drug. Same thing for Dash. There are so many generic versions of most drugs that the pills often don't look the same. Dash had some odd looking Enalapril today. The pills were oval instead of round. They turned out to be the correct medication. These just happened to come from a different manufacturer.

I wish life hadn't become so complex. I didn't used to look up all my meds on Pill Finder to make sure I wasn't taking something that was going to kill me. I didn't used to look suspiciously at the Caller ID every time the phone rang. I remember when it was still OK to click on the links that appeared in e-mail messages and open your door when someone knocked. Not anymore.

I've decided that the best thing to do in a dystopian world is mind your own business. There is craziness everywhere, but you don't have to go looking for it. I try to walk Dash when the park is empty. I do most of my shopping when other people are at work. I never talk about politics with anyone.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3100

Every time I think we've turned the corner with Dash, something happens to remind me that he's still a sick dog. He must have had another vestibular episode last night. When I took him outside to pee around 1 AM, he was drooling a lot and wanted to eat grass. I thought he was going to throw up, but he didn't. We went back to sleep, but he had no appetite the next morning. It was really hard to get him to take his morning meds. He wasn't interested in anything. Eventually we were able to wrap the pills in small pieces of a leftover quesadilla. He still seemed eager to walk, but when we got home he wanted to throw up again. It was way too soon to throw up because his phenobarbital hadn't gotten into his system yet. I wouldn't let him eat grass in the yard, gave him a Pepsid AC, and went back in the bedroom with him until he eventually fell asleep on the bed. This was a little risky, since I didn't want to clean vomit off the bedspread. The plan worked though. When Dash woke up three hours later, he seemed fine.

When we went out to dinner yesterday I put on a shirt that Janet said was fifteen years out of style. It probably was. I have trouble throwing stuff away, so I told her she could go through my closet and get rid of anything she'd be embarrassed to see me wear in public. Janet loves to get rid of clutter, so I wasn't surprised that she took me up on my offer. This afternoon, there were three large trash bags filled with an odd selection of old polo shirts that looked like they belonged to a guy thirty pounds heavier than me. Jeez. Did I ever wear those shirts? I guess I must have. There were also a ton of old t-shirts I must have picked up at trade shows. Janet seemed delighted to pare down my collection of ugly sweaters. I must have been fond of loud, colorful sweaters at some point. I could never throw away this stuff myself, but I won't miss anything. Truthfully, I'm glad the stuff is gone.

When I went to the bank this morning, I stood in line behind a man who'd brought a shopping cart into the lobby with him. He looked like a homeless guy, but he must have had a business of some sort. I watched as the teller handed him bag after bag of coins. When he had filled the grocery cart with coins, he left the bank and started pushing the cart down the sidewalk. I have no idea where he was going. It's a strange world we live in. You never would have seen this at a bank twenty years ago.

I made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow, but I forgot to check the weather forecast first. It looks like there are supposed to be thunderstorms. I hope the forecast changes overnight. Weather forecasts change every few hours here in Texas, so it might be clear tomorrow. If there are storms, I'll have to cancel my appointment. Dash's storm phobia has gotten worse and I can't risk leaving him alone in a storm anymore.

Dash ate his dinner tonight, so hopefully he is feeling better. We still don't know what triggers these vestibular episodes. They seem to occur when you least expect them and they are always alarming. The vet says he will experience these periodic sensations of vertigo and nausea for the rest of his life. Luckily, they don't seem to happen too often. Lets hope he has a normal day tomorrow.

Alamo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3025

Today started out well. It wasn't raining when I woke up. I had a tasty frittata for breakfast. Dash seemed relatively normal and took a decent walk. I even found time to go to the storage warehouse and retrieve a few rugs that could be place near Dash's food and water bowls to keep him from slipping. The last thing on my list was to go to the AT&T store and look at an iPhone SE, but the salesperson told me that the phone had already been discontinued.

This didn't seem right, especially since the Apple website still said the phone was a current model. I fed Dash a light lunch and then headed back to the same Apple store I visited yesterday. Since I'd already decided to replace my current phone with this inexpensive model, I didn't want to see it discontinued right in front of my eyes. I probably would have waited to get the phone if the AT&T folks hadn't got me worried. To save a further trip back to this store, I got the phone and decided to install the SIM card at home and activate the phone myself.

As you might expect, this process took the rest of the day. I slowly and methodically transferred my files and looked up passwords I'd forgotten. Somehow, my watch became unpaired and I had to reinstall the watch software. That took a while. I lost today's steps on my fitness tracker and some of my photos didn't transfer, but as software updates go, it wasn't all that bad.

As the day progressed, the sky got darker and darker. Dash also started to become unsteady on his feet again. I strategically placed the rugs I'd brought home, but Dash never seemed to stand on them the way I'd imagined. I may have to go back to the storage warehouse and get some more rugs. Even though Dash looked a little unsteady, he still seemed hungry, so around 3:30 PM I fed him part of his dinner. This probably was a mistake. Less than an hour later, Dash became frantic, went outside and ate grass, and then threw up. This was unexpected. Usually, after finishing a course of the Cerenia pills, he is able to hold down his food for almost a month.

I hate to give Dash more Cerenia so soon, but if he throws up again we probably have no choice. For the moment, Dash seems normal again. We delayed his evening pills a bit to ensure he was able to hold down food. I really don't know what to do at this point. Dash continues to bounce back after each episode, but he's never quite a strong as he was before. He seems to take two steps forward and three steps back. We have another major evaluation scheduled at the cancer center next week, but I'm not sure the vet will be able to offer us much help.

The thunderstorm I was expecting last night finally arrived toward dinner time. I think people living to the North of us got the worst of the storm, but we still got some wind and rain. I need to remember to move some living room furniture and bring the bucket in before I go to bed tonight, just in case the leak reappears. I don't think we got enough rain to cause roof problems, but you never know.

It's been a hectic day. All is well though. Dash is calm and took his evening pills without incident. I wish I could convince him to sleep on the floor, because it's becoming harder and harder for him to climb on the bed. Even the special step we installed doesn't help much. So far, my new phone seems exactly like my old phone. The SE is supposed to be much faster, able to run the latest software, and can take better pictures, but I can't tell any difference.

I've almost given up on getting a good night's sleep, but maybe I'll get lucky tonight. Dash needs to rest and so do I.

Paxton is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3021

Dash has had a rough day. He threw up a third time in the middle of the night and then appeared disoriented when I took him outside to pee. He didn't have much of an appetite this morning, although he did eat enough to take his pills. There were no walks today. For most of the day, Dash slept under a blanket in my office. While he was sleeping, I noticed that the involuntary tremors he sometimes experiences had returned. There are so many possible causes for these tremors that nobody has been able to pin down the cause. I discovered on the Internet that there is even something called "White Dog Shaker Syndrome" where dogs with a white coat, including Dalmatians, are more prone to involuntary tremors than other colors. I doubt that this is Dash's problem, since the tremors are also commonly caused by neurological problems. I wish there was something I could do to control the shivering, but none of his vets seem to have an answer.

The shivering spells, like his occasional vomiting, do seem to go away. If these symptoms are caused by his vestibular disease, he's going to have to deal with them for the rest of his life. Since Dash wasn't feeling well, I kept a close eye on him today. It's not like there's anywhere I really wanted to go anyway. It was a grey, gloomy day. Eventually, the tremors stopped and Dash ate a little food. Hopefully, a day of rest helped him. We'll see if he sleeps better tonight. With my luck he'll probably be up all night since he slept most of the day.

My accountant called today and said my tax returns were finished. The good news was that I don't owe the IRS anything. The bad news is that the company made very little money in 2017. I would have rather have had the opposite result. It's better to make a lot of money and owe tax on it than to have your company slowly disappear under your nose. My accountant hinted that next year might be a good time to officially retire. I'm still hoping that I'll get some good web design jobs this year, but's that's not very likely.

I'm glad I haven't put my Winter clothes away yet. It was really cold today. I was hoping that the chilly weather would invigorate Dash and get him moving again, but he wasn't having any part of it. We stayed in the house all day, and for most of that time, Dash was resting under a warm blanket. When it's cold outside, it always feels cold inside as well. The inside temperature is almost always 75 degrees, but it never feels the same. Today 75 felt pretty chilly. On a warm day this temperature often feels hot.

I hope Dash feels better tomorrow. I miss our daily walks. I didn't come close to my usual 10,000 steps today. I guess I could have gone on a walk by myself, but Dash was so shaky that I didn't want to leave him alone. It was a slow day. In addition to watching my dog sleep, I made an appointment to get a haircut and thought about getting a new iPhone. The last thing I need is a new phone, but that's never stopped me before.

Miracle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3020 - Easter

Janet and I have been watching old World War II bombers fly over our house for the past week, so we decided to go see them today. A traveling exhibit called Wings of Freedom was in Dallas this week which included some of the last remaining examples of legendary planes like the B-17, the B-24, and the P51 Mustang that are still in flying condition. You can even take rides in these planes although it is pretty expensive. I had no idea how a thirty minute flight could cost $450 until Janet and I climbed inside the B-17 parked on the runway and took a look inside. Good Lord. How do these things still fly? It might be pretty exciting to ride inside one of these ancient bombers, but bungee jumping seems safer. The planes looked huge on the outside but were claustrophobic inside. The B-17 only has room for 7 passengers and costs $4000 an hour to fly. No wonder rides are expensive. You have to always watch your step, because there are few areas where you can stand up and lots of sharp things to bang your head on. These bombers were state-of-the-art in the early 1940's, but seem primitive by today's standards. It's amazing how much the world has changed. I don't know if I'd have the nerve to fly in one of these things, but I have a lot of admiration for the men and women of my Dad's generation who did.

I was surprised at how cold it was this morning. I'm sure glad I fixed the furnace. Maybe it was a little premature to think that Spring was here to stay. Hey, at least we aren't getting snow like some parts of the country. The cooler weather didn't deter the hordes of people who descend on the park every Easter. People were already staking out their territories when we took Dash on his sunrise walk. Later in the day the place looked like a rock concert. I don't know where these people come from, but they sure don't believe in picking up their trash. Every year, the park is a disaster on the day after Easter. Lots of garbage get blown away by the wind and never gets picked up. The rest sits around for weeks until the sanitation department finally gets around to removing it. For the next three weeks I'm going to have to watch carefully to make sure that Dash doesn't eat chicken bones or children's Easter candy. The stuff is everywhere.

It's a shame that Dash wasn't feeling great today, because Janet and I had a delicious Easter feast. We enjoyed a traditional meal of smoked ham, candied yams, green beans, corn on the cob, and spiced baked apples. Dash had an upset stomach and was reluctant to eat his favorite dog food. He must have experienced another vestibular event. Even though Dash seemed normal for much of the day, he ended up throwing up twice as evening approached. Hopefully, the worst is over now and he'll be able to hold down his evening meds. It's always important that he takes his phenobarbital.

It was enjoyable to get out of the house today. While we were at Love Field we stopped to visit the Frontiers of Flight museum. The museum is home to the Apollo VII capsule and they were getting ready for a fiftieth anniversary celebration of the launch later this year. Has it been that long? Jeez. I'm really getting old. I remember each of the Apollo launches quite vividly. There were a couple of World War II vets touring the B-17 with us. I imagine they felt even older.

It was nice having a holiday weekend, but it's back to normal tomorrow. I might even have to mow the grass.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3017

I went to a meeting today. Jeez. It's been ages since I've been to any sort of meeting. This wasn't work related, but there were people sitting around a table discussing things. It was definitely a meeting. I don't do well in meetings anymore. I don't have the patience for them. I hope I made a contribution, but I probably didn't. I did eat a lot of pizza.

I didn't realize it was Thursday until Janet reminded me to take out the trash. I thought it was Tuesday all day yesterday. No wonder I had trouble remembering my dental appointment. I guess this is how it begins. First you forget what day it is and before long you can't even remember your own name. I'd probably remember what day it was if it mattered. It doesn't. Without deadlines to meet, all days are more or less the same.

There are only two kinds of day for Dash. There are the days when Janet goes to work and the days she stays home. I'm pretty sure he likes the weekends better. Today was a workday, so we went on our morning walk as soon as Janet left for work. He seemed fine while we were walking, but when we returned home he began acting strange. Since he wouldn't eat and seemed a little unsteady on his feet, I though he might be having a mild vestibular event. I'm glad we were home when this happened. I always worry that he'll have a vestibular event when we are in a remote part of the park.

After a long nap, Dash was fine again. He finished the breakfast he refused to touch earlier and was even eager to take an afternoon walk. We go through this routine almost every day. There is no way to predict what is going to happen next. When Dash is feeling good, he still acts like a young dog. At other times he can barely stand up. I try my best to anticipate things, but it gets confusing. I don't want Dash to overexert himself and I don't want him to become sedentary either.

It's hard to believe it's almost Easter. It seems like I just took down the Christmas tree a few days ago.  We had such a mild winter that it's easy to forget we had a Winter at all. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do for breakfast, but I am going to go out and get an Easter ham. We had a smoked ham for Christmas and it was really good. I wouldn't mind having the same holiday meal again. this weekend.

It doesn't take much to get me off schedule. A simple evening meeting and here I am watching the clock approach midnight. Al least Dash has finally gone to sleep. Hopefully, tonight's pizza won't give me heartburn. If it does, that's the way it goes. I should have had more willpower and eaten a single slice.

Elliott is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2998

Thirty minutes after I finished bragging about how good Dash was doing last night, he threw up. It's hard to predict these things. I didn't see any of the usual signs of a vestibular event, so I have a feeling that Dash may have just eaten too much. He certainly seemed unusually hungry yesterday. At any rate, I got dressed, cleaned up the mess on the carpet, took Dash outside to make sure he wasn't going to throw up again, and then we all went back to bed.

That wasn't the only strange thing that happened last night. I woke up twice with cold sweats again. Maybe I overdid things yesterday as well. I thought my cold was completely gone. I hate to look up symptoms on Google because the results are so alarming. Evidently, night sweats can signal low blood sugar, cancer, heat attacks, and severe anxiety. Luckily, night sweats are also common when you have a cold or flue. I don't think it's a big deal, but it is irritating to have to change the sheets so often. If things don't return to normal soon, I can always call my doctor next week.

The weather was so warm today that the air conditioner came on. I wasn't expecting that. The good news is that the air conditioner still works. The bad news is that if this warm weather continues, our electric bill will start going through the roof again. I'm not a big fan of Winter, but it is nice to get a break from high electric bills for a while.

Since Dash seemed back to normal this morning, I didn't bother to give him a Cerenia pill. I think I need to save the anti-nausea medication for when there are clear signs of a vestibular event. It looks like periodic vomiting is going to be part of our life for the foreseeable future. At least it doesn't happen very often. A large portion of our house has brick floors. Why does Dash always vomit on the carpets? The mess would be so easy to clean up if he would just learn to throw up on the bricks. Jeez. Last night he would have only had to move ten feet to reach a safe, easy to clean area. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.

I washed the car today because it was much easier than fixing Dash's rubber shoes. The protective shoes are getting pretty worn and it's time to reinforce them again with more tire patch material. I bought more Shoe Goo and a tire patch kit to make the repairs, but it's a messy job and I keep postponing it. Maybe tomorrow.

I've had this cold for a week now. That seems long enough. I do feel like I'm getting better, but I'm impatient to put this all behind me. I'll probably go to the gym tomorrow no matter how I feel. I'm not contagious and I definitely need the exercise.

Ely is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2984

I saw a little patch of blue sky this afternoon. A lot of dog owners must have seen that same patch of blue, because there were more people walking their dogs in the park than I've seen all month. I noticed that there were no loose dogs today. Probably the people who are fond of letting their dogs run free aren't so fond of muddy dogs. Although we saw the sun for a while, the park is still pretty soggy.

I was surprised that the weather improved today, because we woke up to thunderstorms again. The rain quit as we were finishing breakfast, but it was still pretty foggy. It would have been a good morning to photograph ghostly sailboats, but Dash comes first. By the time we returned from our walk, the fog had already lifted and I was starting to see shadows on the ground.

I don't think it's time to celebrate yet. Thunderstorms are supposed to return on Tuesday. Hey, at this point I'll take what I can get. They say it's going to be a nice day tomorrow. I can't decide what to do about the roof. On one hand, it's probably better to leave the water up there until the rain finally quits for good. On the other hand, I've got an actual leak now, so removing the water is more of a priority. Getting rid of the water is a good thing, but I risk damaging the elastomer coating if I'm up on the roof in wet weather. My whole life is like this now. It's almost impossible to make a decision about anything.

I can't figure out why more people don't use the little app I use to bypass the checkout line at the grocery store. Whenever I get groceries on Saturday, I'm the only one in the store using this app. Everyone else is standing in long checkout lines. The app is free and saves a ton of time. What's not to like? I guess I should be glad that few people use this convenient app. If everybody chose to bypass the checkout line, the app would probably crash all the time and it would just irritate me.

Just as I was starting to get into watching the Olympics, it's over. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed watching curling. It's kind of a mash up of shuffleboard, billiards, and bowling. Since the curling competition is finished and here doesn't seem to be any more halfpipe or skating excitement, I found myself watching a Time/Life infomercial about music from the sixties this afternoon. I kept trying to guess the names of the bands before they showed them on the screen. Say what you will, but music from the sixties and seventies was still the best. I won't be buying the overpriced 9 CD set. I think I've already got all these tunes on vinyl in my storage warehouse.

Dash was much better today. I still don't know what triggers his periodic vestibular episodes, but I'm glad he is still able to fully recover from them. Vestibular disease seems to affect dogs differently. Some never recover from their initial seizure and others are more like Dash. He has had dozens of vestibular events, but has been able to bounce back from each of them. The blood clots in his heart have nothing to do with the vestibular disease. Dash's heart problems are a totally separate issue.

It's time to go to the gym again. I've been saying that I need to go more often for years now and yet I never do. It's ironic that my excuse is always that I don't have the time. I should have plenty of time. I don't do anything. I think I've become so good at doing nothing that it consumes my entire day.

Nora is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2983

Dash gave me a scare today. We had just gotten started on our morning walk when I noticed that something seemed wrong. Dash was unsteady on his feet and didn't want to move. I suspected that he was having a mild vestibular event and immediately tried to get him back home. Luckily, we had not gone very far, so he was able to wobble his way back to the house. When we got inside, Dash seemed very tired and almost immediately went to sleep. He had no interest in food. Sleep must have helped because he woke up feeling fairly normal around noon.

I always worry that Dash might have a vestibular seizure when we are away from home. In the Summer, the best thing to do would be to sit with him in the grass and let him rest until someone could come for us. This probably wouldn't work very well on a rainy day in the Winter though. If a seizure is severe, I need to get him to a vet immediately. For mild seizures it is best to just keep him calm and wait until the symptoms subside. Luckily, major seizures are very rare. Dash has had several, but the vet said he may never have one again. Of course, he could have a bad episode tomorrow. Vestibular disease never really goes away.

The rain wasn't as bad today. There was a storm when we got up this morning, but things got better as the day progressed. It never really quit raining, but for most of the day all we got were light showers. I was able to take Dash on a short mid-adfternoon walk and later in the afternoon I was even able to inspect the roof. I was hoping to find the source of the leak on the back porch, but finding a leak is hard when everything is underwater. I plugged in the sump pump and began sweeping away water. I knew I wasn't going to be able to clear away all the water. I just wanted to reduce the load on the roof. Dealing with the roof is very discouraging in the Winter. Mother Nature always wins.

When the rain subsided a bit, I went to the grocery store and got some food for the weekend. I hate a muddy car, but there is no way to avoid driving in the rain when the rain never quits. I have to remember that the rain will stop eventually. Maybe I can go to a carwash later this Spring. Maybe the roof will be dry enough for the roofers to fix things by Summer.

The post office needs to get its act together. Today's mail looked like it had been dropped in a puddle. Everything was so wet that the envelopes had all come unglued. Even though there was a big pile of soggy mail, it was mostly just catalogs and political flyers. Nothing of significance was ruined. One of the reasons that I always take letters directly to the post office is that I have no faith in our mail carrier. This certainly isn't the first time we've received a box full of soggy mail or letters addressed to our neighbors.

The house always seems cold in wet weather. According to the thermostat, the temperature is the same as it always is, but it sure doesn't feel that way. I wonder is it's psychological? I just can't get warm enough on day like this. I've got the little ceramic heater going in the office and I'm wearing my down booties, but I'm still cold. Maybe I've just got poor circulation. If I don't keep my feet really warm, I feel like no blood gets to my toes at all.

We've had far worse Winters in the past, but this this extended rainy spell has got me nostalgic for Summer. Sure, it gets too hot, but we've got air conditioning. Somehow, our air conditioner always seems to work a lot better than our furnace. Not to worry though. The weatherman says it's going to warm up this weekend. I hope he's right.

Joey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2963

Dash wouldn't eat this morning. It took forever to get a minimal amount of food in him so it was safe to give his morning pills. Since it is critical that Dash always takes his phenobarbital on a regular basis to control seizures, a loss of appetite can be pretty dicy. Dash wasn't even interested in banana bread this morning, so we knew this was bad. We decided to give him a Cerenia pill, even though he wasn't showing obvious signs of nausea. Cerenia was really the only tool we had. Three hours later, he started eating again.

Nobody has ever explained how Dash's various symptoms are interrelated. Maybe they aren't. There are so many things that can go wrong with this dog and some of them are life threatening. To me, it is very stressful. My best guess is that the periodic eating disorders are related to his vestibular disease. Depending on how bad the vestibular event is, it can appear to be a stroke, a seizure, vertigo, or an upset stomach. Dash's worst vestibular seizure put him in intensive care for four days. Today's mild event just gave him an upset stomach. By mid-afternoon, he was back to his old self again.

While I was running my Saturday errands, I did some more appliance shopping. I learned that it would be a good idea if I just put a hold on things until President's Day. Evidently you can get some of the best appliance prices of the year during President's Day sales events. I guess it is a tradition to lower prices on refrigerators on President's Day. I'm happy to wait. I wasn't looking forward to buying a refrigerator today anyway.

Now that I'm more or less living on a fixed income, sales have become more important to me. I'll be going to the annual Super Bowl Sale at my favorite clothing store tomorrow. This is the only time when I can actually afford these clothes. I realize that when someone offers you 75% off on anything, they're just trying to get rid of old merchandise, but what do I care. When you're almost 70 years old, nothing ever goes out of style.

Dash has become very needy as he's growing older. Janet is at an animal rescue event tonight and Dash has been throwing a tantrum since she isn't around to sit in bed with him. This is what they do in the evening. Janet watches Netflix movies while Dash takes a nap. He's more than welcome to come in the office and nap while I write, but apparently that isn't good enough. He want's me to sit in the bed with him now.

When I was taking Dash out to pee this evening, I saw a guy lurking around in the dark. He seemed startled when he saw Dash and I and told me he was looking for his Airbnb rental. Given the state of the world today, the guy could have been completely legit. He also could have been a burglar. I told the man that nobody I knew in the neighborhood had turned their home into an Airbnb and he got in his car and left. I felt like telling him that it wasn't wise to go lurking around in the dark in a residential Texas neighborhood. It's a good way to get shot.

I still don't understand the popularity of Airbnb, Uber, and all those ugly Limebikes that are littered around town. If I take a Yellow Cab, or stay at a Holiday Inn, I know exactly what I'm getting. I suspect that I don't possess the level of trust required to participate in the sharing economy. It all seems like buying a pig in a poke to me.

Casey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2926

Dash threw up again today. Just like yesterday there were no warning signs. He slept well. His appetite was good this morning. We had a nice walk and then Dash went to sleep, just like he always does. When he woke up around midday he was hungry. I fed him a light lunch and about five minutes later he began drooling heavily. I knew what was coming. After a few frantic minutes, he threw up everything he'd eaten for lunch and then some. These episodes are always the same. Once he empties his stomach, he settles down quickly. I made him a bed in the hallway with some soft blankets and within five minutes he was asleep again.

Since this has happened two days in a row, we'll give him the Cerenia again. Usually these anti-nausea pills seem to stop the vomiting episodes for a while, but maybe they would have stopped anyway. I don't know what triggers the nausea and I don't know why it stops. We have a major re-check scheduled at the cancer center next week, so I'll ask all my questions again. I don't really expect a definitive answer though. Vestibular disease still seems to be the most plausible diagnosis. If something else is causing all Dash's problems, it's going to be a lot harder to find.

Since the weather is still cold and dreary, I thought I'd watch the movie I downloaded yesterday. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that it is no longer possible to watch a movie in its entirety without disruption. I had to pause the film five times to deal with minor dog emergencies. When Dash is acting weird, I always take him seriously these days. Most of the time he just wants attention or needs to go outside and pee. You never know though. Every day is a potential trip to the emergency room.

Even with multiple interruptions, Bladerunner 2049 was an impressive movie. I guess the reason it wasn't a box office hit was that it is very long and a bit slow. It is definitely a cinematographers movie. Roger Deakins made this dystopian, crumbling world look absolutely beautiful. It's been a while since I've seen the the first Bladerunner, but this sequel did seem to show a lot of respect for the original. If I can find a day when I won't be interrupted, I think I'd enjoy seeing both films again.

While Dash was sleeping this morning, I went out and bought another pair of rubber, wet weather boots. The tire patches I've used to extend the life of the boots I'm using to walk Dash now aren't going to last forever. Maybe it's just the Gemini in me. I always like to have a spare ready to go for everything I use regularly.

I think I'll just stay home and fix French Toast tomorrow. It's been so cold this week that after I finish taking Dash on his morning walk, I don't feel like doing anything else. There is little point to going out to eat if I'm not enjoying the food anyway. Maybe something will rekindle my interest in these Friday morning breakfast excursions, but for now I think my own cooking is better.

The trash has been taken out to the curb. Dash has had his evening meds, including an extra Cerania pill. The only thing left is to watch an old Perry Mason re-run and go to sleep. I know that as soon as I get comfortable and drift off to sleep, Dash will wake up and want to go outside again. That's just how we roll these days.

Dot & Petey are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2925

Not a great day. I had a feeling that Dash was getting sick again when I had to take him outside repeatedly last night. He was a little shaky this morning, but he ate his breakfast and took a morning walk. Around midmorning he began drooling excessively and proceeded to throw up all over the living room floor. I'd like to think Dash just had a few too many Christmas treats, but this sure looks like another vestibular disease episode. We still don't know how to prevent these episodes or predict when they will happen next. The only good thing is that Dash always seems to recover. Dash seemed very tired after he threw up so I got some blankets and made a safe space in the hallway for him to sleep. It's much easier to throw a blanket in the washing machine than it is to clean vomit off the bed.

After a few hours, Dash was back to normal again. Hopefully, he took his morning meds early enough so that they were in his system before he vomited. I wish Dash didn't have these periodic episodes of vertigo and nausea, but I'm afraid they will become the new normal for the rest of his life.

We saw a coyote on our morning walk. Another couple walking their dog warned us about it and sure enough, the coyote appeared ahead of us on the path a few minutes later. It is not uncommon to see coyotes on very cold mornings. Although this one was very close, it didn't appear to be interested in us. I also saw what appeared to be a stray dog down by the lake, but it was much further away than the coyote. I worry about dogs out in the cold like this. It was below freezing when we woke up this morning and the forecast says it will remain cold for the rest of the week.

It was so cold today that I ordered another pair of down booties online. I've been wearing these things to bed lately and they do a great job of keeping your feet warm. The down booties I have now are so old that the feathers are starting to fall out. I figured it was time for a new pair. All the winter coats in my closet were purchased on very cold days. I think the only things on my mind in the winter are eating and staying warm.

I know there is water on the roof, but I'm resisting the urge to remove it. I've learned over the years that the elastomer coating gets very brittle in cold weather and several times I've managed to tear it while sweeping the water away with a push broom. I'm going to need to have faith that the coating will keep the water out as intended and just wait until the weather gets warmer. This is Texas, so I'm sure there will be a warm day within the next several weeks. For now, I'm not even going to look at the roof. I'm sure I'd be alarmed at how much water is actually up there.

I hope Dash is feeling better tomorrow. I had some errands I needed to run today, but didn't feel comfortable leaving the house while Dash was having a vestibular episode. The cold days give me cabin fever, so maybe I'll get out tomorrow. If the weather is bad, I'll watch Bladerunner 2049. I finally downloaded the film today, but didn't watch it. I thought the movie would be more enjoyable if I wasn't distracted by dog vomit.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2912

I'm done with the roof for a while. I applied the last of the elastomer coating this morning. I've applied twelve gallons of the stuff so far. I'm guessing that it would take about thirty gallons to cover the entire roof. I've sure I'll end up buying more of the stuff at some point, but now isn't the time. You're not supposed to apply the coating in cold weather and the stuff is very expensive. Whatever I've done so far is going to have to survive until Spring.

If I knew what I know now, I would never have selected this type of roof. It was designed for commercial and warehouse buildings. Old houses in an area filled with large trees are much different. My house has settled over the years and the roof is no longer completely level. Whenever it rains, the low spots fill with standing water. In the Fall, Oak leaves from the backyard trees fall into this water and stain it a dark brown. I'm convinced that the tannin in the leaves causes some sort of chemical reaction that causes the elastomer material to break down and eventually disintegrate. There was a reason that the house originally had a tar and gravel roof. The old tar and gravel performed much better than the new high tech roof solutions people recommend now. Unfortunately, very few people know how to do a tar and gravel roof anymore. They might not even be allowed these days. The tar might be a fire or environmental hazard and the gravel that covers the tar and provides extra insulation adds a lot of extra weight to the top of the house. Tar and gravel roofs, like asbestos, have fallen out of favor.

Although I managed to patch a few more marginal areas on the roof without ruining my clothes, that was about all I accomplished today. I did a little research on my next website project, but I'm not ready to commit to a design. This new project makes me nervous because I think the client is expecting too much. Websites can make it easier for customers to find you or learn about your products, but they can never fix a flawed business plan.

Dash has had several good days in a row. This often lulls me into thinking that he's cured. I know that the vertigo and nausea associated with vestibular disease will return at some point, but for the moment everything is normal again. Dash has a good appetite and isn't as picky about his food. He seems to enjoy taking walks again. This is all good. I have no idea what is happening with the blood clots inside his heart, but at least he's breathing normally at night again. I'm sure that the partial tear in his cruciate hasn't completely healed, but the knee brace seems to help. There are so many things to worry about with Dash that it's no surprise that one of my favorite things is to just take a nap with him and forget about all the medical issues for a while.

I did see some meteors last night. I didn't have the patience to sit out in the cold for long enough to see many, but the meteors I did observe were quite bright. They were also quite fast. If I blinked, I might have missed them. They always say to observe meteor showers you should find a place where the sky is very dark and there are no street lights or passing cars. Then you should let your eyes adjust to the darkness for twenty or thirty minutes before you begin observing. Like that's ever going to happen. If I sat out in the park for thirty minutes at night, I'd probably be eaten by coyotes. I usually run out in the back yard for five minutes and if I don't see anything, I give up.

I've take the trash out to the curb and give Dash his evening pills. Usually Janet gives Dash his meds, but she's at an office Christmas party tonight. My little office doesn't have parties, but I did have an extra cookie for dessert tonight.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2911

I spend way too much time dealing with some minuscule website problems just to avoid going up on the roof. The weather was perfect. I just didn't feel like dealing with the messy elastomer today. I'll probably regret this later because we don't get that many really warm days in December. Maybe I'll deal with the roof tomorrow, or maybe I'll just decide that it's already good enough to survive the winter.

Dash had a great day. His appetite was good. He was eager to go on a walk. And there were no signs of vertigo or dizziness. You never know from day to day how he's going to feel, but I'm always happy when he has a good day. The only problem we encountered today was another loose dog we saw on our walk. Dash usually notices these dogs before I do and we change our route to avoid them. It's a shame that so many people refuse to keep their dog on a leash. You can't even talk to most of them. They're convinced that they are doing the right thing.

I can't decide whether to go out and look for meteors tonight. This is supposed to be the best night for viewing the annual Geminid Meteor Shower. If I lived in a place with dark skies, the Geminids would probably be spectacular this year. I live in Dallas though and the light pollution in town is terrible. I've only seen one or two meteors the entire time I've lived here. You never know though. Maybe I'll see something when I take Dash out to pee just before we all go to bed.

Today was so uneventful that I looked forward to taking the water bill to the post office. I could pay almost all my bills online, but I still like going to the post office. I haven't even started shopping yet, but there was already a long line of people waiting to mail their Christmas packages. I dropped my envelope in a mail slot and left. I may enjoy mindless trips to the bank and post office, but I hate standing in lines.

I couldn't find anyone to talk about my newly completed website project, so I just went ahead and launched it. I've done this before and it usually takes clients at least a week to even notice that something has changed. Sadly, websites aren't a big deal anymore. They're kind of like Yellow Pages ads used to be. Eventually I'll get some feedback on the site. Hopefully, everyone will like it. It's always nice when people appreciate something you've spent weeks putting together. So, what happens if people hate the new site? Who knows. I guess I could always put the old site back up.

I tried to think what to get people for Christmas this year and I'm coming up with nothing. My mind's a blank. It's too bad that I have no faith in gift cards anymore. Gift cards used to be such an easy solution but I don't think I'll ever buy one again after we got scammed last summer. I asked Janet what she wanted for Christmas and she said she'd like me to clean out my office. That's about like asking me to grow wings and fly.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2910

I think I'm finished with my website project. I haven't shown it to anyone yet, so maybe being finished is just wishful thinking. Let's just say it looks nice, it works, and if the universe was fair, I'd definitely be finished. I have mixed feelings about work these days. I enjoy what I do and still like to stay busy, but I'm so close to retirement that it's getting harder to stay engaged. Does this stuff even matter anymore? I'm not sure.

Dash had me worried today. He was fine until right after lunch and then he abruptly became disoriented and started drooling. For a while I thought he was going to throw up, but he didn't. This was definitely a vestibular event, but it wasn't a severe one. I convinced Dash to take a nap with me and pretty soon he went to sleep. When he woke up a few hours later, he was fine. I wish I knew what triggered these vestibular events. He can go for several months without having any problems at all and then there will be periods where he gets disoriented almost every day. Luckily, his recent episodes don't seem to last more than an hour or two.

I was reluctant to leave Dash today, but there were prescription that needed to be filled. I picked up my own meds first and then went to the vet to get pills for Dash. I'm always worried that Dash is going to throw up right after I give him his pills. Timing is everything now. We've learned that he's more likely to throw up at night, so we've started give him his evening meds earlier. In the morning, we observe him for a while before feeding him anything to make sure he is stable. It's all a bit complicated, but Janet and I are getting better at anticipating when the next vestibular event will occur.

It's still too cold to go back up on the roof, but I managed to get quite a bit done today anyway. Breakfast was a failure again. My morning smoothie still has a weird, thick jello-like consistency. Is this week's fruit not juicy enough? Are the bananas too hard? Have the programmed settings on the Vitamix quit working? I can't figure this out at all. Maybe I'll just fix myself an omelet tomorrow.

Does anybody really know what a bitcoin is? The insane increase in value of these things recently has got me wondering. Is it a scam, or is it the future of money and banking? I still can't understand what a blockchain is and why it is so important. They say it takes a tremendous amount of computing power to make a bitcoin transaction. The whole process apparently uses up so much energy that bitcoin is supposed to be bad for the environment. If this is true, why are people in California fascinated by these things? Are bitcoins even real? Nothing tangible even exists. My own investments seem boring by comparison, but I don't think I'm ready to buy a bitcoin. I'm still getting used to Paypal.

I'll probably start on my next website project tomorrow. I don't have the job yet, but I'll have to put together a proposal. It would be tempting to utilize some of the things I've learned on my current website project before I forget them again. Then there's Christmas.  I haven't even started Christmas shopping. It's hard to shop for people my age and older. We don't really need anything.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day