Day 4814

I canceled today's appliance repair appointment because the dryer seems to be working fine again. I've done several loads of laundry and the problem seems to have disappeared. I have no idea what happened, but that's not surprising. A lot of things in life are a mystery to me. The roofers were a no show again today. They said they might be able to come over this afternoon, but didn't. They did send me a PDF file with their estimate though. Yes, it's quite expensive.

It was very warm again today. The temperature got up to over eighty degrees. This was another one of those days where the furnace was on when we woke up and the air conditioner was on most of the afternoon. I wore shorts and a t-shirt on my long walk and was still a bit hot by the time I returned home. No complaints though. I hope this is a sign of an early Spring.

I had to go up on the roof and sweep away the remaining standing water to get the leak in the office to stop. Most of the roof was dry, but there is a stubborn low spot right over the office where water lingers long after the rain has gone. The problem with this time of year is that I have to clear away this water over and over again. Sadly, there is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday.

I had to pick up a prescription today and the pharmacy staff were all in a bad mood. Usually these guys are very friendly. I ended up paying a higher price for my pills because they said it would take an extra thirty minutes if I wanted to compare prices using GoodRx. Strange. I always do this and it doesn't take any extra time at all. There was a big sign advertising free Covid test kits, but when I asked for some they said I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork to see if I qualified. Never mind. We've got a boatload of those test kits lying around the house already. This was all very disorientating because these guys are usually very helpful.

The construction crews are almost finished paving the service road through the park. I'll miss them because it gave me something interesting to look at while I walked. Pretty soon there will be lots to look at. I noticed today that daffodils are already blooming. This means that the Spring wildflowers will start to appear soon. I hope that there isn't a late March freeze that kills everything off. So far, it looks like we are headed for an early Spring.

There's been lots of activity down at Kennedy Space Center lately. It makes me wish I was down there. I wouldn't mind being one of the regular launch photographers who seem to be out covering every single launch. It's a somewhat silly activity, but strangely satisfying. Titusville is a nice town too. It's not too big and not too small. I could easily imagine living there. We're not going anywhere though. Moving is for younger people. I've lived several places over the years and basically one place is the same as the next. It makes more sense to settle down and learn to love where you're at. I'm glad I left Seattle though. Seattle has really gone downhill.

I'm hoping that we don't get a lot of rain tomorrow. I'm really tired of climbing up on the roof to sweep away the standing water. It makes me feel like Sisyphus, pushing that boulder eternally up the hill.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4376

I give up. When I called FedEx this morning they basically just told me to get fucked and then hung up on me. The call center person I talked to was nice enough. It wasn't her fault that she had to explain that the company was overwhelmed with Christmas deliveries, was understaffed, and was having a terrible problem finding drivers. When I asked why my package had been sitting in a sorting warehouse for almost a week with no attempts at delivery the sad answer was that it wasn't a priority. Everybody wants their packages delivered before Christmas and with limited drivers available, the company's big corporate customers were the squeaky wheels that get greased. My package simply wasn't important enough to get on the available trucks. I am still unable to talk to anyone locally and I don't think I will receive my package until after Christmas. At this point I don't know if I will ever receive it.

The irony of all this is that I listened to a story on one of the business channels I watch to while eating breakfast that FedEx stock went up today on news that the company was investing heavily in automation to become even more profitable. This doesn't help me. It was one of their fancy new automated systems that screwed up my delivery in the first place by erroneously generating a "your package has been delivered" message when no attempt at delivery was actually made. Now I've got to sort this out with the Chinese manufacturer who somehow received the automated message that my package has already been delivered. There are language barriers involved and it's been difficult to explain to them that the message was just a mistake. FedEx openly admits that the message was a mistake but they say it's my responsibility to alert the shipper. They apparently don't have the time to bother with this little detail. The just want me to go away and instruct their call center representatives to just hang up on me if I take too much of their time. I think this interval must be about ten minutes because I've been hung up on at least three times now after talking for about ten minutes.

The temperature was very warm today and it gave me an opportunity to just keep walking. I took four different walks today and managed to rack up 23,000 steps. My feet hurt but walking helps me keep my mind off my current frustrations. It was supposed to rain this morning, but the rain never arrived. I think it just got delayed because it is now supposed to start raining later this evening. Dawn seems to enjoy getting several walks a day. Two of today's walks were with Dawn and Janet and the other two were by myself. I'm walking so much lately that I'm starting to feel like Forest Gump. For me, walking is the most relaxing way to get the exercise I need. I just wish there was a good solution for my painful feet.

The park is a beehive of activity now with all the trail improvements going on. The construction crews seem much more efficient than the ones I witnessed during the last cycle of trail improvements about ten years ago. I kind of wish they would just leave these trails alone though. When the new superhighway trails are completed, there will be many more bicycles, making it much harder to walk your dog. All cyclists seem to be Type A personalities who don't want to slow down or stop for anyone. Sometimes you don't hear these guys coming and it can be dangerous if your dog suddenly decides to dart to the other side of the trail to investigate a new smell while one of these silent bikes is approaching.

It looks like I will have to take a mandatory IRA distribution again this year. I wish the government would have extended last years Covid exemption on distributions for one more year. These distributions always foul things up for me at tax time. They don't really seem fair either. I feel like I have already paid taxes on this money when I earned it many, many years ago. I've had it explained to me several times that I haven't actually paid taxes on my IRA contributions yet, but it still doesn't make sense. I'm tired of paying taxes to pay for programs I don't agree with. There is a long, and growing list of those.

Time to make a grocery list again. How do these weeks go by so fast? It will be Christmas before you know it. Janet is making a Crown Roast for Christmas dinner. That will be something to look forward to even if I don't get my package.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3674

When I went to get a haircut today, I was intrigued by some oddly colorful plants I saw at the mall. Northpark is known for it's landscaping, but I'd never seen anything like this before. The plants looked like green sticks with brightly colored tips. Was this a weird exotic cactus? Was it a new type of succulent or bromeliad? The plants weren't labeled, so it took me forever to find the answer. The reason that the plants were hard to identify was that they don't exist in nature. A grower has learned how to take young sansevieria plants and dip the tips in felt. Since these plants grow from the base, the colorful tip stays the same as the plants grow. Who knew?

It was really warm today. I think we hit a new all time record for temperatures in January. It was 85 degrees this afternoon. When I went to get a haircut, it was colder inside than it was outside. It was also extremely humid. Everything looked wet and damp, but there was no rain. The thunderstorms that had me worried yesterday never materialized. So far, this has been a very strange winter.

Almost every store at the mall was having a big after Christmas clearance sale, but I wasn't even interested enough to take a look. I should have gone in the North Face store and looked for a winter coat, but how can you look for a winter coat when it is 85 degrees outside? I just went straight home after my haircut and did a Google search for the strange plants I'd seen earlier. I can usually find almost anything on Google in a matter of minutes. This took a while though. I didn't know the type of plant I was looking for. And I certainly didn't know that the colors I was seeing weren't natural.

I'm torn about making hotel reservations for my Florida trip. If I make the reservations right now and pay for them in advance, I can save some money. If the Solar Orbiter launch date changes though, I'm out of luck. I did save a little money by paying in advance when I went to New Orleans, but I knew the date for Artemis Day wasn't going to change. Launch dates always seem to change. Since today was the last day to take advantage of this holiday sale, I guess I lose. I don't have the nerve to get nonrefundable airline tickets or hotel rooms when I'm going to a launch.

The porta-potties have returned to the park. I guess the city didn't remove them after all. Probably the vendor's contract ran out and the city just decided to get a new supplier. I never even used to wonder where the restrooms were when I was younger. It's something to think about now though. There are days when I need these things on a long walk.

I don't think I escaped the rain entirely. It looks like it just got delayed until tomorrow. Oh, well. At least I managed to get a good walk today. Rain is totally normal at this time of year, but it always catches me by surprise. I still wake up every morning expecting a nice day.

Betty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3628

I'll never get used to Texas weather. It was so warm today that our air conditioner came on again. It was actually a very nice day; just a little unexpected. I should have taken advantage of the situation because warm weather like this won't last long. Another cold front is probably already on the way.

I got my grocery shopping done right after breakfast so I could be home again when Janet needed to leave. Ginny did well when we were away for Thanksgiving dinner, but we hate to leave her penned up. This is her vacation and we'd like it to be enjoyable. By all indications, Ginny is having a very good time. She is totally relaxed now and like many female Dalmatians is showing us her bossy side. She reminds us a lot of Dot. She is very gentle and well behaved, but isn't shy about letting you know when it's time to get up, when it's time to go to bed, and when it's time for dinner.

I should have made my travel arrangements today, but I never got around to it. I didn't go up on the roof either. Basically all I did was fill the car with gas, get a few groceries, and take my walk when Janet got back home again. Looking after Ginny gave me a good excuse to sit around the house and be lazy. Ginny is definitely a good dog to take a nap with.

The park was packed with people this afternoon. I guess everybody knew that a seventy-five degree day on the last day of November shouldn't be wasted. It's weird that even Mom's pushing strollers are faster than me in the park, but I'm still pretty speedy at my gym. It's all relative I guess. Twenty-five year olds move faster than seventy-five year olds.

The Pelicans were gone today. This happens from time to time. I wonder where they go? They never seem to do anything individually. It's all or nothing with these birds. They probably just get bored swimming around Pelican Bay all day. They'll probably all be back tomorrow. All this group activity makes the one Pelican who stayed behind last Summer seem even stranger.

I still haven't fixed the big divot in the front yard made by the speeding car a few weeks ago. My neighbor hasn't fixed her yard damage either. I wonder how long it would take for nature to just fix the problem naturally? The missing grass would eventually fill in. Erosion would round out the sharp gouge. In five years everything would probably look fine again. I probably can't get away with ignoring this for five years though.

It's back to the gym tomorrow. I'd better get the water off the roof too. There's no point in tempting fate. If I keep up my part of the bargain, maybe we can avoid further roof leaks for another year or two.

Belle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3617

I didn't really expect that it would be 75 degrees today. Just a few weeks ago I could have sworn that winter had arrived. I doubt that this unseasonably warm weather will last very long, but I was happy for the reprieve. I'll take a beautiful Indian Summer day any time I can get one.

The nice weather certainly didn't inspire me to do anything useful. I fixed my morning smoothie, checked my e-mail, made a few minor updates to an animal rescue website, and took my walk. That was about it for the day.

It wasn't surprising that there were a lot of people out in the park. There were no jackets and wool hats today. Everybody was wearing shorts. I wish days like this were more common in Dallas. I finished my entire walk without freezing or sweating. This is the way is should be. Unfortunately, there is rain in the forecast for later in the week.

The spare bulbs for my Norman strobes arrived this morning. We still can't decide whether to buy a new backdrop for this years Santa Paws photos. I have a ton of Christmas themed muslin backdrops from previous years, but since we get a lot of the same customers year after year, it's always nice to have something new. There used to be an abundance of hand painted muslin photo backdrops available, but that's not the case anymore. More and more photographers just use a green screen and insert a backdrop electronically using compositing software. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer a real hand painted backdrop. I guess it's time to go to the storage warehouse and see what I have. We've been doing the Santa Paws pictures for a long time and there are a lot of old backdrops to choose from. Janet and I only found one interesting new pattern this year and after looking at it for a while, realized that we already had it. Like I said, nobody makes these things anymore.

I keep hoping to hear something from NASA, Sky and Telescope, or McDonald Observatory. I have lots of travel plans floating around in my head, but so far everything is still in limbo. I guess it's OK that things are moving slowly. It gives me something to think about on my walks. I still don't know where I'd live if I get approved to stay at the observatory this Spring. I'm not sure what I'd write about if I attend the Starliner launch either. Is there a story here? I guess I can't call myself a space journalist unless I can prove that there is.

I still can't figure out where the ants are coming from. These little sweet ants are so small you can barely see them, but there are everywhere. I've been bitten at night while I sleep and I found one inside my sock today. It really doesn't do much good to use bug spray if you don't know where they are coming from. You can't kill ants one at a time.

I hope that the weather stays nice tomorrow. One more dry day and I'll feel a lot more confident that my roof patches have fully cured. A dry day won't make me confident about anything else, but you've got to take what you can get.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3362

We had a little bit of everything today. There was a light rain when I woke up. About twenty minutes later a line of thunderstorms blew through. There was even some dime sized hail for a while. The severe weather disappeared as quickly as it arrived. By the time we finished breakfast there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The temperature warmed up quickly and it wasn't long before I needed to turn the air conditioner on. I think the high temperature today was almost 80 degrees. This was Texas weather at its finest.

After the storms moved to the East, I thought Dash would enjoy a walk. I was surprised at how tired he seemed. He slept well and seemed in good spirits this morning but he was very slow and stumbled more than usual while we were walking. The same thing happened this evening. Maybe we should have skipped the walks today. It's hard to tell with Dash. One minute he seems fine and a few minutes later he seems exhausted.

It only rained for forty five minutes, but that was enough to fill the roof with water again. I ran the pumps for a few hours and then went up on the roof later in the day to sweep the remaining water away. Removing the standing water quickly seems to be the key to keeping the leak from returning. I'm already seeing a few new tears in the elastomer material. I have a feeling that it's just about hopeless to keep this roof watertight for very long. Two roofing companies are currently working up bids to replace the roof. I'll probably get one more bid before I make a decision. However this ends, I don't think it will be a pleasant experience.

I used the self checkout when I was getting groceries this morning. I had some fresh fruit in a bag with no bar code. When I weighed the fruit at checkout, I thought I'd have to type in some kind of a code number. Nope. The scanner automatically recognized the fruit correctly even though there was no packaging or bar codes. How did it do that? Automation is really getting sophisticated. I wonder if anyone will have a job fifty years from now.

Since it was such a nice day, I washed the car this afternoon. This was probably a futile gesture since it is supposed to rain again on Monday. Removing the water from the roof was probably a futile gesture as well. So far, the one chore that has paid off was giving Dash a bath. After several walks and countless trips outside to pee, he still smells clean.

Maybe I'll start working on my taxes tomorrow. I should have had everything ready for the accountant by now. The more unpleasant the task, the longer I tend to put it off. Amazingly, everything still gets done. It may not get done on time or even done properly, but I'm no slacker. I've already got a long to-do list for tomorrow that probably won't get done either.

Val is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3339 - Valentine's Day

Traditions die hard. I continue getting cupcakes at Sprinkles and a small orchid in a pot every Valentine's Day. I've been doing this for years even though we seldom eat sweets. I used to have to stand in a long line that snaked outside the store to get my cupcakes but Sprinkles isn't as trendy as it was five of six years ago. The line was very short today, but the cupcakes are still delicious. I used to be able to keep the orchids alive for several seasons. They would bloom again and again. Now they always die after a month or two. The orchids are definitely cheaper than they used to be though. Maybe there's a correlation. Sprinkles makes cupcakes for dogs too. I always get a few, while wondering if they are really safe. Dogs aren't supposed to have sugar, but I wouldn't be surprised if these weren't just small human cupcakes. Hopefully the frosting is just cream cheese or something.

Dash has gotten more enthusiastic about his daily walks. I hope this is a sign that he is feeling better. Something has changed. On most days he doesn't need to follow Janet anymore. This morning he confidently headed out the back gate on his own and I completed the entire walk by myself. It doesn't always go this smoothly, but Dash definitely does seem in better spirits. We stopped wearing the leg brace when Dash started using the Help 'Em Up Harness. It was difficult to attach the brace to the new harness and Dash was walking so slow that it didn't seem to matter anyway. I wonder if it is easier for him to walk without the brace? The whole idea of the knee brace was to keep a partial cruciate tear from becoming worse. We thought the brace would make it easier for Dash to walk, but maybe it did the opposite. Caring for a sick dog is always a learning experience. Occasionally, Dash ends up being the teacher.

I wonder if I am going to be perpetually tired. It certainly seems that way. This morning Janet woke me up and said that Dash looked like he was ready to walk. You hate to miss these opportunities, so I quickly got dressed and off we went. By the time we returned, it was much too late to go back to bed again. I slowly drank my morning smoothie, stopping from time to time to clean up poop. Dash has plenty of time to poop on these long meandering walks, but he often waits until he's home again to do his business. He doesn't do this on purpose. An incontinent dog just isn't able to plan ahead.

I had to turn the air conditioner on this afternoon. The temperature was in the high 70's today. A few weeks ago it was below freezing. I've given up on predicting Texas weather. I've often worn a t-shirt and shorts in the same week I've needed my warmest down parka. I check the weather app on my phone every morning before we take our walk, but even that isn't always helpful. Sometimes it seems like it's ten degrees colder down by the lake than it is in our back yard. Basically, you can end up wearing Summer clothes in the Winter in Texas, but you never end up wearing Winter clothes in the Summer.

I didn't really think Galentine's Day was a thing until I saw a whole row of special "Galentine's" cupcakes in Sprinkles today. I wonder if these were day old cupcakes? I think Galentine's Day was yesterday. It seems weird to me when made up holidays from old TV sitcoms become real and start being celebrated. It happened with Festivus too. Maybe in the future all our holidays will originate on TV shows.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2574

I can safely say that I've mowed the grass for the last time this year. The grass has been dormant for some time now, but I always mow it one last time so it looks nice for the winter. Since it was a pleasant warm day, I thought I'd tackle the leaves as well. The trees are bare now and all the leaves are on the ground. There are an enormous number of leaves on the ground in the back yard, making it difficult for Dot to walk. It would have taken me a week to bag them all up, so I just used the leaf blower instead. Leaf blowers are a silly invention. You don't really get rid of the leaves. You just move them around. Maybe there's a temporary sense of victory, but sooner or later a big wind will just blow them all back.

Hey, at least I tried. The house has been vacuumed, the grass has been mowed, and at least Dot has a fighting chance to make it to the back of the yard to pee. There is a certain futility to all this. It is almost impossible to keep Dot, or anything else, clean for very long. Literally two minutes after I got Dot's blankets out of the dryer this morning and placed them back on her bed, she pooped on them again. I always wanted to acquire more patience, but this is not the path I thought I'd be taking to get there. You just have to understand that Dot has no control over what happens anymore.

I keep hearing a lot of people says that 2016 was the worst year ever. Mostly this was just because their favorite singer died, or they didn't like the election results. Those kind of things seem so distant to me. Singers and celebrities die every year. I'm almost certain that a lot more will die next year. I measure each year by what happens much closer to home. I've known that Dot is dying for a long time. The fact that she is still here, barking and pooping, and sharing her life with us is definitely something to be happy about. I know that my working years are just about over too. This was the year I finally learned to accept it. It's OK. If somebody wants to hire me for something, I'll be happy to take the job, but I'm not looking for business anymore. I'm not seeing as many doctors as I was several years ago. My health seems to have stabilized. That's good. Sure, I liked David Bowie too, but my dog and my health are far more important.

Next year I have to renew my passport and my driver's license. Every time I renew my passport, it looks like I've aged 10 years. Of course, this is because I actually have aged ten years. I've had quite a few passports by now. I liked the old ones before the creation of the European Union best. Each country had it's own distinctive stamp and many of my passport pages were filled with stamps from countries I will probably never visit again. My current passport looks like I haven't been anywhere.  I'm a bit more apprehensive about my driver's license. My vision has deteriorated over the years and I'm afraid they might make me wear glasses. I don't particularly want to wear glasses. A slightly fuzzy world is fine by me.

We haven't gone out for New Year's Eve in ages, but I probably will stay awake until midnight and have a glass of champagne with Janet. Years ago when I played in a band, New Year's Eve was always a work day. We made our best money playing big New Year's Eve parties. I loved the various bands I played in, but I don't miss those parties at all. There were too many drunks and too few people to help pack up the equipment when it was all over.

I hope you have big plans for the year ahead. I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but there are a few things I'd like to do. Did you know that there is going to be a total eclipse of the sun next August that crosses the entire United States? It's going to be one of the best opportunities to see a total eclipse in this century. I almost saw a total eclipse when I was going to high school in Alaska but the sky clouded over at the last minute. Maybe I'll get another chance. The eclipse is a big deal, but if Dot is still around on her birthday next August, that would be an even bigger deal.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1918

I had to turn the air conditioner on today. It's hard to believe that we were dealing with sleet and ice when Dot had her operation and just a few weeks later it's over 80 degrees. We might still have a few chilly days, but I'm fairly convinced that Winter is finally over. I'm starting to see some early blooming wildflowers and the Mallards have begun their Spring nesting ritual. It won't be long before there are baby ducks everywhere.

We're starting to establish a schedule that everyone can live with. Dash gets a long walk while Janet is eating breakfast. When she leaves for work, I eat my own breakfast while feeding the dogs a few treats to keep them quiet. Since they both seem content to stay on their dog beds while I'm in the kitchen, I'm usually able to wash the dishes and throw a load of laundry in the washer before it's time to take the dogs outside to pee again. If I eat slowly and do kitchen chores, I can usually extend breakfast until Dot and Dash are ready to go back to sleep. Dot goes in her safe area and Dash goes wherever he wants. I'm real quiet and hope the dogs will sleep for a long time because this is when I get the most done.

If I'm lucky, the dogs will sleep until 1:30 or 2 PM and then they inevitably want to eat something again. I give them both a rice cake, so they won't get fat. Both dogs would eat non-stop if I let them. Since they've slept most of the morning, they often appear bored after their lunch. They don't feel like sleeping any more. I take them outside. I walk Dot from room to room. I do some of the physical therapy exercises the neurologist showed me. Sometime a watch a little TV in the kitchen, if Dot and Dash are being quiet on their dog beds.The afternoons aren't nearly as productive as the mornings.

When the dogs finally settled down and went to sleep around 3 PM, I went up on the roof and gave my patches areas a second coat of elastomer. It's supposed to start raining again tomorrow and I don't want to worry about leaks. The one gallon can of elastomer material doesn't cover as much area as I thought it would. No wonder the roof was so expensive. The roofers used boatloads of this stuff.

Since I'm essentially housebound, I thought I'd start fixing some of the non-running watches in my collection. I've gotten three fixed so far. This is a fairly pointless activity, but it makes the day go faster. This would be a good time to have lots of writing work, but things are a bit slow right now. With my luck, I won't get busy again until Dot gets better and I don't need to stay here all day. Oh, well. It's hard enough for Janet and I to coordinate our schedules. I'm not even going to attempt to coordinate things with my clients as well.

The sunrise was pretty again this morning. That's all she wrote though for this week. I think it's going to rain for the rest of the week.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1882

Today was absolutely gorgeous. With clear skies and 75 degree temperatures, it was hard to believe it was February. When we were coming home from our morning walk, I noticed that the neighbors were taking large bags of leaves and bulky trash to the curb. It must be big trash day this week. Since it was a nice day, I thought I'd follow the neighbor's lead and managed to get rid of some my own back yard clutter while the dogs lounged in the morning sun.

After breakfast, I thought I'd get started on organizing my tax information and was appalled to discover that I'd completely forgotten to send in my quarterly estimated taxes this year. Oops. I guess there might be some sort of penalty for this, but it probably won't be much since my income was so low last year. My accountant asked me a couple of years ago why I even bothered to do quarterly taxes anymore and I guess it sent some sort of subliminal message. I certainly didn't bother this year. Every time I forget something like this, I wonder what else I've forgotten.

I did remember to send out my February invoices today. Such a small pile of letters, compared to what it used to be. Janet's retirement was a big deal. Mine will be a non-event. One day I will be sitting at the computer and realize I haven't done any work in three months. I'm still relatively busy, but the writing is on the wall. My peak earning years are so, so over.

So, what happens next? Honestly, I don't have a clue. Some days I still want to design websites and make films. Other days, not so much. I really ought to go buy a more powerful pair of reading glasses and start reading books again. I could easily fill a couple of years just catching up on my reading list. Janet and I are both realizing that when you base your life around work, it can be kind of disorienting when the work disappears. What I don't want to do is spend my time doing a succession of smaller and smaller meaningless jobs. If you follow this path, you eventually reach a point where you are totally consumed with doing nothing at all.

What the hell. I miss being the Wizard of Oz. It's not as much fun spending your days doing the high tech version of Yellow Pages Ads. I do enjoy writing this blog, but it's not War and Peace. Even if I live long enough to extend my run to 5000 days, this will still only be a curious blip on the literary horizon. Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Until then, there's laundry to do, dogs to take care of, and if I'm really good, some bacon and sausages for breakfast.

azz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1879

Today was consumed with the minutiae of everyday life. Everywhere I turned there were nagging little details that refused to be resolved. There were medical bills that were sent directly to me instead of my insurance provider. Nobody knew why. There was a glaring imbalance when I tried to reconcile my bank account. Did I forget to record a check? Were there electronic transfers that I didn't remember? The difference between the bank statement and the checkbook weren't large, but what was causing things to add up differently? I still don't know.

I did finish an article today, but even that was harder than I anticipated. Sometimes it can be quite difficult to write 500 words when 50 would suffice. I'm used to writing about nothing, but occasionally I run out of adjectives. How many times can you say exceptional, superlative, exquisite, and iconic? These words are almost mandatory when you are writing about luxury goods however. It can get boring.

The best thing about today was breakfast. Now that she has retired, Janet has started joining me on my Friday morning breakfast outings. She likes the food too, but I don't think this is the high point of her day. Actually she'd rather be working. I don't think retirement suits her. She's already looking for another job. Not me. I'd love to officially retire. Freelancers and small business owners never retire though. I don't have much of a retirement plan, so I just keep working and hope that the stock market  eventually turns around. My holy grail is a booming stock market, $100 a barrel oil, and high interest rates. That's the only way I'll ever make any money.

The weather was weird today. It was in the low thirties when we got up this morning, but by mid-afternoon it was almost Springlike. By the time I took the dogs on their evening walk it was 70 degrees. I'm not complaining. I hope it is 70 degrees again tomorrow. If it stays warm, maybe I'll wash the car. It seems pointless to wash the car when it's cold and wet. Even more pointless when the water hose is frozen.

I'm trying to decide whether cleaning up dog poop in the back yard or cleaning my office is more onerous. Both jobs seem pretty unpleasant at the moment. My office has really gotten out of hand. Every available surface is covered with clutter. Most of the clutter is old mail that has been put in various "I'll deal with this later" stacks. In addition to the mountains of junk mail, healthcare notices, and bills, there are the Anton Bauer camera batteries that won't re-charge anymore, the large printer that still clogs every two days, and a leaking shower pan in the second bathroom. At least there is no water on the roof today.

I need to get back to the gym this weekend. It's been several weeks since I've had a serious workout and that's not good. Even though I'd rather sleep in late, eat a big mid-morning plate of waffles and bacon, and watch movies for the rest of the day, there are things that need to be done. Discipline can be a real bitch sometimes.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1859

It felt like the day before Superbowl Sunday today, but of course it wasn't. The stores were probably just crowded because it was the first weekend after a payday. Everywhere I went, I was greeted with full parking lots and long checkout lines. This congestion is becoming normal and I find it kind of sad. I still prefer the city as it was in 1977 when I initially moved here from Seattle. Truthfully, I'd probably prefer any city as it was in 1977. Technology has advanced a lot in thirty years, but manners and basic civility have actually gone backwards. I don't think many people realize how much more relaxing it was to live in a world without the Internet, smartphones, and a 24-hour news cycle.

A few days ago, I was bundling up in coats and sweaters to cope with sub-freezing temperatures. Today it was 70 degrees outside and I was considering wearing shorts. I don't know how long this unseasonal warmth will last, but people were certainly taking advantage of it today. Joggers and cyclists returned to the park in droves. There were lots of families having picnics while other people were walking their dogs. The park was almost as busy as the grocery store. It was all good though. For the first time in weeks, I didn't have to clean a lot of mud off my boots.

I did have to clean the bedding though. When I let Dot out to pee after I woke up this morning, I discovered that she'd left a little trail of poop pellets that led all the way from the back of the bed to the back door. It wasn't her fault. We've been adding pumpkin to her diet to soften her stools a bit so she doesn't have to strain as much when she squats with her weak back legs. It's difficult to get the recipe just right though. Too little pumpkin and her poop is too hard. Too much pumpkin and it just falls out of her as she's heading for the door to do her business.

I was planning on writing today, but I got sidetracked by weekend chores instead. By the time I'd finished fighting the crowds at the pharmacy, post office, grocery store and bank, I didn't feel like writing anymore. Luckily, you don't need a lot of brainpower to use the washing machine, so I got all the laundry done instead. I suppose I could catch up on writing assignments tomorrow, but I'll probably just wait until Monday. Monday is a holiday. Work holidays are always a good time to catch up on things.

I need to go to the gym tomorrow to spread the soreness equally around my body. Right now, just my right shoulder is sore from all the physical therapy. I like symmetry. Maybe I would feel better if the soreness was spread around equally. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? I don't have a plan yet. The dogs need a bath, but they'd much rather go to the dog park. The weather should be nice for a trip to the dog park, but the last two times we've been, there have been bad encounters with aggressive dogs. I need to take some stuff to the storage warehouse too, but I'd really rather have a long leisurely breakfast with lots of bacon.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1516

Did any of you watch the opening ceremonies at the Olympics last night? I was blown away. After all the negative press that Sochi has been receiving lately, I didn't really know what to expect. I certainly didn't expect ethereal giant islands floating through the sky like dreamy zeppelins, or majestically moving music. Russia should be proud. They put on one hell of a show. I guess it's not surprising that I was impressed by these opening ceremonies. I love a grand spectacle. I'm fond of Cirque du Soleil, Phantom of the Opera, and Wagner's Ring Cycle. It's too bad all five Olympic rings didn't open properly, but this was one small glitch in a monumental success. I'm still wondering if the horse I saw grazing on one of those huge floating islands was real.

It's too bad that Russia and the United States aren't on the same side. I've always thought that Russia and the United States were natural allies, rather than natural enemies. We ought to learn from the success we've had working together in space and pool our efforts to be the biggest and the best. If you threw Germany into the mix, there would be no stopping us. I know some of my warm-and-fuzzy, pot smoking friends wouldn't agree, but a world where Dostoevsky, Porsche, Proton Rockets, Hunter S. Thompson, Leica, Steve Jobs, and Neil Armstrong set the tone would be fine by me. If we'd spent the past twenty years working together, we'd be on Mars by now.

Our roller coaster weather continues. It not only warmed up today, it warmed up dramatically. By mid-afternoon, the temperature was almost 60 degrees. On Monday, another cold front arrives and the temperatures are expected to dip into the twenties again. I've learned to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts. Not surprisingly, the dogs were just as eager to see the sun as I was. When it was time for their evening walk, neither dog wanted to be left behind. Against my better judgement, I decided to try to walk them together again. Everything worked out fine. Dot and Dash were so interested in smelling things, that neither dog tugged or pulled and I was able to walk them both using one hand. We walked for almost an hour and there was no stress on my shoulder at all. I know this won't always work, but I know my dogs. I could tell that they were in one of those lazy, smell the roses moods before we even left the house.

Since our unseasonably warm weather is supposed to last another day, we may be able to make it to the dog park tomorrow. I guess it all depends on whether last week's mud is drying up fast enough for the city to open the gates. I might even try to go back to the gym tomorrow. It's about time. I haven't attempted a workout since I injured my shoulder and I need to start burning some calories again. I'm not going to attempt any upper body exercises, but the place has a ton of treadmills. I'll just stick with the treadmills for a while.

I can't believe it's almost time to start raking leaves again. After decades of raking leaves, I think I might just let the landscape guys do it this year. They'll probably charge me double when they discover how much dog poop is hiding under the Winter blanket of leaves.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day