Day 1821

I'm beginning to realize that you're never really finished with cancer. The best treatments today can slow down the disease or hold it in check, but it can always reappear at any time. Dash did great at his evaluation and we received our last two month supply of his Palladia chemo pills. In the beginning, I thought that when we reached the end of this year of chemotherapy, we would be done forever. Not according to the oncologist. He explained to me today that when active treatment is completed, it is more important than ever to keep monitoring and evaluating the patient to make sure that the cancer hasn't returned. I suspect that Dash, and probably Dot as well, will be going to the cancer center every three months for the rest of their lives. This is really no different than it is with people, but I was still hoping that at some point we would officially "beat" the disease.

I felt better this morning, so I didn't bother going to the doctor and getting a Tamiflu prescription. This was probably a mistake. By early afternoon I felt miserable again. I tried gargling with salt water, hot tea, cough drops, and another nap with the dogs, but nothing seemed to work. I still have trouble accepting the fact that colds are just part of life. I never get colds when I'm sitting at the computer with the dogs under my desk. I always get colds whenever I do something with other people in the Winter. I feel like saying "Please don't invite me to join you for anything if you're sick." That would be rude though. I'm sure nobody wants to get the flu. They get it just like I did.

I had some website revisions to make today, but it was a pretty slow day. I used the extra time to get my December invoices in the mail and go to the bank. The check I deposited today certainly didn't last long. A few hours later I spent almost the same amount of money paying for Dash's chemotherapy pills. At least when the Palladia pills are finished, these periodic visits to the cancer center won't be so expensive.

I hope Dash's vet is feeling better when we go for our physical therapy session tomorrow. She was sick last week and I could have caught the flu from her. I really think I caught it from Santa though. Santa was really sick last weekend. We couldn't have canceled the photoshoot though. We book these things months in advance and the show must go on. No matter how I feel this weekend, I will be taking pictures again.

Maybe I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow instead of Friday. I have my first evaluation with my new physical therapist on Friday morning and I hate to rush breakfast just to meet a doctor who is sure to make my shoulder hurt.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1820

The city was enveloped in a thick blanket of fog when I woke up this morning. I love foggy mornings. They're great for taking ghostly pictures of trees and sailboats. I will typically go back to the park with a camera after I walk the dogs on foggy days like this. Not today though. I felt terrible. I don't just think I've come down with a cold. I feel like I have the flu. My joints ache. I have a dry cough. And I feel very tired. Jeez. I was just fine until I was around a lot of people at last weekend's photo sessions.

Instead of photographing the fog, I went up to the Land Rover dealer and got my car. I wanted to get this over with, because I didn't know if I'd feel even worse later in the day. As expected, the service was expensive and I'll never really know if it was even necessary. Better safe than sorry though. One thing I've learned by driving Land Rovers since the early 1990's is that it is never wise to skimp on maintenance.

I didn't really feel like fixing breakfast, so I stopped on the way home and picked up a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast burrito and a sausage kolache. Usually this would have been a delicious way to start the day but this morning I felt nauseous after eating only a few bites. I put my uneaten breakfast in the fridge to eat tomorrow morning and went back to the bedroom to take a nap with the dogs.

When I woke up around 10 AM, I felt quite a bit better.  At least I wasn't nauseous anymore. Once I got the computer turned on, it was a fairly typical Tuesday. There were websites to update, bills to pay, and correspondence that needed to be answered. There haven't been many writing assignments this month, but that's just as well. I've got a pretty full plate this month anyway.

Dash goes back to the cancer center tomorrow for another periodic re-check. He's been doing so well lately that I would be very surprised if the oncologist noticed anything abnormal. I know that Dash will need to continue taking his Palladia chemo pills for another two months, but hopefully we are nearing the end of his treatment. If I were to ask Santa for anything this year, it would be an uneventful 2015 with no medical surprises.

Janet thinks I should go to the doctor tomorrow morning and get some Tamiflu. I'm inclined to let nature take its course. I have so many mandatory meds already that I hate to add even more to the mix. We'll see how I feel in the morning. If I feel even worse than I did today, I think I'll be willing to take just about anything.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1819

Some days are more discouraging than others. I woke up with a sore throat this morning. I knew I was going to catch a cold yesterday, when several of the volunteers for our photo shoot turned up with bad colds. If I'm around someone who has a cold, I almost always catch it. Ironically, I almost never get sick, because I'm not around other people very much. Children are the worst. If I'm even in the same room with a child, I catch a cold. I wish this weren't the case, but it is. I've lost my immunity to people.

When I took my car in for service this morning they informed me that this was going to be a "major" service. Major almost always means expensive. They replace all the fluids, clean the fuel injectors, install new brake pads, rotate the tires, adjust the suspension, and all sorts of other preventative stuff. When all is said and done, you get back a car that looks and feels exactly like the one you drove up in. I'm never able to tell any difference whatsoever after a major service. I always do everything they say however, because I don't want to be calling a tow truck with a sick dog in the back of the car.

Even though it looks like my service visit will be expensive, I'm sure the cost will seem trivial compared to the cost of my upcoming dental work. The specialty dentist I went to today examined me and said he didn't feel comfortable extracting my wisdom teeth because of the unusually long roots. Now, I have to go see another, even more advanced oral surgeon who is an MD as well as a dental surgeon. Dentists always assign teeth a number. Both of the dentists I've seen so far tell me that when tooth number 32 is extracted, they suspect that number 31 will need to be pulled as well. Since the molar next to the wisdom tooth has a cavity below the gum line, they are not sure that a root canal could save the tooth. They aren't even sure if the tooth is still alive. The general consensus so far is that after I have the wisdom tooth removed, I will then have to replace the adjacent molar with a dental implant.

Getting an implant done properly is a long and very expensive process. The damaged tooth is removed and sterile bone power is placed in the jaw where it fuses into new bone in four to six months. When this new bone is solid and stable, a titanium post is implanted in the jaw. The bone slowly grows around this post, attaching it firmly to the jawbone. This process takes another four to six months. When the post has fused with your jaw, a crown is attached and you're done. The whole procedure takes up to a year to complete and involves three different dentists. I'm not looking forward to this at all.

So, there you have it. The stock market had another terrible day and I'm beginning to think some of my assumptions about China and the energy markets were wrong. Dental insurance is more or less worthless if you need anything serious done. After investigating my options I don't think I'll even bother with it. I'm still busy, but my remaining clients keep cutting their budgets. At a time where it would be nice to have more money, I am faced with having less. I shouldn't whine though. I need to remember that even though this was a bad day, it has basically been a pretty good year. Both dogs survived cancer this year and I no longer have Hepatitis C. Sometime in the future I'll look back and be glad I fixed my teeth.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1818

Today's Santa Paws photo shoot was in Lewisville, so I had to get up a little earlier than usual to make the 40 mile drive to our location. The crowds were a little lighter than yesterday, but I still ended up with almost 800 images on my memory cards. There were no mishaps today at all. The dogs were friendly and all the equipment worked. I even managed to get the MicroSync transmitter that broke yesterday working again.

It's surprising how many people come to these events year after year. One photo session made me sad today. A dog I have known almost since he was a pup is finally approaching the end of his life. His family wanted some special portraits to remember him by, since they didn't think he would make it another year. I have taken the final portraits of many Dalmatians over the years and I always wish they could live a little longer. Dogs live just long enough to work their way into your heart and then they are gone. Maybe Jasper can make it one more year though. I certainly hope so.

We had Pizza for lunch today. These photo events are the only time I ever eat lunch. If I ate lunch every day, I'm sure I'd be twenty pounds heavier. I don't see how people do it. Even if it weren't for all the extra calories, three meals a day just takes up too much time. I like a leisurely breakfast, but that's about it for me. I certainly don't spend much time on dinner. That being said, the pizza was delicious. I figure I deserve to indulge on days like this. The work is tiring and I'm surprisingly hungry. Maybe if I worked hard every day, I could eat like a horse. I suspect that if I did manual labor for a living, I'd be dead by now though. My bones and joints are just barely holding together as it is.

Dot was surprisingly energetic on our evening walk. I guess this shouldn't seem that surprising since she and Dash just slept all day while we were gone. Janet thinks I worry too much, but I still hate to leave the dogs for long periods of time. When I photograph all these old dogs, it really hits home just how short their lives are. I read an article recently saying that since dogs have been domesticated for centuries, they age in a very similar way that we do. They tend to get Alzheimer's, dementia, and cancer at almost the same rate as humans. The point of the article was that since old dogs live longer when they eat the best possible food, take lots of naps, and continue to stay active with long walks, we could do ourselves a big favor by living our own lives the same way. I ought to do pretty well, since just about all I do is shop for healthy food, take lots of naps, and take long daily walks with Dot and Dash.

Tomorrow I take my car to the dealer for a service check and go see the oral surgeon who is going to remove my wisdom teeth for an initial consultation. My car and my teeth have both been remarkably reliable. I really have had no problems at all with this new car, which is certainly a change of pace from my old Defender. The Defender was always in the shop, but I loved it anyway. Whenever I do see a dentist, they always tell me I have great teeth. They also tell me that if I saw a dentist a little more frequently, I might not have any problems at all. The decay in my wisdom tooth is totally my fault. Dentists told me ten years ago that I should have the tooth removed because it was coming in at an angle and was prone to cavities. They were right!

I know I take better care of the dogs, my cars, and my cameras than I take care of myself, but I really thought my teeth could make it another twenty years on their own.  I guess, like everything else in life, they're going to need a little help.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1817

One down, three to go. The general consensus was that our first Santa Paws photo event of the year was the best we've ever had. It was certainly the busiest we've ever had. I was exhausted. Usually there are no-shows where you can grab a sandwich or go to the bathroom, but not today. No only did everyone who made an appointment show up with their dogs, there were walk-ins as well. Santa and I were very busy.

When I was putting together the set before we got started this morning, I started to plug one of the strobe lights into the Norman power pack and suddenly realized that I had left both power packs at home. How could I have forgotten something so basic? Without the power packs for the strobes, you've got nothing. At any rate, we had to go all the way back to the house to get the power packs. Everything worked out fine because our first customer was late and so was the volunteer bringing Santa's Sleigh.

I'm probably getting too old for this. I lost count of the number of dogs we photographed today, but I do know there are almost 1000 images on the memory cards. By the time we wrapped things up, I could barely move. My back hurt. My knees hurt. And I had trouble focusing my eyes. The equipment held up pretty well. One of the radio strobe triggers broke, but luckily I had a backup with me. If I have time tonight, I need to figure out whether it is the transmitter or the receiver causing the problem. I hope I can fix this, because these little gizmos are fairly expensive.

Dot has certainly come a long way. A few months ago, we wouldn't have even considered leaving her at home for this length of time. She did fine though. She was sleeping peacefully when we returned from today's photoshoot and wasn't even anxious to go out and pee. We have been gradually reducing the amount of Incurin she takes and now she's down to only one half tablet once every four days. If her incontinence remains under control, we may be able to stop the medication entirely in a month or two.

Tomorrow we repeat everything we did today at a different location. I need to make myself a checklist to make sure I don't forget something important again. I hope whoever is doing the scheduling blocks out a little time for lunch tomorrow. Today's pace was a little overwhelming.

Emma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1816

Breakfast and a haircut. That pretty well sums up today's activities. You wouldn't think I could use up an entire day with so little on my plate, but I'm getting pretty good at it. Add in two exceedingly slow dogs walks and a trip to the grocery store and the day was gone.

Walking the dogs seems to take twice as long as it used to, because Dot has slowed down considerably. Sometimes I have to take baby steps so she can keep up with Dash and I. Dash would like to go faster, but he's pretty understanding. Both dogs enjoy ambling along, stopping to smell each and every bush, so that's what we do. I can tell that our morning walk is the most enjoyable part of Dot's day, so I do my best to make it as easy as possible to continue this decade long tradition as long as she's able.

You wouldn't think getting a haircut would take that long, but it does during Christmas season. Just finding a parking place at the mall is a nightmare. If today's crowds are any indication, retailers should have a pretty good December. The stores were packed and it's still pretty early. I don't even start thinking about Christmas this early. It was probably a good idea that I got a haircut now. Next week, the stores will be even busier and I won't have any extra time anyway.

Tomorrow we begin the first of our December Santa Paws Christmas pet picture events. These events benefit the Dalmatian Rescue group that Janet and I work with and have helped quite a few dogs find homes over the years. I'm charging batteries and gathering up equipment now, so I'll be ready to pack the car first thing in the morning. I used to do a lot of location photography for my business, but these annual events are the only thing left where I'll still pack up a bunch of heavy equipment and set up a full studio on location. If this wasn't for a really good cause, I wouldn't even attempt something this tiring. Pet photos are a lot more difficult than taking portraits of people, since dogs typically don't stay still for very long. I'm constantly moving around trying to capture the moment and by the end of the day my knees are killing me.

I listened to an interview with Ian McLagan on NPR while I was driving home from the mall this afternoon. Ian played keyboards for The Faces on some of their biggest hits like Maggie May and You Wear It Well. Later he played keyboard with the Rolling Stones for quite a few years. Ian died of a stroke a few days ago, which was probably why PBS was replaying the decade old interview. It seems like rock icons about my age are dropping like flies these days. It's the end of an era and is kind of sobering as well. We really don't have as much time on this earth as we think we do.

I'm going to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and then we've got to turn around and do the same thing all over again on Sunday. Monday should be easier. I'll just be sitting in a dentist's chair on Monday.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1815

I wonder how much more forgetful I'm going to become? When I was driving Dot to her physical therapy session today, I noticed my skin turning a beet red color as I felt an intense burning sensation. It only took me a few seconds to realize that I'd inadvertently taken my evening Niacin pill with my breakfast meds. You're always supposed to take Niacin just before you go to bed, because one of the common side effects of this drug is an intense flushing sensation caused by the dilatation of small capillaries under the skin. When the blood rushes to these small capillaries, you feel like you're on fire. It's best if you're asleep when this happens. Luckily, Niacin flushing only lasts a couple of hours, so I was almost back to normal by the time Dot and I returned home.

Dot did really well in the underwater treadmill today. Everyone agrees that it is important for her to continue the treadmill therapy, but some days are better than others. Dot tires easily now and if we walk too far in the morning, or if she overexerts herself, we have to take it easy during her therapy session. Today was a good day and I hope there are many more to come.

This time of year quickly becomes so busy that I often wonder how I'm ever going to get everything finished. I looked at my calendar today and noticed that I have something major planned for every single day from now through the 23rd of December. Most of the things I have to do aren't even related to Christmas, but they will keep me very busy nevertheless. Dash has another cancer re-check coming up. I have several dental appointments, plus an initial evaluation by my new physical therapist. The weekends are filled with Santa Paws pet photo events and I have an appointment to get a haircut as well. I'm really starting to slow down. The thought of something major on my to-do list every single day seems almost overwhelming. When I was younger, I would have tried to schedule all these things on the same day.

I might have mixed up my meds this morning, but I did remember to take out the trash this evening. The dogs got both their walks, even though there was a light mist in the air for most of the day. Dot and Dash don't seem to mind overcast, damp days like today. It's the thunder and lightning they really hate. I didn't get around to investigating dental insurance like I had planned, but I'd better not postpone this too long. It would be just my luck to have the insurance go into effect after all the dental work was completed and not get any benefit from the policy.

I'm glad it's Friday tomorrow. This has been a long week. I definitely need to go to the grocery store, since the refrigerator is almost empty. I'm going to get a haircut in the afternoon, but the most important thing is going out for breakfast in the morning. I've been eating cold Swedish Muesli cereal all week and it's definitely time for something delicious.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1814

Well, the news wasn't good at the dentist. I have extensive decay in one of my lower wisdom teeth and the tooth will have to be removed by an oral surgeon. This particular wisdom tooth has always been a problem because it came in at an angle and is pressing against my other teeth. The cavity on the wisdom tooth has spread to the adjacent molar and the dentist won't be able to tell whether this tooth can be saved until the wisdom tooth is removed. Evidently the location of the decay in the molar might make it very difficult to repair. I need to see an Endodontist as well, to see if telltale signs of a root canal problem in another tooth that showed up on today's x-rays needs further attention. So, that's three different teeth and three different dentists. I'm not looking forward to this.

On the plus side of things, the dentist I went to today was fantastic. Janet, who has had every dental problem imaginable, recommended him and as far as I'm concerned, he lived up to his "super-dentist" reputation. This guy, who mostly does complex Prosthodontic dentistry, was extremely knowledgeable and had an array of high-tech equipment that I didn't even know existed. Have you ever had a panoramic dental x-ray? You stick your entire head into a large machine which takes a 360 degree digital picture of your mouth. Digital x-rays are kind of amazing, since you see them on screen as they are being taken. You can blow them up quite large and see all the tiny little blood vessels that keep the teeth alive. I've never seen my teeth in such detail.

On my way home from the dentist, a message appeared on the instrument panel of my car that said "Service Required." I'd never seen this message before, so I stopped by the Land Rover dealer to see what it meant. It turned out that there was nothing wrong. The message was just a reminder that it was time for my next scheduled service. Evidently these messages are pre-programmed into the car's computer and appear when the car decides it's time to hand over some more money to the dealer. I went ahead and scheduled a service appointment while I was at the dealer. I've had Land Rovers for long enough to have learned that you ignore maintenance on these cars at your own peril. I'd much rather have a little sign on the dash remind me now, than have to call a tow truck later. At any rate, with three dental visits and a car repair, it looks like it's going to be an expensive month.

It was much warmer today, but it was also much cloudier. It looked like it was going to rain all day, which probably means the rain will just be delayed until it's time to take Dot for her physical therapy session tomorrow. Maybe it will just rain while we sleep tonight. That would make life a little easier.

I'll investigate dental insurance tomorrow, but I'm not expecting much. If you need anything complex done, dental insurance only pays a small fraction of the total cost. Every little bit helps though, so I'll see what I can find out. I got approved for physical therapy on my shoulder today as well. That will be one more doctor I need to add to my contact list. Oh, to be 25 again. I'm sure Dot thinks the same thing whenever she sees a squirrel. We're both doing the best we can to age gracefully, but as far as we're concerned, getting old sucks.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1813

If anything happened today, I certainly wasn't aware of it. It's been so chilly lately that I think my brain has gone into hibernation. I haven't even bothered to cook breakfast for the past few days and have been eating a bowl of Swedish Muesli that Janet picked up at the Ikea store instead. Even though the stuff has the consistency of sawdust and is basically uncooked oatmeal, it is surprisingly good when mixed with fruit. I suspect that I'll revert to my old habits as soon as the bag runs out. I'm definitely not driving all the way up to the Ikea store for a bag of cold cereal.

Whenever the weather turns cold, the air in our neighborhood is thick with the smell of wood smoke. So many people are burning a fire in their largely unused fireplaces that it is often hard to breathe. I've never understood the fascination with fireplaces. They're drafty, dirty, and unless the chimney is properly screened, they provide an open invitation for critters to come into your house. I can smell all types of wood burning when we take our morning walks. Since this is a city, people buy "designer logs" at the supermarket. Pinyon Pine is popular. So is Mesquite. All these exotic smells just make the dogs sneeze. I find it ironic that the people who like to burn a fire are typically the same ones who hate coal fired power plants and automobile exhausts. They certainly don't mind turning logs into charcoal and soot though. Fireplaces are just a more romantic kind of air pollution.

I had to fill out a bunch of new patient paperwork in preparation for my dental appointment tomorrow. I don't understand why there isn't a central repository for this information where doctors, dentists, surgeons, and other medical folk could just download your medical history whenever they needed it. I've seen a lot of doctors and I'm convinced that I've filled out this same information at least a hundred times. Sometime you have to fill out the information multiple times for the same doctor, because they want to update your file every year, or more commonly because they lost the paperwork you filled out the last time you saw them. I've gotten so tired of filling in the list of medications I take, that I've pre-printed a list of all my meds and just staple it to the patient information form. Some parts of today's form were embarrassing. Especially the part that asked "When was the last time you saw the dentist?" I left the entire Dental Insurance page of the form blank because I don't have any dental insurance. Maybe I'll get some later. It's always easy to get dental insurance because it doesn't really cover that much.

Work was slow today. Or maybe work was normal and the entire day was slow. Cold Winter days can be disorienting. I'm hoping that my brain returns to normal tomorrow. I'm also hoping that my teeth turn out to be normal as well. New x-rays and a cleaning is OK. A root canal, not so much.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1812

I felt like I spent most of the day just trying to stay warm. The temperature was in the 20's this morning with 20 mile per hour winds. This made for a ferocious wind chill factor. We always walk, no matter what the weather, so I put on several layers of warm clothes, bundled the dogs in their warmest dog coats, and off we went. We didn't stay outside as long as we usually do, but it certainly felt like a long walk. It goes without saying that we were all glad to return to a pleasantly warm house.

After breakfast, I went to the storage warehouse and got the props and equipment we'll need for this weekend's Santa Paws photo shoot. The various light stands, poles, backdrops, and equipment seems to get heavier each year I do this. One of these days, I'm going to just start taking these pictures with my phone. I think I'm good for at least one more year however, so I'll continue to keep hauling the heavy equipment and lights from location to location.

I got a call from the physical therapist my doctor recommended asking me a few questions about my shoulder. It's looks like I'm approved for physical therapy, but I'll have to wait a few more days to find out for sure. If everything works out as expected, I'll be able to have supervised physical therapy at the same gym I go to every week. This will be convenient and I might even learn whether my current workout is doing more harm than good. I don't really expect my shoulder pain to magically go away, but it would be nice to see a little improvement. All I really want to do is avoid rotator cuff surgery.

Dash is getting low on his supply of chemotherapy pills again, so I made an appointment at the cancer center for his next follow-up exam. I'm almost certain that the oncologist will want to renew Dash's Palladia prescription for an additional two months, but we're finally getting near the end of this ordeal. After two more months, Dash will have had a full year of chemo treatment and that is the maximum amount of time the cancer center recommends. The hair on Dash's neck never grew back after his radiation treatments earlier this year, but other than that, he is completely back to normal. It will be good to put this all behind us.

I updated some websites today and will probably update a few more tomorrow. I kept busy to stay warm. My success with the Ikea furniture yesterday emboldened me to try and fix a broken drawer on my Dad's old workbench. I couldn't find the small screws and wooden dowels I really needed, but luckily there's always Superglue. I wish I'd remembered to bring home the ceramic heater when I was getting my photo equipment earlier today. If it's this cold again tomorrow, the little heater will keep my warm feet while I work.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1811

I had forgotten how much I hate to assemble Ikea furniture. This stuff is extremely well designed, using extremely shoddy materials. I think the cabinet I built for Janet today was made from compressed cardboard boxes. You learn quickly when assembling Ikea products to follow the instructions exactly. If you put even a single screw in the wrong hole, you can quickly ruin your entire project. Don't lose any of the tiny parts either. Ikea never gives you any extra screws, bolts, or fasteners.

I am always surprised when I open one of those big, flat Ikea boxes and discover that there are twice as many parts as I was expecting. I admire Ikea's desire to make a single instruction manual that the entire world can use, but sometimes a few words might be helpful. Today's thirty page instruction book made it seem like I was assembling a nuclear submarine. I took my time and counted all the parts before I started. By taking things slow and never trying to skip ahead in the instruction book, I was eventually able to assemble the entire multi-drawer cabinet without swearing or putting an important component together upside down. Personally, I would rather buy my furniture already assembled at Design Within Reach, but you certainly can't beat Ikea's prices.

When I finished building furniture, I went to the gym. The TED Talk on the car radio today was about pushing yourself to extremes. A young man described descending 8,000 feet under the earth to explore the world's deepest cave. Then a woman described how she decided to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean after she became bored with her desk job. My own body felt like it had been pushed to extremes just by sitting cross legged on the brick floor for three hours while building my little Ikea cabinet. I think I needed a proper workout just to get my creaky knee joints working again. I used to be fairly handy with tools, but carpal tunnel in my wrists, a dislocated shoulder, and worn out knees can certainly cramp your style.

It's almost time to put the Christmas tree up again. It's unbelievable how quickly time goes by these days. Wasn't it just Christmas a few months ago? Now it's time to do the Santa Paws pet photos again. I hope I'm up to the challenge. At least there aren't many Christmas presents to buy anymore. Even with a small Christmas list, I still manage to postpone my shopping till the last possible minute. There are so many things to do this month. I need to remember to get my photo equipment out of the storage warehouse tomorrow. I was going to do this today, but I spent too much time building the Ikea furniture.

Next week is my dreaded trip to the dentist. I'm hoping that something good happens next week as well.

Belle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1810

I'm having trouble remembering what day it is. Did we wash the dogs today or yesterday? Both days certainly started out the same. We've been blessed with wonderful weather this holiday weekend. We take a long early walk with the dogs, followed by a hearty breakfast of ham and eggs. It's usually almost noon by the time we finish the breakfast dishes, so it seems appropriate to spend the rest of the day doing something useful.

Today, I thought I'd fix the broken storage drawer on the pedestal under the washing machine in the utility room. The front-loader washing machine sits on this raised pedestal to make it easier to load and unload. There is a handy drawer in this pedestal where you can store your detergent, plastic trash bags, or in our case, tons of Tupperware containers that we never use anymore. For some reason, this drawer won't close anymore and I always have to find something heavy to prop in front of it when I do laundry.

You'd think the drawer would just slide out, so I could see if there was anything jammed underneath. Nope! I had to spend twenty minutes on Google, looking for instructions on how to disassemble the thing. I empty all the crap out of the big metal drawer, find the right tools, take the drawer apart, and try to find the problem. Other than a thick layer of dust on the brick floor under the washer, everything looked fine.

I cleaned the drawer and its contents. I scrubbed the dirty floor underneath. Then I put everything back together again. After all this work, the drawer still slid forward. I had accomplished nothing. The problem was that the pedestal wasn't level anymore. Over the years, the vibrations from too many heavy towel loads had caused the leveling screws to shift and tilt the entire pedestal slightly downhill. The technicians who installed the washer and dryer had leveled the pedestal very precisely before they placed the very heavy front-loader on top of it. In order to level things again, I would have to remove the washing machine, which was impossible. This is why you should be very careful before you attempt to make a simple repair. Simple things can turn difficult very quickly.

After wasting hours messing around with the washing machine, I barely had time to go to the grocery store and pharmacy before it was time to walk the dogs again. We did have a very nice walk as the sun set behind us and then returned home to enjoy a nice dinner. I suppose that I could have made better use of this beautiful day, but at least I won't wonder why that drawer isn't working anymore. Janet bought something at Ikea today, so I know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1809

We decided to wash the dogs this morning, but it didn't exactly work out as planned. When we arrived at our regular dog washing place, we discovered that it was closed for the holidays. We eventually managed to find an alternate facility that was open, but they were so slow that seemed to take forever to walk away with two clean Dalmatians. At least this chore is over with for a while. Dot and Dash managed to stay clean for the rest of the day and all is well.

I forgot to take the garbage out to the street last night, but when I rushed out early this morning to try and beat the approaching trash truck, I noticed that everyone else on the street had forgotten it was trash day as well. My trash container was the only one on the street. This only goes to prove that eating too much affects everyone the same way. Your mind goes blank and all you want to do is watch television.

Forgetting the trash wasn't our only forgetful moment today. Janet left her jacket at the dog washing place, so I had to go back and retrieve it later in the day. While I was out, I got gas, since I forgot to fill the tank on Wednesday. We even forgot to go to the grocery store and ended up getting take-out dinners at Chili's instead. I think this is perfectly normal for the day after Thanksgiving. I'm sure I'll get back to remembering things tomorrow.

I thought about going to the gym today, but decided to finish my writing assignments instead. While I was writing, Janet decided to clean or wash everything the dogs slept on, which ended being just about everything we own. Now, in addition to clean dogs, we have clean throw pillows, clean sheets, a clean bedspread, and tons of clean dog blankets. This won't last long. As soon as it rains, everything will be dirty again.

Since it was Black Friday, I was expecting lots of traffic when we were running our errands today. Surprisingly, the roads seemed kind of empty. We didn't venture within five miles of a Walmart, Target, or Shopping Mall however. I would just as soon go to Chernobyl as a Walmart on a day like this. When you can't tell the difference between TV coverage of a Black Friday sale and unrest in the Middle East, it's probably better to just stay away.

It seems like Sunday night, but we've still got two more vacation days left. I probably should follow Janet's example and do some cleaning myself. I'm sure that house cleaning would burn up just as much energy as going to the gym, but at least going to the gym is over in an hour or so. House cleaning is like opening a Pandora's Box. Once you start, it seems impossible to finish.

Spots is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1808 - Thanksgiving

It was such a nice day. We slept in late and then took the dogs on a leisurely walk along the lake. Entire families were walking their dogs this morning. Maybe this has become a Thanksgiving ritual for some. It was certainly a nice day for walking your dog. The sky was blue and the air was crisp and cool. Dot and Dash loved it. While the dogs took their afternoon nap, we went down to the Warwick Hotel for our Thanksgiving dinner. The service was great and the food was delicious. There was a table filled with fresh shrimp, crab legs, and sushi. Another table was filled with over a dozen delicious salads. We could have made a meal out of the appetizers, but we needed to save room for prime rib, candied yams, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce and all the other stables of a Thanksgiving feast. As Thanksgiving buffets go, this was one of the better ones. Everyone has lots of meat on Thanksgiving, but the Warwick made a point of making sure that the vegetables and side dishes that went with your meal were exceptionally fresh and creative. They didn't rush you either. Our leisurely meal lasted until almost 3 PM.

When we got home, we took the dogs to their favorite dog park. Dot and Dash hadn't been to the dog park since they had cancer. That was almost a year ago. I think the last time we went to the dog park was last January, just before Dash's thyroid surgery. I had forgotten how much Dash loves to be off-leash and play with other dogs. You could tell he really missed the park and was delighted to be back. He raced around to show us how fast he was and quickly found another dog to play with. Dot was more sedate, but she had fun as well, quietly smelling things and following us around. There were many reasons we waited so long. While Dash was having radiation and chemo treatments, he was quite weak and we were afraid some of the other dogs would sense the weakness and attack him. Dot is just too frail to roughhouse with other dogs anymore, but we knew the park wouldn't be crowded since it was Thanksgiving and there was also a Cowboys game in the afternoon. All in all, it was a perfect day to return to the dog park. Dot and Dash were certainly happy, especially when they discovered we had saved them some turkey from our Thanksgiving meal.

Janet doesn't have to work tomorrow, so I suspect that we'll have another leisurely day with the dogs. From the number of e-mails I received this morning, I suspect that some of my workaholic clients were actually working today. At least they weren't pressuring me with deadlines. I do have work to do, but I'd like to savor the holiday a bit longer. There's plenty of time for work, but it isn't everyday that you get to enjoy seeing your once shy dog rediscover how much fun it is to play with other dogs.

Janet and I talked a bit about retirement during dinner. She'll be retiring soon and is looking forward to it. I can't decide whether I retired twenty years ago, or will keep working forever. My life is pretty amorphous. I quit actively looking for new business quite a while ago, but continue to work with clients who have become friends over the years. It's not a bad life. When Janet retires, I imagine that we'll spend more days like today; eating out a lot and playing with dogs. More days like today is OK.

Scooter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1807

It did seem a bit like Friday today. I took the dogs on a leisurely walk and then went out for breakfast. I was surprised that the restaurant was more crowded on a Wednesday than it is on Friday. This seemed a bit counter-intuitive. There were also different cashiers and servers than there are on Friday. I guess this makes sense. Everyone is on flextime now. I know very few people who work a traditional 40 hour week anymore. Breakfast was good though. I'm sure it was just a prelude to all the overeating I'll be doing for the next two days.

When I took Dot for her physical therapy session later in the day, everyone was in a holiday mood. Some of the nurses had family coming in for the holidays and others were planning to visit friends and family out of town. I wished them luck on their journey. The traffic was so heavy when I drove to the vet this afternoon that it appeared as if everyone in Dallas was already on the road.

I'm happy that the days of Thanksgiving road trips are behind me. To say my family was dysfunctional would be an understatement. This was always a stressful holiday back in the day. It is so much nicer now that Janet and I just go out to a nice restaurant and have a relaxing meal. If the weather is warm enough, we usually take the dogs to a dog park when we return. There is no cooking, no cleanup, and no arguments. There will be no Black Friday shopping either. Even though I like a bargain as much as the next guy, I don't understand that tradition at all.

I didn't think there would be much work today, but I did get a few assignments. The website revisions were minor and I finished them quickly. None of the writing assignments were even due until after Thanksgiving, so I didn't even bother to start them. Hey, if I get bored on Friday, there will be something to do.

When I was driving home from the vet this afternoon, I listened to an interview with Ray Davis of the Kinks on the radio. They were releasing a special five CD boxed set to mark the band's 50th anniversary. Jeez, it's been 50 years? You Really Got Me was the first song I ever remember playing in public. I played the song in high school. I played it in college. I think I've played it in every band I've even been in. It doesn't seem like 50 years though. It seems like yesterday. It also seems like all the eventful things in my life happened in 1964. Well, not really. We landed on the moon in 1969. That 50 year anniversary will be coming up pretty soon as well.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I love a huge buffet in a grand hotel. Janet and I started this tradition about fifteen years ago and never looked back. This is so much better than arguing about politics, religion, and the state of the world with family. I wish we could bring the dogs. Dot and Dash would love a huge buffet in a hotel.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1806

I finally got around to paying my property taxes today. Hopefully, this is the last large bill I'll need to pay this year. I'm tired of all these bills. Property taxes are particularly irritating, since I feel I'm just funding more government waste. I wouldn't mind paying taxes if I got to choose what programs my tax dollars would support. I don't particularly think I should be expected to pay for schools, since I've never had children. I'm a big fan of space exploration though, and would love to be able to use my tax payments to help restore a few of NASA's canceled projects. You may have your own priorities, but I think everybody should get to choose what they think is important. If you think we need to increase defense spending, your money goes there. If you want to rebuild roads and bridges, direct your tax dollars to fund infrastructure projects. If you want to expand public assistance programs, well that's your choice.

I didn't get around to uploading any stock photos today, because I got busy with other things. The dog blankets were filthy, so I washed them all. A client I am seeing tomorrow had a website request, so I tried my best to get everything done ahead of our meeting. I think I made all the requested changes, but we'll see how I did tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly the day goes by just doing the same routine things over and over again. Walking the dogs takes a couple of hours. Fixing breakfast and dinner takes a couple of hours. The writing and website assignments usually take at least four hours. Pretty soon the day is gone. Writing the blog everyday takes quite a while too. This is probably why it takes me so long to work anything new into the schedule. Once you've established your priorities, spontaneity becomes somewhat of a luxury.

The possum has returned. I saw it this afternoon, hanging out with the neighbor's cat. I think it's sad that the cat is so lonely that it's trying to make friends with a possum. The cat has tried to befriend Dot and Dash several times but the dogs always want to chase it. All the other feral cats in the neighborhood chase the cat away too. I don't know why so many people think they need an outdoor cat. This cat would definitely prefer to be indoors. Hopefully it won't get eaten by the coyotes. This seems to be the fate of many cats that do their mouse hunting in the park.

Since it's Thanksgiving on Thursday, I rescheduled Dot's physical therapy and acupuncture sessions for tomorrow. Maybe I ought to go out for breakfast tomorrow as well. So many people seem to be taking the entire week off that I have a feeling that Wednesday is going to seem a lot like Friday.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1805

OK. I made an appointment to see a dentist today. This probably doesn't seem like a big deal to most of you, but it is somewhat of a breakthrough for me. The last time I sat in a dentist's chair was just before my previous dentist retired. That had to be at least five years ago. Needless to say, I'm not fond of going to the dentist. I'm not fond of having a toothache either, so I suppose my appointment is the lesser of two evils.

My tooth didn't hurt as much today as it did yesterday, but this temporary reprieve wasn't enough to make me chicken out. Beneath all my phobias is a fairly rational person. I knew it was time to deal with this. Hopefully, I won't need a root canal though. Just the thought of a root canal is enough to send shivers down my spine.

It was surprisingly busy for the start of a holiday week. I worked on some writing jobs in the morning and updated a few websites in the afternoon. There was a trip to the vet to pick up some prescriptions for Dash and some exploratory visits to dental insurance websites. Oops. I should have thought about dental insurance several months ago. It's a little late now, at least for this initial visit.

The weather is turning colder again, but I'm prepared now. I've got my winter socks, my winter gloves, a warm down jacket and my new high-tech leggings. I hesitate to say "bring it on" though, since I really prefer warmer weather. Since the dogs do seem to enjoy the brisk mornings, I'll just bundle up and try to get a few good sunrise pictures while Dot and Dash are smelling a nearby bush.

I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. If I finish my regular work early, I might try to get serious about uploading a bunch of new pictures to Shutterstock. There are certainly photographers out there who have figured out how to make a decent living from selling stock photography. I need to figure out how to crack this nut.

I find myself surprisingly tempted by the onslaught of Black Friday and Cyber Monday ads. Such amazing bargains on absolutely useless stuff. It's weird. At least statistically, I should be entering the de-cluttering phase of my life and I still have this desire to acquire things. I wonder why? I really have all I need. Maybe I'm just bored.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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