Day 2583

The good thing about January is that it represents a kind of symbolic reset. You can easily trick yourself into thinking that the slate has been wiped clean and that none of the problems of the previous year will follow you into the next. The bad thing about January is that none of this is true. January is just a block of time that follows December. I'm always reminded that the slate is never wiped clean when all of my December bills arrive in early January. It's easy to spend a lot in December. There are Christmas presents, year-end business purchases, subscription renewals, and some of the biggest heating bills of the year. January is when prices go up too. Health insurance always seems to cost more in January. None of this would matter if I sent out a lot of invoices last month, but business is always slow in December. Basically, January is when the chickens come home to roost.

I might have been overly optimistic about Dot's progress with the Incurin pills. Yesterday I thought that they were already starting to work, but last night she woke up in a puddle of pee around 3 AM. Part of the problem was that I went to bed too early. Usually, I take her outside one last time around 11 PM. Yesterday, we called it a day around 9 PM. This obviously didn't work very well. I guess I'll be staying up late again tonight. Hopefully, after we finish the two week loading dose, the Incurin will help get Dot stable again.

Weekdays are mostly just getting up early and going to bed late with a lot of nothing in between.  It's not that weekends are that exciting, but at least I get to sleep in longer. I try to make my meals last as long as I can to make the day shorter. It's nice when there's a assignment to keep me occupied while the dogs are sleeping in the morning, but that doesn't always happen. I had a small website revision to make this morning, but the job took me less than an hour. I don't exactly meditate while I walk Dot around in the backyard, but I do try to empty my mind. You can't rush Dot and you can't fake being patient. Sometimes controlled breathing exercises seem to help. Other times daydreaming works. Either way, it can be a long day.

At least the weather is getting warmer. Holding up Dot's rear legs and waiting for her to get the urge to pee is a lot harder when it's fifteen degrees outside. Lately, I'm having trouble getting Dot and Dash on the same page. Dot is growing more receptive to the idea of afternoon walks and seems to enjoy them. Dash, on the other hand, sometimes refuses to leave the back yard. He'll go to the back gate, sniff the air, and then turn around and head back to the house. Dash used to love long walks, so I don't know what is going on. There is nothing wrong with him physically. It's too bad that I can't walk the dogs together anymore. Dash likes walking with Dot, but he doesn't understand why she walks so slow.

Dash goes back to the vet tomorrow for a follow up visit to check the swollen lymph nodes in his neck. I think he's better, because I can't feel the swelling anymore. He's just about finished with his antibiotics too. Usually, a vet appointment is all it takes to change a slow, uneventful day into a hectic one. Neither dog travels well in the car, but at least Dash doesn't poop in the back seat while I'm trying to drive. I was kind of bored today, but I don't think I'll have this problem tomorrow. Vet visit days usually wear me out.

I had another opportunity to apply for NASA press credentials recently. I don't even follow up on these opportunities anymore. It's going to be a long time before I view another space launch.

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2582

Today seemed surprisingly normal. There was no need to get up early. The temperature is back above freezing. And Dot woke up on a dry pad for the first time in a long time. It's too early to celebrate, but starting over with the Incurin medication appears to be working. It still felt like Winter on our morning walk, but the sky was clear and the brisk air felt good. I had a feeling that it was going to be a good day.

I've noticed that I'm not eating as much as I used to. I don't think there's anything wrong, but my appetite has certainly diminished. There was a time when I routinely ate three eggs for breakfast. For many years, two eggs seemed plenty. Lately, I've noticed that one egg fills me up. Of course, when I have eggs for breakfast, I usually have toast and sausage or bacon as well, but I eat less of these too. Maybe this is just a natural part of aging. Eating less probably helps keep my weight stable. I have a feeling that I don't burn nearly as many calories as I was when I was walking Dot and Dash six miles a day.

When the dogs grew too old for our marathon walks, it became apparent that I wasn't going to stay fit by watching TV. That's when I started going to the gym. I didn't have high expectations when I went to the gym today. I'd eaten too much over the holidays and skipped my workouts for two weeks. Much to my surprise, I did pretty well. The normally empty gym was almost full today. I guess people haven't given up on their New Year's resolutions yet.

I stopped by the REI store on the way home. I don't need anything, but it's always fun to look around. Camping food certainly has gone upscale. I was amazed to see that you could get freeze dried versions of Chana Masala, Vietnamese Pho, Chicken Piccata with Tagliatelle Pasta, and Chicken Vindaloo. The prices weren't bad. I'm so lazy about cooking now that I was intrigued about getting some of these meals for my regular evening dinners. Cooking freeze dried camping meals is easy. You just throw the stuff in a pot of boiling water, wait twenty minutes and you're done. I'm also fascinated with Goal Zero solar powered generators. These are basically just very expensive storage batteries with a built-in power inverter. It takes forever to recharge them using solar panels, but everyone who has fantasies about living off the grid needs one.

I can vaguely hear the Golden Globe Awards playing on a TV in another room. I don't think anyone is watching, since Janet is asleep. It's hard to believe I used to really be interested in movies. I watched something new almost every week and even took movie reviews seriously. Just not interested anymore. I don't even know who a lot of the younger actors are.

How can a person's interests change from movies and award shows to freeze dried food? It's all part of life, I guess.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2581

It was fifteen degrees when I woke up this morning. Wisely, we decided that there was no need to walk the dogs right away. Dot still had to make her morning race to the back door to pee, but we were back inside twenty seconds later. As soon as the sun came up, the temperature started climbing. When we all finished breakfast and were finally ready to walk, everybody thought that twenty two degrees was a lot nicer than fifteen.

It's amazing what a difference having a good dehumidifier has made in our lives. Normally, during cold Winter days like this, every window in the house would be dripping with condensation. The condensation got so bad in cold weather that it was starting to rot some of the windowsills. After lowering the average humidity in the house by about 20%, the windows are now clear and dry in all types of weather and the closets aren't damp anymore. I wish I'd known about the benefits of having a dehumidifier when we bought the house. So many things were ruined by moisture over the years. I had a beautiful old Vox Mark VI teardrop guitar that was totally destroyed by storing it in a damp closet for over a decade. Live and learn, I guess.

We restarted Dot on the initial loading dose of her Incurin pills this morning. It's too early to see any results yet, but I'll be looking for them. A medical emergency caused her to become incontinent several years ago after being on IV fluids at the cancer center for almost four full days. I don't remember how long it took the Incurin to work the first time, but I do remember how happy we were when she stopped peeing all over the place. Dot's vet cautioned us not to be overly optimistic, but hopefully these synthetic estrogen pills will work their magic again.

I wonder if traffic is ever going to return to normal? When I was running errands today, it seemed like everyone was still doing their Christmas shopping. Roads were crowded and parking lots were full wherever I went. Shouldn't the holiday rush be over by now? Maybe things will get better when schools are back in session. Maybe the traffic will get worse though. I forget how this works. I think Dallas is a much bigger city than I like to imagine it is. Things have changed a lot in thirty years.

Even though walking the dogs in freezing weather burns off a lot of energy, I need to start going back to the gym. I haven't been for several weeks because Christmas and New Year's both fell on a Sunday. I know that visiting the gym once a week isn't much of a commitment to fitness, but it's all I can manage at the moment. I'm not a slacker though. My fitness tracker still says I average about 12,000 steps a day.

Can you be a Luddite and still like gadgets? That's me. This time of year I'm always fascinated by the new things that make their debut at the CES show in Las Vegas. 3-D printed cars and cheap solar power are cool. I'm probably all in on any technology that allows people to live independent, productive lives off the grid. Technology that connects people together makes me nervous. As metaphors go, I like the image of the lone wolf. I don't like thinking of myself as a bee in a beehive. This is the challenge of growing older. How do you remain independent while your body is deteriorating and forcing you to become more dependent on others? My Dad never found the answer to this question. I probably won't either.

Misty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2580

It snowed today. The snowfall was short lived and there were barely enough flakes to cover the ground, but my reaction was still "what new kind of hell is this." Jeez. Dot has trouble standing up on a rubber safety mat, so you can imagine what snow is like. Oddly, she still wanted to walk, so I did my best to guide her down our slick, snow covered street this afternoon. The temperature barely topped twenty degrees all day, so I would have preferred staying inside. Dash seemed to agree. I couldn't get him to go on a walk at all.

The snow caught me by surprise. I knew it was going to be cold, but I wasn't expecting a wet mess. I was glad I was able to go out for breakfast and run a few errands before the weather got bad. Traffic slows to a crawl in Dallas whenever there is snow or ice. I really like my breakfast restaurant. I'm a solitary person and some places make me feel lonely or uneasy. Other places make me irritable. For some reason I feel like I belong in this place, even though I seldom talk to anyone.

Dot's urinary incontinence continues to get worse, so I reached out to several of my veterinarian friends today to find out what to do next. There are several options, but the general consensus is that we should start over with the Incurin she's been taking. The way Incurin works is that you take a loading dose of two tablets a day for two weeks. If you see an improvement, you can reduce the dose to one tablet a day. You continue reducing the dose each week for as long as you can. We did this two years ago and eventually got to the point where Dot only needed to take half a tablet every other week. If starting the process over again works, Dot will probably need to take a larger dose than she did before, but that will be much better than continually leaking on her bedding.

I was surprisingly busy today, which is usually good when I am house bound. In between taking the dogs outside every fifteen minutes, I managed to complete two website projects and upload the revisions to the server. Against my better judgement, I ordered some more ink for my large production printer. For the past year, I have done nothing but print small daily test pages to keep the printer from getting hopelessly clogged. I keep this printer working just in case. This is why I renewed my Avid Media Composer subscription too. I could save a lot of money if I could just accept the fact that my career is basically over.

I thought the stock market might top 20,000 today, so I turned on the business channel to watch the market close. Instead of a big celebration, I saw another mass shooting at an airport instead. The shooter turned out to be a guy who actually walked into an FBI office less than a year ago and told the agents that voices were forcing him to watch ISIS videos. Jeez, that would have been a warning sign to me. Why was this guy still allowed to own a gun or even fly on a plane? If ISIS can recruit crazy people, we're in big trouble. We've got an entire country full of crazy people.

It's still going to be cold tomorrow, but I looked at a long range forecast and it's supposed to be back over seventy degrees by next Tuesday. Texas weather is insane. You can get Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter all in the same week. I'll be happy when it warms up though. Dealing with Dot in the snow is a major problem.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2579

Every day is full of surprises. I caught Dash drinking out of the toilet today and when I yelled at him to stop, it startled him and he backed up and flipped over the water bowl he should have been drinking out of, completely soaking a large rug that helps keep Dot steady as she walks from the bedroom to the hallway. It took me longer to clean up this mess than Dot's frequent peeing incidents.

I did manage to get Dot outside this morning before one of those incidents occurred, but it's so cold outside that the temperature in the house drops five degrees every time I leave the back door open for our quick dash to the back yard.

When it's below freezing outside it takes us almost as long to get ready for our walks as it does to walk. Dash wears a coat under his harness and Dot wears a different kind of coat over her harness. I wear several layers and have warm gloves and socks. Both dogs wear hats. My gloves are kind of pointless though, because I always have to take them off to pick up Dash's poop with a poop bag. A brisk wind made this morning's walk seem even colder. When we finally made it back to the house, I had no desire to go outside again.

I had several website updates to complete today, but these assignments seemed almost incidental. My real job was just making it through the day. Today, Dot was restless for most of the day. I walked her endlessly up and down the Hallway to burn off energy, but she just didn't want to go to sleep. The only way I was able to get anything done was to take a nap with her on the floor and then quietly get up and go back to the computer after I saw that she was asleep.

I think we all had cabin fever today. The dogs kept wanting to go outside and then immediately wanted to come in again when they realized how cold it was. I lost count of how many times we did this. In normal circumstances, I could just ignore the dogs for a while, but when Dot wants to go outside these days, she very often needs to pee. She can't hold it very long anymore. Unfortunately, she can't remember why she's outside very well either. It makes for a long day. This would have been a good day to download a good movie, but I didn't have that much free time. There's no point in watching a movie if you're interrupted every five minutes.

I got another assignment late in the day, but I'm not even going to look at it until tomorrow. I'm just too tired. I did manage to haul this week's trash out to the curb and with any luck I'll be able to go out for breakfast tomorrow. The work will get done, but I've got my priorities.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2578

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2577

I thought today would never end. We certainly didn't get off to a good start. When I took Dot out to the back yard this morning, she left a trail of pee all the way from her bed to the door. It took me most of the day to get all the rugs washed and back on the floor again. I made her vet appointment for 11 AM, thinking that would leave me plenty of time to get ready. We made it, but just barely. I'm still having trouble coming to grips with how slow and tedious life has become.

Dot used to love riding in the car. As recently as six months ago, she would tolerate our trips to the vet. Now, the car seems to terrify her. Even a very short trip is a nightmare. She won't lie down anymore and keeps struggling to get up. This is not good in a moving car. Hopefully, we won't need to make another journey like this for several months. Other than peeing and pooping in the exam room, she did pretty well today. Her blood pressure and heart rate were good and a couple of things I was worried about turned out to be nothing. The vet clipped her nails, which had gotten way too long, and after an hour or so, we were on our way home again.

The weather has gotten really cold. There has been a stiff wind all day, which makes things seem even colder.  It definitely feels like winter and I'm really glad the furnace is working well. I heard on the news that we may even get some snow later in the week. I'm not looking forward to snow at all. Dot has enough trouble standing up on dry ground. Walking her in the snow might prove impossible.

In anticipation of an approaching storm, I took my hiking boots to the shoe repair shop to get some more heel taps. I have the shoe repair guy put these on every few months and they keep falling off. I reapply them with glue when I can, but eventually they just get lost. Even though the shoe taps are a temporary fix, I think they make my boots last twice as long. I seem to put all my weight on the edge of my heel and can wear out a shoe sole in no time. I wish I could buy a shoe with steel heels. Leather and rubber just don't seem to last long with me.

The refrigerator looked pretty empty this morning, so I picked up some Thai food on the way home from the shoe repair shop. Janet and I both buy groceries, but I don't do a very good job of planning ahead. Sometimes there are enough leftovers to last all week, and other times there are none at all. I guess I really don't think about food unless I'm hungry.

I never did find Neptune last night. The sky clouded over again and I don't think my binoculars were powerful enough anyway. Actually, I felt a bit foolish when I realized that the moon was already below the horizon when it passed in front of Neptune. I guess I need to read about these events a little more carefully on Google.

Hopefully, tomorrow will go a bit more smoothly. I feel like I never caught up today. It's weird that a simple event like a vet appointment is enough to throw the entire day off schedule. Dot is finally sleeping peacefully, and I hope to join her soon. It's been a very long day. I never realized that doing nothing could be so tiring.

Chase is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2576

I woke up about 5 AM to an impressive display of thunder and lightning. The wind was blowing fiercely and I was a little worried that a tree might fall on the roof. Luckily, both dogs were still asleep. I closed some doors and hung a few blankets to block Dot's view of the lightning flashes and then went back to bed. We almost survived the storm unscathed, but eventually a loud thunderclap woke Dash and he made sure that Dot was awake too. Sometimes Dot will calm down if I lie down next to her and cover her with a blanket. I wasn't looking forward to sleeping next to Dot, since this is the time of day she often poops in her bed. Comforting Dot seemed to work and in ten minutes we all went back to sleep. When I woke up again, I wasn't sitting in a pile of poop, the sun was out, the storm had passed and everybody was fine.

After a brisk morning walk where I watched the tail end of the storm system move swiftly toward the horizon, I took the Christmas tree down. With no Christmas tree in the living room, it seemed pretty obvious that 2017 was officially here. While I was packing things away, I noticed that there was a small crack in the corner of a large seven foot square picture window. The crack could have occurred yesterday or six months ago. That's how observant I am. Sooner or later I'm going to have to replace this window and it's going to be expensive. I've replaced some of the glass windows before and I've found that glaziers typically insist on replacing large plate glass windows with tempered glass. Tempered glass is great stuff, but it's more than twice as expensive as regular glass. I guess 2017 will be a series of endless bills, just like 2016.

At least Dot and Dash aren't inclined to jump through glass windows. We had a Dalmatian named Petey who jumped through one of our living room windows trying to catch a squirrel on the back porch, He almost bled to death before I could rush him to the vet. That's why I already have quite a few tempered glass windows in the house. The window with the crack probably would have been replaced years ago if it weren't part of a large sliding glass door. I'm hoping I don't have to replace the entire door to fix this window.

I get another chance to find Neptune tonight. The sky is mostly clear and the moon will pass directly in front of the planet around 11 PM. I already looked through binoculars and couldn't find the illusive planet. It's pretty dim. I'll give it another try later this evening. Maybe I can find a place to observe with no streetlights nearby. Finding celestial objects inside the city limits is next to hopeless. The light pollution is pretty severe.

I made an appointment to take Dot to the vet tomorrow. We used to check Dot's vital signs every time we went for our physical therapy session, but Dot is difficult to transport now and we haven't gone downtown for physical therapy for quite a while. Tomorrow's appointment is with Dash's vet, which is much closer to home. In addition to checking her heart and blood pressure, we need to clip her nails. It's amazing how quickly a dog's nails grow if they don't walk very much.

I still haven't made any New Years resolutions. I probably never will. I did wake up firmly resolved to make it through the day. I wasn't going to let a thunderstorm or a little dog poop get in my way. If I can do this every single day, I'll probably make it through 2017 just fine.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2575 - New Year's Day

I had no desire to get up this morning. My body reminded me that I don't drink anymore. Just the small amount of champagne I had last night to celebrate the New Year slowed me down considerably. Dot kept us on schedule though. She always does. When I saw her trying to get up, I instantly jumped out of bed and raced to open the back door. To celebrate our success at peeing outside, we all went back to bed for another hour.

Eventually, we all got up and started our morning routine, but the New Year definitely got off to a slow start. Dot peed on my house slippers yesterday, so I thought I'd throw them in the washing machine. This just revealed how poorly they were constructed. One of the shoes fell apart and appeared to be made of some sort of compressed paper. This was definitely a job for superglue. I didn't have enough superglue left, but found a bottle of Gorilla Glue in the utility room. The stuff doesn't dry very fast, so the jury is still out on this experiment.

I finally found the receipt for the candelabra base LED bulbs that wouldn't fit in my floor lamps and took them back to Home Depot to exchange for some more of the old fashioned halogen bulbs I was trying to avoid. The guy in the electrical department didn't realize that there were several sizes of candelabra screw threads either. Apparently, I was the first person who had purchased this style of LED bulb. Maybe someday I'll be able to abandon incandescent bulbs entirely, but it wasn't going to be today.

I had high hopes of seeing Neptune this evening, but it wasn't meant to be. The faint planets are almost impossible for someone like me to find in the sky, unless they happen to be located very close to something familiar. Tonight there was a conjunction of Neptune and Mars. I could definitely find Mars. Neptune is supposed to be easily visible through a pair of decent binoculars, but you can't see it through clouds. Like the candelabra base LED bulbs, I will have to wait until some other time.

I wish I had some sort of game plan for 2017. If I had a goal, I probably could accomplish quite a bit. I've had long term goals before. I worked really hard to build my business back in the early 1990's. I worked hard to get healthier when I discovered I had Hepatitis C. I need to remember that keeping Dot alive is not really a realistic goal. I can do my best to keep her happy while she's here, but I have little control over how long she's with us on this earth. Just getting from one day to the next is not a very ambitious goal. I know I can do that. What could I realistically achieve that would actually make me happier if I was successful? I'm stumped.

Goals are a lot like the sailboats I see out on the lake. From a distance they look so peaceful and serene. When I'm out on the water, it all looks different and I almost instantly wish I was back on dry land. I have a feeling that I don't understand sailing any better than I understand goals.

Jasper 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 2573

When I was eating breakfast this morning I ended up sitting next to the kitchen and overhead three of the cooks talking about guitars and amps. It seemed apparent that all of them had either been in a band or were still in a band. My ears always perk up when I hear someone talking about guitars. I love guitars. I kind of wanted to join the conversation, but the guys looked very busy and I was a little too far away to be heard anyway. Musicians don't talk about music the same way fans do. They usually talk about gear.

One of the guys was talking about a certain brand of strings meant to be tuned an octave above the standard tuning. Another mentioned that he once had an all-white Marshall Super Lead amp like Randy Rhodes used to use. He then mentioned that his amp was a cheap copy, which made sense since the limited edition Marshall tribute amp was hugely expensive. All three of the guys seemed to like Randy Rhodes, which reminded me that I once did a fashion photo shoot at the home of Ozzy Osbourne's drummer. Maybe this was after Randy Rhodes died, but I'm not really sure. The drummer's girlfriend was a model and they lived in a huge home with almost no furniture and some pet rabbits hopping all over the place. The drummer seemed to spend most of his time playing with radio controlled model cars when he wasn't on tour. This is why I enjoy my Friday breakfasts. I just listen to other people's conversations and lose myself in memories. Now that I know that the cooks are musicians, it kind of explains why the restaurant makes its own mix tapes instead of subscribing to a plastic sounding SiriusXM channel like other places.

I thought today would be a good day to vacuum the house, since basically the floors were covered with dog hair and leaves. It was getting to the point where I couldn't avoid this task any longer. I've become convinced that all the people who think a Dyson vacuum cleaner is wonderful have a maid that does the cleaning. This machine is difficult to maneuver, even more difficult to clean, and has a long heavy cord that is always getting tangled up in the furniture. The dogs were asleep when I started vacuuming, but that didn't last long. For some reason both dogs like to follow me around when I'm vacuuming. I had to stop the vacuum every few minutes and gently move Dot out of the way. Moving around was actually good exercise for her, but it made my job harder. She was always getting stuck in precarious positions and as the house became cleaner, I began to worry that she was going to poop on my freshly cleaned rugs. Eventually, I finished the task I'd been postponing for so long. The Dyson canister was completely full of dirt and the house looked exactly the same as it did before.

It has gotten cold again. This weather is driving me nuts. One day it's freezing outside and the next day it is balmy and warm. I've literally been alternating between using the air conditioner and the furnace. It would be nice to have a little consistency in my life. The weather isn't consistent. My work isn't consistent. And Dot's pooping schedule doesn't even come close to being consistent. I hope my Friday restaurant stays consistent. After my first breakfast restaurant lost it's magic, it took me quite a while to find this new place. I don't want to do that again.

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I probably should. My problem is that I'm not very big on self-improvement. I'm happy with my weight. I certainly don't want to become a kinder, friendlier version of myself. I'd like more money, but that's probably more of a wish than a resolution. I'd like Dot to get healthier, but that's a wish too. Maybe I'll just make a New Year's wish...

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2572

Why have the Russians suddenly become this huge problem? Something seems fishy to me. Let's say that the WikiLeaks information originally did come from the Russians, even though Julian Assange denies this. The WikiLeaks information was all true. Even the Democrats acknowledge that John Podesta's e-mails were authentic. So, are we supposed to believe that our democratic process was compromised by revealing information that was actually true? Heaven forbid. This just seems like a lot of sour grapes. Whatever the Russians are doing, they've been doing it all along. We do the same thing to them. It's called spying. This manufactured crisis didn't happen overnight. Personally, I don't think Obama cares what the Russians are doing. He just wants to create havoc for Donald Trump by pitting hard-line republicans like John McCain against him and making it as difficult as possible for the new administration to conduct foreign policy. This would certainly explain throwing Israel under the bus at the United Nations too. People should be outraged at the way we threw Israel under the bus, but they are too busy being outraged about a bunch of things that don't even matter. Grow up people and quit being such sore losers. Instead of pardoning a bunch of criminals and thugs during his last days in office, Obama should pardon Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. I learned more factual information from these two guys than I have from any politician.

As you can see, I need to get out more and quit watching so much television. I'm dangerously close to talking back to the television like my Dad used to do. Is is a bit distressing that there is almost nothing to unite us anymore. There is no objective truth either. All the recent furor about fake news has made me realize that most of what I've been listening to for the past fifteen years has been fake news. It's all fake news. I don't trust Fox. I don't trust MSNBC. I don't trust any of it. It's sad that we have become so tribal. Worst of all, Facebook has ruined everything. Now that I know what my friends really think, I don't trust them either.

It should come as no surprise that caring for an old, sick dog has become my solution. I don't have time to argue about politics. Each morning I try to gather my wits about me and get ready for a day of cleaning up poop, helping Dot walk, and keeping her from injuring herself. I try to keep Dash engaged too, so he doesn't feel left out. Dot did very well today. Maybe it was the cool temperatures and low humidity. She walked with confidence and for the most part, was able to move her rear legs without my help. Dot did poop on the floor, but I was able to make a dramatic save and quickly place a nearby piece of paper under her before the poop hit a rug. Little things like this make my day.

An old college friend called the other day and wants to have lunch when he is in town next week. This shouldn't be a dilemma, but of course it is. For starters, I don't eat lunch anymore. I don't feel comfortable leaving the house for very long either. I wouldn't mind seeing the guy though. I wonder if I'm starting to use Dot as an excuse when I actually could go somewhere. It's complicated.

I do still eat breakfast, so I'm looking forward to going out for a tasty meal tomorrow morning. My breakfast excursions are perfect. The dogs are sleeping after their morning walk. My favorite place is nearby, so I'm rarely gone much more than an hour. I don't have to talk to anyone, but I like the other customers and feel vaguely connected anyway. It's just what I need.

Petey & Greta are our Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2571

Jeez. I completely forgot about my blogiversary this year. It was two weeks ago and it never even crossed my mind until today. Can you believe I've been doing this since 2009? Years ago, a blog's anniversary date used to be a big deal for many bloggers. Obviously this is not the case anymore. I didn't even remember the date myself.

I'm getting better at managing the dogs by myself, but it sure would be nice if they'd be more consistent. I never know what to expect when I wake up in the morning. Dash is moody. Some days he will race out the back door and other days he won't even get out of bed. It's hard to tell which dog wants their walk first, but it's easier to get Dot started immediately after she's finished her breakfast. Dash is lazy and usually doesn't mind sleeping a little longer. One way or another, everything gets done. I'm just glad that I wasn't very busy this week.

I decided to renew my Pro Tools and Avid Media Composer subscriptions for another year. It would be a miracle if I actually needed either of these applications again, but it's hard to abandon them. Maybe it's just a matter of professional pride. I want to be ready if the call comes. I'm not even sure  the latest version of Media Composer runs on my current computer. Each new edition seems to require faster processors and more memory.

Janet returned to Dallas today. In a perfect world I would have cleaned and straightened the house before she arrived, but it's far from a perfect world. At least things don't look much worse than they did last week. We got two new rugs almost a month ago to replace a large one in the living room that was becoming worn and haven't even found time to exchange them yet. The new rugs are still sitting rolled up by the front door. It's hard to get ahead of the game when Dot is always pooping on something. I wish the house had a big laundry room with giant commercial washers like some of the veterinarians have. I could keep them running full time.

Dot doesn't look like she's almost 17, does she? She tires easily and we stop to rest frequently on our walks, but she definitely hasn't given up yet. In her own mind, or at least what's left of it, she still thinks she's a young dog. Walking Dot is a strange experience. Occasionally I feel like she is a marionette and I'm the puppeteer holding the strings. She enjoys these short walks though. They are the high point of her day.

Only three more days and 2016 will be over. I'm strangely optimistic about 2017. The dogs both survived this year and I became a little more adept at dealing with adversity. I'm ready for a new year. Work slowed down quite a bit, but somehow I'm still able to pay all the bills. Maybe the nice little stock market rally we've been having will continue. Maybe Dot might actually make it to her 17th. birthday. I don't really expect all that much, so I doubt that I'll be disappointed.

Dot & Petey are our Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2570

More pills to keep track of. The good news when I took Dash to the vet today was that the growth in his neck does not appear to be cancerous. There is something going on though. It turns out that the strange mass I discovered yesterday is a swollen lymph node. The cells the vet aspirated all seem normal, so it seems likely that this problem was caused by some sort of infection. Nothing seemed obvious, but the inflammation could be caused by almost anything. Ear infections often cause swollen lymph nodes in people. With dogs, it is often a problem with the gums or teeth. For the next two weeks, we'll be adding clavamox to the lengthy list of pills Dash takes each day. If antibiotics don't clear up the problem, I guess we'll do some more testing.

We're sleeping longer now, since there's no reason to get up early. Until Janet returns, the alarm stays off. My fitness tracker says that I'm getting almost an extra hour of sleep every night. Dot still needs to go outside and pee when she first wakes up unfortunately, but surprisingly, both dogs seem content to go back to bed until the sun comes up after this initial race to the back door. In theory, I should feel a lot more rested, but I don't. I seem to wake up more during the night, and once the dogs finally do decide to get up,  I'm on call for the rest of the day.

I made Dash's vet appointment for 11:30 AM, thinking that this would give me plenty of time to finish our lengthy morning routine. I was wrong. It took so long to get both dogs walked and fed, clean up the poop inside and out, and get the car ready for Dash, that by the time I finished my own breakfast, it was time to go. I was almost late. I didn't even turn on the computer or take a shower. Just taking care of the basic necessities took almost four hours.

The dogs seemed quieter than usual after dinner last night, so I thought I'd try to watch the Dr. Who Christmas Special I'd taped earlier. Everything seemed fine until I got Dot up during the closing credits to take her evening meds. Yuck. Dot was sitting in a big pile of very messy poo. How could this have happened? I'd been sitting right next to Dot throughout the movie and didn't smell a thing. Maybe my nose has become desensitized to the smell of poop. Dot didn't make any attempt to get up either, even though she wasn't asleep. It was a strange and very inconvenient way to end the day. My first thought was how do I get Dot outside without making the situation worse. Her harness, as well as the leash I use to hold up her rear end were covered in poo. Luckily the temperature had warmed up, because I had to use the hose again. Eventually, I got Dot clean, gave the dogs their evening meds, and we all went to bed.

It's so close to the end of the year that I keep thinking I must be forgetting something. Is there an outstanding bill I still need to pay in 2016? Are there software subscriptions or domain names that need to be renewed? There must be something. When my company was busier, I always used to buy new equipment at the end of the year so I could expense it using the Section 179 deduction. There is no need to buy any more gear though. I would just be fooling myself if I thought I was going to use it.

I think I've become a full time dog nanny. I don't think I accomplished a single thing today that wasn't directly related to the welfare of Dot or Dash. It was a busy day too. These are very high maintenance dogs. Maybe there will be a return to sanity tomorrow. Or maybe not.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2569

Sometimes I feel like the bar that's being set for me keeps being raised a little higher every few weeks. Last night I found myself cleaning up Dot's poop in the kitchen at exactly the same time Dash was throwing up in the bedroom. It's a three ring circus around here. Needless to say, I didn't get to watch very much of the Dr. Who Christmas Special. Lord knows what makes Dash throw up, but it happens from time to time. Usually Dash has an upset stomach when he eats something bad he found in the yard. You might ask why I don't find the dead things first and get rid of them. I would, except that the yard is covered by a million Oak and Elm leaves that have fallen from our trees. I won't be able to find anything in the yard until Spring.

I made an appointment to take Dash to the vet, because when I was checking him out after he threw up, I noticed a small mass in his throat. This feels like a fatty lipoma to me, but since Dash has already had thyroid cancer and lost one lobe of his thyroid gland, I don't think I should let this one slide. It is always possible that another tumor is developing in the remaining part of his thyroid. I worry too much, but that is one reason why both dogs are still alive. I may be guilty of ignoring my own health, but I never ignore the dog's health.

Yesterday evening was far too distracting to sit down and watch the Dr. Who Christmas Special, although it was playing on both televisions. I got the general idea that this was a Superman and Lois Lane story wrapped around a typical alien invaders on Christmas Day story. I didn't think I'd like this one, since I'm getting tired of Peter Capaldi, but from what little I saw, the script seemed well written and clever enough to make me want to go back and watch the show again the next time I find some quiet time.

I'll never get used to Texas weather. After our recent cold spell. I really wasn't ready to start using the air conditioner again. It seemed to go from cold and dry to hot and humid almost overnight. I've had the air conditioner on for two days now. Go figure. At least the yard is finally drying out. I didn't need to clean the dog's paws nearly as often today.

Today must have been a holiday for people who have regular jobs. The park seemed really crowded for a weekday. At first I kept thinking "what are all these people doing skipping work," but I finally realized that since Christmas was on a Sunday, that offices were closed on Monday instead. Maybe if you were lucky, you got Friday off too. I haven't had a paid work holiday for decades. Of course there are those who think all my days are holidays, but they would be wrong.

I got an REI sale catalog in the mail and of course the one thing that caught my eye was something I'd never, ever use. It was a GPS satellite tracking device that lets you text people and send emergency messages when you're off the grid and far away from a cell tower. I haven't been off the grid since I was in college and if I had gotten in trouble, I would have been out of luck. Cell phones and GPS trackers weren't even invented yet.

I'm hoping for a quiet, uneventful day tomorrow. One can always hope.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2568 - Christmas

It's been a very quiet Christmas. Dot and Dash were both sleeping soundly when I woke up, so I just stayed in bed until they started to stir. I need all the sleep I can get. I get up several times each night to see if Dot had pooped in her sleep, and then I change the Puppy Training Pads I've strategically placed under her if necessary. This usually works pretty well, unless she wakes up when I'm cleaning her up. It's amazing how soundly a dog can sleep. I wish I got that kind of sleep. I need it. My cold is finally getting better, but when Janet called to wish me a Merry Christmas this afternoon, I immediately started coughing again. I guess it was because I haven't used my voice in several days.

Yesterday Dot was eager to walk as soon as she'd finished her breakfast. Today, she wanted to go right back to bed as soon as I'd taken her outside to pee. Dash wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere either, so I ate my own breakfast. I thought about fixing myself something a bit more festive than my usual fruit smoothie, but I knew that bananas would probably get the dogs moving again. I was right. As soon as the dogs had finished sharing a banana with me while I drank my smoothie, Dash was ready to walk. It was still a grey, dreary day, but it wasn't nearly as foggy as yesterday. I probably would have forgotten it was Christmas if it weren't for two strangers who wished Dash and I a Merry Christmas as we passed them on our morning walk.

Dot was finally ready to go around 10 AM. It takes longer to walk Dot to the end of the street now than it takes to walk Dash a mile and a half. I wonder how long we can keep doing this? Each month Dot gets a little slower, but I can tell that she still enjoys the short walks. I wish the entrance to the park was a little closer. After all these years, Dot still loves to smell things in the park. There are so many animals that call the park home, that I'm sure this area is quite a sensory experience for a dog.

I've got to figure out how to give Dot a good bath. She's starting to smell like pee, despite my best efforts to clean her up. Janet thinks once of those mobile grooming trucks that come to your house might be a good idea, but I'm not sure if these people have much experience dealing with an injured dog. Dot's physical therapy vet could give her a bath, but it's such a long drive. Dot would probably poop in the car and get herself dirty again before we even got home.

I can remember when I sent out tons of Christmas Cards each year. They went to clients, co-workers, friends, and just about anybody I had an address for. It wasn't always the holiday spirit. Like many designers, I thought Christmas cards were a cool way to show people how creative you were. It was fun to print up something new and original every year. Times have certainly changed. I sent out exactly zero cards this year. I didn't receive many either. I still put a tree up, but I'm starting to wonder why.

I'll tape the Dr. Who Christmas Special this evening to watch later. This is Dot's restless time of the day and I've got a feeling that I won't be watching much television. All in all, it's been a calm and relatively peaceful day. It just doesn't feel like Christmas.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2567

Today was certainly different. Janet got up real early and went to the airport before I was fully awake. I vaguely remember saying goodby before I went back to sleep again. When I woke up, I noticed that I had done a terrible job cleaning up Dot when she pooped during the night. I guess I should have turned the light on, but I didn't want to wake anyone. At any rate, I failed to clean her completely and the poop had dried on her fur and blankets. It took a lot of time and a lot of wet rags to clean her properly.

Our new routine still starts by getting Dot outside to pee as soon as I can, but after that it gets more complicated. I give the dogs their morning meds and then feed them their breakfast. Dot gets her walk first and then I fix my own breakfast. Both dogs like to eat slices of banana while I have my morning coffee and drink my smoothie. Dash is lazy, but barking for bananas usually gets him energized enough so that he's ready for his own walk when breakfast is finished. When both dogs are back at the house, I wash the dishes and then go outside and see if I can find where Dash has pooped in the yard. If I don't do this, it is inevitable that I will step in the stuff when I take Dot out late at night. Today was somewhat of a work in progress, but I was amazed at how long everything took without Janet's help. By the time I had finished the complete morning routine and was ready to turn the computer on for the day, it was almost noon.

Once both dogs were sleeping, I took a quick shower and ran to the store, since everything will be closed tomorrow. The first thing on my list was a big box of puppy training pads. We are running through these things at an alarming rate. Now that Dot's incontinence is getting worse, I must use five of six of these things a day. The weather is so wet and humid that pee isn't the only problem. Both dogs track water and mud into the house every time they go out. Cleaning Dot's paws was always a two person job. Since she can't stand up properly, one person has to hold her up while the other cleans the paws. Did I mention the house is pretty dirty.

I hope I can refine my plan a bit in the days to come. I thought I'd try writing the blog in the morning when the dogs are sleeping, but that never happened. The walks took a lot longer than I expected and I needed to go to the store. When Dot is in her evening restless period, she is constantly whining to get up, wandering around aimlessly, and falling over if I'm not nearby to steady her. Consequently, I'm writing the blog one sentence at a time this evening.

Today was one of those foggy days that I love to photograph. Everything looks so ghostly in a thick blanket of fog. Dash had no interest in turning his morning walk into a photo excursion unfortunately. I grabbed a few quick shots with my phone, but that was about it. The sailboats on the lake are often quite beautiful in a thick fog, but I couldn't get near the sailboats with Dash. He just wasn't interested. Sure, I guess I could have gone back on my own later, but there wasn't enough time. There is never enough time these days. It took over an hour just to clean the poop off Dot this morning before we had breakfast. Hopefully, I'll wake up tonight before she has time to make a mess of herself again.

There's enough food to last until Janet gets back. I doubt that I'll have many work assignments between Christmas and New Years either. That leaves plenty of time to see if I can perfect caring for one sick dog and one crazy dog on my own. I still need to give the dogs their evening meds and then try my best to get Dot to pee outside before I put her to bed. If I can't get her to pee around 11 PM, she won't make it through the night.

The Dr. Who Christmas Special is tomorrow. Maybe I'll watch it. Maybe I won't. This is the first year in a long time that I'm not all that interested in Dr. Who.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day