Day 3239 - Election Day

I decided that it was time to face reality and hire a mover. Even if I continue to move something every day, I just don't think I can get everything out of the old warehouse on my own by the middle of the month. It took me fifteen years to fill this place up. I guess it was unrealistic to think I could empty it out in a matter of weeks. Maybe if I extended my lease until December I could finish the job, but my body would be a wreck. It just isn't worth it. I've only moved about one third of the contents so far and I already feel like a cripple.

The movers arrive Friday. Hopefully, I'll never have to do this again. Jeez. What am I thinking? Of course I'll have to do this again someday. I still don't know what to do with this stuff and I know it's never coming back to the house. Hey, at least I'm getting rid of quite a few things. That's a start.

I made reservations for Thanksgiving Dinner today. As usual, I should have done this earlier. This particular Thanksgiving Brunch has become very popular and the restaurant is filling up fast. I couldn't get a table until 1:30 PM. I guess that's OK. We usually eat later on holidays anyway.

I've got to get up early tomorrow to walk Dash before going to my doctor's appointment. I won't be able to eat breakfast because they want to do fasting blood work again. I hope the phlebotomist can find a vein this time. I hate it when the vein rolls and they keep poking you. That's what happened last time. My veins used to be super easy to find. Now they seem to be hiding.

Dash made it outside both times last night. It's always a good night when Dash doesn't poop in the house. When I go to bed, I never know how things are going to turn out. Sometimes he makes it to the back door with time to spare and other times he can't even make it out of bed. I wish Dash would learn to sleep on the floor. We have nice dog beds, but he still prefers sleeping in the bed with us. I don't know how long this can continue because he's having increasing difficulty getting up at night. If I don't wake up first to help him off the bed, he frequently stumbles and falls.

Even though I have movers coming, I still went over to the storage warehouse and moved a few more things this afternoon. The more I'm able to move ahead of time, the less I'll have to pay. Today I moved a bunch of pictures that were left over from several gallery shows I had over a decade ago. I hadn't looked at these pictures for a while and I'll have to admit they were pretty good. It took a while to secure my first gallery show, but after only two shows I totally lost interest in the gallery world. Competition for gallery space was intense and you had to be an active member of the local artist's community to find opportunities to show your work. Like most other things in life, the art world turned out to be all about who you know. It seemed way too much like business to me.

I'll be asleep long before the election results are finally decided. I suspect that nobody will be happy. We are such a divided country that you can't really expect the results to bring any kind of unity. When I wake up tomorrow morning I expect that half the country will still be mad. At the moment, I just don't know which half.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3238

I try to move a little bit every day. Sometimes it seems like a lost cause. I've lost count of the number of carloads I've moved and yet the storage warehouse still seems full. Today Janet and I worked together to clean out our respective units. Her goal is loftier than mine. Instead of moving to a new warehouse, she wants to quit storing things entirely. I found more stuff she could take to the charity shop while I continued to move items to my new warehouse.

I decided that my days as a hobby watch repairman are over. I still had a lot of boxes of old watch parts that I'd bought on eBay years ago. I gathered everything together and took it to a watch repairman in the neighborhood who used to fix things for me. "Do you want this stuff," I asked. I knew he would, because this guy can't get rid of anything. Maybe he'll find something useful. I felt good. This certainly beat throwing everything in a dumpster.

I've bought a lot of useless stuff on eBay over the years, but have absolutely no interest in selling things on eBay. I don't want to deal with buyers. Buyers are nothing buy trouble. That's why I like auction houses so much. They insulate you from the buyer. Actually, they won't even tell you who the buyer is. The auction houses have been very nice to me. It's too bad they aren't interested in junk. I think I've run out of things that an auction house would be interested in.

Dash pooped all over the place today. He couldn't seem to make it outside at all. For the first time he made a mess on the bedroom carpet. The bricks are easy to clean. Even bedding can be thrown in the laundry. Carpet is much more difficult. You always hope for firm, hard poop if it lands on the carpet. No such luck this morning. I think I finally got everything clean, but it took a while. Dash must have felt bad about making the mess, because he actually helped me clean it up. He's got a good nose for poop. If he's still smelling an area, I know I haven't cleaned it well enough. It took a few tries but everything is fine now. Dash approves.

The warehouse move is really taking a toll on my body. In addition to lower back pain and a bad shoulder, I now have a charlie horse in my right leg. All these aches and pains have come from trying to lift something that was too heavy. Today I moved a large commercial SEAL dry mount press. These things are very heavy.  It's amazing how well equipped I was back in the day. Not every photographer has a dry mount press this big. These days, I bet a lot of young photographers don't even know what a dry mount press is.

When I was walking Dash this evening I kept wishing he would slow down. You already know how slow Dash is. That's how bad my charlie horse was. Maybe my leg will feel better in the morning. I certainly hope so. I'm glad I voted early. The last thing I feel like doing is standing in a long line tomorrow.

Coach is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3237

It's easy to tell when I've been a little too ambitious. Every joint in my body aches. Today I thought I'd combine a workout at the gym with a workout at the storage warehouse. One of these activities would have been enough.

I certainly don't get much exercise on my morning walks with Dash these days. He's become incredibly slow. He still seems to enjoy his walks and I let him take all the time he needs. He stops about every ten feet to smell things. If the smell is particularly interesting, he sometimes forgets about his rear legs and falls over. I'm beginning to think his vision is failing and he's smelling his way along the path. Today he bumped into a clearly visible fence. He might have just had his head down smelling things, or maybe the glare of the rising sun obscured his vision. It's not like Dash to collide with a fence. I hope he's not going blind.

I did really well on the basketball count today. There is no rhyme or reason to this. I did use a different ball today because I couldn't find my favorite one. Maybe the new ball explains things. I bet I would have done terribly if I'd gone to the gym after the storage warehouse. Moving wore me out today.

My goal this afternoon was to disassemble some of the metal industrial shelving, move it to the new warehouse and then put it back together again. In theory, this should have been easy, but it wasn't. The shelves were heavy and once I took them apart, they were very difficult to assemble again. A couple of the metal parts had become bent and the holes for the bolts didn't line up anymore. Apparently these shelves weren't meant to be assembled more than once. I didn't have the right tools with me either. Instead of a hammer and a heavy pair of pliers, I settled for a rock I found in the parking lot. Eventually, I got the first shelf reassembled at the new warehouse. It's not very pretty, but it will work. I hope I never have to move these things a third time.

There are still five more of these large industrial shelves. I don't know if I have the energy to take them all apart. I think it's time to get another estimate from a mover. With a large truck and a couple of muscular guys you could move all of these shelves intact, without disassembling anything. When I finish this more it may be time to curtail strenuous activity like this. I'm too old for this shit. It's time to stop moving heavy boxes, climbing on the roof, and pushing a heavy lawn mower up a hill.

It was a strenuous day, but a shower, a nice dinner, and a slow evening walk with Dash helped me unwind. I'm happy with the morning part of today's time change, put not the evening part. It gets dark way too early. I walked Dash before dinner tonight while there was still daylight. This will be our new routine until Spring. There are still quite a few clocks to reset. Some of them probably aren't worth the trouble. In four months the time will be correct again.

Ginger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3236

Nothing unusual happened today. That's always a good thing. Dash slept well and there were no further seizures. He got me up once during the night, but we were all able to get back to sleep. No rain either. I really can't complain.

Dash was very slow on his walk this morning, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong. He was just slow. I was slow too. There was no reason to hurry. After breakfast, I ran my usual Saturday errands. When I went to the vet to pick up meds for Dash, a family was surrendering their dog. It was sad. The kids wanted to keep the dog, but the Mom didn't. I got the impression that a divorce was involved. Dogs get caught in the middle of a lot of bad situations. I hope this one does better next time.

There were no strawberries at the grocery store this week. This wasn't good. Strawberries are a major ingredient in my morning smoothies. Situations like these are the only times I send text messages. I asked Janet to see if she could find some.

I'm determined to go to the storage warehouse at least once a day. If I don't, I'll never be able to complete my move before the middle of the month when my lease runs out. I was planning to see how long it would take me to disassemble one of the metal shelves today, but when I was actually standing in front of the shelf, it seemed like way too much effort. I just moved a few more things instead. In today's load was an old Singer sewing machine that I repaired at considerable expense instead of throwing it away the last time it broke. Janet has a much better machine now, but I still like this simple one. There was an old lie detector machine that I picked up at an estate sale once. The machine actually worked ten or fifteen years ago. Lord knows if it works anymore. I lost the instructions years ago. There were some die cast model cars that should have gone with the model trains, but the train guy didn't know what to do with them. He said his customers only bought trains. There was a down sleeping bag that I actually sewed myself from a Frostline Kit back in college. Amazingly, the bag is still in good shape. I didn't attempt to lift anything heavy today. I'm not ready for heavy yet.

Janet brought home take out from one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. We don't cook much anymore. Cooking these days is mostly just heating things up in the microwave. I don't think anybody cooks as much as they used to. Fixing food has become more of a hobby than a necessity. Nobody becomes a foodie out of necessity. I have vague, somewhat fuzzy memories of my grandmother's kitchen. She was always baking something. I just go to Panera Bread.

I bought Dash a new pair of boots yesterday and all it took was a single walk to tear a hole in the nylon top. I think these boots are designed for healthy dogs who don't turn their paws under with every step they take. I went back to the hardware store to buy some more Shoe Goo. I wasn't expecting to be repairing these boots for a while, but Dash is full of surprises.

I tried to balance my checkbook this afternoon, but I couldn't get the figures to match the bank statement. Every once in a while this happens. Did I forget something last week or six months ago? Who knows. After a while I just gave up and made an entry that just said "reconcile with bank"

Time to go to the gym again. Wish there was something I could do to strengthen my shoulders and knees. This storage warehouse move is killing me.

Wolfgang is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3235

Dash gave me another scare last night. He woke me up when I felt his whole body shaking next to me. The shivering continued for quite a while and he seemed in some sort of distress. His front legs felt stiff and his heart was beating rapidly. Was this another vestibular seizure or the beginning of heart failure? He's had these episodes before and we've learned that taking him to the emergency room doesn't help at all. Trying to get him into the car during a seizure often makes things worse. I stayed next to him and kept him calm until we both fell asleep again. This morning Dash was fine. It's weird that these episodes always happen at night. I don't think Dash has ever had a vestibular seizure during the day.

The rain appears to be over for a while. It was a cool, clear Fall morning and I walked Dash before going out for breakfast. I really ought to just stay home and drink my regular smoothie on Fridays. It's becoming harder and harder to find anything in a restaurant that interests me. The buttermilk pancakes I had this morning were good, but I ate way too much and felt sluggish for the rest of the day.

Janet helped me with the storage warehouse move today. She filled her car with items for the charity shop while I filled mine with things that had to go to the new storage unit. It's pretty obvious that I don't need any of this stuff. I wonder why it's still so hard to jettison these things? It's easier to turn loose of stuff when Janet is with me. She reminds me how ridiculous it is to save things I haven't used in decades. There's still a long way to go, but I think about a third of the warehouse has been moved.

I need to remember to ask my doctor about my recurring heartburn when I have my exam next week. I thought I had the problem under control, but now it's back again. We has shrimp with pesto last night and it gave me heartburn. Tonight chicken tikka masala gave me heartburn. This shouldn't be happening. I understand why pizza might cause problems, but the pesto sauce was pretty mild. I'd hate to have to start taking proton-pump inhibitors again. They work well to control acid reflux, but they are risky to take indefinitely. Side effects from long-term use include osteoporosis and increased risk of heart attacks.

I'll probably go back to the storage warehouse tomorrow. I wish I still had my Defender. The car was indestructible and was perfect for moving things. I have to worry a lot more about scratches and dents when I'm moving things in my current car. The boxy Defender seemed to hold a lot more too. I'll still probably call a mover at some point, but the more things I can move myself, the lower the final bill will be.

Dash has had a good day. I really hope that he sleeps well tonight. There was a short period last night when I though he might die. The specialist at the cancer center has warned us that if the blood clot shifts and goes to the brain or lungs, he could go at almost any time. It's a good thing that Dash doesn't know what 's wrong with him. He's still a happy camper. I'm pretty sure he'd enjoy spending another year with us.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3234

When I wake up tired, the entire day seems to move in slow motion. It seemed to take forever to make the bed this morning. Dash's morning walk took even longer. By the time I finished breakfast and did the dishes, it was almost noon. This is what happens when Dash keeps me up at night.

I can never predict when Dash will poop in the house. It happens fairly often though. There's no alternative to cleaning things up immediately. First of all there's the smell. If you waited until morning to clean up the mess, someone would inevitably step in it on their way to the bathroom. We never had these problems when Dot became incontinent. I'd just place a disposable puppy training pad under her butt before we went to sleep and she usually hit the target. I even got to the point where I could remove the soiled pad and replace it with a clean one without waking her up. Dash is more of a challenge.

I wrote a letter to my sister after breakfast so I could take it to the post office on my way to the storage warehouse. I was basically just trying to avoid going to the storage warehouse too soon. It was a nice day today, so I had no excuses. My plan now is to move the things I know I need to keep first and then see what's left. I moved some computer equipment today that is still recent enough that I could put it back into service if necessary. I actually like these older computers better than my current setup, but the software companies are holding me hostage. I can't run current versions of most of my essential software on older machines.

I only transferred one car load of stuff today. I'll never get everything moved at this rate, but like I said, I was tired. When I picked up meds for Dash today I learned that he needs a special blood test before this prescription can be renewed again. I'll add this test to the list. It seems like we're already testing him for just about everything.

I got the schedule for Dalmatian Rescue Christmas Santa Paws pictures today. Usually I worry about whether my equipment will still work. Now I'm more concerned about whether I still work. As I've been moving things at the storage warehouse it's pretty obvious that my aging body isn't up to the challenge anymore. My knees hurt. My back hurts. And my wrists hurt. How did this happen? I felt in tip top shape as recently as five years ago.

I've taken the trash out to the curb and the last load of wash is in the dryer. I still can't decide where to go for breakfast tomorrow though. Right now, sleeping in late and eating a stale donut sounds pretty good.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3233 - Halloween

The only thing scary about today was the weather. The rain has returned with a vengeance. For some reason the rain usually starts about 9 AM, so I was able to give Dash a morning walk. After that, we were both housebound for the rest of the day. The roof leak hasn't returned yet, but I'm sure it will. The rain was certainly heavy enough.

Needless to say, I curtailed my storage warehouse moving activities today. There is no point in moving wet stuff. I need a rest anyway. When I woke up this morning, my back hurt even more than it did yesterday. A friend gave me the name of another mover, so maybe I can still get someone to do this for me at a reasonable price.

There is no consistency to Dash's sleeping habits anymore. He woke me up every hour on the hour last night. Half the time he was just twirling around on the bed to reposition himself, but occasionally I had to race to the back door to let him out. Our timing was good last night. Dash made it outside to poop every time. Amazingly, I was actually able to get back to sleep after these outings. I must have been really tired.

Sales from the model train collection are slowing down. I hope there are still collectors out there who want a nice rare train for Christmas. I've liquidated less than 20% of the collection so far. I've got a long way to go. At least the first series of art auctions at Phillips went well. My next auction starts in December.

It's weird that I spent the first half of my life accumulating things and will probably spend the rest of it getting rid of stuff. Possessions don't have the same meaning that they used to. Increasingly, everything just seems like clutter. My Dad had family to take care of his clutter when he died. I won't have that option. I keep thinking that I'd better get things organized now while I've still got my wits about me.

I got a reminder for an early morning doctor's appointment next week. I was confused at first, since I never make early appointments. Then I remembered that the doctor probably needed fasting blood work. I used to do these fasting blood draws all the time, but it's been a while. I think I'm healthier now.

I may be wrong, but Dash appears healthier too. He doesn't cough nearly as much at night and he is definitely eating better. Incontinence and weak rear legs seems to be his main problems now. We both have physical exams in November. I hope there are no surprises for either of us.

The rain should be stopping before midnight. Actually, it's supposed to be a clear day tomorrow. We'll see what happens. If the weather is nice, I'll continue moving things from one storage unit to another. I'm only going to move light things though. I learned my lesson.

Roxy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3232

I think I made a mistake. I tried moving some really heavy things today and strained my back. I also scratched the paint on my car when I was loading something I shouldn't have been lifting. I'm not sure I can complete this move myself. I called a moving company that had good Yelp reviews but just got a phone message that referred me to their website. I filled out the form, but when I received their automated response, it was clear that the company didn't understand that this was just a storage warehouse that was being moved. The estimate seemed way too high. There is no furniture and no packing involved. I'll see if I can talk with someone in person tomorrow.

After making two trips to the new warehouse, I made a third trip to a charity shop with some stuff that wasn't worth saving. When I realized that my back was starting to hurt, I decided to call it a day. The old warehouse is still pretty full and nothing I'm saving is all that special. This is not going to be pleasant. At least I didn't have to pay for an entire month at the old warehouse. They let me rent for fifteen days in November. That should give me enough time to complete the move. Of course rain could easily screw thing up. It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so I doubt that I'll be able to do very much. I should probably rest anyway. There's no sense in making my back any worse than it already is.

Dash didn't need to go outside last night so I got more sleep than usual. He did get me up at 5 AM to go poop, but it was almost daylight anyway. Making it until 5 AM is a win for me. There are so many nights when I hardly get any sleep at all. At least Dash is eating well. He hasn't thrown up in quite a while and seems to enjoy the food we cook for him. He eats better than we do now, but at least he's eating.

I think I'm going to have to buy Dash another pair of protective boots. All three pairs that we currently have in rotation need repairs. Dash is really hard on his shoes. He doesn't lift his rear legs as he walks and ends up dragging his feet. The boots keep him from injuring himself, but they wear out quickly. Maybe I'll go buy him another pair of boots tomorrow. This would certainly be easier than lifting more heavy boxes.

It's hard to believe that it's almost November. Where has this year gone? In a few days we'll have to deal with another time chance. I think we should just forget about Daylight Saving Time. It's such a nuisance to arbitrarily switch the clocks back and forth. Dogs never understand the time chance and wonder why their feeding schedule has changed. Usually we give Dash his evening walk after he's had his dinner. Now, I'll need to walk him before dinner to avoid walking in total darkness. This should be fun. Dash hates making changes even more than I do.

I'll be glad when the election is over. I'm sick of Beto and Ted Cruz making robocalls to my house  and sending text messages every single day. Do these guys really think this helps. It's irritating. Whoever thought robocalls were a good way to influence people has got to be a moron. Probably the only thing that Democrats and Republicans agree on is that they both hate telemarketers.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3231

I started moving stuff from one storage warehouse to another today. Everything seems so much heavier now. I guess muscle atrophy is real. This stuff certainly didn't seem this heavy when I was younger. I made three trips today. At this rate, it will take at least thirty more to get everything transferred. I had thought about renting a truck so I'd only have to make a few trips, but now I'm wondering if there is any point to this. The little loads I was able to fit in my car today tired me out. I don't think I'd have the energy to fill up a truck by myself.

Yesterday, my plan was to get everything moved before November 1 so I wouldn't have to pay another month's  rent on the old warehouse. This seems unrealistic now. It takes a long time to sort through things. Some stuff goes to the new warehouse. Some stuff gets donated to charity shops. And other stuff gets thrown away. I'm going to have to get rid of some things. My new storage unit is actually smaller than my old one. I don't know why I thought they were the same size. Now that I'm starting to fill the new unit up, it is obviously not quite as deep as the old one. No wonder I got such a good deal on the price. I actually rented a smaller unit.

I couldn't get back to sleep again after taking Dash out to poop last night. I can usually get back to sleep fairly easily when he just pees and goes back to bed. When I have to clean up poop though, I'm fully awake. There's no point in going back to bed when you're wide awake. I made some coffee, unloaded the dishwasher and did a load of laundry while I watched middle of the night television. By the time Janet and Dash got up, I felt like I'd been up all day.

Dash's right rear leg has become noticeably weaker. He does OK if he keeps moving, but if he stands in one place too long the leg starts to give way and he has a tendency to fall. I had to hold him up while he ate his dinner today. We had a good walk this morning, but I couldn't get him to leave the house this evening. It's frustrating when Dash won't move after I've spent fifteen minutes getting his leg brace and boots on. He's got a mind of his own though. Tonight he was determined to wait until Janet came home. I tried to tell him that she was working late and he wouldn't get a walk at all if he kept waiting by the front door. As usual, Dash didn't listen.

I'm going to move as much as I can tomorrow. There is rain in the forecast for Wednesday, so tomorrow might be the only good day I've got before November 1. It will be almost impossible to empty the old warehouse space in a single day, so I guess I'll just rent the unit for another month. If I move a little bit every day, it should be no problem to transfer everything in a month.

I wonder if I'll ever get organized? Once I get the storage warehouse taken care of, there's the even bigger problem of cleaning out my office. How did things get this way? I started my adult life with a zen like clarity. For years I was Mr. Minimal.  Everything was always organized and perfectly in place. Now, I've turned into my Dad. I guess we all turn into our parents eventually.

Dakota is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3230

Sometimes when I'm at the gym I think about the nature of memory. How many memories are actually stored away in our brains? I never think about the gym unless I'm actually there, but while I'm doing my exercises I have very distinct memories of doing these routines many times before. The sound the basketball makes when it hits the wood floor is very familiar. So is the sound the rotating chain makes on the hand bicycle. I can tell you almost to the second how long it will take to walk a mile on the treadmill and what my heart rate will be after ten minutes on the rowing machine. I'm almost to the point where I could tell you what song will play next on the sound system. All these inconsequential memories are stored away somewhere in my brain's filing system. All it takes to retrieve them is doing the same activity again.

I can't tell you what I have in the storage warehouse because many years ago I put something in a box and took it to the warehouse so I could forget about it. For the most part I never thought about the box again. The storage warehouse is filled with things I just didn't want to deal with anymore. I have no idea what is inside many of the boxes until I open them up again. When I look at the contents, the memories come rushing back. Some of the boxes should have remained closed. Like I said, memory is a curious thing.

You'd think I could sink every free throw on the basketball court because I've done this activity for so many years. Evidently thinking something and convincing your arms and legs to do what they're told are two different things. I still have good days and bad days on the basketball court, even though I have a very clear memory of what it feels like to sink a good shot.

Our beautiful Fall weather continues. It's so much easier to clean up poop or do irritating household chores on a really nice day. I wonder how people survive in really terrible climates? A month of rainy days is enough to seriously throw me off my game. Since it was a nice day today, I got a lot done. Dash go a nice early walk. The house got vacuumed. The laundry is done. And my checkbook is balanced.

I even picked out a storage unit and made an appointment to sign the rental agreement at the new storage warehouse. I can start moving in as early as tomorrow. Although several people have advised me to hire a mover, I think I'll just do things myself. Movers would just move all the crap from the old storage space to the new one. The whole point of this exercise is to get rid of things. Since I don't really know what I have, I will need to open and inspect all the boxes. This is not a pleasant task to say the least, but I think I'll feel better when it's over.

I think that Dash is just as influenced by the weather as I am. He seemed to have a good day as well today. Even though he is very weak and stumbles around a lot, he still seems happy. I think he knows that Janet and I are here to take care of him. I often wonder who's going to be around when I become incontinent and start stumbling around the house?

Abi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3229

I didn't even try to go back to sleep after cleaning up the mess Dash made in the bed last night. There's nothing like cleaning up poop in the middle of the night to wake you up in a hurry. I got dressed and went outside to look at the stars for a while. Orion was rising in the East and there was a gibbous moon overhead. It's peaceful at 3 AM, but there was still too much light pollution to see very much. I returned to the house, brewed some coffee and watched TV while doing several loads of wash. Needless to say, I was tired for the rest of the day.

The weather remains beautiful. Dash, who went back to sleep immediately after his accident in the bed, woke up rested and was ready for a walk. This time I was the one who was walking slow. We took our time and returned just in time for breakfast. I'll probably never get to sleep tonight because I followed my middle of the night coffee with even more coffee.

On the way to the grocery store I stopped by the new storage warehouse and made arrangements for a move in early November. I'm going to have to rent a truck because it will take forever to move everything in the car. It still seems like a good idea to hire someone to help me with the move, but I'm not sure who to call. I have a feeling that I'll just end up moving everything myself.

After making sure that Dash ate his lunch and had gone outside to pee, I returned to the old storage warehouse to continue my efforts to thin things out before the big move. I found some things that I could donate to an animal charity and filled the car again. I continue to be amazed that my efforts are having such a small impact. The warehouse still looks pretty full.

When I dropped my items off, the organization was having a volunteer appreciation party. Technically I'm still a volunteer, even though I haven't done much lately. I hung around for a while and helped folks clean up. I wish I'd come a little earlier, since the food truck was just leaving as I arrived. The volunteers were eating some delicious looking sliders.

Today would have been a good day to wash the car or remove the water from the roof. I was too tired to do either. Hey, at least I got something done. Thirty more days like this and the warehouse will be empty. There are a bunch of old typewriters in the warehouse, so I looked online to see if people collected these things. Yep. Tom Hanks is an avid collector of old manual typewriters and apparently so are a lot of other people. There are several websites for collectors where people buy and sell these machines. Now there is one more category of things I can consign and try to get rid of.

I don't know what to do about Dash's incontinence. He can't wear diapers and he never stays in one place at night. Often his efforts to get up and move to a new position are what causes him to poop in the first place. Dot's incontinence was a piece of cake compared to Dash. Dot would stay in one place all night, so it was much easier to protect the house.

I shouldn't have any problems getting to sleep tonight. I'm exhausted. None of this makes any difference to Dash. Lord know what he has planned for me tonight.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3228

There wasn't a cloud in the sky this morning. Dash did get me up during the night, but I managed to get back to sleep. When I woke up this morning I felt surprisingly rested. Dash was eager to walk. He was slow, but I wasn't in a hurry. It was a beautiful Fall day.

After walking Dash, I decided to go back to the hotel for breakfast. I kind of wanted the pleasant mood to continue. The place is quiet and the food is excellent. It's too bad they don't have a larger breakfast menu, but it probably doesn't matter. Most of their guests are just passing through. Dining among travelers makes me feel like I'm on a trip myself. The house is such a mess that living in a hotel doesn't sound half bad. I could learn to live with restaurant meals and having someone to make your bed every day.

On my way home I picked up something for dinner. I couldn't find anything interesting at Central Market, so I went across the street to Tom Thumb and got some more of those flash frozen meals from Cadence Kitchen. These things are delicious. I tried Shrimp and Grits this time. It's only a matter of time before I try everything.

My pleasant day came to an abrupt end when I went to the storage warehouse. When you pay by the year they have always given me an extra month free. The manager informed me that they discontinued this program. Then she mentioned that they would be raising my rent next year as well. It's looks like I'll be moving to a different facility.  I can get a much better deal a few miles away, but it is so much trouble to move everything. Guess what I'll be doing in November.

I need to decide what to throw away, what to donate to charity, and what to keep. Today I continued throwing away empty boxes. This was easy. When I found a box with nothing inside, I tossed it in the car. If I'd never saved these boxes in the first place I could have rented a smaller unit. The only boxes I'm glad I saved were the boxes for the model trains. Almost all collectibles are more valuable if you have the original box. Boxes for old and obsolete electronic gear don't improve the value of anything. Nobody wants a fifteen year old computer whether it's in the box or not.

I'll probably have to go up on the roof this weekend. Now that it's cooler, the water doesn't evaporate. It will stay up there all Winter if I don't remove it. At least we're looking at some nice weather ahead. Maybe clearing away all the standing water will be worth the effort.

I hope Dash realizes that we can sleep in late tomorrow. If I have to get up during the middle of the night, the least he can do is let me sleep in late on Saturday morning.

Pearl is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3227

Things are starting to improve. The roof has quit leaking, although for a while last night it gave me a scare. While it was raining hard, I noticed that a stream of water was flowing down one of the brick walls. This was new. The wet wall could either be a brand new leak, or water flowing sideways through the ceiling from the original leak. This water was a lot harder to contain, since I couldn't simply put a bucket under it. The leak was slow, so I just put some bath towels on the floor. By the time I got up in the middle of the night to take Dash out to poop, both leaks had stopped.

It was damp and overcast when we took our morning walk, but the sky kept getting lighter as the day progressed. By dinner time, I was seeing blue sky. I really hope the rainy season is over soon. The roof is only one of my problems. The humidity is very high and the dehumidifier is working overtime to keep the house dry. The back yard is muddy and it takes forever to clean Dash up every time he goes outside to pee. I've given up on keeping the car clean.

I still haven't decided what to do about the storage warehouse, but I thought I'd try to get a head start on cleaning the place out before my rent comes due. I filled the car with empty boxes and miscellaneous junk and was a bit dismayed that the storage unit didn't look any different when I was finished. This is going to take a while. I don't know why I saved so many empty boxes. I guess my original plan was to repack everything in its original box when we moved to an idyllic retirement home in the mountains. It's pretty obvious now that this isn't going to happen. The last thing you want to do when you get older is start over with a brand new set of doctors. Janet and I aren't wild about living in a large city, but we both like our doctors.

I'll be glad when Daylight Savings Time ends next month. It's completely dark when I typically walk Dash in the morning and lately I've been delaying getting started for about an hour. This ends up pushing the entire day back by about an hour. I used to walk our first Dalmatian in the dark during the Winter, but times have changed. There weren't packs of coyotes living in the park back then and the city felt much safer. I feel better waiting until the sun comes up these days.

I'll probably go back to the storage warehouse tomorrow. It would be tempting to just throw away a lot of these boxes, but I can't remember what is in them anymore. It would have been helpful if I'd labeled everything years ago. I'm going to have to open up every box just in case there's something important inside. I don't look forward to any of this, but it's got to be done.

Where am I going to have breakfast tomorrow? Last week's choice was a disaster. It looks like the weather is going to be nice, so maybe I'll explore a little further from home this week. I need to find some way to end this week on a high note.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3226

Is this rain ever going to stop? I've had enough of this. Every time I think that things are finally starting to get better, another round of downpours begins. We were lucky that Janet had to get up early today, because if Dash and I left for our morning walk at the regular time we would have gotten wet. Rainy days always seem a lot longer. The house feels cold. Dash gets wet every time he goes outside to pee. And I'm always looking up at the ceiling, waiting for the leak to start again. Dash is definitely not getting an evening walk tonight.

Today's big event was a haircut. It's ironic that I've been postponing making an appointment because of all the bad weather and the one day I choose turns out to be just as rainy as the rest. My hair used to have to color to it, but now it is practically white. When I look at the clippings on the floor, they don't even look like my hair. It looks like some old man sat in the chair before me. Oh, well. At least I still have hair.

I look a little more presentable now, but it doesn't really matter. Nobody sees me anymore. I can't even remember the last business meeting I attended. On the way home, I did stop at the Apple Store, but I couldn't get all that excited about the new watch. They say the new version is bigger, but to my untrained eye, it looks exactly the same as the watch I already wear. The last thing I need is another watch. I wonder how I started collecting these things anyway. I don't even care what time it is.

Dash was pretty shaky today. Probably the cold, damp weather makes his old, stiff joints feel even worse. There's not a lot I can do on days like this. I turned the heat up a little in an attempt to keep us both warm and we took a lot of naps. I periodically turned on the TV, but quickly turned it off again. The news was just as bad as the weather today.

I still can't decide what to do about the storage warehouse. My lease runs out in a few days and if I'm going to move, I'd better start planning now. It took me years to fill the unit up, so moving everything in a few days won't be easy. I wonder how much it would cost to get someone to move everything for me? If the cost was reasonable, it would probably be worth it.

Damn. I just went out to the kitchen for a snack and I noticed that the roof has started leaking again. This totally sucks. I positioned buckets under the leak and will have to get used to the slow drip, drip, drip of falling water for the next few days. The bad thing about this type of leak is that there is no way to fix it until the rain totally stops and the roof dries out. Lord knows when I'll be able to get the roofers over here again. With all the rain we've been having lately, they're probably booked up for the next ten years.

It's early, but I'm ready to call it a day. I'm tired. Dash hates to go outside in the rain, so it's almost a certainty that he'll poop in the house tonight. As long as that's all that goes wrong, I'm OK. My expectations are pretty low these days.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3225

I voted today. The lines were not as bad as I expected, although I did have trouble finding a parking place. As usual, I was the only one standing in line who wasn't looking at their cell phone. I continue to be amazed by how much time some people spend texting. It's rare if I send one text message a month. The lady ahead of me in line never stopped texting. I can't even imagine texting continuously for 30 to 45 minutes. My fingers would hurt. Since I wasn't using my phone, I had plenty of time to look at people's shoes. Nobody wears decent shoes anymore. Young and old alike were all wearing ugly running shoes. I don't know what this means, but the old people were definitely winning in my precinct. There were at least ten old people in line for every young person.

I wonder why early voting has become so popular? Evidently there were huge lines yesterday when early voting started. It's not like an early vote counts any more than a late vote. I actually prefer to wait until election day because our precinct still uses paper ballots on election day. It also rains a lot on election day, which is why I voted today. Our early voting locations all use electronic voting machines. I guess these things are legit, but they don't inspire confidence. How do you know if your vote is even counted? I often wonder if my voting machine is even hooked up to anything.

I'm sure the country is as divided as everyone says we are, but you'd never know it from standing in line at my polling place. Everyone was very friendly. It felt like people were neighbors first and voters second. Neighbors can be sneaky though. Probably a lot of people were actually voting to cancel out the vote of another neighbor. I know I was.

Dash woke me up several times last night. Once I had to catch him before he fell off the bed and the other times I had to take him outside. I thought we were safe when I saw him squat in the yard, but then I turned around and realized he'd left a trail of poop all the way from the bedroom to the back door. It's so hard to get back to sleep after you've spent fifteen minutes cleaning up poop.

I got caught up with some correspondence today. I'm not nearly as good about answering letters as I used to be. After I get finished writing the blog, there just isn't that much to say. I guess there's nothing wrong with repeating myself. The few people I still write never read the blog anyway.

I made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. I'm long overdue. Under normal circumstances I might stop by the Apple Store on the way home and get the new Series 4 Apple watch. I'm feeling poor though. The stock market is doing terrible and my storage warehouse rent is due next week. The watch will have to wait.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3224

Well, it couldn't last forever. We're cleaning up poop on the floor again. Dash does the best he can. So do we. I could tell a little incontinence wasn't going to stop Dash. He was still hungry for breakfast and eager for a walk. There were no blue skies this morning, but at least we stayed dry. Dash was very slow today, but he was determined. Considering that it was a Monday, I think we both got off to a good start.

Even on a good day, Dash worries me. I've noticed that the tremors he often experiences have increased. It looks like he is shivering, but he is not cold. The shivering is something else. Often the tremors continue even after he has gone to sleep. Today, Dash was shivering quite a bit. I tried covering him with a blanket, but it didn't seem to help. I think the tremors have something to do with his vestibular disease, but we may never know for sure. It also may have something to do with his heart problems. We've asked several vets about the periodic shivering, but nobody seems to have a definitive answer. Luckily, the tremors eventually go away. Dash seemed fine this afternoon.

After breakfast I went looking for a new storage warehouse. It looks like it might be worth the effort to move. I was somewhat surprised to discover that I could save almost 40% by simply moving to an identical storage unit in a different facility. All storage facilities raise your rent every year. Some even raise the rent every six months. After a while you end up paying a lot more than you did when you started. The storage companies don't care. They know that most of their customers only stay for several months. I'm the odd duck here. Almost nobody keeps the same storage unit for fifteen years. I think it's time to start over.

Moving will be problematic. How do I move a wind sail board when I don't have a roof rack on my car anymore? How do I move the speaker enclosures for my old band's PA system when they've become too heavy for me to lift? How do I disassemble the extensive shelving system I built in place inside my existing unit? I wouldn't have any of these problems if I wasn't such a pack rat. I should have never saved most of this stuff.

There were more bills to pay and a prescription to pick up. That's all I seem to do these days:pay bills and pick up pills. I still haven't dealt with the water on the roof or tried to clean the house. In both cases it seems to be better to just wait until all this rain stops. I just heard that we are expecting another wave of heavy rain next week. Evidently there is a hurricane headed toward Mexico and when the storm breaks up and heads inland it will pass over Dallas. I think this has been the wettest Fall on record. The rain ultimately proved to be too much for the little circus in the park. They took down their tent today and were packing their truck to leave. I hope they have better luck wherever they wind up next.

I need to get a haircut this week. I actually need to do a lot of things, but a haircut seems like something I can cope with. I've got a week to decide what to do about the storage warehouse. That decision is going to be a lot more difficult than deciding when to get a haircut.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3223

Surprisingly, nothing went wrong today. Dash slept through the night for the second day in a row. There were no accidents and when I took Dash outside when I woke up, he pooped and peed like any normal dog. We took a nice walk while Janet was fixing breakfast and enjoyed a brisk Fall morning.

I think this was the last day for the State Fair of Texas. It appeared to be the last day for the little circus in the park as well. There was a performance today, but there was also a large truck getting ready to pack everything up and travel to their next destination. The little circus has been here almost a month and during that time they've only had three clear days. Hopefully they'll have better luck in California.

I don't know why I keep stopping at REI on the way to the gym. There is nothing that interests me anymore. It's disappointing. For years this has been the place where I've found sturdy shoes and durable pants for walking Dash. The place is full of clever solar powered gizmos, binoculars, satellite phones, freeze dried gourmet food, and other gear that satisfy my prepper fantasies. I just walk away without buying anything now. The store is still full of cool things. I guess I just have everything I need.

I still can't figure out how my gym can stay in business when there are so few customers. For over a month the place has been virtually empty on Sunday. Maybe it is crowded at other times of the week. I'd never know. I wasn't shooting very well on the basketball court today. This is a mystery as well. Some days I do really well and other days I suck. You'd think there'd be more consistency. I'm really a very consistent person.

I was going to vacuum this afternoon, but I got sidetracked repairing Dash's protective boots. He drags his feet so much when he walks that the boots get destroyed pretty quickly. It would be impossible to walk without these things. They do a good job of protecting his feet. They just don't last long enough. I've used almost three tubes of Shoe Goo trying to keep these boots operational. We've got four pairs that we rotate, but I probably need a few more. Too bad these little shoes are so expensive. I've spent less on my own shoes.

I think I'll go look for a new storage warehouse tomorrow. If I can find a better price, this might be the incentive I need to actually start throwing things away. There's nothing like being forced to move something to make you realize that you don't really need it. Where do I throw stuff away though. The storage warehouse won't let me use their dumpster anymore. Actually nobody will let you use their dumpster these days. Most businesses keep them locked up behind chain link fences now. The city ought to have a lot of big communal dumpsters strategically located throughout the city but I think they spent all their money building bike paths.

I hope that Dash has turned over a new leaf and continues sleeping normally for a while. When Dash sleeps normally, I sleep normally. It was such a weird sensation to wake up rested this morning. I need more days like this.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day