Day 3308

We tried using the new left side leg brace by itself today. Dash didn't approve. Even though both rear legs are weak, a brace on the left leg doesn't seem to provide any additional stability. The brace actually made it harder for Dash to walk, so we quickly took it off and went back to using the other brace made for his right leg. Dash probably hates all this experimenting, but we're really trying our best to make life better for him.

I was pleasantly surprised that I had no heartburn last night. I still can't figure out what the magic food groups are. Sometimes things that are mild give me heartburn and other times spicy things don't. We had a stuffed pork roast last night with mashed potatoes and root vegetables. I guess this is safer than chili, pizza, or spaghetti. Maybe my reflux problems have nothing to do with what I eat. I suspect they do though. Pizza always causes problems.

At least Dash's eating problems have vanished. He has a good appetite now and hasn't thrown up in months. I'm happy that we have one less thing to worry about, but I'm still not sure what happened. Nothing medically has changed. At some point we gave up on all the food that vets were recommending and Janet started cooking for Dash herself. He eats a cubed fresh chicken breast for breakfast and a mix of chicken, brown rice, and vegetables for dinner. He's even gaining a little weight again, which his doctors think is a good thing.

A roofer knocked on my door this morning and asked if I was having roof problems. How did he know? The guy came with no references and his business card said he specialized in installing gutters. Nope. I politely told him that I already had a roofer. The last thing I need are a bunch of random roofers knocking on my door. This happens occasionally after a big wind storm. Most of these roofers are worthless. I will need a new roof soon enough, but the person who gets the job will need good references. Even a great roofer is going to have problems with my roof.

I was supposed to receive a payment from one of the auction houses today, but it got delayed again. Auctions require a certain amount of patience. Nothing happens quickly. I started consigning things last Summer and we're still not done yet. So far, everything has sold though. That's a good thing even if there is a long wait.

I think the wait to get the house shipshape again is going to be endless. I've lost count of all the things that need to be fixed. Today I thought I'd clean the shower tiles to see if there were cracks that I'd overlooked. There were. If the tile guys had installed the shower pan properly in the first place I don't think I'd be having these problems. Water leaks into the shower pan from small cracks in the tiles, but it doesn't drain properly like it should. Water that finds it way into the shower pan should just go down the drain. Instead, it builds up in the pan and eventually starts flowing out of cracks where the shower walls meet the floor. Regrouting the tiles would be easy, but it won't prove anything unless the shower pan is fixed first. All my problems are like this. They're not as easy to fix as they might seem.

I've got an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. Maybe this will be more exciting than cleaning shower tiles. Hopefully, the weather will be warmer. I'm still freezing.

Kasey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3307

It was hard for me to get up this morning. Once again I didn't get enough sleep. I'd stayed up too late late watching an old black and white Dr. Who episode and wondering which Doctor it was. If you were wondering too, it was Patrick Troughton and his companions were Jamie and Zoe. The show was eventually over, but a crinkling noise from the shower curtain I'd bought to protect the bed woke me up more than Dash did. He rarely gets up at night anymore. He just poops in the bed in his sleep. That's OK though. I always make sure that there's a puppy training pad placed under his butt. Whenever I wake up, which is often, I check to see if he's pooped and when necessary change the puppy pad for a fresh one.

I probably would have slept until ten this morning if Janet and Dash hadn't already been ready to walk. I quickly got dressed and off we went. It's still very cold. I'm surprised at how many joggers we see on days like this. They dress lightly, but seem to be enjoying themselves. I, on the other hand, dress like a polar explorer. I wear more layers than I used to, but I still can't stay warm.

Cold day always reminds me of a story I'd read as a kid called "A Pail of Air." The story was about the last four people on earth, who stayed alive after the earth got pulled out of its orbit by a passing dark star. They stayed alive by heating frozen air they scooped up in buckets and let it turn back into oxygen by placing it in front of a perpetual fire they could never let go out. How can I remember this old science fiction story sixty years later? It must have made an impression.

They keep the gym colder than I'd like, but about halfway through my workout I'm usually feeling fine. Maybe this is how those joggers feel. I probably just don't move around enough in the Winter. I'm too tired to move more. My Fitbit says I take between 10,000 and 15,000 steps a day. That's plenty for me.

I couldn't postpone vacuuming any longer because the floors were getting filthy. Most dogs are scared of vacuum cleaners but Dash likes to follow ours around. It never was a problem when he was younger, but now Dash can barely stand up and keeps getting tangled up in the cord and falling over. After extricating him a few times this afternoon, I finally had to pen him in another room until I finished cleaning.

Maybe that old Fritz Leiber science fiction story from 1951 stuck with me all these years because life has always been about survival to me. You do simple things over and over again to stay alive, to stay sane, and to keep moving forward. Hey, it's working. I'm still here. I don't get bored doing the same things at the gym every Sunday. I'm finally starting to understand how to shoot free throws. I don't get bored eating the same thing for breakfast over and over again. Actually I think I have perfected breakfast. I don't even get bored with writing about nothing every evening for thousands of days. Writing is good. It keeps you thinking.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3306

Winter is here. It was all about the weather today. The wind was blowing so hard that it felt much colder than it actually was. Even though there was no rain or snow, it still felt like we were headed toward the South Pole on our morning walk. I'm glad we don't live any further north. The weather reports from the middle of the country looked pretty grim today.

I think the roof survived yesterday's rain. No water entered the house. The pumps kept the water level reasonably low, but when I went up to inspect things after breakfast, there was still lots of water to sweep away. It seemed even colder up on the roof than it did on the ground. The roofers did a pretty good job of repairing and sealing the areas where water was coming inside, but I can already see other areas that are likely to deteriorate in the weeks and months ahead. I've pretty much resigned myself to climbing up on the roof and sweeping the water away every time it rains. I think that the best I can hope for is that the recent repairs will keep the house dry until early Spring when I can make a decision about completely replacing the roof.

Dash has already torn up the plastic sheet we use to protect the bed in case he pees on it again. I went to Home Depot to see if I could find a better solution and came home with a shower curtain. The plastic shower curtain is waterproof, easy to place on top of the bedspread before we go to bed, and inexpensive enough that we can just keep replacing it as needed. Dash only peed on the bed once, but I'm convinced that he'll do it again the first time I forget to place a protective covering under his blanket.

I'm listening to the Cowboys vs Rams playoff game as I write. The Cowboys better pick up the pace a bit in the second half. Early in the season I didn't even think that they'd make the playoffs. It's never over till it's over though. Wouldn't it be a surprise to see the Cowboys in the Superbowl again. Somehow, I don't think it's going to happen.

Dash is still stumbling a lot, but other than that, he seems like a happy dog. We tried putting a leg brace on both rear legs this morning but it was too much. Dash couldn't walk at all. Oh, well. Back to the drawing board. When we ordered the second brace for the left leg we were hoping that it would provide some additional stability. Unfortunately, it just made it harder for Dash to walk. Both legs are weak, so maybe we can alternate the left and right braces on different days. Dash walked fine when we went back to our old configuration. He likes the cold a lot better than I do.

Janet made chili tonight. A hot bowl of chili is the perfect meal for a cold Winter day. It reminded me that even though I'm freezing, it's been a pretty good day. The roof isn't leaking. Dash has been in a good mood. And it doesn't look like there is going to be any more rain for the next week. Hey, the Cowboys didn't win, but the chili was delicious.

Suzie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3305

Today was full of inconsistencies. When I returned from taking Dash on his morning walk, his breakfast wasn't in his bowl like it usually is. Hmm. Did he eat before I got up this morning? Was his regular bowl of chicken still in the refrigerator? I couldn't find it anywhere. I couldn't ask Dash and Janet was already gone. I didn't want to feed Dash twice, but he seemed hungry so I fed him some dry kibble that he usually likes. When Janet got home, I asked her about the breakfast. "Did you look in the microwave," she asked? Nope. Why would I look there? No harm was done. Dash ate his chicken for lunch. When I went to the hotel for breakfast, the regular chef wasn't there. The customers didn't seem normal either. Two ladies with diamond encrusted wristwatches at the next table were comparing their friends divorce settlements. Another couple nearby returned their meals without eating them. I knew what they were eating and there was nothing wrong with the food. I've ordered the same thing many times. Another customer wanted to specify exactly the type of fruit she was going to get in her fruit bowl. Evidently pineapples and bananas were unacceptable. Everyone seemed picky and extremely demanding today. The substitute chef undercooked my French Toast a bit but I would never return a meal. Mom taught me to eat what was put in front of me. That being said, I hope the regular chef returns. I like consistency.

There has been a light rain for most of the day, but so far there is no water in the house. This is a good sign, but we're not out of the woods yet. Sometimes it takes hours for the water to penetrate the roof and find its way inside. I've got buckets ready, but hopefully I won't need them tonight. Even if the roof survives this rain, it's going to be hard to ever trust it again. This thing is just a disaster waiting to happen.

The rain was intermittent today, so Dash got both his walks. I'm surprised that he still enjoys walking as much as he does. I'm providing a lot of support lately with a leash at both ends of his special harness. My function is similar to a spotter for a weightlifter. When I sense that Dash is starting to stumble, I keep him upright. Without this assistance, I doubt that he could walk very far.

I can't decide whether to leave the pumps on tonight. They do a good job of keeping the water level from getting too high on the roof, but if the rain stops and they run dry for very long, the motor burns out. I used to have a pump with a built-in sensor that would automatically turn the pump on and off when the water reached a specified level. I used this pump on another flat roofed home I owned for many years until it eventually wore out. Nobody makes this type of pump anymore. I've looked and looked. Not surprisingly, the old metal pump was made in the USA. The new ABS plastic pumps are all made in China.

I still can't bring myself to wear my new work boots. This is getting ridiculous. I wore them around the house for a while today to make sure I'd gotten the right size. They aren't house slippers though. These are boots meant for rainy days like today.

Like always, I'm hoping for a good nights sleep. I certainly didn't get one last night. I imagine that I'll wake up several times tonight, listening carefully for the sound of dripping water.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3304

I've been cold all day. Sadly, this is just the beginning of Winter. There will be many more cold days to come. My office is the coldest room in the house. It is a long way from the furnace and by the time the warm air arrives through the floor vents it has already cooled quite a bit. I plugged in my trusty little ceramic heater today. This small four inch square cube does a pretty good job of keep in the office at the same temperature as the rest of the house. Ceramic heaters are much safer than other types of small space heaters, but I've still got to be careful not to let Dash get too close to it. He's curious about anything new and I don't want him to burn his nose.

Since it is still supposed to rain tomorrow I thought I'd try to bleach the stains in the ceiling where water has been leaking in. This won't prevent future leaks, but it will make them easier to see. I've thought about putting bleach in a spray bottle and just spraying the ceiling, but I'm afraid that the mist will get on furniture or pictures hanging on the walls. Instead I soak a rag with bleach and stand on a ladder while I scrub the damaged areas. This works, but it is terrible on my hands. Bleach is nasty stuff. The ceiling looks better now. If I start seeing rust colored stains again, I'll know that the roof repair didn't work. The stains appear first and then the water starts dripping about an hour later.

Tomorrow should provide a good test of the repair work. It's is supposed to rain all day again. Hopefully, Dash will be able to take his morning walk before the rain begins. He is much calmer after he's had a walk. We'll see what happens. If the rain is bad I won't want to leave the house. I've got to be ready to place buckets under any leaks that might appear. I'll feel much better if the house survives the rain tomorrow. On the other hand, if the roof starts leaking again I'll be very discouraged.

I left Dash's harness on for most of the day. He is still falling a lot and it is much more effective to lift him up using the handle on the Ruffwear harness than it is to get my hands under his belly while he is struggling on the floor. Dash would be fine if he stayed on the rugs, but he always seems to find a place where the floor is still slippery. Dot did a little better at adapting to her disability. Dash is so stubborn that he still thinks he can move around like a pup. I don't know when he is going to realize that he would be much more comfortable sleeping on the floor. That doesn't appear to be an option. He is determined to keep sleeping on the bed.

I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, so I tried to catch up today by taking a lot of short naps. There wasn't much else to do anyway. You know your day is uneventful when the high point is applying bleach to the ceiling. I guess this was actually the low point as well, but the ceiling does look better. I was going to get a haircut this afternoon, but there were no appointments available until next week. It's just as well I didn't go today anyway. I still haven't shaken that cold.

I was going to wear the new boots I bought on Dash's evening walk, but I couldn't bring myself to put them on. They looked so nice and new in the box. I wore my old worn out boots instead. I'm hopeless. I specifically bought these boots for wearing in the mud. It's hard for me to start using new things. I want everything to stay new looking forever.

I've taken the trash out to the curb, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to go out for breakfast tomorrow. It all depends on the weather.

Murphy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3303

Filling the pothole in the driveway with rocks actually worked. The surface is stable now and it's easy to get the car in and out. The toilet is still working as well. That's a minor miracle. Let's hope that the roof repairs were successful as well. I went up to check on things this morning and it looks like the guys did a good job. I don't see how water could possibly get inside the house now. Of course, I've said this many times before. Somehow water always seems to win this perpetual battle. I'm definitely not going to attempt to repair the damaged sheetrock in the ceiling until we've survived a few heavy rains.

Dash was alert and full of energy this morning, but his legs still aren't working very well. He stumbles frequently now and is unable to get up. I've started leaving his harness on in the house so it is easier to lift him up after a fall. We've repositioned the rugs so he has better traction in strategic places, but there isn't much we can do medically. I guess we could give him steroid shots to reduce inflammation in his spine, but we're not even sure there is any inflammation. Steroids are not a good long-term solution anyway and neither of his vets have recommended them. Dash could be suffering from degenerative myelopathy, a ruptured or slipped disc in his spine, arthritis, or the weakness could still be a symptom of his vestibular disease. He still enjoys his daily walks, but they are becoming progressively slower. One of these days we'll have to see if he can learn to use Dot's doggie wheelchair.

I wrote another letter to my Luddite sister today. Every time I do something the old fashioned way, it makes me realize that I'm not really that dependent on the Internet and technology. I could go back to living like I did in the 1970's rather easily. Life was good then. I had an IBM Selectric typewriter and a little Sony Trinitron TV that received about eight channels using a built in antenna. I played my music on a reel-to-reel tape recorder and shot most of my pictures with a Nikon-F on Kodachrome film. We still picked up the phone when it rang. There were no telemarketers. I think even answering machines came a bit later. Has life really improved that much since then? I don't think so. We'd already been to the moon in the early 1970's. Houses were affordable. Music was great. People trusted each other more. What's not to like? I'd go back in a minute if I could.

I've had a low grade cold all week. It's not the flu, but it's still a nuisance. My nose is constantly dripping and I wake up with a sore throat. Nothing really seems to make a cold go away quickly. You've just got to let it run its course. Decongestants and antihistamines don't work well with me. I hate the way they make me feel, so I don't take them. As a result I'm blowing my nose all the time. Hopefully I'll be back to normal in a few days. I look like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer now.

There was a beautiful sunrise this morning. It was almost worth getting up early. I think we have to get up early tomorrow as well. Janet has plans and Dash won't walk anymore without both of us nearby. Hopefully Dash will be a little steadier on his feet for tomorrow's walk. I don't have any plans at all, but I'm sure that something will happen. It always does.as

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3302

What a busy day. The roofing crew arrived early. It took a while to explain what was going on, but once we were all on the same page, the guys found two additional leaks. Since these leaks corresponded to areas inside the house where water was getting in, I felt like we were making progress. When I asked whether they felt confident that the had discovered all the potential leaks, they just shrugged. "We'd have to tear up the entire roof to do that," one guy said. At least the guys made an honest effort to patch the leak. We'll have to see what happens when it rains again.

I got a quote on fixing my office chair. It's going to cost more than it cost to fix the dryer. How can that be? It's only a chair. Reluctantly, I told the guys to go ahead and order the parts. The repairs will still cost considerably less than buying a new chair. Janet suggested just going out and buy a cheap chair at Office Depot, but I like my Aeron Chair. It has served me well and even though I don't spend a lot of time designing websites or editing videos these days, I still like to be comfortable when I'm writing the blog.

Since I was making progress on the roof and the chair, I decided to tackle the driveway as well. I went out and bought a hundred pounds of river rocks at Home Depot and dumped them in the pothole. It wasn't an elegant solution, but it just might work. At this point I just want to stop getting mud all over my car every time I back out of the driveway. Before filling the hole with rocks, I checked to make sure there wasn't a water pipe underneath. Nope. The ground is just saturated with all the rain we've had lately.

The last thing on my list today was an attempt to fix the weird French toilet in one of the bathrooms. This seldom works, but since I can't get parts for the toilet anyway what do I have to lose? Basically I just shut the water off, clean off the parts as best I can and them put the flushing mechanism back together again. This is the most complicated toilet I've ever seen. It was probably designed by the same person who designed Citroën automobiles. Rube Goldberg would be proud.

Dash is still slipping on the bricks, so I went to the storage warehouse and brought back a few more rugs. I've already brought quite a few of these rugs home, but I was surprised at how many still remained. We must have covered our entire house with cheap rugs when Dot was sick. The rugs do make a difference. They help Dash get up when he's been sleeping on the floor and they help him stay upright when he's awake.

Towards the end of the day I got a call from the guy who is restoring my Sequential Circuits synthesizers. He said that one of the synthesizers was as good as new now and that he was making progress on the other two. These synthesizers have been in the shop for over three months now. I didn't even want to ask what this was going to cost me. I still don't feel bad about restoring this stuff. Vintage Sequential Circuits gear is very desirable. When everything is finished, I'll either start playing the keyboards again, or someone will want to buy them.

All in all, it was a good day. I like making progress even if the progress is small. The weather should be nice tomorrow as well, so today's roof repairs should have plenty of time to dry before rain puts them to the test again. Fingers crossed. For some reason I'm slightly optimistic today.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3301

Did I make any progress today? It's hard to tell. I'm sitting in a chair that stays upright, but it's just a loaner chair. My own chair might take up to a month to get fixed. Evidently nobody keeps a supply of parts for these chairs in Dallas. The weather was nice today. It would have been a perfect day to fix the roof, but the roofers had other plans. Nobody showed up. I did get a one word text message from the guys though. It said "tomorrow."

I was bragging about Dash yesterday, but today we had a setback. He could barely stand up this morning. He slipped and fell so often in the house that I had to leave his harness on so it would be easier to get him upright again. It's getting harder and harder for Dash to get up on his own. He struggles a lot now. I'm going to have to bring back more rugs from the storage warehouse because the brick floors have become too slippery for him. It's strange that things can change so dramatically from day to day with Dash, but that's the way it is. There will be other good days, but there's no avoiding the fact that Dash continues to go downhill.

When I took my chair to the Herman Miller store, it reminded me of how much I hate to drive. It's sad. I love cars, but Dallas traffic is terrible now. At certain times of day it feels like I'm driving in Los Angeles. I don't know how regular commuters avoid going insane. There's always a near miss somewhere. I'm always afraid that if I get hit, the other driver won't have a license or insurance. I guess that's why I prefer to stay in the neighborhood. Maybe this is why Amazon Prime has become so popular. Why leave your own house if you can avoid it.

Even frequent naps aren't erasing my sleep deficit anymore. I'm just not getting enough sleep. With a somewhat nocturnal, incontinent dog, getting eight hours of sleep is just a fantasy. It's not going to happen. Maybe if I slept whenever Dash slept I'd be OK, but I'd never get anything done. If Dash isn't eating or walking in the park, he's sleeping.

The pothole in my driveway keeps getting deeper and deeper. It almost seems like there is an underground spring beneath the driveway because the hole is always muddy and filled with water. It could just be all the rain we've had lately. The park is always muddy these days as well. The ground seems saturated with water. Of course in August this same ground will be dry and cracked. Texas weather is always like this. There is nothing in moderation. At any rate, the pothole is one more problem I can't keep ignoring indefinitely. I need to find someone who does driveway repair soon.

I'm really tired of fixing things. It never ends. Is this just the modern version of the Sisyphus legend? Sometimes I fantasize about living on a cruise ship where everything is done for you. Then I remember that I get seasick.

Misty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3300

Dash seemed a little more lucid today. He didn't stumble around as much and his eyes seemed brighter. I have no idea what determines whether Dash has a good of bad day. Everything in his life is fairly consistent, but some days are definitely better than others. I'm always happy to see a good day. They are few and far between.

The roof is finally drying out. The weather is still nice and warm but the leak did not return during the midday sun. I'm at the mercy of the roofers now. If they return tomorrow or Tuesday we may be able to fix this leak. The rain is supposed to return on Thursday though, so the window of opportunity is small. I'd love to hear the guys up on the roof tomorrow morning but I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch. I was the squeaky wheel for a while, but I may not be any longer.

On my way to the gym this morning I thought I'd pick up another pair of cheap rubber rain shoes for walking Dash. These slip on shoes don't last very long but I can put them on in seconds and they keep my feet dry. Somehow, instead of these cheap shoes, I came home with a pair of steel toe Doc Martens. Why did I buy these things? I already have some heavy work boots. These felt comfortable though and seemed like they would last forever.

 My shoulders and elbows still hurt from working on the roof last week, but I did my full workout anyway. I'm afraid if I vary my routine, I may just quit going to the gym altogether. I'm pretty much on automatic pilot when I go to the gym, but my Fitbit indicates that I'm doing something right. If I could just bring myself to endure this kind of punishment three times a week I'd be in great shape.

The park behind our house has become so popular in recent years that it is stressful to walk Dash on a nice weekend. There were bicycles everywhere today. None of them slow down for Dash. The number of loose dogs increases dramatically on warm weekends too. You really have to be aware of your surroundings. These things called Onewheel are becoming popular too. They look like a skateboard with a single big motorized wheel in the center and can travel up to twenty miles per hour. We saw six of these contraptions today. They're fairly expensive but that doesn't seem to stop people from buying them. Onewheel travel seems even more dangerous than those ride sharing scooters that are popping up all over the place. What do I know though? I still prefer walking.

If things go well tomorrow the roofers will discover what is causing my roof leak and the Herman Miller technicians will fix my office chair. Unfortunately, it's a Monday tomorrow and people aren't always at the top of their game on a Monday. I'll hope for the best but nothing will really surprise me.

I'm getting sleepy so it's probably time to call it a day. Dash has been sleeping for quite a while, so he'll probably be wide awake at 3 AM. We'll see what happens.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3299

Today was just a placeholder connecting yesterday to tomorrow. Not a lot happened. As I often do on uneventful days, I worried about Dash. I don't think his new mobility problems are caused by his pain pills. After being back on his original dose for a day, he is still falling down  a lot more than usual. We ordered him a brace for his left leg, but it remains to be seen if that will help. Clearly something needs to be done. Do we have him wear socks in the house now for added traction? Do we put down more rugs? Do we have him wear his harness 24/7 so it's easier to get him back on his feet when he falls? There are advantages and disadvantages to each alternative. I wish we could just do something to make him stronger.

Something very strange is happening with the roof. The surface is dry now, but every day between about 11 AM and 3 PM, the leak returns. This is the warmest period of the day and it is sunny outside, so I'm thinking this is temperature related. There is still some water trapped under the silicon coating. Maybe heat causes this residual water to expand and forces it inside? Who knows. I'm certainly no expert, but I don't think the roofers are either. Basically, this roof was an experiment that failed. The next roof will be of a more conventional design.

I'm repairing Dash's outer Ultra-Paws boots every day now. These boots would last a long time on a younger dog, but they weren't meant to be continuously dragged on pavement. Dash shuffles along now, barely lifting his rear legs at all. With every step he takes the boots drag on the ground. I've probably significantly improved sales for the Shoe Goo company, but I guess the repairs are worth it. Without the boots, Dash couldn't walk at all. His paws would be a bloody mess.

Oddly, even with all his mobility problems, Dash still loves his walks. They are the favorite part of his day. He is incredibly slow and stumbles a lot, but he smells every tree and bush along the way. The smells seem to provide a connection to a world he can no longer really participate in.

I can't wait for Monday to arrive so I can take my office chair up to Herman Miller to be repaired. I spend a lot of time in this chair. They didn't tell me how long the repair would take, but they did say they'd give me a loaner chair. The whole process sounds a lot like taking my car in for service. I've learned over the years that free loaners aren't really free. Why do I think that fixing the Aeron Chair is going to be expensive?

I've got a new problem to add to my list. There's sink hole in the driveway now. How did this happen? If it gets much worse, I'm going to have trouble getting my car out. In addition to a growing list of plumbers, roofers, and appliance repairmen, I'm going to need to find someone who can patch asphalt.

At least the weather was nice. I hope this continues. You never know here in Texas. This morning it looked like were going to have at least eight days of dry weather. This evening the forecast says it is going to rain next Friday. If the roofers come out Monday we may be able to get this leak fixed. If they ignore me for a few days, all bets are off. Sometimes I think it would be nice to live on the eighteenth floor of a luxury high-rise. My roof problems would vanish. Then I remember that Dash is incontinent.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3298

While I was eating breakfast this morning, a man walked over to the chef after paying his bill and shook his hand. I heard him say, "I travel all over the world and I want to tell you that this is the best French Toast I've ever had in my life." I smiled and gave the chef a big thumbs up. So did several other people in the restaurant. The chef pointed over at me and said, "He agrees. He eats these every day." The encounter was over quickly, but the chef was smiling as he went back to work. I love little moments like this. The chef wasn't invisible as he quietly worked behind his counter and apparently neither was I. I don't know who the world traveler was, but he did have an eye for quality.

It was nice to see the sun again. A sunny day can dramatically improve my mood. I thought Dash would enjoy the nice weather too, but he seemed sluggish and disoriented on his walk this morning. Maybe the additional pain pill his doctor recommended was too much for him. We've seen this reaction before when we tried giving Dash Gabapentin. We're going to try going back to the original dose for a few days and see if Dash returns to normal. "Back to normal" is a strange concept with Dash because there is absolutely nothing normal about him. Too much pain medication makes me feel terrible. Maybe dogs can have the same reaction.

I wish I knew more about medicine. I think some of my own meds are unnecessary but I've learned not to self medicate. There is too much I don't know. For a long time I thought that Adequan might help Dash because it helped Spot when his rear legs got weak. Then I did some research and discovered that Adequan injections can inhibit blood clotting and should not be administered to dogs with a history of bleeding abnormalities. I'm sure the vets probably knew this all along.

I was really surprised when the roof started leaking again early this afternoon. The last time I looked the roof was dry. The leak was small this time but there was definitely a slow drip. The roof was still dry when I went up to investigate but I could tell that there was still some residual water trapped under the silicon coating in a few places. This water was probably still looking for a way out. Strangely, this mysterious leak only lasted a few hours during the warmest period of the day.

I had to use some of Dash's Shoe Goo to repair my own boots this afternoon. The soles are starting to come apart. I'm really hard on shoes but I was hoping that these boots would last forever. I've been wearing them for about five years and they are finally comfortable now.

I think I'll take the Christmas tree down tomorrow. The holidays are over. I wish it were Winter that was over. I'm afraid we've got a lot more rain to look forward to and maybe even some snow. One way or another, the leak will eventually get fixed. I just hope it doesn't take as long as it took to fix the refrigerator. With a little luck I can postpone putting on a new roof until Spring when the weather is nicer, but we'll have to see what happens. In my world it is best to take things one day at a time.

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3297

It didn't seem like a good omen when the power went out last night. It's hard to clean up poop in the dark. The temperature in the house drops quickly when it's near freezing outside as well. We've had power outages in the Winter before and they aren't fun. Without the furnace running, the sound of water dripping from the ceiling seemed even louder. Luckily, the beeping of various uninterrupted power supplies and the thunder outside didn't wake Dash up. I shut everything off that would cause a surge when power was restored, found some extra blankets and went back to bed.

I'm not sure when power was restored, but I don't think the outage lasted long. When Dash woke up at 3 AM and pooped on the floor as he was heading for the back door, we had lights again. Dash had a bad shivering episode when he went back to bed. Maybe he was just cold this time. I was shivering a bit myself. It was still raining when we got up this morning. Dash was definitely not going to get a walk before his 9 AM vet appointment.

Riding with Dash in the car before he's had a walk was not a good omen either. When it was time to leave for the vet, he still hadn't pooped. He almost always goes right after he's had his morning meds. I knew what was going to happen next. It didn't take long. Dash pooped in the car about two miles away from home. Luckily, we were well prepared, so the mess wasn't that bad.

While we were at the cancer center we got the first good news of the day. Dash's blood clot still hasn't returned. The echocardiogram looked good and so did his lab work. The only thing the doctor was worried about was Dash's failing rear legs. He confirmed what we knew already. Dash's mobility has significantly deteriorated since his last exam. Sadly, there isn't much we can do at this point about Dash's neurological problems. He's way too old and frail for surgery. The vet suggested increasing his pain medication and we reluctantly agreed.

By the time we returned to the house, the rain was already decreasing. I decided to have my smoothie for lunch, since it was way too late for breakfast. When the rain finally stopped, I went up on the roof. I wish the pumps worked better because it's a lot of work to sweep all the standing water away. Like it or not, this was a very necessary task. If I wanted the leaks to stop, I needed to remove all the water first.

As the afternoon progressed, the sound of water dripping into buckets became less frequent. I don't hear any dripping now and I think it is finally safe to remove the buckets. It's supposed to be clear tomorrow, but it will take more than one day for the roof to dry out enough to begin repairs again. Both the owner of the roofing company and the job foreman assure me that I'm at the top of their list. We'll see. Probably it will start raining again on the day they decide to return.

I guess it was inevitable that the stock market would crash again today. It was just that kind of day. Maybe tomorrow will be better. So far, 2019 hasn't gotten off to a great start, but I'm still looking forward to breakfast tomorrow. If I pick the right restaurant it might be the high point of the week

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3296

Cold rain. Leaking roof. Incontinent dog. Put these ingredients together and you've got the basis for a sad country song. Basically, today was a mess. I started putting buckets on the floor as soon as I got up. The pumps weren't working, so I had to climb up on the roof in the rain to prime them. When I returned, Dash was stumbling down the hall, knocking over the buckets I'd placed a little earlier. There was no morning walk today, but there was definitely poop to clean up. There's always poop to clean up.

The rain didn't freeze today, but it still might. It is very cold. As the day progressed, the leaks in the ceiling continued to spread and I ran out of buckets. I had to go to Home Depot and pick up a few of those big plastic containers that people use to store sweaters and children's toys. I thought a big container would be better at catching water than three or four smaller buckets. It's a shame that I had to buy more containers. I already have a ton of these things in the storage warehouse, but they are all full of stuff. The containers worked, but they made it even harder for Dash to navigate the hallway.

I'm stuck with this mess until the rainy period is over. Lord knows when that will be. There is bad weather in the forecast as far as the eye can see. You can't repair the roof when it's wet and I'm not sure the roofers can find the leak anyway. They certainly failed the first time they tried.

I went out and picked up some meds for Dash after lunch because driving in the rain was preferable to listening to water drip into plastic buckets. I'm sure I'll be driving in the rain tomorrow too. Dash has an appointment for one of the periodic echocardiograms we use to monitor his heart. Hopefully, the blood clot hasn't returned. I'm also hoping that he won't poop in the car on the way to the cancer center. That's always a possibility since it is very doubtful that he'll get a walk before his appointment.

I finally got the pumps on the roof working but they don't remove enough water to stop the leak. The pumps are basically useless. I'm just about out of ideas for stopping the leak while it is still raining. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to have to use my new car fund to replace the roof. Jeez. What's the fun in that? Even with a new roof, it's still going to be a very old house with a host of other problems. I'd rather have a new car.

The first pictures from New Horizons were received today and Ultima Thule looks like a big snowman. Weird to think that a big icy snowman has been lurking at the edge of the solar system for billions of years and we didn't even know it existed until last year. I bet there's lots of other stuff floating around in space that we don't know about either.

Clearly I'm no rocket scientist. The New Horizon's team at Johns Hopkins was able to fly their spacecraft directly to a tiny 19 mile long speck in the sky billions of miles away from Earth and I can't even find how water is getting into my house.

Maybe things will be better tomorrow. If Dash gets a clean bill of health at the vet, maybe he won't have to take Plavix anymore. Realistically, this isn't very likely. It's not very likely that the rain will stop or the stock market will rally either. The Apple earnings warning today even surprised me. Apple hasn't had a dire warning like this since 2002. For many investors this news will seem like a sign of the apocalypse. I have a feeling that 2019 is going to be a very bumpy ride.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3295 - New Year's Day

I got a surprising amount of sleep last night, especially considering that I'd stayed up past midnight to greet the new year. Two glasses of champagne didn't seem to bother me either. There was no reason to get up early today. It was cold outside and we had no plans. We all slept in until well past 8 AM. At some point during the night I got up to let Dash outside, but I barely remember it. These nightly disruptions are routine now. Pooping in the bed a few hours later wasn't a big deal either. Dash has gotten pretty good about staying on his puppy training pad. I just slide out the soiled pad, roll it up and replace it with a fresh puppy pad. Dash never even wakes up.

Before I went to bed last night I watched the New Horizons flyby of Ultma Thule on NASA TV. There wasn't much to see. The probe was more than four billion miles away and it would take another six hours for the signal that the mission had succeeded to reach Earth. The fact that we will soon get a look at something located way beyond Pluto is amazing to me. We are so good at science like this and yet for some reason we still can't get along with each other.

I imagine that quite a few people will make a New Year's Resolution to be more agreeable this year, but few will succeed. There are just so many reasons to be irritated at our fellow man. If Dash was a human he would be in an assisted living home by now. He's a dog though, so I'm willing to do anything I can to make his last day's comfortable.

Dash loves his walks so we all got bundled up and braved the cold this morning. It was a gloomy, grey day but at least it wasn't raining. Dash is so intent on smelling things these days that he forgets about his rear legs. I'm constantly having to steady him by holding the handle on his harness to keep him from falling over. While we were walking I kept thinking it was Sunday and was thinking about having pancakes for breakfast. I was actually kind of surprised when I remembered it was only Tuesday. The entire holiday season has been like this. It's hard to tell what day it is.

I didn't do much today. The days when we would watch the Rose Bowl parade followed by an entire day of football seem so long ago. Even the names of the bowl games have changed. They are all named after corporations now and some of them aren't even on New Year's Day. To avoid doing household chores, I caught up on some overdue correspondence. I wrote the roofer, begging him to hurry up with repairs. I wrote the friend who is selling my train collection. He wants to lower prices, since sales have been slow. I'm still hoping that someone like me will wander into his store and buy everything. I sent Christmas greetings to a few people even though Christmas is over. Why not?

I didn't finish breakfast until well after noon and by the time I took a shower Dash was already waiting for his evening walk. Where did the day go? Jeez. Where did the year go?  2018 seemed to slip by awfully fast. Dash ended the year a little bit healthier than he started it. Like Dot, he is very determined to make the most of the time he has. Auctioning my art this year was an interesting experience. It actually got me interest in art again. Unfortunately, I don't have any left.

Like many people, I hope that 2019 will be better than 2018. You've got your reasons and I've got mine. Whatever you're hoping for, I wish you luck. All I know is that anything could happen during our next trip around the sun.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3294

Another year bites the dust. I guess it was fitting that the year ended in such a typical fashion. It rained all night. Dash pooped in the bed. And the roof started leaking again. As usual, I noticed the leak when I stepped in a puddle of water while I was taking Dash outside to pee in the middle of the night. I had a towel in my hand to dry Dash off with, but ended up using it to mop up the water on the floor. After strategically placing buckets under the leaks and cleaning Dash so he wouldn't get mud on the bed, I went back to sleep.

This morning I was puzzled that no water was being pumped from the roof. I went up to investigate and discovered that the pump had tipped over during the night. No wonder there was over three inches of standing water directly over the leak. I spent two hours removing all the water from the roof, but the effort was probably all for nothing. There is snow in the forecast for Wednesday.

I took a small check from one of my few remaining clients to the bank and got a bunch of buckets at the Dollar Store on the way home. You can't have too many buckets when your roof is leaking. I never go to the Dollar Store, but Janet said that if I'd quit being such an elitist, I could get the buckets for only a dollar. She was right. I would have paid five dollars for a similar bucket at Home Depot.

Not much has changed this year. Last New Year's Eve Dash was already wearing his knee brace and was having major problems with vestibular disease. The elastomer coating on the roof was falling apart and my accountant was telling me it was time to shut down the business. I was starting to think about selling things, but hadn't actually started yet.

One year later, Dash has exceeded all his doctor's expectations. He poops all over the place, but his heart is actually stronger than it was last year. He still has vestibular disease, but the seizures seems to have subsided. Considering that he can barely stand up at times, the little guy is proving to be remarkably resilient.

The house hasn't been resilient at all. I guess this is to be expected since it was built in 1955. I'm going to need a new roof, new toilets and tile in the bathrooms, new sheetrock on the ceiling, fresh paint, and a new sliding glass door in the atrium. It's too bad that my services are no longer in demand because this is going to be expensive. I hate to spend a lot of money on this house, since it will probably be torn down if we ever move. On the other hand, I hate living like this. I've almost forgotten what living in a trouble free house is like.

I think we'll make it to midnight this year. We've been staying up later lately because Dash usually pees around midnight. It's easier to go to bed after this happens. There's some champagne cooling in the refrigerator. We'll lift a glass to the new year and hope that it is better than 2018.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3293

Dash kept kicking me last night and waking me up. He must have been dreaming. Occasionally, he woke me up in the middle of my own dreams and I started remembering snippets of other dreams. There were so many. It kind of startled me that my brain had stored away all my dreams. Are dream memories just like any other memory? If so, I probably have more memories of things that never happened than of things that actually occurred.

I am often lost in my dreams. I'll spend forever looking for my room in a huge hotel. Sometimes I'm looking for my car in a large parking garage. There are several memories where I go from deck to deck on a huge ship looking for a friend. I always wake up before I find what I'm looking for.

I've occupied more dream houses than real ones. I know every inch of these imaginary homes. Some are quite simple and contain only one room. Others are incredibly elaborate. Most of these dreams are pleasant. I am getting ready for bed or trying to find a toothbrush. Just ordinary domestic stuff. There are several dreams where I'm trying to stop a roof leak though. Once, the roof actually collapsed.

There are many journey dreams where I am traveling through a large city or along a long road. Sometimes the city has tall buildings like New York or Chicago. Other times there are lots of casinos, like Las Vegas. There is one city that is located by the ocean and I'm always trying to locate a path to the beach. Sometimes I'm changing trains or busses. I'll often look for a specific number on a bus, but I never know where I'm going.

Some dreams are so detailed that I used to spend years wondering whether they were real. In one, I used to spend Summers with an older couple at the end of a long dirt road. I went back to this place for several Summers and would help with the gardening. Did this couple befriend me or employ me? I used to write the couple letters in my dreams buy I can't remember what they said. My dreams really got confusing when they involved showing my portfolio to potential employers. Did some of this actually happen? The flying dreams couldn't have been real, but what about the dreams where I was setting up equipment with my band?

I wonder why all these dream memories came flooding back last night. It was an ordinary night where I kept waking up and checking to see if Dash had pooped on the bed yet. Dash actually slept well last night and didn't need to go outside until it was almost morning. I can't say the same for myself.

It was really cold today and there is rain in the forecast again. This is disappointing, but what can you do? It's Winter. At least it wasn't raining when I went to the gym. I need to remember to strategically position a few buckets on the floor before I go to bed tonight. If it rains hard enough, the roof leak is sure to return.

Although my dreams are weird, they share one thing in common with everyday life. There never seems to be any resolution. During the day, I'm dealing with endless water problems and during the night I'm endlessly looking for something I never seem to find.

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3292

I spend my Winters wishing it was Summer and my Summers wishing it was Winter. I was definitely wishing for warmer weather today. Everything takes longer when it's cold. I'm slow anyway, but dressing in layers on a cold day takes me forever. Making the bed takes longer when it is piled with blankets. You've got to let the car warm up before you leave the driveway. You can't even depend on the weather forecast. Yesterday I was looking at a week of clear skies. Now the forecast says it is going to rain tomorrow.

I had lots of errands to run today. There were prescription to pick up and groceries to buy. The car needed gas. I had to retrieve a few things from the storage warehouse. I needed strawberries for my smoothies, clorox wipes to help clean up dog poop, halogen bulbs for the sconce lamps in the living room, and salicylic acid for my oily skin. Each of these things came from a different store. No wonder so many people shop on Amazon.

I can't seem to catch up on sleep anymore. When I returned from my errands, all I wanted to do was sleep. Since Dash spends most of his day sleeping anyway, it's always easy to take a nap with him. If I lie down on the bed, he'll be curled up next to me within a matter of minutes. I just need to stay alert until he navigates the dog step at the foot of the bed. Occasionally, he falls and I have to catch him.

I used to start projects on weekends, but not anymore. I just take care of the bare necessities now. Instead of making Giclée prints for gallery shows, I unclog drains. You really can't ignore a clogged drain for very long. I thought I still had some 'instant plumber' stuff that uses compressed gas to clear gunk out of pipes in seconds, but I guess I'd left the can standing in the utility room too long. All the gas had escaped. I had to clear the drain the old fashioned way using a plunger. What a mess. You'd think by now that someone would have invented a coating that prevents gunk from accumulating on the inside of pipes, but apparently not. I have to clear slow drains much more often than I'd like.

I repaired another pair of Dash's Ultra Paws boots and did a few loads of wash. I was going to watch some of the afternoon cooking shows on PBS, but I fell asleep instead. Dash did get two walks today. He was slow and stumbled a lot, but he definitely enjoyed himself. His sense of smell is one thing that hasn't deteriorated. Dash wants to smell everything these days. I'm glad he still has something to look forward to.

I ought to look forward to going to the gym tomorrow, but the weekly workout is just one in a long list of weekend chores. I'm lazy at heart and fit out of necessity. I may be 70 but there are still drains to clean, standing water on the roof, and poop on the floor. I need to keep moving.

Petey & Greta are today's Dalmatian's of the Day

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