Day 3360

Dash got a good report today. His blood pressure is normal. His liver enzyme levels have improved. Actually, his entire CBC blood panel looked pretty good. Best of all, there was still no sign of a blood clot in his heart. There isn't a lot we can do about the neurological damage that is causing the incontinence and weakness in his rear legs, but Dash is still doing better than anyone thought possible this time last year.

I got up early this morning to give Dash a walk before we went to the vet. I wanted to give him every opportunity to do his business before putting him in the car. It was a wasted effort. Dash still pooped in the car. Then he had a panic attack before we reached our destination and I had to stop the car and let him out for a while. I thought he might have needed to pee, but he just didn't want to be in the car. Needless to say, I'm pleased that the vet said he doesn't need another echocardiogram until May.

As soon as we got home, Dash peed in the house. The vet said that there were pills he could give him that might help with the incontinence, but he was reluctant to prescribe them because they would raise Dash's blood pressure. When you're taking blood thinners, you definitely don't want high blood pressure. The good news is that we're learning to deal with the incontinence. There wasn't even a big mess when Dash pooped in the car this morning because we were well prepared.

I was just starting a very late breakfast when the roofer knocked on the door. I went up on the roof with him to show him around. As I listened to the solution he proposed, I became disappointed. I have heard this story before. There are several ways to get the roof to drain properly, but apparently there is no way to bring the house back to the condition it was in when it was constructed in 1953. "Roofers can't do what you want," the guy told me today. "You're going to need carpenters, framers, and a whole lot of money," he said. After explaining that I essentially wanted to rebuild the house,  the roofer tried to sell me on the merits of an engineered roof. I've gotten bids on engineered roofs before. They are very expensive and when all is said and done they are still just a layer of tapered foam placed on top of the existing decking. There's got to be a better way to add a small slope to a flat roof. Couldn't roofers remove the plywood decking, place some shims underneath to create the necessary 1/4" per foot slope, and then replace the decking? It seems like tapered foam panels placed on top on an uneven roof would still be uneven. What do I know though. I'm no roofer. I'm just a guy who has lived under a flat roof for over forty years. Yes, my previous house also had a flat roof.

I made my reservations to go to the Johnson Space Center and then I looked at the long range weather forecast. There are supposed to be thunderstorms on my departure date. It's always something, isn't it.    I don't like driving in thunderstorms but flying in thunderstorms is even worse. Been there, done that. There is a ray of hope though. Long range forecasts in Texas are next to worthless. Who knows what the weather will be really like. It could just as easily be clear and sunny.

I'm not sure if I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow. Right now I'm feeling really tired. Sleeping till noon sounds a lot better than French Toast or Shrimp Grits. Sleeping late is probably just wishful thinking though. If the weather is even halfway nice, Dash is going to want his morning walk.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3359

I started making arrangements to go to Johnson Space Center. Where did I get the idea I could fly to Houston for around $100? Seems like I've flown there for less than $100 before. Oh, well. I guess it's been a while. Uber and Lyft didn't even exist the last time I took a trip. I probably need to get with the times and download the Uber app. Janet likes Uber. I've never tried ride sharing. It's probably been five years since I hailed a cab. There just isn't much need for such things when you're going to the post office.

I wasn't always reluctant to travel. I used to travel frequently on business and even had clients in Europe. Jeez. I think I still have over 150,000 unused AAdvantage miles. Something has changed. Janet and I have enjoyed spending time in Athens, Paris, and Barcelona but now Fort Worth seems like the other side of the world. I just don't want to go anywhere. Maybe this little trip to Houston will break the travel curse. Maybe it will make me even more reclusive. Who knows. At least I'm still game to try things.

I certainly didn't go far today. The car never left the driveway. Dash did get two walks though and I managed to put 10,000 steps on the Fitbit. It was still below freezing on our morning walk and there was frost on all the vegetation. I was surprised at how quickly things warmed up. By the time we took our evening walk, the temperature was almost 60 degrees. I think it's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow. That's fine by me. Daylight Savings Time starts this Sunday. This seems like a good time to start Spring as well.

Dash has a big exam tomorrow morning. He's due for a complete blood panel and an echocardiogram. Fingers crossed. I really hope the vet notices the improvements we've been seeing lately. It really seems like Dash is feeling a little better but it certainly would be nice to get some medical confirmation of what Janet and I have been seeing. It's easy to imagine things that aren't really there. Wishful thinking can be a very powerful thing.

I'm supposed to get another roofing estimate tomorrow. I don't look forward to anything connected with this roof. I wish I could just limp along with the current roof for another ten years, but it isn't going to happen. I've already spent a huge amount of time and effort trying to patch this thing and it just isn't working. One way or another, a new roof is in my future. I still wish it was a new car instead.

Wow. Two things on the calendar for tomorrow. By my standards, that's a very busy day. I wish I could convince Dash not to poop in the car on the way to the vet. We haven't been very lucky recently. The last time we went to the cancer center we barely made it out of the driveway before he pooped. Maybe things will go well. A good report from the vet and a low estimate from the roofer would be appreciated.

Anne is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3358

It was much nicer today. I could almost overlook the fact that it was 23 degrees this morning because the sun was shining and there wasn't much of a wind. Of course Dash wanted a walk. It takes a while to get him suited up on cold days. We try to put his socks and boots on before he gets up because it much easier to fit these things while he is still lying down. When he gets up we take off his harness so he can wear a warm sweater underneath. Then we attach the Help 'Em Up Harness again, trying to make sure that Dash doesn't fall down in the process. On really cold days he also wears his hat. You may think this is overkill, but everything fits well and when Dash came home this morning, he wasn't shivering.

Long walks were the order of the day. There wasn't much else to do. I think Dash and I were both ready to get outside. Without writing and website design jobs to keep me busy, my days can get pretty long. If Dash were young and healthy, I could walk for hours in the park. Walking is a great way to daydream and kill time.

The muddy area on top of the sewer pipe still seems to be drying up, so I canceled the plumbing appointment that I postponed yesterday. Plumbers are expensive and I'd hate to tear up the yard and spend a lot of money just to discover that the pipe was fine and I was dealing with a drainage problem instead. We have had a lot of rain lately. I think I'll wait until we get some dry weather and then see what the yard looks like. I can always call the plumber back.

When I was busy with work, I also seemed to have lots of hobbies. I collected things. I taught myself to repair watches. I played in a rock band for a while. I convinced myself that I was an artist and had several gallery shows. Now that I have all the time in the world, nothing interests me. Most of the watches aren't running anymore and I don't even care. I tried to resume playing the piano and took online lessons for a month or two, but quickly became bored and my keyboard is now gathering dust. We have Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime and I'm not even interested in watching movies. This is all very curious. I wonder how this happened? I'm not depressed. I don't think I'm avoiding things because when something needs to get done, I still take care of the problem quickly and efficiently. Some people are motivated by desire. I must have always been motivated by deadlines. Without a deadline to meet I'm alarmingly content to do nothing.

I'll probably do nothing tomorrow. A roofer may come over to give me an estimate on a new roof. Since he's a roofer, he may not come at all though. We'll see. On Thursday we take Dash to the cancer center again for one of his periodic echocardiograms. Against all odds, I think Dash's condition has actually gotten better since we saw these doctors two months ago. He's eating better and seems to have more energy. He even got up on the bed by himself today. The little guy is pretty amazing. We were warned that Dash was living on borrowed time over two years ago and he's still with us today. He seems happy too. Maybe doing nothing is the secret to a long life. Dash has perfected doing nothing. He sleeps all day and when he's active he's mostly interested in smelling other dog's poop in the park. I think he's a good role model.

Rory is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3357

It was 23 degrees and very windy when we woke up this morning. That added up to a wind chill of 9 degrees. Brr. Dash thought he wanted a walk, but I don't think he realized what he was up against. We dressed him up as warmly as we could this morning, but he didn't even make to the back gate. When he felt how cold it really was, he wisely turned around and returned quickly to the house.

We spent the rest of the day indoors. Dash ventured outside to pee occasionally and I made one brief trip to the post office to pay some bills, but that was it. Today's goal was to stay warm. Even Dash understood that it wasn't a day for walking.

I'm glad I got the water off the roof yesterday. Ice on the roof causes some peculiar problems. When the ice starts to melt, the heat from the house causes it to melt from the bottom up. This creates a layer of water covered by a layer of ice, making it impossible to remove the standing water under under the ice. These conditions are a recipe for leaks because if the weather is cold enough, the ice on top can last for weeks.

I canceled today's plumbing appointment because it seemed like a terrible day to dig a big hole in the ground. The ground looked frozen anyway and I had trouble seeing where the leak was. I have a feeling that the cold, hard ground partially sealed the leak. I certainly wasn't seeing any evidence of it anyway. I hope the plumber appreciated what I did. I definitely wouldn't want to be a plumber working outside today.

I sold a few trains in February. I'm glad the collection is getting some interest again. I thought there would be a lot of sales over the Christmas holidays, but I was wrong. Nobody bought any trains for Christmas. Zero holiday sales. Did somebody get a model train for Valentine's Day? Who knows. Stranger things have happened.

I updated the Dalmatian Rescue website today. It seemed like a good thing to do on a cold, housebound day. I do so little website design these days that I'm slowly losing my skills. I occasionally have to look up things that I used to know by heart. It's only going to get worse. Use it or lose it, they always say. I guess I could revamp my own websites to keep my chops up, but I just don't have the interest anymore. Hard to believe that I used to have dozens of active clients that required hours of work every single day. How did I ever find the time? Of course the dogs were young and healthy then. So was I.

I hope that tomorrow is warmer. Two days like this and Dash and I will both have some serious cabin fever. There's nothing all that exciting about a walk in the park, but it's good to get outside. These walks are physical therapy for Dash and mental therapy for me. I hope all the early wildflowers don't die. I'm starting to see Grape Hyacinth all over the place. Based on today's weather, I think these flowers may have jumped the gun.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3356

20,000 steps today. That's what you get when you walk the dog twice, go to the gym, and remove all the water from the roof. I was surprised that Dash even wanted a walk this morning. It was bitterly cold. There was a brisk wind for most of the day and the wind chill made the temperature feel like 20 degrees. I definitely didn't feel like going up on the roof in this kind of weather, but I knew that if I didn't remove the standing water immediately, it would be ice by morning. So far, the roof leak hasn't reappeared, so maybe all my efforts have been worthwhile. Just being outside today was quite a workout. My trip to the gym seemed easy by comparison.

I wasn't surprised that Dash seemed tired today. Walking in freezing weather takes a lot out of you. We probably should have stayed inside but it's hard to convince a dog who loves to smell things in the park that it is too cold. As soon as Dash gets back inside on these cold days, he starts shivering. He never shivers while he is actually walking though. I still haven't figured this out. At any rate, after a short nap under his favorite blanket, Dash was fine. The cold weather certainly didn't hurt his appetite. Dash ate anything within reach today.

I watched the Crew Dragon capsule dock with the International Space Station on NASA TV this morning. The capsule looked so clean and neat inside. It looked a lot more like the interior of a Tesla Model 3 than your typical space capsule. The Russian Soyuz capsule looks like a flying garbage can by comparison. I'm amazed at the progress that Elon Musk has made in the last ten years. It's pretty impressive. I hope he can reach his goal of landing on Mars while I'm still alive.

I didn't have the energy to do any house cleaning after I finished with the roof this afternoon. I didn't finish updating the Dalmatian Rescue website either. I guess I can do those things tomorrow. Today just seemed like a long, continuous workout. Maybe I lost a few a few pounds. It isn't every day that I rack up 20,000 steps on the Fitbit.

I wonder why I've become so fascinated with tracking things. The Fitbit tracks me while I'm walking around and up until yesterday an IOS app called Fabric tracked me when I was driving around. the Fabric company went out of business recently and the app has gone dead. The same thing happened to Moves, another tracking app I used to use. I guess this shows that there isn't much of a market for apps that track your every more. Most people apparently don't want to be tracked.

I wonder whether I should cancel tomorrow's appointment with the plumber? Another arctic cold front is on the way and temperatures are supposed be get down in the teens. I would imagine that if the ground is frozen, it's going to be a lot harder to find that leak in the sewer line. I can't imagine that the plumbers would enjoy working out in the cold either. I'll call in the morning and see what the plumbing company wants to do. This seems like something that could wait until things warm up a bit.

Dash was restless last night and I didn't get a lot of sleep. Hope things improve this evening. I've done enough moving for one day. I need to be still for a while.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3355

We went and photographed the new dogs in the Dalmatian Rescue program today. I haven't been to the kennel for a while, so there were quite a few faces I hadn't seen before. It's easy to forget how strong and active young Dalmatians are. Dot and Dash were this way once. You think they'll be able to run and jump forever, but the years go by quickly. These new dogs were a lot of fun. I'm sure they'll all find great homes soon.

As expected, it was another rainy day. The gentle showers came and went throughout the day, so I was still able to walk Dash and do my grocery shopping without much trouble. Dash only got one walk today, but that was plenty. The rain picked up toward the end of the day and neither of us was in the mood to get wet.

Apparently, I still don't know how to tell time. I was going to stay up late and watch the Space X Crew Dragon launch tonight. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the launch was yesterday. Hmm. 2 AM on Saturday is not very late at night. It is actually very early in the morning. No great loss. Everything is recorded these days. I watched the launch this evening and pretended it was live.

My source for peaches has disappeared. I don't know where Kroger was finding peaches at this time of year anyway, but there were only four left when I went shopping this morning. The display was gone too, so I don't think the peaches are coming back soon. Oh, well. It's back to strawberries for the rest of the Winter. You can almost always find strawberries. When I was a kid, fruit really was seasonal. Nobody flew in berries from South America. Actually, fresh fruit of any kind was kind of a rarity. I mostly remember canned fruit.

Since it was cold and rainy this evening, we had chili for dinner. I love a good bowl of chili, but it doesn't always love me. I took my heartburn medicine ahead of time and had a beer with dinner as well. My doctor says it's fine to take a proton pump inhibitor like Protonix occasionally. It's not a good idea to take these drugs for years at a time though, since they can cause bone loss and osteoporosis-related fractures. It's always something, isn't it. For a long time I thought Protonix was a miracle drug, since it allowed me to eat anything. I guess there is no free lunch when it comes to heartburn.

I've got the pumps on the roof running now, but the rain is stopping and won't begin again until almost morning. Do I leave the pumps running and risk burning them out, or do I turn them off and risk a leak if the rain is heavy and the water levels build quickly? It's a tough choice. I wish I could find a pump that was safe to run dry for extended periods of time. It would make life easier. I guess I'll play it safe and turn the pumps off and place a bucket under the spot that usually leaks. I've had enough of this lousy weather, but there is no sign that it will end soon. March is often just as wet as February in Dallas.

There is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow. I'll probably go to the gym anyway. Hopefully, Dash will sleep through the night. If he goes outside to pee while it's raining, he'll get wet and dirty and by the time I dry him off and clean him up, I'll be wide awake. I'll bet those young Dalmatians at the kennel won't have any problems sleeping tonight. Young dogs and young people seldom do.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3354

I was determined to get something done today. It was pretty obvious that my plan of waiting for nice weather to get started just wasn't going to work. Dash seem willing to cooperate. I wasn't expecting him to take an early walk, but he did. He wanted to go someplace new this morning and we walked around aimlessly for a while. I hope he found what he was looking for.

Even though we took a long walk, we got home early enough for me to go out for breakfast. I had to feed Dash first because I didn't think he'd eat from his bowl while I was gone. I've been having to hand feed Dash lately. He's been having real trouble getting his food from the bowl to his mouth. He's still as hungry as ever, but you need to feed him by hand.

I had something called a Breakfast Reuben this morning. I've never had a Reuben sandwich for breakfast before, but this was surprisingly good. The sandwich was served on a pretzel roll with a side of cheese grits. A little different, but this is something I'd definitely try again sometime.

The muddy puddle in the back yard isn't going away, so I called the plumber and made an appointment for them to come out on Monday. Hopefully they can repair the leak without totally tearing up the back yard. It would be tempting to postpone this repair since everything is still working in the house, but the thought of Dash walking through sewer water every day isn't very appealing. The water doesn't smell bad, so maybe I'm dealing with something else entirely. Hopefully, the plumber will know what to do.

In an effort to keep the roof leak from returning again, I went up on the roof after lunch and swept all the remaining water away. It's just going to rain again in a few days, but it seems important to keep the water level low. We'll see what happens. I've got buckets ready if they're needed. The one good thing about the expensive roof replacement estimate I got yesterday is that it's going to make all other repairs seem cheap. After seeing this estimate, I'm not really worried about what the plumber's going to charge.

I accepted the NASA invitation to go to Houston and blog about the Orion program. I've been so apprehensive about travel recently that I did this mainly to force myself to get out of the house. With the ability to order almost anything online, to work online, and even have your food delivered to you, it becomes quite tempting to stay housebound. I have no real desire to get out anymore, but instinctively I know it's not a good idea to become too reclusive. You've got to stay engaged.

The new storage warehouse has already raised my rent. That didn't take long. My goal for 2019 should be getting rid of everything in the warehouse. When I was doing the big move last November I didn't see anything that I couldn't live without. Most of the stuff is so old that I've forgotten about it already. The only trouble with decluttering is that it is a lot of trouble. It is so much easier to just ignore the stuff. This is probably why just about everybody's garage is filled to the rafters with crap.

There are a lot of new Dalmatians in the rescue program, so Janet and I might go up to the kennels and photograph them this weekend. The last time we tried this we got caught in a thunderstorm and had to turn around and come home. The forecast doesn't look great, but maybe we'll get lucky this time. You never know about Texas weather.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3353

Dash seems to have a new schedule. He gets up early to go outside and pee. If we're lucky, he poops as well. Instead of taking his morning meds like he usually does at this time of day, he stumbles back to the bedroom and goes to sleep on the floor. He seems exhausted and is often shivering like he used to do in the middle of the night. I'll wrap him in a blanket and about two hours later he will wake up again. If I'm lucky I can get him to take his pills at this time. He'll pee once more and go back to sleep without touching his breakfast.

These two hour naps will often continue until noon when he seems to get a burst of energy and wants a walk. When we return from our walk, he'll usually eat his breakfast. I'm all about consistency, so I don't really understand these changes. I go along with the new schedule though. Dash body is telling him something. He's probably trying to conserve what little energy he has left.

It's just as well that we didn't take an early walk this morning. It was below freezing outside when I woke up this morning. It had warmed up a little by the time I walked Dash around noon, but it was still really cold. I should have worn a sweater under my jacket because I was freezing by the time we returned home. I need to remember that this is Texas and I always need to check the weather before I leave the house. I was in a hurry today because I could see that Dash was in the mood to go and I wanted to get him down to the park before he changed his mind.

I talked to the roofer that my architect friend recommended today. He seemed very knowledgable and we had a long conversation about the pitfalls of homes with a flat roof. He seemed to know a lot about my house just by looking at Google maps. Apparently he had a software program that could provide a rough cost estimate just by looking at the satellite view of the house. The estimate was horrendously high, but the guy said if would probably be lower when he actually came out and measured things. The other roofer who took a look at the house last month said the cost would be high as well. The cost of installing a flat roof has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. It doesn't help that I need an engineered roof with a consistent slope of 1/4" per foot either. The roof will still look flat with this type of slope, but the water will drain and there will be no standing water. I'm not getting any younger and I'm not going to be able to climb up on the roof forever. Getting a roof that drains properly is imperative.

It's a shame that there are so many large expenses like this in my future. We need numerous repairs inside the house as well. Oh, well. That's life I guess. I think I know where my new car fund is going. Maybe it won't be so bad. I like to stay dry and I don't really like to drive all that much anyway.

I certainly didn't drive much today. I had to pick up some Enalapril for Dash at the vet and some dinner for myself at a nearby barbecue place. In retrospect, I should have had something bland for dinner. The ribs and brisket were delicious, but I've got heartburn again. Damn. I wish I enjoyed eating sensibly. All-in-all, I do a pretty good job of staying healthy, but unfortunately everything I really enjoy is bad for you. I kind of envy people who really enjoy eating vegetables. Discipline and restraint keep me healthy. I'd much rather just eat cheese.

I did manage to get the trash out to the curb this evening, but I have no idea whether I'll go out for breakfast in the morning. A lot depends on Dash and the weather.

Connor os today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3352

It's raining again, so I can't find the muddy patch in the back yard anymore. The entire yard looks muddy now. I guess I'll have to wait until things dry out again before I can call a plumber. At least all the drains appear to be working normally. I'm going to assume this means that the sewer pipe has a leak but there has not been a clog. It's a lot better to have a leak in a drain line than in a supply line. Water under pressure can make a huge mess very quickly.

Dash seemed really tired this morning, so we didn't walk before breakfast. Every day is different. Some days Dash wakes up hungry and eager for a walk. Other days he can barely move. He seemed to sleep well last night, so I'm not sure what's going on. A long nap usually helps. Sure enough, around noon Dash woke up, ate his breakfast, and seemed ready to go outside. I don't know why Dash even wanted a walk today. It was a nasty day. The weather didn't seem to bother Dash, but I wish I'd worn a warmer coat. I'm pretty sure that there's standing water up on the roof,  but I didn't feel like sweeping it away today. What's the point. There's still more rain in the forecast. I did call another roofer that an architect friend recommended. Eventually, I'll get several bids and pick someone. Knowing me, I'll probably pick the wrong roofer. Reputation matters more than price to me, but a good reputation isn't a guarantee of anything. Things can always go wrong.

All the news outlets were providing wall-to-wall coverage of the Michael Cohen hearings today, but the only news that captured my attention was a story about a fat rat who got stuck in a sewer grate and was unable to move until a team of nine German firefighters came to her rescue. Oh, the humanity. The hapless rotund rodent immediately captured the attention of an overweight world. Apparently a lot of people could identify with this awkward situation. There was a lot of sympathy for the plump German rat. Not so much for Michael Cohen. I guess they were different types of rats.

Tomorrow looks like it's going to be a repeat of today. Maybe Dash will feel a little better.  Maybe the stock market will go up. Chances are that whatever happens, it will still be grey and cold. That's just the way February usually is. If I remember correctly, February was even worse last year. Enough with this dismal weather. I'm ready for Spring. Probably everybody is ready for Spring.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3351

I noticed this morning that there was a large muddy puddle in the middle of the back yard. WTF? This wasn't here yesterday. It didn't rain last night. For a moment I thought that I might have left a garden hose on, but all the faucets were off. What new kind of hell was this? When the puddle refused to dry up as the day progressed, I began to suspect the worst. Our sewer line passes under the muddy area. A pipe probably rusted or broke. Several other houses in the neighborhood that are about the same age as ours have had to replace their sewer lines. Maybe it's my turn this time.

It's weird that virtually every single problem I've had with the house involves water. Roofs leak. toilets run. Pipes break under the concrete slab. Washing machines break. Refrigerator coils freeze. Somehow the problem always involves water. I guess that's why there are hundreds of plumbers in town. I see a plumbing truck in front of someone's house just about every time I walk Dash. Maybe the wet ground will start to dry out tonight. If not, I'll have to call the plumber. I don't look forward to plumbers digging a big hole in the back yard, but what are you going to do? Things like this are one more reason why I'm never going to have any extra money.

Janet has started putting Dash's boots on before he wakes up in the morning. It's much easier to get the socks and boots on while Dash is lying down, but this doesn't always make him eager to walk. He was very reluctant to leave the house this morning. It took us forever just to get down to the park. Dash would walk a few feet and then he'd stop for a while. I don't know what was going through his head. Eventually we reached the area where the good smells begin and Dash began walking normally again. We took a much shorter walk than we normally do this morning and then Dash went back to sleep again. He didn't eat his breakfast until several hours later. I hope he's feeling OK.

Nothing exciting happened today. I balanced my checkbook after breakfast. Sometimes this process is easy. Other times it is infuriatingly difficult. It took me a long time to realize that I'd failed to record several January bills. I paid the bills. I just didn't subtract them from my balance. Eventually I found the problem and everything balanced but it sure took me a while.

I still haven't accepted the NASA invitation to visit the Johnson Space Center. I probably will, but there are still a few days left until the deadline. I keep finding excuses to postpone making a decision. I worry about Dash having a setback. Today I was fretting about my potential plumbing problem. I need to realize that I'm never, ever going to wake up without a care in the world. There's always going to be something to worry about. It's not a perfect world, but I shouldn't use this as an excuse to do nothing.

I did remember that it was Tuesday today. That means that if I don't procrastinate, I might be able to get a plumber out to the house before the end of the week. I might as well go for it. I despise expensive repairs, but sitting around and watching the mud hole in the yard grow deeper for a few additional days isn't going to make the repair any cheaper. I'll call tomorrow. The sad thing is that the plumbing repair will probably cost exactly the same as a trip to Houston.

Bingo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3350

Is it just me, or have simple things become more difficult in recent years? My ambitions are modest and my expectations are low, but it is becoming harder and harder to get caught up on things. Life has become a game of Whack-a-mole, where new problems continue to arise faster than you can deal with the ones you already have.

Nothing went wrong today. This is just an observation. I used to feel on top of things and was almost always ahead of schedule. Now I'm not. I don't think I've slowed down all that much. I just think the world has changed.

When I woke up this morning, I noticed that one of Dash's nails was bleeding a bit at the base of the nail. Not good. Has the nail become loosened as a result of Dash continually dragging his feet when he walks? Who knows. Now I've got to figure out how to protect the nail so it doesn't become even looser and fall out. If Dash lost a nail again, it would be very difficult to stop the bleeding. I was half asleep when I had these thoughts. When I woke up fully, Dash already had his boots on and was ready to walk. Janet is a morning person and sometimes has Dash ready to go before I even get out of bed. You've got to seize the moment with Dash. There is a window of opportunity where he is eager to walk. If you miss it, he just sleeps for the rest of the day.

We had a nice walk this morning. The skies are still clear and although it was cold at sunrise, things warmed up quickly. On days like these, it's hard to believe that my roof was leaking a few days ago. So far, the roofer who made the repairs recently hasn't returned my call and another roofer who was going to give me an estimate for replacing the roof hasn't had time to put together a bid. I called an architect friend to get some suggestions. He said it was imperative that a flat roof have at least a 1/4" per foot slope to ensure that the water would drain after a rain. This might be easy to achieve with new construction. Not so much with a fifty year old house. I've had the usual settling you get with old houses. Without some elaborate structural modifications, I'm stuck with standing water.

The Redbud and Dogwood trees in the neighborhood are already starting to bloom. It seems a little early, but maybe not. In less than a week it will be March. I've started seeing a few grape hyacinths and crow poison flowers in the park. They say the wildflower season will be good this year. I hope so. Walking through wildflowers is a lot more pleasant than walking through mud.

I wrote a letter to my luddite sister and paid a few more bills this afternoon. I think I'm caught up on February bills now, but it won't be long before the March bills start arriving. It never ends. I didn't used to think about recurring bills when I was working and had a good income. Now these bills seem like a huge nuisance. How are you supposed to live on a fixed income if the prices of all the things you use everyday keep going up?

I need to remember that tomorrow is Tuesday. Tuesdays have been so uneventful lately that I tend to forget them and think it is already Wednesday. Truthfully, it doesn't matter what day it is. It's still just a game of Whack-a-mole.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3349

I always get more done on a sunny day. Nothing important was accomplished, but I did stay busy. Dash was ready to go early this morning. We took a nice long walk and I was back at the house fixing breakfast before 8 AM. Janet usually fixes breakfast on weekends, but she wasn't home this morning, so I made my regular fruit smoothie instead. While I was watching morning TV and drinking the smoothie, I forgot it was Sunday for a while.

After breakfast I fixed the loose roof panels in the greenhouse. The repairs were shoddy as usual, but at least the greenhouse will have a roof until the next wind storm comes along. Since the roof on our house wasn't leaking today, I soaked a sponge with bleach and tried to eradicate the new rust stains on the ceiling. I wonder if I'll ever have the nerve to have a tape and bed guy come out and replace the sheetrock. I've thought the leak was fixed several times before, but it always seems to come back.

Since I already had a sponge soaked with bleach, I tried to remove a stubborn stain on the kitchen counter and then cleaned the toilets. I knew I would make a mess and wore old clothes, but despite my best efforts to be neat, I still spilled some bleach on my shirt. The house still looks more or less the same, but it does small like bleach now.

I got to the gym later than usual and the basketball court was already being used when I arrived. Bummer. Shooting baskets is the only thing I enjoy at the gym. Everything worked out though. By the time I'd finished with the hand bicycle and the treadmill, the court was empty again. On the way home I stopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond to look for a bread knife. I didn't find what i was looking for, but I didn't have my big blue coupon with me anyway. I should have gone to REI instead.

I watched the Oscars for a while during dinner. What was Billy Porter thinking? The guy looked like Mary Todd Lincoln. I liked the idea of having Queen opening the show, but I didn't watch long. Maybe the Oscars needs a host after all. I hadn't seen any of these movies, even though most of them are available on iTunes. I just don't watch many movies anymore. The last movie I saw in a theater was The Theory of Everything back in 2014.

Dash had a good day. He was active and engaged for most of the day and felt strong enough to take two walks. It didn't hurt that it was a beautiful day. Even my allergies didn't bother me today. I spotted a few Spring flowers starting to bloom this afternoon. These early signs of Spring usually mean that another cold front is on the way. If flowers are blooming tin February, I wouldn't be surprised to see snow in March.

I hope that Dash stays strong tomorrow. The good days are a blessing now. It is becoming harder and harder for him to move around without falling.

Nora is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3348

The roof is leaking again. I definitely wasn't expecting this. It was a clear sunny day and there wasn't even that much water on the roof. Apparently the roofers hadn't stopped the leak, they had just slowed the water down. Somehow, water was still getting under the elastomer coating and finding its way inside through a bad seam. I put a bucket under the drip in the living room, cleared the remaining water from the roof, and looked for a damaged area where the water might be getting in. I couldn't find anything. The dripping water stopped in about an hour, but that wasn't the point. There shouldn't be a leak at all. I sent an e-mail to the roofer, informing him of the bad news and made a mental note to contact the people who still owe me a bid for completely replacing the roof. This is getting old.

Dash pooped in the bed three times last night. I think this is a new record. The poop landed right on the puppy pad each time, so there really wasn't much of a mess to clean up. Dash never woke up. We wondered why he never pooped yesterday. Now we know. Despite the interruptions, I actually got a good night's sleep. Apparently Dash did too. He was eager for a walk this morning.

The weather app on my phone has been saying that today was going to be windy for the past several days. It was pretty calm when we took our morning walk, so I thought the forecast must be wrong. Nope. This afternoon it suddenly became fiercely windy outside. I could see the wind trying to rip the roof off of the greenhouse again. Some of the new nails I added held and some of them didn't. None of the fiberglass roof panels blew off this time, but they all were loosened. The problem is that I can't climb on the shed roof to secure the top of the fiberglas panels because the greenhouse is too flimsy. When a panel falls off, I just push it back in place and nail the bottom to the top of the greenhouse wall. Apparently this is not enough.

My to-do list today included getting phenobarbital for Dash, a small plunger to help clear a slow drain in the bathroom, and fresh fruit for next week's breakfast smoothies. Kroger has peaches again, so the smoothies will taste a little better. I wonder why none of the other stores have peaches yet?  When I filled the car with gas, I noticed that the station had brand new pumps. It still took two tries to get the new pump to accept my credit card.

The strong winds only lasted a couple of hours but they stirred up a lot of dust. When I was taking Dash on his evening walk it looked like there was a dust storm on the horizon that partially obscured the sun. I hadn't seen skies like this for three or four years and though it would make a great photograph. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. Dash walks so slowly now that by the time we got home, the sun had completely set. I guess the dust storm photo will have to wait until the next dust storm.

Today was discouraging. I can't believe I'm still dealing with a roof leak, a slow bathroom drain, and a dilapidated greenhouse. There is no joy in replacing a roof. It is expensive and you can't even see the results when it's done. I don't even think a new roof will increase the value of the house. The neighborhood is slowly becoming gentrified and our small house will ultimately become a tear down no matter what we do.

I hope that Dash wakes up with lots of energy tomorrow. Janet has an early charity event to attend and it's up to me to get the day started. We'll see how it goes. I'm not a morning person and neither is Dash

Joey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3347

I didn't go out for breakfast this morning. It took me way too long to get organized. Dash was out of sorts when he woke up and wouldn't take his morning meds. We tried hiding the food in ham, turkey, canned dog food and even cake. Nothing worked. I thought that maybe he'd be hungry after a walk, so we suited him up and off we went. It wasn't raining yet, but it was so foggy that my jacket was wet when we returned. Dash seemed to like the weather, but he still wasn't hungry when we got back to the house.

The pills Dash takes are essential, so I knew I wasn't going anywhere. One way or another, he needed to take his meds. I fixed myself an omelet while Dash took a nap. I added some ham, sausage, and smoked Gouda cheese to the eggs and the result was delicious. The smell enticed Dash to the kitchen and this time he was ready to take his pills. I rolled each pill in a small slice of the same ham I'd used for my omelet. Mission accomplished.

Dash didn't poop in the house this morning and it made me nervous. I heard his stomach rumbling while we were walking in the park and I kept expecting the volcano to blow. Dash always poops a lot in the morning. Today was different. He peed in the bed instead. By the time I finished cleaning up, doing the laundry, and washing the breakfast dishes, it was noon. I didn't mind. It was raining outside anyway and there was no place I wanted to go. My omelet tasted better than a restaurant omelet anyway.

After breakfast, I watched a webinar from one of the large auction houses about how to sell your collection. I learned a lot, but it was a little late. I've already sold or consigned most of my collection. The whole presentation seemed to be directed at people who have inherited art and don't know what to do with it. Maybe that's where most of the art at auction comes from. I can see how this happens, but hopefully I can unwind my collections and clean up my mess before I die. If you've ever had to deal with settling an estate, you quickly realize that it's not a pleasant task. Your heirs will enjoy getting a check someday. They probably won't enjoy sorting through a huge pile of your junk.

Dash seemed exceptionally tired today. He spent most of the day sleeping. When this happens, I worry that his walks are wearing him out. I always let Dash set the pace and we walk very slowly, but maybe even this mild exercise has become too much for him. He really enjoyed his walk this morning, but when we returned home, he seemed exhausted. There are no easy answers about aging. I wish Dash could talk so he could tell me whether I was walking for him, or if he was walking for me. I'm just guessing that Dash loves these daily walks. He seems to enjoy walking, but what if all his joints hurt and he's just walking to please me?

I was happy to see the Dow close above 26,000 today. I'd have been even happier if I'd seen the sun.  It was such a dismal day that all I could find to photograph was an ugly weed with water drops on it. Who knows. Maybe the weekend will be nice. As long as I'm wishing, maybe Dash will be stronger tomorrow as well. Maybe I'll even get some sleep.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3346

Rain keeps getting in the way. Dash was surprisingly strong this morning and wanted to walk. I've learned to be ready for these moments, so we put on Dash's boots and off we went. Unfortunately we didn't get far. The rain that was supposed to arrive in an hour arrived in less than five minutes. When we heard thunder, Dash wisely turned around and we headed for home.

Dash went to sleep after I dried him off and I returned to making the bed and fixing my breakfast. All it took was a quick look out the kitchen window to know that it was going to be another long, wet Winter day. While I was finishing breakfast I listened the the press conference with the Chicago police department where the head of detectives laid out a detailed time line showing how they determined that  Jussie Smollett staged the hate crime attack on himself. What was Smollett thinking? He paid the Nigerian brothers with a personal check. Surveillance cameras showed the brothers purchasing all the items used in the fake attack. The brothers confessed to being accomplices in the stunt. There were even phone records confirming that Smollett talked extensively with the brothers both before and after the staged attack. This guy calls himself an actor, be he clearly hadn't watched enough episodes of Columbo. In the end the detectives usually get their man.

Almost every day I think our divided country has reached a new low. Then I turn on the TV and realize that we can still go a lot lower. Although this fake hate crime opened a dismal new chapter in this ongoing story, I still have a small amount of hope for the country. Down in Florida, Space X launched a used Falcon 9 rocket for the third time carrying three different satellites from three different countries. One of them was headed for the moon. I hope the little Israeli lunar lander makes it. I'd much rather hear a success story about Jews on the Moon than a sad story about anti-Semitism.

Dash eventually did get a walk today. It was cold and damp, but at least it wasn't raining. I think these walks are important. They keep Dash motivated. Around the house, he stumbles a lot and gets depressed. The park is filled with animal smells and Dash has a reason to keep going. Walking helps keep his muscles from atrophying. The walks probably help me as well. I'd never get close to my 10,000 steps a day goal without them.

I paid a bunch of February bills this afternoon and took them to the post office. How can an uneventful life be so expensive? The big bill this month was car insurance. Maybe I should let the insurance company put that little tracker in my car after all. They say it could lower my rates by 20%. Why am I suspicious? I have a feeling that it could also raise my rates.

The week's trash has been taken to the curb. This evening's Space X launch was flawless. Dash got his walk today and finished eating all his meals. The roof still isn't leaking. Hey, measured by these low standards, I guess that today was a success.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3345

Dash wouldn't walk this morning. I thought he'd be eager to get outside since the weather was nicer than yesterday. I even saw the sun and a few patches of blue sky for a while. Evidently Dash wasn't impressed by the weather. Before we'd even made it to the end of our street, he turned around and came home. He must have been feeling bad this morning, because he immediately went to sleep as soon as we returned to the house.

There was a post card in the mail this morning saying that there was an attempt to deliver a package and that I was to call the number on the card immediately. This was an obvious scam. The card didn't come from UPS, Fedex, the Post Office, or Amazon. I hadn't ordered anything either. Who were these people trying to fool? I put the card in the shredder, but there will probably be more dubious mail tomorrow. I feel like I'm under siege lately. Most of the mail that arrives at the house is junk. The phone is even worse. They say that 50% of all phone calls are telemarketers now. At my house the figure would be more like 90%. I really feel like the phone company should be paying me to put up with this nonsense. The telemarketing calls start earlier and last longer now too. We occasionally get them after we've gone to bed. I have Nomorobo installed on my phone and still way too many of these junk calls get through.

If we're going to build a wall, we ought to build some sort of electronic wall to stop these irritating intrusions once and for all. Stopping telemarketers might be the one thing that Democrats and Republicans could actually agree on. I wonder why telemarketers even bother. Few people even answer their phone these days. If you don't send them a text, you'll never get an answer.

Don't even get me started about Spam. Luckily my hosting company has a very good Spam filter, so I don't see most of it. Occasionally, I empty the Spam folder on the mail server and I'm always shocked at how many messages there are. Usually there are thousands of them.

Early this afternoon Dash seemed to have recovered and we took a nice walk. It doesn't really matter when Dash feels like walking. I've always got the time. I think it's great that he still has the desire to do things. Sometimes he has more desire than I do. Dash tires very easily and sleeps a lot, but when he's ready to go, we go.

I'd like to think the sunshine I saw today was a hopeful sign. Unfortunately, there are thunderstorms in the forecast for Friday. At least our weather isn't quite as bad as last February. If I remember correctly, it rained all month. The rainy season will be over eventually. The wildflowers will return. They won't last long though. When Summer arrives I'll be thinking that all this February rain was just an illusion.

Odie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3344

Rain, rain, go away. Needless to say, I'm tired of this. Dash was lucky to get one walk today. I checked the radar as soon as I woke up and realized that we had a short window of opportunity before the downpours started. Janet had an appointment this morning, but she helped get us started. Some mornings Dash won't leave the house without someone to follow. Janet led the way to the park this morning and then as soon as there were lots of things to smell, he totally forgot she was there. Janet returned home and Dash continued smelling his way along one of his familiar routes. I was worried that the approaching rain would overtake us, but we completed our walk with minutes to spare.

Rainy days are murder on Dash's protective boots. Everything gets wet and the fitted bandage that we use as the first layer of protection often gets ruined. There were no bloody paws this morning, but there were a few small red spots that indicated something was rubbing. I'll be glad when the weather is dry again. It's much easier to deal with these assisted walks without a lot of mud and slippery wet grass.

I got a letter from NASA today saying that a postponed event that I had applied to attend early last Fall had finally been rescheduled and that I had been approved. This was a surprise. The event is an opportunity for bloggers to go behind the scenes with the NASA Orion program and see how this four man capsule will be used to return to the moon. I get the Orion, Crew Dragon, and Boeing Starliner programs confused sometimes and wonder why we are developing all three. Maybe this trip to Johnson Space Center could provide the answer. Since Houston is close and the tour is just a one day event, I think I'll probably accept the invitation. Janet says Dash will be fine with her for the day. I probably worry too much, but Dash does need a lot of assistance.

I wish I was better at predicting how Dash was going to respond on any given day. I never know when or where he is going to poop and I always worry that we might be overdoing things on walks. Dash did great this morning. We took a long, leisurely walk and Dash enjoyed smelling everything in his path. He seemed fine when we got home and then about an hour after we returned, he has a severe shivering episode. Was this shivering caused by the cold weather? Was it some sort of tremor related to his vestibular disease, or maybe a mild seizure? I don't know. I wrapped Dash in a blanket and sat with him for about 30 minutes until the shivering subsided and his breathing became normal again. These shivering episodes come and go. He hasn't had one in a while, so I was hoping they were a thing of the past. Dash is fine now, but you never know what is going to happen next.

The rain was pretty heavy today. Luckily, both pumps on the roof were working well. I assume things were working well anyway. Lots of water was flowing through the hoses. I'm not going to go up on the roof and inspect things until the rain stops for good. So far, the repairs the roofers made are holding up well. I have seen no evidence of the roof leak returning. The sheetrock on the ceiling is still ugly and stained, but it's dry. I still have very little confidence in the overall integrity of the roof, but every dry day is a good day.

They say the rain will be gone by morning. I certainly hope so. My day will be more or less the same whatever happens, but at least the inevitable cleanup will be easier if things are dry.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day