Day 842

I took Dot to the vet today. They suspect that she has Spondylosis and want to see if Tramadol will help. I think we already knew she had Spondylosis, but it certainly could be getting worse. The alternatives in situations like these are typically anti-inflammatory drugs or surgery. Since spinal surgery is pretty serious, vets often recommend Rimadyl. I'm glad the vet didn't recommend Rimadyl again, because I think this drug was the cause of Petey's kidney failure. Tramadol seems safer than Rimadyl, because it doesn't tend to cause liver or kidney problems. It has been known to cause seizures however, and it seems a bit strange to prescribe something that can cause seizures for a dog that has just had a seizure. I probably shouldn't second guess the vet, but I tend to second guess everyone.

We got our first U-verse bill today and it was a lot higher than I thought it would be. Telephone company bills always seem higher than they should be, because when they are quoting you a price, they never include all the taxes and fees that the government tacks on to your bill. I think this bill was high because it included a partial month of service in addition to the normal full month. There were also some one time installation charges tacked on to the bill. We'll see if things average out over time. The electrician's bill for installing the mercury vapor lamp was also higher than I expected. They charged for two service calls, even though they did nothing on the first visit. They brought the wrong part and said they'd come out another day. I definitely don't think I should have to pay for that.

Being overcharged seems to be a recurring theme this month. The hospital is trying to charge me more than they quoted for the MRI I had in January. The furnace folks sent me a bill for something the technician said would be free. The electrician's bill was definitely too high. I can't wait to get the bill from my accountant for doing my taxes.

When I'm up on the roof sweeping the standing water off, I get a nice bird's eye view of the entire yard. Today, I saw all sorts of problems that need to be dealt with. Creeping vines are attacking the small trees and shrubs again. I need to pull all these vines up before they strangle the shrubs and kill them like they did a few years ago. There are still a ton of dead limbs on the trees as well. I thought I got most of them last month, but apparently not. Then there's the house itself. The gutters are rusting and need to be replaced. There's some rotting wood on the carport. I need to plug all the little holes under the eves with spray foam too, before those pesky bees return. After all the problems I had last year, I definitely don't want bees again.

I finally made an appointment with Betty for a haircut tomorrow. I think I'm about two months overdue. I've been real busy lately, but there are limits to how bad I'm willing to look. Lately, when I shave in the morning, I see Don Imus staring back at me from the bathroom mirror. That's bad! I really need a haircut.

Angel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 841

The electricians were out at the house at 7:30 this morning to fix the mercury vapor lamp in the back yard. There are times when I wish that I had a regular job instead of working on my own, but then I remember that people who work for someone else have to go to work a lot earlier than I do. I don't know if I could ever go to work at 7:30 AM on a regular basis. It's probably a good thing that the electricians came early though. The first fixture they tried to install was defective and they had to go back to the shop for another. They were still out in the back yard working when I returned from giving the dogs their regular morning walk.

What a difference a day makes. The sky was clear and blue this morning. No wind. No rain. No tornadoes or thunderstorms anywhere. The only alarming thing I saw today was a snake. It's gotten warm enough that all the snakes in the park are coming out of hibernation. I have to keep an eye out for snakes in the Spring, because the dogs don't have the good sense to stay away from them. Some varieties of snakes in the park are poisonous, but I can never remember which is which, so I try to stay away from all of them.

I paid a bunch of bills this afternoon, which is always a frustrating thing to do on days when the stock market takes a big tumble like it did today. Every time I start to feel a little better about the market, something like this happens and I'm back to square one again. They say the market crashed today because of Spanish bonds. Who cares about Spanish bonds? I am convinced that embracing a global economy has opened a Pandora's box of woes that can never be closed. At this rate, I'll have to keep working forever as we slowly slide downhill toward some dismal global unity.

Maybe the dogs feel this way about training class. They're not making much forward progress either. The big improvements were all made in the first year. Dash won blue ribbons during his first year at school. With each succeeding year, he seems to be backsliding. I can certainly relate. I feel the same way sometimes. At least it's light outside now, so we can see how far we're backsliding.

Dottie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 840

What a day. There were tornadoes all around us for most of the afternoon, some of them large enough to make it on the national news. Luckily, most of the really bad weather was a little South of us. Although the roof will probably leak tonight, we didn't suffer any damage. I couldn't convince the dogs that everything was fine, however. They were both convinced that the sky was falling and cowered under my desk until the rain finally quit.

Poor Dot. Right in the middle of the storm, the washing machine repairman arrived and she had to face her two worst fears at the same time. She's asleep now. I think having a repairman in the house and the same time there was thunder and lighting outside wore her out. I was surprised that the repairman kept his appointment, because the weather was genuinely terrible. I asked him if he had trouble driving over to my place, and he said no. "There was a tornado about five miles South of me when I was on the freeway," he said and then added, "It was no big deal." I'm glad he came, because the washing machine is finally fixed.

Understandably, the electrician did not come out today. Nobody in their right mind would want to replace a mercury vapor lamp sitting on top of a tall pole in the middle of a thunderstorm. I think the storms are moving to the East, so maybe we can get the lamp fixed tomorrow.

Getting the dogs walked was a problem. I wish they'd both learn to poop in the yard. I waited until the weather app on my iPhone said the storm had passed and out we went. Before we had even walked 100 yards, there was a bright flash of lightning and about five seconds later a huge thunderclap. That's all it took. Dot and Dash couldn't get home fast enough. About an hour later, when the radar showed absolutely nothing in the vicinity, we tried again. It was almost dark, but this time the walk was a success.

I got quite a bit of work finished today. There certainly wasn't much else to do. I'm glad the power didn't go out. That's what usually happens on days like these. I postponed Dash's antigen shot until tomorrow. His appointment was right during the worst of the storm and the last thing I wanted was to be sucked up in a tornado with a dog in the car.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 839

There are times when I think getting something fixed is simply impossible. The electrician came out today to fix the mercury vapor lamp in the back yard. The first thing he said was that the bulb in my lamp was obsolete and that nobody made them anymore. Not a big deal, I thought. "Just replace the entire unit," I said. I figured that since these types of lamps were quite common, they'd just have one on the truck. Nope! They didn't have any mercury vapor lamps on the truck at all, even though they'd known for a week that this is what I wanted fixed. The two electricians said they'd go to Home Depot and see what they could find. An hour later they returned, saying that Home Depot had nothing and that they'd have to come back later. As you might expect, there was a lot of frantic dog barking during this episode, and of course the light still doesn't work.

I'm really tired of dealing with broken things, but that certainly doesn't keep things from breaking. Maybe I'll get lucky tomorrow. The washing machine repairman is coming back in the morning with the part that is supposed to get the complicated machine working again. One can only hope. In the mean time, I went to the paint store and bought some paint. Painting is definitely not one of my favorite things, but I've discovered that it's much easier to do little painting jobs myself than it is to find a painter willing to do a small job for an equally small price. Nobody wants to do little jobs anymore. It just isn't worth their time. Even though it is frustrating, I guess I understand. I don't like to do little jobs either. I always prefer big, complex jobs. It's the only way you can make any money.

Although it wasn't a terribly productive day, I did manage to get a few things done. I made an appointment to take Dot to the vet. I made another appointment with my potential new web design client. Oh, I did a load of laundry too. The machine always works for me. It just doesn't work for Janet. Somehow, I can't convince her to throw lights, darks, and towels together in one huge load that completely fills the tub.

Miracle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 838

The dogs got a nice outing at the dog park this morning. When we returned home, I settled down for a long afternoon of chores. I'm so far behind in getting the rental property ready to show again that I decided to spend the entire afternoon cleaning the place up.

I re-hung the closet doors so the handles were facing outward again. I removed mountains of cable that had been stapled to the walls by the Direct TV and U-verse guys. I vacuumed all the floors. All these tasks were just a sideshow though. The main event was painting. I painted over all the dings, dents and wall anchor holes that I had Spackled during my previous visit. I thought I was doing a pretty good job until the first coat of paint dried and I realized that my touch up paint wasn't quite the same color as the rest of the wall. Damn!

The paint was actually the very same paint that I had used to paint the walls three or four years ago before my renter moved in. Unfortunately, the paint on the walls had aged and darkened a bit over the years. Now, instead of just touching up around the nail holes and miscellaneous scrapes, I'm going to have to entirely repaint the walls. This is why renters are so frustrating. They think they deserve a medal for cleaning the oven before they leave, while at the same time they're creating a host of new problems that they aren't even aware of.

When I was walking the dogs this evening, we passed a local rock band playing in the park. These guys had a full kit with a good PA system and everything. They were playing to an audience of five people. I think there were six people in the band. The odd thing was they actually sounded pretty good. These guys were mostly just playing old Eagles songs, but any cover band who can do a credible job playing Hotel California in a public park is OK with me. I still don't know what they were doing out there. The dogs weren't very interested in hanging around to find out.

Tomorrow's going to be a busy day. I've got to re-schedule the appointment with the electrician, I've got to make a new appointment with Dot's vet to see if they can determine why she's so tired and shaky on her legs. I've got to see if I can get the washing machine repairman to commit to finishing the job he started over a week ago. We've been without a washing machine for quite a while now. If I've got time, I need to go to the one paint store in town that can still mix the proper color of paint for my rental property. A couple of gallons should do. Oh, and I need to set up a meeting with that guy who wants a new website for his company. I guess that's enough for one day.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 837

Janet and I went to another charity fundraiser tonight. I think this one benefited children instead of animals, but they're all pretty much the same. We used to spend more time at these things, but now we pretty much just eat our dinner and come home. With Dot's rear legs getting increasingly shaky, we both hate to leave her by herself for long periods of time. I ended up bidding on a pallet of St. Augustine grass at the silent auction, since I'm going to have to be putting in new grass anyway in a few weeks. We played a little roulette out of habit, but we were home before nine.

I started moving some stuff into the new storage space this afternoon, mostly because I needed to bring home some special steps I had in storage that will make it easier for Dot to get up in the bed at night. I had these steps made for Petey when his legs started to go and they actually work pretty good. Now, we've just got to teach her how to use them. She still seems to want to take a flying leap up into the bed instead of gently walking up the steps.

The steps were buried away pretty well, so I ended up moving quite a few things from the old storage space to the new one just so I could get the dog steps and bring them home. While trying to find the elusive steps, I uncovered a dental drill, a vacuum tube powered, 1950's era lie detector machine and an original Elsworth Kelly painting. I don't do much now, but this odd little room reminds me that I have led an interesting life.

I was going to go down to the rent house and do some painting today, but I spent so much time at the storage warehouse that all I had time to do was go to the grocery store and walk the dogs before we had to leave for the charity dinner. If we were smart we would have just eaten at home and left a little later for the event. The food was terrible. These guys need to find a new caterer next year.

It looks like it's going to be a great day to go to the dog park tomorrow. The weather was beautiful today and it looks like it's going to stay this way for the rest of the week. I think Dot's days of racing around are over, but she still likes to wander through the park and smell the flowers.

Smiley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 836

I went down to the rent property to do some painting and cleanup today. I gathered all my tools together, went up to the front door and then realized that I had forgotten to bring the key with me. I couldn't get in. The whole trip was a wasted effort. It was a waste of gas as well. I hadn't really noticed how expensive gasoline was getting until the rent property became vacant and I had to start making periodic visits to fix the place up. My weekly mileage has doubled and so has my gas bill. I feel sorry for those who have to commute long distances to work. At these prices, you could easily spend a small fortune on gas. Expensive gas notwithstanding, I'm going to have to make another trip to the rent house this weekend to finish what I should have done today. This whole cleanup process is taking a lot longer than I expected.

I'm starting to worry about Dot. Ever since her seizure, she has not been herself. Even though her blood work seems normal, she has been so lethargic and tired lately. Something is wrong, but it's hard to tell what the problem is. She still seems normal on her walks, but once we get home she mostly sleeps the rest of the day. This isn't like her at all. I'll take her in for some more tests next week. It could be that she's just getting old.

Hard to believe that March is over already. Last year at this time, we already had the St. Augustine grass in place in the back yard. This year we haven't even started yet. There's just so much to do. In addition to painting at the rent property, I have to start moving things over to the new larger storage warehouse this weekend. Nobody believes me yet, but the plan for the larger storage space is to organize things so I can finally start getting rid of some of this stuff. Right now, things are packed so tightly that I don't even know what I have. I'll give this project a year. If it works, I'll have sold a lot of stuff on eBay. If it doesn't work? Well, then I guess the new warehouse will be just as full of crap as the old one.

A guy called me today and said he was finally ready to start on the new website. I didn't recognize the voice, but said "Great" and asked when he'd like to get together. After the guy hung up, I searched through my files, trying to discover who I was talking to. I finally found what I was looking for. The call was a response to a bid I had sent out over two and a half years ago. It just goes to prove that all those dormant jobs aren't necessarily dead.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 835

I went to a friend's funeral today. No, this wasn't the architectural school classmate I mentioned earlier. I met David doing animal rescue work here in Dallas. Oddly, although my two friends lived thousands of miles apart, they both died of cancer within days of each other. During the service, the wireless mic that the preacher was using kept fading in and out. I could imagine David fuming in the casket. He was a fabulous DJ and knew everything there was to know about sound systems. I'm sure he knew exactly how to fix the situation, but he was already somewhere else. David loved people and was always there to lend a helping hand. It was not surprising that the church was filled to capacity. As a somewhat grumpy person with few friends, I often wonder if anyone will show up at my funeral at all. I guess we never know these things though. It's probably best that we don't.

While I was at the funeral, the electrician called and left a message saying he was ready to fix the mercury vapor lamp in the back yard. When I returned the call and asked whether he could reschedule for tomorrow, he said that they didn't work on Fridays and that I would have to call the office on Monday and reschedule. I also got a call from the washing machine repair shop today, saying that the part hadn't come in yet and they were planning on coming out again next Wednesday. When I reminded them that the repairman told me the part could be ordered overnight and that the repair would be finished by Friday at the latest, all the dispatcher said was that the repairman shouldn't have been telling me these things. Oh, well. So much for service.

My financial advisor called me today to explain some recent transactions. I was perplexed yesterday when I discovered that I now owned two new stocks and didn't remember buying either of them. My advisor explained to me that we had talked extensively about these two companies during our last meeting, but that he had waited until now to buy them because they hadn't been attractively priced until recently. I have no reason to doubt the guy. I forget stuff all the time. It was just a little embarrassing to admit to my financial advisor that much of what he tells me goes in one ear and right out the other.

It was a busy day, but I still managed to get just about everything on my list finished. Dogs were walked. Articles were written. Websites were updated. Probably the most surprising thing about the day was that my dark funeral suit still fit. I may be getting senile, but at least I'm not getting fat.

Elliot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 834

I must have been tired last night. When I woke up this morning, the house was quiet. Janet had already left for work and the dogs were back asleep on either side of me. I got myself in gear and started working, but spent most of the day thinking it was Tuesday. Tuesday or Wednesday? It doesn't really make much difference. I do practically the same things each day anyway. I didn't realize it was Wednesday until I was paying bills this afternoon and noticed that the computerized check on my screen was dated Wednesday, March 28.

Although I got off to a late start, it was a pretty normal day. I paid some bills, wrote some articles and updated a few websites. For some reason nobody is paying me this month. It's the 28th of the month and only one check in the mail so far.

I made the final arrangements for moving to my larger storage space this Saturday. I also had a talk with the people who did my MRI last January. When I went in for the MRI, the girl at the front desk told me that the amount I paid up front would be the only payment I'd have to make. Sure enough, three months later I get another bill from these people. This type of thing happens frequently and is one of the reasons I think healthcare is hopelessly complex. Doctors and hospitals initially charge way more than they ever expect to receive and then spend the next three months fighting it out with the insurance companies. In this case, a $5,500 initial bill was eventually settled for $798. This still seems a lot for what is basically a fancy scan. Sure, they're scanning something that's alive, instead of a photo or a piece of paper, but an MRI is still a fancy scan in my book. You ought to be able to walk into an MRI store and get one of these things for $25.

Neither of the real estate agents I contacted about my rental property has bothered to follow up with me. When I wasn't interested in selling, real estate agents were relentless about getting a listing. I'd tell them no and they'd just keep calling. Ironically, now that I am interested in selling, these same agents don't even give me the time of day. Maybe they know something I don't. Now that I think about it, there are a lot of for sale signs in the neighborhood already. Maybe they're worried that adding one more house to the mix will depress prices even further.

The dogs did well at class tonight. The weather is getting warmer and more importantly, there is still daylight when the class begins. In another month, there will probably be daylight when the class ends.

Doc is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 833

I got a message this morning that one of my college classmates had died after a long battle with cancer. Spending as much time with dogs as I do, I'm all too familiar with the cycle of life. Some of my very best friends are sitting in little urns on our coffee table. It's different though when someone passes away who is exactly the same age as you are. It makes you realize just how fragile and short life can be. Whenever a friend dies, I resolve to make the most of the rest of my life. This resolve seldom lasts long however. The simple mechanics of daily living seem increasingly complex and any grand plans I once had continue to fade away. My college friend accomplished a lot during his short time on earth. Sometimes I wonder whether I've done anything at all. Maybe being an observer is not enough.

The mower charged up just fine last night, so right after I finished walking the dogs, I mowed the grass for the first time in 2012. If the front yard was filled with Bluebells like the ones that are starting to appear in the fields behind our house, I wouldn't bother to mow at all. Unfortunately, there are no wildflowers in our yard; just a lot of wildly growing weeds.

Continuing the theme of broken things that I've established this Spring, a mercury vapor lamp in the back yard burned out last night. I called an electrician to replace the lamp, since it is located right next to where the power comes in from the utility pole. I'm so clumsy that I'd probably electrocute myself if I tried to change the lamp myself. We installed the lamp for security years ago, but in recent years it has become more of a nightlight for me and the dogs. Dash seemed restless last night without the soft light streaming in the windows and it seemed a bit too dark to me as well. It's weird that everyone at our house sleeps better with light streaming in the window, but that's just the way it is.

I returned to the rental property this afternoon to continue my cleaning efforts. I patched the holes in the Sheetrock and started to clean the floors. A word to the wise: don't ever put slate floors in a rental property. The dark floors hide the dirt so well that nobody bothers to clean them. When I got out my wet mop to clean the floors, I discovered they were filthy. I don't think any renter has bothered to clean them since they were installed. Although it's often hard work, I don't mind cleaning up the rent house. It's peaceful down there. No phones or Internet to interrupt me. As I slowly and methodically bring the place back to the way it was when I used to live there, I have many fond memories of the good times I had there. Life was simpler then. Much simpler!

I took the last of the K-1 forms that have been arriving in the mail to the accountant today. I think I'm finally good to go. Taxes are another thing that have become more complex over the years. You'd think with such a complex tax return, I'd be making a lot of money. Sadly, this is not the case. It's all just a lot of bad investments.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 832

I started three big repairs today. The report card: one success, two fails. The washing machine repair was a big fail. After listening to barking dogs and strange noises in the utility room for an hour and a half, the technician told me that I needed a new circuit board and that he would have to special order the part. It doesn't matter whether it's the furnace, the car, or the washing machine, it's always the motherboard. I don't know why they had to special order this part. They should have just filled the truck with these innocuous looking but strangely expensive circuit boards. There was nothing mechanically wrong with the machine at all. It was the electronics that had gone haywire. The machine is still broken and I will have to listen to barking dogs again as soon as the part arrives.

For a while, I thought I was going to have better luck with my catalytic converter. When I went to the muffler shop, the repair guy said he didn't see anything wrong with my catalytic converter. He thought I just had a loose heat shield. He welded the loose heat shield on again and didn't charge me a thing. I thought I was ahead of the game until I started hearing the rattling noise again before I was even halfway home. Either the weld broke when I went over a bump, or they guy was completely wrong about the catalytic converter. At any rate, it's back to the muffler shop tomorrow.

The one success of the day was the lawn mower. I went to a shop that rebuilds batteries and they were able to get my 24-volt lawnmower going again by using two twelve volt motorcycle batteries. Hopefully, these new batteries will hold a charge and I'll be able to finish mowing the grass in the morning.

Despite all the repairs, I still managed to get several websites updates done and wrote a couple of articles. I think the whole week is going to be this way. Hopefully, I'll find time tomorrow to go down to the rent property and patch the holes in the Sheetrock. I need to find the paint number and buy a quart of touch-up paint.When all the holes are patched, sanded and painted, I'll contact a real estate agent. Now that I'm thinking about selling, I'm starting to get calls from people who'd like to rent. It's always this way. I'm totally out of sync with the rest of the world.

Dot seemed tired today. She probably just wore herself out barking at the washing machine repairman, but she's getting old and I'm starting to worry about her legs giving out. I probably worry too much about everything.

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 831

Our weekly trip to the dog park was the high point of the day. After we returned and had a little lunch, it was non-stop chores. I went to Home Depot first, to try to get a battery for my lawn mower before the grass in the front yard gets two feet tall. Although the store was still selling my model of mower, they had no replacement batteries. "We used to have batteries for these." was the best response I could get out of anyone. The salespeople couldn't even point me to a service center. Everyone seemed totally dependent on the Home Depot website. I already knew what the website said however. It said that this battery was out of stock online. Oh, well. Too much grass up front. Not enough grass out back. What are you going to do? Maybe I can get the battery rebuilt where I buy my watch batteries.

Later in the afternoon, I kept the promise I made yesterday and went down to clean my rental property. I'm happy to say that the Goo-be-Gone stuff actually worked and most of the candle wax and sticky stuff on the stone floors is gone. Now I've got to figure out how to get the Goo-be-Gone off the floors. It's some kind of petroleum based product and it doesn't seem to evaborate.

The big Molly Bolt wall anchors in the living room were a lot harder to remove than the sticky stuff on the floors. I managed to get most of them out, but I've got to go back and plaster over the holes. Now, the living room looks like someone used the walls for target practice. Renters are a complete mystery to me. I just don't understand why they do some of the things they do. In one of the bedrooms, someone took off the four sliding closet doors and put them on again backwards. Why? I just don't know what this proves. I've still got a lot of work to do, but I ought to have the place presentable enough to show a real estate agent in a week or two.

I think I'm getting too old to be cleaning sticky stuff off floors on my hands and knees. All I know it that every bone in my body was sore when I arrived home for dinner. I hate to pay someone to do this stuff however. It's simple mindless work. I used to be able to do this type of cleaning all day long. Unfortunately, the operating word in this case is "used to." If my hands rebel at scrubbing a floor, Lord help me when I pick up a guitar again.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 830

I awoke to the sound of lawnmowers. All my neighbors were mowing their lawn. I think this loud, raucous sound marks the official start of Spring in Texas. From now through September it won't be birds chirping that I hear. It will be lawn mowers, weed wackers, hedge trimmers and leaf blowers. I would have mowed my own lawn too, but the mower wouldn't start. Jeez, I specifically got an electric mower so it would start easily every time, but apparently the battery went dead sometime during the Winter. I wish I knew the battery was dead when I was getting supplies at Home Depot yesterday. I could have picked up a replacement battery. No, that's not right. What was I thinking? Home Depot doesn't have any replacement parts. I'll have to look up the model number of the mower and buy a battery online.

I managed to put off cleaning up the rent property until tomorrow. I don't know why I hate dealing with this place so much. Once, I left the rent house vacant for two years because I just didn't want to mess with it. I can't afford to do that anymore. I'm going to have to get the place looking spotless and show it to a real estate agent. It would be a lot easier to just show it the way it is, but people always remember the worst and seldom make the effort to imagine how pretty it could be. OK. I've convinced myself. Tomorrow, rain or shine, I'm going down there with my bottle of Goo-be-Gone, a vacuum cleaner, a tub of spackling compound and assorted hammers and screwdrivers. I'm determined to get this albatross off my back.

The dogs were both panting on their evening walk and it wasn't even eighty degrees. I don't know what they're going to do in July when it's a hundred and ten outside. Dot is getting older and can't take the heat anymore. I think Dash is just lazy like me and would prefer to stay inside with a cool beverage.

Hopefully, the lawn mower battery will recharge itself overnight. I'd hate to add a new lawnmower to the washing machine repair, new furnace, and catalytic converter I'm already on the hook for. Oh, and I'm getting that larger storage space too. Where are those big, lucrative jobs when I really need them?

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 829

I spent the day wrapping up loose ends. I took the set top boxes and remotes back to the cable company. Hopefully, we'll never need these things again. I went to the muffler store and got a price on a new catalytic converter for my car. I went to Home Depot and got a bunch of cleaning products so can get my rent house looking presentable this weekend. I also called a real estate agent who's been bugging me for years to give him the listing on the place. Probably, now that I actually want to sell the house, he won't be interested any more. The guy specializes in what he calls architecturally significant homes, but usually they're much larger and more expensive than mine. We'll see. Somewhere out there is a person who has always wanted a mid-century home like this. I've just got to find them.

The weather has been beautiful for the past two days. If I wasn't so tired, I'd put in the new St. Augustine turf in the back yard. I think it was just about this time last year when we planted grass in the back yard. It's almost an annual ritual to plant new grass each Spring. Most of the grass never makes it through our hot Texas summers, but the yard looks real nice through about mid July.

So far, I like U-verse a lot better than cable. Internet download speeds seem quite a bit faster. The TV picture seems sharper too. The hum I always heard in the old analog phones is gone. I just wish the U-verse set top box showed which channel you were watching. Although we have 300 channels, the channel that shows old episodes of Fraiser every night is gone. I've seen all these shows five times already, but it's comforting to watch something you've already seen as you're going to sleep. I guess I'll have to find something new.

I have a feeling that it's going to be a busy weekend. Nice weather during the weekend usually means lots of chores.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 828

I had a meeting with my watchmaker client today. He was telling me how it's getting harder and harder for small repair shops like his to stay in business, mostly because the large watch manufacturers won't sell him parts anymore. They want repairs to come back to the factory and are slowly shutting out independent watch repairmen. I find this sad. I also find that it's just part of a much larger picture. More and more manufacturers have discovered what Apple is doing and would like to try doing the same thing themselves. Hey, if people will pay a lot of money for an iPad with no serviceable parts, maybe they'll do the same thing for an expensive watch or pair of shoes. We have become a disposable society and it's getting harder and harder to get anything fixed. I like buying quality things that can be fixed forever, but I'm in the minority here.

On the way back from my client meeting, I stopped by the Land Rover dealer to see if they could identify my new noise. Clay, my service guy identified it right away. "You need a new catalytic converter," he said. Damn! I thought I fixed the catalytic converter last year, but apparently the car has two of them. One thing I learned when I replaced the first catalytic converter was that it wasn't a good idea to have Land Rover do the job. The cost of a genuine Land Rover catalytic converter: $2500. The cost of a generic catalytic converter at the local muffler shop: $300. I'm going back to the muffler shop again.

It must have rained last night because the roof was full of water again. I didn't even hear the rain, but apparently a gentle rain can leave just as much standing water as a big storm. I'm really getting sick of getting all the water off the roof every time it rains, but the cost of a quality "engineered" roof that drains properly will make a Land Rover catalytic converter seem cheap. All I can tell you is to never buy a house with a flat roof. Those flat roofed mid-century modern homes with their sleek flowing lines sure look nice, but they will make your life miserable. Actually, if I had it all to do over again, I would just rent. Now that everybody is discovering that real estate is no better as an investment than anything else, houses don't look quite so glamorous. Owning a home is a lot of trouble. It would be a lot easier to just act like my tenants and "let the landlord take care of it."

I just finished doing a huge load of laundry with towels and clothes and everything all mixed together. The washer worked perfectly. Whenever Janet does a properly sized load of color sorted clothes, the washer doesn't work. Needless to say this isn't making her very happy. Oh well, the washing machine repairman comes on Monday.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 827

Most of today was occupied by getting U-verse installed. It was such a long, involved process that I boarded the dogs for the day. Dot would never have tolerated strangers moving things around in every room of the house. Since we were replacing all the phones, the televisions and the entire office network, I was expecting the worst. So far, the results have been largely favorable. The television works and we have a lot more channels than we had before. The Internet is quite a bit faster than it was before. The phones have built-in voice mail, so I don't need the answering machine anymore. I like a lot of the little things the best. When someone calls, the caller ID number shows up on your television screen. You can record an entire season of your favorite show just by clicking on a single button. The DVR automatically records each episode and then you can watch them whenever you want. So far, so good. It will probably take me months to learn all the available features but the main thing is that we are getting more services than cable for less money each month. As long as this complicated fiber optic system doesn't crash on us, I'm a happy camper.

I can't say that the dogs were all that happy today. Apparently, they both hate day boarding. When I picked Dot and Dash up after the U-verse installation was complete, Dot was panting like she'd been left out in the sun all day and Dash was making strange warbling bird noises. They were both very happy to return home again. Oddly, after all the boarding agitation, they were both very good at training class tonight. Dash had one of his best nights in months. We was even able to do some of his exercises off-leash. OK, I forgot to bring the long leash, but he did much better than I expected without it. Maybe I don't even need the long leash anymore. That would be great. If I could actually get to the point where I could trust this dog to come when he's called, it would be a miracle.

Now that the big household electronics upgrade is behind me, all I have to worry about are the washing machine repair and a potentially expensive trip to the Land Rover dealer. The mystery noise under the hood is getting louder, so I'd better take the car in soon.

The weather was beautiful all day. I'm sure the U-verse installation went a lot smoother than it would have if the technicians were trying to hook up new phone lines in a thunderstorm. I hope the nice weather continues. It should! After all, it's officially Spring now. Summer will be here before you know it, and that means I'd better turn my attention towards getting the rental property leased or sold.

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 826

There was an enormous amount of rain last night. It rained all night long and the storms continued until almost 10 AM this morning. Needless to say, the roof wasn't up to the challenge. Not only was there a leak in the living room where water usually gets in, but there was a second leak in the utility room as well. It's a good thing we've got a lot of buckets. Dot wasn't really up the the challenge either. She is terrified of storms and periodic thunderclaps kept her up all night. At some point during the night, the power went out, leaving me with dripping ceilings, scared dogs and no light.

Luckily, things got a lot better as the day progressed. I started the day by driving Janet to the dentist for dental surgery. Then the dogs got their walk where they splashed through puddles and made a general mess of themselves. As soon as the dogs were dried off and asleep on the bed again, I made the obligatory trip up on the roof to get the water off. I think my patches held up, but there was so much water this time that it just found another place to leak in.

With the roof dry again, I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shop and picked up a somewhat sedated Janet from the dentist. Before starting on my writing work for the day, I made one more attempt to find a washing machine repairman. My first pick never returned my call, so this time I picked a company that sounded more corporate. I made an appointment and am hoping for the best. These guys sound pretty expensive, but in this house the washing machine is just as essential as the coffee maker. I can't live with a broken washing machine for very long.

I don't know why everything seems to be breaking lately. I just noticed that the electric heating element in the dishwasher isn't working properly. The dishes get clean enough, but they just appear to air dry. Jeez, a furnace on the fritz, a washing machine that won't spin, a dishwasher that won't dry...where is all this all going to end? I think I heard a funny noise when I started the car this morning too.

Baxter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day