Day 2756

I finished writing both my new articles today and spent the rest of the time lying on the bed with my feet elevated. It was nice to have some work to do again, but I don't think it is a good idea to sit at the computer all day. I can literally feel the fluid pooling around my ankles when I sit for long periods of time. Another bad thing about sitting at the computer is that I spend too much time Googling information about swollen legs and ankles. I'm finding lots of similarities between my condition and people who have had minor motorcycle accidents. Basically, if you are a hypochondriac, you should never Google your own ailments.

Elevating my legs really seems to help control the swelling in my legs, but unfortunately the benefits seem temporary. It kind of feels like I've got a quart of water floating around inside me. When I lie on the bed with my legs elevated, the liquid flows back into my body. When I stand up and start walking, gravity causes it to flow down around my ankles again. It's frustrating, but there's not much I can do at this point. It's going to take a long time to completely reabsorb the blood and fluids resulting from a trauma injury like this.

Maybe I need to start watching Netflix like Janet. She needs to rest for long periods of time too, but luckily she enjoys watching movies. Often I find her asleep with a movie still running on the iPad on her lap. I'm growing bored staring at the ceiling, so maybe I'll give Netflix a try tomorrow. Lying on your back with your feet in the air probably isn't the best position to watch a movie, but I'll have to improvise.

Dash threw up again this afternoon. I was hoping that he wouldn't have any problems until Janet and I were both well again. Maybe that was too much to ask for. Dash has thrown up periodically for years. Usually he seems normal again within a few hours. When I take him to the vet they can never find anything wrong and usually just suggest changing his diet. Dash will eat bugs and dead things when he can find them, and eating something bad is often the cause of his stomach problems. Janet and I have been so preoccupied that we probably haven't been watching him closely enough when we take him outside to pee. At any rate, we gave him a Pepsid tonight and hoped for the best.

Dash's upset stomach reminded me to make an appointment for him at the cancer center. His oncologist likes to do a recheck every six months and we are a little behind schedule. Dash has been in remission for so long now that his doctors aren't really worried about the cancer returning. They are more worried about an enlarged heart as he grows older.

When I look at my calendar, it's nothing but doctor's appointments for Janet, myself, and Dash. Hopefully, this is just a temporary thing. Janet is starting to feel a lot better. I'm on the mend too, but dog bites are painful injuries that tend to heal slowly. I'll just need to stay patient. It would be nice if Dash would stay healthy too. We don't need a three ring circus at this point.

Tomorrow, I take my car in for a long postponed service appointment. It will be nice to get that expensive necessity out of the way. Pretty soon, we should have grass in the back yard again too. One step at a time, we're slowly getting back to normal. Just for the record, I didn't see this Great Egret today. I didn't even leave the house. I did see the bird pretty recently though and didn't feel like showing you a picture of my feet in the air.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2755

I was disappointed this morning that I wasn't improving faster. I seem to be getting a little better every day, but my wrist still feels shaky when I'm not wearing the splint and my legs still hurt. I thought the swelling in my left leg had subsided, but on further inspection, I've realized that gravity has just caused the fluid to sink down around my ankles. Both ankles are swollen and black and blue now. You're supposed to keep your legs elevated above your heart, but how long can you spend lying down staring at the ceiling?

I need to remember similar injuries I've had in the past and how long they took to heal. I think I was better off before the Internet. Now, whenever you research injuries online, you are presented with dozens of horrendous first-person stories detailing things that might go wrong. Today, I found myself reading about hematomas that had become infected and required surgery. It was not very reassuring. I think everything is going fine, but to keep from fretting all the time, I made an appointment to see my primary care physician when he returns later this week. I also made an appointment to see the orthopedic specialist the emergency room referred me to. Hopefully, I will feel better when they, just like the emergency room doctors, tell me that this is just going to take time.

When I woke up this morning, I was surprised to see that Janet had already walked Dash. She said that she didn't want to wake me up and that Dash was very good and didn't pull or tug at all. I was a little worried that Janet was using her arms too soon, but later in the day when she went to see her doctor, they gave her arm exercises to do, so I guess she's ready.

I was surprised to receive some new writing jobs today. It's been a while. I was even more surprised when I tried to open Microsoft Word and was presented with a screen saying that I needed to enter my 25 digit activation code first. Jeez, this software has been registered for years. What could have gone wrong? I had installed the software in 2011 and had no idea where the activation code was. After a Google search and a call to Microsoft, I received the bad news. Microsoft software activation involves linking the software to the serial number of the physical hard drive or network card on your computer. When I cloned my hard drive, it was physically a different disc, so Microsoft Office didn't recognize me. Even worse, Microsoft keeps no records of these activation codes when you register your software. The only place you find them is printed on the install discs themselves. This was all very frustrating, since I'm dead in the water without Microsoft Word.

I never throw anything away, but that didn't make it any easier to find the illusive install disc. It took hours of searching, which only made my leg hurt worse. Eventually I found the stupid disc. It's a good thing I did, because my only other alternative would have been to purchase Microsoft Office all over again. Actually, I would have had to subscribe to Microsoft Office 365. The company doesn't even sell or support the stand-alone product anymore.

I guess everything is OK. My leg isn't red and doesn't look infected. It's just swollen more than I'd like. I'm back in business with Microsoft Word and can start my new writing jobs tomorrow. I've been so preoccupied with the dog bite that I didn't even tell you that the landscaper is scheduled to put in new grass early next week. I've even made an appointment to get my car serviced.

I"m going to sleep with my leg elevated tonight. Hopefully, it will look a little smaller in the morning.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2754

Showers aren't a high priority when your legs are bleeding and your wrist is in a splint. It doesn't take long to start missing them though. Since the last time I was able to take a shower was Wednesday morning, I thought it was time to give it a try. I carefully removed the splint, covered the wounds that were still oozing, and turned the water on. Other than holding the soap with one hand and trying to avoid twisting my wrist at an awkward angle, everything went well. It felt good to be clean again.

Since taking a shower was a success, Janet and I thought we might be able to take Dash on a short walk together. He's been getting cabin fever by being cooped up all day and we could tell he needed a walk. I held the leash with my good hand and Janet walked alongside Dash to keep him from running or tugging. Dash seemed delighted that he was outside again, accompanied by both of his people. He took a longer walk than I anticipated, but I seemed to be holding up well. I felt good to be outside again too. It was only after we got home that I realized that we may have walked too far. My left leg was swollen again and I felt very tired.

After breakfast, I took a nap with my legs elevated and resting on ice packs. This seemed to help quite a bit. I'd heard that elevating an injured area above the level of your heart can help minimize bleeding problems, but I wasn't sure how effective this would be. I still don't know how long it is going to take for the hemotoma to be reabsorbed by my body. The sooner the better, as far as I'm concerned. Right now my ankles look like I weigh 300 pounds.

The most ambitious thing we did today was take Dash to the vet to get his anal glands expressed. We were going to take Janet's car, but the rear seat was up and it was too much trouble to reconfigure things. I practiced driving in the driveway with my splint on and discovered that it didn't hinder driving much at all. We took my car. The drive was easy. Getting Dash in and out of the car, not so much. Dash is getting older and he can't hop up through the tailgate anymore. I have to give him a boost by lifting him by his harness as he tries to jump. To do this correctly takes a certain amount of coordination and arm strength. I was glad that the hospital gave me an industrial strength splint. Even though lifting Dash hurt, the splint kept everything secure and in place.

Even though this was probably way too much activity for one day, most of it was necessary. I was feeling filthy and really needed a shower. Dash has been licking his butt all day. And I think we all needed a walk. After resting with my legs elevated for a few hours, I don't think I did any real damage.

When we were walking Dash this morning, we passed a field full of Passionflowers in full bloom. This was a sign to me that we took a walk on the right day. I usually only see these flowers once or twice a year if I'm lucky. They usually bloom in the Summer right after a heavy rain. It rained yesterday.

Janet has another doctors appointment tomorrow, but I may not need to accompany her, since she can drive now. It appears that I can drive too in a pinch. Slowly but surely we are becoming mobile again.

Great is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2753

Janet and I have to do all our errands together now. She can drive, but her doctors don't want her to lift things. I've got one good hand for lifting things, but I can't drive. Together, we make a pretty decent team, although I still don't understand why we are doing our shopping on busy weekends. When we were out today, I saw a couple of old people who had personal assistants. "We need one of those," I said.

I'll be glad when I don't have to wear the splint on my wrist anymore. I wish I had the forethought to fall on my right wrist instead of my left. I am so totally left handed that it's hard to even write my name or hold a fork these days. I am getting better though. The swelling is starting to subside on my left leg and I find it easier to sleep now. I'm going to have to revise my position on pain pills a bit. They do have their uses. When I took a Tylenol-Codeine pill before I went to sleep last night, it really helped dull the pain in my wrist. I may not even need a pill tonight. The pain is not as bad today.

Dash is a lazy dog and loves to nap, but I think even he is becoming bored with us. Janet and I both get tired so easily now. After we finished our shopping today, we both went back to bed and went to sleep for two hours. Although it is becoming easier to walk, I still can't be on my feet for too long. Moving around a bit is good for circulation, but moving around too much is bad. You really have to stay focused on healing. You can't pretend that everything is fine when it isn't.

This whole incident has made me realize that you have to start taking falls seriously as you get older. I've fallen many times before. I've even landed on my wrists before. It's kind of natural to try to break a fall with your hands. Although I've fallen hundreds of times for dozens of reasons, I've never put myself out of commission like this before. I'm going to have to be real careful when I go up on the roof. Old, brittle bones aren't very forgiving.

The animal control people were back in the neighborhood today. They were still looking for the owners of the dog who bit me. Janet and I have told them several times that the owners are out of town, but that doesn't seem to make any difference. When the guy knocked on my door again this morning, I gave him the owners cell phone numbers and asked him to please call them directly. Just knocking randomly on neighbor's doors and asking people if they'd seen the owners isn't going to prove anything. It's weird that animal control is ruthlessly efficient, but I can't get the sanitation people to empty my trash. When I look at how city government functions, it's no surprise that our national government doesn't work very well either.

My newly upgraded computer seems to be working well. Even though the cloned hard drive was supposed to be absolutely identical to the old drive, I'm noticing all sorts of little differences. The computer seems to know that there's been an organ transplant. Some icons look different now and the computer seems to want to go into hibernation and disconnect from WiFi when it has been sitting idle for more than thirty minutes. Maybe this is a good thing. The computer is idle quite a bit. Lord knows how much electricity I've wasted over the years.

I'll be glad when I can get back to walking Dash again. I miss our early morning walks. One of the best signs that I've been totally out of it lately is that the battery on my fitness tracker has been dead for three days and I only noticed this morning. I'll try to keep the battery charged, but it's going to take a while to get back to taking 10,000 steps a day.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2752

I spent most of the morning at the emergency room. I've had painful wrists for years, but yesterday I noticed that the pain was getting worse. It was excruciating last night and I couldn't even sleep. When I fell after the dog bit me, I must have either sprained or broken my wrist. Even though I rarely take pain pills, I took one of Janet's powerful after surgery pills in hopes that it might help me get some sleep. This morning, I still felt miserable, so I decided to go to the emergency room and get some x-rays.

Yesterday, I was driving Janet to the doctor. Today, she was driving me. Luckily, she got the OK to drive again just this morning. Amazingly, the emergency room wasn't very full. I got admitted within fifteen minutes and my whole exam from start to finish was less than three hours. All things considered, I felt like I was treated very well. I didn't have any broken bones, but I did have a severe sprain along with clear signs that I have osteoarthritis in my hands. I was fitted for a splint, given a few ice packs, a pain killer prescription and sent on my way. The doctor who examined me referred me to an orthopedic specialist to confirm the arthritis diagnosis.

Basically I'm a mess right now. My left hand is in splint, I can't raise my right hand very high because of my dislocated shoulder, and both legs are still very swollen and painful from the dog bites. Poor Dash isn't going to get a walk for a while. He doesn't seem very upset though. Actually, I think he likes hanging around the house with us. It's been a long time since Janet and I both spent all day in the house for weeks at a time. We may be going stir crazy, but Dash approves of this arrangement. He likes having the whole family together.

Despite all my problems, I still managed to get my computer upgraded. the employees at the repair place loaded the computer in and out of the car for me. Somehow, I managed to carry it from the driveway to the house with one hand. Amazingly, everything still works. The technicians told me that I prepared the clone drive correctly and I now have a working 4 terabyte internal drive. Probably my computer will be obsolete before I run out of space again.

Animal control didn't waste any time investigating the dog bite. They interviewed Janet while I was in the emergency room and I think they tried to interview the dog sitter as well. I told the owners to expect this when I talked with them yesterday. Physicians are required by law to report all dog bites. The dog will have to be quarantined while he is evaluated. If the owners are lucky, they will be allowed to quarantine him at home. Even though this dog bit me, I'd still hate to see him have to go to the pound.

The doctor sent me home with an ice pack and a splint. Unfortunately, I can't use the ice pack while I'm wearing the splint. You'd think somebody would have designed these things a little better. I've got to decide whether to use the ice pack or take a pain pill tonight. I think I'll opt for the Codeine. The ice I used last night didn't really do much.

Just so you know, it wasn't very easy to type this. I'm not going to let a bum wrist slow me down though. This is Day 2752 and it needs to be documented.

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2751

When I took Janet to see the surgeon this afternoon, we were moving so slowly from the car to the lobby that it made us laugh. We were pathetic. She couldn't use her arms very well and I couldn't use my legs. Janet was holding on to a pouch with tubes hanging out of her and I felt like I needed a walker. I'm feeling better than I did last night, but this is going to take a while. Basically, it feels like someone shot an arrow through my legs.

Janet reached a milestone today. Her doctors felt that she had improved enough so that they could take out the remaining drainage tubes. She'll probably be able to drive in a few days. There is still a long journey ahead since it will take at least three months to complete reconstruction. Things are looking good though. My case is much simpler. Assuming I don't get an infection, I should be good to go as soon as the hematoma in my leg is reabsorbed. I'm not sure what to do about the hematoma, since they do tend to heal on their own. It takes a long time though and there is occasionally a risk of a blood clot. Some people say ice packs can reduce the swelling. Other people prefer heat. I'll continue taking the antibiotics and hopefully I'll notice an improvement in a couple of days. I hope that I don't have to have the hematoma drained, but that is always a possibility.

I'm seriously thinking of switching to Janet's doctor. Everything went perfectly on her surgery since they assembled such a great medical team. It's always been hit and miss with me. Sometimes I'm referred to a good specialist, other times not so good. Your realize after a while that it makes a difference where your primary care physician has hospital privileges. Some hospital are better than others. Janet has always seen Baylor physicians. I tend to go to Medical City. If something was seriously wrong with me, I'd feel much more comfortable being treated at Baylor.

Dash didn't get a walk at all today. He seemed a bit confused at first, but then he realized that he had more time to nap. Janet's doctors don't want her walking a dog yet, because it could cause some damage if the dog pulled of tugged on the leash. I just can't walk very well at all right now. Hopefully, things will improve within a week or so. I think I'll try sleeping with an ice pack tonight.

I've got my replacement hard drive formatted and ready to go. I think I'll take my computer to the repair place tomorrow and make the switch to a 4 terabyte drive. That should last me for quite a while. It took me quite a few years to fill up the 1 terabyte drive. I used to be in a panic if I was without a computer for even a day. Now, I could probably be without a computer for a week and it wouldn't make any difference. Work is really that slow.

The neighbors called me today from wherever they're spending their vacation. They seemed very concerned about the dog bite. Since they are lawyers, they were also probably concerned that I might sue them. Not to worry. I have no interest in suing anybody. All I want in life is to be left alone. That sentiment applies to most people and it definitely applies to biting dogs.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2750

Well this sucks. I found a credit card in our alley this afternoon and though it might belong to friends of our neighbor. They'd had a Fourth of July party yesterday and there were a lot of people walking back and forth down the alley yesterday evening. I knocked on the neighbor's door and before the door was even fully open, their German Shepard ran out the door and bit me in the calf. I fell down and before I could get up, the dog bit me in the other leg. I was just trying to do a good deed by returning the credit card and got some bad dog bites for my efforts.

I've been bitten before and know that puncture wounds aren't to be taken lightly. One of those new stand-alone emergency rooms had just opened up in the neighborhood, so I decided to go there. They told me that they didn't accept Medicare and I would have to pay cash. Forget that. I drove down the street to a Primacare and they told me there would be a two hour wait. The lobby was empty, so I don't know what the problem was. I was still bleeding and growing frustrated. Luckily, I remembered that my own doctor was open until 8 PM. I got in the car and drove there, arriving just before the place closed.

A nurse cleaned my wounds, gave me a tetanus shot, injected me with an antibiotic, wrote me a prescription for more antibiotics, and bandaged me up again. If I'd waited for the Primacare folks to do this, I'd probably be sitting in the waiting room until midnight. Something needs to be done about the neighbor's dog. They claim he's friendly, but he's bitten me three times in the last ten years. It's probably time to call animal control.

I was hoping the nurse could stop the bleeding, but she told me that letting the blood flow would help prevent infection. I'm probably going to need to do a lot of bandage changes for a while. Just when I thought that Janet's bandage changes were becoming less of an issue, now I've got my own to deal with. The bad thing about dog bites is that they take a long time to heal. Been there, done that.

The rest of my day was pretty uneventful. I walked Dash, took Janet to a few stores to get her out of the house for a bit, and started cloning the hard drive on my desktop computer in preparation for installing a larger and faster drive later in the week. It was just a normal hot July day until the dog bit me.

I never dreamed it would take so long to clone a terabyte of data. Everything has slowed down to a crawl while the files are being copied. I've been waiting for Photoshop to open for twenty minutes now. I hate to cancel the cloning operation, since it's been running for five hours now. Oh, well. I learned a long time ago that when you start something, you've got to finish it.

Maybe tomorrow will be better. It looks like I've got a hematoma in my left leg since it's swollen quite a bit. Everything hurts, but the nurse said I should be fine. At least Janet is improving. The drainage is subsiding and if she's lucky they'll take the remaining tubes out at her doctor's appointment tomorrow.

I hope I don't bleed on the bed tonight. The nurse did a good job with the bandages, but I don't know if they'll hold all night. I probably should take a pain pill, but Tylenol is bad for your liver and you aren't supposed to take ibuprofen if you're bleeding. Jeez, I really thought this was going to be a good day, but life is full of surprises.

Isabella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2749 - Independance Day

Sometimes when I think of what we used to do on the Fourth of July, I'm amazed I'm still alive. When I was a kid, we rode our bicycles all over town without wearing helmets. We staged mock battles in our back yard with BB guns. And on July Fourth, we bought the biggest and most lethal fireworks we could get our hands on. I don't remember our parents giving us any talks about safety. We were on our own. I'm sure children were maimed left and right, but I ended up being one of the lucky ones. I survived putting cherry bombs in the center of toilet paper rolls and throwing them in the air as high as we could after we lit the fuse. Our favorite game was to make a cannon out of a piece of old steel tubing and use M-80s to shoot soda cans filled with sand ridiculous distances. We would also take entire packs of firecrackers apart and use the powder to make much bigger firecrackers. It was all recklessly unsafe but enormously fun.

I lost interest in fireworks years ago. I don't think Janet and I have been to a fireworks display since we got dogs. Our first dog didn't mind the sound of fireworks, but all the subsequent ones have been terrified of them. For Dot and Dash, there was no difference between a fireworks display and a bad thunderstorm. Over the years, I've grown to hate the sound of fireworks because I've seen the fear they can cause in dogs. Apparently fireworks are still fascinating to people, since I've been hearing them for the past three days. There are ordinances against setting off fireworks within the city limits, but I don't think people pay any attention to them. This evening, the park behind our house sounds like a war zone.

It rained last night, so I was able to give Dash a nice morning walk before the weather turned steamy and oppressive. It wasn't long before the temperature went from 75 to 95, but the brisk early morning was nice while it lasted. After breakfast, I decided to wash the cars. Janet's car has been idle for a while and it was even dirtier than mine. The pressure washer is great for cleaning cars. I managed to wash two cars in the time it used to take me to wash one. Janet asked me to take her car when I ran errands today, so the battery wouldn't become run down. I probably should have done this last week, since the car was a little hard to start. Every time I drive a different car I realize that I still like my big V-8 engine. I've always had big cars that get horrible cash mileage and I probably always will. I bet my carbon footprint is still lower than yours though, because I rarely go anywhere.

Now that I've upgraded my computer, my hard drive is almost full, so I'm thinking of replacing it with a much larger drive. This task was easy when I used to use the old tower Macs. I'd just open the case, unscrew the drive cage and pop in a new hard drive. The whole process took about ten minutes. The one piece iMac I use now is much more difficult to work on. I don't have the nerve to pry off the glass in front of the screen, gently remove the LED display and try to find the hard drive buried inside. To trade the internal drive for something better, I'll need to go to a repair shop. Then I'll have to hope that Time Machine is able to restore my system and files to the replacement drive. It's all much more complicated than it needs to be. It's too bad Steve Jobs isn't still around. Steve had respect for people like me and designed computers you could work on yourself. Times have certainly changed.

The fireworks are getting louder. Dash is still asleep, so I don't think he hears anything yet. Maybe he's becoming deaf like Dot did toward the end of her life. Hopefully, when he wakes up to take his evening pills, things will be calming down again.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2748

I can't get used to how long the days are. The sun is already high in the sky by the time I wake up and doesn't set until well after dinner. The sunrise and sunset walks I used to take with the dogs don't work out as well in the Summer. I still try to walk Dash as early as I can, but usually it's already too hot. I guess I'm ready for Fall even though Summer has barely begun.

I had a lot of errands to run today. Some were for me and others for Janet. I was surprised that the roads didn't seem that crowded for a holiday. I guess a lot of people have left town. It probably didn't take a long time to figure out that if you took Friday off and added the two day Fourth of July holiday the next week, you could have a nice five day holiday without taking any sick days.

We're definitely not going anywhere. Dash doesn't like to ride in the car and Janet is not very mobile until her doctors say it's OK to remove the drainage tubes. Luckily, the air conditioner is working good and there is plenty to watch on Netflix. I don't think I'd like to go to a lake or the beach on the Fourth of July anyway. It's way too crowed for me.

I"m still getting used to using Sierra on my computer. Like most upgrades I've made in recent years, the computer seems to run slower than it did before. New operating systems and old computers are not always a good match. I would have preferred to leave everything the way it was when I bought the computer in 2011, but that's not even an option anymore. Planned obsolescence is what keeps the tech industry so profitable.

I had to revisit the website I was in a panic about updating yesterday. It was so hard to update things without having access to Dreamweaver that I inevitably forgot some things. I went back and repaired my work today and was grateful that the new version of Dreamweaver I installed still worked. The only thing weird is that it doesn't save my login passwords anymore, forcing me to reenter them each time I upload something. I have a hard enough time remembering my own passwords. Remembering all my client's login information is almost impossible.

I guess sometime this week I'll go down to the county clerk's office and try to get my passport renewed. If I've got to stand in a line for a while, it's probably best that I do it while Janet is at home to look after Dash. I hate to leave Dash alone for a long time, since he has a history of seizures.

I've just about given up on going to see the eclipse. If I fly, there will be no rent cars available at my destination, and if I drive, the only way to avoid horrendous traffic jams would be to arrive two or three days ahead of time. I just don't have the time or money to spend a week on the road just to see a two minute event. The good news is that there will be another total eclipse that can be seen in Dallas in 2024. I certainly hope to live that long, but will I still be living in Dallas? We'll have to wait and see.

As usual, I don't have any plans for tomorrow. I need to try to contact the landscaper and find out why he hasn't put in our new grass yet. I'm getting tired of cleaning mud off Dash's paws every time he goes out to pee.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2747

I had to go to Walmart today to pick up something for Janet. It was just as bad as I'd imagined. Sam Walton would roll over in his grave if he could see what his stores have become. To save time, I found the location of the item I was looking for on the Internet. I kept asking employees where aisle N30 was and none of them even knew that the huge store had aisle numbers. I then tried describing the item and was sent to opposite ends of the store by two different employees. Some of the employees didn't speak English. They didn't speak Spanish either. Maybe this store wasn't typical. I sure hope it wasn't.

I was pleased that I'd finished a major computer upgrade without any problems and then Dreamweaver crashed this morning. I knew it was all too good to be true. Since I use Dreamweaver all the time, this wasn't good news. The program would launch and then immediately crash as soon as the welcome screen appeared. Everything was fine three days ago, but I have been upgrading a lot of software lately. Somehow Dreamweaver had gotten corrupted. I tried to reinstall the program but it kept asking for a serial number I lost years ago. I tried to get Adobe to send me the serial number, but they just directed me to password protected user website. Did I have the password to login? Of course not.

Eventually I managed to get the website I was working on updated by dragging files from one computer to another. The new photos were on one computer, the HTML files were on another, and my only working FTP program was on a third. Remind me to never upgrade software again. For me it's always like open up a Pandora's Box of problems. It took me hours to retrieve lost passwords and serial numbers, delete the corrupted software and start over again. I finally got a copy of Dreamweaver working, but in the process, I'd lost most of the passwords to the sites I manage. If one program had to crash, this was definitely the worst one.

Dash didn't want to walk this morning and didn't want to eat his breakfast either. It was hard to tell whether he was sick or just being moody. Eventually, he decided he needed to pee. I quickly put a leash on him and out the back gate we went. We took a normal, uneventful walk and when we got home he ate his breakfast. It's all about timing with Dash. If he won't do something, I just try again an hour later. I thought he'd want to walk real early when it was nice and cool outside, but apparently he had other ideas.

When I finished mowing the grass and running errands for Janet, I didn't feel like going to the gym. I felt I'd had enough exercise for one day. After spilling laundry detergent on the utility room floor this morning and dealing with a major software crash, I didn't even feel like mowing the grass. There was little point in postponing the chore. I knew I wouldn't feel like mowing the grass tomorrow either.

Today was tiring. I think software disasters are much harder to deal with than physical chores like mowing the grass. It took all the ingenuity I had left to get today's websites updated without using Dreamweaver. Only time will tell whether I repaired everything correctly. I hope none of today's problems re-appear tomorrow. If I wake up and Dash eats his breakfast, we're off to a good start.

Bud is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2746

It takes longer and longer to do less and less. I distinctly remember getting more accomplished during the day, but I'm not exactly sure how I did it. Maybe traffic wasn't as bad. Maybe I didn't spent so much time rinsing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Maybe there was a time when the dog's paws weren't always muddy. Whatever the reason, life used to seem simpler, even though what I actually did was more complicated.

It rained most of the night. The storms were loud enough that I had trouble sleeping. The sound of thunder would wake me up and then the sound of Dash snoring next to me made it hard to get back to sleep. I was glad that Dash slept through the thunderstorm, but I wish he was a little quieter. It was still raining this morning, so the day was basically planned around the weather radar. Eventually, Dash got walked and I made French Toast with a loaf of leftover bread I found in the refrigerator. The day got off to a slow start, but at least I didn't have to mow the grass. It was way too wet for that.

I helped Janet run errands again this afternoon. This actually works out pretty well. Janet gets to get out of the house for a while and I don't need to remember exactly what to pick up at the store. I've offered to do the shopping for her, but this seems to work out better. Janet is definitely a more efficient and organized shopper than I am. I'm glad my responsibility is limited to going to the hardware store and buying all the bulk items at Sam's Club. I don't think I have the patience to go from store to store looking for bargains. There's a whole world of coupons that appear on your iPhone and little rewards program identifiers that fit on your key ring that I'm not even aware of.

When the errands were complete, I resumed upgrading my computer. With the latest operating system installed, I now need to find out which of the many applications I use can be upgraded as well. I started with the front of the alphabet which brought me straight to Avid. Avid products are always difficult to upgrade because of the complicated licensing arrangement they use. I finally managed to get the newest version of Pro Tools working, although it took forever for the software to recognize that I actually did have a perpetual license. Maybe tomorrow I'll upgrade Media Composer. At this rate, it's going to take me a long time to get to the Microsoft products.

I think the weather is supposed to get better tomorrow. If it's a nice day, I'll go to the gym and see if there's anything cool on sale at the REI store. I'm not even going to bother going up on the roof until the rainy season is over. There is no point to sweeping all the water off if it's just going to rain again tomorrow. I know there's a lot of standing water up there, but nothing is leaking. Let's just hope we get some dry days soon.

It's dragonfly season again. I'm surrounded by dragonflies when I walk Dash in the park. These critters are hard to photograph because they are small and never stay still. I managed to catch one sitting on a blade of grass this afternoon. It only rested there for about a second and then it was gone. I didn't have time to focus perfectly, but at least I got the shot. I usually only get one good dragonfly shot a year. This one isn't it. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.

Bentley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2745

Today was busy. I started things out by going someplace new for breakfast. The food was good, but a bit weird. I thought when I ordered biscuits and gravy. scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns, they would all come separately on a big plate. Nope. Everything was served mashed together in a bowl and covered with melted cheese. I guess this was some sort of ultimate Texas gutbuster of a meal. To my credit, I finished everything, but I don't think I'll be back for a while. This was too strange for me.

I took Janet to see one of her doctors this afternoon and she got good news. The pathology report came back and apparently the surgeon had good margins on the malignant mass that was removed and it appears there will be no need for additional chemo or radiation treatments. The oncologist will have the final say on this, but everything is looking good at this point.

Since Janet is getting cabin fever sitting at home, I took her shopping after she finished her doctors appointment. The tubes actually hide pretty well under loose clothing. Unlike me, Janet actually likes to shop for groceries. We went to several stores where she picked out a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. As a reward for being her chauffeur for the day, she bought me some barbecued ribs at one of the city's better barbecue joints on the way home.

Dash wasn't happy at being left alone for so long, but he perked up quickly when I started fixing his dinner as soon as we returned. It was good that he got a short walk this morning, because it was way too hot for him this afternoon. I tried to take him down to the park around sunset, but he wasn't interested. Dash knows best. I never try to force a dog to walk in the summer. They probably have a much better instinct for what can cause heatstroke than I do.

Today was the day I upgraded all my computers to the Sierra operating system. The slow upgrade process went on for most of the day while I was away. It's a good thing I wasn't around to see the progress bar on the screen say "thirty minutes remaining" for at least three hours. The download and install were successful and only five applications turned out to be incompatible. That's actually pretty good for an Apple system upgrade. I installed the new accounting software I got yesterday, deleted the incompatible applications, and I'm back in business. Supposedly I can talk to Siri on my computer now and share files with my phone and iPad. Knowing me, I'll probably never use any of these new features. I was happy enough with the computer I was using fifteen years ago.

Although it has seemed like Saturday all week, tomorrow really is Saturday. There will be more errands to run and several chores that can't be ignored much longer. It's time to mow the grass again and I really need to see how much standing water still remains on the roof. When it's hot, the water evaporates fairly quickly, so hopefully I won't need to do a lot of sweeping.

I know some of you would like to see my gutbuster breakfast, but I think I'll show you a tiny bunny instead. There are lots of rabbits in the park this summer. Maybe this means the coyotes have moved on to greener pastures.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2744

I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my accounting software today. This somewhat ancient software is what is preventing me from upgrading my desktop computer's operating system, which would allow me to upgrade everything else. I'm very reluctant to touch accounting software, because if something goes wrong, years of records go down the drain. To play it safe, I decided to install the new software on my laptop first. If everything worked there, I could then proceed to upgrading the operating system on my desktop computer and install the accounting software again. Since a lot of single user licenses only allow you to install software on one computer, I had to call customer support to make sure my plan was even possible. The lady I talked to didn't seen to know very much, but eventually she told me to go ahead. I clicked the download button on my laptop and went to walk Dash. When I returned, my session had timed out and my download was only partially complete. No wonder I don't do this kind of thing very often. Another call to customer support got the download started again and I had something I could experiment with.

Everything seems to work, so I'll upgrade the main computer tomorrow. Hey, what could possibly go wrong? Every time I do a major system upgrade I am faced with a problem I never expected. There are hundreds of applications on the main computer and I can almost guarantee that five of them won't work anymore after I upgrade the operating system. Like it or not, you are forced to upgrade every once in a while. I'm doing this mainly so I can use my web design software again. Over time, everything will work out fine, but sometime tomorrow I'm going to think I made a big mistake.

I knew software upgrades would be complicated, but I thought grocery shopping on weekdays would simplify things. Until Janet recovers, I'm doing all the shopping, but there's no reason I need to do it on Saturday. I thought the stores would be empty on Thursday afternoon. Much to my surprise, they were just as busy today as they are on the weekends.  Oh, well. It seemed like a good plan. Maybe things are always busy in Dallas. I really didn't accomplish much, because I'm going to have to go back to the store this weekend anyway to pick up the fresh produce.

I was going to call the landscaper today, wash my car, and order more ink for the large format printer. I didn't do any of these things because I got completely sidetracked by the complicated software upgrade process. At least I remembered it was Thursday and took out the trash. Tomorrow, I'll drive Janet down to Baylor for another doctor's appointment. Maybe I'll go out to breakfast, but I kind of feel like fixing French Toast at home instead. Either way, I'll need to walk Dash very early. It's getting so hot that I don't feel comfortable walking a dog in the middle of the day. Staying inside doesn't bother Dash at all. He seems to enjoy his new role as Janet's bedside companion.

Maybe when I get all the computers upgraded, I'll become more productive. It's not very likely, but it could happen. I'm probably just going to be mad when my old software starts crashing.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2743

I've completely lost track of what day it is. I woke up this morning thinking it was Saturday, but it's really just Wednesday. Most of the things that imposed a structure on my life are gone. When I was taking care of Dot toward the end of her life there was always something that needed to be done. Practically every minute needed to be accounted for. When work was busy, a host of deadlines imposed their own structure. Even Janet driving off to work every morning made the week seem orderly. Now it doesn't really matter what day it is. Maybe this is what retirement is like.

I'm not sure what comes next for me, but I can tell that Janet doesn't want to sit around the house all day. She can't wait until her doctors give her the OK to drive again. After today's visit to see the surgeon, we're one step closer to that goal. The doctors seem pleased at her progress and one of the drainage tubes was removed. When the drainage in the other tube decreases to 30 milliliters per day, it can be removed as well. The good news is that there is no sign of infection anywhere.

I can't decide whether Dash needs the canine flu immunization. Our vet would probably say yes, but I've read of several instances where dogs who got the shots ended up having seizures afterwards. Since Dash has problems with both epilepsy and idiopathic vestibular disease, I don't want to do anything that would give him another seizure. Dogs who participate in dog shows or go to dog parks frequently have the highest risk of influenza, but there is no guarantee that your dog is completely free from danger  even if you just stay at home. It's a tough choice, since the canine flu is pretty serious. I never get flu shots myself. The one time I did, I actually caught the flu. My solution for avoiding the flu is just to stay away from children.

Canine flu shots aren't the only think I'm having trouble making a decision about. Should I go see the August eclipse or not? When I first started reading about the upcoming eclipse, it was presented as a must see, once in a lifetime event. Lately, the tone of the articles I've been reading is changing. Eclipse day is projected to be a traffic nightmare of epic proportions with millions of people converging on the totality zone without much of a plan. Now, people are being told to bring extra food and even extra gasoline. Expect to be stranded on the highway if you aren't in place several days ahead of time, they say. This doesn't sound like fun at all. Totality is only two minutes long. I'm not sure being stranded on a crowded freeway for hours is worth those two minutes. There's a 40% chance it's going to be cloudy anyway. All this being said, I'd still love to see a total eclipse.

There's still time to decide. I'll ask Dash's vet about the immunization shots and I'll keep checking airfares to the eclipse zone. In the mean time, there are more mundane things that need to be done. I still need to get my passport renewed and the back yard desperately needs new St. Augustine grass. One of my writing clients said they'd have some more assignments soon, but I'm not counting on much work these days. That ship has sailed.

It's weird to have so much time on my hands. When I have lots of time, I have no money and when I have lots of money, I have no time. That's life, I guess. At least Janet is getting better. That's the important thing right now.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2742

Another rainy day. The yard is still muddy and I have to clean Dash's paws with a wet rag before he comes inside. The first thing Dash does when he comes inside is jump on the bed. If the rainy season continues much longer, Janet may wish she hadn't picked out a white comforter and pillows for the bed. When you've got large dogs, mud brown usually turns out to be the best color for everything.

I really need to start pestering the landscaper to come out and take care of the yard. He was supposed to come a month ago. Usually we put in new grass in March but there's been way too much going on this Spring. The yard really hasn't been a priority. A friend who uses the same guy told us the landscaper isn't very interested in us since we only call him once a year. Hey, once a year is plenty. He ought to be glad to have our business since he gets to put in the same grass over and over again. I don't know why the grass won't grow. The lawn gets enough water and the soil is good. Maybe there just isn't enough direct sunlight. At any rate, it doesn't really matter how long the grass lasts. Right now the back yard is basically a big mud pit.

I wrote another letter to my sister this afternoon. Letter writing is always a good thing to do on a rainy day. I wish my sister would just read the blog, since I end up repeating most of the things I've already written here. Pen and paper is how she communicates and I doubt that anything is going to change. We're both set in our ways. My Dad was the same way. He was a brilliant scientist, but he never owned a computer. He had no interest in computers at all.

Maybe I'm the odd duck in the family. I don't know what I'd do without my computers. Without computers, I'd never have been able to operate a successful business out of my house for all these years. When I first started the company, I was constantly driving from one client to the next. It seemed like I was always in meetings. What a revelation to discover that I didn't really need to see these people at all. The Internet changed everything for me. To this day there are still clients who I have never met in person. I get my assignments via e-mail and I send the completed projects back via e-mail. It works for me.

I'm surprised that Dash has turned out to be a really good therapy dog. Janet and I were a little nervous when she first came home from the hospital, since Dash has a tendency to be wild. He's been very gentle and attentive though. He follows Janet around the house wherever she goes and just sits by her side. So far, there have been no problems at all. I suspect that Dash has wanted both of us home for a long time. For most of his life, Janet has left for work early and come home pretty late. Now Dash has both of us.

Tomorrow I take Janet to visit two different doctors. We're hoping that they are both pleased with her progress. Surgery is always so invasive and recovery is so messy that it is hard to know what to expect. I remember when I first saw my Dad after open heart surgery I was horrified. The cardiologist reassured me that everything was normal but it sure didn't look normal. Dad recovered and so will Janet. There just aren't any shortcuts. I've learned that when a surgeon explains a procedure to you, they usually aren't telling you the entire story. Maybe it's for the best. If I knew everything, I would never have the nerve to have surgery.

It's hard to believe the year is almost half over. This is one year I don't feel like repeating. When Janet recovers, I hope we all stay healthy for a long, long time.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2741

I'm trying to get organized. I made an appointment to take my car in for service. I went up to my doctor and tried to schedule my annual physical. I paid the remaining June bills sitting on my desk and I did some laundry. I don't think it mattered that I postponed some of these things. The first appointment I could get at the Land Rover dealer was three weeks from now and there was an equally lengthy wait at my doctor's office. At least I've taken care of these things now. They're on my calendar and I don't have to think about them anymore.

It didn't seem like Monday. Janet has always been a workaholic and is typically out of the house before I'm even fully awake. We get started much later now. Janet needs to rest and Dash and I have never had any strong desire to get out of bed. We didn't finish our morning routine until almost noon today. I do most of the chores these days, but it's not like I have anything better to do. I'm probably a pretty good person to have around as a nurse. I've got all the time in the world.

I'm still debating whether to go and see the eclipse this August. Janet should be a lot better by then. I'd like to go to Wyoming where crowds are expected to be small. It's much less expensive to go someplace like Kansas City though, where crowds will probably be huge. I started to look at airfares and quickly realized that major airlines are already raising fares to popular destination cities on the days immediately before and after the eclipse. It's probably all computerized. When demand for flights goes up, fares probably immediately go up as well. I don't even want to think about driving. From what I'm reading, the traffic on eclipse day will be like twenty Woodstocks happening at once.

We really like the home nurse. It's comforting to have someone who knows what they're doing reassure us that everything is going OK. The hospital went to great lengths to instill a fear of infections and now just about everything seems like it could be the beginning of an infection. Most of the changes that occur each day are just the body's normal response to surgery. Even though nothing has gone wrong, it's still important to be careful.

I learned how to make banana bread tonight. Sometimes there are left over bananas at the end of the week from my morning smoothies and they get used for banana bread. The whole process seemed pretty straightforward and the bread came out great, but I don't think I'm going to become a baker anytime soon. As soon as Janet recovers, the kitchen is all hers. I have a real aversion to cooking. One of the reason I am thin is that if food is difficult to fix, I just don't eat. Lots of people I know love to cook. I'd probably rather eat something I dislike than cook something I love.

Janet got one of those adult coloring books as a get-well gift. She seems to enjoy it. I don't think I could ever do one of those things. I'd lose interest within five minutes. I don't need an adult coloring book anyway. This blog is my adult coloring book. I'm just filling in the days.

Derrick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2740

The last of our original neighbors died last week. These were the people who built the houses on our street in the 1940's and 50's. One by one, they've been slowly disappearing for the last thirty years. I'm pretty sure that Ben was the last. When we moved here, we were the youngest couple on the street. Now, we're one of the oldest. It feels like the end of an era. I liked our older neighbors. They all knew each other well and would sometimes have large block parties. It's rare if I ever get to know the newcomers. We'll say hello if I pass them while walking the dogs, but I really don't know who they are. Most arrived from out of state and are much younger than me. Many of the original houses in the neighborhood are being torn down now. There is nothing wrong with these houses. They just aren't big enough or fancy enough for today's buyers. I hope our house doesn't get torn down someday, but it probably will. That's the thing about change. You just can't stop it.

There are still a few things that don't seem to change. There seems to be a tradition of bringing over food when you're sick. Janet's friends have been generous and we've got enough food to feed an army now. Maybe people don't realize how little the two of us eat. Everything is appreciated and will get eaten, but we've got to figure out how to freeze some of the stuff. Dash seems to be telling us to let him help with the stash. He can always tell when there's lots of food in the house. Sorry little buddy. I know you'd like a big plate of lasagna, but you've got a sensitive stomach and are on a strict diet.

It's a good thing that I went to the gym, since I definitely needed to burn off a few extra calories today. Once I finished my workout, I came home and took a long nap. I've been really tired lately, but I was still surprised at how quickly I went to sleep during the middle of the day. I'm getting more sleep now that Dot is gone, but I'm still not getting enough. Maybe someday. I'm really glad that the home nurse comes over once a day. It makes a big difference.

The time is passing quickly. Next Wednesday Janet has her first re-check with the surgeon. If all goes well, some or maybe even all of the drain tubes can come out. I'm sure she will be happy to have this major hurdle behind her. You really can't do much with tubes coming out of your body. Years ago, when Dash was attacked by an aggressive dog in the park, he had to have drainage tubes inserted after surgery. Dash's tubes had to stay in place for almost a month. They weren't nearly as sophisticated as Janet's and every time Dash would shake his head vigorously, blood would fly out of the tubes. The house was a mess.

I'm not very organized about grocery shopping. I had to go back to the store today even though the house is full of food and I just went shopping yesterday. The one thing we really need is always the one thing I forget. Oddly, I'm not that hungry. What I'd really like to do is just go to sleep for a month.

Shiner is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day