Day 4333

I can now cross one more medical exam off my list. I saw the urologist today and got a good report. I don't have to see him again for another year. Sometimes I can't decide whether routine yearly exams from every doctor you've even seen in your life are just a way to pad doctor's incomes, or if they are really necessary. I guess they are necessary. Most of these exams are to check for early signs of cancer. So many of my friends have had cancer that I'm all for early detection. In the early stages, cancer often has no symptoms. By the time you realize something is wrong, it can be too late. I only have one more exam this year and then I'm done. I'll have to call the dermatologist and schedule that soon.

The only problem I had today wasn't with my body, it was with my car. I had a hard time starting the car this morning, which is usually the sign of a bad battery. It was very cold this morning and I haven't used the car in almost a week, but still it's probably time for a new battery. I don't want to get stranded on a cold day. I was determined to avoid the Land Rover dealer this time and went straight to the Interstate Battery store on the way home from the doctor's office. I was convinced that batteries would be less expensive there and they were. Unfortunately, I was told that the store couldn't put batteries in Land Rovers, along with several other makes of late model cars. Evidently, changing a battery on my car causes several security circuits on the car to lose their settings and only the dealership has the codes to reset things properly. I'm screwed. Remember the problems I had with the "service required" light on my dash? There are lots of other things that try to force you back to the dealership.

I still didn't want to go back to the Land Rover dealership, so I called an independent garage that works on Land Rovers. Usually you have to drop off your car at this place, but they said they could put in a new battery for me while I waited tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to go ahead an do this even though I could probably squeeze another month or two of life out of the old battery. Batteries don't give you a lot of warning when they die. I've been stranded before and it can ruin your day. Hopefully, the car will start tomorrow when I take it over to the garage.

My feet didn't hurt at all this morning when I took my long walk. Go figure. There is not a lot of rhyme or reason to this. Some days my feet are painful and other days they are not. Since I do virtually the same things day after day, this doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I'm not a podiatrist though and I do walk a lot. I'm just going to chalk this up to old age.

Venus is so bright right now that I thought I was looking at an airplane coming toward me while I was taking out the trash tonight. The light didn't move though, so I checked a star chart when I got back in the house. It was definitely Venus. Friends out at the observatory say that Venus is bright enough now to cast a shadow. I've even seen pictures that prove it. You'd never see this phenomenon in Dallas. There are too many street lights and left over Halloween decorations casting their own weird shadows. I really miss the dark skies of West Texas, but I've pretty well resigned myself to waiting until next Spring to make the trip. Milky Way season is already over and it's starting to get cold up on the mountain. I definitely don't want to make the long drive in the Winter. I've heard too many stories about stranded motorists on icy freeways. 

I guess the big event tomorrow is getting a new battery. It's not very exciting, but I'll regret it later if I don't do this now. Maybe I'll ask these guys what they'd charge for several other repairs I'm going to need within the next year. It wouldn't be hard to beat the dealership prices. I hope my car will last until car prices become reasonable again. Right now they are insane because of low inventories caused by the chip shortage. Even used cars have gotten way too expensive just because there are so few cars available. You never know what is going to happen next. Maybe next month there will be a battery shortage.

Ginger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4332

What a cold, rainy day. I didn't even want to get out of bed this morning. Neither did Dawn. It was 10 AM before I could even get her to go outside and pee. It rained quite a bit during the night and continued raining for most of the day. There was a small leak in the office, but the main trouble spot in the living room stayed dry. I really wish I had liked at least one of the roofers I interviewed earlier in the year. Now that the rainy season is here, it would be nice to have a new roof.

I resumed eating normally today. I still have a bit of a stomach ache, but that is to be expected when you've had tubes and cameras inside of you. I have one more scheduled doctor's appointment tomorrow and I still need to make an appointment with the dermatologist, but this Fall's medical marathon is about to come to a close. Hopefully I've been checked enough so that I'm good to go for another year. I guess I still need to reschedule a trip to the dentist too. I think they're forgotten that I still have a cavity that needs to be filled.

The rain finally stopped early this afternoon and Dawn was eager to walk. This was the first day it really felt like Winter. I wore a warmer coat and put some leggings on under my jeans. We thought about putting a sweater on Dawn, but she seemed to enjoy the colder weather. The only bad thing about the new Hoka shoes I'm wearing now is that my feet get wet almost immediately when Dawn decides she wants to walk in the grass. I was hoping that she'd stay on the trails today, but she likes to smell things. 

After we'd made our one mile loop, Janet and Dawn went home and I continued walking. I had the park to myself today. There were no bicycles and very few joggers. I like days like this. It's very peaceful, but I do need to find some waterproof boots that don't make my feet hurt. I can't wear the heavy boots I've worn for years any more. After the first mile or so, my feet start to say no. Somebody needs to make a tough, waterproof leather boot with a sole like the Hoka shoes.

I kind of wished that I'd gone to see the Rolling Stones last night. I saw both previous shows at the Cotton Bowl, but this time it was way too wet and cold for me. I didn't have tickets either. Tickets for big concerts have gotten way too expensive. Tickets to the Steel Wheels tour were only $17.50 back in 1981. A little more expensive these days. I was well connected back in the day and got free tickets to the Steel Wheels Cotton Bowl Show. I think I still have a couple of unused tickets in a box somewhere. Janet and I both had good jobs when we went to the Voodoo Lounge show thirteen years later and the price of concert tickets wasn't a big deal. I probably should have gone. There might not be an opportunity to see the Rolling Stones again. These guys are even older than I am. The Stones are currently missing a drummer and a bass player. All that's left of the Beatles is a drummer and a bass player. They ought to get together for one last tour.

I think it is supposed to be even colder tomorrow. I'm glad our furnace is still working well. Furnace problems and cold, rainy weather always seems to go together at our house. Winter is not my favorite season. I still walk and maintain my regular routine, but I'd prefer that the temperature was 72 degrees all year round. Oh, well. Like the Rolling Stones say, "You can't always get what you want."

Wolfgang is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4331

Well, I've got two more medical procedures behind me now. I think everything went well. My upper GI endoscopy has the longest name imaginable. Technically the procedure is called a esophagogastroduodenoscopy. The doctor wanted to do a follow-up biopsy of my esophagus when they discovered that I had a condition known as Barrett's esophagus. Very rarely Barrett's esophagus leads to esophageal cancer, so early testing is always wise. I think they discovered why I have reflux issues so often. The upper part of my stomach protrudes into my esophagus a bit. The doctor didn't think this was serious and said most people learn to live with it. Surgical options are available, but I'd rather just learn to eat foods that don't cause reflux.

The Colonoscopy I had done at the same time also went well. They removed one very small polyp from my colon. Polyps are very common at my age, so I was pleased that I only had one. The worst thing about today's Colonoscopy was the prep liquid I had to drink last night. This always seems like an enormous amount of water to drink in a single evening. I was up most of the night. I was hoping that this would be my last Colonoscopy ever, but the doctor said since they found a polyp, I would have to have one more five years from now. I might also need to have one more upper GI endoscopy, depending on the results of today's biopsy.

Hospital visits are always interesting. The administrative part of the visit is always slow and tedious, while the medical part is usually very swift and efficient. I think I sat in the waiting room this morning for longer than it took to do the procedure. When you sit in a waiting room for any length of time you realize that most patients are older and many are extremely overweight. Old people are why health care is so expensive. If we just threw the old people to the wolves, health care would be a lot less expensive. Since I am an old person, I'm happy to get good care though. I do try to do my part to stay healthy. I stay active, exercise a lot, and eat healthy food. No fast food for this guy. It's probably been decades since I've been to a McDonalds.

Janet wanted to vote today, so we stopped at our polling place while she was driving me home from the hospital. It was a cold, rainy day and the only things on the ballot were a bunch of constitutional amendments. No one was actually running for office where we live. You have to be careful when you vote for propositions or amendments. They seem to be worded as obscurely as humanly possible. If you don't read the ballot slowly and carefully, it's easy to end up voting for the opposite of what you intended.

I missed getting a minimum of 10,000 steps for the first time in a long time today. The doctor said it would be OK to take a walk later in the day, but it was raining outside so walking was out of the question. I can't decide whether to leave the pumps running tonight. If the pumps run dry, there's a chance they can overheat, but if I leave them off there's a chance of a roof leak. We need the rain, but rain is never my friend. Rain disrupts my walks, Dawn gets dirty on her walks, and there's always that pesky roof leak.

The Rolling Stones are in town tonight. It's a sign that I'm getting older that I have no desire to sit out in the cold at the Cotton Bowl and hear them in the rain again. Been there, done that. It always seems to rain when the Stones come to the Cotton Bowl.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4330

Today started normally and ended weird. We took Dawn on her sunrise walk and then I had a bowl of green Jello for breakfast. The Jello was delicious compared to the Colonoscopy prep medication I'm drinking now. This stuff is vile and I have to drink a gallon of the disgusting liquid before I can call it a day. I couldn't eat solid food at all today, but that wasn't as bad as I thought. Coffee and Jello for breakfast really isn't that bad. Hot chicken broth for dinner wasn't terrible either. I used the same chicken broth we put on Dawn's food.

In between all the weird food was a fairly normal day. I took a long walk this morning and Janet and I visited the Dalmatian Rescue kennel this afternoon. Charlie, Oliver and Pepper are still there and are as playful as ever. Since there are three very playful dogs at the kennel now, we are spending more time there than we used to. Charlie is still the best trained of the three. We are trying to teach Oliver and Pepper some new commands but they both have short attention spans. They are all very food motivated, so we use treats to teach them new things. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. Everyone has fun though. I was surprised that Pepper was still there this week. She is small and very friendly and cute. Typically a dog like this gets adopted almost immediately.

I wish I'd been able to take the newer Colonoscopy prep medication. The new stuff still tastes terrible but you don't have to drink nearly as much. When I asked why I was given the older prep kit, a nurse told me that it was the only thing Medicare covered. It's a shame that I wasn't given a choice. I would have paid retail to be able to drink less of this stuff. As it is, I'll be up till midnight and that doesn't even count all the times I'll have to get up to go to the bathroom later.

Actually the upper endoscopy test I will be having tomorrow is more serious than the colonoscopy, but all I can think of is the colonoscopy because of the prep liquid I have to drink tonight. I hope I didn't make a mistake agreeing to have the EGD and the colonoscopy done at the same time. I've had both of these procedures done before and the recovery period is very quick. Usually you are back to normal the next day. Janet wants to go vote tomorrow after she picks me up from the hospital. I have a feeling that I might be a little groggy for that. There are just some obscure propositions on the ballot, but we always like to vote.

One thing I hate about all the medical appointments I'm having lately is that I have to answer my phone more often. You never know if the call is important and doctor's offices seldom seem to enable their caller ID. To avoid missing medical calls, I end up answering a lot more spam and telemarketing calls by mistake. I feel under siege by telemarketers lately. We must get twenty unwanted calls every day. I don't know what these guys have to gain by calling me. I never want what they have to offer.

Janet drops me off at the hospital early tomorrow morning. I hope everything goes well. I'm really looking forward to eating a decent meal again tomorrow evening. I'm certainly not hungry now though. I haven't drank this much liquid at one time since my last Colonoscopy over ten years ago.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4329 - Halloween

There were more tricks than treats today. I started the day with a Covid test. This is a new requirement before you enter the hospital for anything these days. I assume that my test will be negative, but they'll let me know before I go in for my combo EGD/Colonoscopy. The test only took a few minutes. It was much easier to go to the hospital than to wait in my car forever at one of those drive-thru testing facilities.

I stopped at the pharmacy on the way home and there still wasn't a Colonoscopy prep kit waiting for me. I had a feeling that the prescription got sent to the wrong pharmacy. I wasn't sure how I could let anyone know, since the doctor's office was closed today, but I eventually found a number for the on-duty nurse at the hospital. She called me back in fifteen minutes and filled my prescription on the spot. Now all I have to do is drink the vile stuff.

Dawn was in an adventuresome mood this morning, so we took a longer than usual sunrise walk. This was before my Covid test, but I still got to my appointment on time. Later in the morning we took Dawn on her Sunday outing and we walked some more. The weather was still nice today, although it warmed up quickly after the sun came up. Dawn has grown to expect her ice cream cone on Sunday. I guess I have too. Dawn's Sunday outing has become a nice tradition.

After a short nap I took my regular long walk. My pace was slower today since I'd already done a lot of walking. At the end of the day I'd taken 22,000 steps and my watch told me that I'd achieved a personal best for my number of exercise minutes. It didn't feel like I'd done anything special today, but I did keep moving.

I think adults like to dress up for Halloween more than children do these days. When I went to the hospital for the Covid test I saw people in costume. The staff at the pharmacy were wearing Halloween costumes too. I even saw a couple of cyclists on my walk wearing costumes. I guess children still like Halloween costumes too, but I don't see many children these days.

We never get trick or treaters at our house. We live on a busy street with lots of traffic. There are auto accidents all the time and no sane parent would ever let their kids trick or treat on this street. I don't think there are many kids in the neighborhood anyway. They have all grown up. The kids that used to go trick or treating when we first moved here are in college now. Halloween is a non-event around here. We didn't even get a pumpkin this year, although I do like pumpkin soup. I wish pumpkin soup was a Halloween tradition.

Tomorrow is a fasting day. I get to have Jello for breakfast and a cup of chicken broth for dinner. That's about it. No fiber, no fat, no dairy products of any kind. Basically everything I like is off limits. The Colonoscopy prep stuff I have to drink is disgusting, but the good news is that this is the last colonoscopy I will ever need. Typically you have the procedure every ten years, but they stop when you reach 75. I wish all medical procedures stopped when you reached 75, but sadly they don't. The older you get, the more you see the doctor.

Roxy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4328

Every time I go shopping, the world seems a little more dysfunctional. The stores are far from empty, but I'm having a harder time finding what I need. I used to find everything in one store. Now I have to go to three. Gas has been more expensive in the past, but it's definitely creeping up there again. The increasing prices and decreasing inventory isn't dramatic, so you don't really question it. You just wonder why your grocery bill keeps getting a little higher every week.

The doctor still hasn't filled my colonoscopy prep prescription. This might be a problem. I tried to call the doctor's office but they were closed for the weekend. When I called the pharmacy, nobody answered. The pharmacist I've known for years isn't there anymore. He either retired or quit. The kids that are running the place now seem very disorganized. Of course the front desk at the doctor's office seems a little disorganized too. I'll see if I can sort out the problem tomorrow when I go to the hospital for a pre-admission Covid test. I guess multiple Covid tests have just become a regular part of modern life. I keep expecting life to eventually return to normal, but maybe all this is normal now.

I'll be glad when the time changes in early November. It is completely dark when we get up in the morning now. We wait until the sky lightens a little before we leave on Dawn's sunrise walk, but we still need to take a flashlight. The flashlight isn't really to help us see. It is mostly so cars and cyclists can see us. We used to have a little red light that we clipped to Dawn's collar, but it got lost. Pretty much anything you clip to a dog's collar will eventually get lost. One vigorous shake and it's gone.

It's still nice and cool for my long walk, but I'm getting tired of walking. Maybe I need to go back to the gym for a while. The park seemed congested today and my feet are starting to hurt again. I think I prefer walking on cold, gloomy days when I'm the only one in the park. Right after a rain is usually a good time. The air smells fresh and there are a lot fewer bicycles when the roads and trails are wet. Since it was a nice day, everyone was out and about. I shouldn't complain about foot traffic in the park though. It isn't nearly as bad as traffic on the roads. Traffic was horrible when I was grocery shopping today. It doesn't matter when I leave the house. It always feels like rush hour.

After my last astrophotography workshop I joined several astrophotography groups on the Internet. I still read these things every day but it it is becoming clear that I don't have the same temperament as most of the other amateur astronomers. They will spend weeks planning and executing a single shot. To get good results, you often have to take hundreds of images and then combine them all together using special software. It's a slow tedious process and very often things go wrong and you have to start over. My roots were in fashion photography, which actually made me well suited to taking pictures of dogs. I'm pretty good at capturing a moment, but I find technical photography boring. I like to see the results right away. I still love to look at the night sky though and am eager to return to the observatory again. Maybe next Spring.

Until then, I'll continue my regular routine here in Dallas. It looks like it will be a good day for Dawn's Sunday outing tomorrow. I scheduled my Covid test early tomorrow so I will be back in time for a walk and some ice cream.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4327

I ran a bunch of small errands today. I picked up the prescriptions my doctor called in when I had my physical exam a few days ago. My prescriptions always get renewed whenever I have an exam whether I need more pills or not. Now I've got too many pills again. I got a new aerator for a bathroom faucet at a plumbing supply store. I forgot to have the plumber replace this when he was out to the house a few weeks ago. It was surprisingly hard to find an aerator that fit because the faucet was European and had different threads than most faucets. I took my vaccination card back to the doctor's office so the nurse could add my booster shot information. Now I'm wondering what the new electronic card on my phone is good for if it can't be updated. Actually, it probably can be updated, but it will take most doctors forever to learn how. My doctor didn't even know there was an electronic card. Since the colonoscopy doctor was just across the hall from my regular doctor, I visited them too to ask if they'd filled the prep kit prescription yet. Nope. I hope they remember because their office isn't open this weekend. I wasted a lot of time doing not very much, but all these things needed to be taken care of.

It was still windy and cold today. It's time to start wearing long sleeved shirts again. There's a fine line for me between pleasantly cool and cold. It was getting pretty close to cold this morning. I have a coat for every season, so I was comfortable walking, but I still enjoy shirtsleeve weather the best. Dawn certainly seems to enjoy the cooler weather, although the wind sometimes scares her. She took a longer sunrise walk today on a very brisk early morning.

My arm doesn't hurt any more from the Covid shot. I don't feel as tired either. I guess this means that I have no excuse to keep postponing mowing the yard now. I keep wanting to wait a little longer so I only have to do this one more time this season. It's hard to predict when the grass will stop growing. Occasionally we'll get a warm spell in December and the grass will start growing again.  I should probably get a yard service like all my other neighbors, but we have a small yard and mowing is actually good exercise. I don't like mowing the grass at all, but I do like being self sufficient.

I ran all my errands today early in the afternoon, hoping that there would be less traffic. This plan didn't work at all. Traffic has gotten so bad in Dallas that it seems like rush hour all the time now. If doesn't matter when I leave the house. There are always a ton of cars on the road. There's always a lot of construction too, which makes things even worse. I definitely miss the empty roads of far West Texas. I won't be going back there any time soon though. I'd better get used to life in the city for a while.

I have this urge to buy more gadgets when I really should be saving my money to fix things around the house. I keep putting things off because I hate the idea of having strangers inside the house. Other than the plumber and my HVAC guy, I don't know anyone I trust anyway. When I used to own rent property I always had repair work done between tenants. It's a lot easier to work on a house when it is empty. When you are actually living in the place, even simple things like painting or replacing carpets can be problematic. Just removing all the books from the bookshelves in my office so someone could paint behind them would be a nightmare. Workmen are always going in and out and leaving doors open too. That just doesn't work when you have dogs. 

Tomorrow is grocery day again. Where does the time go? My list is a little longer this week, so I'm going to get started as early as I can. Anything to avoid the crowds.

Dakota is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4326

Dawn got a bath today. I'm sure she thought we were going for ice cream when she hopped in the car. She certainly seemed disappointed when we arrived at the self-bathe place instead. I don't mind a dirty dog, but Janet prefers a clean dog sleeping next to her. My sense of smell isn't so good, so I probably wouldn't know the difference even if Dawn was filthy. I'll have to admit that Dawn's fur does feel soft and smooth again though. The lady that owns the facility clips Dawn's nails and does her anal glands while we are there. We've never been very successful at doing these things ourselves.

The plumbing company still hasn't received the check I sent them almost a month ago. I called today to see if they wanted me to cancel the check and pay with a credit card, but the bookkeeper told me to wait another week or so. They have discovered what the problem is. They typically send prepaid return envelopes with their invoices and evidently the post office is holding on to over a hundred of these invoices because the woman who processes them quit and they haven't finished training her replacement yet. How hard could it be to process a postage paid envelope? I always thought they were treated just like any other piece of mail. You don't see postage paid envelopes very much anymore, but they used to be very popular. I remember using them quite often back in the day. Needless to say, the plumbing company isn't very happy with the post office. I don't blame them. Mail service for all types of mail has deteriorated recently, but a month to get a letter delivered less than ten miles away is pretty extreme. If I had known this was going to be a problem, I would have just gotten in the car and driven the check over to the plumbing company.

In other dysfunctional news, I read an article that people in North Texas are camping out in front of DMV offices at 2 AM just to get a good place in line to get their driver's license when the office opens the next morning. Evidently the influx of people moving to Texas and chronic staff shortages have caused a huge backlog at the DMV. It can take over a month to get an appointment to renew your license or take a driver's test. Who knew? I haven 't been to the DMV in years because I started renewing my license online as soon as that became an option. I hope they get this all sorted out before I have to go back in person to take the vision test again.

It was cold and windy today. In fact, it was so windy that I had to hold on to my hat frequently while I was taking my long walk. Several times I felt like the wind was going to blow me off the trail. I didn't make very good time today, but I don't think it was the wind that slowed me down. I'm still feeling tired because of the Covid and flu shots I got the other day.  My arm doesn't hurt as much at the injection site anymore, so hopefully my energy will bounce back soon. This shot seemed to pack more of a punch than the first two, but I will feel safer traveling on an airplane now.

I have to go back to my doctor so the nurse can add the booster shot information to my vaccination card. I thought I wouldn't need the card anymore now that you can download an official vaccination record to your phone. When I showed my phone to the nurse she said, "What good is this? I can't write anything on your phone." The whole idea of these vaccination cards wasn't thought out very clearly. They don't fit in your wallet and in most cases there is no corresponding electronic record. You should be able to update all this information electronically. Right now, it's a mess if you happen to lose your card.

Janet had a meeting tonight, so I took a long nap on the bed with Dawn. She seemed reasonably relaxed and stayed on the bed with me the entire time, but was sure happy when Janet returned. I don't think this dog is every going to be best friends with me.

Abi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4325

I now have a flu shot in one arm and a covid booster in the other. The rest of my exam this morning was fairly routine. The doctor always asks what medications I am taking, even though he was the one who prescribed them in the first place. He listens to my breathing with a stethoscope, tests my reflexes, asks a few questions, and then a nurse comes in and draws my blood. The whole process doesn't take very long and it is always the same. I hope doing this every six months keeps me healthy, but life is full of surprises. 

The doctor never told me that I would need gallbladder surgery this year. He did ensure that I got excellent care while I was hospitalized though. You can't ask for more than that. I still believe in preventative medicine. That's probably why I have so many exams every Fall. I still need to see the eye doctor, the dermatologist, and the urologist. There's that Colonoscopy/EGD procedure coming up soon as well. I guess I'll have to add one more doctor to the growing list of people keeping me alive.

I had to fast this morning because of the blood work. No breakfast today. When I got home from the doctor I was hungry and fixed myself a ham sandwich. It's hard to believe that I used to eat lunch every day. When I worked at the ad agencies, lunch was a big deal and we ate a lot. It's amazing that I never gained weight. I'd certainly gain weight if I ate three meals a day now. Breakfast and dinner is plenty these days. Sometimes I don't even feel like dinner.

It rained a lot last night and there was a very small roof leak in the office. The pumps worked well, so hopefully there isn't still a ton of water on the roof. I need to get up there and sweep the remaining standing water away. Now that it's cooler, the water just isn't going to evaporate. I hate going up on the roof now. I'm getting older and it seems much harder to climb up the access wall than it used to be. I guess I've got an excuse for a few days. My arm hurts from the covid shot. I was wondering if both arms were going to hurt, but it's only the left arm. I feel nothing from the arm that got the flu shot.

Last night's rain must have brought a cold front along with it. It was much colder today. I had to wear a light jacket on my long walk. The leaves are starting to drop, but I don't think we're going to get much Fall color. The leaves that were turning red last year are only turning yellow this season. The pelicans certainly seems to know that the seasons are changing. They are on the move now. When they first arrived at the lake, they just sat on logs for weeks at a time. Now they are swimming and flying around. They move around in large groups and usually the double-crested cormorants follow them. The pelicans always seem to know where the fish are and the other birds take advantage of this.

I really need to decide on a roofer and go ahead and replace the roof. I've been disappointed in every roofer I've interviewed, but the situation is just going to get worse if I keep ignoring it. I'm really getting tired of these leaks. I wish I'd never bought a house with a flat roof. I guess I'll never learn though. Every house I've ever owned has had a flat roof. 

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4324

Not a lot happened today. I wrote a letter to my sister and took it to the post office. I went to Home Depot and got a new plunger to replace the one I broke trying to clean out a slow drain last week. I went to Auto Zone to buy a windshield wiper blade for my car. I only needed one wiper blade because I bought the other one over a month ago when it was the only one in stock. Wiper blades at Auto Zone only cost a small fraction of what the Land Rover dealer was going to charge me. I had trouble finding a blade that matched the one that was already on the car, but the counter guy eventually found something for me in the back. Why did I do this today? Well, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and it is supposed to rain. Doctors frown on canceling an appointment because it is a rainy day.

I tried a different brand of shredded wheat this morning because the brand I'd been using had too many crumbs. When I got to the bottom third of the box, all I was eating was crumbs. When I opened this new box, the cereal inside looked exactly the same as the old box. It was so similar that it looked like it came from the same factory. What was I expecting? Did I really think that this cereal would be better because the picture on the box looked better. Maybe I should just go back to fixing myself an omelet in the morning.

There is some odd construction going on in the park. This morning I saw a bunch of small stone dams blocking some of the gullies that fill with water when it rains. Wire mesh held the stones in place, but water could clearly pass through the stone barriers. Was this some sort of erosion control or something else? There was also a huge pile of stones blocking a trail at one point. The cyclists who ride in the dark are going to love that. The park department definitely stays busy although I seldom know what they are doing. I wish the street department was this industrious. Potholes can stay in city streets for years without any attention.

I've noticed that a lot of people are looking for the eagles when I take my walk in the morning. I haven't seen the birds again, but the word is definitely out that they have arrived. If you see someone going from tree to tree looking upward, they are probably looking for the eagles. I even passed a city event sign that said "The Eagles have landed." I spend so much time in the park that I"ll probably see these birds again. I hope I have my camera with me next time.

I got an invitation in the mail to go to a focus group about cars. I like talking about cars, but I'm not sure if I'll attend. Focus groups usually pay attendees a small stipend for their trouble, but they are sometimes located far away and take place at inconvenient times. I'll probably talk myself out of this. I'm really reluctant to do anything new these days. 

I did order a new backdrop for this years Santa Paws pictures. We've got a ton of these Christmas themed photo backdrops now, but Janet thinks we need to make the set look a little different every year. She's probably right. I ordered the backdrop from China, so hopefully it won't be sitting on a ship somewhere when we do the Christmas pictures. I paid for expedited shipping, so I assume that this means it will be coming by air. We'll see. Hard to believe that it is already time to be thinking about holiday pictures again. Where did this year go?

I need to remember not to eat breakfast tomorrow. I have a physical exam scheduled in the morning to see if my blood work has finally returned to normal and I'm not supposed to eat anything after 10 PM tonight. Needless to say, I hate missing breakfast. 

Pearl is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4323

We definitely made the right decision when we adopted Dawn. Younger Dalmatians have way too much energy for us these days. Charlie, Oliver, and Pepper are fun to play with when we visit them at the kennel, but they'd run circles around us at home. I must have had a lot more energy when I was younger to be able to walk Dot and Dash at the same time. Dot and Dash slowed down a lot when they reached Dawn's age, but when they were young and healthy, there was no stopping them.

I thought that Pepper would be a little more subdued because the last time we saw her, we were taking her to the vet to be spayed. She was still wearing a cone when we saw her today but it didn't slow her down much. She appears to have fully recovered and I think she only has to wear the cone for a few more days. Pepper is very playful and unlike Oliver and Charlie, never appears tired. I think she would play all day if we had the time. I can't get over how large Oliver is for a young dog. Pepper is twice as old as Oliver, but only half the size. Charlie is the most energetic of all when we first arrive, but he tires more quickly than the others. He always lets us know when he is tired of playing and is ready for his treats.  As always, we had a lot of fun playing with the dogs while Dawn took a long nap on our bed.

On the way home we drove by Dawn's training class site and filled in the hole that Janet was afraid of falling in. When I saw the hole, I could see why Janet was worried. The hole was obscured by grass so it was hard to see, but it was quite deep. If a dog inadvertently got their paw in the hole while they were doing a training exercise, they could easily break a leg. A person could twist an ankle pretty easily as well.  While we were filling the hole, a city water utilities worker who was in the vicinity gave us a strange look, but said nothing. We only used about half of the bag of dirt I bought. We took the rest of the dirt home and  who knows what I will do with it. There are certainly no holes in our yard. Maybe I'll buy a plant and pot it in one of the big empty pots in the greenhouse.

I made good time on my long walk today. My speed must be related to the weather. On cooler days I always seem to walk faster. I still have a little foot pain, but I'm going to stop complaining about it. My bones are old and I do a lot of walking. I'd probably have the same discomfort if I spent a lot of time at the gym. Actually, I did have a lot of aches and pains at the gym. They were just different. I had problems with my shoulder when I was lifting weights and problems with my knee on the treadmill. I guess I should be happy that I'm still pretty mobile.

I did some bookkeeping this afternoon. Finally, my Florida trip, the expensive car repairs, and the plumbing expenses have all been paid for. Since I use a credit card for everything, expenses sometimes don't show up until several months after an event has taken place. It can be disorienting. The big charges are easy to remember, but some of the little ones remain a mystery. The only time I wish I was still working is when I am paying bills. The rest of the time I am very content to do nothing. 

I'm dreading my upcoming colonoscopy and EGD. It's a safe, routine procedure, but I'll have to go to the hospital and be anesthetized again. I've never liked being anesthetized. I'm not a very trusting person and I always wonder if I'm going to wake up again. I can't say that I like the prep for a colonoscopy either. That's just disgusting.

Luckily there's nothing to worry about tomorrow. It's supposed to be another nice Fall day. I hope this beautiful weather continues. After a month of clear skies and cool breezes, Winter is going to be a real disappointment.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4322

I did a lot of walking today but my Fitbit showed no more steps than a normal day. Either I'm imagining things or something is wrong with the Fitbit. I guess it shouldn't matter. It was a nice day to be outside. Dawn probably agreed with us today. She seemed to have a great time on both her walks.

When we were taking Dawn on her Sunday outing, we stopped at a hardware store and bought a bag of dirt. Janet wanted to fill in a hole where she takes Dawn for training class so she wouldn't trip in it in the dark. When we arrived to fill in the hole, there was a family having a picnic at the same spot. We didn't want to interrupt their picnic so the bag of dirt is still in the car. I guess we'll take care of this sometime. 

When we got ice cream this morning I noticed that the person at the drive up window called in "two child's cones." Who knew. I never thought we'd been eating children's cones all this time. I usually just have a little bit of my cone and give the rest to Dawn. Janet does the same. A whole ice cream cone is probably too much for Dawn.

Dawn's Sunday outing was the highlight of the day. Not much else happened all day. I cleared out a slow drain in the bathroom, but that's not worth talking about. There's always something that needs attention in an old house. I get tired of fixing things but it kind of goes with the territory. I still need to get a carpenter out here to replace some rotten wood but I can't remember who the carpenters are in my contact list. I have three carpenters in my address book. One is good and two are terrible, but I can't remember who is who. They all have generic sounding names like Mark or Luke. I don't want to ask one of the bad ones to come over and then have to tell him to go away after I recognize him at the door. I probably should just start over. I haven't used any of these guys in years and there's a good chance they don't even live in Dallas anymore.

I looked for the eagles on my long walk today, but they were nowhere to be seen. I did see several Blue Herons, dozens of White Pelicans, along with the usual Canadian Geese, Coots, Monk Parakeets, Mallards, and Muscovy Ducks. The lake is really a birders paradise. I'm not really that interested in birds, but I do take a lot of pictures. Birds are willing subjects who seldom cause problems. Hey, I'm a photographer. I've got to take pictures of something.

Tomorrow it's time to visit the Dalmatians again. I don't think anyone new has arrived, so we'll probably just play with Pepper, Oliver, and Charlie. Occasionally I think my life is starting to seem a little too much like the Ground Hog Day movie, but the repetition is actually kind of comforting. I don't mind doing the same things over and over again.

I just heard thunder outside. That's odd. It wasn't supposed to rain today. The forecast says it's still clear outside, but the radar does show a little storm headed our way. I guess nature doesn't like predictability as much as I do.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4321

I got the grocery shopping done early this morning to avoid the crowds. I wish I'd discovered this plan a long time ago because it works like a charm. Nobody appears to want to do their shopping early on a Saturday morning. There wasn't a lot on my list this week, but I had trouble finding something for dinner tonight that wouldn't give me heartburn and we would both like. I settled on chicken pot pies, risotto, and brussel sprouts. We'll see if that works. Very little does these days. Last night I had terrible heartburn and didn't get a lot of sleep.

I'm continually amazed at how much traffic there is in Dallas now. It's not the same city that we moved to in the late 1970's. The place feels more like Los Angeles now. It's not surprising that I don't like to drive. When I was younger I lived in the city because it was a great place for business. There were opportunities everywhere and I did well. Now I live in the city because the healthcare resources are so much better than in a small town. Living out in the country is so much more peaceful though as long as you stay healthy. I guess I'll never know if I made the right choice.

It was pleasant outside when we took Dawn's sunrise walk, but by the time I finished my grocery shopping and was ready for my own longer walk, it was already too hot. I thought our summer weather was over, but it was pretty warm this afternoon. It is Fall though. Some of the trees are starting to turn, but it doesn't look like we are going to get a lot of color this year. Usually there are already a lot of leaves on the ground by now. This year is different and most trees are still green. I guess we won't be going to the fair this year. The State Fair is already over. Where did the time go?

My foot pain issue seems to have resolved itself. I'm walking normally again without any pain medication.  I'm always going to have issues with my feet because there isn't much cartilage left to cushion the old bones. The Hoka shoes allow me to keep moving though. They are so much better than anything else I've tried. The only problem is that they don't last very long. I guess I'll just have to get used to buying shoes more often. Running shoes and hiking boots are not the same thing. I've had hiking boots that have lasted for decades.

I watched the Ariane 5 launch in French Guiana this evening. Next up for this rocket is the 10 billion dollar James Webb Telescope which will launch this December. I imagine that there is a lot of pressure to see that this launch goes perfectly. The huge telescope has been under development since 1996 and has endured numerous delays and complications. There is no backup for this mission. If the launch fails, decades of work and billions of dollars go down the drain. I'm always amazed when complex missions like this work as planned. I can't even get my car or our furnace to work perfectly.

The weather looks good for tomorrow, so we'll be taking Dawn on her Sunday outing again. I wonder if Dawn gets bored doing the same things over and over again. She seems excited to take this slightly different walk, but also a bit apprehensive. I guess I understand. I'm the same way about doing new things, even when they aren't very new anymore.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4320

I saw an eagle on my walk this morning. I'd heard that there was a new nesting pair of bald eagles in the neighborhood, but this was the first time I'd seen one of them. I see eagles frequently at Kennedy Space Center, but they are rare in Dallas. The bird was spectacular and I found myself wishing that I had my good camera with me. The bird was sitting on a dead limb in a nearby tree and it would have made a great picture. Maybe I'll see the bird closer to home one day. I don't take a camera with me when I walk anymore. It's too heavy. That's why I mostly take pictures of squirrels. If I can't photograph something with my phone, it just becomes a memory. Memories are fine though. I've been taking photographs for as long as I can remember. I have plenty of pictures already.

I wonder how long this nice weather will last. We've had an unusually nice Fall this year. Usually the leaves have turned by now, but everything is still pretty green. I hope this continues for a while. The water level in the lake is back to normal and the winter birds are all here. The White Pelicans started arriving almost a month ago and today I noticed that the Double Crested Cormorants are back. I'm not much of a naturalist and I'd never make a serious birder, but I do like to watch the seasons change. It's comforting to know that everything that disappears also returns.

I got a haircut today. I always feel better after a haircut. I wore my hair long for many years when I was younger, but that seems like another universe now. What was I thinking? I don't understand men who favor long beards and man buns. Neatly trimmed hair and a black t-shirt is my uniform now. It's easy to get dressed in the morning because I always wear the same thing. I used to buy a pair of jeans and some black t-shirts every time I went into a clothing store. I've got enough to last a lifetime now as long as I don't get fat. I guess I'll have to add Hoka shoes to this simple uniform. They look like clown shoes but they're the only thing that keeps the foot pain at bay.

I so pleased at the progress Dawn's been making. She gains confidence everyday and I think she's starting to like me. It just takes time. She is always eager to walk in the morning and always hops up on the bed beside me so I can rub her belly while I am putting on my walking shoes. She's turned into a bossy little thing. She barks at me now if I don't fix her dinner fast enough. She also barks at anything moving in the alley. Dawn has had a rough life and in the beginning I think she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Finally, she's realized that this is her real home and that the good life is going to continue. She's healthier now too. She hasn't had a seizure in a long, long time and I think those bladder stones that the vet removed recently must have been really bothering her.

Oddly, I'm feeling better too. You wouldn't think gallbladder surgery would make any difference, but my hospital stay resulted in subtle but seemingly permanent changes in my diet. I'm eating less now and I think what I'm eating is healthier. Maybe the smoothies weren't such a good idea after all. I always have a green salad with dinner now and am eating half as much meat as I used to. I'm making no effort at all to do this. My body just seems to be telling me that it is the right thing to do.

I get the days of the week confused sometimes now, but I'm pretty sure that tomorrow is Saturday. Time to go grocery shopping again. I wonder how much prices will have gone up this week.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4319

No pain meds today. I was able to complete my regular six mile walk without much of a problem. I think I will always have some foot pain. I walk a lot and there isn't a lot of cartilage left between these old bones. The foot doctor told me that in severe cases they can fuse the bones of the foot together, but that seems like a terrible idea. It would seem like the foot needs to stay as flexible as possible when moving.

We like to eat out on Thanksgiving and I started looking for places today so we could make reservations. Some places we have enjoyed in the past just weren't there anymore and others weren't offering a Thanksgiving buffet this year. Many restaurants had scaled back service and a few major hotel restaurants were only open for breakfast now. The restaurant landscape has really changed since Covid. I finally found one place where we'd eaten before that still had a nice Thanksgiving brunch and made a reservation.  Hopefully, it will be an enjoyable meal that will remind us of a time when life was less complicated.

I've noticed a huge increase in spam calls, telemarketers, and even spam text messages in recent months. Did somebody get my number, or is this just part of modern daily life? The spammers are irritating, but I don't know how to stop them. I have two different call blocker services on the land line but spam still gets through. I block callers almost every day now on my iPhone. I wonder if there is a limit on how many calls I can block? This information must take up some memory in the phone. Why do people do this? Are there really than many gullible people out there who fall for these telephone scams? You really feel under siege at times. The post office delivers tons of junk mail every day but seems to lose the occasional legitimate mail I send out. The phone company knows they are bombarding me with spam calls. They even identify these calls as "suspected spam." Why do they even put the calls through? I suspect that the spammers might be their best customers.

A neighbor wanted to talk about dogs while I was out walking today. I slowed down as we reminisced about various dogs we'd owned, but I kept thinking that the conversation was messing up my Fitbit pace. I've become a slave to the Fitbit and the Apple Watch. I kind of measure my day by how well I'm able to walk. I must be a fixture around the neighborhood though, because people frequently ask why Dawn isn't with me. Sometimes they still ask about Dot and Dash. Few people ask about Petey anymore, but every once in a while someone will still mention Spot. 

Dawn still enjoys her sunrise walk, but she wouldn't dream of walking six miles with me anymore. She used to take long walks with us, but not lately. I don't know if she is getting old and tired or if she has finally become comfortable with her new life and is doing exactly what she wants. She certainly seems happy enough spending most of the day sleeping on the bed. I can't fault Dawn for being lazy. I'd spend my day sleeping too if I could get away with it. Unfortunately, if I sleep too much during the day, I'm awake all night.

I have an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. Usually I have some place to go right after I get a haircut. There are no travel plans in the works now though. I doubt that I will be going anywhere before the end of the year. I can't even think of any place I'd like to go other than the space center and the observatory. National parks are overcrowded, cities aren't safe, and a lot of foreign countries are still off limits. Dawn's going to have to get used to sharing the bed with me during the day.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4318

I finally discovered what all the commotion on our street was about yesterday. There was a carjacking with police in pursuit of the stolen car. The guy was driving on the wrong side of the road, lost control and crashed not far from our house. He tried to excape by running away from the scene but didn't get far. What was this guy thinking? Did he really think he was going to excape with two helicopters overhead and ten police cars in pursuit. At least this idiot didn't crash in our front yard. We've had cars land in our front yard before. Usually around 3 AM after the bars close.

I didn't get a lot done today. I made an appointment to see the eye doctor, another to get my hair cut, and then paid a few bills. I tried to find a carpenter to do some repair work around the house. I found three carpenters in my contact list, but I couldn't remember which one was the good one. I definitely don't want to call one of the bad carpenters again.

The weather is still quite pleasant. We were hoping that Dawn would be adventurous this morning. She did walk about a half mile longer than usual, but it was such a nice morning that I thought she'd want to go further. I went the distance on my own walk after breakfast. I didn't want to deal with foot pain, so I took two Tylenol tablets again and was able to complete my usual six miles without any problems. I don't want to get in the habit of taking pain pills when I walk, but the foot is getting better, so I think I'll be fine in a day or two.

I watched the Boca Chica live feed for a while this morning while Space X construction crews were adding catch arms to the huge launch tower they are building. The plan is to catch the returning Starship booster in mid air as it is landing so the rocket won't need landing legs. They must be pretty confident that they can guide the rocket into exactly the right position when it returns. There isn't much room for error. Every time I watch what Space X is doing it seems like they are miles ahead of everyone else.

I'm not miles ahead of anyone these days. I used to be a model of efficiency and ran a successful company for several decades. Now, I'm so slow that if I get anything done at all it's a miracle. I'm reluctant to even start a big project because I know I'll never finish it. Most days usually consist of doing laundry, charging batteries, and looking for things I've managed to lose. I've thought about repairing the large production printer so I can print huge impressive prints of my rocket and astro photos. I don't know what the point of this would be though. I've already got boxes and boxes of large prints in the storage warehouse that will never be framed and will probably never see the light of day.

The plumber still hasn't gotten the check I mailed them over two weeks ago. Jeez. I've only written one paper check in the past six months and the post office manages to lose it. I should have know better but the plumber wasn't able to take a credit card and said the company would just bill me later. I've lost faith in the post office. All we get in our mailbox now is junk mail and all we get from the phone company is spam and telemarketers. The phone company even identifies these calls now with descriptive labels on the caller ID like "suspected spam, telemarketer, or political call." If they know what these calls are, why do they even put them through?

Janet said Dawn did really well at training class tonight. Next week is the annual Halloween party. We've got to think of a costume for Dawn.

Emily is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4317

What a beautiful sunrise this morning. The days keep getting shorter, so we'll continue to start our walks with Dawn just before dawn, at least until the time changes in early November. I hope this weather continues for a while. It is usually brisk and cool in the morning. I wear a light jacket on our sunrise walks and it is still brisk and cool without the jacket when I take my long walk after breakfast.

I took two Tylenols when I got up this morning because I wanted to have an enjoyable walk. Tylenol actually seems to work better for arthritis pain than for headaches. Who knew? I won't take any tomorrow and we'll see what happens. I do think my foot is gradually getting better, largely because of the new shoes.

I've got to think of something new for breakfast. I don't feel like returning to making smoothies every morning, but I'm getting tired of the shredded wheat. I've eaten just about everything over the years. There was a period where I had a grapefruit every morning. I had yoghurt for a while, although I hate it now. I made pancakes from scratch and went through a period where I fixed myself elaborate omelets. One of my omelet recipes was even featured in a cookbook once. If you've been reading the blog long enough, you may remember the SXSW Cookbook. I started making smoothies when Janet got a Vitamix but never really used it. I thought the Vitamix was magic. I started making delicious soups for dinner and then discovered smoothies for breakfast. Somewhere along the line I started going out to restaurants for breakfast every Friday. Covid ended that activity. I need to make breakfast interesting again. It used to be my favorite time of the day.

I'm a lazy person by nature, but I feel guilty doing nothing on Tuesday because that's when Janet cleans the house. To make myself useful today, I cleared away all the brush that had taken over the narrow side yard on the East side of our house. I almost forget that this small patch of land exists. This is the side of the house where the bedrooms and bathrooms are and the windows are glazed with frosted glass. This lets lots of light in, but blocks the ugly view. You don't need curtains either. I'm still impressed at how clever the architect of this house was in the mid 1950's. It's too bad that seventy years have passed and the house is falling apart.

I cleared away a mountain of brush and small trees and hauled them to the curb just in time for the bulky trash truck which arrived about an hour after I was finished. I had totally forgotten that it was bulky trash day today, but it turned out to be convenient timing. After the side yard had been cleared, I cleaned the windows. They were covered in spiderwebs because spiders seems to love our house. That's one good thing about Winter. The spiders are gone. Everything looks nice now and I hope it stays that way. I don't want to go in that side yard again until next year.

When I was walking this morning, I saw two helicopters in the distance that appeared to be circling my house. This was a little alarming. I worry about fire a lot since I hear so many firetrucks going up and down our street. As I got closer to home, I thought that it must be a bad auto accident instead of a fire. Our street is way too busy for it's size. For a while it was used as a detour when a freeway was under construction and a lot of people kept using the road after the freeway was finished. I started seeing a lot of police cars and wondered how many police cars you really need for a wreck. About three blocks from home a lady walking her dog passed me and said "be careful, they're chasing bad guys." I never did find out what was happening. Just another day in the city I guess.

Diva is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day