Day 3775

We're having a nice Spring. So far we've avoided any of the severe weather that has caused so much damage in other parts of the South. It's hard to complain about sixty-five degree days and clear skies. We've started walking Dawn early in the morning to avoid the crowds at the park. The park is pretty busy because what else are you going to do during a lockdown? We see lots of families walking with their kids now. I'm glad that Dallas hasn't closed down their parks like some cities. Fresh air and sunlight are good for you. So is exercise. I'm convinced that the people I see walking in the park are going to be ahead of the game when the pandemic is over.

I was bragging about Sam's Club last week. This week there was a line to enter the store, just like many other grocery stores. I don't know what the line proved. They were letting people in as fast as they could grab a buggy and once inside there were no rules at all. Toilet paper was still in short supply, but the fresh fruit has never looked better. Evidently growers are having difficulty finding an outlet for all their fruit without institutional and restaurant customers. There was an abundance of really fresh looking strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries today. I can't believe people are stocking up on canned food when there is so much nice looking fresh fruit and vegetables available. If you're worried, just wash the stuff when you get home. We've been washing fruits and vegetables for years, mostly because of pesticides. I'm not much of a cook, but I do know that canned food is full of salt. Fresh food is just better in every way.

I'm rooting for Sweden to win the lockdown sweepstakes. I'm convinced that if everyone used a little common sense, you wouldn't need draconian rules. I'm really getting tired of people using the pandemic to score political points as well. Good grief. Trump didn't actually tell people to drink bleach. He was just wondering if there was a way to flush the virus out of the lungs the way you would clean a countertop. I've wondered the same thing. Doctors actually do wash people's lungs occasionally. Large volume pulmonary lavage has been used by physicians for quite some time when certain types of lung disease disease cause the lungs to fill with lipoproteinaceous fluid. Several quarts of saline solution are placed into the lungs through a breathing tube to wash the lungs while the patient is sedated and then the liquid is suctioned away. It's kind of a radical procedure but patients typically improve rapidly after this is done. And if you don't think doctors routinely inject poison into patients veins, you haven't had chemo or know someone who has. Chemotherapy drugs are extremely poisonous, You typically have to sign a waiver saying that you understand the treatment might kill you before chemotherapy can begin. Doctors just hope that the drugs kill the cancer before they kill you.

I'd hate to be a doctor right now. They are under tremendous pressure and they still don't know how this virus works. They are learning things quickly but treatment is still basically an experiment. We are learning that ventilators can do more harm than good. Blood clots are a much bigger problem than originally anticipated. Nothing is behaving in the way it should. So far, your best friend is a strong immune system and a healthy lifestyle. Hopefully people will learn this lesson when the current crisis has passed. Is it really that hard to eat healthy food, manage your weight, and only put air into your lungs?

I started cleaning my office today. I filled a large trash bag with old magazines, empty boxes, and other stuff I couldn't even identify. Sadly, the office still looks the same. I think I'll have to fill twenty large trash bags before I start making any real progress. Hey, if this plague lasts long enough I'll eventually have a clean office.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2906

It was so cold this morning that we decided Dash needed a sweater in addition to all the regular gear he wears on walks. I'm surprised he could move after we got him all bundled up. The sweater went on first. Then the Ruffwear harness was placed on top of the sweater. The knee brace attached to the harness and then came the socks. Finally, the rubber boots were placed over the socks and Dash was ready to go. We had to adjust several straps so all this would fit properly, but Dash took it all in stride.  He doesn't resist wearing this gear at all. I think he realizes that he is more sure footed now and that he can walk with more confidence. I hope he appreciated the sweater too, because it was only 28 degrees this morning.

I didn't go out for breakfast this morning because I had a meeting scheduled. I was a little worried about leaving Dash, but he slept well last night and had a lot of energy this morning. There were no visible signs that he was still having problems with his vestibular disease, so I decided it was OK to go.

It was kind of weird to have a business meeting again. I used to do this almost every single day and now it's all becoming a distant memory. The project sounded interesting and I hope I get the job. There is a website involved, but it's really more of a rebranding project. After a while my brain kicked into gear and I started spitting out ideas. It was almost like old times again. The meeting lasted a lot longer than I though it would, but when I got home Dash was fine. He woke up when I opened the front door, but it was obvious that he'd spent most of the morning sleeping on the bed. It didn't take him long to let me know he was ready for lunch. I'm really glad he's finally getting back to normal.

I was hoping to finish my website project today but that didn't happen. My morning meeting threw me off schedule for the rest of the day. By the time I fed Dash, took our regular afternoon walk, and did a few errands around the house, the day was over. I was feeling good that it was Friday and the long week was almost over and then I remembered that we've got another Santa Paws photo shoot tomorrow.

Most of the equipment is already packed and ready to go. All I had to do today was recharge the camera batteries. I'm glad that we didn't get snow like the Southern half of the state. I've got a long drive in the morning and it's going to be a lot easier on dry roads. I'll need to remember to dress warmly. Santa always gets hot inside his heavy red suit, so that means I'm almost always cold. I'm used to cold though. Both Janet and Dash like a cold house. I'm just the opposite. I'm wearing a jacket now and wishing there was a furnace vent under my desk.

The doctor I saw earlier this week called with my test results. Everything is fine. I've had some major health problems over the years, but most of them have been resolved. I wish I could say the same for Dash. He has a fabulous team of doctors and we do everything we can, but our little guy has never really been healthy. We think he probably came from a puppy mill, but like any rescue dog, we'll never know his early history. Dash might not have been dealt a good hand at birth, but we're doing our best to make sure he stays in the game. He's happy and comfortable now. We've all just got to keep taking things one day at a time.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2839

For the sixth time since we moved here, a car ploughed through our front yard at a high rate of speed, knocked over several small trees in our neighbor's yard, and eventually came to rest about 100 yards away in an adjacent side street after knocking over a stop sign. It's amazing that these accidents happen again and again. They either occur around 2 AM, right after the bars close, or early in the morning when tired shift workers are headed home from their job.

I heard the crash this morning when I was cleaning Dash's paws in the back yard after we returned from our morning walk. By the time I went out front to see what had happened, I could already hear the sirens of first responders arriving. There must have been injuries, because an ambulance and fire truck were on the scene in minutes. The busy street we live on makes a slight turn just before our house. If you're not paying attention, I would imagine that it would be easy to just keep going straight and end up on our front yard. Maybe that's not what's going on, but it's all I can think of. At any rate, the errant car tore up the yard again and I will have to go buy some sod to replace the grass that is no longer there.

Dash was walking so slowly this morning that our walk took over an hour and a half. Dash would walk about twenty feet and then stop and smell things for the longest time. I couldn't figure out if he was enjoying himself, or having trouble walking with his new knee brace. He seemed to be enjoying himself, so we just kept walking.

Like everyone else, I was shocked to hear about the shooting in Las Vegas. I was kind of shocked to hear about Tom Petty too. I used to spend a lot of time in Las Vegas and always considered the city very safe. One by one, all my favorite places are becoming war zones. Barcelona is in turmoil and wants to succeed from Spain. Paris has been plagued by terrorist attacks. I wouldn't dare visit Turkey again. And now Las Vegas has joined the fray. I guess it's not surprising that I mostly just stay home these days.

Dash still seems to be eating after we discontinued the Cerenia yesterday. Just to be safe, I went and picked up some more Cerenia tablets at the vet. I'd rather not have him taking the anti-nausea medication, but it is essential that he keeps eating. After I picked up Dash's pills, I renewed one of my own prescriptions at my doctor's office. There were so many sick people in the lobby that I wished they had a drive through window. The crowded lobby made me seriously consider switching doctors again. The fact that my doctor fired me as his web designer doesn't help matters either. Maybe it's time for a change.

Every night I go to bed hoping that the next day will be calm and peaceful. It certainly wasn't a calm day today, but maybe tomorrow will be better. I can't keep the world from disintegrating, but I'm hoping that I can help Dash get well again. So much is out of my control now, but I can still help a sick dog.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2734 - My Birthday

The weather surprised me this morning. When I took Dash on his morning walk, we got caught in a downpour. I knew it was going to rain today, but when I looked at the weather radar when we got up, it appeared like there was plenty of time for a walk. The storm wasn't heading directly toward us either, so I thought I was safe. By the time we got home, Dash and I were both soaked. Dash just got a bath yesterday too, but that's the way it goes in life. You've got to be prepared for the unexpected.

I'm getting prepared for my role as Janet's nurse while she recovers from surgery. All I can do at this point is continue cleaning the house. The doctors keep stressing how important it is to avoid an infection. Our house is hardly a clean zone, but it's probably better than the hospital itself. Most people who get infections get them while they are actually in the hospital. Today I scrubbed the shower stall. I learned that soap scum is really hard to remove completely. It seems to get hard as enamel over time. Everything looks a lot better now, although it would have been better to just re-tile the entire bathroom.

Dash seems to be adjusting to our smaller family. He's starting to take normal walks again and now that Dot's exotic food is gone, he's stopped being a picky eater. I'm sure he's still lonely at times, but so am I. The best thing either of us can do is just continue living each day as normally as possible.

Today was certainly normal. It didn't seem like a birthday at all. If it weren't for all the birthday messages on Facebook, I might have forgotten that I am sixty-nine years old. A lot of things about Facebook still irritate me, but I kind of like these birthday messages. It's nice to know that people haven't completely forgotten about you.

We had a little birthday celebration after dinner tonight. Dash and I had a cupcake and Janet had some pineapple slices. Janet's new diet seems remarkably similar to what I was eating while I was being treated for Hepatitis C.  Doctors emphasize eating healthy almost as much as they emphasize avoiding infections. I lost a lot of weight while I was avoiding sugar like the plague. I had to give up bread as well, because it almost immediately converts to glucose in your body. I maintained the spartan diet for over two years, but I'm eating pancakes and desserts again. I'm still not sure whether cutting out sugar actually made me any healthier.

You'd think that each additional year would make me a little wiser, but I'm not feeling very wise tonight. I'm humbled by how much there is that I still don't know. I guess the goal now is to keep learning more than I forget. It's going to be an uphill battle because my mind is like a sieve. There are hundreds of books that line the walls of my office and I've already forgotten what's inside most of them. I guess I could re-read everything, but I probably won't. I'll definitely keep writing though. Reading is good, but writing is even better.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2588

Every time I run my Saturday errands, I'm reminded of how much I dislike living in a large city. I still have fantasies about living in the middle of nowhere with a deep artesian water well and an acre of solar panels, but living comfortably off the grid like this is never going to happen. The older people get, the more they need to be near doctors. I doubt that I'd be lonely living off the grid, but if I ever had a heart attack or a serious fall, I'd be dead before the EMT's arrived. I was talking to a friend of mine last week who has enjoyed living in a small town in Arkansas for over 40 years. He and his wife are thinking of moving to Little Rock, because that's where their doctors are. That's what happened to my sister too. She and her husband sold a beautiful forest home in rural Ohio and moved to Florida for better medical care. This the bleak reality of modern life. There are fewer and fewer rural doctors and absolutely no state of the art rural research hospitals.

I watched the Falcon 9 launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base this morning on the Internet. I was glad to see that Space X had a big success today, after the devastating explosion they experienced last year. It's amazing that they have live video cameras inside these rockets now. The return of the first stage booster to the floating barge in the Pacific was all shown live in real time. If I was young, I'd love to work for a company like Space X. I think going to Mars would be a lot more inspiring mission in life than getting people to eat more burgers and drink more soda. That being said, I don't really regret spending most of my life in advertising. I'm a shallow person, so advertising is a perfect fit.

I'm glad the big ice storm in Oklahoma and Kansas is well north of us. Our weather wasn't great today, but at least nothing was freezing. Although it never actually rained, there was a mist in the air that left my jacket wet after I walked the dogs. I wonder how long our roller coaster weather is going to continue? I think constantly alternating between warm and cold days is making me sick. I feel like I'm coming down with a cold again. The humidity keeps changing too. It was over 90% this morning, but less than 20% a few days ago. We've certainly had colder winters, but I can't recall such sudden changes before.

I cooked French Toast for Janet this morning. My cooking repertoire is very limited, but I do make good French Toast. Bread is kind of the forbidden fruit in my current diet. I try to avoid bread and seldom eat pizza anymore because the starches in bread break down quickly and enter the bloodstream as glucose. Bread spikes blood sugar levels faster than many candy bars. It's too bad the stuff is so delicious. I could live on bread if it didn't put me on a fast track toward becoming a diabetic.

The dogs kept me busy today, but there were no messy accidents. Knock on wood, I guess. The day isn't over yet. I've discovered that Dot can easily sleep an extra hour on weekends without needing to get up to pee. As long as everyone else is asleep too, she's fine. The day officially starts at our house whenever Janet gets up. Hopefully, we'll all sleep in late tomorrow as well. I always enjoy an extra hour of sleep. I'll go to the gym unless it's raining and then I'll end the day by watching British comedies on PBS that I've already seen a hundred times. It's not all that exciting, but you wouldn't be reading this if you were looking for excitement.

Kasey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2415

What happens to all the information I provide for my doctors? It seems like every time I have a doctor's appointment, I have to fill out pages and pages of personal information that I have already given them during an earlier visit. I've gotten so used to this that I always bring a pair of reading glasses and a pre-printed list of the meds I take to my appointment. They always try to cram way too much information on a single page, so you have to write really small. I can never fit the lengthy and often bizarre names of the pills I take into the small boxes provided. Almost every other industry has moved on to electronic records, but doctors seem to still like to put everything on paper. I don't get it. Today, I spent more time filling out the forms than I did talking with the doctor.

Today's visit was with a urologist. I'm old enough that I need to have a prostate exam at least once a year. The doctors at this clinic always seem to have a sad look on their face. I can see it in their eyes. You can tell that they wish they had become cardiologists instead. I guess I'd feel the same was if I spent my entire day giving prostate exams. I'd seen today's doctor before, but this was my first visit to his new clinic. Doctors seem to move around a lot. I didn't like this new clinic very much because they seemed to rush patients through in a hurry, and they wouldn't validate my parking. Would you choose a doctor based on free parking? It seems as good a reason as any.

I should have seen this coming. The roofers promised to fix my roof tomorrow, so of course it started to rain this afternoon. Storms are forecast for tomorrow as well. Now, I'll have to reschedule everything after the roof is dry again. It doesn't seem fair. I've been waiting for months to get this roof patched and it's been hot and dry for a long time. Now, when it's finally my turn for the repair crew, it has to rain. This will eventually get done, but it is testing my patience.

The rain made the dogs restless today. When Dot gets upset, she poops even more than usual, so I had quite a mess to clean up today. When I turned on the TV, it appeared that the Democrats has quite a mess to clean up as well. Wasn't it just last week that they were calling the Republican Convention a disorganized mess? I guess this is Karma in action. What goes around comes around. This was definitely a self-inflicted wound. The Democrats deserve the hot mess they created. It's still hard to believe that they so blatantly tried to rig an election.

I canceled Dot's physical therapy appointment again. I"m going to try to talk with Dot's vet tomorrow and see if there is any basis to continue. I think the therapy helps, but Dot seems happier without it. Janet keeps trying to tell me that I can't keep her alive forever and I should just let her rest for the remaining time she has with us. I hate to give up, but maybe she's right.

Puppies are today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1854

I really wish doctors and dentists would agree on things. Most people just find a doctor they can trust and go along with the diagnosis. Since I don't really trust anyone, I find this difficult. I'm looking for a consensus. If a lot of people come to the same conclusion, I'll tend to believe they are right. On the other hand, if three dentists look at the same x-rays and each reach a different conclusion, I'm confused and a bit nervous. I saw the oral surgeon today and came away with the distinct impression that I could lose from one to three teeth. Everyone agrees that one of my wisdom teeth has to go, but the fate of the other two teeth depends on who you talk to. I told the surgeon that I didn't want to do anything until I returned from my trip to California and got caught up on several work projects. That seemed fine and we settled on the 13th of February. Yup. You guessed it. When I got home and looked at a calender, I'm having dental surgery on Friday the 13th.

On the way home from the dentist, I stopped at Office Depot and got a new 12-month accordion folder for this year's receipts. Why are these paper folders $18 now? It's ridiculous. When I started keeping receipts in accordion folders for my accountant, they were only $8 each. And people still say that inflation isn't a problem. At least shoes don't seem to be going up in price. I also picked up a new pair of waterproof work boots for walking the dogs while I was out today and they were the same price they were five years ago. Of course, nothing is as well made as it was five or ten years ago, but what are you going to do? I still have an Eddie Bauer goose down parka from the early 1960's that is better than anything you can buy today. When I wore this coat to high school in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1963 there was a real guy named Eddie Bauer in Seattle who outfitted expeditions and designed some of the world's best outdoor gear. When he retired, the company was bought and sold multiple times and now the brand is just licensed to other manufacturers who make furniture, bicycles, and lots of clothing made in China. I hate the whole concept of brand extensions and licensing. When I was shopping for boots this afternoon, I saw some with the Caterpillar brand. Caterpillar makes bulldozers, not shoes. Harley Davidson doesn't make sunglasses either. I like Red Wing because they still just make shoes. My new Red Wing boots are pretty decent, but they're probably made in China now too.

Since I don't multitask very well, work kind of stacked up on me today. This means I'll be busy tomorrow. It's just as well because the weather is still so cold that staying home and doing writing assignments and fixing websites seems like a better alternative than anything else I can think of. It's certainly better than more stretching. I think I need to curtail the stretching exercises for a while. My right shoulder seems permanently sore now. I'm sure this is a "no pain, no gain" situation, but personally I'd rather just not lift my right arm very high.

I need to do something to snap myself out of the cold weather doldrums. Maybe I should go out for breakfast tomorrow. Maybe not though. When you sit by the window, the restaurant is cold. I could just turn up the thermostat a bit here at home, but Janet and both dogs like things just the way they are. I'm the only one that's cold. I'm definitely ready for Summer.
 

Murphy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1802

I had my annual physical today. As usual, the exam consisted of long waits in various rooms, followed by a much shorter visit with the doctor. I think doctors call their customers "patients" because you have to be very patient to deal with all the waiting. My doctor loves blood tests. Every year, he comes up with half a dozen new things to test me for. Years ago, the technicians only drew one vial of blood for lab work. Now they routinely draw seven or eight vials. It is pretty amazing how much information about your health can be gleaned from a sample of blood. Now, in addition to the usual tests for PSA, glucose, cholesterol, and liver enzyme levels, my lab work includes a variety of genetic RNA markers to determine if I am predisposed to develop certain diseases. Here's the weird thing. My copy of today's lab work was 12 pages long, but I still don't know my own blood type. Doctors never bother to order the simple blood type test anymore, because unless you are in the ER and need a transfusion, they don't need this information. I've meant to ask one of my doctors what my blood type is, but while I am actually in the exam room, I always forget.

For the past several years I've been telling my doctor that I don't want a flu shot and then end up getting one anyway. "Nobody ever died from getting a flu shot," my doctor told me today. OK. Go ahead and give me one. It's really futile trying to argue with doctors. Flu shots aren't a big deal anyway. At least my lab work was good. The only thing I need to keep an eye on is my blood sugar.  I'm not a diabetic, but I could easily become one if I'm not careful. My glucose and a1c levels were a little higher than last year. They were still in the normal range, but headed in the wrong direction. I think these levels were better last year because I had given up sugar and eating bread almost entirely. Eventually, my sweet tooth got the better of me and I went back to having dessert with my evening meals. It looks like I'm going to have to curtail desserts again.

When I was having breakfast this morning, the sky was very grey and the restaurant was playing sad country songs instead of the usual Austin hipster music. For some reason this moody ambiance brought back memories of ancient road trips. You'd never know it now, but before I had dogs or responsibilities, a long straight road and a hearty meal at a roadside diner that I would never see again was my idea of fun. The destination was never that important, but I would often drive 800 miles in a day. I've driven through virtually all the Western states, but never had much desire to point the car in an easterly direction. For just a moment this morning I imagined my favorite restaurant was a roadside diner in Wyoming. The moment didn't last long. By 10AM I was back at my desk writing ridiculous advertising messages.

Dot stumbled and fell on her walk today and Dash had an upset stomach and frantically wanted to eat grass for a while. Both dogs recovered quickly, but I still worry about them a lot. My job is to keep them both safe and healthy. Everything else I do is basically just to kill time. It's a good thing my doctor never takes my blood pressure when I'm having a dog crisis. Lord knows what he'd try to prescribe for me then.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1728

I received a letter from my sister today telling me that her dog had died. Apparently, it had an undetected tumor very similar to Dot's abdominal cancer and the tumor ruptured. Very sad. I wonder why so many dogs end up having cancer at some point in their life. I've heard that up to 50% of all dogs eventually have some sort of cancer. I wonder why? Is it the food we feed our dogs these days? Is it the environment? Or are dogs just naturally predisposed to develop cancer? We were lucky to have caught Dot and Dash's cancer in time, but Janet and I have lost pets to cancer too. Spot died of cancer and so did Greta. Spot lived an additional three years after having surgery to remove the tumor, but it had already metastasized, so the cancer eventually returned. Greta never recovered from the surgery and died in the hospital.

Today was definitely a Monday. The day got off to a slow start and never picked up speed. I paid some bills, made some appointments for later in the week, and answered my mail, but that was about it. I was disappointed to discover that one of Dot's protective sleeping pads was wet when we woke up this morning, but then she made it through the rest of the day without another accident. Go figure. Things are definitely better than they were three weeks ago, but the road to recovery is certainly a rocky one. I'm still not sure if Dot's new medication is having any effect yet.

I must have exerted myself a little more than I thought I did at the gym yesterday. My arm has felt sore all day. Lately, I've been feeling like I'm falling apart. I need to go to the dentist. I need to have physical therapy for my dislocated shoulder. And I'd really like to stop taking the Statins my general practitioner has me taking to lower my cholesterol. I was fine with Zetia and Welchol, but the combination of Statins and time-release Niacin is driving me nuts. Taking large amounts of Niacin causes the small blood vessels to dilate and creates a flushing sensation that makes you feel like you're on fire. You are supposed to be asleep when this happens, but since the dogs wake me up a lot, I often have to deal with flushing. I wish the doctor would switch me back to my old meds, but every time I tell him how much I hate Statins, he tries to scare me with heart attack stories. This usually works. I know too many people my age who have already had a heart attack.

I wonder if it's normal to think about food so much. I'm not gaining weight and I don't eat all that much, but lately I spend more time thinking about what I'm going to eat next than about what I'm going to do next. For much of my life I've always had a big editing, photography, or music project that consumed my thoughts and time. I just don't find myself as interested in these things as I used to be. I sure do think about what's for dinner and what's for breakfast though. My dreams have changed too. I know they've changed, but unfortunately I forget them about ten seconds after I wake up. One day, maybe I'll remember these dreams and all will be revealed.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1655

When I was leaving the doctor's office today, I noticed a little piece of metal sticking out of my tire. This looked like something superficial that I could pull out with a pair of pliers myself, but since I was near the Land Rover dealer anyway I decided to drive over and let them get the piece of metal out of the tread. As soon as the technician began prying the little piece of metal out of the tire, I began to hear air escaping. I quickly learned that the tire was a total loss, due to the location of the puncture, and that I need a brand new tire. Yikes! This wasn't what I expected at all.

I sure was glad the dealer convinced me to purchase tire and wheel protection coverage when I purchased the car. I thought it was a big waste of money at the time, but in retrospect it turned out to be quite a bargain. It turns out that my fancy low profile nitrogen filled tires are quite a bit more expensive than the old truck tires I had on the Defender. I never dreamed a tire could be this expensive. I didn't have to pay for this one though, and I will always make sure I have tire and wheel protection coverage in the future.

My doctor visit was a bit disappointing. I thought I'd be able to convince the doc to discontinue a few medications, but instead he wanted to put me back on statin drugs to improve my cholesterol levels. My liver doctors had taken me off the statin drugs during my Hepatitis C treatment and I thought I was done with them forever. When I asked the doctor why he wanted to try statins and niacin again he told me that my new liver wouldn't help me that much if I had a heart attack. He also told me that my Cortisol levels were too high. "What causes that," I asked? "Stress." the doctor said. "You need to get rid of the stress in your life." "Well, how do you expect me to do that," I asked incredulously. "I don't know," the doctor said. "My Cortisol levels are even higher than yours." This made me smile. It almost made me laugh out loud.

I've always thought that I led a relatively stress-free life. Truthfully, it's just about impossible to avoid stress entirely in today's fast paced world. Prices of just about everything have increased a lot faster than wages. Everyone I know seems to expect more, while at the same time having less patience. Even the dogs seem to expect more. When I checked the baby monitor while I was at the car dealer, I discovered that they were both barking loudly. I laughed. Dot and Dash weren't alarmed about anything. It was their dinner time and they knew I was late.

It wasn't a very productive day, but I did make a little forward progress. I won't have to go back to the doctor again for a while, and I avoided a potentially dangerous flat tire on a Dallas freeway this weekend. I'm sure that's worth something. The dogs should actually be proud of me.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1649 - Summer Solstice

It doesn't really seem like the longest day of the year. The sun should be setting right about now, but since it's cloudy outside, it seems like sunset occurred quite a while ago. Solstice is a big deal to some people I know, but it's just another Saturday to me. The only Summer Solstice that seemed very memorable to me was years ago when I was going to high school in Alaska. My family was living in Fairbanks at the time and on June 20, we got in the car and drove north as far as we could. We almost had 24-hour daylight in Fairbanks during the Summer, but not quite. On this particular Solstice I remember climbing up a hill just above the Arctic Circle near midnight with my Dad and watching the sun still shining, low on the northern horizon. Winter skies were pretty cool as well. There were lots and lots of auroras to be seen.

There was nothing that exciting today. I saw a rabbit and a couple of ducks in the park. That was about it. It's amazing how quickly we can go from too much rain to not enough. We're gone a couple weeks without significant rain and the ground is already getting parched and dry. I made sure to water both the front and back lawn today. I'm determined to keep the grass growing as long as I can this year. We don't have an automatic sprinkler system, but I did put mechanical timers on the little oscillating sprinklers attached to the garden hose. I like these timers. There are no batteries or electricity required. The entire thing is just a simple clockwork mechanism that you wind up and then it turns the water off thirty minutes to an hour later.

I called in some prescription renewals this morning and the pharmacist told me that some of them needed doctor approval again. My GP has been renewing these things one month at a time until I go in and have another physical exam. I already made an appointment for an exam next month, but I guess I've actually got to have the exam before my doctor will go back to renewing my meds for a year at a time. I really liked my team of liver doctors. They really believed that a good diet and lots of exercise were the keys to good health. I don't think my general practitioner has ever met a pill he didn't like. He's always trying to prescribe something new for me. I'd really like to find a reputable doctor who could find a way to ween me off of all my meds. I'm tired of taking pills. I guess I shouldn't be too disparaging about the pharmaceutical industry though. As much as I hate pills, I need to remember that it was a pill that cured my Hepatitis C.

I took some stuff over to the storage warehouse today and spent a few minutes looking around. There are a lot of things I should probably just get rid of. It's just not useful anymore. I don't imagine that people are going to start using tape machines again. I still have tape machines from the days when I did a lot of video editing. Everything is file based now though. The tape machines are museum pieces.  Old software is pretty useless too. I have tons of software still in the original boxes from the days when you installed it using floppy disks. Some of this software was pretty cool, but absolutely none of it runs on modern computers. Framed photographs that never sold at gallery shows are taking up a lot of space too. Lord only knows why I have so many electric trains.

I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. There's an animal rescue website to update. I need to do some cleaning around the house. Maybe I'll go to the gym. One of these days, I'm sure the dogs would like to go to the dog park again as well.

Barley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1641

I got up early to get my blood tested before breakfast. I walked the dogs first, of course, but I was still at the doctor's office before 8 AM. As you might imagine, I'm getting a bit tired of getting blood tests all the time. Everyone seems to want one. The urologist tests for PSA. My team of liver doctors test for liver enzymes and viral load. My GP seems most interested in cholesterol and blood sugar. Even the dogs get frequent blood tests. Dash gets tested once a month to monitor his chemotherapy drugs. Dot got tested recently before she got her teeth cleaned. I think I should have invested in Labcorp stock. I have a feeling that doing lab work for doctors is a growth industry.

The grocery store was near the doctor's office, so I decided to get my weekend shopping done on the way home. I wanted to put the groceries in the refrigerator before I went out for breakfast, but Dot didn't agree with this plan. She thought I was home for good. When it became apparent that I was going to leave again, she started barking. I checked in on the dogs using the baby monitor when I got to the restaurant and Dot was still barking. I could tell by her tone that she wasn't alarmed at anything, she was just mad. I felt a bit guilty, so I only had two cups of coffee instead of my usual three and went straight home again. One I got home, the barking stopped and the dogs just went to sleep.

When I'm not really busy, I keep trying to improved my knowledge of WordPress. I'm not very fond of WordPress, but increasingly, this is what my clients want me to use. It's easy to understand why I'm not a fan. Easy-to-use WordPress themes are slowly but surely destroying my web design business. You can put together a WordPress site in a couple of hours without any coding knowledge. The themes are dirt cheap to buy and generally include some pretty sophisticated features. What's not to like, you might ask? First of all, it can be difficult to make a WordPress site look truly unique. All the themes look more or less the same to me. My ISP tells me that they are not very secure either. I tried modifying a standard WordPress theme this afternoon to give it my own special style. I wasn't very successful. Using a theme is easy. Changing a theme is hard. Since I'm the one who keeps wanting to change these themes, I suspect I'm wasting my time. My clients don't even care.

Dash did a good job at keeping his tail from bleeding today. I didn't have to bandage or clean it at all. Maybe he just didn't do much wagging today. Whatever he did, I hope he keeps it up. A few more days like this and the tail might actually have a chance of healing.

I didn't make it to the gym this week, but I can't really remember why. Somehow, I managed to go twice last week when I was busier than I am now. I'll probably have time to go workout on Sunday. I'll get the rest of my exercise by mowing the grass and pulling weeds. Father's Day won't be a big deal. I'm not a father.

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1625

Medicine gives my life structure. The doctors, veterinarians, pharmacists, and technicians have become my equivalent of co-workers. I've seen some of these people periodically for many years. A few have even become clients. These people know me by name and we exchange the same kind of banter that regular co-workers do on a coffee break. The blood tests are becoming less frequent now. Dash and I have both moved on. I had a routine blood test at the liver center this morning, just to make sure my hemoglobin levels were returning to normal. Pretty soon, these tests will cease completely. You'd think I'd be delighted to put this all behind me, but even though I'm delighted that Dash and I are getting better, I'm going to miss the interaction. I like asking questions and learning something new. That's what you do with doctors and pharmacists. You ask lots of questions.

The neighbor's cat returned to our yard again today and drove the dogs crazy. Our neighborhood is filled with feral cats. Most of them learned to avoid dogs years ago, so it's still rare to actually have a cat in the yard. You'd think that one little cat couldn't cause so much chaos, but Dot and Dash have always seen a cat as a sign of the apocalypse. I had to remove the cat from the yard three times before it decided to look for mice elsewhere. It's a friendly little cat and I don't want the dogs to hurt it. I wish the neighbors wanted to keep their new pet indoors, but they obviously don't. You can't really convince people that having a barn cat in the city isn't right. If they think their cat is happier outdoors, you're not going to convince them otherwise. These outdoor/indoor cats do seem to enjoy roaming around and catching mice and birds. Unfortunately, my dogs enjoy catching cats. Dalmatians seem slow to learn that the cat usually has the upper hand in a confrontation. I had to take Spot, our first Dalmatian, to the vet several times when he got too close to a cat and it scratched him on the nose.

I'm pretty much caught up with work again. I checked the article I wrote yesterday for spelling errors and submitted it for publication. I made some minor website updates and uploaded them to the server. That was about it. The remainder of the day was spent going to the bank, picking up prescriptions, and dealing with the curious cat in the yard.

Although the forecast predicted rain again, it was actually pretty dry today. There were lots of dark clouds, but most of the thunderstorms went either to the North or the South of us. Since it was pretty dry, I went up on the roof and removed the standing water. This almost guarantees that it will rain again tomorrow, but I can't leave the water up there too long. Standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and I don't want my house to become a source for West Nile Virus in the neighborhood.

Dot gets her teeth cleaned tomorrow. This means she has to fast tonight and won't get the usually treats just before bed. We'll drop her off at the vet early tomorrow morning and if things go well, she'll return with sparkling white teeth by mid-afternoon. Hopefully, this will be the last vet procedure that either dog will need for a while.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1555

It's still dark when we leave for the cancer center in the morning. By the time we arrive, the sun is just starting to rise. I get Dash checked in and then take him to pee in a grassy area near the building. The people at the clinic are smart. They let the dogs stay in a doggie-day-care environment where they can play with other dogs until it is their turn for treatment. Then as soon as the anesthesia has worn off after the treatment, they feed the dogs. This is all to build up a positive association about coming to this place over and over again. The plan seems to work. So far, Dash actually seems to like coming to the cancer center. Both dogs hate going to the regular vet, where they are frequently kept isolated in cages while they wait.

I've spent enough time around doctors to realize that they always surprise you with something after your treatment has started. I'm convinced they gloss over a few details, just to make sure you won't freak out and abandon your treatment plans altogether. Today's surprise was a pair of special purple gloves in the bag with Dash's chemotherapy pills. I asked what the gloves were for and the nurse told me that I was to wear them to avoid touching the pills. I was also to keep Dot in another room while I administered the pills to Dash, just to make sure she didn't eat them by mistake. Yup. These gloves would have definitely freaked me out, if I'd known about this procedure in advance. I guess I've always known that chemotherapy drugs are basically poison, but I never thought they were so dangerous that you couldn't touch them with your bare hands. The nurse said the gloves were no big deal, but that was just like my own liver doctors telling me that the occasional heart attack patients have a while taking the Hepatitis C treatment is no big deal either.

Dash didn't seem to have any side effects from today's treatment. There was no coughing at all today. He had plenty of energy on his evening walk with Dot as well. We'll see how he does with the chemo pills. I put on the purple gloves and gave him his first pills with dinner this evening. So far, everyting seems fine.

Tomorrow, Dash gets to rest and won't go back to the cancer center until Friday. Thursday will still be busy though. The landscaping guys are coming over in the morning to clean up the back yard and plant new grass. Later in the day, I need to go to Baylor and have some more blood work done to monitor the progress of my Hepatitis C treatment. Janet's coming home tomorrow too, so I'll need to go to the airport and pick her up.

I need to find an effective way to manage all the pills that are accumulating on the kitchen counter. I take thirteen different pills every morning and another seven every night. Dash takes phenobarbital, thyroid supplements, and allopurinol, in addition to the three new chemotherapy pills. Dot takes a couple of pills to boost cognitive function and ward off dementia. If I ever get these pills mixed up, we're all in big trouble.

Pringles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1507

The bad news is that I apparently did dislocate my right shoulder on Tuesday. The good news is that I probably won't need surgery. After spending the better part of the day reading old magazines in two different waiting rooms, I finally received some pain pills and a cortisone shot directly in my shoulder joint. I'm already starting to feel a little better, but I can't walk the dogs for two weeks. When I go to the gym, I need to forgo the upper body exercises for a while as well.

Last night was terrible. I didn't sleep a wink. I finally got so tired of the dogs bumping into my arm on the bed, that I pushed two of their dogs beds together in the living room and slept there. Well, I tried to sleep anyway. It was painful on my back, on my side, and on my stomach. There was just no escape from the painful shoulder. Janet walked the dogs and drove me to the doctor this morning, but it put her way behind at work. We're going to have to find a dog walker for a short time while I heal.

I got a call this afternoon saying that I had been approved to begin my Hepatitis-C treatment. It looks like I will begin taking the newly approved medicine next week. It is absolutely astounding how expensive these little miracle pills are. You could purchase a very nice new car for what it costs to take the new 12-week Solvadi and ribavirin regime. Luckily my insurance will pick up most of the tab. It's hard to believe that a few little pills could ever cost so much, but I guess the pharmaceutical company is trying to recover the enormous cost of developing these pills.

I didn't do well with my writing assignments today. It's hard to type with one hand. It's actually a lot easier to drive with one hand, although shifting can still be a little tricky. I drove to my second doctor's appointment myself and somehow made it home again in one piece. Hopefully, I will at least partially regain the use of my other hand by tomorrow. I have a big photo assignment on Saturday and I'm a little worried that I won't be able to pick up my five pound DLSR. A lot could change by Saturday though. I'm optimistic at this point.

You learn a lot about the healthcare system when you spend your day sitting in waiting rooms. Today, I learned that medicine is way too expensive, waiting rooms are way too crowded, and doctors are almost universally stressed and overworked. I asked my doctor this morning how Obamacare was working out for him.  He said it was total chaos at his clinic. He told me that nobody has a clue about what to charge patients, or even whether the patients are actually insured. The only person I know personally who is a fan of Obamacare happens to own an insurance company. If insurance executives actually like the plan, this tells me all I need to know. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when all those big insurance executives got together with the president. You know they walked away from that meeting with some kind of sweet deal.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1488

I woke up with a nosebleed this morning. For most of my life I wouldn't have given something like this a second thought. Now that half my friends have had heard attacks and I have a primary care physician who is obsessed with heart attacks, it's hard not to be a hypochondriac. It seems like there's always something that isn't working the way it should. I try not to worry about my health though. After all, there are other things to worry about, like water on the roof, clogged printers, and unexplained engine noises.

Janet likes to walk the dogs on weekends, so I went up on the roof to inspect the downed tree while everyone was away.  The tree is still there of course, but I'll have to give the roofers credit. There doesn't appear to be any damage to the roof at all. Despite some nasty icy weather and  falling tree limbs, the new roof has held up pretty well.

It's really hard to anticipate what the weather is going to be like in January here in Texas. Although we had temperatures in the single digits last week, it was in the mid-sixties today. It was nice to be able to go outside without bundling up, but the ground was still muddy. It remains to be seen whether the dog park will be open tomorrow. Sometimes they close the park even on nice days when the ground is muddy. If the dogs have any say in this, it will definitely be open.

I went to Home Depot and got a new furnace filter today. It irritates me to pay $19 for a furnace filter, but I guess it's my fault. I'm always compelled to buy the best instead of the cheapest. I could have gotten a filter for $4, but it looked completely worthless. I used to have some great electrostatic filters for the old furnace. They were made from sturdy aluminum and I would wash them out every month and use them again and again. With today's practice of only keeping the most popular items in inventory, I just can't find these things anymore. I'm sure I could find something on the Internet, but I still like the idea of a hardware store that has everything. Trust me on this. Home Depot does not have everything. They don't even come close.

There was nothing very eventful about today. That's a good thing though. There are clean sheets on the bed. A big pile of towels has been washed. All the weekend errands are done. The printer is even working. Dot and Dash are happy and full of energy today. What more could you ask for?

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1343

One good thing about having so many veterinarians as clients and friends is that Dot and Dash always get excellent medical care. Dot went to her emergency vet today to get X-rays and make sure she hadn't seriously injured her leg. Tomorrow she goes to her regular vet for her annual physical exam. Then, on Wednesday she goes to see her physical therapy vet. I'm hoping that seeing three different vets on three consecutive days will help us find a conclusive answer to the problems she's been having with her rear legs. Today's visit was encouraging. Her spine and hips look remarkably good for a dog of her age. There were no visible signs of Spondylosis or pinched nerves on the X-rays either. She still might have a partial tear of her anterior cruciate ligament, but it doesn't look like she suffered a full tear, which is much more serious.

Since Dot was in no immediate danger and Dash's condition seems to have stabilized, I was able to take care of some of my own medical needs. I took copies of some new blood work over to my Hepatologist. I guess I could have just faxed the records, but there were so many that it seemed easier to drive them over to the hospital. Next, I got another doctor to approve a new cholesterol medication that a third doctor wanted me to start taking. My own medical team might not be as friendly and accommodating as Dot's, but dealing with them is just as complex. I've discovered that getting three or more doctors to agree on anything is next to impossible.

Today was Janet's birthday. We didn't have a huge party with an open bar and a rock band, but we did have some delicious Sprinkles cupcakes. Dot and Dash got to enjoy some Sprinkles doggie cupcakes as well. My favorite new Sprinkles flavor is S'mores. Somehow, they taste exactly like the Graham crackers with melted marshmallows and chocolate that are mandatory on any camping trip. Yes, I know that I'm not supposed to eat any sugar, but I probably won't eat another cupcake until the next birthday party. I think I'm OK.

It's a good thing that work was slow today, because I doubt that I could have met any deadlines today anyway. After I got all my medical errands out of the way, I did have time to update a couple of websites. I couldn't upload the changes though, since one of the sites was moving to a new server. With Dot's annual exam and Dash's antigen shot tomorrow, I hope my workload continues to be slow. After Wednesday is over, you guys can start piling it on again, but let's hold off for a little while. I've got sick dogs to deal with.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day