August 2026
August 31, 2026 Monday - Today is kind of a sad day. I’m meeting Riley and Ari along with Rane and her BF for our last dinner before they leave for Colorado. It’s weird you think she would have picked a better place for her last meal in Dallas. It’s gonna suck not being able to meet for dinner periodically. I guess we’ll have to go back to our FaceTime lunches like we did when she was in Canada.
August 30, 2026 Sunday - My cookie making friend read my last post with one of her cookies and took me seriously. We met for dinner the other night and I picked up a couple of boxes of cookies. All of them are my favorite, Dark Chocolate Cherry Walnut cookies. One box went straight to the freezer. One cookie went straight to the microwave. I’m going to be very happy for a while now.
August 29, 2026 Saturday - Here’s Phoebe. She’s been my photo of the day before. This morning, she crawled up on my chest and rolled over for some early morning belly rubs. She made it hard to get up and head back home to my own pups. I spent some time wondering if it’s best to focus on just one pup or if it’s better to have a small family like I do. I picked up some breakfast for them on the way home.
August 28, 2026 Friday - This evening I left the pups to come to a friend’s house to dog-sit her girl, Phoebe. She’s such a sweetie. I came over and let her out for a bit and then went to meet another friend for dinner. There’s a Roman Cucina up here in Plano too. It took a few minutes for Phoebe to warm up to me. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her.
August 27, 2026 Thursday - I love that Zak spends a good part of the day in here with all of us while I’m working. I got up for something today, and the light was hitting him just right. I had to get a photo. This spot on one of the couches is his favorite spot. I love how the tip of his tail has this little wisp of white just at the very tip.
August 26, 2026 Wednesday - Today I met a friend for an early dinner. We used to work together, and I’ve not seen her in 10-15 years. We worked together in the studio years ago. Now her office isn’t too far from my favorite local Pho place. It was great getting caught up and hearing all about her kids. We did spend a lot of time talking about our dogs too.
August 25, 2026 Tuesday - I was only kidding about pulling all her teeth. Hahahaha. She’s so funny. She gets really fixated on the outdoors. If she sees a squirrel, she loses it. The other day, she saw a couple of roadrunners moving across the yard. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my camera fast enough. I hate when she sees cats out the bedroom window in the mornings.
August 24, 2026 Monday - I may have to pull out all of Butter’s teeth! This is my charging cable for my laptop. Thankfully, it’s the one I use when I’m working from the couch and not my main power source when I’m at my desk. She’s finally gone through all her chew toys, and the blanket she plays with is now only shreds. I need to go to PetSmart.
August 23, 2026 Sunday - This morning I made a bit of sausage and eggs with tomatoes, feta, and green onions. I shared a bunch of this with the pups, but first I picked out the tomatoes and onions and just gave them bits of egg and sausage. I found out one of my boss’s favorite movies is Last of the Mohicans. I watched it today too. Such a great soundtrack.
August 22, 2026 Saturday - This is the issue I have at home. Again. Almost exactly one month ago, I had a leak out in the yard. This is what the “plumber” put in to fix it. Needless to say, I didn’t call that guy to come do the work. After a few calls to other plumbers, my brother recommended that we do it ourselves, especially since very little digging was needed.
August 21, 2026 Friday - Today, we had a work dinner. We’re all remote and don’t get to see each other very often. Much less all of us together. We met at Neighborhood Services for our dinner. They have the best Old Fashioned I’ve ever tasted. Not that I try them very often. My dinner was amazing. The mushroom ragu under this was so good. The pups really liked what I brought them home for them.
August 20, 2026 Thursday - I did a deep clean on a portion of the kitchen and freed up some space. I also put away some things that I hadn’t found a home for yet. One was my waffle maker. I’ve only made waffles in it once, and it made me want to make them again. While I was grocery shopping, I picked up a few croissants. I already had chocolate at home.
August 19, 2026 Wednesday - This would taste so much better with some Frosted Flakes instead of these Honey Nut Cheerios. I did a grocery delivery, and this issue will be remedied later today. I try not to be too repetitive, but tomorrow’s photo may be the same but with a bowl of the good stuff. I’ve had food photos almost all week, except for the x-ray and the dog biscuits. Does that count or not?
August 18, 2026 Tuesday - Part of getting a new rheumatologist is having to get some new scans and x-rays. I had to get a bone density scan and a few x-rays of my hands and feet. Thankfully, the imaging place was here in Burleson and didn’t take too long. The two ladies doing this were friendly and let me get a photo of one of the x-rays.
August 17, 2026 Monday - I had to find something to do with the bunch of remaining strawberries I didn’t use in the salad. I sliced them, sprinkled a little bit of sugar on them, and put them in the fridge. I wish I had some Frosted Flakes to add them to. It’s so good. Sadly, all I have is a big box of Honey Nut Cheerios. I don’t think it will be as good.
August 16, 2026 Sunday - I finally got around to making this salad today. It’s mixed greens, purple onion, grape tomatoes, strawberries, purple grapes, feta, and Parmesan. I tried for years to find a dressing similar to what I would get when we would buy this at the office café. I settled on a poppy seed dressing for a long time. It was good enough. This time I found a vinaigrette that is so much better.
August 15, 2026 Saturday - I have a rule: if all the dogs don’t poop on our morning walk, we can’t go get breakfast. Thankfully, they all did their business today, and we drove into town for breakfast. On the way home, I stopped at a neighbor’s house down the street. She has a little “market stand” next to her driveway. I picked up some of her chicken/cheddar dog treats. The pups loved them!
August 14, 2026 Friday - One of the perks of living here is having so much family nearby, all that comes with it. Yesterday, my brother called me at the end of the day to invite me to dinner. This morning, my sister called and brought over some little breakfast sandwiches for me and the pups. These were really good, and the pups thought so too.
August 13, 2026 Thursday - I was talking to a friend the other day, and she mentioned she made this salad that we used to get at work. It’s been on my mind since. It’s been a really long time since I made it myself. I did my grocery shopping in person for the first time in a long time and decided it’s time to get all the stuff to make it again.
August 12, 2026 Wednesday - I got a pretty decent check the other day. As a reward, I ordered a couple of new Lego sets. This set has Doug and Kevin from Up. Such a great movie with a great soundtrack. How cool would it be to have a Lego set of Zak, Pancake, and Butter? It wouldn’t be complete with a little Biscuit too.
August 11, 2026 Tuesday - I didn’t make the same mistake I made last time. The other night when I met Riley for dinner, I brought home an entrée for later. Tonight was later. I got what Riley ordered to go and I heated it up in a skillet on the stove. I don’t know what this tasted like two days ago, but it was really good tonight.
August 10, 2026 Monday - My new rheumatologist’s office has Lego flowers at the receptionist’s desk. I thought it was a good sign when I came here the first time. The girl behind the desk said she has all the botanical sets. My new doctor was very serious last time. I got a little giggle out of her today. Hopefully, she’ll be around as long as my last doctor.
August 9, 2026 Sunday - Today was another good day. It’s nice when they happen back-to-back. I drove to Dallas to meet Riley and Ari for dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant. Yes, I was here a little over a week ago, but it’s never enough. It was a great meal with great conversation with two of my favorite people. Saw a nice sunset on the way home too.
August 8, 2026 Saturday - Some days we discuss the issues of the world, and we solve all the problems. Sometimes we talk about work. Other times we discuss raising our kids. And sometimes we just talk about how good life is and how it’s not too terribly hard to have a good day. It doesn’t take much. Most of it is sitting right here. The rest will be sitting in the chairs near here.
August 7, 2026 Friday - This is my last S’more Cookie, and I think I warmed it up a bit too long. The marshmallow almost all leaked out when I microwaved it. The chocolate was still all melty and warm. The graham cracker base is a big winner on this cookie. More cookies should have them. I think I’m going to have to plead with my friend for some Dark Chocolate Cherry Walnut cookies.
August 6, 2026 Thursday - We got out for our morning walk at our normal time today. It’s been a while since we’ve seen any bunnies. There were two here, but the second one was so well hidden I thought I got both in this photo, but it’s just the one. Butter was going nuts wanting to get at them. Zak was completely oblivious, or he just didn’t care at all.
August 5, 2026 Wednesday - Today I got an interesting photography/videography assignment at work. I got up and took the pups for our morning walk while it was still dark. Then I headed to shoot this helicopter lifting a bunch of AC units onto a giant warehouse roof. I even got a reflective vest and a hard hat. We were leaving at the same time afterward.
August 4, 2026 Tuesday - Today I worked from the couch for part of the afternoon. One of the difficult parts of this is how Butter likes to put her head across my left arm. It makes it a little challenging to type or use my shortcut keys. When I get really busy or I really need to get in a hurry, I go back to my desk. She doesn’t know about personal space.
August 3, 2026 Monday - I took a little break late in the afternoon. I sat on the couch for a bit, and Butter came to keep me company. I found that Butter is quite needy and a bit of a knucklehead. If I’m petting Zak or Pancake, she’ll come in and try to push them out of the way. Sometimes she’ll try to pull me away by my arm too. She’s lucky Zak and Pancake are pretty chill about it.
August 2, 2026 Sunday - Today I was being lazy and put off having lunch for a long while. When I finally got around to “making” something for lunch, the pups and I decided to have PB&J for me and PBs for them. I give them jelly on toast every once in a while, but when we’re having sandwiches, I just put peanut butter in theirs. I hope they don’t prefer crunchy because they’re never getting that.
August 1, 2026 Saturday - My nephew brought me a box of these chocolate-covered caramels from Kilwins for helping take care of their pups. This will help me make my cookies last a bit longer. These are definitely one of my favorite things from their store, but I’ve yet to try their ice cream.