Day 2423

The roofers came today. I don't know why they made me wait so long, considering how little time it actually took to make the repairs. In fairness, I do think they did a pretty good job. We'll have to wait until it rains to see if the repairs were successful. The high-tech coating they used is amazing when it works. If it doesn't dry completely, or the surface isn't cleaned properly before the coating is applied, it just washes away with the first rain. Maybe we'll get lucky this time. According to the weather report, it is supposed to be hot and dry for the rest of the week. The roofers tell me that the product needs 24 hours to cure. In my experience, it would be a lot safer to let it cure for 24 days.

The weather is so hot now that I'm faced with the choice of a huge water bill or a dry and parched lawn. If our yard got more sunlight, I'd plant one of those Xeriscape gardens. Many of our neighbors have landscaped using native plants that don't require much water. Some of these gardens look very nice, but they all seem to require a lot of sunlight. There really isn't a good solution for our yard, since the root systems for the large Oak trees steal the water away from all the other plants. No matter how much you water, the trees seem to get most of it. I didn't water today, but I'll probably have to soak things down tomorrow if I want the grass to stay green.

The only water I used today was for washing the car. I don't know why a clean car is important to me, since it mostly just sits in the driveway. Since Dot doesn't have physical therapy this week, there is no reason for me to leave the house at all until I run out of food. Mostly when I go places these days, it's just to avoid cabin fever. I still go to the post office, although I could easily just leave outgoing mail in my box for the postman like a normal person. I don't really need to go to the bank either, because there's an app on my phone that lets me scan and deposit checks electronically. It's kind of silly that I spent so much time worrying about the pet cam yesterday. Most of the time, the dogs are less than ten feet away.

Instead of leaving the house and spending money I didn't have, I sat down and wrote another letter to my Luddite sister. It's weird to think that fifteen years ago, this was the way I communicated with everybody. There's something quaint about picking up a pen and writing a letter. It reminds me of a time when life was simple. I could pick up the phone and call this sister anytime, but I never do. I kind of like the slow ritual of sending letters back and forth.

Dot almost caught a squirrel today. The hotter it gets, the slower our yard squirrels move. This afternoon there was one lounging on the back porch who didn't appear to want to get out of the way at all. Dot got real excited as she slowly approached the slow moving squirrel. "I got this one," her eyes seemed to be telling me. The squirrel hopped up a nearby tree in the end, but Dot still seemed energized. It was nice to see her acting like a dog again.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day