Day 2641

Delivery services must hate me. I track everything obsessively and when a package doesn't arrive when the website says it should, I feel compelled to locate it immediately. Almost always, these missing packages turn up the next day anyway, but that isn't good enough for me. Today, the post office website said a package was out for delivery, but I'd already received my mail and there was no package. Was there a separate mail carrier for this type of package? I didn't think so, but it didn't hurt to ask. I called the number listed on the website and listened to an automated voice tell me that there would be a thirty minute wait for the next available agent.

On a whim, I called my local post office, because this was the last listed location on the tracking app. A familiar voice answered the phone immediately. It was the lady I buy stamps from. I described my situation and she called the postman's cell phone on my route. He had inadvertently left the package in the truck when he was delivering my mail and said he'd swing back by my house within the hour. Thirty minutes later, I had my package. I only mention this because doing something the old fashioned way worked out wonderfully. I talked to someone I knew on the phone and quickly found the answer I needed. It made me nostalgic for the days when everything was this simple.

When I take Dot out to pee, I typically leave the back door wide open because Dash usually wanders outside while I'm holding Dot up in the backyard. This probably makes my heating bill go up in the Winter, but it's a lot better than having Dash barking and scratching at the door to get out. Today I realized that there was a flaw in my strategy. Bugs. Specifically, the Crane Flies are back. These awful bugs look a lot like flying spiders. They're everywhere when the weather warms up. Crane Flies don't bite and they fly very slow, so they're relatively easy to catch. They're still irritating though, because they love to fly in the back door and buzz around the house until they fall in your morning coffee or get trapped in the refrigerator. Today, about ten of the pesky creatures entered the house while I was waiting for Dot to pee. It's going to be a long Summer.

This morning, I noticed that my fancy WiFi scale had updated its firmware overnight and had added something else to the long list of things it measured. I wonder if this high tech gizmo is on the Wikileaks list of home devices the CIA can hack. Maybe they could slowly drive someone crazy by inputting the wrong weight of someone on a diet. Who knows. Personally, I don't really care if the CIA listens to my TV or messes with my scale. They can listen all they want. All they'd ever hear is an occasional "Goddamnit" when I inadvertently stepped in Dot's poop.

My camera really didn't capture the spectacular rays radiating outward from the rising sun this morning. The effect was subtle, but quite beautiful. The fan shaped shafts of light were kind of like a solar pillar, except that instead of a single shaft of light, there were many. I watched for about thirty seconds as the sun crawled above the horizon and then the effect was gone. I love seeing things like this on my morning walks. I'm a cynical person and I need to be reminded occasionally that the world is a wonderfully mysterious place.

Dot's left rear leg was still very weak today. I hope this isn't permanent. I tried to massage the leg, but she couldn't put much weight on it. Somehow, having one rear leg that is more reliable than the other is causing her to walk in a circle. I have to keep gently nudging her with my knee as we walk to keep her headed in a straight line. I wish I had my own underwater treadmill. The water therapy really did help her maintain muscle tone, but the stress caused by traveling to and from the vet is just too much for Dot these days.

I looked at my calendar for tomorrow and it's absolutely empty. I'm sure something will happen though. It always does.

Bacardi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day