Day 3606

My schedule was a little different today. I skipped breakfast because I had an early morning doctor's appointment. They always want you to fast when blood work is required so I just took a quick shower and headed for my appointment. My health appears to be good, but there are always a few surprises when you take a physical. My doctor wants me to see a dermatologist about a rough patch of skin on my face that I've ignored for years. I've always thought that the small scaly patch was harmless Keratosis, but he wants to make sure it isn't a Basal Cell Carcinoma instead. He also wants me to see an orthopedic specialist about my shoulder. I've done this before, but the doctor said it's time to revisit things. "You might not think your shoulder is getting worse," he told me, "but it is."

He did say I was more than healthy enough to spend time in a remote area like McDonald Observatory. I was more than a little envious when he told me that he'd been to the observatory several times and had even taken his grandchildren on a Special Observing Night. They had perfectly clear skies on the day he went.

I wish I hadn't let the doctor convince me to get a flu shot and my second of two required pneumonia shots. I got one shot in each arm and now I am very sore. Maybe the flu shot wasn't a bad idea. I seldom get them, but always worry about getting sick when we are taking Christmas pictures and I am around a lot of people. The reason I seldom get sick is that I'm seldom around people at all.

When I returned home, I noticed that there was still fresh fruit in the refrigerator, so I made myself a lunch smoothie. This was exactly the same as a breakfast smoothie except that I drank it at noon. I had a choice of taking a long walk today or clearing the water off the roof. I'm a pragmatic person, so I opted for clearing away all the standing water before it rains again. It's amazing how much water remains on the roof after the pumps have done their thing. The good news is that the patches I've made directly over the office appear to be holding. There have been no leaks so far. The bad news is that I'm still finding other areas that need to be repaired.

I took the money I made selling my guitar to the bank and picked up the banner at the printer. This time the printer said they would save the file in case I needed it again. This is what happens when you sit on things too long. The printer lost the file and I lost the banner. All is well now. I can't remember clearly, but I think it cost me less to print this banner now than it did ten years ago.

There was no time for a long walk today, but I did take a short walk through the neighborhood before Janet and I went out for dinner. A lot of houses have been updated. I have a feeling that mine might be one of the only ones that hasn't been touched. I still can't decide whether to drive to Palestine tomorrow to seeing Boy 4014 arrive. It's an amazing looking old steam train, but it's just a train and I don't like to drive. Janet's up for the trip. I'll sleep on the idea and see how I feel in the morning.

I applied for launch credentials at Kennedy Space Center again. I'm not quite ready to give up on this idea of becoming a space journalist yet. Since some of you enjoyed seeing Spot, I've featured him again. What an amazing dog he was.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day