Day 4005

The rain arrived later than expected this morning, so we had time to walk Dawn after all. Our timing was pretty good because we were able to complete four miles and were almost home again before the first drops began to fall. It didn't take long to realize that the pumps weren't working correctly. I had to climb up on the roof and unclog one of them before I could eat my breakfast.

Rainy days are usually uneventful. I seldom leave the house and have no desire to start any major projects.  I puttered around the house and forgot what day it was several times. I still haven't taken the new dehumidifier out of the box but I did finally do a basic setup on my new camera. I wonder how long it will take me to start taking some pictures?

Janet was gone a lot today, so I worked on getting Dawn to learn how to do some basic things with me. The bedroom is her safe space and when Janet is gone, that's where she wants to stay. I had to put her on a leash to get her to go out in the back yard to pee. As soon as she was finished she ran to the back door and waited until I let her in so she could run to the bedroom again. She didn't even want to come out to the kitchen for lunch even though this is one of her favorite things when Janet is home. I do think we are making progress, but it is going very slowly.

The light rain stopped around mid-afternoon and I took my afternoon walk. Basically all I did today was walk. There were a few light sprinkles and I got a little wet, but it was fine. I enjoy watching the weather as long as there is not thunder and lightning. The clouds were moving swiftly today. By the time I returned home, the sky was starting to clear and I saw several large patches of blue among the clouds.

I got my editor's permission to share my new SpaceFlight Magazine article with my contacts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. I'm going to try to get myself invited out there to attend the Perseverance Rover Landing in February. I have no idea if they are even interested in having a little British magazine do an article about them, but it's worth a try. I have no idea what the Covid situation will be in February either. If things get worse, I might not even be allowed to travel to California.

A year ago at this time I was in New Orleans visiting the Michoud Assembly Facility. The first Artemis rocket had just been completed and would soon be on its way to the Stennis Space Center for testing. It was supposed to be on its way to the moon by now, but it is still sitting at Stennis. People in the space business must have a lot of patience. Delays and setbacks seem inevitable. Down in Boca Chica the next Starship prototype Space X was planning to test fell over inside the assembly building today. I don't think they were expecting that. I guess there is still plenty of time to see both of these rockets get off the ground. They're not going anywhere soon.

I doubt that I'll be going anywhere soon either. It's frustrating that Covid is still such a problem. You have to wonder how long it is going to take for this thing to die out and disappear. Even countries that were being held up as examples of how to do things right are having huge virus surges now. So far, the virus seems to be winning. We're definitely not going anywhere for Christmas. Janet ordered a Crown Roast from the butcher and we'll just have a nice Christmas dinner right here at home.

It's time to make my grocery list again. This week has gone quickly even though nothing happened. Next week I have two doctor's appointments and Dawn has a checkup at the vet. Such excitement on a wet December day.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day