Sunday, February 21, 2021

Day 4077

I hate getting old. It was a lot warmer today, so I thought I'd inflate my tires and get rid of the annoying warning light on my dash. I struggled to get the heavy air compressor out of the storage shed next to the carport. I'd put the compressor up on a shelf when I was younger and much stronger. Why didn't I put this thing on the floor like a sensible person? When I got the machine going and sat on the pavement to inflate the first tire, I realized that it was very hard to get up again. I went to the kitchen and brought out a chair to sit in while I was checking the tire pressure and inflating it to to proper specifications. I don't know why I never thought of this before. It's much easier to inflate tires sitting in a chair. These tires are supposed to be inflated with nitrogen, but who cares anymore. I'm tired of going to the Land Rover dealer and waiting around for an hour just to get my tires checked. All is well now. The tires were pretty low and they never would have inflated themselves.

The temperature got up to 70 degrees today which just shows you how weird Texas weather is. I thought for a while this afternoon that the air conditioner was going to come on in the house. I'm glad to have the warmer weather back. No more worries about frozen pipes and setting all the faucets to drip before I go to bed at night. I was expecting a lot of mud after the snow melted, but it seems to have just evaporated. The ground was surprisingly dry today.

The roads and trails were dry too, which allowed me to wear my good shoes on my walk today. The shoes made a big difference. My feet still began to hurt after about four miles, but I felt so much better than yesterday. Janet joined me today as well, which helped me to pick up my pace. She tends to walk a lot faster than I do. I'm sure this is because she is in better shape than I am.

I saw a huge possum on the back porch before I went to bed last night. This explains why Dawn has been so interested in smelling things in the yard lately.  We had to watch her carefully when she went out to pee this morning. Possums are beneficial animals, but I don't want our dogs to tangle with one. I have a feeling that the possum is probably living in our damaged greenhouse. There are probably a lot of critters living in that greenhouse.

Dawn is back to taking two walks a day again. She seems happy taking these two short walks. Maybe that all she ever wanted to do. She enjoys smelling things in the park and occasionally gets to greet another dog. She is very particular about other dogs. Some she clearly likes and others she tends to avoid. I'm always careful when we approach another dog, because it's hard to predict how she's going to react.

I wonder if we're ever going to get mail again? We haven't had any deliveries in over a week. Ordinarily, I wouldn't care, but I'm waiting for some copies of SpaceFlight Magazine to arrive from England. These copies with my articles in the October and February issues were mailed just before the big storm hit. I know there are sitting in a bin at the post office somewhere, or maybe in a mail carrier's trunk. I hope they arrive eventually because I know the magazine is getting tired of me asking about the October issue. At least I don't worry about bills getting lost anymore. It's so much easier to just pay everything online.

I'm running out of time to get my tax material prepared for the accountant. I have no interest in doing this anymore. You know what they say about death and taxes though. I'd better get busy. I was always very meticulous about keeping accurate records when I was working. With each passing year I care less and less. I know there have been a lot of tax law changes because of Covid. I hope my accountant knows what they are, because I certainly don't. I still think old people should be exempt from all this stuff. It's hard enough to remember to take my pills every day.

It looks like everything will be back to normal tomorrow. I've got fresh fruit ready for my morning smoothie. The only thing on my calendar is my second Covid shot.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day