Day 4081

I managed to get most of the leaves bagged and out of the yard before it started raining. This was quite an accomplishment, since there were a lot of leaves. I'm starting to understand why there are so many ads on TV for products claiming to reduce arthritis pain. You've seen the ads: Voltaren, Australian Dream, Blue-Emu, Capsaicin, Infrared light therapy, Salonpas, the list goes on and on. The sad fact is that at a certain age, your joints start acting like a rusty hinge. I can't recall raking and bagging leaves ever being this troublesome before. My shoulder bothered me. My wrists bothered me. My knees bothered me. Of course, my foot wasn't going to get left out of the pain parade either. Maybe that lawn care service actually was worth the money.

I was pleased to see a package from England in this morning's mail. Inside were two copies of the October 2020 issue of SpaceFlight with my article about the Artemis program. It's been a long wait. I wrote the article a year ago last February after a visit to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. My joy was short lived unfortunately. Where was the February 2021 issue with my article about the Space X Crew 1 mission? The magazine forgot to send the second article. This means that I'm going to have to ask them again, which I hate to do since everyone at the magazine is working from home and dealing with all sorts of Covid problems. I'm determined to get a copy of the Crew 1 article though, even if it takes me another year to do it.

Dawn really surprised us today. When she finished her one mile loop, she just kept walking. She wasn't reluctant at all and seemed to be really enjoying herself. Maybe it was the weather. It was a lot cooler this morning, but the rain hadn't arrived yet and it was still dry. There were lots of new smells as well, because the city workers had just mowed the grass along our trail. By the time Dawn decided that she'd had enough and headed for home, she'd walked over two miles.

By the time I'd finished my longer walk, I'd gone over five miles. I wasn't trying for distance today. I was just trying to beat the rain without destroying my feet. I've developed a peculiar flat footed style of walking that seems to work. Flexing the foot causes the most discomfort. If I can just lift the left foot up and down without a lot of heal and toe flex, I'm usually OK. Janet says I should go back to the gym and try exercises that don't involve walking. She's probably right.

My seasonal allergies started early this year. I've had a runny nose for weeks now. It got so bad today that I took an Allegra. Of course this pill did nothing. It never does. I hate adding a mask to seasonal allergies. Sneezing and blowing your nose constantly just doesn't work very well. I've ruined more than one mask by sneezing into it. I can't really recall when the seasonal allergies go away, but May comes to mind. It's going to be a long Spring.

I've got an appointment for a haircut tomorrow morning. I won't have time for my regular huge smoothie, so I'll just have a bagel and a cup of coffee instead. I'm sure it will still be raining in the morning. It's supposed to rain all the way through the weekend. I'm glad I took care of the leaves before the rain started. I'll be glad to get a haircut too. I'm long overdue.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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