Friday, July 2, 2021

Day 4208

The power has been going on and off all evening. It's been that kind of day. There have been no storms that might explain the intermittent power outages. It's probably just one of those things that happens when a large city is getting ready for a long weekend. Hopefully, the power will stay on for a while because I'm not sure I have charged the laptop.

Power outages weren't today's only frustration. Dawn is not eating her food anymore. We don't think she is sick because she is more than happy to eat people food. She just decided rather abruptly that she doesn't like her dog food. This is frustrating because we carefully researched this brand and felt it would be good for her. You have to be careful with Dalmatians because a lot of diets will cause crystals to develop in their urine and they can develop bladder stones. Dawn seemed to love this food several weeks ago. Now she won't touch it. 

We've got to find a new healthy, low protein diet that Dawn will actually eat. We've been through this with other dogs and it's not an easy process. I wish dog food was available in variety packs like those breakfast cereals we used to eat as kids. There used to be a pet store that had sample packs of all the food they sold. Now it's hard to find any size smaller than a five pound bag. Hopefully we can find something that works this weekend. Janet ended up cooking fresh meals for Dot and Dash when they became old and sick. Dawn is pretty young to go this route though. According to the lab reports, she is very healthy too. We think she is just being stubborn.

I'm amazed that the roof didn't leak today. We certainly got a lot of rain. It rained during the night, but we got lucky and were able to walk Dawn before it started again this morning. Although there was no dripping water this morning, it appears that water is still getting in. The area around the leak in the ceiling is dark and stained now. All this has happened before. I painstakingly bleached most of the stained areas about six months ago, but now I'm going to have to do it all over again. These water leaks really test my patience. What else is new though. Almost everything tests my patience these days.

I thought about taking a long walk today but it was oppressively humid and I was never sure when the rain was going to start again. I went back to the gym instead and tried a few new machines. My Fitbit says I get more exercise on a long walk than I do at the gym. It doesn't feel that way though. I'm really tired after a workout at the gym. I still like the long walks better, but it looks like I'm going to have to wait until Fall before the walks are enjoyable again.

I'm not spending as much time thinking about astronomy or rocket launches lately. This is another sign that the dog days of summer have arrived. When I wake up, all I want to do is get through the day without sweating excessively or having something break around the house. I envy Dawn's ability to sleep most of the day. Sleeping seems like a better way to spend the summer than doing yard work or fixing leaks.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I guess I'd better get another big bag of ice because I still haven't gotten the ice maker in the refrigerator fixed. We don't have any plans for the Fourth of July. Usually we fix burgers of barbecue, but lately we haven't even bothered to watch the fireworks. There are too many mosquitos out at night.