Day 4398

Success. I finally got the star tracker to work. The problem wasn't really buggy software or bad cables. The problem was me. After all these years I still haven't learned to use my iPhone. I was expecting buttons to control the software app. The developers chose to use gestures instead. Who uses gestures? Apparently everyone except me. I still haven't taken the Polaris outside at night to attempt star pictures, but I think it's going to work. This is an incredible little piece of machinery. That's more than I can say for my own brain at the moment.

We took a fecal sample to the vet this morning and were happy to learn that Dawn doesn't have giardia. The vet gave us some pills to control diarrhea and hopefully Dawn will be back to normal soon. Her poop is still very soft, but she's definitely getting better. Last night she slept through the night, so neither of us had to sleep with one eye open in case Dawn needed to make a quick trip outside at 3 AM. We're going to have to rake leaves soon. There was probably something nasty under the leaves that she ate. I don't think she ate anything on her walks. We watch her too carefully.

I doubt that we'll be raking leaves tomorrow or even the next day. It's still too wet. It rained again last night and was misty and foggy all day today. It was really kind of a dismal day. It never got warm and it never got dry. I still took my long walk though. It's got to be pretty bad before I stop walking.

I forgot to take the Christmas stuff back to the storage warehouse while I was out grocery shopping this morning. I seem to forget something almost every day now. Usually the memory lapses are minor, but occasionally they are major. I've started leaving notes around the house for myself now with messages like "remember to feed the dog."

Prices are still going up at the grocery store. The weekly changes are small, but they add up over time. If this continues I may have to start looking for bargains. Janet is a savvy shopper, but I just buy the same things over and over again. I typically don't even look at the price. It's really only recently that I've become aware that something has changed. Some items have gotten expensive a lot more quickly than others. It probably has something to do with transportation and the current lack of truckers. I'm glad I'm not looking for a car right now. Car prices are even worse than food prices. Even used car prices are out of sight.

It's hard to say whether Dawn is going to get a Sunday outing tomorrow. The weather still looks marginal and Dawn hates to get wet. We'll see what happens. I really don't trust the weather apps on my phone anymore. They've been wrong more than they've been right lately. I need to find a new project now that my month long Odyssey with the star tracker is coming to a close. Learning to use the Polaris was actually kind of interesting. Now it's on to more mundane things like fixing a running toilet.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day