Day 4447

Another cold, grey day. We were finally able to take Dawn on a walk before breakfast and she seemed to enjoy it. We had a big weekend breakfast and then I went and did my grocery shopping. I left a little early this morning because I thought it was going to rain. Actually it did rain, but not until much later in the day.

The shelves are still looking a little bare in most stores but I still found everything I needed. I was going to get gas, but there were lines at Sam's Club where prices are lowest. I can wait. I drive so little that my tank won't be empty for a long time. Prices in the stores still seem high, but that is probably because I never used to look at prices. Now that I've become more aware of what things really cost, it all seems expensive.

I've been worried about falling for months, but it was Janet who actually fell. She stumbled while running in the park this morning and got some nasty looking scrapes and bruises. Hopefully no harm was done, but falling on pavement is never fun.

I dressed warmly for my long walk today. It wasn't as cold as yesterday, but it still felt very chilly to me. Nobody seems to dress as warmly as I do. I don't see how some of the people I see in the park can stand the cold. On cold days I wear a light down ski jacket under a heavier down outer jacket. The inner jacket has a hood and I wear a wool hat under that. Add a pair of lined leather gloves and I'm ready for anything.

So far no roof leaks today even though we got quite a bit of rain later in the day. I'm glad the pumps are still working because I have no desire to go up on the roof these days. My sense of balance isn't as good as it used to be and there is no reason to be tempting fate.

I'm still working on getting Dawn to trust me. She's fine when Janet is in the house, but still seems nervous around me when we are alone together. I don't know what to expect when Janet goes on vacation. I guess she'll either get used to me or it will be a very long week. I don't think I'll be able to take her on walks while Janet is away. If she froze in place a long way from home I would be out of luck. Right now it's hard enough for both of us to get Dawn moving again when she has these periodic freezes. I don't think the refusal to move is stubbornness. It is some kind of fear or panic.

I follow space more than politics and have been surprised that even this tiny little slice of reality has been affected by the crisis in the Ukraine. A major component of the Cygnus rocket that resupplies the international pace station is manufactured in Ukraine. Without this component there will be no more launches from Wallops Island. The Atlas 5 rocket which has been used for years to launch the majority of research satellites uses Russian engines. The fuel used to keep the international space station in a stable orbit comes from Russia as well. If the supply for these things is disrupted, the space program slowly grinds to a halt. It's sad how little I knew about Ukraine before this crisis. I still thought that Chernobyl was in Russia. And when did the spelling and pronunciation of Ukraine's capital city change from Kiev to Kyiv? Is this recent or am I just another unaware American?

I think it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow. I sure hope so. There's been too much gloomy weather on top of all the world's gloomy news. I want an early Spring, a friendly dog, and lots of wildflowers in the park. 

Bingo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day