Day 4729

All the Santa Paws gear has been stored away for another year. I literally only use this stuff once a year, but I'm glad I never threw it away. This year's backdrop has been washed and folded. The poles and crossbar have seen better days, but will survive to be used again. The boxes of bandanas and bows for the dogs have been washed and cleaned. My Norman strobe lights still work and all my camera batteries have been recharged. Next year I will probably start complaining again that I'm too old to be doing this, while secretly being pleased that I still can. Back in my studio days I never thought of photography as a physical activity, but it definitely is.

I try not to visit my storage warehouse very often. It's depressing. There are too many things that have memories attached to them that I don't really need. Do I really think I'm going to use a wind sailer again? The fiberglass board and sail take up a lot of space. I have several shelves filled with old Macintosh computers that are worth absolutely nothing. Maybe I should save one as an emergency backup, but do I really need seven? I still have a lot of my Dad's fishing gear, including an almost new outboard motor. I don't even like to fish. For the time being, it's easier to just forget about this stuff.

It was much warmer today. I overdressed for our sunrise walk with Dawn, but that's better than being too cold. Janet had plans so we walked in the dark again. I'll be glad when the days start getting longer. I'm not a big fan of Winter. Since I wasn't able to do my grocery shopping this weekend, there was no fruit to go with this morning's shredded wheat. That won't be a problem tomorrow. I went and did this week's grocery shopping right after breakfast.

I buy the same things over and over again. Almost everything keeps getting more expensive. The weekly price increases aren't dramatic but they are relentless. Maybe they think I won't notice. Over time the increases are getting ridiculous though. Some things I buy regularly have literally doubled in price. Is all this really necessary? The stores definitely aren't spending as much on labor anymore. Self checkout is the norm these days. I don't even use self checkout since I have an app on my phone that lets me bypass the checkout line. Even with all these high-tech innovations, I still miss the way life was in the 70's and 80's. You'd have a hard time convincing me that anything has actually improved over the years.

I should have gone to the gym today, but took another long walk in the park instead. I need to do something different because these walks are getting boring. I used to walk on the other side of the lake when things started to seem monotonous, but I can't be bothered anymore. It's still the same lake. The best incentive I have to keep walking is my Facebook feed. I'm amazed at the number of people I know who have already died. I don't think of 75 as old, but it's definitely not young. Oh, well. I guess I'll keep walking.

Tomorrow I need to take Janet to the dentist for dental surgery. On Friday I go to the eye doctor, who will probably want to schedule me for cataract surgery. It seems like there is always something medical on our calendar these days. Dawn has a birthday coming up soon. At least Dawn is still healthy.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day