Day 4780

The rain has stopped. Unfortunately, the roof is still leaking. I could probably put a stop to this if I went up on the roof and swept all the standing water away. I'm really trying to avoid climbing on the roof though. My balance isn't as good as it used to be and I'd hate to fall off. Heavy rain in the winter is the worst because it never evaporates. Hopefully, the leak will stop tomorrow. The buckets are filling slower now, so at least we're making progress.

It was cold enough on our morning walk with Dawn that I seriously considered going back to the gym. Dawn wore her sweater and it was definitely a two coat day for me. Dawn still enjoyed smelling things but I think she was glad when we returned to the house. I'm already tired of winter and it's barely even started.  We have at least three more months of cold weather before I can start to think about Spring.

I ate my breakfast slowly and did some small chores around the house in hopes that it would warm up outside if I waited long enough. It never did. In fact, I think it got colder as the day progressed. I still needed to get my steps though, so I dressed warmly and headed out on my daily long walk. The walk might have been a mistake, but I made it. There are a lot fewer people in the park on cold days. I saw very few bicycles and joggers today. I didn't even see many ducks. I still see people walking their dogs though. Dogs need to poop and pee in all types of weather.

My feet still hurt on these long walks. Sometimes the pain goes away after a while, but other times it gets worse. I think I've just reached the age where everything hurts. My shoulder hurts when I attempt to raise my arms above my head. My knees hurt when I bend them. Even my wrists and fingers hurt. None of this is really debilitating. It's more of an irritation than anything. I remember the days when nothing hurt.

I still can't decide whether to apply for the Crew-6 NASA Social. One of the cardinal rules for these things is never apply unless you really plan to go. They don't like it if you cancel after you have been accepted. Crewed launches are always interesting, but if I go to this one, it means one future launch I won't be able to attend. My budget is a bit limited this year. I just can't afford to be going down to Florida every month.

Janet and I decided not to visit the rescue dogs this week. It was too cold and damp to play with them outside and it's still unclear if there is an available indoor space we can use. We'll try to go up next week. It's too bad that the old kennel went out of business. It was just about perfect. Hopefully, the dogs will like this new place. It seems clean and well managed. It's just a long way away for Janet and I.

There's new software available for the star tracker and I had plans of testing it again today. The day got away from me though and when I finished everything else, it was too close to dinner to mess around with new software. I have no faith in the Benro people. Sometimes their software and firmware updates make thing better and other times they make things worse. I'm always apprehensive about starting the tracker up after I've installed new software.

Dawn didn't go to training class tonight. It was too cold and damp for her to be outside that long. The days are getting longer though. Maybe next week will be better.

Bones is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day