Friday, May 5, 2023

Day 4880

I finished my SpaceFlight Magazine article today. I won't send it in until Monday though. Maybe I can think of some improvements over the weekend. This wasn't the best article I've ever written, but it wasn't the best trip to Kennedy Space Center either. I think the story would have been a little more interesting if I had actually seen the launch.

It seemed unusually hot today for early May. By mid-afternoon the temperature was over 90 degrees. It was still nice outside when we took Dawn on her early morning walk, but even then I could tell that I wouldn't be needing a coat. Dawn didn't seem particularly eager to walk this morning. There was nothing wrong. She just seemed lazy. I could certainly relate. I haven't been all that eager to go on my long walks lately either.

After finishing breakfast I worked on my article for a while before getting ready for my long walk. It's hard to believe now that I used to write copiously every single day. Although I was trained as an architect, I spent most of my career as an advertising copywriter. Writing is actually a fairly pleasant way to spend the day. It certainly seemed less stressful than the time I spent as a commercial photographer.

Today felt more like Summer than Spring. I was hot on my walk, even though I only wore a t-shirt and shorts. If anything drives me back to the gym, it will be the temperature. The small indoor track at the gym looks a lot more appealing when it is 100 degrees outside. Today I passed a group of photographers with their cameras all pointed at an apparently empty field. I think they were birders looking for Scissor Tailed Flycatchers. I often see these birds in this particular field and have photographed them many times. It seems strange to photograph something as a group, but I guess that's exactly what I do when I go down to Kennedy Space Center. Are rocket photographers any different than bird photographers? Probably not.

I'm surprised that the roofers haven't called to schedule a start date for the roof replacement. I haven't called them because I'm still not sure when I'd like to start. I've looked at the long range weather and there seems to be rain in the forecast every single week. I'm convinced that once the work begins, it will start raining and the only thing protecting us will be a big blue tarp over the roof. The roof replacement is supposed to take three days, but that means it will probably take a week. I'm dreading this. Loud noises scare Dawn and I know the roofers trucks will end up blocking the driveway when I need to get out. We do need a new roof though. Maybe by mid-Summer this whole experience will be in the rear view mirror.

This week really went quickly. It's already time to make a grocery list again. I think I'll get the lawnmower batteries replaced tomorrow. Replacing the 24 volt batteries is certainly cheaper than buying a new mower.   I've replaced these batteries several times already, but I still prefer an electric mower to a gas powered one. Strangely, I don't feel the same way about electric cars. I have very little interest in buying an electric car. Taking a road trip in an electric car still seems like a giant hassle.

I wonder how many stores I will have to visit tomorrow? Grocery shopping seems more complicated than it used to be. Truthfully, everything seems more complicated than it used to be.