Day 4988

The Bordetella vaccine that Dawn got yesterday really helped. She hardly coughed at all today. I think the only time she started coughing at all was when she drank water too fast. I don't know why nobody seemed to think she had kennel cough. If it quacks like a duck, it is usually a duck. I always thought she had either kennel cough or the canine flu. Hopefully Dawn remains healthy and we can put this problem behind us. The last thing we need during this impossibly hot summer is a sick dog.

It looks like Houston might get some rain from the storm system currently in the Gulf, but it doesn't seem like any of this moisture will reach Dallas. The forecast still indicates clear skies and triple digit temperatures for the next week. We've learned to look forward to our sunrise walks with Dawn. The hour before sunrise is the only time when you can even pretend that being outdoors is enjoyable. It was 85 degrees when we walked Dawn this morning. There was a light breeze though. It felt nice.

I went to the gym later today because Janet likes me out of the house while she's cleaning on Monday afternoon. I had lots of time to kill this morning so I wrote a letter to my sister, did a load of laundry, payed bills, and did some more work on my neighbor's website. Website maintenance is turning into a struggle these days. The Dreamweaver software I've always used to upload and maintain sites is obsolete and barely runs anymore. I'm sure there are newer alternative available but they won't run on my older computer. I'm still running the Sierra operating system, which is the latest system that will run on my 2011 desktop. I really don't want to buy a new computer at this point. I don't use it very much and will use it even less when I finish with the blog.

When I finally made it to the gym I did surprisingly well. Where did I get all this energy today? I had my best pace on the indoor track in weeks and completed my ten free throws on the basketball court in record time. It took me less than seven minutes today. The gym must have fixed the air conditioning system because it was nice and cool inside while I was there. No wonder there have been more people using the gym lately. It's probably one of the more pleasant places you can go in town these days. The temperature at the gym is certainly cooler than the restaurant where we ate on Janet's birthday.

I made some minor updates to the Dalmatian Rescue website when I returned home and then took a nap. I got an invitation today from McDonald Observatory to attend an appreciation dinner for past and present volunteers. I appreciate the invitation but it seems like a really long drive just to go out for dinner. I think I'll pass on this one. I'd love to return to the observatory at some point, but I don't know if I'm up for the drive anymore. On my last drive home from Fort Davis I had a strong feeling that this was going to be the last trip. I was really tired and the eighteen wheelers that were continually barreling past me on the freeway were frightening. These days my drive to the gym is about as far as I want to go.

I'm probably still up for an occasional trip to Kennedy Space Center. Titusville is a nice sleepy little town and I like it there. The launch photographers are a pleasant group to hang out with as well. With any luck I'll make it down there again this year. There's no hurry though. I don't feel like going anywhere until the weather cools off. Right now I'll just make very short trips to my very cold gym.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4987

The heat is relentless. It's even hot on our sunrise walks now. I just wonder how long this can continue. I keep looking at the weather app on my phone and all it shows are sunny days and triple digit temperatures. Everything is so dry that now were are getting fire hazard warnings in addition to the daily heat advisory warnings. Today there was an ozone warning as well. I guess things could be worse. There have been no tornado warnings in a long time and we certainly don't have to worry about flooding.

I followed my regular Sunday schedule today. We had a big breakfast and then I went mall walking. I've noticed that there are a lot more walkers lately. The mall is nice and cool and I think a lot of people have started coming before the stores open just to get out of the heat. I'm almost certain that they keep the mall cooler than most people's homes. We do pretty well maintaining temperatures inside our house at night and during the morning hours. By mid afternoon our system is struggling though. If you set the thermostat at 76 degrees the temperature is going to be 80 by dinnertime.

There was nothing new at the mall today. The auto show is still going on, but I have little interest in looking at cars. The car I'm driving now might end up being the last car I have. I don't drive much anymore and my current car is becoming a really low mileage vehicle for it's vintage. We'll see what happens though. I've learned that you can never take mechanical things for granted.

It kind of bothers me that I'm walking slower now. It took me longer than usual to do my five laps at the mall today. I'm slower at the gym as well. I think this heat has just drained all the energy out of me. Hopefully this will change when things get cooler. Right now very little captures my interest and all I want to do is sleep.

I started on the web project that I volunteered to help my neighbor with this afternoon. The files they sent me didn't match at all with what they said they wanted. This might be a little harder than I thought. Situations like this used to be a daily occurrence back when I made my living as a web designer. It all seems a bit strange now though. I'm glad I've officially retired.

Dawn still gets her Sunday outing, but it's way to hot for a second walk. We let her outside at the park for a few minutes so she could pee and then we headed straight for the ice cream store. They must have been having problems today, because the line at the drive through window moved a lot slower than usual. Our cones weren't as cold as they should have been either. Dawn didn't mind though. She loves ice cream.

On the way home we stopped at the vet so Dawn could get her Bordetella shot. Actually, she got a nasal spray today instead of a shot because she was already coughing. We don't think she has kennel cough, but she was due for a Bordetella shot in a few weeks anyway. There was a sign on the door of the vet today warning that there has been an outbreak of canine flu in the area. The symptoms of canine flu are very similar to what we are seeing with Dawn as well. The vet doesn't think Dawn has either kennel cough or canine flu. So what actually is going on here? We still don't know.

I don't expect very much to change tomorrow. I wish I could just hibernate like a bear until cooler weather arrived. This has definitely been a very strange summer.

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day