Day 4383

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. There were lots of people walking in the park today and many of them wished me a Merry Christmas. Traffic was lighter as well. If you haven't finished shopping for gifts by now, you're probably too late. There were even fewer people in the grocery stores. I did my weekly shopping today because most stores will be closed tomorrow.

I continued the search for my lost package and thought I got lucky for a minute when one of the Fedex call center representatives gave me the private phone number of the local distribution center. When I called the number, the people I talked to were friendly and actually tried to help me find my package. I was amazed. I thought I hit pay dirt when one lady told me that she had tracked the package down to a trailer on the dock waiting to be unloaded. She said her shift would be over before the trailer could be unloaded, but that I should call back later and someone else would help me. The trailer eventually did get unloaded but the contents were immediately loaded on another truck that was headed out to make deliveries. Needless to say, the package didn't get delivered. My package is still lost. I do think I'm getting closer now, but nobody I've talked to has seen or physically touched the illusive package yet.

I'm going to have to wait until Monday to resume my search because the Fedex distribution center and the Fedex Office Center that was supposed to hold the package for me are both closed for the holidays now. The last person I talked with at the distribution center told me that he would put a "trap" on the package so that it couldn't leave the distribution center again. He was optimistic that I could pick it up on Monday. Ironically, the distribution center is fairly close to my house. I could have easily driven there in twelve minutes and picked up the package earlier in the week if anyone had told me it was there. I wish I had discovered this local phone number earlier. I'm going to chalk this whole episode up to another lesson in patience. I'm not a very patient person. Maybe I need to be.

The weatherman was right about our Christmas heat wave. Today was pleasant, but much warmer than you'd expect for Christmas Eve. I didn't need a jacket today at all and took my walks wearing shorts and a t-shirt. It is supposed to be even warmer tomorrow and might set a new record for Christmas Day. Dawn certainly enjoyed the weather. She lounged on her rug in the back yard for a while and took two walks with Janet and I. With the exception of my Fedex frustrations, it was a pretty nice day.

We're getting older so there aren't a ton of presents under the tree, but we are planning a delicious Christmas dinner. Janet has a great recipe for Crown Roast which has always been one of our favorites. Dawn gets a special treat as well. There's a package from Devon under the tree. Devon's Doggie Delights are the world's best dog treats and they've become a tradition in many Dalmatian households. Dot and Dash loved these things. I'm sure Dawn will as well.

I need to quit fretting about my missing star tracker and just enjoy a relaxing Christmas. The weather looks like it is going to be great. We'll take a Christmas walk with Dawn, enjoy a delicious meal, and maybe watch a movie. The James Webb Space Telescope is supposed to launch from French Guiana tomorrow and I think there's a new episode of The Expanse to watch as well if I run out of things to do. It should be a nice Christmas.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4005

The rain arrived later than expected this morning, so we had time to walk Dawn after all. Our timing was pretty good because we were able to complete four miles and were almost home again before the first drops began to fall. It didn't take long to realize that the pumps weren't working correctly. I had to climb up on the roof and unclog one of them before I could eat my breakfast.

Rainy days are usually uneventful. I seldom leave the house and have no desire to start any major projects.  I puttered around the house and forgot what day it was several times. I still haven't taken the new dehumidifier out of the box but I did finally do a basic setup on my new camera. I wonder how long it will take me to start taking some pictures?

Janet was gone a lot today, so I worked on getting Dawn to learn how to do some basic things with me. The bedroom is her safe space and when Janet is gone, that's where she wants to stay. I had to put her on a leash to get her to go out in the back yard to pee. As soon as she was finished she ran to the back door and waited until I let her in so she could run to the bedroom again. She didn't even want to come out to the kitchen for lunch even though this is one of her favorite things when Janet is home. I do think we are making progress, but it is going very slowly.

The light rain stopped around mid-afternoon and I took my afternoon walk. Basically all I did today was walk. There were a few light sprinkles and I got a little wet, but it was fine. I enjoy watching the weather as long as there is not thunder and lightning. The clouds were moving swiftly today. By the time I returned home, the sky was starting to clear and I saw several large patches of blue among the clouds.

I got my editor's permission to share my new SpaceFlight Magazine article with my contacts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. I'm going to try to get myself invited out there to attend the Perseverance Rover Landing in February. I have no idea if they are even interested in having a little British magazine do an article about them, but it's worth a try. I have no idea what the Covid situation will be in February either. If things get worse, I might not even be allowed to travel to California.

A year ago at this time I was in New Orleans visiting the Michoud Assembly Facility. The first Artemis rocket had just been completed and would soon be on its way to the Stennis Space Center for testing. It was supposed to be on its way to the moon by now, but it is still sitting at Stennis. People in the space business must have a lot of patience. Delays and setbacks seem inevitable. Down in Boca Chica the next Starship prototype Space X was planning to test fell over inside the assembly building today. I don't think they were expecting that. I guess there is still plenty of time to see both of these rockets get off the ground. They're not going anywhere soon.

I doubt that I'll be going anywhere soon either. It's frustrating that Covid is still such a problem. You have to wonder how long it is going to take for this thing to die out and disappear. Even countries that were being held up as examples of how to do things right are having huge virus surges now. So far, the virus seems to be winning. We're definitely not going anywhere for Christmas. Janet ordered a Crown Roast from the butcher and we'll just have a nice Christmas dinner right here at home.

It's time to make my grocery list again. This week has gone quickly even though nothing happened. Next week I have two doctor's appointments and Dawn has a checkup at the vet. Such excitement on a wet December day.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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