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 4019 - Christmas

It turns out it wasn't Dawn, it was us. We tried an experiment this morning. Instead of having Dawn follow us on a walk, we followed her. She led us over the hills and through the woods on a wild walk to parts of the park we had never even visited before. Luckily, it was a beautiful, dry winter day with no poison ivy, no bugs, and most importantly, no snakes. Dawn had a great time. She was happy, energetic, and didn't freeze in place at all. We ended up walking over five miles and probably could have walked longer. If there is a lesson in all this, it might be that Dawn thinks we are boring people and wishes we would do more interesting things with her.

Dawn's triumphant Christmas walk was the beginning of a very pleasant day. The house was filled with the smells of delicious things in the oven. Janet talked with her family on the phone while I finally figured out how to use my new camera. I've barely scratched the surface of what the camera can do, but I did take some pictures and was pleased with the results. I figured out how to install and pair the phone app that lets me operate the camera remotely and I tried out a couple of lenses that I already own. This camera is going to be very good for astrophotography and future Dalmatian Rescue photo shoots.

Even Facebook was better today. Instead of people arguing about politics, there were just lots of happy pictures of dogs dressed up in Christmas outfits. It's too bad we can't act like it's Christmas all year long. For one day a year, humanity doesn't seem so bad after all.

I took another walk later in the day and some of the larger paved trails were filled with children playing with their Christmas toys. The gifts kids get now are much larger and more expensive than what I used to find under the tree. Janet and I were talking recently about how happy we were to get a ViewMaster for Christmas when we were little. Everything runs on batteries now and will probably break fairly quickly. I saw a parade of children riding on fancy motorized toy cars and scooters. There were motorized skateboards as well. A lot of the older kids on motorized scooters were going way too fast. Luckily, I didn't encounter any serious accidents today. It would have spoiled my Christmas mood.

Our Christmas dinner was delicious. Janet baked a Crown Roast surrounded by root vegetables, all covered by a fabulous spicy glaze. When it came out of the oven it looked like something you'd see in a food magazine. Our side dishes were candied sweet potatoes, Italian sausage dressing, fresh cranberry sauce, and a Brussels Sprout salad. We made Mimosas, got out our best champagne glasses and ate way too much.

Dawn got her first taste of Devon's Doggie Delights for Christmas and she loves the Cheese Chompers. I forget when we first discovered Devon's treats, but Dot and Dash loved them. I'm really happy that Dawn had a good day. It was so nice to see her acting normally again. We'll see how long this lasts. Realistically, it will be impossible to let her drag us through the woods every day. The park isn't that big either. There are only so many undiscovered routes left. Maybe we just have a very stubborn dog instead of a dog with mental problems. We forget sometimes that Dawn is a mama dog who has raised many, many puppies. I think this might explain a lot of her behavior.

A very Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope your day was as nice as ours was. For a short moment in time, I'm feeling fairly optimistic.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4017

Dawn is still acting weird on her morning walks. She always appears eager to leave the house. We'll walk a little ways and she'll do her business. We'll continue walking and then for no reason, she'll stop and refuse to go any further. She doesn't appear to be in any pain or having a seizure. As soon as we agree to turn around and retrace our steps to the house, she's back to her old self, walking briskly and full of purpose. Is she just being stubborn or is there something wrong? It's hard to tell.

At any rate, Dawn missed out on a nice walk this morning. It was really pretty outside and the weather was just about perfect. Dawn certainly doesn't have any separation anxiety. She could care less if Janet and I go off walking by ourselves. As long as Dawn has our big bed to sleep on, she's a happy camper.

Since it was such a nice day today, Janet and I decided to go to the Dallas Arboretum this afternoon. The arboretum is well endowed and beautifully maintained. We often go during the Christmas season because they have special Christmas displays. I wonder how many gardeners it takes to keep this place looking so nice. This is how probably everyone would want their yard to look if they had an unlimited budget. You can get all sorts of ideas wandering through the acres of perfectly trimmed trees, colorful vegetation, and sparkling water attractions. If we tried to duplicate anything we saw this afternoon it would all probably all die within six months. A garden like this requires constant attention.

At Christmas there are twelve glass gazeboes scattered throughout the park, representing the twelve days of Christmas. There is also a full size Christmas village with little German style buildings, each filled with different types of food or Christmas ornaments you can buy. In a normal year, Christmas at the Arboretum is a very popular attraction. I guess Dallas is back to normal, because the place was packed today. It is very odd to see so many people acting completely normally all over town and then turn on the television and hear that our hospitals are full. Everyone except the small children were wearing masks today, but that was probably just because there were large signs all over the place saying that masks were mandatory. 

When we got home from the arboretum we tried to take Dawn on a walk again. She did much better this time and seemed to be enjoying herself until she abruptly froze and refused to go any further. We had probably gone about a mile when this happened. I would think that she might be having a small seizure if it weren't for the fact that as soon as we turn around, she starts wagging her tail again and begins walking briskly toward the house. 

Janet picked up the Crown Roast we are going to have for Christmas dinner at the butcher today. It looks amazing. We are going to have a quiet little Christmas, but we will eat well. We got some gifts for Dawn, but we don't need anything for ourselves. There is not much point in decluttering if you keep buying more.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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