Day 4404

Dawn got a bath today. I hate to say that this was the big event of the day, but it probably was. None of our dogs have liked getting a bath. They seem so disappointed when we arrive at the self bathing place instead of a park or the ice cream store. Dawn acted like we were torturing her but seemed happy enough as soon as she was dry again. I guess if a bath is the worst thing Dawn has to look forward to, she's doing pretty well.

My long walks keep getting slower and slower. On a good day it takes me about nineteen minutes to walk a mile. Today it took thirty. My feet were terrible today, but I kept plodding along. I just can't bring myself to stop walking. It has become an integral part of my day. If I went to the gym and did other exercises, my shoulders would hurt instead. I'm not even sure these slow walks do me any good. It still beats staying in the house or driving somewhere though.

I think I was wrong about the Fitbit draining my phone's battery. I've disconnected both Fitbit trackers and the battery still doesn't last very long. It's probably time for a new phone, but I like my small iPhone SE. There used to be several nearby stores where I could get the battery replaced, but they have either gone out of business or quit offering the service. I liked it when the local Interstate Battery store used to change phone batteries while you wait. It was quick and much less expensive than the Apple Store. It's too bad I can't change the battery myself but you need special tools to remove the glass. Fixing a computer is much easier. I'm clumsy with small things.

I watched the last episode of The Expanse this afternoon. I never would have guessed that this was the end of the series if I hadn't already read about it online. I'm pretty sure that Amazon is finished with this series, but the final episode was certainly inconclusive. I want to know more about those strange dog like creatures on one of the ring worlds that can bring people back from the dead.

I continued my efforts to fix small things around the house. Today I took apart the shower nozzle and cleaned out all the scale and calcium deposits. Maybe now I can adjust the shower spray again. Our city water leaves a lot to be desired. I wish we could just get distilled water from the tap. I always use distilled water for the coffee maker and I've never had to clean it.

I was going to practice using the star tracker again today but the day got away from me. I really didn't anticipate my walk taking such a long time. Today's walk should have been enjoyable because the weather was so nice. Tomorrow it's supposed to get much colder again. I need to order the Hoka boots even though I suspect they won't make any difference. I suspect that a new battery won't really improve my phone's performance either. Apple doesn't support their old products anymore. Actually nobody supports old products. They just want you to buy new stuff.

I got an invitation to attend an upcoming Space Force launch at Kennedy Space Center at the end of the month. I'm not going though. Covid restrictions have kind of ruined travel for me. I don't feel like going anywhere until this whole mess is over with. If I can't get a handle on my foot pain, I might not feel like going anywhere period. The whole idea of volunteering for a week out at the observatory seems a lot less appealing than it did this time last year.

At least I've got my routine. Tomorrow is grocery day again. Maybe I can finally find my favorite ginger ale. Sunday is Dawn's outing and Monday we visit the rescue Dalmatians. One little event each day is plenty. I just need to stay busy enough to avoid raking leaves.

Kasey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4368 - Dawn's Birthday

Dawn celebrated her ninth birthday today. Unlike many of our other dogs, this is her real birthday. Many rescue dogs celebrate their birthday on their gotcha day because it is impossible to know when or even where they were actually born. We know that Dawn was born in the same kennel where she eventually became a breeding dog. That was the fate of many females in that facility who weren't immediately sold as puppies. Dawn had a rough life and wasn't treated well, but the breeders did keep records. We just hope that all her future birthdays will be happy occasions. I think she enjoyed the little celebration we had tonight. She loves Sprinkles Pupcakes.

Oddly, today is also my Dad's birthday. He would have been 104 years old, but he died a long time ago. Dad provides my inspiration to keep walking and stay healthy. I think he would have lived longer if he'd eaten better and taken care of himself. My childhood memories are a little fuzzy now, but I do remember eating a lot of Swanson TV Dinners. We even had the little metal TV trays. Dad was fond of liver and onions, pickled pig's feet, and sardine sandwiches as well. My own diet wasn't exemplary during my younger years, but I'm trying to make up for lost time. Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I think I'm doing pretty well.

Dealing with FedEx today has been totally frustrating. I wanted FedEx to hold the Kickstarter package that is being delivered at one of their facilities so I wouldn't have to wait around the house all day to sign for the delivery. I used to do this all the time when clients used to send me a lot if things via Fedex. The Fedex website is horrible. I kept clicking on the tabs to change a delivery and the site kept saying to come back later or sometimes just crashed. I never could get the website to work so I drove up to the Fedex office that used to hold my packages for me. The door was open but there was nobody inside. I waited and waited but no one came to the front desk. Finally, I started knocking on the door behind the counter where all the packages were kept. Eventually an agent came out and told me that the facility doesn't hold packages for customers anymore. I could try having the package delivered to a local Walgreens, but it would take several days longer. Covid has basically ruined everything. Fedex definitely isn't the only company that has used the pandemic as an excuse to fire a bunch of people and eliminate services that we all used to take for granted.

Dawn got a bath and a nail trim this afternoon. I don't think this was her idea of a good birthday present, but Janet had some extra time today and wanted a clean dog. I keep trying to tell Dawn that if she'd be friends with me I'd let her stay dirty. I don't think she has gotten the message. She was friendlier than usual with me today though. I think we are making progress. I was actually able to get her to go down to the park with me on her own while Janet was gone this morning. We didn't stay long, but she never used to leave the yard with me unless Janet was nearby.

I got 22,000 steps today. This is the fourth day in a row that I've gotten more than 20,000 steps. I don't think I can keep this up forever, but I might as well keep walking. For the moment, I can't think of anything better to do with my time. Today was unusually warm. I think we set some kind of heat record for December today. I think I saw the eagle again. It was flying off in the distance and I couldn't make a positive identification. If it wasn't the eagle, it was the largest hawk I've ever seen. Oddly, the bird appeared to be flying over my house.

I put together the stand for the new TV. It felt a lot like assembling something you bought at Ikea. All these companies that sell internationally just use pictures for their assembly instructions now. I guess pictures are easier than translating into multiple languages. I'm a word person, but I managed to get the stand assembled by carefully looking at the the series of pictures. I think we are slowly reverting to a preliterate society. There's an emoji for just about everything now and many people I know prefer to listen to books in their car rather than actually reading them.

When I took the trash out to the curb tonight I noticed that the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus were all arranged in a nice little row. The view was pretty but it didn't make me want to linger outside. I don't think I'll be getting up early to look for Comet Leonard either. I've got to catch up on my sleep. We've got another Santa Paws event this weekend.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

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Day 4240

Dot got a bath today. That was about the extent of today's excitement. We were going to take her to the vet for a bath, but decided that she would end up in a cage licking her paws for a while while the groomers were working through their schedule. We took her to a self-bathe place instead and Janet got some special shampoo that is supposed to relieve itching. I'll be glad when Dawn finishes her antibiotics so we can concentrate on finding a solution to the licking problem. We've added a probiotic to her diet, but it isn't wise to do any allergy testing until she has completed the antibiotics and her bacterial infection is gone.

My gym has reinstated a mask mandate. It's only a matter of time before other places do the same. Whenever I'm out and about I've noticed that almost nobody is wearing masks anymore. I don't think a new mandate is going to go over well. Everyone is sick of the pandemic and nobody knows who to believe. You should never politicize a disease, but that's where we are. I'm convinced that the story is a lot more complicated than what we are hearing in the media. The young Hispanic plumber who came over to the house the other day thought he was safe from Covid because he didn't go to bars. He wasn't planning to get vaccinated. Our vet has returned to normal office visits, but several other vets I know still require you to stay in your car while they come out and take your pet inside. Some people are excited about going back to rock concerts and sporting events, while other are still driving around alone in their car with a mask on. There is no consensus about anything.

I think I am a rational person, but Covid has affected me as well. I don't want to go near a hospital now. That's where the disease is. I don't even like to sit in a doctor's waiting room. One of the main reasons I switched doctors a while ago was my old doctor's waiting room was always full. I keep postponing my colonoscopy because the procedure is done in a hospital under sedation. You wouldn't catch me getting on a bus or a subway anymore, but I'm comfortable going to the gym without a mask. Go figure. Covid is going to be around for a long time because we live in a world full of people that all have their own fears and phobias. The more politicians talk the more suspicious we all become.

It was a little cooler today so I decided to take my six mile walk instead of going to the gym. Maybe I was just mad at my gym's new mask mandate. Things were going so well there for a while. Walking outside in the summer is hot and sweaty, but nobody can mess with you in the woods. As long as you watch out for snakes and poison ivy, you're OK. I'm sure I'll end up back at the gym soon enough. Texas summers are brutal and I can't stand the heat anymore. I've certainly got plenty of masks. Both our cars are full of them.

The Boeing Starliner launch got postponed again. I applied for credentials for this one and got rejected. It's just as well. This launch has gotten postponed so many times that I would have had to return home without seeing anything. Florida is a Covid hotspot again too, so there's that as well. Maybe someday I'll return to Kennedy Space Center with a bag full of cameras and a story to write. It's not looking good now though.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

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