Day 4959

Not a bad day, even though everything about it was very predictable. We started out with a nice early walk with Dawn. Why can't the weather stay this way all day? The temperature was in the high 70's and there was a nice breeze. It's amazing how quickly things warm up though. The temperature didn't reach 100 degrees today, but it was still a very hot day.

After another big weekend breakfast, I checked my messages and went to the mall. I go mall walking earlier now because the place is quieter and more peaceful. It's surprising how many people go mall walking. It often feels like a normal business day except that the stores aren't open. I've done this so many times that I'm familiar with all the window displays now. Some change weekly and others never change at all. There were quite a few changes today. Maybe stores are already transitioning from Summer to Fall merchandise. It's a mystery how many of the little stores can remain in business. Even when I go to the mall during the week, these stores never seem to have any customers.

It always takes me about an hour to complete my walk. On the way home I usually listen to Stephen Dubner's Freakonomics Radio. Most of what I know about economics comes from listening to this show. Even though I returned home earlier than usual, Dawn was ready to go on her Sunday outing. She knows our routine really well by now, especially when it involves her. It was too hot to take a long walk, but we took a shorter walk in the Sunday park to let her get outside for a bit.

We always end our Sunday outing with a trip to the ice cream store. Technically this stuff is called Frozen Custard, but it tastes like ice cream to me. How much ice cream we get depends on who is serving the cones. Today we got a lot. Dawn loves ice cream, but she is a messy eater. She'd probably love anything that she got to eat in the car.

As usual I didn't do much this afternoon. More bugs seem to be getting into the house this summer. It must be the heat. I had to chase down a wasp and a cricket this afternoon. There are still a ton of things that need attention around the house, but most are projects I've been trying to avoid for years. I hate to paint and sheet rock repairs are so messy. I may end up doing these things myself anyway, just because I hate having strangers around the house. Doing my own repairs will save a lot of money as well.

It's strange that I still haven't heard anything about the EchoStar Jupiter 3 launch. This thing is supposed to take place on Wednesday and credentialing notices still haven't gone out yet. I guess it doesn't matter anyway. I've decided not to go to this one. I really want to see the first Vulcan Centaur launch, but that has been postponed until the end of the year. Oh, well. Winter in Titusville is much more pleasant than Summer anyway.

I have no big plans for tomorrow. No little plans either. So far it looks like it's going to be a long, hot and very uneventful summer.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4868

It was a dreary, rainy day. It never rained hard, but there was a constant drizzle for most of the day. It was too wet to take Dawn on a sunrise walk this morning, but we did take her down into the park to poop and pee when we woke up this morning. She still doesn't like to do her business in the yard.

After we dried off, we had a nice weekend breakfast and then I got ready to go mall walking. It might have been raining outside, but it was still dry at the mall. Mall walking provides me with my weekly glimpse at the state of the world. Judging from what I see every week, I don't think we are in good shape. Maybe I'm being too harsh though. People are still having families. I saw lots of young Moms and Dads with little children today. At least the walkers are still making an effort to stay active and healthy. I see people of all ages, from the very young to the very old. 

It's hard to generalize, but I do notice things. Women generally dress much better than men. It doesn't matter if the men are young or very old, they all seem to look like they pulled their clothes out of a pile of dirty laundry. Young people seem to love to wear torn and ripped denim. I never understood this trend at all. People are actually paying more for artificially distressed clothing that looks like it is almost worn out. The young and the old seem to like mall walking. You don't see many middle aged people walking. Young couples usually seem happy, while old couples are usually arguing about something. There are a lot more old gay men than I would have suspected. Quite a few walkers still wear masks. Why? Finally, little children are quite loud. They all seem to love to run and yell.

Overall, the walkers seem to be a wholesome lot. The stores themselves, not so much. A lot of the clothes on display seem purposefully ugly. The shoes are the worst. Who wears these clunky, awkward looking things? The more expensive the clothes are, the smaller the sizes on display. I think you'd need to be a size 0 to even be allowed inside some of the upscale little European boutiques. Most of the mannequins in the windows look like android robots with no faces. Only Neiman Marcus still uses realistic mannequins these days. The mannequins in Victoria's Secret windows are fat. Seems odd to me, but maybe they know their audience. The odd thing about fashion is that there is nothing new under the sun. Today's latest styles are all recycled from earlier eras. Judging from what I see in the windows, I could pull something from thirty years ago out of my closet and still be in style.

I like to listen to Stephen Dubner's Freakonomics Radio while I'm driving home. I always learn something from this show. I also like to listen to Guy Raz's How I Build This and the TED Radio Hour, but these shows seem to be on Saturday now and I only hear bits and pieces when I'm returning from grocery shopping.

Dawn didn't get her Sunday outing walk today, but we still took her for ice cream cones. She is such a weird dog in the car. She's always super excited when she gets to go somewhere, but immediately starts acting scared when the car starts moving. She would be a terrible dog to take a road trip with. Ice cream calms her down though. We eat our cones in a parking lot near the ice cream store and on the way home Sawn seems almost normal.

I started preparing for my trip this afternoon. I didn't get a lot done, but my manilla folder full of vital information is finished. I make one of these for every trip, just in case my phone or computer breaks. I have no faith in my memory. I need to have my NASA badging instructions, airline and hotel reservations, rental car contracts, and travel maps on paper as well. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish packing tomorrow.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4833

I'm happy to report that today was an absolutely normal Sunday. Dawn got her Sunday outing again and she was more than pleased to resume her routine. She was still a little unsteady in the car, but I sat in the back seat with her to keep her from falling. We took a shorter walk than normal, but she had plenty of time to smell things and eat grass. I wish she wouldn't try to eat grass. Unfortunately every dog we've ever had has liked to nibble at fresh Spring grass.

Of course we went for ice cream after our walk. The ice cream store raised their prices again. Jeez. We might have to start going to Dairy Queen if this continues. The ice cream was still good though. Hey, little extravagances are worth it if your dog likes them.

The day started normally enough. We took Dawn on a short sunrise walk and she did very well. After seeing how well she did, we decided that she was ready for her Sunday outings again. The only thing we've got to be careful about now is her tendency to jump on and off the bed. She knows she is supposed to use the step at the base of the bed now, but if you aren't watching her, she will still try to jump. None of this is all that strange. Not only is Dawn a dog, she's a very stubborn Dalmatian.

I fixed French Toast for breakfast this morning. It's the one thing that Janet says I make better than she does. As usual I made and ate too much. There's no sense in having left over French Toast so I ate twice as much as I should. It's a good thing that Sundays are filled with lots of walks.

There was nothing new at the mall this week. A noticed very few changes as I made my five laps around the perimeter. There were a few more Spring styles in the windows, but that was about it. The place was crowded with walkers and very noisy this week. Maybe I just didn't get there early enough. This seems to be the favorite place for families to take small children on a weekend. Many of the kids were in strollers, but some of the older ones pushed their own little strollers which carried their dolls. 

Going to and from the mall is the only time I listen to the radio. I never listen to music and only listen to NPR is there is a show about science or the economy. If they are talking about some social or political issue I turn the radio off. Today I listened to one show about the shortage of cadavers for anatomy students in today's medical schools. On the way home I listened to another show about the economics of running an airline. Steven Dubner's Freakonomics Radio is always an interesting show.

Since the living room looks a lot better after I bleached the leak stains in the ceiling, I thought I'd try the same thing in the office. This was a harder task since there is a carpet on the floor and the room is filled with junk that could be discolored by bleach. I found an old plastic shower curtain that we had to use when one of our dogs became incontinent while still insisting on sleeping on the bed. This actually worked pretty well to protect the carpet. The room looks better now although you can still see some stains and there are cracks in the sheetrock. Oh, well. This will do for now. Eventually we will replace the damaged sheetrock throughout the house, but that's a ways down the road.

This weekend really went quickly. There is a lot I need to do next week if I can get myself motivated. Bulky trash day is coming soon and I still need to finish raking leaves. I also need to see if I can find where the water is still getting in on the roof before it rains again on Thursday. It's questionable if any of this will happen, but we'll see. 

Pringles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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