Day 3491

I guess I was surprised that the carpenter actually showed up. My expectations are pretty low these days. I liked the guy. His life seemed like the carpenter's version of mine. He'd worked for a number of large construction companies and employed other people himself before concluding that he was happiest working alone. He asked all the right questions and seemed knowledgable. If his bid seems reasonable, he'll be the guy I use to rebuild the greenhouse. Hopefully, by the end of the Summer I can cross this task off my list.

I also called a sculptor friend to see if she could repair a backyard sculpture that got broken during the same June storm that destroyed the greenhouse. Since I was feeling industrious, I climbed up on the roof to see if I could patch some small tears in the elastomer coating using the Liquid Rubber in a Can that I bought at Costco a few weeks ago. After examining the area carefully, I chickened out and begged the roofer who's trying to avoid me to bring me a new supply of the Armor Flex silicon material instead. If I use anything else, I think the repair will fail because silicon only sticks to silicon. The Liquid Rubber in a Can also had all sorts of danger warnings in very small print in the can. I don't have a good feeling about this stuff.

I was a little envious to learn that several of the folks I went to Kennedy Space Center with were participating in Apollo 11 50th Anniversary events today. One got invited to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama to hear Buzz Aldrin and other Apollo era astronauts speak at a special 50th Anniversary Dinner. Another was at the Smithsonian in Washington DC for the unveiling of the restored spacesuit that Neil Armstrong wore on the moon. A third was taking his wife to see a Duran Duran concert in the Rocket Garden at the Space Center. There wasn't much on my agenda. After talking with the carpenter, I just took another very hot walk in the park.

I don't know why this summer seems like the hottest ever. Last year it was well over 100 degrees at this time. I remember a year that was so hot that the lake started to dry up. So far this year it is only in the 90's. It still seems miserable to me though. Maybe I'm just getting old. I need to start watering the grass more often. Everything is turning brown and going to die soon. I hate the thought of humongous water bills though. I find myself wishing for rain and hating rain at the same time. Basically, I'm ready for Summer to be over.

Fifty years ago this morning Apollo 11 started its journey to the moon. There certainly wasn't anything momentous going on today. As I channel hopped while I was drinking my smoothie for breakfast the only things on the news was more of the endless bickering you see in Washington DC these days. I'm enjoying all the documentaries about the Apollo 11 Anniversary, but I wish something equally exciting was going on now.

In lieu of excitement, I picked up a prescription at the pharmacy and finished updating the Dalmatian Rescue website. At least I did something today.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3476

We spent the afternoon getting to know some of the new arrivals in the Dalmatian Rescue program. Hank and Pongo were both handsome, friendly young males. One was a stray and the other was an owner surrender. It always amazes me that wonderful dogs like these wind up being abandoned. They should have been valued members of someone's family since they were small puppies. We'll make sure they get better homes next time.

Pongo has heartworms and Hank is still a little nervous about his new surroundings. I'm convinced that they'll both be healthy and happy in the near future. These boys are so friendly that I'm sure they'll find their forever home very soon. After we finished photographing the new dogs for the website, we spent some time playing ball with the other dogs in the program. This is a great group of Dalmatians. Janet and I enjoyed our time at the kennel just as much as the dogs did.

All the dogs preferred to stay in the air conditioned play area today. Who could blame them. It was very hot today. I guess this is to be expected for the first of July. You can tell that people are already getting ready for the Fourth of July holiday. Unfortunately this means fireworks. Our dogs never liked fireworks. I'm sure that most of the dogs at the kennel don't either. They will all be safe inside their kennel runs, but hopefully there will be no loud displays nearby. People are already shooting off fireworks at the lake in the evenings. It doesn't matter that the city doesn't allow this. People do it anyway.

It took a lot of willpower to go on my long walk after we returned from the Dalmatian kennels. I should have done this early this morning when it was cooler, but there were other chores that needed to be attended to. It's hard to skip these walks entirely now. I've become a slave to the Fitbit.

I'm apparently not a slave to anything else. I can't get motivated to do yard work in this heat and starting a new personal project seems out of the question. Every once in a while I think it's time to completely redesign my company website. Then I realize I'm retired. The old website will do just fine.

There's another launch at Kennedy Space Center early tomorrow morning and two members of our group stayed in Florida so they could see both. I don't know how they managed to get credentials for back to back launches, but the rest of us were envious. Realistically, I can probably only afford one of these trips a year. That's assuming that I even get accepted again. Hey, at least I know what to save my money for now.

Maybe I'll go up on the roof tomorrow and try to patch a few areas with the Liquid Rubber in a Can that I bought at Costco. It might not work, but what do I have to lose. On the other hand, it might be better to forget the roof and go see a movie instead. Yesterday is still playing in Dallas. The movie has gotten mixed reviews, but I still think I'd probably like it.

Bentley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3466 - Summer Solstice

Today was the longest day of the year. It wasn't long enough however. I've felt way behind all day. I'm trying to get ready for my trip to Florida and as I often do, I didn't leave myself enough time. I did a bunch of stuff today that I should have done last week. I decided at the last minute that I needed to get a haircut. Then I decided that I needed a small backup battery I could use to recharge my phone. I already have something like this but it is too big to carry around with me all day. I wanted something I could put in my pocket. After getting a haircut, I found a slim phone recharger at REI that would fit in my pocket. Unfortunately, when I returned home I couldn't figure out how to hook the thing up to my phone. Back to the store. This time I picked up a pizza for dinner on my way home. I also paid a few bills and took them to the post office. There were no long walks today. There just wasn't enough time.

I still haven't packed my bags or decided what shoes to wear. This shouldn't be much of a problem. Some clean underwear, clean socks, black t-shirts, and an extra pair of jeans ought to do it. I need to remember to take a very small tube of toothpaste and little bottles of other liquids. I forgot last time and had to throw some stuff away. I need to take some slip on shoes too. Lace up boots are way too much trouble to take off for the TSA folks.

My exercise today was running errands and getting the remaining water off the roof. It's been so hot lately that most of the water from recent rains had already evaporated. I don't want to take any chances though. Last week I bought some of that Liquid Rubber in a Can that you always see advertised on TV.  Maybe this will work for sealing small tears in the elastomer material. If it works, it would sure beat calling the roofers over and over again and begging them to come out.

I didn't bother to go our for breakfast this morning. I just had a peach, a banana, and a cup of coffee. I thought this would save me some time, but it really didn't. You have to have a plan before time management actually means anything. Inch by inch I'm getting things done, but it's almost a certainty that I will forget something important. I always do.

Tonight I will put my meds in one of those flat plastic boxes with little bins for each day of the week. My parents used these pill containers when they traveled. I never thought I'd be doing the same thing. The little compartmented container certainly beats carrying a big sack filled with prescription bottles though. The compartments make it easier to remember if I've taken my pills too. Are there still pills in the Tuesday compartment? Oops. I'd better take them.

I wish I was a better traveler. I like being there. I just don't like getting there. I guess I've accomplished something. I've got new tires even though I'm not going to drive to Florida after all. I finally know my sister's phone number. I got a haircut. I've got a clever little gizmo that will let me recharge my phone in the field. Now all I need to do is pack my bags.

Barley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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