Day 4893

The mountain of construction materials in the front yard is now mostly up on the roof. Quite a lot got done today. The main roof is finished except for the metal flashing that goes around the fascia. The roofers still need to finish the carport, but they assure me that they can do this tomorrow morning. The translucent fiberglass covering over the atrium will be replaced as well. Our new roof may get it's first test tonight. It was supposed to remain clear all week, but a surprise thunderstorm has cropped up over Amarillo and it appears to be headed our way. I wish the roof was completely finished before it is tested by weather, but I learned long ago that I have no control over the weather. Actually we've been pretty lucky to have had two warm sunny days in  row.

I went up on the roof to inspect things for the first time this evening and everything looks a lot better. There are no low spots I can see that would cause ponding. The TPO Membrane seems tough and resilient. With any luck, this roof should drain normally now. I'm going to be real disappointed if there is still standing water after the first big rain. We'll see what happens. There's no way to determine how well the roof is going to perform until it gets wet.

I like to think of myself as a low key person who doesn't get bothered by anything. I'll have to admit though that this roof replacement has stressed me out. I didn't sleep well last night. Usually I fall asleep instantly. The work has been extremely noisy and there have been times when I though the house was falling apart. I think replacing all the rotted wood has given the house a lot more structural stability, but it won't reverse the interior damage that has already been done. There are still cracks and stains in the ceiling all over the place. One thing at a time I guess. Once we are confident that the roof no longer leaks, we can start repairing the damaged sheetrock and give the house a new coat of paint. 

We took Dawn on her early walk at the normal time. The roofers start working early, but Janet and I start our day even earlier. When the roofers arrived this morning, I was already eating my breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit. I stayed around the house longer than usual today because Janet wasn't going to return home until about 2 PM. I still didn't feel comfortable leaving Dawn alone with the roofers making so much noise on the roof. Today was even noisier than usual because the roofers were running a large portable generator right outside my office window. The electric welding  machine that fused the TPO segments together must have required 240 volts because they used our outdoor electric outlets for all their other tools.

When Janet returned home I took my long walk. Since it was mid-afternoon by this time, I almost immediately began to feel hot. I have a feeling that our mild Spring is just about over. It's been way too wet this Spring, but I think I prefer the rain to a long string of 100 degree days. Today I passed a group of photographers surrounding a tree. I asked what was going on and one guy said there were baby eagles in the tree. The nest looked too small for eagles, but what do I know. Eventually a guy on a bicycle showed up and told everyone that we were actually looking at baby Red Shouldered Hawks.

Tomorrow is going to be busy. The roofers are supposed to finish their work in the morning. I bet it's going to take them all day. I have an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. I always like to get a haircut before I take a trip. I'll spend part of the day packing. I haven't even started yet. The weather doesn't look great for Sunday's launch, but I'm going to try to remain optimistic. It's got to be better than my last trip to Florida.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4412

It's kind of amazing that prices at the grocery store keep going up every single week. I essentially buy the same things week after week and my bill keeps getting higher. Gas prices are higher as well. I kind of think that stores kept prices artificially low during the holiday season and now they're trying to make up for lost time. I'm not really alarmed by the price increases yet, but it makes you wonder what things will be like this summer.

We took a sunrise walk again this morning and Dawn didn't seem to mind the cold. I thought getting an early start would help me get my shopping done before the stores got crowded, but it didn't make any difference. I got a slow start and didn't leave the house until 11 AM. I'm glad I only do this once a week. The traffic in Dallas has really gotten irritating.

We took Dawn on another walk later in the day and then I continued on my regular long walk. I carried a small camera with me again in hope of seeing the eagles. No eagles today, but I did see a nice Red Shouldered Hawk. I guess I'll continue taking the camera with me for a while. I'm not as dedicated as the serious birders, but I am out in the park a lot. Maybe I'll get some good eagle pictures in the weeks ahead. The little camera I'm taking with me leaves a lot to be desired, but you don't need high resolution pictures for the blog. The camera is so small that it's easy to forget that I have it with me.

We heard that Jack got adopted today, so now it's just Charlie and Oliver again. The two puppies must have gotten adopted immediately because we never saw them at the kennel at all. I have a feeling that Oliver will get adopted soon as well. He's young, smart, and good looking. He's also very strong. Hopefully someone young will adopt him who can give him the exercise he needs.

My walk took longer than usual today because I stopped to talk with some of the birders. Most of these guys use full frame Nikon or Canon cameras with huge telephoto lenses. They remind me of the rocket photographers at Kennedy Space Center. The equipment is certainly the same. I still like my smaller micro 4/3 cameras. They are much smaller and lighter and still take great pictures. Maybe I'm just lazy. The birders drag these huge cameras out in the woods every day and all I can manage is a little point-and-shoot camera I can put in my pocket.

I got an e-mail from AT&T today saying that I could get an iPhone 12 for only a dollar a month. There must be a catch. I usually keep a phone around three years before it becomes obsolete. That would only be $36 for the phone. I may need to go check this out. I don't really need a new phone, but if it only added a dollar a month to my bill, why not. The newer phone camera would certainly be better than the one I've got now.

My foot pain was worse today. I slathered my foot with Voltaren before I took my walk, but it didn't help much. I don't think it actually helped at all. The fact that I can still walk makes me think that I've just got a garden variety case of arthritis. I've been to the doctor and I definitely don't want to get hooked on pain killers. I guess I'll just continue doing nothing for a while.

The weather is supposed to be warmer tomorrow, so Dawn should have a nice Sunday outing. We do the same things week after week, but that's not a bad thing. Everyone needs a little continuity in their life.

Raider is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2479

I listened to Elon Musk give a presentation on how he planned to colonize Mars this afternoon. The guy actually plans to do this. Part of the presentation was an animation showing how the journey to the red planet would take place. "This isn't just an artist conception," Elon said. "These are the actual rockets we are getting ready to build." The animation was evidently developed from CAD drawings created by the Space X engineering department. Each space ship was designed to carry 100 people and Elon envisioned that a fleet of 1000 of them would be required to establish a permanent, self sustaining settlement on Mars. I love epic plans. The guys who built the pyramids probably thought like this. I'm convinced that when you are constrained by practicality, you really limit yourself. During the question and answer session after the presentation, someone asked how the Mars colonists would be selected. "First of all, they would need to be very comfortable with the idea of dying." "This is going to be very dangerous," Elon said. I have no idea how you would pay for a grand venture like this, but I hope Elon succeeds.

I had no grand plans today, but there were certain things that needed to be done. Dash has been having episodes that look a bit like mini-seizures, so I wanted to get his phenobarbital levels checked. I remember this test being kind of tricky, so I went to the vet to see what I needed to do before I brought him in. I scheduled the test for tomorrow morning and Dash will need to fast for at least 12 hours before they draw his blood. That's going to be fun. Dash gets real irritable when he can't eat whenever he wants. Hopefully, I can take him on a long walk while Dot eats her breakfast and then go straight to the vet.

The powdered graphite I got yesterday worked like a charm and now the sticking locks around the house are smooth as silk. I haven't gotten up my nerve to fix the leaking shower stall yet. Usually when I try this, I end up wanting to take a shower before the silicon caulk is completely dry and the seal doesn't stick. I still don't know why somebody doesn't make a product that dries in an hour and can be applied to damp surfaces.

Dot had quite a few accidents today. I've learned to minimize the mess by always placing disposable puppy training pads under her while she is sleeping. All I need to do is carefully slide the pad out after she poops and replace it with a fresh pad. When I was cleaning things up today, I noticed another kind of mess. Dot had thrown up again. This is the second time this month. I think she may have acid reflux since she spends so much time lying down on her bed. Maybe I'm wrong though. I'll ask the vet tomorrow when I take Dash in for his test.

I saw a Red Shouldered Hawk when I was walking Dash this morning. There are lots of hawks and owls in the neighborhood, but they seldom stay still long enough to photograph. I got lucky today. Tomorrow, it's back to looking for the occasional wildflower that hasn't dried up yet. Tomorrow will be busy. I hope that Dash's test goes smoothly and we don't have to increase the amount of phenobarbital he takes. Life is complicated enough as it is.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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