Day 4735

Sundays are all about walking. I don't think I did anything constructive today, but I sure did a lot of walking. Luckily the rain has stopped. Unfortunately the roof is still leaking. I discovered a few new leaks when I woke up this morning, but all have stopped dripping except for the original leak in the office. Lord knows when this leak will dry out. It's fairly persistant.

Dawn got a nice early walk this morning. The weather was cool and there was lots to smell. We didn't encounter a single bicycle this morning and we only saw two joggers. Maybe everyone was getting ready for the big BMW Dallas Marathon. This used to be called Run the Rock, but now they have a corporate sponsor. It seems to rain almost every time this race takes place.

I went mall walking again after breakfast. I was surprised at how full the mall seemed a full two hours before the stores opened. There were lots of parents with little kids. Taking your kids to the mall must be kind of like taking them to the zoo. It's a very popular activity. Most importantly, it's free. A lot of stores seems to have staff meeting on Sunday morning. It's not uncommon to see groups of employees gathered around a manager in these closed stores listening to some kind of pep talk or instructions. Are these meetings mandatory? What if someone wanted to go to church instead. The Apple store seemed to be having a Christmas party this morning. There were a huge number of employees milling around inside the locked store.

Everyone seems to have a holiday window display now. There is certainly nothing new in the word of fashion. I saw double breasted men's suits on display that looked exactly like what I used to wear in the 1970's. Leather motorcycle jackets seem popular too. At least they seem popular for women. I used to wear jackets like these back in my college days. Basically all fashion just gets recycled. Few people who are interested in clothes are old enough to remember that we've seen all this before.

Dawn got her Sunday outing today. The ground was a little wet, but it was a pleasant day for walking. We walk about the same distance as we do on our early morning walks, but somehow we always seems to go a little faster. Probably Dawn doesn't spend as much time smelling things when we take her to the Sunday park. The park near our house is Dawn's territory now. She has to investigate and keep up with what all the other dogs are doing.

I passed a horrible multi-car wreck on my way to the mall this morning. I think people forgot how to drive during the pandemic. Drivers seem much worse lately. People routinely cut in front of you, make unannounced u-turns, and run through traffic signals. Dallas has never been a haven for safe drivers, but I've never seen it this bad before. It feels like a demolition derby and you can't help but wonder when your luck is going to wear out.

I continue to have problems with websites and passwords. After I have changed all my online passwords to more secure versions, some of the websites I use have reverted to the old passwords. I find it impossible to change any information on my web hosting account. When I try to call customer service, I get an offshore call center and end up talking with someone I can barely understand. I'm beginning to wonder why I'm still on the Internet. I think I'd be just fine if I wasn't online at all.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4539

It was a nice day. It was a little warm this afternoon, but there was a pleasant breeze all day. Dawn was in the mood to walk today which is always a plus. There was no hesitation like there was on previous days and she enjoyed both her sunrise walk and the Sunday outing later in the day. It may seem weird that I measure a day's success by Dawn's reaction to it, but that's just the way it is. Our days go much smoother when Dawn is in a good mood.

Basically all I did today was walk. I did vacuum the house this afternoon, but that doesn't really count. Walking is much more fun. It's amazing how dirty the house gets in a week. We live in a dusty area. Dust blows in from the park and dust blows in from the street. Dawn tracks in a fair amount of dirt as well. At any rate, the house is a bit cleaner now, even though it won't stay that way long.

Our first two walks with Dawn were enjoyable, but my third walk later in the afternoon was just to make sure I got my steps. By mid afternoon it was much hotter outside and my feet were starting to hurt. I would have gone back to the gym, but unfortunately it isn't open on Sunday anymore. Weekday hours aren't as long as they used to be either. A lot of Covid cutbacks have become permanent now in all types of businesses. When companies learn they can get away with giving you less, that's exactly what they tend to do.

I was working outside this afternoon and a spider must have fallen on my head. I didn't notice at the time, but about thirty minutes later when I was back inside and sitting at the computer,  I noticed something on my lip out of the corner of my eye. I thought it was dirt or a small leaf and brushed it off with my hand. I was quite surprised when a small live spider fell on the desk. Have I mentioned that I dislike spiders almost as much as I dislike snakes. I wonder how that spider could have been walking around on my head for half an hour and I never felt a thing.

Dawn continues to leave the room when I come into the bedroom to take a nap. She doesn't go far. She just goes out in the hallway and lays on the bricks in a place where she can peek around the corner into the bedroom door and see if I am still there. As soon as I leave the room, she immediately returns and hops on the bed again. I wish she'd realize that we both like to do basically the same things. We eat and we sleep. If she'd just learn to relax, she will have a lot more fun when Janet goes on vacation. The weird thing is that Dawn is fine with me as long as Janet is in the house.

When we went for ice cream after Dawn's Sunday outing today I asked for a waffle cone instead of the regular cones we usually get. The waffle cones are a little more expensive, but I was curious to see if they would fill these cones to the bottom. Nope. It's still a scoop on top of a basically empty cone. The waffle cones leak too. I guess I'll go back to regular cones next week.

We won't be able to visit the Dalmatians tomorrow since the kennel is closed for Memorial Day. Don't worry. The dogs are still fed and looked after. The place just isn't open to the public tomorrow. I'm going to miss visiting the guys. Visiting the rescue dogs has become a permanent part of our Monday routine.

I hope my gym is open tomorrow. I think it's going to be too hot to take a long walk outside. If Dawn would cooperate, I might just take a long nap inside. 

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day