Day 4889 - Mother's Day

Today was mostly a dreary, very wet day. We got lucky and were able to walk Dawn this morning before the rain started. We were even able to give her a very short Sunday outing walk during a short break in the rain later in the day. For the most part, it rained all day though. As you know, I'm not a big fan of rainy days. So far the roof hasn't leaked, but the pumps on the roof have been running all day.

Very little can deter us from our regular schedule, so we had a big family breakfast after we took Dawn on her early walk and then I got ready to go mall walking. It was raining on my way to the mall, but that was a good thing. It washed all the dust and tree pollen off my car. I wouldn't think of mall walking as a Mother's Day event, but there were a surprising number of moms with kids at the mall this morning. There were also quite a few dads taking their kids to the mall alone, presumably to give mom the day off. Maybe I'm imagining things, but the families walking with their kids together all seemed happier than the dads minding the kids by themselves.

Nothing changed at the mall this week. No new stores opened and no existing stores closed. One or two window displays changed, but most of them were exactly the same as well. It seems curious to me that some stores change their window displays every single week, while others haven't changed since I started mall walking. There is nothing new in fashion anymore. Everything in the windows is something I've seen two, ten, or even twenty years ago. I could pick almost any moth eaten old item of clothing out of my closet and I'd be right in style. Maybe I'm being too harsh though. One thing has changed. Shoes. There are a lot of really ugly looking shoes in store windows these days.

When I was driving home there was a show on NPR radio about an explosion of fake scientific papers in the academic world. Up to 20% of scientific papers published these days appear to be fake. Apparently there is great pressure to publish in the academic world and jobs and promotions depend on your publishing history. The people who have nothing to say purchase fake papers. It makes you wonder how much bogus information is floating around out there.

We were planning to skip the Sunday outing walk today and just go for ice cream cones, but Dawn seemed eager to walk. We waited for a break in the rain and took her to a section of the park where there were sidewalks so we wouldn't get muddy. We got lucky with the weather because it didn't start raining again until we were finished walking and back in the car. Dawn seemed happy with her short walk and was even happier when we arrived at the ice cream store. Ice cream cones on Sunday is a nice little ritual that we all seem to like.

I was going to call the roofing company tomorrow morning to postpone next week's roof installation, but the last time I looked at the weather forecast everything has changed and it now looks like the weather will be good next week. I'll check again tomorrow morning and see how things look. I'm beginning to think that the weather forecasts I get on my phone are basically worthless. There are pretty good for telling you what is going to happen five minutes from now, but almost useless for telling you what will happen five days from now. Every time I look at one of these weather apps, the forecast seems to change.

It appears like Axiom is going to wait until the last minute to provide credentialing information for next Sunday's AX-2 launch. I still don't know if I'm going to go. This is frustrating, but almost expected by now. Nobody seems to care that I might have trouble making travel arrangements. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens. Maybe I'll go to next Sunday's launch. Maybe we'll get a new roof next week. At this point your guess is as good as mine.

Lady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4720

This is how people go insane. I had just finished cleaning up the house and the last leak had finally stopped when another storm came though town while we were sleeping. There was a massive amount of rain and the leaks started all over again. I realized that something was wrong when I stepped in water on my way to the bathroom. Not exactly the way I wanted to wake up, but I got out the buckets and towels again and started round two of leak patrol.

I didn't bother going up on the roof today. Trying to sweep the water away in the rain didn't stop the leaks last time and I knew it wouldn't this time either. The pumps weren't working initially, but I did get them to work on my third try after we finished breakfast. I think each pump has to be submerged in a certain amount of standing water before it starts pumping. 

There was a break in the rain around 8 AM, so Dawn got her sunrise walk after all. She wasn't wild about getting her paws wet, but she did her business and completed the walk. Once we got off the wet grass and started walking on roads again Dawn was a happy camper and started enjoying her walk. I know she would have preferred waiting until the sun came out, but that wasn't going to happen today.

After our big weekend breakfast I went out to do my grocery shopping. There was a light drizzle, but it really wasn't all that bad. The stores weren't crowded today at all. I guess everyone was eating Thanksgiving leftovers. I filled the car with gas, found everything on my list and came home again. 

I kept hoping that the rain would stop, but that wasn't in the cards today. This was definitely an all day rain. Since the rain during the day was nothing like last night's downpour, the leaks inside the house gradually began to diminish. Most of the leaks have stopped by now, but there is still the one troublesome leak in the office. The water is leaking through a can light in the ceiling. Since this doesn't seem terribly safe, I am leaving the light off until things dry out. Lord knows how long that is going to take. This is the worst roof leak we have had in years.

It would have been miserable walking in the park today, so I went to the gym instead. It doesn't matter when I go, the same twelve people always seem to be there. I'm beginning to think they live there. I did pretty well on the basketball court today. At least I did well by my low standards. I'm glad I finished my thirty free throws and was off the court before some real basketball players appeared. I would have embarrassed myself if they has seen my pitiful efforts. I was pretty slow on the indoor track as well. I completed my two miles, but I always seems to be a lot faster when I'm walking outdoors.

When I returned from the gym, Dawn was sleeping comfortably on the bed, so I took a nap on the living room couch instead. It hurts my feelings when Dawn leaves the room every time I try to join her on the bed, but it is what it is. Dawn had a hard life at the puppy mill kennel and I don't think she is ever going to trust men.

The weather is looking much better tomorrow. According to the forecast we will have clear skies and mild temperatures. This sounds like a good day for Dawn's Sunday outing. I'll probably go mall walking as well. Mall walking is a nice change of pace from my regular walks.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4687

What a dismal day. It basically rained all day, although we were able to take Dawn on an abbreviated sunrise walk during a break in the clouds. The rain has been heavy enough that I'm worried about the roof leaking, but so far so good. The pumps on the roof are still working and that's probably helping a bit.

There's not a lot to do on a cold rainy day. I ate my breakfast and checked my messages for nonexistent messages from NASA. I was getting ready to go to the gym when we had a short power outage. Power outages freak Dawn out. Maybe it's the beeping noises the battery backup devices make when they kick in. Dawn couldn't find anyplace where she felt safe and ended up huddled in the kitchen. The power came back on in less than ten minutes but that was of little comfort to Dawn. I couldn't get her to come back to the bedroom at all. 

I waited around for her to calm down and tried taking her outside so that she could see that everything was alright. Nothing seemed to work. Dawn tried sitting on several living room chairs, but couldn't find a place where she felt comfortable. I finally ended up leading her back to the bedroom on a leash and sat with her until she started to relax. I don't know what causes this behavior, but it seems to happen every time there's a power outage.

The rain wasn't going to stop, but it was a fairly gentle rain and Dawn eventually fell asleep in the bed. I went to the gym, but I turned off the backup batteries before I left. Hopefully if there was another power outage, there wouldn't be any beeping noises. The fact that I would willingly drive in the rain shows how addicted I've become to getting my daily steps. Rain or shine I need to get at least 10,000 steps.

The gym was surprisingly crowded today. I thought the place would be empty, but what else are you going to do on a rainy day. Probably a lot of people were getting cabin fever sitting at home waiting for the rain to stop. I was absolutely terrible on the basketball court this morning, but I eventually completed thirty free throws and moved on the the running track. I walked two miles, got my steps, and headed home again. I thought the rain might clean up my car, but it wasn't meant to be. Passing spray from other cars just made the car even muddier.

One of the pumps on the roof must be partially clogged. It wasn't operating well today and kept throwing the breaker for the pump circuit. I didn't climb up on the roof to investigate because it was pretty nasty outside. Maybe if it clears up tomorrow I'll go up on the roof and clean out the pump, but I think my roof climbing days are just about over. It's slippery up there and I'm not as nimble as I used to be.

It's not raining right now, but the day isn't over yet. I see another band of storms approaching us on the weather radar and I'm starting to hear thunder. I'm not a big fan of an all day rain. Sure, the yard needed the water, but I definitely don't need the stress of waiting for the next roof leak. Maybe I'll get lucky this time. After this narrow storm band passes, I think it's clear sailing for the rest of the night.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4161

We've got an all day rain in Dallas and it's completely clear out at the observatory tonight. Not fair. Sometimes luck just doesn't fall your way. I could have taken the advanced class and has clear skies. Truthfully, I'm not an advanced astrophotographer though. I think I proved fairly conclusively at last week's workshop that I was barely at the intermediate level. Oh, well. I'll try again, even though I tend to bring rain with me wherever I go. I've gotten rained out at Kennedy Space Center as well.

We got soaked today. I think we were even under a tornado warning for a while. I heard the sirens go off around 11 AM, but the weather radar showed that the most severe weather was located a few miles to the north of us and was headed in a northeasterly direction. It goes without saying that Dawn didn't get a walk this morning. Neither did I. It could have been a lot worse though. The house is dry, no trees fell, and there are no signs of a roof leak. Dawn is calm as well. She's the first Dalmatian we've had that isn't bothered by storms. 

Since I was housebound for most of the day, I started trying to process a few of last week's Milky Way photos. I had calibration frames and enough images to stack. Unfortunately, the image I wanted to process has trees in the foreground. Part of the procedure is creating a mask that separates the sky from the foreground. Creating a mask with a lot of bare tree limbs poking up into the sky can be time consuming and frustrating. I took my time and did the best I could. When I was finished and stacked the calibration frames and my eight Milky Way images together I discovered that some parts of the picture were much better and other parts were worse. The boundary between the trees and the sky didn't look completely natural. Actually, this part of the photo sucked. Some of the stars weren't the right color either. On another rainy day I'll start over and process this image again. There's got to be a better way to create a foreground mask.

Around 3 PM, the weather radar showed that there was going to be a break in the storm for about an hour. This was plenty of time to walk Dawn, so we put her harness on and off we went. We didn't get far. Dawn either didn't like her paws getting wet or the smell of rain in the air. We had only gone a few hundred yards before she froze and refused to walk any further. It's such a shame that she's this way. She was really eager to go on a walk when we were in the house.

My own rain phobias are limited to roof leaks, so I had no problem continuing to walk after Dawn and Janet returned to the house. I thought that I could check the weather radar on my phone from time to time and turn around before I got wet. The bands of rain were always nearby, but kept moving to the north or south of me. I didn't walk as far as I usually do, but I managed to complete four miles and made it home completely dry. On a rainy day, that's a win. Oddly, my feet didn't hurt at all today. Go figure.

I paid some online bills this afternoon and that was enough to quell any thoughts I might have had about getting the little telescope that mysteriously became available just before I left for the observatory. There were 16 scopes available when I first noticed it was back in stock. Now there is only one. I refuse to be tempted. I'm sure this telescope or something even better will be back in stock before I have a chance to return to the observatory again. Who knows. If my processing skills don't improve, I might lose interest in this current obsession entirely.

Tomorrow we visit the rescue Dalmatians again. I'm not sure how many we have at the kennel now, but we'll find out when we get there. On Tuesday, I have my semi-annual physical. I have a whole new batch of aches and pains to report, but I'm sure my doctor will tell me that I'm still pretty healthy for my age. There is no magic wand for staying youthful. I try to stay active and eat healthy food. What more can you do?

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3805 - Memorial Day

Another all day rain. This one was a soaker. We thought we could squeeze in a shorter walk this morning, but we were wrong. The storm moved faster than we did and by the time we returned home we were all very wet. Oh, well. We tried. I think Dawn would have preferred to sleep in late.

I must have done a decent job on roof repairs because even though we have had a ton of rain this Spring, there is still no evidence that the leak has returned. I left the pumps running all day today. They can't keep up with the rain, but over time they do help reduce the amount of standing water on the roof. It's clear that I will be up on the roof again soon. I've just got to wait for the rain to stop.

The wet weather didn't stop us from visiting the Dalmatian kennel. Today, in addition to playing with all the dogs, we photographed Murphy, our new arrival. Murphy is an owner surrender. Like most owner surrenders, I can't imagine why anyone would even consider giving this dog up. Murphy was extremely friendly and had obviously had some obedience training. He knew how to sit, stay, and lie down. He also seemed very adept at catching treats in the air. I don't think Murphy will be with us for very long. He's an amazing dog and should find his forever home very soon.

There were no Memorial Day picnics in the park today. There wasn't even much traffic on the roads. A hard rain really puts a damper on things. There is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow, but I hope the forecast is wrong. I'm sick of this wet weather. Pandemic confinement is bad enough on a good day, but wet weather makes it seem even worse. As long as I can take a long walk, I'm fine. Sitting in the house watching TV while rain pounds on the roof gets old quickly though. I'm totally over listening to "experts" disagree with each other about the virus. It's refreshing to occasionally hear a thoughtful person admit to the world that actually nobody has any answers.

The weather isn't looking good for Wednesday's Demo-2 launch. Maybe NASA's new media restrictions just saved me from making an expensive trip to Florida to view a launch that ended up getting scrubbed. This has happened to me before. Sometimes it is possible to stay an extra day or two, but other times you end up going home without seeing anything. Hopefully, everything will go according to schedule. Whatever happens, I'm sure I'll be streaming the event on my computer.

I'll add Murphy to the Dalmatian Rescue website tomorrow. Hopefully the skies will clear so we can take a decent walk without getting wet. Maybe I can think of something else to do as well. It's hard to believe that it's almost June. Half the year is already gone and the world is still on hold. I'm certainly on hold myself. There are no observatory trips to plan. I have no idea when Kennedy Space Center will open again. I haven't heard from the Air Force yet either. I'm a self-motivated person by nature but it's hard to get excited by anything when the world feels like a giant jigsaw puzzle that has just been dropped on the floor. I'm not smart enough or patience enough to put all the pieces back together. You probably aren't either.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3701

An all day rain reminded me that life has returned to normal. I've traded rockets for roof leaks. Even though it's hard to get me out of the house, I'll have to admit that life on the road does have its advantages. The problems of day-to-day life fade away temporarily. I don't worry about plumbing problems and having trees removed when I'm away. I've never had my hotel roof leak either. It's nice to have someone clean your room and make your bed every day as well. Rental cars never have to be taken to the dealership for expensive repairs. This is all an illusion of course. A month after your trip ends the credit card bills arrive and you realize that all this freedom can get pretty expensive as well.

Today was definitely a day to stay home and get to know Dawn a little better. What a sweet, gentle girl. It's sad that she was attacked by another dog, but she is doing well and we all think she will make a complete recovery. Dawn seems much more mature than the male Dalmatians we currently have in the rescue program. I guess this makes sense. Dawn is older than the boys. She is completely house trained and doesn't chew or tear things up. She can't wear a cone because of the injuries to her neck, but she probably doesn't need one anyway. So far she hasn't tried to pick at her stitches or pull out her drainage tube.

We go to the vet tomorrow for a checkup and hopefully they will remove the tube in her neck. I think there's a good chance that the tube will be removed since there is very little bleeding or drainage. Dash had to have drainage tubes inserted for almost a month, but his wounds were much more severe. We will keep Dawn until she is healthy again. She already has a forever home, but her new family has other dogs and it's easier for her to heal in a quiet environment.

I don't know what I'm going to do about this roof. We're in the middle of the rainy season and it hasn't gotten dry enough for me to attempt new repairs or even make a decent inspection. I keep the pump running but there is still plenty of water on the roof every time it rains. It's kind of a losing battle to keep the water out. Traditional repair techniques don't work with a silicon roof, so I'm going to be forced to call the roofer again. I know he's sick of hearing from me by now, but what choice do I have? This company is the only one with experience in applying silicon roofs. Architects recommend these guys, but unfortunately I don't think they had enough experience to realize that I wasn't a good candidate for this type of roof. A silicon membrane might be great for new construction, but it doesn't work well in old houses that have settled. New flat roof are designed to drain properly. Basically, all roofs need to drain properly or they are eventually going to leak.

I hope it quits raining tomorrow. It was cold and wet all day. I thought I had found an hour or so when I would be able to take a walk, but unfortunately I miscalculated. About two miles from home, it started raining again. By the time I returned to the house I was soaking wet. I put on some dry clothes, put my wet coat and hat in the dryer and took a nap with Dawn.

I should have just stayed home and taken a longer nap with Dawn. She is definitely a good dog to curl up with on a cold winter day.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3681

All day rain. Ordinarily, that's all you'd need to say about a day like this. Today, I'll add two more words. Roof leak. Yes, the roof is leaking again. It's been so long since we've had a leak that I didn't initially recognize the ominous dripping sound I heard early this morning. The leak didn't last long, but it destroyed any notions I might have had that the roof had been fixed.

This leak was in a new location that I'd thought was pretty safe. I'll have to check when things are dry again, but I can't remember any questionable areas above the kitchen. I guess I should have turned on the pumps last night, but I was asleep. It's unfortunate that it rained so hard while we were sleeping. You can't turn the pumps on ahead of time because they get hot if they run dry and it's easy to burn out the motor. By the time I woke up, it was too late.

Things didn't really get better as the day progressed. I was going to make my reservations for the Florida trip and discovered that the hotel where I wanted to stay was completely full. I wasn't expecting this either. I still thought I had plenty of time. I looked for other hotels in the vicinity, but they were either twice as expensive or had terrible reviews. You really don't want to stay at a place where reviewers say "If you like threadbare towels and roaches in the shower, this is your place."

I'll have to find some place acceptable tomorrow and wrap this up. If I wait much longer to make my reservations, I'm afraid that the most convenient flights might be booked as well. I guess the days of traveling without a plan are long gone. When I was young, I remember driving until I felt like stopping and there were never any problems finding a room. I've gone to the airport without reservations too, but I'll admit that was a long time ago.

I kept waiting for the rain to stop so I could take my walk, but it never did. Finally, I gave up and went to the gym. As much as I hate driving in the rain, I hated having a day without 10,000 steps even more. At least it was warm and dry at the gym. I was going to enroll in my healthcare plan's new  free membership program, but I discovered that my current membership was automatically upgraded to the new plan at the first of the year. No more gym membership bills. At least there was some good news today.

I hope this rain moves out of the area by tomorrow. I need to go up on the roof and see if I can find where this new leak is coming from. I am not optimistic. I have a feeling of hopelessness about this whole situation. I have gotten bids from reputable companies and they all say that because of the way the house has settled over the years, there will still be standing water even after a new roof is installed. Give me a break. I don't want to spend a ton of money on a roof and still have to climb up and sweep the water away after every rain.

This day needs a do-over. I'll see if I can get a fresh start on things tomorrow. If I look up and see a little blue sky, I can almost guarantee that the day will end better.

Raider is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3603

What a wet, dreary day. I kept waiting for the rain to stop, but it never did. Clearly the weather forecast was wrong today. My phone kept saying that it wasn't raining and then I would go outside and see rain falling. I'm typically frozen in place on rainy days. I just sit and wait for the roof to start leaking.

I finally gave up and took some bills to the post office in the rain. I cleaned the car when I got home even though I knew that it was supposed to rain again tomorrow. It was a slow, gentle rain so the pumps on the roof would work for a while and then they would quit. I hate to turn the pumps off on a rainy day, but if the water level gets low and there isn't enough water to prime the pump, the motor can burn up. I fret about little things like this because there isn't anything big to fret about.

I finally got so bored that I decided to take my walk anyway even though it meant getting wet. I put on some waterproof boots, waited until the rain slowed to a drizzle, and then made my usual rounds. I guess I've become a slave to Fitbit. I had very little interest in going out and getting wet, but if I stayed home and did nothing, I would break a 57 day streak for meeting all my fitness goals.

It was actually quite pretty outside. It usually is when I don't have a camera with me. The temperature was a lot warmer than yesterday, so this created a lot of fog on the surface of the lake. If I'd had a camera with the right lens, I could have gotten a great picture of the White Pelicans shrouded in fog. They looked like stately ghosts swimming on the lake.

One of the things on my to-do list today was getting a banner reprinted that I'd done years ago. Usually reprinting anything is a simple matter. You just call up the printer and tell them to reprint the job they have on file. Unbeknownst to me, the printer had experienced a major computer crash a few years ago and lost most of their customer's files. Why didn't I know this already? Probably because I very rarely have anything printed anymore. Did I still have this file on one of my computers? It took me forever to find it, but I still did. It pays to save everything.

One of my doctors called today and asked why I hadn't paid a bill they'd sent me in September. The reason was simple. Either my mail carrier put the bill in the wrong mailbox or I mistook it for junk mail and threw it away. Both things happen frequently. I apologized and said I'd send them a check right away. Maybe I actually received the bill and just forgot about it. I hate the thought that I'm becoming even more forgetful as I grow older, but of course I am. It happens.

The rest of the week is going to be busy by my low standards. I'm getting a haircut tomorrow, going back to the dentist to refit my retainer on Thursday, and going to my regular doctor for my annual physical on Friday. It sure looks like I"m going to be doing some of these things in the rain.

Coach is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3422

An all day rain really tests my patience. I kept looking at the weather radar over and over again this morning, hoping that the storm would move faster. No such luck. Since I couldn't walk and didn't feel like driving in the rain, I was left with tending to the pumps on the roof and trying to stay out of Janet's way while she cleaned. I think the weather radar is more interesting than TV these days. At least there's something different every time I look. I forget what day it is when I look at the TV news. It is always the same.

Eventually the storm line moved to the East and the rain finally stopped. I immediately put on my boots and took a walk. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that my waterproof boots were no longer waterproof. They do pretty well walking through wet grass, but I had to navigate some deep puddles today. Maybe this will be the incentive I need to go out and find some high quality boots that really fit. Chances are that the ground will dry out soon enough and I'll just continue wearing the old boots. Given a chance to be decisive, I'll almost always procrastinate.

The park is interesting after a rain. You tend to see birds and animals that remain hidden otherwise. The ducks were everywhere. They were in the sky, on the water, and wandering around in the meadows looking for a place to nest. I saw a Great Egret catching a fish and I even found the White Pelican again. It was a long way away, but it was definitely the same bird. As long as I'm not actually getting wet, I love cold damp days. I'm usually the only one in the park and the soft light on cloudy days is great for photography.

I don't think our mail carrier delivered the mail today. That old adage "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night..." must not mean much anymore. Mail delivery used to be as regular as clockwork back in the days when the entire neighborhood knew their mail carrier by name. Times have changed. Every time I see our mail carrier now, it's a different person. It's probably just as well that our carrier doesn't bother to deliver the mail on rainy days. Whenever these guys do come out in the rain, the mail is a soggy mess.

I'm really becoming a Luddite. Not only am I nostalgic about reliable mail service, I've become very interested in the Transcontinental Railroad's 150th anniversary celebration. Union Pacific has restored one of the last remaining Big Boy locomotives to service and it's back on the rails right now headed toward Ogden, Utah where the golden spike was driven. The last time one of these trains ran was back in 1962. A Dallas rail museum has a non-working example of the Big Boy on display, but I had no idea that one was being restored to service. The Big Boy weighs more than a fully loaded 747 and is considered one of the most complex purely mechanical machines ever built. Kuddos to the folks who got it running again. I'd love to see this thing if it ever comes through Texas on its year long commemorative tour. I've ridden on several steam trains before, but nothing like this.

I should have no trouble walking tomorrow. I think we're going to get some sunshine. It won't last long though. Another storm system is supposed to arrive on Friday. I'm really getting tired of this extended rainy season. I keep forgetting that this happens every year. I think we get our entire year's quota of rain in May.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2876

I can describe today in two words. Cabin fever. It started raining sometime last night and continued raining throughout the day. It was way too wet and cold to even consider taking a walk. Dash eventually went out in the rain and did his business, but you could tell he wasn't enjoying things. He would wait until he couldn't hold it any longer and then race out in the yard and quickly pee. I kept a towel by the back door to dry him off, but it really didn't help much. It was just a miserable, very wet day.

Without a deadline to keep me busy at the computer, or a walk to keep Dash occupied, we were left with two choices. We could eat or we could sleep. Dash and I tried both. I wasn't sleepy and even Dash got tired of snacking after a while. I thought this might be a good day to watch Blade Runner 2049 on iTunes, but I discovered that it probably wasn't going to be available for streaming until January 2018.

Cold weather, dark overcast skies, and rain aren't a good combination for me. It's good if I have a writing job on days like this, because without a forced deadline, I quickly lose interest in everything. Dash just gets frustrated. He hates to go outside in the rain, but he hates staying inside and doing nothing too. He would go to the back door again and again thinking that maybe something had changed. In an effort to keep things interesting for him, I split his meals into numerous small segments spaced several hours apart. These bite sized portions were kind of a doggie version of Dim Sum, but it seemed to do the trick. The day goes faster when you're eating.

I hope my roof repairs had time to cure properly, because everything is definitely under water now. When I see water spilling over the eaves on all four sides of the house, I know there is a lot of standing water on the roof. I'm sure the roofer knew it was going to rain today when he dropped off the container of elastomer coating yesterday. Technically, he got me the product before it rained, just like I had asked. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to use it. If I hadn't gone out and bought my own container of silicon last week I would have been in a world of hurt today.

I wonder what happened to the pleasure I used to get by curling up with a good book. I work in an office surrounded by floor to ceiling bookshelves, but I didn't feel like reading anything today. I didn't feel like watching TV either. Janet likes to binge watch to relax, but whenever I look at what Netflix or Hulu has to offer, I can't find anything. Luckily, I'm very good at sleeping.

I resisted the urge to upgrade the computers to High Sierra today. I may never upgrade to High Sierra. There are so many fundamental changes to this new operating system that everything I use would probably quit working. Even the way Apple stores files on the hard drive has changed with this new system. Apple's desire to get their phones and computers running the same operating system is ruining things for me. I have no interest in a computer that works like my phone. I had everything I wanted several decades ago and now it is all slowly slipping away.

Hopefully, the weather will improve tomorrow. We have tickets to see The Twelve Days of Christmas at the Arboretum. This spectacular outdoor exhibit will probably look a lot prettier in dry weather.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2520

I can describe today in three words. All day rain. I got wet when I tried to walk Dash. I got wet every time I took Dot outside to pee. I got wet when I went to the bank. The pump isn't working on the roof, but it was too wet and slippery to go up and investigate. The dehumidifier was working overtime to remove the humidity from the air. Basically, today was a mess. According to the weather report, it's going to be this way all week. For some reason we always get a lot of rain between Halloween and Thanksgiving. I'm going to need a lot of patience to deal with this.

Maybe the rain destroyed my concentration. I had a couple of little projects around the house that went horribly wrong. I was going to superglue some old running shoes back together and ended up spilling some of the superglue on my leg. I ran to the bathroom to look for some nail polish remover, but discovered that the bottle was empty. Damn. It is very difficult to remove superglue from skin. I should have just thrown these shoes away. They're old and I have a new pair anyway. I don't know why I always feel compelled to fix things. At any rate, the superglue is probably going to remain on my leg until it eventually wears away.

I had a couple of minor website updates to complete today, but the work wasn't substantial enough to leave me feeling that I still had a career. I've got to come to grips with the fact that my real job these days is providing hospice care for a really old dog. Dot is a very special friend and I'd do anything for her. I wish being a caretaker made me happy though. Mostly it is very sad to watch a friend decline this way.

There is little evidence that I cleaned the house yesterday. Muddy paws and wet boots have already taken their toll on things. The yard is rapidly filling with falling Oak and Elm leaves and these quickly end up in the house as well. There is little reason to clean things up until the rain stops. Every time I open the back door, the floors instantly seem to get dirty again. Today the real challenge was just staying dry. I had a stack of bath towels by the back door to dry the dogs off with and kept the dryer running for my pants and the dog's harnesses.

I wonder if everything will return to normal after election day tomorrow? Whatever happens, half the country will be terribly unhappy. I hear both candidates saying that they want to unite the country again. Lots of luck with that. I voted, but I don't feel optimistic that my vote will make a difference. My vote will just cancel your vote. We have become so divided that I don't see how we move forward.

Maybe it won't rain all day tomorrow. Even a dismal election will look a little brighter if I can see the sun.

Chase is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1977

Change of plans. I knew it was going to be a long morning when we woke up to another round of thunderstorms, so I didn't even consider going out for breakfast this morning. It's a race against time when we wake up in the middle of a thunderstorm. The first thing the dogs do every morning is go outside and pee. When it's raining however, all bets are off. Dot and Dash absolutely refuse to leave the house during a heavy rain. Dash can hold it pretty well, but Dot will eventually poop on the floor. Luckily, using the new Minute-By-Minute app on my phone I was able to find two tiny windows where I could get the dogs out to do their business. Dot had a five minute window, which was plenty of time for her. She quickly pooped in the alley and came back inside. About thirty minutes later I was able to find an eight minute window where I could take Dash to the park. Dot must be teaching him about the weather, because he did his business amazingly quickly. One minute after we returned to the house, the deluge began. A few years ago we would have both been soaked, but Dash is learning how the world works. I think he's learned that a short walk is much better than a wet walk, especially when there is thunder involved.

I had another smoothie for breakfast and since the dogs were so good at dealing with this morning's awful weather, I gave them a banana as a reward. I think I agree with Dash. A Friday breakfast at home is much better than getting wet. When I turned the computer on, I discovered that I had new writing assignments and one of my clients wants to build a responsive website. I foolishly told him I could make what he needs, even though I'm not not quite up to speed yet. All he really wants is for customers to be able to call him directly from the website when they're viewing it on a phone. Although there's lots I still have to learn, I do know how to do this, so I think we'll be OK.

I went to the doctor this afternoon to get my Benicar prescription changed to something that wasn't involved in a class-action suit. The doctor still thought Benicar was safe and told me he took it himself. Nevertheless, he did change my prescription. He also did a complete blood panel and gave me a bone density test. I knew I wasn't going to get out of there without some sort of test. At least the doctor seemed happy with the result of all the lab work he's done. He said I was in great shape for someone my age and just told me that I should go to the gym more often. Janet tells me the same thing. Too bad I don't enjoy going to the gym. Since the dogs and I probably won't be doing any more five mile walks, I probably should heed their advise. Taking half an hour to slowly walk Dot around the block probably isn't burning many calories.

I picked up Janet at the airport  this evening and the dogs were quite excited to see the whole family back together again. They were both quite good while she was gone, but you could tell that they didn't like the situation. Dot wants to be able to take family walks with Dash again and Dash just wants everybody nearby. He always gets upset when Janet travels. Maybe he gets upset when I travel too, but I don't travel very much. Dot and Dash are so used to having me nearby all the time that I'm convinced they just think I'm another dog.

If the rain ever quits, I'll mow the grass this weekend and clear the water off the roof. If it continues to rain, we'll just have a jungle in the front yard and a duck pond on the roof. Maybe our landscaping and grass will last longer this Summer. It is really, really wet.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1910

I only need three words to describe this day. All day rain. Today's rain wasn't just a light shower either. It was a genuine soaker. Rain is the last thing I need right now. It's hard enough getting Dot outside to pee on a dry day in her current condition. Add a downpour to the mix and it's a real mess. After we come back inside, I have to carefully clean her paws while holding her up with the harness so she won't get all her bedding muddy. Then I have to make sure the area around her incision is clean and dry. When we're done with all that, I have to throw whatever I'm wearing in the dryer, so I don't spend the day wet myself. Then, two hours later, we repeat the whole process all over again.

Oddly, Dot wasn't the real problem today. It was Dash. He steadfastly refused to go outside and pee no matter how many times I opened the back door for him. Dash thinks he's going to melt in the rain and it's almost impossible to get him to do his business on a rainy day. Usually, I can find a break in the rain using the weather radar app on my iPad, but today we were out of luck. It rained continuously from sunrise to sunset. Eventually, when Janet and I thought he was going to explode, Janet put a leash on the stubborn dog and took him on a walk in the rain to relieve his bladder. Ten minutes later, they both returned soaked to the bone and Dash looked much happier. Yes, he walked all the way to the spot where he usually pees, despite the fact that he was soaking wet. Sometimes it is hard to understand what goes through dogs minds.

Since I was housebound today, I watched some of Tim Cook's Apple Watch Event on my computer. I always knew that this watch would be expensive but I wasn't really prepared for the cost of the stainless steel model with a matching stainless steel bracelet. $1,100 seems a bit high even if the watch is a technical marvel. Granted, a basic stainless steel Rolex Submariner, Omega Speedmaster, Panerai Luminor, or Bell & Ross BR-1 will cost you five times as much, but these high-end timepieces won't be obsolete in three years. You can hand a Rolex down to your grandchildren. Apple products, not so much. I've never owned an Apple product that wasn't obsolete in three years. I doubt that the watch will be any different. The watch is cool though. Even if you do have to plug it in every night to recharge.

I'm hoping that this rain will be over with by tomorrow. I can't really go anywhere anyway, but at least seeing a little sunlight out the office window fills me with hope that I could leave the house if I really wanted. The "safe area" we've constructed for Dot seems to be working very well so far. In a few days, I'll go to the post office, or somewhere nearby and check her on the baby monitor to make sure she's still calm and resting while I'm away. I'm fully aware that taking care of Dot will become much more difficult once Janet returns to the world of the fully employed. When Dot gets strong enough to stand up on her own, her rehabilitation will become easier. Right now, she's pretty fragile and I have to watch her like a hawk.

I'm trying to see the silver lining in all these dark clouds. Dot's vet bills will keep me from wasting money on things like Apple watches. Being housebound will keep me focused on work. Even working on things I don't particularly enjoy beats being bored out of my mind. Seeing Dot get a little bit better with each passing day is really its own reward. This resilient girl is really a remarkable dog.

Val is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1904

It was an unrelenting grey day. At times the rain pounded down on the roof. At other times there was just a light drizzle. We didn't get the predicted thunderstorms, but it certainly was a rainy day. I'm supposed to take Dot out four times a day using the harness for some light physical therapy. The goal is to keep Dot's legs moving to slow down muscle atrophy. Since the weather was so nasty, I walked her up and down the hall instead. To keep her moving, I'd keeping a couple of small dog treats in my pocket and throw them down the hallway when she became bored with our exercises. This reminded me of a time long ago when I used a fishing pole with a dog treat attached to the line to keep another old and lame Dalmatian motivated. When you're standing behind the dog, holding up their rear legs with a harness, it can be challenging to get them to move forward at times. Food often works when nothing else will. When a Dalmatian loses interest in food, that's when you've really got to worry.

The house looks like a designer's nightmare now. We've got an assortment of carpet runners, small rugs, and rubber mats connecting all the rooms to provide a non-slip surface for Dot to walk on. She still requires assistance to walk, but it helps if her rear legs aren't sliding all over the place on the slippery bricks. There is also a dog crate in the bedroom now, where Dot sleeps. I didn't initially think we could get Dot to use the crate, but once again we lured her inside using a dog treat. Having a large crate with two doors made it much easier to get her situated for the night. Once inside, Dot actually liked the soft dog bed we bought and slept soundly for the rest of the night. I didn't sleep so soundly, because I'm used to hearing her breathing next to me, but I'll get used to this. When Dot adjusts to being crated, she'll be much safer when we have to leave the house.

Work was slow today, but as always there were things to do. I got my own insurance company involved in an attempt to unravel the confusion surrounding the accident claim with the rental car company. As a result, I had to send a new batch of documents to a new batch of people. It took a while, but hopefully this will allow me to put this entire mess behind me. I don't care whether it's health insurance, business insurance, car insurance, or homeowners insurance, it's never pleasant dealing with insurance problems.

Dash seems to have overcome some of his fear of rain. Out of necessity, we've been walking in the rain for several days now and he's been acting like everything is completely normal. We get wet, but it's no big deal. Maybe Dash has got cabin fever too. When you're confined to the house for too long, even a walk in the rain can be a treat.

I'm trying to think ahead and take care of a lot of out-of-the-house errands before Janet returns to work. I've already picked up several things I know I'll need soon and I've scheduled a haircut for later in the week. Luckily, Dot has not become incontinent like she did after her last surgery. That will make life a little easier in the days ahead. If I have to crate Dot when it is necessary for me to leave the house, I definitely don't want her to be forced to sit in wet bedding. As her pain meds gradually decrease, I want to make sure she's not in pain either. Dot seems comfortable now. I'm pretty comfortable too, because she's always right beside me. This Spring will be a learning experience for both of us as we develop a rehabilitation routine and slowly inch our way back to normal.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1785

All day rain. Those three little words can really throw a wrench in the works at our house. Both dogs hate the rain and stubbornly refuse to go out side and pee when it's wet. They seem to think that I control the rain, somewhat like a light switch. They both wait at the door for me to turn it off. When the rain continues, they get mad and start barking. I think they're  convinced that the wet weather is all my fault. Eventually, when their bladders are about to burst, they will go outside and take a quick pee in the rain, but it is an uphill battle every step of the way. At least I got them out around daybreak for a short walk before the weather got nasty. Once the rain started, it was a lost cause.

With restless dogs and no place to go, I quickly get cabin fever on rainy days. My workload was light today, so I basically divided my time between trying to take Dot outside at regular intervals so she wouldn't pee in the house and doing a little bookkeeping. As much as I hate bookkeeping, it was still easier to balance my checkbook than it was to get Dot to pee in the rain. Even though her incontinence is much better than it was several months ago, she still needs to go outside every few hours to avoid accidents. So far, so good, but I sure hope it doesn't continue raining tomorrow.

I'm glad I voted early. I doubt that there would have been long lines at the polling places with all the rain, but getting out in traffic would have been a mess. I was happy to just stay home today. Even when cabin fever has me pacing around the house, I still have little desire to drive in the rain. Even though the rain probably decreased voter turnout, I doubt that it changed the outcome of any races. Elections are seldom even close in Texas.

It's time to make Thanksgiving dinner reservations. Last year we waited too long and had trouble finding a restaurant that could seat us anywhere near lunchtime. We haven't cooked a Thanksgiving dinner at home in years. It's easier and a lot more fun to try an interesting new restaurant. When my parents were alive, I vaguely remember large family Thanksgiving dinners, but these were not always pleasant events. I like this way better. It would be nice to find a place where the dogs could come along too, but you can't have everything.

If it continues raining tomorrow I might cook an elaborate breakfast. It's a good way to kill time and the smell of food in the kitchen keeps the dogs occupied. We'll still need to work in a walk sometime, but hopefully there will be a break in the weather. It never did stop raining today. I hear rain pounding on the roof right now, but thankfully there are no leaks. No leaks is good!

Ginger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1605

I could describe today in three words: all day rain. It didn't just rain. There were 60 MPH straight line winds, tornado warnings, severe weather sirens wailing in the neighborhood, power outages, and non-stop weather coverage on all the local TV stations. Needless to say, the dogs weren't happy about all this, but we ended up being pretty lucky. The worst of the storm went to the North of us and all we got was a lot of heavy rain.

Amazingly, during all this commotion, we managed to squeeze in two fairly normal walks. We took our morning walk early, before the downpour began, and then when the skies began to clear around sunset, we walked again. I saw lots of downed trees in the park on our evening walk, but our own trees suffered no damage. I think the weak trees have already been knocked down in previous storms. The ones that are left are pretty hardy. I'm still surprised that our power didn't go out. Usually our neighborhood is the first to go. Even though there were outages all over the city, our lights didn't even flicker. Like I said, we got lucky today.

Since I was more or less housebound all day, I managed to get completely caught up on work. It wasn't that I wanted to work; there just wasn't anything else to do. When I got my writing and website chores finished, I did my May invoices and got them ready to mail. I didn't go to the post office though. I didn't want a tree to fall on my car like some of the pictures I'd been seeing on Facebook today. The car never left the driveway. I learned a long time ago that the best thing you can do during stormy weather is stay home and take a nap with the dogs.

It's so nice not to have a leaking roof anymore. Even though I know there is four inches of standing water up there now, it's no big deal. I'll still have to remove the water eventually, but it's not a major crisis like it used to be. One of the main reasons I still have to get the water off the roof is that once ponds form, things start to grow in them. Once I left the water up there too long and saw hundreds of tiny tadpoles swimming around in a large puddle. Standing water attracts mosquitoes too. It's not really what you want on the top of your house.

Dash continues to get stronger. The radiation burn on his neck is no longer red and raw. It is becoming a pinkish color that actually does remind me of a bad sunburn. Maybe I'm imagining things, but every day, the radiation damaged skin seems a bit more normal. Everything seems a bit more normal this week. Even though it had been a very stormy day, both dogs were eager to take their evening walk. I think cabin fever finally overcame their fear of storms. They definitely had things to do and places to go this evening. I had trouble keeping up with them.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day