Day 4035

Snow day. It didn't snow for long and the snow didn't stick. There were a few large flakes though. It's been a while. We learned pretty quickly that Dawn doesn't like snow. There were lots of pictures on Facebook of Dalmatians running around playfully in the snow, but Dawn refused to go outside. Eventually she went out for a few seconds to pee, but she immediately raced back inside again. It was actually her kind of day. She got to sit on the bed with Janet for most of the day while Janet watched movies.

I ended up watching movies too. There wasn't much else to do. I binge watched Season 5 of The Expanse. The season must not be finished yet, because there were only five episodes. I take back what I said yesterday. The show actually did become more interesting the longer I watched.

As the day progressed the snow changed to rain and then the rain subsided to a dismal light mist. I was determined to get my steps, so I bundled up in my warmest coats and went walking. My outer coat got a little damp, but I stayed warm. I walked my usual five miles and it was good to be outside. My feet didn't hurt today, but my shoulder did. It must be the weather. Arthritis does that sort of thing. I hope the shoulder pain goes away. I really hate taking pain meds.

The house has felt cold all winter, although the thermostat says the temperature is exactly the same as it was last year. I tend to wear sweaters around the house during the day and always put a blanket on the bed at night. I don't remember doing this in the past, even though we have definitely had colder winters. I wonder if old people become more sensitive to cold? That's a pleasant thought. Next winter I'll probably have the temperature up to 80 degrees and still be shivering.

I live in fear of the furnace going out during the winter. So far, so good. I used to live in fear of roof leaks, but my repairs have held up admirably. I know there's water on the roof right now, but I'm going to wait until the weather clears up to go inspect things. I wasn't always this confident, but I'm still superstitious. I can't leave the water up there too long, because it's just inviting problems. I guess there's no hurry. The way my shoulder feels today, I couldn't make it up on the roof anyway.

Hopefully I can get the outline for my next Sky & Telescope article off to my editor tomorrow. I'll have plenty of time to complete things no matter what the weather's like. There are no more episodes of The Expanse to watch. I squandered the entire new season today. 

I wonder if Dawn will be more enthusiastic about walking tomorrow? I kind of doubt it. She was certainly happy enough doing nothing today. We'll see how it goes. It's supposed to be a lot warmer tomorrow afternoon. If Dawn won't walk, I certainly will. I've convinced myself that I've got to keep moving. Whether this is true or not doesn't even matter. Walking provides a structure to my day and gives me something to do.

What am I going to do tomorrow? My fruit smoothie and several cups of coffee will take care of the morning, but then what? I've finished updating my website after procrastinating about this for several years. Just about the only thing left is cleaning up the office. Heaven forbid.

Murphy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3839

I had good intentions today. I was definitely going to mow the yard. I got out the mower, charged the battery, and was just starting to mow when a surprise storm appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't even supposed to rain today. I put the mower away and waited for things to dry, which of course they never did. So much for good intentions.

When we walked Dawn earlier in the day, we weren't even thinking about rain. It actually seemed like it was going to be a nice day. I could see patches of blue through the clouds and yesterday's big dust cloud appeared to have dissipated. It's amazing how quickly the weather can change in Texas.

I went back to the grocery store right after breakfast to test out a theory that I was just getting to the store too late for find blueberries and Clorox Wipes. This was a totally wasted effort. I didn't notice any difference at all and still couldn't find the things I wanted. I did get gas though. Yesterday, I forgot to bring a doggie poop bag with me so I could avoid touching the pump handle.  This is what social media has done to me. I have been grabbing gas station pump handles for most of my life with no adverse effects and now I've become convinced that they are riddled with disease. Who knows if the virus even lives on surfaces. Opinion seems to be changing on this. You literally don't know what to believe anymore when everything has the potential to either be fake news or an outdated medical opinion.

I've got a bad case of pandemic boredom, but for some reason I am unable to binge watch anything on TV. Janet can do it. Most of my friends can do it, but I just can't. I've tried watching podcasts on things I'm interested in like astronomy and rockets, but I quickly lose interest in these as well. It seems like the only thing I can stay focused on for any length of time is creating something myself. Mostly I'm a self-absorbed documentarian.

When I was younger, I wrote a lot of songs about my experiences. I still record my experiences photographically, but not as obsessively as I used to. Although I am fascinated with astronomy and space travel, all I really want to write about is how I personally interact with these things. I've basically just become a geeky travel writer. The blog, of course, is just an endless personal journal.

Does any of this even matter? Probably not. It does make me frightened when I see groups of people trying to do something for the "common good." How do they know what is good for everyone? They certainly don't know what is good for me. The whole notion of good is very subjective and has changed radically throughout history. To me the hive mind that social media has created is extremely dangerous. It's considered old fashioned in today's connected world, but I still believe in the individual. I'm convinced that if everyone concentrated on maximizing their own potential, instead of sticking their noses in other people's business, the world would be a much better place.

When I see people walking in the woods while obsessively looking at their phone, I think the whole concept of the individual doesn't even exist anymore. Critical thinking is a lost art. Young people just want to instantly know what everyone else is doing so they can do the same thing. When flash mobs first began to appear, people thought they were so creative. All the sudden an orchestra would appear and start playing in a shopping mall or something. I was one of the few people who found these things alarming. I saw flash mobs as a precursor to what is happening in our cities right now.
It's not good to be instantly connected to everything. You need time to think about things.

I've done a lot of critical thinking and somehow my plans all seem to involve turning off the Internet for a while. Don't you think that if Twitter, Facebook, and the ubiquitous 24/7 news cycle would just disappear, our world might actually start to heal? Talking to your neighbor over coffee is probably good. Getting mad at a Facebook post from someone you don't even know is probably bad. Just saying...

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3652

It was a very quiet day. I was going to watch one episode of The Expanse per day during this holiday week, but I've already completely finished Season 4. That didn't take long. After breakfast I started washing the windows on the house. This will take a while. The windows certainly needed a good cleaning. It's a messy job because you have to clear away all the spider webs first. The living room windows do look better now, but my shoulder feels worse. I finished the back of the house, but the rest will have to wait. Maybe I'll do some more tomorrow, or maybe not. It depends on the weather.

It was such a nice day today that I thought I'd try to patch a few more areas on the roof. To my surprise, there was still some standing water. Where did that come from? I don't even think it has rained recently. I found a few dry areas to patch, but I'll have to go back later when the roof is completely dry. There's not a lot more I can do anyway. Most of the bad spots have already been patched and I'm almost out of silicon.

The only clue I had that it was Christmas Eve was the number of families walking together in the park. It must be a Christmas tradition for some to take a family walk. I never see large family groups walking together unless it's a holiday. I'll have to admit that it was a good day for a walk. The skies were clear and the temperature was almost seventy degrees.

I was expecting a lot of swelling and discomfort after getting my shingles shot, but so far I've felt nothing at all. My theory is that I took a long walk right after getting the shot and maybe this caused the vaccine to disburse throughout my body more rapidly. On the other hand, maybe I just don't react to this particular vaccine. The pneumonia shot I got earlier this year did make my arm sore, but I guess all medicines are different. I'm fine with no reaction. It will make taking the second shot easier.

The stock market is doing a lot better than it was last year at this time. The roof is just the same however. I actually think I was up on the roof patching things with the silicon material last Christmas Eve. The big difference is that Dash isn't here. I really miss that dog. He was headed downhill last Christmas, but he could still walk and was eating fairly well. We never dreamed that he would only make it until April.

I doubt that I'll do anything special tomorrow. I don't really feel like it. I'll make my smoothie and take my long walk. That's enough. It's too bad I already squandered the TV show I was waiting to watch. Binge watching is kind of like eating too much for dinner. You regret it afterwards.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3560

I don't think I'm cut out to binge watch a series on Netflix. I'm enjoying the new Ken Burns documentary on PBS, but it's so long that it makes me fidgety. It's hard to turn away though. Every segment is interesting and some of the recent shows bring back memories. I don't like to sit in front of a TV for this long though. Especially in the evening. It disrupts my schedule. I've probably missed a lot of interesting shows writing the blog every night for so many years. On the other hand, I might have missed nothing. Writing seems more valuable to me than passively watching something. To me it's the mental equivalent of walking. You've got to keep your body and mind on the move.

I got my walking done early today so we could spend the afternoon with the Dalmatians. It's amazing how relaxed the new dogs seem now. They have adjusted well to life in the kennel. For dogs that were running stray or were abused, the kennel is kind of like a halfway house. It allows them to relax and start to feel safe again while they wait for their forever homes.

Rolly is gaining weight and is almost finished with his heartworm treatment. Sock's skin problems are  getting much better and he is turning into a very handsome dog. Hank is on a special diet now and it appears to be working. So far, there has been no more vomiting or bloody stools. Jasmine and Jelly Bean are playful now and eager to see us. It's hard to believe that they were so nervous just a few weeks ago. Charlie continues to amaze us with the progress he's made. He's a very smart boy.

Poor Treasure was the only one with problems today. We noticed a suspicious growth on her belly a few weeks ago and it turned out to be a mammary tumor. We think the tumor is benign, but it still needs to be removed. When we finished visiting with all the dogs we took her to the vet on our way home. She will have surgery in the morning. Treasure has already had another tumor removed when she first entered the rescue program. Hopefully, this will be the last. You'd never know she was headed for surgery tomorrow. She was full of energy this afternoon and as always, enjoyed rolling over for treats.

Tomorrow, the tree guy returns to remove what is left of the large Elm tree that fell earlier this Summer. The yard is going to look bare without this once impressive tree. I hope we won't end up losing all the trees. All of them have seen better days and most have lost a few limbs over the years. Hopefully the tree removal won't cause neighbor problems. One of our neighbors hates having the alley blocked even for short periods of time.

The security light in the back yard has quit working again. It must be the temperature that is causing the problem. The hotter the day, the shorter amount of time the light stays on at night. One of these days I'll break down and get the silly thing fixed.

Sage is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3052

The first thing I did this morning was look at the weather radar. A line of storms was on the way, but it looked like I'd have enough time to walk Dash. I'm getting better at gauging how long our slow walks will take. This time we made it back home with several minutes to spare.

The sky was dark and ominous by the time I finished breakfast. I made sure the pump on the roof was working and then settled in for a long day of doing nothing. It's a blessing in disguise that Dash's hearing isn't so good anymore. He didn't even flinch when the thunder started. After Dash fell asleep, I watched the show I had recorded yesterday. Season Three of The Expanse was worth the wait, but I hate waiting an entire week for each new episode. No wonder binge watching on Netflix has become so popular. A TV drama series is a lot more like a movie when you can watch the whole season at once. I think I'll set the DVR to record the entire series. When I watch this on TV, I can fast forward through the ads. When I stream the same thing on my computer, you can't mess with the ads at all. You are forced to watch each and every one in it's entirety.

I wish I had more to watch today. There wasn't much to do when my show was over. I checked the mail, paid the bills that arrived, and waited for the rain to stop so I could take them to the post office. Dash didn't provide much incentive to be more ambitious. He spends an enormous amount of time sleeping these days. It's hard to even remember that Dash was once a high energy whirling dervish who always wanted to walk or go to the dog park. It's equally hard to remember that I used to have a lot more energy too.

It rained a lot today and I was worried that the roof was going to start leaking again. So far, so good. The living room is still dry. I think it's supposed to dry out tomorrow and be mostly sunny next week. Maybe I've dodged a bullet again. I'll sure be glad when the roofers come back to repair things.

As soon as the weather improves, I need to start boxing up my model trains at the storage warehouse. My heart isn't in this, but there's no point in leaving the collection in storage forever. My friend will find a new home for the collection and maybe I'll recover some of the money I've spent. I used to have a lot of these things proudly on display in my office. I ran out of space a long time ago though. Now, the office doesn't look much different than the storage warehouse.

I can't decide whether to go out for breakfast tomorrow. I can talk myself out of almost anything when the weather is bad. I've used up all the fresh fruit, so I couldn't make a smoothie, but there are still eggs. Maybe I'll make myself an omelet. Actually, a bowl of oatmeal sounds fine. So does staying in bed and sleeping till noon.

Milo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2943

I used to be an avid railfan. I liked to ride trains, read books about trains, hang out in hobby shops, and buy model trains. I built several model railroads, although I never really had a place to keep them. Eventually all three train stores in Dallas went out of business, people I knew stopped collecting trains, my own trains wound up in the storage warehouse, and I completely forgot about my old hobby. Today, I was thinking about the owner of one of those old school hobby shops and thought I'd look him up on the Internet. I wasn't expecting to find anything. The guy is older than me and I thought he retired years ago. Much to my surprise I discovered he was alive and well and owns what is billed as "The largest train store between Chicago and Atlanta." For some reason this made me feel great. It's nice to know that it is still possible for old men to pursue an obscure dream and succeed at it. I don't know anyone in Dallas these days who even knows what a train is, but apparently they are still quite popular in Kentucky.

If this store were closer, I might start hanging out in hobby shops again. Kentucky is a long way away though. I'm not much of a collector anymore either. I really doubt that I'll pursue a hobby that involves collecting things ever again. The last thing I need is more useless stuff. That being said, I hope my friend's store stays in business. I'm going to need a place to sell my trains someday and it sure isn't going to be eBay.

Since I can't hang out in hobby shops anymore, I go to the gym. Hobby shops were more fun, but the gym will keep me alive longer. I've started going right after breakfast on Sunday mornings now. The place is practically empty and there is never anyone on the basketball court. It always surprises me that I am so inconsistent on the court. Some days I can sink quite a few free throws in a row. Other days, I can't seem to hit the basket at all. I was not at my best today and I have no idea why. I was actually in a pretty good mood.

I'm getting closer and closer to binge watching on Netflix. I've set up the account on both Apple TV and the Roku Stick, but I haven't actually watched anything yet. I can't get past the enormous menu. I scan through this menu from time to time and it seems endless. You could spend the rest of your life watching Netflix movies if you were so inclined. I was bored this afternoon, so I looked at the menu again. As always, there were too way many choices. There were several things that Netflix said I had a 96% chance of liking. How do they know that much about me already? Hey, I was thinking about watching Black Mirror anyway, so it might be a good idea to just go with their suggestions.

The weather was nice today, but it is supposed to rain tomorrow. Then on Tuesday, another cold front arrives and the temperatures are expected to drop into the teens again. I wish the weather would just make up it's mind. I don't even know what to wear anymore.

Kasey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2779

I was worried about Dash this morning. He was lethargic and didn't want to walk. He wasn't even interested in eating my banana. I tried several times to get him to walk after I finished my breakfast, but he wouldn't leave the back yard. After a while, I gave up and turned on the computer. Around ten-thirty Dash wandered into the office and began slapping me on the leg. He wanted a walk. I took him outside and we had a normal, uneventful walk. It would have been nicer if we'd left the house earlier while the air was still cool, but Dash was fine. He's either very lazy or very spoiled.

We encountered another loose dog this morning. This has become one of my pet peeves. Why can't people keep their dogs on a leash in public places? There are signs everywhere in the park saying that all dogs must be on a leash, but there's a certain type of person that just doesn't care. Today's loose dog was well behaved and kept following the jogger who owned him, but you never know. After the dog bite I'm more nervous about loose dogs than ever. Maybe I'm just not meant to live in a city anymore. Irresponsible people make me uncomfortable in the park. Irresponsible drivers make me uncomfortable on the roads. I've begun planning my entire life to avoid encountering anyone.

I could have easily finished watching season two of The Expanse today, but things have been so slow lately that I wanted to save the last show for tomorrow. Right now there is absolutely nothing on my to-do list. At least this final episode will keep me occupied for a little while. This extended inactivity is starting to wear me down. I really need to find a replacement for the steady diet of deadlines that has kept me busy since I started my company in 1990. Something tells me that there's not going to be a big demand for seventy year old web designers.

Janet thinks I ought to start doing some volunteer work. That may work for her, but I don't think it's a  solution for me. Volunteering usually works best if you enjoy working with other people. The last time I enjoyed meeting new people was when NASA invited me out to Vandenberg Air Force Base. I guess I could start applying to view launches again, but that could get pretty expensive. It's somewhat of an honor to get invited to watch a launch, but you've got to pay your own way to these events. That's always the problem. When I've got the time, I don't have the money and when I've got the money, I don't have the time.

I'll probably go out to breakfast in the morning. There's no reason not to resume this Friday ritual. When I started going out for breakfast on Friday mornings, it was just a way to get me away from the computer and work for a while. Now there's not much reason to even turn on the computer. The meals I cook for myself are actually better, but going out to eat could still serve a purpose. For a recluse like me, it's a fairly safe way to briefly reconnect with the world. Now, I've just got to decide what to eat.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2778

It was so quiet today. Janet had already fed Dash and was on her way out the door by the time I woke up. Dash seemed to remember our old workday routine, so I quickly got dressed, put his harness on, and we went for a walk. It's a good thing we left when we did, because it started raining as soon as we returned home and continued raining for the rest of the day. I didn't mind the rain today. It was a welcome change of pace from the triple digit temperatures we've been having.

I wasn't sure how Dash was going to react when Janet returned to work. He seemed a little depressed, but it's hard to tell with dogs. Dash sleeps most of the day anyway and I'm not enough of a dog whisperer to know whether he's tired, depressed, or just being lazy. Usually, if he comes to the office to remind me to feed him around his regular meal times, I feel comfortable that he's just fine.

I was surprised to receive an enquiry about designing a new website today. I put together a proposal, but I'm a bit skeptical about this project. I know the guy and I have a feeling that he'd like me to do this for free. Even though I'm not busy, I'm not going to design a site for free. You've got to draw the line somewhere. We'll see what happens. My proposal was fair and honest. There's always a chance that he won't be able to find anyone to do his site for free.

I went up on the roof today. It was probably too early, but I needed to find out why my pump wasn't working. Somehow the pump had tipped over and become disconnected from the hose. I fixed this problem, but didn't bother to clear all the water away. There was no point. My wrist isn't strong enough yet, and it was still raining. The condition of the roof was discouraging. There were lots of small branches that needed to be cleared away and there was standing water everywhere. It is supposed to rain for the remainder of the week, but when the dry weather returns I've got a big job to do.

Rainy days are great for binge watching. I watched three more episodes of The Expanse this afternoon. I'll probably finish season two tomorrow. Then what? Season three hasn't even aired yet. I'm pretty sure that the series got renewed, but I don't think we're going to be able to see it until sometime in 2018. Hopefully, my brain will have kicked back into gear by then and I will have moved on from binge watching TV shows.

Janet's co-workers were happy to have her back and she had a good first day at work. When we both walked Dash after dinner, we encountered a very aggressive dog. The dog was growling and the woman walking him was having trouble holding on to the dog's leash. This was unsettling to say the least. This morning's walk was so much more peaceful. I walk Dash later when Janet is working. There is nobody in the park after the early morning joggers and cyclists have gone to work. I try to do everything when the rest of the world is working. The world is just a nicer place when it is empty.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2777

Did today even happen? I'll have to admit that I've succumbed to binge watching. At least I started out with good intentions. We took a nice sunrise walk with Dash. He seemed to have lots of energy this morning and the weather was surprisingly cool. As a result, we walked a lot longer than we expected. When we got home, I made my usual breakfast smoothie packed with peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. It takes me forever to drink this concoction, since I make over a quart of the stuff every morning. I'm never in a hurry to finish breakfast. As I alternate between several cups of dark roast coffee and the endless smoothie, I watch the morning news.

Usually, after this relaxing interlude, I spend the rest of the day writing or designing websites. It's been kind of hard to follow this schedule since there's no work lately. I paid a few bills and sent out a late notice on an invoice the hasn't been paid yet, but that was about it. That's where the binge watching comes in. Without a deadline to meet, there is nothing to prevent me from watching episode after episode of my favorite shows. I downloaded Season Two of The Expanse yesterday. I was only going to watch one or two episodes today, but ended up watching five. Without the irritating commercials, each episode is only about forty three minutes. After forty three minutes, you've usually got time for forty three more.

The show is kind of a cross between Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. Each episode ends with the crew of the Rocinante in some kind of dire circumstances, so you naturally want to see what happens next. The last time I did something like this, iTunes and Netflix didn't even exist. I watched all four seasons of Farscape back to back. There was no downloading back then. I would buy a boxed set of each season at Fry's and then watch the DVD's on my computer. I wonder how I had the time. I was quite busy then and had a lot of work to do when I became obsessed with Farscape.

Janet is going back to work tomorrow. She'll have to take some time off again at the end of the month to complete her reconstruction surgery, but this is a big milestone. She seems excited to get out of the house again. Dash is going to be heartbroken. He's been at Janet's side ever since she started her recovery. It's obvious that this is what Dash has been wanting for a long time. It's OK that I'm home, but he really likes it when Janet is home. Dash seems to be adjusting well to Dot's absence. Hopefully, he'll adjust to this too.

I think Dash has the easy job. I'm still trying to figure out what to do next. Most of my clients are gone. I've lost interest in collecting things. I could spend the next five years methodically downsizing, but I'm not interested in that either. It's really a bit of a quandary. The whole concept of retirement seems foreign to me, and yet I have no interest in looking for new business either. Perhaps I've stayed alone in a small room for too long.

Not to worry though. The stock market is doing great. I've still got some more shows to binge watch tomorrow. And most importantly, the weather is getting cooler. It's supposed to rain in the morning, but with any luck I'll be able to walk Dash before it starts. If Dash gets lonely, I'll just take a long nap with him. That's something we're both good at.

Snoopy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2774

The only thing memorable about today was the heat. I was hot when we woke up. It was even hotter when I began running my weekend errands after breakfast. It was so hot that even our sunrise walk with Dash was uncomfortable. On days like these I'm really thankful that we have a working air conditioner. I've gotten used to the heat over the years, but I still remember the day I stepped off a plane arriving in Dallas from Seattle for the first time in the mid 1970's. I was interviewing for a job that I subsequently took, but as I stood in front of the Dallas airport waiting for a taxi to take me into town, I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake.

We are totally at the mercy of the weather in the summer. Cars seem to break down more frequently in the summer. I see them on the side of the road all the time in July. I don't even care about the huge electric bills. All I want is for the air conditioner to keep running. Once, a summer thunderstorm knocked our power out for almost five days in July and it was like camping out in hell.

Luckily, everything is working like a charm this year. The car has just been serviced and seems reliable. The air conditioner has a fresh filter and can still keep things twenty degrees cooler than the outside air. The dehumidifier faithfully sucks the moisture our of the air. We are all pretty comfortable as long as we stay inside.

To stay cool, I ran my errands right after breakfast this morning and then came home and vacuumed the house. This was the first time I'd touched the vacuum cleaner since the dog bite and the house was definitely dusty. By the time I'd finished cleaning both bedrooms, the canister on the Dyson was completely full. Janet had already mopped the brick floors in the living room yesterday, so the house is probably as clean as it's going to get.

I was pleased that pushing the heavy Dyson around didn't seem to bother either my wrist or my legs. There will be some scars on my legs for a long time, but I think I'm getting back to normal. Normally, I would have mowed the grass today, but it was just too hot. Hey, the house was clean and I felt like I'd accomplished something. It was a good time to binge watch a few more episodes of The Expanse.

So, how does this show compare with Babylon 5, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, Lexx, Dr. Who, or Firefly? Most of these shows are kind of like Westerns with space ships, but I enjoy them. Somehow, when the future arrives, I doubt that it will be like Dodge City on a different planet, but it does make a good story. I think Firefly was my favorite sci-fi series because it really was a true space Western. Star Trek never appealed to me because the writers made it a morality play. Hey, don't preach to me when I'm trying to be entertained. Just show me cowboys in space.

The neighbors brought over a gift basket this afternoon. I know they are trying to be nice, but it made me a little uncomfortable. They didn't need to do anything. I'm not mad at them and certainly don't blame them for anything. The whole thing was just an unfortunate accident. If anything, the dog bite was my fault. I should have just minded why own business and left that credit card in the alley.

Think is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2773

Much to my surprise, I don't have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome after all. The orthopedic specialist I saw this morning told me that I wasn't having the symptoms that you would normally associate with Carpal Tunnel. He says the problems I've been having all these years are caused by arthritis. I guess it makes sense. Arthritis is common in my family. I wonder why I was so convinced that the pain and lack of mobility in my left wrist was caused by Carpal tunnel? The good news is that my sprained wrist has healed nicely. The bad news is that my arthritis will probably get worse.

I need to start doing my range of motion exercises again for both my wrist and my shoulder. The orthopedic specialist said he would be happy to recommend  a physical therapist, but that they would probably just tell me to do exactly the same things that my last physical therapist suggested. I know what to do. I just grew tired of continuing the stretching exercises after the first year.

It was so hot outside today that I didn't feel like doing much of anything. I went to the doctor and picked up something for dinner. That was about it. I've been watching Janet binge watch television shows all month and thought I'd give it a try myself. I downloaded season one of a series I meant to watch several years ago but never got around to it. I only meant to watch one episode today, but I can see now how easy it is to get sucked into watching an entire season in one sitting. Without commercials, each episode isn't really that long. TV drama episodes usually end on a cliffhanger, so you naturally want to see what happens next. When you finish one episode, it's easy to say "Well. I guess I've got time to watch one more." All the sudden it's dinner time and you've watched half a dozen shows.

Maybe I'll do something more useful and productive tomorrow. Then again, I might just finish season one of my show. In a world without deadlines, there isn't a compelling reason to overexert yourself. I kind of wish I had deadlines again. They add a certain structure to your life. At least from what I see on Facebook, most of my former co-workers seem content with traveling and spending time with grandchildren. Travel is good. Taking classes is probably good too. I just need to get over the idea that I always need to be making money. If I can find something challenging that I enjoy, it will probably turn into money anyway. That's certainly how it always worked in the past.

This is the time of year when it gets harder to illustrate the blog. The vegetation is drying up and the wildflowers are almost gone. Most of the animals are in hiding too. It's just too hot. Our walks are much shorter now, because we don't want Dash to become overheated. It upsets me when I see people jogging with their dogs in July. Dogs don't sweat and can't handle this heat as well as we can. People don't handle it all that well either. I see the EMT ambulances in the park a lot more often in July than I do in January. At any rate, I still take a new picture every day, but you might have to be content with seed pod images
 for a while.

I've stopped sleeping with my feet elevated. There's really no need anymore. Pretty soon I'm going to start going back to the gym again. Dash is eating well and seems to have fully recovered from his last vestibular episode. Janet is going back to work while she waits for the final minor surgery she needs to complete the reconstruction process. It's hot, but I think we all are going to survive the summer.

Queen is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day