Day 4909

I did my grocery shopping early this morning so we could go to Dawn's dog school party. I think I tried this last week as well, but this week I started even earlier. I finished my shopping and was home again before I typically leave the house. I need to make a habit of this. The stores weren't crowded and there was a better selection of everything.

I thought that Dawn would enjoy the party because she likes going to school. Nope. She was nervous the entire time and was eager to return home. She wasn't interested in playing with any of the other dogs. This was something new and Dawn never reacts well to new things. Janet entered her in several of the competitions and she won fourth place in one. I had a good time and got to chat with several people I hadn't seen since we used to take Dot and Dash to training class. I guess we'll do this again next year.

After we returned home I went on a not so long walk. It was later in the day and too hot outside for my regular route. I knew I couldn't complete six miles today. I only walked three miles this afternoon but that was enough to get my steps and close all three rings on my Apple Watch. I had to soak my hat in water to stay cool this afternoon. I should have gone to the gym, but after grocery shopping this morning I was tired of driving.

We had a very brief power outage this afternoon. The beeping noises from several devices were enough to send Dawn into a panic. Thunder and lightning don't scare Dawn, but electronic beeping noises do. She managed to get stuck behind the bedroom television in a tangle of cords and cables. Why she thought that this was a safe place, I'll never know. It was hard to extricate her from this tiny awkward space and when I got her free, she wasn't comfortable for the rest of the afternoon. I took her outside so she could lay in the grass and that actually calmed her down after a while. She was back to normal in time to start barking at me to fix her dinner.

One of my battery back-up power sources bit the dust today. I don't think I'm going to bother to replace it. There are way too many things in the office that I don't even use anymore. This thing beeps when the power goes out too. We don't need any more beeping things in this house. 

I thought about fixing the screen door this afternoon but it was way too hot. All I really wanted to do was take a nap. At least it didn't rain today. Rain was in the forecast all day, but somehow it never materialized. I actually would have welcomed a little rain on my long walk. Did I mention it was hot. I'm not reacting very well to summer this year. It's hot every summer, but I don't have the patience for it anymore. 

Tomorrow I'll go walking at the mall and then we'll take Dawn on her Sunday outing. Dawn and I both like familiar routines. Dawn and I should be best friends. We're both old and grumpy and don't react well to change. There is still rain in the forecast for tomorrow but there is a good chance we'll never see it. Old habits die hard I guess. We've got a brand new roof and I'm still worried about rain.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3961

More rain and cold weather. I'm really glad our furnace is working well this year. I didn't even want to get up this moring. I was warm under a heavy blanket and I knew it would be all downhill as soon as I got out of bed. We had to postpone our morning walk again because of the rain. I ate breakfast. Dawn went back to bed. And Janet went to the gym.

Our second dehumidifier seems to be on its last legs. We run the thing 24/7, but it seems like a dehumidifier should last a lot longer than this. The dehumidifier still works, but the defrost cycle kicks in a lot and it doesn't extract as much water from the air as it used to. This is exactly what happened to the first dehumidifier before it gave up the ghost about a month later. I was going to get the first machine repaired but I never could find a convenient service center. It's still sitting in the storage warehouse with a lot of other broken stuff.

I finally found a medical supply company that would sell me some decent American made 3-M N-95 masks. I had to call customer support several times to get the shopping cart on the website to work. The website left a lot to be desired but eventually I got my order to go through with expedited shipping. I ordered the smallest number of masks available because these things just seemed too expensive. Someone is making a fortune selling this stuff. I remember what industrial masks used to cost at Home Depot. I wish I'd bought a bunch back then. It's definitely a different world now.

The rain always seems to stop around noon, so we've been walking Dawn right after lunch. She's pretty particular about the weather. She loves cooler temperatures, but hates getting her paws wet. She was reluctant to leave the house today, but once we reached the park she found lots of things to smell and her interest in walking picked up quite a bit. We actually made good time today, but I was winded by the time we got home. Dawn and Janet put me to shame on these walks. I really need to start going to the gym again.

Janet had a tire pressure warning on her dash, so I got out the air compressor and pumped up her tires. I hate getting old. I remember that moving the air compressor around used to be easy. I had to struggle with the thing today. Somehow it felt a whole lot heavier than it did a few years ago. I was going to top up my own tires as well, but then I remembered that they are filled with nitrogen instead of air. Luckily, none of my tires were low. It's a pain to go to the dealership just to check your tire pressure.

I asked my NASA contacts when they were going to update the media schedule for the upcoming Crew-1 launch. They are still about a week away. I guess that still leaves me plenty of time to make travel arrangements. I'm still a little apprehensive about flying, but that's why I ordered the good masks. I'm convinced that Covid is going to be with us for a long, long time. I'm going to continue to be very careful, but you can't just put your life on hold forever. I think all of us have to figure out ways to continue doing what we think is important even though the rules have changed. I won't be going to weddings or large parties, but a rocket launch every now and then should be fine.

The rain should be over tomorrow. It's still going to be cold, but I've got warm coats. I don't know how Northerners stand living through long, cold Winters. The worst weather hasn't even arrived yet, and I'm already waiting for Spring.

Abi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day