Day 3550

It looks like the highway department is already late on their bridge project. Our road was supposed to close today, but now it looks like it won't close until late tomorrow evening. From what I've read, the new bridge won't have any more lanes than the old bridge but will have better sidewalks. Pretty expensive sidewalks if you ask me. Construction is supposed to be finished by March of next year, but that seems unlikely. Highway projects never seem to get finished on time.

I thought today would be a good day to see if I could fix the old dehumidifier. I've been meaning to do this for a long time, but the unit has proved very difficult to disassemble. I finally got the thing apart after removing almost forty screws. Even then, it was difficult to gain access to the guts of the machine. The dehumidifier is put together like a Rubik's Cube. I patiently disassembled the unit one slow step at a time and then discovered what the words "sealed system" mean. Although there was plenty of dust inside the unit, the parts I really wanted to clean were inaccessible. I was able to clean the front surface of the evaporator coil, but the rest was out of reach. Maybe my cosmetic cleaning job will help, but I doubt it. I should have just believed the instruction manual when it said "no user serviceable parts."

I wasted a lot of time today with my futile repair efforts, but at least I was inside. Our Fall heat wave doesn't show any signs of abating. When I gave up on the dehumidifier and decided to take my walk, I was wondering if we were ever going to get any Fall weather. Hey, it's supposed to be nice in September. I read that somewhere. For now, I'll continue to drink lots of water and sweat even more.

I ate too much today. Not only did I have a big breakfast, we went out for dinner at one of my favorite smokehouses. I had Burnt Ends, which are even tastier than a rack of ribs. The food was delicious but barbecue is always too salty. I'm going to have heartburn tonight. I don't know why I continue to eat food that I know will give me heartburn. There are plenty of things that don't. I do try to eat a healthy plant-based diet, but pizza and barbecue are just too tempting at times.

I doubt that I'll be eating much for breakfast tomorrow, but there will be plenty of errands to run. Saturday's are always busy. I need to get more fresh fruit for my smoothies. I need to get some batteries and light bulbs at Home Depot. Maybe I'll do a side-by-side test of the old and new dehumidifiers. If the old one still isn't working well, I guess it goes out to the curb with the lawn mowers.

The new Dalmatians are finding homes quickly. It looks like Bandit will be the next to find a home. He might get adopted tomorrow. I wish more people would take a look at Charlie and Treasure. They've both been at the kennel a long time. Everyone finds their forever home eventually. I think the dogs are more patient than I am.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3464 - My Birthday

Another trip around the sun has been completed. Last year at this time I felt old. This year I feel like each additional year is a bonus. Janet and I are reasonably healthy. I don't have much of a bucket list or any grand plans, but there is nothing stopping me from pursuing anything that capture my fancy. I have no idea what the future holds for me, but at this age it's good to still be among the living.

Birthday's are pretty subdued when you're 71. I had my smoothie, took my morning walk and picked up a prescription at the pharmacy. It was very hot today, so one walk was plenty. Janet and I went out for a birthday dinner tonight. I love barbecue, so we tried out a new smokehouse in the neighborhood.  I had burnt ends, fried okra, and cilantro coleslaw. It was delicious.

We always have Sprinkles cupcakes on birthdays, but it was weird not having any special doggie cupcakes for the dogs. For years and years we always got doggie cupcakes for Dot and Dash. They were always more excited about our little birthday celebrations than we were. It was pretty quiet this year. Even the dog's bowls are gone; carefully stored away in my storage warehouse.

I'm still waiting to see it the static fire test of the Falcon Heavy rocket takes place tonight. This is a key step along the way to a successful launch. There were thunderstorms and lightning warnings at the space center earlier today. Hopefully things will clear up so the test can take place. I'm really glad I decided not to drive to Florida. We would have been leaving tomorrow with no idea whether the launch would actually take place. As things stand now, I don't have to make a decision about my travel plans until late Friday night. Lets hope the weather clears up.

I think it's raining everywhere. There are thunderstorms this evening at Kennedy Space Center. It's raining where my sister lives. And North Texas has severe weather warnings for the third night in a row. Thunder and lightning woke me up again last night. It was probably a good thing because while I was awake I remembered I had forgotten to take my evening meds. If you wonder what it's like to be 71, all I can say is that you'll probably become more forgetful. We got a lot of rain last night, but at least we didn't lose power again.

Hopefully, it will be quiet tonight. I'm getting behind on sleep again. There's something about severe weather that makes sleep difficult. I'm always worried about roof leaks and power outages. I'd much rather be having mildly pleasant dreams about being lost somewhere. Maybe the launch date will be finalized tomorrow. I'd like to cross this uncertainty off my perpetual worry list.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day