Day 3493

I'm starting to get estimates in for fixing things around the house. The estimates seem high, but I guess they're realistic. My reference points are costs from twenty or thirty years ago. Everything is much more expensive now. A lot of the repairs are really necessary but there is no joy in doing them. I've lost interest in the house. Like most old things, it has become a money pit. I don't talk about the architecture anymore. The mid-century design used to seem cool to me but now it is just a place to live. I definitely can't see moving anymore. The house is paid for.

The roofer has promised to bring me some more of the special silicon coating so I can patch some new small tears in the elastomer myself. I'm OK with this. I don't want to push my luck and demand that he bring a crew out to the house again. He's been out here a lot over the years. I just hope he brings the silicon stuff before it rains again.

My sculptor friend said she'd see about fixing the broken sculpture. It's really a bird bath, but it is very artistic. I need to bring the broken pieces to a school where she is teaching tomorrow. Maybe she will weld the thing back together on the spot. She is teaching a welding class.

Although the magazine won't be published until early August I keep hoping to find an advance copy of Spaceflight Magazine in the morning mail. Even a PDF file of the layout in my inbox would be welcome news. I won't be a pest and bother the editor, but it's hard to wait. I really want to see this. Maybe seeing the article in print will inspire me to do something even better in the future.

I certainly need some inspiration at this point. The dog days of summer are wearing me down. The weather is too hot. I feel too poor. Nothing seems exciting at all. I continue to spend my days taking long walks and sweating profusely. I don't read a lot anymore and I've already seen the two summer movies that seemed halfway interesting. I've had a gift card in my wallet for months now and I can't even think of anything to spend it on. The card expires at the end of the month so I guess I'll have to think of something.

I haven't tired of the new neighborhood restaurant yet, so I'll probably go back there again tomorrow morning. Pancakes or omelets? Such big decisions. I learned that my favorite clothing store is having their big end of summer sale, but who needs new clothes to walk in the park? It's weird to have no desire to buy things anymore. Buying things sustained me for years.

I guess writing sustains me now. The desire to have something to share will eventually force me to do interesting things again. It's kind of embarrassing to write about nothing.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1016

I promised Janet I'd print something for her today. Somehow, to make a single 8x10 print, I ended up running an hour-long cleaning cycle, replacing three $55 ink cartridges and putting in a new maintenance tank. When I finally got the image printed, I found out it was the wrong size.

Most of the rest of the day was spent writing. Writing is a fairly peaceful activity. When I'm writing a longer piece, I usually compose all the headlines and sub-heads first and then use these as an outline to fill in the text. I never try to do anything in a single draft. The first draft is just to get something down on paper. The second is to correct major contextual errors and logical flaws. All the other drafts are just nit-picking to refine sentence structure and bring things in at the required work count. I enjoy this part of the process. The inevitable revisions that come after the piece is submitted aren't nearly as much fun.

My eyes were watering so badly from Fall allergies that I could hardly tell what the dogs were doing at training class this evening. Once the Spring allergy season is behind me, I completely forget that there is also a Fall allergy season. Everything is fine during the Summer, but it is usually way too hot to really enjoy the relief from my perpetual sneezing and wheezing. It's a shame that the nicest weather usually coincides with the worst times for seasonal allergies. Maybe allergies just get worse with age, but I don't remember having these problems before I moved to Texas. Colorado air was crisp and clear. Seattle was damp and rainy, but I still didn't suffer from seasonal allergies. The dogs have allergy problems too. They don't sneeze or have watering eyes, but their skin itches. I don't know which is worse. When I see them scratching and rolling on their backs on the carpet, I sympathize. I know exactly what they are going through.

The holiday pet photo season will be here before you know it. I'm gradually replacing faulty equipment and getting ready for this year's events. Since many of the same people come year-after-year with their pets, it's time for a new set as well. The pets are the same, so you've got to do something to make each year's pictures a little different. While I'm shopping for a new backdrop, I should shop for a comfortable chair to sit in as well. Yeah, I know you can't really take pictures sitting in a chair, but it would be nice if you could. These events are murder on my knees.

Suki is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 974

Do you ever get those e-mails asking you to write a review after you've bought something online? I get them all the time. Today, I was kind of bored, so I looked through my inbox for some of the review requests. I wrote about five quick reviews and then is dawned on me. Hey, this is exactly what I do for a living. The reviews were like little ads. There was a headline and a short paragraph of body copy saying nice things about the product. And I was writing these things for free. No wonder it's harder to get copywriting jobs these days. Manufacturers and retailers have discovered that people will do their marketing for free. All they have to do is offer some sort of contest or incentive and they've got thousands of people writing for them. The company I wrote the reviews for today said that if you submitted a review, your name would be entered in a drawing and you could win up to $1000. How likely is that? Jeez, I've bought stuff from these guys for years and never once heard anything about anyone winning a prize.

The weather is so weird in Texas. There was a big storm last night. Some parts of town got huge amounts of rain and their power went out.  Other parts of town got no rain at all. We were somewhere in between. We got rain, but not enough to upset the dogs. I must be getting better about patching too, because there were no water leaks in the morning. I was actually kind of amazed. There seemed to be no downside to this particular downpour at all.

Since it was a slow day, I made French Toast and sausages for breakfast. I must be easy to please. French Toast, sausages, and a couple of hours of Dr. Who in the morning and I'm a happy camper. The dogs were in a good mood today as well. The rain cooled things down, so dog class was actually pleasant for a change. The days are getting shorter though. By the time class was over, it was already dark.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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