Day 3313

First it was the rain and now it is the wind. The weather is not my friend in the Winter. A cold front swept through town last night, bringing sustained thirty mile per hour winds along with it. The high winds continued for most of the night and blew the roof off the greenhouse again. The old greenhouse was built in 1955 and is pretty frail by now. It doesn't take much to bring it crashing down.

I've fixed the greenhouse roof before, but it's hardly worth the effort. When a stiff wind catches the edges of the translucent fiberglass roof panels, they just blow off again. Unfortunately, I couldn't ignore the roof panels all over the yard, so I got a hammer, some nails, and a ladder and put the dilapidated greenhouse back together again. It's anybody's guess which will last longer: my greenhouse repairs or the roofers efforts from last week.

It was so cold this morning that we all had to wear our warmest clothes. Getting Dash dressed on a cold morning is quite an effort. First we put on his sweater. Over that goes his Ruffwear harness. Then we attach the leg brace and put on a fitted bandage, a pair of socks, and the Ultra Paws boots on his rear paws. Since it was extra cold this morning, he also wore a hat to keep his ears warm.

If Dash didn't love his walks so much, we wouldn't go to this effort. I'd just as soon sleep in a little longer on cold mornings like this. Walks are still Dash's favorite part of the day. He is transformed from a dog who falls down every five minutes in the house to a dog who strides purposely through the wet grass in the park, smelling every bush and tree along the way. It's kind of amazing that he gains stability if he is moving forward. If he is standing still, his rear legs start to sink fairly quickly. I often have to hold him up now while he is eating or drinking water from his bowl. Even smelling things along the way can be hazardous. If he gets too interested in the scent of another dog who has peed on a tree, he will lose control of his rear legs and stumble.

My attempt to repair the greenhouse made me pretty late this morning, but I still had lots of errands to run. When I'm shopping on Saturday, I buy the same staples over and over again. It's amazing how much the price of things like paper towels, toilet paper, and laundry detergent have gone up over the years. How can people continue to say that inflation isn't a problem when the cost of many ordinary things has doubled?

The skies are starting to clear, so I might actually be able to see tomorrow's blood moon lunar eclipse.  I've tried to photograph these things before, but our yard doesn't provide a very scenic backdrop. A red blood moon always looks good when it is near the horizon in a national park. Not so much in my yard. I think the moon will be more or less directly overhead at totality, so a scenic backdrop probably doesn't even matter. I'm only going to be outside for a few minutes anyway. It's not worth getting cold just to see a red looking moon.

I go to the gym again tomorrow. I think putting the greenhouse back together this morning provided more of a workout than going to the gym ever does. Actually, just putting on Dash's winter clothes today was quite a workout.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3280

Janet and I both wonder how we used to accomplish so much when we were younger. It seems to take so long to do even simple things now. It's a good thing I don't have a full schedule these days. By the time I make the bed, clean up dog poop, get Dash dressed for his morning walk, and fix my breakfast, I'm ready to call it a day.

It's dark when I wake up, but by the time I finish making the bed, it is already time to get Dash ready for his walk. I guess I could just leave the rubber sheet and protective pads on the bed, but I carefully fold all the nighttime bedding and put it away so the bedroom looks nice for a few hours. Protecting Dash's feet for his walks is a complicated ritual. First we put on a par of fitted bandages that are secured with velcro. Over the bandages goes a cotton sock and on top of all this go the Ultra-Paws boots. Dash has four pairs of these boots now because I need to keep reinforcing the toe with Shoe Goo to cover worn spots caused when Dash drags his feet. It takes the Shoe Goo 48 hours to fully cure, so I rotate the boots to make sure there is always a good pair available. In addition to his special footwear, Dash also wears a brace for a partial ACL tear in his right knee along with his Ruffwear harness that I can use to keep him from slipping and falling. Needless to say, I can get dressed much quicker than Dash can.

It was cold and overcast on our walk this morning, but there was no sign of rain. Knock on wood. I'm going to be nervous about the roof until the roofers com back to finish their repairs. In fairness, the damaged areas probably need to dry another day before they can be successfully patched, but I still wish I'd seen the crew working today.

I didn't accomplish a lot today. I never do. I picked up a Plavix prescription for Dash at the pharmacy and paid a bunch of December bills. I still need to pay my 2018 property taxes, but I've got until the end of the year to write that check. I always pay my bills on time, but I find it irritating living on a fixed income. Especially when the stock market is tanking. Hey, welcome to retirement. When I was working I always felt like I controlled my own destiny. Now I feel like the world is always throwing me a curve.

The house smells good tonight. Janet is doing Christmas cooking this evening. Most of the goodies will be given away as gifts, but maybe there will be some leftovers for me. I'm sure that Dash is thinking the same thing. I especially like the sausage balls. We should have these around all year. Of course, if we had Christmas food around all year, I'd be twenty pounds heavier.

I hope I see the roofers tomorrow. Sadly, even if they are successful in patching the leak, it is only a temporary solution. The high-tech silicon membrane just wasn't a good solution for this house. My new year's resolution is to start over and put on a new roof. I'd rather have a new car, but it's much more important to have a dry house.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day