Day 4857

The weather has been perfect for the past several days. The skies are clear and blue on our sunrise walk with Dawn and there are white puffy clouds when I take my long walk later in the day. Everything is green now. All the trees have leaves and the wildflowers are in full bloom. It's a pleasant time for walking, which is a good thing since that's all I'm doing these days.

I still haven't heard anything about the Viasat-3 launch. Another launch photographer told me that Space X is only giving journalists a 2 or 3 day notice about credentialing status these days. That's a shame since Southwest Airlines tickets will definitely be more expensive at such short notice. I'm assuming that I'll get approved but I might not. You never know.

Some neighbors stopped us to talk on our early walk this morning and Dawn did really well greeting their dogs. She used to be nervous around these dogs, so I think the training class is helping her. Janet said she did well in class tonight, although she is not heeling as well while wearing a harness. We're still not putting anything around her neck after learning about the bulging disc in her neck. There is no point in aggravating something that is already a problem.

My Fitbit quit working this morning, so I have no record of today's walk. I don't know why this bothers me, since I already know exactly what the Fitbit was going to tell me. I've done this walk so many times that I can gauge my pace pretty exactly by just listening to my footsteps. I know where all the mile markers are and how long it will take me to arrive home again. I still like to look at the Fitbit though. This afternoon I figured out how to get the thing started again, but I still don't know what went wrong.

It's a good thing that Janet and I like ham. There's a lot of leftover Easter ham. I've been having ham sandwiches for lunch and more ham for dinner. We may have to freeze some of this. At this rate I'll be eating ham until June. It's a shame that there are no more holidays coming up for a while. I always enjoy a good holiday.

I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been a call for volunteers out at the observatory this year. Usually I get called at least once a year. Maybe it's just as well. I have serious misgivings about driving that far again. On the other hand, I love that place once I manage to make it out there. It's quiet and peaceful and the night skies are incredible. The Astronomer's Lodge has a really good cook too. I'd go out there just for the meals.

This week has really gone quickly. You'd think I'd be bored to tears since I basically do nothing all day. I putter around and before you know it the day is over. It's probably a good thing that I don't have clients anymore. I'm slower about everything now. I don't know how I ever managed to get so much stuff done back in the day.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4258

Dawn didn't want to walk this morning. She still seems uncomfortable after the bladder stone removal procedure. The vet said this was normal, but I hate to see her this way. She's always waiting for the other shoe to drop anyway. We got her some Rimadyl for pain and that seemed to help. We would never use Rimadyl on a long-term basis, but it is effective for short-term pain management. Dawn will only need to take the pills for a few days.

I stopped at a little Mexican garage on my way to the gym this morning and got my safety inspection done. They were so quick that I wasn't sure that they did anything at all. I got the paperwork I needed to get my window sticker though. The little garage was a pleasant surprise. It takes forever to get the simplest thing done at the Land Rover dealer and it's always so expensive. My car is getting older. Maybe it's time to abandon the dealership.

It works out well to go to the gym before I do my grocery shopping on Saturday morning. I wonder when they are going to get their machines fixed. They are currently having a campaign to get new members, but I don't think anyone is going to be impressed by the growing number of 'temporarily out of service' signs on the exercise equipment. Maybe I ought to start using the weight room more. Free weights don't break.

Everyone is wearing masks again in grocery stores. There are no mask mandate signs on the doors anymore, but there are enough stories out there about dire 'long Covid' side effects and fully vaccinated people getting the virus that fewer people want to take chances. I certainly don't want to get sick. I've never really liked crowds anyway. This virus will give me all the excuses I need to remain an aloof loner forever.

I got a letter from my editor at SpaceFlight Magazine today saying that he was no longer with the magazine. This sucks. I really liked working with the guy and it took me forever to build a relationship with the magazine. Now I'm going to have to start all over again with the new editor. I'm not having a lot of luck getting published again at Sky and Telescope either. Most of their articles are scientific in nature. I just got lucky when they became interested in publishing my astronomy related travel article.

My Fitbit died at the gym this morning. I'm afraid I'm going to have to get a new one. The battery isn't holding a charge anymore. I can get it to charge by using a higher wattage charger, but it won't stay charged very long. I watched a YouTube video showing how to change a Fitbit battery yourself. Lots of luck with that. I'd have as much luck fixing a Fitbit by hitting it with a hammer as I would by taking it apart. My hands just aren't that dexterous.

We're not sure that Dawn will want to take her Sunday outing tomorrow. She didn't want to walk today and we don't want to push her. We'll see how she feels in the morning. Even if she doesn't feel like walking, I'm sure she'll still be up for an ice cream cone.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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