Day 4485

It's déjà vu all over again. My bags are packed. I've reprinted everything in my manilla itinerary envelope with updated information. As long as there's not another last minute launch postponement I guess I'm ready. Truthfully, I'm never ready to travel. I usually second guess my decision even after I'm on my way. When the trip is over though, I'm almost always glad I went. I've really got to force myself to expand my horizons. It would be easy for me to stay home all the time and do nothing, which is never good.

We set a new high temperature record today. It got up to ninety-six degrees this afternoon. Those are Summer temperatures, so I'm hoping that Spring isn't over yet. It's too soon for Spring to be over. Most of the Spring wildflowers haven't even bloomed yet. Dawn probably wishes she had walked earlier today. She didn't want to walk this morning because the ground was wet. We got a lot of rain last night. At least the temperature was cooler though. By the time we walked after lunch, it was already too hot. We took a short walk so Dawn wouldn't get overheated and then I tried to walk a little further myself.

I didn't make it very far today. It wasn't the foot pain that bothered me, it was the heat. I'm not used to the heat yet. Last Summer when I took my long walks I would soak my clothes in water before I left the house and they would be completely dry again before I returned. It's a shame that there is so little genuinely nice weather here in Texas. It is always too hot, too cold, too wet, or too dry. Maybe I'm being too picky, but I wish our summers could be more like those I remembered when I used to live in Colorado.

I got another notice that my little mobile internet hotspot is going to cease working soon. Evidently this device still uses the phone company's 3G network which is going to be turned off in the near future. I love this little pocket sized hotspot and it has been my companion on every trip I've taken for many years. It wouldn't have been possible to continue my daily blog posts without it. I have been looking for a 5G replacement and there isn't much available. Technology has changed and now a lot of phone companies want you to use a tethered cell phone as a hotspot. The 5G hotspots I've found so far are all larger and much more expensive. It's such a shame that technology has to keep changing. I was completely happy with the technology I was using twenty years ago.

I'm amazed that we didn't have a roof leak last night. The rain was really heavy for several hours. I turned the pumps on before I went to bed, but there was no way they could keep up with this deluge. When I finished last night's post I felt that the storm would pass to the north of us. I was wrong. I think northern counties did get a lot more rain, but a few heavy cells passed directly over us. I'm really glad that thunder and lightning doesn't bother Dawn. She slept through everything. Dot and Dash would have been terrified.

I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning. I have to get up really early and am depending on Janet and several alarm clocks to get me up in time. I have a bad habit of lying in bed when I wake up, thinking that I'll get out of bed in "just a few minutes." Usually I immediately fall back to sleep again. Did I mention that I'm not a morning person. That's why I always write these blog posts late at night.

Maybe returning to Kennedy Space Center and seeing another rocket launch will invigorate me and snap me out of my current lethargy. One can always hope.

Angel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4476

It felt like Summer today. The temperature reached 93 degrees this afternoon. I hope our nice Spring days aren't over yet. Summers in Texas can be brutal. The furnace still comes on for a little while when we get up in the morning, but pretty soon the AC will be running 24/7. I'm not looking forward to those Summer electric bills.

Dawn got two walks today and enjoyed both of them. I could have slept a little longer this morning, but Dawn was eager to go on her sunrise walk. Now that Janet is back, she's always got places to go and things to do. I think Sunday is Dawn's favorite day. Not only does she get her special outing followed by ice cream cones, she also gets a little bacon with our Sunday breakfast. Dawn loves bacon.

Sunday is usually a big walking day for me, but my feet weren't cooperating today. After Dawn's two walks, I didn't feel like going much further. It still seems strange that my foot pain is so unpredictable. Some days are good and other days are terrible. There isn't a lot of rhyme or reason to all this. At any rate, today was a bad day. I didn't even come close to 20,000 steps.

All I really wanted to do today was nap. I did try to fix the toilet again, but that was probably a futile effort. Other household chores will have to wait. I just didn't feel like doing much of anything today. Today's long walk was my shortest in several weeks. It was a nice day and the park was full of people enjoying the weather. I wasn't one of them. I trudged along, got a respectable number of steps, and then went home for another nap.

The big annual sale at REI is almost over and I still haven't been to the store and gotten anything. There is absolutely nothing I need. I guess I do need some new Hoka shoes, but I still can't find the boots I want and these shoes are never on sale anyway. Maybe I"ll go to the last day of the sale tomorrow. Probably not though. Tomorrow we visit the rescue Dalmatians and one event a day is plenty for me. 

Janet and I watched a little bit of the Oscars during dinner, but it seemed ridiculous and we ended up turning it off after about ten minutes. We didn't recognize many of the actors or movies being nominated. It just seemed like a strange, very self indulgent event. I wonder if the Oscars were every very good. It seemed like we used to like to watch this years ago. Things change I guess. We used to like to watch Project Runway and Top Chef too. I don't think I like anything on TV these days.

We got some new pictures of Sammy's puppies today. Their eyes are open now. These are going to be some good looking dogs. They should start getting their spots soon. I wonder how people get the nerve to raise puppies. It seems like a big responsibility. Just keeping a single dog healthy and safe seems like a big responsibility. 

I hope I sleep well tonight. I've been tired all day. Tomorrow we'll meet Dorothy when we visit the kennel. I've seen some videos of her playing with toys. She never stays still. Hope she stays still for long enough for me to get a picture for the website. It's a challenge with a young dog. Sometimes photographing a Dalmatian can make you dizzy.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day