Day 3864

I'm a firm believer that there should be something interesting in every day, but it's been slim pickings lately. I kind of wish I'd chosen to write the blog once a week instead of every day. I've never liked the summer heat and the hotter it gets, the more I just feel like sleeping all day. The pandemic doesn't help either. After a while you just get tired of looking at stuff on the computer.

I miss the days when there were lots of odd little shops that catered to my eclectic interests. There used to be three stores in Dallas that just sold model trains. There were two stores that just sold telescopes. There used to be half a dozen interesting little camera stores. All these stores are gone. They just couldn't survive in a world of online commerce. On days where nothing was happening, I used to like to hang out at my favorite little shops. I would talk to people and get ideas. I would usually buy stuff as well. That's why my office is so full of crap.

I guess walking has become a substitute for many of the things I used to do. We've been taking our morning walks for long enough now that we're starting to recognize the other people on the trails. The same people seem to be out there every day. We wave or sometimes say hi as we pass each other. It's amazing how predictable everyone is. We pass some of the same people at almost exactly the same locations every day. Most people, including ourselves, even wear the same clothes every day.

The animals in the park actually seem less predicable than the people. There is a large flock of geese that move to a new location every day. Some days they will be on the left hand side of the road and other days they will be on the right. The only time I've seen the cyclists stop is when the geese decide to cross the road. Today they was all in the water. Most of the ducks are back in the water as well. During the nesting season, a lot of ducks move onshore. Probably the animals are just as predictable as the people. I just haven't figured out all their habits yet.

I haven't completely given up on the comet. I'm continuing to look through the office for suitable equipment to photograph it better. I opened an old aluminum camera case this afternoon and discovered that all the foam inserts had gone bad. I hate when that happens. I hadn't looked at these old Nikon lenses in a long time, but I must have anticipated that the foam would eventually disintegrate because I had carefully wrapped each lens in paper towels. I'll add replacing the foam inserts to my growing list of broken stuff to fix. If there were still little camera stores in town, I could have run out this afternoon and got some replacement foam inserts. Nope. I'll have to buy the stuff online instead.

Dawn seems to be warming up to me. She comes when I call most of the time now and even curls up next to me on the bed. She doesn't like people to stare at her directly and still occasionally gets frightened when we make sudden movements. Gaining Dawn's trust is still a work in progress, but I'm starting to see big improvements. Hopefully, when the pandemic is over and Janet starts traveling again, Dawn and I will be best buddies.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3316

It's going to be a long Winter. It was warmer today, but the wind picked up again and I still felt cold. I packed some cotton balls between Dash's toes in an attempt to keep his paws from bleeding this morning but his socks and boots still got wet. My jacket was kind of damp when we returned as well. There is no way around it. Walking in the Winter is just messy.

There was lots of laundry to do this morning. Dash pooped in his dog bed while he was waiting for his breakfast. The dog bed cover was washable, but I had a hard time putting the bed back together after the cover was clean. The foam structure had gotten old and mushy and it was difficult to pull the cloth cover back over it without destroying the foam. Why isn't foam rubber more durable? I've had the foam inserts inside of camera cases become soft and sticky several times. I'll have to admit that putting the dog bed back together was easier than cleaning old sticky foam off of my Nikon cameras.

It was a slow day, but at least the banks and post office were open. I took a check from one of the auction houses to the bank and paid my January gas and electric bills at the post office. Just about broke even on these transactions. Oh, well. So much for getting rich selling art.

Dash was still shaky in the house today, but at least he got a lot of rest. He does a lot better after a long nap. I try to keep Dash moving while he's awake, because he slips and falls if he stands in one place for too long. Usually he will follow me around because he always thinks I am headed towards food. Actually, I am headed towards food quite often. What else is there to do on a cold rainy day.

So far, the rain we've been having for the past several days has just been periodic light showers. I don't think we've really put the roof repairs to the test yet. There is still room for optimism though. There have been no additional leaks so far. I'm not expecting miracles anymore. I'm just hoping that we can remain free of further leaks until warmer weather returns. I'd much rather put on a new roof in the Summer than in the Winter.

Sometimes I can't tell the difference between allergies and a cold. I've had a runny nose for weeks now, but there is no fever or sore throat. Do I have a cold? Who knows. It probably doesn't even matter. It is irritating to have to blow my nose every five minutes day in and day out, but if that's as bad as it gets I can live with it. I bet if we could get a week of sunny, warm weather I'd be fine again.

I don't expect tomorrow to be very different than today. Janet has plans, so we'll need to walk Dash a little earlier than usual. I have no plans, so when we return I'll slowly drink my morning smoothie while I contemplate the day ahead. There are lots of things I need to do but it it doubtful that I will do any of them.

Raider is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day