Day 4068

The weather keeps getting colder. I had trouble starting my car for the first time in ages. I need to remember to start it every day now until the weather gets warmer. I had a couple of errands to run and the stores were packed. People were buying groceries like the end of the world was coming. There were so many posts about frozen water pipes on Facebook that I got worried and put new insulation foam around all the outdoor faucets.

Dawn refused to walk this morning. There wasn't anything wrong. She was just being smart. She knew almost instantly that it was way too cold for a walk. I didn't have the good sense to come back inside with her and took my six mile walk anyway. I discovered a new use for my N95 masks. The close fitting mask really helped keep my face warm. My coat and gloves kept me pretty warm yesterday, but my exposed face was freezing. With the hood of my jacket up and my mask on, only my eyes were exposed today. I completed my walk, but was happy to return to a warm house. I know people who love Winter weather. I think they're all nuts. When I was young, I read a story by Fritz Leiber called A Pail of Air. It was about how the earth got pulled out of its orbit by a passing dark star and how one family survived by melting oxygen from the frozen atmosphere that had settled over the earth like a thick snow. I always think of this story on very cold days.

We got a notice from the electric company that we all need to conserve electricity during the freeze by  turning our heat down and using as few appliances as possible. I doubt that that's going to happen. When people are cold, their first instinct is to turn up the heat. I really hope we don't have an ice storm. Whenever there's an ice storm there are power outages all over town. Trees fall. Power lines break. It's a big mess. Hopefully, the weather won't be as bad as people are predicting. They say we may see a new record low temperature early next week. Zero degrees in Dallas is very, very rare.

For now everything is fine. The furnace is working well. The two dehumidifiers are keeping condensation away from the windows. We've got plenty of warm clothing. I'm still nervous about this kind of weather though. Things can go downhill quickly when the roads get icy and the power goes out. I still don't understand how northerners can take this kind of weather for granted. Zero degrees is even worse than 100 degrees to me.

If the roads are dry in the morning I need to remember to get my grocery shopping done early. Janet got her shopping done today, so we should have plenty of food. If we get snow or ice, I'm not driving at all. The problem with slick roads here in Texas isn't the ice, it's the other drivers. Nobody knows how to drive on ice here. 

I have a feeling that we're going to be spending a lot of time indoors for the next few days. I should start a new project that will keep me busy, but I'll probably just fret about the furnace instead.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4035

Snow day. It didn't snow for long and the snow didn't stick. There were a few large flakes though. It's been a while. We learned pretty quickly that Dawn doesn't like snow. There were lots of pictures on Facebook of Dalmatians running around playfully in the snow, but Dawn refused to go outside. Eventually she went out for a few seconds to pee, but she immediately raced back inside again. It was actually her kind of day. She got to sit on the bed with Janet for most of the day while Janet watched movies.

I ended up watching movies too. There wasn't much else to do. I binge watched Season 5 of The Expanse. The season must not be finished yet, because there were only five episodes. I take back what I said yesterday. The show actually did become more interesting the longer I watched.

As the day progressed the snow changed to rain and then the rain subsided to a dismal light mist. I was determined to get my steps, so I bundled up in my warmest coats and went walking. My outer coat got a little damp, but I stayed warm. I walked my usual five miles and it was good to be outside. My feet didn't hurt today, but my shoulder did. It must be the weather. Arthritis does that sort of thing. I hope the shoulder pain goes away. I really hate taking pain meds.

The house has felt cold all winter, although the thermostat says the temperature is exactly the same as it was last year. I tend to wear sweaters around the house during the day and always put a blanket on the bed at night. I don't remember doing this in the past, even though we have definitely had colder winters. I wonder if old people become more sensitive to cold? That's a pleasant thought. Next winter I'll probably have the temperature up to 80 degrees and still be shivering.

I live in fear of the furnace going out during the winter. So far, so good. I used to live in fear of roof leaks, but my repairs have held up admirably. I know there's water on the roof right now, but I'm going to wait until the weather clears up to go inspect things. I wasn't always this confident, but I'm still superstitious. I can't leave the water up there too long, because it's just inviting problems. I guess there's no hurry. The way my shoulder feels today, I couldn't make it up on the roof anyway.

Hopefully I can get the outline for my next Sky & Telescope article off to my editor tomorrow. I'll have plenty of time to complete things no matter what the weather's like. There are no more episodes of The Expanse to watch. I squandered the entire new season today. 

I wonder if Dawn will be more enthusiastic about walking tomorrow? I kind of doubt it. She was certainly happy enough doing nothing today. We'll see how it goes. It's supposed to be a lot warmer tomorrow afternoon. If Dawn won't walk, I certainly will. I've convinced myself that I've got to keep moving. Whether this is true or not doesn't even matter. Walking provides a structure to my day and gives me something to do.

What am I going to do tomorrow? My fruit smoothie and several cups of coffee will take care of the morning, but then what? I've finished updating my website after procrastinating about this for several years. Just about the only thing left is cleaning up the office. Heaven forbid.

Murphy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day