Day 3555

The doctor's office called with the lab results from yesterday's visit. Everything looks good. I think my health is better today than it was ten years ago. It's amazing what a healthy diet and a little exercise can do. A lack of stress probably helps too. Running a small business was stressful at times. So was caring for very sick dogs. I really miss the dogs, but I don't miss all the worries.

It rained a little today. South Texas is getting some serious downpours, but we just got a few showers. I didn't even hear the rain. I was surprised to go outside and see that the driveway was wet. It's hardly worth going up on the roof for this amount of rain. It's still so hot that any standing water will evaporate quickly. Hopefully, we got enough water to revive the grass in the front yard. It's been looking pretty brown lately.

There are a lot of people who walk faster than me in the park, but there are at least two that walk much slower. I see them every day. There are very old and both use walkers. When I have finished my five miles, they have usually only traveled a few hundred yards. I initially thought these people were lost or abandoned, but they live in the neighborhood and are just doing the same thing I am on a smaller scale. This is probably me in a few years. I hope they manage to keep moving. You've got to keep moving and you've got to know your own pace. I used to see a guy at the gym every Sunday who always wore a t-shirt that said "I wish I was still 85." One day the guy disappeared and I assumed he died. He had a good run though. He had to be at least 95 when I would see him on the treadmill.

The bills from the Davis Mountains trip are starting to come in. The damage wasn't as bad as I thought. Actually a modest road trip is pretty affordable. You get a lot better gas mileage on the highway and restaurants in small towns are much more affordable than what you find in Dallas. The only downside is all the truck traffic. I wish companies would start shipping their freight by train again. A constant stream of eighteen wheelers can ruin just about any long drive.

Should I go see Ad Astra? I see almost every new science fiction movie, but this one is being pushed so hard by the studio and the critics that I almost want to skip it. I did skip the latest episode of Country Music this evening. I made it through the Hank Williams era, but I don't think another four hours will will teach me much more. Ken Burns needs to make shorter movies.

Tomorrow is another day. I think I've eaten most of the left overs, so I may need to go to the grocery store. I'll probably finish the history of the Davis Mountains I've been reading. What does it mean when the early history of West Texas becomes more interesting than Brad Pitt going to Neptune?

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3409

I overthink things. For almost a week I've been debating about whether to go to an afternoon movie. I've looked up theaters on Google. I've read reviews for the film I was planning to see. I've fretted about the traffic. The reviews were mostly bad and I'd just about convinced myself that going out wasn't worth the effort. Unfortunately, I had way too much time on my hands today, so at the last minute I decided to go see the movie anyway. I usually like science fiction, but I should have listened to the reviewer who said that this was basically just a prison movie in space. I wasn't fond of this movie at all.

Evidently 2 PM on a Thursday isn't when people go to the movies. When I entered the theater, I quickly understood why the guy at the ticket counter told me I could sit anywhere I wanted. I was the only one in the theater. It wasn't a huge theater, but it wasn't small either. It was weird to be the only person in the entire theater.

I'm finishing breakfast earlier now. I made my morning coffee, fixed my fruit smoothie, ate breakfast, and washed the breakfast dishes before 9 AM today. When I was tending to Dash, it was usually after 11 AM before I was finished with breakfast. I guess it's good that I'm getting an earlier start. As Summer approaches I'm going to want to take my morning walk before the day gets too hot.

It didn't get too hot today. The weather was beautiful and a three mile walk seemed like a much better alternative to staring at the computer. I've finally started seeing nesting ducks. Maybe they just got a late start this year. There were lots of recumbent bikes on the bike path today. I wonder why the riders of these bikes are always older men with short white beards? I very rarely see younger men riding recumbent bikes and I've never seen a woman on one of these things.

Prairie Verbena seems to be the wildflower of the week. These little purple flowers are everywhere now. Next week a new wildflower will take the stage. Most of the wildflowers in the park are perennials. They keep coming back in the same places year after year. I've photographed all these plants before but I still enjoy seeing them. They've become familiar friends. Unlike Texas weather, the flowers are reliable and consistent.

The week has gone quickly. I've already taken the trash out to the curb and am thinking about having shrimp grits for breakfast tomorrow. I hope this nice weather continues. I didn't even have allergy problems today. Sooner or later the rain will return and so will the 100 degree days. For now I'm going to enjoy the blue skies and mild temperatures.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3403

I tried a new hotel for breakfast this morning. Actually, this was an old historic hotel, but you know what I'm talking about. This place was further from home, but I have plenty of time to kill, so why not. The food was great, the dining room was quiet and relaxing, the waiters were attentive, and it was nice to eat with real china, but I doubt that I'll be going back soon. The traffic was terrible. No breakfast is worth fighting rush hour traffic. Maybe I'm not adventurous enough. Maybe I've just become spoiled. Either way, I think I'll just stay in the neighborhood unless it's really necessary to leave.

I can't even remember why I started going out for breakfast on Friday mornings. I've been doing this a long time, but probably the first Friday breakfast outing is recorded in the blog somewhere. I don't think I've been going out for breakfast for more than ten years. Like many things in my life, I'm sure this started as an attempt to be more spontaneous and ended up becoming an iron clad rule that must be adhered to at all costs. I do know that I've gone out for breakfast when I wasn't even hungry on occasion, and have even driven to my breakfast restaurant in the rain. We all know how much I hate to drive in the rain.

Today I retraced the route I used to take with Dot and Dash when they were young. The path was over three miles long and the walk took me over an hour. I probably walked a little quicker when the dogs were two years old. Young Dalmatians can be very energetic. It was a nice day and I enjoyed the walk, but I was tired when I returned. I can't believe I did this twice a day for so many years. When My doctor used to ask me how I stayed so healthy, I always told him that I walked six miles a day with Dalmatians.

I can't decide whether to go see High Life or not. I don't like horror movies but I do like science fiction. This movie is both. It's not showing at nearby theaters either. Maybe I'll just wait until the film is available on iTunes. I did enjoy seeing Apollo 11 in a theater, but I probably would have enjoyed it on iTunes as well. I have a really big computer screen. Unfortunately, neither movie is available on iTunes yet. That's the problem with having too much time on your hands. You end up going to a movie when you'd really rather stay home.

I probably should go to the gym tomorrow. I got an e-mail today saying that my gym will be closed on Sunday. I guess this makes sense. It's Easter. The park will be filled with tons of children having Easter egg hunts on Sunday. There is more trash in the park on the Monday after Easter than on any other day of the year. Nobody ever bothers to pick up their trash. For weeks after Easter I had to watch carefully to make sure that the dogs wouldn't eat candy the kids left behind or fried chicken bones that the parents left behind. Dot was the worst. She had a nose for garbage. I guess kids don't really hunt for eggs anymore. They hunt for plastic eggs filled with candy.

I cleaned the inside of the car today. I'll never get all the dog hair out. I'm not even sure that I want to.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day