Day 4355

It's beginning to feel a lot like Winter. The temperature was 36 degrees when I woke up this morning. I'm glad I brought the lawnmower battery inside yesterday. Freezing temperatures destroys these batteries. Dawn enjoyed the chilly temperatures on her sunrise walk, but I wasn't happy with the thought that this type of weather will probably be with us until next March. I had to wear long underwear and a sweater under my jacket on today's walk. It's a lot easier to get dressed when I can just throw on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

It was a little warmer when I took my long walk after breakfast, but it was still pretty chilly. The park seemed empty this morning. Only the serious joggers and cyclists were out today. The colder the weather, the fewer people I see. Very few people are as consistent as I am. I know these people by sight now. We usually wave or say "Hi" as we pass each other. There is one cyclist I call the Hello Man who shouts out hello to every single person he passes. You can hear him coming from a long way away.

The big event of the day was that I was able to take Dawn on a walk by myself today. It definitely wasn't a long walk, but this was real progress. As recently as several months ago, Dawn would have been terrified to leave the yard without Janet at her side. Dawn is fine with me walking her as long as Janet is nearby. When I'm alone with her it's a totally different story. It's been a long, slow process to get Dawn to trust me.  We're definitely not there yet, but today's little walk was definitely progress. It probably helped that she had to pee. As soon as Dawn finished her business she immediately wanted to return to the house again.

I had a 20,000 step day today. That's pretty good, considering how cold it was. We've added a late afternoon walk with Dawn to our daily routine. Dawn seems to like the activity and she can certainly use the exercise. With three walks a day now, I don't have time for a lot else. That's fine by me. I usually manage to complete one little fix-it chore around the house during the day and that's about it. Today's task was clearing the leaves off the front and back porch and doing a load of laundry.

Today was Black Friday and I didn't buy a thing. I don't even think Black Friday is a big deal anymore. You don't hear about long lines waiting to get in Walmart or Best Buy these days. I got a lot of e-mail about Black Friday bargains, but the prices all seemed pretty normal to me. Since everything seems to be constantly on sale these days, having a special day just for sales is essentially meaningless.

I forgot what day it was again today. Having a holiday on Thursday is confusing. Almost all the major holidays have been moved to Friday or Monday so people can take a three day weekend. Christmas and New Years move around but they actually are on the weekend this year. Easter is always on a Sunday. I guess there is some justification for being confused by Thursday holidays. The only other explanation is that I've become a forgetful old man.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I wonder how much prices have gone up this week? Inflation is definitely real and I don't think it is going away soon. I read an article the other day that said that when governments gave away money like they did during Covid, inflation is the economy's way of reclaiming it. Makes sense to me. There is no free lunch in this world. Eventually you pay for everything.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3662

What day is it? Ever since Christmas, it's been hard to tell. I don't think anybody has gone back to work yet. There are more people in the park than usual, but the roads are surprisingly empty. I went back to the hotel for breakfast this morning and for a while, I was the only one there. I guess the holiday travelers have gone home and the business travelers haven't arrived yet. I had the same experience at the grocery store a few hours later. Oddly. I had to go out again this afternoon and this time there was a ton of traffic. I'll be glad when the world becomes predictable again.

The hotel has one of those open kitchens where you can watch the chef cook. While I was waiting for someone to take my order, I heard the head chef say "who made this batter?" He looked disgusted and threw it away. I was glad he intervened because I was going to have French Toast again and that batter was for me. The French Toast was delicious again, but I can't eat as much as I used to. Once again, I wish I could order a child's portion.

I had to take a few things to the storage warehouse today and while I was there I tried to see if there was a way to rearrange things to create more space. Nope. I think the place is pretty full. I need to find more space because I don't think the keyboards I have on consignment are going to sell. It's been a year and they haven't gotten much attention. Apparently people don't get as excited about vintage keyboards as they do about vintage guitars. At least this storage warehouse is heated, so if the keyboards have to come back they won't get ruined again.

It was a good day for a walk. It was a little chilly, but the sky was clear and the air was dry. I saw an older guy pointing a camera with a long telephoto lens at some nearby trees. "Are you looking for the owls," I asked. He was, but told me that he hadn't seen any in months. I hadn't either. I asked him if he had photographed the pelicans yet, and he said he was already bored with them. "Are you a birder too" he asked me. Nope. I do see a lot of birds though. Now, I'm wondering where the owls went as well. A few years ago the city even rerouted a bike path around where the owls used to live because it was considered a well known habitat. Now, all the owls are gone. There are plenty of pelicans though. I've never seen this many before.

The Quadrantids meteor shower peaks tonight. As someone with an interest in these things, I should set my alarm clock for 4 AM and get up to take a look. I probably won't though. I've done this before any usually see nothing. There is just too much light pollution in the Dallas area. Even in the middle of the night the sky isn't black. It is kind of a light gray color with a few bright stars poking through. The only time I've actually seen meteors is when I used to walk Dot and Dash before daylight on days when Janet had to go to work early. If I wake up to go to the bathroom at the right time, I might go outside for a while. Otherwise, I'm going to sleep as long as I can. When I have to choose between astronomy and sleep, sleep usually wins.

Although it has seemed like Saturday all week, tomorrow actually is Saturday. I will fill the car with gas, get more fresh fruit for my smoothies, and do all my other Saturday errands. I could have done all this stuff today, but I'm a creature of habit. Saturday errands need to be done on Saturday.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day